A new farm shop selling locally grown and produced food has been opened at Reaseheath College in Nantwich.
The shop was unveiled by award-winning Master Chef Brian Mellor during the Nantwich college’s Family Festival.
Products include freshly baked bread, cakes and quiches made in Reaseheath’s Food Centre by students.
The shop stocks Reaseheath’s own cheeses, butter and ice-cream, as well as seasonal vegetables, preserves, relishes and local meat products.
The outlet is staffed by students and is open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.
Brian said: “I very much support the ethos of using local and seasonal products. I launched a young chef of the year competition 11 years ago expressly to encourage young chefs to use local ingredients.
“This has grown and now over 2,000 regional dishes have been created which predominantly use products grown or manufactured locally.
“The enterprise fits in very nicely with what Reaseheath teaches and produces on site. It makes perfect sense to have a farm shop on campus.”
Reaseheath head of food Toni-Anne Harrison said: “We created the shop to give students the opportunity to experience the demands of an actual retail environment.
“It allows them to appreciate first hand the emphasis that the supply chain puts on quality and consistency.
“From the college’s perspective the farm shop underpins one of our main values, which is to ensure that our students are fully prepared for work once they graduate.”
Brian Mellor has cooked for royalty and celebrities and has overseen dozens of chefs in busy restaurants. His latest venture is a cookery school in Harthill near Tattenhall.
For further details contact the Courses Hotline 01270 613242 or email [email protected]
(Pic: Celebrity chef Brian Mellor at opening of Reaseheath Farm Shop with Senior Patisserie and Bakery Technologist Andy Dale)
Come on Reaseheath – do you want people on site or not? One minute you want to shut down a Sustrans cycle route through the grounds, now you want people to come on site to shop!
Or is the “danger to the students” from the cycle track just a red herring? We should be told.