AT the break in the Chiltern escarpment at the foot of Britwell Hill, the Ridgeway Path runs right by Red Lion Farm and 500 breeding sows and their piglets.

Nearby, just off a little lane behind The Goose, Britwell Salome, stands the newly-opened Britwell Salome Farm Shop, which now sells Red Lion Farm's free-range pork and grass-fed beef. It's owned by farmers John and Julia Mearns and run by Chris Collins who has given up a lucrative career in London to look after the shop.

They see the shop, which opens from Tuesday to Saturday, as a way of making pig farming more viable by cutting out the middleman and selling direct to the public.

John and Julia are selling their pork to The Goose, too, and in exchange, the pub's award-winning chef, Matthew Tomkinson, who won the Roux Scholarship, makes them mouth-watering patés and terrines. It's an arrangement that works very well.

Having visited the shop shortly after it opened at the invitation of Mr Collins, it seemed a shame not to pop into The Goose while we were there, as it's but a stone's throw away on the B4009. You can't miss it, it's a red brick building on the edge of the village.

My colleague Chris certainly didn't need asking twice. He remembered the stylish lunch we had enjoyed at this 16th-century inn 15 months ago and was confident that nothing would have changed.

He was right, indeed, if anything the meal we had this time was even better. Chris went as far as to describe it as the best meal he has this year, particularly as we were able to enjoy two glorious courses, plus a dish of olives and fresh home-made bread to start, for the inclusive lunch price of £10.99. We have often paid much more for far less.

You enter The Goose by the side entrance facing the car park, which leads to a comfortable lounge room, the stylish restaurant which is decorated mostly in muted greys, brown and beige is at the front next to the bar.

Unfortunately, wheelchair users would find it difficult to manoeuvre their way through this entrance and there's no purpose-built toilet for the disabled, but I was assured the front door can be opened for easy access.

As I mentioned in my previous review of The Goose, sitting down at a table dressed with sparkling wine goblets and damask linen napkins is always a treat - more so, if you are able to get two lunch-time courses for just £10.99.

But it's not just the table settings that is so impressive. The friendly, but disciplined manner of the staff is akin to anything you would expect in a top restaurant. Everything we needed was provided immediately and further information about the pub's collaboration with the farm shop freely given.

The special lunch menu served the day we called offered button mushroom soup with rosemary oil, spring pea and broad bean risotto with shaved Parmesan and olive oil or soused Cornish mackerel, pickled vegetables and wild rocket, as starters. Chris had the risotto, which looked absolutely delightful and apparently tasted superb and I had the soup, which I enjoyed a great deal. For the main course, Chris chose local roe deer cottage pie, served in an attractive copper pan with glazed carrots and buttered savoy cabbage, I had poached smoked haddock with a poached free-range egg, creamed potato and chive veloute.

We were both extremely happy with our choice. The other dish listed was fresh home-made pasta served with saute shitake mushrooms and a cep sauce.

The double espresso coffee, served with a mouthwatering plate of home-made sweetmeats, with which we ended our meal, cost £3 each.

We drove back to the office through winding country lanes bedecked with blossom feeling all was right with the world.