Locally sourced produce
We try and source as many of our ingredients as possible from Exmoor & Somerset, supporting local producers in the process. We include some information below about some of our suppliers including links to their websites. If you enjoyed their food whilst staying with us, it can often be ordered online direct from them once you have arrived safely home!
We source most of our sausages from The Sausage Shed based in Stembridge, Somerset www.thesausageshed.co.uk Ivan Thompson, the owner, handmakes all the different sausages and even though he only started up his business last year, has already won four gold and one silver Taste of the West Awards and four British Pig Executive gold awards. Extraordinary! He will represent the region in the national Champion of Champions finals in the Butcher's Hall at Smithfield this year.
Ivan has worked as a butcher for almost a quarter of a century. He started out in Belfast in 1985 and still uses his original sausage recipe, which has only been tweaked very slightly over the years.
"A good recipe doesn't need to be mucked about with," Ivan explained.
"Good ingredients are vital and I go to Hopkins at Creech St Michael and literally pick my own pigs. All of them are reared free-range and outdoors on Somerset Farms."
Explaining a little more about the importance of animal welfare, Ivan added: "More than just tasting better, it means a lot to me to know that pigs have been ethically raised so I take animal welfare very seriously.
"It is important to look after farm animals and to treat them with respect. However, that means we have to be prepared to pay a fair price for our meat. You just can't make a quality product for a meagre price."
We use the finest cuts of meat and the sausages are made from Gloucester Old Spot and Large White pigs reared locally, where the pigs range free outdoor in the Summer with barn shelter in the Winter, ensuring that the animals are happy and healthy.
All of our fresh fish is sourced from Rob wing, a Cornish fish merchant www.wingofstmawes.co.uk Andre (head chef) and myself (Peter Rowan, owner) accompanied Rob at 6am on the harbourside at Newquay as the day boats came in, watched him in action in the subsequent fish auction and travelled up to India Queen's to their processing plant. The fish that was landed that morning was up here the same evening!
We source most of our chesse from Tower Farms www.towerfarms.co.uk which is a family owned and run dairy located at Lydeard St Lawrence, all of 5 miles to the East. Peter and Philip White manage over 600 milking cows between them whilst Geoff White oversees day to day operations at the cheese dairy. They started in 1973 by making cheddar cheese in the traditional farmhouse style using milk from the family farms.
Our free range eggs and some of our free range bacon is sourced from Anna Mogford's farm in Somerset www.bringing-home-the-bacon.co.uk
Anna was born into a farming background and over the years her experience within the UK and internationally of all sides of the pig industry, plus time spent as a Meat Inspector and butcher, gained her the wealth of experience and knowledge needed to start "Bringing Home the Bacon". Her passion for pigs, from rearing to the production of the best quality bacon, is evident in the superlative standard of her delicious bacon and sausages.
Anna is all about an independent female pig farmer who is highly dedicated to her family lifestyle and pigs. She takes great pride in caring and producing a premium traditional quality product from much loved pigs.
We class what we do as "home produced, not mass produced" and demonstrate this with our highly achieved 2009 Taste of the West awards.
In addition to her free range pigs, Anna also rears free range hens who have acres of room to get all the exercise they need before returning to their spacious shelter to lay their tasty eggs.
We now source all of our eggs from Anna and it was a delight to take the chance to visit the farm and see it all in action!
