Good Taste Ed 12 by Visit Lincolnshire

GOOD TASTE THE MAGAZINE FROM TASTES OF LINCOLNSHIRE • AUTUMN/WINTER 2010 • ISSUE 12 • FREE

Makin’ Whoopie Recipes to share

GROW YOUR OWN Who's doing it?

PHILIPPA FORRESTER On cycling, cooking and more!

PLUS

Fishing for Trout Gardens and Nurseries www.tastesoflincolnshire.com

Contributors

GOOD TASTE THE MA GAZINE FROM TASTES OF LINCOLNSHIRE

Editor Mary Powell Lincolnshire County Council Deputy Editor Lydia Rusling Lincolnshire County Council Graphic Design Becky Boulter Main Photography Andrew Tryner, © Lincolnshire County Council Advertising Artwork Ruddocks, Lincoln Publisher Tastes of Lincolnshire Lincolnshire County Council Beech House, Waterside South, Lincoln, LN5 7JH T: 01522 550612 F: 01522 516720

David Hopkins, the county’s potato aficionado as each year he grows 57 varieties in his garden. Interested in all things foodie he is an archaeologist and works for the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire.

Chef Rachel Green is the Tastes of Lincolnshire Champion and demonstrates at many of our events. A Lincolnshire farmer’s daughter, Rachel had 20 years as a chef before developing a TV career.

Hugh Marrows is a retired civil servant and a keen walker with an extensive knowledge of Lincolnshire. Hugh writes for Lincolnshire Today, wrote the Viking Way Guide and more recently a series of walks based around the Grantham Canal.

Lorraine Heyes works for the Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership. If you are out on Water Rail Way or the Spa Trail you will come across many interpretation panels describing the local history. Full of fascinating detail and all written and researched by Lorraine.

Eric and Beth Phipps won Country Life’s Britain’s Best Butcher and were one of Rick Stein’s Food Heroes with their family business FC Phipps. Eric & Beth have now retired but they still take a keen interest in all things foodie in Lincolnshire.

Lydia Rusling joined Tastes of Lincolnshire in August 2007. Lydia has a food and farming background and loves searching for great places to eat and buy good food with her family.

www.visitlincolnshire.com

Tastes of Lincolnshire Team Mary Powell, 01522 550612, mary.powell@lincolnshire.gov.uk Amanda Allford, 01522 550613, amanda.allford@lincolnshire.gov.uk Lydia Rusling, 01522 550603, lydia.rusling@lincolnshire.gov.uk Visit Lincolnshire Advertising Production Team Fiona Thomas, Dan Pounds, David Chesher and Jennifer Cooling T: 01522 561674 Repro and Printing Warners, Bourne Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this guide, Visit Lincolnshire and Tastes of Lincolnshire shall not be liable for any inaccuracies contained therein.

Good Taste comes out twice a year, March and September. Cover photo of Whoopie Pies by Andrew Tryner © Lincolnshire County Council

Contents Welcome to the Autumn/Winter edition of Good Taste celebrating Lincolnshire’s local food and drink. I’ve been down on the farm this issue, farms plural actually and of some variety, meeting not only the beasts of the field but the fish too. I was fascinated by everything I learnt about trout farming, not least that this is not a quick process. And like all farming, just as much hard work involved. I love a good cup of coffee, but one is offered everything from the quite sublime to the truly dreadful. As I get to see the process from green bean to cup, I’m offered coffee at the top end of the scale and go for a second cup… We know what keen bakers you all are, so six pages of recipes to share. I can usually be guaranteed to be oblivious of the latest trend, but for some reason I had heard of the very ‘in’ whoopie pie (page 27). I have now tasted too and they’re good! Sticky toffee pudding is for the time pressured, that bonus combination of easy and delicious. Other treats to try too. Lincolnshire is the UK’s brassica capital, so we need David Hopkins to give cabbages their historic context. Eric is game, Rachel is too and Lydia has been checking out what’s going on in the garden.

MARY POWELL

Regulars 08 33 33 54 55

News Farmers’ Markets Dates Events Map Tastes of Lincolnshire Members

Features 04 12 14 18 22 26 34 36 40 44 48 50 52 76 78 82

'Tis the Season to be Naughty Rachel Green Doddington and Harby Hugh Marrows The Hunt is On Eric Phipps COVER STORY Here Comes the Trout Mary Powell COVER STORY Philippa Forrester Lydia Rusling COVER STORY Make Friends with Cake Lydia Rusling Masterclass Colin McGurran Husbanding Your Resources Mary Powell A Picture in Time Lydia Rusling Cabbage Capital David Hopkins Partney, Dalby and Langton Hugh Marrows The Caffeine Hit Mary Powell Shaping the Landscape Lorraine Heyes Gardening COVER STORY How does your garden grow? Lydia Rusling Flower Arranging Masterclass Rosemarie Green

RACHEL GREEN

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tis the season to be naughty

CHEF’S TIP:

The profiteroles can be cooked and filled with the cream and then frozen individually. To serve, take the profiteroles out of the freezer and defrost in a fridge for 2–3 hours, then pile in a serving dish and pour over the chocolate sauce to serve

Classic Chocolate Profiteroles • MAKES APPROXIMATELY 25–30 PROFITEROLES FOR THE PROFITEROLES: 60g Plain flour 50g Chilled butter, cut into small pieces 2 Large eggs, well beaten FOR THE FILLING: 275ml/ 1/2 pint Double cream 2tbsp Caster sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE: 100g Dark chocolate 3 tbsp Double cream You will also need 1 greased baking sheet Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 Sift the plain flour into a bowl. Next put 150ml of cold water into a medium sized saucepan, add the butter and then put the pan onto a gentle heat and stir

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with a wooden spoon. When the butter has melted, bring the mixture up to the boil. Turn off the heat and immediately, add all the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or an electric hand whisk until the mixture is a smooth ball of paste that leaves the side of the saucepan clean, this will take about 1 minute. Then add the egg a little at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding more egg until the mixture becomes a smooth and glossy paste. Take the greased baking sheet and hold it under a running tap of cold water, then remove it and shake well to get rid of any excess water. By doing this, it helps to create a steamy atmosphere in the oven which helps the profiteroles to rise better. To make the profiteroles, place teaspoons of the mixture on the baking sheet, leaving 2.5cm in between each one. Put into the preheated oven on a high shelf for 10 minutes and then

increase the heat to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 and bake for a further 15–20 minutes or until the profiteroles are crisp, light and a golden colour. Remove them from the oven and put them on their sides to let the steam out. Put back into the oven for 1–2 minutes to let them dry out and then put them onto a wire rack to cool. To make the filling, whip together the cream and vanilla extract until just stiff and then fold in the sugar. When the profiteroles are completely cold, pipe the cream into each profiterole and arrange on a serving dish. For the chocolate sauce, put the chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water; do not allow the bowl to touch the water. When the chocolate has melted, stir in the double cream, remove the bowl from the saucepan and allow to cool slightly. Then pour the sauce over the pile of profiteroles on the dish and serve immediately.

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Breast of Pheasant with Orange, Cardamom and Creamed Cabbage • SERVES 4 4 Pheasant supremes, with skin on 50ml Olive oil 30g Butter 4 tsp Cardamom pods, seeds removed 2 Oranges, juice of 125ml Game stock 150ml Madeira 30g Unsalted butter, diced and chilled FOR THE CREAMED CABBAGE: 1 Savoy cabbage, finely shredded 30g Butter 50g Pine nuts 1 Clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped 50ml Double cream Freshly grated nutmeg Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Pan Fried Smoked Trout and Pancetta with Avocado and Spinach Salad • SERVES 4 250g 100g 2 tbsp 2 tbsp 4 tbsp 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 250g 12 1

Smoked trout, sliced Pancetta, cubed Olive oil Wholegrain mustard Crème fraiche Honey Chopped dill Baby spinach leaves Cherry tomatoes, halved Large, avocado, stoned, peeled and sliced Brown bread and lemon wedges, to serve

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Heat half the oil in a non stick pan, and fry the pancetta until crisp. Season the smoked trout with black pepper and add to the pan. Fry for 1 minute then remove from the heat. Mix together the mustard, crème fraiche, honey and dill, and season to taste. Toss the spinach leaves in the remaining olive oil and divide between 4 plates, with the tomatoes and avocado. Top with the smoked trout and pancetta, and drizzle over the mustard cream. Serve immediately, with fresh brown bread and lemon wedges.

First prepare the creamed cabbage. Melt the butter in a large frying pan or wok, add the cabbage and stir fry for 2–3 minutes. Add the pine nuts and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then add the cream and season with sea salt, black pepper and the nutmeg. Reduce until the cream has thickened and set aside. Season the pheasant breasts with sea salt and black pepper. Heat an ovenproof sauté pan. Melt the butter with the oil, add the cardamom seeds and fry for a few seconds and then add the breasts and lightly brown on both sides. Add the juice of one orange and half the Madeira. Cover and roast in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes until the breasts are pink. Remove the pheasant and set it aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with the remaining madeira, then add the remaining orange juice and the game stock. Bring to the boil and reduce for 5 minutes, then sieve the sauce into a clean saucepan and whisk in the cold, diced butter. Carve the pheasant and serve with the creamed cabbage, with the sauce spooned over. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

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News Lincolnshire ‘Glamping’ The trendy new Glamping craze has arrived in Lincolnshire. A glamorous form of camping, hence the name, is a new addition to Kingthorpe Manor. Built from scratch and modelled on a traditional Dorset Shepherds Hut with a pine exterior on a wheeled chassis and a curved roof (a traditional Lincolnshire Shepherds Hut has a peak roof), the ‘eco hut’ has solar powered electric and a wood fuelled cooker with oven. Guests can take advantage of Kingthorpe Manor’s amenities as the new hut is adjacent to the Manor in a

small woodland. It is also a short distance from Kingthorpe Manor’s own Lincolnshire Shepherds Hut, which is currently home to a family of geese. Any returning shepherd would be knocked sideways by the luxury; the hut has a full size bed with Egyptian cotton linen, large fluffy white towels, table and chairs, sink with running water and cooking utensils. Outside there’s a seating area with a hammock, BBQ and chiminea. An ideal year round retreat, definitely more glamorous than camping! Latter day shepherd Wendy introduces us to ‘Glamping’

AA Rosette for new Lincoln restaurant The Green Room Restaurant at The Lincoln Hotel opened earlier this year and within a few months was awarded the accolade of an AA Rosette. The Rosette scheme looks for ‘food prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good quality ingredients’ and is awarded to only 10% of restaurants nationwide. The talented young chef Sam Owen, who trained at Winteringham Fields, is delighted with the award. Owen sources the majority of his produce from local producers. “We are especially fortunate to live in a county which produces some truly exceptional produce.” Sam has also come up with the idea of holding special evenings dedicated to all

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things sweet (on the last Thursday of every month). Aptly named, The Pudding Club will give diners the chance to sample an array of different desserts. “So many people tell us that the dessert is their favourite course, so we thought why not dedicate a whole menu to this?” As well as adding a twist to more traditional delights such as chocolate brownies, Sam will be conjuring up quirkier dishes such as chocolate ravioli, and white chocolate and amaretto soup! We’ve asked Sam to come up with a dessert for our Masterclass feature – so look out for his creation in the next edition of Good Taste. Sam Owen, Lincoln Hotel

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Try something new The Homemade House is a new venture for Louise Thompson. The studio on Navigation Wharf, Sleaford has professional tutors teaching knitting, sewing, patchwork and flower arranging, along with a host of food related courses. “Homemade House is about encouraging local people to celebrate local ingredients and learn the skills needed to make their own,” explained Louise. Bread making, baking,

gluten free baking, making jams and preserves and cake decoration classes will all be available. The courses are aimed at the whole family so they’ll take place on weekdays between school hours, evenings and Saturdays. Louise also hopes to introduce cookery lessons for children in the school holidays. Louise, an avid reader of Good Taste, is keen to pass on skills that are in danger of being lost. “We’ve worked hard to keep the

course costs as low as possible and they include materials, refreshments and for the day long courses, a locally sourced lunch as well. We’ll be using local ingredients in the food based courses and encouraging participants to have a go at making their own.” Gift vouchers are available, as well as individually tailored courses for corporate events and private groups, and children’s parties.

Redhill Farm Free Range Pork received a grand total of six Gold awards. “To have now won a Great Taste award for every single product we produce is the most wonderful accolade for our business and testament to the hard work and dedication from all the team at the Farm,” said Jane Tomlinson. 2 star Gold awards were awarded to Redhill’s Oak Smoked 100% free Range Pork Sausage and their Oak Smoked Dry Cured Streaky Bacon. Four 1 star Gold awards were presented for Dry Cured Collar Bacon, Free Range Belly Pork, Dry Cured Ham and their Lincolnshire Pork Pie. An impressive 3 star Gold award went to Farm Fresh Duck and a 2 star Gold award was secured by Pipers Crisps for their Sea Salt & Indian Black Pepper crisps. Pipers also received a Gold

star for their Norfolk Bloody Mary variety and their No Salt crisps. Chapman’s Fishcakes scooped a Great Taste Gold star award for their Hot Smoked Salmon Horseradish Fishcakes and another for their Smoked Haddock and Smoked Bacon Fishcakes.

All the courses are listed on their website www.thehomemadehouse.co.uk or telephone 01529 415599.

Great Taste The Great Taste awards are in their sixteenth year and are the benchmark for speciality fine food. This year’s awards have seen even more products entered than ever before – 6,021 in total have been blindtasted and tested over an intense two-month assessment period by 350 judges. The Gold one, two and three star ratings are established on the premise that a one star is a perfect food or drink, a two star is absolutely sublime and three star is that moment you turn to the person next to you and exclaim ‘Wow! You must try this, it’s amazing!” Congratulations to Tastes of Lincolnshire members Farm Fresh Duck, Redhill Farm, Pipers Crisps and Chapman’s Fishcakes who were all praised in this year’s Great Taste awards. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Terry Tomlinson, Redhill Farm

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News Tastes enter the online revolution Tastes of Lincolnshire has entered a new era – check us out! We’ve been busy brushing up on cutting edge technology to help grow Lincolnshire’s local produce message over the web. We’re now out there, socialising in the big wide world! Having joined millions of people globally who are already using social networks, we feel enthused by how this is helping us grow. So what is this mysterious social media world, you might ask? Quite simply, it’s the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube – hugely popular online communities that allow users to interact, share and comment on their favourite content over the web. You may wonder: why do we want to join a load of teenagers talking about their breakfast?? Oh, we know – we used to think that too! But social media is so much more

than idle chit-chat nowadays. It’s growing at an astonishing rate: daily, 55 million tweets are sent through Twitter and around 12 million Brits log on to Facebook. Did you know the fastest growing demographic of new Facebook users are women over the age of 50? With such a buzz of activity, Tastes couldn’t ignore the opportunity to start tweeting, blogging and facebooking our lovely foodie messages out to the universe. Events, producer news and recipes are just some of the stories we’ve been sharing – we’ve now got over 500 followers on Twitter! Why not join us today? Go to www.twitter.com/tastes oflincs or read our blog at http://tastesoflincs.blogspot .com You can also find us on Facebook – just search for Tastes of Lincolnshire! Celia Lacy Visit Lincolnshire

Millstream’s third anniversary Millstream Butchers in Sleaford has had a complete refit as part of their anniversary celebrations. The traditional butchers now have a deli counter with a range of cheeses to complement their extensive range of quality meats, pastries and speciality cooked meats. Looking to expand the business, Jason Willis has also launched two new ventures. A new refrigerated mobile

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shop, which offers free delivery to Sleaford, Grantham, Lincoln, Newark and surrounding areas, as well as weekly rounds to locations around Sleaford. “Our mobile shop will be operating with the same care and dedication as our shop,” said Jason. He also told Good Taste that he’s introduced a new catering aspect too, The Griddled Pig that offers Hog Roasts.

The Great Bustard Continuing an award-winning streak for Tastes of Lincolnshire members, The Bustard Inn and Restaurant has received an AA rosette for Culinary Excellence and a recommendation in the Michelin 2010 guide to eating out in pubs. The Michelin guide suggests that in the bar “you’ll find an appealing blackboard menu of seasonal dishes” and in the restaurant “a more structured menu which might include slow roast pork belly, finished off with classical puddings and freshly churned sorbet. Some unusual wines provide a great accompaniment for your meal, while the well-kept ales taste especially good outside in the sun.” Owners Alan and Liz Hewitt are thrilled that they have been so successful in reestablishing The Bustard Inn over the last three years.

Liz told Good Taste that the head chef Phil Lowe, who trained with Marco Pierre White, has a natural flair for creating delicious food of extremely high quality. “Our carefully planned menus boast an array of dishes using the finest locally sourced ingredients, which are cooked fresh to order in the brand new kitchen that has been awarded the maximum 5 star health and safety rating from the local council.” Liz also explained that in 2007 they restored the Inn and exposed many of the original features like the stone walls in the former stable and the exposed beams in the old brew tower. The Inn at South Rauceby near Sleaford is named after the last Great Bustard in the UK which, legend has it, was shot in 1845 on the hill just behind the pub. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Encore for the Lincolnshire Scad Interest in the Lincolnshire Scad has been growing since our first article in last year’s Good Taste so we asked David Hopkins to give us some tips on how to take a cutting: Wait until the early winter – November/December – when the plants have dropped their leaves. Best to find a sucker near the parent bush and carefully dig it up with as much root as possible – just take your time and don't rush it. Once you have the rooted sucker put it in a big plastic bag. Heap as much of the soil on to the root and keep the roots moist. Transport it to where you want the new bush to be. Make sure there's plenty of room for growth and that it won't be under the shade of a big tree or hedge. Plant the sucker up to where the soil was where you found it but it's a good idea

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to leave it in a slight 'crater' below ground surface. This means that any water you pour on it will stay around the roots and not drain away somewhere else. Give the sucker a jolly good watering and leave to settle in over the spring. Give it the occasional watering can of water as the leaves expand but eventually it will be happy to find its own water and in two years it should – if the frosts don't come too late in the spring – produce fruit. My specimen had two flowers this spring but they didn't set because I think it's such a young plant. While they are suckers attached to the parent bush their flowering is controlled to some extent in favour of the parent. Once it is detached it gains control over flowering and fruiting. David Hopkins

Winter Workshops Goltho Gardens near Wragby are holding winter workshops starting with a seed collection morning on 7th October, how to make a dried flower plaque on 11th November and make your own Christmas decorations on 16th December. They will also kick off 2011 with a series of activities celebrating their 15th year since the creation of the garden. Fourteen years ago Debbie Hollingworth and her sister Lesley Burton embarked on a huge project of turning a derelict house with outbuildings and 4-acres of farmland into what has now become Goltho Gardens. Very much a family affair, Debbie and Lesley and their families live on the site with

their parents. Debbie’s focus has been on the extensive gardens, cultivating a year round offer, “our autumn garden boasts colourful foliage providing interest into the early winter period and in the early part of the year this is replaced by the abundant snowdrops and carpets of cyclamen. The winter garden has something not usually associated with winter – colour!” Lesley’s side is the Wagon House tea shop and potager which not only provides for the three families, but also most of the fruit and vegetables for the tea shop. Follow Goltho Gardens blog at http://golthogardens. blogspot.com

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HUGH MARROWS

Doddington & Harby This route, rich in history, leads us back in time from the magnificent late-Elizabethan Doddington Hall to Harby, scene of a mediaeval tragedy

he little Victorian church at Harby would probably be far less visited but for its mediaeval predecessor’s association with Queen Eleanor of Castile. Her sad death in the Manor House behind the church secured Harby’s place in history and today her statue occupies a niche on the east face of the tower. Eleanor was Queen to Edward I and they married when she was nine years old and he fifteen. Theirs became one of England’s great royal romances and they grew to become inseparable; in 1270 she even accompanied him on the Eighth Holy Land Crusade. In 1290 Edward was campaigning in northern England, when Eleanor still his constant companion was taken ill. As her condition worsened they lodged in the Harby Manor House of Richarde de Weston where she died. Her body was taken to St Catherine’s nunnery in Lincoln to be embalmed and for her viscera to be buried in a marble tomb within Lincoln Cathedral. The distraught Edward then followed her body to Westminster for burial. Their nightly stopping places each receiving a royal decree to erect one of the famous

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Eleanor Crosses, the first at Lincoln and the last at Charing Cross. The site of the de Weston Manor House is still visible from the churchyard, with an information board nearby. The old railway line was the former Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway. Opened in 1896 but never as grand as its lengthy title implies. A 171mile route from Warrington to a brand new port at Sutton-on-Sea was envisaged but insufficient investment meant that the railway reached neither Lancashire nor Sutton-on-Sea with 58 miles only between Chesterfield and Lincoln ever being built. Passenger traffic ended in 1955 whilst freight struggled on until 1980. The remains of a goods siding platform near Doddington are seen from the walk. Doddington Hall is virtually unchanged externally since being built 1593–1600 for Thomas Tailor the Bishop of Lincoln’s registrar. Designed by Robert Smythson. (q.v. also Hardwick Hall) Doddington represents the culmination of late mediaeval architecture when the rich could afford the status symbol of building in brick. Truly a product of the

Lincolnshire landscape, for local claypits provided the bricks and Ancaster stone the quoins and window frames. Internally the hall was refashioned, mainly around 1760 following its inheritance by Sir John Seaton Deleval. One noteworthy aspect of this was the first ever recorded use of double-glazing. Cheek-by-jowl with the hall the diminutive St Peter’s church dates from 1775. Note especially the door in the tower with its exuberant carvings.

All Saints Church, Harby

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Skellingthorpe OLD RAILWAY

Harby

LINC OLN SHIR COU E/NOTT IN NTY BOR GHAMSH DER IRE

OLD RAILWAY

Old Hag Wood

Ash Lound

Strunch Hill Doddington Hall

Saw Mill

The Walk

From the overflow carpark entrance turn right. (From the main carpark/café cross the road and turn left.) Go right into Dog Kennel Lane, at the end continuing along a grass track for almost a mile past Ash Lound Wood. Beyond the woods an obvious path goes past a lake to a 3-way footpath sign. Now turn left.

