Croots Farm Shop & Café scores success at Family Business United Awards 2017

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been named the winner of the People’s Choice Award for the Midlands at the Family Business United Awards 2017.

The farm shop and café at Duffield was also chosen as runner up in the Midlands Family Business of the Year Award category.

Steve Croot, who runs Croots with wife Kay, said: “It is wonderful to win the award as a family business, but none of what we do at Croots would happen without the fantastic staff that we have working here. They are like our extended family and I would like to thank them for all their hard work and support of our business.

“Thanks also to all our customers for their support, and to those who voted for us in the People’s Choice Award, and also to all those people who support local family businesses throughout the country.”

The awards, which were presented at a gala reception and awards ceremony at the prestigious May Fair Hotel in London, came almost exactly nine years after Croots Farm Shop first opened its doors.

Based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road – the home of Kay Croot’s parents Jim and Sue Yates – the farm shop has gone from strength to strength since 2008.

“Croots is very much a family business, with our staff being part of our extended family,” said Kay. “Some of our team have been with us at Croots Farm Shop since the very beginning and are so loyal, as well as being great with customers. We have shared our progress with them, they understand what we are striving to deliver, live the same values and we look after them and treat them like part of a big family.”

The Family Business of the Year Awards are organised by Family Business United, the award-winning magazine and resource centre that champions and celebrates the family business sector. Now in their fifth year, the awards recognise the diversity, strength and depth of family firms across the UK and seek to highlight the contribution that family firms make to the UK economy.  

Open to family firms of all generations, sizes and sectors, the awards recognise some outstanding family firms and really help to put family businesses on the map.

Paul Andrews, founder and managing director of Family Business United, said: “We were delighted to pull together such a vibrant bunch of family businesses for the 2017 awards, some that have succeeded for numerous generations and continue to thrive, and others that are relatively young but have great values at the heart of what they do.

“Congratulations to all the winners.”

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 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

Croots Farm Shop helps put Great British family businesses on the map

Derbyshire farm shop Croots was a stop-off point on this year’s Family Business Road Trip.

Representatives from Family Business United, who have been touring some of the UK’s most successful family businesses, dropped in to visit the farm shop in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, during the journey.

Kay Croot, who runs the farm shop with husband Steve, said: “They were very interested to hear the story of Croots Farm Shop and how we’ve got to the point we are now at, as a popular farm shop and a place to visit for coffees, lunch, afternoon tea and more. We gave them a tour around the shop, café and the farm, and explained how the business has grown in the nine years since we launched.”

The Family Business Road Trip celebrates the essential contribution family firms make to national GDP and regional economies. In the UK, the family business sector accounts for more than 4 million firms, £1.1 trillion in turnover (almost a quarter of UK GDP) and employs more than nine million people. In addition, the top 20 family owned firms in the UK generate turnover in excess of £49 billion.

Paul Andrews, from Family Business United, was joined by Ruth Chapman, from PwC, one of the trip’s sponsors, for the visit to Croots.

Family firm Sturgess Jaguar provided the car for the trip and the event is being sponsored by PwC, Farrer & Co, Western Pension Solutions and Close Brothers Asset Management. The Family Business Road Trip 2017 runs for six weeks covering Yorkshire to the Lake District and the Midlands to London, East Anglia, Sussex and a whole host of counties in between.

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 http://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

Croots Farm Shop brings festive cheer to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre

Customers and staff at Derbyshire farm shop Croots have brought some festive cheer to the farm shop’s adopted charity.

A series of fundraising efforts including a Christmas hamper draw, the sales of magic reindeer food and a competition to find the best dressed Christmas tree resulted in £323 being collected for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre over the festive period.

The charity, which has been the farm shop’s adopted charity for a number of years, provides disadvantaged Derbyshire children with holidays in Skegness. In 2016, it celebrates its 125^th birthday.

Steve Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, with wife Kay, said: “We’re delighted to have raised a lovely sum for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre so that we can present the charity with a great Christmas gift.

“I’d like to thank our customers and staff for once again taking part in our fundraising efforts which allow us to raise money for such a good cause.”

