News Letter

It’s way too early for all that Bah, Humbug-ing, it’s still summer for pete’s sake, but the boss is well and truly on the ball this year and the first three batches of her sumptuous Christmas Cakes have been made, with lots more to come soon.
Last year’s batches – as with this year’s – were made with homemade cherry brandy (replete with cherries from our own tree, harvested before the pesky squirrels and the blackbirds got to them – and this year’s cherries will make the cherry brandy used in next year’s cakes) and the cakes are moist and oh so lovely.
But the thing is, these cakes aren’t just for Christmas, they’re for all year round. They’re for celebration cakes, they’re for having the family round, they’re for snuggling up with your favourite book…they’re for just treating yourself to something very, very special any time you want.
They’re too nice to be kept just for Christmas.
And here’s something for you to ponder regarding these special fruit cakes. Virtually everyone who tasted a sample last year bought one. And by virtually, I mean maybe two people out of sixty. And those that didn’t like it, said they weren’t big fans of fruit cakes anyway…
So, essentially, if you like fruit cake, you’ll love Trish’s.

Microwave…hair curlers…what’s that? Oh yes, cuddly toy…

You can’t fail to have noticed the plethora of cuddly toys, large and small, adorning many shelves in our shop.
It’s not a job lot we’ve got in from a one-eyed moustachioed Parisian found in ebay’s underworld, we’ve actually struck a deal with the World Wildlife Fund no less. And as their profits help fund valuable work for animals, their habitats and the wider environment, it’s all for a very good cause.
There’s a whole host of different animals and reptiles represented, including 3 large cats on display, a couple of meerkats, a rattlesnake with an actual rattle, pandas, dolphins, leopards, plastic and china mugs, keychains… if all the animals were real, folks would say we had a safari park…and a lot of cleaning up to do!

I’ll be darned…

Well, maybe not quite, but hand stitched and definitely original are Jan Townley’s “Made 4 You” range of gifts. Jan, from Middlewich, has been making these very unique items for quite a while and they do possess quite a lot of charisma and charm, with all the range piquing the interest of all who happen by, be it the scarecrow, the rabbits or the stars, the oversized strawberry doorstoppers or the little paperweights. They are all unique and deserving of both all the attention they receive and the good homes they’ll eventually find themselves in.

Beer in’t shop…

We’re not doing too badly regarding beer and cider in our shop. At the time of writing (early July) we have 33 different beers and ciders from 8 different producers, ranging from some splendid organic lagers to scrumpy that’ll mellow your world to award-winning Cheshire ales and stouts. There really is something for everyone in the selection, and hopefully we’ll be adding to this range very soon.
And just in we have Cheshire cider that is actually mind-blowingly good. Made by those nice folk at Winsors Fruit Farm, Kelsall, it's a dry cider, and one in which you can really taste the fruit. A lovely pint and a credit to the makers, just go easy on it because it's quite potent. But at any rate, finally Cheshire has a cider to be proud of.

Think that’s it for this newsletter, and the next will be around before you know it. Just a couple more things before we sign off. To be the first to hear about upcoming events join our e-mailing list; also you can follow us on Facebook (find us in “groups”) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheHarvestStore).

Jersey Royals? You can keep ‘em. New Cheshires are in. Those sumptuous little beauties from Royston Ford’s farm in Moulton are currently occupying a spot next to the barbecue display in the shop.
Therefore, may we please ask…no pushing, swearing or aggro, no jabbing elbows or pointing fingers, less of the Anglo-Saxon vernacular… form an orderly queue and get the best potatoes in the country – some say the world. And while you’re at it, don’t forget the bacon and the butter, too.

…and the Asparagus. Grown by Dennis and Carol up in Cranage, those elegant green stalks are simply sublime, and Cheshire asparagus is widely regarded as being the best on the planet. It does have quite a short season - in fact what we have this weekend (12th & 13th June) will be the last - so get it while you can. And don’t bother with the supermarket stuff – It’s generally overpriced, inferior and has done more travelling than a circus elephant.

The more observant of you will have noticed the shop looks a lot brighter. We spent a good many Mondays (our one and only day off in the week) moving things around and painting – Trish did most of it. And that helped give us the space to be able to show off all that lovely new giftware we brought in recently.

