The new Food Hall at Ruxley Manor Garden Centre has had a successful first month, with customers left surprised at just how much is on offer.
One of the company directors, James Evans, spoke to diyweek.net about the new produce market, which opened at the start of November next to The Mulberry Tree restaurant at the garden centre in Sidcup, Kent. He said he has been surprised at how positive the customer response has been. "People didn't expect our offering to be as extensive or high-end as it is. People have been very surprised."

The company's USP is that as much of the produce as possible comes from Kent, as "lots of people are more aware of the province of where things come from," he said, and he wants to keep food miles low. "A lot of it is local - milk, eggs, jams, British beer and Kentish wine; we get our cakes from a local village bakery and the fruit and veg comes from London markets every morning. We're not trying to take on the supermarkets because we can't, but we are supporting local farms and it's good to shout about it."

Read more from Mr Evans in this week's DIY Week magazine - out Friday.