The second in a series looking at local food in Bristol, this time focusing on the different routes to market for producers.
"Restaurants face many challenges in their sourcing; chefs often demand high quality and consistency in their produce and struggle to plan far enough ahead to work with small-scale producers. Why would a restaurant choose to go that extra mile when it comes to local produce, and how can they form direct relationships with local producers? Birch, in Southville, grow around half of their vegetables themselves on a smallholding in Whitchurch, with most of the rest of their produce sourced directly from local farms, including sides of pork from Mary Holbrook at Sleight Farm, that they butcher themselves. Owner and chef Sam Leach describes why sourcing locally is important to them; “We have to think about re-localising the food system. It’s a huge challenge but all you can do is pick your thing and do it well. We try to grow as much as we can in our plot, and then support other people who are doing things we think are good.” "
Excerpt from Sustainable Food Trust, September 2017, Words and photographs.