Derbyshire farm shop Croots boosts its parking facilities to cater for demand

Steve Croot in the new car park.

Popular Derbyshire farm shop Croots has doubled the size of its car park to cater for increasing numbers of customers.

As it gears up for Christmas and its busiest time of the year, the farm shop near Duffield has opened a second car park to create additional spaces.

The new hardstanding area has effectively doubled the number of car parking spaces at the farm shop in Wirksworth Road to around 56.

“Croots Farm Shop & Café has become a popular destination for shoppers and diners, and we wanted to make sure that our visitors could park – whether they were coming to shop, visit our café for coffee, lunch or afternoon tea, or to use our children’s play area,” said Steve Croot, who runs the shop with wife Kay Croot.

“We’re situated at the end of a 500m drive and many of our visitors come by car, so this will make it easier for customers to find a space, especially as we are now heading towards our busiest time of the year when we expect a lot of visitors to the Christmas events we have planned, as well as those coming to do their shopping or join us in the café.”

The new car park is near the top of the drive, just a few metres away from Croots Farm Shop & Café.

Croots, which opened in June 2008, is an award-winning family run farm shop – well known for its wide array of quality food and drink, homemade produce and gifts. It has an extensive butchery counter and a well-stocked cheese display, making it a big favourite for foodie fans in Derbyshire.

It also sells a range of bakes created exclusively for Croots by Great British Bake Off contestant Val Stones who is the sister of Steve Croot.

Earlier this year, Croots Farm Shop won the People’s Choice in the Midlands Award in the Family United Business Awards.

“We’ve expanded the shop and the café since we opened, and improved the drive, so it’s logical to also extend the car park,” added Steve. “We have additional improvements in the pipeline too, as we continue to boost our facilities and customer experience.”

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information, visit http://www.croots.co.uk. Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Derbyshire Shire Horse Association hands over donation to palliative care unit

Derbyshire Shire Horse Association at Croots

Derbyshire Shire Horse Association has presented £500 to the Nightingale Macmillan Unit, a specialist palliative care unit at the Royal Derby Hospital, following the group’s annual open day.

The money was raised from admission fees, raffle tickets, a tombola and sponsorship from local companies – and was handed over during a ceremony at Croots Farm Shop.

Staged at Farnah House Farm, just outside Duffield, and the home of Croots Farm Shop, the show is an annual event which attracts pedigree Shire horses from across Derbyshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire.  

“We have held our annual event at Farnah House Farm for several years and plan to hold it there again on the first Sunday of next August. We are delighted to have raised £500 for the Nightingale Macmillan Unit,” said Sheila Shardlow, treasurer of the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association.

Approximately 30 Shire horses took part in the show, dressed in all their finery – attracting crowds of visitors.

Farnah House Farm is the home of Jim Yates, President of the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association, and his wife Sue, who have been breeding and rearing Shire horses for many decades. Jim is also the chairman of the executive committee of the Shire Horse Society, the only national charity that is dedicated to the protection, promotion and improvement of the Shire horse.

Their daughter Kay Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop with her husband Steve, said: “We thoroughly enjoy hosting the annual open day run by Derbyshire Shire Horse Association, and are pleased that the event raised so much money for a local good cause.”

Photo caption, front row, left to right, Simon Livesey, who is chairman of Derbyshire Shire Horse Association, Janet Sanders, from the Nightingale Macmillan Unit, Jim Yates, president of the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association, and committee member Kay Croot, from Croots Farm Shop, with other committee members of the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association.

Press release issued at Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Christmas events announced for Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire

Santa and Croots elves 

Derbyshire-based farm shop Croots has unveiled a Christmas cracker of events leading up to the festive period.

Throughout November and December, Croots Farm Shop near Duffield is set to host a number of festive events, kicking off on Thursday 9^th November with a Taste of Christmas Event. This will be the perfect chance to preview Croots new Christmas range with the opportunity to enjoy mulled wine and mince pies, and to sample the wares of local suppliers.

Singer Neil White will be providing entertainment by singing seasonal songs.

Running from 5.30pm to 8.00pm, the event is free to attend and visitors will be treated to 10% off their shopping.

Festivities continue throughout December with the Holly Jolly Breakfast or Tea with Santa – held on a range of dates. For just £13.50, children can spend time with elves, enjoy festive gingerbread making and a chance to meet Santa and receive a gift. Further details and dates are on the Croots website. Booking is essential and early booking is advised by calling 01332 843032.

Looking to once again bring festive cheer to the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, the farm shop will be stocking reindeer food in the run up to Christmas. All proceeds from the sale of the reindeer food will be donated to the charity, which has been supported by Croots Farm Shop for several years.

A Christmas hamper raffle will also be staged in aid of the charity, which was established in 1891 to provide Derbyshire children having troubles in their home lives with a holiday in Skegness, Lincolnshire. It currently provides 660 holiday places per season.

