The Hollies Great British Food Feast

Join us at The Hollies Great British Food Feast on Saturday 17th October 2009 at The Hollies Little Budworth.

Free Admission.  Free parking.

Lots of lovely tastings from our suppliers.

From 10am til 6pm

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Enjoy ‘the good life’ in 2009 on a budget

IF your New Year’s resolution is to fight flab and drastically detox the good news for 2009 is that you can do it on a budget.

 

Despite the economic gloom you can still enjoy ‘the good life’ by making a few lifestyle changes.

 

One of the latest crazes is getting the most out of your grub and according to food retailer Ed Cowap, this starts with a spot of savvy shopping.

 

“By shopping locally you know where your food has come from. If you buy out of season produce which has flown across the world you are paying the food miles,” said Ed, director of The Hollies Farm Shop.

 

“Local produce tastes better because it has been picked at the right time of year and can literally go from ‘soil to shop’ in a matter of hours.

 

“Produce that is harvested in season will ripen naturally and stay fresh for longer giving the customer much better value for money,” he added.

 

As well as fruit and vegetables, many farm shops also provide fish, meat, milk, cheese and dairy products, bread and home made cakes, as well as sauces, jams and pickles. Much of this comes from local farms and bakeries, cutting down on food miles and the impact on the environment.

 

Ed added: “By choosing cheaper and less popular cuts of meat you can cook for a family on a low budget. Cooking meals like stews you can feed four people for less than £1 a head and you get much more flavour than the more expensive cuts.”

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

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Celebration of the ‘Taste of Cheshire’

THOUSANDS of foodie’s delved in to the full bodied flavour of Cheshire when it came to life for a celebration of everything that’s tasty about the county.

 

Visitors flocked to The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth in the heart of Cheshire, for the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival with Vale Royal Borough Council to celebrate the ‘Taste of Cheshire’.

 

Food producers from across Cheshire and the North West demonstrated their delicacies at the free Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19.

 

The Hollies director Ed Cowap said: “The Food Festival was a huge success and showcased the food of the region at its absolute best.

 

“There were some fantastic regional producers attending and we hope visitors came away having experienced a ‘Taste of Cheshire’ and will continue to support local producers.

 

“It was a great celebration of what Cheshire has to offer as a leading dairy county and boasting some of the country’s finest independent producers.”

 

More than 50 regional food producers tantalized taste buds with the finest delicacies from across the North West, including meats, fish, cheese, pates, chocolates, jams and preserves, fruit juices, olives, wine and champagne, and much more.

 

The food marquee was bursting full of tasty treats as hoards of visitors met with producers and sampled some of Cheshire’s tasty attractions.

 

Visitors were also able to pick up some mouth watering tips from award-winning Master Chef of Great Britain Brian Mellor, who was joined by culinary experts from some of Cheshire’s finest eateries to give cookery demonstrations.  

 

Chefs from Cheshire restaurants, including Nunsmere Hall Hotel, The Alvanley Arms, Cabbage Hall, The Hollies’ Concept Café and Heathercliff Hotel, showed visitors how to cook using the regions freshest and finest ingredients.

  

Brian, who works closely with producers in the North West, explained: “Cheshire is a foodie’s heaven, with more and more outstanding producers cropping up all the time. The Hollies is a fantastic platform for local producers to have their products recognised, and it is vital that we support and sustain local food producers.”

 

For those watching the calories there was also a craft market, entertainment, Christmas gifts and winter gardening ideas from The Hollies horticultural experts.

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

 

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Cheshire’s chefs receive master class

 

Chefs Prepare for Vale Royal Food & Garden Festival

 CELEBRATED chef Brian Mellor gave some of the Cheshire’s top chefs his expert advice on how to create a ‘Taste of Cheshire’, ahead of the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival.

                                                          

Award-winning Master Chef of Great Britain Brian Mellor met chefs at Nunsmere Hall Hotel, at Oakmere, on Wednesday, October 1, to put the finishing touches to their recipes in preparation of giving cookery demonstrations at the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival.

 

Brian will be compering chef demonstrations, as well as cooking himself, at the Festival held at The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth, on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19.

