For vegetable farmer and PIG supplier Jim Hooper, local produce is a way of life - and a family legacy.
When you tuck into the delicious vegetables on the menu here at THE PIG-on the beach, you're enjoying a taste of Dorset history as well as bags of flavour - Berry Hill Farm has been supplying grateful locals with splendid seasonal produce for more than 80 years.
Our story begins in Throop, on the rural fringes of Bournemouth, in 1938, when Stanley and Joyce Hooper began rearing chickens on the 3.5 acres of land that surrounded their new house. Their grandson Jim Hooper (pictured) takes up the tale: "My dad, Ken, was one when they moved here - now he's 8g." This rural idyll was uprooted by the onset of World War II, when the government encouraged smallholders such as the Hoopers to plough up the land and grow cabbage, then keep pigs in the spare buildings.
As rationing began to relent, Stanley increased the variety of vegetables in the beds and began to deliver his wares to local groceries by horse and cart. Grandmother Joyce worked in a bakery, but spent a good deal of her time in the field weeding and harvesting, while also bringing up two children.
Stanley handed over the reins to Ken in the early 1970s, but he continued to work in the greenhouses until he became bedridden. At that point, Jim recalls, "we had to bring the work to him". Joyce, meanwhile, was an exceptionally hardy soul who carried on working outside until she reached the ripe old age of 99. "She said her idea of heaven was a garden where weeds did not grow."
Jim, who began to work the land when he left school, recalls a "blessed" childhood. "It was the best of both worlds - you're rural, so you could play where you want and walk by the river, but we're right on the edge of Bournemouth, so I could always play football with my friends." All the while, Berry Hill Farm was expanding to 35 acres, with a drift of 400 pigs that earned their keep by providing fertiliser for the crop. The porkers departed in the late 198os, but manure remains Jim's secret weapon for producing wholesome veg - these days it comes from the cattle at a local farm.
Throughout the year, the Hoopers' hard work results in an array of flavour-filled delights. "As a smaller supplier, we can grow more of a varied crop that you don't see in the supermarkets," Jim says, and he's not kidding. Depending on the season, guests at THE PIG-on the beach can look forward to - deep breath - potatoes, parsnips, leeks, spring asparagus, beetroot (golden, candy and red), bunched carrots, heritage carrots, kale (green and ruby), cavolo nero, celeriac, courgettes, yellow courgettes and sprouts (on the stem, naturally).
Jim maintains his faith in the farming methods cultivated by his family over several decades: "It's important to me to follow in my family's footsteps," he explains. Yet Berry Hill Farm moves with the times - whether that means attending local farmers' markets or offering vegetable boxes delivered to your doorstep just hours after the contents have been harvested.
Jim is a fan of THE PIG's commitment to sourcing ingredients from the surrounding area. "It's great for us that there are people who support and want local produce," he says. He's also a fan of the dishes our chefs rustle up with his vegetables: "I've been three or four times, and I love it," he enthuses.
Appropriately enough, given Berry Hill Farm's history, Jim is rather partial to our pork dishes, recalling a tender pig's cheek with particular relish: "I'm a lover of pork, I almost always order it."
Enjoy Berry Hill Farm produce when you dine with us here at THE PIG-on the beach; or find out more about Berry Hill Farm here.
