The Delicatessen Magazine - July 2019

e h T DELICATESSEN

July 2019

BRINGING THE INDUSTRY TOGETHER

THE CHEESE COUNTER

Black Cow Cheese and Vodka

PAPER STRAWS WE TALK MORE A BOUT THE PROS AND C ONS OF PAPER STRAW S

RHUG ESTATE

AWARD-WINNING ORGANIC MEAT PROVIDERS ALSO TALK SUSTAINABILITY

SLEEP WELL OUR EDITOR TRIALS THE SLEEP WELL MILK CARTONS

Start your journey towards using sustainable packaging today...

Find out how by visiting reelbrands.co.uk

WELCOME

From the Editor

W

elcome to the latest issue of The Delicatessen. This issue is filled with some great brands, from an amazing gin, a plastic-free coffee brand, a vodka company that also makes cheese, to a company that makes a drink to help you sleep! One of my highlights this issue was to try out a fantastic English wine from Alder Vineyard down in Devon.

Our Meat Counter this issue features the wonderful Rhug Estate, who have been producing amazing quality organic meat on their farm for over 20 years.

With much more I could talk about, I’ll leave you to get reading!

Chris McNeill Co-Owner & Editor Delicatessen Magazine

COVER PHOTO - BLACK COW VODKA & CHEESE

A small taster of what´s inside this issue...

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ALDER VINEYARD

PAGE 18-CK1LE9 WHAT A PI

PAGE 32-ELL35 SLEEP W

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BLACK COW VO

DKA & CHEESE

CO-EDITOR Chris McNeill E: chrism@thedelimagazine.co.uk

DEPUTY EDITOR & DESIGNER Amber Fox-Hammond E: amber@thedelimagazine.co.uk

CO-EDITOR Ian Bates E: ian@reelbrands.co.uk

CONTENT DIRECTOR Ella Heather E: ella@thedelimagazine.co.uk

CONTACT US: T: 01206 240 798 E: chrism@thedelimagazine.co.uk

PUBLISHED BY: CJM MEDIA LTD HEAD OFFICE: 58 MUMFORD ROAD, WEST BERGHOLT, COLCHESTER, ESSEX, CO6 3BL PRINTED IN THE UK BY: S & G PRINT GROUP GOAT MILL ROAD, DOWLAIS, MERTHYR TYDFIL, CF48 3TD T: 01685 352058 W: www.stephensandgeorge.co.uk The Delicatessen is published monthly.

THE PUBLISHER CANNOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITY FOR TRANSPARANCIES, DISKS OR ANY WRITTEN MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION. REPRODUCTION OF ANY WRITTEN MATERIAL OR ILLUSTRATION WHOLLY OR IN PART FOR ANY MEDIA IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHER.

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A taste of Devon IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE DEVON VINEYARD EXPERIENCE INCLUDING FULL TOUR AND WINE TASTING LED BY A WINE EXPERT. LEARNING ALL ABOUT ENGLISH WINE WHILST VENTURING THROUGH 8 ACRES OF GARDENS, INCLUDING EXTENSIVE HERBACEOUS AREAS, A WATER FEATURE AND RILL, FRUITS AND VEGETABLE PATCHES, WOODLAND AND BLUEBELLS, THAT SURROUND ALDER HOUSE. ALL BEFORE STOCKING UP ON YOUR FAVOURITES FROM THE TOUR AT THEIR ON-SITE VINEYARD SHOP. SOUNDS DELIGHTFUL DOESN’T IT? THIS IS WHERE ALDER VINEYARD CREATES ITS EXQUISITE AWARD-WINNING ENGLISH WINES IN DEVON, JUST ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK.

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he Hodgetts have been at Alder for generations. Fed up with dairy farming, Bob and Anne sold the cows and created Alder Sportswear in the 60’s. Their venture has since become the UK’s leading surfing hardware producer and is still based in the old cow sheds on the farm today.

In the same spirit of diversification, they decided to transform one south facing field on the farm into a vineyard.

In 2008 they planted their very first vines and they have never looked back. The decision to create a vineyard in Devon came from a huge love of the outdoors, alongside a passion for wine and the desire to be challenged!

Since starting their English wine journey, they have well and truly “caught the bug”. Tending to the vines with the stunning rolling hills of Dartmoor in the background is hard to beat!

After tasting several potential vine varieties they fell in love with the dry, crisp and fruity taste of the Madeleine Angevine grape. The vine is perfectly suited to the Devonshire climate and terroir and their 2014 vintage has since won several awards, including a silver medal in the 2017 Independent English Wine Awards.

In 2012, after visiting another Devon vineyard, they decided to expand to include 550 Rondo vines.

Since their first Rosé vintage was released in 2015, this wine has proved extremely popular, perfectly accompanying many summer barbecues.

THE WINES Currently on offer are two award winning English wines. They are made from the finest grapes that are nurtured year-round in the picturesque Devon vineyard.

RONDO 2018

10%Vol – 75cl Contains Sulphites Rondo 2018, is a single variety medium dry rosé. Their juicy Rondo grapes create its unique deep colour and punchy tones of summer berries.

Vibrant in colour and bursting with summer fruits, this crisp rosé is the perfect tipple to be enjoyed in the English sunshine. Why not sit back and relax with a chilled glass in hand paired with delicate meats, such as duck, lamb and fresh seafood.

MADELEINE ANGEVINE 2016 11%Vol – 75cl Contains Sulphites

Madeleine Angevine 2016 is a single variety, crisp Devon white wine with fruity overtones of melon and apple.

A light and refreshing wine suggested to be served perfectly chilled alongside chicken, fresh seafood or pasta to really enhance its delicate tastes and aromas.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE… With their English wine journey evolving from a passion for growing their own produce, it seems only natural that their next step is to perfect making the wine themselves.

Over the coming year or so, they hope to bring their whole operation in house with Tom (their son), training to be an English winemaker.

They also have plans to steadily grow the number of vines at Alder, introducing new varieties and styles.

Keep your eyes peeled for some brand-new Alder wines in the future amongst other exciting news… www.aldervineyard.uk

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Systematic Chaos

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he guys at Twisting Spirits have taken their love of data and applied it to the often-traditional world of gin. Twisting Spirit’s gins have very distinctive flavours. With their ingredient data it seemed imperative to them for the consumer to experience each flavour before tasting it. With its colourful appearance and creative bottle design it is sure to catch a lot of people’s eyes on the shelves.

Launched in 2017, Twisting Spirits set about creating distinctive and unusual Craft Gins. The brand was born in Oxfordshire and operated initially, from a tiny converted garage.

They’ve since expanded and now have a small unit in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire where they plan to develop more exciting new Gins. Even

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WHEN WE, HERE AT THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE CAUGHT WIND OF A GROUP OF IT GEEKS WHO HAD TURNED INTO GIN GEEKS, WE WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE. ..

with the upscale, they still distil, fill and label each and every bottle by hand, passionately produced using hot and cold distillation techniques to deliver a massive burst of flavour.

So, what makes them different to other Gin brands we have featured?

It seems using a unique dual distillation process the Gins they are producing are quite different and distinctive. Firstly, they produce a fine Gin using traditional processes and equipment, with each distillation run being tiny! The alcohol and ten botanicals are slowly distilled in a traditional copper alembic pot still, fusing the oils and tastes together creating a very high strength Gin. This is then diluted with pure water to a much more drinkable 41.5% where the flavours and aromas are perfectly expressed.

Whilst this process is going on, the lighter specialty botanicals are cold distilled in high quality alcohol, under vacuum using a rotary evaporator.

This equipment is something straight out a lab and is as cutting edge as it gets when it comes to distillation technologies. Why the cold distillation? Well, the main reason is to preserve the delicate tastes and aromas that would otherwise be transformed, cooked, muted or even lost altogether in the high temperatures inherent to the Alembic still process.

Finally, the two distillations are twisted together to produce the finished Gin – perfectly balanced and bursting with fresh aromas and taste.

And voila this is where the name comes from l

THE RANGE: Their current range consists of three premium Gins:

• KAFFIR LIME & LEMONGRASS • DOUGLAS-FIR • EARL GREY

GIN AWARDS: Kaffir Lime & Lemongrass • 2018 Great Taste – 1 Gold Star • 2018 – San Francisco World Spirits Competition – Gold • 2018 – International Wine & Spirits Competition – Artwork & Bottle Design - Gold

Their award-winning original Gin. Exotic, fragrant and aromatic, perfect for a hot summer’s day. Waves of exotic, fragrant aromas pop right out at you, followed soon after by the gentle subtleness of fresh lemongrass leaving a creamy warming aftertaste.

Made with eighteen botanicals, The smooth balance of flavours will have you reaching for another and another.

Their kaffir lime leaves are grown and sourced from a UK supplier and some from their very own little tree!

Taste: Botanical Grasses, Zest and fragrant florals Garnish: Enjoy with a slice of Jalapeno pepper (more if you like it hot) a slice of fresh ginger and star anise to bring out those lovely Asian spice notes. Lemon Balm also works well if you have one in your garden or can seek one out from a f riend Botanicals: 18 as listed on the bottle label Recommended Tonic: Fever Tree – Light or Mediterranean l

Douglas Fir Gin (Yet to be entered into any competitions)

The Douglas-Fir Gin is a curious little number. Imagine sitting in a pine forest with the scent of freshly mown grass blowing in from the distance on a bright sunny day. You’re eating a grapefruit salad with a splash of lemon zest for lunch, helping it down with a Gin and Tonic. That’s it, that’s Douglas-Fir Gin and a rather odd lunch! The flavour profile can change from batch to batch since all Douglas Fir trees are genetically unique, altering their taste profile tree to tree.

Our Douglas-Fir needles are foraged in and around the South Oxfordshire area.

