There's no doubt regional food and drink in England adds flavour to the glorious scenery. Start a day in the country with a visit to a Farmer’s Market where stallholders are up at dawn to harvest dew touched lettuces and ripe, red tomatoes warm from the vine. See stalls heaped with cakes, pies, fudge and toffees and always a surprise – gleaming jars of chilli pickles in a sleepy Midland market square.
Farm shops great and small, from a pile of freshly picked fruit in the corner of barn to the world famous Chatsworth Farm Shop, where a team of chefs and bakers create delicious pates and delicatessen foods and venison from the park is sold alongside 120 cheeses.
Menus in Michelin-starred restaurants are a glowing testament to the quality of local produce, blackboard menus in a multitude of pubs proclaim regional specialities and vibrant cities and towns are home to restaurants offering cuisines from every corner of the globe.
Interested in learning more about eating and using fresh regional produce? Click here for some great cook books.
Looking for local food producers? BigBarn (www.bigbarn.co.uk/) helps you to find them in your area, or in the area you plan to visit. Click the link, then enter a place name or a postcode to get a map of your area with all your local producers listed as icons.