Food & Drink

But new producers are making their mark, and winning awards, also. Our area is well known for high quality produce due to its rural connections giving ready access to freshly farmed ingredients.

Cranstons buy fresh beef, pork and lamb from trusted farmers and local auction marts to make amongst other things their best-selling range of cumberland sausages and offer them for sale at Cafe Oswald’s. Likewise the Allinsons at Low Howgill Farm offer locally sourced produce and have an outlet in Appleby. The famous visitor attraction at Rheged also provides an opportunity to sample many local products. On a larger scale The Lakes Free Range Egg Company is a family owned business producing and packing free range and organic free range eggs serving such famous names as the fast food giants McDonalds and is industry leading in its approach to animal welfare and environmental provenance.

Westmorland and Furness is home to many thriving breweries and distilleries. Shed One distillery in Ulverston and Pennington’s Spirits in Kendal continue to collect awards, including at the World Gin Awards, World Vodka Awards and Great Taste Awards, as does Coastline Brewery’s Great British Food Award recognised Coastline Rum. SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) have recognised many of the area’s breweries, including Lakes Brew Co in Kendal, Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley and Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery.

Not content with winning awards for their spirits, Pennington’s Tea & Coffee are doing the same for their hand roasted coffee and loose-leaf teas, including at the Great British Food Awards. Not new, but continuing their proud tradition, the UK’s oldest coffee roaster, John Farrer & Co, also continue to add to their long list of awards, including at the prestigious World Coffee Innovation Awards.

A stone’s throw from Plumgarths farm shop near Kendal, two bakeries are having a big impact with customers and award ceremonies alike. Serial winners of Great Taste Awards, Ginger Bakers produce truly delicious cakes and bakes, including two in partnership with the mental health charity, organic farm and training centre, Growing Well. Winner of the 2023 Baker’s Dozen top artisan bakery in Britain award, Lovingly Artisan enjoys a close relationship with farmers and millers in its production of sustainable, flavourful and nourishing sourdough bread.

We are home to excellent craft producers including TrayBakes, Cumberland Mustard, The Toffee Shop, Melmerby Bakery, Mr Vikki’s and Bell’s of Lazonby.

Receiving rave reviews, winning armfuls of awards, and doing for pasta what Lovingly Artisan do for bread, Northern Pasta uses British spelt flour grown using regenerative farming methods and milled by local millers, to produce small batch pasta. If it’s award-winning cheese you’re after, Appleby Cheese and Cartmel Cheeses which ranked as one the best cheese shops in the UK, sources the very best small-scale artisan cheese producers from the UK and Ireland, Italy and France. It also supplies the cheeseboards of many of Westmorland and Furness’ Michelin starred restaurants.

Alongside the smaller high quality producers are large companies supplying national networks from their well situated production. Greggs and the Aqua Pura bottled water brand part of the Princes group are Penrith-based factories. Even British baby formula company Kendal Nutricare operates here, choice of the Royal family!

Serving quality local produce, rivalling that of anywhere in the world, the restaurants of Westmorland and Furness boast a total of 12 Michelin Stars. Whilst L’Enclume in Cartmel has been awarded three of these, in addition to a Michelin Green Star for sustainability, a further nine restaurants have been awarded one each: Allium at Askham Hall (Askham), Dog and Gun Inn (Skelton), Forest Side (Grasmere), heft (Newton in Cartmel), Lake Road Kitchen (Ambleside), Old Stamp House (Ambleside), Rogan & Co (Cartmel), SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel (Bowness-on-Windermere), and The Samling (Ambleside).

See more and get the tastebuds flowing, we’re sure you’ll never go hungry here!