One of my favourite aspects of my business is dealing with the farmers who supply my meat. They are close to nature, driven by a passion to produce something special and totally unaffected by the complications that come with an urban lifestyle. None more so than Charlie and Julie Crowther of Glen Oakes Farm. Taking a blind leap of faith in my yet to be proven ability to make a salami, Charlie set up the most amazing breeding programme at Glen Oakes. I hope cousin James will forgive my complete disregard for the English language in this post but the proof of the bacon is in the eating, quite literally.  The quality of the pork makes my job that much easier and knowing that the animals were raised ethically, humanely and as naturally as possible is just as important.

Don’t take my word for it though. I invite you to come to the farm this weekend to see and taste for yourself. Jules Mercer from the Outlandish Kitchen is hosting a picnic on Saturday and a lunch on Sunday. Charlie will be on hand to explain how the farm works, show guests his favourite veldskoen shoes and, if we are really lucky, let us taste his illegal apple brandy.

I will be present on both days with a small selection of products made from Glen Oakes pork and hope to see you there.