This week I had the lovely opportunity to visit High Barn Oils and my favourite farmer, Durwin Banks, who grows linseed and turns it into the most wonderful oils, and meal. Along with his jokes, which are the stuff of legend, I have to say particularly the one about the zebra, he does a fantastic talk about his beautiful linseed which if you get the opportunity to listen to you should do. What I love about Durwin is his absolute passion for the linseed that he grows, he is a typical small producer who loves food and puts that intent out there.
So much of food manufacturing is soulless now, and just mass production with no one enjoying what they do, that it is beautiful to meet someone who truly not only loves what he does, but also wants others to understand what lovely connected food is. This sort of food, grown with a true love and passion makes a totally different taste to the linseed I buy normally from the stupormarket, or the flax oil I was buying previously. When I tasted Durwins oil it made my heart sing and his flax meal makes my morning it really does.
There are too few people now producing food in this way, and I truly believe we have to support people like Durwin the small producers who are bringing the soul back to food.
Here he is with his sister Wendy who works along side him.
