Procter's Sausages

Everyone loves sausages - you can buy them from just about anywhere that has a chill cabinet. The problem is the quality varies from inspirational, artisan-made products using the finest slow-grown pork, to the deviously bad, chemical-laced electric pink specimens using the worst and most watery, factory-farmed pork. Sausages range from the seriously sublime to the frankly disgraceful.
Truly great sausages are made from free range slow grown pigs, reared outdoors with space and freedom to display their natural behaviours. Fed a natural cereal based diet, there is time to develop a flavour and succulence that intensive indoor-farmed pork just cannot match.
Just sourcing correctly grown pigs, from right here on our doorstep in Suffolk, is only the beginning though. We use fatty cuts such as the shoulder and neck and mince the meat coarsely, ensuring a banger with fantastic texture and succulence. Add to this the right amount of rusk (bread with no yeast) to absorb the delicious cooking juices, encase the whole in a natural hog runner for a tender bite and you're getting close to the perfect sausage - a Procter's sausage.


The shops are located in Ipswich and Colchester open from Monday to Saturday from 9:00am to 5:30pm
 
Colchester
Procters Sausages
Red Lion Yard
High Street, Colchester C01 1DZ
Tel: 01206 579100
Nearest parking St John St Car Park

Ipswich
Procters Sausages
12, The Walk
Ipswich IP1 1EE
Tel: 01473 281191
Nearest parking at Buttermarket Car Park


Mail Order
Visit their Online Shop  to have your sausages delivered to you.

Hadleys Dairy Products

Using fresh milk and cream from their 'Sixpenny' herd of Holstein Fresian cows.  This Essex base award winning dairy produces a wonderful selection of handmade ice cream.  They are RSPCA Freedom Food accredited ensuring that the small herd is well kept and happy.  All ingredients for the ice creams are local and seasonal and prepared on site.  The products can be bought in farm shops, delicatessens and farmers markets in Suffolk and Essex. 
Outlets:
Producer - Wholesale/retailers, Producer -Farmers Market sales 
Awards:

Great Taste 2010 - Gold 3* (Guild of Fine Food)

Sponsored by: Hadleys Dairy Products

 Home Farm, Engaine  Colchester, Essex CO6 2HU 
Email

A Day for Wine and Run Away

If you love Wine and Nature, then Carter’s Vineyards is a best place to visit for a day. They are open to the public from Easter Monday to 31st October from 11am to 5pm and welcome visitors to experience a working winery.
A visit to Carter's provides an opportunity to:
* Take a tour of the vineyard and winery - £4.00 per person which includes tasting
* Follow the nature trail through the woodland and wild flower meadows 
* Point taste several fine English red and white wines 
* Point view our Alternative Energy

During the winter months their shop is open for wine sales Monday to Friday from 11am to 4pm. 

They are set in the picturesque Essex Countryside. Carter’s is an enchanting place comprising of 40 acres of vines, wildflower meadows, lakes and woodlands.
It was started in 1990 with intension of planting new woodlands, wild flower meadows and creating lakes with other specific habitats for wildlife. However, due to geographical changes the land became suitable for vines. After three years, in 1993 the first grapes were harvested to be made into Carter’s Vineyards first vintage.
In 1995 on VE day, the first bottles of Carter’s Vineyards Colchester wine were sold. Since 1995, winemaking began at Carter’s Vineyards. Now the production is in the order of 25,000 bottles per year. They produce an extensive range of fine English wines, several of which are award winners.

Life is all about good memories, Do you have any good memories visiting a Vineyard?

Sponsored by: Carter's Vineyards

Green Lane, Boxted, Colchester, Essex CO4 5TS

Map | Website | Email | 01206 271136

Yo Ho Ho and a Mug of Beer!

Yo Ho Ho Shiver me timbers! mate you can make better beer Yaarr!!
Sound like a scripted thought? Well maybe, but this is how award winning Farmer's Ales came to existance.
 The idea of brewing came to Nigel in a pub when a friend suggested he could make better beer than the one they were drinking. He agreed and when he discovered the right site at the Blue Boar, the Stable Brewery was born.

Nigel started the Maldon Brewing Company (also known as Farmer's Ales) in 2005, after having toyed with the idea for a couple of years. His base is the stables at the Blue Boar Hotel, Maldon, a 14th century coaching inn which provides a suitably historic backdrop for Nigel's business which draws on all the best traditions of beer-making.

