Yorkshire food heroes

Richard Spilman has been growing strawberries at Church Farm, Sessay since 1970, starting with 2 acres, and gradually increasing to the present 12 acres. Alongside this there are 3 acres of raspberries, as well as blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries and plums.

All the fruit is grown in a traditional manner, without soil sterilization, and open to the elements. Besides fruit, Richard and his family grow more conventional crops such as cereals, potatoes and fodder beet, as well as asparagus, a flock of 300 ewes and some beef cattle.

For this month’s Food Hero we decided to showcase a selection of local seafood, as we simply could not choose just one! The Yorkshire menu will include fantastic dishes created using ingredients such as; Whitby crab, fresh salmon and smoked haddock.

Rudding Park’s main supplier of seafood is the Harrogate-based company, Ramus, a family run business with a twenty-seven year history of supplying the best seafood direct to the people of North Yorkshire. The company was started by Chris and Liz Ramus in 1973.

George Morrell Farms is a family owned business based in Plumpton, Knaresborough and has been operating for 60 years.

Staff at George Morrell Farms hand pick all 18 acres of the crop using specially designed buggies which can be powered and steered by their feet, leaving their hands free to harvest the asparagus. As the seasons become progressively warmer, local asparagus can now be eaten as early as mid April however the harvest remains just 10 weeks.

Simon has created a fusion of traditional hand made cheese using his own recipes. Coming up to his first year of trading, his contemporary cheese range includes cracked black pepper, traditional ale and garlic and herb.

Arcadian Apiaries Limited is a local honey producer, based in Harrogate, with beehives mainly on farmland east of Knaresborough.  Arcadian produces a variety of honeys depending on what the bees feed on.  Yorkshire has an impressive array of honeys, from the rich, moorland Heather honey through to delicate, clear blossom honey.  All the Arcadian Apiaries hives are normally within 8 miles of Rudding Park, however the heather honey is produced by moving some beehives to Dallowgill Moor which is about 17 miles from Rudding Park.

Arcadian Apiaries is run by Judith and Mike Rowbottom who have both kept bees for fifteen years.  At the height of the season in June/July they have about two million honeybees in their hives.  The bees all live in cedar hives, and are kept as naturally as possible.  All the honey that Arcadian supplies is from their own hives, and is extracted and bottled on their own premises.  The bees are generally a gentle prolific strain that thrive in the Yorkshire climate.  Judith and Mike raise their own queen bees to ensure that their colonies remain calm and productive.

For March’s Food Hero we thought we’d try something different, and Rudding Park’s chefs challenged themselves to creating a three course menu using local bitters and real ales.

The main breweries used are: 
Black Sheep Brewery, Masham – 24 miles.  Famously created by Paul, a third generation Theakston following the family brewery ‘T & R Theakston’ becoming part of Scottish and Newcastle.

Rudgate Brewery, Tockwith – 12 miles. Founded in 1992, Rudgate Brewery is a small traditional brewer using the finest raw materials.  Local water, locally sourced malts, the finest whole hops and their own strain of Yorkshire Brewing Yeast.

Daleside Brewery, Harrogate – 3 miles.  Yorkshire's regional brewer specialising in high quality real ales and beers.  Brewed using traditional methods to heritage recipes as well as their own unique recipes based on unrivaled knowledge and expertise these ales and beers have won many awards.

Moss House Farm is a family business run by Robert Thomlinson in Pudsey, Leeds. The company has been in business for over 100 years and has been passed down the generations to Robert’s father and now to Robert.

The rhubarb is grown in total darkness in heated rhubarb sheds to force production. It is said you can actually hear the rhubarb growing when the stalks are bursting from the root. Armfuls of rhubarb are harvested by candlelight in order to preserve the colour and are then sold at the farm, at a local farmers market and to local wholesalers. A group of Yorkshire producers are currently trying to gain protected status for Yorkshire forced rhubarb.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses Ltd is a family business run by Judy Bell in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Justin, her son, is Technical Director and daughter Katie is Production Manager.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses Ltd was the first cheesemaker to reintroduce blue cheesemaking to Yorkshire in the early 1990's and produces a range of four speciality blue cheeses along with their own Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese. As well as overseeing the marketing for the Pantry, Judy develops recipes, trains delicatessen staff and gives frequent demonstrations

Milford Farm Poultry was established in 1964 by George Woodall, and although the company has grown over the years, it is still very much a family business. For two generations Milford Farm has maintained the finest traditions of pig and poultry farming; to this day George still makes the food for the turkeys by hand using home grown ingredients.

As well as poultry, Milford Farm also rear pigs. The latest additions to their product range are Milford Farms Chestnut Pigs and Traditional Free Range Bronze Turkeys, both bred especially for their taste and tenderness.

Yorkshire Game Ltd was established in 1983 by Sandra and Louis Baxter.  The business expanded gradually over time, from providing game to local restaurants, to supplying wholesalers in England, Europe and beyond.  In 1999 Yorkshire Game acquired the business and venison expertise of Richard Townsend, who took over as Managing Director in 2005 when the Baxters retired.

Yorkshire Game’s most popular products are Venison, Grouse, Pheasant, Partridge, Wild Duck, Woodpigeon, Hare and Rabbit, although most other game species can be sourced on request.

