What is artisan food?

 Of late a few people have asked me what artisan food is.  I have thought long and hard on the subject using my time in agriculture, my years working with my family business (patchwork pate) and a long hard look on the internet to come up with a definitive opinion.

In short, for me, artisan food is the result of an individual’s passion to make a great product – original and handcrafted in small batches with the results being truly outstanding.  Artisan food allows the consumer to develop a relationship with the manufacturer, in person or online.   Typically artisan food is made with high quality ingredients and free from preservatives and additives. 

It provides a source of joy that only a food lover gets when finding a special product; which is not available in the supermarkets to share with friends and family. This is one of the many reasons artisan producers work so hard.  There is great pleasure in offering dinner guests a handcrafted treat and passing on the story of its creation after hearing it from the producer in person (be it face to face or online).

Consumers are becoming more and more aware that cheap is not always a good thing when it comes to food.  Knowing the food you are buying is handmade and crafted is reassuring in an ever increasingly mass produced world.  Cheaper food therefore, as a rule has to equal poorer ingredients.

Artisan food can always offer a nice break in the fast paced world we live in.  Sitting down with a gorgeous selection of treats can be one of life’s great pleasures.  Knowing how the food was made can bring a sense of comfort.

As a wine-lover, for instance, one of life's great pleasures is savouring a bottle from a vineyard that produces only a small number of barrels each year. Over time, you almost come to feel as though you know the vintners themselves, and you may enjoy speculating about what they were trying to achieve with a particular vintage. Forging that personal connection with a brand or product can be deeply satisfying for those who savour the foods they eat; and consider taste to be an individual experience in and of itself 

I have seen people talk about the 4 P’s with regards to artisan food (sorry this bit is a bit marketing).  Personality of the producer, the Place it comes from, the Product provided and above all the Passion.  Having worked with artisan food producers over the past 15 years I must say it is the passion that strikes me the most.  Knowing there is a passionate human being behind the food you eat is a very reassuring factor in choosing what we eat every day.  

The concept behind creating the Virtual Farmers Market is to bring a collection of great artisan producers together in one area on the internet.  We offer incredibly tempting food from all over the UK and Ireland.  Watching the videos of the producers goes some way to knowing more about the food you are buying, or sometimes simply knowing there is a passionate individual can be enough to reassure you of your purchase. 

This has turned out a little longer than I planned so thank you for reading this.  There are some awesome products in the Virtual Farmers Market and each one made with love and care. 

What is your view of artisan food?