Now Nigel's business is well-established and he sells his beers to pubs, restaurants and shops. He's looking forward to even more success in future.

As well as their regular beers, Farmer's Ales also come up with seasonal brews. Below is the list of their brews.

Regular Beers: Farmers Ales Captain Ann, Farmers Ales Farmer’s Golden Boar, Farmers Ales Pucks Folly, Farmers Ales The Hotel Porter, Farmers Ales A Drop Of Nelsons Blood

Seasonal Special: Farmers Ales Bitternoth, Farmers Ales Blackwater Delta, Farmers Ales, Blue Boar Bitter, Farmers Ales Christmas Stout, Farmers Ales Dark Horse, Farmers Ales, Edward Brights Stout, Farmers Ales Farmers IPA, Farmers Ales Happy Jack, Farmers Ales King, Green Bitter, Farmers Ales Maldon Mild, Farmers Ales Maldon Oyster Stout, Farmers, Ales Mr Mussel, Farmers Ales Ploughboys

If you been to Maldon, you might have tasted their brews. However, could you tell whether the sparkle of brews ever sprakled your mind with great ideas?

Sponsored by: Farmer’s Ales

The Stable Brewery, Silver Street, Maldon, CM9 4QE

Website | Email | 01621851000

Happy Belly Day

Been strick on dite plan for long? Then this is a Happy Belly Day for you and if you not on any dite plan then i am sure you have enough space to celebrate Happy Belly Day. Lets Grab a pie from the people who know how to make delicious pies.
Essex Larders Pyes Farm have been established since 1980, on a fruit farm in the heart of the Essex countryside. They produce mouth-watering pies, quiches and puddings sourced from local ingredients. All of the pies are handmade in their farm kitchen. Essex Larders pies can be found in top food halls such as Fortnum & Masons and Harrods, as well as farm shops, delicatessens, pubs and hotels around the country.


Here are just a few of the outlets that stock their products in Essex:
 

Bakers Deli - 01371 820214
Cassidys Deli - www.cassidysdelicatessen.co.uk
Chequers Inn - www.thechequersgoldhanger.co.uk
Co-op (Halstead) - 01787 474039
Four Seasons Farm Shop - 01799 542454
The Hare - 01245 248788
Maldon Deli - www.maldondeli.co.uk
Maynards - 01255 674084
Milly Deli - 01702 474373

Most of the people do love pies. However, have you ever skiped a day of your diet plan for a Pie?

Sponsored by: Essex Larders & Pyes Farm 

Onslow Green, Great Dunmow CM6 3PR

  Map | Website | Email | 01371 820272

Witham Farmer’s Market

Forth Tuesday of Every Month

9:30am – 2:00pm

The Grove Centre, Witham, CM8 2YT (Map)

Contact: Wendy Harlow | 01376 519440 


Items for Sale: Asparagus fresh – in season, Bread, Cakes - home-made style, Cheese - local, Chutney, pickles & relishes, Condiment Sauces, Eggs - Hens free range, Eggs - Hens organic, Fruit juices, Fruit - fresh, Honey, Jam & preserves, Meat, Vegetables - organic, Fresh Vegetables.

This Farmer's Market is organized in the Grove Shopping Centre which gives a great alternative to buy fresh product along with other grocery items. The stall holders of Farmer's Market have grown, bred, caught, pickled, brewed or baked the goods themselves to get fresh product directly to you. The selections of goods available in this Farmer’s Market vary with the season. However, you are likely to find a delicious selection of vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, bread and cakes, fruit juices and dairy products. 
 This Farmer's Market is FARMA certified.

Maldon Farmer's Market

Third Thursday of Every Month

9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Market Hill, Maldon, Essex CM9 4RL (Map)

Contact: Jean or David at 01621 850605 or 07731 856361.

This Farmers’ Market covers locally produced goods including fresh vegetables, seasonal fruits, plus a full range of meat like lamb, beef, and pork. It has an amazing selection of pickles, chutneys, baked goods, smoked goods, breads, soups, honey. 