At the surfaced cycleway (the former LD&EC Railway) go left again. Follow this for a mile to the B1190 road overbridge and the site of Doddington sidings where seats invite a rest. Keep ahead for a further half a mile, passing the Sustrans marker at the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire county boundary and an unusual seat built out of railway sleepers. Continue to a barrier just after a line of electricity pylons.

Immediately go left along a grass track (Clay Lane) into Harby and at the road turn left again through the village. Beyond the village hall follow Church Road down to All Saints church and two information boards on local history and Queen Eleanor.

START Doddington Hall.

MAPS OS Landranger 121 (Lincoln) : Explorers 272 (Lincoln) & 271 (Newark).

DISTANCE 61/4 miles : 10 kilometres. TERRAIN Grass tracks, surfaced cycle track (old railway), field paths and parkland.

REFRESHMENTS Doddington Hall Farm shop & café.

NOTES Walkers are politely requested to use the overflow carpark across the road from Doddington Hall. Their website gives details of opening times and many special events. A nature trail and three walks on the Doddington Estate can be followed from a new walks leaflet available in the Farm Shop and Gatehouse.

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Doddington

Return towards the village and at a footpath sign near a white cottage turn right. The grassy path goes past a barn and from a hedge end (waymark) turns sharp left past a paddock. It then leads clearly onwards to a stream, bridge and gate where we return into Lincolnshire.

Walk directly ahead up an arable field to a bridle gate there joining a wide grass track for 50 yards to a 3-way footpath sign by an electricity pylon. Now go half right diagonally over another arable field to a hedge gap in the far corner near Strunch Wood; go through and turn left alongside the woods. Pass through a kissing gate at the next field corner and walk by a fence for a few yards. Then follow the path (usually mown) heading half right across Doddington Hall Park. (Although the hall is visible don’t head towards it!) From a second kissing gate continue to a third close to a building that was once the estate sawmill. Join a farm road here and turn left. Near the main buildings either veer left between them to the shop/café or keep forward to the road and turn left for the carpark.

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ERIC PHIPPS

The hunt is on Eric Phipps is wild about game

he term ‘game’ refers to those animals and wild birds, which, are hunted for sport and eaten. The hunt has helped form human culture from the time of Lascaux’s cave paintings to today. It inspired tapestry, paintings, sculpture, poetry, literature and song through the ages. The Russian writer Turgenev wrote “the noisy partridge both delights and frightens the hunter with its explosive flight from cover” and of course this county has its famous song ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’. Game’s main attraction is its wonderful flavours. These are a result of diet of wild grains, grasses, berries and insects, plus the benefits of exercise which the birds and animals have in their pursuit of food and avoidance of predators giving a leaner, denser as well as more flavoursome muscles. It is also important to realise that the conservation of game gives us the woodlands, hedgerows, wetlands, rough pastures and great parks, which form our wonderful British landscape. Also many other species of wild life – birds, insects, mammals and flora benefit from this management. Having written about venison in the Autumn/Winter 2007 magazine I shall here deal with game birds, hare and wild rabbit. All game benefits from a period of hanging in the fur or feather in a cool, well ventilated place. Enzymes in the flesh work to tenderise the meat and develop the ‘gamey’ flavours. Length of hanging time will be down to the type, weather conditions and personal preference. The time can range from one to seven days. Buying game: the braver soul willing to pluck and draw their game will have an advantage as buying in the fur or feather allows age to be more easily determined. Younger birds will have a pliable beak and short blunt spurs on soft feet. If you buy oven ready then size – older birds will be bigger – and hard and more protuberant breastbones are indicators of greater age. Beyond this it is best to rely on your butcher or game dealer. In any case be sure to ask for the leg tendons to be drawn out. Cooking game: young pheasants need only simple roasting, put half of an apple or onion in the cavity with a tablespoon of butter, rub more butter on the skin and

cover with fat bacon then roast at 190°C for 45 minutes. Serve with thin gravy, bread sauce and fried breadcrumbs. There are two kinds of partridge, the English grey legged and the French red legged. Unfortunately the former is in decline and the subject of special conservation schemes. It is the better eating, probably because it lives a more ‘wild life’ than the reared French bird. A young partridge needs only a spoonful of seasoned butter in the cavity, more on the skin plus some barding fat, then roasting at 220°C for 30 minutes. Older pheasants and partridges are better pot roasted. I like to have them cooked Normandy style on a bed of sliced Cox’s apples; the resulting sauce finished with cream is delicious. There are many more recipes in books and on the internet including pheasant curry!

The hunt has helped form human culture from the time of Lascaux’s cave paintings to today Pigeons fly many miles each day and to the annoyance of farmers they select the best arable crops for food. It is important to apply the previously detailed age tests as the hard working breast muscles are firm and close textured; so it is essential to choose a plump young bird for roasting. A popular recipe removes the breasts ‘butterfly’ cuts them, marinades in olive oil and pan fries them to leave pink in the centre. Wild duck: mallard is the most common; young birds need to be selected and their origin known if possible. Birds from the foreshore or muddy ground can taste fishy; so a reliable butcher or game dealer is needed. Again put seasoned butter inside, smear the breast with more butter and roast at 230°C for 20 minutes basting with red wine, port or orange juice. Two other wild ducks are Widgeon and Teal. The Teal feeds on seeds and invertebrates while the Widgeon is a grass grazer and has the milder flavour. Older birds are again for the pot; an orange and lemon citrus braise is nice. The Red Grouse lives on the heather moors, which u GOOD TASTE

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Previous spread: Male Pheasant Right, from top: Wild Mallard; French Red Legged Partridge Photography by Andy Tryner was all taken in Lincolnshire, with thanks to Mr J Gladwin

gives their meat its distinctive taste; the usual tests will determine young birds, which need to be butter basted and roasted at 190°C for 30 to 40 minutes. Snipe and Woodcock inhabit marshy areas the latter roosting in woodland. They provide the most sporting shooting of all. Woodcock were once supposed to spend the summer months on the moon! They are traditionally roasted without drawing. You will need one Woodcock or three Snipe per person. You may have to do some research to locate them. The brown hare was the catch made by the Lincolnshire Poacher. You should choose a young hare, which will have white teeth, soft fur and soft ears. Ask for it to be portioned into legs and saddle; ideally the blood should be saved to thicken gravy. The legs should be cooked as a ‘jug’ or stew; avoid alcohol based marinades; the meat is too lean and will be toughened. Add fat pork or fat bacon and cook for three or more hours. You can then roast the saddle for 10 minutes at 220°C, 10 minutes at 160°C, basting it all the while with the stock from the ’jug’ and finally allowing to rest for 10 minutes. Wild rabbit is a much neglected source of food, it has much more flavour than the domestic rabbit and was the saviour of my parents when they took over the butchers shop in Mareham Le Fen in 1950 and the meat ration dropped to eight old pence (3.5p) per person per week. Rabbit was not rationed so they turned them into delicious rabbit pies and I pre-empted the pizza delivery boys when I distributed them around the village after school. Rabbit should be hung for three to four days after paunching. Young specimens can be roasted with some care to counter dryness and older ones make excellent stews and pies. n

More information can be found on the website of The British Association for Shooting and Conservation at www.basc.org.uk National Taste of Game Fortnight is from 6th to 20th November with a special road show with Rachel Green demonstrating at Springfield Events Centre, Spalding on Thursday 18th November from 7pm to 10pm. New Tastes’ member The Garden Farm Shop at Stamford Garden Centre specialises in game at their butchery.

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AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Historic Lincoln Newsletter Send for your free copy Please tick here

Read about the exciting plans for the complete redevelopment of Lincoln Castle, improvements at Lincoln Cathedral and upcoming events in the area. If you would like to receive a free copy of the newsletter four times a year, please please fill in your name and address below or send your details to mary.powell@lincolnshire.gov.uk (Mr/Mrs/Ms) Initial

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Postcode Email Post to: Historic Lincoln Partnership, FREEPOST NEA8642, Beech House, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7BR t: 01522 782332

Lincolnshire Waterways Newsletter Send for your free copy Would you like us to send this magazine to a friend? Go on the database to receive future editions? Many of you ask us to send our brochures to friends or to former Lincolnshire residents who like to be kept posted on events ‘back home’. We’re always happy to do this, so just fill in their name and address and we will do the rest!

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Address Postcode Email Post to: Tastes of Lincolnshire, FREEPOST NEA8642, Beech House, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7BR or email: mary.powell@lincolnshire.gov.uk t: 01522 782332

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Please tick here

Newsletter - 3 times a year

Please fill in your name and address below or send your details to mary.powell@lincolnshire.gov.uk (Mr/Mrs/Ms) Initial……....…Surname……….............................……………

Keep informed about all the work of the Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership – cycle paths, angling improvements, bridges, a new link through Boston and more.

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Post to: Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership, FREEPOST NEA8642, Beech House, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7BR Telephone: 01522 782332

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‘Here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling’ Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

irst cockles, then eels, now trout; regular readers will know that here at Good Taste we don’t just accept that Lincolnshire has some great local produce, we want to know the whole inside track and we think you do too. Not particularly well known, even in Lincolnshire are a series of springs that originate from the chalk aquifer that forms the highest part of the Lincolnshire Wolds, producing clear mineral water that is an ideal habitat for trout. I am to visit two Tastes of Lincolnshire members who are both trout farmers, in this well wooded corner of the county with its often hidden chalk streams. I start off by meeting Ginny Harrop at Belleau Trout Farm and Smokery and we start at the beginning, literally, as she takes me to see the natural spring that feeds their hatchery. This is mineral water as fine as anything one might buy in a bottle and it emerges from the ground at a relatively warm temperature the whole year round. The local ducks have sussed this out and gather here in the winter! The spring leads almost immediately into a corrugated shed, where the overwhelming sense is of constantly moving water noisily channelled through a myriad of pipes and raceways; but as we look closer we see trays of caviar-like eggs, then tadpole sized at 10 days and realise that there is method to this madly rushing water. As the fry grow they move into side ponds which look like enormous cooking cauldrons. At this stage any eggs that haven’t hatched must be removed to avoid infection, back breaking work says Ginny as it must be done by hand. Old enough for the great outdoors, the fry move onto larger tanks outside the shed, all carefully netted to prevent heron

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visits. The trout now about 2 inches long are 8 weeks old and darting about like mad. Still the water flows fast and furiously through the raceways and some trout now 4–5 inches long leap to the surface in anticipation of a feed as we walk by. Ginny explains that her farmer father-in-law Adrian developed the fish farm as a hobby 35 years ago, but that she and her husband Simon now run the business which employs five people. Originally it was all about supplying trout to restock ponds and this is still a very important part of their operation with trout being sent in oxygenated tanks all over the country. Ginny tells me that the travel is the most nerve inducing part of the operation, particularly when you’ve spent so long nurturing them. Belleau then started supplying fresh trout to the markets at Grimsby and soon after developed their smokery. This was a big learning curve for them: how long to cure in the salt, the smoking that adds the flavour, and the difference between the hot and cold smoke, but having a smokery had long been Simon’s ambition. Things become less frenetic as we move from the rushing water of the raceways to the series of ponds, where graded by size, the trout have space to grow. They are hand fed, supplemented by the natural flora of the river and the watercress which Ginny is pondering on developing as part of the business. Apparently years ago watercress from the area was transported to the local railway station and dispatched to Covent Garden. This year has been tough says Ginny, the bitterly cold winter seriously checked the trout’s growth and the hot summer weather has reduced oxygen levels, although their recently installed aerators have been a god-send. We meet Darius Radvinskas, their Lithuanian manager who has worked for them for nearly five years. He shows us u

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Here Comes the Trout… Mary Powell visits Lincolnshire’s chalk streams

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some trout that have reached around 2lb in weight, from egg to this stage has taken 18–24 months. We walk past the only pond that we’ve seen that isn’t netted and I ask why. Darius explains that this pond contains trout that are 3–4 years old and about 5lbs in weight, more than a match for the herons. As he feeds them, it is all fins, tails and mouths and when he quickly scoops one out to show us we realise what a size they are at this age. An old barn has been converted into their preparation area, the smokery has a lovely smell and uses chippings supplied by a local carpenter. Curing of the whole trout involves filling the fish cavity with salt, stacking them up and covering the whole with more salt for about 2½–3 hours. Rinsed off, the fish are left to dry for a couple of hours, before 4–6 hours in the smokery. Our next visit is just a 10 minute drive away, still on the Great Eau but Sara and Debs are much newer to the business of trout farming. In fact they arrived at Withern Mill in December 2009 and the snow arrived the following day staying for some while! Their sole task became just keeping their trout alive through the bitter cold of those first few months, an unnerving introduction. Fly fishing was the great love of Sara, Debs and their partners and through regular visits to the ponds at Withern Mill they had become friends with the then owner. He was planning to retire and said “Why don’t you four buy it?” Past the church and located at the end of a lane, Withern Mill consists of the original mill, five fly fishing lakes, the trout farm and a pair of semi detached cottages with unspoilt views over the countryside. This is an idyllic setting and one can see the

This is an idyllic setting and one can see the attraction, although as in our visit to Belleau I can see what hard work this is attraction, although as in our visit to Belleau I can see what hard work this is. A mill on site was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but a William Tickler bought the mill in 1796. In Good Taste 9 our mention of the story of the Tickler jam factory in Grimsby, suppliers to the army during World War I, led many readers to get in touch with their memories. Tickler’s Jams was started by William’s grandson and there are fruit trees in the mill orchard to 20 |

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this day that supplied the factory. I walk with Sara and Debs to the top of their site where a diversion from the river brings water into a series of raceways, each dropping down a level by means of oxygenating waterfalls. Sara and Debs are clearly animal lovers and with Indian Runner Ducks, hens and other pets clearly in charge, an extra task in the Spring had been rescuing mallard ducklings who had plopped into the raceways but then couldn’t get out. Withern Mill has been a fish farm since the 1930s. The trout graduate through the raceways each one lower than the previous, until the water passes back into the river. The trout are constantly swimming against the river current, so they build up invaluable muscle. Withern Mill also has its corrugated shed hatchery, clearly a de rigeur item for trout farmers! As at Belleau, this is a very ‘clean’ system as the water passes through the site only once. They both use the same method of catching the trout; kitted out in waders they walk through the raceway pushing a gate in front of them trapping the trout at one end where they can be netted. They obligingly demonstrate, Sara with the gate, Debs poised with the net, photographer crouched on a plank over the water and me, sitting on a bench to watch! Both their partners go out to work but the long term plan is that eventually the business will support all of them. The fifth member of the team in an orange jacket stands quite immobile beside the raceway and I’m introduced to Tim, an old shop dummy whose job it is to repel the herons! Sara and Debs have had a baptism of fire since they arrived here, but their hard work and keen sense of humour will surely see them through. I don’t get to meet Simon from Belleau as he’s away salmon fishing, clearly a busmen’s holiday! I’ve never tried fishing but I note in The Compleat Angler (1653) by Izaak Walton that it would provide “..a rest to his mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of contentedness; and that it begat habits of peace and patience” so perhaps in these difficult times I should be taking it up! n Previous pages: Trout at 8 weeks old and Darius of Belleau Trout Farm holds a four year old 5lb trout This page, from left: At Withern Mill trout leap from the water at feeding time (note the silent Tim in the background); Debs and Sara catching trout; Belleau trout at 10 days old and Darius with some 2lb trout AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

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Philippa on Children, Conservation and Cooking Lydia Rusling cycles with Philippa Forrester on our new Spa Trail

elevision presenter Philippa Forrester visited Lincolnshire earlier this year as guest speaker at our county’s annual tourism conference. We jumped at the opportunity to introduce wildlife enthusiast Philippa to the latest Lincolnshire Waterways project, the Spa Trail. The restored path that sits between Woodhall Spa and Horncastle has a variety of artworks to discover including pieces in wood, mile markers in stone and others in metal, all inspired by local wildlife, Viking connections and the botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Banks who lived nearby. As soon as Philippa saw Spa Trail she said, “my boys would love this.”

Philippa has always travelled with her children, “I took my youngest son, when only 4 months, on safari. He watched his first cheetah kill whilst having a bottle in the back of the Land Rover!” Philippa and her husband, wildlife photographer Charlie Hamilton-James believe that meeting local people and sampling the different cuisine is part of their holiday experience, helping her children get used to lots of different tastes. I discovered that she not only had a love of wildlife and travelling but a love of cooking too, which is fortunate as she describes cooking as a relentless task with three children under 10. “It’s so important to develop their tastes.

I often hear ‘I don’t like this’ but what that really means is that it’s new and they are unsure about trying something for the first time.” Philippa is a keen conservationist and she believes fuss equals waste. “Food is such a valuable resource and I’m constantly trying to instil that into the kids. We grow a lot at home, including potatoes and tomatoes. They now won’t eat lettuce from a supermarket, but they will if it’s picked from our garden. All three boys love what they can pick and eat. If they’ve gone out and picked it then they’re happy to eat it.” “The hard work that we all put into growing what we eat really makes such a difference.” Although Philippa did admit u

‘The hard work that we all put into growing what we eat really makes such a difference’ AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

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that on a cold day it was difficult to motivate the family to go and do some weeding! I asked what Philippa’s inspiration was for her love of cooking. “It’s all about selfsufficiency for me. I love producing things that are completely home made. I really get a buzz out of creating – it tastes better and it’s environmentally friendly.” Philippa, husband Charlie and their boys Fred, Gus and Arthur recently spent a year filming a series of BBC programmes about the life of a river that runs beside their cottage in the West Country. The Halcyon River Diaries is an extraordinary look at an ordinary river. Spending every waking moment filming the creatures, under, over and in and out of the water, the family captured with love and astonishing skill the most idyllic scenes. The book to accompany the series charts the passing of the year so it seemed only right to include seasonal recipes and of course their passion for the river extended into every part of their family life, including the kitchen. Philippa is happy to share her recipes with Good Taste readers. Hedgerow blackberries feature in one of the Spa Trail sculptures, Nature Magnified by Anwick Forge so I choose two lovely blackberry recipes for you. u

Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Sorbet

“Overlook this at your peril: a simple but robust, countrycooking, body-filling pudding. This won’t bloat you out, instead the warmth and taste of it lingers, reminding you for long afterwards of just how good it was. It is easy to make, and just like crumble, gives you the reward of smiling faces around the table; everyone loves it, particularly the children and everyone thanks you with clean bowls.”

“I have found that sorbets are a wonderful way to use up fruit, and are fun to experiment with. This sorbet is just what a sorbet should be: bright and crisp on the tongue, (or round the chops if you are three year old Arthur).”

120g 165g 150ml 2 tsp 125g 400g 2 tbsp

Previous page, clockwise from left: Philippa on Spa Trail March 2010; Cyclists on Spa Trail, Viking mile marker by Griffin Memorials of Louth; Fern seat by Nigel Sardeson; Otter by Nigel Sardeson Above, left: Nature Magnified by Anwick Forge

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Melted butter Sugar Milk Baking powder Flour Blackberries Honey

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/ Gas 4 and melt the butter. Mix the sugar, baking powder and flour together and then add the milk. Combine two tablespoons of honey with the melted butter and add to the mix. Stir to make a smooth batter. Place the blackberries into the baking dish and then pour over the batter. Bake for one hour until golden, serve hot with rich vanilla ice cream. One of the best things about this dish is that leftovers are really good cold the next day.

300g 100g 1/2 100ml 2

Blackberries Light brown sugar Lemon, juice of Water Sprigs of mint (optional)

Mix the sugar and water and boil until the sugar dissolves. Puree the blackberries and lemon juice together and push through a sieve to remove the seeds. Mix with the syrup and allow to cool. If you like, add a couple of sprigs of mint while the mixture cools and remove later. When the mixture is cool pour into the ice-cream maker or into a round plastic bowl in the freezer. A round bowl is best because you need to take it out every fifteen minutes or so to whisk the freezing slush. When it has reached a consistency you like, allow it to freeze completely. Serve garnished with sprigs of mint or whole blackberries. Halcyon River Diaries is published by Preface Publishing (www.prefacepublishing.co.uk)

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Make friends with cake Tastes of Lincolnshire members share favourite baking recipes with Lydia Rusling ake one large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon and a pinny – a recipe that was certain to put a smile on my face as a child. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was growing up. They lived in a house that was great for exploring, set in grounds where I’d go hunting for chickens’ eggs with my granddad, and my most vivid memory was a constant smell of baking that emanated from the kitchen. If I wasn’t outside playing I’d definitely be with my grandma helping with the baking. I’m still puzzled where all the baking went – there were my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and me to feed, but my

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Grandma would seem to generate enough cakes, tarts and scones to service a busy tea room! My love of baking has stayed with me and for Christmas last year I had a go at Rachel’s Chocolate Roulade from the Autumn/Winter issue, voted a triumph by the family. Good Taste cakes always generate a great response so we’ve hunted out our members’ favourite recipes to share with you, including contributions from Rachel Green, Thierry Daugeron and three of our Bed & Breakfast members. There’s no better place to start than with Rachel Green, our cake aficionado. Rachel’s created two cakes, a delicious Sticky Toffee Cake and her version of the new Whoopie Pie. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Banana and Sticky Toffee Pudding by Rachel Green This cake can be served hot as a pudding or warm as a delicious cake. • SERVES 6 100g 150ml 1/2 tsp 85g 180g 2 180g 1

Dried chopped dates Water Bicarbonate of soda Butter, softened Soft brown sugar Eggs lightly beaten Self raising flour Large ripe banana, peeled and mashed 1 tsp Mixed spice

FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE: 590ml Double cream 350g Soft brown sugar 75g Unsalted butter You will need a round cake tin approximately 20cm in diameter. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/Gas 4. Simmer the dates in the 150ml water over a very low heat for 3–4 minutes until soft, stir in the bicarbonate of soda and leave to cool. Beat the butter and sugar together using a wooden spoon or a mixer, until creamy, then beat in the egg, flour, banana and mixed spice. Fold in the date mixture and pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the sponge is just firm to the touch. Meanwhile make the sticky toffee sauce by placing the cream, sugar and butter in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Then turn up the heat slightly and simmer for 2–3 minutes. To serve, remove the sponge from the tin and place on an oven proof dish. Pour over 2/3 of the sauce and put back in the oven to warm slightly. Serve with the rest of the sauce and cream. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Passion Fruit and Marshmallow Whoopie Pies by Rachel Green The latest craze to hit the UK, the Whoopie pie, has its origins with the Amish community in America. They were made with left over batter and it is said that when children discovered this sweet treat in their lunchboxes they shouted “whoopie!”. • MAKES 12 PIES TO MAKE THE PIES: 1 Large egg 150g Caster sugar 75g Unsalted butter, melted 125g Full-fat crème fraiche or soured cream 25ml Milk 1 tsp Vanilla extract 3/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda 275g Plain flour FOR THE PASSION FRUIT AND MARSHMALLOW CREAM: 100g White marshmallows 50ml Milk 125g Unsalted butter, softened 4 Passion fruit cut in half with the seeds removed FOR THE ICING FOR THE TOP OF THE PIES: 200g Icing sugar 3/4 tbsp Cold water A dash of vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Whisk the egg until light and fluffy, add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time and beat well until the mixture is thick and glossy. Then beat in the melted butter, crème fraiche, milk and vanilla

extract. Sift the bicarbonate of soda and flour together and beat into the mixture until smooth. Spoon or pipe the mixture onto the lined baking sheet in small walnut sized pieces, 4cm apart. You will need to bake the mixture in batches. Bake the mixture for 12–14 minutes until lightly golden on top. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then place on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining mixture. To make the passion fruit and marshmallow filling, heat the marshmallows with the milk in a saucepan over a very low heat, stirring until smooth, then completely cool. In a bowl, beat the butter until creamy then gradually beat in the melted marshmallows until the mixture is smooth, then beat in the passion fruit pulp. Sandwich the whoopie pies together with the passion fruit and marshmallow cream. Make the icing by mixing together the icing sugar, water and vanilla extract until the icing is smooth and just runny, spread a little on each whoopie pie and leave to set. CHEF’S TIP:

The pies can be made 2 days ahead or can be frozen – unfilled. Once filled, eat within 4 hours!

