Whether you’re attending the Cowdray Polo Gold Cup Final, Qatar ‘Glorious’ Goodwood Festival, music festivals or just entertaining outside in the beautiful weather this summer, you’ll be deciding what goes in the all-important picnic hamper.
This weekend we were at Winchester Food Festival packing our picnic hamper full of goodies from local producers based right here in Hampshire. From smoked trout and locally brewed ales and beers to our Tunworth and Winslade cheeses, the food market had something for everyone. After gathering all the delicious produce we sat out on the Winchester Cathedral grounds and tucked into our picnic. Here is what we bought!
Tunworth and Winslade cheese made by us at Hampshire Cheese Company. This one is really a no brainer and absolutely essential to include in your picnic. We also picked up a coppa and some salami from Parsonage Farm Charcuterie. Dave and his team are passionate about using artisanal methods from Northern Italy to make their delicious, cured meats in Hampshire. We also got our hands on some goodies from Olives Direct, a company based in Hampshire that source the very best ingredients to create their range of freshly prepared foods, including olives and antipasti. We went for their Moroccan houmous, tapenade and Sicilian olives with some crostini to soak it all up. The final addition to our picnic hamper was a bottle of Hill Farm Juice which is hand-picked and juiced in the Meon Valley in Hampshire.
Living in Hampshire we are lucky to be surrounded by exceptional food producers which makes shopping local so easy for us. Whatever you decide to put into your picnic this summer, we urge you to shop as locally as possible, using British suppliers if you can’t find what you’re looking for within your own community. If you are fortunate enough to live in Hampshire like we do, check out Hampshire Fare. They have been championing local produce for the last 30 years and have a directory online of the best food producers in our area. They have also got a Food Festival running throughout the summer in various locations all over the county so find out what’s on and get involved.
www.hampshirefare.co.uk/news-events/hampshire-food-festival
