Top Lancashire Chefs take London by storm for Lancashire Day

Lancashire chefs take Lancashire to London

Cooked for the country’s top critics in Lancashire Day showcase

The Ribble Valley’s top chefs headed to London to celebrate Lancashire Day in delicious style. Five chefs including Stosie Madi fromParkersarms, Chris Bury from The Cartford Inn, Maurizio Bocchi from La Locanda, Steven Smith from Freemason’s at Wiswell and Lisa Goodwin-Allen from Michelin starred Northcote prepared a 5 course feast for top food writers, critics and industry insiders at the exclusive IceTank venue in Covent Garden on Thursday the 17^th of November.

                               

Ruth Connor, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire said, “The Lancashire Day Lunch was a triumph. Our aim is to position Lancashire at the forefront of culinary destinations nationwide and following this successful event our food and drink offer is now firmly on the map, with national journalists and influencers taking note. We couldn’t have been prouder of our chefs, working together to present course after course of the very best of Lancashire.”

                                 

The event, supported by Lancashire County Council and official travel partner Virgin Trains, is part of the county’s Lancashire Day celebrations that will culminate on Lancashire Day, 27 November. Marketing Lancashire is spear-heading a social media campaign inviting all proud Lancastrians to post images of their favourite Lancashire scenes, events and delicious local produce using #LancashireDay.  Last year a similar campaign reached over 40 million people in 816 locations worldwide.

                                 

Maurizio Bocchi, chef-patron at La Locanda, in Gisburn, which is the highest rated Italian restaurant outside London, said “As an adopted Lancastrian who tries to celebrate the Lancashire larder in every dish I produce, it was fantastic to be able to showcase this in London. I was very proud to be a part of such a game changing initiative.”

                                                                                                  

 Stosie Madi, chef-patron at multi award-winning Parkersarms said “It was a spectacular showcase and a chance for some of the UK’s most respected critics and writers to try our food. I served a Cockerham Saltmarsh Lamb and Lytham Cockle Pie, and received some wonderful feedback, a very proud moment.”

                               

Steven Smith, Chef Patron at The Freemasons at Wiswell, said; “There is an abundance of quality operators and producers in our region and it was fantastic to be able to package that offering up and deliver it to an esteemed audience in London. I’m very proud that The Freemasons was part of such a great event, which really showcased what we’re capable of and hopefully will drive incentivise media to include Lancashire in their food & drink and travel features in the future.”

                               

Jennifer Mein, County Councillor and Leader of Lancashire County Council said,

“Lancashire’s food and drink sector is worth around £734 million to Lancashire’s visitor economy and the sector supports an estimated 12,937 food and drink related posts. Taking ‘Lancashire to London’ will encourage more visitors to sample and appreciate the county’s rich larder.  We have some of the best produce in the country and raising awareness of this around Lancashire Day, sends out a strong message to visitors as well as to proud Lancastrians.”

Food and drink is worth around £734 million to Lancashire’s visitor economy, which has grown by £129 million over the last 6 years. This makes the county’s food and drink sector a strategic priority for the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as highlighted in the newly launched Lancashire narrative and ‘We Are Lancashire’ campaign, along with the county’s advanced manufacturing, tourism and connectivity by air, sea and rail.

                                         

The 5 award winning chefs cooking were Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Head Chef of Michelin-starred Northcote, Maurizo Bocchi from La Locanda, Chris Bury from The Cartford Inn, Stosie Madi from The Parker’s Arms and Steven Smith from the Freemasons at Wiswell.   

                                                  

                                                     

                                                                                                                                            

The menu featured a wealth of Lancastrian producers from traditional Morecambe Bay shrimps & Lytham cockles, Goosnargh duck, artisan goat’s cheese from Capra Products, Ormskirk potatoes, Salt Marsh lamb from Cockerham, Brockhall village apples, honey from Crossmoor Farm, raw milk butter from Gazegill Organics and Burnley’s latest artisan gin distiller, Batch Brew.  Burnley-based CoolKit Ltd provided refrigerated transport to ensure all the ingredients arrive in top condition. 

                                                    

The unique meal included a gourmet coffee course from Lancaster’s oldest and most admired coffee importers Atkinson’s. The feast ended in true Lancashire style with a Lancashire cheese board supplied by Dewlay and Mrs. Kirkham’s, alongside handmade chutneys from Heritage Kitchen and biscuits from Farmhouse Biscuits. 

                             

On the 27 November 1295 King Edward I invited Lancashire’s first representatives to attend Parliament. Today this historic event is marked by the reading of proclamations, swearing allegiance to the Queen, and by numerous events and activities taking place across the county to celebrate what we now call Lancashire Day (27 November).

