Full Details of 2025 Ledbury Big Breakfast available

Join us for Ledbury’s Celebration of Breakfast over the weekend of Friday 31^st January, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd February – the 13^th Ledbury Big Breakfast

17 local venues in and around Ledbury are taking part on one or more days in this event organised by Ledbury Food Group to celebrate our local food and drink producers and retailers and a healthy breakfast. The event takes place at cafes, pubs, hotels, butchers and delis in and around Ledbury.

Traditional-Breakfast-at-Trumpet-Tearoom — Traditional Breakfast at Trumpet Tearoom

There is lots of choice from the lightest to the heaviest breakfast showing the ingenuity of our local food venues – check through the listing below for something to sample, savour and enjoy

Visit our butchers – Gurneys and Wallers – to discover their breakfast delights for you to take home and enjoy.

Our delis will feature a wide range of local produce to take home to make a special breakfast.

The Country Market at St Katherine’s Hall on Friday will have lots of local produce for sale for your breakfast at home, as will Hellens Produce Market at Hellens Manor on Saturday. Both will be serving breakfasts this year.

Things get very busy on the Saturday morning – if you see something or somewhere you fancy, please book in advance where possible to avoid disappointment. More places now offer breakfasts on Sunday.

Please note that Janey’s and the New Market Café are not able to participate this year.

See below for full details of what specials are available, where and when – many venues will also offer their normal breakfast menu. A number offer vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. Times are when breakfasts will be available.

The full listing of special offerings – what, where and when?

Based on information provided by the participants. Many will also have their usual breakfast offerings available and will be open during their normal hours.

Cafés, Hotels and Pubs

Blooms Sandwiches

8.00 -12.30 SAT only
Phone: 01531 636555

To Take-away

Aussie Breakfast – Egg, bacon, avocado, chilli jam, spinach
British Breakfast – Bacon, egg and sausage in soft white or granary bread

Vegetarian, Gluten Free

Corner House Cafe, 1 The Southend

9.45-16.00 FRI, SAT & SUN
Phone 01531 635752 Take-aways. Bookings

Choose from seven different breakfasts in all sizes including with Bubble and Squeak and Vegetarian Options
Breakfast sandwiches

Produce from local producers (ask us!)

Vegetarian, Vegan (limited), Gluten Free

The Feathers Hotel, 25 High Street

8.30-10.00 SAT only
Phone: 01531 635266 Bookings

Grilled kippers, coarse grain mustard, lemon and parsley butter
Devilled white pudding, oyster mushrooms, jalapeno and cheddar crostini
Nutella and coconut pancake, vanilla poached strawberries

Produce from: LDA Meats

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Handley Organics Café, 5 High St

9.00 – 13.00 FRI & SAT
Phone: 01531 631136 Take-aways. Bookings

Croissant filled with herbed omelette, Monkland cheese and tomato

Produce from: Overton Farm, Arlingham (eggs), Alex Gooch Baker (Croissants), Monkland Cheese nr Leominster

Vegetarian, Gluten Free

Hellens Manor, Much Marcle, Ledbury HR8 2LY

9.30-11.30 SAT ONLY at our Monthly Produce Market
Phone: 07980 657901

Our special Bacon Rolls featuring local bacon
Peter Cooks pastries, croissants, pan au chocolate, cinnamon rolls
Tea and Coffee

Produce from: Peter Cooks Bread, Wallers (Butchers), Bakers Dozen, and our regular market stallholders, Tea and Coffee by James Gourmet Coffee

Vegetarian

Ledbury Community Hub, 8 New Street

11.30 SUN ONLY

Join us for our Boozy Brunch and Bingo – a round of Bingo, a brunchy buffet and a boisterous start to February

Book at www.ledburycommunityhub.org.uk, or just turn up. £3 buy in.

Malthouse Café & Gallery, Church Lane

9.30-15.30 FRI & SAT
Phone: 01531 634443 Take-aways Call & Collect Bookings

Choose from our range of changing breakfast specials for all tastes

Produce from: LDA Meats, Peter Cooks Bread

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Scrumpy House @ Weston’s Cider, HR8 2NQ

9.00 – 11.00 FRI, 9.30-11.00 SAT & SUN
Phone: 01531 660626 Bookings

Smashed Avocado on granary toast
Banana Pancakes with cider syrup
Homemade Muesli with mixed berries and yoghurt
Full English
Smoked salmon with scrambled eggs
Poached eggs on toast

Produce from: Neil Powell Butchers, Worcester Produce

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

The Shell House Kitchen, 36 The Homend

10.00-15.00 FRI, SAT & SUN
Phone: 01531 632676 Take-aways Call & Collect. Bookings

Full English
Full vegetarian or vegan
Eggs Benedict
Eggs Royale
Eggs Florentine
Bacon or Sausage sandwiches

