There is something quintessentially British about foraging for food in the proverbial back yard, where fresh strawberries and brown chickens abound.
The Farm Shop Guide: Farm to Fork Food (out 21 October, Printslinger) is a colourful compendium of over 160 farm shops, barns, sheds, and agri-cafés independently run across the UK. In 250 illustrated pages, the guide tells readers what the farms in their backyard are, who runs them, what they grow, and how their founders’ passion and new ideas keep them alive and thriving.
It’s also packed with practical info, including which places are dog-friendly, cater for vegan and gluten-free, and offer PYO produce.
Where a large percentage of us may depend on the convenience of shops and bakery chains day-to-day, this pocket-size guide is a great inspiration to go off the urban script, giving hundreds of examples well worth a detour.
From crops adapting to droughts and floods, to savvy owners bringing in an alpaca or two to entertain families, the guide also gives a glimpse into how the independent farming landscape is in constant flux.
Especially at a time of scepticism and loss of trust in our food system, books like The Farm Shop Guide are a vital reminder of independent farms being not just the lifeblood of our food system, but places holding a special point of national pride.
If nothing else, it gives the reader a delicious roadmap to Britain’s best farm-to-fork spots, where seasonal stews, hearty pies and freshly picked fruit are always on the menu.
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