Locketts Oatcakes

Locketts Oatcakes
203, Liverpool Road,
Newcastle,
Staffs.
ST5 9HW

I've visited this Oatcake shop many times because truthfully it's the closest one to me. Having said that it has never disapointed. All there Oatcakes are made fresh daily and have a nice texture and taste. Even if it wasn't my 'local' i'd still recommend it. The staff too are very friendly. The only complaint i'd have is that perhaps they are a little round. I'm not letting that take away from the quality and taste though it's just visually I like the abstract oaties best :-)

Taste 8/10

Appearance 7/10

Floppiness 5/10

Thickness 6/10

Diameter 18.9 cm

Overall 8/10

Castle Oatcakes

Castle Oatcakes
Rear 78,
London Road,
Newcastle,
Staffs.
ST5 1LZ

Castle Oatcakes is a great example of a modern Oatcake shop. They have been in business since the early 80's and always deliver with a smile and are purveyors of quality products. The shapes of their Oatcakes are abstract to say the least and although the batch I bought for this experiment seemed to have a design fault, in that they had tiny holes in the Oatcakes, I consider their overall taste to be exceptional. They aren't the thinest or floppiest of all Oatcakes but they certainly aren't the thickest. They have a well rounded oaty taste and grill exceptionally.

Taste 8/10

Appearance 6/10

Floppiness 6/10

Thickness 5/10
Diameter 21.6 cm

Overall 7/10

Foley Oatcakes

Foley Oatcakes

421 King Street,

Fenton,

Stoke-on-Trent,

Staffs.

ST4 3EE

Foley Oatcakes has been around for over 50 years. They are a small independent bakery who offer competitive prices and a good all around Oatcake experience. All their Oatcakes are made fresh daily on their premises. I found their Oatcakes to be full of taste and of a great texture and circumference. They're a really oaty treat with a great flavour and are not too thick or too floppy.

Taste 8/10

Appearance 7/10

Floppiness 7/10

Thickness 3/10
Diameter 17.8 cm

Overall 8/10

North-Staffs Oatcakes

North-Staffs Oatcakes
Turner Crescent,
Loomer Road,
Chesterton,
Newcastle,
Staffs.
ST5 7JZ

The Coca-Cola of the Oatcake world, the McDonalds, the Exxon Mobil, the corporate Oatcake.
As with anything corporate and large scale it looses something that the smaller independent brands have. North-Staffs Oatcakes have contracts with supermarkets and major chain stores. Personally i feel they are a below average example of the traditional Oatcake. They are perfectly circular almost like they're made using  a template, they are thick and rubber like. I don't think the taste is anything to write home about and I believe the North-Staffs Oatcake company is a prime example of quantity over quality.

Taste 5/10

Appearance 4/10

Floppiness 5/10

Thickness 9/10
Diameter 17.3 cm

Overall 4/10

I've set this site up to document as well as comment on the various Oatcakes that are available throughout North Staffordshire. Each Oatcake is individual and each shop has their own recipe producing Oatcakes of various thickness, taste and circumference.
 
      Within this blog i'm going to attempt to sample every Oatcake available from every shop and mark each one on-

1. Taste
2. Appearance
3. Floppiness
4. Thickness
5. Diameter
 
I'll be giving each Oatcake a score out of 10

10 being exquisite for taste and 0 being disgusting.
10 being good looking in appearance and 0 being a face only a mother could love.
10 being ultra floppy and 0 being as stiff as a board.
10 being as thick as two short planks and 0 being a thin as a supermodel.
For the diameter i'll be measuring the Oatcake at it widest point to give an idea of the scale of each one.

For the sake of this experiment, and for a constant, i'll be performing a simple grill with mature cheddar and a half fold. This way i'll be able to gather a good understanding of the overall performance of each Oatcake.