VisitNorfolk

Norfolk is a fabulous destination for foodies, eating out is always a pleasure.

This is farming land and you’ll soon notice the benefits when you’re sampling Norfolk’s food and drink. From vitamin-packed organic vegetables to tasty Norfolk turkeys and succulent beef, to sweet dripping honey or strong homebrewed beers from Norfolk’s very own microbreweries, you can really taste the difference.

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Why not try eating out in Norfolk? Many of our pubs and restaurants in Norfolk use fresh local produce – as do our hotels and B&Bs – or you can even buy your own from the many farmers’ markets in Norfolk or local farm shops. Pull over to the side of the road to pick up tightly wrapped bundles of tender asparagus or punnets of sweet juicy strawberries. And Norfolk’s strong cheese and game are simply to die for: your tastebuds will really come alive!

The seafood in Norfolk is exceptional too – it helps when you have miles and miles of fabulous coastline! Try some tasty Cromer crabs or a tray of cockles or whelks … or how about some jellied eels? Definitely not for the squeamish! And have you ever had samphire? This Norfolk delicacy – a kind of sea asparagus - is found along the north Norfolk coast and is delicious dipped in garlic butter or even vinegar.

But it’s not just the ingredients that help make Norfolk a great destination for foodies, there’s a lot to be said for our imaginative chefs too. Norfolk is blessed with dozens of excellent chefs each with a passion for exquisite Norfolk food. You can find sophisticated menus to rival any London restaurant as well as plenty of traditional home-cooked food at our many inns and eateries.

You're spoilt for choice when looking for somewhere to eat in the Norwich area. Have a look our Norwich Eating Out page or go to VisitNorwich to discover more.

Norfolk may be known as Nelson’s county, but Delia’s definitely had a hand in it too!

Celebrate Norfolk's rich food heritage

EDP Bidwells Norfolk Food Festival - a celebration of Norfolk's food

The annual EDP Bidwells Norfolk Food Festival showcases the breadth of quality local produce, the county’s rich food heritage and the importance of good food to everyone’s well-being.

Running from 1 Sep - 3 Oct 2010, the festival is a celebration of Norfolk’s finest food and food producers. The festival features more than 300 events across the county. Highlights include Norwich’s Moveable Feast in aid of Parkinson’s UK (28 September), the EDP Norfolk Food Awards (22 September), the Battle of the Bangers (25 September) when the county's leading butchers compete for the public vote and a large Food Fair at The Forum Norwich (25 September), featuring cooking demonstrations and tastings. Produced in Norfolk’s 'Taste the View' events at food and drink producers throughout the county and the annual scone baking competition at Wroxham Barns (26 September) add to the mix.

For more information visit www.norfolkfoodfestival.co.uk.

Pint of Wherry, Reedcutter or Hanged Monk?

Whatever your choice of tipple, Norfolk's pubs are champions of local food and drink.

Whilst you're here, don't forget to sample some of the local ales - from Woodforde's Wherry, Norfolk Nog and Nelson's Revenge, or Tipples' Redhead or Hanged Monk, through to Fox Brewery's Peddars Sway and Humpty Dumpty Brewery's Reedcutter - there's plenty to choose from!

The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) has recently released the 2010 edition of the ale bible 'The Good Beer Guide' and Norfolk comes out a winner! With 31 breweries within the county, Norfolk is second only to West Yorkshire for production, and Norwich itself has been singled out for praise thanks to its real ale pubs. In an interview with the Evening News, the Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz states that "Norfolk in particular has the most astonishing number of breweries and Norwich is one of the best places in the entire country for drinking good beer. It has wonderful pubs."

For more information visit www.camra.org.uk, or check out the Evening News' Love Your Local campaign.

Norwich Beer Festival

The annual Norwich Beer Festival, organised by CAMRA's Norwich & Norfolk Branch, runs at St. Andrew's Hall each October.

Festival goers can usually expect more than 200 cask-conditioned real ales from Britain's independent brewers, along with draught and bottled beers from Continental Europe.

Buy local

Whilst you're staying in the county, make sure you call in at a local farm shop, visit a farmer's market (see below) or sample some local food from one of the many delis, cafes and restaurants around the area.

The Broadland Food Directory lists over 90 food producers and retailers of locally produced food in Broadland.

Whether you're looking for a quality pub, restaurant or cafe with locally sourced food, or want to sample some of the district's beers and ales, the directory can help.

Visit the Food Directory website to find out more...

And don't forget to whet your appetite at the Norfolk Food Festival - held in September / October each year. Take a look at www.norfolkfoodfestival.co.uk more information.

Farmer's Markets

Sample more local delights by dropping in at a farmer's market whilst in Norfolk. Try local cheeses, jams, pickles, beers and ales and much more.

If you're in West Norfolk, you can find more details on the area's markets on the Borough Council website.

Or take a look for officially Certified Farmer's Markets in Norfolk.

Award-winning Norfolk produce!

Norfolk has a rich heritage of succulent and tasty food and drink, and so it's a given that our local producers are also award winners too!

Winners of the 2009 Great Taste Awards include Norfolk companies such as:
* Bray's Cottage Pork Pies - for their Rare Breed Pork Pie with Onion Marmalade
* Elveden Fine Foods - Raspberry Jam with Single Malt Whisky
* Booja-Booja Company - triple winners for their Hunky Punky Chocolate Ice Cream in double strawberry, Cointreau and mandarin, and butterscotch!
* Lakenham Creamery - for their Norfolk County ice cream in Rich Butterscotch and Cointreau Mandarin

With such a mouthwatering list of winners, don't forget to sample Norfolk's finest produce when you visit!

Food Safety

North Norfolk, Norwich and Great Yarmouth Councils have introduced food hygiene rating schemes to give members of the public a simple guide to show how well food businesses are complying with food hygiene requirements. Go to North Norfolk Food Ratings, Norwich Safer Food Awards or Great Yarmouth Food Safety Awards to check the scores.

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