Inside the traditional pie shop that's the 'last of its kind' in town
Tucked away in a residential corner of Southport, the Farmhouse Kitchen has become a beloved cornerstone for the local community, serving hearty fare for a considerable number of years.
As the last bastion of traditional pie shops in the town, the family behind the business wear their tenacity like a badge of honour, making it clear that they're here to stay. The inception of Farmhouse Kitchen on Old Park Lane, Churchtown, traces back 12 years when Rob Marshall, 32, launched the venture alongside his mother Terri, 57.
From their humble beginnings at local markets, the duo has delivered satisfying portions of baked treasures to grateful customers from across the breadth of the region. Rob fondly recalls how Farmhouse Kitchen came to be, recounting to the ECHO: "When my mum retired, she had nothing to do.
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"She had an office job for years. She got bored, retired and decided she wanted to do something in cooking.
"She loves cooking. One side of the family is a butchers so I grew up with home cooked food from scratch. Normal, good farm house cooking."
Their rustic delights swiftly found fame throughout North West markets, with customers demonstrating an insatiable hunger for nostalgic, home-style eats. The business celebrated an early triumph by selling out a three-day stockpile of cakes in just 75 minutes.
Rob added: "We'd sell everything from cakes to caramel slices. Then we pushed more toward the savoury side. We opened the store we have now during lockdown - just a few weeks before the restrictions came into place - and we had a really good response at the start.
"Then Boris decided to close the country but we put everything we had into opening the shop. We thought it was now or never and because we were classed as an essential business we had to power through.
"If we didn't hit it hard, we would've failed, but we had to deal with the rules changing every day on top of starting a new business. We took over Meals on Wheels and got a lot of our stock delivered to pensioners during lockdown.
"We were able to drop everything people still needed right to their door. It was strange at first but because we were a new business we weren't eligible for back grants and all that carry on. We had to do what we needed to get through."
Rob and Farmhouse Kitchen powered through lockdown and once they reached the other side, business boomed bigger than ever before. The little shop became packed with customers every day calling in for everything from sausage rolls and pies to grazing boxes full of home cooked goodies.
Rob said: "We have the boys that come in once a week. We have one chap we call 'lamb pie man' because he orders two lamb pies and two sausage rolls. He's in his 70s and by the time he gets from his car to the door we've got his order boxed."
Despite a once thriving food scene, with pie makers dotted along the high street and tucked in the back of bakeries, Farmhouse Kitchen is the only traditional pie shop remaining in Southport. When asked what makes Farmhouse Kitchen's food so special, Rob said: "The love and the hard work we put into them."
"It's not unusual for me to be in here until 2am making everything the next day. It's funny because people ask what my favourite pie is and I say none of them. I spend so much time making sure the filling tastes fine the last thing I want is a pie!"
In 2023, Farmhouse Kitchen received national praise, earning a bronze award for the 'best steak and ale' at the British Pie Awards against more than 900 competitors. Last year Rob bagged three bronze awards for his pies: 'The mother clucker' - a chicken, ham and mushroom pie - 'the Southport athletic JFC pie,' and 'the queenie' - Nan's Scouse pie.
Looking to the future, Rob is once again entering the pie awards, this time with a vegan creation. Until the winners are revealed, Rob will be kept busy with his regulars. He said: "Every day we'll sell out of something. We make hundreds of pies that are sold here or delivered elsewhere. It never really ends!"