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

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

Bake Off star Val teams up with Croots Farm Shop to launch tasty range of bakes

Steve Croot and Val Stones

Great British Bake Off star Val Stones has teamed up with the bakers at her brother’s Derbyshire farm shop, Croots, to create a new range of bakes.

The selection, named Val at Croots……made with love, features Virtuous Cake (fat free and sugar free), a three-pack cherry shortbread, and two-pack cookies in three different flavours - ginger, M&M and orange & raisin.

They were launched at Croots Farm Shop, near Duffield, during the shop’s Taste of Christmas event, where Val gave a series of popular demonstrations. The farm shop on Wirksworth Road is run by Val’s brother Steve Croot and his wife Kay, and she has been a regular visitor over the years.

“Val has had a hand in our bakes, quite literally, for some time – helping us out with ideas and suggestions from family recipes and favourites, including our Croots Christmas cake,” said Steve. “More recently, she has been working with our chief baker Margaret and her team in our kitchens to get the recipes just right for the Val at Croots……made with love range. We’re very excited to be launching these new products.

“Val’s a great baker, and I’ve enjoyed eating her cakes for more than 50 years now. We were delighted when she said she’d be happy to help us create a new range of bakes and to also do some baking demonstrations at Croots for our annual Taste of Christmas event.” 

Retired head teacher Val, who lives in Somerset, became one of the public’s favourite contestants in the most recent Great British Bake Off series.

She said: “I love visiting my brother Steve and his family in Derbyshire, and I’ve enjoyed helping out with ideas and recipes for Croots Farm Shop for several years. I always bake with love and I hope that comes across in the Val at Croots range.” 

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

Croots Farm Shop creates hanging Christmas tree forest in Derbyshire

Steve Croot at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has come up with a novel way to display its Christmas trees – a hanging forest in one of the farm’s barns.

The set-up means that customers can walk amongst the firs, as they hang from the ceiling of the barn, and see exactly how the tree will look when it finds its place in the home.

“Everyone has their own idea of what makes the perfect tree for their home,” said Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop off Wirksworth Road, Duffield, with wife Kay. 

“For some it’s all about the height, while for others it’s more about the shape. The branches on the firs that are being suspended in a barn at Croots have had time to naturally spread out to show exactly what the trees will look like when they stand in that special place in the home.

“Aside from that, everyone seems to be enjoying walking through our hanging forest.”

The award-winning farm shop is also raising money for its adopted charity, Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, by running a social media competition on Twitter and Facebook to find the best decorated Croots Christmas tree.

For a charity donation of 50p, customers are being invited to post photos of their dressed tree, with the hashtag #CrootsChristmasTree, to be in with a chance to win £50 worth of Croots vouchers.

Croots, which is based at Farnah House Farm, is selling non-drop Nordmann fir trees ranging in size from 4ft to 6.5ft, with prices from £30. The glossy green Nordmann fir has big needles which are relatively soft, making it suitable for those with young children.

Video of the hanging forest can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMqgLSFzkg

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-shop-127012538821/ 

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

Do yourself a flavour – new Cherizena flavoured coffees launched

Coffee specialist Cherizena is launching three new flavours in time for the festive season.

To accompany this year’s limited edition Christmas Coffee, the Leicestershire-based family business has also created Viennese Flavoured Coffee, Cognac Flavoured Coffee and Malt Whisky Flavoured Coffee.

The new flavours are the latest in around 30 flavours of coffee created by the company, which has its headquarters on the Wartnaby Estate near Melton Mowbray.

“We’ve been experimenting and trialling new flavours and blends, and are delighted with the latest batch of flavoured coffee that we’ve developed. The flavours are stunning and we think they are a really welcome addition to the extensive range Cherizena already offers,” said Kate Jones, who runs the mail order coffee supplier, which is also a regular at events, markets and food fairs across the East Midlands.

All of Cherizena’s flavoured coffees are produced in-house in small batches and use the Colombian medium roasted bean as the base coffee. The blends contain no added sugars, syrups or coatings – they are just finest quality beans infused with flavours. 

Available as regular or decaffeinated, beans or ground coffee, the new flavoured coffees sit alongside popular and unusual Cherizena blends such as Banoffee Pie Flavoured Coffee, Chocolate and Coconut Flavoured Coffee and Sticky Gingerbread Flavoured Coffee. 

Its limited edition Christmas Coffee - with a delicious aroma reminiscent of plum pudding – is the company’s most popular flavoured coffee.

The new Viennese Coffee blend incorporates the creamy flavour and aroma of fig married with the Colombian bean and is based on the coffee traditionally served in Austrian coffee houses.

Perfect for after dinner, the Cognac coffee blends French Cognac aromas and flavour with Cherizena’s Colombian medium roasted coffee, while the Malt Whisky Flavoured Coffee has a delicious warming hint of peaty whisky flavour.

The new flavours cost £3 for a 115g pack and will become permanent additions to the Cherizena range. Christmas Coffee is priced at £3.25 for a 115g pack and is available until Christmas, with final orders taken on 21^st December 2015.

All the coffees are available from www.cherizena.co.uk. 

Cherizena is a specialist supplier of premium, speciality and flavoured coffees, and supplies coffee mail order across the UK and abroad. Its Twitter handle is @CherizenaCoffee

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

Derbyshire farm shop Croots launches annual festive charity fundraising

Croots Farm Shop is launching its annual festive fundraising effort in aid of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre with a special event on Thursday 12^th November.

The farm shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, will be staging a Christmas taster evening, with a range of producer demonstrations and sampling sessions.

The event, which runs from 5pm until 8pm, is free to attend and will also kick start a festive charity appeal in aid of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, which has been the farm shop’s adopted charity for a number of years.

Customers and staff have raised hundreds of pounds in support of the charity, which provides disadvantaged Derbyshire children with holidays in Skegness.

Steve Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop with wife Kay, said: “We’re delighted to once again be raising money for such a good cause and would like to thank our customers in advance for the support that I know they will be happy to give. Hopefully we can raise a nice sum and present Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre with a really good Christmas gift of their own.

“The event will also be the chance for customers to meet producers and to find out more and taste some of the products we sell at Croots, as well as benefiting from a 10 per cent discount on their shopping basket.”

Among those lined up to take part are Duffield Dairy, Luke Evans Bakery, cattle farmer Margaret Heath, who supplies beef to Croots, Darley Abbey Wines, Sloemotion and Hartington Cheese. There will be a ten per cent discount on shopping during the evening. Croots will run two further late night Christmas shopping evenings on Friday 11^th and Friday 18^th December until 8pm.

Other festive events lined up include a cheese and wine evening on Friday 4^th December from 6pm to 9pm, when Andy Little from Darley Abbey Wines will deliver an entertaining talk on wines to complement the Christmas cheese board. Tickets are £5.

Croots will also be running breakfast with Santa sessions on Sunday 6^th, Saturday 12^th and Saturday 19^th December from 8.30am, with pre-booking required, at £12 per child.

This year’s charity effort for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, which next year celebrates its 125 birthday, and which offers 450 holiday places per season, features a raffle with the chance to win a tasty hamper packed with food and drink worth £80.

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 visit www.croots.co.uk

Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-shop-127012538821/ 

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