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Tebay Services

Posted by Unknown Monday, April 28, 2014 0 comments

I'm not very keen on motorways, and dislike most motorway services. However Tebay services (just North of Junction 38 of the M6 in Cumbria) are like no other (yet), and I love stopping here.

It's run by the Dunning family, who are also local farmers. Apparently the big boys weren't interested when it was opened in 1972, and their loss is our gain.

You can get papers, drinks, sweets, and some interesting and unusual gifts.

There's a large farm shop:

With a proper butchers

where you can still get a shoulder of mutton

and some very nice beef ribs:

They can tell you exactly where their meat comes from, if it's not from their own farm.

There's bacon and sausage from Slacks of Raisbeck and Kitridding Farm:

There's smoked ham or turkey, chorizo and salami :

and Scotch eggs - including a "Vegetabularian" one, made with chickpeas, cheese, tomato, onion and garlic!

There's a nice range of pies:

How about a duck pie with plums and armagnac?

Like all good food shops, there are tasters available:

There's an interesting selection of breads from More? at Staveley, including crusty ancient baguettes, overnight bloomers,German rye bread and all sorts of sour dough:

There's a good choice of cheese:

including Cotherstone, Dewlay and Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire, Swaledale and Wensleydale:

and, from further afield, Cornish Yarg, Hereford hop, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, as well as some nice blue cheeses:

As we're in Cumbria, how about some damson fruit cheese to go with your cheeses?

There's also fresh fruit and veg:

and some non-food items including stylish clothing as well:

If you want something to eat, the café sells home-made dishes:

using locally sourced ingredients, where possible.

In this light and airy area you can look out across the fells, or admire the ducks on the pond.

I was going to finish this post by saying I wish there was more services like Tebay. But the good news is there soon will be!

The same company are opening Gloucester Services, on the M5, on Wednesday 7th May. Unlike the big 3 (Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef) it won't be a clone of its sister (200 miles north). It will sell local Gloucestershire food, and I can't wait to visit.

I wonder if they'll sell a copy of Schumacher's Small is Beautiful?

Tebay Services
Westmorland Place
Orton
Penrith
Cumbria
CA10 3SB

Tel: 015396 24511

Web: www.westmorland.com/farm-shops

Cardiff Market

Posted by Unknown Monday, March 24, 2014 0 comments

If ever I visit a town/city that I don't know well, I always like to start with the market. The best places for food nearly always have good markets - and Cardiff has a wonderful market.

There's been a market here for a long time. As a sign above the entrance tells you, the current building was opened in 1891.

As you go through the doors, there's Sullivans, with a colourful display of fresh fruit and vegetables:

Opposite them, there's E Ashton Fishmongers:

who are Wales largest independent fishmongers, and have been in Cardiff Market since 1866!

When I called they had razor clams:

and also sea bream and Welsh sea bass on offer:

There are 6 different butchers in the market. Gary Anthony had this attractive display:

which included ribs of beef, rabbit and Welsh lamb chops.

J T Morgan have been trading since 1861:

They sell free range and organic meat and poultry to some of Cardiff's top restaurants.

Our Victorian ancestors knew how to build good markets - it's a nice light airy building.

Underneath the clock tower is Clancy's:

where vegetarians and vegans are very well catered for. They sell fresh food which is made by themselves, and also local chefs. They have an interesting range of herbs and exotic spices, including nine different sorts of dried chillies!

Another stall sells Mediterranean foods:

The Bread Stall sells fresh bread and cakes, including these Welsh cakes:

I'll finish off with another picture of Yeates Fruit and Veg:

I'm sure if more people used our markets, they would be happier (no BOGOFs to make you buy stuff to throw away), healthier, and richer (as prices are very reasonable)!

Cardiff Market
St Mary Street
Cardiff
CF10 1AU

Tel: 029 2087 1214

Web: www.cardiff-market.co.uk

South Cave - Drewton's Farm Shop

Posted by Unknown Thursday, December 5, 2013 0 comments

Drewton's Farm Shop opened in October 2010, and has already become the place to buy and enjoy good local food and drink in this part of South Yorkshire.

They sell a wide range of foods, and support over 250 local farmers and growers and producers/suppliers of some of the best food and drink in Yorkshire. There's a strong emphasis on local, as you can see from this map:

- they even managed to find a real cider maker, Moorlands Farm Cyder, who's less than 4 miles away.

They've already won numerous awards, including highly commended in the Visit England Taste of England Awards this year.

They've got a good butchery display:

and their sausage rolls where named as the best in the country at this year's BPEX food service awards.

