Leicestershire

Leicestershire is the Rural Capital of Food, and the title is earned rather than borrowed. Melton Mowbray alone is home to three of the six licensed Stilton producers in England, and its pork pie carries Protected Geographical Indication status, meaning only pies made within a defined area around the town using traditional methods can carry the Melton Mowbray name. The connection between the two goes back centuries: it was the whey from Stilton production that fed the pigs which gave rise to the pork pie in the first place.

The county's food heritage runs far deeper than its two most famous exports. Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co at Sparkenhoe Farm near Market Bosworth revived the authentic Red Leicester recipe in 2003, using raw milk from their own herd, producing a cheese with genuine depth and character that bears no resemblance to the bland supermarket version. Long Clawson Dairy, a farmer-owned co-operative since 1912, took home Supreme Champion at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards in 2024 for their Blue Stilton. Ferneley's makes luxury ice cream from their own herd on a family farm near Melton Mowbray that has been farmed since the 1930s.

The drinks scene is equally distinctive. Everards has been brewing in Leicester since 1849 and is now in its sixth generation with a state-of-the-art brewery and Beer Hall near Fosse Park. Mount St Bernard Abbey near Coalville is home to Tynt Meadow, the UK's only recognised Trappist ale and the first beer brewed by English monks since the Reformation. Burleighs Gin is distilled with foraged botanicals from Charnwood Forest. Two Birds Spirits handcrafts small-batch gin from a bespoke copper still in Market Harborough. Brentingby Gin operates a cocktail bar inside Melton Mowbray's cattle market.

Leicestershire also has one of the densest concentrations of farm shops in the country. Farndon Fields in Market Harborough started as a small veg stall on a 250-acre farm in 1983 and has grown into one of England's most respected farm shops, growing over 40 types of fruit and vegetables in fields half a mile from the counter. Cattows Farm near Coalville has been farming 300 acres since 1899. Pick's Organic Farm at Barkby Thorpe has been a family organic operation since 1999. Bridge 67 Butchers in Kibworth sells lamb and beef reared on the Vickers family farm, where they've been farming since the 1930s. Grazers of Ashby Parva offers 100% grass-fed beef, lamb, and pork.

These producers are often easier to miss than they should be. Many sell from farm gates, village shops, and market stalls rather than through a prominent online presence. Enter your postcode and we'll show you every independent food and drink producer within 20 miles of your door.