thefoodiegifthunter.co.uk

Where would you be foodie MP for?

Of course I was delighted to get back from holiday to find an election had been called. How riveting the 4 weeks will be. I’m afraid I can’t quite see the attraction of being an MP. Unless there’s good food involved.

Which got me thinking. Which is the best seat to hold from a food perspective?

I mean, my local MP, god love him, is Alan Duncan, contesting the Rutland and Melton seat. Which is not a bad seat, if you love pork pies and Stilton cheese, which I’d consider a pretty good haul. So, if I had to stand as an MP, which other seats are worth looking at from a food perspective? Here’s where I’d be voting for:

* Cornwall North – not suggesting that the MP would get any special treatment, but this does cover Padstow. Which apparently has some quite good seafood restaurants. There’s Philip Warren & Sonat Launceston, butchers to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Which does seem a slight oxymoron but never mind. And if there’s a need for a cheese course, then you could always have Cornish Crumbly from Sue Proudfoot.

* Chichester – for a prospective MP with a sweet tooth, this could be a great seat, as it includes the home of Montezuma’s chocolate. All that chocolate to work through, that would stave off the nodding off during PMQT. Or during PMT. And for a meat treat, then it has to be O’Hagan’s Sausages out at Fishbourne. And if you needed a pint to wash down the sausages, then maybe Plucking Pheasant from Gribble Brewery. Or, if they were rubbish at their job, then a pint of Pig’s Ear.

* Gower- not only beautiful surroundings, but some good food producers too. Again, may suit an MP with a sweet tooth, to partake of Gower Cottage Brownies. If they’re ok for members of the Welsh Rugby team then…! If they wanted to get a few bottles in, then I would head for Mumbles Fine Wines. Fantastic range of wines from around the world, not to mention wines from Cwm Deri, whisky from Penderyn and beer and lager from The Hurns Brewery.

* Skipton & Ripton – again, gorgeous parts of the country, and some good food to be had. It would be possible to live very well on the products emerging from Bleikers smokehouse. Trout cured with gin is not an insult about an old soak, but a very good piece of fish to have. Need a pudding? Check out good old fashioned puds from Just Puds. And proving Alan Duncan isn’t the only one with access to pork pies, then you could head over to Appletons Pie Shop.Whether you get to queue jump when you’re MP, I’m not sure.

* Bradford West – may not immediately leap to mind, but if you love curry, where better? Well, maybe one of the Leicester constituencies…but this one covers Mumtaz, which covers a restaurant and food empire, so curry for all occasions. If they don’t just want to have a fridge full of curry, then they could pop over to Keelham Hall Farm Shop and stock up on fruit and veg, meat and poultry…pretty much anything with an emphasis on local sourcing.

I think in reality pretty much every seat would have some food credentials worth representing, which is testament to the growth in artisanal and local food production around the UK. It also makes it worthwhile to ask your candidates where they stand on food issues and fair deals for our farmers.

Polling station photo by secretlondon123 over on Flickr.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner