By Matt Trevelyan, Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer for Nidderdale National Landscape
March the 17th saw the launch of the Nidderdale Feast – a sustainable food project, aiming to fulfil nature, climate and heritage outcomes, whilst also providing a boost to the local economy and food culture.
The project harnesses funding from Defra’s Farming in Protected Landscapes programme – and provides a context for further food-based projects in the region.
This blogpost, written by Matt Trevelyan, Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer for Nidderdale National Landscape, reflects on the launch event – a genuine feast, with fine local foods, inspirational talks, and good conversation – attended by farmers, conservationists and lovers of fine food from across North Yorkshire.
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I wanted the launch event to be ambitious – representative of what we could achieve over the next three years. I wanted to tell positive stories about farming and landscape – and to provide a stimulus for new food-based projects.
I’m inspired by my mum – who’s home-cooking nearly always features at least 3 vegetables from the kitchen garden – and meat from nearby farms. As being local and organic, her food is always delicious, echoing the philosophy of Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, who died in May 2026.
“Slow Food”, Petrini stated, “unites the pleasure of food with responsibility, sustainability and harmony with nature”.
This is one of the founding principles for our Nidderdale Feast Project.
I’m also inspired by my dad, now in his eighties, – who founded a business in the North York Moors, milling organic wheat and rye, to supply real bread bakeries around the UK.
I am deeply indebted to the dream team of chefs, led by Frances Atkins, as well as the producers, processors, speakers and event staff who came together at short notice to make this event a great success.
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Feast Story 1: A Nidderdale Maslin loaf: ‘Give us today our Daily Bread’
Given our family business, it is no surprise that I was determined to have good bread at the feast – this is a staple food – and the backbone of the UK diet.
I was delighted to discover a local farming family that has embraced regenerative principles and developed an own on-farm mill.
Andrew and Jenna Falshaw are third‑generation tenant farmers on the Swinton Estate. They farm around 450 acres, with milling wheat forming part of their arable crop rotation.
Inspired by a friend who is growing a ‘population’ crop of wheat, using regenerative practices, the Falshaws have followed suit – and now have the ambition to supply home milled flour to local bakers and restaurants.
Much UK milling wheat contains detectable residues from fungicides, plant‑growth regulators, glyphosate, insecticides, and mycotoxins.
Regenerative farmers aim to reduce and cut these residue products out, as well as reducing applications of artificial nitrogen fertilizers. The alternative is improving soil health naturally – by taking on practices which are also good for climate and biodiversity.
The Falshaw’s mill allows the family to become price-setters, adding resilience to their farm business, and meaning they are not vulnerable to a commodity price trap – set in response to the vagaries of the world market.
I needed to be sure that the Shaw’s Farm grist had baking qualities – so I took a batch of flour to be trialled at the Secret Bakery in Harrogate.
Expert real bread bakers, Jim Baron and Paul Gray found that it performed well, despite being relatively low in protein. “The secret is a long ferment, and our brilliant wild yeast ‘starter’ – the rye based ‘mother’ that we’ve been feeding for years is the best I’ve ever worked with,” said Jim.
The result was a Nidderdale Maslin loaf, developed especially for the Nidderdale Feast, using a blend of Shaws Farm Wheat Flour and Yorkshire Grown Rye.
The re-emergence of milling in the National Landscape connects the Falshaws to a long history of local mills that once operated across the area.
I am hopeful that the Falshaw’s will take advantage of FiPL funding, to help with additions to the milling enterprise – which can be upgraded with a new, rotary sieve. I’m also hopeful that they will be able to continue their relationship with the Secret Bakery, who have the expertise to add further value to this local product.
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Feast Story 2: Lashings of Farmhouse Butter – A young farmer, reviving small batch dairy production in the Upper Dale.
Real Bread is much improved with great butter – and I was determined to find somebody who had the necessary skill to produce this essential product for the feast.
I was thrilled when my neighbour, Melissa Graham, a young farmer and entrepreneur, took the challenge on. Millie is already producing artisan ice cream, using local milk – and we hoped that artisan farmhouse butter might become a sister product.
Nidderdale has a long history of butter making – a story told by Nidderdale Museum, which has a collection of dairy equipment on permanent display.
