glorious goodies at Goodies!

Less than two minutes off the A140, between Long Stratton and Diss, is Goodies Food Hall and Restaurant, a thriving business which aims to put South Norfolk firmly on the foodie map. Owned and managed by Stuart and Kim Gooderham, with son, Lewis and daughter, Abby, Goodies is a real family business that has come a very long way from its humble beginnings. Though the business has developed and evolved it has always stayed true to its original ethos – to make, serve and champion the freshest and best quality local produce.

The original Goodies Farm Shop opened in 2002 with Stuart and Kim soon adding their own butchery, bakery, and deli to create a bustling and bountiful Food Hall, together with a café serving dishes created using ingredients sold in the shop. They quickly gained a reputation both for the quality of the shop and for the tastiness and heartiness of the dishes – the Goodies’ Farmer’s breakfasts have always been famous around these parts, with regular fans returning again and again and from all over the county, and even the country, enroute to/from holidays on the coast. ‘Good’ is never good enough for Goodies who constantly seek to bring newer and better options for their customers, making their own products in-house in the bakery and deli to ensure the quality or variety that they desire is available, and leading the way with new technologies such as their Dry Aged cabinet in the butchery.

2020 was a pivotal year for the business. Goodies were quick to respond to the impending pandemic and lockdowns, going above and beyond to source produce and items for customers, and providing an invaluable delivery service for those who couldn’t get out to shop and at a time when the supermarkets could not deliver. However, prior to the pandemic, Stuart and Kim had already begun a large-scale extension and refurbishment of the Goodies restaurant and bakery. While the works were delayed, and the restaurant wasn’t able to open until September 2020, it was undoubtedly worth waiting for. The stunning and stylish new 120 cover restaurant is a world away from its farmhouse kitchen style predecessor, earning much praise from existing customers as well as attracting lots of new and satisfied visitors. With a double height ceiling and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the garden, the restaurant is light and spacious. There’s a range of seating styles to suit the needs of a variety of customers – and the overall effect is elegant, modern, and welcoming.

The menu has also undergone a transformation and is another exciting element of the new Goodies Restaurant. The kitchen still uses the quality ingredients for which the Food Hall is so well known, but the menu has evolved to include influences from world cuisines meaning that dishes such as bang-bang chicken salad and Malaysian red coconut vegetable curry are now mainstays of the main menu, alongside the much-loved butcher’s pork and apple burger and the chef’s daily duck-egg quiche. There are specials too, including fresh fish on Fridays and roasting Sundays; Goodies is unabashed in believing that they serve the best Sunday roast with all the trimmings in the area, and aim to continue to do so. Even the afternoon tea has had a makeover. Happily, the farmer’s breakfasts remain, and are better than ever!

Adjacent to the restaurant is the new R&R room, named after Stuart and Kim’s dads. It’s a private dining space suitable for a variety of business meetings and special celebrations, and is available to hire with bespoke catering packages. And outside is the fabulous garden dining area with a further 60 covers. On a sunny south Norfolk day, there is no finer place to be.

Kim and Stuart hope that Christmas 2021 will be a big one for the business, both in the shop and in the restaurant. The shop’s hamper and Christmas orders continue to grow each year and, of course, there will be a sensational Christmas menu available in the restaurant and private dining opportunities too.

Goodies bakery, deli and butchery continue to go from strength to strength as customers demand tastier and better quality products than they can find in the supermarkets. People travel miles for a Goodies pork pie and scotch egg, and their sausage rolls are feted. As people care more and more about putting quality, locally sourced food on their plates all year through, both at home and when they dine out, it is places such as Goodies Food Hall that will enable them to do so, well into the future.