Mark Hayward - Dingley Dell

If you were to visit Mark and Paul Hayward's farm in Suffolk, you would hear the sound of thousands of pigs enjoying the outdoor life.

They have been rearing outdoor pigs for ten years and Mark is adamant about the benefits it brings to the animals and about the quality of the end product. "I firmly believe that breed type and rearing methods have a huge impact on taste and quality," he says." The best pork comes from pigs born and bred in a well-managed outdoor environment with the opportunity to express their natural behaviour".

Our breeding pigs are free to roam in fields and we provide insulated huts for the pregnant and farrowing sows. Piglets are weaned at five weeks of age, moving onto the farm's outdoor nursery system - 50 tented paddocks where the piglets have room to play in the straw and socialise with their group – protected from the worst of the sun, rain and wind.

Their pork, marketed under the delightful name of Dingley Dell, has been chosen by some of our best loved chefs to include on their menus. Delia Smith has chosen it for her Norwich City restaurant and Gordon Ramsay for his group of restaurants. The Dorchester has it on their menu as does the Savoy Grill. "And we do very good hog roasts" says Mark.