Published 12 Feb 2024
The open-access train operator, who run an all-electric fleet of inter-city trains between Edinburgh and London, with stops at Morpeth and Newcastle, have teamed up with Big River Bakery and North of Tyne Combined Authority to launch the inaugural National Stottie Cake Week in style. Passengers will be treated to a delicious slice of North East culture, as the company’s Customer Ambassadors serve up a range of handmade stottie sandwiches made by the small-batch bakery on Tyneside.
A choice of ham and pease pudding or cheese and pickle stottie cake sandwiches will be available for purchase from the LumoEats at-seat trolley service onboard the operator’s lunch time trains, departing Newcastle at 10:51 and 12:51 to London and 13:47 to Edinburgh on Monday through to Friday to celebrate the special week.
The North East staple, a round, dense bread cooked on the bottom of the oven, has become one of the area’s most iconic food stuffs, most commonly found stuffed with ham and pease pudding or cheese savoury (two other North East delicacies). Despite its popularity in the region, the humble stottie is rarely seen outside of the North East. National Stottie week aims to being this piece of North Eastern culture to a wider audience, celebrating the heritage and uniqueness of the region on a national scale.
Shieldfield based Big River Bakery specialise in slow fermented, handmade breads and baked goods made with locally sourced ingredients. They came up with the idea for National Stottie Week in response to the Mayor’s Community Fund, an initiative by North of Tyne Combined Authority to fund ideas which celebrate the region in new ways.
The week is designed to help celebrate the North East icon and raise money for children's projects, this year supporting CHUF - Children's Heart Unit Fund, as well as the bakery’s own children's projects by selling limited edition Scotty the Stottie (the Stottie Cake Week mascot) merchandise and children’s books.
The company have enjoyed great success with their mail order stotties, helping locals and displaced North-easterners alike enjoy a comforting taste of home.
The first-ever National Stottie Cake Week, complete with its larger-than-life mascot Scotty the Stottie will see a series of events and activity happening around the region, funded by North of Tyne Combined Authority and supported by , who have helped forge the partnership between Big River Bakery and Lumo.
Scotty the Stottie was on hand to deliver the sarnies to the 08:42 Lumo service from Newcastle Central alongside representatives from Big River Bakery, Lumo and North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll – as hungry travellers lined up to sample the stotties on offer on the morning service.
Commenting on the initiative, Martijn Gilbert Managing Director of Lumo said:
“The Stottie Cake is a North-East institution and as a locally based company running train services along the East Coast mainline, National Stottie Cake Week was an obvious thing for us to support and help raise its profile beyond its traditional home. We’re really excited to be helping kick off the week with Scotty the Stottie and take Stottie Cakes to London and Edinburgh, whilst also supporting some great causes”.
Gail Lawler from Big River Bakery is delighted to be able to bring the stottie to a national audience with Lumo:
“We are thrilled with all the support we’ve received for this first ever National Stottie Cake Week. At its heart it’s all about community and celebrating this great North East food icon. We hope to build on this and make National Stottie Cake Week a firm favourite on the calendar for all Geordies both home and abroad for years to come.”
North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll said:
“Our Community Fund puts power back in the hands of local communities. We ask for bright ideas that celebrate our region and improve people’s lives. If enough people support them, we fund them. Simple as that.
We’ve already funded Big River Bakery to provide free cookery classes and ‘breakfast bags’ to help children in poverty. Their wonderful team are showing how food can bring communities together.
Up here we’ve known about the majestic splendour of the Stottie for generations - so we thought it might be time to share this gift with the world.
Born out of necessity, working-class families used scraps of dough to make a cheap, hearty food that fuelled the workers of our mines and shipyards in the 19th Century. And when filled with ham & pease pudding, it occasionally fuels the work of this Mayor too!
The stottie is more than just bread; it's a slice of North East pride.”
Ian Thomas, Director of Visitor Economy at NewcastleGateshead Initiative said:
“Working with our partners to champion our wonderful region is what we’re all about. Bringing together local stalwart Big River Bakery and Newcastle-based sustainable travel brand Lumo to showcase our region’s culture and food heritage represents a fantastic opportunity to show travellers what the North East is all about and why it’s such a great place to visit – and eat!”