 

Chefs from Cabbage Hall, Nunsmere Hall’s Crystal Restaurant, The Alvanley Arms,

Macdonald Portal Hotel, The Hollies’ Concept Café, and Heathercliffe Hotel all enjoyed a private session with Brian, to learn how to make the most of the region’s produce.

 

The chefs are all from businesses involved in the Destination 49 tourism project, which involves a band of businesses, including hotels, restaurants, tourism attractions and retail outlets, situated along the A49 road joining forces to create a year-round tourist attraction, that is a showcase of all that is great in Cheshire.

 

Destination 49 will also have a stand at the food festival to promote the tourism route, which lines the A49 through the heart of Cheshire.

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Mrs Darlington’s at The Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival

TWO family businesses are celebrating their recipe for success, after working together for more than 20 years, at a food festival being held to celebrate a ‘Taste of Cheshire’.

 

Mrs Darlington’s jams and preserves, at Lancaster Fields at Crewe, has been working with The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth, for more than two decades, during which the two family-run businesses have seen their success as food retailers grow.

 

Mrs Darlington’s is run by the Darlington family’s first and second generation and The Hollies is now in the hands of the third generation of the Cowap family.

 

To celebrate the success of Cheshire’s outstanding food producers the two businesses, along with more than 50 other regional food producers, will be giving visitors a taste of their success at the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival.

 

The Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival is being held at The Hollies Farm Shop, in partnership with Vale Royal Borough Council, on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, from 10am to 5pm.

 

Wendy Darlington, whose mother Marianne the original ‘Mrs Darlington’ is still at the helm of the business, said: “We don’t normally attend food festivals as we have such a hectic workload. But we have worked with The Hollies for so many years it will be a great celebration of our relationship to attend the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival.

 

“Over the years Cheshire’s food production has grown massively and there are some extremely high quality delicacies produced in the county, which are not only famed regionally but also nationally.”

 

Director of The Hollies Phil Cowap remembers collecting stock from Mrs Darlington’s kitchen in his 20’s and has seen the business’ production grow over the years and expand into a nationally acclaimed product line.

 

Phil said: “We are delighted to celebrate 20 years of working with Mrs Darlington’s. They were one of the first products we started selling in the farm shop and it has been exciting seeing the two businesses grow side by side.

 

“It is quite a coup to have Mrs Darlington her self attending the food festival as her recipes are so popular with a lot of our customers. We are looking forward to seeing the businesses develop over the next 40 years.”

 

For more information on the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk and click on the food festival logo.

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Brewery is pure gold for food festival

 

A CHAMPION brewery is raising a glass to celebrate the ‘Taste of Cheshire’ with the launch of brand new bottled brew.

 

The Coach House Brewing Company, based at Warrington, will unveil the bottled version of its popular Cheshire Gold beer to mark the opening of the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival, on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19.

 

The free event, held at The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth, will be a showcase of the region’s finest produce, from delicious meats, pates and cheese to tasty beers and wines.

 

The Coach House Brewing Company is amongst Cheshire’s finest beer makers, having taken home countless awards for their prize winning brews over the past 17 years.

 

The cask version of Cheshire Gold has been a regular at free houses across the county for the past 18 months, with bosses at the brewery seeing the festival at The Hollies as the ideal chance to launch the bottled brand.

 

The Coach House Brewing Company sales nmanager Greg Bolton said: “As a brewery which prides itself on its Cheshire heritage we are delighted to be able to team up with The Hollies Farm Shop for what will be an amazing celebration of the finest local produce.

 

“We have worked hard to create a beer that we think captures the very best the county has to offer, so we could think of no better location than The Hollies to give the bottled version of Cheshire Gold its first outing.”

 

Nicknamed the ‘Harrods Food Hall of the North’, The Hollies Farm Shop is famed for offering the finest delicacies and local produce, having landed the Visit Chester and Cheshire’s Best Food Retailer award for the past three years.

 

The shop is organising the Food and Garden Festival along with Vale Royal Borough Council.

 

Director of The Hollies Ed Cowap said: “We are proud to welcome The Coach House Brewing Company to the Food and Garden Festival.