Taste: Grapefruit, Lemon, Pine, Citrus, cut grass Garnish: Anything Citrus works well with the Douglas-Fir profile, however we recommend a slice of pink grapefruit. Just be careful not to overdo it as you’ll miss the intricacies of the Douglas-Fir. Botanicals: 11 as listed on the bottle label Recommended Tonic: Schweppes Light (contains grapefruit and orange) or Fever Tree – Light or Mediterranean. l

WOW! Look at those bottles...

Earl Grey Gin (Yet to be entered into any competitions)

Can’t decide whether you’d like a G&T or a nice cuppa Tea? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then this Gin is for you. Their traditionally distilled Gin meets the finest Earl Grey Tea leaves that are sourced from a tea specialist.

The leaves are then cold distilled to preserve the delicate crisp bergamot citrus, floral hints and delicious earthy high tea flavours!

Taste: Crisp Citrus, Floral hints and high tea Garnish: A slither of Lemon Zest, or a slice of lemon works really well. You can also add a sprig of Thyme to bring out those earthy notes from the tea.

Botanicals: 11 as listed on the bottle label Recommended Tonic: Fever Tree – Light or Mediterranean l

www.twistingspirits.co.uk

Wondering about the bright bottle design? Just from the initial look at the Twisting Spirits bottle you can see this is going to be something very special. The label is literally the DNA of the Gin. With a collaboration with ‘LyonLyon’; Twisting Spirits have open sourced their ingredient data, representing every ingredient as a coloured bar on the bottle label, the more of it in the Gin, the bigger the bar. Each flavour is printed onto its own tactile embossed GFSmith so it feels T. +44 7709 359Colorplan, 203 like it tastes. To finish the label and a little more flair they also use a pearlescent foil SHLR from Foil Co. E: hello@twistingspirits.co.uk W: www.twistingspirits.co.uk “Some people thought we were crazy to be so open and honest about our recipes and the botanicals we carefully select for each Gin. Well perhaps we are, but we wanted to share with you the magic that goes into your Gin so you can fully immerse yourself as you take a sip of one of our wonderfully distinctive Gins.”

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Poetic License HERE AT THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE WE HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT MANY BRANDS OF GIN, BUT WE HAVE TO SAY WE HAVE NOT COME ACROSS ANOTHER LIKE ‘POETIC LICENSE’ GIN. WITH THEIR FLAVOURS EXPRESSING THEMSELVES; THEY BREAK THE RULES TO FIND A TASTIER WAY TO BUCK THE TREND AND TO STAND OUT! WHEN IT COMES TO HANDMADE SPIRITS, EXPECT THE UNFAMILIAR. WITH ADDITIONS HERE AND OMISSIONS THERE, THEY HAVE TRANSFORMED THE ORIGINAL (WE ALL KNOW SO WELL) INTO SOMETHING WITH MUCH MORE CHARACTER… AND WE LOVE IT!

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The Poetic License Distillery, was founded by Mark Hird, who has been in the leisure trade for 20+ years, working his way up after training as a Chef, working as a food and beverage manager until eventually owning a number of Gastro Pubs, as well as S43 Brewery (formally Sonnet 43 Brewery).

With his direct routes to market, it became obvious that there was not just good potential in owning a microbrewery – but good commercial grounding for launching a successful business that would thrive much further than just in the North East. With a great love for local produce, great ale and spirits, it seemed almost like fate, Mark decided to open the microbrewery in 2012, naming it Sonnet 43, after the famous poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning who was born a stone’s throw from the brewery site.

With his brewery in full flow and having visited distilleries in South Africa, seeing the rise of micro distilling all around him, Mark decided the next step forwards to expand his portfolio would be to look into the possibility of establishing a micro distillery of his own. Having identified a young talent amongst the brewery team, he tasked this eager young lad to cost up and help plan the opening of a new distillery.

In 2015 Mark started distilling in his wife ’s kitchen along with this young member of his team. But, it quite quickly got to a stage where her kitchen was being taken over. She swiftly booked him onto a distillation course to reaffirm, refresh and improve his skills. After qualifying, together they purchased a still, which is now placed within the Poetic License Bar in the Roker Hotel, affectionally known as ‘Gracie’.

‘Gracie’ is a 500-litre hybrid which allows Mark and his team to use her as both a pot still and column still. With pot distilling being the traditional method of how gin has always been made and column stills being a newer invention, with 6 plates which purify alcohol meaning purer, smother vodkas ‘Gracie’ has the best of both worlds and can create all manners of tasty tipples.

At Poetic License, they use traditional production methods that, although labour intensive, means they can ensure they are crafting high quality spirits, they’re happy to give the ‘Poetic License’ name to.

Their gins are created by hand-crushing botanicals, macerating and then boiling them to gently and gradually release their delightful flavours. As the liquid evaporates and makes its way around the still it takes with it molecules of oil extracted from the botanicals, meanwhile filling the air with a glorious gin aroma.

When it cools back down to a liquid it begins to come out the other end of the

still as gin.

Each of the botanicals flavours comes through in stages and we know exactly the order so we can track the distillation by taste. They only take the centre cut known as the hearts, which are the purest and most flavoursome parts of the batch.

For their vodka, they use British wheat as the spirit base as it gives it it’s smoothness. They also distil it 7 times, each time making it purer to ensure it lives up to its graceful name.

Just over a year ago, due to a fantastic business growth of 60% year on year since 2015, saw the expansion of Poetic Licence with the opening of a new distillery in South Africa (just outside of Cape Town).

“We realised that South Africa is a diverse, cultural country with access to unique botanicals which would enable us to create more interesting gins but also to set our sights on expanding our market reach into other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.”

– Mark Hird – Poetic License

With such passion about producing authentic, differing flavours with provenance. They are now creating unusual gins with botanicals from this region (which happens to be a part of the world where Gin has been on a higher upward trend) which they are keen to embrace! They have even received recognition, winning International Awards for their Gins – well done Poetic License!

CURRENT PRODUCT RANGE:

Poetic License have a ‘Core Range’ of 3 Spirits: • Northern Dry – their take on a London Dry Gin • OId Tom • Graceful Vodka

They also have a range of gin liqueurs and are moving into the Rum and Whisky markets within the year.

Alongside they produce a batch of oneoff gins around 4 times a year. These are created from flavours that stimulate them and what they want to produce.

As the name denotes, they are a limited batch run, each bottle is individually numbered and once they are gone, they are gone!

The Northern Dry is their take on the traditional London Dry Style gin.

Also within their liqueur range the most popular one within the market is the rhubarb and ginger. As they pride themselves in being bold and different, they did not want to follow the norm and created a sublime Blackcurrant and

Ginger,. Their Sarsaparilla is also a keen favourite and an adage to the sweets. The liqueurs can be enjoyed by adding them to Prosecco, Cava or with a tonic, and if you are feeling brave try our Northern Dry Gin with St Clements – one of the teams’ firm favourites.

Due to their popularity, Poetic License has also started leading a themed dining experience, at Las Iguanas, creating a Tropical Gin (this is only available via theirr online store or via Las Iguanas), this has pushed the teams’ creativeness and they are pretty proud of the Gin they have produced for them.

WHY STOCK POETIC LICENSE IN YOUR DELICATESSEN OR FARM SHOP?

We believe that Poetic License’s ethos about being bold, different, and the creativeness that their Head and Senior distillers use when combining botanicals, creates really unique and differential tastes for their Gins. It stood out to us, here at The Delicatessen magazine that they love being creative, hence their rarity range. Their passion about what they do shines through, with all staff involved in the creation process, all getting to taste the new gins, and all providing feedback as to which particular batches grabs them. They have the provenance for all of their gins and if you ever care to visit one of their distilleries, you can watch them create the magic on their still whilst sitting in their bar.

They have been hand bottling for quite a while but have recently purchased a bottling line to help deliver on the increase in orders. Essentially, they remain true to what makes them them, they believe, what makes them different from others is the people and passion they have within the team.

“Our gin is made with love, sweat and sometimes tears but we produce award winning gins and that process is worth!’

NEW THINGS ARE ON THE HORIZON Poetic License are moving into other spirit offerings within the year, so watch this space! They also have another 2 new rarities due out this year; Pink Grapefruit & Tonka Bean and Raspberry & Buddhas hand (which comes highly recommended by the guys at Poetic License as being an awesome botanical – similar to a yellow octopus, mainly a sweet zest with no pulp – don’t believe us…why not look it up!) www.poeticlicensedistillery.co.uk

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HOLY COW!

AWARD-WINNING DORSET BRAND, BLACK COW DON’T JUST MAKE CHEESE; THEY HAVE DISCOVERED A COMPELLING WAY TO REPURPOSE THE WHEY LEFT OVER FROM CHEESEMAKING. INTRODUCING BLACK COW VODKA… THE WORLD’S SMOOTHEST VODKA, MADE PURELY FROM THE MILK OF GRASS-GRAZED COWS AND NOTHING ELSE. FRESH WHOLE MILK MAKES AN EXCEPTIONALLY SMOOTH VODKA WITH A UNIQUE CREAMY CHARACTER; WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT IT!

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Whey has historically been the problem child of the dairy industry. There is an excess produced in the cheese making process. Jason Barber and Paul ‘Archie’ Archard have taken this under-valued by-product and turned it into a superior premium vodka. Taking great pride in their economical use of nature’s bounty.

West Dorset dairy farmer, Jason Barber, invented Black Cow Vodka after learning about the Tuva, a nomadic Siberian tribe, who for many centuries have been distilling Araka vodka made from fermented mares’ milk. At that point Archie says he witnessed a light bulb going on over Jason’s head!

And there the seeds of Black Cow Vodka were sown. Jason diversified the produce from his 250 strong dairy herd and began producing a vodka using the milk from his own cows.

Black Cow is the world’s first pure milk vodka, made entirely from the milk of the grass-grazed cows at Barber’s farm, Seaborough Manor, and is made from the same milk that is used to make Barber’s 1833 cheddar, winner of the World Cheese Awards Cheddar Trophy 2012.

