“Going organic” is an expression that is constantly thrown around today and whenever possible our breakfasts have always featured organic or homegrown products. We believe this is a better option for your health and more eco friendly option in terms of the environment and the treatment of animals. Organic options are more readily available now

Fresh farm eggs from Lake Farm

Fresh farm eggs from Lake Farm Gardens

and consumers have become more aware of the potential risks of pesticides, growth hormones, nitrates and a vast array of other chemicals. Whether its organic free range eggs from our local farm, or organic fruit and veggies from our local greengrocer Phoenix Fruit, we believe that what makes our breakfasts special and delicious is the quality of ingredients that we use.

Nitrates in pork, chicken and beef and their potential ill effects have been a major topic of discussion in the last few months. As Innkeepers we are constantly vigilant to any health risks in food and for years now have used organically raised, nitrate free pork products. Happy pigs hopefully makes for happy guests! “It is important to us and to you that we have the freshest ingredients with no, or minimal chemical byproducts”, adds Jo.

Our raised veggie beds in the back garden have been a huge success, allowing us to introduce fresh herbs, veggies and greens from our back garden straight to the plate. More often that not, we pick fresh herbs the morning we

Bircher muesli with organic fresh fruit

Bircher muesli with organic fresh fruit

serve the food, it couldn’t get any better than that! There is something very satisfying seeing the fruits of our labor growing. We are learning what works well and what doesn’t, and this year we plan on planting delicious rhubarb and more strawberries as well as continuing with our other herbs and veggies.

Regular bread is a prime example of food that is often full of chemicals and sweetners. In our view apart from honey in certain breads, bread doesn’t need to contain sugar.  We always buy fresh wholewheat and wherever we can organic. As English chef Jamie Oliver once said about ingredients, “if you can’t pronounce it, and it reads like a NASA space project, you shouldn’t eat it”.  It is with this in mind that we have gone one step further and started baking our own bread using back to the old days, spelt flour. Spelt flour is used as regular flour but is more nutritious, with the added benefit of being much more tolerable to people with gluten

Organic spelt flour crusty loaf, with homemade Seville orange marmalade

Organic spelt flour crusty loaf, with homemade Seville orange marmalade

intolerances. As Jo often reminds us,”Homemade bread needs no more than four ingredients to get a beautiful crispy loaf that is simple and delicious”.  And an added bonus is the gorgeous smell originating from the kitchen.

But what would fresh bread be without homemade marmalade on top? One day and 18 pounds of seville oranges later, Jo and I (alright I have embelished, it was only Jo) have prepared the most delicious fresh orange marmalade to go with our home baked bread. Just one more reason to make the trip up to us this summer!

The importance of “going organic” cannot be ignored and it is something we have embraced. We love to know that we are cooking delicious organic breakfasts made from the freshest, healthiest foods. We cannot wait for you all to try our fresh baked bread hot out the oven and our fresh new produce picked straight from the garden!

Parson Brown