Off to the Tower ! - Afternoon Tea at Hoghton Tower

It's not often you get invited to Afternoon Tea at a castle (well a Tower actually but what passes for a castle around these parts and very castle like too), reputed to be the location of where King James knighted his "Sir" loin of beef, the ancestral home to the De Hoghton family in situated on a rise in rolling Lancashire countryside just outside Preston, Chorley and Blackburn. Hoghton Tower and its grounds have magnificent views of the surrounding area and the venue plays host to many and varied events throughout the year including a very popular "Merchants of Hoghton Tower" farmers market.

We were recently invited to the relaunch of their Vaio tearoom (vaio due to the decoration on the walls of the tea room), the new Manager has carefully sourced lots of local producers for the tea room and the emphasis is definitely on a traditional English afternoon tea and tea time favourites.

We dined in splendour, sipping bubbles and being entertained by a string quartet, the canapes delicious and appetizing.

I particularly loved the abundant floral displays featuring garden and wild flowers, perfectly in keeping with the country castle ambiance of the venue.

The tea room also serves a selection of platters, the Tower platter being for the meat eater and featuring pies, meats and homemade chutneys. The Seafood platter celebrating some great local seafood all sourced carefully from local producers, many of which attend the Merchants event on a regular basis.

The tea room also have a "picnic menu" if you wish to organise a special celebration and will happily quote for outside and event catering as well.

Featuring cakes from Lathams of Broughton, homemade scones and cake of the week, there is a sweet treat to delight all.

Local bakers "All you knead" are supplying bread and baked goods, ice cream is being sourced from Mrs Dowsons just down the road. Cheese from Leagrams cheese.

Hoghton Tower is a great place for a visit and is bursting with history, I have enjoyed many visits over the years and you can even hold your wedding here.

We were  also featured in an Article in LEP , our local County paper in connection with the event.

Middle Holly Cottage Tea Room and Cake Parlour - Afternoon tea

In Lancashire we pride ourselves on a warm and friendly welcome and there is no finer way to spend an afternoon then enjoying the delights of afternoon tea. On a cold blustery spring day we ventured forth to Middle Holly Cottage in Forton for such an afternoon.

On our journey up to Forton where Middle Holly is situated, we saw the cars temperature gauge plumet by 3 degrees and experienced hail, rain and thunder. Fortunately for us Middle Holly is really easy to find being situated just of the A6 and on arrival we were warmly welcomed into the cosy tea room and cake parlour by Gill who runs Middle Holly with her husband Andy. 

Originally from Cheshire but now firmly settled in Lancashire, Gill and I enjoyed a lovely chat about all things food, the WI (she's a member just like me), the Clandestine Cake club, catering for free from diets and Lancashire in general.

Gill is really passionate about her beautiful B and B and tea room being the best they possibly can and she carefully features the best  quality local and seasonal produce on her menu's. She wants all her customers to experience a warm, genuine and memorable experience when staying or eating at Middle Holly.

Gill makes all her own bread, cakes, jams, chutneys and her eggs come from her own  garden hens and sources all her other ingredients as locally as she can. For example she proudly serves Dewlay's Lancashire Cheese, which is little a few minutes walk down the road.

We were invited to experience the Deluxe Afternoon tea which was served in the pretty Garden Room area, thoughtfully decorated in country pastels and the tea, cakes and sandwiches all served on eclectic vintage china, complete with home knitted and crocheted tea cosies by Gill's Mum !

We started our tea with a shot glass of homemade seasonal vegetable soup, very tasty and flavourful which was very welcome given the weather outside, Gill makes sure that when she blends her soup you still have little chunks of vegetables so you can really taste the fresh vegetables in the soup.

Next came our tottering tower (cake stand), strewned with viola flowers, salad and herb leaves, and bedecked with finger sandwiches of home cooked ham, egg mayonnaise and Lancashire cheese and homemade chutney, all served on homemade organic bread. Gill likes to ring the changes and try different flours in the bread baking (most of the bread is made by Andy), so our selection was farmhouse white and  a seeded bread. The sandwiches were delicious, generously filled  and the homemade bread makes such a difference to the taste experience. Alongside our sandwiches we also had a little bowl of Lancashire Crisps, we love those too and again show careful thoughtful sourcing.

