A taste for the unusual

But guests need not worry. There is no danger to them - only to the farmers rearing the meat set to be part of the Evening Press-Dean Court Eat Local Banquet on May 15.

These farmers are Paul and Kate Langthorne, of Brompton, near Northallerton. They are famous around the county for their collection of unusual breeds, beginning with water buffalo, then venison, and now wild boar.

"The wild boar are the next step, we have all the fencing ready for them, now we just need a dangerous animals licence from the council and it is all systems go," said Kate. "I don't know why they are called dangerous, I think they will be a great thing for us."

Although the Langthornes do not yet farm the boar, it is set to be on the menu for the Eat Local Banquet in wild boar and venison sausages, with the boar provided by another local farm.

The Langthornes are real fans of the unusual. "There really is such a market for home- grown meat, and everybody does beef and lamb," said Paul.

"People come to us because we are a little bit different, and that is the way we like it."

The farm produce, offering something else a little different, may also appear later in the menu in a selection of Shepherd's Purse cheeses.

Kate said: "We first began farming the buffalo because our little boy was intolerant to dairy produce, and now is positively thriving on buffalo milk.

"It is now being made into Buffalo Blue by Judy Bell, which is great, another exciting new taste."

Now Evening Press readers can to try all these exciting new flavours for themselves. A limited number of tickets are still available for the exclusive Eat Local Banquet at the Dean Court Hotel, at £35 per guest.

Seats can be reserved by phoning the Dean Court on 01904 625082, faxing on 01904 620305, or emailing sales@deancourt-york.co.uk.

Keep your nominations coming in for the Eat Local competition. Nominations close at the end of this month.

Updated: 09:44 Monday, May 05, 2003