YOU can get the very best in local food at one of East Anglia s leading farm shops – and it is only 20 minutes away from Ely. La Hogue Farm Shop & Delicatessen at Chippenham, Near Newmarket has undergone a meteoric rise since it opened its doors four year

YOU can get the very best in local food at one of East Anglia's leading farm shops - and it is only 20 minutes away from Ely.

La Hogue Farm Shop & Delicatessen at Chippenham, Near Newmarket has undergone a meteoric rise since it opened its doors four years ago. Owned and run by Chris and Joanna Reeks, who sold their home and gave up their professional careers to develop the shop, La Hogue now attracts more than 2000 customers each week and employs 21 staff.

The shop has won a host of awards and accolades including a Daily Telegraph National Award for its customer service, Newmarket Business of the Year and most recently Best Grocer, Farm Shop and Delicatessen in the Suffolk Food and Drink Awards.

The shop has also recently been included in Rick Stein's BBC Guide to Food Heroes of Britain.

The large farm shop stocks an array of high quality food items and has a 'buy local' policy. Fresh fruit and vegetables are sourced from smaller more traditional producers who aren't large enough to supply supermarkets.

A large butchery section with two full-time butchers on site source fresh meats and game from local free range farms in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Milk and ice cream come direct from an award winning dairy farmer in Suffolk and the shop boasts one of the best delicatessens in the area with more than 80 predominantly British cheeses on offer.

La Hogue also has a commercial kitchen with five full-time chefs preparing home-made 'ready meals' both for everyday eating and special dinner parties.

The shop is now gearing up for Christmas, offering three different breeds of local free range turkeys, geese from Chatteris, local hams and a huge range of seasonal fayre to make it the perfect Christmas.

On Saturday and Sunday is a free public open tasting weekend where La Hogue's chefs will be cooking the three different breeds of turkey, together with home made Christmas puddings, stuffings and gravies for everyone to sample.

Saturday also sees the opening of La Hogue's highly successful Christmas Barn which offers a vast array of unique and unusual Christmas fayre, including natural decorations, gifts and Christmas hampers for both companies and individuals. La Hogue can be found on the far side of the village of Chippenham, via Soham and Fordham.

INFO: Opening times: Tuesday to Friday - 10am-7pm; Saturday - 10am-5.30pm; Sunday - 10am-4pm; closed Mondays. Contact La Hogue on 01638 751128 or

e-mail: info@lahogue.co.uk or visit the website at: www. lahogue.co.uk