Our next  cake stand layer was a fruity raspberry fool served in a pretty vintage teacup and homemade crisp and light chocolate eclairs. The fool was perfectly balanced in terms of sweetness and tartness so as not to be cloying, the eclairs light and airy and filled with fluffy whipped cream.

The top layer of the stand has two huge pieces of cake, which we split in half so both myself and Mr LF could experience the floral rose and almond cake and slated caramel layer cake. Again all homemade, We particularly loved the salted caramel layer cake with its salty yet sweet topping. By this stage we were getting very full so we agreed with Gill to take away our scones (choice of fruit or plain), if you can squeeze them in they come accompanied with cream and  a choice of Gills Homemade jams. The scones are huge, and unlike a lot of other scones I have tried, not in the least bit disappointingly dry and tasteless, these were light and tasty, they were our treat later in the day when we returned home with the last of our homemade rhubarb and strawberry jam.

Last but not least a handmade homemade truffle each, just to round things off !! 

Outside Middle Holly has views over to the Bowland Hills, a little misty and obscured whilst we were there due to the inclement downpour but stunning non the less. 

We loved our visit to Middle Holly and meeting and chatting with Gill, despite it being an awful day the tea room was still fairly busy, so if you are planning a visit I would book just to be on the safe side as given the high standard of afternoon tea and cake on offer, Middle Holly is sure to be very popular. The tea room is currently open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and in the summer on Sundays too.

Check out the website for further details of the tea room and B and B. 

Our meal was provided free of charge for review purposes, we were not compelled to write a positive review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

The Inn at Whitewell - A Review

On a beautiful spring day we travelled to one of Lancashire Hidden treasures, The Inn at Whitewell.

The Inn is situated deep in stunning rolling Lancashire hill country in the heart of the Trough of Bowland, reputed to be a favourite of none other than HRH (Duke of Lancaster - The Queen), nestling cosily on the banks of the anglers favourite river - The Hodder, the Inn is a favourite of all who visit.

The Inn at Whitewell is an old fashioned rural inn, welcoming to all, providing 23 glamorous bedrooms, seriously good local ingredients cooked well and a noteworthy selection of drinks. They aim to offer a relaxed and friendly service that, whilst being sophisticated and indulgent, is ultimately enjoyable and not too expensive. The Inn is perfectly located for a whole host of activities and they can organise fishing, walking, tutored wine tastings and much more.

The Inn at Whitewell deservedly has a good reputation and has many awards for its food. Head Chef Jamie Cadman, now in his fourteenth year at the Inn, runs a crew of ten producing brilliant local food. His ethos is to use only the best of local ingredients, cooked simply to let the real quality shine through. Seasonal grouse from Lancashire Moor, pheasant and partridge from Dunsop shoot (Dunsop Bridge is just down the road), Bowland beef and Lonk lamb from Burholme Farm are staples on the menu and can all easily seen from the Inn’s windows. In the bar, they have carefully sourced a range of fabulous drinks from local cask-conditioned ales to organic ginger beers and soft drinks. With their in-house vintners they are able to offer an extensive and interesting range of wines, with several available by the glass.

For those keen to stay a little longer in Lancashire's Shangri la , there is The Piggeries, which is a newly finished holiday house with 3 double bedrooms. This stunning cottage is a perfect base for families or groups of friends wanting to explore the glories of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Located in the grounds it offers the space and freedom of a home-from-home, but with the convenience of the Inn on your door step.

The inn is relatively easy to find if you follow the directions as recommended by the Inn, at the moment due to the recent floods there are a few roads still out of action in the area, so check before you travel if you aren't local. Parking is available outside the inn and on the adjacent riverside car park.

The Inn at Whitewell also has been featured in various TV programmes over the years including the Trip with Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan.

We were warmly welcomed for the lunch service and seated in the "Orangery" but we were also given the choice of several tables in the cosy hunting lodge style bar area, which was quickly filling with diners who had been persuaded by the beautiful sunny weather to venture in to the Trough.

