Simon Rogan

Sam Ward, Managing Director of UMBEL Restaurant Group, speaks with BBC Radio Cumbria about Simon Rogan at home.

“The chefs have done what they always do, taken simple quality ingredients, most from Our Farm, and put them together in a way that the hard work has been done in the kitchens, and all you need to do it pop them together and the taste is out of this world. Obviously in a restaurant there are going to be differences to what you will get at home but they are not big differences, and the dishes have been designed so that they are simple to put together and don’t require complex plating techniques or finishing off. The most complex thing you need to do is warm something up for ten minutes.

They are far better than anything I produce at home and there is no mess! To be able to create a three-course at home, very very quickly to a much higher standard than I would ever be able to produce normally, is what people have been enjoying about this.

One of the biggest challenges we were facing was logistics. When we first started we were just in Cartmel, click in collect was just walking round to people’s houses. But it became apparent that if this was something we were going to take further afield, logistics was going to be an issue. It is so complex and to keep the food in tip top condition, the reason this food isn't being shipped all around the country is that the food is freshly prepared. That was the biggest challenge.

Lakeside taxis approached us and said we think we could fill a gap here and enable you to take this further and they have purchased refrigerated vehicles to be able to do that. It is a new venture for them as well and we sat around the table and had a chat about it and we are in in together, were not experts in this area, so we are taking is slowly and racking up week by week and so far so good.” Sam Ward

'Simon Rogan at home' is available for delivery in and around The Lakes and for collection from Our Shop on Cartmel Square.