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Byards Leap Cottage Bed and Breakfast Anne and Martin Wood have run their cottage on the Viking Way as a B&B for over 30 years. “My almond slices are very popular, but it’s a simple recipe that I altered from a magazine that I read in the 1970s, so I hope the readers of Good Taste give it a try. I use my own jam from the fruit in our garden,” said Anne. Byards Leap Cottage is situated on the Viking Way and has an idyllic yet productive garden, providing vegetables and soft fruit for Anne and Martin and their guests.

Almond Slices by Anne FOR THE BASE: 6oz Plain flour 4oz Soft margarine or butter 4oz Caster sugar FOR THE TOP: 4oz Self raising flour 1 tsp Baking powder 4oz Caster sugar 4oz Soft margarine 2 Eggs 1 tsp Almond essence 4 tbsp Raspberry or strawberry jam Flaked almonds FOR THE BASE: Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/ Gas 5. Mix all the ingredients to form a soft dough and press into a lightly greased tin (27.5cm x 17.5cm) and bake for 10 minutes.

‘ Byards Leap Cottage is situated on the Viking Way and has an idyllic yet productive garden, providing vegetables and soft fruit for Anne and Martin and their guests’

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FOR THE TOP: Beat the flour, baking powder, caster sugar, margarine and eggs together by hand or with an electric mixer and add the almond essence. When the base has slightly cooled spread with the jam then cover with the sponge mixture and sprinkle with almonds. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool in tin. Turn out, slice and enjoy eating! AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

‘ Wendy has adapted her Granny’s summer cake to make it gluten free and uses eggs from her own ducks at Kingthorpe Manor’

Kingthorpe Manor Farm Bed and Breakfast “Eat with gusto!” is how Wendy’s Granny prescribes eating this delicious cake. Wendy has adapted her Granny’s summer cake to make it gluten free and uses eggs from her own ducks at Kingthorpe Manor. The cake has been going down a storm at their newly opened tea room that they’ve trialled through the spring and summer months.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Granny Mina’s Summer Cake (Gluten Free) from Wendy 4oz Butter 8oz Caster sugar Vanilla essence 11/2 Lemons, zest of 4 Eggs (duck eggs if possible) 6oz Maize flour 2oz Gluten free plain flour (8oz of self raising flour if not gluten free) Plenty of seasonal fruit (strawberries, raspberries, etc) FOR THE FILLING: 300ml Double cream 180–200g Tub cream cheese

You will need two round cake tins approximately 20cm in diameter, with a loose bottom. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon zest. Slowly add the beaten eggs (it will curdle if not). Add the flour and mix. Divide the cake mixture into two tins and before cooking stud the top of the mixture with fruit. Bake for 25–30 minutes at 190°C. For the filling whisk the double cream and mix with the tub of cream cheese. Add plenty of seasonal fruit. Eat with gusto! CHEF’S TIP:

Wendy uses fruit she’s frozen from the summer months. GOOD TASTE

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Scones from Wendy and Paul 6oz 2oz 2oz 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 1 tbsp 1–2 tbsps

Self raising flour Butter Caster sugar Baking powder Mixed spice Medium egg Natural yoghurt Milk

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/ Gas 7. Mix flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and mixed spice together in a bowl. Rub ingredients together until you get a fine breadcrumb consistency. Beat the egg and yoghurt together in a small dish, add to the other ingredients (reserving a small amount to brush the tops with) then add yoghurt mix to breadcrumb mix and stir together to form a soft dough, add milk as necessary to do this. Turn dough onto lightly floured board and knead very slightly until dough smooth. Press dough down with hand until approx 1” thick then cut out into scones with round 2” cutter. Place scones onto greased baking tray. Brush with the reserved yoghurt mix. Bake in middle of oven for 8–10 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire tray. Serve with Lincolnshire Scad Jam and whipped cream. Add a small amount of Elderflower cordial to help thicken and add taste to the cream.

Caxton House

‘ Having read the Good Taste magazine and seeing the feature on different fruits, they hunted out Lincolnshire Scad from local hedgerows and made their own Scad jam’

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Having fallen in love with Caxton House, Wendy and Paul have run their Guest House by the sea with a definite mission to offer seasonal local produce, some of which is gathered from the wild. Having read the Good Taste magazine and seeing the feature on different fruits, they hunted out Lincolnshire Scad from local hedgerows and made their own Scad jam, which is a key ingredient to these scones.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

ist Add a rtwcream! to you Elderflower Cordial 4pts 4lb 2oz 2 2 20–30

Water Cane sugar Citric acid Large oranges Large lemons Heads of elderflower 1 Campden tablet

Boil the water and sugar to make stock syrup in a large pan and set aside, add the citric acid and cool. (It may be best to place the syrup in a large plastic container with a lid at this stage making sure there will be adequate room for the fruits later). Thinly slice the oranges and lemons and add to the cool stock syrup. With a pair of kitchen scissors trim off the flower heads into the stock syrup trying not to get to much green stem. When all flower heads are trimmed mix well and set aside in the fridge for 72 hours, stir mix several times a day. Strain finished syrup through a muslin cloth into a large bowl. You need 8 pints of syrup at this stage, make up any short fall with cold water. Add a crushed Campden tablet to the syrup and mix. Leave for 30 minutes and mix again to ensure Campden tablet fully dissolved. Decant the syrup into sterilised screw top bottles and clean well before labelling, placing in a cool store. (Some sediment will form in the bottles when stored; this is quite safe but can be removed before use by straining the cordial through a muslin cloth).

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Tarte à l’Alsacienne from Thierry Thierry Daugeron has provided some French flair with his opulent Pear Torte recipe. FOR THE PASTRY: 250g Plain flour 5g Salt 1 Egg yolk 25g Caster sugar 125g Butter 100ml Water CRÈME ALSACIENNE: 1 Egg yolk 2 Whole eggs 50g Caster sugar 200ml Milk 100ml Double cream Vanilla essence GARNISH: 5 Cooking pears 1/2 Lemon CRÈME ANGLAISE: 500ml Milk 4 Egg yolks 150g Caster sugar Vanilla drop Preheat the oven to 240°C/455°F/Gas 9. For the pastry put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add salt, egg, sugar and the butter cut into small pieces. Mix all ingredients together by adding the water a little at a time, mix until the pastry is compact and comes away from bowl. Peel the pears and cut them in half or

quarters depending on the size of the pears. Squeeze the lemon juice over the pears to prevent them discolouring. Roll the pastry out and line a 12” tart ring which you have previously buttered and floured. Place the pears on the pastry in a circular pattern. Now make your crème Alsacienne by mixing together all the ingredients. Pour the Alacienne mix on top of the pears in the tart ring. Place the tart in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn down your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and cook for a further 20–25 minutes. Towards the end remove the ring so the pastry will colour. When cool sprinkle top with icing sugar. Now prepare the crème Anglaise. Place milk in a pan and bring to the boil. Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is pale. Slowly pour the boiling milk onto the yolk mixture bit by bit, whisking all the time. Pour back into the pan and cook over a gentle heat (do not boil), stirring all the time with a wooden or plastic spoon. When the crème Anglaise coats the back of the spoon, transfer it into a cold bowl and flavour with the vanilla essence. Place onto some ice in another bowl to cool it and prevent further cooking. Good warm or cold served with the crème Anglaise and also very nice with vanilla ice cream. GOOD TASTE

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Events

Farmers’ Market Dates

2010 SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER AUTUMN FOOD FAIR Festival Hall, Market Rasen 10am to 4pm. Free admission. A great opportunity to buy seasonal local produce from a wide selection of Lincolnshire producers.

FRIDAY 1 – SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER ALFORD FOLK, FOOD, DRINK AND DANCE FESTIVAL Alford Manor House, Alford 10am to 4pm. Free admission. This popular festival features a food fair and beer festival on the Saturday with cookery demonstrations.

SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER USE YOUR LOAF Gainsborough Old Hall, Gainsborough 10am to 4pm. Free admission. Local, Organic, Apples and Fair trade – Use your LOAF day coincides with Apple Day, featuring apple expert Shaun d’Arcy and RHS Wisley trained Mark Richardson. Press your own apples, find out more about allotments, composting, fair-trade and recycling. Children’s activities and a local food market.

SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER LINCOLNSHIRE SAUSAGE FESTIVAL Castle Hill and Lincoln Castle, Lincoln 10am to 4pm (last entry to Castle 3.3pm). Free admission. A sizzling event for the whole family! The best of Lincolnshire produce, children’s entertainment and cookery demonstrations themed around our famous Lincolnshire Sausage.

SATURDAY 27 & SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER TASTES OF LINCOLNSHIRE CHRISTMAS FOOD AND DRINK FAIR 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday Admission charges apply. The largest food and drink event of the year in the county, this festive event will feature cookery demonstrations by Rachel Green, 100 stalls offering the best of British and local produce, plus lots of gift ideas for Christmas. Buy tickets online at www.tastesoflincolnshire.com.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

THURSDAY 2 – SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER LINCOLN CHRISTMAS MARKET A Dickens theme to this year’s Christmas Market which takes place in the Cathedral Quarter of the City. For more information http://christmasmarket.lincoln.gov.uk

Boston 3rd Wednesday

Brigg 4th Saturday

FRIDAY 3 – SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER CHRISTMAS AT BURGHLEY WITH FINE FOOD MARKET Burghley House, Stamford Enjoy Christmas at Burghley with shopping and festive food. The Stable Courtyard will be home to the fine food market with local producers. www.burghley.co.uk

Gainsborough 2nd Saturday

Grantham 2nd Saturday

Grimsby

2011

3rd Friday

SATURDAY 2 APRIL CAISTOR SPRING FOOD FAIR

Horncastle 2nd Thursday

Caistor Market Place

SATURDAY 16 & SUNDAY 17 APRIL BURGHLEY FINE FOOD MARKET Burghley House, Stamford

SATURDAY 23 APRIL MARKET RASEN SPRING FOOD FAIR Festival Hall, Market Rasen

SATURDAY 21 MAY 1000 YEARS OF TRADITIONAL CRAFTS New joint event at Lincoln Castle, Cathedral and Museum of Lincolnshire Life with food fair in Castle Square.

SUNDAY 29 MAY NORMANBY REGIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL Normanby Hall, near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire

WEDNESDAY 22 & THURSDAY 23 JUNE LINCOLNSHIRE SHOW

Lincoln 1st Friday, City Square 2nd Wednesday, High Street 4th Friday, North Hykeham 3rd Saturday, Castle Square

Louth 4th Wednesday 2nd Friday

Sleaford 1st Saturday

Spalding 1st Saturday

Stamford Every other Friday

Woodhall Spa 2nd Friday

Lincolnshire Showground, Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln

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MASTERCLASS

You will need… • SERVES 6 FOR THE LOBSTER AND SERVING: 3 Live lobsters (if live unavailable use frozen and prepare according to instructions) 25ml Olive oil 75g Morel mushrooms 30g Butter FOR THE RISOTTO: 50ml Olive oil 1 Small shallot finely chopped 1 Clove garlic finely chopped 1 Pinch cayenne pepper 1 tbsp Tomato puree 300g Risotto rice Bouquet garni 100ml Madeira 600ml Lobster stock Salt and pepper FOR THE LOBSTER BISQUE: 2 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 Shallot 1 Clove garlic 2 Pinches cayenne pepper 1 tbsp Tomato puree Bouquet garni 200ml Madeira 1 litre Lobster stock 200ml Double cream Salt and pepper

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LOBSTER PREPARATION: Blanch live lobster in boiling water for 2 minutes. Leave to cool in cold running water. Twist the body away from the tail and remove the two large front claws (1). Half the tail lengthways, cracking through the shell with a large, sharp knife. Crack the top of each claw, hitting it hard with the back of a knife, twist the knife and the shell should crack in half. Tapping the shell gently should bring the meat cleanly out (2). Remove everything from within the head and body shell (3). Repeat process for each lobster.

from the sides to the centre. The rice should now be opaque with a slight bite. It should have swelled by two thirds and the liquid will be thick but still liquid enough to pour. Season to taste.

LOBSTER STOCK: Simmer lobster bones (excluding the claws) from lobster prep with 2 litres of good fish stock for 1 hour, until reduced to 1.6 litres, and use for the risotto and bisque.

FOR THE BISQUE: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan until very hot and add the shallot and garlic and sweat for 3 minutes with the cayenne pepper. Add the tomato puree and cook for a further 3 minutes before adding the bouquet garni. Add the Madeira and reduce until the mixture is a paste (5). Add the stock and reduce by half. Add the double cream and reduce until there is just 500ml of liquid left. Remove the bouquet garni and blitz the liquid in a food processor for 2 minutes. Season to taste.

FOR THE RISOTTO: Heat the oil in a wide pan until very hot. Add the shallot and garlic and sweat for 3 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper and tomato puree and sweat for a further two minutes. Add the risotto rice and garni (4). Add the Madeira and reduce until all absorbed into the rice. Add all the stock together and simmer the rice ensuring it is all submerged to cook at a consistent level for 10 minutes. Try not to stir the rice too much as it can become stodgy, instead stir the rice from time to time bringing rice

FOR THE LOBSTER AND SERVING: Heat oil in pan until hot and sauté the lobster, shell side down for 1 minute. Add the claws, morel mushrooms and butter to pan and baste for 1 minute more (6). Add 4 tablespoons of the bisque into the risotto before plating. Place risotto in the middle of the plate in a small circle and put lobster on top. Decorate with morels and other claw meat. Foam the remaining lobster bisque with a hand held blender and spoon the foam over the dish. Finish with small basil shoots.

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Lobster Risotto Colin McGurran, chef and patron of the renowned Winteringham Fields, offers a fine dining experience with a taste of fresh local produce. Colin has sought fresh fish from the East Coast, foraged for wild garlic, mushrooms and berries, retrieved game from the local shoot and grown his own herbs and vegetables. The restaurant also boasts its own reared lamb, chicken and duck. Along with his Sous Chef Slowek Mikolajczyk, Colin has crafted a Lobster Risotto for Good Taste.

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Husbanding your resources Mary Powell finds out that taking your time is the secret

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e have looked at different breeds of cattle, pigs and sheep and then at butchery; but now is the time to look at that care in between. I remember being told once of the many stages where things could go right or wrong with producing a great piece of meat. The person who cooks it of course, but breeding, the land, feed, husbandry, slaughter and butchery all play their part too. My first visit is to meet Henry Padfield and partner Stephanie at Minting Park Farm near Bardney. Mentioned in the Domesday book as being in the possession of Ivo Taillebois, who came over with William the Conqueror; the ancient Lincolnshire Lime Woods fold around the farm so you get a sense of remoteness, but just a half hour from Lincoln. This is a 600 acre mixed farm with a suckler herd, sheep and rare breed British Lop pigs. Henry came here 22 years ago when there was barely a hedge left on the farm, grubbing them up being the thing in those days, he has replanted miles of hedge since. When they decided to add pigs to the farm they looked at many breeds, but it was the docility of our rarest native breed, the British Lop that attracted them. They started with a pedigree boar and two gilts in pig and began naming them after famous cooks. They are not a commercial breed and Henry admits that it can be difficult to keep their fat levels down. However the best crackling ever, says Stephanie. Whilst they grow all their own feed for the

sheep and cattle, they buy in pig food as they need to ensure they get the absolute right balance. We head off to meet Gordon, Delia, Sophie, Clarissa and Nigella! There are more pig houses than there are mothers, but apparently it saves on arguments. They are really good mothers and seldom need any help. Eight very small piglets, just ten days old are asleep in the hay, all cosily piled up on top of each other. Their elders have made themselves an enormous wallow and on a hot day like this it cools them down, practical too as the layer of mud that sticks to them protects them from sunburn. Suddenly a pig leaps at speed from the wallow and we all run for cover as we just know she’s going to shake herself!

Gordon emerges from his house at a very stately pace, almost Churchillian one might say! Gordon emerges from his house at a very stately pace, almost Churchillian one might say! Stephanie tells me that he loves to be tickled, going into an almost hypnotic trance. Their ears are quite huge and I wonder how they can see where they’re going. The piglets are now scampering about, Henry picks one up and the squeal from one so small is something else – Mum not bothered at all, they really are docile. Gordon comes and stands beside me u

Left: Suckler herd at Minting Park Farm Right: British Lop piglets at Minting Park Farm

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and I scratch his head with my biro, he leans against me in companionable fashion and too late I remember, he too has been wallowing! The piglets being so tiny, have made a break for freedom underneath the wire of the electric fence. They quickly decide that the wide blue yonder is not for them and rush back to Mum. Henry tells me that with livestock you need good will on all sides, because if they really want to escape they will... Henry shouts the cows, heads go up, this isn’t their usual time but they all move obediently towards us. They look in great condition and son James tells me that some have names, somehow others never get named: Pickle, Strawberry, Snowdrop and Paprika. Clementine is ‘very lively’ and if she gets the urge will jump a gate, Nellie was such a size when last in calf and Butter has a head-butting habit. There is much mooing, what did we want? They stand around curiously but when they realise it’s for no more than a photo shoot they lose interest. Their calves are in the barn, the cows come in at night, feed their calves and then go out again next day. On the way to the barn to see the calves, we pass their new ram, Pierre, who is a Rouge De L’ouest, with him in the field are two very late lambs who were born in June; hence the need for a new ram, previous occupant of the job having proved somewhat lacking! Stephanie has been training gun dogs for some 25 years and in the kennels as we walk by are some very bright eyed

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spaniels and labradors who clearly can’t wait for their next lesson. They started the shop nearly four years ago and it’s been a steep learning curve; they began with a retired butcher to help them but decided to go on a course and learn how to do it themselves. Henry did the conversion work for the shop as well and it’s been done to the highest standard. Henry only selects certain animals for the shop and the rest go to market. To be good enough for the shop it has to be of the right age and have the right amount of fat as he’s looking for the best

I scratch his head with my biro, he leans against me in companionable fashion and too late I remember, he too has been wallowing! eating qualities. They return from the abattoir and the beef is hung for a minimum of three weeks, lamb is hung for a week and mutton for two. They don’t do a lot of mutton but it does draw a particular market and customers will travel long distances for it. The shop only opens Thursday and Saturday, but someone turns up for urgent BBQ supplies and Henry ruefully says they often sell more when they’re closed than when they’re open! Everything I try from the shop is delicious, I will be back!

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My next visit is to Anne and Will Watts who farm at Thorpe Latimer near Sleaford; stalwarts at the Farmers markets and our events since 2007 and for just over a year, a farm shop too. As I pull up in front of the farm shop, I can see the suckler herd of pedigree Lincoln Reds in the parkland behind me. I know it’s been said before but Lincoln Reds are so attractive; their dark cherry red coats contrasting with the green of the grass, set off by the sunshine and in this particular setting some huge and very ancient specimen trees complete the picture. Will’s family have farmed here for over a hundred years and always with pedigree Lincoln Reds. Will runs the farm, whilst Anne manages the butchery and with two children aged 7 and 5 life is hectic. I want Will to explain to me what makes their cattle so good, how do they do it? He tells me that through the summer their two pedigree stock bulls will be out with the cows I’ve just seen and they graze on traditional ridge and furrow pasture that has been unchanged for years. In the winter they come into the yards and are fed on cattle food supplemented by their home grown cereals. They calve between January and May and the cows with their calves go out to grass for the summer. In the next winter they are separated into their own yards and then out the following summer. Critically they spend two seasons on grass and so they mature nice and slow. Much supermarket beef is just 15–16 months old, at Thorpe Latimer it is 24-30 months. Clearly it costs more this way as they are on the farm longer. They come back from the local abattoir and hang for an average of four weeks where they may lose as much as 30 per cent of their weight in moisture. This makes the meat very tender, so they feel well worth it.

