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

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

Best wishes from everyone at The Hollies Farm Shops

The Hollies Christmas hamper range is now available online and in both shops. 

Option 1

For a simple solution we have a range of bronze, silver and gold hampers with and without a Christmas theme. 

View our online shop by going to www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk/shop

Click ‘Hampers’ and choose from a pre-selected range.  Alternatively visit our shops to see in store.

Option 2

We can create a bespoke hamper to meet your budget and requirements if this suits you better.

For all hampers

Nationwide delivery available through our couriers.

We can add your business or personal messages to every hamper.

 

Call 01829 760761 for more hamper information.

Sue and the team celebrate Christmas

 

CHRISTMAS is coming early for shoppers at a Warrington farm shop as it opens a new extension to create a festive shopping extravaganza.

 

The Hollies Farm Shop, at Lower Stretton, is celebrating the start of the Christmas shopping season with the opening of its new extension, which gives space for more of the shop’s existing and Christmas products.

 

After months of hard work, the award-winning farm shop, at Northwich Road, is turning its shop into a winter wonderland brimming with festive delicacies and gift ideas.

 

Stunning gift lines include faux fur hot water bottles and hand muffs, sheepskin pushchair liners, children’s cutlery sets and soft toys, beautiful hand-crafted soaps, luxurious interior furnishings and Christmas decorations, as well as hundreds of festive delicacies and gift hampers.

 

Director of The Hollies Ed Cowap explained: “The Lower Stretton store is proving to be a great success and we wanted to be able to offer customers more choice of existing products.

 

“The extension gives us room for more fantastic Christmas products and allows customers to have an extended shopping experience. We are continually looking for ways to develop our shops and give our customers even more unique products.”

A CHESHIRE farm has escaped the national pumpkin shortage as it celebrates one of its largest crops in almost 50 years.

 

Families fearing a pumpkin shortage ahead of Friday’s spooky celebrations have nothing to worry about as a Cheshire farm is celebrating one of its biggest pumpkin harvests.

 

The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth, has grown more than 4,000 pumpkins on its 100 acre farm this year despite national reports that pumpkin harvests are down by 30 per cent the anticipated crop numbers.

 

The family-run farm shop specialises in growing root vegetables and has been growing pumpkins in its fields since 1959.

 

“Our family has been growing pumpkins and ornamental gourds on the farm for almost 50 years and our team of horticultural experts are growing probably the biggest crop in Cheshire,” said Ed Cowap director of The Hollies.

 

He added: “We had a poor year last year which might have been due to the weather but this year has been one of the best yet. The team that looks after the pumpkin harvest has done an amazing job nurturing them.”

 

With the largest Halloween display in Cheshire the farm shop on the A49 near Tarporley is brewing with eerie excitement ahead of Halloween.

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

THERE was some eerie excitement at Sandiway Primary School during half term when pupils were given a ‘spooky’ surprise.

 

Children at the school’s multi-skills club were presented with pumpkins from The Hollies Farm Shop, at Little Budworth, to turn into ghostly works of art in time for their Halloween fancy dress party.

 

Mair Strawbridge, Acting Headteacher of Sandiway Primary School, explained: “We are so grateful to The Hollies for donating the pumpkins, which gave some added hubble, bubble, toil and trouble to the holloween party.  

 

“Many of the children may not have had the chance to work with pumpkins before so it was a great opportunity for them – and they came back with some scary designs.”

 

During the two-day club, more than 30 children took part in a range of activities including netball, football, bench ball, and musical games before finishing off with a Holloween fancy dress party.  

 

Mindy Cowap of The Hollies added: “Our family has been growing pumpkins for almost 50 years and this year we have harvested more than 4,000.

 

“We always encourage youngsters to grow their own pumpkins where ever possible and it was great to be able to show the kids at Sandiway Primary just how fun pumpkins can be!”

 

For more information visit www.theholliesfarmshop.co.uk

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

 

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.

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.