Produce from: Gurneys (Butchers), McNeil’s Smokehouse, Bakers Dozen

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Seven Stars, 11 The Homend

9.00-11.00 SAT & SUN

Phone 01531 635800 Bookings

Full English
Small full English
Smashed avocado and smoked salmon
Eggs Florentine or Benedict
Pancakes
Eggs on Toast
Sausage or bacon baps

Produce from: LDA Meats and our own farm

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

The Nest at Little Verzons Farm, Hereford Road, HR8 2PZ

9.00-12.00 FRI, SAT & SUN
Phone: 01531 670816 Take-aways. Bookings

Shakshuka – tomatoes, onions, garlic, warming spices topped with a poached egg
Pancakes -fluffy pancakes topped with smoked bacon and maple syrup or berries and Chantilly cream

Produce from: LDA Meat, Worcestershire Produce, Cotswold Dairy, Baker’s Dozen, Peter Cooks Bread and Alex Gooch Bakery.

Local produce available to buy in our shop for your home breakfast

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Granola-served-by-Izzy-at-the-Nest. — Granola served by Izzy at the Nest.

Trumpet Corner Tearooms, Trumpet HR8 2RA

9.00–15.00 FRI, SAT & SUN

Phone: 01531 670082 Bookings

Purple Toast – discover this dish!
Full English breakfast
Bacon or sausage sandwiches
French toast with maple syrup, bacon or banana
Feta fried egg featuring a warmed tortilla and whipped avocado
Fresh Pasties

Produce from a number of local producers and suppliers

Vegetarian, Gluten Free

Delicatessens & Shops

Ceci Paolo, 21 High Street

9.0-1700 FRI & SAT
Phone 01531 632976

Local breakfast produce for your take home breakfast.

Local products include:

Severn and Wye Smokery salmon and other smoked products
Three Counties Honey
Peter Cooks Bread – bread and pastries,
Charles Martell (cheeses),
Neal’s Yard Creamery (cheeses and yogurt)
Artisan Kitchen Jams and Marmalades
Ludlow Porridge and Granola
Monmouth Coffee
Our own prepared food

Plus Continental cheeses and meats to complement local products

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Handley Organics (Shop), 5 High Street

All day FRI & SAT
Phone: 01531 631136

Lots of local produce and ingredients to make a tasty breakfast to take home including cereals, eggs, bakery, dairy etc.

Organic, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free

Butchers

Gurneys Butchers, 21 The Homend

All day – FRI & SAT
Phone: 01531 632526

Try our special – the Gurney’s Breakfast Banger – our creation for the Big Breakfast.

Lots of other locally produced breakfast ingredients for you.

David T Waller and Sons, 88 The Homend

All day – FRI & SAT
Phone 01531 632739

We have developed the “Waller’s Breakfast Pinwheel Sausage” for you this year.

Many locally produced ingredients to complete your breakfast.

Country Market

Burgage Hall, Church Lane
9.00 – 12.00 FRI only

Bacon sandwich
Smoked salmon, poached egg and muffin
Homemade toasted teacakes
Homemade sourdough toast

Produce for our breakfasts from: Gurney’s Butchers, Graham Wood (salmon), Country flavours Eggs

AND Local produce for you to take home for a special breakfast (or other meal!) including Graham Wood’s charcuterie

Please support Ledbury Food Bank

Find out how at:

www.ledburyfoodbank.org

January 3, 2025

Sustainable Farming Film – “Six Inches of Soil”

Want to know more about “sustainable” farming – see the film “Six Inches of Soil” in Ledbury on 27^th January

Come and join us for an evening of learning and discussion at Burgage Hall in Ledbury hosted by the Herefordshire Food Alliance, Sustainable Ledbury and Ledbury Food Group.

We will be screening the thought-provoking film “Six Inches of Soil”

This will be followed by an engaging Q&A session with local farmers and growers.

This event is a great opportunity to delve into the world of sustainable agriculture and the importance of healthy soil.

We will also be hearing about the challenges faced by farmers and growers in adopting new management approaches and what support they need on local and national levels.

Ticket includes a light buffet of local food. Teas and coffees also available on the night.

Event Details

When? Monday 27 January 2025

Time? 6pm – refreshments

6.30pm – film showing

8pm – refreshment break

8.30pm – Questions and Answers

Where? Burgage Hall, Church Lane, Ledbury, HR8 1DW

Parking? Town Centre Public Car Parks – Free after 6pm

Booking? Admission by Ticket – cost £5 (including refreshments)

Please book in advance at www.ticketsource.co.uk/newleaf or by phone 07851 445412. There is limited capacity!

More information? Visit www.sixinchesofsoil.org/impact-campaign.

