The Customer at the Heart business roadshow stopped off in Yorkshire this weekend to celebrate a new experience for customers at the 1875 restaurant.

You may normally spend Sundays sat at home tucking into roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with a few roasties, a selection of veg and some onion gravy. However the 1875 now offer a new alternative – The first of its kind. Get on board with this Sunday lunch combination brought over from the India.

Based above Menston train station the restaurant hosts a cosy and friendly atmosphere, offering personal service to customers where your table is referred to by their name and not a number.

This fresh and inspired idea to couple this food from two very different cultures came from restaurant owner Manjinder Singh Sarai and has been brought to life by Michelin star trained chef Vivek Singh Kashiwale.

Kate Hardcastle, who founded the Customer at the Heart Awards, was invited to launch the new Sunday lunch and to try the new menu herself. As expected it was absolutely delicious.

If you are getting bored of your typical meat and veg, and want to spice up your Sunday afternoon, head to the 1875 restaurant where you can eat a traditional English classic with a fantastic Indian twist. The basic ingredients are the same but the flavour is radically different as cooked in traditional Indian herbs and spices.

If you fancy something that is innovative and incredibly tasty then head to the 1875 to try their Sunday Lunch with an Indian twist

Customer at the Heart awards were founded by Insight with Passion in order to celebrate businesses who go above and beyond the call of duty for their customers. It is clear to see The 1875 deliver this everyday and fully deserve their Customer at the Heart Award.

The roadshow team were today at Raisthorpe Manor, celebrating local produce and innovation. Founder Kate Hardcastle is shown here presenting our award recognising excellence in customer service to the team.

Raisthorpe Manor Fine Foods began as an accompaniment to Raisthorpe Flyers, providing homemade raspberry gin for guests at elevenses. The popularity of the drink grew and in 2008 the company was set up, creating homemade gins and liqueurs out of the farmhouse kitchen. The business continued to grow and with thanks to funding from RDPE via Yorkshire Forward now operates from a brand new factory facility in the heart of the Yorkshire Wolds.

From there, their products have gone on to win numerous awards and two of the liqueurs are currently being used in the cocktail bars of Harvey Nichols nationwide. All products contain only the finest ingredients (locally sourced where possible) created using traditional methods to create their delicious ranges.

Full report to follow …

Saturday 8th June and the Customer at the Heart Summer Roadshow kicked off as Kate Hardcastle opened the Collingham Real Ale Festival.

Held in a small village near Wetherby, North Yorkshire, the festival showcased the best of Yorkshire brewed real ales, old and new.  25 different ales were available to sample at the festival, and Yorkshire Ales sourced special Festival Bottle Beer. Music, food and a crafts fair were also put on at the event.

Not only was the festival to celebrate great Yorkshire ale, the event’s priority was to raise awareness and funds for the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association. Prader-Willi Syndrome is not something I had heard of prior to this event. It is a rare genetic condition, which affects 1 in 10,000 to 25,000 people. People with PWS may present challenging learning and emotional behaviours, as well as unusual medical issues including low muscle tone and incomplete sexual development. It can also lead to excessive eating and life- threatening obesity.

This is now the 3^rd Collingham Real Ale Festival and not the only event organisers hold to raise money for this worthwhile charity. A Christmas event is also held where a Christmas dinner is provided, all less than 500 calories, vital for those who suffer from PWS. This also gives family and friends of those with PWS to see it is possible and see a number of other suffers with the illness at different stages of their life.

The event today really showed me how hard it is for a charity to get their cause known, with 180,000 charities in the UK it is easy to see how so many causes get lost or hidden under the top 10% of well-known charities. Charity awareness – especially for smaller and lesser known charities is an issue close to IWP’s Kate’s heart – she has spent 7 years campaigning to support charities + help them to link and work together instead of against each other. The Charity Dreamgirls (founded by Kate) is a testament to this.

With all catering throughout the day, all event signs and advertising, complete re-vamp of the website and t-shirts for the bar staff donated from a number of local businesses the Collingham Real Ale Festival gave a great sense of community and togetherness.

Emily Clark