Explains Booths' Marketing Director, Lincoln Clarke: "Earlier this year, we organised a 'Meet the Buyer' event for local producers in conjunction with regional food consultancy Thought for Food and support agency Distinctly Cumbrian. It was such a success that approximately 70% of the stock for Artisan is coming from the producers that we met, with the rest being supplied by local food and drink producers who already work with Booths.
As a company, we're passionate about food and drink from our region, and Artisan is the next stage in our ongoing commitment to local producers. In this case, we are particularly supporting those living and working in Cumbria," he added.
- ends -
Low Sizergh Barn Dairy, Kendal
The Old Smokehouse
ARTISAN COMES TO KENDAL
Booths Unveils New Restaurant Plans
Booths' exciting new restaurant and speciality food shop - ARTISAN - will open on Thursday 25th November on the same day as Booths' new supermarket in Kendal, the company revealed today. Situated below the new store, Artisan champions passionate local people who are truly committed to producing quality crafted and specialist foods.
The concept is an exciting move for Booths ‚ and a first in the supermarket industry. For the first time, a number of small producers who do not currently supply a supermarket chain will be able to benefit from the ability to 'showcase' their products. Renowned chef, Stephen Doherty, has created an inspiring menu for the restaurant, featuring local cheeses, fish, meats and puddings. The menus will change to reflect the seasons and new products as they come on-stream, but always promoting top quality, local food. As well as dining, customers can browse the shelves for local delicacies to take home.
Artisan Restaurant
Mouthwatering dishes are planned for the opening of Artisan, including Wastwater chicken, beef in Jennings beer, Waberthwaite sausages, Staff of Life breads as well as special Cumbrian and Drover's Plates. Customers can start the day with a range of traditional Cumbrian breakfasts and there is a selection of delicious sandwiches and a wonderful children's menu on offer throughout.
Staff of Life in Artisan
Heading up the list of local producers supplying Artisan is Simon Thomas of the Staff of Life bakery, who will be producing a range of exclusive breads for the restaurant and shop. He says: "It's wonderful to be able to create such a close working relationship with Booths ‚ a company I really admire and the only supermarket I would work with."
Among other local producers supplying Artisan is Alison Park of Low Sizergh Barn, who will supply organic cheese, using milk from their farm. A selection of smoked meats, cheeses and handmade truffles (taking three days to make!) will be sourced from the Old Smokehouse at Brougham near Penrith. Sweet and savoury preserves, jellies and jams will come from Claire's Handmade in Rayburn and the award-winning Wild and Fruitful company in Wigton. Sue Forrester's Cream of Cumbria farmhouse butters will be on sale, as will organic fresh meat from Country Cuts Organic in Holmrook and specialist beers from the Tirril Brewery in Brougham.
The quality feel to Artisan extends to the design. Slate is naturally different in colour, depending where it is mined. Booths have deliberately reflected this natural beauty by sourcing slate from three different local quarries. North West artist Jeff Teasedale has sculpted entrance signs cast in solid bronze, and local blacksmiths and furniture makers have been busy crafting shelving and oak display cabinets.
Arts Exhibitions
As part of its commitment to the Kendal community, Booths has become a major sponsor of the Brewery Arts Centre, and has part funded The Booths Terrace, an outdoor eating and drinking area in the Brewery Grounds. As part of the agreement, Artisan will feature a regular exhibition of local art, giving artists a further opportunity to sell their work. Appropriately, the theme for the first exhibition, which will be on display for the launch of Artisan will be - Food!
Artisan can be accessed from the new Booths supermarket or directly from Stricklandgate, through Wainwright's Yard and into a small piazza.
For further information and photography, please contact: Olivia Assheton or Amanda Anderson on: 01200 440492.
Notes to Editors
Short profiles of some of the producers supplying Artisan, and quotes, are attached.
ARTISAN PRODUCERS
The following represent a selection of producers supplying Artisan and is not exhaustive.
Staff of Life
Contact: Simon Thomas
Tel: 01539 738606
Simon Thomas is truly passionate about bread and bread making. He uses quality local flours to make his bread and has established a new link with Grand Moulins de Paris to source specialist French flours for making unusual artisan breads from the French regions. As part of a tie up with the Ronde des Pains, there will be an exchange visit next month for Staff of Life with one of the top master bakers in the world.
Contact: Alison Park
Tel: 015395 60426
Supplying Kendal Crumbly and Kendal Creamy organic cheese, this family-run firm makes and sells local produce, using organic milk for as many products as possible. The on-site tea room looks out over the milking parlour, allowing visitors to connect completely with where their dairy products come from. Says Alison: "We wanted to make products from the milk we produce rather than see it go off into a big milk pool. We have never supplied a supermarket before, but my brother was very impressed with the 'Meet the Buyer' day and the company is very highly respected for supporting local producers. Being in Booths will allow us to reach more people with what we are doing".