We have searched high and low (and continue to do so) for quality suppliers from all over Britain of all things brilliant, and we’ve a few crackers. A firm called Terrasa from Warrington have started supplying us with Bird Houses that look like actual houses!
We’ve picked up a supplier of witty aprons and canvas bags; some very smart clocks that are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use; some nifty glassware; the cute as anything metal Wiggle animals that have proved incredibly popular so far – and so have the other metal & glass gifts…
And then there’s Sally Belinda’s classily embroidered products. Working from Frodsham, Sally gets her cotton from Quarry Bank Mill – where the cotton is woven on the 18^th Century looms there. She’s been a designer for many years for a whole host of top companies, has struck out on her own and is making some interesting items such as tea cosies, lavender hearts, egg cosies and cotton tote bags.

We’ve acquired some ready meals from County Cuisine of Northwich. In the freezer there is a fine Beef Lasagne, and a lovely Spicy Lamb Tagine. County Cuisine try their hardest to source all the meat locally and aren’t into cutting corners and using cheap ingredients, and you can tell that when you taste the products. Definitely Recommended.

As you may or may not know, we have the exotic contents of our freezers.
Kangaroo, wild boar, venison, ostrich, water buffalo, Wagyu (aka Kobe) beef, bison, camel and various species of antelope are to be found in the there (I’d say “inhabit”, but that doesn’t quite seem right, does it?). It’s almost like our own little safari park, but one where the baboons won’t be ripping off your windscreen wipers and mooning at you.
By mid-summer we’ll hopefully have crocodile back in the freezer as well.
And, if you were wondering just how to cook such bizarre meats, we have cooking guidelines for the red meat at the till, and also Jeanette and Rachel of Alternative have written a cookbook titled, The Exotic Meat Cookbook: Over 100 recipes from Antelope to Zebra. And there’s thousands of recipes online, too.

This book is situated with all the rest of the books on the shelves in the giftware section of the shop. Along with that glorious tome we have many books about Cheshire. From walking around this splendid county, to the history of our local towns. There’s a lot to read and it’s all quite fascinating.

May 29th marked the beginning of English Wine Week, but it’s always English Wine Week here at The Harvest Store, as we sell nothing but. We have a few tasty grape wines, and a decent amount of fruit wines, with not a bad one among them.
And don’t forget the beer, either. In celebration of this summer’s football World Cup the Frodsham Brewery are producing Amandla (means “Power” in Zulu, apparently) and it’s a fine pint indeed, continuing their good work and the chances that we may be looking at a future award winner are the same as the chances of me looking sheepishly at another emptied bottle of good beer.
Also, we’ve begun stocking Westons ciders. Westons, quite rightly, have a brilliant reputation for quality in cider circles – and that’s not how you’ll end up walking, by the way – and we’re pleased as punch to have some of their range on our shelves.

Coming soon there will be Strawberries and Raspberries from Kelsall, and we can’t wait for those, either. They’ll be here sometime in June, depending on the weather.

Happy New Year!

We hope you all had a warm and relaxing Christmas, and that this year ahead brings you all you deserve.
We here at The Harvest Store are certainly looking forward to this New Year, especially after the global turmoil that was 2009. We’re still here, but it’s a grand shame both that so many other businesses – large and small – went to the wall because of the incessant greed, loose morals and wayward business sense of those men in the City, and that those same bankers are now landing such huge bonuses once more and not giving a tuppence ha’penny’s thought to folks like me and you. Come the revolution, and all that…

We want so much from this year.
Our standards, morals, principles and ethics remain high, and as always we want the best for you, our customers.
You get that in the Tea Room every time you eat in there. We don’t take shortcuts; you’ll never get served Heinz Spaghetti Hoops on toast or budget-brand coffee out of a jar. You will, however, get served food that’s been cooked for you, and only you, service with a smile, and all in a nice, relaxed atmosphere. Why else would you come?