The milk is separated into curds and whey. The curds are used to make the cheese; the whey is fermented into a beer using special yeast that converts the milk sugar into alcohol. The

as there is so much depth going on in our vodka. We have two suggested serves in which complements Black Cow, a dirty martini with a touch of vermouth as the sweet notes of the vodka work really well with the savoury olives.

We also recommend our ultimate espresso martini, simplified and true. Only using three ingredients. Vodka, coffee and maple syrup, swapping out the sugar syrup and the synthetic coffee liqueur substitute.

• 50ml Black Cow vodka • 40ml Kuka cold brew coffee • 15ml maple syrup

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR BLACK COW? Black Cow recently released a strawberry vodka. Locally sourced, left over misshapen seasonal English strawberries are being pressed and infused in Black Cow vodka, before being filtered and hand bottled at the West Dorset distillery.

“‘Black Cow Vodka & English Strawberries’ only uses strawberries to flavour the vodka naturally, with no added sugar or sweeteners, creating a strawberry vodka taste of which is unparalleled amongst competitors with similar flavour expressions.”

THE THINKING BEHIND THEIR GOLD-PLATED STRAWS… Jason and Archie are concerned about the world’s waste crisis.

The UK discards a staggering 8.5 billion plastic straws a year and a plastic straw, which is manufactured from petroleum, shipped around the world, placed in your drink and then used for 10 minutes, will now exist for at least 100 years.

To the guys at Black Cow, that didn’t seem right, so they made the decision to offer an alternative to the plastic straw, by including a 24 carat gold-plated stainless steel straw in each gift pack. Black Cow encourages us all in saying no to plastic and in doing your bit by taking your Black Cow straw with you, wherever you go!

OUR VERDICT...

We all loved the Black Cow vodka - especially myself. As someone who regularly drinks gin, as well as a plethora high quality vodkas, I was expecting a lot from this, apparent worlds first milk vodka. My expectations were absolutely achieved. There is an almost creamy texture to this drink, with a warming finish.

With a fantastic cheese (featured later in this issue!) and a vodka as good as this, I would be definitely making a little space on my shelves for this brand. www.blackcow.co.uk

milk beer is then distilled, specially blended, triple filtered and finished. The vodka is then hand bottled. Every batch makes around 3,000 bottles.

“Black Cow is the perfect partner for pairing with food.

The mineral-free nature of our vodka gives it an incredible softness that holds delicate flavours beautifully.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DRINK YOUR VODKA? On ice, we don’t like to mess around with the liquid too much The Delicatessen Magazine 11

TheCheesecounter

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FROM VODKA TO CHEESE! IN THIS ISSUE’S CHEESE COUNTER, THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE COMES FROM WEST DORSET WHERE WE’VE BEEN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE OLDEST SURVIVING CHEDDAR MAKING FAMILY IN THE WORLD. THE BARBER FAMILY HAVE BEEN MAKING CHEESE AND PRODUCING MILK FOR OVER 200 YEARS. NOW JASON BARBER, THE LATEST DAIRY FARMER IN HIS FAMILY, HAS SET UP BLACK COW ALONG WITH CO-FOUNDER PAUL ARCHARD, TO PRODUCE ‘BLACK COW CHEDDAR’, MADE FROM THE MILK OF WEST DORSET, GRASS-GRAZED COWS. INTENSE, RICH AND CRUMBLY, THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL CHEESE INDEED! l As a farmer, running his own dairy farm, Jason Barber has utilised all of his skills and contacts to set up, maintain and run the production side of Black Cow. His family background in farming and cheese making are, of course, reflected in the Black Cow process. Black Cow chooses to focus purely on cheddar.

Their cheddar is matured for 15 months, uses vegetable rennet and is pasteurised to give it is strong award-winning taste.

THE RANGE: Black Cow Deluxe Cheddar comes in 3 sizes: • 900g truckle cheddar • 200g truckle cheddar • 4 x 80g Truckle Cheddar

TRY THEIR FONDUE RECIPE: Ingredients Serves 4 250ml double cream 200g Black Cow cheese, grated 80-100ml Black Cow vodka or more if you wish Salt and freshly ground black pepper 6-8 Dorset knobs, carefully cut into four pieces Put the cream, Black Cow cheese and vodka into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir-every so often until the cheese has melted and the mixture is a thick sauce like consistence. If you have a fondue set then simply put the ingredients into the pot, light the burner and stir every so often.

Season to taste and add more vodka if you wish.

To serve, carefully skewer each piece of Dorset knob onto a fondue skewer or wooden kebab stick and get stuck in.

www.blackcow.co.uk

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The

MEAT Counter RHUG ESTATE

THIS ISSUE OUR MEAT COUNTER COMES FROM RHUG ESTATE NOT ONLY ARE THEY AWARD-WINNING BUT THEY CAN ALSO BOAST AT BEING ORGANIC FOR OVER 20 YEARS. HERE AT THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE WE WENT TO FIND OUT MORE...

Rhug has been organic for 20 years and is situated in the beautiful Dee Valley in North Wales. At Rhug Estate organic farm they produce awardwinning Aberdeen Angus beef, PGI status Welsh Lamb, Salt Marsh Lamb

and Chicken. At Christmas times, they produce award-winning organic Turkeys and Geese. Also, they supply organic Pork, Wild Game Birds and Venison.

Firmly believing in sustainable farming and employing the highest standard of animal welfare. By not using sprays, artificial fertiliser and routine medication they have found you end up with a more healthy, tender, and tasty meat. All of the livestock enjoy a 100% organic diet and live free-range on clover rich pasture.

Everything is also brought to you by a dedicated team, who are passionate about the values of organic farming and knowing that they are providing a better and healthier world for future generations.

At the heart of Rhug Estate is Lord Newborough’s commitment to an organic lifestyle. Rhug Farm is self-contained and a true ‘field to plate’ operation applying the highest standard of sustainability. Using the most sustainable farming practices Rhug prides itself on superior tasting meat products from the north Wales

countryside. The organic farming enterprise extends to two farms and has grown over the past 20 years to nearly 8,000 acres. Organic Beef, Lamb, Salt Marsh Lamb, Bison, Chicken, Turkey, Geese, Japanese Sika Deer and Game, when in season, are reared on the farms and Organic Pork, eggs and Fallow Venison are sourced locally.

Rhug Farm Shop stocks almost 3,000 products from local suppliers and small businesses. Of course, this also includes the sale of their own products. ‘The Bison Grill’ is located just next to the farm shop and creates dishes that are made with seasonal produce using Rhug’s own products where possible.

For those ever in the area, who are in need of a much-needed pit-stop, they also have their ‘On The Hoof’ takeaway service. This takeaway isn’t your average roadside burger van….

Oh no! Nestled next to their awardwinning farm shop, they use only their own organic meat and as much fresh produce as they can, to create an unforgettable experience on-the-go.

Rhug Estate even made retail history last summer when Lord Newborough opened a ‘Drive Thru’ to complement the Bistro, Takeaway and Farm Shop at the entrance to Rhug Farm. It is the first ‘Drive Thru’, set up on a farm, in the UK!

SUPERIOR TASTE AND QUALITY

Rhug Estate care deeply about their livestock and the environment in which they are reared. Their passion about how their food is produced in a sustainable way shines through and its clear to see they are genuinely interested in the views of their customers. Evidently adapting to suit their changing needs.

These qualities definitely are what makes Lord Newborough and the Rhug Estate team special. Lord Newborough constantly strives

towards a more sustainable future for the next generation.

His vision in 1998, when he took over the estate from his late father, was to use the most sustainable farming practices to create superior tasting meat products. Latest developments include producing environmentally friendly packaging for the meat, which includes: innovative compostable cardboard trays for under the meat and skin packs so the meat stays fresher for longer.

Since Lord Newborough took over the estate the number of people employed has grown from 9 to 115.

Each member of staff shares his passion for a sustainable and secure future for the next generation; his love and caring nature towards the animals; and his determination to grow the Rhug brand.

Rhug also has staff who have been employed for 30 – 50 years. One of the longest serving members of staff, John Dyke, Rhug Estate’s Shepherd, explained to us how personal contact with Rhug customers, and learning what it is that they exactly want, gives him pride in what he does on the farm.

Lord Newborough’s passion to promote the organic way of farming drives his desire to ‘not let the grass grow under his feet’ when it comes to promoting the Rhug organic brand - all over the world.

AWARD WINNING LAMB

Rhug Estate is the only Lamb to have won an award at the Great British Food Awards 2018. Its Organic Salt Marsh Lamb Shoulder was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the fresh meat section, awarded by Michelin-starred restaurant owner and chef, Glynn Purnell,.

“Rhug Estate's Lamb is nice and lean with a golden, crispy skin and good” Glynn Purnell The

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Rhug Organic Salt Marsh Lamb is produced on the Estate’s coastal farm, Tŷ Mawr, near Caernarfon, by Deio Hughes and his family. The fields at Tŷ Mawr are washed by the sea in the winter and as a result grow special grasses and herbs such as sea lavender, samphire, sorrel, thrift and other salt marsh grasses. This unique environment imparts the lamb with its distinctive and very special, sweet, light flavour that is so sought after by top chefs throughout the world.

Salt Marsh Lamb is seasonal because as the grasses die back the flavour diminishes so it is only available from June until December.

Lord Newborough said,

“Rhug Organic Salt Marsh Lamb has such a unique flavour. The sweet, delicate flavour that the salt marsh grasses produce, combined with the organic farming system Deio uses produce a mouth-watering texture to our lamb. Customers in London’s Borough Market, Deli stores around the UK and top restaurants look forward to our Salt Marsh Lamb season starting every year. Well done to Deio and his family for producing such top-quality meat.”

ONE STAR GREAT TASTE AWARDS As those in the food industry know, The Great Taste Awards (organised by the Guild of Fine Food) is the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink. It has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize.’ At this year’s event Rhug Estate went ready to impress and won a plethora of Great Taste 2019 Awards for their Organic Lamb Rack, Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steak, Rump and Burgers, Dee Valley Bronze Turkey and Rhug Organic Chicken! These products now wear the Great Taste logo proudly as a sign you can trust the meat being purchased is of the highest quality and taste.

