Denstone Hall Farm Shop & Café: a mecca for lovers of local produce in Staffordshire & Derbyshire
Denstone Hall Farm Shop & Café is undoubtedly one of the great meccas for anyone seeking out local produce in Staffordshire and Derbyshire. In this post I want to tell you why I think it’s such an important local asset and, if you’ve haven’t visited it before, highlight some of the products you’ll find there that I love.
my road to Denstone hall
I first heard of Denstone Hall when we relocated to the Staffordshire Moorlands four years ago. As I’d lived in the city of Leicester for the previous twenty-five years, moving to a small market town, then a village, was quite a big step.
Although we regularly used Leicester market (once very good, especially its fish market, now drastically reduced in size) and some local shops (particularly Asian grocers for cooking ingredients), like many people we did the bulk of our shopping in supermarkets. But one of the changes we resolved to make as part of our new rural life was to eat more local produce and buy from independent, smaller businesses.
This decision came about as we’d seen that reliance on big suppliers had led to the centres of many towns and cities losing their unique identities. We’d heard the testimony of farmers and other suppliers who’d been squeezed to the edge of economic viability by the power of the large supermarkets. We were also very aware of the food miles involved in supermarket shopping, with products in the UK often being brought long distances to a central hub only to then be shipped out across the country again.
In the light of recent scandals such as horsemeat in supermarket products and the revelation that Use By dates were tampered with at major chicken-processing plants, it now appears even more important to know that your food comes from trusted producers and suppliers. So, when we moved to Staffordshire, one of my first jobs was to discover sources of quality produce, as local to us as possible. High up on my list of places to investigate was Denstone Hall and we’ve been going there ever since.
Denstone Hall Farm Shop & Café
Set on a family-run farm close to the border with Derbyshire, Denstone Hall is rightly proud of its ‘gate to plate’ philosophy, stating on its website the aim:
“to use our own produce from the farm and to source high quality local produce with provenance. We pride ourselves on the award-winning creations from our farm, butchery and kitchen as well as our award-winning customer service.”
Just how committed to local produce can be appreciated when you view Denstone Hall’s extremely impressive local produce map showing the location of their suppliers for everything from fruit and veg, beers, cheeses, oils, free-range pork and chicken to chocolate, honey and pottery.
FARM SHOP
The first thing you’ll see as you walk into the farm shop at Denstone Hall is the bright display of fresh fruit and vegetables which, the website also tells us, might include parsnips from Lichfield, Cheadle potatoes and strawberries from Stafford when in season.
Beyond the fruit and vegetables, and aside from the burgeoning deli and butchery counters, you’ll find an incredible collection of groceries and produce: cheeses, meats, pies and pastries, eggs, cakes and biscuits, chocolates, fresh bread, wine and beer including from the Staffordshire Brewery, cooking and baking ingredients and a wide range of pickles, preserves and sauces including many from Leek-based Cottage Delight.
There are convenient frozen items too: fruit (summer fruits and blueberries on my last visit), local ice creams, steak and ale pies and pastries you can leave to prove overnight and bake in the morning to have fresh croissants or pain au chocolate for breakfast.
The display of fresh bread and cakes is impressive. The bread is delivered daily from Spencer’s of nearby Ashbourne and many of the cakes were homemade in the Denstone Hall kitchen – I spotted lemon cakes, chocolate cakes, coffee and walnut as well as Bakewell slices and shortbread.
Deli
On the spectacular deli counter, besides cold meats and local cheeses such as those from the Staffordshire Cheese Company and Hartington Creamery, you’ll find homemade items like sausage rolls filled with Denstone’s award-winning Staffordshire Sizzler sausages and ready meals like cottage pies, quiches and pizza.
The Denstone Hall kitchen makes wonderful pork pies. I’m not one to usually countenance anything except a Melton Mowbray pork pie (maybe because I’m originally from Leicestershire), but I make an exception when they’re this good.
Two of their pies I particularly love are the classic pork pie and the Huntsman’s pork pie, the latter having a layer of chicken on top of the tasty pork and the whole lot topped off with a flavoursome stuffing. Both this and the classic pork pie are stunningly good, with quality meat and crisp pastry.
In the chiller cabinets, you’ll find more meats and cheeses along with ready meals labelled ‘Homemade in our Café’, such as lasagne and steak & ale or chicken & leek pies in various sizes. There were homemade Bakewell tarts as well as apple pies made by Spencer’s of Ashbourne. A food emporium in Staffordshire wouldn’t be complete without oatcakes of course, and here they were from Locketts of Stoke on Trent.
Butchery counter
In my view, a visit to Denstone Hall is worth the trip for its butchery counter alone, with almost all of the meat sourced from within 30 miles. The beef is from Denstone Hall’s own farm.
That 28-day hung beef is one of the highlights for me, along with lamb from the Staffordshire Moorlands and full-flavoured, free range pork. I counted nine varieties of homemade sausages, including the award-winning Staffordshire Sizzler, and quality bacon too.
I came away with deliciously meaty Old English sausages made with Packington Free Range pork, intensely smoky streaky bacon (these made a smashing breakfast the next day along with scrambled Sam’s Free Range Eggs), a couple of double loin Barnsley chops of Staffordshire Moorlands lamb as well as some ox liver and pig kidney for my cocker spaniel (yes, he’s very spoilt).
I’d also taken advantage of their pre-order service by telephoning a few days earlier so there was a whole oxtail waiting for me too. Not so easy to come by these days, I planned to use it in the rich and delicious Andalusian dish of Rabo de Toro.
Click here for my Rabo de Toro tapas recipe using Denstone Hall beef
Take a look in the butchery fridge and you’ll find lots of meat conveniently already packaged, including free range chicken, veal escalopes (I couldn’t resist these and bought four), more roasting joints and sausages.
There was a good selection of seasonal game available: whole partridge and mallard, diced venison and rolled haunch of venison.
If you’re looking for a quick meal and want some of the preparation done for you, then you’ll find lots to choose from in the butchery fridge too. On my last visit, items included spatchcock chicken (piri piri flavour or with ginger, chilli and lime), meatballs in sauce and marinated chicken fillets (including honey & mustard and French garlic).
CAFÉ
Everything in Denstone Hall’s bright and welcoming café is homemade, from pies, cakes and tarts to the sausage or burger in your bap. Even the coffee is made from their own blend of beans – roasted in Staffordshire of course and served with local milk and cream.
Open every day for breakfast and lunch, there’s plenty of local produce on the menu with all of the meats used coming from the butchery counter.
Breakfasts range from the full ‘Farmer’s Breakfast’ to avocado on toast or granola with yogurt and fruit compote. I’ve previously enjoyed Sam’s Free Range Eggs scrambled on toast with smoked salmon.
For lunch, there’s sandwiches, baps, jacket potatoes, homemade pies and tarts, burgers, salads and lots more – the whole menu packed full of local, quality ingredients. For the day’s tempting selection of cakes and desserts, take a look in the cake counter at the entrance to the café.
Classic afternoon teas feature sandwiches, quiche, cakes, desserts and scones. A great idea for those of us more inclined to the savoury, is the Countryman’s afternoon tea with a beef or ham bap, half a pork pie and Scotch egg as well as the expected scone with jam and clotted cream.
For warm days, there’s outdoor seating with views of the beautiful Staffordshire countryside. Dogs are welcome in this outside area, so it’s a great spot for breakfast or lunch before or after a walk. Update 2019: there’s now a swanky dog-friendly lodge where you can eat whatever the weather.
The café also hosts occasional evening events which are very popular and I strongly recommend you book yourself on one of them. I attended a Harvest Dinner which was extremely enjoyable, featuring great local and seasonal produce in a lovely, informal atmosphere. The café is licensed too, so you can enjoy a local beer or a cider with your meal and wine by the glass or bottle.
Click here to read my review of Denstone Hall’s Harvest Dinner
a must visit for lovers of local produce
Whether you’re local to Staffordshire or Derbyshire, or just passing through, a visit to Denstone Hall Farm Shop and Cafe is a must for anyone who loves quality food.
Browse the well-stocked farm shop with its excellent deli and butchery counters, array of fresh fruit and vegetables, wines, beers and groceries and you’re sure to find lots to appreciate. Stop by the cafe and sample the dishes created from those quality ingredients – local meat, eggs, cheese, homemade pies, cakes and desserts – and you’ll see why Denstone Hall is so popular.
If your interests range wider than food and drink then visit the gift shop for jewellery, candles, toiletries, toys, books and homewares.
Finally, a mention should also be made of Denstone Hall’s staff. Eveyone I’ve encountered, whether in the cafe, the deli and butchery counters or at the till has been efficient, friendly and knowledgeable.
So if you haven’t been to Denstone Hall yet, what are you waiting for?