Good ingredients beget good food, and where you buy them from is just as important as how you use them. Happily, there are plenty of talented, independent makers and growers in the UK and Ireland, producing everything from pasta and charcuterie to shortbread, tinned fish, apple juice and crumpets.
Knowing the story behind what we buy has never been more important. Some producers, for example, now harness renewable energy sources, others regenerative farming methods, while most will (hopefully) reduce food miles. And bonus: they’ll transform your cooking too. As a food writer and contributor to Feast, I’ve learned that the source, just as much as the sauce, makes the difference. Here are some of my favourite independent producers.
Warning: this range of condiments is highly addictive. Made in Dublin by Katie Sanderson, White Mausu’s peanut rayu (a blend of garlic, peanuts, sesame, gochugaru, tamari, agave) is the OG and a worthy addition to most meals (and particularly eggs). It would be an error to underestimate its fermented black bean sibling, though, because that’s also a banger. Smoky, a little fruity, with a nice bit of heat, and versatile to boot, it’s equally at home in salad dressings as when paired with grilled meats.
Peanut rāyu, £36 for 6 x 240g jars
whitemausu.com
peanut rāyu chilli oil, £8.99 for 240g
selfridges.com
Tinned fish is your easy meal fix, and this craft cannery in Bridport, Dorset, is preserving some of the best sustainably sourced British fish. Founded by Charlotte Dawe with her partner Angus Cowan, a chef who has worked at the likes of Trullo and Rochelle Canteen in London, Sea Sisters uses low-impact fishing methods to fill tins of mussels with chilli and garlic, Cornish hake with rosemary and capers and – a favourite – rainbow trout smoked over oak.
Rainbow trout smoked over oak, £10 for 110g
If you’re hankering after shortbread, you need Island Bakery’s lemon melts in your life. Baked on the Isle of Mull using organic ingredients and powered by local renewable energy (wind and water for electricity, wood chip for the ovens), they’re half-dipped in white chocolate for extra joy. Also of note are its melt-in-the-mouth cheese biscuits, and craggy oat crumbles, which pair excellently with all kinds of cheese.
Lemon melts, £3.85 for 133g
waitrose.com
cheese biscuits, £3.44 for 100g
islandbakery.scot
Five packs of 125g and 133g Island Bakery biscuits, £26.99
amazon.co.uk
When it comes to Mexican ingredients, this brand should be your first port of call (when in the UK). Its brilliant produce includes dried chillies and Mexican oregano, but the real stars are the corn tortillas – essential for all your taco, quesadilla and enchilada needs. They also freeze well, so having an extra packet or two in the freezer is a good strategy.
Tortillas from £3.55
coolchile.co.uk
dried chipotle chillies, £4.70 for 40g
souschef.co.uk
Made with British apple varieties from sustainable orchards around the UK, these juices are wonderfully distinctive and feel somewhat grown-up. Seeking out lesser-known apples (think may queen or annie elizabeth) and in turn protecting small-scale growing, Wildpress makes single-variety juices and blends, including the full-flavoured, citrussy rebel harvest (a blend of james grieve, may queen, d’arcy spice and ellison’s orange), and palace doctor, which pairs blenheim orange and ashmead’s kernel for sweet-sharp notes.
The palace doctor, £33.49 for six x 750ml bottles
wildpressjuice.com
apple juice, £4.10 for a small bottle
gails.com
Chef Harry Colley’s sweet-salty-spicy peanut butter with paprika gained something of a cult following when served on toast at the Fumbally café in Dublin. When Covid hit, he turned the recipe into a line of peanut butters to buy, now including flavours such as hazelnut and cacao nibs; peanut, pumpkin seed and spices (including nutmeg and ginger); and the double crunch with both big and small chunks of peanut. Ingredients are all natural, with no palm oil or refined sugar in sight.
Pumpkin seed crunch, £22 for four x 330g jars
harrysnutbutter.com
Pure peanut butter, £7.99 for 330g
selfridges.com
Chefs Will Lewis – formerly of London institutions St John and Brat – and Josh Hill teamed up in lockdown to put classic British pies back on the menu. Hand-pressed in east London and generously filled, the pies come in flavours that are fun and seasonal: lamb, anchovy and black olive; root vegetable cassoulet; beef mince and westcombe cheddar. Football legend Ian Wright is an investor, which is reason enough.
Root vegetable cassoulet pie, £5
willyspies.com
Chickpeas, white beans, butter beans and black beans are all good sources of plant protein and keep the soil healthy, but they’re also real store-cupboard workhorses. The jars from Bold Bean Co, which contain the best, slow-cooked heirloom beans, are sure to get you out of any rut, perhaps replacing rice in risotto for a beanotto, or as a substitute for pasta in sauces (this works particularly well with the brand’s big, creamy queen butter beans).
