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Breakfast In An Oat Field With Mornflake

mornflake seed to bowl Until recently I’d only had a vague awareness of Mornflake as a brand.  I’d seen their products in the supermarket, but that had been about as far as it went.  I don’t think I’d even tried them.  Then I went to the Talk to Mums event in London, where I heard about and met people from a lot of different brands.  It was a great way to get to know brands in an informal setting, but Mornflake was one of the brands that interested me most.

mornflake breakfastThe Mornflake story is an amazing one.  It’s the story of a British family owned business that have been milling oats in Cheshire since 1675.  I think that’s quite amazing: it’s such a long time to have been in business (they are the 8th oldest company in Britain), but to be still family owned and run after all these years is very unusual.  There aren’t many independent, British companies around these days.  They were a big part of the ‘feeding the nation’ campaign during the war and they invented the steam stabilisation of oats which allows them to be stored as an ambient food with a long shelf life.

oatsSo I went to Crewe, where Mornflake are based, to find out more about this very British brand.  Once we had all arrived, we were whisked away to a nearby farm into the middle of an oat field.  I can’t say that I’ve ever seen oats growing before.  I’ve walked through fields of grain, but it’s not always that easy to tell what is what.  A field full of oats is a lovely thing and it was good to see the crop being produced.

mornflake seed to bowl bloggers eventIn the middle of the oat field was a marquee set up with a lovely oaty breakfast for us.    The table was very prettily laid and the oats themselves were there as decoration as well as being the focus of the meal.

bircher muesli mornflakeTo start we sampled Bircher muesli.  Many years ago I lived in Switzerland for 4 months and ate it every morning for breakfast. I do like a good Bircher muesli, but so rarely get around to making my own. I should do it a lot more often. There were more oaty dishes to follow: some of Mornflake’s own granola, some homemade flapjacks and oaty soda bread spread with honey from the farm we were on (food miles don’t get much lower than that).

table decorationWhilst we ate we learnt about how oats are farmed.  It was great to get a real insight into arable farming and to understand a lot more about how something I eat every day is produced.  Mornflake encourages the farming of oats by ‘contract growing’ on farms in the UK.  This has helped stabilise the decline in oat growing in the UK and as we heard from the farmer, it provides security for the farmer.  After breakfast on the farm, we went back to Mornflake HQ to learn more about how oats are milled and used to produce the various products of the Mornflake range.

oats ready for millingWe got kitted up in safety gear and went on a tour of the mill.  I couldn’t take any photographs there, but it was very interesting to see how they get separate out the groats (this is the bit of the oat that humans eat) from the straw and other unwanted bits, then how they remove the outer hulls. Considering how much of what is harvested and delivered isn’t used, I’m very impressed that Mornflake only send 0.001% of their waste to landfill.  The farm that we visited has a green waste plant that turns the vegetable material into compost, the hulls are used for animal feed and us humans eat the groats.

vintage orange tractorNext up was a visit to the factory to see the large granola ovens, the packaging plant and more besides.  Factories like this are fascinating places and all the machines working away reminded me of trips through the arched window on Play School.  Throughout the day though what came through was Mornflake’s passion and commitment to produce good quality, British food product from oats – I very much liked and admired that.

 

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Comments

  1. Laura says

    July 8, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    This looks great, love that they provided breakfast! I would have been in my element!
    Laura recently posted..BeBop Fun at Hatton Adventure WorldMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Agata says

    July 8, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    It looks like a wonderful event. It’s such a shame I had to miss it 🙁
    I would love the factory tour.
    Agata recently posted..The Alphabet Project | Z is for ZestyMy Profile

    Reply
  3. JuggleMum, Nadine Hill says

    July 8, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    Great to learn about what you all discussed at the Talk to Mums event! I was unable to make it in the end! I’m getting into oats lately – making oaty bars and other bakes!!
    JuggleMum, Nadine Hill recently posted..How to Make Quick & Easy BuntingMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Jayne T says

    July 8, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    Some lovely photo’s there, I love your very posh looking breakfast, sounds like it was a fun day.

    Reply
  5. sam fernley says

    July 8, 2015 at 8:14 pm

    Looks lovely, not far away from where I live. Interesting to learn about the production and have a yummy breakfast.
    sam fernley recently posted..Crafting and friendship at Re-creation LondonMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Liz Burton says

    July 8, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    I would have loved to do this! It’s so important to know where our food comes from and how it’s produced. And what a great British success story too.

    Reply
  7. Michelle says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:25 am

    What a great event – sounds very interesting, and like you had a great time!

    Reply
  8. Kara says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:27 am

    Isaac would live on Mornflake chocolate pillows given half the chance and they are a really reasonable price too. The event sounds very interesting

    Reply
  9. Rachel says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:59 am

    I am one of those people who prefers Granola in a bar rather than in a bowl lol, odd I know x
    Rachel recently posted..Magnitone Lucid Daily Cleanser & Exfoliating BrushMy Profile

    Reply
  10. Sarah Bailey says

    July 9, 2015 at 5:14 pm

    How cool that they told you all about it and that breakfast looks amazing! x

    Reply
  11. Charlotte Braithwaite says

    July 9, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    Oh wow, they went all out.
    Looks like you guys had a great time. Ive never heard of them before this post going to have a look into them.

    Thanks for sharing lovely
    Charlotte x
    Charlotte Braithwaite recently posted..Netflix Stream Team: Orange Is The New Black Returns To Our ScreensMy Profile

    Reply
  12. suzanne3childrenandit says

    July 10, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Great pics here. And breakfast out – looks so lovely! I wasn’t aware of this brand either. We certainly look out for it now : )

    Reply
  13. ali says

    July 10, 2015 at 4:32 pm

    sounds like a really interesting event, I love reading posts like these. Ali @ Mum in a Nutshell guest hosting for #PoCoLo

    Reply
  14. Merlinda Little (@pixiedusk) says

    July 10, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Awwww looks like a lovely event! I love the ambiance too in there =) #pocolo
    Merlinda Little ( recently posted..Learning ProcessMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Kim Carberry says

    July 10, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    What a wonderful experience! It sounds very interesting.
    I have never heard of Mornflake….It’s nice to know more about them x

    Reply
  16. Phoebe @ Lou Messugo says

    July 11, 2015 at 11:57 am

    How wonderful to hear of such an old independent family-run business I’ve never heard of them, but then I don’t live in UK so perhaps it’s not surprising. If only there were more producers like this. Next time I’m in England I’ll look out for this brand.
    Phoebe recently posted..Ratatouille – a Nice dishMy Profile

    Reply
  17. Michelle says

    July 11, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    It sounds like a really well thought out and interesting event xx

    Reply

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