Traditional Guernsey food – 10 delicious dishes to try

Guernsey in the Channel islands is a delight for those who love fresh, locally produced food with flavours of both France and England. The food in Guernsey comes from the lush, flower-filled pastures where the Guernsey cows and goats to produce their milk. The sea offers an abundance of crab and lobster, while from the land you’ll find home-grown veg on the roadside hedge-veg stalls.

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With sophisticated restaurants in St Peter Port and fresh-sea-air beach cafes what’s not to love? Here’s some local traditional Guernsey food that you’ll want to look out for on Guernsey itself and its Channel Island cousin, Sark;

I hope that you enjoy the video below about the delicious food on Guernsey and Sark

If you can’t see the video above, view it on my blog or you can also view it on Youtube.

Discover Guernsey cuisine

1. Lobster and other seafood treats

As you walk along the cliff paths on the rocky south coast of Guernsey, your eyes might just pick out the colourful buoys bobbing in the sea below. Each buoy anchors a lobster pot in place.

Some of the best Guernsey restaurants are serving great local seafood in St Peter Port. At SeaFresh on the pier near Castle Cornet you can find the freshest fish for sale straight from the fishing boats.

We caught the ferry to Sark on a sunny day and found the perfect place to try locally caught lobster. The rose-filled garden of La Sablonnerie Hotel restaurant has a classic French style. We enjoyed half a lobster with a light, buttery sauce, that had been freshly caught that morning.

If you need a place to stay: Stocks Hotel: A luxury 16th century hotel on Sark with an outdoor pool that’s a short walk from the beach.

2. Golden Guernsey Goat’s cheese and other local Guernsey cheeses

We drove towards the beaches on the south-west corner of the island and stopped at St Pierre du Bois. Here Mandy and Peter Girard keep Le Douit Beauval Herd of Golden Guernsey Goats.

The couple are trying to preserve this rare breed, as there are only 1200 in the world. Around the back of the farmhouse is a glass lean-to where you can buy the soft, herb-flavoured cheese from their fridge. Leave your money in a box if they’re not around.

Check out tours & tickets for all the best Guernsey Experiences

Past the chicken coop is the field where you might see the small flock of golden haired Guernsey goats. Another local cheese to look out for is the Torteval Fort Grey soft blue cheese. Find it on sale at local stores, the weekly Sausmarez Manor farmer’s market and in restaurants around the island.

If you need a place to stay: Fermain Valley Hotel: With elegant rooms, an indoor swimming pool and view of the sea, the hotel is just a 5 minute walk from the beach.

3. Food in Guernsey – Crab sandwiches

You’ll find some of the best places to eat in Guernsey at the beach kiosks and cafes by the sea that serve crab sandwiches. Crabs are abundant in the seas around Guernsey. The crab meat is mixed into a soft paste and served on brown or white bread as a lunchtime sandwich.

We tried them at the beach kiosk at Portelet harbour where you can sit at a table in the garden. Peer over the hedge to the harbour and the rocky beach; the sea breeze is guaranteed to give you an appetite.

If you have limited time this guided half-day tour provides an in-depth introduction to Guernsey in a single day

4. Crab salad in Guernsey

The crab theme continued when we had a late lunch at Cobo Tearoom and ordered a very prettily presented plate of Crab salad. A generous pile of crab meat with some coleslaw and mixed salad on the side and a couple of slices of fresh bread with Guernsey butter. The crab flavour is quite robust and almost gamey so after a while you may decide that crab every day is too much of a good thing!

We sheltered in the Cobo Tea Room during a heavy shower of rain and can testify to its cosy and welcoming atmosphere. They offer a tempting selection of cakes, scones and other goodies that will be the downfall of those of you who share my sweet tooth.

If you need a place to stay: St Pierre Park Hotel and Golf: set in beautiful gardens with indoor pool and gym.

5. Guernsey Bean Jar

We’d heard about the local speciality of Guernsey bean jar, the Guernsey equivalent of cassoulet or a haricot bean stew. When we saw it on the menu at the Cobo Tearoom we had to try it.

It’s cooked slowly in an earthenware jar with beef shin, pig’s trotters or ham hock, onions and carrots. The Jar might be taken along to the local baker’s on a Saturday night and left to cook slowly in their cooling oven.

Traditionally it might then be kept and reheated to be eaten on Monday when the women would have been too busy with the laundry to cook a meal. It’s a warming Guernsey recipes that you’ll look forward to after a blustery day out walking or fishing.

If you need a place to stay: Old Government House: a classic and elegant 5 star hotel that was once the Governor’s residence.

6. Randalls beer

If you’re looking for a local Guernsey tipple to wash it all down then you might try the Randalls Beer that’s brewed on Guernsey. The Randalls Brewery was established in 1868 and run as a family business until 2007. It was then sold to investors and moved to a new state of the art brewery.