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

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

Croots Farm Shop cultivates wedding party plans after double anniversary

A double wedding celebration sparked a new business idea for husband and wife team Steve and Kay Croot.

The couple, who run Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire, celebrated their silver wedding anniversary on 1^st September. This came two weeks after Kay’s parents Jim and Sue Yates marked their golden wedding anniversary.

When planning a joint celebration at the farm near Duffield, the couple decided that it was such an ideal place to hold a wedding reception that they should open it up to others.

“Steve and I had our own reception in a marquee at the farm in September 1990, and over the past few years we’ve had a couple of other wedding receptions in the fields in front of the farm shop,” said Kay. “It’s a beautiful location overlooking the Ecclesbourne Valley. We’ve now got our hearts set on creating a unique country setting for other happy couples who’d like to celebrate their big day on a farm.”

Croots Farm Shop is staging an open day on Tuesday 8^th September from 10am to 7pm to give couples planning their wedding the chance to find out more about what the Croots team can offer.

“We can do buffets or table service, picnics or banquets,” said Kay. “We offer drinks packages, locally sourced beers, homemade foods and can organise wedding cakes, marquees, DJs, toilets and everything else that’s needed.”

Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, opened in June 2008 and is well known for its butchers counter, deli and Shires Eatery, which has doubled in size due to demand since it was first launched. A play area has also been added, and the farm shop regularly holds activities for children, as well as tastings, promotions and events for customers.

Situated overlooking fields of Shire horses, the farm shop was built at the farm owned by Jim and Sue Yates, the latest in a long line of generations to have bred the gentle giants of the horse world at Farnah House Farm.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

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

Great Taste Awards for Derbyshire’s Croots Farm Shop

Croots Farm Shop has struck gold in this year’s Great Taste Awards, with gold stars for a trio of products.

Croots sloe gin earned two gold stars and the label of ‘outstanding’, with judges saying: “Beautiful looking sloe gin, great colour and lovely ‘on the nose’.”

The drink is made by Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot from sloes collected around Farnah House Farm, in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, where the farm shop is based.

Croots leg of lamb and Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork also each won a gold star in the awards, which are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world.

Steve said: “These awards are presented to the very best food and drink products, so we are over the moon to have won gold stars for three more of our products. I only started making the sloe gin last year, so I’m particularly pleased that the judges regarded it as outstanding.”

In previous years Croots has scooped Great Taste Awards for a range of home-produced items, including sausages, smoked salmon pâté, bacon, pork pie, muesli and lemon oil.

Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink and has been described as the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. Products awarded two stars are deemed ‘outstanding’, while those that receive one star are viewed as ‘simply delicious’.

The judges included hundreds of top chefs, restaurateurs, acclaimed cooks, food experts, retail buyers and food writers.

They said of Croots leg of lamb: “A good leg of lamb, great aroma, great taste, simple and does what it’s supposed to.” Their description of Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork was: “Great flavour to the meat and fat. Clean, tender and very tasty.”

“Our meat is either bred at the farm or comes from nearby farms, and our butchers have built up a great reputation for their skills and their products. I’m so pleased that two of the popular items from the butchers’ counter have been recognised in such a high-profile award scheme,” added Steve.

Croots Farm Shop opened in 2008 and is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. It 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

 

Croots Farm Shop helps Wentwell Brewery to crowd funding success

A Derby brewery has smashed through its £5,000 crowd funding target after receiving a £2,500 pledge from local farm shop Croots.

Pub entrepreneurs George Lambert and Walter Scott, who own a micropub in Derby and a pub in Burton, launched the appeal in the hope of raising £5,000 to grow their original venture, Wentwell Brewery.

The pair ran the crowd funding appeal through Crowdfunder, a website that allows the public to donate money in return for rewards….in this case ale.

With less than a week to go before the 28-day deadline, Wentwell Brewery had been pledged £2,850 of the £5,000 target.

But when Steve Croot, owner of Croots Farm Shop, based at Duffield in Derbyshire, heard about the venture he stepped forward and pledged a further £2,500, which has taken the brewery past its target and now means the project will go ahead.

