What is clean eating? Dubbin Good Food tell us all

The clean food revolution has firmly landed and for the last 4 years Dubbin Good Food in Buxton have been redefining comfort food. Being good doesn’t have to be a compromise, eating healthy no longer needs to be bland or boring. Having moved to their current premises a year ago, this café is teaching us a thing or a two about eating healthily; (pretty much) gone are the days that wanting to consume ‘cleaner’, more unrefined/unprocessed food or avoiding gluten or diary, are a fad.

Owner Hannah Critchlow has had a passion for food most of her working life and at the age 26 was one of the founding partners at The Green Pavilion Cafè in Buxton before studying for her BA (Hons) Hospitality Management degree and proudly achieving a First Class Honours in 2012. Hannah’s ethos around healthy or ‘clean’ eating is something she’s always firmly believed in.

“When my Father was diagnosed with a serious health condition, this spurred on the whole family to eat better food. It can make you feel so incredibly different if you eat the wrong foods and I really got thinking about the science behind it. With my experience and life long passion for creating tasty but healthy dishes, I saw a gap in the market for Buxton and that’s how it all began”.

Following graduation from the University of Derby in Buxton, single mum of two Hannah wondered how to put her plan in action. “I’ve always loved being my own boss and I’d had a vision about owning my café again and really adopting the ‘clean eating’ approach. I started selling salad boxes from the back of my van to local businesses and that really took off. We then moved to a small unit on Green Lane and Dubbin Good Food was born!”

“As a single mum of two it’s not been easy but with hard work and sheer determination, we got there. I’d encourage anyone thinking about setting up their own business, regardless of their circumstances, just have a go, you never know what it will lead to.”

By the beginning of 2018 Hannah was looking for bigger premises. “It was hard to find to the right place but then I could see Higher Buxton really growing, there was a buzz about the area with new independent businesses popping up. And I’m so glad we made that move, the community up here is just brilliant”.

With the new premises, Hannah’s finally been able to realise her vision for the café. “I’ve had tremendous support from local businesses, it’s been amazing. Higher Buxton and our neighbours here are just super, I can see this area continuing to really grow”. DGF is also the first venue in Buxton to do supper clubs. “You can hire the whole cafe for a get together of friends or family – and leave the cooking and washing up to us!”

What is clean eating? 

“Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being mindful of the food’s pathway between its origin and your plate. Clean eating is about eating whole foods, or “real” foods — those that are un- or minimally processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible”, explains Hannah.

The menu here features comfort food that we know and love, but done the DGF way, this is comfort food redefined; there’s a range of breakfasts to die for including the Full English, oatcakes and pancakes, homemade gourmet burgers, homemade beans on sourdough toast, homemade soups, sandwiches with trillions of fillings and of course their famous salad boxes – which is how it all began. Smoothies, salads, hot drinks, sandwiches and homemade cakes are all on the takeaway menu too.

“We serve food that’s cooked from scratch with no additives, E numbers and or preservatives and we only cook in rapeseed or coconut oil. Anything we need to buy in, we thoroughly vet it – for example if we need to buy sauces.

“We can do gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and diary free options too – so dishes can be adapted”.

The other main focus for Hannah is being as sustainable as they possibly can. “We buy pretty much everything locally. I’m really passionate about the environmental side of the business. I want us to be as environmentally friendly as we possibly can. Unless businesses do their bit to try and cut down on using plastic, using more energy and being aware of their impact on the environment, things won’t get better. We’ve all got to contribute in our own way. The opening of Day Zero in Higher Buxton shows it can be done. We encourage customers to bring their own coffee cups for example. We don’t sell drinks or water in plastic bottles and we’re part of the national Refill scheme where you can bring your own bottle and pop in to refill it with water for free”.

Extensive research in recent years has linked eating whole, unprocessed foods with better health and living longer and even preventing certain life threatening conditions. “We have a way to go yet but hopefully at DGF we can show people that you can still enjoy the food and dishes you love, in a cleaner, healthier way”.

Outside catering

A bespoke outside catering service is also offered tailored to your every need – whatever your event; weddings, funerals, christenings, afternoon teas, office lunches, birthday parties, baby showers and more. DGF cater to any dietary requests and specific dishes preferences. Get in touch with Hannah and her team for a chat about what you’re looking for.

Dubbin Good Food, 1 Torr Street, Buxton, SK17 6HW

T: 01298 22292