Shire Horse Open Day held at Croots Farm Shop

Gentle giants of the horse world will be shown in all their glory at a Shire horse open day in Derbyshire next month.

The Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show will be held at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield – the home of Croots Farm Shop.

As well as offering the public the chance to see magnificent Shire horses in action, the event is a rescheduled qualifier for the Shire Horse of the Year Championship at the prestigious Horse of the Year Show, which takes place in October, and is likely to attract some of the top Shire horses in the country.  The original qualifier for HOYS was postponed following the cancellation of the Derbyshire County Show last month due to the weather and ground conditions.

Running from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 7^th August, the show will feature Shire horse displays, different classes, dray rides, pony rides, trade stands and a BBQ. Admission costs £3 for adults and £2 for children.

It is being held at the farm belonging to Jim and Sue Yates, who have already qualified two of their Shire horses for the Horse of the Year Show after winning prizes at the Lincolnshire County Show and the Royal Norfolk Show.

The couple have been breeding and rearing Shire horses for decades, and are amongst the longest established families in the Shire horse world. Their son David Yates shows the horses, with daughter Kay Croot involved in preparing them for showing.

Kay, who runs Croots Farm Shop with her husband Steve, said: “The Shire horses at Farnah House Farm are very popular – people love to see them and we know that many of Croots’ customers are big fans.

“The Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show is the ideal opportunity to watch around 30 horses dressed up in all their finery being put through their paces.”

This is the third time that the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show has been held at Farnah House Farm.

For more information visit http://www.croots.co.uk

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

Construction sector networking event held in Nottingham

Three companies working across the development and construction sector joined forces to stage a networking event in Nottingham.

Civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting, planning consultancy DLP Planning and Roythornes Solicitors came together to host the event for 50 guests at the Riverbank Bar & Kitchen, near Trent Bridge.

The BBQ and networking evening provided the chance for professionals in the sector to catch up on the latest trends and news for the development and construction industry, and to chat about existing and upcoming projects and opportunities in the East Midlands.

“It’s good to get together with others who work in development, in an informal environment, and everyone seemed to enjoy renewing acquaintances and making new contacts,” said BSP Consulting business development director Jef Todd. “It’s an exciting time in the sector, with lots of key schemes underway in the region and others in the pipeline.”

BSP Consulting, which is based in Oxford Street in Nottingham, and also has offices at Pride Park, Derby, De Montfort Street, Leicester, and Solly Street, Sheffield, provides civil, structural, traffic, transportation, geotechnical and environmental engineering services across the construction industry.

An award-winning business, the firm operates across all the major sectors including health, education, residential, leisure, retail, rail and industrial.

DLP Planning operates from nine offices across the UK, specialising in providing town planning and development advice to a broad range of private and public sector clients throughout the UK. DLP Planning Ltd has extensive and wide-ranging experience in all forms of planning and development from small scale domestic projects to major strategic growth proposals, in both urban and rural areas.  

The East Midlands office opened in 2013 and originally operated from Castle Donington, Leicestershire. In May 2015, due to expansion, the East Midlands office relocated to Nottingham city centre. 

Roythornes solicitors is one of the leading property law firms in the UK with clients including some of the country’s biggest developers, as well as major blue-chip companies, family businesses and private individuals. Roythornes provides a comprehensive range of property services, including planning, infrastructure, social housing, environmental and dispute resolution. The firm has a strategic and objective approach meaning it offers not just legal advice, but commercial risk management and extensive industry expertise and experience.

For more information, visit www.bsp-consulting.co.uk www.dlpconsultants.co.uk or www.roythorne.co.uk

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

Farm open day at Croots Farm Shop

From left to right, Steve, Kay, Jim and Sue

Derbyshire farm shop Croots will be throwing open the gates to the farm as part of a nationwide event to showcase British farming.

Farnah House Farm, based off Wirksworth Road near Duffield, will be open on Saturday 4^th June, with a host of events lined up to show the public how a working farm operates.

With free admission, it will feature the chance to ‘meet the famer’ and find out more about what goes on during a day in the life of a farm. There will also be the opportunity to see lambs and learn more about lambing, watch sheep shearing demonstrations, and get up close to Shire horses and their foals.

Visitors can also go on a farm trail, chat to Nero the pony, meet some of the suppliers of Croots Farm Shop and take part in displays and games.

The event on 4^th June runs from 11am to 3.30pm and is organised by Steve Croot and his wife Kay, who run the farm shop, and Kay’s parents Jim and Sue Yates, who have farmed Farnah House Farm for 48 years. It coincides with Open Farm School Days, being held throughout June, and is being held the day before Open Farm Sunday, when farmers across Britain showcase British farming and food.

“I grew up at Farnah House Farm and now work here at Croots Farm Shop, and this event is a great opportunity for families and children to find out more about how farms work and where their food comes from,” said Kay Croot.

“My family have been farmers for generations, and my parents moved here in 1968 and have been farming here ever since. Croots Farm Shop opened almost eight years ago and is the latest chapter in the history of the farm, with some of the key aims being to support small, quality food and drink producers and to supply meat that has been reared on the farm.

“We’re excited to be able to invite visitors to find out more about British farming and hope lots of people will join us at our open day event.”

A BBQ with hot beef rolls, hot dogs and burgers will be running during the day, serving up some of the award-winning meat products that Croots is famous for.

