This is Bath -- Nothing quite beats the flavour and texture of an organic chicken. I recently took delivery of an organic Bishop Vale chicken, raised by Bill and Emma Yeats at their farm in Wrington, near Bristol. The couple hatch their own chicks before transferring them to the growing farms in Wrington and the Chew Valley. They are then processed in nearby Winford, which reduces stress for the chickens and means they have spent their entire lives within a ten-mile radius. These quality chickens appear on the menu at a number of top local restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Pony & Trap, near Chew Magna. They are also available from The Story, an enterprise set up nine years ago by Chew Valley farmers Luke Hassell and Jim Twine with the simple aim of producing and selling fully traceable organic meat and poultry. Bill and Emma also run The Story's farm shop at Nates Lane, in Wrington, open Thursday to Saturday, but you can also buy the chickens and meat online. Go to www.thestorygroup.co.uk Luke Hassell's tasty turkey alternative At The Story farm shop in Wrington we often talk to customers who want to cook a bird on Christmas Day but they either don't like the taste of turkey or they think the only other option is chicken and that just isn't celebratory enough. Here at The Story, we have an alternative that is a firm favourite with all my family. Cockerel is absolutely delicious, it's older than regular chicken, and ours are all reared outdoors and grass-fed, which provides a much stronger flavour. It will easily feed six to eight people and for a small family you can have one and still get the great leftovers that Christmas brings for that all important Boxing Day curry or sandwiches. Ingredients One cockerel; one lemon, cut into quarters; four cloves of garlic whole, skin on and slightly crushed or bruised; four bay leaves (fresh if you can); 100g butter; Cornish sea salt and freshly ground pepper Method The Story cockerels have a good amount of fat, so you can cook it low and slow. I like to stuff the cavity with lemon, whole garlic cloves and bay leaves, rub butter over the skin with pepper and salt. Roast the cockerel for the first two hours, breast-side down, covered with foil, at 150C. Then flip the bird over and cook uncovered for another one to two hours, as long as the meat has reached 72C and the juices run clear. Serve with roast potatoes cooked in duck fat (I like to sprinkle some semolina on mine for extra crispness), some honey-glazed carrots with sesame seeds and red cabbage with organic cider and apples. Don't forget the trimmings as the pigs in blankets and stuffing can still sit alongside a large cockerel to add that traditional feel.
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