Rhug Organic French Trimmed Lamb Rack.

The judges commented that this was a beautifully trimmed rack retaining a pleasing overlay of fat, delightfully tender to cut with quite a light flavour.

Rhug Organic Aberdeen Angus (bone in) Sirloin Steak 35 days Himalayan Salt dry aged.

The judges commented that this was a good-looking piece of steak, moist and succulent and a good depth of flavour.

Rhug Organic Aberdeen Angus Rump Heart 35 days Himalayan Salt Dry Aged.

The judges said this was a great looking piece of rump with a delicious aroma. The flavour was lasting and full of character.

Rhug Organic Aberdeen Angus beef burger.

The judges said the burger had a nice open texture and was a good thickness. It had a good beefy flavour with a well-balanced level of fat.

Rhug Organic Dee Valley Bronze Turkey.

The judges said the turkey was a magnificent sight, which would be a proud centrepiece on a family festive table.

Rhug Organic White Chicken.

The judges said this was a great looking bird, generously sized, appetising and juicy.

PRODUCTS •

Rhug Organic Beef

Rhug Organic Beef is sourced from their award-winning Aberdeen Angus herd. The breed is renowned for its quality and flavour due to the high level of marbling within the muscle.

After slaughter, in the local abattoir, the carcases are dry aged for up to 35 days in a purpose built dry-aging chamber lined with Himalayan salt.

•

Welsh Lamb

Welsh lamb. Both their lowland and highland flocks of sheep are North Country Mules. The farm, rising to 1500ft, is ideally situated to grow lush grass. The pastures are sown with a selection of herbs and grasses which all contribute to the lambs’ awardwinning taste and flavour.

•

Salt Marsh Organic Lamb

Their Rhug Salt Marsh Organic Lamb, with its distinctive flavour, comes from their coastal farmland.

The fields are washed by the sea in the winter and therefore grow special grasses and herbs. This unique environment imparts the lamb with its distinctive and special, sweet, light flavour.

•

Organic Poultry

Their Organic Chicken, Turkey and Goose are raised ethically and produced free from antibiotics and other unnecessary chemicals.

Rhug’s team of highly skilled butchers cut, pack and despatch their wide range of meats (which includes Game when in season).

Meats can be purchased from Rhug Farm Shop, Borough Market, London and online: www.rhug.co.uk and are served in their restaurant and takeaway. lt’s also supplied to many top Michelin restaurants, 5* hotels and independent delis. We export to to the Far and Middle East. Waitrose use Rhug lamb and beef, sold under their own brand.

Our Verdict

There isn’t many times that a food obsessed editor can be made silent about food. Well, a few bites into a perfectly cooked Rhug Estate steak and he actually was. Before even cooking, the steak felt great quality - with good marbling, good colour and a great looking cut. We were super careful to give this steak the love it deserved in the pan and after a few minutes of waiting, the job was done. Photos taken and a very hungry editor was finally made very happy. We also tried the organic chicken and beef, both of which were amazing. The chicken had a lovely colour to it, and didn’t lose half of it’s substance when cooked either. It was a real eye-opener and enjoyable experience eating the Rhug Estate meats, they felt luxury, tasted really great and looked nice too.

These would be a great addition to any chiller for a deli or farm shop, with a story and provenance like Rhug Estates, you’ll find these products being snapped up fast.

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T A Y T I L I B A N I SUSTA Sustainability is a key factor that most businesses in today’s society strive to achieve. At its core, it’s an approach to balancing different, and quite often competing, needs against the awareness of the environmental, social and economic limitations businesses face. Sustainability is at the forefront of the Rhug Estate’s vision and ethos and ensures they are doing as much as they can to ensure all parts of their organisation is working sustainably.

The Estate produces its own energy with hydro, geothermal, solar and wind turbine projects. The riverside corridors running alongside the estate’s fields are part of the Welsh government’s Tir Gofal and Glastir agri-environmental schemes. Rhug has nearly nine kilometers of riverside, which is fenced off to protect the water and encourage wildlife habitats.

In 2016 Rhug Estate won a Footprint Award for the ‘Sustainable Use of Natural Resources’ (which is the only initiative to honour the sustainable achievement of companies across the entire food supply chain; from growers, producers to manufacturers, distributors right through to operator; be that contract caterer, QSR, branded restaurants, pub and hotel groups), through their renewable heat and power generation. They also support the alternative fuel movement by playing host to PodPoint electric car charging facilities. Its clear to see they truly believe in reducing their carbon footprint and giving back to the community.

Another honour Rhug Estate has been shortlisted for is the Footprint Awards. Organised by Footprint, and judged by senior industry peers, the Footprint Awards have become synonymous with best practice and dedication to sustainability. Now into its second half decade, the Awards have seen yet another record number of entries evidencing the increased importance placed on sustainability within the corporate policy mix.

E T A T S E RHUG

Lord Newborough, of Rhug Estate, said:

“We are thrilled to be shortlisted for this prestigious award, it is an amazing accolade to have and it is a great credit to the team at Rhug in particular Philip Hughes for pushing these projects through. Green energy and carbon saving is something we are all about at Rhug where our core business is organic farming. We have tried wherever possible to embrace what natural resources we have on this highly sustainable Estate and sweat what assist we have.

Our green energy comes from wind, geothermal, hydro and solar energy which brings in enormous carbon savings. he Rhug Estate is all about sustainable farming and the generation of green energy at its very best ensuring a better healthier world for future generations.” www.rhug.co.uk

Footprint’s Nick Fenwicke-Clennell commented:

“We are so proud of the support we have received through an ever-increasing number of entries from an expanding number of business within the food sector. We have always said that Footprint Awards is a barometer of responsible business activity in our sector and what’s clear more than ever is that those not meaningfully engaged in sustainability are being left behind.”

Charles Miers added:

“The judges have been hugely complimentary about the industry’s endeavours this year. There is evidence of ‘standout’ activity. As one judges remarked ‘only by recognising the disrupters can we change the naturally accepted norms.

Clearly the avant-garde of sustainability in food service and hospitality are pushing the boundaries with greater impetus more than ever before.”

www.rhug.co.uk

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What A Pickle!

RECENTLY WE MET CAMILLA AND EMMA AT THE FARM SHOP AND DELI SHOW AND WERE BLOWN AWAY BY THEIR RANGE OF PRODUCTS. THEY STOOD OUT SO VIBRANTLY ON THEIR STAND THAT WE COULDN’T HELP BUT STOP TO TAKE A LOOK AND WOW WHAT A TASTE!

What A Pickle! produces the most perfect small range of chutneys with a flavour for everyone.

They vow to make everything in small batches ensuring that it is always a best tasting product on your dining table. With fresh and local ingredients being used in every batch What A Pickle’s products are very special indeed.

“Once in your kitchen it is impossible to be without it!”

What A Pickle! has recently undergone a very successful rebrand; it now holds its own better than ever on the shelf with it’s bright, cheerful and clear label.

So we thought we would get in touch with Camilla to find out more about this fabulous range.

Camilla started What a Pickle! 10 years ago when her children were small. She was keen for them to enjoy eating the interesting and more spicy foods that were fast becoming popular. She decided that if she made a great mild and sweet spicy sauce, it would be a good start. She started making a Tomato Chilli Jam that the whole family ended up eating with just about every savoury offering you could think of……with many more benefits than the huge dollops of Tomato Ketchup, as was the option before. Tomato Chilli Jam transformed their palates and they gained great exploratory tastes as a result.

It was then Camilla’s friend, Lucy who persuaded her to sell her Tomato Chilli Jam to local shops. The jars of chilli jam, started with a great local butcher and then branched out to Farm Shops and Delis

36 The Delicatessen Magazine

in Shropshire and beyond. It fast became a best seller for many and so with a new found confidence, Camilla decided that she had something she could build a business from and so began experimenting with other possible flavours.

SO WHAT’S NEW? Egg free Mayonnaise! As a result of not being able to find an eggfree Mayonnaise that had a good flavour. Camilla has spent many hours in her kitchen blending different flavours together to create a mayonnaise that can be enjoyed by as many different people as possible. There are so many out there who, for one reason or another, are unable to eat eggs and so our Vegan friendly ‘Simply Mayo’ was born.

It has had an incredible reception, it looks the business and above all tastes fabulous! There are, as you know, countless ways of using Mayonnaise, but Camilla recommends a bowl of mixed root vegetable chips and Simply Mayo as something that in the comfort stakes, is hard to beat!

THE RANGE HAS EXPANDED AND NOW INCLUDES SIX DIFFERENT FLAVOURS.

“I WANTED TO HAVE SOMETHING

TOMATO CHILLI JAM This is great with all cheeses (particularly goats’ cheese) and cold meats.

WE HAVE INCLUDED MY RATHER

RED ONION MARMALADE This is now their best seller, it is a great store cupboard staple and one that most people find invaluable to have in their kitchen.

Favourite ways to use it include serving with some great sausages from your local butcher or by adding a big spoonful to deliciously creamy mashed potato.

HOT CHILLI JAM This is their second-best seller, it is slightly hotter in the chilli stakes. It has a base of red pepper with a good level of heat that builds to a wonderful finale from the chillies. It pairs fantastically with grilled chicken and salad.

CARROT AND CORIANDER RELISH This is a fabulous product, it has a great crunchy texture from the carrots and a natural sweetness that comes from the orange juice and fresh apricots. The whole coriander seeds provide a wonderfully warm, aromatic flavour to make a truly special and moreish product. This is wonderful with Wensleydale and Caerphilly cheese and makes the best addition to Jacket Potatoes with Mayonnaise and grated cheese.

FIG AND MUSTARD SAUCE This is the a fairly recent addition to the What A Pickle! collection.