With modest funding supplied by the FiPL programme, Millie was able to produce over 10kg of fresh butter for the feast. Millie has also committed to run three educational sessions over the course of the next year, which will give local children a hands-on opportunity to churn butter.
Millie also supplier local milk for the feast – and her signature Dale View Gelato was presented with Jerusalem Artichoke by Jon Atashroo from Masham Restaurant ‘Where there’s smoke’.
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Feast Story 3:Dalesbred Shearling Fackle – A tale of Fleece, Moss and Vikings…
The main course for our feast utilized a Dalesbred shearling supplied by Upper Nidderdale shepherd, Jack Graham.
Jack is directly involved in the creation of the Great North Bog – the effort to re-wet and restore peatlands at a landscape scale – critical for carbon sequestration – and vital as a habitat for treasured upland species.
Jack is working directly with scientists from the Yorkshire Peat Partnership to trial the use of raw sheep’s fleece to revegetate of eroded peat hags.
Moorland sheep also play a vital role in shaping and maintaining the upland landscape and its Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Their selective grazing helps keep heather and grassland mosaics open, preventing scrub encroachment and supporting the diverse habitats that rare upland birds and plants depend on.
Jack’s shearling was transformed for the feast by Aled Williams, head chef at The General Tarleton, Ferrensby and Mikael Paylor, head chef at The Craven Arms, Appletreewick.
The name of the dish they developed is Fackle, is derived from the Norwegian word Fårikål. Norwegians still hold a Fårikål Feast Day. The dish is thought to have arrived in Yorkshire with the Vikings.
Feast Story 5: Mallard Grange Egg Tart – Stacking Enterprises at a Regenerative Farm
Jon Atashroo utilised Shaw’s farm flour and eggs from a local regenerative farm in his egg custard tart – with rhubarb, supplied by Swinton estate gardener, Joe Lofthouse.
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has been able to support James Johnson at Mallard Grange Farm, with the purchase of a “egg-mobile”.
This mobile hen house allows his mixed flock of pastured hens to function as part of a rotating, regenerative soil health programme. The hens help to fertilize the land, manage parasites, whilst also generating an extra income stream.
It’s no surprise that the eggs from this truly free-range enterprise, appeal to chefs, with superior flavour a result of a pasture based, soya free diet.
Feast Story 6: Stonebeck Wensleydale.
Low Riggs is the home of Stonebeck Wensleydale, a raw milk farmhouse cheese that has provided one of the inspirations for this project.
When I first tasted the cheese, sitting outside the farmhouse, I was amazed at how the cheese tastes and feels like an entirely different product to standard supermarket Wensleydale. This really was a revelation – and I was an instant devotee.
This cheese is unique to Upper Nidderdale – with vanillin flavonoids originating in the unique botany of the Hattan’s meadows, giving the cheese a unique flavour – and a creamy, soft texture which is entirely dependent on the milk from the Northern Dairy Shorthorn herd.
Speakers
We were delighted to welcome several brilliant speakers – these included Hannah Fraser – who spoke about her work on the nutrient density in food – specifically, how UK farmers can grow food that is more nutritious and how the food system could reward them for doing so.
Rob Bunn, project manager at Pasture for Life, teamed up with regenerative butcher, Rich Summers, farmer, James Newhouse and chef, Iain Graham to speak about their project in the Yorkshire dales, which put regeneratively farmed Belted Galloway beef onto the menu of a noted restauranteur.
Conclusion
This blog post highlights just a few of the stories linked to our launch event.
I might have told a story about how Nidderdale can be a “landscape of sanctuary” – demonstrated by Huda and Mohamad Alhamwi, Syrian refugees who resettled in Pateley Bridge – bringing their Syrian cuisine with them (presented at the feast in the form of delicious Nidderdale Mezze).
I might have told a story about the Wildish Community Garden…which provides a space for people from all walks of life to get outside and grow with purpose – or the story of the Masham Cider Press – making good use of heritage apples from across the landscape.
The Nidderdale Feast project will continue to be punctuated by celebratory meals, which will showcase local ingredients – but the real impact of the project will be in the satellite projects which sit alongside these events.
Our next celebratory meal may be open to the public – and will perhaps revolve around wild caught venison, and the late summer glut of fruit and vegetables that was so palpably missing this March. I need to regather the troops and start planning….
Hope to see you there.
This launch feast raised money for local Curlew Conservation projects.