A REVIVAL in goose sales has been given a boost as top restaurants and retailers, including Harrods, put the traditional Michaelmas roast back on the menu.

Essex goose producer Howard Blackwell, of Herons Farm, Coggeshall, says he will be offering up goose at Blackwells, the restaurant he has just opened at Earls Colne, near Colchester

Both Suffolk and Norfolk have traditionally broken ranks with the rest of the UK in the day set aside to celebrate Michaelmas, a traditional feast and quarter day.

While September 29 is the date for most of the country, Suffolk celebrates it on October 4 and Norfolk on October 11.

Traditionally, when rents were due on Michaelmass, tenant farmers would present their landlord with a goose.

British Goose Producers says the bird is increasing in popularity, with Harrods now selling the bird to mark the season.

“We’re delighted that Harrods are starting to see the potential for Michaelmas,” said Oxfordshire producer Bill Homewood, who has supplied geese to the store for 30 years and is now supplying it with birds for Michaelmas.