It is superb with all cheeses and also with cold meats. You cannot beat it mixed into mashed potato to create a fabulous mustardy mash along with pork chops.

THAT WAS PERSONAL TO ME, SO CURLY WHIRLY WRITING FOR THE FLAVOURS’ NAMES AND SOMETHING THAT CUSTOMERS COULD QUICKLY IDENTIFY AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE BUYING. I ALSO WANTED TO PRODUCE A LOOK THAT CREATED AN ATTRACTIVE DISPLAY ON THE STOCKISTS’ SHELVES AND ONE THAT MADE A GREAT PICTURE WHEN ALTOGETHER - WE HAVE CERTAINLY ACHIEVED THIS AND THE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN WONDERFULLY POSITIVE’ -

BBQ PAIRINGS With Summer just around the corner, here are some suggestions on how you and your customers could pair these fantastic products with locally sourced meats for any BBQ. •BBQ Chicken fillets with hot Chilli Jam •BBQ Pork Chops and Fig and Mustard Sauce •BBQ Sausages for the children and a Red Onion Marmalade dip •BBQ Corn on the Cob with Simply Mayo Dip •BBQ Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Fig and Mustard Sauce and Simply Mayo •BBQ Prawn Kebabs drizzled with Tomato Chilli Jam •BBQ Halloumi Burgers with Hot Chilli Jam The list is endless…

Email info@what-a-pickle.com Web www.what-a-pickle.com The Delicatessen Magazine 19

Daddy, Daddy Cool!

Why have ordinary when you can have extraordinary!”

BET YOU SANG IT TOO…! WE HERE AT THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE HAVE HAD THE SONG STUCK IN OUR HEAD ALL DAY BUT IT’S KEPT ONE PARTICULAR HOT SAUCE BRAND, DADDY COOL’S CHILLI SAUCE, IN THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS TOO! THE DADDY COOL FAMILY HAS UNLEASHED A RANGE OF PRODUCTS SO DIVERSE THEY MAKE LADY GAGA’S WARDROBE LOOK LIKE A PRIMARK CLEARANCE RAIL!

Our Editor here in the office is a huge lover of hot sauce. He needs no excuse to use the stuff on his lunches to add a heat to his meals. Being a lover of all things fiery he was desperate for the job of chief taster!

There seems to also be a theme this issue pairing people from the IT industry, changing their career pathways and pursuing their food and drink passions, as a business!

After 10 successful years in IT ‘Daddy Cool’ decided that he no longer wished to pursue this path anymore. He started making chilli sauce as a hobby at first, but then family members and friends remarked upon how tasty and delicious these sauces were, so he created Daddy Cool’s Chilli Sauce.

Like many, he found he had a flare in the kitchen and used to cook all the time back in the day, this he says he can thank his late mother, Florence Cooley for.

Having spent decades tweaking and perfecting recipes passed down through the family, he felt it time to share them in kitchens right across the world.

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Firstly, he started selling the sauces at local Artisan Markets and Food Festivals but before this could go ahead he needed a name for his hot sauce. Daddy Cool’s Chilli Sauce came about by amalgamating both his surname (Cooley) and the fact that he is a proud Dad to three boys. Daddy Cool’s Chilli Sauce, became an instant hit!

Daddy Cool’s Chilli Sauce is a small family run business set in the beautiful backdrop of the High Peaks. They have been growing and expanding little by little every year and grow a huge variety of fresh chillies onsite in their very own poly tunnels! As you can imagine, growing chillies here in the UK isn’t an easy task so with the help of lighting and his very own secret organic soil mix, Daddy Cool is able to ensure they have enough fresh produce to keep their chilli sauce in production all year round!

“I’ve always had a passion for spicy food but being a Geordie, my mind was far more focused on Stotties and Pease Pudding in the early years. Thankfully my palate broadened when I met my Caribbean Queen Annette, and Jamaican food became a passion we could both share. After years of experimenting in the kitchen and finding new and exciting ways to feed my 3 kids, the future family business was staring us in the face. It was there in black and White. The marriage of Geordie comforts and the heat of the Caribbean was something we could put in a bottle and sell.”

It seems that Daddy Cool are now leading the pack with exciting products that are full of flavour and by using only the finest ingredients and small batch cooking to bring you unrivalled quality and flavour....a tall claim solidly upheld in their achievements to date in the Great Taste Awards, The Hot Pepper Awards and World Hot Pepper Awards and several Chilli Awards.

THE FIERY LINE UP! • Chilli Sauces:

• Chilli Chutneys & Jams: • Chilli Marinades:

• Chilli Pickles & Relish: •

Chilli Snacks

Our Verdict

Hot sauces, chutneys, jams, rubs, nuts and pickles are just some of the products people have been queueing up to try at food markets and festivals around the UK. It seems no one can resist these products once they try them. (including our Editor here at The Delicatessen Magazine!) All of the products that they sell are made in small batches with the freshest ingredients available, right there in Oakwood Cottage

by Daddy Cool personally, so you needn’t worry about some Skynet-like facility pumping whatever they like into your food.

AWARD WINNING!

The proof is also in the awards…

Daddy Cool has achieved gold stars at the Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food, and recognition at the Hot Pepper Awards, which only helps fuel their passion to one day be on the shop shelves in every store! www.daddycoolchillisauce.co.uk

• Ketch The Reaper won 2 gold stars, Great Taste 2018 Awards, Guild of Fine Foods in the UK. • At 12th Hot Pepper Awards, USA. Ketch the Reaper was recognized as the best overall sauce, the best condiment, best hot sauce and the best breakfast sauce.

• They also won the World Hot Sauce Awards for Best Ketchup.

• Jeepers Reapers Revenge won 1 Gold Star at the 2016 Great Taste Awards. (Guild of Fine Foods) • Jamokie Jam won 1 Gold Star at the 2017 great taste awards.

(Guild of Fine Foods) • Smokey Chipotle Rub won 1 Gold Star at the 2017 great taste awards. (Guild of Fine Foods) • Smoky chipotle BBQ Sauce won 1 Gold Star at the 2017 great taste awards. (Guild of Fine Foods) • Garlic & Papaya Pickle won 2 Gold Star at the 2017 great taste awards. (Guild of Fine Foods) • Okra and Garlic Pickle won 1 Gold Star at the 2018 great taste awards. (Guild of Fine Foods)

Being a hot sauce aficionado, I am always excited by trying another hot sauce. I am a little unusual in-so-far that I will put hot sauce on nearly anything including toast, fruit, salad... anything. Sometimes, it’s not just about the sauce, it’s about the love and care that has gone into making it. I feel that this brand’s products have a very homely feeling, and deserves a hot sauce ‘high five’ in my mind with every mouthful.

Their range may have some serious heat, but there is also a lot of flavour - which is super important in a hot sauce. In a saturated market of condiment makers who all have very polished brand messages that they have paid agencies many thousands for, I think you should want something a little less serious to adorn your shelves, something that still feels authentic and made by a real human. Very much impressed with the Daddy Cool offering.

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MAD ABOUT activated nuts!

IMAGINE A HEALTHY SNACK THAT TASTES FANTASTIC, MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD, AND IS ALWAYS ON HAND. THIS ISSUE WE MET WITH NUTMAD WHO CREATE ACTIVATED NUTS THAT ARE DELICIOUS, RIDDLED WITH NUTRIENTS AND HAVE AMAZING HEALTH BENEFITS, TO MAKE SURE THOSE WHO TRY THEM WILL GET MAD ABOUT NUTS! SO… WHAT ARE ACTIVATED NUTS?

WHY DO NUTMAD ACTIVATE NUTS?

Nuts are known to be healthy for being a good source of essential fats, minerals, protein and antioxidants. Especially for vegans, vegetarians and people who eat less meat, nuts are a substantial part of their diet. But do they have any downsides? They may make us feel full, heavy and can be rough on our digestion. If you want to enjoy nuts in bigger quantities, and still have a good gut feeling, then NUTMAD recommend activated nuts.

Nuts and seeds contain natural chemicals, called Phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. The enzyme inhibitors are good for the nuts, because they prevent them from prematurely sprouting. But they are not so for us, because they have the ability to clog the metabolic enzymes in our body, which play an important role when it comes to processing the food we eat. This makes nuts hard to digest. Phytic acid can bind to minerals, such as Iron, Zinc,

22 The Delicatessen Magazine

Manganese and, to a lesser extent Calcium, and slow or prevent their absorption. This makes the minerals and their beneficial qualities less available to the body. Soaking nuts in water neutralizes the natural chemicals, the amount of starch and fibre reduces, and the protein and vitamin content increases. Nuts become easier to digest and more nutritious than non-activated ones.

HOW DO NUTMAD ACTIVATE NUTS? Different nuts need different time

-s to soak. At NUTMAD they soak almonds for at least 12 hours. They add some sea salt to the water; which helps to activate the enzymes that break down and neutralize the enzyme inhibitors.

For their plain activated almonds, for example, they don’t use any additional seasoning but they may still taste slightly salty, which is due to the brine. The other kind of almonds they offer, are lightly seasoned with sea salt.

After rinsing and seasoning they dry the nuts in the dehydrator.

To preserve the nutrients and to get the best taste, nuts are being dehydrated at a low temperature, not over 70°C. To become really dry and crispy, almonds need over 24 hours of dehydrating.

The wait is worth though; once they’re ready, they taste delicious!

Activated walnuts and cashew nuts, need less time for soaking – eight hours for walnuts and two to four hours for cashews. They are dry and ready to snack after 12-18 hours.

them raw, since they are gentler on your digestive system. Being a great source of protein, nuts and seeds are an important part of vegan and vegetarian diets. In this case activated nuts can be particularly beneficial, since they are consumed in larger quantities and on a regular basis. Even if you are not vegan, not vegetarian, just mad about nuts – you may find yourself snacking on nuts any time of the day. Activated nuts make you feel good even if you get carried away.

