Blacker Hall Farm Shop
13 May 2012
I sometimes get tired of trailing round the supermarket seeing the same old branded name goods, so it makes a heartwarming change to go to a local farmers’ market or farm shop where I can buy ‘different’ produce that has pretty much come straight out of the field or the bakery.
I popped up to Blacker Hall Farm Shop the other day in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after a friend kept saying how much I would love the place. It’s a well stocked shop full of home made pies, savoury meals, cakes, breads and more… The farm shop has a good choice of foods on the deli and cheese counter, with an interesting array of locally sourced meat. An excellent display of local fruit and veg – I squealed with delight when I saw their delightful bright spread, vegetables in wicker baskets and quaint wooden shelves – just look at the photos.
I’d never seen fresh beetroot before (I’m used to buying the pickled stuff in jars), I bought some fresh Wakefield rhubarb and these fellas were huge! I’ve always thought of rhubarb as a fruit, but it’s actually a vegetable. Rhubarb crumble came into my head – it is very tart and usually requires some sweetening when cooking with. I was told to make sure I use only the stalk and discard the leaves, luckily there weren’t any leaves on the sticks – they’re poisonous! I also opened up my eyes to Samphire. I’m told it’s a sea vegetable that grows abundantly on shorelines and is delicious lightly steamed and served with butter and makes a great accompaniment to fish and seafood.
Many people have the idea that farm shops are quite expensive (if I’m honest, they usually are), but in my view you have to pay for quality meat. Blacker Hall Farm have a loyalty card, where the points can be used against purchases, and will often have offers e.g. on Fridays if you visit their Butchery you can receive a free homemade steak sauce with every 2 steaks purchased and there’s 3 for 2 on packs of selected meat.
Venturing across the courtyard, past Ruby Bloom florist, I headed to the Farm’s restaurant where beverages, snacks and meals were on offer to complete my shopping experience. Recently refurbished, this restaurant used to be their 400 year old barn! I decided to save the cuppa and food for another visit (since that deserves a tour of it’s very own – yum!).
Blacker Hall Farm Shop/The Barn
Branch Road
Calder Grove
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF4 3DN
Web: www.blackerhall.com
{All photos by Cindy Cheung}
Missie Cindz
