Taste Lancashire

On 27th November Lancastrians, wherever they are in the world, will celebrate Lancashire Day; commemorating the day in 1295 when the first elected representatives from the county were summoned to Westminster by King Edward I.  What better way to celebrate than with some of the county’s new distinctive and best known produce? 

In February this year, Marketing Lancashire secured funding from Defra’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), to help promote Lanacashire’s rural food producers through a programme of Taste Lancashire activity. 

Part of the project aims to promote some of Lancashire’s lesser known rural producers or products that are new to the market; one such product is The Lune Valley Smokehouse’s Laggis – Lancashire Haggis.

Rob Talbot, chef patron of The Redwell Country Inn and Restaurant in Arkholme, at just 27 years old is fast gaining a reputation amongst fellow chefs for the fine quality produce he is developing in his new Lune Valley Smokehouse, attached to the inn. His first adventures in smoking local produce, involved utilising an old wardrobe adapted for the purpose. The resulting smoked food was then used in their menu until demand was such that a new smokehouse and shop was developed and opened in May 2012.

It makes sense,” starts Rob. “We need to make sure that the food we serve is the very best it can be and as smoked food is expensive we began to look into producing our own.”

Rob started wrapping natural smoked haddock in waxed paper for customers to take-away and quickly realised that this was an opportunity for diversification and started to progress converting a disused outbuilding into a fully functioning EC approved smokehouse. Following a successful open day, many new customers emerged including two major distributors.

Visitors to the smokehouse can now take-away deliciously smoked local meats and fish and from further afield quality charcuterie, oils and truffle products. They can also pick up the Lune Valley Smokehouse’s Lancashire Laggis – a secret blend of lamb, oatmeal and natural herbs and spices.

Laggis is perfect for completing a hearty Lancashire breakfast and can accompany the smokehouse’s own dry cured bacon, classic Cumberland sausages and hand-tied black-pudding. A popular combination now served in the restaurant as an anytime, gourmet, smokehouse breakfast.

Today, many kilos of hand-tied Laggis are supplied to leading hotels and restaurants as well as farm shops and delis locally, regionally and nationally. The Redwell Country Inn and Restaurant is a Taste Lancashire Highest Quality Assured establishment and for the second year running, winner of the Taste Lancashire Tourism Award. As current holder of this prestigious title the business will go forward to represent Lancashire in the national VisitEngland Awards, for the Taste of England Award.