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Vegetables
We buy most vegetables from AB Fruits, a wonderful Italian family firm based in Bedford since 1981. They have a fantastic understanding of quality ingredients and are passionate about food. They also try hard to develop a good working relationship. They are efficient and professional and we are so lucky to have them on our doorstep. They buy through local producers and also from Convent Garden, Rungis and Milan.
When in season, we buy asparagus direct from Thurleigh Farm that is only 5 minutes from our door. It is cut in the morning and on your plate at lunch time.
Fish
Channel Fisheries buy fresh fish every day from Brixham, Plymouth and Looe quaysides from day boats. The fish is then prepared in their small, modern factory.
They have strict sourcing policies and provenance. The wild caught fish is sourced from stocks that are managed responsibly and harvested at sustainable levels that pose no threat to the reproductive capacity of the stock. Fish caught one day is available at The Plough the next.
Chicken, duck and game
Goosnargh chicken, ducks and turkeys are from Johnson & Swarbrick. Their farm is at Goosnargh near Preston in Lancashire where these corn-fed birds are raised from hatchlings. Martin has been buying chicken and duck from them for 20 years and is 100% impressed by their quality and consistency. Goosnargh now supplies most of the top restaurants in the country.
Shellfish
Portland Shellfish are, not surprisingly, based at Portland in Dorset. They supply us with the best-cooked and picked crabmeat in the world. They also provide us with the finest quality scallops and langoustine.
Smoked salmon
From humble beginnings on a market stall in Cambridge in 2000, Local Flavour is now a UK supplier of regional specialities. Since 2004 they have run River Farm Smokery, an artisanal producer of smoked fish and meats.
Coffee
L’Unico import coffee from the specialist Italian company Musetti who use blends of coffees made with the best beans of Arabica origin. The blend we serve is Paradiso. Musetti promotes, ethically sourced coffees and Fair trade coffees They have strong Charity links and are the global sponsor for Action Against Hunger.
Spanish produce
Brindisa imports an extensive range of high quality Spanish foods from the most respected producers in Spain. Brindisa supply tapas, acorn fed Iberico and Serrano ham for example.
Speciality supplier of dry goods
Charlie’s Larder supplies specialist foods often imported from world class producers across UK and Europe.
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Beef, lamb and offal
Aubrey Allen is a family business established over 70 years ago. Originally a small butcher's shop in the Coventry area, it has evolved over the years into one of the best known catering and retail butchers in the Midlands.
Peter Allen is actively involved in the whole of the meat production industry. He has a co-operative of farmers who breed animals for him allowing full traceability of each animal's history . His Scottish beef is born, raised and slaughtered in Scotland. The meat is then matured for a minimum of three weeks on the bone. Lamb is from the Scottish Highlands and Cornwall offering the best natural conditions to raise the finest lamb. He supplies some of the country’s top chefs and Michelin starred restaurants. www.aubreyallenwholesale.co.uk
Organic pork, lamb & beef
As a producer of organic meat Dan Bull is held in the highest esteem up and down the country. We are lucky that Home Farm is only at Croxton, St Neots. What Dan doesn’t know about humanely rearing animals and organic farming is not worth knowing. All his Shorthorn beef, Oxford Sandy pigs and lamb are reared organically and the whole of the estate he manages is self sustained. We have never seen such happy animals. If you were bred for the plate this would be the place to be.
Game
Our venison comes from Denham Estate - near Bury St.Edmunds. They have 1,200 acres of picturesque Suffolk countryside with a fallow deer herd of 3,000 and a variety of rare breeds of cattle and sheep. The welfare of the deer is high priority on this estate and every effort is made to provide the animals with a calm and natural environment that is a contributing factor to the consistently tender meat we receive.
Cheese
Neal’s Yard Dairy is one of the Country’s the leading cheese supplier. They have two shops, one in Covent Garden, the other in Borough Market. The shop in Borough Market is well worth a visit especially on market days. www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Olive oil, Italian cheeses and cured meats
Filippo Volpo has a stall on Bedford Market every Thursday. He is inspirational and totally immersed in the science of food. He is an excellent chef with a superb palate and cooks for pleasure for family and friends. He has also spent many years dedicated to promoting the slow food movement. Filippo supplies all our Italian regional artisan cheeses, cured meats and the wonderful Sicilian olive oil that we serve with our bread.
Local organic milk and cream
A few miles away from the Plough, Crow Hill Farm at Ravensden is home to an organic milk herd. Robert Harrison joined forces with KevinHarradine and Adrian Venn from Windmill Foods at Flitwick about 6 years ago and they are continuing to grow their organic range.
Organic flour
Rebecca Rayner runs Glebe Farm at Kings Ripton Huntingdon. She provides a range of sustainable produced flours that we use in the kitchen from her wheat and spelt crops. They mill on-farm and use a local windmill. This is nature's best. Buy-local.netFantastic idea set up by local couple to promote and sell Bedfordshire produce.
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Wine and beer suppliers
Thank you to John Hoskins of Huntsbridge Ltd. (www.huntsbridge.com) for educating us and putting us in touch with some of the best wine suppliers in the country.
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Liberty Wines
Karen Taylor, one of Liberty’s top sales representatives, offers us great support in selecting our list and also in organising the fabulous wine events that allow us to introduce you to the interesting winemakers from all over the world.
Liberty
was founded in 1997 by David Gleave M.W., one of the country's leading
authorities on Italian wines. The company imports from over 100 producers in
Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Austria, Hungary, France, Chile,
U.S.A., Canada, South Africa, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Potton – our local brewery
The Potton Brewery Company has been established in the small market town of Potton near Sandy since 1997. They brew and supply a full range of cask - conditioned (real) ale, ciders and bespoke bottled beers. We will regularly feature their beers such as Village Bike and Shambles. www.potton-brewery.co.uk
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Noel Young
Undoubtedly one of the best Independent Wine Merchants in the country.
Twisted Juices
These are great tasting juices made from 100% organic produce. Even the waste pulp is returned to the farmers to use as organic feed and their bottles are 100% recyclable.
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Stocks, sauces and homemade bread
We must mention our hardworking team of chefs since what they do in the kitchen makes the difference to how these ingredients reach the palate.
They supply the restaurant with the most delicious bread baked twice-daily using yeast which they cultivate and nurture.
They make stocks, sauces and dressings in the traditional way that have a depth of flavour that is just superb. A red wine sauce takes two days to make from roasting the bones to finishing in the pan. Pasta, fresh gnocchi, pastry and fantastic black pudding are all made at The Plough from the basic ingredients - the list is endless.
Our chefs are dedicated and passionate and follow on the care for these superb ingredients. Martin is a genius with an understanding of how to take simple ingredients, to combine and enhance them into an uncomplicated taste sensation.
It is a labour of love from seed to maturity. Our suppliers are sincere like minded people and from our hearts we share the same passion and enthusiasm that aims is to deliver quality every day, every service to every customer. We have a clear conscience that our products are well nurtured. |
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