As I’ve got older, I have realised that food is a really important part of being on holiday. Of course, you want some great places to eat out but cooking and eating quality local food really make holidays memorable. It’s also a great way to make sure your pounds get into the local economy, an opportunity to experience something new and meet the locals.

Norfolk is famous for its Cromer Crab, Asparagus, Samphire and, of course, Colman’s mustard which has its home in Norwich. Since moving here in 2013, I have tried to seek out some great local food that I would definitely put on the menu if I were staying in one of our self-catering barns.

Raspberries. the best local food in Norfolk — SneakyElbow / Pixabay

We have an allotment on site for guests, which Grandad Terry regularly tends. Guests are invited to pick whatever is in season. It won’t be enough to sustain you during your stay, though, unless you come in July, in which case you can feast every day on courgettes, potatoes and raspberries. Once we get some more chickens and we can figure out how to keep Mr Fox at bay, we should be able to pop some of our own gorgeous eggs in your basket too. For now, the girls on the farm down the road are supplying us!

Off site, first on my local food list of the best local food in Norfolk would be The Tacons. It’s a little farm shop run by friends in the nearby village of Rollesby. They sell most seasonal veg, as well as local milk, Norton’s Dairy soft cheese; eggs; honey; quality charcuterie; cakes and fruit. If you are coming for Christmas, this would be a great place to stock up on some fresh Christmas vegetables. Come in April and May, and they grow the most delicious Norfolk Asparagus – they even have an open day in May to celebrate all things asparagus. The Tacons is open all the time and doesn’t seem ever to get busy or sell out. They also run pick-your-own in the summer months for fruit like strawberries, which is always lovely for the kids.

Asparagus and eggs — DagnyWalter / Pixabay

Slightly further afield is Truly Local in Stalham. This shop is a real success story for Norfolk food and local produce. They only stock food that is from a 35-mile radius of the store and still manage to keep going, even though there is a Tesco pretty much on its doorstep. It’s bigger than the Tacons and sells a wider range of produce, but less veg. Bread, preserves, beer and meat can be found here, as well as local crafts – ideal gifts and souvenirs.

For meat, I’d recommend Chapman’s butchers. I always order one of their reasonably priced ‘Norfolk black free range turkeys’ for Christmas. This family butcher is in the neighbouring village in Martham and sells a nice range of local meats, including venison and free-range Blythburgh pork from Suffolk. Their sausages are pretty good too. Some of their meat is now on sale in Winterton’s Post Office. Welcome to the countryside.

For fresh fish and shellfish, we head a few miles south to Dabs n Crabs in Scratby. Here you can also arrange sea fishing trips on the Sea Quest, which depart from Great Yarmouth harbour. Neil went on a trip earlier this year for a friend’s birthday and caught a large Thornback ray.

For local beer, you can try local Norfolk Brewery, Woodfords. They deliver via mail order, or you can arrange a brewery tour and stock up in the shop. Or, for a day out Wroxham Barns is a good option for beer, condiments and local fudge. Its cafe and ‘junior farm’ are also worth a visit. For lovely local apple juice, you can try the East Norfolk Trading Company, which is available locally. They also press our apples every year.

If you are staying with us, Blakes Bakes, an Artisan baker, Andrew, makes your arrival cake. You can always contact him directly if you’d like to order any more cakes during your stay – or to take them home. 07748664739

You could also try the wonderful Norfolk Gin, available at our local post office.

The great news is that the local food scene here is definitely on the up, and it’s always lovely when our guests tell us about places we don’t know about. On the list to discover is the roadside fudge seller or a chap that sells fish from one of the little cottages, also in the same little fishing village, Sea Palling. I am a keen baker (and often put fresh bread in our welcome basket), so I am keen to check out Norwich’s secret baker under the coloured market too.

People often ask how we have ended up running Mill Farm. Here I describe my decision to give up a career in Bristol to set up Mill Farm Eco Barn with my husband Neil. Find out what running a holiday business involves and how finding work that works has been the secret to her success.

How did you set up Mill Farm?

Mill Farm began in 2012, Neil had a crazy plan to set up a holiday business in Norfolk. I was pregnant with our second child and on a good salary working as a Director at the environmental charity, the Soil Association in Bristol. Like many changes in my life, it started as an off the cuff remark “if we ever want to do anything different, we need to do it soon” I remember saying to Neil. “At the moment we can get a mortgage, but we won’t if we go down to one income” this conversation set something in motion. After that Neil kept disappearing, spending evenings on Rightmove and I hadn’t quite realised what I’d done!

A year later, we’d purchased Mill Farm, which back then was a ramshackle house where we live now, the shell of an old barn (with planning permission for residential conversion) and a collection of old sheds and outbuildings. Whilst on maternity leave, I’d also managed to get some Rural Development Funding from the European Union to develop the barn as a high end self-catering holiday home and a centre of excellence for sustainable tourism. The grant had to be spent quickly so we sold up in Bristol, I took redundancy and we moved to Norfolk. Or at least the kids and I did – Neil commuted to work in Bristol for the first 3 months!