Well, what about the fact that for the third time in three years we’ve finished in the top three places of a Cheshire Life reader-nominated competition. In the summer of 2009 Cheshire Life readers were asked to nominate their favourite coffee shop, tea room or ice cream parlour for the Café Society 2009/2010 award. We put forms out on the tables for customers to fill in if they so wanted (but only if they really did want – we don’t fill the form out, or stand over customers while they insert details like other places have been known to do), or people could vote online.
To reach the last three of a major competition is quite a big thing. But to do that THREE years in a row is something else. And credit must go to Trish, Margery, Tina and all the tea room girls for their hard work and dedication. But we wouldn’t have reached the final had it not been for you, our customers. So thank you, and you know it won’t be the last time we say that.
In the end, we didn’t win as we had done in 2007, that honour went to Zugers of Bromborough, and congratulations to them.
With a lot more hard work more plaudits and awards surely can’t be far off, but as long as we’re still making our customers happy, that will always be our absolute priority.

We’re changing our website soon. It’s been a long time coming, I suppose, but we’re finally getting around to it. It’ll be clean and simple to get around, just like the old site, though.
And if you’d like to have this newsletter sent right to your inbox every issue, and be the first to hear about any new products, special offers and upcoming events, why don’t you sign up to our e-mailing list. Either fill in your details on the form in the shop, or send an e-mail with the subject heading “mailing list” to
mail@harveststore.co.uk
We’re on Facebook, too, in “Groups” as The Harvest Store. Become a member and tell us your likes, dislikes and things maybe you’d like to see in the place.

December and the build-up to Christmas was, as ever, a very busy time for us.
The orders for turkeys were up 50% on 2008. They came from Bailey’s of Tabley and it was the same meat as we had for the Christmas lunches. They, too, were again very popular and those who partook went away as happy and well fed as ever.
Margery and Trish’s Puddings sold well with the pair of them making double the quantity of the previous year. And the Gluten Free puds completely sold out, with quite a few brand new customers taking away something delightful and moreish either for themselves or someone close.
Our Christmas cakes sold exceptionally well, too. And that is surely a testament to how highly regarded Trish’s cake making skills are.
One customer, Mrs M-R of Middlewich bought a painted cake from us – as she had done the previous year – and sent me this message a day or so after New Year: “Hiya Graham… silly question but have you got any of that Xmas cake left?? This year’s production was truly fantastic and I want more!!! J”
On speaking to her husband he told me that he just found himself going back to it time and time again. Which, to be fair, is what we want, but knowing him as a fairly regular customer, he’s never been a mad cake-y person. And neither is his wife. Mad, yes. Mad cake-y…? not so much.
Another regular customer’s quotes were a lot of “Oooooh’s” and “Ahhhhhhhh’s”, and the warm smile of a very contented person.
And that appears to be the general consensus regarding Trish’s Christmas cake. The paintings really were the icing on the cake, but what was inside, that’s where the real magic lay. Trish makes extra special Christmas cake, remember that and treat your family and yourself this year.
All in all we sold a good sight more of our own Christmas products this time out than last, and we hope that a lot of that was down to customers knowing they’d be getting top quality goods.
Oh, almost forgot. Those customers who ordered a turkey before the end of November went into a draw to win a painted Christmas cake and Mrs Bailey was the first out of the hat. So we hope you enjoyed your “Rudolph” cake, Mrs B.
The second prize of a large Christmas pudding went to Mrs Campbell of Middlewich, and the small pudding was awarded to Mr Griffiths of Sandbach.

Logs. The demand for good wood is – understandably – very high right now. With that being the case, the best and most sure-fire way to get what you want is to order them a few days in advance, rather than come on-spec. The weather is always a factor in log cutting, especially as Peter is the man who wields the chainsaw. Cutting wood when it’s raining, miserable and windy isn’t something Pete’s very keen on (as it’s quite dangerous when windy), and who can blame him. So, when the weather is amenable he does his best to get as much cut as he can, and always making sure that those who have ordered wood are accommodated first.
We don’t like to disappoint customers but demand being what it is – and with our wood being of much better quality than that of some of our close competitors (according to a few customers who had to go elsewhere when they ran out of fuel over Christmas) the vast majority of what we’re cutting is for orders.
So, get yourself on the order list if you want good wood burning happily on your fire.

