Eats

The tiny Lake District village that’s home to FOUR Michelin Stars – one of which is surprisingly affordable

A tiny village with four Michelin stars on one road

Daisy Jackson - 7th November 2025

Cartmel has long made a place for itself on the map with its food scene, which spans everything from its world-famous Sticky Toffee Pudding shop, all the way up to its three-Michelin star restaurant L’Enclume, widely considered to be the best restaurant in the UK.

For such a tiny dot on the map, just on the edges of the Lake District, they cram in an awful lot of gastronomy, and boast four Michelin Stars on a single street.

This is the home of some of the best produce – whether that’s a mallard or a marrow – on the planet, and a lot of that reputation is thanks to chef Simon Rogan’s enterprise.

The Cartmel Valley is the home of Our Farm, where produce for his group of restaurants is carefully grown and harvested before being prepared and served to diners. The level of care that is taken at every single step of the process is outstanding.

And while L’Enclume is many people’s first thought when they hear ‘Michelin’, especially here up north, there’s a more modest and accessible little sister restaurant just next door, which acts as an incubator for all those shiny accolades.

Rogan & Co has a Michelin star of its own making, and chefs who have passed through its doors include Tom Barnes, who is now chef patron of Skof, his very own Michelin star restaurant in Manchester city centre.

One of the best things about Rogan & Co is that it acts as a gateway introduction for the magic of L’Enclume (which is a big treat for most people at £265 per person for the tasting menu).

You’re still eating the same great produce, and experiencing the same level of service, just in a more laid-back, neighbourhood restaurant setting.

And you don’t have to go the whole hog – there’s a set lunch menu where you can get three courses for just £49.

The restaurants that fall within Simon Rogan’s group are always proudly local, and never shy of shouting out their suppliers.

But this hits its stride in a really special way twice a year, when Rogan & Co celebrates Local Heroes week and crafts special menus to show off local artisans, craftspeople, growers and suppliers.

Dining here during Local Heroes Week means that your menu will highlight where everything is sourced, and I don’t just mean the veggies on your plate. I also mean the plate.

Each menu lists the people who have been integral in its creation – Northern Wine filling your glass, Lake District Farmers supplying the beef, Winter Tarn on the butter.

Rogan & Co also shouts out its chefs and floor staff, even crediting Beth and Kayleigh for ‘the tunes’ (and the music is local – they were playing a playlist inspired by Kendal Calling headliners through the years).

So onto that menu – it begins with a dinky cheddar scone made with cheese from Torpenhow Cheese Company just down the road, sliced in half then sandwiched back together with a pickled allium cream.

It’s like no scone I’ve ever tasted before, and yet the ritual of eating it (pulling apart the two halves, spreading the cream evenly, admiring the little shower of crumbs that falls down) feels so familiar and comforting.

Then comes a tangle of brassicas offset by some tangy preserves made by ‘The Pickle Prince’ (that’s Liam, the head chef at Our Farm).

I always find bread to be one of the highlights of any tasting menu – will it be a tiny sourdough loaf, or a fluffy brioche roll?

Here, it’s a neat row of glossy buns inspired by a Parkerhouse roll, made fresh in the village bakery and glazed in Our Farm honey. They’re springy and sticky to the touch and are quickly demolished via a few pats of butter.

I expected a reduced set lunch menu to be on the simpler side, but the main course still consists of an impressive number of elements.

There’s the leg of a Cartmel Valley Game mallard, its skin audibly crispy, a tiny copper saucepan of shepherd’s pie on the side, along with a snarl of leeks and a wedge of soft celeriac. I’m absolutely delighted with all of it.

And for pudding, damsons sourced from nearby Witherslack are cooked all the way down to a tangy jam, layered into a caramelised rice pudding and then topped with ice cream and homemade toffee popcorn.

To cap things off, there’s a Romney’s mint cake – imagine if an After Eight and a fudge took a tumble in the sheets and produced a top-class after-dinner treat. That.

Pound for pound, Rogan & Co has to be one of the best-value Michelin experiences in the country. So get in the car immediately and head up to Cartmel.

This year’s Local Heroes Week is taking place between 4 and 8 November, but it’ll be back again twice next year.

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Featured image: The Manc Group