English Lakes Blog

20 course red rose menu to celebrate Lancashire Day

Lancaster House will be celebrating Lancashire Day and its 20^th Birthday in true red-rose style this Sunday by offering a Lancashire Sunday Lunch menu with a difference.

To mark the county’s big day and the hotel’s two decades in business, Lancaster House is serving a 20-course Lancashire tasting menu on Lancashire Day, November 27^th at the very special price of just £20.  It’s thought to be the largest tasting menu ever served in the county.

Just 20 places are available for the exclusive meal which will be served in the Hotel’s Lancashire-themed Foodworks Restaurant from 1pm.  Head Chef, Damien Ng will be celebrating the produce of the county in each course with some well-known Red-rose favourites as well as using the best produce from local suppliers.

Dishes on the “Taste-of” menu include contemporary and traditional twists on Morecambe Bay Shrimps, Bury Black Pudding, Minted Lancashire Hot Pot, Bowland Pig Cheek, plumb and cream cheesecake, chocolate sticky toffee pudding and  Lancashire Cheeses.

“We wanted to celebrate Lancashire Day and our own 20^th birthday by doing something really special,” said Damian.  “Tasting menus don’t normally include more than ten dishes but we wanted to create a menu that would show the diversity and quality of the great produce and recipes that come from Lancashire.

“Restaurants like ours are fortunate to have access to some fantastic produce on our doorstep.  As well as having some well known traditional recipes, we’ve seen local produce in the county go from strength to strength over the last decade or so. 

“It is going to be a big challenge both for the team in the kitchen to prepare so many different dishes but also for the waiting staff who will have to move particularly quickly to get each of the dishes out to our guests.

“There’s no need to worry about how you are going to get through twenty dishes!  Each course on a tasting menu is a small sample of a traditionally much larger dish but still encompassing all the flavours and balance. So hopefully everyone can complete their culinary journey of this great county.

Lancaster House, was opened in 1991 by HRH Princess Alexandra and has enjoyed two decades of success, winning many awards including twice-named “Lancashire Large Hotel of the Year”, “Taste Lancashire Highest Quality” and more recently Gold Status in The Green Business Tourism Scheme.

The bookings for the lunch will be strictly limited to 20 places and on a “first-come first-served” basis and the epic-meal will be served from 1pm.

To make a booking contact Lancaster House on 01524 844822.

Kilimanjaro conquest for Lancaster House manager

Lancaster House manager has just returned home after conquering the world’s largest freestanding mountain, raising over £3,200 for a local children’s charity in the process.

Tim Bell, General Manager of Lancaster House summited all 19,340ft of Africa’s famous Kilimanjaro on 21st September after a gruelling final day involving almost 21 hours of walking.

Tim, along with fellow Lancaster House staff member Nichola-Jayne Harrison as well as Tim’s paramedic sister Amanda Singleton, made the ascent in aid of North West charity Children Today.

Children Today is a North West based charity that raises funds to provide specialised life changing equipment for severely disabled children in the local area.

The ascent of Kilimanjaro is a gruelling physical challenge, with many people failing to reach the summit due to altitude sickness. Temperatures can range from 30c at the base to as low as –25c at the summit, and the team had to battle through a blizzard before finally reaching the summit.

Eight of the thirteen strong team who set off managed to complete the ascent, raising a total of over £15,000 between them. The five who didn’t reach the summit due to the effects of altitude sickness had to agonisingly turn back only a few hundred feet from the top.

Staff from Lancaster House have been supporting Children Today with a range of fundraising events already this year, from washing cars to walking on hot coals.

Tim Bell, manager of Lancaster House says:

“No amount of training in the Lake District fells can prepare you for the effects of the altitude, and at its worst it feels like your brain’s in a vice. It affects people differently regardless of physical fitness.
“The climb was physically and mentally exhausting but the trek was a truly life changing experience.”

Donations can still be made at Tim Bell's and Nichola Harrison's Just Giving pages or by sending a cheque made payable to Children Today to Lancaster House directly.

Lancaster hotel strikes gold with green award

Lancaster House has achieved a ‘gold award’ following an inspection by the national tourism environmental assessors.

Following an audit by the Green Tourism Business Scheme Lancaster House has been accredited with the highest level of award achievable.

The hotel, which is located in south Lancaster and is part of English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues, was commended for its strong management of the hotel which ensures that energy, water and waste are monitored to achieve reductions. The audit revealed that the hotel’s staff are well informed and trained in sustainability issues. Lancaster House has supported various environmental and social projects and is keen to encourage its guests to be more aware of the impact of their stay.

Other initiatives which led to the Gold Award include the use of water coolers to reduce plastic bottle waste, the fitting of LED lighting, reduced water flows and also good recycling.

Lancaster House’s Taste of Lancashire award for sourcing produce from within the county was also taken into consideration.

