‘Larder of London’...fine food from the Chilterns

ONCE known as the “Larder of London”, the Chilterns has always been a fantastic centre for food and drink production.

You may have even tried a traditional Chilterns speciality. Perhaps a roasted Aylesbury duck or maybe an Oxfordshire hollygog pudding?

The Chilterns food scene is alive and thriving today. Within 10 miles of Henley, there are 24 restaurants in the latest Michelin Guide.

Oxfordshire has nearly 100 Great Taste Award winners. Every year, Oxfordshire’s independent food and drink producers are winning more and more of these awards.

“There is a certain magic in the air here, a buzz that makes people give it a go and generally it works,” says Luke Garnsworthy, founder of Crockers Henley.

“We are surrounded by great farms, ice cream makers, chocolatiers and all the artisan shops. It is just such a fantastic place to be as a business and also as a food lover.”

In researching the Chilterns Recipe Book, I visited the region’s best producers in their bakeries, distilleries, dairies, fermentaries and farms.

I learnt all about the great care they take over their ingredients and the high quality of the food and drink they make.

The jewel in the crown of the Chilterns food scene is Henley. Many of the region’s top producers are based in and around the town.

Fairmile Vineyard creates beautiful award-winning sparkling wine, using the same grapes and techniques as the top Champagne houses in France.

Nettlebed Creamery’s fantastic cheeses delight customers enjoying toasties at its Cheese Shed café and in top restaurants across the UK. The Chilterns special terrain gives our food and drink its wonderful and unique “terroir”, or taste of the locality.

Breweries in the area benefit from the hard water and high mineral content. The flinty soil is perfect for winemakers as vines prefer well-drained land.

Climate change means Henley’s microclimate is now much the same as that of the Champagne region of France. While animals grazing here need to be hardy to cope with the chalky ground, the high silica and calcium soil is great for growing fruit and veg.

With the Henley producers leading the way, there’s a strong movement across the Chilterns towards organic farming.

This is great for the planet and better for our palates too. The
food being produced is of higher quality, more nutritious and more flavoursome.

English Farm in Nuffield takes its stewardship of the countryside very seriously.

It rotates its Longhorn cattle’s grazing to build up carbon levels in the soil. It’s a proven and very effective way of reversing climate change.

The cows eat diverse grassland, pasture and very little else. Butchery manager Sam Veen says the animals’ organic diet gives their meat “a richer, more intense
flavour”.

Rose Grimond, owner of Nettlebed Creamery, said: “It’s a brilliant time for small artisan producers like us but we rely on people appreciating what we do.

“We’ve got to thank all the people who make the extra effort to go to the farm shop, independent butcher or cheesemonger, who are keeping all those passions alive.”

• The Chilterns Recipe Book features more than 50 recipes from the region’s best independent food and drink producers. The book costs £20 and is available to buy via
chilternsrecipebook.co.uk and the best farm shops and independent bookshops across the area.