Will needs to replace one of their bulls soon. Keeping the gene pool of the herd fresh is vital and in-breeding avoided at all costs. In a rare breed like Lincoln Reds they need to be very careful where their next bull comes from as he cannot be related to their herd. Obviously completely prejudiced, Will tells me that Lincoln Reds have the nicest temperament! They are very placid, although always very curious in everything that goes on. They have a flock of sheep too and use their sheep dogs to move both cattle and sheep. Wills grandfather and father were great supporters of Lincoln Long Wools and did much to keep the breed going. They don’t have Long Wools now as Will felt that they required a lot of management, those Rastafarian curls take some looking after! Anne has pork in the farm shop, but it comes from some Berkshires that are kept just down the road. At Farmers markets they just take beef and lamb, as this is what they are becoming known for. The butchery and shop are immaculate, one full time butcher and five part-timers and with a new cooking area very recently opened they have begun a new range of Lincoln Red pies. Sausages are made to Granny Picks recipe, Will’s Great Great Grandmother, and very good they are too. We sit companionably around the kitchen table and they tell me of an event held on their land, the Swaton Vintage Day in late June. It’s a charity fundraiser and started in nearby Swaton, hence the name. The cows have to be moved, but ever curious watch over the fence. When I leave Will points out that the Lincoln Reds have found the new grass that has sprung up since the marquees were taken down. I can see the swish of tails which I take as a sign of approval. n

Left: Stephanie with Gordon, their British Lop boar Right: Pedigree Lincoln Reds at Thorpe Latimer

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A Picture in Time Lydia Rusling looks back over nearly 200 years of history associated with Curtis’ of Lincoln A W Curtis & Sons of Lincoln has long been associated with baking and producing Lincolnshire specialities, with the Curtis brand evident on many high street towns in the county and across Lincolnshire’s roads. Neil contacted me to say that he might have a few old pictures that he could share with Good Taste. Something of an understatement as I met with Neil three times to gather all the pictures and accounts from the history of his family’s business, unearthing a fascinating account of the Curtis family and Neil’s own connections to celebrating Lincolnshire’s produce with the county’s Poacher Awards.

p The namesake of the company, Arthur William Curtis registered the business name in November 1927 when he was 72 years old and then became a limited company 3 years later; however the first shop at 164 High Street, Lincoln was trading from the early 1900s and Neil is discovering still more of his butchery heritage as he continues to research. t Neil’s family have delved back over several generations and found that Arthur William, who was born in 1855 to parents Charles and Rebecca Curtis, was from a family of butchers. Charles, Arthur’s father, owned a pork butchers shop in Lincoln, when it was common for butchers to specialise in meat from only one animal. It wasn’t just Arthur William that followed the family tradition, John Charles one of Arthur’s brothers left the area and ran a successful butcher’s shop in Bradford. Arthur William had three children that were connected to the business, Edith May, Frank and Bertie, Neil’s grandfather. The shop at 164 High Street is thought to be the first Curtis shop, Edith May is pictured outside the High Street Butchers in the early 1900s. She was a talented pianist, good cook and pastry maker who also married a butcher!

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u When the limited company was registered the shop on the High Street was refurbished around the same time and a small booklet was made to showcase their flagship store – entitled ‘The Experience of Five Generations’. The booklet advertises the value of experience, the most hygienic conditions and the range of products. Interestingly, it also promotes the experience of five generations, stating ‘For more than a century the name of Curtis has been connected in Lincoln with delicious hand-raised Pork Pies and other Pork Products, for which Lincoln and the surrounding county are justly famed.’ Tracing the lineage back five generations from A W Curtis is still an ongoing project for the Curtis family Neil explained. The booklet explains the secret of their success – ‘None but the finest produce of the best Lincolnshire farms is used in the manufacture of our famous products, all of which are prepared under the most hygienic conditions in our own model factory, every process being carried through under the personal supervision of the Directors’. – A philosophy that has continued down to this day.

q Neil’s grandfather Bertie is pictured in the brochure behind the new counter at the refurbished High Street store. (Bertie Curtis pictured on left). Neil tells me that he started out here too as a Saturday assistant at this shop, remembering the original marble slab counter at the front.

p The business expanded rapidly and you’ll see their newspaper advertisement from the 1930s lists stores in Lincoln on Bailgate, High Street, Silver Street, Carholme Road and Monks Road.

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p Priding themselves on sourcing the finest produce, they kept their own pigs locally around Potterhanworth. Interestingly, our Tastes team have a connection to the Curtis’ history too. Amanda’s father, Allan Davey was a pig farmer at Sturton by Stow supplying pigs to Curtis’ from the 1950s up to 1988. The pigs were slaughtered at the Curtis factory in St Marks Yard. Bertie’s brother Frank is pictured (centre) there with some of their pigs.

p The growth of the business was helped along with mobile shops. Neil’s grandmother’s brother Stan is pictured here with one of Curtis’ vans at St Mark’s in the 1940s.

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In 1968 they moved their factory premises to a purpose built site on Long Leys Road in Lincoln, where they still are today. They continued slaughtering their pigs here until 1995. Curtis’ is still synonymous in the county with quality pork products and bakery. They have expanded and have 21 shops across the area, including Scunthorpe, Newark, Spalding, Louth, Sleaford, Skegness, Boston, Retford, Grantham and obviously still in Lincoln. The little booklet from the 1930s said ‘One of the greatest pleasures in eating lies in a knowledge of the conditions in which your foodstuffs are prepared.’ And, this company ethos has stayed with the family. Neil’s enthusiasm for the family business shines through and he was eager to share with me the numerous accolades and awards that they’ve collected over the years. “We still cling to our roots and do our own curing and processing especially with Lincolnshire specialities. The pork is sourced from local farmers and our emphasis is always on quality, and we’ve branched out to include the bakery.” Neil believes they were the first English butchers to attain a Gold award at the Dutch event Savakto for their Pork Pies and Silver Stuffed Shoulder, which is similar to the Lincolnshire speciality Stuffed Chine. They’ve since picked up a host of awards, including gold awards for their Pork Pies in European competition. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

It was the Dutch event Savakto that provided the inspiration for our county’s Poacher Awards, explained Neil. “Entrants into the Savakto competition were recognised for quality and each product evaluated on its own merit, which we’ve emulated.” The Lincolnshire Council of Butchers launched the Poacher Awards in 1987 and in 1990 Lincolnshire County Foods took over; the Awards have been bi-annual ever since. Butchery has changed over the years and the Poacher Awards have endeavoured to reflect the change from the traditional to innovative new products. Neil recalls his grandmother selling cooked pigs ears – “nothing was wasted, feet and tails would be used and pigs lungs would be used in mince pies. Now they attract new customers by providing cookery ideas, ready meals and sauces.” The Poacher Awards have continued to reward the best producers of Lincolnshire’s specialities like stuffed chine, plum bread, pork pies and of course, Lincolnshire sausages. However, more classes have been added over the years to recognise the diversification in the industry with categories for burgers, pies, bacon and ready meals. Visit the Lincolnshire County Foods stand at the Christmas Food and Drink Fair on 27 and 28 November for details of this year’s winners. n

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DAVID HOPKINS

Lincolnshire: the UK’s Cabbage Capital David Hopkins looks at centuries of plant breeding that have made it so

tand and look at any Lincolnshire field of Cabbage or Cauliflower and you bear witness to a spectacular product of centuries of plant breeding and farming know-how. Acres of tasty vitamins spread out almost as far as the eye can see. , or Brassica family form part of the Crucifers – so called because their flowers have four petals arranged in a cross. Of about 3,000 species just one, Brassica oleracea, has been selectively bred into all the Cabbages and related vegetables while two others Brassica napa and Brassica campestris have been developed to form the Swede and the Turnip. . oleracea, native to the Mediterranean and the British coast, is a perennial – some in my garden in Heckington are six years old – but became biennial or annual over thousands of years to form the Cabbages we know today. In the eastern Mediterranean there may have been crossings with other species such as the Cretan Cabbage to form Broccoli and Cauliflowers. . oleraceae, ‘acephala’ (‘without a head’) look the closest to Wild Cabbage. Most have crinkly leaves such as Curly Kale or Russian Kale. The Russian Kale, that came our way via Canada, is often available at Farmers markets in Lincolnshire, and tastes sweet even when eaten raw. . oleracea ‘capitata’ (‘with a head’) are defined by having a tight or loose ball of leaves. The name comes from Norman French Caboche or ‘head’. Spring Cabbages are loose

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headed and cone shaped as these bolt much less readily after Winter. Summer Cabbages tend to be round partly because they stack and travel more easily while Winter Cabbages are dominated by the Savoy Cabbage – its crinkled leaves are hardy against frost and act like living ‘bubble wrap’ to store successfully. Red Cabbages – round headed and rich in red Anthocyanin pigment are usually pickled but are delicious casseroled with apple slices, a little vinegar and peppercorns. . olaracea ‘gongyloides’, is a Kale with a shortened, fattened stem. Its name in German means ‘the Cabbage that looks like a Turnip’. Though mostly a garden vegetable – it has been sold as such for over 100 years – it is grown in the field as a small scale crop in Lincolnshire for organic vegetable box schemes. Both the ‘bulb’ and smaller leaves are eaten. . olaracea ‘gemmifera’, are descendants of a mutant Kale that grew enlarged side shoots at the expense of the top. These first appeared in Roman times but developed better defined sprouts in the area that would become Belgium in the 12th century. Field scale growing was under way in the Fens by 1861 when Mrs Beeton’s famous cookery book was published. Surprisingly she instructs ‘to boil swiftly for no more than 12 minutes’, not for the whole morning! The terrible smell of over-boiled Brassicas – which the Lincolnshire poet, Tennyson, particularly hated – comes from a chemical, Sinigrin (discovered in Black mustard) which is u

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Fig.1 Romanesco

Fig.2 Kohlrabi

Fig.3 Wild Cabbage

Fig.4 Russian Kale

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Fig.5 Flower Sprouts

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‘Ton ups’ as Lincolnshire folk called them released when heat deforms Cabbage proteins. Sinigrin probably acts to help destroy pre-cancerous cells in the intestines while the bitterest Brussels Sprouts also contain the most Vitamin ‘C’! Cutting Sprout tops, welcome as greens in the Autumn, make the sprouts themselves easier to harvest. Tozer Seeds in Louth have introduced the Flower Sprout – a cross between Brussels Sprouts and Kale. It combines the sweetness of selected Kales and the convenience of sprouts – being sold as florets. . oleracea. ‘botrytis’, is a short Kale with a large ‘flower’ of pre-flowering tissue which makes it susceptible to frosts. Harvested from late Summer to Winter they reached us via Germany and Italy in the 16th century. Cauliflowers are white, but purple, green, brown and even orange ones – with many times the usual level of vitamin A (like carrots!) – exist. The variety ‘Romanesco’, now being grown in Lincolnshire, grows in a fractal pattern – repeating itself at varying scales. Sprouting Broccoli is the Winter form of Cauliflower – lots of shoots instead of one big flower. They arrive on the market stalls of Boston in January as lots of cold weather is needed to grow the shoots. Matthew Flinders, father of the famous first circumnavigator of Australia, planted the green type, in his Donington garden in July 1775, but considered the purple type a novelty. . oleracea ‘italica’, is ‘Calabrese’ from Calabria in southern Italy, it came to us via America where lots of Calabrian immigrants took the plant with them. ‘Broccoli’ is Italian for ‘little branches’. Now a second species, that of Brassica campestris or Turnip. An ancient mutation stopped this Kale-like plant’s swollen root becoming woody. White turnips grow quickly and are what we grow in our gardens and eat in stews. Yellow turnips take longer to grow but store better as cattle feed over Winter. Many new varieties were introduced by Sharpe’s Seeds of Sleaford in the early 20th century.

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Lastly, a third species, Brassica napus, arose as a Turnip-Cabbage cross. It comes in two forms, the Swede and Rape. Swedes are a staple winter vegetable and are great mashed with butter! They were developed in Sweden around 1600 and arrived here around 1780. Rape comes as a forage type and an oil seed type. The oil kind was grown in India from 200BC and fuelled our lamps from the 13th century. A Rapeseed mill is recorded at Gainsborough in 1657. The seed is 40% oil by weight and, after crushing and boiling, the oil is used in salads and for cooking. When hydrogenated it produces margarine. Kales and semi-wild Cabbage would have been grown in Lincolnshire as farming arrived in the Neolithic period 5,000 years ago. These would have been grown in small enclosures, protected from grazing animals, near to the long houses the people lived in. By the late Iron Age and into the Roman period (100BC to 400AD) the headed Cabbage and perhaps an early type of Sprouting Broccoli appeared. The Anglo Saxons would have eaten their fair share of ‘Cole Wyrt’, a sort of Kale, and before the Norman Conquest headed Cabbages would have made a re-appearance. Medieval Lincolnshire saw the arrival of Cauliflowers from Germany and Broccoli from France and Italy – first in Monastery gardens then gradually spreading to where fenced land was available. Henry VIII encouraged new varieties – Brussels Sprouts, Curly Kale and Red Cabbage to be introduced in the early 16th century. Curiously it wasn’t as table vegetables that Brassicas first entered the field but as fodder for animals. Small scale growing of fodder Rape began in the 17th century and enough Rapeseed was grown to supply various oil cake mills. The seed was a valuable crop. 50 Guineas was paid per ‘Last’ (4,000lbs) of seed harvested in Holland Fen. Formed into cakes it proved a very rich food for fattening cattle. A Lincolnshire pioneer farmer, Burrell Massingberd, introduced Turnips as a field crop at South Ormsby in 1716. These spread only

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‘Broccoli’ is Italian for ‘little branches’ very slowly as they needed much weeding. Arthur Young, an observer and reporter of Lincolnshire Agriculture in the 1790s, appreciated the increase in Turnip growing each time he visited. He wrote “I was very much pleased with viewing the Turnips from Norton to Kirton by the turnpike and also by the Cliff road. The quantity great, the crops good and clean and well hoed. It was a change from what I saw here 29 years ago” All these ‘Ton ups’, as Lincolnshire folk called them, supported many cattle through the Winter. The humble Cabbage finally made its appearance – Young calls it an ‘Unusual crop’ in 1813 – because it was easier to harvest and more nutritious for cattle – three acres of Drumhead Cabbage, in 1795, was equal to five of Turnips. A Mr Linton of Freiston fed his Bullocks on Cabbage from mid December when they were worth £16 each to late February when he sold them at Smithfield for £25! Fodder Rape was widely grown for sheep from the 1780s. Only enclosures made this possible but in Saltfleet, Young observed “Their fences being ditches, these freezing, let the sheep of all the country together; they smell the Cole to a great distance; so that a field of some acres will be eaten up in a night; 500 and more have thus been known to get together”. Cabbage and Cauliflower first appeared on the Fens following the Victorian railways. By 1900 Swineshead station often had 50–60 waggon loads of Cabbage heading for London or the Midlands. These were a catch crop and had to be fitted into gaps between Potato crops. Turnips had largely been displaced by Sugar beet by the late 1930s and in 1937 less than 10,000 acres were under ‘Non Pea/Non Potato vegetables’. By 1950 that figure had reached nearly 90,000! World War II turned almost all grazing land over to vegetable growing and the scene was set for Lincolnshire’s increasing dominance of the Brassica market. Lincolnshire now stands head and shoulders – and probably midriff – above all the other counties in growing Brassicas. From 2.6% of the United Kingdom’s area it produces 57% of the Cabbages, 54% of the Calabrese, 47% of the Brussels Sprouts

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and 50% of the Cauliflowers! This is because our Fen soils are mainly alkaline – from all the trillions of tiny calcium carbonate sea shells – which eliminates club root disease. The big open farmland and the Lincolnshire farmer’s wish to improve methods has led to greater efficiency. Economics is the motor behind change in growing Lincolnshire’s Brassicas. Larger farms, in fewer hands, more uniform crops and greater use of machines to do the work once done by many farm labourers. Conveyor belts for harvesting Cauliflowers have been used here for twenty years but automatic seedling planters (in tiny plugs of sterilized soil) and plastic wrapping of Calabrese and Cauliflower in the field have started in the last few years. Plant breeding – though a slow process – a new Cauliflower might take 15 years – has made things like ‘Reverse set’ in Brussels Sprouts – making all the sprouts mature at once instead of bottom up – possible. New ‘Tender Stem’ and ‘Belle Verde’ Broccoli, for instance, mean less wastage for the consumer. Shelf life is longer – both in the shop and in the field – from quicker transport and mixed planting. Four kinds of Cauliflower planted in the same field bred to be ready to pick, after 75, 80, 85 and 90 days ensure a steady supply over three weeks instead of a glut in one. Future varieties will have to add more value instead of bulk. We can look forward to Orange, Yellow even Pink Cauliflower, Cabbages bred to contain more vitamins without the bitter taste and perhaps new combinations of Brassicas like the Flower Sprout. The future of our ‘Capital of Cabbages’ looks very promising. For the next Good Taste we shall turn to the other, less obvious members of the Crucifer family – Mustard, Radish, Horse Radish, Woad, Scurvy Grass, and Water Cress. n I would like to thank Mr Mike Molyneaux for his help. Quotes are from ‘General view of the Agriculture of Lincolnshire’ by Arthur Young 1813.

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HUGH MARROWS

Partney, Dalby & Langton Varied scenery and fascinating churches feature on this ramble in the lovely southern Wolds countryside

mmediately to the north of Spilsby the Wolds are beginning to lessen in height before their final dramatic end at West Keal. Nevertheless the scenery amongst the gently rolling hills surrounding Partney provides a walk of great variety. The explorer and cartographer Matthew Flinders (Lincolnshire born at Donington near Spalding) is associated with Partney through his marriage there on 17th April 1801 to Anne Chappelle the local clergyman’s daughter. That ceremony is commemorated by a plaque affixed to a boulder brought from Port Philip, Australia and situated in the churchyard. Flinders of

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course is remembered for naming Australia, making the first circumnavigation of the entire continent and, together with George Bass another Lincolnshire seafarer, proving that Tasmania was a separate island. St Nicholas church itself still has some early Perpendicular and Decorated masonry, but the chancel, built in brick, was added in 1838 and everything was much restored in 1862. Partney’s history however stretches back into the ‘Dark Ages’ for here was the site of an early monastery, twice mentioned by the Venerable Bede in his ‘Ecclesiastical History’ published in 731. Although sacked by the Danes it was

re-established sometime around 1115 as a subsidiary of Bardney. The little church of St Lawrence at Dalby is secreted away in the hall grounds. To many it will be immediately recognisable as a ‘Fowler of Louth’ church with his trademark Victorian Gothic exterior, but the inside is made up of some extraordinary colourful, contrasting brickwork. It took only four months to build in 1862 and contains an ancient faded photo of its thatched predecessor together with copies of Fowlers design drawings. The present Hall dates only from 1856, the earlier house having been burnt down in 1841. On arrival at Langton look out for the old 1849 school and a delightful round cottage. St Peter and St Paul’s church here dates from around 1720 and is one of Lincolnshire’s architectural gems; all in brick, unmistakeably Georgian in style and such a contrast to Dalby. Once through the classical doorway the visitor finds himself confronted with opposing rows of box pews plus a magnificent threedecker pulpit. The village takes its name from the local squires, the Langtons, resident here since the times of Henry II. During the mid 1700s, one of them, Bennet Langton, became a close friend of Dr Johnson (of dictionary fame), who was a regular visitor, both here and to Partney where Bennet’s uncle lived. The churchyard contains the Langton family grave enclosure. AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Langton Dalby Dalby Hall Thorpe Farm

America Farm

NE W

BY PA S

Skendleby

Small Wood

The Grange

The Walk

START Red Lion, Partney. MAPS OS Landranger 122 (Skegness) : Explorer 274. The river-side path Water Rail Way

DISTANCE 63/4 miles : 11 kilometres. TERRAIN Meadows, arable fields, parkland, farm tracks and country lanes. REFRESHMENTS Red Lion, Partney. NOTES Take care on the two A16 crossings. For navigation the OS Explorer map is recommended though paths are clearly marked in crops. 2

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From the inn carpark cross the road into the alley between the church and the Victory Hall, which soon becomes a footpath. Follow this to a road and turn right for 50 yards; then take the footpath on the left by the school. From a fence corner veer right across a meadow, go through a broken treeline and continue alongside a wire fence beside a stream. After a kissing gate follow two field edges and then enter a long, narrow meadow. Keep ahead for 200 yards or so, gradually veering towards the right hand hedge to reach a stile and footpath signpost. In the next field (arable) aim for Skendleby church seen in the distance. There is another footpath sign in a hedge gap near the field corner from where the path continues directly towards Skendleby again. At a stile and field gate join a track, which soon swings left by a beck to reach a footbridge. Turn sharp left here up a slope to a stile at some woods. Walk through them to another stile and then walk directly forward over pasture to another stile in a cross-fence below Thorpe Farm. Continue past a pond whilst aiming for a stile and footbridge seen in the hedge ahead. Still keep straight on towards Dalby Hall, which is (almost immediately) seen ahead. Near a fence/hedge corner descend slightly right to a footbridge, cross it and follow the left hand field edge towards Dalby again. At a footpath sign veer right uphill, join a track and

Partney

turn left passing both the hall and church to reach a road (A16). 3

Cross to a field gate and walk down the meadow beside the left hand hedge to a bridle gate. In the next meadow bear diagonally left to another bridle gate at the bottom corner. Now follow the track directly ahead (initially on grass) to reach the road at Langton and turn left.

Immediately before the church go left into America Farm. Walk through the farmyard to a stile, then keep ahead on a track to a second stile and continue past woods for half a mile until the track bends left. Leave the track now to cross an arable field, though bearing (very) slightly right to a stile in the far hedge.