Content and Images supplied by Marketing Lancashire 

A Quick Bite of Lancashire Food

When I started this blog a few years ago I never dreamt that it would become as popular as it has and I had no inkling of the number of other passionate Lancashire Foodies that where out there working hard loving Lancashire Food in all its many forms. Over the years I have met so many wonderful advocates of Lancashire Food in all its senses, whether it be a chef, artisan producer, farmer, cheese-monger, baker etc.

So with that in mind and so that we can all learn more about these lovely "Lancashire Food" people, we have developed a "Quick bite of Lancashire Food" a running monthly post which will feature one of these friendly food loving folk and ask them some quick questions about their food inspiration amongst other things.

June 2016 - Gill Osbourne, Middle Holly Cottage Team Room and Cake Parlour

May 2016 - John Caffery, Manager of Chorley Dukpond

April 2016 - Chris and Christine Thommason - Rivington Chocolates 

March 2016 - Andrew Whiting, Beechs Fine Chocolates

February 2016 - Kevin Stickley, Cottage Loaf Bakery

Special Edition - Philippa James - A Great Loss to Lancashire Food

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December 2015 - Richard Lowthian - Ham and Jam, Preston

November 2015 - Colin Shepherd - Clog and Billycock

October 2015 - Debbie Johnson - Westshore Chillies

September 2015 - Tim Procter - Procters Cheese / Kick Ass Cheese

August 2015 - Russell Lambert - M and O Fish

July 2015 - Nadia Southwood - Flap O Jacks - The Round Flapjack Co

June 2015 - Lee Birtwistle - All Fired Up - Wood Fired Pizza

May 2015 - Mike Bryan - The Bees Country Kitchen

April 2015 - Antony Shirley - Seafood Pub Company

March 2015 - John Winnard of Santus (Uncle Joes Mint Balls), Wigan

February 2015 - Simon Mellin of Roaming Roosters, Higham

January 2015 - Nicola Hanmer of The Mill Cafe, St Catherines Park

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December 2014 - Craig Hughes of Crossmoor Honey

November 2014 - Phil Keenan / Foody Phil -  Bite Local 

October 2014 - Andrea Mellon of Dukpond, Preston

September 2014 - Amy Cheadle of Northern Dough Co

August 2014 - Anson Bolton, Millstone at Mellor

July 2014 - Celia Gaze - The Wellbeing Farm, Edgeworth

June 2014 - Amanda Biggs - Thyme Deli, Horwich

May 2014 - Sharon Loving - The Ginger Baker, Longridge.

April 2014 - Chris Brown of Browns Butchers Chorley

March 2014 - Sarah Longlands and Lisa Kidd from - I Heart Jam

February 2014 - Sean Wilson - Saddleworth Cheese Co and Chef 

January 2014 - Gail Brown, Thornleys Natural Foods

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December 2013 - Paul Williams - Master Chocolatier - Choc Amor and The Chocolate Rooms.

November 2013 - Mike Rawlinson - Red Cat restaurant Chorley and the Royal Oak at Riley Green.

October 2013 - Craig Dugan - All You Knead

September 2013 - Paul Ainscough - Fatjax Chutneys

August 2013 - Stosi Madi - Parkers Arms, Newton in Bowland

July 2013 - Vickie Anderson - Liverpool Cheese Company

Season of Soups, Stews and Casseroles Round Up

                                         

Firstly apologies for the delay in the round up for the blog competition, what with Christmas, a short spell in hospital for me and a change of judge things have got a little delayed. Anyway on with the round up, the blog competition saw some great entries from food bloggers across the country who gladly shared treasured recipes for the chance of winning our great prize from Essential Cuisine.

                                                          

I am also very grateful to Stosi Madi the talented chef from the multi award winning Parkers Arms in Newton in Bowland who stepped in to judge  the competition. The Parkers Arms is a gorgeously situated country inn  in the stunning Trough of Bowland in Lancashire, Stosi is passionate about the use of local produce in her fine establishment and I can whole heartily recommend a visit, I am not alone in singing her praises either as the establishment features in many of the restaurant guides and many a  food critic have sampled her culinary delights too.

A warm welcome at the Parkers Arms

On with the entries , we had 6 diverse dishes to consider, our first entry was from Karen Booths Burns over at the fantastic food blog  Lavender and Lovage, a comforting chicken and corn chowder, Karen got extra marks for using Essential Cuisine Stock in her chowder too !

                               

Karen's second entry was a delicious sounding Highland stew which despite being rib stickly warming is actually a diet food !

                               

Now we are off over to Janice at Farmersgirl Kitchen who's entry was another warming comforting recipe  of Chicken broth featuring that lovely grain barley. 

                               

Our next entry was a German pork, beef and sauerkraut goulash from Claire at Foodie Quine blogging in Aberdeenshire, who came up with this recipe to get her in the mood for her festive trip to the Munich Christmas markets. 

                               

Over to Recipe Junkie now for a man sized chicken pie made with her own stock, just what you need on a cold winters day.