Real ale fan Steve Croot said: “It’s a win, win situation. Wentwell Brewery can go ahead with its expansion plans. Croots Farm Shop can stock additional beers, and our customers will benefit by being able to buy more ale from a local brewery.

“This is a case of one established local business stepping in to support another growing local business. We are delighted with the partnership and are looking forward to taking our delivery of beer in due course.”

Steve’s pledge will entitle him to hundreds of bottles of beer which he will add to the range of local beers already on sale at Croots.

Wentwell Brewery began its life in a domestic garage as a half-barrel plant and after doing well at beer festivals, George Lambert and Walter Scott invested in a two-and-a-half barrel plant. When the business outgrew the garage, they opened Derby's first micro-pub, the Little Chester Ale House, in Chester Green Road in 2012. Earlier this year they took on The Derby Inn, in Derby Road, Burton upon Trent.

George Lambert said: “We were delighted with the support we received from the public to our crowd-funding appeal, and really pleased when Steve Croot came forward with his generous offer to invest in our plans. It’s great to see local businesses helping each other.”

The project will allow Wentwell Brewery to buy a hot liquor tank and a new heat exchange unit, which will increase the efficiency of the existing plant and allow the brewery to sell more ale to the free trade.

“Making our existing plant more efficient means less disruption at a very important time in the business with the new pub,” said George. “For this we need a hot liquor tank (HLT) and a new heat exchange unit. We are so pleased that we have received enough pledges to allow us to go ahead and would like to thank everyone who backed us.”

The brewery, which is based at Perkins Industrial Estate, Derby, was pledged £5,650 in total. Backers are expected to receive their rewards in ale during August.

Croots Farm Shop opened in 2008 and is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. It 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.

It supports many local producers and businesses, with around 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius supplying items to the shop.

For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk For more information about Wentwell Brewery visit www.facebook.com/WentwellBrewery

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop @wentwellbrewery

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

 

Croots Farm Shop wins national award with its Bakewell tart

The Bakewell tart produced by Derbyshire-based Croots Farm Shop has been crowned the nation’s best sweet bake in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015. 

The Duffield farm shop’s home-made Bakewell tart was selected as a winner in the awards run by Great British Food Magazine. 

Owner Steve Croot said: “We were thrilled when our Bakewell tart was chosen as a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards. To win the category and to be named as the best sweet bake in a national competition, run by a national food magazine, is just amazing. 

“This is not just great news for Croots Farm Shop - it also flies the flag for one of Derbyshire’s well-known food products. All our Bakewell tarts are made by manager Margaret Robinson and her team, here at the shop, using a recipe that has been in Margaret’s family for generations. We love it, our customers love it and we are delighted to hear that the judges loved it too and have crowned it a real winner.” 

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, sells more than 50 Bakewell tarts a week, with demand growing since news of the award short listing spread, said Steve. 

Tom Shingler, deputy editor of Great British Food Magazine, said of the awards: “We had a record-breaking 353 entries from 242 companies, making this the biggest awards yet. For us, provenance was a priority. The categories were all very hotly contested, so very well done to all the winning and highly commended producers.” 

Croots Bakewell tart will now feature in the September edition of Great British Food Magazine, on the shelves from 31^st July 2015. 

Croots Farm Shop opened seven years ago and sells a range of home-produced items, including sausages and meat products, pies, ready meals and flavoured oils. 

It has won a wide range of awards for its products, and last year Steve Croot was named as the Derbyshire Food Hero. 

Croots Farm Shop and Shires Eatery employs a 32-strong workforce. 

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

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

Lamb deaths prompt appeal to dog owners from Croots Farm Shop

Derbyshire farm shop owner Steve Croot has urged dog owners to keep their pets on leads after three of his lambs died in two days following suspected attacks from dogs. 

Steve feared that his flock may have contracted an illness or disease when he discovered the dead lambs. But after a post mortem examination on the third animal by a vet, it appears that the animals had been attacked, said Steve. 

