FRESH fruit and vegetables straight from the garden and used in the meals served up, sounds like a dream, but one hotel in the Dunmow Broadcast area is doing just that. Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hatfield Heath is a leading light in the way it hop

FRESH fruit and vegetables straight from the garden and used in the meals served up, sounds like a dream, but one hotel in the Dunmow Broadcast area is doing just that.

Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hatfield Heath is a leading light in the way it hopes to serve its customers as it launched a vegetable garden on Monday (April 7) as part of its drive to become more environmentally friendly.

Green living expert Joanna Yarrow attended to officially launch the garden by cutting the ribbon.

"I think focusing on food is important," said Joanna. "The food we eat in our lifetime contributes to one third of our footprint. Small changes in the way that food is produced has an impact on carbon footprints.

"For me the hotel industry and leisure industry is an important place to start demonstrating how to do things in a greener way."

Staff at Down Hall hope the new garden will provide the hotel with 25 per cent of its food supply once it starts yielding fully.

Down Hall's general manager, Sean Quinney, said: "If we are going to go green it would be fantastic to be able to grow our own produce."

For more information visit www.downhall.co.uk

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