I recently had to raise the prices of the birdseed in the shop – not something we do lightly, whatever it is we sell.
And out of curiosity I had a looksee just what other places – well known places, I might add – charge for their seed. You may recall I did something similar last year regarding fresh vegetables, chicken and eggs compared to Asda and Tesco (we’re still very competitive, by the way).
Pets at Home was my first port of call. They have quite a few outlets dotted around Cheshire, and have quite a high profile, so I thought that maybe they would be quite reasonable. How wrong I was.
On meandering through their website the phrase, “Even Dick Turpin wore a mask” immediately sprung to mind.
At the time of writing this newsletter (early January) their 2kg bag of peanuts (I weigh out our bags at 1.5kg) cost a good 75% more per kilo than our NEW price.
Their wild bird seed is 115% (yes, that’s right, I haven’t missed out any decimal point, that’s really one-hundred-and-fifteen percent!) more expensive per kilo in the smaller quantities, whereas their sunflower hearts are roughly 83% more costly. Full sacks are available, also, I must point out, but they, too, are quite dear.
Having been stunned into silence by Pets at Home, I went to B&Q because I’ve seen seed on their shelves, but could only find prices for peanuts and wild bird seed. For the small quantities (they come in 1.8kg bags) the peanuts were just over 70% more expensive than us, while their wild bird seed was fairly close to the cost of ours, but still higher than.
Pet Supermarket’s seed for wild birds was pretty much the price we have it at, while their peanuts were over 65% more expensive per kilo than us and they were on special offer!
Like I said before, we don’t like having to put up our prices, and we charge only what we see as reasonable. We’re not here to rip people off, and for a long time now farm shops have been tarred with the same brush. People associate farm shops with being more expensive than those belonging to a chain.
We at The Harvest Store have always seen ourselves as the exception, rather than the rule.

Okay, I suppose that’s it for another thrilling instalment of our newsletter. But don’t forget about our mailing list, or our Facebook group where all comments and any criticisms are received with grace.

Until the next time, stay well ,

Graham

However, we at The Harvest Store feel that summertime isn’t so much a season, as a state of mind.

Yes, it’s usually chucking it down out there, in the land of grey skies and boggy grass. And yes, in some parts of the country the latest de rigueur fashion tips nod more to flippers and snorkels than to Bermuda shorts and flip-flops.

But here, in the heart of Cheshire, we have summertime embedded in our souls, and sunshine pulsing through our arteries.

We’d like to take time to congratulate Caroline Aspinall on her graduation from Preston University. The boisterous Tea Room assistant gained a 2-1 in Journalism, spending a week with the Granada News team in the process. She’ll be with us for a time yet, we hope, but if we lose her to the glamorous world of television news we won’t mind so much.

Peter recently came back from another of his annual 3 Coasts runs (Liverpool to Whitby and back again), with the Vintage Tractor club. Down B-roads and across country it took them a week and, unusually for the time of year, the weather was very clement, and they raised a bit of money for Marie Curie Cancer Care to boot.

And Joanne Martin, Margery & Peter’s other daughter, will be competing in this year’s Great North Run. She took up running about eighteen months ago and has been in training for the occasion in September for a few months. Joanne is running the half-marathon (13 and a bit miles) around Newcastle in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Appeal and any donations will be greatly appreciated.

Trish, the boss, is still making those scrumptious cakes for the Tea Room and Shop (she also bakes to order, if you’re in need of cakes for a special occasion or want to treat someone — we also do Christmas Cakes with handpainted pictures on them, details of which will be available later in the year). The award-winning Sticky Stem Ginger cake, the moreish Crumble cakes, the best-selling Reduced Sugar Tea Bread, her dairy-free Carrot cake and the always-delectable sandwich cakes, and the rest, are available to enjoy on a daily basis.

Margery, too, has been quite busy making some wonderful preserves. Her small batches of jams and marmalades are selling very quickly (as they always do) and she has produced some jams that probably won’t have a repeated run this year, like the Strawberry Jam with Blueberries, the Strawberry & Gooseberry Jam, and the Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam. As usual though, there is the Raspberry Jam (which Trish also uses on her Victoria Sandwich cake).

And if you like your marmalade, then Margery has made two types. The first is the regular Seville Orange with Lemons and Limes — hand cut, by the way — and the second is just that little bit different, a tad more special. How does Margery’s Marmalade with a splash of Tia Maria grab you? Intrigued? It’s a wee bit of decadence spread across your morning toast.