Emma Underwood, operations manager at Lancaster House, said: “It is fantastic that we have been recognised for all the work and effort that has gone in to really reduce the hotel’s impact on the environment.

“English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues take sustainability and the environment extremely seriously and have worked hard to introduce a range of measures to make Lancaster House, and all the other hotels we operate, much more environmentally-friendly.”

Stuart Brain, senior assessor with the Green Tourism Business Scheme, said: “The Green Tourism Gold Award is a significant achievement that reflects the commitment and dedication of the recipient to assess their business’ impact on the environment."

“Lancaster House has obviously invested a lot of time and effort to reduce its environmental footprint and is thoroughly deserving of this Gold Award.”

The Ultimate Charity Challenge for Lancaster Hotelier

Fresh from last year's successful ascent of the British 3 peaks in under 24 hours in aid of Open Arms International and Primrose House Trust, Tim Bell, General Manger of Lancaster House has once again set his sights on another epic mountain challenge for charity. In September he will be attempting to climb the world's largest free-standing mountain, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At 19,340ft the famous African peak is considered one of the world's most gruelling physical challenges, with climbers having to combat not only the sheer height of the mountain, but also the dramatic and potentially life-threatening effects of altitude which ultimately cause more people to fail than actually succeed.
 
As with the successful 3-peaks challenge of 2010, Tim is once again accompanied by his sister and leading Cumbrian paramedic, Amanda Singleton, and for this year's trek is also being joined by Nichola-Jayne Harrison, a member Food & Beverage team at Lancaster House. All 3 volunteers are raising money for Children Today which provides life-changing equipment for severely disabled children in the local area.
 

Despite the enormity of the challenge and the fundraising targets, Tim, who spends the majority of his free time climbing the many Lakeland summits on his days off, remains typically positive and upbeat about his chances of success. "The opportunity to conquer one of the world's biggest mountains and at the same time make a real and very positive difference to the quality of life for disabled children here in Lancashire was just too good an opportunity to turn down. I know that the very tallest of Lakeland peaks pail into insignificance compared to Kilimanjaro, but I consider myself very fortunate to live on the doorstep of Britain's best training ground for such a challenge. The only thing we can't prepare for is the altitude, and with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees C at the base to Minus 25 at the summit, we are in no doubt that our mental and physical capabilities are going to be tested to the very limit"
 
"But all three of us are very head-strong, determined people and we are not going to let our Charity down. Failure isn't an option for us, and we're training hard, climbing the Lake District fells at every given opportunity, whatever the weather, which in true Cumbrian style, can be very challenging even at the best of times. I'm donating over £1000 to the fundraising myself and am also giving up my beloved annual holiday to do this challenge. There's no sun, sand and sangria for me this year. Just boots, blisters and backpacks. So, I have no intention of stopping until I reach that summit"
 
Each team member has to raise £3000 for Children Today with 80% of the target required 12 weeks prior to their departure for Africa. Tim continues "We hope that people can dig deep and support our effort. Children Today really does make a difference to local kids, and we're 100% all confident we won't let our supporters down. We're putting our heart and soul into this, giving up all our free-time to train, and we're hoping to reward our chosen charity and our kind donators with an effort we can all be proud of. And with Lancaster House celebrating its 20th year, I think this is a great way to mark our birthday in style"
 
You can pledge online on both Tim and Nichola's JustGiving pages. You can also follow the team's progress via their facebook page and via Tim's regular blogs.
 
Everyone at English Lakes wishes Tim, Amanda and Nichola all the very best of luck with their Kilimanjaro challenge and we will of course update you on their progress.

Lancaster House Annual Spring Wedding Fayre

Your perfect Wedding Day starts at the Lancaster House annual Spring Wedding Fayre on Sunday 27th February 2011!

Meet over 40 of the regions finest Wedding suppliers including florists, jewellers, photographers, stationers, cake decorators and many more: plus a catwalk show with 4 Bridal Shops modelling their latest dress collections.

Free entry, free parking and free prize draw as well as exclusive discounts if you book on the day.

Date:                 Sunday 27th February 2011
Venue:               Lancaster House, Green Lane, Ellel, Lancaster, LA1 4GJ
Doors Open:       11:00am
Catwalk:             1:00pm - 1:45pm
Fayre to Close:    3:00pm

Some of the confirmed exhibitors to date include:

• Banks Lyons 
• Bridal Collection
• Bridal House of Torrisholme
• Broughton Wedding Cars
• Butterfly Bridal
• David Lancaster
• David Millington
• Deborah Jayne Bridal
• Double Act Wedding Stationary
• Events by Design
• Greenwoods Suit Hire
• Lakeland Productions
• Lancastrian Imaging
• Newdawn
• The Icicle Tricycle Company
• Wedding Flowers by Catherine

Interested in exhibiting at our Wedding Fayre? Contact Deana Chesterton: 01524 585175