Eating protein rich food is also very important for pregnant women. Especially if they are pregnant with twins (like the owner of NUTMAD was). A handful of soaked almonds daily can help reduce allergies in babies; macadamia is rich in folate, which is essential during pregnancy; walnuts can help boost the baby’s brain functions like learning abilities and memory. Breastfeeding mothers need a lot of nutrients like Vitamin E, Vitamin B2, B3, and B1. It is also a rich source of minerals like Magnesium, Copper, Phosphorus, Calcium, Iron, and Zinc that can be found in almonds. To get as much as possible from those nutrients, NUTMAD recommend activated nuts.

Different kinds of nuts have different nutritional qualities. Some contain more calcium, others more vitamin E. Let’s find out which are the best nuts to boost different people’s diets…

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ACTIVATED NUTS? When you eat activated nuts, you may notice that you don’t feel as full and heavy as after eating

There are a wide variety of nuts available in all different shapes and sizes.

The following nuts offer us a wide range of nutrients and health benefits.

Almonds: are calcium rich and help protect and maintain your bones. They are also high in antioxidant vitamin E, which is great news for your skin.

Cashews: have a high level of protein and have a handful of important minerals including zinc, iron and magnesium which can help delay age-related memory loss.

Walnuts: are a great source of mono-unsaturated fats which plays a role in lowering bad levels of cholesterol. They are also very rich in omega -3 and can help reduce depression.

Hazelnuts: are rich in magnesium and Vitamin B and E. They are a great aid to your heart and can help reduce the risk of cancer.

Pecans: are rich in antioxidants and great for lowering cholesterol. They are packed full of vitamin B3 which can help boost energy.

As you can see, the health benefits of nuts are so many! They’re packed with beneficial minerals, fibre, protein and essential fats (that’s the good kind of fat). This is very beneficial for people’s health, especially if consumed as part of a balanced diet. www.nutmad.co.uk The Delicatessen Magazine 23

...

THERE’S NO EARTHLY REASON NOT TO DIG

WHOLESUMS

Wholesums is part of the Mackie’s of Scotland family which sits within the snacks side of the business. Mackie’s first ventured into snacking 10 years ago with the introduction of Mackie’s potato crisps followed by the launch of a Mackie’s popcorn range in 2016.

Over the past couple of years the UK consumer has become increasingly more interested in healthy snacking so we set out on our quest to bring something new and innovative to the healthy snacks category. We created the Wholesums brand after discovering a new production method whereby we could incorporate, fresh, whole vegetables into the snack. We were really excited by this process and its versatility to turn almost any vegetable into a light, puffed chip so started developing a range of snacks containing over 40% whole, fresh vegetables.

Wholesum’s are what’s known as

popped chips. They came across the idea for them when looking for a healthy alternative to the usual suspects that tend to crop up in the crisp aisle of your local supermarket. Not that we’ve got anything against traditional crisps of course… it’s just that sometimes you need something a little lighter.

In their quest for something healthier they started with vegetables. Naturally, it wasn’t long until they found out that this technique of ‘air popping’ vegetable such as carrots, peas and potatoes makes for something that’s deliciously crunchy and highly snackable. What’s more is that they were able to put every little bit of vegetable to good use. So, things like potato skins (actually the most nutritious part of the potato) and carrot stalks could be used and nothing that’s perfectly edible goes to waste!

So that’s the ‘science bit’ covered,

‘But what about the taste?’ we hear you ask. Wholesums’ existing range contains a mixture of three vegetables: carrots, peas and potatoes. Following consumer testing these vegetables turned out to be the most popular so were any easy choice to launch with. Flavour is of course, another important part of the big picture. We know everyone’s got their own preferences and ways of doing things, that’s why we worked out not one but four delicious flavours for people to choose from.

Salt of the Earth’ – The classic, no nonsense option. We use natural sea salt on these particular chips.

Softly Sweet Chilli – A lotta veggie goodness with a little chilli kick.

Splash of Salt & Vinegar – Natural sea salt features again, this time with a tangy mouth-watering splash of vinegar.

Whole Lot of Smokey BBQ – With a subtly fired-up edge these bring all the flavour of the grill to our whole veg. bring all the flavour of the grill to our whole veg.

If all this talk of taste is making you th

24 The Delicatessen Magazine

WE MEET THE TEAM BEHIND WHOLESUMS’ POPPED CHIPS. AN IDEAL HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO THE POTATO CRISP.

Wholesums are too good to be true, well there’s no big, scary, unhealthy drawbacks to them.

Quite the opposite in fact. They’re low in calories (about 85-86 calories per bag depending on what flavour you choose), a source of fibre and are low in saturated fat thanks to the air popping technique we use. Oh, and a whole load of vegetable goodness goes into each bag too.

Unlike a number of other popped/baked chips on the marketplace Wholesums are made using real, whole vegetables rather than vegetable powders, flours and starches. The vegetables are what gives Wholesums its flavour ensuring very little oil is required in the cooking process. Total fat sits at only 6% which is less than half that of a number of other healthy snack brands which tend to sit between 13-18%.

Each 22g bag contains 86 calories or less and is a source of fibre and protein.

It might not seem like long ago that the idea of ‘sustainability’ was considered, well… a bit of a niche idea really. One apparently reserved for eco warriors, living off-grid and on their own means.

Essentially, it used to be a far cry from a mainstream issue.

Today? Not so much… You don’t have to live in a treehouse to know just how important the idea of sustainability is. From the cleaning products we choose to use to the cars we drive and their emission levels, it’s a topic that reaches most areas of our lives – and it’s not going away any time soon! It’s an especially big deal for those in the food industry.

WRAP (Waste and Resources Action and Programme) estimates that here in the UK alone we throw away a staggering £20bn worth of food and drink waste per year. So not exactly the kind of change you’d find down the back of the sofa. In terms of actual food this figure weighs in at around the 10m tonne mark.

Some of this food is of course ‘genuine’ waste, but it’s thought

that 70% of it was actually intended to end up on someone’s plate. There are a few knock-on effects from this too of course (and by ‘a few’ actually we mean 25m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions!) We don’t have to explain why this isn’t good news for the environment!

So scary statistics and facts aside the guys at Wholesums are trying to do our bit by using the whole veg in each and every one of our popped chips. So, instead of throwing away things like the potato skin or the stalk of the carrot, we use the whole lot. When you consider that each of these parts of the vegetable that are often cast aside are perfectly edible – it just makes sense.

For us, it’s not just about pitching in with a more environmentally friendly effort either, we believe it actually tastes better too! This high vegetable content, coupled with the fact that Wholesums are gently baked mean that you can enjoy a full flavour snack and know that you’re helping take those statistics we mentioned down a notch. It’s a no-brainer as far as we’re concerned. www.wholesums.co.uk The Delicatessen Magazine 25

Delicious snacks made by TASTY FARMERS WHEN YOU’VE BEEN FARMING ALONGSIDE ONE ANOTHER FOR AS LONG AS THE FAMILIES BEHIND GROWERS GARDEN HAVE, YOU GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER PRETTY WELL. THIS BUILDS A STRONG RELATIONSHIP AND FROM THAT GROWS A GREAT DIVERSE NEW BUSINESS IDEA.

L

iving and farming fieldby-field in the East of Scotland countryside for generations the guys at Growers Garden are used to prepping, planting, and harvesting, season-in and season-out. They celebrate the good times and stick together in the tough ones.

According to Martin from Growers Garden: “there’s always laughs to be had working with your mates, especially on a farm.”

So, when they decided to mix things up a bit, but didn’t know exactly how. The first thing they all agreed on was that they wanted to stick together and stay true to their roots and values of ethical and sustainable farming.

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After a lot of time sat around the table brainstorming, somewhere in-between ‘converted barn nightclubs and combine harvester racing’, they realised the answer was right in front of them (really, it was) … Snacks!

They realised they could use fresh vegetables from their very own fields to make awesome healthy snacks, like broccoli crisps, that not only taste great but also promote sustainable farming.

A sustainable snack. It was the perfect idea to bring together their love for both the environment and food (especially crisps).

So, with a lot of practice in the kitchen and even more taste tests they found the first four flavours of our broccoli crisps, that helped Growers Garden, finally, come to

life.

One of the best things about Growers Garden broccoli crisps is that they help to promote more sustainable farming and food production by driving down food waste. We like to think of them as a snack that tastes good and does good all at the same time!

Some of their broccoli might not look very “instaworthy” on a plate or a supermarket shelf but looks can be deceiving. The guys at Growers Garden love all their broccoli equally, not just because they worked so hard to grow it, but because it’s all full of the same great stuff on the inside, and each one is just as delicious as the next!

That’s why Growers Garden use every little bit of broccoli in their

broccoli crisps, so that none of the ‘hero veg’ they grow gets thrown away. They’re super passionate about sustainable farming and reducing waste of all kinds, especially food waste, and they created Growers Garden for everyone who shares our passion.

With your support in eating their delicious broccoli crisps, they can promote sustainable farming practices and food waste management by making sure there’s “no veg left behind!” Sweet deal, right? Eat snacks, save the world!

Oh, and maybe reuse your shopping bags when you go to get more!

“Growers Garden came about as part of a diversification project by ESG (East of Scotland Growers). The management of ESG were tasked with finding an added value route to market whilst improving sustainability by utilising their ‘Wonky veg.’

Our wonderful Broccoli Crisps were the favourite of the options put forward.”

– Martin, Growers Garden.

Dig into the Range

These quirky healthy snacks are fun, tasty and a bit of an odd shape, but that’s ok!

It all comes from being made with farm-fresh vegetables and 100% natural ingredients.

There are currently 4 varieties available: • ‘Naked’ (unseasoned) • Sour Cream and Chive • Cheese • Chilli Each one of their fantastic flavours contains at least 27% fresh broccoli (never powdered), making it the #1 ingredient. Each bag is made using fresh veg from their own fields, grown in the East of Scotland sunlight.

