26 January 2012

Neil Sowerby hits a food trail that could become Hobbit-forming!

TOLKIEN used the Ribble Valley as his inspiration for Middle Earth, or so the epic saga goes. Nowadays quests of a different sort occupy visitors – for some of England’s finest foodstuffs, places to buy them and dining spots in which to savour them.

Take greystone hill-top Grindleton, a mere 35 miles from Manchester. The Duke of York there (www.dukeofyorkgrindleton.com ) is in the talented hands of chef/proprietor Michael Heathcote (no relation to the more famous Paul).The Good Food Guide says very nice things about his strong flavours and seasonal approach.

The perfect place then to relaunch the Ribble Valley Food Trail, first conceived three years ago. There’s a handy little leaflet with a map showing how to get to 34 foodie destinations – small producers, farms, shops, restaurants, pubs – or you could just download from www.ribblevalleyfoodtrail.co.uk. A perfect recipe for a long day out in gorgeous countryside that deserves a visit in its own right.

Pick of the new faces in the Trail guide – though it has been family-run for 500 years – is Gazegill Organics. I first visited the farm four years ago via leafy backroads behind Pendle Hill. Its farm shop is open Fridays and Saturdays and offers a range of cuts from rare breed Oxford Sandy and Black pigs and Hampshire Downs sheep, plus pink veal. Sustainably farmed, with a strong emphasis on animal welfare and properly priced. www.gazegillorganics.co.uk

Other over-the-garden-gate producers I now intend to visit are both in Slaidburn – Belted Galloway cattle breeders Beltin’ Good Beef (www.beltingoodbeef.co.uk ) and Robinson’s Eggs (07929 049307). And among the Ribble pub restaurants with growing reputations I’d also single out the Freemasons at Wiswell (www.freemasonswiswell.co.uk ), whose game festivals are a treat.

The concept of Lancashire Food Heroes was championed by Nigel Haworth at the Michelin stellar Northcote restaurant near Whalley and at his string of gastropubs. The culinary riches scattered along the Ribble Valley Food Trail shows those efforts are bearing fruit.