Producer of the Month: Nicky and Ian Dorward, Limes Farm, Northamptonshire

In terms of food miles you could not get fewer than at Limes Farm. Nicky and Ian Dorward believe that a farm shop should be just that - a place where almost all of the products are made on the farm. 

Limes Farm has been in the Deeley family for almost 200 years and the farm itself can be traced back through the Farthinghoe village history books as far as 1066. Trained chef Nicky and Ian both run Limes Farm alongside Nicky's father, John Deeley, who now in his seventies, is still a very active member of the farm and shares his knowledge of traditional practices to the next generation. 

In the shop and tearoom nearly all the produce is from local suppliers and producers. Homemade produce includes delicious jams and chutneys, sweet and savoury tarts and cakes, homemade meat pies and other ‘ready to go’ homemade meals. When the Dorwards were renovating the building which is now the shop they discovered the old and original bread oven, so it seems bread has been made at Limes Farm since medieval times. 

One of Nicky and Ian's most inspiring initiatives is their School Meal service. They provide some of their local primary schools with daily hot meals that are made from home-grown vegetables; farm reared or locally sourced meat and eggs from their chickens. The ingredients they can't grow or create themselves they source from local heroes. For example they use flour from Wessex Mill in Oxfordshire to make their pizza dough. There are three menus which are rotated each term. Accompanying their school meals is the ‘Clean Plate Award’ - a handy booklet that children have stamped when they eat their meal. This helps parents to know whether their child has eaten and encourage the children to collect more stamps. 

This month Limes Farm will not only be stocking freshly picked cherries to buy and take home but in support of British cherries they will be planting two cherry trees. For Love British Food 2012 they will be serving their Best of British BBQ on Sat 28th and Sat 4th of August, using a selection of the best British meat, with a range of exciting salads and homemade breads. Traditional British recipes will be on the tearoom menu throughout the fortnight and some specially baked British classics will be available to buy.

• Why do you do what you do? 
  

• What achievement are you most proud of? 
  

• What is your most memorable moment? 
  

• If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you do to encourage more people to eat British food? 
  

• What is your favourite food and why? 
  

• What are your predictions for the future of British food? 
  

• If you were an advertising executive what slogan would you use to promote British food? 
  

• Best budget tip? 
  

• What's on the menu this evening? 
  

• How can people get hold of your produce?