I’ve recently have been travelling to Oxford from my home in Reading and as I drive through the Chilterns, those wonderful open hillsides that I grew up knowing, I now see pigs and piglets running around fields. But here is the hard truth - if, as a result of this recession, we run back to Danish bacon and forget British farmers then all the progress in standards and miles will be lost. It’s like a fever sweeping the world “there’s a recession on and we must by cheap”.  I’ve heard of people who are still in good jobs  earning good money switch to panic mode and starting to shop at Lidl. 

Come on folks! 

As foodies we owe it to the world to make sure that we never rate style over substance.  The properly committed foodie would rather go without than settle for second best.  Bread of a dodgy texture, soapy cheese without provenance and my personal hate chocolate of 'indiscriminate bean' origin!

As foodies we need to keep true to the maxim that less is more.  In short, only buy what you need, and proper menu planning helps i.e. 2oz of stunning Keen's cheddar is worth much more than 4oz of cheddar of dubious parentage! In our bartlett mitchell kitchens we weigh all our ‘waste’ before its thrown away.  On a practical level this means we think about every scrap of food before it goes into the bin and trust me, it makes a big difference.   

To help you make the right choices I’ve given you my Gourmet's Guide to a better buy:

Dry cure bacon v Cheap bacon
Two opposite processes!  Dry cure bacon has the liquid taken out of it whereas cheap bacon is injected with saline to bulk it out.  That dreadful white liquid that comes out is salty water.  1 rasher of dry cure is a joy, 2 rashers of cheap bacon is a worry.

Carnaroli Rice v Arborio Rice
If you want your risotto to retain that all important bite the go for Carnaroli rice.  It was created by a Milanese grower looking for perfection and he found it.

Diver caught scallops
Lets support our suppliers and producers – if you go to Borough Market you can even meet the people who dive for the very scallops you see on sale.  It protects our seabed’s and keeps alive a native tradition of these Isles

Aged Parmigianino Reggiano v Standard Parmigianino or Grana Padano
There is a big difference in the taste and I know you wouldn’t consider touching anything with the name Reggiano which wasn’t at least 20 months maturation.  Grana Padano I know is made close by but it is very much the poor relation.

Jersey Royals v Other new potatoes
Did you know that every Jersey Royal can be traced back to its farm of origin?  It’s the only potato with PDO9 status (Protected Designation of Origin).  The surrounding sea water is used to wet the soil during the growing process and I think this adds to its natural flavour and beautiful nutty waxy texture.  A joy to eat and an important part of the Island economy.  If we don’t buy those potatoes they’ll (who ever they are!) will build houses on those fields.

Organic Chicken v lesser poultry
I can make a chicken last all week from a good roast dinner through to cold collations, chicken pie or risotto, through to hot salads and finally great soup.  Organic chicken has the strength of flavour that a weaker caged animal doesn’t have.  If you're having a gourmet moment then I recommend the Poulet Anglais.  Its unique feeding in a secret combination of grains is comparable only to those darned French Poulet de Bresse which are, without doubt, the best foul in the world.

The going is getting tough but if we don’t continue to support the smaller, artisan, eco-gastronomic supplier and producer then we will loose these great joys of life for good.  Having spoken to one farmer recently who took 5 years to change to organic status the hardship of recession might mean an end to that status, once bitten, twice shy.