Cotswold Chef™ Rob Rees is in no doubt you can find delicious, local produce that will make your festive period the most mouth watering yet. "We're spoilt for choice in Gloucestershire when it comes to buying quality local food and drink. Everything you need to make your Christmas dinner full of flavour including free range turkey, organic vegetables, cured ham, chutneys and preserves, are available on your doorstep. The key message is buy local. There is a farmers market or farm shop within easy reach of most of us in the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean and this is a great opportunity to buy fresh, local produce which will make all the difference to your Christmas dinner. We are now much more aware of where our food comes from and using your local farmers market will ensure you know the source of everything you buy. It's also a chance to support local suppliers and help reduce the food miles of your Christmas menu." I hope you enjoy my top tips to make your Christmas dinner truly scrumptious. Have a very tasty Christmas! Rob Rees MBE 250g "Shipton Mill" self-raising flour 500g "Hobbs House" breadcrumbs 500g suet 500g dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon allspice 375g currants 750g raisins 150g mixed peel 50g ground almonds Grated rind of 2 lemons 1/4 grated nutmeg 8 "Cotswold Legbar" eggs 2 tablespoons black treacle Juice of 2 oranges 1 grated "Abbey Farm" carrot 1 grated "Hayles Fruit Farm" cooking apple 3 bottles of "Freeminer" speculation ale or a couple of pints of "Cotswold Way Beer" Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and allow to soak overnight. Place in well-greased buttered dishes and steam for 10 hours. Re-heat on Christmas day by steaming for further 5 hours. The key to a dark, moist and rich pudding is in the steaming – the longer you can do it the better it becomes. To make a Cotswold Brandy Butter cream, mix together 250g "Chedworth" farm butter with 75g soft brown sugar a drizzle of "Selsley Herb" mulling syrup, 2 tablespoons of brandy and 1/2 a teaspoon of Cotswold "Lypiatt House" honey. From Rob Rees' book 'The Cotswold Chef – A Year in Recipes and Landscapes' available from Darien-Jones Publishing – Tel: 01452 812550. This recipe copyright Rob Rees MBE – The Cotswold Chef	From serving-up a scrumptious free range turkey to finding the freshest Brussels sprouts, the Cotswolds and the Forest of Dean have lip-smacking Christmas lunches catered for. Chutneys Award-winning, handmade sauces, preserves and chutneys come courtesy of Woodchester Fine Foods, as well as Mrs Massey's line of sauces and chutneys which have progressed from Gloucestershire fêtes to Fortnum & Mason in just a few years. Available from www.woodchesterfinefoods.co.uk and Made in Stroud, (01453) 758060. "Chutney companies abound in Gloucestershire. The likes of Kitchen Garden and Selsley all make items bold in flavour and quality. Don't just use them to go with cheese – consider the odd spoonful to bolster a stuffing, mashed potato or the turkey stir fry!" Hams and sausages Whether it's organic Gloucester Old Spot sausages you want for a slap-up breakfast or a well hung ham, Tim and Caroline Wilson at the Berkeley-based Adey's Farm will supply the very best. Available from Adeys Farm, Berkeley (01453) 511218. "Old Spot is the iconic pig from our region but be daring and try some of the new spicy sausages and other distinct flavours that so many of our local producers are creating – many award winning and great tasting." Game If turkey doesn't take your fancy, some of Gloucestershire's best game can make for a more imaginative main course. Hunter & Todd Delicatessen and Wine in Newnham-on-Severn stocks a fresh supply of venison and pheasant, sourced from nearby Lydney Park Estate. Gloucestershire duck and goose are also available in season. Available from Hunter & Todd Delicatessen and Wine, Newnham-on-Severn on (01594) 516211 www.hunterandtodd.co.uk "We are so lucky with such a choice– my favourite is venison – pan fried fillet served juicy and pink with a peppered brussel sprout purée and roasted chestnuts – yummy." Vegetables Everything from Brussel sprouts to parsnips, cabbage and carrots are grown on the organic family-run Crooked End Farm in the Forest of Dean. Available from Crooked End Farm Shop, Ruardean (01594) 544482. If you like your roasties, take your pick from six kinds of spuds grown by Over Farm – among 80 varieties of fruit and veg produced and sold in their farm shop at Over, Gloucester. Available from Over Farm Market, (01452) 521014 or 07831 237353. www.over-farm-market.com and farmers markets around the region. "The choice of vegetables in the county is amazing. From Farm shops to markets... there is no need to travel far. For Christmas try out rich and velvety Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac as a purée and even sauté salsfiy – perfect for fish lovers." Cheese board Award-winning cheeses, including everything from Double Gloucester from Diana Smart's Farm, the awesome Birdwood Blue (why not give Stilton a rest this year?) from Birdwood Farm, Stinking Bishop and May Hill Green from Charles Martell, Cotswolds Brie from Simon Weaver to Hill's ever popular Gloucestershire Camembert are produced in the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean. Available from delicatessens and markets across the county, with The CheeseWorks in Cheltenham, run by Ben Axford (a finalist in BBC's Master Chef), supplying a majority. CheeseWorks (01242) 255022 www.thecheeseworks.co.uk "This county just oozes with cheese. Just take your pick. Birdwood is certainly the most stunning of Blues but check out Scary Mary from Godsells also. There really is no excuse not to have a county cheese on the boxing day buffet." Turkey Pick-up a delicious Madgett's Farm free-range turkey from your local farmers market in Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester or Tewkesbury for the freshest traditional Christmas centrepiece imaginable. For details of farmers markets visit www.fresh-n-local.co.uk or contact Madgetts Farm (01291) 689595. "I recommend cooking with tradition when it comes to a Madgetts Turkey – slow roast, stuffing on the side and regularly baste."