In April 2010 the then Prime Minister's wife, Sarah Brown, told The Guardian newspaper how proud she was of British food. She told of how she regularly went to the monthly Farmers' Market in Kirkcaldy where the queue at the Puddledub Pork stall for the apple sausages and smoked back bacon was ridiculous but worth the wait. This month we profile farmer and butcher Camilla Mitchell who formed Puddledub Pork in 2000 with her brother Tom and his wife.

Puddledub is a pork and curing business run from Clentrie Farm in Fife, which has been in the Mitchell family for four generations.  Camilla and Tom produce fresh pork cuts, hams, bacons, burgers and over sixteen varieties of sausages using their own steakhouse. Their nephew, Steven, runs Puddledub Buffalo, managing over 400 Water Buffalo, which garner steaks, mince, joints and sausages.

As well as the buffalo, there is also a  herd of Aberdeen Angus cows and a flock of Jacob sheep.  In fact there are so many animals at the farm that they welcome tours of visitors.  Due to it's close proximity to Camilla Loch, which was delcared a Site of Special Interest by the Scottish National Heritage, Clentrie Farm is alive with wildlife despite there being very little flat ground... 

• Why do you do what you do?
  I do what I do in order to remain in the farming business and to keep rearing pigs in a place that I love. I also do it to retain the family farm for future generations.


• What achievement are you most proud of?
  The creation of Puddledub Pork.


• What is your most memorable moment?
  Swimming with wild dolphins, back in 1985.  I was working in Canada and had gone to Florida. It was totally spur of the moment and I found the whole thing amazing.


• If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you do to encourage more people to eat British food?
  I would launch an awareness campaign so that consumers could see the difference in the welfare standards of food production in the UK compared with other countries.  That would make everyone buy British.  I would also install a process whereby it is harder for an importer to sell something in this country which we already readily produce.  A green card system for produce as a way to minimalise food miles.


• What is your favourite food and why?
  I obviously adore British food, particularly pork.  Some years ago, I lived and worked in Morocco and loved the cuisine.  I enjoy trying to fuse the flavours of both nations such as pan fried pork on a bed of lemon and coriander cous cous.


• What are your predictions for the future of British food?
  There is a forecast of a food shortage in the future. I think the artisan movement of British producers will keep evolving so that we become less reliant on foreign imports but at the same time don't get squeezed out of the market place.


• If you were an advertising executive what slogan would you use to promote British food?
  Use it or loose it!


• Beat the Recession tip?
  That would have to be to always keep a good stock of bacon handy for all sorts of dishes. It can be used in salads, jacket potato fillings, meatloaves and pasta dishes.


• What's on the menu this evening?
  A succulent pork loin steak with new potatoes and broccoli with a glass of good merlot.


• How can people get hold of your produce?
  Via our website www.puddledub.co.uk.  Our produce is also sold at  Farmers' Markets, delicatessens, and farm shops across Scotland.
  Puddledub Pork, Clentrie Farm, Auchtertool, Kirkcaldy, Fife , KY2 5XG , Tel: 01592 780 246 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it