Dick and James head for the picturesque seaside town of Whitstable to sample its most famous local produce - oysters - and other fine foods from the area.

Local history

Whitstable is a seaside town in Kent on the North Sea coast, facing Essex across the Thames Estuary and the Isle of Sheppey across The Swale.
One of the intriguing features of nearby Tankerton Beach is the shingle bank known as The Street. It used to be assumed this was the remains of a Roman road built on land that has since surrendered to the sea. However, a more credible suggestion is that it is all that remains of a medieval town called Graystone.
The little wooden beach huts at the base of the slopes are currently highly desirable, and notable owners have included Tracey Emin, who sold hers to Charles Saatchi for £75,000.

Whitstable harbour was built in 1832 by the Canterbury and Whitstable railway company in order to serve the "Crab and Winkle" line, the world's first passenger railway service.
The Crab and Winkle line also carried coal, and linked Canterbury and London via a steam ship from Whitstable harbour. During the second world war, the harbour was used to transport munitions and grain and sustained very little damage. About 150 local people are employed by the harbour, where fishing, fish processing, coal and timber transport are still the main business activities.

Featured local producers

Corrine’s Creative Kitchen
Old Oast Cottage
Vicarage Lane
Selling
ME13 9RD
Tel: 01227 751074

Dick and James got cooking with Corinne Goodman, who makes curries from home and sells them in nearby Faversham as well as other farmers markets, farm shops, shows and events. Her style of cooking is good, wholesome home food. She loves working with fresh produce, growing her own herbs and chillies in the summer and buying directly from farms where possible.

Prawn curry with noodles
Prawn and spinach curry

The John Townsend Trust
Monkshill Farm
Monkshill Road
Waterham
Faversham
Kent. ME13 9EH

Monks Hill Farm
Tel: 01227 752778 or emailproduce@monkshillfarm.org.uk

Beef, lamb, pork and free range eggs are available for sale directly from Monkshill Farm all year round. The Royal School for Deaf Children Margate purchased the farm in 1995 and they have developed it into a successful working farm with a strong educational focus. Their cows, pigs and sheep are reared in the traditional way. Its farmyard is a home to breeding pigs with their piglets, boars and varying sizes of growing pigs plus hundreds of free range laying hens.

Royal Native Whistable Stores
Horsebridge
Whitstable
CT5 1BU
Tel: 01227 276 856

One of the oldest companies in Europe, The Whitstable Oyster Company can trace its origins back to the 1400s and has a long, rich history of farming the famous Royal Whitstable Native Oyster. More recently, and at the company’s peak in the 1850s, it was sending as many as 80 million oysters a year to Billingsgate fish market. It is still a family-run business and the world- renowned Native Oyster is once again a cherished food. They have invested heavily in the oyster beds and have created sustainable methods of production that guarantee their future. This was recognised in 1997 when the beds were granted Protected Geographical Status by the European Union.

Perry Court Farm
Canterbury Road
Bilting
Ashford
Kent TN25 4ES
Tel: 01233 812302

Perry Court Farm has been growing wonderful fruit and vegetables in a responsible and environmentally friendly way for three generations. Traditional methods of farming have been passed down and mixed with modern know-how on sustainable agricultural practices. The farm now produces over 200 different varieties of English crops, the majority of which they are able to supply direct to the consumer through farmers' markets and its farm shop which is located in the Stour Valley selling plants, fruit and veg, freshly baked bread and their famous apple juice and air dried apple crisps.

Apple upside down cake

Whitstable Farmers' Market
St Marys Hall
Oxford Street
Whitstable
CT5 1DD
Nye Richards - Tel: 01227 770 836/07762907770

Established in Feb 2007 by Nye’s Aunt and Uncle. The market aims to have mostly organic produce stalls and all stalls are from closer than 30 miles from Whitstable.

Also in this episode

Chicken roulade

Other notable producers

Olives R Good For You
Barkaway
Snail Farm - Brogdale farm
The Wooden Spoon Preserving Company
Head In The Clouds
Whitstable Brewery
Whitstable Fish Market
The Crab and Winkle
Oscars Bakery