Menu de Terroir or the incredible produce of Jersey

I am a member of a slightly unusual club, namely the "Countryman's club".

Given that I've lived in the town of St. Helier for the first 20 years of my residence on Jersey it does seem a little odd that I should be invited to become a member.

Originally the club only considered those individuals who worked in the countrside, however as people left the land, so the recruiters needed to become a little more pragmatic in their approach.

Today we're a group of individuals who meet up about once a month at various restaurants around the Island, enjoying the food and each others company. On many occasions we invite a speaker to share their thoughts with us.

Last Wednesday, the 18th of October was one such occasion, however this meeting was particularly special.

The venue was the Atlantic Hotel, and the menu was made up of produce either grown or manufactured on Jersey. The guest speaker was the First Minister Frank Walker.

I was priviledged to sit alongside the minister, along with some of the suppliers of the produce we consumed. There was Kevin Keen of the Jersey Dairy a sponsor of the evening, who incidentially is also the president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Tim Crowley from La Mare Vineyard, whose company provided the locally grown wine and complimentary chocolates. Two gentlemen from Woodside Farm who provided the Jersey beef, finally my business Coopers who supplied the coffee, a single estate Brazilian coffee roasted by us here on Jersey.

Other farms had supplied the fresh vegetables and fruit for the desert.

All in all it was a fabulous meal and to think that it had all been provided by local businesses, located in an Island that is only 9 miles by 5 miles in size.

As Senator Walker pointed out, we should be immensely proud of our Island, we are very priveledged to live here.

In an age where globlisation, the destruction of rain forests, global warming etc. seem to be overwhelming us, this was a great reminder that there really is no need to look further than our own backyard. Think of all those food miles we save, and how that benefits the long term ecology of our planet as well as our economy.