Make this Christmas the year you support local producers and make your Christmas tree, Christmas gifts and Christmas table special!
Buying local and seasonal is good for you and your family – and it doesn’t have to break the bank. It’s also good for the businesses you support, for your community – and for the whole area. When you buy artisan, hand-made or welfare-friendly products and crafts, you are choosing original gifts for the people you love and you serve food and drink that is better for the planet, better for the local economy* – and tastes much better than the mass-produced alternatives.
It can also save you money. In the big stores and supermarkets, you often have to buy the quantities they decide – packaged and shrink-wrapped – so if, for example, you only want two apples, you will have to buy six or more. BOGOFs can be tempting – but all too often, particularly with fresh produce, much of it spoils before you actually get to eat it.
It can be very hard to buy a single chicken breast or steak, and dried fruit, nuts and spices for your Christmas cake or pudding often come in bigger bags than you need, leaving you with items you may not use until next year! These dried goods – seeds, nuts, pulses, dried fruit – can often be bought loose in farm or whole-food shops, so you weigh and buy way you actually need.
Here’s a guide to some of the many makers and producers, farm shops and businesses who can supply all your food and drink requirements for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, seasonal parties and New Year’s Eve celebrations … and a few ideas to go under the tree as well!
Turkey and geese
The Chilcott family produce free-range bronze turkeys at their farm at Owermoigne (see this month’s A Country Living)
chilcott-turkeys.co.uk
Kimbers Farm Shop near Wincanton Racecourse is well-known for its turkeys, raised on the family farm, as well as highly rated beef, hampers and a host of farm shop favourites (they have some very funny greetings cards, too).
kimbersfarmshop.co.uk
The Dunning family produce free-range geese for Christmas at Goose Slade Farm (yes, really!) at East Coker near Yeovil. They have been farming sustainably at Goose Slade for more than a century, producing cattle, pigs, sheep and free range chickens and ducks, and selling their products in their well-stocked farm shop.
christmasgoose.co.uk
Meat and game
There are still some traditional butchers in our area, including Stuart Pearce at Blandford, Rawston Farm Butchery and Farm Shop at Tarrant Rawston, Else’s in Stalbridge, Parsons Butchers at Sherborne, the Thoroughly Wild Meat Company at Castle Cary, Keatings, dating back to 1906 at Wimborne, and Andrew Barclay at Wincanton. A bit further afield, RJ Balson and Son at Bridport, at nearly 510 years old, is said to be the oldest butchers in the country.
Blackmore Vale Butchery, a family business established in 2006 on the A30 near Henstridge, supplies a wide range of meat and game to local shops, offering only 100% grass-fed and high welfare meat sourced only from small-scale, local farmers they know and trust. bmv-butchery.co.uk
The Online Butcher of the Year, Dorset Meat Company, also in Henstridge, offers a wide range of meats from turkey to goat, as well as locally-sourced deli items, and build-your-own meat boxes and hampers. thedorsetmeatcompany.co.uk
Pamphill Dairy near Wimborne, a 150-year old family farm on the Kingston Lacy Estate, sells locally produced meat, alongside dairy, their own ice-cream and a wide range of farm shop produce.
pamphilldairy.co.uk
Farm Girl Sausages, run by Sophie Baker, based at Holt near Wimborne, is a farm-to-fork meat business selling sausages, burgers and other handmade products. farmgirlsausages.com
The Story Pig at Sandford Orcas produce outdoor-bred, free-range Tamworth pigs, a traditional rare British breed; they have a small farm shop and a cafe where much of the food served comes from their kitchen garden. thestorypig.co.uk
Dorset Game Larder, run by Chris Tory, based on a family farm near Badbury Rings, sells locally sourced wild game including pheasant, partridge, pigeon and venison. thedorsetgamelarder.co.uk
Gutchpool Farm between Motcombe and Mere sells Pasture for Life certified 100% grass-fed lamb and hogget, as well as sheepskins, apple juice and more. gutchpool.com
Cold meat/charcuterie
The Real Cure is a family-owned artisan business producing award-winning cured meat products, including wild venison chorizo and salami, coppa and Dorset bresaola on the family farm near Shaftesbury.
therealcure.co.uk
Capreolus, a multi-award-winning business founded by David and Karen Richards at Rampisham in West Dorset, now retailed through Sherborne-based Hunts Food Group, produces a wide range of traditional artisan charcuterie.
Cheese and other dairy
Two of the world’s greatest cheeses, Montgomery and Keen’s traditional farmhouse Cheddar are produced locally, at (respectively) North Cadbury
montgomerycheese.co.uk, and Moorhayes Farm near Wincanton, keenscheddar.co.uk. Another important historic cheese is Dorset Blue Vinny, rescued from extinction by Mike Davies at Woodbridge Farm, near Stalbridge, where his daughter Emily also produces Dorset Blue soups and a selection of chutneys. dorsetblue.com.
The Book & Bucket at Cranborne is a newer name, making some exciting cheeses, thebookandbucketcheesecompany.co.uk.
James’ Cheese at Child Okeford makes several fine cheeses including the rind-washed Francis.
jamesscheese.club
White Lake at Bagborough, near the Bath and West show ground, produces multi-award-winning cow’s, goats and sheep’s milk cheeses – a recent addition is the Great Taste Award-starred Burrow Mump (pictured), named after a famous Somerset Levels landmark, a sheep’s milk hard cheese, with a sweet, nutty flavour, which is washed in Somerset Cider Brandy. whitelake.co.uk
Two delicious ice cream and gelato makers are Purbeck Ice Cream, long established on a dairy farm overlooking Corfe Castle, producing a wide range of flavours, made with local fresh milk and cream. purbeckicecream.co.uk; and Baboo Gelato, founded and made by Annie Hanbury, at Bridport. baboogelato.com
Other dairy producers include the Dorset Dairy Co, based near Stalbridge, thedorsetdairyco.com, and Woodlands Dairy near Blandford, who produce outstanding sheep’s milk yogurt. woodlandsdairy.co.uk
Vegetables
We have some exceptional local greengrocers, including Sprout and Flower at Mere and Wincanton Fruit and Veg in Coles Yard, plus two outstanding farm shops – Steeptonbill at Milton Abbas and Gold Hill Organic at Child Okeford.
