Local food personality emerges as a Sith Lord, major free-range chicken producer folds, and Somerset represented in street food awards

Also including a brief ice cream update and – bizarrely – found poetry from a food PR’s presser

Hello and welcome back to the WFJ’s nascent attempts to distil what it’d usually cover – and a fair bit more – from over the course of three weeks into over the course of one. This is still a work in progress, so would be interesting to know what you’d rather see on a monthly basis – a large update covering multiple stories, or a few deep dives on particular subjects?

Anyway, quite a bit to get through here, from the demise of Somerset’s largest free range chicken supplier to the apparent collapse of Taste of the West.

2024 Taste of the West award-winners

The WFJ’s guide on where to eat in Frome has now been brought up to date for this spring/summer. Little pleasure was had in doing so, as the town has lost the likes of Frome At The Table’s Sunday Roast, Little Walcot's Full English, and The Crown’s fried chicken. A permanent farewell is also to be made to Japanese restaurant Inoshishi. On the plus side, Taqueria A Huevo! Takes the place of Nook, and English winery Saddle Goose opens up at Station Approach. Head over to this post to see the full update.

Where to eat in Frome: A local's guide

Interested in visiting a working farm in Somerset? ‘Open Farm Sunday’, organised by Learning Environment and Farming (LEAF) is back for 2025 on the 8th June. Think tractor rides, animal feeding, farm walks, and other family-friendly farm stuff. About a dozen Somerset farms and farming projects are opening their gates this year, including Durslade Farm in Bruton, Faircott Farm outside Burnham, and Rushywood Farm near Crewkerne. Check out the map of all venues here.

Nomadic Somerset sushi-slingers Hakko House were highly praised at the Southern heat of the British Street Food Awards this month. Though they didn't come out as a winner – pipped to first place in the judges’ vote only by London-based OshPaz and their Uzbekian offerings – they can at least be proud of the fact they’re the only Somerset trader (apart from LJ Hugs) to appear on the BSFAs since, well, probably ever in the competition’s 16 years of existence. Also, depending on how the other heats around the country transpire, Hakko House’s second place means they may well be asked to take part in the UK final in London on 28th September. If they do well enough in that, then Munich – where the European final is hosted – could be calling…