Baxters Potted Shrimps

Looking for inspirational twist for the Egg Award 2013 after Edinburgh Larder Bistro had submitted their Black Pudding Scotch Egg recipe, I decided to think fishy.  I considered Smoked Salmon with some lovely fresh local hens eggs, lemon mayonnaise and for an accompaniment some potted shrimps.  Now the problem is, I live in St Helens where there's a dearth of decent fresh fish suppliers and potted shrimp are like hen's teeth!



Fortunately the night before, whilst watching North West Tonight on BBC 1, I caught a feature which included an interview with Baxters Potted Shrimps of Morcambe.  They've been producing Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps since 1799 and are the oldest and most traditional such company in the country.




Baxters Potted Shrimps have achieved the highest accolade with the granting of the Royal Warrant in 1967 which they retain to this day based on a totally unique recipe which has been handed down through their family for seven generations.




The advantage of Baxters is the have an online store for not only their delicious Potted Shrimp, but also Fresh Smoked Salmon, Smoked Salmon Pate, Dressed Crab and Scallops.  They also feature a range of cheese from the Leagram Organic Creamery in Lancashire and Patchwork Traditional Food including Kiln Roasted Salmon Pate and Smoked Mackerel Mousse.

Their mail order service covers the UK and all orders are despatched within 24 hours of production.

Packed in an insulated box, this overnight service means the cartons will keep for at least a week in a domestic fridge, or can be frozen and kept for six months!

They've featured on the telly when Marco Pierre White toured the country in the quest to find the very best of British food and, having been a fan of Baxters Potted Shrimps for some time, he took the opportunity to visit Bob Baxter in Morecambe.

Bob took Marco on a tour of the factory and introduced him to the girls, Kathleen, Anne and Olwyn, who have been preparing the shrimps for over 30 years.  Marco christened them ‘Baxters Angels’.

Their recipe is so secret not even Marco was allowed to see it!

They also featured on the show by those lovely hirsute lads from the North east, The Hairy Bikers last year.....

So keep your eyes peeled for a Smoked Salmon Scotch Egg with Lemon Mayonnaise and Baxters Potted Shrimps recipe. Me...I'm heading for the laptop to order some shrimp and waiting for my delivery.

Foodlink Northwest

Welcome to the first of our weekly bulletins on businesses and organisations that mirror the ethos of The Egg Award 2014.  Due to interaction on Twitter with Foodlink Cheshire we take a look at the Foodlink Northwest Project

Foodlink Northwest encompasses the whole of the field to fork activities of the local food chain in the Northwest and represents a partnership of interests with a passion for the region’s locally produced foods.



At the outset they obtained support for the project from a diverse group of individuals, charities, businesses and not for profit organisations that recognise the connection local foods have on the environment, communities, sustainability, tourism, and lifestyle choices.  In understanding the driving philosophy behind the Foodlink Northwest project it is easiest to consider it as a compendium of common cause which will be brought together in a flexible approach where converging aims and objectives define a need for co-operative effort.



In that sense the Foodlink Northwest project isn’t about them, but more about the connections they make during the project with others who share common views.  This was one of the features that attracted The Egg Award 2013 to take a look at what they do.


As the project develops they hope to enlarge this initial co-operative arrangement as others see the benefits of working to the common cause and the flexibility the project has to enable differing interests to be drawn together and contribute in the local foods common bond whilst maintaining their own individual characteristics.

The Foodlink project encompasses the whole of the region including the three predominately rural counties of Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, and the two metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester & Merseyside.

Within this region is arguably one of the most diverse food-producing areas in the country. Rural Cumbria is noted for its sheep & beef production together with a well established artisan micro producer base. Cheshire is the county of orchards, cereal, dairy and vegetable farming.




Lancashire bridges the two with sheep and beef from its Bowland & Pennine regions; cheese and other dairy products from the green pastures between Chorley and Lancaster; and vegetables from the lowlands on both north and south sides of the Ribble estuary.

Tourism features strongly with the counties of Cumbria and Lancashire boasting designated areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) whilst Manchester, Merseyside, Chester and Blackpool are increasingly seen as tourist hubs to commence the journey to explore the rural northern heartlands.


 
Cumbria is world renown for the Lake District and all five counties have significant river and waterway leisure systems whilst all except Manchester are bounded by the Irish Sea.

The Northwest is certainly blessed with geographic diversity which is then reflected in its local foods.

Support for the Foodlink Northwest application came from a number of sources across the region all of which we would like to thank here, and as the project rolls out we will take the opportunity to thank in person.  Support has been received in a variety of forms including encouragement, pledges to the project, and letters of support which they were able to include in their successful application.




Without the wide support received they would not have been successful and it is testimony to the fact that engagement can and does make a difference.

Here's a list of those who provided letters of support included in their submission for funding and these include:

Cumbrian Delight/ Friendly Food & Drink	www.cumbriandelights.co.uk
Appleby Creamery Ltd	www.applebycreamery.com/
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution	www.rabi.org.uk
Country Harvest	www.country-harvest.co.uk
Enterprise4all	www.enterprise4all.co.uk
Ladies in Beef	www.ladiesinbeef.org.uk/
The Watermill	www.organicmill.co.uk
Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses	www.butlerscheeses.co.uk
Cumbria Farmers Network	www.thefarmernetwork.co.uk/cumbria
Food4Macc	www.maccinfo.com/Food4Macc/
Farming & Countryside Education	www.face-online.org.uk
The Lake District Hotels	www.lakedistricthotels.net
Friends of the Lake District	www.fld.org.uk
The Lowry Hotel	www.thelowryhotel.com/
Mawsons of Bailey Ground	www.mawsonsofbaileyground.co.uk
Bailey Ground Hotel	www.baileygroundhotel.co.uk
Low Sizergh Barn	www.lowsizerghbarn.co.uk
Blakemere	www.visitblakemere.co.uk
CPRE (Northern)	N/applicable
Nurture Lakeland	www.nurturelakeland.org
Councillor Lynn Wilson (Hyndburn BC)	http://bit.ly/lur6KE
Northcote (Nigel Haworth)	www.northcote.com
Alderley Edge Hotel	www.alderleyedgehotel.com
The Sun Inn – Kirkby Lonsdale	www.sun-inn.info
Macdonald Manchester Hotel	www.Macdonaldhotels.co.uk/Manchester
Freemasons at Wiswell	www.freemasonswiswell.co.uk
Radisson Edwardian Manchester	www.radissonedwardian.com/

In compiling the application they had more detailed and substantive discussions with The Kindling Trust, The Cumbria Fells and Dales Action Group, and The Solway, Border and Eden Action Group.

These groups gave help and encouragement in working up the bid and helping to formulate elements of the project’s direction. 

The Kindling Trust      http://kindling.org.uk/

The Cumbria Fells and Dales Action Group    http://www.fellsanddales.org.uk/

The Solway, Border and Eden Action Group    (http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/business/rdpe/sbe/rdpesolwayborderandeden.asp)