Lancashire is one of the great cheese counties of England. Within a few miles of the market town of Garstang, you will find five of the county biggest cheese producers: Dewlay, Singletons, Butlers, Carron Lodge, and Mrs Kirkhams. This concentration of cheesemaking talent is unmatched anywhere in England, and the three traditional Lancashire varieties, Creamy, Tasty, and Crumbly, each have their own dedicated walking trail through the county countryside.
Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire Cheese is the headline story. Made by the Kirkham family in the village of Goosnargh since 1978, it is the world last farm-made raw milk Lancashire cheese. Graham Kirkham uses milk from his own closed herd of 220 grass-fed Holstein Friesians and makes the cheese by hand using a traditional recipe passed down from his mother Ruth. The cheese is stocked by Harrods, Neal Yard Dairy, and Waitrose, and has won more accolades than the family can count. Dewlay in Garstang was catapulted to national fame when Jamie Oliver used their Garstang Blue on television. Leagram Organic Dairy in Chipping is where Lancashire cheese was first made commercially. Grandma Singletons produces Blacksticks Blue and Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire PDO. Butlers has been making cheese using exclusive recipes since the 1930s.
Goosnargh is not only famous for cheese. Reg Johnson has been rearing corn-fed chicken, duck, and geese at Swainson House Farm for decades. His poultry is on the shopping list of Michel Roux Junior, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, and Raymond Blanc. The village name has become a byword for quality poultry in professional kitchens across the country.
The Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland are the food and drink heartland of the county. Bowland Brewery has its flagship Beer Hall at Holmes Mill in Clitheroe. Thwaites has been brewing in Lancashire since 1807. Moorhouses in Burnley has produced Champion Beer of Britain winners. Brindle Distillery makes Cuckoo Gin using ingredients from their own fields. Wild Fox Distillery won Best Rural Drink Business in 2021. J Atkinson and Co has been selling tea and coffee in Lancaster since 1837.
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