The next arable field is a large one! Veer very slightly right (i.e. the line indicated by the waymark) and aim towards Partney, but more particularly towards a small wood seen a ‘long’ quarter of a mile away. There is a footpath signpost at its left hand corner where the way becomes quite distinct again. Pass to the left of the trees and pick up a grassy field edge path leading to a kissing gate and the by-pass. Cross to a second kissing gate and go along the edge of a small meadow to a third. The way now leads past ‘The Grange’ and then between trees down to a footbridge and up to the road near Partney church. Go through the churchyard back to the inn.

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The Caffeine Hit Mary Powell gets a roasting

he news that an environmentally friendly coffee roaster, one of only two in Britain is about to arrive in Lincoln will bring mixed responses. Indifference to mild interest probably, but there are some of us in the world who will immediately shout “I want to see it in action and I’m bringing a photographer!” Hugely disappointed when they find that the splendid machine has arrived and gone away as the lorry is too large to negotiate Lincoln’s historic streets. “Keep me posted” is the terse response “I can be there at a moment’s notice” – yes, you’ve guessed, tis I. The team think I’m mad, but my gut feel is that this is going to be fascinating and so it proves. The Smart Roaster is at Stokes of Lincoln, a family firm since 1902, their halftimbered cafe on Lincoln’s High Bridge a well known local landmark. The fact that such a smart bit of kit is coming to such a traditional company makes it all the more interesting to me. Lincolnshire businesses tend to be very innovative – because they’ve had to be. I start by meeting David, whose Grandfather Robert William Stokes began the business and after the immediate offer of coffee, am introduced to the new machine and son Adrian who is operating it. “In coffee roasting; colour, sound and time are the watchwords” says David “but this machine is very radical and we’re still learning what it can do.” It offers huge reductions in CO2 emissions and fuel costs as it incinerates the process smoke and recirculates the hot air. Green beans go into a hopper and with a terrific rattle are sucked up, what looks like a vacuum cleaner pipe, to be held until the temperature is right. A gas jet passes through the centre of a cyclone shaped tube 50 |

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and the chaff spins around the outside, to fall into a drum below. The beans in the roaster are constantly on the move and through a little window we can see them gradually changing colour. A control panel flashes up mystic messages such as ‘Time since crack’ which is, I’m told, the noise that roasted coffee beans make at an especially critical moment. However the Smart Roaster still features a sampler, so at any time Adrian, who has been roasting manually for years, can withdraw some beans for closer examination. Both machine and Adrian decide that the beans are ready and they noisily pour out

…there are no short cuts to a great cup of coffee, these machines take some handling and there is much to get right such as the grind and the temperature of the milk into another hopper to be cooled very rapidly. The heat is making us all feel a bit limp and as my coffee has just arrived we withdraw from the action. Jute sacks are piled up everywhere, printed with evocative names like Congo, Kenya and Honduras; some sacks are printed with decorative maps, others with pictures. A very attractive one catches my eye, Cafés Do Brasil, this I am told is Bruzzi, the espresso bean that all the baristas go mad for. Stokes roast around 30 tons of coffee per year; selling some ten blends in the shop, but producing countless others specially for customers like Winteringham Fields who have their own blend. The beans are blended before roasting and the recipe today is Stokes Blue

Mountain Blend, their best seller. Adrian opens a variety of sacks taking measured amounts according to a well tried recipe and the beans in many different shades of green are tipped into a blending machine of great age. In fact of such an age that neither David or Adrian can work it out and we settle on ‘easily a 100 years old.’ This is Stokes all over, with some very modern stainless steel equipment cheek by jowl with the ancient and it all works. I go upstairs to meet the rest of the staff, and it’s just the same; computers and a seriously cool line-up of espresso machines alongside a rather lovely Victorian piece of office furniture. I meet Steve Spencer, who has over 20 years experience as a barista and who offers me another coffee; there’s no refusing when it’s this good. Steve explains that it can take months to train someone to use these espresso machines. He says firmly, that there are no short cuts to a great cup of coffee, these machines take some handling and there is much to get right such as the grind and the temperature of the milk. Because the person serving the coffee is the most important element, Stokes call regularly on their clients and pick up on those bad, time saving habits that might just be creeping in! The Italian machine that my coffee is made on looks a bit like a 1950’s car and when I say so, Steve tells me that it was actually designed in homage to the Mercedes! Apparently the Italians make the best machines and this is seriously desirable, though less so when I discover the price! As I head back to the office, head buzzing with caffeine, I reflect on the message that I get time and time again from Tastes of Lincolnshire members; if you want to do it properly, it takes as long as it takes. n

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This drawing by William Brand was published in 1795 and shows the main landing place in the port, Packhouse Quay. In the background is the Parish Church of St Botolph. Local Studies Collection, Lincoln Library (Illustrations Indes BOS1041)

Shaping the Landscape Lorraine Heyes looks back to 1810 and the Great Boston Flood incolnshire Waterways Partnership is writing new pages in the County’s waterway history. March 2009 saw the re-opening of Boston’s Black Sluice Lock after 40 years of disuse, the first phase of the Fens Waterways Link which will see the creation of 80km of new waterway linking the County’s waterways with the national waterway network. Here, we look back in time 200 years to another historic event that helped shape the landscape of the fens in the south east of the County around Boston. This area of rich farmland is intersected by a vast network of long, straight channels – some so wide they might be mistaken for canals or rivers. In fact they are drains, many dug by hand centuries ago to reclaim the marshy fen from the sea and turn it into prime agricultural land. It is easy to take them for granted, they are so much part of the scenery here. But their peaceful attractiveness belies the vital and hard- working role they play protecting this low lying fenland from tidal sea surges

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and swollen upland rivers. Boston has succumbed to flooding by the sea several times in its long history, and the following contemporary accounts vividly convey the devastation caused by the great flood on November 10th 1810 when a tidal surge breached the sea banks and over ran the town. The Boston Gazette described the ominous build up to the flood that began early that day: ‘On Saturday morning, about seven o clock, it began to rain at Boston, and continued to do so throughout the day. The wind accompanied the rain impetuously from the E.S.E, and gradually increased in roughness. From eleven o clock in the day till six in the evening, it blew extremely hard; and from that hour till nine, a perfect hurricane.’ The continuing gale caused the evening tide to come in rapidly several feet above its usual level, higher than had ever been recorded previously. The sea banks at Friskney, Leverton, Freiston were swept away as the tremendous rush of water surged over AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

them. In Boston, the river banks at Boston East, the Skirbeck Quarter, Wyberton, Frampton and Fosdyke were breached. William Marrat, whose History of Lincolnshire Vol 111 was published in 1814, wrote: ‘…much damage was done to the shipping in that port….boats and broken pieces of wreckage were carried over the (broken sea banks)….houses were washed down, stacks of hay and corn were destroyed, several human beings perished, and the number of sheep, beasts and horses that were drowned was immense.’ The streets were inundated with water up to 2 feet deep and the level reached the chancel steps of the Parish Church of St Botolph. It was a terrifying experience for those caught in its path: ‘…the water rushing into their houses on a sudden, extinguished their lights and fires and forced some of them into their upper apartments, and some who had no chambers in their houses, lay, in their wet clothes all night on their cupboard shelves, or clung to the rafters in the roof, till aid could be procured…’ The Stamford Mercury reported the losses of Mr John Birkett who farmed at Fosdyke and the tragic drowning of his servant girl: ‘Alarmed by the presaging storm, Mr B. attempted to save his stock in the adjacent marsh, but all his efforts were in vain; the wind being N.E. brought up the tide with redoubled violence: Few minutes elapsed before the whole of his marsh was a complete deluge: the bank, which for years had stood as a faithful barrier, was soon overflowed, and the whole of his property on that side of the intake entirely swept away – hovels, sheds, outhouses, implements of husbandry, all his hay, every sheaf of corn, 237 sheep, 4 fat pigs, &c, &c to the amount of £2000 and upwards; and what added to the agonizing scene was the loss of a faithful domestic – a servant girl, whose good conduct endeared her to the family, was washed away from the bank by a wave in the sight of her master and mistress, while the former was in the very act of reaching forth his hand to save her life, and sank to rise no more…” The disastrous consequences of the flood led to great engineering improvements in the drainage system. New dykes and sluices were built and drainage boards were formed. Steam driven pumps were introduced, replacing the less efficient wind pumps. Over time, these were superceded by the electric pumping stations that now sit beside the web of interconnecting channels helping to keep the sea and the forces of nature at bay in this ongoing challenge. Although the town was once again inundated with sea water during the east coast floods of 1953, there was no loss of life in Boston. Tragically 47 people drowned further along the Lincolnshire coast in what has often been referred to as the worst national peacetime disaster to strike England. The height of this flood and the dates and levels of other historic floods the town has suffered is recorded on the buttress of the south-west corner of the tower of St Botolph. A Boston 200 exhibition will celebrate the work of the engineers and the flood defence works – historic and present day – that have helped protect the town. It can be seen at the new community rooms (the former Sketchly shop) in Narrow Bargate November 10th–13th 2010. For further information 01205 365954, or visit www.boston.gov.uk n AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Grand Sluice painted by the artist T. Allom in the early 1800s. In the background is the Parish Church of St Botolph. Flood levels have been marked on a buttress supporting the tower including the North Sea Flood of 1953. Local Studies Collection, Lincoln Library (Illustrations Index ref:LCL19049)

Dredging works on West Fen Drain near Dalton’s Bridge, 1939. A dam was built to hold back the water while steam traction engines pulled the dredging buckets across the drain. Witham Fourth Internal Drainage Board

William Lewin (1794–1863), resident engineer to the River Witham Commisssioners, painted this watercolour of the third and present Black Sluice, rebuilt in 1846, to stop the tide running far inland. Guildhall Museum, Boston

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CITY OF LINCOLN WHERE TO STAY

The Lincoln Hotel Eastgate, Lincoln LN2 1PN Tel: 01522 520348 www.thelincolnhotel.com The Long Room restaurant overlooking Lincoln Cathedral is the place to socialise and relax. Unwind after a busy day in our bar area. The White Hart Hotel 87 Bailgate, Lincoln LN1 3AR Tel: 01522 563290 www.whitehart-lincoln.co.uk French influenced Lincolnshire food, neighourhood setting in Historic Lincoln. Lunch and dinner plus pre-theatre dinner deals, great selection of wines by the glass. WHERE TO EAT

The Cheese Society * 1 St Martin’s Lane, Lincoln LN2 1HY Tel: 01522 511003 www.thecheesesociety.co.uk Visit our shop or order on-line or just come for a cheesy delight in our café. Open Monday – Saturday 10am – 4.30pm. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Cloister Refectory – Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln LN2 1PX Tel: 01522 576464 Email: refectory@lincolncathedral.com Relax and enjoy a selection of freshly prepared snacks and light meals. We are open all year and offer a warm welcome.

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Flowers by Suzanne – The Garden Tearoom 141 Moor Lane, North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9AA Tel: 01522 690105 Email: mark@flowersbysuzanne.co.uk www.flowersbysuzanne.com The Garden Tearoom on Moor Lane, open Monday – Sunday for cream teas and light lunches. Nursery supplies and florist on site. The Green Room The Lincoln Hotel, Eastgate, Lincoln LN2 1PN Tel: 01522 520348 www.thelincolnhotel.com Head Chef Sam Owen is passionate about seasonal and local food, offering modern, elegant and original combinations of flavours. Ice Cream Parlour 3 Bailgate, Lincoln LN1 3AE Tel: 01522 511447 www.dennetts.co.uk Have a cone or try an ice cream sundae in our 14th century cellar tearoom in the historical area of Lincoln. Knights Restaurant The Castle Hotel, Westgate, Lincoln LN1 3AS Tel: 01522 538801 www.castlehotel.net Award winning restaurant in Grade II listed hotel with views over the Castle and Cathedral. Intimate dining to weddings up to 60. Lincoln Grille at The White Hart Hotel 87 Bailgate, Lincoln LN1 3AR Tel: 01522 563290

www.whitehart-lincoln.co.uk French influenced Lincolnshire food, neighourhood setting in Historic Lincoln. Lunch and dinner plus pre-theatre dinner deals, great selection of wines by the glass.

luncheon and afternoon teas. Popular café in beautiful 16th Century building over-looking the River Witham. Open everyday.

MaCh Indian Restaurant Wragby Road East, North Greetwell, Lincoln LN2 4RA Tel: 01522 754488 www.machrestaurant.co.uk Modern, contemporary Indian restaurant offering high quality authentic Indian food in a relaxed environment, with separate cocktail bar facilities.

Curtis of Lincoln * 164 High Street, Lincoln LN5 7AF Tel: 01522 538040 www.curtisoflincoln.com Quality butchers and bakers. Family business founded in 1828, producing a range of award winning Lincolnshire specialities using many locally sourced ingredients.

The Old Bakery Restaurant with Rooms 26/28 Burton Road, Lincoln LN1 3LB Tel: 01522 576057 www.theold-bakery.co.uk The award winning 4 star, 2AA Rosette Restaurant, Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008 and Lincolnshire Life Restaurant of the year in 2006.

Elite Meats * 89 Bailgate, Lincoln LN1 3AR Tel: 01522 523500 www.elitemeats.co.uk Elite Meats is a quality butcher and game dealers. We source local produce and serve with our expertise and butchery skills.

The Sanctuary in The Lawn Sir Joseph Banks’ Conservatory, The Lawn, Lincoln LN1 3BL Tel: 07506 558889 Come, relax and enjoy homemade lunches and cakes for afternoon tea in a unique tropical environment. Stokes High Bridge Café (since 1902) 207 High Street, Union Road, Lincoln LN5 7AU Tel: 01522 523548 www.stokes-coffee.co.uk Morning coffee, breakfast,

WHERE TO BUY

R Foster & Son 111 Monks Road, Lincoln LN2 5HT Tel: 01522 523369 Home-made pies and other savoury pastries, fresh baked bread and confectionery. Locally sourced and matured quality beef, lamb and pork. Henrietta’s Garden 40 De Wint Avenue, Lincoln LN6 7JA Tel: 01522 690982 / 689652 Email: dave.higginbottom@lpt.nhs.uk A community project, providing day time activities, producing vegetables and other seasonal produce plus free range eggs and fresh cooked meals.

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Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone. Old Elephant Fudge * Tel: 01673 885562 www.oldelephant.co.uk Home made fudge using top quality ingredients – many different flavours, Scottish tablet and organic available. Gift packs and wholesale possible. See me at Lincoln farmers market. Poachers Brewery 439 Newark Road, North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9SP Tel: 01522 807404 www.poachersbrewery.co.uk A Micro-Brewery that produces hand crafted ales using the finest and purest ingredients. Suppliers to the on/off trade and home users throughout Lincolnshire.

Black Swan Guest House 21 High Street, Marton, Gainsborough DN21 5AH Tel: 01427 718878 www.blackswanguesthouse.co.uk Rural located B&B offering en-suite rooms, internet access, private car park, licensed, easy access to Lincoln and Gainsborough. Canal View Bed and Breakfast 6A Lincoln Road, Saxilby, Lincoln LN1 2NF Tel: 01522 704475 www.canal-view.co.uk Luxury en-suite accommodation, contemporarily furnished, with Egyptian cotton bed linen and soft fluffy towels. Close to Lincoln. Wi-fi internet access. The Grange Kexby, Gainsborough DN21 5PJ Tel: 01427 788265 A welcoming Victorian farmhouse on a working farm. Homecooked food and produce. Convenient for Lincoln, Hemswell Antiques and the Wolds.

www.hickmanhill.co.uk AA 2* hotel and restaurant set in two acres of glorious gardens. Produce is locally sourced and freshly prepared. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. WHERE TO EAT

Best Western Reeds Country Hotel Westfield Lakes, Far-Ings Road, Barton upon Humber DN18 5RG Tel: 01652 632313 www.reedscountryhotel.co.uk Both restaurants offer freshly prepared and cooked meals, served daily overlooking the lake in a comfortable and relaxing ambience. The Black Horse 26 High Street, Ingham, Lincoln LN1 2YW Tel: 01522 730214 www.blackhorseingham.co.uk Whether catering for a wedding, a party or just a relaxing meal we serve fresh homemade food. Secure family friendly patio area.

COUNTRYSIDE NORTH WHERE TO STAY

Best Western Reeds Country Hotel Westfield Lakes, Far-Ings Road, Barton upon Humber DN18 5RG Tel: 01652 632313 www.reedscountryhotel.co.uk Family run AA3* overlooking freshwater lakes, countryside and Humber Estuary. 26 en-suite rooms, competitive rates and free WiFi.

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Grayingham Lodge Bed & Breakfast Tel: 01652 648544 Email: janesummers@btinternet.com www.grayinghamlodge.co.uk Grayingham Lodge is a five star, silver award winning stone farmhouse, providing a peaceful yet easily accessible haven for guests. Hickman Hill Hotel Cox’s Hill, Gainsborough DN21 1HH Tel: 01427 613639

Blyton Dairy Ice Cream Old Hall Farm, Blyton, Gainsborough DN21 3LA Tel: 01427 628355 Email: blyton.ice.cream@ic24.net National award winning icecream and sorbet with over 50 flavours. New extension of Icecream Parlour and Café, open seven days. Crepes Delight Tel: 07972 395982 Email: trevor.jaques@tiscali.co.uk Crepes Delight produce Savoury and Sweet Crepes using local

ingredients whenever possible and located at Farmer’s Markets and Food Events. Phone/email for locations. Doddington Farm Shop and Café Doddington Hall, Lincoln LN6 4RU Tel: 01522 688581 www.doddingtonhall.com UK’s Best New Farm Shop 2008/9 showcasing homegrown produce from Walled Kitchen Garden. Popular café, freshly cooked seasonal menu. Reservations recommended. Ealand Gate Restaurant Outgate, Ealand, Scunthorpe DN17 4JE Tel: 01724 711322 Email: restaurant@ealandgate.co.uk www.ealandgate.co.uk High quality restaurant, serving the best of locally sourced food in relaxed comfort and style. Gainsborough Old Hall Tea Rooms Parnell Street, Gainsborough DN21 2NB Tel: 01427 612669 www.lincolnshire.gov.uk /gainsborougholdhall Email: gainsborougholdhall@ lincolnshire.gov.uk Medieval manor house open to the public. Light refreshments, locally sourced and freshly made on the premises. Hall Farm Park Caistor Road, South Kelsey LN7 6PR Tel: 01652 678822 www.hallfarmpark.co.uk Relax and enjoy a light lunch or

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snack in our tearoom or on the patio overlooking beautiful open countryside. Hemswell Antiques Coffee Shop Hemswell Antiques Centre, Caenby Corner Estate, Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough DN21 5TJ Tel: 01427 668389 Email: enquiries@hemswellantiques.com Open everyday 10am – 5pm. Choose from a selection of homemade cakes and coffees or a freshly prepared lunch or light snack. Hickman Hill Hotel Cox’s Hill, Gainsborough DN21 1HH Tel: 01427 613639 www.hickmanhill.co.uk AA 2* hotel and restaurant set in two acres of glorious gardens. Produce is locally sourced and freshly prepared.

lunches and scrumptious cream teas!

produce. FARMA Best New Farm Shop Finalist 2010.

farmshops, catering, health shops etc.

Normanby Hall Country Park Normanby, Scunthorpe DN15 9HU Tel: 01724 720588 www.northlincs.gov.uk/normanby Regency Hall set in beautiful parkland and award-winning gardens. Café and shop with organically grown heritage fruit and vegetables, wedding venue.

Whisby Natural World Centre Moor Lane, Thorpe on the Hill, Lincoln LN6 9BW Tel: 01522 688868 www.naturalworldcentre.com Tastes of Lincolnshire, beautiful views, drinks, snacks and lunches, Sunday roasts, celebrations, weddings and business lunches. Open daily 10am – 4.30pm.

Doddington Farm Shop and Café Doddington Hall, Lincoln LN6 4RU Tel: 01522 688581 www.doddingtonhall.com UK’s Best New Farm Shop 2008/9 showcasing homegrown produce from Walled Kitchen Garden. Popular café, freshly cooked seasonal menu. Reservations recommended.

Winteringham Fields 1 Silver Street, Winteringham North Lincs DN15 9ND Tel: 01724 733096 www.winteringhamfields.com Winteringham Fields is one of the most individual and secret places you could wish to stumble across, with an ambience and cuisine to rival Europe’s finest.

Fenella’s Garden * Tel: 01522 681580 Mob: 07971 705234 www.fenellasgarden.co.uk Online shop supplying a range of local, ethical and organic produce, delivered in the area for free (minimum order of £10).

The Pink Pig Farmshop and Restaurant Holme Hall, Holme, Scunthorpe DN16 3RE Tel: 01724 844466 www.pinkpigorganics.co.uk Fully licensed restaurant serving homemade breakfasts, lunches and teas. Made from fresh Lincolnshire produce. Delicious gooey cakes and fresh scones.

The Loft Restaurant Brigg Above Grandads Shed, 10 Wrawby Street, Brigg DN20 8JH Tel: 01652 650416 www.theloftbrigg.co.uk Brigg’s premier restaurant, open 9–5pm Mon–Sat. Serving English cuisine all freshly prepared, using local Lincolnshire produce.

Pooley’s Tearoom 46 High Street, Messingham, Scunthorpe DN17 3NT Tel: 01724 762220 A warm welcome and log burning stoves await you at Pooley’s Tearoom, well known for their homemade soups, quiches and cakes. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009.

