The North(ish) Lass

Explore the North.

Tag: sustainable food

  • Go Grow Kitchen!

    Go Grow Kitchen!

    After hearing about it for many months, I finally made my way down to Grow Kitchen in Morecambe, found nestled just off the Central Marine Way and behind the old Queen’s Head pub (which is now up for auction, by the way). Grow Kitchen styles itself as “Morecambe’s newest brunch spot,” and also using local producers and suppliers wherever possible.

    So, as I am always interested in places that are committed to sustainability and promoting the local economy, I headed down with my mum to try it out. I was interested to see their speciality “hash brown” dishes on the menu, all with different ingredients and flavours. I decided to try the traditional hash brown dish, and was surprised to see that it wasn’t like what I usually understand as hash browns – they weren’t chopped up bits of potato and onion, and then fried in oil (or cooked from frozen!). It was more like roast potatoes “hashed” with other ingredients. The one I had was loaded with leeks, egg, homemade salsa, spices and herbs. There were others that also included bacon, halloumi, or tofu. I thought the new take on the dish was very interesting, and tasty to boot!

    One thing I was glad to see as well, on the reverse side of the menu, was some insight into the local suppliers that Grow Kitchen uses for their ingredients. Whilst it wasn’t all that detailed, it was clear that they make an effort, wherever possible, to source from businesses local to the area. It’s one of the things I think is really important, and try to support wherever possible. As a bookworm, I was also happy to see that there was a book drop-and-swap on the window, allowing people to pick up books for free, and exchange them for others that they no longer need. Definitely a spot to try out and with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, there is something for everyone to try!

  • Introducing: Lovingly Artisan Bakery

    Introducing: Lovingly Artisan Bakery

    After many months of talking about doing it, I finally headed up to Plumgarths Lakeland Food Park on Thursday last week, to take a look at the bakery and shop for Lovingly Artisan bakery. Nestled on a road just outside Kendal, there are several foodie business on this small and welcoming business park.

    Lovingly Artisan bakery evolved from a bakery first started in the 1980s in Kendal when, after being introduced to slow-fermentation process, the founder Aidan and his partner Catherine, started Lovingly Artisan from their own home. The site at Plumgarths Lakeland Food Park was opened in 2010 as an expansion site and has been thriving ever since.

    The entire ethos of Lovingly Artisan is based on ditching ultra-processed bread, using British grain (including rarer grains that you don’t see very often such as Emmer and Einkhorn), and keeping things organic wherever possible.

    What struck me when I spoke to Catherine was the “soil to grain” commitment – looking for organic and regenerative farming practices which looks after the soil to ensure good quality crop, before the crop is milled by a local miller using a stone grinding process (which apparently retains better flavour than industrial milling processes), the leftover bran is then made into pellets which fires the ovens! I thought this was really great because I’m so passionate about sustainable practices and circular production methods. It is exactly what we need to be doing more of, and to find and support more small businesses making efforts to do this is uppermost in my mind.

    The shop itself was delightful, and the smell of fresh baking was to die for… I honestly could have spent hours in there, even though it’s a relatively small shop. There were so many goodies, little bits to taste, and lots of accoutrements such as dipping oils, rock salt, and kitchen implements. I bought several items, including kalamata olive bread, focaccia, Danish rye bread, and a pain-aux-raisin. I’ve already eaten the pain-aux-raisin, and can’t wait to tuck into the rest.

    I’ll be heading back up to Lakeland Food Park next week as they’re doing a Christmas Fair and Tasting event from the 4th – 6th December 2025! It’s definitely worth going if you’re a foodie in the region of the South/Central Lakes/North Lancs because I think it’s going to be delicious, and I’m excited to try all of the yummy goods!