‘deliciously different’
Sedbergh, located at the north-western edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park, nestles against the stunning backdrop of the Howgill fells. To some degree, the town, populated by a mere two thousand or so, is off the ‘beaten track’ and far removed from the crowds that throng the more popular dales villages and towns. However, it does have its attractions. It is England’s only ‘book town’ and draws those from far and near who want to spend time leisurely perusing the stock of the several book shops. The Howgills, one of Wainwright’s favourite areas, offers opportunity for both the committed rambler and the casual stroller to trek the fells with many walks of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty emanating from the town. Riders, of the two-wheeled and four-legged variety, also visit as the bridleways and winding country lanes both offer excellent vantage points from atop of the beast or the bike to view the stunning scenery; a blend of dale and fell landscape with its soft, rolling, green undulations to the harsher, more rugged, grey hued topography.
At hOwGiLLs, situated in the middle of the main street of the town, we endeavour to offer good, home-style food using high quality, and wherever possible, locally sourced ingredients.
Garth Steadman, Sedbergh’s award-winning butcher, primarily, provides our meat ingredients. All the eggs used in cooking and baking are free-range, laid by the ‘happy-hens’ at West Rackenthwaite Farm just a couple of miles east of the bakery itself. Greengrocery, along with our cream and cheese, is supplied by Martin Powell from his shop opposite the tea room and bread products come from the traditional and long-established Lunesdale Bakery in Kirkby Lonsdale. Everything else, we just about make and bake ourselves.
In all of our baking we use vegetarian margarine. This means that our cakes, pastries and scones are suitable for vegetarians. For frying and cooking, we use only sunflower or vegetable oils.
We are endeavouring to develop the range of food that might be available to people with various allergies. As example, our Chocolate Brownie is gluten-free and we also make a jam sponge with gluten and wheat free flour. We are able to offer soya and/or rice milk for drinks as an alternative to dairy milk.
Another important element of the hOwGiLLs approach is our determination to develop and deliver the highest possible standards of customer service. This ranges from our desire to present an immaculately clean and welcoming space to the accommodating and courteous way that we interact with our customers.
A vital aspect of hOwGiLLs is undoubtedly its staff. As employer’s we are committed to providing a happy, pleasant and enjoyable working environment, where our colleagues are both valued and respected. Further, we are unswerving in maintaining the principle that they should be paid a ‘living wage’.
Davidson spent the majority of his school holidays in his Nanna’s kitchen watching a skilled baker and learning the basic arts of home cooking and the methods of baking. Some years ago he inherited her ‘cook-book’; a record of a lifetime spent collecting and perfecting wholesome and nutritious recipes. A significant amount of the food that we offer at hOwGiLLs comes from that collection. We believe that our commitment to offer food made to tried-and-tested home-style recipes allows our customers to taste something that is deliciously different to the mass-produced commercial fare offered by many food establishments.
A significant part of our customer base is drawn from the local community. In acknowledgment of this fact we are establishing a ‘community development/support’ fund. To sustain this aspect we are providing volunteering opportunities where people can develop skills and experiences that might both help the individual and the wider community. We are recruiting the equivalent of a full-time post – 40 hours – to be spread across retail and kitchen roles. This post will be roughly comparable to 15% of our staffing establishment. In return, we will ‘ring-fence’ approximately 15% of our profits and place them in the community development/support fund. Established groups/individuals can then apply for small grants to assist them in work that benefits the community in some way.
We invite you to enjoy the hOwGiLLs experience for yourself and discover that that you can buy good, nourishing food at a reasonable, affordable price.
We look forward to welcoming you!