                               

Last but no means least our final entry is from Claire over at  Ooo Bi Doo, who's entry is a sausage and bean casserole, sorry no picture, this is Ooo Bi Doo's first blog post and hopefully not her last.

OUR WINNER IS JANICE AT FARMERSGIRL KITCHEN, CONGRATULATIONS YOU PRIZE IS ON ITS WAY ! Stosi was very impressed by the standard of entries and loved the look of this dish.

Parkers Arms - Newton in Bowland

For many months I have followed Stosi Madi of The Parkers Arms on twitter, a passionate advocate of local food. Today finally saw our first visit to the fine establishment nestled in the nook of the rolling moorland countryside of the stunning Forest of Bowland.  Just 10 minutes drive from Clitheroe but a world away, this is pub/restaurant with rooms and is everything a country pub should be, warm, welcoming with fabulous local food, lovingly prepared. On pulling up on the carpark what first strikes you is the silence, well lack of intrusive noise anyhow, all we could hear were sheep bleeting and birds singing.

We were warmly and genuinely welcomed by front of house AJ , the fire already lit in the grate and the bar warm and cosy. We had booked but where given a choice of tables and chose to sit in the window so we could watch the  panorama of the glorious hillside outside.

Mr B ordered from a fine selection of local ales from Bowland Brewery - "Sawley Tempted" as I was driving I choose one of their soft drinks, I note they had a fine selection of mawsons traditional drinks to refresh any passing traveller, this being on the scenic route to the Ribblehead viaduct.

Whilst we perused the menu and the daily defined specials we chatted with the lovely friendly staff, the whole menu is focused on local seasonal produce, beautifully prepared to emphasise its best points and is just the right length, enough choice but not too much that you get bamboozled or doubt on the freshness of the produce.

Our choices made and we were pleased to be joined by other diners as the establishment started to fill up for lunch. Our first hints of the delights in store was the arrival of our first appetiser - crunchy roasted potato skins with tomato relish, delicious crunchy skins sprinkled with sea salt and served with a sweet smooth tomato puree, sweetened by being roasted. Delicious.

Next a tasting plate of local ( and when I say local I mean local a mile or so up the road) Dunsop bridge trout with horseradish and homemade country bread, the trout has been treated gently and was beautifully tender , the creamed horseradish just spiky enough to cut any oiliness from the fish. Then the puffy fluffy lancashire cheese souffles arrived, soft, yeilding and cheesy ( in the best way), also featuring local eggs again from the chickens at a local farm.

Next my Black pudding, egg, crispy potatoes and homemade chutney were delivered, perfectly roasted black pudding was complimented with a dippy egg and homemade chutney, a delight for the taste buds, the crispy potatoes perfectly complimented with the herb oil drizzle. My dining partner had selected the Spiced venison loin, pickled damsons and  homemade bread, I snuck a little taster of the venison which was tender and well balanced with the pickled local damsons.

By this stage we were getting a little full, AJ told to relax our mains would be with us soon, after a suitable polite pause( so grateful) ( whilst watching the other delights emerging from the kitchen) our mains were delivered, Hot-water crust pork and rabbit pasty, roasted roots, kale and thrice cooked chunky chips for my dining partner and Sole, sea vegetables, saute potatoes and lemon butter sauce for me.

WOW , all the food was beautifully presented and the portions exactly the right size, my sole was tender , cooked on the bone just how I like it , the sauce buttery lemon but not over powering , matched well by the sea vegetables which provided a nice salty edge to the dish, the potatoes were equally delicious and well matched to the rest of the plate. The cute pasty was packed with filling, moist and juicy all encased in a golden pastry crust, the chips triple cooked were a revelation and very much lived up to the recommendation of AJ, but I am sure the alternative of creamy mash would be just a good. The little dish of roasted roots and kale was great accompaniment to the pasty which needed the robust "roast dinner" flavours to meet the challenge of standing up to the slighty gamey pasty.

By this stage we were full, Mr B even leaving a couple of the chips,  however  the dessert menu looked equally scrumptious all made on the premises including the elusive local "wet nelly" !

All in all this lunch is up there with my best dining experiences and we will definately be visiting again, the food is very reasonably priced for the quality and the fact that this is real Lancashire Food and the word local really means local , I can only recommend you visit yourself very soon  for stunning food and the stunning landscape.

I'd like to apologise for the lack of photos too, the food was so good it disappeared to quickly to get many snaps. They are open Tuesday to Sunday and have a special very seasonal very local special menu on weekdays that is sourced from within either 10 or 20 miles of the pub and they serve a traditional Sunday lunch on Sunday's. I'd also to point out that the Parkers Arms did not ask me to write a feature on my blog and that I paid for my lunch. Stosi did know I was visiting as I had booked a table, at the time of my visit lots of other diners were also enjoying the same food and ambiance.