Eating for Devon

This year, our choices about the food we buy and eat are more important than ever, as CATHERINE COURTENAY discovers.

- CATHERINE COURTENAY

Seeing an ingredient that was grown or made in Devon listed on the menu of a London restaurant will always bring a smile to the face of Barbara King.

Barbara is well tuned in to the county’s food and drink scene. The managing director of The Shops at Dartington, she is also chairman of Food Drink Devon, a not for profit membership organisation that promotes high quality and sustainable Devon produce, both within the county and beyond.

Her work often takes her to the city where she says: “I love it when I go into a restaurant and see Brixham crab or Red Devon beef on the menu.”

It’s a shared feeling she believes. “Anyone who works and lives down here wants the county to thrive. We have such great food here, coming from a unique climate and ideal growing conditions.”

From 19 September to 4 October, a campaign called British Food and Drink Fortnight is underway. It’s run by Love British Food, an organisation which aims to promote the UK’s produce both among members of the public and in national businesses and institutions. This year the event comes at a key time, with Brexit around the corner and new challenges facing British farmers.

Farmer and cheesemaker Mary Quicke is on a mission to inspire people to become what she calls ‘conscious consumers’.