Self-catering for food lovers

The Northumberland House, a five star self-catering cottage in Northumberland, has just won a rare Gold Food Award - but surely this is a contradiction in terms – isn’t it?

It may not be too surprising that “The Northumberland House,” a luxury holiday cottage near the stunning heritage coastline won a Regional Gold Award in their first year and a National Silver Award at the Tourism Oscars in their second year, but how did owners Mike and Jean Cockerill add an exciting Food Award to their list of prestigious accolades for excellence? Surely self catering cottages are by definition not involved in food?

At a ceremony in the Guest Hall of Alnwick Castle on Saturday 20th September 2008 the judges recognised the contribution Mike and Jean Cockerill had made to the promotion of local food, by describing it as “a flagship cottage for Northumberland.” They were impressed by the owners’ web site and by “The Northumberland House” itself, a cottage for genuine food lovers.

The house, with a very serious kitchen is full of equipment and gadgets for passionate cooks. The south facing dining room has a fourteen foot table and this is where guests discover their vast welcome hamper of local food. This luxurious hamper allows guests to sample a range of wonderful produce such as local cheeses, jam, chutney, bread, eggs, bacon, cake, coffee, milk, cream, honey, oil and sticky toffee pudding. It was noted that many of these items were award winning.

The judges particularly mentioned the “Guide to Eating” accessed from the homepage of “The Northumberland House” website. They saw the comprehensive information about local restaurants, food suppliers and chefs as a valuable resource, both for holidaymakers and the local community, and recognised it to be the result of true commitment and dedication.

“Many guests now centre their holiday round a special event such as an anniversary, birthday or reunion and most of them have a dinner party style celebration in mind. They cook for themselves, call in a personal chef and waiting staff or make a booking at a local restaurant,” explained Mike and Jean Cockerill.

Guests’ comments show how much they appreciate the attention to every detail... “We were absolutely thrilled to discover bowls full of three different kinds of sugar, a special herb and spice cupboard, freshly laundered oven gloves and apron, a kitchen aid mixer, stacks of Royal Worcester porcelain, more glasses than we could ever use, fresh herbs and fruit in the garden. This is by far the best house we have stayed in.”

The very informative website, the local knowledge and enthusiasm of the owners of “The Northumberland House” were important factors in the decision to present this rare prestigious gold award.

The Northumberland House – “a lair with flair” with lovely designer touches, sleeps 12 in 6 en-suite bedrooms, is situated close to a secret sandy beach, is allergy and eco-friendly and is not on a complex. This 5 star regional and national award winning house scored 97% in its recent annual Visit Britain Quality Assessment. It is the perfect place for celebrating anniversaries, birthdays and reunions. It has a private garden with barbeque and eating areas, a fourteen foot dining table, a very serious kitchen, powerful showers, 8 sofas, log burning stove, gowns, Clarins toiletries and an excellent web site.

For more information and bookings, log on to Thenorthumberlandhouse.co.uk.