From ‘Farm To Fork’ This Christmas
Like all good stories, Honeywell’s is rooted in humble beginnings and is in stark contrast to what has grown into a much-loved local business, long trusted by families to provide the best produce from every day delicious meals to special occasions and celebrations, as Katie Hammond explores
When the Gornall brothers began selling home-reared pork from a stall in their garage back in 1971, they could never have foreseen where their efforts would take them. Now operating from a purpose-built farm shop and serving their loyal customers from two destination food halls, there’s one thing that has remained a constant – the brothers’ determination that high-quality, locally-sourced food will always remain at the heart of all that they do.
What began as a butchery business when John and Anthony opened their first farm shop in 2003, one of the first original farm shops in Lancashire, is now a thriving, multi-range food and produce concern, trusted by several generations of customers across the county. Consistency, quality and high standards of produce have underpinned the successful business that is constantly evolving and thriving.
Honeywell’s are now proudly serving their loyal customer base from their original farm shop as well as from concessions within Barton Grange Garden Centre in Barton, near Preston, and Bents Garden & Home Food Hall, Glazebury.
With the festive season fast approaching, as always, the Honeywell’s team are doing their utmost to make life as easy as possible for the families they serve, with the usual mix of the highest quality meats and everything else delicious that’s needed for the perfect family Christmas table.
Manager Liz Laycock explains: “Our fabulous turkeys are hand reared on the family farm by John and Anthony, who learned their traditional rearing skills from their Great Grandad Jack. He nurtured their passion for all things farming and family and coined the phrase ‘from farm to fork’ all those years ago.
“We firmly believe that breed, rearing and welfare are the three essentials which lead to the best quality birds that our customers love – we know this as we have generations of families returning to buy them year after year, which is the ultimate testament for us.
“We buy our turkeys as day-old chicks from Kelly’s Turkeys, who are renowned for their quality and integrity of breed. The birds are slower growing than some of the more modern varieties, so this produces a more flavourful, superior tasting meat. They are all hand-plucked and hung to complete the fullness of flavour and enhance beautiful texture of the meat.
“We have so many different options, from whole turkeys to boneless turkey breast joints, so we can advise what might work best depending on our customers preferences and how many they are feeding on the day. They also have a choice of a plain turkey, or adding one of our large variety of stuffings, including different sausage meats – there’s something to suit everyone’s taste.”
For those looking for something a bit different for the festive table, Honeywell’s award-winning ranges of beef, pork and lamb are complemented by delicious alternatives including venison, Mallard duck, partridge and three-bird roasts. For a special Christmas or Boxing Day breakfast, there’s a full range of bacon, sausages and local Lancashire Black Pudding.
Whilst shoppers can enjoy a festive visit and extended afternoon out browsing the delicatessens at Barton Grange and Bents or popping into the farm shop to see what’s on offer, Honeywell’s are aware that they also need to make provision for the increasingly busy lives of their customers.
Liz continues: “We always listen to feedback and so we recently launched our online shop, where customers can browse the full Christmas range and order everything from our prize- winning meats and hampers to pet food, seasoned logs and our ever-popular cook-at-home boxes. We want Christmas to be just a few clicks away for those who prefer to shop from the comfort of home.”
As another successful year draws to a close for this busy, family-run farm business, Liz concludes: “We are so grateful to those who choose to support us as a small local business, as this, in turn, supports our amazing local farmers, growers and suppliers. We never underestimate what Christmas means to our customers and are delighted that they trust and choose us year after year to treat their families to what is arguably the most important meal of the year – we want it to be perfect for them.”