Also look out for the Specials (one-off’s and the occasional recurring) in the Tea Room. Recently Marge has been turning her hand to Potted Meats including Beef and Chicken, and Margery-made beefburgers are on the cards, too, as are some other quite interesting things. Our specials are borne out of Margery’s dedication to looking for ideas that’ll fit rather snugly with The Harvest Store Tea Room’s ideology ― good homemade food.

In the Farm Shop, just like in the Tea Room, we love our food, and we love to bring in some fantastic things for you to enjoy, and recently we’ve been loving things so much it’s been giving me a headache ― not that the wife’s too upset about that.

Some real top quality producers have been seeking us out and bringing us their wares of late and we’ve been more than happy to stock them.

We’ve got chutneys, mayonnaises and mustards from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight that quite a lot of our customers seem to have visited at some time; we’ve got jams and chutneys from Claire’s Handmade of Wigton, Cumbria; the incredible non-alcoholic Ginger Still from Garvey’s of Nottingham that’s sure to warm your cockles, or anything else that needs warming. It’s a rich ginger drink that can be drunk neat, as a long drink with lemonade and ice, or something to take with hot water on those long winter nights.

Also new in we have Loopy Lisa’s Great Taste award-winning fudge, some new pies and quiches from Simply Pies ― including a rather good pork pie ― a new handmade card supplier, Louise Ellen, that compliments the incredible ranges on offer from both Sheila Wharton and Karen Phillips.

And then we have what in my mind is the cherry on the cake. Flavoured butter from the Flavoured Butter Co. They started in September last year and are based in Denbighshire, and the stuff is amazing.
“How can that be?” you may ask. “Surely it’s just butter with a bit of added flavour.”
Well, yes, I suppose it is, but that is doing the products an incredible disservice. It’s like saying a Tasmanian Devil is a furry little marsupial with anger management issues. This butter will unleash the culinary beast ― or Tasmanian Devil, if you like ― in you. It will make things taste just so much better.
Margery was so impressed by what I’d done for Sunday’s dinner (chopped vegetables up, threw into a roasting dish, dotted knobs of butter liberally around and whacked it in the oven ― I am that subtle) that she posted “Graham can cook!” on Facebook. Cheeky, maybe, but the credit deserves solely to go to the butter. On roasted vegetables, on toast, on bread, on anything that you do with butter already, you can do with the flavoured butter ― even the naughty things. At the moment we have Red Chilli & Garlic; Sun Dried Tomato, Black Olive & Parmesan; Sea Salt, Szechuan Pepper & Garlic, and Basil, Parsley & Chive flavours. And the creators have promised to come in and do a tasting session at some point, so keep a look out for that.
But honestly, as much as I get excited about new things, I rarely get excited about food as what I do about beer and all things alcohol — and that reminds me, we have some awesome liqueurs from Bramley & Gage. Damson and Sloe gins, Cherry Brandy and liqueurs of both Elderflower and Quince. Very, very nice.
But, right now, the butter trumps the lot. Come in, buy some, be impressed.

Seasonal local salad, vegetables and fruit from Allostock, Peover, Nantwich, Byley and Kelsall.

We have eggs from Congleton that are better and cheaper (and less well-travelled) than anything the supermarkets have to offer.

We’ve got frozen fish that tastes fantastic; exotic meats that make the adventurous part of you cry out and get the oil heated up; Ice Cream from Buttertons of Oakhanger that tantalizes the taste buds like no other and is all set to become the ice cream of choice in the region’s top hotels and restaurants ― and we were the very first people to stock it.

We’ve got wine made from fruit and grapes grown within the confines of this wonderful country’s coastline; and beer made by this county’s finest micro-brewers.

On top of all that we do bird seed at prices guaranteed to have the birds tweeting, and we have logs (cut and bagged by us) and kindling, too.

