FOODIES please note whether you have green fingers or not do make a date in your diary for the Holker Hall Garden Festival (May 30 to June 1) which will once again feature a magnificent food hall organised by Made in Cumbria.

Eat your way through more than 30 food producers, all from Cumbria, and take in the delicious sights of chef demonstrations, practical demonstrations, including bread and butter-making. There will also be lots of prizes for you to win, goodie bags, and discount vouchers, and, back by popular demand, a special food crche where your purchases will be kept chilled until your departure from the festival.

The Cumbrian Restaurant using local produce and featuring many items available in the food hall will be serving pre-booked meals only. To make a reservation call Holker Hall on 015395-58328.

Asda's Best of the Lakes' range is branching out. The venture, which puts more than 70 locally-produced foods from 17 local suppliers on the supermarket's shelves, was launched in September last year at the Kendal store thanks to a visionary partnership with Plumgarths Lakelands Food Park, near Kendal.

Asda' s local sourcing team joined forces with farmer John Geldard, the man behind Plumgarths, to bring local foods to a wider audience.

The initiative has proved such a hit with customers that it has not only led to the Best of the Lakes' range in Barrow but has also become a launch-pad for a range of projects across the country to find local products from small suppliers for all 259 Asda stores.

Mike Mcnamara, general store manager for Barrow Asda, said: "Our Best of the Lakes range has proved to be a great success with our customers in Kendal - some of the products now outsell major brand names."

Among the local suppliers are organic dairy producers, Frank and Lynda Morphet, of Swarthmoor Hall Farm, near Ulverston.

"We're really pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in the venture," said Frank. "Our South Lakes milk is essentially local and comes from our cows which graze pure, natural, organic grass. The result is a fresh, high-quality product oozing with natural goodness."

Commenting on the Barrow boost for Best of the Lakes', John Geldard said: "Within a space of eight months the venture is proving to be a massive success story. I believe that demand for local food will continue to grow as consumers become increasingly interested in what they eat and enthusiastic about its source of origin."

- Products sourced via Plumgarths sold in Asda Kendal are outselling their branded rivals across the board:

English Lakes ice cream outsells Haagen Daz by 5 to 1; South Lakes organic milk outsells Asda organic milk by 2 to 1; Lakeland custard-style yoghurts outsell Asda brand custard-style yoghurts by 2 to 1; T'owd Tup Beer sales outsells Newcastle Brown Ale by 2 to 1; Country Fare Gingerbread outsells McVities Jamaican Ginger cake by 2 to 1; Plumgarths Cumberland sausages, made to a traditional recipe at Plumgarths Farm Shop, are the best selling sausage in the country. Plumgarths Cumberland sausages outsell Asda extra special Cumberland sausages by 2 to 1 (based on sales per sq ft).

- Frank and Lynda Morphet run a 100 cow dairy herd at Swarthmoor Hall Farm, Ulverston, a property steeped in history being birthplace to Quaker movement founder George Fox and which continues to be owned by the Society of Friends.

Recent falling milk prices led the couple to decide to add value to the business by converting their 220-acre grassland unit to full organic status and start retailing South Lakes branded organic dairy products. The process took two years to complete and represented an enormous commitment on their behalf. However, they say it was definitely worth the effort. South Lakes organic milk is available either whole or semi-skimmed, and cream, both double and single.

May 22, 2003 10:30