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Bartering At The Artichoke Restaurant In Amersham
November 12 2009

 At the Artichoke restaurant in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Chef Laurie Gear encourages locals to bring in their home grown produce in return for a free glass of wine! 

Locals take in pumpkins, squashes, wild garlic, curly kale, rosemary, mint, and even game from a local shoot. 

The Artichoke insists on traceability, only accepting things from people they know, but bartering, in these recessional times, is becoming something of a trend. 

Other places offering a similar bartering system include a Norfolk pub, and an Inn in Conwy, north Wales, where they also accept home grown produce at the bar. 

Mr Gear said that there is no financial benefit from using donated produce, but they do it because they are a local, neighbourhood restaurant, and the customers get a lot of pleasure out of growing produce and seeing it all used up, particularly those who have an allotment and are over-run with home grown veggies! 

Mr Gear grew up in Lyme Regis, Dorset, and foraged for hazelnuts with his father as a child. His plans for next year include taking all of his cooking team foraging for wild sorrel, mushrooms, elderberries and cobnuts.