A pretty PICNIC


There’s something quintessentially British about a traditional family picnic – and what better place to have it than in the Garden of England?


At this time of year, shops are full of tempting wicker hampers, coolbags and plastic partyware, urging us to spend the summer quite literally dining out.


Whether you’re packing a family tea


for a day at the seaside, or going up- market for outdoor theatre or a classical concert, there’s no shortage of fresh, local produce to help you put together the perfect picnic hamper.


Farmers’ markets are a great source


of fresh salad ingredients at this time of year – or your local farm shop. Haven Farm in Sutton Valence pulls in supplies from numerous local growers, so you can be sure of finding something freshly picked, whether it’s lettuce, cucumber or juicy home-grown tomatoes.


Spice it up with one of the fine


flavoured Kentish Rapeseed Oils. Grown and pressed on Quex Park Estate, Birchington, choose from natural rapeseed, or oil blended with zesty lemon, garlic and herb or jalapeno chilli.


Kent Fine Foods offers a whole range


of delightfully different chutneys and jellies, which will delight both your tastebuds - and your friends.


Try its award-winning Lavender Jelly


or Pear and Ginger Chutney, which goes perfectly with salads and cold meats.


People travel far and wide to W.J.


Crouch (incorporating Rickwood’s) on Bearsted Green. Many of the Kentish deli products can be purchased here, along with delicious home-made quiches, sausage rolls, pasties and other picnic favourites.


Heart of Flavour, the new café-deli in


Maidstone’s King Street, is another place to find a good choice of Kentish products – and shopping here also helps


34 Mid Kent Living If you don’t have time to put together


your own hamper for a special festival occasion, they will even do it for you.


Another Old Dairy – the Old Dairy


Brewery in Tenterden – has also branched out from its core business of brewing beers.


If you don’t have space to carry cases


of their Red Top and Gold Top ales, get a hint of the flavour in their Gold Top English Mustard or Red Top Wholegrain Mustard - perfect with hams and other cooked meats.


They also do marinades for the


barbecue, again with a great “beery” kick, as well as Blue and Gold Top Chutneys.


Chegworth Valley Juices from Harrietsham was voted Best Kent Juice Producer in the 2015 Taste of Kent Awards.


support the Heart of Kent Hospice. The Old Dairy Farm Shop at Rectory


Farm, Langley, near Maidstone, bakes delicious artisan breads and organic biscuits. And why not hard boil some of their fresh, free range eggs while you’re at it?


Famous for its apple and pear varieties, the company now produces a wide range of pure and blended juices, which include raspberry, strawberry, wild elderflower and rhubarb and beetroot.


And you don’t need to venture out of


Kent to find something sparkling and alcoholic to put in your hamper. Vineyards in Tenterden and Biddenden offer a wide range of locally-produced wines, while Hush Heath Winery near Staplehurst has won international accolades for its Balfour Brut.


If you’re not full to bursting after ploughing through all that lot, find some space in your hamper for some Kentish strawberries.


They’re so sweet, you can eat them


straight from the punnet – but, if you’re not counting the calories, why not enjoy them with a dollop of clotted cream?


Of course, you have to have the icing on the cake to complete the perfect picnic – blue skies and glorious sunshine – but, so far, none of our stockists has yet managed to get a handle on that one. But watch this space.


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