Their steak pies, which are packed full of meat, have also done very well in both local and national awards:

try one to find out why!

There's a very pleasant café, where you can dine indoors or (when the weather's nice) outdoors. There's a wide ranging menu, including their award winning Yorkshire breakfast (available all day), light snacks and main meals. Much of the ingredients come from either the Drewton Estate, or the local suppliers that supply the shop.

They stage popular Come Dine With Me events, where you can dine with some of the producers whose goods are on sale in the farm shop and find out more about their produce. They did one on gluten free diets, as they stock a range of gluten free foods.

Vouchers for their Afternoon Tea:

are, not surprisingly, proving popular for Christmas presents.

They've even made their own Winter Wonderland:

I found the staff friendly and helpful. I'm sure that, in future, this great shop will get even better!

Drewton's Farm Shop
The Drewton Estate
South Cave
Brough
HU15 2AG

Tel: 01430 425079

Web: www.drewtons.co.uk/pages/farm-shop

Northwich - First Choice Fruit

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, November 20, 2013 0 comments

I love a proper greengrocers! As a child I can remember going with my mum shopping. The greengrocer sometimes would give me an apple (possibly to shut me up). We'd decide what we were going to have for tea after we'd got to the shop and seen what was in season and looked good.

Matthew Gurney has run this Northwich business for 22 years and always has a great display of whatever is in season. Here they stock local produce wherever they can, including eggs, honey and pickles as well as fruit and vegetables.

Earlier this year it was plums:

and when it was apple day there was far more choice in this shop than most supermarkets.

As we're getting close to Christmas there's now sprouts on sticks:

(which I suspect supermarkets would find a nuisance even though they do keep better), cranberries, and interesting root vegetables like celeriac and Jerusalem artichokes:

plus a choice of white, purple or Romanesque cauliflower.

There's a good selection of herbs, and this is one of the few shops that sell proper horseradish - which tastes so much nicer than the stuff the supermarkets sell.

If you can't see what you want it's worth asking here, as they also have a large wholesale business supplying hotels, colleges etc. and they have even more stuff at the back of the shop.

There's also a selection of flowers at affordable prices:

So have a look at a site like www.eattheseasons.co.uk for inspiration and visit this great shop.

First Choice Fruit
6 Leicester Street
Northwich
Cheshire
CW9 5LA

Tel: 01606 350059

Web: www.firstchoicefruit.co.uk/

Pontefract - Farmer Copleys

Posted by Unknown Sunday, November 3, 2013 0 comments

Farmer Copleys is nearly 10 years old, and a fantastic place to buy great Yorkshire food. It's a one-stop shop, with a bakery, butchers, fruit and vegetables, and much more besides.

It's got a particularly good butchers department (10.5 metres long) with attractive displays, like these Yorkshire cushions:

When I called, they had some nice ribs of beef (21 day matured and perfect with Yorkshire pudding):

but I went for the Flat Ribs, which are really cheap, and taste beautiful when cooked slowly.

They do a nice line in pies, we also had had a very good steak pie:

The pork, apple and stuffing, and free range farmers' pies also looked good:

They grow their own fruit and vegetables - you can follow the crops live on their Facebook page.

What they can't grow on the farm, they try and source locally. The Pontefract banana harvest is usually disappointing, so the bananas come by slow boat rather than by air, to reduce the carbon footprint.

Farmer Copleys is just outside Pontefract. This town was the first place where liquorice mixed with sugar to make liquorice sweets as we know them today. The town even has a Liquorice Festival held in July. At Farmer Copleys you can buy a variety of liquorice products. There's liquorice root:

(sticks which I used to chew on when I was a child) and Pontefract Cakes:

Did you know that when the first secret ballot in the UK was held (in Pontefract), the ballot box used was sealed using a Pontefract cake stamp?

There was also liquorice ice-cream, and liquorice stout for sale:

which tasted better than I was expecting!

If you can't wait till you get home to have something to eat, there's the Moo Café:

where special diets (eg. coeliacs) are also catered for.

Outside there's Melanie's Florist:

and on Fridays and Saturday's Glenn from Whitby sells fresh fish and seafood.

There's different events throughout the year (they've just had a pumpkin Festival) In the summer/autum there's a Maize Maze, and other activities for the kids.

Farmer Copleys
Ravensknowle Farm
Pontefract Road
Purston
Pontefract
West Yorkshire
WF7 5AF

Tel: 01977 600200

Web: www.farmercopleys.co.uk