With under 100kcal per 22g pack, they’re a tasty, low calorie snack for all the family: great on-the-go, after the gym, or even as a kids’ snack. All are also gluten-free and vegan friendly.

So what makes these veg crisps different?

Growers Garden use only fresh, wonky Broccoli grown by their very own farmers. Most other vegetable snacks use powdered veg – they’re a world first in that respect. All use 100% natural ingredients to make delicious, nutritious and vegan-friendly products.

“We made sure none of our hero veg are ever powdered”

They also believe due to their many years of farming expertise that goes back generations, they pride themselves in their knowledge about growing the healthy, nutritious vegetables needed for their tasty snacks.

Finally, it is clear that the farmers involved at Growers Garden are on a mission to make sustainable snacks, using possible bit of their veg to help eliminate waste.

They’ve even teamed up with the great guys and girls at LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) to help promote sustainable farming practice.

So what’s next?

The excitable bunch at Growers Garden are already busy working on a broad range of ‘new product design’ projects. So, watch this space! It’s looking like they might just have something special up their sleeves for Christmas….

www.growers-garden.com The Delicatessen Magazine 27

Are Paper Straws Good Enough?

BY CHRIS MCNEILL

Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis - times change, and we change with them.

Over the last few days, we have had many people come over to the sustainability corner on the The Coca-Cola Company stand at CineEurope in Barcelona, which was put together by us here at Reelbrands. We had a whole selection of paper straws from Transcend Packaging Ltd for people to try, Including a brand new straw that’ll last 6 hours and doesn’t affect the bubbles in a fizzy drink like a lot of current paper straws do.

However, It was interesting to see so many comparisons still with plastic straws, with

people bending and pulling the straws saying “ah, but it won’t do this or that, you can’t turn it into a (insert other whimsical idea/use for a straw here)”.

That got me thinking that however much a paper straw is developed, it won’t ever be as durable as a plastic one. We’ve been blessed and cursed by the versatility of the plastic straw, but now we need to change our expectations of what’s possible and remember the reason why we are making the change.

A decent paper straw will allow someone to drink a drink over a reasonable period of time (4 hours should be enough? Albeit we are now getting to 6 hours!) and then be recycled at the end of this time with the rest of the paperboard waste. It won’t last forever (literally) like a plastic straw will. For all the right reasons?

Not all paper straws are born equal....

If you remember back to a few months a go, a lot of entitled people started signing a petition about bringing back plastic straws to McDonalds because they couldn’t enjoy a milkshake the same way as with a plastic straw... People came straight to the rescue with the talk of the environment etc, however what people didn’t seem to appreciate is that not all paper straws are the same.

This is likely because plastic straws are all similar in their durability.

Ok, so a paper straw doesn’t like being used as a mixing stick for frozen drinks.... (which is what a lot of people do with their straw). I think this will be a harder challenge to beat in the short-term, so perhaps we need to use alternatives for that function, or to do something completely different entirely.

Not perfect?

Neither is the planet we live on and it’s not going to get any better without compromise.

The guys at Transcend Packaging have been working very hard to create different grades of paper straw, from the most cost effective, to wide diameter straws, to ones coated in a special hi-tech coating that’ll not let the paper straw affect bubbles... amazing really. Advancements are occurring all the time and I anticipate further movement in the short term to what is possible too..

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ScandiKitchen SCANDIKITCHEN IS UK’S LEADING SCANDINAVIAN FOOD OUTLETS, PROVIDING FRESHLY MADE FOOD AND GROCERIES FROM SCANDINAVIA. THEY’RE ALL ABOUT BRINGING THE BEST OF NORDIC CUISINE TO YOU. HERE AT THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE WE WENT TO FIND OUT MORE… ScandiKitchen is one of the UK’s leading Scandinavian food outlets, providing freshly made food and groceries from Scandinavia.

It started back in the distant days of 2006 when an innocent Dane was pacing the streets of London with an equally innocent Swede.

Their mission: to find authentic Scandinavian food in the UK. Did they succeed? No, they didn’t. Which is why they decided to open ScandiKitchen.

Bronte (the Dane) and Jonas (the Swede) imported all the foods and treats they missed from home, found a great team of people, and opened their doors just off Oxford Street to teach the citizens of London that open sandwiches are a super-tasty and healthy way to lunch.

ScandiKitchen is all about bringing the best of Nordic cuisine to you – whether you’ve got time to join us in the café or need to get back to your desk. ScandiKitchen also offers wholesale services for businesses selling Scandinavian brands in the UK… perfect for Delicatessens and Farm Shops up and down the country!

30 The Delicatessen Magazine

What do they stock?

Whether you are looking for Swedish, Norwegian, Dannish or Finnish foods and drinks. ScandiKitchen offer a full range of everyday and gourmet favourite from across each country including:

• • • • •

Sweets and Snacks Cupboard Goods Fresh Produce Bread, Biscuits & Baking Drinks & Off Licence

WHOLESALE GEMS ScandiKitchen currently carry a wide range of products in their warehouse in West London, some large and some small, all representing the best of Scandinavia, including names such as: Abba Seafood – a wide selection of herring, fish roe and other fish products. Abba is an iconic brand, which is also behind Sweden’s best loved food staple “Kalles Kaviar”.

Felix – High quality jams, condiments and pickles; the range includes cloudberry, wild lingonberry and bilberry jam – as well as traditional Swedish pickles.

Cloetta, Leaf, Malaco – Scandinavia’s biggest producers of sweets, on offer is a large range of chocolates, confectionary and pick’n’mix from several suppliers.

Delicato – cakes, treats and biscuits; by appointment to the Royal Court of Sweden, they also have ScandiKitchen’s seal of

approval. The range includes the famous Delicatoboll, as well as Punschrolls and Mazarin treats.

Korshags Salmon – The highest quality Norwegian salmon smoked and cured in a range of ways. Korshags is a family run company and a truly Scandinavian operation: Salmon from Norway, based in Sweden with views over Denmark (on a very good day).

Per i Viken Charcuterie – Award-winning sausages, meatballs and cold cuts from the south of Sweden. Outstanding quality and taste and very popular.

Leksands – Traditional Swedish crispbread; beautiful gourmet and everyday crispbreads from this family run bakery in central Sweden. Excellent quality and range.

Scandinavian Cheeses – Including Jarlsberg, brown cheese and Nokkelost from Norway; Gamle Ole and Riberhus from Denmark and Västerbotten from Sweden –

get in touch for their full range.

ScandiKitchen also offer a range of Nordic specialities, including but not limited to; Kalix löjrom, elk, reindeer and other speciality meats, nordic berries such as lingonberries and a range of speciality seafood. www.scandikitchen.co.uk

The Delicatessen Magazine 31

22 The Delicatessen Magazine

SLEEP WELL WHILST ATTENDING THIS YEAR’S FARM SHOP AND DELI SHOW AT THE NEC BIRMINGHAM, WE MET SOME OF THE TEAM FROM SLEEP WELL. THEY WERE PROUDLY CLAIMING, THEY HAD A NEW MILK DRINK THAT ASSISTS ITS DRINKERS A BETTER NIGHT’S SLEEP. NOW, I’M ONE OF THE FIRST TO ADMIT I AM NOT SOMEONE WHO SLEEPS WELL AND I’M OFTEN FOUND SEEKING OUT MY NEXT CAFFEINE FIX. AFTER CHATTING WITH THE LOVELY LADIES ON THE STAND, I AGREED TO TRIAL THEIR SLEEP WELL CARTONS TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH THEY COULD IMPROVE MY NIGHT’S SLEEP. THE POWER OF SLEEP… Like most, the founders of Sleep Well are a normal family leading busy lives. Sam & Alan Watts, admit their mobile phones and laptops are often overheating from always being on and with their two boys, close family, friends and the dog life is constantly on the go! Like all of us, they need sleep, so their minds and bodies can repair and be ready to start over in the morning.

They began to realise how sleep deficient they’d become when heading up to the Lake District for a family holiday. Life seemed to move slower there. Most of the time they couldn’t get a decent mobile phone signal so they really began to ‘switch off ’. With their brains rested, they began

to all get a much better night’s sleep and found they felt so much better for it.

INSPIRATION AT 30,000FT! Later, on a flight from LA to London last year, Sam (a fearful flyer) bought a bottle of something that claimed to help you sleep but contained all sorts of synthetic ingredients. It was at that moment, at 30,000ft above the Atlantic Ocean, that they started to wonder if they could create a drink that was full of goodness, natural ingredients, that was suitable for all the family to enjoy and that could help drinkers to relax and sleep.

CREATING THE SLEEP WELL RECIPE They knew they wanted to use Jersey milk and natural honey, but they needed a ‘magic’ ingredient. After more late nights researching multiple options, they finally discovered Valerian.

Valerian root has been relaxing people and helping them get to sleep for nearly 2,000 years.

Happily, they managed to track down a fantastic organic supplier who could provide it to them in a form that would blend well with creamy whole Jersey milk.

www.sleepwellmilk.com

u

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WORKING WITH THE VERY BEST TEAM They had all the ingredient in place. After weeks of trialling different recipe combinations, using their poor teenage sons as testers, they finally settled on the winning ‘Sleep Well’ recipe. The folks at Jersey Dairy agreed to produce ‘Sleep Well’ for them in their Class A production facility. With many years of expertise producing some of the best things you can make with milk, including cheese, rich Jersey butter and the creamiest ice cream, they have become a trusted partner in the journey. And that was it – ‘Sleep Well’ was born.

AVAILABLE FLAVOURS ‘Sleep Well’ launched their vanilla flavour in handy 200ml ‘Sip and Sleep’ cartons, swiftly followed by their 1 litre ‘family’ packs. Their

delicious chocolate flavour ‘Sleep Well’ hit the shelves in January this year, and is also available in 200ml and 1 litre cartons. It is also perfect to heat up for a cup of special hot chocolate before bed.

