Frequently asked questions

For a start, local food has not burnt up valuable food miles to arrive at our kitchen. Also, it rewards local producers for the hard work they put in to supply high quality ingredients rather than mass-produced supermarket items. It enables us to make the most of fresh foods when they are in season rather than relying on a smaller range (e.g. strawberries in December) of heavily-packaged and preserved foods that have travelled halfway around the world … and we promise you can taste the difference!

Quite simply because organic flour is produced from wheat that has been grown without the use of agricultural chemicals, including chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers. It therefore contains no residues of these potentially dangerous chemicals. Most flour is roller-milled which removes the wheatgerm from the wheat and with it valuable vitamins. Stoneground flour, which we use in our bakery products, retains the essential goodness of the wheat.

Firstly, did you know that nationally only 4% of the bread we buy is made in small, neighbourhood bakeries? All c8ter’s bread and bakery goods are handmade using as much organic and seasonal ingredients as possible. For example, we are currently producing parsnip and nutmeg bread using mashed parsnips from our allotment! Other products include:

• Farmhouse white, granary and wholemeal loaves
• Black olive and feta plaits (we have just returned from a holiday in Turkey!)
• Oven-dried tomato tear-and-share bread
• Homemade pesto flutes
• Mary’s cheese, chilli and herb bloomer
• Blackberry and vanilla cream Victoria sponge cake
• Breakfast bars packed full of organic fruit, nuts and seeds

Not yet! You can buy our products direct on Mansfield market or local farmers’ markets, or call us to order anything from our selection, or a deli-box. You can also contact us and order items through www.bigbarn.co.uk.

To take advantage of our catering for special occasions, give us a call or drop us an e-mail.

Flexibility is as important to us as it is to you. We can cater in your own home or in a pre-booked venue. For example, we have created; a wedding feast in a marquee in Derbyshire, a party buffet at Rainworth Miners’ Welfare, a business lunch in Hucknall library, and several dinner parties in customers’ homes.

We have catered for any number of people, from 4 to 104, although if we get above this number, it can start to feel like an exercise in industrial mass-production!

Because we are unique in this area – providing high-quality, affordable, tailor-made delicious food to suit your individual needs.