He has now posted notices on the public footpath that crosses the field at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, where he keeps the sheep, appealing to owners to keep their dogs on leads. 

Steve, a dog owner himself, said: “After finding three dead lambs in two days I wondered if we had a disease so I had a post mortem carried out on the third animal and the vet confirmed there were puncture marks in the skin and said it was a dog that had attacked it. It wasn’t a fox that was responsible because foxes tend to chew their victims. 

“I am a dog owner and dog lover myself, and I know that the vast majority of dog owners are very responsible and would hate to think their pet had caused the death of a lamb. I’ve read about cases recently reported by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in which dogs, some as old as 11, had attacked sheep, having never done it before. The attacks very much came out of the blue and their owners were distraught. However well behaved a dog is, at the end of the day it’s an animal and it can behave unpredictably. 

“The best way to avoid anything like this happening is for anyone out walking their dog in the countryside to please keep their animals under control, on a lead, when there are sheep and lambs around.” 

Steve’s flock delivered 100 lambs this spring, with the animals grazing around the fields close to Croots Farm Shop. He breeds and rears the lambs to sell in the farm shop. 

It is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere. A court can decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if it injures someone’s animal.

www.croots.co.uk

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

Hat trick of awards for Croots Farm Shop’s steak

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has scored success with its steak once more after winning two new awards. 

Earlier this year the farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, Duffield, scooped a silver in England’s Best Sirloin Steak 2015 competition. 

Now the team of butchers at the farm shop have gone one better and won a gold medal for the Croots Rib Eye on the Bone in the Innovative Butchery Category of the awards. 

The farm shop also heard it had scooped a silver in England’s Best Steak Pie category run as part of the competition organised by EBLEX, the trade organisation for the English beef and sheep industry. 

All three awards were part of the first ever Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards, which were developed to recognise and reward quality, innovation and excellence in beef and lamb production. 

Hugh Judd, of EBLEX, said of the Croots rib eye on the bone: “The standard of innovative entries was incredibly high ….I do hope you take pride in the fact that your innovative steak product achieved a Gold Award.” 

Store owner Steve Croot, who is the current Derbyshire Food Hero, said: “We are incredibly proud to have won these awards for our steaks and for our luxury steak pies, which are prepared on the premises by our team of butchers. We get great feedback from our customers and are delighted that the judges in the EBLEX Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards felt the same way. One gold and two silver awards in these inaugural awards is a tremendous achievement.” 

Croots launched in June 2008 and is renowned for its extensive and award-winning meat counter, which has doubled in size due to demand since the shop first opened. The store has won numerous awards for its sausages, pies and meat products, but these are the first awards that have been dedicated solely to the steak. 

Beef sold at Croots is reared by farmers Richard and Margaret Heath at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, near Belper in Derbyshire. 

The shop employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery, which has also doubled in size since opening. 

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

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

Croots Farm Shop’s sausages hailed as “a stunning array of sausage perfection” by the Sausage King

Sausage King Stephen Plume & Steve Croot, owner of Croots

Expert sausage taster the Sausage King has described the bangers produced at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire as “a stunning array of sausage perfection”. 

Stephen Plume, who runs a website dedicated to sausages, is one of the UK’s leading sausage experts and has been dubbed the Sausage King for his efforts to promote tasty British bangers. 

He visited Croots Farm Shop near Duffield in Derbyshire as part of an on-going pledge to visit some of the nation’s finest sausage producers. 

A teacher by profession, Stephen has undertaken the challenge of dropping in on as many of the high-quality butchers listed on his www.sausagefans.co.uk website as he can. 

During his visit to Croots at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, he had a go at making sausages, learnt more about how the butchers develop and create the range of award-winning bangers, and gave his verdict after the all-important taste test. 

“You have an eclectic mix that’s really well made and tastes great,” he told owner Steve Croot. 

During his visit he tried a number of different sausages, including the Ecclesbourne County Classic, designed by year 10 students at Ecclesbourne School as part of the food technology course, which he described as ‘really good. A lovely balance of flavours’; the wild mushroom sausage, which he hailed as ‘awesome’; the lamb and mint sausage, which he said was ‘absolutely superb’ and the chorizo sausage, which he loved. 

