The Good Food Producers Guide 2010, By Rose Prince

Britain’s most assiduous food writer gives details of 1,000 producers selling fine nosh and regional specialities. Lovers of the Bedfordshire clanger (“a suet pudding with gammon and potato in one and apple in the other”) should head for Gunns Bakery of Sandy. Residents of Reading seeking sole, mackerel or sprats, should go to the pungently named Smelly Alley Fish Company of Union Street.

The entries are well spiced with Prince’s sound opinions. Sawers of Belfast, for example, is a “timeless deli that practically rivals Harrods”, though its stocking of crocodile and ostrich is a step too far. “I have tried but cannot approve of this.” Planned to be updated annually, Prince’s Guide is an obligatory companion for any foodie on the road.