MENU dorset issue 27 MENU27.dorset pdf issue 27issue.final-4F | Page 12

G Made in dorset A 12  P L E N T Y  d In association with Eggs fter 30 minutes in the company of Ben Jackson, Managing Director of Fluffetts Farm, anyone would want to make the extra effort to seek out a farm shop to purchase eggs rather than buying a box of supermarket free range. With his hens foraging for clover in acres of grassland on the edge of the New Forest, they’re freer than an Ornette Coleman sax solo. That said, even if some eggs are more free range than others, Ben insists that the fact that not as many people are eating produce from caged birds is a positive: “Even with the free range industry on the scale that it is now, it’s overtaken caged eggs by a significant margin, and that’s a success story, because the less we see of those awful cages, that can only be a good thing.” What’s an even better thing, however, has to be eggs that are produced from Fluffetts’ flock of 3-4,000 birds rather than the 60,000 that supermarkets demand. Having fewer birds means that they have a better quality of life, and Ben and his team are able to pick the eggs by hand, resulting in considerably less wastage. But it’s the natural feed that makes a big difference in the quality of the eggs in terms of how they look and taste. “This is really key for the yolk colour,” says Ben. “Rather than being synthetically manufactured with colourants, we’re using paprika, marigold and alfalfa. This produces a sunny, yellow yolk with an intense colour.” As well as looking good, Fluffetts’ customers tell them that they’ve never tasted eggs like them, and when your customers include acclaimed Michelin Star-winning chefs like Angela Hartnett, you know they’re doing something right. “We recently met Raymond Blanc at a food fair that we did in London, and he used my eggs,” recalls Ben. “He needed one-day old eggs for a demo, and he started by saying: ‘I bought a dozen supermarket eggs, and I’ve got farm fresh free range eggs that were laid yesterday.” After the demo, we sold out the next day. Chefs always tell you that you can only make decent poached eggs with really fresh eggs, but when supermarket eggs can be 10 days to two weeks from when they were laid by the time you buy them, it’s no wonder that poaching the perfect egg can be so tricky. Ben tells us that a poached egg is at its best up to five days after laying, and the good news is that Fluffetts Farm are now attempting to make eggs of this freshness more accessible to the public than they have been before. To celebrate 20 years of Fluffetts Farm, they have opened a shop called Fluffetts Home in Wimborne. Not only does it sell Fluffetts’ fabulous eggs, but also locally produced cold-pressed rapeseed oil, honey, unhomogenised milk, freshly baked artisan bread and cheese such as Dorset Blue Vinny and Black Cow cheddar. In the future, Ben wants to get an alcohol licence so they can sell Black Cow’s vodka as well as their cheese, plus locally produced gin, beer and cider. Ben told us more about the new store’s ethos: “The shop was opened to give a good platform for our eggs, but also with the idea of making local produce affordable and accessible rather than having to go to a farm shop in the middle of nowhere, which is often quite expensive. So we put a little farm shop in the middle of a local market town, and by keeping the overheads and supply chain tight, and trying to make local food affordable and not just a luxury, we’re making it a part of everyone’s shop.” So, if you’re in the area, you no longer need to buy your eggs from the supermarket, and you can purchase some lovely local produce too, along with your better tasting and more sustainably produced eggs. At no extra effort. 13 Fluffetts Farm Hockeys Farm, South Gorley, Fordingbridge, Hampshire,SP6 2PW Tel: [phone] E-mail: f [email protected] www.menu-dorset.co.uk www.menu-dorset.co.uk