A takeaway which has been popular with business people has expanded to offer more choice to passers-by and non-business users.
Fresh Horizons, inside Horizon Scotland on the Enterprise Park has been a natural and convenient choice for tenants and visitors using the 24-seat meeting space.
Rachel Philp, who also runs a catering company Philp’s Fine Food, said recent works to increase the kitchen size has allowed her to offer a wider range of cooked food.
She also wants to encourage the general public to come in and use the space which is situated one mile east of Forres on the way to Elgin: “The kitchen facilities at Fresh Horizons were small and outdated, plus better ventilation was needed.
“Better facilities meant I could offer a larger range of foods to suit all tastes. More space means more refrigeration and storage.”
Hand-made with local ingredients
Fresh Horizons is a takeaway providing hot and cold lunches, cold drinks and snacks. All meals are hand-made by Rachel from scratch using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. She also does all her own baking, including bread when she’s not overrun with customers.
Lunches range from ‘grab and go’ sandwiches, salads, filled rolls, sausage rolls and quiche right through to hot foods such as lasagne, curry, bolognese, macaroni cheese, etc.
The menu changes daily and Rachel shops locally for the majority of her ingredients.
Customers are mainly from the Horizon Scotland and wider Enterprise Park businesses at the moment but anyone can come in to buy food. Rachel also provides the catering for businesses using Horizon Scotland for meetings and events.
There is indoor and outdoor seating plus various picnic areas around the park where food can be eaten. There’s also plenty of parking with electric vehicle charging facilities.
Back to work
The expansion comes after a long closure due to Covid.
She said: “Initially, in the first lockdown, I closed for around five months. I then became involved with providing meals for the elderly and vulnerable in our local community in Forres and Kinloss.
“Because of the community meals I had re-purposed the kitchen as a production facility rather than a food outlet which led to me producing a range of prepared meals which I sold through local farm shops and direct to the public. This carried on until finally in January 2022 I was able to re-open as Fresh Horizons as folks steadily returned to the workplace.”
Then she had to close again while the kitchen work was in progress.
She added: “The newly extended kitchen has made the world of difference to me and how I work.
“The temperature in the kitchen is much lower so it’s a much better working environment, and I have a window to the outside world for the first time ever!
“The window doubles as a serving hatch – it’s not in use at the moment but more of a ‘future proofing’ measure should we ever need to close the building for either a large event or, god forbid, in the event of another lockdown!
Not just for business users
“Unfortunately two large businesses are no longer based on the park (Kura and some of Atos) so my customer base is somewhat smaller than pre-Covid, however, now I am able to offer a wider selection of lunches and snacks I am hoping that more folk from outside the park call in.
“Horizon Scotland is easily reachable from Forres town centre and Kinloss in under five minutes by car so shouldn’t eat into your lunch hour any more than a trip to the supermarket!”
The decking area outside Horizon Scotland has also been extended and a new bridge installed over the pond to allow access via the patio doors as well as through the main reception.
Fresh Horizons is open Monday to Friday (10.30am till 2.30pm)
Do you do gluten free meals
I visited this establishment when it first opened. I wasn’t sure if it was ok to go in, because of it being part of the business park. But I had a cuppa and snack with no problems at all. The lady who runs it was so friendly and helpful. Pleased to read that it is back in business and everyone, not just employees from the Business Park, will be welcome.