Queen butter bean £3.25 for one 570g jar
ocado.com
sainsburys.co.uk
This has become something of a salami powerhouse. Set up by four friends in north London, Cobble Lane Cured uses British meats, such as Yorkshire mangalitza and British wagyu, to reduce food mileage, as well as cuts often neglected by shoppers (eg jowl) for its salami. The fennel and garlic salami and Islington saucisson are good places to start, but other hits include spicy, spreadable nduja, which works a treat when stirred into sauces, soups and stews.
Islington saucisson, £13 for 270g (average size)
cobblelanecured.com
British-grown, regeneratively farmed spelt is turned into wonderfully nutty, small-batch pasta using traditional Italian methods by this Cumbrian company. Run by husband-and-wife team Matt Kenyon and Imy Royall, it makes a handful of shapes, including fusilli, conchigliette and radiatori (the short, chunky ruffles), all of which are very good holders of sauce.
Conchigliette, £4.95 for 450g bag
northernpasta.co.uk
fusilli, £5.25 for 450g bag
melroseandmorgan.com
These are, quite simply, the best crumpets you’ll ever buy: nice and thick, and with deep holes for collecting pools of salted butter, or whatever you might slather on top. Yes, if you buy them directly from the small London-based producer you must order a box of 20, but that’s really no hardship. Your freezer will thank you for it.
Box of 20 crumpets, £25
jonescrumpets.com
pack of 4, £5.30
superettestore.com
The bottles of this eco-friendly wine have no plastic around their tops and the labels are made partially from grape waste. Sea Change also raises funds to support marine-conservation projects with every bottle sold. Its Provence rosé is fresh, zesty and perfect for a picnic, while the crisp, refreshing prosecco is a real crowd-pleaser.
Provence rose, £19.49 a bottle
seachangewine.com
prosecco, £13.99 a bottle
socialsupermarket.org
The pink-painted brickwork of its bakery has become as synonymous with this Orford company as its flaky pastries, sourdough loaves and small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate. Father-and-daughter duo Chris and Joanna Brennan have kept the pink theme in the labels of their bakery-inspired chocolate bars, which include the likes of cookie chip and croissant. However, it is the rye crumb, milk and sea salt chocolate that shouldn’t be missed – nor should the hot-chocolate flakes, when it’s time to be cosy.
Rye crumb, milk & sea salt chocolate, £7.45 for 70g
pumpstreetchocolate.com
cocoarunners.com
Made from koroneiki olives picked by hand on the west coast of the Peloponnesein Greece, this extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed, unfiltered and has real character, with a wonderfully peppery edge – perfect for drizzling over salads or vegetables. Some stockists, such as Esters in north London, offer a refill service to minimise waste.
Extra virgin olive oil, £17 for 500ml
honest-toil.co.uk
or £14.99 for 500ml
souschef.co.uk
Founded by Amy Poon, the daughter of Bill Poon, who was behind the renowned 1970s London restaurant of the same name, Poon’s produces a soy sauce that’s really worth investing in. Pressed only once from non-GMO beans, it’s the equivalent of extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil – and has a real depth of flavour, making it ideal for cooking or dipping. Other signature sauces include a spicy chilli vinegar dressing and sweet and salty WO sauce.
Buy: premium first extract soy sauce, £16.30 for 250ml
poons-pantry.com
souschef.co.uk
Fresh tomatoes grown in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight are wonderful and flavourful, but this company’s cook’s range (specifically the pizzaiola tomato sauce for pizza) and condiments are worth exploring too. Not to be missed is the oak smoked tomato balsamic, which is made in small batches and tastes like a dream drizzled in sauces and marinades.
Oak smoked tomato balsamic, £9.50 for 200ml
iowtomatoes.co.uk
£11.49 for 250ml
selfridges.com
This Suffolk-based pioneer works with British farmers to introduce and develop pulses, grains and cereals on home soil. Its products includes everything from British carlin peas to quinoa, fava beans and chickpeas, which can be soaked, cooked, and blended with herbs and oil for dips.
White quinoa, £3.49 for 500g bag
hodmedods.co.uk
Roasted green peas sea salted, £6.11 for 300g
amazon.co.uk
This brand’s organic seeds are great for teaching and encouraging children to get growing. Every season, Planet Good Earth releases Soil Association-certified seeds for growing herbs and vegetables from sweetcorn to kohlrabi and basil. Each packet comes with a guide on how to sow, harvest and eat the fruits of your labour. Everything the company does is compostable, biodegradable and recyclable to boot.
Chives nelly seeds, £4
planetgoodearth.com
microgreens golden frills, £4
glassette.com
This brand grew out of Seji Hong’s Seoul supper club in south London. Now, her range of condiments are your short-cut to those umami Korean flavours: a deeply savoury gochujang (a sweet, hot Korean red pepper paste), salty ssamjang (a fermented soybean dipping sauce just asking to be served at a barbecue), and a moreish kimchi mayonnaise (you’ll want it on a toastie).
Gochujang, £9.50 for a 220g jar
kimchi mayo, £6.50 for a 185g jar
ocado.com