Those of you who’ve been in the shop recently may have noticed we’ve changed it around a bit, and the changes will keep on coming.
Now, this is where we involve you, our fantastic customers. What would you like to see us stock in the shop? What lines do you think are missing from our range? Are we missing something blindingly obvious? Or do you think we’re missing a trick by not stocking products that litter the shelves of the supermarkets?
We’ll be asking you to fill in a questionnaire soon — only a small one, mind — so you can share your thoughts and help point us in the right direction. We really need your feedback on this issue, so don’t be shy and tell us what you think.

All that’s left to be said is that we hope you enjoy any sunny days that are given to you, and until the next time, take care

Graham

Over the course of the last few years we've entered a few awards competitions. Not all of them, as there are quite a few nowadays in our line of work, but the ones that we feel we have a chance in.
And in the four we've entered we've had four top three places.
The most recent of which was in the 2009 Chester Food & Drink Festival Awards where we came third (and received a nice plaque) for Best Use of Local Produce in a Menu.
We won the Cheshire Life Readers' Choice Award at the 2007/2008 Food & Wine Awards, and were Highly Commended for the same award the following year.
And we were also Highly Commended at the Vale Royal Business Awards in 2008, another award where members of the public voted for us.
As for the rest of this year, well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Tea Room Prices

We love our customers. And because we value your repeated custom, and hope that you’ll continue to support us, we haven’t increased our prices in the Tea Room since August of last year. In that time our bread supplier, alone, has increased their prices three times, and wages have also risen.
But, especially in times like these, in consideration of you, our customers, we need to ride the storm, and if we work together we can keep the prices as they are.

On the subject of price rises, both eggs and milk have been in the papers recently. The supermarkets will have you believe that they are cheaper and better than the little guys (us, for example), but when it comes to eggs and milk they can’t touch us.
Eggs from the supermarkets spend at least a week travelling the length and breadth of the country, from one warehouse to the next, before they arrive at the store. And they’re expensive. A box of large eggs rolls in at about £1.55 for 6.
Peter goes and gets our eggs from Pace’s of Congleton, and even the Free Range Extra Large are nowhere near the cost of the supermarkets’.
And then we have milk. We get our lovely white stuff from the Boffey’s of Cloudview Dairy, Buglawton. It’s milk from just the one farm, not blended and characterless like the supermarket’s stuff. And, unless there’s a special offer on, it’s cheaper too.

I was reading an article in the March ’09 issue of Fine Food Digest and to say I was intrigued is a marked understatement.
The article in question concerned a Farm Shop owner form Norfolk, who, by liaising with his suppliers, managed to undercut the prices of his local Tesco by a significant margin.
So I did a little checking of my own. I already knew that our prices were realistic and reasonable.
I registered online with both Tesco and Asda so I could see their prices and then compare them with our own. This is what they do with each other – as their incessant televison adverts keep telling us – so I thought I’d do that too.
And you know what I found?
I found that over the past few weeks Asda are pretty reasonable for fresh produce and that Tesco are trying ever so hard to keep up with them. But for the most part – and Tesco’s adverts will never tell you this – Asda are cheaper.
But not cheaper than us.
I’ll repeat that.
Not. Cheaper. Than us.
For the most part, on all essential vegetable and salad produce, we are far and away cheaper than the big two.
We, a little concern, can effectively sell produce a good bit cheaper than the two largest supermarket chains in the country.
Now, isn’t that a thing?
The best way, and the fairest way is to compare like for like. There was absolutely no point in comparing our prices with those of the wallet-emptying Finest ranges, because some terraced houses currently cost less than Tesco’s free-range chicken…
So, our whole chickens and chicken breasts from Price’s of Wilmslow (that are not free range, by the way) were compared against the regular (and not bargain-priced) variants from the Big Two.
And with the vegetables, I’ve compared only against the loose produce available. We don’t do pre-packs, as we’ve found that our customers buy just how much they need, and that’s the way it should be. It might be easier for the multiples to sell in packs, but it produces more packaging and produce has a tendency to get binned – and that’s a waste.
There’s no way on this Earth that we should be cheaper as our orders are brought in by a driver unlikely ever to break into a sweat, whereas their orders arrive on numerous pallets and in badly stacked shrink-wrapped cages.
Their buying power is so high they dictate to the supplier just how much they’ll hand over.
We pay what we’re told to pay.
Luckily, our suppliers are very sensible and don’t charge us exorbitant amounts for our orders.
So, at the time of writing this, we are cheaper than either Tesco or Asda, or both, for loose potatoes, carrots, leeks, garlic, onions, mushrooms, Bramley apples, peppers, rhubarb, parsnips, iceberg lettuce, white cabbage, whole chicken, chicken breast fillets and eggs (free range or standard).
Obviously prices change week on week, but where you’ll find that they are competing with each other, we are simply trying to get you the real value for money that you’ve been craving.
As for everything else, we try not to sell anything the supermarkets do. For all the ambient lines – including the Fair Trade products – we can’t and won’t compete with their pricing. We’d go out of business in a fortnight if we tried.
And besides, we’re here for the little guys – the producers just starting off, and those who cater solely for the independents. We want to champion them and continue to tell you all just how good they are.
For instance, Rudds Tomatoes of Peover, who supply us with the vine tomatoes that smell (and taste) just like they’re supposed to. The new season salad and vegetable produce is slowly coming in from all our local suppliers and they herald the way for the New Cheshire Potatoes. Those glorious little spuds will be available around the middle of May.
…or the simply fantastic ice cream from Buttertons of Oakhanger …
…and the free range porcine products of Buttercross that just shout quality…
…also the seasonal organic produce of Rob & Abi Fuller’s Field Fresh Ltd., whose large vegetables – which we should be getting in over the coming months – should take pride of place in everyone’s kitchen…
...and please don't forget the amazing, utterly scrumptious, New Cheshire Potatoes from Royston Ford at Moulton
…and we have lots more brilliant products besides. From exotic meats to free range eggs, from English grape wine to gluten free chocolate, and from Fair Trade tea to some very interesting books about Cheshire and the Northwest, we have many, many interesting things.

