WHEN you go down to the shops today, you're sure of a big surprise - because in the last few years, food produced in Britain has enjoyed a major renaissance.

Where most fruit, veg and meat used to be imported from all over the globe, these days more and more of our supermarket shelves are stocked with local ingredients.

Our meats are produced to some of the highest standards in the world, we have a seasonal country which produces diverse fruits and vegetables, a great heritage in the dairy industry and a culinary history of nutritious recipes.

"We've celebrated the wonderful produce of our land for centuries in this country during the harvest festival - British Food Fortnight is the modern equivalent," explains Alexia Robinson, founder of the annual celebration, this year taking place from September 22 to October 7.

"The idea, very simply, is to make British people a bit more like the French and Italians, where love of their regional food is ingrained in their national consciousness."

Over the past few years, thanks in part to chefs like Rick Stein who have celebrated British food heroes and programmes including the Great British Menu, which really showed off the best regional produce the country has to offer, provenance is trendy.

In a recent survey for The Guardian, 70 per cent of British shoppers said they would buy local food if they could, while 61 per cent of consumers questioned by the Meat & Livestock Commission said they want to know the origin of the meat they eat, and 80 per cent want to see origin on menus.

But how easy is it to buy local? Robinson says if you take a little bit of time, your whole shopping trolley can be bursting with British ingredients.

If you're lacking ideas for dishes which take advantage of our fantastic regional produce, try these two recipes, taken from The People's Cookbook: A Celebration of the Nation's Life Through Food, by Antony Worrall Thompson and Paul Rankin (Infinite Ideas, £14.99).

WHAT DO I NEED?Serves four4 fennel bulbs4 whole sea bass, approx 400g each, gutted, scaled and rinsed inside and out, with head and tail left on2tbsp olive oil2 lemons, finely slicedJuice of 4 limesLarge bunch of fresh coriander, finely choppedSalt and pepperWHAT SHOULD I DO?Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.

Remove stalks and tough outer layers of the fennel and coarsely grate bulbs.

Fill the cavity of each fish with grated fennel and season with salt and pepper.

Cut four large pieces of foil and fold each one in half, so you have a double piece of foil large enough to wrap around the fish.

Brush foil with a little olive oil and place a stuffed sea bass on top of each rectangle.

Top the fish with lemon slices, pour the juice of a lime over each one, and add a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Seal parcels tightly by folding foil up around the fish and scrunching tops together - be careful not to pierce foil and make sure they are well sealed so no juices escape while fish are cooking.

Place parcels on a baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes. To check the fish is cooked, open one of the parcels and insert a knife along the backbone.

The flesh should flake easily and the juices will be milky white. Open the parcels at the table, as doing so releases a delicious aroma.