- A feature from the February 2016 issue of Suffolk Norfolk Life magazine
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- Food
Alan Dann talks about the use of local produce at The Oaksmere…
Since arriving in East Anglia just over a year ago, to oversee and develop the kitchen and food offerings at The Oaksmere, I have discovered a wealth of local produce. The list is extensive: free range Blythburgh Pork, local game, selected breed cattle, locally grown vegetables, even beer and wine. I am excited to be faced with the opportunity to use such fresh ingredients found right on our doorstep. At The Oaksmere, we have a genuine passion to drive local produce in order to support single farm businesses that rear their animals in an enlightened and sustainable way.
To use the local ingredients to their full potential we have built a Butchery, which enables us to select animals bred from adjoining fields. With the help of Kevin Burrows at C&K Meats in Eye (one mile away from The Oakmsere), the animals are processed humanely through his abattoir and delivered directly to us. This keeps the food miles to a minimum, championing sustainable values and delivering quality meat from field to fork.
A walled kitchen garden is currently under development and with permission granted for the construction of a greenhouse, we should be harvesting our home grown produce by this summer. We are thinking of every possible way to bring our customers the freshest and therefore tastiest of foods. There are also plans to build a smokehouse soon adjacent to our butchery as well as a shop on site to sell our meat, fish and vegetable produce to the public. Soon, our customers will not only be able to eat a delicious and tender steak lovingly butchered and cooked by us, but will be able to take one home too.