“It’s hard to come up with a winner,” said Stephen, who is based in East Anglia. “It’s a stunning array of sausage perfection.” 

Steve Croot, who opened the shop in 2008, said: “Stephen is a real expert on sausages, so we were delighted to host a visit from him and even more chuffed when we heard how much he rated our sausages. As a big fan of sausages myself, it was great to talk over ideas for new sausage flavours and between us we hit on one which we’ll have a look at developing and will send to the Sausage King to try.” 

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, has won scores of awards for its home-produced sausages, including Great Taste Awards, which are the ‘oscars’ of the fine food industry. The farm shop is renowned for creating unusual and original flavours, as well as more traditional bangers. Croots’ butchers enjoy creating new sausages to mark occasions, such as the Olympics or the World Cup, with a percentage of sales going to charity. 

The pork used in Croots sausages comes from Packington Free Range Pork, in Staffordshire, while the beef hails from R & M Heath (Richard & Margaret) at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, Derbyshire. 

The shop employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery. 

Launched in 2008, Croots Farm Shop is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 10am and 4pm on Thursdays. 

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

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

Derbyshire farm shop Croots to be visited by the Sausage King

Award-winning Croots Farm Shop is hosting a visit by the Sausage King as part of his nationwide quest to drop in on some of the UK’s finest sausage producers.

Stephen Plume, who runs a website dedicated to sausages, is one of the UK’s leading sausage experts and has been dubbed the Sausage King for his efforts to promote tasty British bangers.

Sausage King: Steve Plume

A teacher by profession, Stephen has undertaken a pledge to visit all the high-quality butchers listed on his sausagefans.co.uk website – and Croots Farm Shop near Duffield in Derbyshire is the latest that he’ll be dropping in on.

“We were chuffed when the Sausage King added Croots Farm Shop to his directory of great sausage-makers, and even more delighted when we heard he wanted to visit us,” said Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot. “Stephen is an absolute authority on the best British bangers, and we are looking forward to showing him our range of sausages at Croots and letting him try some of them for himself.”

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, has won scores of awards for its home-produced sausages, including Great Taste Awards, which are the ‘oscars’ of the fine food industry. The farm shop is renowned for creating unusual and original flavours, as well as more traditional bangers. Croots’ butchers enjoy creating new sausages to mark occasions, such as the Olympics or the World Cup, with a percentage of sales going to charity.

The pork used in Croots sausages comes from Packington Free Range Pork, in Staffordshire, while the beef hails from R & M Heath (Richard & Margaret) at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, Derbyshire. 

The Sausage King, who is based in East Anglia, will be visiting Croots Farm Shop from 11.15am on Thursday February 19^th. 

“The visits I’ve done so far have had a huge impact and hopefully helped to encourage people back to buying local,” said Stephen. “The sausage makers on sausagefans.co.uk are the finest from around the country as recommended for inclusion by readers of the website. 

“So far I’ve been to destinations including Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Cheshire, and I am very much looking forward to visiting Croots in Derbyshire, as I’ve heard excellent reports about the quality of the shop’s sausages.”

The shop employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery.

Launched in 2008, Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 10am and 4pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

Derbyshire farm shop Croots raises cash for charity

Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre is more than £1,000 better off thanks to customers and staff of Croots Farm Shop. 

The farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, nominated the charity as one of its charities of the year. 

Now, after a string of different fund-raising events and raffles during the past 12 months, as well as a donation from the shop, Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot has handed over £1,100 to the charity. 

The organisation, which provides holidays in Skegness for disadvantaged youngsters from the county, has been supported by Croots since 2012. 

“Not only is Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre a local charity, it’s also a great cause,” said Steve, who presented the cheque to the charity’s David Harris and other supporters. “I’d like to thank customers and staff for supporting our efforts, which will go towards the £150,000 that the charity needs every year to take 450 youngsters away for a well-deserved break.” 