Apples have been grown at Ampleforth for well over 100 years and monks still provide the workforce for what is England's most northern commercial orchard. The present orchard covers more than 2 hectares with some 2,000 trees and more than 40 varieties of apples.

The orchards at Ampleforth are situated between the many buildings that make up Ampleforth Abbey and College, and the Benedictine monastic community (now numbering 80 monks) have lived, prayed and worked in this picturesque valley for over 200 years.

Some of the apples are sold to visitors and others go to make juice and the increasingly popular Ampleforth Cider and Ampleforth Cider Brandy. Local people can also bring their own apples to the cider mill to be juiced.

Arcadian Apiaries Limited is a local honey producer, based in Harrogate, with beehives mainly on farmland east of Knaresborough.  Arcadian produces a variety of honeys depending on what the bees feed on.  Yorkshire has an impressive array of honeys, from the rich, moorland Heather honey through to delicate, clear blossom honey.  All the Arcadian Apiaries hives are normally within 8 miles of Rudding Park, however the heather honey is produced by moving some beehives to Dallowgill Moor which is about 17 miles from Rudding Park.

Arcadian Apiaries is run by Judith and Mike Rowbottom who have both kept bees for fifteen years.  At the height of the season in June/July they have about two million honeybees in their hives.  The bees all live in cedar hives, and are kept as naturally as possible.  All the honey that Arcadian supplies is from their own hives, and is extracted and bottled on their own premises.  The bees are generally a gentle prolific strain that thrive in the Yorkshire climate.  Judith and Mike raise their own queen bees to ensure that their colonies remain calm and productive.

Alison Dodd began to grow her own herbs in Yorkshire 17 years ago. As a former chef, Alison recognised the need for a good supply of fresh herbs in the catering industry. Herbs Unlimited harvest, pack and deliver their produce to Rudding Park within 24 hours.

Later a new site was developed, which included 2 acres of poly tunnels and glasshouses, a state of the art packhouse and 35 acres of field crops.

Fresh herbs have been gradually rediscovered as a primary source of flavour, and with more people concerned with healthy eating, and with the desire to support local producers and reduce "food miles", demand has continued to increase.

Richard Spilman has been growing strawberries at Church Farm, Sessay since 1970, starting with 2 acres, and gradually increasing to the present 12 acres. Alongside this there are 3 acres of raspberries, as well as blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries and plums.

All the fruit is grown in a traditional manner, without soil sterilization, and open to the elements. Besides fruit, Richard and his family grow more conventional crops such as cereals, potatoes and fodder beet, as well as asparagus, a flock of 300 ewes and some beef cattle.

June’s Food Hero is Woodcock Hill Farm in Pannal, farmed by the Robinson’s family for the last 60 years. The family bread Texel lambs, and their farm is unique in that they grow their own feed to feed to them. This feed consists of cereals, corn and sugar beet (all grown by Anne on the farm) and resembles muesli, this combined with the sheep’s milk, means that the lambs have excellent feed.

The family run two farms in the area and Anne’s nieces and nephew’s can be spotted entering their lambs at local agricultural farm shows.

George Morrell Farms is a family owned business based in Plumpton, Knaresborough and has been operating for 60 years.

Staff at George Morrell Farms hand pick all 18 acres of the crop using specially designed buggies which can be powered and steered by their feet, leaving their hands free to harvest the asparagus. As the seasons become progressively warmer, local asparagus can now be eaten as early as mid April however the harvest remains just 10 weeks.

Simon Lacey runs a small cheese making business in Richmond. Simon has worked in the food industry for over 20 years as a Chef, Butcher and Baker. After becoming Dairy Assistant at the Swaledale Cheese Company in 2004 Simon began to dream of making his own cheese and, with the support of his partner Amanda, put together the blue-print for his own enterprise - Laceys Cheese.

Simon has created a fusion of traditional hand made cheese using his own recipes. Coming up to his first year of trading, his contemporary cheese range includes cracked black pepper, traditional ale and garlic and herb.

Givendale Prime Beef comes from Givendale Farm in Pocklington, York. It is reared from free range, grass fed cattle, to produce full flavoured beef high in Omega 3 and Vitamin E. Breed Specialist, Richard Fuller has worked on the farm for over 35 years and helped develop the Givendale Prime breed almost 10 years ago.

Givendale Prime Beef was originally sold through a family butcher near the farm. Rudding Park sources Givendale Prime from Sykes House Farm, one of the largest independent catering Butchers in Yorkshire.

Moss House Farm is a family business run by Robert Thomlinson in Pudsey, Leeds. The company has been in business for over 100 years and has been passed down the generations to Robert’s father and now to Robert.

The rhubarb is grown in total darkness in heated rhubarb sheds to force production. It is said you can actually hear the rhubarb growing when the stalks are bursting from the root. Armfuls of rhubarb are harvested by candlelight in order to preserve the colour and are then sold at the farm, at a local farmers market and to local wholesalers. A group of Yorkshire producers are currently trying to gain protected status for Yorkshire forced rhubarb.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses Ltd is a family business run by Judy Bell in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Justin, her son, is Technical Director and daughter Katie is Production Manager.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses Ltd was the first cheesemaker to reintroduce blue cheesemaking to Yorkshire in the early 1990's and produces a range of four speciality blue cheeses along with their own Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese. As well as overseeing the marketing for the Pantry, Judy develops recipes, trains delicatessen staff and gives frequent demonstrations.