Local self-confessed ‘veg nerds’ Vicki and Alan Mowat, who organise delivery of Riverford organic vegboxes in and around Bath, recently took their customers for a day out with a difference.
The trip was to Riverford’s organic farm in Devon, so the customers can see for themselves where their veg is grown.
Earlier this month, the group travelled to Wash Farm in Devon, Riverford’s main farm. They were treated to a breadmaking workshop with Ed Watts, sous chef at Riverford’s Field Kitchen.
Baking expert Ed showed them how to make a “no knead” loaf, a sourdough loaf and London buns, and gave each customer a little pot of the Field Kitchen’s 16-year-old sourdough starter, affectionately known as “Peggy”, to take home.
The group ate at Riverford’s famous Field Kitchen restaurant, where food is served in a relaxed style at big communal tables. The emphasis is on creative veg-based dishes, with most ingredients picked from the fields around the restaurant.
The Bathonians enjoyed a three-course lunch, including melt-in-the-mouth beef blade or sweetcorn fritters, served with several delicious salads made all the more interesting with innovative flavour combinations and preparation techniques which bring smokiness, crunch and pizazz to the plate.
Then it was wellies on for a tour of the farm with Riverford’s head gardener Penny, to find out how and where the veg is grown veg is grown, and how it’s picked from the fields before being delivered to doorsteps in and around Bath by Vicki and Alan’s team.
Vicki said: “We had a fabulous day out with our customers in the Devon sunshine. At Riverford we really do live life on the veg, and it’s a real pleasure to bring our customers here so they can see our approach to ethical, organic, flavour-focused veg farming for themselves.”
Penny Essex, from Bath, said: “It was so much fun and just wonderful to see the friendly atmosphere first hand at Riverford. It felt like going back in time, and we didn’t want to leave at the end of the day.”
Lorna Haworth, from Compton Dando, said “An amazing, interesting, informative and very good value day out. My friends loved it and we all learnt a lot!”
As well as organising trips to the farm, Alan and Vicki run cookery workshops and suppers, and work with local schools to promote healthy eating and cooking skills.
Contact Vicki and Alan on 01225 437438 to try a veg box or to find out more about the events they run in and around Bath.
