Chapter 13 Devon and its Evolving Food Culture

Abstract

Bordering Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to the east and north, Devon is one of England’s largest counties. With Exeter as its capital, it is bounded by the English Channel to the south and the Bristol Channel some 70 miles to the north. In between is a bucolic landscape of gently rolling and verdant pastures for the grazing of dairy cattle and sheep; rich arable farmland; and the rugged, upland country of Dartmoor and Exmoor. This is enviable agricultural country. Devon’s beautiful pasturelands provide grazing for dairy cattle and the county is the source of rich dairy products such as milk, cream, Devon’s famous clotted cream, as well as an increasing and outstanding range of farmhouse cheeses. On upland farms, native breeds such as Red Ruby and South Devon cattle, as well as lamb raised on Dartmoor and Exmoor, provide excellent meats. Organic vegetables and fruit are cultivated in the rich red earth of Devon. Wild foods such as game as well as mushrooms and plants foraged in woodlands add to the local diet, while an increasing range of artisan, hand-crafted foods are produced on both small, cottage scale as well as at a level that allows for national and even international distribution. A fabulous catch of fish and shellfish is landed by day boats and trawlers alike in the ports of Brixham and Exmouth. Regional foods are most ably washed down with traditional cask-conditioned ales, raspingly tannic Devon farmhouse ‘scrumpy’ or cider, and an increasing number of award-winning Devon wines.