Mount Pleasant Windmill * North Cliff Road, Kirton in Lindsey DN21 4NH Tel: 01652 640177 www.mountpleasantwindmill.co.uk Welcoming tearooms overlooking the windmill offering a great selection of cakes, scones, Lincolnshire plumbread, light

Uncle Henry’s Farm Shop & Café Grayingham Grange Farm, Grayingham, Gainsborough DN21 4JD Tel: 01652 640308 www.unclehenrys.co.uk Farmshop & café showcasing home produced pork and an extensive range of Lincolnshire

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WHERE TO BUY

Church Farm Shop Main Street, South Scarle, Newark NG23 7JH Tel: 01636 892003 www.churchfarmshop.co.uk Award winning shop on a working farm, home-grown vegetables, home-made cakes, lots of local produce. Open Tuesday – Saturday 9am – 5pm. Croft Apiaries Corner Croft, Main Street, Bishop Norton, Market Rasen LN8 2BE Tel: 01673 818711 Honey direct from the producer, Lincolnshire honey the very best for you. Trade enquiries welcome,

Kate Elizabeth’s Cupcakes Tel: 07969 457008 www.kateelizabethscupcakes.com Delicious homemade cupcakes for any occasion, lovingly made using local produce. Available in a variety of flavours to suit all tastes. Check locations online or phone. Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone.

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Marron Cider * Waddingham, Gainsborough Tel: 01673 818478 www.marroncider.co.uk A small cider producer with a distinctive range of apple and pear still ciders, selling to retail and trade customers.

www.redhillfarm.com Farmers and producers of National Award Winning free range pork, dry cured hams and bacon, handmade sausages and pork pies. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009.

Mount Pleasant Windmill * North Cliff Road, Kirton in Lindsey DN21 4NH Tel: 01652 640177 www.mountpleasantwindmill.co.uk Great selection of organic flours traditionally ground in-between millstones, as well as good choice of artisan organic breads baked in a real wood-fired oven.

Oak Tree Farm Tel: 01636 821299 info@trentsidesaddlebacks.co.uk www.trentsidesaddlebacks.co.uk Breeders and farmers of rare breed pigs, livestock and Ryland Sheep. We sell via specialist butchers, local farmers markets and country shows. The Pink Pig Farmshop and Restaurant * Holme Hall, Holme, Scunthorpe DN16 3RE Tel: 01724 844466 www.pinkpigorganics.co.uk Farm shop of the year 2005/06, selling home-grown organic meat and vegetables. Prize-winning restaurant serving homemade breakfasts, lunches and teas. Redhill Farm Free Range Pork * Blyton Carr, Gainsborough DN21 3DT Tel: 01427 628270

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Kirkstead Old Mill Cottage B&B Tattershall Road, Woodhall Spa LN10 6UQ Tel: 01526 353637 www.woodhallspa.com This 4*, Silver Award, country home offers three quality twin/double bedrooms, including fully accessible suite with wetroom. Full English and Gold Award healthy breakfasts.

WHERE TO STAY

The Manor House Stables The Manor House, Timberland Road, Martin LN4 3QS Tel: 01526 378717 www.manorhousestables.co.uk Warm relaxing self-catering accommodation in historic stables, restored using natural eco-friendly materials. Craft courses and small gift shop. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009.

Byards Leap Cottage Bed and Breakfast Cranwell, Sleaford NG34 8EY Tel: 01400 261537 www.byardsleapcottage.co.uk Attractive country cottage, in beautiful garden, offering good home cooking using local suppliers and our own fruit, vegetables and preserves.

Petwood Hotel Stixwould Road, Woodhall Spa LN10 6QF Tel: 01526 352411 www.petwood.co.uk Edwardian Country House Hotel in 30 acres of secluded gardens and woodland. The restaurant promotes local produce. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award Winner 2008.

Chaplin House B&B 92 High Street, Martin LN4 3QT Tel: 01526 378795 www.chaplin-house.co.uk Quiet, relaxing atmosphere in award winning, stylish accommodation. Delicious breakfasts using local, mainly organic produce. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award last 4 years.

Rose Cottage B&B Wharf Lane, Kirkby on Bain, Woodhall Spa LN10 6YW Tel: 01526 354932 www.rosecottagebandb.net Stay in a mud and stud, thatch cottage dated 1604 with private facilities. Ideally situated in the centre of Lincolnshire.

COUNTRYSIDE SOUTH

Rural Roosts Holiday Lodges Manor Farm, Stainfield, Market Rasen LN8 5JJ Tel: 01526 398492 www.ruralroosts.co.uk Beautiful self catering pine lodges, situated 8 miles east of Lincoln. Fantastic base for fishing, relaxing and exploring Lincolnshire. Ryelands House Bed & Breakfast Barff Road, Potterhanworth, Lincoln LN4 2DU Tel: 01522 793563 www.ryelands-house.co.uk A working farm set in middle of farmland, mostly for wildlife conservation. Excellent breakfast using home-reared and local produce. Village Limits Country Pub, Restaurant & Motel Stixwould Road, Woodhall Spa LN10 6UJ Tel: 01526 353312 www.villagelimits.co.uk Friendly and relaxing, homemade meals Tues – Sat lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch only. 4* accommodation. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award last 3 years. WHERE TO EAT

The Bustard Inn & Restaurant 44 Main Street, South Rauceby, Sleaford NG34 8QG Tel: 01529 488250 www.thebustardinn.co.uk Beautiful listed stone inn, excellent real ales and wines, delicious bar food and exquisite à la carte meals by award winning chef.

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Ebrington Arms Main Street, Kirkby on Bain, Woodhall Spa LN10 6YT Tel: 01526 354560 Traditional cosy village pub serving excellent home cooked meals with a large selection of wine and local ales. Four Seasons Garden Centre London Road, Silk Willoughby, Sleaford NG34 8NY Tel: 01529 304970 www.fourseasonsgardencentre.co.uk A family run garden centre and restaurant, serving homemade meals and snacks throughout the day, 7 days a week. The George Hotel High Street, Leadenham LN5 0PN Tel: 01400 272251 www.thegeorge-hotel.com An Old English Coaching Inn specialising in local produce especially Lincoln Red Beef, also a stock of over 600 whiskeys. The Hub Sleaford Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford NG34 7TW Tel: 01529 308710 www.thehubcentre.org The Riverside Café offers the chance to relax with light meals and excellent coffee in stylish surroundings. Open Tues-Sat 10am-4.30pm, Sun-Mon 11am-4.30pm. Tattershall Farm Park Bank Farm, Marsh Lane, Tattershall LN4 4JR Tel: 01526 345377 www.tattershallfarmpark.co.uk Tattershall Farm Park offers

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delicious freshly prepared food supporting local suppliers, a great place to meet for coffee and lunch.

homegrown and local vegetables, cheese and meats. Coffee shop serving homecooked food and Sunday lunch.

Thai Sabai 6 Millstream Square, Sleaford NG34 7RZ Tel: 01529 413333 www.thaisabaisleaford.co.uk Thai Sabai Restaurant and takeaway open 7 days a week 11am - 2.30pm and 5pm til late. Lunch time special £6.50.

Cogglesford Mill East Road, Sleaford NG34 7EQ Tel: 07966 400634 venue Tel: 01529 414294 contact www.heartoflincs.com Working watermill in picturesque setting. Organic wholemeal flour still produced on site and sold in the mill shop. Events programme.

Three Kings Inn Saltersway, Threekingham, Sleaford NG34 0AU Tel: 01529 240249 www.thethreekingsinn.com Quintessentially old English coaching inn steeped in history providing fine dining, real ales, continental lagers and wide selection of wines.

Fen Farm Venison * Fen Farm, Horbling Fen, Sleaford NG34 0JX Tel: 01529 421272 www.fenfarmvenison.co.uk Quality farmed venison – fillets, joints, steaks, casseroles, sausages and burgers. Sold on farm and at local shows and farmers markets.

Village Limits Stixwould Road, Woodhall Spa LN10 6UJ Tel: 01526 353312 www.villagelimits.co.uk Friendly and relaxing, homemade meals Tues – Sat lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch only. 4* accommodation. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award last 4 years. WHERE TO BUY

Abbey Parks Farm Shop * Parks Farm, East Heckington, Boston, Lincs PE20 3QG Tel: 01205 821610 www.abbeyparks.asparagus.co.uk Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday, 9.30-5 Sunday. Vast selection of

Gourmet Roasted Nuts * 40 Station Road, Bardney, Lincoln LN3 5UD Tel: 01526 398203 / 07761 241488 mauriceandpatricia@talktalk.net Various types of nuts freshly roasted on site in our special recipe of cinnamon and sugar glaze. Gringley Gringo * Unit 213, Evans Business Park, Broughton, Newark NG23 9LD Tel: 01909 500953 www.gringleygringo.com Home-made chilli products to suit every palate. Our stylish range includes chilli sauces, jellies, chutneys, pickles and much more. Wholesale orders welcome.

Heath Farm Preserves Heath Farm, North Rauceby, Sleaford NG34 8QR Tel: 01529 488409 Email: paula.Ireland@farming.co.uk Producer of carefully hand made preserves. Find me on Sleaford Farmers Market or contact me direct. Gift baskets available. R J Hirst High Class Family Butchers Station Road, Woodhall Spa LN10 6QL Tel: 01526 352321 www.hirstlincolnshiresausages. co.uk Best quality local produce with full traceability. Handmade Lincolnshire sausages. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award Winner 2009. Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone. Lombard Wines * Beck House Winery, Beck House, Beck Street, Digby LN4 3NE Tel: 01526 320332 www.beckhousewinery.co.uk Fruit and country wines made from local produce. Personal wine making service – you provide the fruit, we make your wine.

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Manor Farm Shops Manor Farm, 2 Moor Lane, Leasingham, Sleaford NG34 8JN Tel: 01529 302671 Family owned farm shop with outlets at Leasingham, Ruskington and Heckington, supporting local growers and producers. Millstream Butchers Unit 1 Millstream Square, Sleaford NG34 7ZR Tel: 01529 414638 www.millstream-butchers.co.uk Top quality Lincoln Red beef, local pork, lamb and poultry. Sausages and haslets a speciality. Hogroasts and our mobile van around Sleaford. J Norcross Ltd (Ryelands Dexters) Ryelands House, Barff Road, Potterhanworth, Lincoln LN4 2DU Tel: 01522 793563 www.ryelands-dexters.co.uk Dexter beef naturally reared, locally slaughtered and hung for 3 weeks. Vacuum packed chilled or frozen. Grass fed on Countryside Stewardship Land. Odling Brothers 54 High Street, Navenby, Lincoln LN5 0ET Tel: 01522 810228 www.odlingbros.co.uk Award winning Pork and Meat Pies, Lincolnshire Sausages and Haslet. Traditional family butchers and grocers providing high quality personal service. The Old Stable Store Manor House Stables, Manor House, Timberland Road, Martin

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LN4 3QS Tel: 01526 378717 www.manorhousestables.co.uk Small gift shop selling original gifts & hampers. Please phone for opening hours. Craft & Cookery Courses held throughout the year. R H Papworth (Butchers) Broadway, Woodhall Spa also at Silver Street, Coningsby Tel: 01526 352196 or 343854 papworth_butchers@yahoo.co.uk Local meat, from local suppliers, for local people, served by local assistants, Lincolnshire born and bred, proud to be yellow bellies. F C Phipps * Osbourne House, Mareham le Fen, Boston PE22 7RW Tel: 01507 568235 www.britainsbestbutcher.co.uk Home-grown, naturally reared meats. Home-made prize winning pies, sausages, black pudding, bacon, cooked meats, Lincolnshire chine, ready meals and deli. Real Tea and Coffee Company * Tel: 01526 833458 www.realteaandcoffee.co.uk Speciality teas and coffee beans, cafetieres, teapots, coffee grinders, infusers and lots, lots more. We also retail luxury hand-baked cookies and cakes. Shop on the Farm North End Farm, Swaton, Sleaford NG34 0JP Tel: 01529 421348 www.swatonbrewery.com A family farm, producing quality real ales and specialising in Lincoln Red Beef, with a coffee shop. Opened September 2008.

Southern and Thorpe 3 High Street, Ruskington, Nr Sleaford NG34 9DY Tel: 01526 834359 Lincolnshire Poacher 2008: pork pie champion, haselet champion, Gold Award for home cured bacon and ham. Past sausage champion. Full meat range available. Thorpe Latimer Traditional Farm Meats Thorpe Latimer Farm, Thorpe Latimer, Sleaford NG34 0RF Tel: 01529 421206 www.thorpe-latimer.co.uk Traditionally reared Lincoln Red Beef, bone matured for 3-4 weeks and Lincolnshire Lamb. Available direct from farm, farmers markets and website. Welbournes Bakery * 38 High Street, Navenby, Lincoln LN5 0DZ Tel: 01522 810239 www.welbournesbakery.com Famous homemade special plum bread, Lincoln Red Beef pies and others. Lincolnshire sausage rolls, homemade bread and cakes, local cheeses.

The Grange Torrington Lane, East Barkwith, Market Rasen LN8 5RY Tel: 01673 858670 www.thegrange-lincolnshire.co.uk A perfect retreat, offering b&b and self-catering. Excellent facilities and quality traditional home cooked cuisine, using local produce. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008 & 2009. Half Moon Hotel & Restaurant 25-28 West Street, Alford LN13 9DG Tel: 01507 463477 www.halfmoonhotelalford.co.uk Comfortable three star privately owned hotel with a traditional English restaurant serving an extensive menu including many local Lincolnshire foods. Hoe Hill House Bed & Breakfast Hoe Hill House, Swinhope, Market Rasen LN8 6HX Tel: 01472 399366 www.hoehill.co.uk Relax, unwind and enjoy our traditional farmhouse in a beautiful Wolds location. Sample our home cooking and award winning breakfasts. Let us pamper you.

WOLDS WHERE TO STAY

Enfield Farm Cottages Main Street, Fulstow, Louth LN11 0XF Tel: 01507 363268 www.enfieldfarmcottages.co.uk Cottages are elegantly furnished converted barns, retaining original features on a working farm. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award last 5 years.

Kingthorpe Manor Farm Kingthorpe, Market Rasen LN8 5JF Tel: 01673 857290 www.kingthorpemanorfarm.com Historic farmhouse offering luxury accommodation, peace and tranquillity. Spacious en-suite rooms, excellent facilities. Organic, home-grown and locally sourced produce.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

The Paddock at Scamblesby Old Main Road, Scamblesby, Louth LN11 9XG Tel: 07787 998906 www.thepaddockatscamblesby .co.uk Modern 4 star ground floor accommodation in the heart of Lincolnshire Wolds – an ideal base from which to explore Lincolnshire.

West View B&B and Cottages South View Lane, South Cockerington, Louth LN11 7ED Tel: 01507 327209 www.west-view.co.uk Converted barn in rural village, relax and recharge, friendly atmosphere offering quality and comfort. Disabled access and also self-catering cottages.

Papermill Cottages Vale Farm, Caistor Lane, Tealby, Market Rasen LN8 3XN Tel: 01673 838010 www.papermillcottages.co.uk Self-catering stone cottages, sleeping 1-6 people, groups up to 23. Peaceful village location, stroll to pub/restaurant. Great base to explore.

Wold View Bed & Breakfast Wold View House, Bully Hill Top, near Tealby, Market Rasen LN8 6JA Tel: 01673 838226/07976 563473 www.woldviewhouse.co.uk Cosy, homely on top of the Wolds, above pretty village of Tealby. Locally sourced food, homecooking. Tastes of Lincolnshire Tearoom Awards 2006, 2008 and 2009.

The Red Lion, Partney Skegness Road, Partney, Spilsby PE23 4PG Tel: 01790 752271 www.redlioninnpartney.co.uk 2009 Tastes of Lincolnshire award winning 4* en-suite accommodation in quiet village. Taste of Excellence Award winning meals using local fresh produce. Toynton Lodge Painting Holidays Toynton Lodge, Boston Road, Toynton All Saints, Spilsby PE23 5NP Tel: 01790 752876 www.artprofile.co.uk Painting holidays and day painting courses in most media, for all abilities, based in a listed Georgian house near Spilsby.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

WHERE TO EAT

The Admiral Rodney Hotel North Street, Horncastle LN9 5DX Tel: 01507 523131 www.admiralrodney.com Courtyard Restaurant offers a carvery for lunch, A La Carte for evening. Morning coffee and afternoon tea in the lounge. Alford Five Sailed Windmill East Street, Alford LN13 9EH Tel: 01507 462136 www.alford-windmill.co.uk One of the gems of rural Lincolnshire. A beautiful working windmill, flours, cereals, preserves, antiques and tea room. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008.

Alford Manor House West Street, Alford LN13 9HT Tel: 01507 463073 www.alfordmanorhouse.co.uk The UK’s largest thatched manor house offering award-winning tearooms, weddings and special events. House open to visitors. Botts Coffee Shop Crowders Garden Centre, Lincoln Road, Horncastle LN9 5LZ Tel: 01507 528610 Open daily Monday to Saturday 9.30 – 4.30, Sunday 10.30 – 4.30. Variety of home-made cakes, snacks and lunchtime treats. The Coach and Horses Hemingby, Horncastle LN9 5QF Tel: 01507 578280 http://coachandhorses. website.orange.co.uk Traditional village pub serving a range of real ales and good quality fairly priced bar meals. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008. Jossals Coffee Shop & Bistro The Old Post Office, 7 Queen Street, Market Rasen LN8 3EH Tel: 01673 844221 A warm welcome 7 days a week. We use fresh local produce, something for everyone. Also open Friday/Saturday evenings. Kenwick Farmhouse Nursery Kenwick Road, Louth LN11 8NW Tel: 01507 606469 www.kenwicknursery.co.uk Plant nursery and newly extended country tearoom, situated on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds with picturesque views to the coast.

The Lancaster Inn Manby Middlegate, Grimoldby, Louth LN11 8SU Tel: 01507 327351 www.thelancasterinn.co.uk Traditional village pub serving homemade meals using locally sourced produce, a warm welcome awaits. Recently refurbished. Serving Tue–Sun, lunches and evenings. Magpies Restaurant 71-75 East Street, Horncastle LN9 6AA Tel: 01507 527004 Award winning restaurant, offering fine dining, everything is made on the premises using the finest and freshest local produce available. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Melanie’s Restaurant 37 Upgate, Louth LN11 9HD Tel: 01507 609595 www.melaniesoflouth.com A local restaurant serving freshly made dishes, created from the finest ingredients the Lincolnshire Wolds has to offer. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Myers Bakery and Café Tearoom * 20 the Bull Ring, Horncastle LN9 5HU Tel: 01507 525871 enquiries@myersbakery.co.uk www.myersbakery.co.uk Myers famous Lincolnshire Plumloaf – original recipe since 1901 – family and café tearoom based in Horncastle.

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Perkins’ Pantry 7 Mercer Row, Louth LN11 9JG Tel: 01507 609709 www.lincsuk.com/perkinspantry .htm Traditional English licensed family restaurant and tea room. Special diets accommodated, including coeliac. Tastes of Lincolnshire Mr George Award 2007. The Railway Tavern Main Road, Aby, near Alford LN13 0DR Tel: 01507 480676 Come and enjoy the real fires, home-cooked food and ale - a warm welcome awaits! Newly re-furbished with extensive menus. The Red Lion, Partney Skegness Road, Partney, Spilsby PE23 4PG Tel: 01790 752271 www.redlioninnpartney.co.uk Taste of Excellence award winning homemade food using locally sourced fresh produce. Daily specials and real ales. Award winning 4* accommodation. Shakesby’s Restaurant 5 West Street, Horncastle LN9 5JE Tel: 01507 526626 www.shakesbys.com Rustic English food cooked by award winning chef. Open Monday – Saturday 5pm til late. Beat the Clock Monday – Friday 5 – 6.30pm. Sunnyside Up Farmshop and Tea Room Poplar Farm, Tealby Road, Market Rasen LN8 3UL

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Tel: 01673 843840 www.sunnyside-up.co.uk Peace, tranquillity and good Lincolnshire food in the heart of the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside. Tealby Tea Rooms 12 Front Street, Tealby, Market Rasen LN8 3XU Tel: 01673 838261 www.tealbytearooms.co.uk See website for opening times, for hot and cold snacks, homemade cakes, delicious cream teas and local icecream. Home of Poachers Pasties. Thornton Hunt Inn Thornton Curtis, Near Ulceby, North Lincolnshire DN39 6XW Tel: 01469 531252 www.thorntonhuntinn.co.uk/peter/ Family run Grade II listed building serving traditional homemade bar food. A previous winner of ‘Lincolnshire Taste of Excellence Awards’. Food served daily 12 – 2pm and 6.30 – 9pm. Wagon House Tea Shop Goltho Gardens, Lincoln Road, Goltho, Nr Wragby LN8 5NF Tel: 01673 857814 www.golthogardens.com Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am – 4pm. Cakes, sandwiches, soup etc made on the premises. Homemade preserves and gifts available. Willingham Fayre Ashgrove Farm, North Willingham, Market Rasen LN8 3RJ Tel: 01673 838123 www.willinghamfayre.co.uk

We make Lincolnshire Wolds Dairy Icecream with whole fresh cows milk. Visit our Icecream Parlour, Café and children’s play area. WHERE TO BUY Alford Five Sailed Windmill East Street, Alford LN13 9EH Tel: 01507 462136 www.alford-windmill.co.uk One of the gems of rural Lincolnshire. A beautiful working windmill, flours, cereals, preserves, antiques and tea room. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008. Belleau Smokery * Belleau Bridge Trout Farm, Alford LN13 0BP Tel: 01507 480406 Email: ginnyharrop@yahoo.co.uk www.belleausmokery.co.uk Delicious freshly caught spring fed trout, hot and cold smoked trout, smoked trout pate and fishcakes, smoked eel and wild watercress. Cote Hill Cheese Cote Hill Farm, Lincoln Lane, Osgodby, Market Rasen LN8 3PD Tel: 01673 828481 www.cotehill.com Gold Medal Winner Cote Hill Blue and Cote Hill Yellow, handcrafted on our farm using unpasteurised milk from our herd of Friesian cows. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008. A E Dennett & Son 24-26 Boston Road, Spilsby PE23 5HG Tel: 01790 752573 www.dennetts.co.uk Established in 1926, this family

business makes award winning natural ice cream in 30 flavours, also frozen yogurt and sorbet. Fairfield Farm Fresh Products Tel: 01472 823031 A mobile butcher at Caistor Market on Saturdays, all meats and handmade sausages in natural skins for extra taste. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008 & 2009. Field Farm Organics Field Farm, High Toynton, Horncastle LN9 6NL Tel: 01507 523934 www.fieldfarmorganics.co.uk Working organic farm with farmshop, supplying home-grown vegetables, eggs, chickens, traditional lamb, rare-breed Berkshire pork, sausages, bacon and gammon. Fulstow Brewery Unit 13, Thames Street, Louth LN11 9AD Tel: 01507 363642 / 07730 733212 www.fulstowbrewery.com Small brewery producing craft beers from 100% natural ingredients. Six regular beers, individual ‘one offs’. Cask and bottle conditioned available to the on and off trade. Goodies of Covent Garden * Tel: 01507 463468 www.goodiesofcoventgarden.co.uk Probably the best home-made fudge you’ll ever taste, and fine chocolates. See us at Louth Saturday market or craft markets at Alford Manor House.

