Fodder

Harrogate

Harrogate’s handsome historical spa town has long been a draw for its antique dealers and quaint independent retailers. Our favourite of these is Fodder, the stand-out place to pick up North Yorkshire’s nest ingredients – and help the local community while you’re at it.

Wooden boxes are stacked high with organic vegetables from Rosemary Wass’s farm in Fadmoor, alongside towers of fruit that punctuate the store with pops of colour and freshly baked bread. There are few things better than French toast for breakfast. The super-sweet brioche dunked in Ian Taylor’s free-range eggs served in the excellent on-site café is enough to get anyone out of bed on a Sunday morning.

As for meat, a butcher is on hand to provide you with fresh cuts and excellent advice on how best to prepare them. Chunky burgers are made with high-grade steak mince, while pork and tomato sausages are an interesting twist on the classic. Be sure to try the venison roulade: cranberry sauce and fresh sage is rolled with venison steak inside puff pastry to create the perfect dinner party take-away (if you don’t tell guests where it came from, neither will we). Pair this with a bottle of Leventhorpe Madeleine Angevine dry white, produced a few miles away in Leeds, and you’re onto a winner.

With over 67 different Yorkshire cheeses, it’s hard to choose. Our pick is Blue Monday No.7, matured for up to eight weeks and with a creamy texture and subtly sweet finish. Try it with a bottle of local Black Sheep Ale.

Community is at the heart of what Fodder does: 350 farmers and small producers from all over Yorkshire provide the produce that stocks their shelves. As the UK’s first fully charitable food hall, 100 per cent of its profits go to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and all food left over is donated to Harrogate Homeless Project.