You can even visit the brewery, close to the quayside in St Peter Port. They run guided tours every Saturday morning between April and September which should be booked in advance.

You’ll find Randalls beer in shops and pubs around the island. Look out for Breda, a fruity, full-flavoured lager; Patois, a malty best bitter and Oranjeboom, a light, premium lager with slightly lower alcohol content.

Also check out my article on 8 things to do on Guernsey for cruise visitors

7. Rocquette Cider

Being so close to the coast of Normandy, Guernsey had a strong cider making tradition. Most farms in the past had their own cider press. Now the old traditions have been revived on a commercial basis by the Guernsey Cider Company.

Guernsey Cider Company make and bottle Rocquette Cider at Fauxquetter de Hauts. New orchards have been planted on an old cider-making site that now produces using modern equipment with a small-scale artisan touch. You can find the bottled and draught cider in shops and pubs around Guernsey.

Check out this tour: This Guernsey coastal excursion provides a rare glimpse into a bygone age

8. A Guernsey cream tea

Guernsey has a long tradition of dairy produce from the rich pastures where farmers grazed their cows and goats. Centuries ago many of the fields were small with no hedges and so individual cows were tethered on a chain.

This ensured they ate a patch of grass right down to the stalk and didn’t just nibble the tasty shoots off the top. The farmer would move the cow on to a fresh patch of grass the next day.

You’ll find delicious afternoon tea in Guernsey on offer, with scones, jam and thick Guernsey cream. The rich milk and cream is also made into ice cream on the island. Look out for Le Hechet ice cream that’s made on a farm in the Castel parish.

If you need a place to stay: Duke of Richmond Hotel – well located in St Peter Port with elegant contemporary decor, a terrace and outdoor pool

9. Guernsey Gâche

The Guernsey Gâche (pronounced Gosh) is a fruit bread that’s a speciality of the island and can be served with butter and jam or with cheese. You’ll find it on sale in most of the cafes and tea shops as well as the supermarkets and bakeries.

The Guernsey Gâche is a yeast bread that’s made with local eggs, butter and milk and studded with candied orange peel and sultanas. It’s a delicious teatime treat and we enjoyed ours in the cafe at Sausmarez Manor where there’s a fantastic sculpture garden.

Our local’s tip was that Senners bakery at St Martins has one of the best Guernsey recipes for Gâche on the island. It is the ideal place to stop to buy some on the way to the airport to take home.

Check out tours & tickets for all the best Guernsey Experiences

10. Guernsey food – Hedge Veg

As you drive around the island, especially as you get inland and away from the coast you may wonder about those makeshift stalls by the side of the road. Set in someone’s front garden or beside a drive, this is where the locals sell off any fresh produce that they’ve grown in their vegetable patch or glasshouse.

You might find new potatoes, carrots, fennel, salads or freesias and other flowers. On the way to the airport I stopped to buy a small bunch of sweet peas that perfumed my flight home and reminded me of our Guernsey holiday.

Take a walking tour of St Peter Port to learn the events of evacuation and occupation through the eyes of family members

Around the island you’ll notice many large greenhouses in a state of disrepair as there was once a thriving tomato and grape growing industry on Guernsey. However, the cost of heating and competition from Holland made it uneconomic to continue.

I expect that some of these greenhouses are still being put to good use on a smaller scale. If you are self-catering it’s well worth stopping to see what you might find on the Hedge Veg stalls to add to your supper that evening. They operate on an honesty system and you will find a tin, jar or even a milk churn to leave your money.

Also check out my article on 8 things to do on Guernsey for cruise visitors

Check out tours & tickets for all the best Guernsey Experiences

More to enjoy on Guernsey and Sark

Family impressions of Guernsey – French, English, neither or both?
Scarecrows for the Jubilee on Sark

Hotels in Guernsey and Sark

Guernsey is a fantastic short break destination so check out some of the hotels we recommend below.

Duke of Richmond Hotel – well located in St Peter Port with elegant contemporary decor, a terrace and outdoor pool

Old Government House: a classic and elegant 5 star hotel that was once the Governor’s residence.

St Pierre Park Hotel and Golf: set in beautiful gardens with indoor pool and gym.

Fermain Valley Hotel: With elegant rooms, an indoor swimming pool and view of the sea, the hotel is just a 5 minute walk from the beach.

Stocks Hotel: A luxury 16th century hotel on Sark with an outdoor pool that’s a short walk from the beach.

Albany Apartments: Comfortable self-catering holiday apartments in St Peter Port that are ideal for families

Compare prices and book for more hotels on Guernsey

Check out tours & tickets for all the best Guernsey Experiences

How to get to Guernsey

You’ll find more about food and best restaurants on Guernsey on the Visit Guernsey website 

We flew to Guernsey with Aurigny Airlines who fly to Guernsey from Bristol and other UK destinations. You can also book flights with Blue Islands Airlines and take the ferry with Condor Ferries from Poole or Portsmouth.

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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