Few of the finest products you can find in this Farmers’ Market include: 

• Fresh Apple and Pear Juice from Daymens Hill Farm and Orchards 
• Fresh vegitables from Wildfields Farm from Tolleshunt Darcy 
• Wicks Manor Pork from Tolleshunt Major 
• Fresh hand made Goat's Milk Chocolate which is good for people who suffer with asthma, allergies, IBS/IBD, Eczema, soya intolerant and dairy (cow's milk) intolerant 
• Le Moulin Boulangerie Patisserie from Hornchurch 
• Maldon Honey which has been beehives in Maldon, Latchingdon, Mundon, Purleigh, St. Lawrence, Southminster and RHS Hyde Hall near Rettendon 
• A wide selection of Seasonal Plants, Herbs, Vegetable plants, Perrenials, Shrubs and Bulbs when in season from Annie's Kitchen Garden of Bicknacre 
• 8 different Chutneys, Pickled Shallots, Marinades and Sauces from the well known Chillie Chutney Man 
• Fresh fruit from Fiveways Fruit Farm, Stanway, Colchester 
• Smoked meat from Smoke House, Hadleigh, Suffolk 

To top it all, Sue's Catering Services provides a wide range of delicious meal's and if you are looking for tempting Indian food then you can buy it at the "Samosa Shack” stall.This Farmers' Market is also FARMA certified.

Hadleigh Farmer's Market

Second Wednesday of a month

12:00 noon – 3:00 pm

Benfleet, Essex SS7 2AS (Map)

Contact: Paul Farrell or Louise Smith | 01702 426260

Items for Sale: Includes home made cakes, eggs, honey, cheeses, vegetables and fruit, herbs, plants, preserves, smoked fish, home made pies, sausages, beef, poultry, pheasant, hare, rabbit and much more including the rare breed pork 'Old Spot'.

This farmers’ market can turn your normal day into a picnic treat. You not only get fresh food but also a great view of the Hadleigh Castle remains. To top it up, they are the only farmers’ market in Essex that sell rare breed pork ‘Old Spot’.

Another FARMA certified farmers market where you will find over 20 regular stallholders. This farmers' market is organised throughout the year on every second Wednesday of the month apart from January.

Barleylands Farmer's Market

Second and last Saturday of Every Month

8.30am - 12.30pm

Barleylands Road, Billericay, Essex CM11 2UD

Contact: Sue Andrews at 01268 290218.

Items for Sale: Includes beef and wild boar, Hog roast, Pork, Lamb, Sausages, Fruit and vegetables, Organic produce, Herbs, Honey, Dairy products, Pies, Mushrooms, Poultry, Jams, Chutneys, Preserves, Game, Smoked and fresh fish, Smoked meats, Cakes, Puddings, Biscuits, Indian snacks and meals, Fruit juice, Venison, Culinary oils, Sauces, Eggs, Soups, Olives, Cheeses, Wines, Sardinian food and Plants.

Want to start a beautiful weekend?

Well then nothing would be so promising then a morning walk/drive ending to a farmers’ market. It gives a great opportunity to pick up delicious food for the weekend. These foods are locally produced from farmers and growers. However, availability of A few of the food's listed is based on seasonal availability.

It is certified farmers' market by FARMA and also gives free entry and free Car Park. The free parking gets full so it’s advisable to arrive nice and early.

Loughton Farmer's Market

First Sunday of Every Month
9:00 am – 2:00 pm

High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET

Contact: Ann Obeney

Items for Sale: Includes fresh organic vegetables, handmade cheeses and butter, free range eggs, various meats, including wild boar, honey and preserves, apple juice, cakes and a large selection of plants. 

The Beginning:

Loughton Residents Association started the farmer's market first in July 2002, to meet the needs of the town. LRA first started this farmers market along with Hughmark Ltd who used to run the North Weald Market. LRA took charge of the booking for stalls and Hughmark Ltd supplied the stalls and charged rents to the traders.

At present the Loughton Farmer's Market is certified farmers' market by FARMA. Also LRA helps local charities by offering two stalls free of charge each month.

Welcome to Farm Mela

Farm Mela is a blog designed to protomote the local produce of Essex and surrounding county.

It will help you find farmer's markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food. Farm Mela also covers some of the popular eating joints like local bakery, vineyard, and brewery where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies. 

Future plan is to maintain a definitive and reliable directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. Provide enhanced search engine to help people find products from family farms, local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with small farms in their local area.