nourish team In the summertime, when the weather is high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky, as sang Mungo Jerry. One of our favourite things to do is to pack up a picnic and head to a perfect spot for some alfresco dining. We share some of our favourite picnic goodies…
Earsham Street Deli in Bungay excels at sharing the finer things in life, and when it comes to picnics, they are a step ahead. Offering everything from freshly made sandwiches and salads to savouries and cakes, they can put together your own personal picnic lunch. With local produce at the fore, their sandwiches are jam-packed with delicious fillings, with a menu that makes it almost impossible to choose!
As well as hand-raised pork pies – and all the chutney choices you could need to accompany them – and vegetable samosas, homemade quiches and sausage rolls, Earsham Street Deli offers the best in local charcuterie and, of course, cheese. You can go local, with Binham Blue, St Jude, Baron Bigod, and Suffolk Gold, or you choose from a turophile’s dream and go for the classics: Black Bomber, Colston Bassett or Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire. To accompany all, there are the perfect grazing elements, from crackers to piccalillis and medlar jelly. If you want to keep things simple, then the Deli Gang can happily put together a bespoke hamper, all ready for you to collect and take on your way to your perfect picnic spot. Just give them a call, and as much notice as you can, and they can put together your dream alfresco hamper.
Nestled in Waveney River Valley, Fen Farm Dairy is producing some of the UK’s best loved cheese and dairy products. Their Baron Bigod cheese, a farmhouse brie-style, was among the top selling British artisan cheeses last year and woos cheese lovers around the globe with its beguiling gooeyness and complexity of flavour. Co-founder Jonny Crickmore says the global success of his cheese is in large part down to the fact that the farm operates on sustainable ‘circular farming’ principles, meaning the whole lifecycle of the farm is managed on-site in a symbiotic way, from relaxed cows to healthy soil, to grass, to milk, to muck and back to soil again. Every part of the cycle is carefully tended to, and nothing is outsourced. All the feed is grown in the surrounding landscape, flavouring the milk and cheese with a true expression of the place in which it is made. Fen Farm has recently introduced a popular online subscription service, allowing customers to have their favourite cheeses and dairy delivered conveniently to their door – just perfect for your picnic!
Tavern Tasty Meats in North Walsham have a range of hampers that can be ordered and shipped nationally or collected in store, including their picnic hamper for four. Priced at £37.99 (excluding shipping), the hamper contains four freshly baked ciabatta rolls and butter, 200g each of Mrs Temples Walsingham Cheddar cheese and Binham Blue, four slices of home-cooked ham, a Tavern Tasty Scotch egg, Monty’s Chutney, a medium Norfolk pork pie, cheese straws, a pack of sausage rolls, vine tomatoes, Norfolk apple juice, and cookies. Other offerings from the Tavern Tasty team include a charcuterie hamper, a festival hamper, and a choice of afternoon tea hampers. With 24 hours’ notice, they will have their delicious hampers ready for you, full of meats from in store as well as local produce, allowing you to enjoy the taste of Norfolk while you are out and about, enjoying the sunshine and alfresco delights. If you collect from their Swafield shop, you can also add extras to your hamper, including local strawberries and cream, chocolates, plus, of course, for the non-drivers, local gins, wines, beers, and ciders, plus other tasty treats!
Munchy Seeds in east Suffolk are perfect for picnics as a topping for houmous, salads, pasta, or simply as a snack while on the go. They offer a range of sweet and savoury seed mixes that are delicious for all the family, and their 25g snack packs are easy to pack.
For the ultimate picnic treat, pop a pot of RAMONA’S Houmous in your picnic basket for the whole family to tuck into. Choose from original, red pepper or jalapeño for a delicious, healthy and easy picnic staple.
Meanwhile, Jarrold in Norwich has everything you need for the perfect picnic; their Food Hall and Deli is home to exceptional produce, including cheeses, pâtés, quiches, pies, tarts, cakes, chocolates, and much more.
“The joy of packing the perfect picnic is including local produce such as Candi’s Chutney, the perfect accompaniment to some of the delectable cheeses available in the Jarrold Deli,” says Jarrold. “Then there are remarkable culinary treats such as these Calabrian round peppers, enriched with a creamy goat cheese filling. Wash down with Norfolk Apple Juice, pressed from apples grown on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, or a glass of Flint Vineyard’s Silex Blanc, and you have the perfect way to enjoy the great British countryside this summer.”
Jarrold’s top picnic picks include:
Sophie Allport Bees Knitted Picnic Blanket £41.50
Candi’s Bramley Apple and Norfolk Ale Chutney 284g £5
Callipo Green Peppers & Goats Cheese 240g £7.60
Jarrold Norfolk Apple Juice 750ml £3.50
Flint Vineyard Silex Blanc 2019 £24.