Looking back, knowing what it is like to have a 6 month old and a 2 year old and managing a self-build project, I probably would have said no way but I went along with it and I’m pretty glad I did. I cruised play groups trying to make friends and in doing so radically improved my driving skills – I’d only ever travelled by bike before. Once the kids were finally in bed we spent the evenings, filling in grant claim forms, researching building materials and with the help of a good friend we developed the marketing plan for the business.

It was a crazy time. Neil moved up permanently in March 2013, the build was complete in September. The trips around the play groups became very useful as I shamelessly called the Mum’s up and asked if they or their handy partners could construct and move furniture in the hours before we opened and they came, thank goodness. Since then we have hosted over 600 groups, couples, families and friends in our barns. We have made friends, at least 3 couples have moved to the area since staying with us and we are going to a guests wedding in December. We feel we have contributed to the local village by spearheading a campaign to improve the children’s play area (we raised over £35,000), we have put a path on our land so guests and locals can walk the route more easily and planted over 2000 hedge plants and trees. I even joined the parish council. I have to admit though, I don’t really remember my youngest’s first two years!

What’s it like running Mill Farm now?

It surprises me, still, how much effort it takes. Firstly, there is the constant development of the site and what we offer. Neil has a very clear vision for the site and he won’t stop until it is complete. Last September he added a wildlife pond and is managing the paddocks for wildlife . This year we are revamping our games barns as well as bringing back chickens.

It has also been a real family affair. Neil’s parents are local, anyone who has stayed with us will have met Terry who looks after the grounds and the guest allotment and Shona who does all the linen for the barns. My folks, albeit further away, have been a huge help to – editing websites, making furniture and much more.

I’m the main point of contact for bookings and enquiries. At Mill Farm we’re passionate about providing great service and a beautiful destination for group get-togethers. We’ve focused on every detail to make the barns feel like home rather than formulaic holiday lets, so we’re well-equipped from the kitchen to baby equipment to books, games and DVDs. Our aim is to ensure guests have a memorable holiday – we want them to fall in love with the barns and the area as much as we have.

Part of my job is going the extra mile for guests. If they’re coming for a family celebration, I can help them organise a cake, caterers and even a photographer. We also provide a huge amount of advice to guests in the lead up to and during their stay. I’ve also started writing blog posts to give guests more insider details that might be helpful for their stay.

Fridays are my craziest day. This is the day we say goodbye to guests and welcome new ones. I usually bake a loaf of sourdough bread for our Eco Barn guests which goes in their welcome basket, together with other homemade goodies such as fresh eggs, organic produce from our allotment, locally-made jam and a freshly baked cake by our baker friend Andrew. My day revolves around supporting our team of cleaners and responding to any maintenance issues.

Desk in the Eco Barn — Sometimes I work in the Eco Barn

By far most of my time though is taken up by marketing. I’m not a marketing person by background so this hasn’t come easily to me. Things have changed so much, just in the five years we have been operating that it feels that this is becoming a bigger job, not a smaller job. The main issue is visibility. I know we have a great product but getting the message out and sustaining our on-line presence is really hard. Whilst Google and Facebook are constantly changing, making it hard to keep up as a sole operator, online travel agents are having a bigger and bigger impact on the market making it harder for small businesses to be found. I try hard to get direct bookings as it benefits both the guests (you have a more personal experience and it’s cheaper) and us as a smaller business.

Managing Kids and work

Hands downs this has been the hardest issue for me. I still think I’d like to return back to work someday, I spend a lot of time ruminating over this. Do I actually have the time? What would I even do? Do I really want to give up the flexibility? In so many ways I am so very lucky, yes my work is very fluid (so I do feel like I am constantly at work) but I have 100% flexibility. I pick my kids up from school most days and can cover their holidays. That stress of who is picking them up today, isn’t generally part of our lives.

Recently I have become much stricter about how I work too – I am not sure why it took me so long to figure this out but the following measures have really made a massive difference (but I am only 2 weeks in).

a)I have dedicated hours in the week, which I plan a week in advance

b)I sit down to complete tasks – rather than just ‘be’ at my desk

c)I sort the tasks out around weekly themes – to avoid fliting from one thing to another

d)I have joined Facebook groups and such as the Boostly Academy and Vacation Soup – these international groups are made up of people in the same business as me, we exchange ideas, take part in group activity and learning and this has 100% reduced the feeling of isolation and helps give me focus and a sense of how my marketing needs to change.

e)I turn off my phone syncs when I am with the kids at the weekend – so distractions are at a minimum. I have muted most of my notifications permanently but guests can still call.

f)I have said no to any further building project until we have had a really ‘big’ family holiday!

g) And yes I need to produce a bi-weekly menu – I hate planning family meals.

On a deeper level I worry that I should still do more. My life is very domestic because we are in hospitality. I work from home, bake bread for guests and sometimes make jam, chutney or home grown apple juice. I do wonder what kind of role model I am for my two girls but I’m hopeful that I’ll find the balance and find a way to contribute more. I guess the next challenge is going to be to find the right part time role, or voluntary post where I can put my background in Environmental campaigning to more use.

Travel Tip created by Emma in association with Vacation Soup

Some of the Best Local Food in Norfolk

The story behind Mill Farm Eco Barn

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