Food and drink culture is alive and kicking in the Cotswolds. In our latest blog we offer a few tips to help if you’re self-catering in one of our Broadway cottages, looking for some gifts to take home, or want to spot what's local on menus as you explore the Cotswolds.

Broadway is beautifully placed to benefit from the busy Cotswold food scene with its cheesemakers, farmers markets and speciality shops. Broadway is also in Worcestershire's famous ‘market garden’ country, with the highest quality fruit and vegetable growers on our doorstep, offering everything from Pershore plums to fabulous Evesham asparagus (currently available on our Broadway Hotel menu).

Here are twelve ‘must-try’ foods, along with just a few of the places where you can buy them:

Gloucestershire ‘Old Spot’ Pork
The local Old Spot pig is a wonderful thing. Happily, it’s not suitable for mass production farming, meaning that it tends to be grown slowly in a more traditional way. It has an historic association with apple orchards, leading to a folk tale that the large spot on the animal's back came about from apples falling from the trees. Well, it’s a nice story! Old Spot makes for great roasting joints — you can pick up some at Warners Butchers in Broadway.

Cotswold Lavender
Cotswold Lavender, our near neighbours in Snowshill, makes for a highly 'Instagrammable' visit in the summer. The fields of lavender are spectacular in the summer months and the shop has some unusual Cotswold gifts such as lavender honey and lavender chocolate. A chef's tip is to add a few grains to custard for a subtle difference.

Cotswold Lamb
The sheep is the symbol of the Cotswolds and has been for centuries. We do recommend trying succulent Cotswold lamb during your stay. You’ll find it in most butchers or in Broadway Deli on the High Street. Incidentally, 'spring lamb' really comes into its own in the summer months.
Hoggett (older lamb, in its second year) is always worth ordering. It has a fuller, richer taste than young lamb.

Cotswold Apple Juice
If you’re visiting Sudeley Castle, consider stopping off at Hayles Fruit Farm in Winchcombe for some of their signature cloudy apple juice.

Cheese
Single and Double Gloucester cheeses are rightly famous. If you’re buying some, do look for a farmhouse cheese, for example from Charles Martell, Jonathan Crump or Smart’s.

The difference between the two styles is that, while both are hard cheeses with a natural rind, Single Gloucester is crumblier, and lower in fat. Double Gloucester is stronger and has a more savoury flavour.

These two cheeses have a long history, but there's a thriving contemporary cheese scene too. At the Broadway Deli or the excellent Cotswolds Cheeese Company cheese shops in Moreton in Marsh and Burford you'll find some of the new stars in the cheese world such as Ashcombe, Rollright and Cerney Ash.

Cotswold Honey
You can pick up jars of golden Cotswold honey from farm shops everywhere in the area. Even better, carry some cash in the car to buy from the roadside vendors that you're likely to stumble across as you tour the Cotswolds.

Artisan Bread
The best place to pick up quality bread locally is Broadway Deli. We love MOR Bakery in Chipping Campden, who supply the Deli.

Cotswolds Distillery
Not far away, in Stourton, the Cotswolds Distillery had an instant hit with their gin and now some sensational whiskies. This is a really ambitious artisan distillery in the Cotswolds, using Cotswold botanicals and barley. The distillery tour is highly rated, and there's also have a shop in Broadway. If you need to be convinced, you can always try before you buy in our bar!

Cotswold gin or whisky is an excellent present for the cat sitter!

Rapeseed Oil
You’ll see huge areas of the yellow rape crop (called canola in the US) taking up entire Cotswold hillsides in May and June. As a locally grown oil, rape seed is acquiring lots of attention for its health benefits, virgin pressings, local bottling and versatility. It’s good for everything, from salads to high temperature cooking. Our local star product is Cotswold Gold, produced by East Lodge Farm at Stanton.

If you’d like some to take home, there are smoked, truffled, and lemon, chilli, basil, rosemary and dill infused versions available. They make some mean flavoured mayonnaises too!

Chocolate
Broadway is often described as looking like a chocolate box cover and, in fact, we do have our very own Cotswold Chocolate Company shop on the High Street in Broadway. It's a popular shop!

Beer
Broadway Best Bitter, Broadway Dark and Broadway Pale ales are all available in our bar, all supplied by Goffs Brewery in Winchcombe. We also have Hawkstone, Jeremy Clarkson’s cult lager, made from Cotswold barley.

Incidentally, we have a very strong cocktail list and Emile, from the team, takes pride in using local fruit and herbs as ingredients, from homemade cordials to ferments.

Cotswold Trout
The steep hill out of Broadway that leads up to Chipping Campden and other north Cotswold villages is called ‘Fish Hill’. It’s an historical reference to the time when monks cultivated fish in ponds on the hillside. Bibury Trout - which you’ll often see on menus — has an even older heritage — the Romans farmed trout here. The trout farm is right in the centre of Bibury village, a beautiful stop off, famous for the very photogenic Arlington Row cottages and the clear, slow-flowing River Coln.

Farmers Markets

If you’re touring the Cotswolds by car, it’s a good idea to stop off if you see a Farmers Market en route. Here are a few of them:

Cheltenham
When: 2nd and 4th Friday of the month, 9am - 3 pm
Where: In the town centre opposite Waterstones

Cirencester
When: 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 9am-9am-1pm1pm
Where: Cirencester Market Place

Chipping Norton
When: 3rd Saturday of the month, 8.30am-1.30pm
Where: Market Place

Bourton-on-the-Water
When: 4th Sunday of the month
Where: Countrywide Stores

Stow
When: 2nd Thursday of the month, 9am — 1pm
Where: Market Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, GL54 1BL

Tewkesbury
When: 2nd Saturday of the month, 9 am — 1.30pm
Where: Abbey Car Park, off Gander Lane

Willersey (near Broadway)
When: 3rd Sunday of the month. 9.30am to 1pm
Where: Main Street

Winchcombe
When: 3rd Saturday of the month, 9am — 2pm
Where: Town Centre

Special Events

In the summer, village fetes are always a good place to stop off. Great for cakes, jam and home grown vegetables. Broadway village has its very own Food Festival and Horticultural Show weekend — this year’s dates are the 14th and 15th September 2024.