Back to basics

Here we are at the end of the Great Kent Food Caper. Three weeks is time enough to learn some lessons, so it is time to review things.

Did it work? Yes. And, surprisingly, it is perfectly possible to live mainly off produce from the Faversham area (say within a five-mile radius of the town) let alone Kent.

All those things I’ve instanced before (pork, lamb, beef, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruit, fruit-juices, beer, cheeses and eggs) can be bought locally. They can also be bought at good prices and bought conveniently.

The commercial winner has turned out to be David Simmons; Mrs Y has discovered the excellent local produce David sells from his Market Place stall and has pledged undying fealty.

Here’s a list of good Faversham produce stockists/suppliers: pork, lamb, beef (Snoad Farm); fish, seafood (Bluey Walpole); vegetables, fruit (David Simmons, Macknade); fruit-juices (Moor Organics and Pawley Farm); beer (Shepherd Neame); cheeses (Dargate Dairy); eggs (Churchman’s Farm).

The gripes still remain . . . pricing of some Kent products is ludicrous. It seems the pricing policy of some producers is just to throw very large numbers into a hat, draw out one at random and then apply it to the product.

Labelling is also pretty hopeless – vague to the point of utterly uninformative about the provenance of products. I shall be taking some retailers to task about it. Even some who profess to be fully committed to Kent produce make it extraordinarily difficult for shoppers to support their local suppliers.

Also, there seems a lack of entrepreneurial spirit among producers and suppliers. Kent is one of the strongest identities/brands in the UK. Do producers make the most of that huge advantage to promote their products? Hell they do. In the past few weeks between us we’ve identified all sorts of products which Kent can and does produce, but which producers seem intent on hiding away in a dusty, unlit PR corner.

One more side-shoot emerges from this, which is . . . Lesson No. 9, if you can, grow some of your own fruit and veg do so. It’s a cheap, satisfying hobby that will do you good in numerous ways.

I have an allotment and have planted fruit trees in the garden. But, through a combination of circumstances I won’t bore you with, I haven’t really been on the veg case this year. Next year is going to be a year of maxing on home-grown, which means I’ll be starting to dig over the allotment and so forth from next month.

Talking of doing you good, this experiment had been good for the Young household. I drink less tea and coffee (that headache is something I don’t want to repeat), but still enjoy them, we eat better and I, for one, certainly feel a good deal better.

One loose end is Kent Salt, which I never got around to pinning down, despite tips from Claire and Suzanne. But, thinking about opportunities, I can see the label now ‑ Miles and Slater, Purveyors of Fine Kent Sea-Salt. Go to it, girls.

I will being posting to the blog every now and then, but won’t be doing so daily. If anything crops up you think is of interest and relevant let me know, I can it include as and when. I’ll also write a round-up of this in a couple of weeks’ time for the Faversham News.

Lastly then, Lesson No. 10 . . . . there is no lesson No. 10 at the moment, but when I think of it you’ll be the first to know.