The Chef’s Tour on Tuesday, 20 November was a day for chefs and caterers from some of the regions top dining venues, where they were taken on a tour of local producers to help them overcome the barriers to sourcing local produce.

Organisers, the Local Food Group for Berks, Bucks and Oxon were delighted that so many chefs and caterers were able to join. The tour of local producers included a turkey farm, a farm shop with a wealth of local foods and drink represented and a winery/brewery.

The day started at Antony Worrall’s Thompson’s restaurant, the Lamb. Antony popped down to see us, to talk about his efforts to source produce locally and to wish us well for the day. “More and more customers are asking about the provenance of our food and this is one of the most important factors when choosing a restaurant” said Antony.

After the three farm visits, chefs were treated to lunch at The Lamb, near Henley-on-Thames after which more presentations was made by a goats cheese producer and a local smokery.

Simon Pitney-Baxter, Head Chef from the Carnavon Arms said afterwards “I found it useful and the tasting I did with the team back at the Carnarvon with the smoked produce went down very well and I'm sure will progress into regular purchases from the Upton Smokery to start with!”.

Funding was generously donated by Food from Britain, with support from the South East Food Groups Partnership. Local producers had plenty of samples for the guests to taste and to take away with them.