FINDING THE BEST FOOD
The Bowland Food Hall features some of the best food Lancashire has to offer as well as some gems from further afield
At Holmes Mill, a derelict weaving shed has been transformed into a fabulous food hall and a great visitor experience!
The complex has a shop, gelateria, beer hall, function room and brewery along with the Bowland Food Hall, as well as a recently opened 38 bedroomed hotel and a seafood bar and grill.
For a relatively small town such as Clitheroe to have such an asset is incredible. Having taken just over six months to complete, including a new landmark ‘wavy’ roof designed by architects Stanton Andrews, Bowland Food Hall is a triumph – it is a remarkable celebration of fine local food.
As her title suggests food finder Alison Ashworth is the person responsible for sourcing the produce featured in the food hall and while predominantly local, she has also gone further afield to find the best of the best.
“It’s not difficult finding fabulous food in this area. It’s also nice to have stories that go with the food. I have met some fantastic people and been to some incredible places here in the Ribble Valley,” recalls Alison, who was amazed to discover a herd of buffalo at Carron Lodge, which makes Inglewhite Buffalo Cheddar – one of many specialist cheeses to feature in the food hall.
Other local producers, whose food is stocked in the food hall include Bowland Pork, Bowland Forest Eggs, Leagram Dairy, Cowman’s Butchers, Alston Dairy, Bowland Meats, Bowland Chocolate and Roy Porter of Chatburn, whose pork pies have been named best in the UK!
“Discovering all these local producers has been a really interesting project. We are passionate about provenance,” says Alison. “The idea is to showcase the very best of Lancashire food to help promote the producers in the region.”
“We have a passionate team here at Bowland Food Hall. From the start we have all shared the vision and it has resulted in this fantastic building being brought back to life. Being the food finder for the Bowland Food Hall has been such fun and I’m sure there’s still more to discover!”
