Hippies, eh, with their free love and beads. Ventnor's bloody full of them. In the 1960s they say all the beardy-weirdy sandal wearers ended up in this most southerly town because it had the perfect climate for growing cannabis. Whether or not that was the reason, it seems that some of them never left. So today their children, the second-generation Ventnorians, might not look quite so Bohemian but still carry the ideals of the Summer of Love.

The heart of this nest of peaceniks is the Community Café, open every Saturday morning in a well-used space on the corner of Albert Street and Pound Lane. Here one imagines well-intentioned comrades can eat gluten-free cakes and stroke their tufty chins earnestly whilst decrying the state of the planet. But, as is often the case with Ventnor, appearances can be deceptive. The Community Café's reality is not the tediously worthy hippy Elysium one might assume - it's actually pretty good.

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Just occasionally Matt and Cat cook for themselves. Cat has two signature dishes: baked potatoes and salad; and tuna and goats cheese carbonara. Matt's repertoire is at least double this (as is his girth) and so, being the more diverse chef, it was his job to cook the Christmas lunch. With uncharacteristic foresight, Matt ordered all of the ingredients for the annual roast-in from the Real Island Food Company.

Started by Jackie Phillips and Rachel Foy in 2007, the Real Island Food Company is a local firm which, as the name makes commendably clear, sells local food from Isle of Wight suppliers. A laudable aim and one that Matt and Cat were keen to buy into or, in this instance, from. The company has no shop or warehouse but sells online - another sign of sustainability. The award-winning website was easy to use and soon Matthew had filled up his virtual Christmas hamper with meat, vegetables and even a home-made pudding. Of course the RIFC could only provide the ingredients; it was up to your reviewers to make the best of them. Could Matt, his cooking skills atrophied by excessive dining-out, mess up a meal as simple as a roast? Read on to see.

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Visit the website: http://www.realislandfood.co.uk/

Oh Keith, can you ever forgive Matt and Cat? Just a few weeks after this website was celebrated in the Isle of Wight County Press for offering "no high-falutin’ kitchen-speak intended to impress rather than inform", this entry appears, which might cause straight-eatin' columnist Keith Newbery to shake his head in dismay.

Once every couple of years, Matt and Cat rummage down the sides of the sofa for enough spare change to push the boat out for one night. Not just a posh meal out, but also a bed in a hotel afterwards. A luxury which means that a leisurely evening can be passed, safe in the knowledge that nobody needs to drive home; and with luck, a splendid breakfast awaits.

For this year's treat, M & C booked a room at Ventnor's Royal Hotel and soon enough found themselves holding an overnight bag on the threshold of one of the Island's oldest and grandest hotels. Long a watering-hole for the well-heeled, the Royal is also renowned for good food.

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Visit the website: http://www.royalhoteliow.co.uk/

Ryde dwellers Matt and Cat are spoilt for places to eat in their home town. Tapas, Asian, Italian and even traditional English food are all readily available and it would seem that the gateway to the Island could easily be its food capital. However, there is a contender; Ventnor is nipping at Ryde's heels in terms of new eateries. Already this year the Bohemian town has welcomed new establishments selling Indian food, seafood and round-the-world cuisine.

Satisfyingly, M and C's list of places to review shows no sign of becoming exhausted. And, pleasurable as this reviewing lark is, there are so many restaurants and so few hours in the day. Therefore, killing two birds with one stone Matt and Cat visited Chiaro with a couple of pals before going on the the fab Ash gig at Ventnor Winter Gardens.

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Every region has its USP (Unique Selling Point). Hull can proudly boast the smallest window in England, Banffshire was put on the the map with the unveiling of the world's largest bottle of whisky, and Rutland claims to be England's smallest county - although this matter is subject to some dispute. The Isle of Wight has between four and eight USPs, depending on which postcard or tea-towel-pedia is your source of knowledge.

But, despite having its own wonders and dialect, the Isle of Wight seems to lack a signature dish. This oversight was lamented by County Press columnist Keith Newbery, who regularly uses his column to summon a flicker of parochial pride into the hearts of Islanders. Keith challenged his readers to come up with a recipe for an Isle of Wight dish. And so it was that former head of tourism Ewen Brenchley offered his formula for Wight Fish Pie. Displaying an audacious amount of gall, Matt and Cat ingratiated themselves onto the tasting panel; their only qualification being that they are not the old fogies who voted for the Isle of Wight flag - this county's fluttering disgrace. Keith graciously gave consent for M&C to give their readers a preview of the event here on mattandcat.co.uk, before it appears on his page in the Isle of Wight County Press. So, read on to find out. Did Matt and Cat sample a milestone in the Island's culinary history?

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