Our local suppliers & their stories
We are passionate about the planet, people, and flavour. We take pride in sourcing produce from local suppliers for each of our venues. From Brancaster oysters and mussels (when in season), harvested in the creaks in Brancaster Bay within view from the White Horse Brancaster's conservatory restaurant, to sourcing produce from local Hertfordshire farmers, securing game from trusted local shoots.
Best catch on your plate
From the harbour at Wells-next-the-Sea, Ashley, Female Fisherman, and her business partner, Nigel, Skipper, set out aboard their small boat Saoirse to bring home the best catch of the North Norfolk coast.
Ashley, known to many as The Female Fisherman, made history as the first woman to win 'Fisherman of the Year' in 2022 and is the author of My Fishing Life. Together, she and Nigel work the seasons - landing lobster, crab, whelk, and mackerel - with a hands-on approach that keeps every catch as fresh as the sea itself.
Their ethos is simple: care for the sea, and it will provide in return. They v-notch egg bearing lobsters to protect future stocks and actively support the Wells lobster hatchery, where young lobsters are reared and released back into the wild. Fishing this way means every haul honours both tradition and the future of the fishery.
Dan, Head Chef at The Kings Head, said, ‘It’s a pleasure to cook with Ashley’s catch, the freshest local fish is a great addition to our menu. We have a very special connection with Ashley and her Saoirse boat and so wonderful that she fishes out of Wells-next-the-Sea harbour, how local can you get!' Said Ashley, 'we believe seafood tastes best when it carries a story and we are proud to deliver some of our catch to The King’s Head, Letheringett'.
Fishing is in Peter Loose’s DNA
He’s a sixth generation Brancaster Staithe fisherman and his family has been fishing the waters off the north Norfolk Coast for over 180 years. Peter specialises in mussels and harvests some of the finest molluscs in the UK - the quality available in Norfolk is second to none. He’s passionate about delivering this to local chefs and fishmongers throughout the county.
Peter’s mussels are harvested from Hunstanton and other fishing grounds in The Wash and grown on in ‘lays’ at Brancaster Staithe before being graded and processed for sale.
Peter says: ‘The seventh generation of my family is now involved with fishing, carrying on the Loose’s tradition of uncles and nephews, fathers and sons, and sometimes even grandfathers and grandsons, working alongside each other at Brancaster, passing down generations of knowledge’.
Peter’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, William (Billy) and Robert Loose, were both coxswains of the then Brancaster lifeboat and local fishermen. Robert also travelled the world working on merchant sailing vessels including the tea clipper Taeping.
From soil to plate
At the heart of our farm-to-fork ethos is our thriving no-dig garden at The Farmhouse at Redcoats, cared for by our gardener Matt. This provides a steady supply of seasonal fruit and vegetables – from asparagus, rocket, and heritage tomatoes to courgettes, garlic, and edible flowers – all grown without disturbing the natural soil ecosystem.
Zero miles, zero packaging, zero compromise... our produce travels straight from garden to kitchen in just minutes, appearing in bi-weekly homegrown specials, seasonal menus, and even garden-to-glass cocktails.
Brancaster Bay shellfish - world renowned mussels
Thomas Large’s family have been fishing off the Norfolk coast for generations. Today, he and Sarah his partner, continue the family’s traditional fishing methods and work to spread the joy of mussels in Norfolk and beyond. What would he do without her! she is his tower of strength, and they are a great team.
Said Thomas, ‘My great-grandfather fished for oysters, sprats and whelks, in Brancaster Bay, Brancaster Staithe. As a youngster, I worked with my father Terry for many years to get to know the business and then it was time to take on the family business from him.
‘Brancaster mussels are grown in lays in Brancaster Bay which is at the bottom of my garden. It’s a matter of netting and raking mussels by hand, fishing at high tide and coming back in at low water. You can walk out along the flats for three and a half hours and it’s so peaceful in every direction - it’s just beautiful big blue skies and sunshine, most of the time!
In the mussel season we enjoy supplying mussels to restaurants along the Norfolk coast and of course to The Jolly Sailors, which is just across the road from my house, they couldn’t get fresher from Brancaster Bay to your plate!’
Swannington Farm
Anglian Country Inns