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Bill Grundy’s Real Dairy Ice Cream White House Farm, Main Road, Moorby, Boston PE22 7PL Tel: 01507 568885 www.oslinc.co.uk Delicious home made real dairy ice cream. Available from our Farm Shop, open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am – 5pm. Horncastle Cake Art * 25 North Street, Horncastle LN9 5DX Tel: 01507 525926 www.horncastlecakeart.co.uk Celebration, birthday and wedding cakes handcrafted with care. Everything for the cake decorator. Gluten free, low sugar cakes our speciality. Lakings of Louth * 33 Eastgate, Louth LN11 9NB Tel: 01507 603186 www.lakingsoflouth.co.uk Purveyors of Lincolnshire quality beef, pork and lamb. Bakers of pork pies, game pies and fresh bread. V T Lancaster & Son * 15/47 Queen Street, Market Rasen LN8 3EH Tel: 01673 843440 Email: Richard@rvlancaster.f9.co.uk Traditional family butcher (Est 1892). Local beef, pork, lamb, game in season. Lincolnshire sausages, pork pies, haslet, sausage rolls, cooked meats a speciality.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

B Leaning & Sons (Viking Sausages) * 26 Front Street, Tealby, Market Rasen LN8 3XU Tel: 01673 838205 www.vikingsausages.co.uk For almost 150 years this tiny village butchers shop has been producing genuine Lincolnshire sausages, as traditional as they come. Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone. Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese * Tel: 01507 466987 www.lincolnshirepoacher cheese.com Award winning artisan cheese made on our farm near Alford, using milk from our 230 Holstein cows. Available from good cheese shops and farmers markets. Lincolnshire Wild Venison * Benniworth, Market Rasen Tel: 01507 350505 www.lincolnshirewildvenison.co.uk “Wild Natural and Free Range” Local venison supplied through local retail outlets and mailorder UK wide, chilled straight to your door. Meridian Meats Family Butchers * 108 Eastgate, Louth LN11 9AA Tel: 01507 603357

www.meridianmeatsshop.co.uk Home produced Longhorn beef, rare breed lamb, pork, national award winning speciality sausages, pork pies, stuffed chine, dry cured bacon. Minting Park Farm Meats Gautby, Nr Wragby LN8 5JP Tel: 01526 398373 / 07775 628259 http://www.mintingparkfarm. f9.co.uk Home produced beef, lamb and mutton matured on the bone in our chiller, also rare breed pork and free range eggs. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Oslinc * White House Farm, Main Road, Moorby, Boston PE22 7PL Tel: 01507 568885 www.oslinc.co.uk Ostrich farm shop open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am – 5pm. Also attend farmers markets, mail order available. Poachers Pasties * Tealby Tearooms, 12 Front Street, Tealby, Market Rasen LN8 3XU Tel: 01673 838261 www.bestdressedbird.com Poachers Pasties, pate and game soup made with pheasant and venison. See website for list of shows or visit Tealby Tearooms.

Lincolnshire plumbread, traditional, wedding and celebration cakes. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Primrose Free Range Eggs (Trading as S & J Rhodes Dairy) Primrose Hill Farm, Bardney Road, Wragby, Market Rasen LN8 5JE Tel: 01673 858379 Email: stephenrhodes@fsmail.net Family run farm producing free range eggs from hens with unrestricted movement within their field and shed which are accredited to the Freedom Food Scheme. Simons of Spilsby * 14 Market Street, Spilsby PE23 5JT Tel: 01790 754543 www.simonsbutchers.co.uk Our specialities include: ready meals, sausages, pies, haslets, Lincolnshire stuffed chine, dry cured bacon and home cooked meats. Special Edition Chocolate * Willingham Hall, Market Rasen LN8 3RH Tel: 01673 844073 www.specialeditionchocolate.co.uk Hand made Multi-Award winning chocolate. Specialities – truffles, ginger, Lincoln Imp Mints, bars in up to 30 flavours! We support Fair Trade.

Pocklington’s Bakery * 2 Market Place, Louth LN11 9NR Tel: 01507 600180 www.pbl.uk.com Family bakers Est 1924. Fresh crusty bread, rolls, pies, pasties, sandwiches, homemade pork pies,

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J H Starbuck Bakers & Confectioners 9 Union Street, Market Rasen LN8 3AA Tel: 01673 843483 richardstarbuck169@msn.com Traditional family bakers. Wide range of breads, cakes, pastries, savouries and Lincolnshire plumbread. Look for our speciality and healthy bread range. Sunnyside Up Farmshop and Tea Room Poplar Farm, Tealby Road, Market Rasen LN8 3UL Tel: 01673 843840 www.sunnyside-up.co.uk Farmshop and Tea Room specialising in Lincoln Red Beef, free range eggs, local lamb, Berkshire Pork and Lincolnshire produce. The Wild Rabbit Company * Benniworth, Market Rasen Tel: 07798 926921 www.thewildrabbitcompany.co.uk Lean and tasty with a subtle gamey flavour. Locally sourced and available in local outlets or mail order. See the website for details and recipes. Withern Mill Trout Farm & Fishery Church Lane, Withern, Alford LN13 0NG Tel: 01507 450356 www.withernmilltroutfarm.co.uk Fresh and smoked trout that delivers that visual promise of premium quality. Open all year 8am until dusk. Orders taken.

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COAST WHERE TO STAY

Caxton House 6-8 Trafalgar Avenue, Skegness PE25 3EU Tel: 01754 764328 www.caxton-house.com Relax in comfy ensuite rooms some with seaviews/balconies. Licensed bar, enjoy homemade food using local produce. Families welcomed. Close to beach. Colours Guest House Queens Park Close, Mablethorpe LN12 2AS Tel: 01507 473427 www.coloursguesthouse.co.uk Relax and enjoy a break in our 4 star guest house set in a stunning location sandwiched between the beach and boating lake. Humber Royal Hotel Littlecoates Road, Grimsby DN34 4LX Tel: 01472 240024 www.thehumberroyalhotel.co.uk Newly refurbished hotel offering first class accommodation, with a brasserie producing daily menus from fresh local produce. Parties catered for. Poplar Farm Shop and Holiday Cottages Crabtree Lane, Sutton-on-Sea LN12 2RS Tel: 01507 443112 www.poplar-farm.org.uk Quality self-catering cottages near the coast, set in the ancient meadows of Sutton Ings.

The Ramblers Guest House Sutton Road, Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe LN12 2PY Tel: 01507 441171 www.theramblers.info Award winning Four Star guest house serving a breakfast to remember, using local products including Grimsby’s smoked haddock and fresh brewed coffee.

The Barley Mow Sea Lane, Friskney, Boston PE22 8SD Tel: 01754 820883 Excellent home-cooked meals, using locally sourced fresh produce. Comfortable and relaxing environment with friendly efficient service. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008 & 2009.

Sandgate Hotel 44 Drummond Road, Skegness PE25 3EB Tel: 01754 762667 www.sandgate-hotel@tiscali.co.uk Good home cooked meals. Ten rooms, 3 star licensed guest accommodation. Near to town centre. Tastes of Lincolnshire Mr George Award 2008.

Batemans Brewery & Visitors Centre * Salem Bridge Brewery, Wainfleet, Skegness PE24 4JE Tel: 01754 882009 www.bateman.co.uk Picturesque family brewery and award winning Visitors Centre open Wednesday to Sunday for delicious food, beer and drinks, museum, tours, merchandise.

Willow Farm Thorpe Fendykes, Wainfleet, Skegness PE24 4QH Tel: 01754 830316 www.willowfarmholidays.co.uk Bed and breakfast and selfcatering one bedroom cottage on family farm with ponies, goats, hens and ducks. Superb location.

The Countryman Chapel Road, Ingoldmells PE25 1ND Tel: 01754 872268 www.countryman-ingoldmells.co.uk Warm and friendly village pub serving home-made food with daily specials. Parties catered for. Home of Leila Cottage Brewery.

WHERE TO EAT

Appleby’s Ices Main Road, Conisholme, Louth LN11 7LT Tel: 01507 359002 Manufacturing our family’s ice cream since 1913. Supplying wholesale, retail and attending functions. Visit our famous parlour at Conisholme.

Farmer Brown’s Ice Cream Woodrow Farm, Sutton Road, Huttoft, Alford LN13 9RL Tel: 07961 320186 www.farmerbrownsicecream.co.uk Farm diversification using milk from own Friesian/Holstein herd to produce a luxury dairy ice cream. Parlour open weekends Mar–Sept.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Humber Royal Hotel Littlecoates Road, Grimsby DN34 4LX Tel: 01472 240024 www.thehumberroyalhotel.co.uk Newly refurbished hotel offering first class accommodation, with a brasserie producing daily menus from fresh local produce. Parties catered for.

Poplar Farm Restaurant Chapel Lane, Addlethorpe, Skegness PE24 4TG Tel: 01754 765174 www.poplarfarmrestaurant.co.uk Restaurant overlooking the Wolds, serving prime fresh local produce with theatrical flair. Open Tuesday to Saturday evenings, Sunday lunch and by arrangement.

Lyndhurst Coffee Shop Lyndhurst Garden Centre, Skegness Road, Burgh le Marsh, Skegness PE24 5AA Tel: 01754 812801 www.lyndhurstgardencentre.co.uk Home cooked traditional food and snacks, daily roasts served in our relaxed restaurant. Open 7 days a week.

Poplar Farm Shop and Holiday Cottages Crabtree Lane, Sutton-on-Sea LN12 2RS Tel: 01507 443112 www.poplar-farm.org.uk Fine honey, preserves, jam, jellies and chutneys, cakes, Poacher cheese, plum bread and Lincolnshire hampers. Tea shop and art gallery.

North Shore Hotel & Golf Club North Shore Road, Skegness PE25 1DN Tel: 01754 763298 www.northshorehotel.co.uk With stunning views over our Links/Parkland Golf Course and situated next to the beach, the North Shore is the ideal place to eat. The Point Café, Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve Gibraltar Road, Skegness PE24 4SU Tel: 01754 898057 gibvisitorcentre@hotmail.co.uk Enjoy delicious food and drink at The Point Café in attractive and friendly surroundings.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

Sea Breeze Restaurant 10-12 High Street, Sutton on Sea LN12 2EX Tel: 01507 441548 www.seabreeze-restaurant.co.uk A lovely seaside restaurant serving tasty homemade food, licensed bar, lunchtime and evening menu, Sunday lunches. Fresh local seafood and produce. Seacroft Bar Seacroft Holiday Estate, Sutton Road, Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe LN12 2PN Tel: 01507 472421 www.seacroftcaravanpark.com Seacroft Bar offers a warm and friendly welcome. Enjoy our locally sourced menu and daily specials. Taste of Excellence Award 2008.

Windmill Restaurant High Street, Burgh le Marsh, Skegness PE24 5JT Tel: 01754 810281 www.windmillrestaurant.co.uk Freshly cooked local produce, friendly efficient service, homemade desserts, open Wednesday to Sunday. See website for menus. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008.

curing and supply of freshest top quality fish and seafood available in our shop. Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone.

WHERE TO BUY

Alfred Enderby Fish Dock Road, Fish Docks, Grimsby DN31 3NE Tel: 01472 342984 www.alfredenderby.co.uk 100 year old smokehouse specialising in smoked haddock fillets and finnans, plus whole sides of smoked Scottish salmon. Open weekdays 8am–2pm. Chapmans Finest Fishcakes c/o Riverside Food Services Ltd, North Quay, Fish Docks, Grimsby DN31 3SY Tel: 01472 269871 www.chapmansfishcakes.co.uk Handmade gourmet fishcakes and other luxury fish dishes. Grimsby fish and Lincolnshire potatoes, made for each other! The Fishwife Traditional Fishmongers @ Atkinsons Smoked Fish 44a Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby DN31 3LB Tel: 01472 352335 www.thefishwife.co.uk Grimsby’s oldest family smokehouse embracing traditional

Lymn Bank Farm * Tel: 01754 880312 www.postacheese.com Producers of smoked and flavoured cheeses and Lincolnshire smoked garlic. Lyndhurst Garden Centre Skegness Road, Burgh le Marsh, Skegness PE24 5AA Tel: 01754 810295 www.lyndhurstgardencentre.co.uk Family run garden centre and coffee shop, selling many locally sourced plants as well as a growing range of local produce. Rich Pastures Rich Pastures Dairy Farm, Thorpe Dales, Thorpe St Peter, Skegness PE24 4QF Tel: 07939 328899 www.richpastures.co.uk Dairy farmers producing and packing the milk from the Rich Pastures herd to sell locally.

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Smiths Smokery Nova Lodge, Sea Lane, Friskney, Boston PE22 8SD Tel: 01754 820262 www.smithssmokery.co.uk Smiths Smokery catch and smoke their own eels caught around the wash also smoked salmon, haddock, trout etc. FENS WHERE TO STAY

Elms Farm Cottages Hubberts Bridge, Boston PE20 3QP Tel: 01205 290840 www.elmsfarmcottages.co.uk Award winning four and five star barn conversion into eight self catering ground floor cottages. Walk to local pub. Golf and fishing. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. The Forge Holiday Cottage Chapel Road, Tumby Woodside, Boston PE22 7SP Tel: 01526 342943 www.the4ge.co.uk Detached self-catering holiday cottage set in rural Lincolnshire, sleeps 5, fully equipped with enclosed garden and parking area. Supreme Inns Bicker Bar Roundabout, Swineshead, Boston PE20 3AN Tel: 01205 822804 www.supremeinns.co.uk Newly refurbished in contemporary style, family run hotel, Wi-Fi available. Events venue, bar and dining using locally sourced home-cooked food.

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Springfields Restaurant Festival Garden Centre, Springfields Shopping Outlet, Camelgate, Spalding PE12 6ET Tel: 01775 760949 Spacious and comfortable carvery restaurant offering local and home made fresh food. Large parties and coaches welcome. Disabled facilities.

Boston Sausage * Bridgefoot, 13 High Street, Boston PE21 8SH Tel: 01205 362167 www.bostonsausage.co.uk Purveyors of finest quality, hand-made Lincolnshire sausages. No preservatives or flavour enhancers. Also open at London’s famous Borough Market.

Supreme Inns Bicker Bar Roundabout, Swineshead, Boston PE20 3AN Tel: 01205 822804 www.supremeinns.co.uk Newly refurbished in contemporary style, family run hotel. Events venue, bar and dining using locally sourced food prepared by excellent chefs.

The Ivy’s Farm Shop Villa Lane, Swineshead, Boston PE20 3NG Tel: 01205 820001 Email: manorfarm@btconnect.com We are a true farmshop owned and run by the fourth generation of a farming family. Open all week selling home-grown vegetables

Concreation Garden Centre and Coffee Shop Baythorpe, Boston Road, Swineshead PE20 3HB Tel: 01205 821349 www.concreationpgc.co.uk Small family run garden centre, offering fresh homemade delicious soups, cakes and hearty meals using seasonal and local produce.

WHERE TO BUY

The Mill 148 Spilsby Road, Boston PE21 9QN Tel: 01205 352874 www.themillboston.co.uk “Quality dining is assured” at the newly refurbished themillboston.co.uk, fine wines, real ales and freshly prepared homemade food.

Geo Adams & Sons (Retail) * 25-26 The Crescent, Spalding PE11 1AG Tel: 01775 725956 www.geo-adams-direct.co.uk Traditional butchers and bakers since 1910 supplying awardwinning pork pies, sausages and haslet.

WHERE TO EAT

Butterfly and Wildlife Park Little London, Long Sutton PE12 6LB Tel: 01406 363833 www.butterflyandwildlifepark.co.uk Open March – November, come and enjoy lunch in our award winning tea rooms. Children’s parties catered for. Chestnut Tea Rooms and Farmshop A17, Main Road, Gedney, Spalding PE12 0BS Tel: 01406 363123 A friendly country tea rooms and farmshop, offering traditional home cooking. Lunches, snacks, cream teas, Sunday lunches – plus a garden centre too!

Archie Hardwick 17 Dolphin Lane, Boston PE21 6EU Tel: 01205 365098 Family run delicatessen selling local produce, cheese, flour, honey, bread etc. Also coffee shop selling homemade cakes and Italian coffee.

Prilly’s Country Kitchen * Old School House, Asperton Road, Wigtoft, Boston PE20 2PJ Tel: 01205 460825 www.prillyscountrykitchen.co.uk Traditional homemade chutney’s and preserves made from the finest quality of locally sourced ingredients. Gift baskets made to order. Saints and Sinners * Tel: 01775 724580 www.saintsandsinnershome.co.uk Homemade cakes, soups,

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preserves, mustards and chilli products, traditional to more adventurous blends. Find us at Spalding Market and Lincoln Farmers Markets. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award Winner 2009.

www.theoldebarnhotel.co.uk Try Lincolnshire tapas in our barn bar or our restaurant, menu featuring the best of local produce. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award last 3 years including 2009.

Spalding Farm Shop Scoldhall Lane, Surfleet, Spalding PE11 4BJ Tel: 01775 680101 www.spaldingfarmshop.co.uk Award Winner 2007. Lincolnshire grown produce, picked and delivered to the shop on the same day so it is field-fresh every day.

WHERE TO EAT

Woodlands Organic Farm * Kirton House, Kirton, Near Boston PE20 1JD Tel: 01205 722491 / 724778 www.woodlandsfarm.co.uk Organic Box Scheme home delivering vegetables, fruit, Lincoln Red Beef, Lincoln Longwool Lamb, Rare Breed Turkeys. Organic Food Awards Winner 2008. VALES

Belton House (The National Trust) Grantham NG32 2LS Tel: 01476 566116 www.nationaltrust.org.uk Belton House, garden, shop and restaurant. Enjoy a great day out, locally-produced seasonal food and our varied events programme. Hambleton Hall Hambleton, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8TH Tel: 01572 756991 www.hambletonhall.com The ultimate in small country house hotels with elegant surroundings, spectacular lakeside views, the Michelin-starred restaurant is rated amongst England’s very best.

Tel: 01780 765656 www.stamfordgardencentre.co.uk Local sourced restaurant with homemade lunches served every day and special evening dining events with 60 seats including a spacious patio. Syston Park Farm Shop & Café Syston Park, Nr Grantham NG32 2BZ Tel: 01400 250000 Delicious home cooked food made with specially selected locally sourced seasonal produce served in peaceful and beautiful surroundings. Wheatsheaf Inn Dry Doddington, Newark NG2 35HU Tel: 01400 281458 www.wheatsheaf-pub.co.uk A traditional English pub. Located in the picturesque village of Dry Doddington, offering delicious, freshly cooked food, using local produce. WHERE TO BUY

WHERE TO STAY

Belvoir Vale Cottage B&B Stenwith. Nr Woolsthorpe-byBelvoir, Grantham NG32 2HE Tel: 01949 842434 www.belvoirvale-cottage.co.uk Three relaxing en-suite rooms in secluded cottage on Lincolnshire/Leicestershire border. Views to Belvoir Castle, good walking. We like people.

The Orangery Restaurant and Garden Cafe (Garden of Surprises) Burghley House and Park, Stamford PE9 3JY Tel: 01780 767386 Morning coffee, light bites, lunches, afternoon teas, special party dinners, celebrations and wedding parties. A warm and professional welcome awaits.

The Olde Barn Hotel Toll Bar Road, Marston NG32 2HT Tel: 01400 250909

Stamford Garden Centre Casterton Road, Stamford PE9 4BB

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Bassingthorpe Beef Tel: 01476 585274 Email: bassingthorpebeef@live.co.uk Lincolnshire Angus Beef, Old Spot Pork and Dorset Lamb all available from farmers markets – Lincoln Castle Square, Stamford, Sleaford, Spalding, also George Centre, Grantham every Wednesday. Downtown Garden Centre Great Gonerby Junction A1, Grantham NG32 2AB Tel: 01476 512333

www.get-it-all.co.uk Brand new food and drink department, featuring a wide range of luxury food, including fresh and frozen produce. Grasmere Farm Traditional Butchers * 8-10 Market Gate, Market Deeping PE6 8DL Tel: 01778 342239 www.grasmere-farm.co.uk Traditional Lincolnshire pork products made to original recipes, produced from pigs bred and reared on our farms. Hambleton Bakery Ironmonger Street, Stamford; Cottesmore Road, Exton; Gaol Street, Oakham Tel: 01572 812995 www.hambletonbakery.co.uk Using flour from a local windmill with traditional techniques for the real taste of bread with that perfect crust. Kings Butchers Doddington Lane, Claypole, nr Newark NG23 5BE Tel: 01636 626272 Traditional family butcher, Lincs Quality Beef, Lamb and Pork member. Sausage specialists, locally sourced produce and premium food ranges. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008 & 2009. Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone.

