Meet the Producer: Lakeland Mues

Written by: Janie

Here we chat to Luke Christian, the owner of Lakeland Mues, about how he started the business and his recommendations for food & drink in his home city of Carlisle.
 

Tell us how Lakeland Mues came about?

Through a broken collarbone! My best mate Tim and I were introduced to the concept of toasted muesli by a Swedish friend of ours who was a bit of a mad professor in the kitchen. We started making it for our own breakfasts and regularly talked about how there wasn’t anything like it in the shops and that it was definitely good enough to sell. It wasn’t until I broke my collarbone whilst mountain biking at Whinlatter when visiting home for the weekend (I was working down in London at the time) that the idea became more of a reality. The injury meant I was signed off from my job for 6 weeks but I’m not very good at sitting round doing nothing, so Tim and I decided to try selling our toasted muesli. We booked into Keswick Farmers Market, cobbled together some branding, toasted some batches in my mum’s kitchen & headed off to market (with my arm in a sling!). It went really well, and one thing led to another and we decided to quit our jobs and give it a go full-time and so Lakeland Mues was born!
 

And now, what is it about Lakeland Mues that keeps your customers coming back for more?
 

Great taste and quality ingredients. We’ve won best tasting muesli in the UK at the Great Taste Awards and have rave reviews from customers about how good it is, so they keep coming back for their breakfast fix! We toast our muesli so it’s a bit of a hybrid between granola and muesli. We found granola to be too sugary and muesli was often too bland (and sawdusty) so we wanted our muesli to be a healthy alternative to granola that still tastes amazing. Our customers also love the fact that we pack it full of ‘the good stuff’. It’s not just 99% oats with the odd, token raisin, it’s jam packed full of seeds, nuts, dried fruit. Oats actually makes up less than 50% of our ingredients. Also, we still toast it all by hand in small batches in our kitchen near Rosley and a lot of customers say they like the fact their breakfast is locally made by a small producer rather than mass manufactured.

How would you describe the food & drink offering across Carlisle, The Western Lake District and Coast?

Outstanding. There is such a variety and depth to the range of local food producers and the region has a fantastic reputation around the UK and even internationally. The quality of the farm shops, food halls and delis around Cumbria has played a vital role in supporting and showcasing local products which has helped establish this reputation.

 

Do you have any favourites when it comes to shopping local?

Many! Wild & Fruitful have a cracking range of jams & relishes but I’ve also got a stash of their peanut butter in my cupboard currently (crunchy obvs!). It's also hard to resist picking up something from The Coffee Kitchen Bakery when I'm passing Keswick Market (they also sell directly from their bakery in Cockermouth). Their sourdoughs come highly rated and free of all the preservatives and additives that seem to dominate the supermarket bread shelves. Carvetii Coffee is another strong local recommendation - Gareth & Angharad are serious coffee fanatics (and lovely people) and the quality of their coffee reflects their passion for their craft. For cheese, I'd go Cumberland Smoked from Thornby Moor Dairy or the Binsey Red from Torpenhow Cheese Co, both incredibly knowledgeable and personable artisan cheesemakers. The dessert recommendation to finish would be Three Hills Gelato and more specifically, their Banoffee flavour which I've discovered isn't always in stock so go for it when it is!

 

A local to Carlisle, can you tell us about some of your favourite food and drink venues?

The Last Zebra is probably my favourite spot for dinner, casual but with a nice buzz and consistently great food. Their halloumi fries are the best around and I’m still not over the novelty of ordering a flight (a range of 3 1⁄3 pints on a little wooden tray). Crescent Bar deserves a shout as quite a vibey little spot on an evening – I recommend heading there when they’ve got live music on. For a quieter cocktail, I rate The Lane Bar, with their cosy little nooks for a catchup. During the day, I’d go to Foxes for a quality brunch – go Full Fox if you’re peckish and their milkshakes are on point too. Coffee-wise, Espresso Hub is also worth heading to – they serve Carvetii coffee and plenty of cake.

 

Any hidden gems?

Giannis always used to be a favourite for a family birthday meal out when we were younger – strong Italian banter from the staff and their calzone was always king. I’ve also heard rave reviews recently about Nacho Nacho, so I’ll be paying them a visit next time I’m getting dinner in Carlisle!

 

And finally, what’s your number one recommendation for food and drink when visiting Carlisle?

Quite random but as the biggest sandwich fan around, it has to be The Sandwich Mill near Dixons Chimney. Super friendly staff & they serve an incredible hot Chinese chicken baguette which has to be in contention for the UK’s best sandwich (and I’ve done some fairly extensive sandwich testing). That said, at this time of year, I’m occasionally swayed across to their festive baguette – it comes with all the trimmings and even a little pot of gravy to pour on top, delightful.
 

Find out more about Lakeland Mues