Tuesday 4 August 2015

Sourced from Miles Away


On Saturday, after our morning of kayaking, we had lunch at The Old Mill at Bathampton. The menu showed the provenance of the supplies used to make the various meals and I noticed that something was from Somerset, something else was from Yorkshire, yet another ingredient was from Lincolnshire - in fact the complete antithesis of the usual statement going on about how all the ingredients are sourced locally from within a 5 metre radius.

It struck me that locally sourced ingredients must be restrictive by definition and it makes sense to search further afield for the best. Which is better - to expend food miles to source the finest the whole country can offer, or limit yourself to what are possibly inferior, locally-sourced ingredients?

Given the rampant penchant for companies protecting their produce with Protected Designation of Origin of Protected Geographical Indication, it won't be long before restaurants will have no choice but to source their ingredients from far and wide.

Cabin update:







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