The Daily Telegraph voted Suffolk ‘Best Region’ for Food, saying
“Suffolk is a county where, if you only scrape the surface, you will find enough food to fill you to your ears. Villages still have small butcheries; roadside honesty box sales of honey, eggs, vegetables are typical; and fishermen sell their catch from beach huts. The richness of Suffolk is not an accident. Locals are loyal to their independent shops and have fought to keep the superstores out.”
And celebrated restauranteur Thomasina Miers comments that
“Suffolk has a unique vibrant and wonderful food scene” and that “the food scene in Suffolk is remarkably strong“
Yes, there is a fantastic array of local produce hereabouts, which makes food shopping a pleasure not a chore!
As well as a large and useful Co-Operative Food Store, Halesworth (2 miles) has
- an excellent traditional Butcher selling locally-produced meat, game birds, venison, wild boar & home made pies
- a renowned Organic /Health food shop offering delicious breads & cakes and smoked cold meats
- a Delicatessen specialising in cheeses + bread, as well as locally-produced salami
- 2 greengrocers that stock seasonal local produce as well as the everyday
- a Wednesday outdoor market: stalls sell vegetables, fruit and fresh fish
- Halesworth is also home to Hillfarm Oils the original British producer of cold pressed rapeseed oil.
On top of that, all the surrounding market towns – Bungay, Beccles, Southwold – have great delis and butchers and there is a monthly Produce Market in Halesworth and numerous other Farmer’s Markets and Farm Shops in the vicinity for example, Middleton Farm Shop now bakes its own bread using local flour and the region’s only commercial wood-fired oven. Woodbridge has the now famous Shuck Shellfish Festival in October and Framlingham, the Great Sausage Festival!
Fresh fish can be bought fresh off the boats at Black Shore, Southwold Harbour and at Aldeburgh.
Fen Farm Dairy is only a few miles away. Here you can purchase raw milk from their on-site vending machine as well as their Award Winning Baron Bigod Cheese (served at Harry & Meghan’s wedding breakfast) and gorgeous butter. (Did you know that one of the storylines in the Archers is based on their ‘journey’ !)
So forget that supermarket delivery and have fun buying local!
You can have a fab Suffolk Breakfast, Lunch or Picnic delivered to you door by Suffolk Lunch. Recommended.
Farmer’s Markets, Breweries & Vinyards:
- Produce Market, Halesworth – 2nd Saturday morning of the month in town centre
- Farmers Market, Southwold every Friday 9 – 12.30
- Snape Maltings’ Farmers Market, first Saturday in the month (AM only)
- There’s also a great choice of local Brewery Tours – Adnams & St Peter’s, not to mention Vineyards – there’s Valley Farm , Giffords Hall, Shawsgate, Fint Vineyards, all within easy distance and where delicious and on-trend English wines can be purchased. Some such as Flint Vineyard do really interesting tours and offer a lunch of local produce. Distilleries are now on the radar too such as Adnams Gin and the English Whisky Company.Also see the Waveney Valley Wine Trail and Food Trail
