Local Produce
We are passionate about using only the best local/regional/seasonal British food that we can buy or grow/make ourselves. A big thanks again to our suppliers who have helped us to win our Awards in 20010, 2002009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.
We are proud to say that all of our cooked breakfast ingredients have travelled less than 5 miles from Fern Cottage which not only means they're fresh and support our local community, but has travelled with a minimum amount of miles. Our evening meals are prepared using local Venison from Dyrham Park 1.5 miles away, local Cotswold Edge Farm free range chicken breasts, Pork from PJs Farm 4.5 miles away and seasonal British winter vegetables (using locally produced where possible)
We try to keep imported food to an absolute minimum. We also grow all our own fruit and vegetables without the use of pesticides or chemicals.
Local Suppliers
Bread
Pucklechurch Bakery (Food Miles 1 - Local Produce)
25 Westerleigh Road, Pucklechurch, Bristol, BS16 9RB
Traditionally made farmhouse granary and farmhouse white bread and is suitable for vegetarians. They’re great, if we’re late collecting our order, they phone to make sure we haven’t forgotten.
Organic Yoghurts
Yeo Valley Organic Yoghurt (Food Miles 14 ½ - Local Produce)
Blagdon, Nr Bristol
www.yeovalleyorganic.co.uk/
Delicious organic yoghurts from this local company – thick and creamy, perfectly complimenting our homemade/homegrown fruit compote which is layered between the yoghurt.
Old English Rare Breed Sausages, Free Range Kidneys, Jamie’s Maple Cured Bacon, Pork Shoulder
PJ's Farm (Food Miles 4 ½ - Local Produce)
c/o Copperfield Farm, Marshfield Lane, Beach, Bristol, BS30 6NP
http://www.pjs-farm.co.uk/
Jamie supplies us with delicious sausages, bacon and fresh kidneys from his rare breed pigs. Jamie has been breeding free range rare breeds British Lop pig on his dad’s Farm Assured Farm (Copperfield Farm). “In 2005 there were only 136 registered sows, putting them at the top of the rare breed list as an endangered breed but with Jamie’s success story he is helping to prevent them from becoming extinct.
We have known Jamie and his parents (Mike and Shelley) for approximately 13 years) and were delighted to find that he was starting this venture in 2004 which helped us with our search for excellent local produce.
Jamie and his dad Mike have offered to host visits by guests wishing to see his rare breed free range pigs with their piglets. Visits must be pre-arranged through Sue.
We wanted to give guests the opportunity to taste Jamie’s delicious bacon that he has just started having specially cured by Award Winning Manor Kitchen for him. Grilled to perfection, the fat is crisp and brown. Wonderful flavour – we’re using it in our “Special” – “Fern Cottage Fresh Herb Omlette” using our own home grown chives and parsley filled with Jamie’s maple cured bacon and sautéed mushrooms and a grilled tomato from Jeff at Siston Court Nursery. Delicious!
We are using Jamie's delicious free range pork chops in our "Country Pork Parcel" evening meal recipe - absolutely delicious!
Maple Cured Bacon
Manor Kitchen (Food Miles 2 ½ - Local Produce )
3 Soundwell Road, Staple Hill, Bristol BS16 4QG
www.manorkitchen.co.uk/
Well done to Beth and Russ for achieving a Silver Award from Taste of the West Food & Drink Awards 2007 for their Home Made Maple Cured Bacon. We knew it was good!!
The bacon is specially cured for us by Manor House Kitchens, 3 Soundwell Road, Staple Hill, Bristol. The shop has been in the same family for over 100 years – worth a trip – they have won Gold Taste Awards for their hams that are cooked on the premises, as well as pies, pasties etc and their own special curing. During the winter they even have an open log fire in the shop to warm visitors. Beth and Russ have such a dedicated commitment to their delicious artisan cured meats – they have helped us enormously with their continuing encouragement with our business – Thank you Beth and Russ!
Apple Juice
Days Cottage (Food Miles 30 - Local Produce)
Upton Lane, Brookthorpe, Glos GL4 OUT Gloucestershire
http://www.applejuice.care4free.net/
(Winners of the Taste of the West Award) Nearly 100 year old Gloucestershire Orchards carefully tended by Helen and Dave. Their commitment to producing such a wonderful product is truly inspiring – going to farmers markets, selling to large restaurants, retailers and cafes etc and small B & Bs like us, then taking the trouble to get someone from the farmers market to drop off cases of apple juice at Tytherington Post Office and General Stores – (thank you ladies) for us to collect from them. We can also arrange for guests to visit Dave and Helen’s orchard, juicing system, stores and cider house to sample some of their unique range of products. This will need advance booking. Bottles of Days Cottage Apple Juice can also be purchased from the Breakfast Room.
Organic Jersey Milk, Butter, Clotted Cream and Double Cream
Ivy Farm (Food Miles 25 ½ - Local Produce)
Beckington, Frome, Somerset
Supplied by Hobbs Bakery, in the Medieval Town of Chipping Sodbury. Well worth a visit for their super range of cakes, pastries and fantastic range of speciality breads.
Tomatoes
Siston Nursery (Food Miles 0 Local / Home Grown Produce)
attached to 16th Century Siston Court - 2 fields away
We’ve known Jeff for 12 years when he used to come to Fern Cottage to take away our free horse manure. He works completely on his own, in his walled nursery and lives in the North Wing of Siston Court. He grows tomatoes, cucumbers, runner beans, beetroot, leeks, squash, marrows, courgettes, lettuce, cabbages, herbs, bedding plants and more besides. We buy his tomatoes when ours aren't ready or are finished.