 

“The brewery has an incredible reputation across Cheshire for producing fantastic beers and ales. It is tremendous to have a brewery like The Coach House Brewing Company on our doorsteps, and we look forward to them showing off Cheshire Gold.”

 

Cheshire Gold will be The Coach House Brewing Company’s second ever bottled beer, and will be sold at The Hollies Farm Shops in Little Budworth and Lower Stretton following the festival.

 

The brewery has developed strong ties with The Hollies over the past year, with the shops being the first to stock their last bottled brew Blueberry Classic Bitter, which has proved to be a popular tipple amongst customers.

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

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The Hollies Pumpkins are being harvested

Richard, Cyril and Mick have been in the field since this morning cutting the pumpkins ready to be loaded onto the trailers to bring back to the farm shops.  The Hollies Little Budworth will have a pumpkin paradise by the end of next week, which is Cyril’s forte, having created the spooktaculars of the last few years at The Hollies.

Tomorrow, thousands of gourds will be cut in our fields and will be on display in the shops by the end of the week.  The gourd and pumpkin seeds were sown in May and have proved to be far more successful than the little green pumpkin I have grown from seed in a pot!

Don’t forget that there is a pumpkin carving competition at the Vale Royal Food and Garden Festival on Sunday 19th October.  If you haven’t grown your own then  you can buy a home-grown pumpkin from The Hollies.

If you get the chance go to our Pumpkin Club group on Facebook, a guy from the States has uploaded his pumpkin harvest pictures - they are huge pumpkins!  http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8848232555

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Cheshire Life’s Cheshire Food Heroes 2008/2009

Cheshire Food Heroes 2008/2009

The judges who visited The Hollies Farm Shop unanimously agreed that we are a worthy winner of the Cheshire Life award for Cheshire Food Heroes.

We are delighted to win such a fantastic award and can’t wait to the awards ceremony in October.  We were judged anonmiously; therefore, yet again the accolade can be attributed to the great team we have working with us, thank you.

Watch out for the picutres in December’s issue of Cheshire Life!

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ITV1 films Chris Bisson at The Hollies Farm Shop

Actor hand-picks farm shop’s fresh food for TV series

 

CELEBRATED actor Chris Bisson called into the foodies’ heart of Cheshire to stock up on fresh produce to cook for a new TV series.

 

Chris, who is best known for his role as Vikram Desai in Coronation Street, and appearances in Shameless and East is East, headed straight for The Hollies Farm Shop at Little Budworth to stock up on high quality fresh produce for his recipes.

 

Filming for ITV’s celebrity version of Britain’s Best Dish, Chris chose to visit The Hollies for ingredients to go into recipes for his take on a traditional Sunday roast and Macaroni pie.

 

Whilst being filmed choosing some locally-grown beetroot and carrots and Italian pasta for his dishes, Chris explained why he had chosen The Hollies.

 

“The Hollies is all about local produce, which makes a massive difference when you’re cooking. The carrots still have dirt on so you know they are straight from the ground, and the produce here is all from high quality suppliers.

 

“It’s important if you can shop using local producers and suppliers then you do it. The quality is much better and there are not loads of food miles involved so you’re not paying as much,” he said.

 

Following his shopping trip to The Hollies, and a Good Morning Cheshire smoothie at the farm shop’s Ice Cream and Smoothie Bar, Chris was off to film cooking the dishes at his Lymm home.

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

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Where in the world is The Hollies Black Bag?

When a crazy idea hits the table, its usually picked up and tried out by us or the team.  On this occasion we’re asking our customers, colleagues, friends and family to get involved in this one! 

Where in the world can you get yourself photographed with your Hollies Black shopping Bag?  This black bag is for life, not just for Christmas. 

From Cheshire, the black bag has so far been captured in Scotland, Italy, France, Honduras and now India.  Frank, a longstanding customer, has sent us awesome photos of his business trip to India with The Hollies Black Bag.

The Hollies Black Bag arrives in Delhi

Where in the world will the next Hollies Black Bag be captured?  Its over to you….

Visit www.theholliesfarmshop.com for more details or email your photos to mail@theholliesfarmshop.com

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