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A guide to crunching into perfect pork crackling this Christmas

An afternoon spent wandering around a festive market, browsing beautiful gifts and indulging in mulled wine and a succulent hog roast… sounds idyllic, right?

You’re in for a treat this winter! Family-run business Kenniford Farm will be returning to this year’s Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market to provide award-winning hog roasts for the whole family to enjoy.

Find out more about the family team – and get their top tips for roasting your own festive feast.

A family of farming talent

Providing a spectacular service and an excellent hog roast is just one of their many talents. With a long history of rearing pigs, the experienced team at Kenniford Farm have the expertise to create the perfect hog roast from start to finish.

Andrew is the fourth generation of farmers in his family and works alongside his wife Liz and mother Linda. The farm breeds up to 10,000 pigs a year.

With full traceability and provenance back to Kenniford Farm, the family pride themselves in raising happy pigs.

Based in East Devon, Kenniford Farm also run a shop and café. Here they sell their prized pork, bacon and sausages, while offering unique educational visits for schools and groups.

24 years of pig-farming excellence

Their journey started in 1994 when Kenniford Farm began pig farming. Six years on, they invested in their first roasting machine. This led to the success of their legendary hog roasts that feature at a range of events across the country.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that after 18 years of experience, Kenniford Farm have many tried and tested roasting tips to help you master your festive meats.

Expert roasting tips

“It all begins with preparation,” explains Andrew, as he describes how to roast the perfect pork.

“Begin roasting your meat on a high heat, 15 hours before you intend to carve and serve. If you are roasting pork for your Sunday dinner, adopt the same principles but reduce the roasting time to four hours. Ensure the crackling is seasoned with salt to make it tasty and crunchy.

“After a short time, turn the heat down low to slowly roast the pig, providing moist and tender pork.”

Over the 32 days of Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market, Kenniford Farm will be roasting a total of 50 pigs. Visit their stall between 15 November and 16 December to be served by their experienced and enthusiastic team.

They will be serving their award-winning hog roasts with Otter Vale’s apple chutney in a freshly baked bun made by Shauls Bakery. An irresistible taste of Devon that is not to be missed. See you there!