The open farm events are spearheaded by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), and since the first event in 2006, more than 1,000 farmers across the UK have opened their gates and welcomed people onto their farm for one day a year – providing a fantastic opportunity for everyone to discover at firsthand what it means to be a farmer and the work they do producing food and managing the countryside.

Farnah House Farm is a 72-acre livestock farm, where sheep and cattle are raised. Jim and Sue also breed Shire horses and are one of the Shire world’s longest established families.

Croots Farm Shop launched in June 2008, and is well known in Derbyshire for its home-produced meat products. It sells items from more than 40 producers within a 50-mile radius of the shop, and has a wide-ranging deli, as well as a gift and homewares section, plus a popular café. Many items, such as pies and quiches, are baked on the premises.

Since launching, Croots has won scores of awards including a number of Great Taste Awards, which are the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world, and was also shortlisted in the Observer Food Awards.

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

Croots Farm Shop Vintage and Classic Car Day

Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire will be staging another of its popular vintage and classic car days later this month.

Running from 11am to 4pm on 29^th August 2015, the event will also include a teddy bears picnic, as well as a BBQ featuring Croots Farm Shop’s award-winning sausages and burgers.  

The teddy bears picnic gives youngsters the chance to try their hand at circus skills and balloon modelling. 

Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, has run similar events over the past few years, attracting car enthusiasts from across Derbyshire and further afield.

“The vintage and classic car day at Croots has proved popular in the past and when we were asked to host it again we thought it would be an ideal event to stage on the Saturday of the bank holiday weekend,” said Steve Croot, who runs the award-winning farm shop and Shires Eatery.

Entry to the vintage and classic car day is free. The cost of the teddy bears picnic is £5 per child and will include a lunchbox, balloon modelling, bouncy castle and circus workshop which will run from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

The farm shop, which opened in 2008, sells a range of food and drink produced locally, regionally and from further afield. It stocks products from more than 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius of the shop. It also produces its own range of award-winning items including sausages, pies and ready meals. In June Croots Farm Shop won the Best Sweet Bake award in The Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015 for its homemade Bakewell tart.   

Tickets for the teddy bears picnic are available in the shop.    

Croots Farm Shop 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 about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop  

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

Sausage festival at Croots Farm Shop helps fire up the BBQ season

Derbyshire farm shop Croots will be staging a sausage festival on May 8th to fire up the BBQ season.

The farm shop near Duffield makes almost 40 different bangers, which are on sale on a revolving basis. Made using free range pork from Packington Pork, near Burton-upon-Trent, the sausages have won a number of awards.

Among Croots’ most famous sausages are pork, leek and Roquefort cheese, venison, red wine and cranberry, beef, ale and mustard, and chilli and chocolate.

A range of about 25 different bangers will be on sale during the sausage festival, which runs from 9am to 5pm on May 8th at the shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road.

A BBQ selling sausage cobs, burgers and other products will be held from 11am onwards.

“Sausages are key ingredients for BBQs, and we’re hoping that the warm April we’ve had is a signal that we should dust down our BBQs and look forward to a scorching summer of outdoor entertaining,” said Steve Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop & Kitchen.

“Croots sausages are almost legendary, and with the range that we have on sale there’s something for all tastes.”

The shop will be running offers on its bangers during the sausage festival.

http://www.croots.co.uk/

Anila's Authentic Sauces provide the perfect ingredient for a feast of dishes

A curry sauce from Anila’s Authentic Sauces is not just the key ingredient for a great-tasting curry… it can also be the basis for a whole range of different dishes.

Perfect for pepping up pizzas, superb in sandwiches, delicious in dips, and mouth-watering in marinades, Anila’s award-winning curry sauces are the ideal store cupboard essential.

And with the barbecue season fast approaching, it’s a great idea to have a few jars on standby so that you’re fully prepared to take advantage of the sunshine…when it appears!

“There are so many different ways that a jar of Anila’s curry sauce can be used in recipes,” explains Anila Vaghela, who founded the family-run business in 1997. “As well as being the key ingredient for tasty authentic curries, they can also be used to spice up a range of dishes….from pizzas to sandwiches.”

Try spreading Anila’s curry sauce onto bread, adding sliced cheese and tomato, and grilling for a delicious snack. Or add a tablespoon of Anila’s curry sauce to salad cream or mayonnaise for a tangy dip that can be served with fresh crunchy vegetables or chips.

Anila’s produces a range of eight premium curry sauces, handmade in small batches and free from preservatives, sugar, dairy and gluten. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans, the sauces are also perfect for those with allium intolerance, as they don’t contain onions or garlic.

Anila’s sauces have won ten Great Taste Awards, and last year her Spicy Korma Curry Sauce scooped a Free From Food Award.

Anila’s also produces a range of 16 chutneys, pickles and dips made with single fruits and vegetables, which team up perfectly with a variety of dishes, snacks and cheeses.

The firm is based in Walton-on-Thames with a unit in Hounslow, and will be exhibiting at The Real Food Festival at Earls Court, London, from May 7th to 10th.

Anila’s products are sold at John Lewis Oxford Street and John Lewis Bluewater, and top quality gourmet stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges, plus hundreds of other outlets that include Wholefoods, Planet Organic, delis, health food stores, garden centres and gift shops. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at 28 farmers’ markets across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, including Guildford, Walton, Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot, Cobham, Beaconsfield and Farnham, and online via www.anilassauces.com