Croots, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information, visit www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Gold star awards for Croots Farm Shop includes Bake Off star’s cake

Steve Croot and Val Stones

Popular Derbyshire farm shop Croots has scooped two gold star awards in this year’s Great Taste Awards – including one for a cake designed in conjunction with Bake Off star Val Stones.

Val’s Virtuous Cake, a fat-free, sugar-free and egg-free bake created by Val, who is the sister of Croots’ owner Steve Croot, was awarded a gold star accolade in the 2017 awards.

Croots Hickory Smoked Chicken Sausage, created in-house by the butchers at the farm shop near Duffield, also won a gold star in the awards, which are widely regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world.

A one star gold award identifies a product as being ‘simply delicious’, according to the Guild of Fine Food, who organise the annual awards.

The judges’ comments for Val’s cake, which is suitable for vegans, included: “A good, wholesome, homemade cake” and “A very good cake – and for all that is missing, you’ve made up for in taste. Good fruit, peel, spice, richness and moisture – very satisfying and with a full flavour without relying on many ingredients.”

Val shot to fame as a popular contestant of last year’s Great British Bake Off, screened on BBC1. She later devised a range of bakes for Croots under the Val at Croots……made with love brand, which include banana and pecan loaf, a range of cookies, cherry shortbread and the virtuous cake.

She is a regular visitor to the farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield - travelling from her Somerset home to bake and advise on recipes for Croots.

Val said: “I am delighted to hear that Val’s Virtuous Cake has been awarded a one star gold award. I’m very proud of the baking team at Croots.”

For the chicken sausage, the judges’ comments included: “Plump little sausages with an inviting colour.  The aroma is of cured, smoked meats. We felt that for a low-fat chicken sausage this is oozing with positive, meaty flavours” and “A very pleasant, plump and well-cooked sausage, the grind of the meat is good, we detect chorizo in the aroma too, the mouth feel is pleasant, the sweet chorizo has worked with the chicken, we are also very pleased that the sausage is not at all dry and remains moist and pleasantly delicious.”

Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop and café with wife Kay, said: “We are chuffed to win two gold star awards for our products in the 2017 Great Taste Awards, as these really are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world.

“I think we’ve now won 21 Great Taste Awards over the years for products ranging from our sausages and meat to our Croots sloe gin and our Croots muesli mix, which is a huge honour and illustrates the wide range of top quality products we produce here at our Derbyshire farm shop.”

Some 12,366 products were put forward by producers across the UK and other countries for consideration for the 2017 Great Taste Awards, which are acknowledged as the benchmark for speciality food and drink and have been described as the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. Just 35% of entries were accredited after rigorous testing by a panel of more than 500 judges.

These are the latest awards won by Croots, which in June scooped the People’s Choice Award for the Midlands at the Family Business United Awards 2017 and which also recently had two products - Croots Lemon Tart and Croots Lemon Rapeseed Oil - selected as finalists in this year’s Great British Food Awards 2017, run by national magazine Great British Food.

Croots is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information, visit www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Sweet taste of success for Croots Farm Shop in national food awards

Steve Croot ahead of the Great British Food Awards 2017

Popular Derbyshire farm shop Croots has received national recognition for two of its home-made products after being named a finalist in two categories of the Great British Food Awards 2017.

Two years ago, the farm shop won top bake for its Derbyshire Bakewell Tart in the awards run by Great British Food magazine. And last year its home-made Derbyshire Pasty was highly commended in the same awards.

Now another of the tasty bakes from Croots has been singled out for success, with Croots Lemon Tart selected as a finalist in this year’s sweet baked category. Also named as a finalist in the awards is Croots Lemon Rapeseed Oil.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to hear that the Croots Lemon Tart and the Croots Rapeseed Oil have been shortlisted in the national awards organised by Great British Food magazine,” said Steve Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop and Café at Wirksworth Road, Duffield, with his wife Kay.

“Our home-baked and home-made products are a really popular part of the range of food and drink that we offer, and both the Lemon Tart and the Lemon Rapeseed Oil are big favourites with our customers. It was great news for us when our Derbyshire Bakewell Tart won the title of best sweet bake in the magazine’s award two years ago and we are so happy that other products have now hit the spot in the initial round of judging and made it onto the shortlist for this year’s awards.”

Croots Farm Shop, which opened nine years ago, at Farnah House Farm, has won scores of awards for its products, including sausages, meat products, and bakery items. Earlier this month (June), it picked up the People’s Choice Award for Family Business of the Year in the Midlands, at an awards ceremony run by Family Business United.

“We have a very talented team at Croots, some of whom have been with us since the start of our journey, and our success in the awards we enter is very much down to them,” added Steve.

Editor of Great British Food, Natasha Lovell-Smith, said in a note to Croots: “We had a lot of great entries this year, so you should be very proud!” 

Judges for the national magazine, a monthly magazine dedicated to celebrating the wonderful quality and diversity of British produce, are now busy picking the winners of the competition, which will be announced later this summer.

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information, visit http://www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk