Executive Chef Justin believes that what the Lakes produce in meat, cheese, vegetables and even fruit is as much a tourist attraction as the drama of the countryside itself.

And to prove it, he's mapped out the Lakes on a menu – complete with food miles showing how far each ingredient has travelled to the plate - to demonstrate what visitors ought to be demanding at the end of a long day's hike or ramble in the hills.

His Cumbrian Tasting Menu at The Castle Green Hotel in Kendal has the added side dish of beautiful views across valleys and fields, but diners don't need distractions from the smoked trout, caught just 20 miles away at Bessy Beck, with Cumberland Mustard - 46 miles from Alston - and eggs, laid six miles from the table, just for starters.

"It's quite amazing how much it works and how much local food you can get," said Justin, who came to the Castle Green from a five-star hotel in London to move closer to his wife's North West roots.

An Essex lad, he revels in the change from serving food which arrived in the capital from all over the world to being part of a food chain he knows from beginning to end: "The brilliant thing is knowing your producers personally, knowing the woman who grows your strawberries, knowing the farmers, the beef producers, the cheesemakers. That's an amazing change from working in London."

The proof is certainly in the eating: creamy white organic potato soup, with potatoes from Cartmel - 16 miles away - had a crisp island of Millom pancetta - 39 miles - floating in the centre.

And the main course of choice cuts of famous Lakeland lamb had come only five miles.

Damsons, cheeses and milk for the baked custard and relish were topped by bay leaf ice cream – with bay leaves picked from The Castle Green's own garden!

And not only does the Cumbrian Tasting Menu feed the body, it also feeds the area in return: tourism which is as good for the planet as it is for the palette.

Anyone who hasn't been to The Lakes should go, and anyone who has been will go again to see an area of which is umnmatched anywhere in the world for its inspiring scenery and history, so Justin is the first to point out that its food will only ever be a part of the attraction.

"People would come to Cumbria even if the food was rubbish," he said.

Perhaps so, but it certainly makes you want to come back for seconds...