A History of Cumbrian Food with John Crouch

Food lovers are invited to Watchtree to enjoy a very special evening hosted by celebrated Wigton chef and food history expert, John Crouch, on Saturday 30th September 2023 at 6pm. John has a regular Friday morning discussion on BBC Radio Cumbria, and often hosts events for English Heritage, recreating recipes from real historical events with authentic ingredients.    

‘A History of Cumbrian Food’ will take diners through a journey of how popular Cumbrian dishes became unique to the area and will also showcase some less familiar, yet very Cumbrian culinary delights.  

The depth of John’s historical food knowledge and entertaining style will provide the backdrop to a very charming and entertaining evening in Watchtree’s Visitor Centre Café.  He will demonstrate how some of the dishes are made, as well as introducing the background to each ingredient, their exact location and the period of history of when they were created or became popular.  

A full supper will be included where guests will be able to try the dishes and sample some additional tastes of Cumbria – diners are also welcome to bring their own bottle.  Dishes such as ‘Westmoreland Soup’, ‘Penrith Spiced Pepper’, ‘Cumberland Mustard Mash’ and an authentic ‘Cumberland Sausage Pie’ will all feature on the menu, as well as some more surprising entries! 

 This event will also be suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets – guests are advised to inform Watchtree of any specific dietary requirements on booking. The demonstration session will begin at 6pm until around 9pm. Tickets are £35 per person. Anyone interested in attending is advised to go to www.watchtree.co.uk/events for details or to book.