Award for Spalding Gardeners' Arms pub

Description:

Fresh local produce and the expansion of the locally-brewed real ales offering at TGA pub at Springfields Outlet Shopping and Festival Gardens in Spalding has helped the recently refurnished establishment achieve a Tastes of Lincolnshire mark.

TGA, formerly The Gardener's Arms, underwent an extensive overhaul earlier this year and introductions such as a greater focus on using Lincolnshire produce have helped it achieve the prestigious Tastes of Lincolnshire mark.  

Tastes of Lincolnshire is a Lincolnshire County Council and European Union funded project encouraging people to choose local food and drinks. The Tastes of Lincolnshire mark celebrates all that is good and great about Lincolnshire produce.

The offer of real ales is also changing both in the number of tipples available at any one time and the frequency in which they rotate.  The focus will very much be on ales from local microbreweries in places such as Tydd Gote, Market Deeping, Oakham as well as dry cider from Weston Hills.

TGA's operators Mercury Inns - serves up the traditional pub food during the day that is loved by shoppers. In the evening the focus switches to a more adventurous, more modern menu to tempt diners. This means that TGA differs in atmosphere depending on the time of day. Compared to the menu before the rebranding of the pub, a much larger proportion is high quality, locally-sourced produce, cutting down on food miles and helping to support local agricultural businesses.

Manager of TGA Stuart Wright said: "Tastes of Lincolnshire is a prestigious award and we are delighted to have become members. The award celebrates a county proud of its fertile farmland and rich rural landscape, and is something TGA and Springfields is proud to be associated with.

"We are very supportive of local suppliers at TGA, using butchers George Adams for our sausages, meat and pies and Lloyd Loom for our furniture. Both of these companies are based in Spalding, and we also use a Cambridgeshire company for our fruit and vegetables.

"The changes in our real ale offering also underlines our aim of using local suppliers. The vast majority of the real ales we plan to have in will be from the south Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, with a few exceptions from further afield. I've run a few real ale houses in the past and I am knowledgeable on the subject, so I am delighted to be expanding the range and rotation frequency here at TGA.

Tracy Turnell, Springfields Communications Manager, said: "The introduction of a larger real ale range and our continuing aim of improving the food menu helps TGA match the first class shopping experience visitors get at Springfields. Supporting the local economy is very important to us and the Tastes of Lincolnshire membership is recognition of the hard work of Mercury Inns and TGA's staff to be a more locally-focused pub.

"TGA has been a popular venue for many years and thanks to the great things now happening since the re-launch it is set to continue to appeal to a mix of people who need a range of experiences from the venue. Why not come along and see what TGA has to offer?"