Provenance
We take pride in the food we serve.
For food to have honesty and integrity (as it should), it is vital to know its origins; and for it to be good it must be fresh. To that end we try and produce ourselves as much of the food we use as possible. Where this is not possible, we are privileged to be able to call on the artisan food producers of Shropshire and the neighbouring counties.
Accordingly, the seasonal availability of food is of great importance to us, and this is reflected in selecting our daily changing menu.
Home Produce
We are lucky to have the walled gardens, combined with our farm and wonderful country location. These enable us to grow a substantial amount of the food used in our meals ourselves, and so, at the right time of year, guests frequently eat produce picked moments earlier from the garden.
...from the Estate
The estate produces a significant quantity of food. There are four beehives kept on the farm, from which we are able to get our own honey (in May, when the bees target the bluebells in Soulton Wood, this is a distinctive white colour).
The estate also provides game and fowl for the table, in season.
...from the Gardens
The gardens (including the cottage gardens) produce practically all of the herbs we use, and is particularly productive of fruit, including:
Mulberries, gooseberries, loganberries, blackberries, raspberries;
Blackcurrants, redcurrants, and whitecurrants;
Plums, sugar plums, damsons and greengages;
Cherries, pears and apples;
Rhubarb, quinces and crab-apples.
Often this fruit will be served in our deserts, or to complement other courses, but it also finds its way into jams and preserves (we aren't able to grow our own oranges, but do make marmalade...).
We are always trying to increase the amount of vegetables we are able to grow ourselves, and we hope to re-plant the historic fruit orchard using our archive records the contemporary varietals.
On a final note, all of the logs burnt in the fireplaces at Soulton Hall are collected from the trees of the farm (we are careful not to take all dead wood, however, because it is an important habitat for our plentiful wildlife and we replace all trees as necessary).
Local Food Artisans
However much we try, we cannot be entirely self-sufficient. We are, however fortunate to be able to call upon the services of a number of local, skilled artisan food producers. There are a huge number of them (too many to name!), and what they produce varies greatly, including:
smoked and cured meats,
sausages,
fruit and vegetables,
local cheeses,
bitter beer,
fruit juices,
chocolate,
and much other produce.
What unifies this broad collection of produce, is the fact that it is thoughtfully created by passionate individuals. While we have not listed our suppliers here (it would be impossible to be comprehensive) we are delighted to let curious guests know where their food has come from, so that they too may support these passionate and dedicated groups and individuals.