Potatoes
Edgar Webb, Gingells Farm (Food Miles 0 - Home Grown Produce)
1 field away
The potatoes used in my homemade potato and chive griddle scones and are grown in the field at the back of our field. They are so fresh, that they are dug and passed over the hedge to us as soon as they are dug. Edgar Webbs farm is just along the road – Gingells Farm and sacks of his lovely fresh potatoes can be purchased for £6.00 a bag.
Eggs
Home Grown Produce
Our own delicious ones of course! We have now added Cream Legbar chicks to our ever growing chicken keeping. We have 14 Cream Legbars that lay blue shelled eggs. We bought all 14 of them at the age of 6 weeks to bring on ourselves to make us more sustainable in eggs.
We have just got 4 quails that we will be using to supply us with lovely fresh eggs in our speciality breakfast menu recipes. Watch out for the on-line diary on the bottom of page 1 of our website for more details.
Our 5 week old khaki campbell ducklings have just arrived (end March) - so we're hoping that the two of them will contribute some delicious duck eggs to our recipes and also for guests wanting to try a freshly laid free range duck egg.
Jams/Marmalades
Local / Home Grown Produce
All the jams and marmalades are homemade by us: Raspberry and Redcurrant Jam, Raspberry Jam, Plum and Apple Jelly, *Seville Orange Marmalade,Strawberry Jam, Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam, Damson Jam, Plum Jam, Blackberry and Apple Jam. We grow the following fruit at Fern Cottage to make into jams/marmalades: rhubarb, raspberries, redcurrants, damsons, plums, blackberries and apples. The strawberries are hand picked by us at St Aldams Farm or Frome Valley Farm Pick Your Own Farms. *This year we have used organic Seville oranges to make our marmalade from www.huertavemaria.com/ and organic lemons
Biscuits in rooms
Homemade Produce
I am now making our own home made biscuits to go in the guests' rooms. Baked freshly sometimes chocolate chip cookies and other times delicious buttery biscuits. They don't get fresher than this! My only problem is that I have to test the quality of them each time I make them!!
Naturally Smoked Haddock
David Felce Smokery (Food miles 30 - Local Produce)
Water Lane Farm, Randwick, Nr Stroud, Glos GL6 6EW
www.davidfelce.co.uk/
We met David at the Bristol Farmers Market where we took a sample of his own naturally smoked fish home to try. The smoked haddock was delicious, so we have now added them to our list of suppliers.
Sue's Home Made Granola
I didn't realise that home made granola would taste so good - so easy to make and the best thing is that it's packed full of delicious nuts, oats, honey, maple syrup, berries, coconut and raisins. What a fantastic start to your breakfast!
Herbal Teas
Pukka Herbs (Food Miles 15 ½ - Local Produce)
The Old Sawmill, Home Farm, Barrow Court Lane, Barrow Gurney, Bristol, BS48 3RW www.pukkaherbs.com/
What a wonderful selection of herbal teas from this local company including: “Revitalise, Refresh, Relax, Clarity, Love, Detox, Pleasure, Cleanse, Harmonise, Protect” – something for everyone! This is the first time that I’ve found herbal teas that actually taste even better than they smell and they smell wonderful – you can really taste every separate ingredient in each sachet!
Soft Fruit
St Aldams Farm (Food Miles 1 ½ - Local Produce)
Westerleigh Road, Pucklechurch, Bristol, BS16 9PY
www.staldamsfarm.supanet.com/
We go to the pick your own at St Aldams Farm for raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, strawberries for making my homemade jams when ours aren't ready or if we haven't got enough!
Local Honey
Frome Valley Farm Shop (Food Miles 6 ½ - Local Produce)
Bristol Road, Frampton Cotterell, BS36 2AR
We purchase local honey and go to Frome Valley Farm Shop to do Pick Your Own Fruit such as strawberries and raspberries etc.
Water
In line with our environmental policy, we have decided that we can no longer supply bottled water in the rooms due to the impact of plastic bottles on the environment (which we have recycled until now). Instead we supply each room with a stainless steel jug of filtered water which we are happy to replenish when required. We have a water filtration system fitted to our cold water.
Tea
Miles West Country Tea (Food Miles 77 ½ - Regional Produce)
The Vale Yard, High Street, Porlock, Somerset, TA24 8PU
www.djmiles.co.uk/
As well as providing Miles Tea and Coffee at breakfast for guests, we have been able to source their tea, coffee, hot chocolate and decaffeinated coffee in sealed envelopes for our guests hospitality tray. Their hot chocolate is to die for – wonderful at bedtime, mid-morning or any excuse!! Miles West Country Tea is part of the Ethical Tea Partnership
Naturally Pressed Rapeseed Oil
R-Oil (Food Miles 25 - Local Produce)
Stow on the Wold
www.r-oil.co.uk/
We use this locally made rapeseed oil for cooking. It tastes more like a good quality olive oil which is probably because it is naturally pressed by Robert and Hamish Campbell from Stow on the Wold. We use it to fry our own delicious eggs and also drizzle a little over Jamie’s free range sausages - wonderful.
Venison and Cheese
Cotswold Edge Farm Shop, Pucklechurch (Food Miles 1 - Local Produce)
We are lucky to be able to use venison (wild roe deer) in our winter casseroles from Dyrham Park National Trust property 1.5 miles away and also from the Duke of Beaufort Estate (20 minutes drive away - red deer which is available all year round) which we buy from Cotswold Edge Farm Shop. We buy Lyecross Cheese, stilton and brie from Redhill, Bristol from our local Cotswold Edge Farm Shop in Pucklechurch village.
Items for Sale
We also have a selection of our local suppliers “goodies” for sale, such as the Days Cottage Apple Juice, Marshfield Miniature Shortbreads, jars of local honey, home made Seville orange marmalade made from organic oranges and lemons, as well as home made chutneys and pickles.
We hope you enjoy the food during your stay and knowing where it’s come from and how fresh it is.