Bites: Where to find food straight from the farmer's market on a menu near you

Where to find food straight from the farmer's market on a menu near you

Kennedy's Fine Chocolates

In a county with a flourishing alternative food economy, Orton has a thriving farmers' market on the second Saturday of each month. Start with a bacon butty in the market hall and move on to Kennedy's for afters. The chocolate factory's little coffee house, right on the market square, serves soup made by Jeremy's Soups in Appleby (who have a stall in the market), as well as its own baked goodies.

The Old School, Market Square, Orton, Cumbria (01539 624781)

Kensington Place

On Saturdays the country comes to London in the car park behind the landmark metropolitan restaurant. Kensington Place chef Rowley Leigh can't keep away from the farmers' market, to buy bread, apple juice and meat for himself and find suppliers for the restaurant. He now gets the freshest sprouts, chard, fennel and globe artichokes direct from the Lincolnshire stallholder. If you see kid roast with garlic and rosemary on the menu it's come from the market too.

201-209 Kensington Church Street, London W8 (020-7727 3184)

Mills Café

Long-standing, organically oriented daytime café in Stroud, which has one of the largest farmers' markets in the country on the first and third Saturday of each month (next on 7 December). The café tops up its regular organic veg supplies with raids on the market, especially for salad stuff, and buys fish from the town market on Friday. The farmers' market also has an organic burger bar and a café serving soup and home-made ciabatta.

Witheys Yard, Stroud, Gloucestershire (01453 752222)

The Wolfe Inn

Gianni di Lorenzo, proprietor of this pub-restaurant, visits the twice-monthly market at Haverfordwest (next on 6 and 20 December) for meat, vegetables and herbs. Everything else is as locally grown as possible – there's eggs from a nearby farm, game shot by him, and yoghurt, butter and fudge made on the premises. Fish comes from the market at Milford, as an alternative to Welsh Black fillet steak. Around £25 without wine.

Wolfs Castle, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire (01437 741662)