One of the main fund-raising efforts during the past year has been through the sale of Croots Farm Shop’s world cup sausages, which were available during the tournament. The shop also donates the proceeds of carrier bag sales to charity. In addition to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, Croots also supports the Shire Horse Society, which protects and promotes the breed. 

Croots Farm Shop, which was launched in 2008, is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

@crootsfarm_shop

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

Tasty award for Croots Farm Shop's sirloin steak

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been named as a place that’s serving up some of England’s top steak after scooping a silver in England’s Best Sirloin Steak 2015 competition. 

The farm shop near Duffield has won scores of awards for its sausages, pies and meat products, but this is the first award that’s been dedicated solely to the steak. 

Store owner Steve Croot, who is the current Derbyshire Food Hero, said: “This is fantastic news for Croots. We do get a lot of compliments for our steaks, and they are very popular with our customers, but it’s really great to hear that the judges in these awards felt the same.” 

The awards were organised by EBLEX, the trade organisation for the English beef and sheep industry and were part of the first ever Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards, which were developed to recognise and reward quality, innovation and excellence in beef and lamb production. 

Beef sold at Croots is reared by farmers Richard and Margaret Heath at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, near Belper in Derbyshire, and prepared by the shop’s team of butchers. Sirloin steak is taken from the back of the animal. 

Croots, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, launched in June 2008 and is renowned for its extensive and award-winning meat counter, which has doubled in size due to demand since the shop first opened. 

It employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery, which has also doubled in size since opening. 

Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop

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

Croots Farm Shop welcomes Santa and raises money for charity

Staff at Croots Farm Shop will be raising money for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre during the festive season by raffling off a large chocolate snowman.

The farm shop near Duffield has supported the charity, which helps disadvantaged youngsters, for a number of years.

As part of the Christmas festivities at Croots, Santa is due to visit the shop on Saturday 13th December between 9am and 1pm and again on Saturday 20th December between 10am and 2pm. On both occasions he will be walking around the farm shop and will be available for photographs, free of charge.

“Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre was established in 1891 to provide disadvantaged Derbyshire children with holidays in Skegness, and our customers have been very generous in the past with their support,” said Steve Croot, owner of the farm shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road.

Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk or follow Croots Farm Shop on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop.

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

British Sausage Week success for Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has won two awards in a competition to mark British Sausage Week, which runs from November 3^rd to 9^th. 

The farmshop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, scooped a gold award for its pork sausage and a silver award for its Italian sausage. 

The competition for butchers and retailers is run as part of the national annual celebration of the British banger, and the two awards presented to Croots means the farm shop has now won more than 70 awards for its sausages, meat products and home made items. 

“British Sausage Week is all about celebrating the diversity of the traditional British banger, which is something that Croots fully supports,” said Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop. “We love creating new flavours of sausage, and are renowned for our sausages. It’s always great when we receive awards for them.” 

Croots’ pork sausage is made using free range pork from Staffordshire. The Italian sausage, which contains pork, basil and mozzarella, was originally created as part of the shop’s World Cup sausage range last summer. 

The shop has won scores of awards for its products since opening in 2008. Croots was also a runner-up in the Best UK Independent Food Retailer 2010 category of the Observer Food Monthly Awards. The year before, it was named in The Independent’s top 50 best food shops. 

Earlier this year, owner Steve Croot was named the Derbyshire Food Hero for 2014.

Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

@crootsfarm_shop

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

Croots Farm Shop gets a gold star in the Great Taste Awards 2014

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has struck gold in the Great Taste Awards 2014 by winning a gold star for its smoked salmon pâté. 

The awards run by the Guild of Fine Food are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world and the annual scheme is the largest and most trusted awards scheme for speciality fine food and drink in the UK. 

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, has won a number of Great Taste Awards in previous years for its sausages, bacon, pork pie, ale, muesli and lemon oil. 

The latest gold star has been awarded for the store’s smoked salmon pâté, which is made of salmon that’s been smoked on the shop’s premises in its own smokery. The judges said: “A great appearance and good creamy texture with discernible pieces of fish.” 

