Inside Cheshire farm shop loved by Mollie-Mae Hague

Celebrity Mollie-Mae Hague has made no secret of the fact she loves a farm shop in Cheshire - having visited a few times over the years. The former Love Island star - who recently had baby daughter Bambi with Tommy Fury - has visited The Hollies farm shop, in Little Budworth, numerous times and regularly posts about her days out there on her Instagram page.

On her most recent visit with her daughter she posted a picture of a hot chocolate laden with whipped cream and what appears to be crumbled caramelised biscuits - though her visits haven't gone down too well with the locals who have accused the 24-year-old of turning the farm shop into 'Alton Towers'^[1].

The shop - just off the busy M56 - is a haven for foodies and home cooks alike and has many loyal customers who travel for miles across the country to take away a bag of homegrown produce.

READ: Molly-Mae Hague accused of turning farm shop into 'Alton Towers'^[2] | "It's pure carnage in the car park, it's like going to Alton Towers for a day out. "

READ: LIVE: Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire daily news blog | Up-to-the-minute local news, sport, weather and more throughout the day^[3]

The business was started in 1959 by the Conwap family, from humble beginnings as an honesty box on the side of the road. Three-generations later, the family are still stocking their stores in Lower Stretton, near Warrington, and in Little Budworth with local delicacies and the best sourced food.

Last year, when our colleagues from CheshireLive^[4] visited the popular store, manager Sue said :^[5] “We sell beautiful fresh produce. The heart and soul of the shop is the fruit and vegetables. We’ve got a beautiful butchery department, which caters for all needs with really lovely cuts of meat.

“We sell a wide range of cakes, desserts, and biscuits. We do a lovely selection of different cheeses and olives.”

Hollies offer all different cuts of meat and chicken on their butchery counter, and have their own cows in Conwy. There is also a colourful selection of locally grown fruit and vegetables, the perfect eco-friendly alternative to the plastic-wrapped selection in supermarkets.

You can pair the fresh loaves of bread - baked with interesting flavours including olives or jalapeno - with a jar of jam or another spread which has been handpicked for its spot in the shop.

Some products are made in-house too, such as the meat pies and the desserts. The pastries on offer are ideal for a snack to enjoy after browsing around the range of alcohols, sweets, and cakes.

"Standards and customer service are what the Hollies are renowned for, so it’s making sure that is always spot on,” Sue continued. "It’s beautiful food, I think that’s what attracts customers the most."

People travel from as far as the Lake District, and even from down south, to have a wander around the carefully selected products and treat themselves to locally-sourced delicacies. During lockdown, Sue explained, they continued to satisfy their loyal customers' need for Hollie’s produce by offering a home delivery service.

She said: "We did hampers for customers so that they could still get all of their lovely products. They used to email in their order, and then we had a delivery service that used to go to them."

The store in Little Budworth is what Sue describes as a "destination" shop, with a huge gift area, a greenhouse filled with plants, a similar farm shop and takeaway café. The café at Lower Stretton has recently fully reopened after the coronavirus pandemic, but is serving a temporarily reduced menu.

Sue said: "We are just on a limited menu at the moment. We are just doing things like bacon and sausage baps in the morning, with some Danishes. We do sausage rolls, pasties, and we just started doing ciabatta as well. Then we have a big selection of cakes to entice the customer."

The Hollies Farm Shop has built up a rock solid reputation. As well as hundreds of positive customer reviews, they have many awards under their belt. They were a finalist in the Farm Shop and Deli Awards 2022, and have won several Taste Cheshire Awards for Local Produce Shop of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

The farm shop has been hailed as "exceptional", "a real luxury" and "just cracking" by customers. One reviewer, Glyn Wilkinson, wrote: "Delicious cakes, premium meat and poultry all at a premium price but you get what you pay for and it is worth every penny."

The family also rent out luxury forest cabins and lodges near Delamere Forest in Tarporley. The award-winning, luxurious self-catering holiday accommodation offer the ideal family break, a romantic getaway or weekend-away with your closest friends.

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References

1. ^{^} turning the farm shop into 'Alton Towers' (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Molly-Mae Hague accused of turning farm shop into 'Alton Towers' (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
3. ^{^} LIVE: Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire daily news blog (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
4. ^{^} CheshireLive (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
5. ^{^} : (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE (data.reachplc.com)