AFICIONADOS of our iconic Grasmere Gingerbread® have long savoured its culinary versatility. It may be enjoyed on its own, dunked into freshly brewed coffee, served warmed with vanilla ice cream or spread with our own award-winning, handmade Cumberland Rum Butter.
Grasmere Gingerbread Crumbs® are also used to add spicy-sweet oomph to homemade burgers, banana bread, fruit loaves, crumble toppings and trifles.
Truly, our unique 171-year-old cross between a biscuit and cake made from a secret recipe has been stimulating food palates since its invention by Victorian cook Sarah Nelson in 1854.
Now, thanks to a London-based food entrepreneur’s passion for running up and down the mountains of the Lake District, Grasmere Gingerbread® has found its way onto the menu of Pick & Cheese in London.
“I discovered Grasmere Gingerbread® after running past a long queue of customers outside The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop in Grasmere,” explained Mathew Carver, Director of The Cheese Bar which has Pick & Cheese outlets in London, Berlin and will open in New York next February.
“When I subsequently visited their second shop in Hawkshead and one of their team told me he always ate Grasmere Gingerbread® with cheese, I knew fate was calling,” he said.
Fast forward a few months and Grasmere Gingerbread® is now being served with a Stilton-like Northern Irish cheese called Young Buck at his Pick & Cheese eateries in Camden Market and Seven Dials, near Covent Garden in London.
It is a unique food experience at two of the quirkiest place to eat in the capital which also serve natural wine and craft beers.
“The combination of Young Buck cheese and Grasmere Gingerbread® hits every note - sweet, savoury and seriously moreish,” said Mathew.
Young Buck Stilton like Cheese with Grasmere Gingerbread® is a divine combination.
Joanne Hunter, Co-Director of Grasmere Gingerbread®, travelled to London to meet Mathew and help launch the new food pairing.
“Experiencing Grasmere Gingerbread® being served in such a unique way and in such a quirky setting in the heart of London - nearly 300 miles from where it was invented - was very humbling,” she said.
“In recent years, we have been delighted that leading chefs such as Phil Vickery, Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo have feted Grasmere Gingerbread®.
“Equally, we are very excited to be associated with The Cheese Bar as it clearly values authentic artisanal food producers and only serves the best cheeses with fantastic and unusual accompaniments.
“Grasmere Gingerbread® sits perfectly within their eclectic menu and we hope it proves very popular with their customers.”
Spicy-sweet harmony as Mathew Churley and Joanne Hunter enjoy Grasmere Gingerbread® and Young Buck cheese at Seven Dials at Covent Garden.