Village shop
The renovated Shop and Tea Room at Temple Guiting in the Cotswolds now offers bread from the Bertinet bakery in Bath, organic meat and pies from Piper’s farm in Devon, Paxton & Whitfield cheeses and Rococo chocolates. The tea room will host tastings, cookery classes and supper clubs
Temple Guiting shop and tea room, Temple Guiting, Glos. Closed Mondays. For details visit www.cockahoopcollection.co.uk or call 07748 118288
The Queen’s Arms
A dog-centric pub that also offers award-winning food, much of it sourced from the pub’s on-site smallholding, accommodation and excellent walks for guests (and dogs). Wellies available, plus a dog-drying room.
The Queen’s Arms, Corton Denham, Sherborne, Dorset, visit www.thequeensarms.com
Order of Bath
Fans of the wonderful Foodie Bugle (shop-cum-tearoom next door to the Roman Baths and the Abbey), need no further urging to visit Bath, but this glorious city has provided another incentive to go West in search of good food; it’s been given the 2016 award for staunch support of British Food Fortnight, the annual celebration of British gastronomy. The award was picked up by the Bath & NE Somerset local food partnership who organised many of Bath’s most impressive Food Fortnight events.
For details visitbath.co.uk; The Foodie Bugle, 2 Abbey Street Bath, tel 07762 330519 or visit thefoodiebugleshop.com
Five of the best… Valentine’s gifts
Chococo
A range of decorated Chocolate hearts inc Lovebots Heart and Cupid’s Love heart (£9.95/200g); eight pink and red foil-wrapped smoked sea salt caramel lips in a cube (£6.50/80g); a cube of seven milk chocolate hearts foil-wrapped in pink and purple. To show your love is good for at least three months… buy the object of your affections a subscription to the Chococo Valentines Club – a monthly delivery of 16 award-winning chocolates, plus a free chocolate heart studded with raspberry pieces (£56.40/three months) available chococo.co.uk
Veuve Cliq’call
A bottle of pink champagne that talks… Veuve Cliquot Rose comes in a fancy pink box with the option to record a Valentine’s Day message that will play as your loved one opens the box. £59.99 from selfridges.com
Pink Champagne
Lidl’s Cellar Collections continue with a terrific, fruity Henri Delattre Rose Champagne (£14.99), ideal for dinner a deux featuring charcuterie or poached salmon lidl.co.uk
Gin & Tonic chocolate stash
Belgian chocolate in the form of miniature gin bottles, cans of tonic and lemon slices stored in a three-drawer cardboard box, £25 from choconchoc.co.uk
Pork Pie
A pork pie decorated with pastry hearts. Serves two, or 4-6 if your valentine’s day is taking place en famille.
Heart-topped Melton Mowbray pork pie, £9/800g (p&p extra; order before 12 noon 10 Feb for a 14th Feb delivery) from Dickinson & Morris, www.porkpie.co.uk/valentine-melton-mowbray-pork-pie.html
