You know that British food is best.  You know that to buy British and make British simply entails a little time and a bit of forward planning.  You know the drill: is there a Farmers' Market near you and when does it fall; find a local butcher and know its hours of business;  does the meat and dairy produce in the supermarket have the appropriate British seal or logo; what's in season when... You don't need me to tell you this.  You don't need celebrity chefs telling you this.

However, despite all this and the best of British intentions, the shopping for and preparing of a picnic tends to fall into two camps, both of which disregard all of the above. It either enters the realm of  ridiculous extravagance with an intensely stressful preparation period using a menu consisting of gruyere puffs, mini lobster quiches and champagne jelly..or it is a mad dash around the supermarket relying on the ready-made coronation chicken - where the chicken is neither British, nor free-range - pre-prepared carrot crudites, a baguette and a bag of crisps.  So, this isn't to preach or to patronise.  This is a basic summary of perfect packed lunch components, providing the incentive not to over-complicate or panic when it comes to picnics.

Scotch eggs are the ultimate British portable lunch delicacy. They were created by Fortnum & Mason in 1738 as a snack for coach travellers. The Handmade Scotch Egg Company is a small family business launched in 2003 and now produces 40 varieties, inculding vegetarian ones.  A comprehensive list of where they can be purchased is available on their website.  Alternatively, try and source scotch eggs from a butcher or delicatessen.  If the supermarket is your only option then scrutinise the packaging to ensure that the eggs are free range and laid in the UK and that the Quality Pork Standard seal is present.  For a scotch egg recipe [click here]

Pasties or pies are the archetypal picnic staple because everything is neatly packaged in pastry.  Dickinson & Morris have been making pork pies in Melton Mowbray since 1851.  You can buy them online from their website, though they are available in most leading supermarkets. Waitrose and Marks and Spencer both produce terrific British pork pies.  Other great ready-made pork pie producers are Bray's Cottage which uses fine cuts from Norfolk pigs, Elite Meat and Michael Kirk. Making your own pie can be a time consuming affair BUT one that is sublimely rewarding and will be appreciated by all who devour it.  For an Old English Chicken and Ham pie recipe [click here] and for a recipe for 12 mini pork pies [click here]. Similarly, baking your own Cornish Pasties takes some effort, but is more than worth it.  This recipe is for four pasties.  The Cornish Pasty Association is keen to protect pasties from foreign invasion.  They award a Genuine Cornish Pasty seal to those that fulfil their set criteria, namely that producers follow the correct recipe and use the correct British ingredients.  They provide a list of seal-bearing producers on their website [click here].

Whether you are serving slithers of roasted beef or ham, chicken legs or cold sausages check that they are British by looking for the Quality Seal. If you seem to be catering for endless packed lunches it is probably worth investing in a boned ham from somwhere like Dukeshill. Though it seems costly at the outset it will invariably save you money and time as you simply carve off some ham as and when you make sandwiches.  If you are a fan of cured meats, how about pheasant salami made by one of our previous producers of the month, Serena Humphrey at the  Deeside Smokehouse.  Chicken is a great picnic meat. A cold roast chicken, stuffed, is absolutely delicious and it is so easy to make chicken liver pâté. Almost as easy as it is to make smoked mackerel pâté. A whole baked salmon is another easy-to-do idea. For a little indulgence buy Potted shrimps from producers such as Morecombe Bay or for a recipe to make your own

Delicious yet simple sandwich fillings are ham and English mustard, cheese and chutney, beef and horseradish and eggs with mustard and cress.  Hard-boil several eggs and use some for sandwiches and keep some whole.  As with most food, eggs are best sourced locally and should be free range,for more information.  For the freshest bread, make your own.  British flour, such as Doves Farm is readily available in supermarkets and with the help of a bread maker it is such a quick procedure.  Otherwise, if bakers and Farmers' Markets are not an option go to the bread counter in the supermarket and source your British bread from there.  Ask if in doubt of its origin.

The best things about British picnics is that you can grow and cultivate most of the ingredients yourself, especially tomatoes, carrots, salad leaves, spring onions, potatoes and cucumbers. If growing your own hasn't taken off this year then before charging off to the shops, remember all of these salad ingredients are in season so it should be easy to source them.  If the potaotes in the supermarket are only from Israel then it really is worth trying another retail outlet and they will taste all the more delicious for doing so.  Carrots and cucumber make easy crudites and if you are desperate for a dip try mixing a little horseradish into some plain yoghurt.

For something different try to source a local, artisan cheese.  You can do this by going to your nearest delicatessen, or Farmers' Market or by going to the cheese counter at the supermarket. British brie and camembert are readily available. British strawberries and raspberries are in abundance and so easy to pick at that they are the perfect end to a glorious picnic feast.

Finally, to quench your thirst how about making some ginger beer [click here].  Failing that, Kingsdown Drinks make a variety of British fruit juices and cordials.  Rather than tins of imported lager try some Westcountry cider such as Sheppys instead.

For tomato recipes visit the British Tomato Growers' Association
For all you need to know about growing and sourcing British cucumbers
For all you need to know about British cheese
Forman and Field deliver fresh seasonal British food direct to your door
Fortnum and Mason are the ultimate one stop shop when compiling a luxurious British picnic
For an entertaining blog about eating nothing but British produce

This month The Sauce puts the concept of a British picnic to the test

The Sauce

• How readily available were the ingredients?
  Anster Cheese - from local cheesemonger
  Pork pies, sausages and sliced ham - from local butcher
  Chicken, strawberries, eggs, tomato chutney, English mayonnaise, English mustard, bread flour, butter, oatcakes, parsnip crisps, cream - from supermarket and all British
  Carrots, potatoes, cucumber, lettuce - all from vegetable box delivery and all British
  Mustard, cress and herbs - from the garden.
  British tomatoes were harder to find.  None came in my vegetable box, nor could I find any in the two supermarkets I went to (Tesco and Morrisons).  Finally, I made a special trip to the Farmers Market on Saturday morning where they had them in abundance.


• How easy was it to make and how much time did it take?
  I roasted the chicken and cooked the sausages at the same time.  I made a loaf of bread using a breadmaker.  This is something that I need to do more often.  The thought of it fills me with dread but in practice it is quick and easy to do and immensly rewarding.  Other than that, I chopped the carrots and cucumbers into crudites.  I made some ham and mustard sandwiches.  As the bread was so fresh it really didn't need to be smothered in much to taste good.  The chicken I carved up and mixed with some mayonnaise and curry powder.  The lettuce I washed and put in a tub along with some sliced tomatoes.  I made some chicken liver pâté.  I hard-boiled the eggs.  Other than that the ingredients came as they were.


• What was the sum total cost of this meal
  £23.25


• How many people did it actually feed?
  8 and there were some left overs after lunchtime.


• What did you do with the leftovers?
  We all grazed on them throughout the rest of the afternoon so that we all were overly full.  By the time we went home there was nothing left.


• Is there anything you would have done differently?
  I wish I had bought small individual pork pies and not opted for one large pie as that is something in which we all, unnecessarily, over-indulged.  I really didn't need to bring crisps and I could have easily popped some chicken thighs or legs in the oven, rather than a whole bird.


• What did your guests think of the meal?
  They absolutely loved it.  There is something endlessly thrilling about taking your time and eating a meal outside.  If the sun is shining that is.

Try and create a British picnic yourself and let us know if you agree with The Sauce by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it