LANCASHIRE'S finest food traditions are being given a bite-sized twist at a new Ramsbottom bar and kitchen.

Classics such as black pudding, hotpot and potted shrimps will be served as tapas dishes at The First Chop, in Bolton Street.

All food will be cooked using the best locally sourced ingredients, according to chef proprietor Rik Garner.

“We are so lucky around here because there is so much good quality local produce,” said Rik, 37, originally from Greenmount, Bury.

“For a chef, it is very easy. All we have to do is cook it very simply and the quality shines through.

“There is an established farmers’ market in Ramsbottom, and people around here have a passion for food and good quality local produce.

“I think they want exactly what I am offering."

Dishes like Lancashire hotpot will feature alongside rag puddings and hearty stews, with the common theme of simplicity and letting good ingredients speak for themselves.

Beef will come from Burnley, free range chickens from Padiham, rare breed pork from Rossendale, lamb from Helmshore and the vegetables will be grown on local farms.

Children’s meals for under a fiver will provide five portions of fruit and vegetables served over three or four small courses, while colouring sheets and toys will be on hand, all road-tested by Rik’s three-year-old daughter Ava.

To complement the good food there will be a selection of fine cask ales, none of which will have travelled more than 30 miles, as well as 20 of the world’s finest bottled beers.

“Most pubs don’t serve really high quality mixed drinks," said Rik.

“But the gin and tonic you will get in The First Chop will be as good as any you can get in the country.

"All the bar staff will be trained to have excellent product knowledge.”

Rik honed his skills working in local pub before setting up his first restaurant in 2003, earning several Manchester Food and Drink Award nominations.

He sold up last year to open the First Chop (named after the description given to the finest cut of meat), fulfilling a dream of combining great Lancashire food with a European sensibility.

“In most places, you have a meal, you finish your food, and then you leave.

"It’s not going to be like that,” he said. “People will be able to come in, have a few drinks, and stay afterwards without feeling the pressure to move on.

"We are a bar with a kitchen, and that is why it is going to work.”