Adam Ain't Cooking

It seems Horwich is definitely becoming the place to be for tasty treats and great food! Evidence of this can be seen in the latest business to open on Winter Hey Lane: CHILL @ The Cowshed. An ice cream parlour!

A lot of work was put into the fixing up of this building, which used to be a butcher shop. The exterior was sandblasted, but the interior keeps the same exposed wall and stone flagged floor, which gives a lovely rustic effect. I'd describe the effect they're going for as seaside vintage shabby-chic, and it works well, complete with rough boards and mismatched china. Its location is excellent, being next door to a bank and a car park. Both handy things for such a visit!

Inside, the cosy space has several tables and chairs, around a central column, behind which is the main counter, which displays a delicious array of tempting ice creams, which (as the lady behind the counter is quick to tell us) we're welcome to taste the flavours of to get us in the mood for more! A most coherent and agreeable suggestion! We were told that a new flavour had just come in, blackcurrant and liquorice, and told that a sample would be brought for us to try. Fab!

There is a blackboard proudly listing the 22 flavours that the parlour stock, and another blackboard mentioning the days food options should you feel peckish. We're also told the soup of the day. This is good really, it means that in the depths of winter, CHILL will have other options as well as ice cream.

I quite fancied something foody first, so went for good and simple cheese on toast and a cup of tea. I asked if I could also have ham on my toast and was told that wouldn't be a problem. It was nice to be asked what type of bread I'd like to. Although initially served open-faced as a classic cheese on toast, a member of staff brought out an extra slice of toast, which we thought was kind and thoughtful. It was hot and tasty, and my tea was served in a dainty teapot with traditional cup and saucer. Very civil.

This reminded me a bit of Delicieux, and with good reason. Debbie Halls-Evans, the owner of the former Delicieux is seemingly on-board helping out here and there, loaning chairs and the such, and is soon to open a pop-up restaurant located within the parlour itself, in an adjoining room.

After my lunch, I had a sample taste of a few flavours (Turkish delight,lemon meringue and the amazing wild cherry), but settled on white chocolate and raspberry flavour. The ice creams are availible in tubs at £1 a scoop, or in cones varying from classic wafer cones, to waffle cones, coloured cones, and chocolate-dipped cones! This is pretty good value considering the price a lot of places charge for ice cream. It also goes without saying that it was delicious!

After such a tasty and good value visit, and with such friendly and pleasant staff, I will most definitely be returning to CHILL, and I look forward to seeing how they progress and grow. I have at least another 21 visits planned to try all of the flavours! They don't have a big internet presence currently, which in the age of Twitter and Facebook can make things tricky, but they have a placeholder on their website, so I have no doubt that we have more in store from them!