Flavours of Norfolk and Suffolk to try

A visit to Norfolk and Suffolk can be a nourishing experience, with seasonal produce getting you into the rhythm of our land and coast.

For an Autumn break or weekend away, escape to Norfolk and Suffolk for local food experiences and flavours.

Brancaster mussels

Renowned for their quality and flavour, Brancaster mussels are harvested from the creeks around Brancaster Staithe Harbour, where they thrive on the natural nutrients flowing from the salt marshes.

They’re available on many pub and restaurant menus, but we recommend the White Horse at Brancaster- you're overlooking the mussel beds on the saltmarsh where they are grown sustainably.

They’re in season typically from October to March.

Suffolk's and Norfolk's oysters are some of the best you’ll taste.

Discover them at one of the venues below. Shucked in front of you, given a twist of lemon or a dash of Tabasco, this is a real taste of the sea.

Norfolk’s native oysters come from Thornham, Blakeney and Brancaster, Suffolk’s Pacifics come from Butley Creek off the River Alde.

Malting barley

The Norfolk and Suffolk coastlines are perfect for the best malting barley, where it is grown on light soil and benefits from salty sea frets and a warm climate.

Golden Promise and Maris Otter barley is turned into some of the UK’s finest beer.

Take a tour at Woodfordes in Woodbastwick and Barsham Brewery. Visit St. Peter’s Brewery, one of England’s original craft breweries at moated St. Peter’s Hall.

Wine

Quality wine from creative vineyards is becoming the norm in Suffolk and Norfolk. Maritime climate, warm summers and free-draining chalk soils are perfect for growing vines, and the region has those in abundance.

In Norfolk try tours and tastings at Flint Vineyard and Burn Valley Vineyard and Suffolk has launched its own Wine Trail.

Whisky

Check out the five stages of making whisky - malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and aging – at English Distillery or Black Shuck Distillery. For something slightly different, try making gin at The Gin Academy.

Artisan bread

As well as barley, Norfolk and Suffolk produces some of the best wheat in the British Isles. Which makes great quality bread. The best is at Pump Street Bakery in Orford, where you can also book an Understanding Sourdough class.

Cromer crab

Cromer crabs are as distinctively Norfolk as champagne is to northern France and pasties are to Cornwall. And there’s a reason why they’re so tasty – the actually feed off the world’s longest chalk reef, just offshore.

Cromer crabs are the same brown crab species caught all around the coast of Britain but the special status of Cromer crabs are enshrined in law. The minimum legal shell span of Cromer crab (115mm) is smaller than any other UK crab – but tastier.

They're usually available from around March to October.

Lobsters

Lobsters also feed off the chalk reef and the best are found at Sheringham. They’re also caught in pots by the fishermen of Aldeburgh.

Sea fish

The North Sea off Suffolk and Norfolk has nutrient-rich currents coming from Scandinavia, perfect for fish such as cod and haddock, skate, sea bass, Dover sole, plaice and more. Many are brought ashore at Lowestoft but fish can be found for sale all along the coast, particularly at Aldeburgh, Brancaster Staithe, Woodbridge, Cromer and Great Yarmouth. Which brings us to…

Fish and chips

Not unique to Suffolk and Norfolk of course, but we think we have the best in the country in our seaside towns. We recommend Aldeburgh and Cromer, where you can eat your just-prepared fare on the promenade.

Baron Bigod Cheese

Baron Bigod – named after a knight who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066 - is a stunning, award-winning brie-style cheese, with a rich, full, earthy flavour and a lingering finish. It’s made by Jonny Crickmore at Fen Farm Dairy and is a frequent winner of Cheese of the Year in the Fine Food Awards.

Mrs Temples Cheeses

Made by the redoubtable Mrs Temple of Copys Green Farm at Wighton near Wells-next-the-Sea using milk from the Chalk Farm herd of Holstein Friesians, soft blue veined Binham Blue cheese is a palate winner. Then move on soft Copys Cloud, tangy Wighton, matured Walsingham, soft Gurney’s Gold and a supple mountain-type called Wells Alpine. Look out for it in independent delis.

Goats cheese

Head to the Goat Shed Farm Shop and restaurant at Honingham to find their award-winning Wensum White and Norfolk Mardler. They’re also available at the Norfolk Food Hall as well as a lot of other Norfolk snacky bits.

Game

Sustainable because they’re wild animals, game such as venison, pheasants, pigeon and rabbits can be found on menus across Norfolk and Suffolk, particularly in the Brecks where the forest and high grass are a perfect environment for them.

Try The Elveden Inn and Guinness Arms on the Elveden Estate or The Victoria on the Holkham Estate.

Pork

There’s excellent pork raised across Norfolk and Suffolk, but the undoubted best is Blythburgh Free Range Pork, the pigs raised on the gently-sloping, free-draining sandy soil of the Dunwich Coast and Heath National Landscape. A crossbreed of the Jersey Red Duroc and Yorkshire Large White, the pigs are raised in a natural environment, roaming freely and allowing them to grow at a slower rate, which contributes to their rich marbling and superior flavour.

If you want to sample it, head to Emmett’s in Peasenhall, a traditional smokehouse, fine food store and café.  Or settle in and try the best bacon roll you’re ever likely to taste.

Apples

The clay soils in the east of Suffolk and Norfolk, near river valleys, are perfect for apple orchards.

In fact, the earliest written account of apples in England comes from a 13th century Norfolk document, describing how a Norfolk farmer paid his annual rent in apples and cider.

Take a cider tour at Whin Hill Norfolk Cider.