Cumbria’s cooking

In the foothills of the Lake District, Cartmel was known for a small, but perfectly formed racecourse, or maybe for its sticky toffee pudding which jockeys needed to avoid at all costs.

Now there’s much more in this delightful village which is off limits to jockeys watching their weight. An explosion of culinary delights has turned this beautiful, but slightly out-of the way corner into a destination for food lovers.

“It’s definitely happening, we’ve certainly noticed it in the last 12 months,” says Richard English, the owner of the Cavendish Arms pub, one of five in the village. “It’s going from a tweedy little village into a real food emporium.”

The sticky toffee pudding was made in the village shop by Jean and Howard Johns. Its popularity outgrew the shop and then as a small pudding factory in the Johns’ back garden. Now it is made in much bigger premises a couple of miles away, along with other puddings.

Then eight years ago chef Simon Rogan and his partner Penny Tapsell opened L’Enclume. It quickly gained a Michelin star, and has been named one of the top restaurants in the country.

Other food stars followed. David Unsworth built up a respected business selling fine wines and converted old buildings next door into places of work for artisan food producers. First to move in was a former clothing designer turned breadmaker, Liz Parkin. She was quickly followed by a cheese maker, Martin Gott.

Liz, who came here from Beverley says, “I’ve been visiting this village for about 20 years. I was looking across a corridor from Beverley through all the nice places that I like – Harrogate, York and over to the Lakes – and I was put in touch with David Unsworth. It just seemed the obvious place.”

She first developed a passion for bread-making on a course run by one of the country’s top bread makers, Andrew Whitley, founder of the Village Bakery at Melmerby on the other side of Cumbria in the Eden Valley.

“I actually use the old sponge and dough method, that was used right across the country until just after the war,” says Liz. “It’s a process by which you start the dough the night before and then you make up the bread into a full dough the following morning. The yeast has much more time to do its work and the lactic acid bacteria have time to work. It makes a more digestible bread.”

Martin Gott next door is both a cheese seller and maker. Son of well-known wild boar farmer Peter, Martin makes cheese from the milk of his Lacaune sheep on his small farm on the nearby Holker estate. He sells every kind of cheese imaginable, from the crumbliest Lancashire to the smelliest Brie, the finest Stiltons right up to massive blocks of Parmesan, vaguely resembling a Barnes-Wallis bouncing bomb.

Martin’s shop is basically a walk-in fridge, where even at night most of the cheeses stay out on the slate counter, at exactly the right temperature. Only the soft cheeses go into a cooler fridge to protect them.

Cartmel racecourse has seven days of racing a year but it boasts the third highest average daily crowd, up to 20,000 for jump racing, beaten only by Cheltenham and Aintree. It works closely with local food producers, such as Martin Gott, who sponsors one of the races.

Another local company, Winster Valley Brewery, have produced a special ale called Hurdler and they also sponsor races.

When there’s no racing, the surroundings make a charming rural venue for holidaymakers who travel with their own accommodation. The caravan clubs’ weekend events takes up six weeks a year.

At the heart of Cartmel is the historic priory church, dating back to the 12th century, originally home to 12 monks. It was saved from destruction during the time of Henry VIII because it also served as the place of worship for local people. Unlike many monasteries at the time, the monks gave them the right to use it.

The village today is a serene spot with vivid gardens surrounding the old houses and a stream.

GETTING THERE

* Cartmel is easily reached from the A590 between the M6 and Barrow in Furness.

* The closest railway station with bus links is Grange over Sands, which has regular bus links to Cartmel.

* Accommodation: the Cavendish Arms, Cavendish St, Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands. 015395 36240

* L’Enclume restaurant has rooms. Cavendish Street, Cartmel, Cumbria, LA11 6PZ. 015395 36362

* Aynsome Manor Hotel, 015395 36653. Family run 17th century manor house.