Willows Farm Shop

British Food Fortnight, 18th Sept – 3rd Oct 2010

2010 marks the ninth British Food Fortnight during Harvest Festival, the traditional time for celebrating our food.

Across the country the event will celebrate the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces and at Willows Farm Shop we will be supporting the event with tastings and promotion of British and local produce available in the shop  to encourage our customers and visitors to buy British whenever possible.

Visiting Willows Farm Shop on the 18th and 19th September during British Food Fortnight will be David Curry, local chairman of the Hertfordshire Orchard Initiative, to talk about apple pressing and give a demonstration. This initiative is a voluntary group that promotes orchard conservation and celebrates everything apple-related. Customers can also test his knowledge as he can identify any of the UK’s apple varieties!

We look forward to seeing you to celebrate the best of British food at Willows Farm Shop.

Ten things you may not know about British food

1. Britain produces 700 named cheeses - that’s more than France!

2 There are more than 2,000 varieties of apple grown in Britain. The Bramley apple is still produced from stock taken from the original tree where a pip was planted in the garden of a Mr Bramley in the early 19th century.

3. Britain’s seasonal climate produces one of the greatest varieties of vegetables in the world. Each season’s crop gives us all the nutrients, minerals and trace elements that our bodies need at particular times of year.

4. Britain’s meat is of such a high quality that breeding livestock and genetics from our native breeds are sought after by farmers around the world.

5. No growth promoting hormones are allowed in the production of British meat.

6. British pig farmers operate, by law, to standards of welfare higher than those of nearly every other EU member state.

7. British chicken meat is the safest in Europe.

8. There are 350 varieties of potato grown in Britain, each with its own unique taste, texture and flavour.

9. 70,000 inspections are carried out every year to ensure that the £7.5bn worth of British food bearing the Red Tractor logo is produced to the highest food safety and animal welfare standards.

10. Over 78,000 of Britain’s farmers and growers are farm assured, meaning that the quality of their production is guaranteed. This accounts for 65-95% of production, depending on the specific sector.

Source: British Food Fortnight website.