Serving up a treat in Red Rose cookbook
ABURSCOUGH restaurant has been chosen to feature in a new book showcasing the best cuisine in Lancashire.
The Blue Mallard is among venues from the Red Rose county which are included in The Lancashire Cook Book.
The book, packed with more than 45 recipes and stories from local food heroes, will be published on June 23.
The Blue Mallard serves casual fine dining and hugely popular theme nights, with canalside views, at Burscough Wharf.
Based in what was once stabling for horses that pulled barges along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, The Blue Mallard takes its name from the ducks that diners can see on the canal.
Owner, head chef and local lad Chris Crowell opened the restaurant in 2011, moving into a venue that had stood derelict for several years before being redeveloped.
Today, the first-floor restaurant still shows signs of its heritage with the high ceilings and beams.
Writing in The Lancashire Cook Book, Chris said: “I’m from Burscough originally, I grew up here and travelled around, and was lucky to work with some really good chefs.
“I brought back what I learned to Burscough and opened up The Mallard.”
The local flavour isn’t confined to Chris; Lancashire ingredients are central to the contemporary British casual fine dining the restaurant serves up.
His recipe in the book is as local as it gets: Smoked cod with Southport shrimp soufflé, buttered kale, Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese and leek croquettes with watercress sauce.
“That’s the approach we decided to take when we opened, with a focus on local products and suppliers,” said Chris.
“It began with a farm shop a mile down the road. They grow a lot of their own stuff and we get it all muddy and wet, straight out of the field that morning.”
You’ll find the local parsnips alongside local duck – but not those in the canal – on the menu, along with fish from Fleetwood, locally-reared meat, Brown’s black pudding, Mrs Dowsons ice cream, and bread from the Lancashire Bread House in Burscough.
The Blue Mallard also serves tasting menus and monthly theme nights, ranging from Spanish, Greek and Italian to cuisine from a little closer to home.
Chris said: “A couple of times, we’ve done a Lancashire night, with a themed menu on local Lancashire produce, and dishes with our own little twist.
“One of the dishes is a tasting of Causeway Farm vegetables done in lots of different ways.
“People know Causeway Farm and really like what we’re doing.
“We’re seeing a shift. People are more aware about what’s in the food they’re eating, where it’s come from and where it’s grown.”
The Lancashire Cook Book sells at £14.95 and will be available soon in all the businesses featured as well as select local gift shops, book shops including Waterstones, and online at www.amazon.co.uk.