First, some cyber news for all you foodie techno-geeks out there: Radisson Edwardian Hotels are putting QR codes beside every dish on their menus. If you scan it with your smartphone, it'll show you a video of the dish being prepared. In addition, The Hilton has received over 100,000 bookings through mobile phone apps since launch in 2010. On the back of our last post, we're just saying 'Hellooo restaurateurs - is anybody out there? Because we are - with the technology - and we're just waiting for you.'
Anyway, back to business. How local is 'local'? What's your definition? 10 miles? 20? 100? Within the same county, even? Whatever your stance, it seems a restaurant near you may have very different ideas. A recent Local Government Regulation investigation found that of around 300 eateries, one in five used the term 'local' misleadingly. We don't know what you think, but lamb from New Zealand has probably gambolled a fair bit further than the Welsh valleys, where it was claimed it was sourced; one restaurant passed off their ham as local to Devon, when it was in fact from that acknowledged nadir of pig-keeping, Denmark; our particular favourite is the one caught selling 'local' ice cream that was in fact sourced from that well-known local business Carte D'Or.
Curiously, counties differed hugely in their honesty. Of the areas surveyed, Brighton was the biggest stickler for the rules: 34 out of 35 random venues could prove they used local produce from within a 50 mile radius. Even more curiously, Lancashire was one of the biggest fibbers, with 32 out of 41 venues using the term misleadingly – do they think you don't care...? From 30 venues asked in Hampshire, over a quarter were selling false products.
There is no actual widely agreed definition of 'local', although most will put it within 50 miles. There's also no legislation, although apparently LGR will be publishing a legal definition sometime later this year, although in the meantime licensees et al should be warned they can be prosecuted under the Food Safety Act 1990.
So what's a right-minded foodie to do? When a restaurant menu clearly states its ingredients are local, are we to believe them or do we grill them till they crack? Is 'local' just too vague a term to provide a definitive answer to the sourcing question? Are we being charged a premium for something that's not even what it claims to be? And can we even tell the difference between a locally-made, hand-churned ice cream and its commercially-available equivalent, or do we just want some nice food, thanks very much?
I would agree that the essence is on British as local is non specific. I dont think we should be over specific about the whereabouts of produce as long as we support our farmers and it is from Uk.
As an example my son and I have cooked food at some events in the North East and most organisers have been absolutely fine. Two farmers markets, however, were terribly precious about the whereabouts of the ingredients and demanded a personal visit to our house and wanted to check the cooking environment et al. Whilst we have all the required certificates and the environmental health had given the green light, we had nothing to hide! The hoops we had to jump through negated the deisre to promote the specific Farmers Market, so we declined.
Let's keep it simple I guess.
Local should be within a distance of your local, or nearest farmers market. This is how we at Traeth decide whether an ingredient is "local" or not. However, we shouldn't get too hung up with "local". We use local produce only if it doesn't affect quality. Surely more importantly, we should all be using UK grown produce. It reduces airmiles, and thus the carbon footprint, and also makes us be more seasonal in our approach to the customer dining experience. It also backs british farming and fishing.
I would agree that the essence is on British as local is non specific. I dont think we should be over specific about the whereabouts of produce as long as we support our farmers and it is from Uk. As an example my son and I have cooked food at some events in the North East and most organisers have been absolutely fine. Two farmers markets, however, were terribly precious about the whereabouts of the ingredients and demanded a personal visit to our house and wanted to check the cooking environment et al. Whilst we have all the required certificates and the environmental health had given the green light, we had nothing to hide! The hoops we had to jump through negated the deisre to promote the specific Farmers Market, so we declined. Let's keep it simple I guess.