CAN a chicken be heroic?

Rick Stein certainly thinks so, which is why he nominated Madgett's free range chickens as one of his British Food Heroes.

Prince Charles was also impressed by the Madgett's brand and food critic Matthew Fort rates their birds as among the best in Britain.

Despite such high praise - and the recent free range chicken campaigns by Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall and Jamie Oliver - farming such a premium product was always going to be a huge gamble.

After more than 40 years of dairy production at the stunning Madgett's farm in Tidenham in the Forest of Dean, the Williams family took a chance.

Their dream was to produce high quality free range chickens to meet the demand for ethically reared, organic food.

With the rocketing price of feed and bedding, the credit crunch biting and an abundance of supermarket chicken offers, it was never going to be easy.

A Madgett's chicken will cost anything from £7 to £20 and the start up costs at the farm have been big.

But five years on, the investment and the passion is paying dividends.

Quite simply, a Madgett's free range chicken is in a class of its own.

Elaine Williams, 35, who helps run the business, said: "We really need to be supported by all our customers who have grown to appreciate the taste of our produce.

"We have got to be passionate about it. We have got to feel that every bird means something and has a quality of life."

Madgett's produce 400 chickens a week along with 300 ducks and at Christmas, 2,000 top quality turkeys.

Devotees of Madgett's will need no convincing about the quality and flavour of the birds.

Two types of chicken are raised on the farm - the lean and incredibly tasty Cotswold White and the Cobb Ross - a broiler house bird with plump breasts which is raised free range by the team at Madgett's.

The feed - wheat and barley - is grown on the farm and all the birds are humanely processed on site.

Matthew Fort - acclaimed food critic - waxed lyrical about the chickens.

He described the poultry "as pale as marble, plump as puddings and far removed from the flaccid creatures you get packed in plastic in the supermarket chiller cabinet.

"OK, they're rather more expensive than the corporate competition, but we're paying for flavour here, and quality, and I will feed eight off two birds, and there will be enough left over for another meal for the three of us (wife, daughter and myself) and then I'll make a soup from the carcasses.

"That works out to about 30p a plateful."

He is right. They may seem expensive but combine good old fashioned husbandry with top quality produce and Madgett's will work for you.

Weekend visited the farm and saw just how well the birds are being treated and how passionate the Williams family are about their business.

This is true free range, true quality - and worth every penny.

To see the farm for yourself on video visit our new online food channel: www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/food.

If you would like to nominate a Gloucestershire food hero, email the Weekend team at: food@glosmedia.co.uk