Food & Drink

Established by local churches and other organisations in Plymouth in 2010, the DCFA now has a working base in Exeter too – opening officially on 12th October 2012. This exciting community project collects good quality in-date food that would otherwise be incinerated or buried. It then re-distributes to local community groups and centres working with people affected by food poverty – because of unemployment, low wages, homelessness, welfare changes, etc..

Every year in the UK, 18 million tonnes of edible food end up in landfill. We often hear about food that gets wasted by...

Food writer and presenter Fiona Faulkner recently caught the attention of parents with the publication of her new book 25 Foods Kids Hate… and how to get them eating 24 (New Holland). Fiona’s recipes and ideas have since been featured on ITV – where she’s been described as ‘the Harry Potter of Vegetables’ – and has also cooked with the kids of numerous celebrity mums – including fashion designer Alice Temperley, who has her new fashion range at the soon to be opened John Lewis in Exeter, and TV presenter Sarah Beeney.

Fiona, who is based in the South West, describes herself as “...

I knew Jay and Will Allan, brothers and partners in speciality food business Hillside as they grew up in Exeter, and have watched the progress of their company with admiration. Established in 2009 the business has grown from supplying local restaurants and farm shops in its early days to supplying the hospitality areas at the London Olympics this summer.

In their formative years Will and Jay spent time at their grandparents’ Somerset smallholding and remember with pleasure harvesting produce from the farm and helping their grandmother create wonderful home-cooked dishes....

Why would you give up a well paid job and take on a full-on Farm Shop in a recession? Well it has become a family affair - and an obsession to create something special on a local basis - for Mandy Pitts, Shaun Ryder and daughter Ellena, with a little help from a staff of 20 local people. Ryders Bakery took the leap to move its HQ from Dawlish to their farm in Kenn, a purpose-built bakery, trebling its size and opening the door for expansion with access to a quicker road network for better distribution. Mandy, after 30 years in the Recruitment industry, was keen to take on a new challenge...