Farm shop owner Steve Croot said: “We are really pleased to have added another gold star to our collection of awards. It’s the first we have received for our smoked salmon pâté, which is one of the most popular items on our deli counter here at Croots.” 

The shop has won scores of awards for its products since opening in 2008. Croots was also a runner-up in the Best UK Independent Food Retailer 2010 category of the Observer Food Monthly Awards. The year before, it was named in The Independent’s top 50 best food shops. 

Earlier this year, owner Steve Croot was named the Derbyshire Food Hero for 2014.

Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

@crootsfarm_shop

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

Croots Farm Shop sausages score for charity

Generous customers of Croots Farm Shop have raised £260 for charity after supporting the Derbyshire farm shop’s World Cup sausage range. 

While the England football team failed to make a mark at the tournament in Brazil, the butchers’ team at Croots scored success with its Bangerooney, Costa Rican, Italian and Uruguayan-themed sausages. And it was the Italian sausage – made of pork, tomato, mozzarella and basil – which got the greatest cheer from customers. 

It brings the total raised by Croots so far this year for its adopted charity, Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, to £1,050. 

The shop pledged to donate ten per cent from the sale of the sausage squad during the duration of the World Cup to the charity, which was established in 1891 to give disadvantaged Derbyshire children holidays in Skegness, Lincolnshire, and currently provides 450 holiday places per season for boys and girls aged from eight to 14. 

“We were delighted with the support Croots’ customers gave to our World Cup sausage range, which has helped us to raise £260 for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre,” said Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot. “I’d like to thank them for their generosity, and also thank our creative butchers for once again designing such a tasty range of sausages.” 

Over the past few months, Croots has held a number of fund-raising events in aid of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, including an Easter draw. The charity also receives a share of the money that’s raised from the sale of carrier bags at Croots, with the shop also supporting the Shire Horse Society. 

Croots Farm Shop has won scores of awards for its sausages and meat products, including Great Taste Awards, the ‘oscars’ of the fine food industry. Two years ago the farm shop in Wirksworth Road developed an Olympig range of sausages to mark the London Olympics, which also raised several hundred pounds for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre. 

Opened in 2008, Croots was a runner-up in the Best UK Independent Food Retailer 2010 category of the Observer Food Monthly Awards. The year before, it was named in The Independent’s top 50 best food shops.

Croots Farm Shop is open daily from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

@crootsfarm_shop

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

Fresh fish and seafood introduced at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire

Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire is to introduce a weekly fresh fish special event as part of its expansion plans.

The farm shop near Duffield is launching Croots Fresh Fish Thursdays, with all sorts of fish and seafood on sale – direct from Grimsby Fish Docks.

Starting from Thursday May 8th and running each Thursday between 10am and 4pm, the new service coincides with Croots opening seven days a week and extending its Sunday opening hours as a result of customer demand.

“We asked our customers if they’d be interested in fresh fish and seafood, and the answer was a resounding ‘yes’ so we’re very pleased to be teaming up with Shaun’s Fish Lincolnshire to offer his range of fish and seafood – direct from Grimsby Fish Dock - once a week on a Thursday,” said Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road.

The range will include fresh salmon, large haddock fillets, large cod fillets, plaice fillets, seabass fillets, rainbow trout fillets, skate wings, red bream, natural and yellow smoked haddock fillets, smoked kippers, smoked mackerel, fresh mackerel, smoked salmon slices, smoked salmon pate, smoked crab pate, crab claws, dressed crabs, tuna, mussels, cockles and other sorts.

Croots Farm Shop recently announced it was expanding to open seven days a week after previously being closed on Mondays since the farm shop launched in 2008.

The farm shop sells products from more than 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius, as well as items from further afield. It is renowned for its high quality sausages and meat products which are made in house.

It has won a number of Great Taste Awards, which are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food industry, and was a runner-up in the Best UK Independent Food Retailer 2010 category of the Observer Food Monthly Awards and named in The Independent’s top 50 best food shops the year before.

Earlier this year, owner Steve Croot was given the accolade of Derbyshire Local Food Hero 2014 at the Derbyshire Food and Drink Awards.