The lunchtime menu is less formal than the evening menu but still demonstrates care and attention to some stunning local ingredients. There were also several seasonal specials chalked up in the bar to add to the menu choices, one of which I chose as my starter. You are spoilt for choice for drinks too, I chose my usual lime and soda, but Mr LF chose a local brew from the Bowland Brewery - Hen Harrier as is befitting our location.

The Orangery overlooks the stunning Hodder Valley and the  slightly more formal dining experience provided stunning light for photographing the food and also 180 degree amazing views.

I started with the Isle of Man Queenie's with cream, garlic and cheese, served with homemade bread and farmhouse butter. A beautiful dish, I love queenie's and their combination of sweet scallop meat with fresh salty flavours, nice also to see them being served in their shells.

Mr LF ordered the Prosciutto, bruschetta and rocket feta salad with a tomato sauce off the standard  menu, he particularly enjoyed the rocket salad who's savoury spike complemented the sweet salty prosciutto. The tomato sauce was wonderful and tasted of warm ripe tomatoes.

On to our mains I chose the Goosnargh chicken, shallot and bacon sauce, filled potato boats, celeriac puree dish which was very tasty, the chicken moist and flavourful if being rather beige in appearance. May be the addition of a green vegetable (spinach, cabbage) would have lifted the appearance of the dish.

Mr LF's choice was the Char-grilled sirloin of beef, hand cut chips, flat mushrooms and grilled tomato, he ordered rare and it was, the generous piece of steak was well seasoned and cooked to perfection.

As is usual for us by this stage we were being to feel a little full, but given the standard of food on offer we decided to plump for desserts to end our lunchtime experience.

My rice pudding with poached plums, was stunningly simple, moist, creamy vanilla rice, offset by poached tender plums. Delicious but very filling.

Mr LF's Rhubarb and amaretti biscuit trifle, homemade butter shortbread looked amazing and disappeared quickly considering he was supposed to be full, he loved the traditional trifle style dish including the slightly jellied rhubarb and biscuit layer, rich creamy vanilla custard and crunchy crumbly shortbread.

Fully sated and a little full we settled our bill and left satisfied to drive home through more stunning Lancashire countryside. The inn is a great location for that special lunch or dinner so if you are in the area why not pay a visit.

We found the service was attentive and very efficient, everything was hot / cold and well presented for all the dishes we ate.The cloakroom facilities impeccable and fragrant in all the right ways, including Moulton Brown toiletries which are always nice.

Our meal was provided free of charge for review purposes, we were not compelled to right a positive review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Lee Birtwistle - All Fired Up - Wood fired Pizza

Lee Birtwistle

Everyone loves fresh real pizza and its this love for authentic tasty food that led to a second career for Lee this month's featured foodie, driven by a passion to set his own mobile wood fired pizza company. You will find Lee at farmers markets, events and food fairs using fresh handmade dough to create wonderful pizza fesh from his mobile wood oven. 

Passionate about local seasonal food, Lee will create a special for the occasion using the best local produce, black pudding, Lancashire cheeses and fresh local vegetables have all featured on his pizzas.

You can also book Lee to cater for your event, he is on Facebook and twitter.

What is your favourite cookery or food book or publication ?
The Naked Chef – Jamie Oliver


What sentence sums up Lancashire Food to you ?
Bold and independent tastes


If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to be ?
Pro Snowboarder (too old I know)


Which piece of kit could you not do without ?
My Pizza peel which I handmade out of oak. I can fire four fully topped 10 inch pizzas into the oven with it


Who would join you at your ultimate dinner party and why?
James Martin …. I love Saturday Morning Kitchen


What advice would you give to your younger self ?
Don’t worry so much


Describe your style in three words
Authentic rustic and fresh


What was your latest foodie gadget purchase ?
Info-red Temp Gauge


What is your greatest achievement to date ?
My Kids


What is the worst mistake you have made ?

When I went to pick my pizza oven up I'd been dealing with two companies and was insistent that I'd settled for the company in Worcester so not being too long a drive I took my boy on an overnight adventure with me. We got to Worcester plugged to post code in the sat nav……It was actually the company near Ipswich. Truly was an overnight adventure. We laugh about it now honestly. We cried that night when we finally got to bed at 3 am.

