An original, independent review by Sarah Hartland
Hearing that the Dorset Sandwich Company provides hungry lunchers with fair-trade, organic and locally sourced food and drink, I can’t wait to go and try it out.
There’s something about sampling Dorset’s own produce rather than picking up a supermarket sandwich, that makes me feel good about myself. As I get closer to the shop on Bournemouth Road in Lower Parkstone, I am taken in by the quirky pale blue exterior.
Inside, I see a clean and modern cafe, with a sandwich filling station and a breakfast bar to sit down and eat. I join a queue of customers all waiting for their baguettes, wraps and jacket potatoes, and watch as they’re all being freshly made.
I ask for a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich but I’ve apparently just missed the bacon, as at 11.30am they stop serving breakfast. My next choice is a chicken and mayonnaise sandwich on thick white bread.
Five minutes in to eating, I overhear the lady behind the counter tell a customer that all sandwiches are now half price.
It always happens to me, I always miss out on things, even if it is just by five minutes. But never-the-less I still enjoy my chicken sandwich, and it’s worth the full price of £2.35. It’s jam-packed full of chunky chicken and tastes delightful.
As lunch time draws to an end, the Dorset Sandwich Company closes at 2.30pm, so before they shut I grab a quick chat to the lady behind the counter. Her name is Jo Guile. I ask her about where their produce is from.
We make some of the chicken fillings ourselves and prepare the salad each morning, but most of our produce is fresh in from Wrights.
Wrights Dairies are an independent family run business selling a variety of sandwich fillings by the kilo. Established in 1963 they have been supplying Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch with fresh Dorset produce.
With local produce and fair prices, the company also use organic coffee beans that have been hand roasted. So as I leave the Dorset Sandwich Company, I feel slightly disappointed I live so far away.