In my previous blog post I told how I was working part time in London until a number of things came to a head, and my husband and I decided to quit our jobs, buy a business – thebestof Norwich – and move to Norfolk.
That’s when I stopped cooking.
I spend a lot of time working on the business. It doesn’t feel like work because I enjoy it, but the housework and cooking come last in my list of priorities.
I’d heard of “We Love Local Food” (or Local Food Direct) – supplying and delivering locally produced food - and had thought it was a good idea, but hadn’t actually got around to ordering anything from them.
I was looking at their website prior to meeting Paul to talk about the bestof and thought “Why aren’t I ordering from them?”
It may have been because you assume that prices are going to be dearer and I’m not in a position any more to be blasé about money.
Yet when I looked at their prices, they are similar to (and in some cases cheaper than) some of the supermarkets.
So, I made my first order, just to see what they were like. And I was pleasantly surprised – particularly with the frozen “ready meals” –casseroles that just needed defrosting and cooking.
I was out when my first order was delivered, but everything was in boxes packed with ice, so everything was still fresh.
I’ve put in an order every fortnight since then.
This week I had a wholemeal loaf delivered that had come fresh from the bakery that morning, lettuce that looked as if it had just been cut – I’ve not seen a lettuce that fresh since I worked on a market garden.
I had my favourite “home made” celeriac soup, then for dinner that night we had pork and apple casserole with mashed potatoes (all from Local Food Direct) – all I had to do was heat up the casserole and cook the potatoes.
Dessert consisted of the most delicious chocolate brownies I have ever tasted.
The next day we had scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon and mushrooms – again all from Local Food Direct, washed down with Breckland Orchard ginger beer and chilli – sounds like something out of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five!
I feel a bit embarrassed to be gushing so much about food, but the carrots really are the sweetest I’ve tasted for years, the lettuce the freshest, the brownies the best, the soup is amazing and the frozen meals salve my conscience – “ready meals” with all the goodness of home made food.
The carrots were a surprise actually. I'd bought other locally produced carrots at a local farmer's market and didn't like the taste of them. I assumed it must be something to do with the local soil, but Paul must pick his suppliers well, as the ones he delivers are lovely.
I don’t write anything unless I genuinely believe in it - so believe me when I say I am delighted to feature Local Food Direct as a new customer of thebestof.
We look for the best, and in their case, I’ve found the best.