Tell us a secret about yourself ? may be something we wouldn’t expect !
My love of food began when I toured the world with my now wife back in 1994!

Seasoned Pioneers

Recently those lovely people at Seasoned Pioneers kindly sent us a selection of their spices and also a pack of their new range "Knead the Seed" seed mixes. Seasoned Pioneers are a family firm based on the Wirral and their spice collection is extensive and second to none.

All their spices are packaged in light proof resealable pouches which are great for ensuring that your chosen spice has a maximum shelf life and is still fragrant and flavourful when you next come to use it after opening. Seasoned Pioneers stock a wide range of individual spices and spice mixes some of which are very difficult to obtain.

I'm in good company when it come to reviewing their products as their very informative product booklet is stuffed full of complements from the likes of Delia, Nigel Slater and Nick Nairns to name just a few. I can see why as the spice mixtures are very flavourful, reasonably be price and the unique packaging seals in the flavour, plus they stock some of the more innovative spices and spice mixes.

The website is very informative and can be found here and is a great place to start if you need to restock your spice rack and also if you wish to purchase a more novel gift, I for one would be very happy to find one of their gift boxes or seasoning selections under the Christmas tree.

You can find the recipe to the cake I made with the Quatre Epice spice mix here. I have also used the 8 seed mixture in a flatbread recipe and was very happy with the resultant bread which I served with a spicy fish curry.

Seasoned Pioneers can also be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.

December 2014 Craig Hughes - Crossmoor Honey

This months featured foodie is aparist Craig Hughes of Crossmoor Honey based in Elswick Lancashire.

Craig and some suitably festive friends

Craig Hughes is a beekeeper with over 30 years experience of keeping bees and 30 years of bee stings and is also a qualified and classically trained chef with many years in the industry.Craig is multi talented and also is a qualified lawyer specialising in European and Islamic law. It was after his brush with cancer that he changed his lifestyle and returned to beekeeping full time.

He is ambitious, desiring 4000 active hives in the next 5 years, is driven by quality and service but retains a common touch. He is gentle with his bees, trying not to move them too much, and considers his livestock as an extension of himself and promotes animal welfare and safety.

Craig has also featured on local radio  and been featured featured in Lancashire Life Magazine and the Farmers Guardian (www.farmersguardian.com) amongst other publications. He has also recently written a book, Urban Beekeeping.

He lives in his beloved Lancashire, and is a keen promoter of local food and is often food selling his honey and associated products at many of the local farmers markets. His products are used in many fine eating establishments across the county. 

As is usual Craig has kindly answered our now familiar questions

·         What is your favourite cookery or food book or publication ?

 Cookery for ten year old's, my first cookery book

·         What sentence sums up Lancashire Food to you ?

 Comforting, warm,tasty artisan food

·         If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you like to be ?

Rescuing animals treated badly by mankind

·         Which piece of kit could you not do without ?

My ipad

·         Who would join you at your ultimate dinner party and why?

 Joni Mitchell, T.S. Elliot, W.H.Auden Nikolai Copernicus, Eamon Develeria, Salladin.

·         What advice would you give to your younger self?

 Never be a bully, never be bullied.

·         Describe your style in three words

Country, mainly green.

·         What was your latest foodie gadget purchase ?

 Kitchenaid mixer glass bowl

·         What is your greatest achievement to date ?

 Living with a ghost

Tell us a secret about yourself ? may be something we wouldn’t expect !

I once considered buying a citrus plantation in Swaziland

    

The Mill - St Catherines Park.

I am so excited to tell you about a new venue in my local area, The Mill at St Catherine's Park opened on Monday 24th November 2014 to the general public.

This amazing building and its surroundings have been 10 years in the making for the dedicated staff and volunteers of St Catherine's Hospice. The building is home to a fabulous cafe, plus meeting and therapy space, but more importantly its also a hub for information and wellbeing for families faced with life shortening illnesses.