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Stamford Cupcake Company Tel: 01780 489364 / 07825 153003 www.stamfordcupcakecompany. co.uk Email:enquiries@stamfordcupcake company.co.uk Cupcakes and celebration cakes for all occasions, weddings a speciality. Find me at Stamford Town Market Fridays and Grantham on Saturdays. Stamford Garden Centre Casterton Road, Stamford PE9 4BB Tel: 01780 765656 www.stamfordgardencentre.co.uk Local sourced butchery and farmshop specialising in Lincoln Red Beef, Stamford Lamb, Grantham Pork, game and homemade sausages, burgers and haslet. Syston Park Farm Shop & Café Syston Park, Nr Grantham NG32 2BZ Tel: 01400 250000 Stocked with fresh locally grown produce (summer soft fruits), fresh breads, a deli counter and lots more. CATERERS & FUNCTION VENUES Finefood2u Tel: 07772 582792 Email: info@finefood2u.co.uk www.finefood2u.co.uk We provide a quality outside catering service to suit your needs for corporate and private lunches, dinners and other events.

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Grasmere Farm 127 Station Road, Deeping St James PE6 8RQ Tel: 01778 342344 www.grasmere-farm.co.uk Full catering service, specialising in hogroasts, banquets and barbecues for all events from small celebrations to weddings and anniversaries. Hemswell Court Lancaster Green, Hemswell Cliff, Nr Gainsborough DN21 5TQ Tel: 01427 668508 www.hemswellcourt.com Lincolnshire’s premier venue for weddings, banqueting and conferences is exclusively yours on day of your event. 5 Stars awarded by the AA. Hog Roast – Lincolnshire Tel: 01652 660978 / 07850 438624 www.hogroastlincolnshire.com Locally sourced produce taking fast food to a higher level. Professional mobile catering units and Hog Roasts also full entertainment packages available private and corporate. The Lawn in Lincoln Union Road, Lincoln LN1 3BL Tel: 01522 568080 www.thelawninlincoln.com For that special occasion, weddings, ceremonies and receptions, parties, banquets and conferences. Excellent reputation for high quality food with professional, friendly service.

The Pink Pig Farmshop and Restaurant Holme Hall, Holme, Scunthorpe DN16 3RE Tel: 01724 844466 www.pinkpigorganics.co.uk Lovely rural venue for meetings/conferences, 3 minutes from J4, M180. Seats 40 theatre style, 20 boardroom. Homemade breakfasts, lunches and teas. Thierry Daugeron Catering Ltd Outside Caterer Specialist and Parties, Events Organiser Tel: 07773 800804 www.thierrydaugeron.co.uk Stylish caterer and event organiser with a difference. Everything made to suit your requirement from a special dinner for 2 to a private/corporate event for thousands. This Little Piggy Tel: 01673 818481 / 01652 648362 Private or corporate events, catering from 30 upwards. Mobile hog roast specialists in Lincolnshire Pork and Lincoln Red Beef. Truly Homemade * Tel: 01522 888964 www.trulyhomemade.co.uk Beside our signature Truly Homemade sumptuous rich dark Wedding and Christmas cakes, see our selection of dinner party puddings and teatime treats. All truly homemade.

WHOLESALERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Aga Outer Circle Road, Lincoln LN2 4HU Tel: 01522 538745 www.aga-web.co.uk Aga ‘the heart of the home’, visit us for demonstrations, cookware, refrigeration and stoves. Food tastes better from an Aga. Anglia Woods Foodservice * Tel: 01472 353636 www.angliawoods.co.uk A family food distributor that has been supplying an extensive range of quality food products to the catering trade for over three generations. Bizzibees – Golden Bar Apiaries * Tel: 01754 830654/820369 Email: bizzibees@btinternet.com 100% Pure Lincolnshire Honey direct from our apiary complimented by our natural range of cakes, puddings and seasonal chutneys. Trade enquiries welcome. Brewsters Brewing Company Tel: 01476 566000 www.brewsters.co.uk National award winning brewer, producing cask and bottled beers from locally produced malt. Supplying hospitality businesses, corporate and private parties. Cherry Trees Farmhouse Kitchen Cherry Tree Farm, Gedney Drove End, Spalding PE12 9PD Tel: 01406 550404

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www.ctfk.co.uk A traditional farmhouse kitchen providing a wide range of preserves, chutneys, vinegar and specialist cakes. See us at Spalding Farmers’ Market. Eden Farms * Tel: 01790 763582 www.edenfarms.co.uk Organic vegetable farm supplying fresh-cut home grown produce to households and farmers markets in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Organic farmers for 27 years. Farm Fresh Duck Tel: 01472 371271 www.cherryvalley.co.uk Farm Fresh Duck More Freedom More Flavour. Farm Fresh Duck is available as whole ducks, half ducks, duck legs and duck breast fillets. Heart of Gold Rapeseed Oil * Tel: 07732 953238 www.heartofgoldrapeseedoil.co.uk Delicious versatile golden oil – grown and pressed on our farm near Grantham. Low in saturated fat. High in Omega 3, 6 and 9. Treat your heart. Mr Huda’s Surma Secret Spices 161 Frodingham Road, Scunthorpe DN15 7NH Tel: 01724 335492 www.mrhudas.co.uk ‘We have done the hard work so you don’t have to’. Ready blended

authentic fresh herbs and spices. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2008. Ideal Lincs Ltd Grange Offices, Girsby Grange Farm, Burgh on Bain, Market Rasen LN8 6LA Tel: 01507 313855 www.ideal-lincs.co.uk Specialist wholesaler of Lincolnshire produce serving multiple and independent retailers, food service and restaurants. ‘Regional Produce Hub’ serving ASDA locally. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2007/08/09. Lincolnshire Agricultural Society Lincolnshire Showground, Grange de Lings, Lincoln LN2 2NA Tel: 01522 522900 Email: marketing@lincsevents.co.uk www.lincs-events.co.uk “Promoting food and farming in a sustainable environment.” Lincolnshire Co-operative Foodstores Email: enquiries@lincolnshire.coop www.lincolnshire.coop With 70 foodstores across the county, Lincolnshire Co-operative is at the heart of the community, bringing ‘local choice’ to everyone. Modens Lincolnshire Plum Bread Company Unit 7D, Vale Ind Est, Spilsby PE23 5HE Tel: 01790 755620 www.modens.co.uk

Modens Lincolnshire Plum Bread produced from a family recipe using the finest ingredients. Traditional slow fermentation creates the delicious unique flavour. Peppers Lane Fine Oils * Tel: 01529 421217 / 07930 330733 www.fineoils.co.uk Producers of high quality Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for retail and catering, grown and pressed on the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens Pipers Crisps * Tel: 01652 686960 www.piperscrisps.com Hand made crisps produced in Lincolnshire using local potatoes and natural flavours from people who care. Pocklington’s Bakery * Tel: 01507 450872 www.pbl.uk.com Traditional family bakers Est 1924. Crusty bread, speciality breads, rolls, cakes, pastries, pork pies, pasties, sausage rolls and Lincolnshire plumbread. Wedding cake specialists. Tastes of Lincolnshire Award 2009. Stokes Tea and Coffee * Tel: 01522 512534 www.stokes-coffee.co.uk Coffee roasters and specialists since 1902. Supplying tea, coffee and equipment to the retail, wholesale and catering trades.

Tom Wood's Beer * Melton High Wood, Barnetby DN38 6AA Tel: 01472 255500 www.tom-wood.com Tom Wood beer brewed in the Lincolnshire Wolds using finest malting barley and whole English hops, available wholesale or at pubs and retail outlets. SCHOOLS AND CHILDREN’S NURSERIES Red Hen Children’s Day Nursery Manor House Farm, Legbourne, Louth LN11 8LS Tel: 01507 603535 Email: redhenkidz@btinternet.com ‘Quality of Life’ for 0-5 years. Healthy environment, quality home cooked meals using local produce with excellent childcare and nursery education. Tastes of Lincolnshire Mr George Award 2009. St Mary’s Preparatory School 5 Pottergate, Lincoln LN2 1PH Tel: 01522 539804 www.stmarysprep.co.uk Quality, local seasonal ingredients used for healthy lunches, school dinners as you’ve never known them! Another good reason to choose St Mary’s.

Sourcing Your Produce Farmshops, Retailers, Wholesalers & Hampers Abbey Parks Farmshop 59 Anglia Woods Wholesale 68 Archie Hardwick Deli 66 Chestnut Farmshop 66 Church Farmshop 57 Doddington Farmshop 56/57 Downtown Garden Centre 67 Fenella’s Garden 57 Field Farm Organics 62 Ideal Lincs Wholesale 69 Ivy’s Farmshop 66 Lincolnshire Co-operative All areas Lyndhurst 65 Manor Farmshops 60 Old Stable Store 60 Pink Pig Farmshop 57/58/68 Poplar Farmshop 64/65 Shop on the Farm 60 Spalding Farmshop 67 Stamford Garden Centre 68 Sunnyside Up 62/64 Syston Park Farmshop 67/68 Uncle Henry’s Farmshop 57/58

Bakers & Flour Alford Five Sailed Windmill 61/62 Cherry Trees Farmhouse Kitchen 68 Cogglesford Mill 59 Curtis of Lincoln 55 Foster Butchers & Bakers 55 Geo Adams 66 Hambleton Bakery 67

Horncastle Cake Art 63 Kate Elizabeth’s Cupcakes 57 Lakings of Louth 63 Modens Lincolnshire Plum Bread 69 Mount Pleasant Windmill 57/58 Myers 61 Pocklington’s 63/69 Stamford Cupcake Co 68 Starbuck 64 Truly Homemade 68 Welbournes 60

Meat & Fish Alfred Enderby Smoked Fish Bassingthorpe Beef Belleau Smokery Boston Sausage Chapmans Finest Fishcakes Curtis of Lincoln Elite Meats Fairfield Farm Fresh Products Farm Fresh Duck Fen Farm Venison Fishwife Fishmongers Foster Butchers & Bakers Geo Adams Grasmere Butchers Hirst Butchers Kings Butchers Lakings of Louth Lancaster Butchers Leaning Butchers Lincolnshire Wild Venison Meridian Meats Butchers

65 67 62 66 65 55 55 62 69 59 65 55 66 67 59 67 63 63 63 63 63

Millstream Butchers 60 Minting Park Farm Meats 63 J Norcross (Ryelands Dexters) 60 Oak Tree Farm 58 Odling Brothers 60 Oslinc 63 Papworth Butchers 60 Phipps Butchers 60 Poachers Pasties 63 Redhill Farm Free Range Pork 58 Simons of Spilsby 63 Smiths Smokery 66 Southern & Thorpe 60 Thorpe Latimer Farm Meats 60 Wild Rabbit Co 64 Withern Mill Trout Farm & Fishery 64 Woodlands Organic 67

Drink Batemans Brewery Brewsters Brewing Fulstow Brewery Lombard Wines Poachers Brewery Marron Cider Real Tea & Coffee Shop on the Farm Stokes Tea & Coffee Tom Wood's Beer

64 68 62 59 56 58 60 60 55/69 69

Vegetables Eden Farms Henrietta’s Garden Woodlands Organic

69 55 67

Cheese, Ice Cream, Eggs & Dairy Preserves & Confectionery Bizzibees Cherry Trees Farmhouse Kitchen Croft Apiaries Goodies of Covent Garden Gourmet Roasted Nuts Gringley Gringo Heath Farm Preserves Mr Huda’s Spices Old Elephant Fudge Pipers Crisps Prilly’s Country Kitchen Saints & Sinners Special Edition Chocolate

68 68 57 62 59 59 59 69 56 69 66 66 63

Appleby’s Ices Blyton Dairy Icecream Cheese Society Cote Hill Cheese Dennett Icecream Farmer Brown’s Icecream Bill Grundy’s Icecream Heart of Gold Rapeseed Oil Henrietta’s Garden Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese Lymn Bank Cheese Peppers Lane Fine Oils Primrose Free Range Eggs Rich Pastures Milk Willingham Fayre Icecream

64 56 55 62 55/62 64 63 69 55 63 65 69 63 65 62

* – Mail order available

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“ I keep smooth plats of fruitful ground, Where thou may’st warble, eat and dwell” From ‘The Blackbird’, Tennyson

Gardening

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How does your garden grow? Lydia Rusling hunts out the productive gardens of Lincolnshire he grow-your-own movement is booming – you can read magazines and books, watch TV programmes and DVDs, browse dedicated websites on the subject, buy a grow-your-own gift, watch guides on YouTube and even download a grow-yourown iPhone App. Many of the summer Flower Shows had show gardens this year following the growyour-own trend. RHS Shows Development Director Bob Sweet said: “Grow-your-own has been a very important area of horticulture for a long time. We thought the bubble would burst but it hasn't.” The RHS launched a grow-your-own campaign earlier this year with over 20,000 people signing up. Gordon Seabright, Acting Director General of the RHS said, “We know that growing your own is a popular activity, but we never thought it would capture the nation’s imagination so dramatically and quickly. Within the first 48 hours over 15,000 people had pledged to get growing – an absolute record.” The campaign was expanded to encourage businesses to support their staff to grow at work and has now attracted the support of over 100 companies. Gordon continued, “In a recent online survey, over half of our recipients said they would regularly use a workplace garden or allotment if they had access to one, while 73 per cent said they found gardening to be a good way of unwinding from the pressures of work.” In a report commissioned by B&Q, 36 per cent of us said that we plan to grow our own fruit and vegetables, up from 25 per cent in 2009. According to the National

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Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners there are more than 100,000 people on the UK waiting list for allotments. Celebrity gardeners and chefs have played their part. Most notably Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall who launched Landshare.net, which connects growers to people with land to share. The site boasts over 50,000 members and recently helped Sally Jackson at the set up a community garden to make use of an underutilised polytunnel and vegetable garden. Sally received a good response to her advertisement on the Landshare website, including a reply from Natalie Hirst who was keen to demonstrate to people in her community how they can grow their own. Along with volunteer gardener Mick, they formed a mini committee and have successfully recruited about 5 or 6 volunteers. “I buy a variety of the produce that they’ve grown in the garden for the Farm Shop and up to 90 per cent of the fresh produce in the shop can come from the garden depending on the season,” explained Sally. The idea of a community garden has proved particularly successful for Lincoln based . Dave Higginbottom has been here for just over three years running a social day care centre for adults with mental health problems. “Our service users have great ability, so we have put it to good use. There is a lot of evidence that gardening is a therapeutic activity that can lift the mood, so we took on an allotment site along with six ex-battery chickens, which quickly grew to about 4 dozen rescue chickens,” explained Dave. u AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

There were remnants of history she explained that had been left behind. Heated hot houses along the wall would have provided the family with peaches and nectarines

Nicky Greenwood at Uncle Henryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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Unfortunately they were cleared out by a fox, but they went on to buy different breeds of chickens including Cream Legbar that produces blue eggs and Araucanas that provide green eggs. Gaining a reputation for the quality of their eggs, they now have two polytunnels on the allotment and supply up to 12 restaurants in Lincoln with seasonal produce and eggs. “Our service users are heavily involved with the whole process from planting and harvesting, looking after the chickens, to sales, marketing and deliveries. We offer veg box deliveries free of charge within a 10 mile radius, but only what we produce and only seasonal produce, so we do occasionally have some lean times.” They also sell direct with a display outside during the week; this obviously works well as when I visited late morning it had all gone! The impact on those involved in the project shines through. Dave is keen to get away from the stereotypical views of mental health and help break down discrimination. Henrietta’s Garden is a credit to all the hard work of everyone involved. Dave tells me their newest venture is selling fresh organic soup at fairs, festivals and markets – so don’t miss ‘Souperb’ at this year’s Sausage Festival at Lincoln Castle.

big movements so the children are getting physical exercise. They need to touch nature, run about and spend time outside in the fresh air. They are also developing communication and language skills. It instigates first hand learning, for example when harvesting the beans we worked out how many we needed for all 17 children in the class with 5 beans in each pod – a great application of maths. We’ve dug up the potatoes and beans and cooked them, seeing the process of change when heat is applied. And, of course we’ve eaten them too.” Being shown the year 3’s garden was like walking into Beatrix Potter’s Mr McGregor’s Garden with neat little rows of lettuce, carrots, spring onions and radishes. The gardening projects have motivated the four children I’m with to have a go at home too. Ben tells me that he grows his own tomatoes and strawberries at home, Tilly has tried purple carrots and Toby brought in cherries for his class from home and kindly cut out the stones for everyone.

The links between growing your own vegetables and eating them are also being explored at in Lincoln. I met Anne Ogley, head of early years (2½ - 5 years old) on a busy day towards the end of their summer term. I was promptly introduced to Ben, Tilly ‘the princess’, Ted and Toby ‘the tiger’ – from the foundation class, who as it was the last week of term were allowed to dress up! All four were full of enthusiasm for their little garden where they’d been planting, growing and picking strawberries, courgettes, beans, potatoes and tomatoes. She enthusiastically tells me of all the benefits of growing your own. “Understanding the process of the natural world and particularly understanding the dependency on light, food and water – an early introduction to photosynthesis – gets the children to appreciate that their food does not magically appear on a supermarket shelf.” Anne explains the many benefits linked to their outdoor garden “The digging uses

Not really needing to ask, but I enquired whether the children had been encouraged to try something different and try healthier food for their lunches. Being introduced to Gill Eyre the catering manager at St Mary’s gave me the answer. A remarkable spread was laid out for lunch. Gill told me that all the food is in colour coded bowls, green for vitamins, red for protein and white for carbohydrates. “We encourage the children to select 1 red, 1 white and 2 green items – giving them a choice, but also healthy options. We used to employ a catering company, but it didn’t allow us the freedom to source the food we wanted. Now we make our own bread, yoghurt and soup daily, get our meat from a local butchers and our milk from a producer in Market Rasen. Our menus are all designed in-house too and they are very popular with the children and teachers who all eat together.” I’m finally shown the class with the little ones, St Mary’s take children from 2½ years, and this class too has been joining in the gardening, growing pots of mint, onions

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Being shown the year 3’s garden was like walking into Beatrix Potter’s Mr McGregor’s Garden

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Clockwise from top left: Nicky Greenwood at Uncle Henry’s; Ben and Ted; Ben, Ted, Toby and Tilly; Produce from Uncle Henry’s Garden; Dave Higginbottom, Henrietta's Garden

and garlic and helping with the strawberries too. It shows how simple it is to start growing your own produce. If you need any more motivation to start growing your own then I’d recommend a visit to . The walled garden behind the shop belonged to Henry Wright, the tenant farmer who the farm shop is named after. Henry is now 90 years old and the garden had been left to its own devices for many years. Head Gardener Nicky Greenwood embarked on the transformation in 2008 and has strived to bring the garden back to what it would have been like 200 years ago when the farm was self sufficient. There were remnants of history she explained that had been left behind. Heated hot houses along the wall would have provided the family with peaches and nectarines. Years ago 3 or 4 gardeners would have looked after the garden, but today Nicky works alone with some initial help to clear the area. “It has been a rolling process, putting the infrastructure in place and in the first year concentrating on two large beds.” “When I had my children I started to grow vegetables as a hobby,” explained Nicky. “I decided if I was going to do it then I wanted to do it properly so I completed RHS level II in Horticulture. When I spotted the advertisement for Uncle Henry’s I sent pictures of my raised bed garden at home. Now it is a joy to come to work.” The garden provides the farm shop and restaurant with a substantial amount of produce and Nicky is happy to provide tips to budding vegetable growers. “At our Open Farm Sunday event there were so many visitors wanting to get into gardening and they all had lots of questions,” said Nicky. “My advice is grow what you like to eat!” I will continue my search of the county’s productive gardens and in the meantime I might give it a go. ‘Food from your Garden’, passed onto me by my grandma states ‘Anybody can have green fingers; it is simply a matter of following straightforward instructions and applying common sense.’ n

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MASTERCLASS

You will needâ&#x20AC;Ś FOLIAGE: Twisted Willow Rhubus Fatsia japonica Mahonia japonica Bergenia cordifolia Conifer Reingold Pittosporum tenuifolium Aspidistra leaves FLOWERS: Red Carnations Orange Mini Gerbera Sunflowers Hypericum Berries EXTRAS: Floral Foam/Oasis (available from local florists) Oasis Dish (or similar container i.e. margarine tub) Floral Tape

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Cut the foliage the day before, in the evening. Strip the bottom leaves and place in a bucket with a couple of inches of water in the bottom. TIP: Gerberas have a furry stem and do not like their stems in deep water, condition them in shallow water. Cut the Oasis to fit the dish and soak. TIP: fill sink with water, deep enough to submerge the foam, then float the Oasis on top of the water, it will fill up and soak itself. Do not place under running water. Place the Oasis into the dish and cross over floral tape to secure in place. Strip the Twisted Willow and push into either end of the Oasis. Add the Rhubus at the same end to strengthen the long line created. Add the Fatsia japonica, Mahonia japonica and Bergenia cordifolia foliage into the Oasis using a blocking technique (1), grouping the foliage and overlapping the Bergenia cordifolia and Fatsia japonica. Add different shapes and textures to

create interest, adding Conifer Reingold and Pittosporum tenuifolium. To manipulate the Aspidistra leaves fold the stem back on itself pushing the stem through the leaf and repeat back on yourself again and push through the stem on the opposite side (2). Place into the Oasis (3). Remove the little leaves from the red Carnations and make a clean cut above the nodule before placing into the Oasis (4). Imagine the Gerberas are faces in a photograph and position by turning them in different ways to create interest. Remove all the foliage from the Sunflowers and Hypericum Berries before adding to the arrangement (5). Chop the ends off the Fatsia japonica leaves to give the arrangement a more contemporary feel (6) and finally, add some more twisted Willow, adding depth and creativity.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2009

Fiery but Warming Our new flower arranging masterclass is inspired by the success of our cookery masterclass features and in recognition of Lincolnshire as an internationally significant horticultural area, with 38% of UK bulb flowers grown in the county. We called on the expertise of Rosemarie Green; with over 15 years in floral art Rosemarie has designed a colourful table centre piece for Good Taste readers to re-create. Rosemarie is also hosting demonstrations at Uncle Henryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm shop for those of you wanting to develop your flower arranging talents.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2010

GOOD TASTE

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