Interview with Chef Tom Parker

A passion for food and drink! An interview with chef Tom Parker.

On the lower slopes of Pendle Hill lies the village of Fence.

Part of the ancient Forest of Pendle, this was a royal hunting ground until late Medieval times.  The village gets its strange name from the enclosure where the King’s deer were kept.   

Now it’s the preserve of a rising star from Cuckstool Lane, Tom Parker, the Fence born and bred chef of the Michelin Starred, White Swan, “lives, dreams and sleeps food!”

The Mucky Duck, as the locals call it, is fast becoming a destination for anyone who shares Tom’s passion for food.  With a glowing review from Jay Rayner in The Observer Michelin Starred, Tom Parker, told us a little bit about his background....

“My nan was a proper Lancastrian.  A woman who had throdkins  for breakfast!
“She made a dough of oatmeal and water and baked it in a pie plate with bacon.  A kind of Lancashire tart!

“I’ve been rifling through her recipes. You can do a lot with Lancashire food and be surprisingly modern with it!

“We’ve just done a Lancashire tapas night with 17 different courses.  We even had Bovril with pickled eggs just like you get at a Burnley game!”

Having served his time over an eight year apprenticeship at the acclaimed Northcote Manor on the other side of Pendle Hill, Tom’s enjoying creating his own style.

“Lancashire foods on the up and there’s loads you can do with it!

The White Swan’s the only Timothy Taylor pub in Lancashire and Tom’s busy experimenting to create something cross-border with the Yorkshire beer.

“I’m learning to make cheese with Timothy Taylor’s!”

Leagrams Organic Dairy – a little dairy in the Lancashire countryside where Lancashire cheese was made commercially – has helped with advice.

“And we’re about to start making our own Timothy Taylor’s beer and walnut bread too,” he says.

Tom loves a challenge, from making savoury ice creams with cones made of cheese, to a granita with that old Lancashire remedy drink - Sarsparilla. 

And he’s experimenting with a new alliance of Lancashire and French recipes, too, such as a Sarsparilla and quince doughnut made with his own brioche.

“I like pushing boundaries,” he admits. Not just the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire, but finding forgotten recipes which go back hundreds of years , breathing new life into them.”