And lastly…

Helping Others? We will be collecting donations for Ledbury Food Bank at this event. Your help will be very much appreciated!

Details about this year’s Ledbury Big Breakfast – Friday 31^st January and Saturday and Sunday 1^st and 2^nd of February – will be available on this website from mid-January

November 27, 2024December 17, 2024

Ledbury Big Breakfast 2025 is coming!

One of Ledbury’s popular events – the Ledbury Big Breakfast – is taking place over Friday 31^st January, Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd February 2025.

Annie-makes-porridge-old-style-on-the-Aga-at-the-Trumpet-Tearoom — Annie at the Aga at the Trumpet Tearoom

Local shops, cafes, hotels and other food outlets in and around Ledbury are challenged to come up with special breakfast offerings for you featuring locally produced food to brighten a winter’s day.

Breakfasts can be big or small, traditional or newly invented, to be enjoyed in our local eating places or taken home for enjoyment. Many venues will provide vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options – please check with them.

Last year you could have savoured Hot Breakfast Sandwiches, American Pancakes, Devilled Kidneys, Bacon Rolls, Eggs Royale, Benedict or Florentine, French Toast and Caramelised Bananas, a Pancake Tower, Bacon Rolls, Huevos Rancheros, Smoked Salmon, Brioche Butties, Porridge Brulé, local breads and cheese and, of course the traditional English Breakfast in all sizes and variations.

Local butchers, delicatessens and the Country Market will feature local produce for you to take home – and perhaps some breakfast specials for the event!

The Big Breakfast brings cheer at the darkest time of the year, with a positive message about the qualities of our local produce and food offerings. We also celebrate the importance – and on this occasion pleasure – of starting the day with a satisfying breakfast.

Why not use the event as an opportunity to go out with your neighbours, friends or colleagues?

Full details of all our businesses taking part, their special offerings and which days these will be on sale will be available on this website from mid-January.

Things can be busy particularly on the Saturday – many venues will take reservations to make things easier. A number will be now open on the Sunday.

Put a note in your diary to enjoy a scrumptious Ledbury breakfast, and please also help Ledbury Food Bank if you can. Find out how at www.ledburyfoodbank.org.

We look forward to seeing you!

November 8, 2024December 17, 2024

Ledbury Food Conversation and “Six Inches of Soil”

The Conversation – We promised to come back to you with the conclusions of an exciting session we held with Herefordshire Food Alliance and Sustainable Ledbury in June as part of the National Food Conversation and Ledbury’s Great Big Green Week.

A well filled Burgage Hall enjoyed a hearty snack of 100% Herefordshire soup, local cheeses, bread and chutneys put us in the mood. We then got stuck in to conversation about our food system. A video set the scene and we then heard from two local producers about where they are in the ‘food system’.

What do people want? Well, after looking at many things working, and not working about food right now it was pretty hard to whittle down the very many thoughts in the room but a few themes seemed to run across all the tables and chats.

Policy change – regulating ultra processed foods, and supporting both independent and local food production. But a clear call for policy to be co-created by ALL of us!
Education – for everyone, really, but some talk of schools and also examples of where this is going well locally.
Change in supermarket practices – people shared stories of farmers being let down on crops, and prices they’re paid being too low – with a suggestion that changing their practices is something that customers do have some control over.Thanks to everyone who contributed to the conversation – we all learned something from the evening. Special thanks to Herefordshire Food Alliance for moderating the evening.
What’s next?

We talked in June about how our food is grown and the fertility of the soil.

We are taking this theme further with a showing of the film “Six Inches of Soil” on the evening of 27^th January at the Burgage Hall, Church Lane, Ledbury with partners Herefordshire Food Alliance and Sustainable Ledbury.

This film tells story of remarkable farmers, communities, small businesses, chefs and entrepreneurs who are leading the way using ‘regenerative’ farming techniques that work in harmony with, rather than against nature. It focuses on local food systems and shorter supply chains.

There will be plenty of opportunity to follow up on the themes of the film with questions and discussion.

There’s more about this film at https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/story-of-the-film.

Further details of this evening event will be posted nearer the event.

And also for your diary…

The Ledbury Big Breakfast will take place in and around Ledbury over the weekend Friday 31^st January, Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd February. Full details of participants and their offerings will be available here from mid-January.

Find out more about the National Food Conversation at https://thefoodconversation.uk/

October 9, 2024December 17, 2024

Apples are big in Much Marcle this weekend – The Big Apple!

Cider presses are gearing up for action in this corner of Herefordshire, and Big Apple venues are standing by to welcome you to the Marcle Ridge on Saturday 12^th and Sunday 13^th October. The apple harvest will be in full swing – no matter which way you turn around Much Marcle, apples are everywhere! Not to mention pears – perry pears of course.

