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The Isle of Wight Bacon Company is a Rick Stein food hero

Image of butchers supplied by the Isle of Wight Bacon CompanyThe Isle of Wight Bacon Company has been awarded the status of food hero by Rick Stein. Rick Stein said "It is a year since my first Food Heroes book was published, and I’m still getting letters and emails from people who are using it. Many of these are from readers who tell me that the recipes really come alive when they have sourced very good quality ingredients; that a good dish becomes superb. It was for that very reason I included in the book a directory of producers who care passionately about the foods they produce.

"The recipes in Food Heroes really do deserve properly reared meat, and vegetables grown specifically with flavour in mind, and you’ll find that when you use such ingredients, the finished dishes will be a cause for celebration. Many readers have been delighted to find that the producers we list offer meat, cheese or vegetables that are, more often than not, much tastier than the foods that they had been buying from the supermarket, and they have discovered the difference this makes to their cooking. This response from so many readers got me thinking about doing an entire book focussing on the producers that I’ve come across in my travels, and others like them, to enable everyone, wherever they live, to find well-produced local food, from farmers and growers who value taste above profit".

"The result is a new guide, Rick Stein’s Guide to the Food Heroes of Britain. This book has details of over a thousand producers around the country, producers who are generally producing foods on a small scale, with an eye for detail and a considered approach. While it is not exhaustive – there are, I discovered, untold numbers of thoughtful farmers and growers, working quietly without a fanfare of publicity, and to find them all would take many years – I hope that the guide serves as a voyage of discovery in the quest for good food. Many of the producers featured appear in my Food Heroes series and I’m sure you’ll agree, they are an inspiring group of people. These producers are fighting a tough battle with supermarkets and with the widespread obsession with cheaper food. They are the antithesis of mass-production; they represent the rich culinary heritage we have here, and by supporting these small-scale producers, we can help to preserve many traditional foods and production methods. There is also a new Food Heroes recipe book to go along with the series, so you’ll really be able to put the local producers you find in the guide to the test.

"I’ve expanded my on-line directory to include some of the producers from the new book and series, to give you a taste of some of the fascinating people we met, and I’ve added a new section for restaurants, cafes and pubs, so I hope this entices you to get out there and find some wonderful locally produced foods in your own area."

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