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Our inspiring time with Lake District Farmers

At BM we undertake many visits to our supplier pa rtners, there are lots of reasons why we do this. From building relationships with our partners to sharing with our chefs where our incredible ingredients originate from.

Recently we had a 3 day visit to the Lake District with Lake District Farmers. Here are some of the benefits our chefs take away from these days.

Relationship and understanding

One of the main benefits of these trips is that they provide our chefs with the opportunity to form relationships with our supplier partners that will help them for the rest of their careers.

Meeting and talking with the farmer help both parties be to be honest with each other. They can tell us when and when not to order certain items. Especially fresh items that can be reliant on the weather. We all know how temperamental the British weather can be! Sometimes they will have issues or suggestions on what we are ordering. It gives us the opportunity to come up with an understanding of how each other works, which helps improve customer service. You show me a chef that doesn’t like a special offer!

Education

Meeting the farmers is a massive opportunity to improve the way we work together.

We spent time in the Lake District with an amazing farmer called Eric Taylforth and his Herdwick sheep. He spoke with passion and knowledge that really inspired us. We learned how he farms responsibly to ensure the land can be used for generations to come. I didn’t realise how much knowledge he had imparted until I started telling other people about my trip.

We also met a cattle farmer called Jim Beary again. We had first met Jim in 2021. On this visit we could instantly see how much hard work and improvements he had made to his farm. He believes in taking the best path and not the easiest. This starts with planting more trees and having chickens on the land rather than just spraying or laying down grain. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which helps combat climate change and and boosts the welfare of the cows. I never knew that cattle preferred a wooded area. You will often find them in the shade of the trees, which has the potential to improve meat and milk yield by reducing heat stress in summer and protecting them from the elements in winter.

Regenerative farming

Jim rotates the chickens and the cows around the land to help put back what the others have taken. The term regenerative farming has been discussed a lot currently. We learned that it is in danger of being mis-used in marketing and promotional campaigns for food. There must be evidence to back up the results. We need to support framers in their quest to improve their sustainability, as it takes time and investment. Regenerative farming is an approach to farming that, in theory, allows the land, the soil, water, nutrients, and natural assets to regenerate themselves, as opposed to conventional approaches to farming that can deplete these natural resources. This is exactly what we saw Jim and his co-workers doing. I still have so much to learn before I can say I even have limited knowledge about this method of farming, but I am very excited by it.

Morale boosting inspiration

Well you can see from what I have written so far how inspirational the trip to meet Jim and Eric was!

But in this context, I am talking as a chef and about food. Sitting on top of a hill in the Lake District overlooking Lake Windermere with Herdwick sheep surrounding us can only inspire you to cook. Showing the animal the same love and respect as Eric does. I probably thought of hundreds of different things to do whilst on this trip, and if only five of them make it we have succeeded.

As for morale, I spent two days in the Lake District with some chefs that I have worked with for years and some that have only been with BM for a year. I made friendships that would normally take years to form via other company events. We now feel more comfortable with each other to share ideas, and recipes and to ask for help. Also sometimes you need a day or two away from your everyday routine. And you are not going to find many places as relaxing and with the ability to de-compress than the Lake District.

One of my greatest food memories will be sitting on a farm looking at the sheep and the hills listening to Eric imparting his wisdom whilst eating the best ever homemade cakes that had been freshly baked that morning by Eric’s wife.