Europe’s best food destinations: This surprise UK region is a foodie hotspot

Cumbria has more Michelin-star restaurants than anywhere else outside of London. Photo / Getty Images

When one imagines the Lake District in the UK, thoughts naturally turn to its majestic mountains and tranquil lakes. But it’s also a hotspot for foodies - helping to shed the UK’s reputation for beige meals, writes Fiona Whitty.

“I’m a little bit like a kid in a sweetshop,’ says chef Ollie Bridgwater. ‘I get really excited about being able to know the name of every farmer, every butcher.

“I’ve not grown up around that and it’s a really special thing.” Bridgwater fizzes with excitement as he talks about working in the Lake District at SOURCE, the ultra-luxury Gilpin Hotel’s Michelin-star restaurant.

SOURCE is the ultra-luxury Gilpin Hotel’s Michelin-star restaurant. Photo / Supplied

When he started as executive chef earlier this year he already had vast experience under his belt, having risen through the ranks at The Fat Duck – the famed Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin star restaurant.

The journey from Berkshire, west of London, to northwest England’s charming national park has been a pleasant culture shock.

The Lake District is nuzzled in the county of Cumbria and it’s where Bridgwater uncovered a unique natural larder on his doorstep, where chefs put the provenance of the produce left, right and centre and top-quality suppliers are revered.

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The Lake District is nuzzled in the county of Cumbria. Photo / Getty Images

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The effort has clearly paid off for Bridgwater and other chefs. Cumbria has more Michelin-star restaurants than anywhere else outside of London. It’s also home to 48 AA Rosette restaurants and has numerous entries in the Top 50 Gastropubs.

The respected Good Food Guide named a Cumbrian eatery as the best in the UK this year and the county is brimming with ambitious culinary entrepreneurs. Coincidence? Most definitely not, says Bridgwater.

“There are some standout things that really make a difference,” says Bridgwater of the Lakes. “Lamb and beef particularly are just incredible.”

“I was over at a farm where they’ve put down 17 different plants for all the animals to graze on for winter this year. I genuinely believe you can taste that in the meat. You can really have a little play around with that sort of unique produce.”

Cumbria has more Michelin-star restaurants than anywhere else outside of London. Photo / Getty Images

Not surprisingly the wealth of quality ingredients has kick-started a raft of artisans eager to be a part of the Lake District’s foodie revolution.

At the award-winning Lovingly Artisan, baker Aidan Monks uses organic heritage grains and traditional methods to create a feast of beautiful loaves.

The queues outside his tiny shop in Plumgarth’s, a small retail park for independent businesses that are set adrift from the towns and villages, are a testament to a shift in the food-buying tempo; customers want quality over convenience.

“Bread used to be the staff of life, part of everyone’s meal,” says Monks. “I want to put it back at the centre of the table.”

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I meet Monks on an artisan food tour with Bowland and Bay. Founder Katie Wilson transports guests around an eclectic selection of independent producers that help give an insight into why this area provides such rich inspiration.

Wilson highlights the quality of core ingredients like meat, game, seafood and dairy as a key factor. “You have the landscape for just about the most diverse food selection imaginable,” she says.

We drop into Lakes Brew Co, a small brewery launched by Kiwi Matt Clarke and three friends after they were made redundant from another brewer during Covid.

Head brewer Clarke has seen huge changes in the beer scene since he arrived in Cumbria two decades ago.

“Back then it was all led by the major brands” he says. “Now there’s so much more diversity and a real collaboration culture. We tell each other what we’re doing and share knowledge.”

One collaboration with a local coffee producer led to a coffee-flavoured stout, which was then used by a baker as the basis for a cake.

Co-founder Michelle Gay feels they’re typical of the new breed of inventive artisans. “It’s not all cream teas and Beatrix Potter,” she grins.

Bowland and Bay’s Wilson agrees. “People are being brave and it’s rubbing off on everyone else. It’s part of the psyche here.”

What to eat in the UK’s top food destination

Cumbria’s love affair with food is not new of course. Its famous Cumberland sausage, made with highly seasoned chunky meat and shaped into coils, was inspired by exotic spices shipped into the local port of Whitehaven, once one of the UK’s biggest ports.

And sticky toffee pudding, adored around the world, was created here too - by influential chef Francis Coulson at Sharrow Bay, a former country house hotel.

Cumbria's famous Cumberland sausage is made with highly seasoned chunky meat and shaped into coils. Photo / Getty Images

In the pretty village of Grasmere, celebrities like Tom Cruise and Renee Zellwegger have joined queues of customers outside the tiny stone cottage where Grasmere Gingerbread has been made and sold for nearly 170 years.

First crafted by local cook Sarah Nelson, who lived there, the crunchy biscuit-like ginger slabs were likewise inspired by the spices she used to see being pulled past by pack horses from Whitehaven.

Still made to the same recipe, they’re now shipped around the world, including to New Zealand.

Travel 45 minutes to the outskirts of Grange-over-Sands and you’ll get a novel take on another tradition.

At his Michelin-star restaurant Heft, Kevin Tickle sells homemade sausage rolls and a pie of the day from the pub he runs in the same venue, meaning customers can now tuck into Michelin-grade bar staples.

“We tried to take them off the menu but everyone kept asking for them,” says Kevin’s wife, Nicola.

Would they ever branch outside of Cumbria? Not a chance. “Heft is a Cumbrian word,” she adds. ‘The Herdwick sheep here are ‘hefted’ to a certain area, meaning they don’t stray. It’s instinctive. We say that likewise we’re hefted here.”

the tiny stone cottage where Grasmere Gingerbread has been made and sold for nearly 170 years. Photo / Getty Images

Where to stay in the Lake District

For the ultimate luxury stay, check in at Gilpin Hotel offers rooms, suites and lodges, some with hot tubs and private spas, while the more intimate Lake House, once the family home of the Cunliffes, who own the hotel, overlooks the private Knipe Tarn.

For an extra special treat try the Lake House’s jetty spa trail, four hours of self-indulgence incorporating a cream tea, private use of the swimming pool, sauna and hot tub, a salt scrub shower, and a spa treatment.

Alternatively try Lindeth Fell, tucked into the hillside above Windermere.

Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, the only hotel in the Lake District with the coveted AA 5 Red Star award given to the world’s most gorgeous hotels. Photo / Supplied

For more things to do in the region, see visitlakedistrict.com

This story was originally published on January 8, 2024.

Originally written by Fiona Whitty, with additional reporting by NZ Herald.