The Benefits of Local Sourcing: Why We Incorporate Fresh, Organic Produce into Our Menus

Why is it important to incorporate fresh, organic produce into our menus?

Here at Galtres Lodge, we consciously try to keep the produce we use in our restaurant, Forest, local and sustainable. Find out the benefits of local sourcing in our article:

Locally Sourced Food Gives Our Guests a More Unique Experience

The aim of our Forest restaurant is to take classic British dishes and give them a Yorkshire twist.

Sourcing local ingredients helps us to make exclusive dishes that our guests can’t experience anywhere else because the flavours we use in our menus are unique to the local area.

For example, we add York fudge to our porridge for a unique offering; the fudge for which is made just 2 doors away from us. We also use local Black Sheep beer for our steak and ale pie, as well as Henderson’s relish for our tomato soup dish, which comes from South Yorkshire.

Locally Sourced Food Tastes Better and Has a Higher Nutritional Value

Here at Galtres Lodge, flavour is key, and we want only the best tasting, environmentally friendly produce for our guests.

The benefits of local sourcing start with the quality of the produce. Locally sourced food is picked when it’s at its most ripe, which gives a full-bodied flavour. At its peak, the produce also contains more nutrients.

It’s important to shop seasonally, too. Seasonal produce is generally more nutritional since it’s not manufactured to grow in unnatural conditions. The environment benefits from the extraction of seasonal produce, too, since it’s sourced naturally and locally rather than imported out of season. For a taste of high-quality, local ingredients, try the chicken salad in Forest, which comprises Nidderdale chicken and locally sourced rose jelly.

There Are Environmental Benefits of Local Sourcing

Food miles is a phrase used to describe the distance your food has travelled to reach you. Some foods are transported overnight across the country by lorry, and some foods are transported from other countries by plane.

The benefits of local sourcing include fewer food miles, reduced carbon footprint and you can enjoy fresher, seasonal foods grown closer to home. Eating seasonally can encourage you to be more adventurous with your dishes, and eat a wider variety of produce. Locally Grown Produce Supports Local Businesses

Supporting local businesses creates a sense of community and can, in turn, boost the tourism industry within local areas. As people grow ever more conscious of the environment, their carbon footprint, and their health, they often choose to eat in places that source their food locally.

Farmers also don’t have to worry about transportation and distribution costs when they sell their produce locally, so they can retain more of their profits. This will help them stay in business and ensure that the local area can retain its farmland and green spaces.

Locally Sourced Produce is Healthier

Foods produced on a larger scale are often sprayed with pesticides and then pumped with chemicals to preserve them, so they survive the transportation process.

Local farmers often use organic or natural repellants rather than pesticides, and because their food is distributed locally, they do not need to add anything to preserve it. The benefits of locally sourcing our produce means we can ensure our customers are eating high-quality, pesticide-free foods that will support their health rather than risk harming it.

The benefits of locally sourcing our food are very important to us here at Galtres Lodge. We try to limit our food miles as much as we can; our fish and meat come from the Shambles Market, which is just a stone’s throw from our door.

We’d love to welcome you to dine at Forest and explore the locally sourced foods for yourself. Visit our booking page to reserve a table.