From May 5th, Croots Farm Shop will be open every day from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). Croots Fresh Fish Thursdays will take place between 10am and 4pm on Thursdays.


For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

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

Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire expands to open seven days a week

Award-winning Derbyshire farm shop Croots is expanding to open seven days a week as a result of customer demand.

The move has created three new jobs at the farm shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield.

From May 5^th the farm shop will be opening its doors on Mondays, as well as the rest of the week. At the same time, the shop will be extending its Sunday opening hours and will be open from 9am to 5pm – giving customers extra time to shop at the store and visit Shires Eatery.

A BBQ will be held at Croots Farm Shop on May 5^th to mark the expansion, with special offers available in the store.

“Traditionally, since opening in June 2008, we have closed Croots on Mondays, but due to customer demand we’ve decided to open on Mondays in the future and to open longer on Sundays,” said owner Steve Croot.

“This is really good news for us, as it reflects our growing popularity, which is in turn a reflection of the increasing interest in good quality food with provenance. I’m also delighted that we’ve been able to provide more jobs for local people.”

The expansion has created one chef’s position, plus two additional shop assistant roles, which have now been filled. It will boost the Croots team to 24.

Croots Farm Shop sells products from more than 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius, as well as items from further afield. It is renowned for its high quality sausages and meat products which are made in house.

It has won a number of Great Taste Awards, which are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food industry, and was a runner-up in the Best UK Independent Food Retailer 2010 category of the Observer Food Monthly Awards and named in The Independent’s top 50 best food shops the year before.

Earlier this year, owner Steve Croot was given the accolade of Derbyshire Local Food Hero 2014 at the Derbyshire Food and Drink Awards.

“Just as we launched Croots Farm Shop the recession started, but we’ve had amazing support from customers, staff and our suppliers, and Croots has gone from strength to strength – so much so that we’ve expanded our butchers’ department and last year we extended our Shires Eatery to cater for demand,” said Steve.

“I’m very pleased that we are now in a position to expand our opening hours too, and I’d like to thank our customers and staff for their loyalty.”

From May 5^th, Croots Farm Shop will be open every day from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm).

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

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

Ten out of ten for Croots Farm Shop products

Derbyshire farm shop Croots scored success for its sausages and meat products by picking up ten awards at the Regional Pork Product Excellence Awards Roadshow.

Croots Farm Shop struck gold four times with its homemade sausage roll, Scotch egg, haslet, and pork and apple burger. The farm shop near Duffield also took two silver awards for its pork, leek and Stilton sausage, and its smoked bacon sausage, and a bronze for its pork, apple and cider sausage.

Meanwhile, Croots butcher Richard Bott hit the jackpot in the Young Sausage Maker Category by winning three bronze awards for his pork and wild mushroom sausage, his Toulouse sausage and his sweet chilli and coriander sausage.

Farm shop owner Steve Croot said: “We have won many awards for our homemade sausages, pies and meat products, and the Croots butchers’ counter is renowned across the area for its quality and range, but we are chuffed to have won so many accolades at the BPEX awards, which are judged by industry experts.

“It now means that virtually all of our sausages are award-winning. One of the keys to our success is the excellent pork that we use. Another is the innovative way that we develop new products – it’s something that our customers really embrace. We’re delighted to have won another great batch of awards to add to the scores that have already been awarded to Croots products.”

Richard, 25, joined Croots towards the end of 2013 and is one of three butchers at the farm shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. 

The BPEX awards roadshow, which was held at Newark, attracted entries from butchers across the region and was judged by industry experts. 

Croots Farm Shop, which opened in June 2008, extended its butchers’ counter as a result of demand and has won many national, local and regional awards for its sausages, pies and other products, which are made in-store. 

All the pork sausages at Croots are made using free range Packington Pork from Barton-under-Needwood, near Burton-upon-Trent. Croots has a range of around 65 different flavours of banger, which it sells on a rotating basis, with between 12 and 14 on sale at any one time.
Croots Farm Shop is open Sundays from 10am to 4pm (Shires Eatery until 3.45pm), and from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). It is closed on Mondays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk

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