Retaining their title as holder of the Taste Lancashire Award for the second year running is The Redwell Country Inn and Restaurant, in Arkholme near Carnforth.
Lancashire has long been a destination where food is an integral part of the visitor experience. Today, distinctive products such as Lancashire Cheese, classic recipes including Lancashire Hotpot, as well as a wealth of food trails and festivals are influencing chefs and menus across the UK and beyond. In February this year Marketing Lancashire, secured funding from the Rural Development Fund for England (RDPE) for which Defra is the managing authority, to help promote Lancashire’s rural food producers through a programme of Taste Lancashire activity; a £120k project running until the end of March 2013.
Three key supporters of Taste Lancashire and businesses at the forefront of Lancashire’s increased profile, each championing Lancashire’s rural producers and partners in Taste Lancashire, are also now winners of prestigious Lancashire Tourism Awards 2012.
Retaining their title as holder of the Taste Lancashire Award for the second year running is The Redwell Country Inn and Restaurant, in Arkholme near Carnforth. Here, in this charmingly restored inn with spectacular views across the Lune Valley, 27 year old Chef/Patron Rob Talbot has created a contemporary dining room and inspiring locally sourced menu. Having developed a range of home-smoked products for use in the restaurant, customers were soon asking for ingredients to take away so, in June this year, the Lune Valley Smokehouse and shop was born. Located in buildings to the rear of the inn, this new shopping destination for lovers of fine smoked meat and fish, as well as the Redwell’s especially delicious ‘Laggis’ (Lancashire Haggis), now have a new place to stock up their larders and a further excuse to eat at The Redwell – should they need one !
Αwards are not strangers to Chef Patron, Anson Bolton’s The Millstone at Mellor; as award-winning hotel, restaurant and most recently, as the newly crowned Tourism Pub of the Year in this year’s Lancashire Tourism Awards.
This new category was hotly contested, with pubs across the county vying for this new accolade, but it was The Millstone that caught the attention of the judges who remarked on their ability to make visitors feel just as welcome as the pubs regulars.
As well as the warmth of the team, the overall ambience and excellent range of ales, The Millstone was congratulated on its use and promotion of local produce and clever marketing initiatives – they’ll even swap you a beer for your first class, home grown fruit and veg – now that is clever !
The Millstone was also highly commended in the Taste Lancashire and Small Hotel categories, the latter of which was won by Michelin star restaurant with rooms, Northcote in Langho, near Blackburn.
Northcote is best known for the culinary excellence of chefs Nigel Haworth (Joint Director with Craig Bancroft) and Lisa Allen (Head Chef); both are former winners of the BBC’s Great British Menu, as well as recognised ambassadors for Lancashire food and drink. Northcote, however, also boasts some of the finest accommodation in the county’s beautiful Ribble Valley and now carries the title of Lancashire’s Small Hotel of the Year 2012.
Northcote’s 14 rooms exude individual character and sophistication, with opulent fabrics and distinctive furnishings, state of the art multi-media equipment and luxurious contemporary bathrooms – some of the rooms even have their own garden terrace. Just relax, treat yourself to a Gourmet Break in some of Lancashire’s most impressive countryside, before sampling the delights of Northcote’s world class kitchen.
Northcote, The Millstone at Mellor and The Redwell County Inn & Restaurant will all go forward to represent Lancashire in next year’s national VisitEngland Awards. For now, they’re proof that Lancashire is a destination for serious foodies as well as those visitors who demand authentic, home grown produce with a welcome to match.
Photo caption: The Redwell Country Inn and Restaurant, in Arkholme near Carnforth.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
