Written by: Jack Connor
Date: 1st April 2025

Ey up all!

We are extremely proud to announce the launch of PECKISH. Our brand-new food yard located right here on Holmes Farm. Launching – Friday 18^th April, open Saturday 19^th, Sunday 20^th and Monday 21^st April. Keep reading to find out more info on our opening weekend!

From an old, converted cow shed in Brindle to providing a new upcoming food court area. We will be joined by two fantastic local food vendors permanently on site in bespoke, custom-built units. This will complement our ever-growing hospitality arm of the business. We are incredibly proud of our journey so far and can’t wait to launch into this new venture!

Why Peckish? “Peckish” comes from the verb peck, which a bird does when it bites with its beak — it basically means “hungry enough to peck at some food.” We absolutely love this name, tying into our Cuckoo brand and the connotations that surrounds when a bird eats.

We have plenty to update you on, but first… let me set the scene and give you a history of our food journey here at Brindle Distillery over the years.

Setting the Scene: In The Beginning

When we launched the Cuckoo’s Nest Bar back in 2017 we had a good 6-8 months serving nibbles ourselves. We would be chop blocks of cheese, source the perfect British charcuterie and slice the finest fruits to pair with Lancashire chutney made by Bee’s Country Kitchen. This brilliant combination was known as our “Grand as owt platter”. I can still envisage to this day the endless amounts of platters that were ordered.

The punters would rock up in their hundreds enjoy a few of our early batch Gins… (at this time it was only Signature and Spiced) and then people would start to feel a little PECKISH.  As our gin journey developed so did food offering. From Fiddlers Lancashire Crisps and grand as owt platters into a “mon and a sausage pon”, we still dream about those sausages. A simple concept of meat, bread, and toppings just worked so well. There was nothing too fancy, just exactly what our community needed after a couple of signature gins or rotten rat pints!

Setting the Scene: How we Developed

We then welcomed 2 legendary vendors in Flying Pig and Humble Kitchen, rocking up in vans on a Saturday evening and slamming out food for hours and hours, I can imagine how they felt as the bar was exactly the same, relentless from start to finish, non-stop G&T’s perfectly served alongside a Sunshine Garlic Bread or a Humble kitchen Texan burger special, there was something about those nice quick easy eats.

We’ve had so many other vendors here over the years, Suru kitchen serving Japanese Fusion Street Food, Nasi Lemak smashing out Malaysian Street Food, Scrumpy Pig with his hog roasts and pork wraps, Manzoku with Authentic Asian Cooking, Taka Taka Mam with their Greek Gyros (a true fan favourite), Three Guys Chippy with fish suppers, Butcher Farrell with some mean meat (his Nestival 2024 cameo was truly memorable), and last but not least a big shoutout to Dinner at Marias who brought a pop up restaurant here at Brindle to life during those lockdown months serving up some great supper clubs.

We are incredibly proud of our food journey, and it is great to reflect on the amazing partnerships we have forged along the way. Come rain or shine our food vendors have supported us and kept you lovely lot fed, whilst we kept you topped up on G&T’s. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped pave the way for our next chapter…

Peckish

We are now delighted to launch our brand-new food yard… PECKISH. Over the years our food offering has developed but this is truly one of the biggest steps that the hospitality part of our business has taken.

The rise of food courts, quick eats, street food vendors and community dining are something that we have massively taken inspiration from. We wanted to take a community centric approach and provide a space for friends, family and colleagues to gather on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, whilst enjoying some of the finest food our vendors have to offer.

This is our biggest development to date, and we want to ensure that the quality we deliver is the same top-notch standard as usual! As such, the finishing touches are just as important as the main build. Alongside the new vendors and kitchens, we have sourced new outdoor bistro seating to make the area as comfortable and as on brand as possible, these will sit on a new concreted area to ensure the food yard is clean and suitable for all. We have invested in awnings and outdoor speakers to ensure the vibes of inside the distillery carry on outside, as well as collaborating with local designers and local printing agencies for our signage, and working with Oh So Specials Murals to decorate the finished space.

The Vendors

We welcome two incredible food vendors that have embodied exactly what the Cuckoo’s Nest is about, great food, good people and a community spirit:

Fratelli’s who have been a staple here at the nest for the last 3 years, serving up the finest Neapolitan style pizzas alongside some traditional recipe Italian street foods, think Arancini, Salsiccia Sausage Potatoes, Polpette Meatballs, Garlic Parmesan Potatoes and Antipasto meats. All the Italian favourites, served in a traditional way, accompanied alongside a great pizza menu… what’s not to love! There’s something for everyone! Aligned with our values of doing things properly they only use the finest ingredients. Everything is sourced from wholesalers working directly with the exceptional Italian producers.

MELD, the latest addition to our vendors, joining us in the summer of 2024 for a one-off cookout, the guys have been smashing burgers ever since. They are most well known for being just up the road at our good friends Rivington Brew Co Tap. They work with epic local suppliers including Butcher Farrell,  Windy Arbour Farm Shop, and the Crafty Cheese Man. Cooking up the finest pork chops, ribeye steaks, rib cap fat burgers and salt and pepper fries, they’ve got the menu to suit all.

These two vendors are ready to cook out of bespoke custom-built kitchens perfectly suited to them for speed, quality and great service. The collaborative elements of this project have been the most exciting part of the journey, and we can’t wait to see the specials menu and new additions to come in the coming weeks and months.

The Launch

We can’t wait to welcome you here to experience what Peckish is all about. The official launch weekend is going to be Easter weekend! We will start with a cutting of the ribbon on Good Friday at 6pm. From then we will be serving all the way through to 6pm on Easter Monday. Not able to make that weekend… fear not Peckish will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday going forward. We will still maintain some Fridays as our Live @ The Nest openings, twice a month, but otherwise you are free to rock up to the Cuckoo’s Nest.

To celebrate the launch of Peckish, and to give back to our incredibly supportive community, we have arranged a few extra treats! Fratteli’s are giving away 50 free pizzas to the first 50 people that rock up on the Friday. MELD are giving away 50 free burgers to the first 50 people that rock up on Saturday. Finally, on Sunday The Cuckoo’s Nest are giving away 50 free G&T’s to the first 50 people that rock up. Don’t miss out!

We honestly can’t wait to host you!

All the best and see you soon.

Jack.