The Great British Easter weekend has become synonomous with traditional food. Good Friday can only be described as such if you have gorged on soft, warm Hot Cross Buns oozing with British butter and devoured some flavoursome fish dish such as smoked mackerel on toast or a hearty, wholesome fish pie. Easter Saturday screams sausages and savoy cabbage or some other equally delicious, fast, family-friendly feast. To be a true traditionalist, Easter Sunday can commence with boiled eggs for breakfast, followed by Roast Lamb for lunch and some Simnel Cake or Easter biscuits for tea and as for Easter Monday, just think of all the left-overs

Easter doesn't have to be about eggs. The British people consume more confectionery than any other country in the world. So to break the trend and keep pimples at bay, consider finding your sugar fix from some delicious home-baked buns and cakes. Eating traditional Easter fare with your friends and family can extend beyond the weekend itself. For panicking parents, desperate to fill the Easter holidays there can be no better entertainment than cooking with the children. Simply melt some British chocolate in a saucepan, add some shredded wheat, put it in paper cake cases and leave to cool. Decorate with a few mini chocolate eggs on the top and you have chocolate nests. Though traditional Easter biscuits are round, there is nothing to prevent young children from using a cookie cutter to create different shapes instead. For something different how about mini simnel cakes or one large hot cross bun?

Until recently, Hot Cross Buns could only be bought on Good Friday. Though distinctly British, no individual county claims Hot Cross Buns as their own, but there are two schools of thought as to their origin. One is that a widow in seventeenth century England vowed to bake buns for her son, who was away at sea, every Good Friday until he returned. He never did, but she continued the custom, hanging the bun in her window as a sign of good faith. Her fellow villagers supposedly carried on the tradition, after her death, and from there it spread. The other theory is that their origin lies with the Anglo Saxons, who consumed the buns as part of their spring festival honouring the Goddess Eostre. This was later adapted by the Christians who popped a cross on the top of them. Unless you are baking them yourself, sourcing truly British Hot Cross Buns made from long fermented doughs and carefully sourced ingredients can be difficult but here are a few bakers who do: Town Mill Bakery, Lyme Regis who use flour from Shipton Mill or Cann Mill and locally produced ingredients; Daylesford Farm who use their own organically produced flour; Betty's Bakery and Hobbs House Bakery. Sourcing a Simnel Cake should be easier. They can be found at most Farmers Markets, delicatessens and bakeries and of course online, such as Meg Rivers.

Enjoy the Easter Bank Holiday by joining friends and family in dining on some truly delicious, locally sourced, seasonal, British food!

For information on sourcing British lamb [click here].

For a recipe for Easter Biscuits [click here].

For a recipe for Hot Cross Buns [click here].

For a recipe for Simnel Cake [click here].

For child friendly Easter recipes [click here].