Wight Taste Trail

Cherries, Tomatoes and award-winning Highland Beef have all been added to the latest hamper of local specialities featured on the Wight Taste Trail for food-loving holidaymakers.

Cherries from an orchard overlooking picturesque Godshill, Tomato Stall oak roasted tomatoes and sauces from the world-famous tomatoes grown in the Arreton Valley and award-winning beef from Highland cattle reared on the Isle of Wight are the latest gourmet treats to be featured on the new edition of the Wight Taste Trail, which traces a route that allows holidaymakers to eat and drink their way around the most scenic parts of the Island landscape.

First created in 2007 to provide tourists with a food-based short break itinerary, Wightlink’s Wight Taste Trail has now been updated and a new booklet published that spotlights the best local producers – like Richard Hodgson who set up the Isle of Wight Cheese Company and won ‘Best English Cheese’ at the World Cheese Awards 2007 within months. The new Wight Taste Trail profiles two new producers: Jeff MacDonald of The Tomato Stall, who uses a wide range of tomato varieties to produce mouth-watering pure tomato sauces, juices and whole tomatoes oak-smoked; and Stuart Pierce of Godshill Cherries, the Island’s newest fruit producer.  

The Wight Taste Trail also profiles restaurants and pubs which set their standard by the quality of local food on their menus. Prominent among the 14 featured in the new guide is Robert Thompson’s Hambrough in Ventnor – winner of a 2009 Michelin star. Since early May the Hambrough has been serving Highland beef which comes from Michael Poland’s farm in Wroxall – five minutes’ drive from the hotel.

The Wight Taste Trail is part of a collection of free illustrated Wightlink guides providing contrasting ideas for short breaks. Other guides include Footloose for visitors on foot, The Rare Plant Trail, which spotlights 20 of the UK’s most noteworthy plants and Eat Wight, a collection of mouth-watering recipes created by Wight Taste Trail chefs and producers

Recently the Brown family's Arreton asparagus was chosen to represent the 'best of British' for the Royal Wedding breakfast in April. Famer Jack's own Ben Brown sent a thousand perfect spears up to London, where they were transformed into miniature watercress and asparagus tarts and poached asparagus spears with hollandaise sauce by the Queen's chef, Mark Flanangan and his team of 24 cooks.

If you weren't invited to the wedding, you can taste exactly the same asparagus yourself by popping into Farmer Jack’s at Arreton Old Village on the Isle of Wight!
Find out more about Ben Brown and Farmer Jack’s Farm Shop in our guide...

Download the guide (2.96mb PDF)

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