The Mill goes Outside to serve the public at Lancashire festivals

Staff at the café which helps fund the specialist care of St Catherine’s Hospice are preparing to serve up a host of tasty treats during a busy month of agricultural shows and food festivals.

The Mill Outside – the outside catering arm of the charity’s onsite Mill café – will be cooking up a range of dishes for VIPs and members of the public at a number of popular events, starting with the Garstang Show this Saturday, August 6.

The team will also be at the Royal Lancashire Show in Blackburn from August 12 to 14, and at the Taste of Leyland food festival on August 27, serving a selection of freshly-made meals using locally-sourced ingredients.

The Mill café and The Mill Outside support a host of Lancashire businesses including Anderton’s Butchers and Ribble Farm Fayre grocers of Longridge, Denham Springs Dairy in Chorley, Exchange Coffee based in Clitheroe, and Meadowfield Foods of Bamber Bridge.

Nicola Hanmer, St Catherine’s Hospice’s commercial catering manager, said: “The Mill café and The Mill Outside are here to provide great quality meals to our customers whilst also supporting a much-loved local charity, with all profits going to the hospice.

“We’re getting great reviews on TripAdvisor for the café, and the catering business is seeing an increase in bookings for special occasions such as Christenings and wedding celebrations.

“We’ve already attended a number of shows and festivals over the last year, as well as catered for all of the hospice’s own fundraising events in the grounds of St Catherine’s Park, and we’re now looking forward to another busy month as we attend some of Lancashire’s most popular family events throughout August.”

The Mill Outside has been asked to cater for the Garstang Show Members and Judges’ tent, as well as provide a three-course Presidents’ Lunch for 50 people.

There will also be public catering at Garstang as well as the Royal Lancashire Show and the Taste of Leyland festival, featuring paella, chilli con carne, a selection of salads, children’s platters, and homemade tray bakes.

Nicola believes the huge success of the social enterprise – aside from its talented chefs and friendly waiting staff (who have been awarded a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor for excellent service) – is also down to its reputable Lancashire suppliers.

“We understand the importance of the local community supporting ventures such as ours, and so we want to do our bit to help the food suppliers of Lancashire too,” she explained.

“Not only does this help independent, long-established, family-run firms to thrive, it also ensures that the quality of the produce we use is the best we can source.

“We’re looking forward to meeting more members of the public at the upcoming events we’re attending, where we’re excited to be cooking for the VIP guests as well as visitors.”

Other independent companies which The Mill sources its produce from include Leagram Organic Dairy in Chipping, Mrs Kirkham’s Cheese in Goosnargh, Butler Farmhouse Cheeses in Inglewhite, Clitheroe-based wine merchants D Byrne & Co and Bowland Brewery for real ales, Neve Fleetwood for fish, Fiddler’s Lancashire Crisps based in Rufford, and Moo 2 You ice cream of Salmesbury.

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