Our Food
Food, glorious food!
What a great topic, something we really enjoy, to make, to eat, and to talk about!! Let's hope there is something that can tempt you!
Homemade
Most of the food we serve is homemade in our kitchen, where we spend most of our time. Breads, jams and marmalades, muffins and cakes, and granola are all made at Lowthwaite.
Local Cumbrian suppliers
The Watermill at Salkeld supplies our organic flour for the homemade bread, and they have an online shop if you would like some of their flour or other items.
Our bacon all comes from Cranstons, a local butcher in Penrith, who have also established a "local food hall" that includes a greengrocer and fishmonger.
Deer 'n Dexter provide our Cumberland sausages, made to their own recipe. Jane and Peter live on the northern side of Little Mell Fell. They work with several local smallholders that keep small numbers of free ranging pigs. They also have an online shop.
Organic and Sustainable Food
Quite some of our food is organic, but we don't claim to be 100% organic. We choose to use organic produce where we think it provides the best value. The best example is the organic flour, an important staple which makes really good bread.
Suma Wholefoods stock a range of their own brand products as well as natural and responsibly sourced products from many other wholefood suppliers. We purchase many of our staple groceries from them, a large part of which are organic and/or Fair Trade. Suma is one of the largest workers cooperatives in England.
Fair Trade
After having spent years in Tanzania, Fairtrade is very important to us, so we try to get as many Fairtrade products as possible. This means not only tea and coffee, but also sugar, sometimes bananas, vanilla, drinking and cooking chocolate, sometimes honey, and whatever else we can find.
Storing food
We have a fridge in the breakfast room that always has fresh milk for hot drinks, but you are also welcome to use it for wine, your own packed lunch, food for children, or whatever else you might want to keep cool.