St Catherine's does such important work in my local community and The Mill enhances their provision as it enables the hospice to invite the local community to share St Catherine's Park in a more holistic sense and provide neutral space for the community to share.

We were privileged to be invited to view the beautiful building, the impressive facilities and to taste some of the exciting local dishes on the menu. The two storey building has the cafe/lounge area downstairs and has three multi purpose meeting/therapy rooms upstairs, the whole venue is of course fully accessible for all.

Outside the building is situated in St Catherine's Park which is being developed sensitively to create a beautiful woodland and wetland area for all to enjoy.

The Mill is run as a social enterprise with all profits going to St Catherine's Hospice Care, the Commercial Catering team have been recruited specifically to run the Cafe at the mill and the menu demonstrates the passion of the team in the local sourcing and the creative dishes featured. We should also not forget the volunteers as well who are an important part of the team at the Mill providing advice, guidance and support or assisting in the cafe.

Local Suppliers include

• Leagrams of Chipping (Cheese)
• Mrs Kirkhams of Goosnargh (Cheese)
• Butlers of Inglewhite (Cheese)
• Ribble Farm Fayre of Longridge (Fruit, veg and fresh produce)
• Oncore, Preston (General Grocery)
• Ewood Foods, Accrington (Grocery)
• Meadowfield Foods, Bamber Bridge (Grocery)
• Brendan Andertons of Longridge (Butcher)
• Morris Bakery of Coppull (Bread)
• C&G Neves of Fleetwood (Fish)
• Holme Farm of penwortham (Eggs and Milk)
• Fiddlers, Rufford (Lancashire Crisps)
• Moo 2 you, Samlesbury (Ice Cream)
• Exchange Coffee, Clitheroe (Coffee and Teas)

An impressive list I think you will agree, so please pay them a visit whilst in the area. The team is also planning afternoon teas and themed seasonal menus plus they will be organising the catering for many of the fund raising events held in St Catherine's Park for the hospice.

The canapes served at the launch were miniatures of the dishes on the menu and very tasty they were too, the cakes looked and tasted amazing as you can see from the pictures.

Check out their website, facebook and twitter pages for more information and more pictures of the venue and the food.

The team are waiting to welcome you.........

Ultimate Cafe - Preston - passionate about good food

A couple of days ago we were lucky enough to be treated to lunch at The Ultimate Cafe at Preston, this independently owned cafe (The Interesting Eating Company) is situated within the Ultimate Outdoors at the Deepdale Retail Park in Preston.

This unassuming cafe is the sister to a Cafe in Liverpool both of which are passionate about serving good food. The Deepdale cafe is spacious and decorated in a faux log cabin meets contemporary chic manner but the emphasis is definitely on the food. Pushchairs are welcomed and the little ones have their own menu so there is something for all the family.

We were pleased to note that time and trouble had been taken in sourcing some local produce and producers for the menu, Nichola (one of the co directors) explained that the bread is baked specially for them and they buy their sausages from an independent butcher. A wide range of drinks and beverages are available and takeaway is also available.

The menu is varied and features an all day breakfast and the in house speciality pancakes which you can find here and the menu also has plenty of choices for those who need gluten free.

After the browsing the menu whilst sampling the lovely coffee we plumped for a sausage sandwich , chicken broth soup with dumplings and a roasted vegetable pancake (GF) all to share.

The stand out dish for us was the soup, with an intense chicken flavour yet light. The sausage sandwich was tasty, the sausages juicy and the bread crusty and man enough to stand up to the filling. The Gluten free pancake was good and the vegetable filling tasty, all more than adequate for a cafe menu.

By this stage we were getting quite full so we decided to share a dessert, tempted by the great selection of cakes and treats on display we eventually chose the fruit meringue, made on the premises like most of the cakes (except the gluten free).

The Ultimate cafe is well worth a visit particularly when you are in the area and is a great choice whilst shopping rather than the other chain eateries on the retail park, situated on the first floor of Ultimate Outdoors its easy to find (and there is a lift), the prices seem reasonable for the product on offer and the team really want you to have a good experience whilst dining with them.

Our lunch was provided free of charge for review purposes, all views and opinions are our own.