Out For Lunch At Croots Farm Shop, Duffield
Published On Saturday 31 May 2014 by Sticky Beak
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I do so love a Bank Holiday Weekend, don’t you? It started off fairly relaxed, mainly thanks to the weather not being kind enough to let me do what I wanted in the garden, so by the time Monday came around the Boy Wonder and myself were more than ready to stretch our wings and have a little flutter further afield.
We started off at Tansley Car Boot and Market, where I managed to bag a couple of Bargains and treat the Man and myself to a gourmet Crepe - I had the Brie and Cranberry option, he had The Breakfast Crepe. They were both incredibly more-ish, light and fluffy and crammed full of yumminess. Personally I love how the rich creaminess of good Brie is pierced by the sharpness of Cranberry, and the addition of fresh herbs just finished it off beautifully. Meanwhile, the murmurs of delight escaping from The Boys beak confirmed he was enjoying his Crepe every bit as much as I was enjoying mine. In fact, so taken was he with his morsel that he told me how it was made ; the Crepe Chef ( or culinary artiste being more accurate, he felt ) spread the batter onto the crepe plate to cook ,prior to cracking an egg open on it and adding fresh parsley . Then it was folded in half and the Ham and Emmental cheese added, before folding the Crepe again and placing it into its little holder.
After our little sojourn we headed back to the nest to drop our acquisitions off and have a quick discussion of plans for the afternoon. We decided to pay Croots Farm Shop and Cafe in Duffield a visit, as it is somewhere we have been meaning to try for a while. As you arrive a long driveway takes you past the fields that at the moment contain flocks of Sheep, and several lovely Shire Horses (some with Foals, some without). We made our way through the farm shop to the cafe area, which is full of rural charm. It is light, bright and airy with delightful views over the surrounding fields and village and decorated with Horse Brasses and Harnesses, as well as several beautiful paintings of Shire Horses at work and rest.
Our choices for lunch from the menu were the same, so it was The Croots Burger and Tea x 2.The burgers are homemade, and weigh in at 6oz each pre-cooked .When they arrived, they smelled so good I couldn’t wait to tuck in; I had to cut mine in half, as it was so big ! The burger had a really dense satisfying texture to it, and had 3 crunchy onion rings atop it. The side salad was lovely and colourful with slices of Yellow Pepper punctuating the green mixed Lettuce leaves and orange grated Carrot. It was all fresh and crunchy, rather than being limp and lifeless. I must mention the Steak Chips that also come with the burger; I don’t think it would be inaccurate to describe them as pillows of delectability because they were just beyond extraordinary. The potato itself was a very tasty variety that obviously lends itself well to being made into a chip, but they were of a generous size, and soft and comforting on the tongue. The Smokehouse Chutney that also comes on the plate tastes amazing with the chips, far better than ordinary Ketchup. For an additional 99p you can add Bacon, Applewood Smoked Cheese or Cheddar Cheese to your burger. The Croots Burger is a proper belly filler , so much so that we skipped dinner that evening and had a late supper of items that we bought at the farm shop.
We bought some fresh bread, some Stilton Cheese with Garlic and Mushroom and The Boy Wonder decided that he wanted some of Croots Farms Homemade Chicken Liver Pate. It all made for a very tasty supper, dear Blog reader, and if ever you find yourselves at a loose end you could do worse than pay Croots Farm a visit.
But that wasn’t the end of our little Bank Holiday jaunt, oh no, we decided to pay Blueys Steakhouse and Bar in Alfreton a visit on our way back to the nest. Being the good little Wife Bird that I am I told the Man that he could have a couple of pints and I would drive back to the Nest seeing as he had done the driving round all day.
So we hopped onto a couple of bar stools, being welcomed with the usual cheery smiles from the staff that customers are assured of at Blueys. “Pint of Peroni for the Hubster and a pint of Aspalls Cider for me please”....... “No, no!” said Leonie (Mrs Bluey)” There’s something far nicer for you to try”. Nicer than my wonderful Aspalls, surely not? Never mind curiosity and the cat, it was definitely a case of the nosey Bird! Now, a lot of you will be familiar with the Swedish Premium deliciousness that is Rekorderlig Cider, especially the yummy Strawberry and Lime version ( which goes down a treat on a hot day with lots of ice in ),but there is a brand new variety out in only a very few outlets in the country. This little beaut is the “Wild Berry“ confection, and Oh My Word, it is liquid heaven - and to think that we in the Amber Valley have it in one of our Bars is somewhat of a coup to say the least. There are, as I mentioned above, only a handful of places countrywide to have this particular beverage so I think it safe to say that Blueys is the probably the only place in The Amber Valley or maybe even Derbyshire, to have it. About time us Amber Vallians were recognised for having such great taste I feel, what do you say reader?
An hour or so passed in a flash; after all time flies when you’re having fun, and the time had come to bid farewell to the team at Blueys and make our way back to the nest.
Settled back Chez Sticky, the kettle was popped on, brew made and supper prepared - it had been a good day. Got to love the British Bank Holiday :)
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