Travelling with the Food Challenge
I travelled in England and Ireland in the end of September (leaving Randy to cope with the harvest!) and found that local eating is already important to the residents of those countries. In Ireland, the menu often stated the origin of the food, including who had made the black and white puddings, and where the meat had come from to make them. One of the B&B waitresses lived an a local farm, and was able to tell me all the news, who had good crops this year, what was grown, etc.
In England, I was treated to a delightful meal on the first evening, with a friend of the host arriving with freshly caught trout for dinner, which was accompanied by local new potatoes and snap peas. The host did not know I had taken the food challenge pledge, this is simply the way she normally eats! Investigating the farmer’s market the next day, I found that the apples were labeled with their orchard of origin, and the vendor could tell me how many miles each apple had traveled (I chose the 10-mile apples).
Awesome, Cathy! I had the same experience of being hyper-aware of where the food was from while I was in Vermont in August… it really makes you appreciate where you are travelling when you get to taste the true flavors of the region!