Contact: Richard Muirhead
Tel: 01768 867772
Richard and his business partner Neil Harrison took over the Smokehouse just three months ago and are already gearing up to supply Booths. The company has a fine range of oak smoked meat, poultry, fish, game and cheeses. The products available from Artisan will be a Great Taste Gold Award winner smoked duck breast and Pepper Pot and Fellman sausages. The sausages are all gluten free and are 98% pork with no additives except seasoning. They will also offer shoppers handmade truffles and a wonderful creamy blue smoked cheese.
Claire's Handmade, Rayburn
Contact: Claire Kent
Tel: 016973 71567
Ex-hotelier Claire moved back to Cumbria with her young family and set up business, making pickles jams, marmalades and pickles from the Rayburn in her kitchen just 14 months ago, as a result of their popularity with her hotel guests. She uses only the freshest ingredients for her seven chutneys ‚ Old Fashioned Plum, Beetroot and fresh Ginger, Red Onion Marmalade, Curried Apricot and Apple, Fresh Tomato, Hot Tomato and Garlic, Carrot, Date and Cumin seeds, Picallillie, and ketchups and spicy pickled button mushrooms. She says: "Supplying Artisan is a very exciting step and we hope that this will really help us grow and grow."
Cream of Cumbria, Carlisle
Contact: Sue Forrester
Tel: 01228 675558
Cream of Cumbria's slogan is "You can whip our cream, but you can't beat our butter' ‚ quite right too for a family that has been churning milk for at least 80 years. The secret to its rich taste is 100% double cream from local herds and the two-lady team can 'churn' out 400-500 packs of hand shaped and stamped butter a week ‚ some of which will now be delivered direct to Kendal. "It is the freshness that is so important," says Sue, "Our butter has no additives, so has a shelf life of 14 days. We wouldn't dream of supplying a supermarket where we had to take the butter to Preston, say, just for it to follow us back up the motorway a few days later before arriving in store. Our cream comes in on Tuesday and Wednesday and the butter goes out on Thursday. You can't get fresher!"
Country Fare, Kirkby Stephen
Contact: Diane Halliday
Tel: 017683 72519
Eight farmer's wives converted a 17th century barn six years ago and have been baking and preserving ever since, using local ingredients and no preservatives, colourings or additives. There will be 40 lines going into Booths, including their award-winning ginger biscuits. The most unusual product is perhaps pickled damsons, which are an excellent accompaniment to cold meats, fish and cheese. Diane says: "Sourcing such specialised food from so close to the new Kendal store is a great concept which goes back in time, rather than forward. Booths are wonderful ‚ they really take the trouble to talk to and help the 'little' producers. They help to bridge the gap to the shelves with minimal paperwork and we get on with what we're good at ‚ cooking!"
Wild & Fruitful, Wigton
Contact: Jane Maggs
Tel: 01697 344304
Leaving landscape architecture behind to become her own boss four years ago, Jane will be making up to 17 seasonal jams and jellies for Artisan. Her award winning Hedgerow Chilli Jelly is made from rose hips, crab apples and hawthorn haws harvested by hand from local hedgerows and orchards and then infused with home grown hot habanero chillies. Other innovative flavours include lavender jelly ‚ popular with cream teas ‚ and infusions such as damson, ginger and green tea jam, red grapefruit and jasmine tea marmalade as well as her own version of an 18th century recipe for Penrith spice salt, used for seasoning meat and gravy.
Tirril Brewery, Brougham
Contact: Chris Tomlinson
Tel: 01768 863219
Brougham Hall was originally a brewery, and is marked as such on ordnance survey maps from the 1800's. With this heritage as the background, Chris decided that all his ales were to be brewed 100% traditionally ‚ using floor malt barley and whole hops. The ales are named after village characters from the 1800's ‚ Bewsher's Bitter after the original brewer, and Old Faithful after the dog who guarded his master's body after a fall from Helvellyn. Academy Ale is named after the local Maths Academy which at the time rivalled Oxford and Cambridge for the teaching of mathematics. Says Chris: "I grew up with Booths and its voice for local produce. To see my beers in the store is fantastic for me ‚ it really carries some clout and I'm in there with some of the best quality beers in the country." As well as supplying Artisan, Booths buyers were so impressed with the Tirril Brewery's range that it is now also being retailed out of selected stores in the North West.