Eight familiar Big Apple venues, including Woodredding, Lyne Down, Hellens, Gregg’s Pit and Awnells Farm, alongside Westons Cider with their new sales area and tasting room, will be welcoming visitors to enjoy the orchards, see, hear and smell cider being made and taste many different varieties of apples, local ciders, perries and apple juices. And don’t miss apple teas at the Memorial Hall!

This year’s highlights include:

Giving a hand to press perry pears from the ancient avenue at Hellens Manor
Wheeling along with the Big Apple Bike Ride
Tasting ‘Five cheeses, four ciders and a perry’ hosted by Brian and Fran Robbins at Woodredding, with Dean Storey of Monkland Cheesemakers
Sessions on practical aspects of planting and pruning apple trees led by orchardist Martin Hayes
The chance to buy refurbished garden tools from Tools for Self Reliance Cymru
A talk from agronomist Matt Greep describing the ‘Friends and foes of an apple orchard’ – a ‘must’ for those who like to do things for themselves
Adam Wells talking about his recent book ‘Perry: a Drinker’s Guide’ alongside tastings of five Herefordshire perries
Gregg’s Pit offering a tutored tasting of three vintages of their single variety Thorn champagne perry.

There will be tasty food offers to tempt you and musical interludes including Ciderkin Session, Ross Folk Choir, Leominster Morris, Gidderskins and Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk are to be found in and around the different orchards.

Full details of venues including locations, parking, special events and advance booking (where required), can be found at https://www.bigapple.org.uk/harvestime/.

Once again, a tractor and trailer service will run between Westons and Awnells Farm, and the 232 Daffodil Line bus will provide a regular connection between Much Marcle and Ledbury, Newent and Ross-on-Wye.

The Big Apple is delighted to be working alongside others this year to place apples right at the heart of Herefordshire under the umbrella of Hereford AppleFest.

Information provided to us by The Big Apple Association.

July 29, 2024December 17, 2024

Notice of our Annual General Meeting … and an Apology

We are holding our AGM on Monday 12^th August at 6.00pm at the Market House, High Street. Ledbury (upstairs).

You will be most welcome to join us for this important event. It’s an opportunity to find out who we are and meet the new committee for the year 2024/25.

We are always open to new ideas to support our aims of encouraging local food and drink production and retail.

Access the following papers for the meeting via the links:

We are hoping to provide Zoom access to this meeting.

…and an Apology

We apologise that due to technical problems our website has not been available for the last few weeks. The problems are now resolved.

Because of the problem, you may not have seen the blog on July’s successful Ledbury Celebration event – this is now available at Ledbury Celebration Beats The Weather.

July 11, 2024December 17, 2024

Ledbury Celebration 2024 beats the Weather!

Early morning rain disappeared in time for everyone to sample this year’s Ledbury Celebration last Sunday (7th July), Ledbury’s celebration of local food and drink with music, poetry and our historic heritage on the last day of the Ledbury Poetry Festival. Only a short shower intervened.

Held in historic St Katherine’s, Ledbury, including the new St Katherine’s Square area, the event featured 17 local food and drink producers selling both street-food to enjoy on the spot and specialities to take home.

The entertainment “menu” included poets Freddie Barker, Emma Clowsley and Johnny Fluffypunk. The Poetry Busker spent the afternoon creating poems on demand on his 1930’s typewriter.

The music “courses” featured Four Crying Out Loud – Ledbury’s own fisherman’s quartet, The Hey Yahs Acoustic trio reviving old classics, Marie McMally enchanting with her sax, and The Banderos rocking the Blues as the start act of Ledbury Fringe week.

The Town Mayor of Ledbury, Councillor Stephen Chowns visited the event, meeting those taking part.

For youngsters Kid’s Kitchen was on hand encouraging an interest in cooking and for Ledbury residents with good memories Ledbury Carnival mounted an exhibition of “50 years of Carnival” – a reminder for this year’s Carnival on Monday 26^th August.

A raffle of prizes generously donated by local businesses raised over £60 for Ledbury Food Bank.

The day was brought to a colourful close by Ledbury Border Morris who demonstrated five traditional dances – in the sun!

This event was a partnership between Ledbury Food Group, Ledbury Poetry, and Ledbury Town Council.

Ledbury Food Group thanks everyone who made this year’s event a success – stallholders, volunteers, organising team, performers, funders and most importantly all those who came to the event.

We welcome feed-back and ideas for this event for the future – contact us at ask@ledburyfoodgroup.org or phone 01531 633637

This event is organised by Ledbury Food Group, Ledbury Poetry and Ledbury Town Council with help from Ledbury Fringe. It has received £1,500 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We are also grateful for financial help from Ledbury Town Council and the Herefordshire Community Foundation.