We get quite a few phone calls by new producers who have just started making something which they think is fantastic – we’ve yet to be pitched to by someone who thinks what they’re selling is average.
It gets so that we’re quite cynical as to these new products, because as real food lovers – by that I mean the foodstuffs that are regularly in the papers saying they’re not good for us – we’ve had our hopes dashed many a time.
If the products are not up to standard then we have to be honest with people; it’s no good to either party if we aren’t.
So, we took a call from a man called Robert Aspden, from Oakanger, who had just started making ice cream.
Now, as you will be aware, there are a few really good ice cream makers in Cheshire – Snugburys and Cheshire Farm Ice Cream to name but two. And for us to even contemplate stocking his new product it would have to be better than, not just as good as, his competitors.
Robert turned up looking nervous, which he would be as Margery had that little twinkle in her eye.
We sat at the table and Trish and myself held our spoons at the ready. He took out a few sample pots and placed them in front of us.
And to be honest, I took a dig at the Vanilla Custard expecting it to be okay – to be vanilla ice cream that was all right, but nothing more than that. I popped the loaded spoon into my mouth and all manner of words and phrases rattled around my bald head, few of which are suitable to print.
Without a shadow of a doubt this was the best ice cream I’d ever tasted. We had a go at every single one of the pots he had for us, at least a dozen or so flavours and all were pretty special.
Buttertons Big Brown Cow ice cream stands out from the herd (sorry) as they use their own milk to make the product. A practise not as widespread as you’d think.
Whichever flavour you try, you are in for a treat. Be it the Panna Cotta with Wild Fruits, the Lemon Meringue, the Liquorice Humbug (sounds plain wrong, but tastes Mmmmmm!) or even just the regular vanilla – the Vanilla Custard will be ready soon – every flavour is just magnificent.
It is just that little bit more expensive than the Snugburys tubs, but in my opinion, it is just that little bit better.
But like I said before, Snugburys is brilliant ice cream and had set the benchmark to which all other Cheshire makers compare.
We were the very first shop to stock Buttertons Big Brown Cow Ice Cream, and Robert has since begun supplying to Pecks Restaurant, who prove that they – like us – know good food when they taste it.

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Harvest Store News

Microwave…hair curlers…what’s that? Oh yes, cuddly toy…

I’ll be darned…

Beer in’t shop…

Early Summer 2010

Jan/Feb 2010

Summer 2009

Graham

Tea Room Prices

Food Staples, Fair Prices

Buttertons

Coming soon