Central England Food & Drink

Central England offers a veritable smorgasbord of cuisine, both traditional and international. Leicester’s Golden Mile and Birmingham’s Balti Quarter can both lay claim to serving up some of the country’s finest curry. Seek out traditional country pubs throughout the region for hearty regional meals made from local produce. The Stagg Inn in Herefordshire was the first pub to gain a Michelin star and, surprisingly for a small town, Ludlow in Shropshire has a Michelin-starred restaurant - Mr Underhill’s in Dinham Weir.

Under cheese law, bona fide Stilton can only be produced within the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, so don’t accept any imitations. Melton Mowbray Pork Pies from Leicestershire are protected from inferior imitations by the European parliament. Make sure you try delicious Herefordshire beef, traditional faggots (meat balls) from the Black Country. Britain's favourite pig, the Old Gloucester Spot, are traditionally reared in the apple orchards of Gloucestershire. They make delicious bacon, ham and sausages. Look out too for speciality sausages, the Warwickshire Whizzers.

The Vale of Evesham in Worcestershire is famous for asparagus and is a major producer of fruit and vegetables grown under cover. Those with a sweet tooth should head for Cadbury World in Birmingham. It was here that George Cadbury built Bourneville in 1824, a purpose-built village to house his chocolate factory workers where today you can drink liquid chocolate through a straw!

Derbyshire is at the heart of the real ale movement (CAMRA), so the region has a host of pubs serving pints from local independent breweries. Herefordshire produces 63 million gallons of cider a year - more than any other area of Britain and quality English wines are produced at vineyards such as Astley and Tiltridge in Worcestershire.