Bread, cakes and mince pies
There is plenty of good bread, including the area’s longest-established traditional bakery, Oxfords, baking bread at Alweston since 1911, with a number of shops, including at Sturminster Newton and Sherborne, and the Italian-style Lovington Bakery at Wincanton, which is famous for its sourdoughs, ciabattas – and luxury doughnuts!.
One of Dorset’s most popular and creative bakers is Lizzie Crow, aka Lizzie Baking Bird, who sells her original and traditional tarts (the Dorset crab tarts are truly memorable), pastries, sausage rolls, cakes, brownies and other sweet and savoury products at Dorset farmer’s markets, Dorset Food and Drink events and from her bakery near Martinstown. Lizzie’s Christmas specialities – the perfect present with her distinctive style – include mince pies with Grand Marnier. Once eaten, never forgotten … and annually craved!
The Bayside Bakery at Weymouth specialises in brownies – former intensive care nurse Katy Howell changed careers to become a baker and realised that brownies were the best-sellers. She also offers a fun DIY version – make-your-own brownie in a jar! 2024.baysidebakery.co.uk
Coeliacs and those who need gluten-free bakes are well-served locally, with Honeybuns’ ever-creative Emma Goss-Custard producing a wide range of bars and cakes at Holwell, honeybuns.co.uk.
And for those who don’t have the time or can’t make pastry, Dorset Butter Pastry, produced at Crossways, is the answer! dorsetpastry.com
Treats and preserves
One of the country’s finest chocolatiers, Claire Burnet and her husband Andy run Chococo, a now-legendary chocolate business based near Wareham, with a shop and cafe in Swanage (and Winchester, Exeter and Horsham). Founded in 2002, Chococo is renowned not only for the quality of the chocolate used but for Claire’s innovative ideas and creativity in both flavourings and packaging. Christmas specialities this year include a novelty Advent shapes tube, a 12 Days of Christmas hamper, an oat milk Chocolate Penguin and Cascade of Festive Chocolate Selection Boxes.
More than 30 years ago, Giles and Annie Henschel came back from an amazing motorcycle ride around the Mediterranean with a lot of stories – and a passion for the food of the region, particularly the olives and olive oil. The rest is history – Olives Et Al became and remains a leading force in encouraging a taste for olive oil and Mediterranean food generally. Still at Sturminster Newton, still independent and still at the top of their game, the Olives Et Al range now includes many exceptional oils, olives, preserves, sauces and more. olivesetal.co.uk
Based in Weymouth, Mel Gunn and her son Lewis of Relenka Sweet Treats produce a range of artisan fudge, biscotti, cakes, chocolate and other confectionery – all ideal stocking fillers!
Tracey Collins makes her preserves, under the name Ajar Of, at her Jammery in Hazelbury Bryan – jams, marmalades, chutneys, etc, delicious all year round, and exceptionally desirable Christmas presents. Look out for her gift packs too.
Karl and Chrissie Regler have been making their ever-expanding range of From Dorset With Love preserves, chutneys and sauces since 2010, winning county, Taste of the West and Great Taste Awards. Their Dorsetshire sauce is a worthy competitor for the traditional Worcestershire sauce, with its famously secret recipe! fromdorsetwithlove.co.uk
made at Shipton Gorge
Seasonings
You can even season your turkey and trimmings with first class local products – Dorset Sea Salt, with a range of additional natural flavours, is widely available, while George Norbert-Munns markets Stony Groves Kampot pepper, a distinctive and irresistible spice which he discovered when living in Cambodia.
stoneygroves.co.uk
So now you have the main event, the Boxing Day cold cuts and cheese board, the preserves and handmade bakes for presents – you just need …
… Something to drink
Local wines include the award-winning Langham Wine Estate, producing outstanding whites and sparkling wines. Or try a bottle of Little Waddon Vineyards award-winning Col Fondo – the perfect accompaniment to the Christmas feast!
Dorset-based spirits include Wilfred Shon’s Shroton Fair Gin, Fordington Gin, Conker Gin, John and Sandy Tucker’s ‘real British rum’ made with molasses at Black Ven Distillery at Lyme Regis, Weymouth-based The Saddle Stop gin, and Helen Benedict’s Pomme Blush apple aperitif, made at Shipton Gorge.
For a lively and healthy non-alcoholic choice, try one of Emma Davies’ range of Curious Kombuchas, produced in the Marshwood Vale. The former brewer started making her healthy, unpasteurised, fermented drinks because of her own health problems. Her authentically made range includes cucumber, lime and mint, pineapple and ginger, raspberry and turmeric, and a Christmas special, elderberry.
curiouskombucha.co.uk
*Buying from local producers and locally owned retailers makes sense on every level – it supports local businesses and employment, it adds to social cohesion and helps to build a sense of community … and it is a measurable boost to the local economy. The money you spend stays locally. Research over recent years has repeatedly revealed that when we shop locally, for every £1 spent with a small or medium-sized business, around 63p remains in the local economy. This compares with around 40p with large chains and supermarkets. Other research shows that £10 spent with a local independent shop can mean up to an additional £50 going back into the local economy.
