WITH SUMMER heating up, gourmet bus tours have been getting foodies out into the countryside to taste rural businesses’ delights.

Now the Brighton and Hove Food Festival is using the same formula for restaurateurs and caterers, linking key figures in the city with their rural counterparts.

Business editor FINN SCOTT-DELANY hopped on board.

DESPITE living sociable lives, those in the food trade don’t always get an awful lot of time to leave the confines of their business.

They spend their lives entertaining, wining and dining.

But finding the time to catch up with one another and exchange ideas can be tricky with the marathon working hours of the trade.

So the special traders’ edition of the gourmet bus tour, run by the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival with the Brighton Restaurant Association, was the perfect chance to do just that.

The first traders’ tour of the year rolled out of the Old Steine last week, bursting with chefs, proprietors and caterers eager to taste new things and find new suppliers.

More than just a day out of the office, the tour is also a chance for professionals to swap stories, share tips and drive up standards.

Featuring a who’s who of the city’s restaurant trade, it was also a time for new entries on the scene to meet and greet rivals and contemporaries for the first time.

Guests came from 64 Degrees, La Choza, Terre a Terra, Graze, Sam’s of Brighton, the Ginger Dog, Cantina supper club, Moshimo, Brighton Rocks, La Cave a Fromage, Sabai, Pelham House and the Mecure Hotel.

First stop was Townings Farm, a traditional low weald family farm, on the edge of the South Downs National Park between the villages of Chailey, Plumpton and Wivelsfield Green.

It specialises in naturally-reared traditional breeds such as lamb and mutton from Hebridean and Southdown Sheep, beef from Sussex and Longhorn cattle, pork from traditional English breeds of pigs and Turkey from slow-grown home-reared turkeys.

The farm dates as far back as the late 13th century at the beginning of the Tudor era, with the land farmed by the Uridge family since 1950.

It was once a dairy farm, supplying milk to a large supermarket, but this brought little profit, so in 2005 the farm diversified and sold its dairy herd, and created a business based around self-sufficiency, local produce and traditional farming.

From Townings, the old Routemaster bus trundled up the road to Borde Hill Garden in Haywards Heath, home of Jeremy’s Restaurant, winner of the best eating experience at The Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2013/14.

The gaggle of thirsty foodies enjoyed the sumptuous green garden views from the restaurant terrace and were served sparkling wine from Ridgeview Wine Estate, the Sussex success story based just outside of Ditchling.

Tom Surgey, business development manager at the winery, talked through some of the winery’s finest bubblies, including Fitzrovia, Victoria and its signature Bloomsbury.

Each wine is named after a London district in honour of Christopher Merrett, the English scientist credited with being the first to make sparkling wine by adding sugar.

Tom said: “From Ridegview’s perspective we are very pleased to be able to support and pair our wines with such a strong, thriving, local restaurant scene.

“It’s brilliant for a producer to see our wines served so elegantly alongside food of such a high calibre.”

After the wine tasting it was on to cheese, with Arthur Alsop presenting a range from his company Alsop and Walker based in Five Ashes, Mayfield.

He talked through his Sussex camembert, Sussex blue and the favourite Mayfield, a firm, golden cheese with oval-shaped holes and a soft, sweet, fruity flavour.

After cheese and wine it was time to eat, with Jeremy Ashpool’s award-winning 2013 young chef of the year Jimmy Gray serving a three-course Swedish-style lunch, with produce donated by catering firm Ritter Courivaud.

The menu began with a starter of lightly-battered lemon sole, served with mussels, razor clams, dill and samphire, followed by a duo of juicy venison loin and spicy sausage, with potato gnocchi and hazelnut puree and finally a dessert of elderflower granita, sherbet parfait and raspberries.

Chef proprietor Jeremy Ashpool said: “I think it’s very good for us to build relationships with chefs and owners of other hospitality businesses.

“We are only 20 minutes from Brighton so tapping into that market is good for us as it might feed in a younger, more eclectic clientele.

“There was a huge amount of positive Twitter activity after the event leading to a lot of new followers.

“It’s also very good for our chefs to cook for their peers and really push the boundaries of their talent.”

From Borde Hill Gardens it was destination Lewes to Harveys Brewery.

With a two-year waiting list to tour the historic brewery the group knew how privileged they were to jump the queue.

The tour was led by Edmund Jenner, who told how the brewery uses a borehole to get natural water straight from the ground, which is rich with minerals for characterful flavoured beer.

The 135-year-old brewery has an old ornamental mash tun which almost all its beer is made in, and has used the same yeast strain for five decades.

Guests tasted Priory Ale, a tribute to brewing forebears and a celebration of the 750th Anniversary of the Battle of Lewes.

The ale uses ingredients available to the Cluniac Order at the Priory of St Pancras in Lewes in 1264, where a brew house was known to exist, with now unusual flavours of tansy, rosemary and thyme.

Marketing manager Bob Trimm said: “With so many micro-breweries popping up across the county it’s important to get the message out to those in the trade that Harveys are doing things the traditional way.

“Everyone talks about craft brewing but we’ve been doing things the same way for generations.”

The day-out was a hit with all the guests.

Karl Jones, owner of Moshimo, said: “One of the reasons that the Brighton Restaurant Association was formed was to bring independent food businesses together, which means we do not have huge corporate organisations behind us.

“When it comes to a day to day running of the business we can find some aspects of our daily lives a very lonely affair.

“So this great event which brings us all together for a day out, learning about local suppliers and giving us all a chance to catch up with each other, have a general gossip about movement in our industry and share best practices.”

Olivia Reid, of Terre a Terre, borrowed some hops from Harveys to be used in an allotment menu being developed with Stanmer Community Garden.

She said: “As a long-term supporter of The Brighton and Hove Food Festival I think the gourmet bus tours are one if its best features and a must for any foodie resident in the area.

“But even better are the trade tours. It’s wonderful that suppliers are happy to sponsor an event where hard working chefs and restaurant folk can get together to share knowledge and get inspired by all things Sussex over their most loved activity – eating and drinking.

“Trade interaction in a social environment is essential to improve creativity and raise standards.”

Aoife Sweeney, of La Choza, said: “I think what Nick Mosley, the director of the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival, puts together is a great opportunity for the restaurant and catering industry to get together primarily.

“But the concept is genius to bring the distributors to the producers and highlighting the really top quality goods that come from the surrounding area.”

To book a place on the tour go to brightonfoodfestival.com/ne