OUR EDITOR’S SLEEP DIARY AS SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS IN THE SLEEP DEPARTMENT, WHO’S OFTEN FOUND TO BE ASKING PROFOUND QUESTIONS AND DOING RANDOM WORK TASKS THROUGH THE NIGHT, I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THE SLEEP WELL DRINKS. WHEN I FIRST GOT TOLD WE WERE DOING A WEEK’S TRIAL, I ACTUALLY WANTED TO BE ‘THAT PERSON’ WHO COULD SAY IT DIDN’T WORK... SO LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPENED. ..

FIRST FEW NIGHTS: Well, day one and as the carton said, I drank this drink about an hour before bed time and got myself under the covers and settled down with a lightwatching film. I did sleep fairly ok that night, but I had anticipated doing so after doing a half marathon and running around after the kids the days before.

I noticed the following day that repeating the same routine as the night before, I actually fell asleep earlier on in the film and slept like a log until the next day. A fluke maybe? I don’t think so but let us carry on...

THE REST OF THE WEEK: So, after finding my sleep pattern becoming a little better but refusing to believe that a carton of nice tasting milk would be the thing that fixed me, I carried on strictly sticking to my routine and enjoyed my carton an hour before bed. Each night I successfully slept heavily until the next morning.

Well, by now I had become converted and actually looked forward to my pre-sleep drink and also looked forward to my much needed rest after!

I am absolutely certain that the Sleep Well drinks have helped me. The Valerian root ,which is the magic ingredient in this drink, alongside the real Jersey Milk has been helping people sleep for over two millenniums, so who am I to question it?

My partner I am sure is glad I did this trial as she got some rest without me waking her to discuss thought provoking world issues at anytime in the night, and I am sure I have become less grouchy too.

Editor´s Verdict

www.sleepwellmilk.com

So, I have gone from being a sceptic to being converted in a week or so. Not only does this drink actually taste nice (I have bad memories of being made to drink Horlicks years a go and detesting it), but it also works. The branding is nice and catchy - grown up enough but also a little fun too. I like that this drink comes in large cartons or small cartons for ‘on the go’ and to test. I am also pretty happy about the authentic Jersey Cow milk within, that’s a nice touch. Sleep Well also offer a whole load of information on how to get better sleep as a company too, well worth looking them up!

The Delicatessen Magazine 35

tea school

www.teapigs.co.uk

BACK IN APRIL, MYSELF AND CHRIS WERE INVITED, BY ANDY AT TEAPIGS, TO JOIN THEM AT TEAPIGS HQ, TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING, WHY WOULD TWO FULLY GROWN ADULTS, CAPABLE OF WRITING A FOOD MAG, NEED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL? BUT THIS INVITE WASN’T JUST FOR ANY SCHOOL, IT WAS FOR A VERY PRESTIGIOUS DAY AT TEAPIGS ‘TEA SCHOOL’.

38 The Delicatessen Magazine

W

e travelled up early to Brentford, to teapigs’ very stylish studio in the old-pumping station. Upon arrival, we were introduced to other cafes, farm shops, delis and small businesses, also invited, who already stock teapigs tea. It was clear from the offset, that this day wasn’t about selling the teapigs products.

Everyone present was already invested in how good the teapigs range of teas are. Instead, the tea school’s main aim was to give their valued customers, the opportunity to join the teapigs team and learn about the best way of brewing their teas and how to make sure that they’re serving it perfectly meaning that when customers visit

any establishment serving teapigs; they can be rest assured that it’s a qualified bachelor of tea (BT.) that’s making it!

Of course, the day started with tea! We had the opportunity (whilst appreciating the perfectly made brew by ‘tea tidy’ – Leonie) to get to know some of the other people present and find out their teapig stories.

Before long, we were asked to gather on the benches, where Mr Teamon & Pumbaa himself (Andy), gave a very engaging and inciteful presentation about the history of tea and background of teapigs.

There was even a pop quiz at the end (it is called tea SCHOOL after all!

Before long, we were asked to gather on the benches, where Mr Teamon & Pumbaa himself (Andy), gave a very engaging and inciteful presentation about the history of tea and background of teapigs.

There was even a pop quiz at the end (it is called tea SCHOOL after all) DID YOU KNOW 165MILLION CUPS OF TEA ARE DRANK EACH DAY IN THE UK COMPARED TO 80MILLION CUPS OF COFFEE! Without giving too much content away from the morning. It was interesting to find out that tea is only truly tea if it comes from the ‘Camelia Sinesis’ (see Andy the name has stuck with me!) This means herbal teas and Rooibos (Red Bush) aren’t technically teas, they are instead infusions.

As a reward for our pop quiz results Andy and Leonie then set up a full tasting line up of all 28 teas their range has to offer. We were encouraged to slurp, yes slurp!, each with a tea spoon to really allow our pallets to appreciate the different flavours. I really enjoyed the camomile and the rhubarb and ginger teas. Chris was a big fan of the liquorice and peppermint.

Afterwards we then moved on to tasting their special range of ‘feelgood teas’, these are a selection of all-natural feel-good teas that have been specially blended with functional ingredients that do good and taste good. Whether you’re looking for an invigorating morning cuppa, a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, something up-lifting, something calming, or a little help drifting off at night, this range caters for all.

During this segment of the day we also learnt that there is a special way of making the perfect brew…

SO HERE’S THE SECRET! There are 5 ‘Golden Rules’ when it comes to making the perfect teapigs brew. Follow these few simple steps and you will be in tea heaven for the rest of your life!

1. Use 200-300ml of freshly drawn water per person.

2. Boil the water to 100°c for black tea, Rooibos and Herbals and 80°c for green, white and Oolong.

in anti-oxidants, it includes natural caffeine and calming amino-acids and L-theanine, it helps increase concentration, its assists calorie burning and it helps keep your skin healthy. In fact, just 1 cup of Matcha equals 10 times the nutritional value of regular green tea and half the caffeine of coffee!

WOW!

4. Allow each tea temple to brew for at least 3 minutes.

To round up the day there was another all-important pop quiz, just to check we had all taken in everything from the day. Upon answering our final question, we were presented with our very own teapigs tea school certificate and a very special tea geek badge (which both Chris and I both wear proudly here at the office).

5. Use milk with black tea and Rooibos only. No milk with green tea, white tea, Oolong and Herbals.

Thank you, Andy and the team, a teapigs for our invite and for a thoroughly enjoyable and informative day.

Next, we had a break for lunch, we were in need of something to soak up the tea. The afternoon session then took more of a focus on their Matcha. It was interesting to learn about what makes a good quality Matcha, and that really there should be no compromises.

Andy shared with us, some lesser quality and fake ‘Matcha’ so that we could see the difference. After this, we participated in a Matcha ceremony, which is how a group of Matcha aficionados would make, then drink their Matcha.

If you are interested in attending a teapigs tea school please contact Andy @ info@teapigs.co.uk.

3. Use 1 tea temple per person (even if using a pot or an urn)

Matcha has so many benefits, it’s hard to believe that not more people drink it on a daily basis.

After learning about how it is high

The Delicatessen Magazine 39

INTRODUCING A BRAND NEW RANGE OF INFUSIONS TO MAKE ICED TES EVEN EASIER.

Last year’s hot weather very clearly highlighted the need for hydration with consumers demanding natural, low sugar drinks that deliver on flavour. To make sure everyone’s thirst stays quenched this summer, teapigs are launching their brand new range of cold brew infusions as an easy, quick and refreshing way to pep up your water.

34 The Delicatessen Magazine

“We have been working with cafés for the last few years encouraging them to make delicious jugs of iced teas where you boil the water to make a concentrate before chilling it down. This works well for some sites but not for all and can be especially challenging in locations with unpredictable footfall,” says Louise, teapigs tea taster. “Our new cold brew is perfect for cafés. The new range comes in three delicious flavours - lychee & rose, cucumber & apple and lemon, lime & ginger– and the infusions are specifically designed to brew quickly in cold water. The fresh ingredients with no artificial sweeteners, no sugar and no artificial flavours are an ideal healthy alternative to some of the more indulgent summer drinks and can be made in bulk for a foodservice offering or simply popped in a glass.”

Not only are the cold brew temples quick and easy for foodservice operators they are also great for retail shelves as customers are looking for tasty ways to hydrate on the go. “Simply drop one tea temple in cold water and that’s it,” says Louise. “No waiting for the kettle to boil, no added sugar, no sickly syrups.

You bring the water, we’ll bring the flavour.”

SO PLEASE MEET LYCHEE & ROSE AND APPLE & CUCUMBER...

RRP £3.95 10 tea temples per box/6 boxes per case.

Available through teapigs trade accounts plus online at teapigs.co.uk now.

LYCHEE & ROSE

A gorgeously fruity yet floral combo of lychee and rose to see tea fans through all those long summer nights, bank holiday picnics and makeshift BBQs in the park.

CUCUMBER & APPLE

Cucumber water is the absolute dream when it comes to cooling down in summer; but, for the days when you don’t feel like carrying a cucumber around in your bag, teapigs have got you covered with this invigorating cucumber & apple cold brew infusion.

LOUISE - FOUNDER OF TEAPIGS teapigs was set up in 2006 by Nick and me. We are both self-professed tea nuts on a mission to get the nation drinking real tea.

Being a professional tea taster for over 15 years, has allowed me to travel all over the world sourcing all sorts of teas. The result is a range of the very best quality teas you’ll find. teapigs only use whole leaf teas; whole berries; and whole herbs and flowers - not the dusty stuff you’ll find in regular tea bags! Their teas come in biodegradable tea “temples” - roomy mesh bags that gives the leaves lots of room to infuse.

We are so excited about our new range of cold brews. Iced tea just got easy! Our all-natural cold brew infusions have been specially made to brew quickly in cold water.

Two all-natural, super light, refreshing flavours make glugging your way through your two litres a day a breeze. Simply pop one in your water bottle before you head out the door and… that’s it!

PERCOL

Coffee on a Mission

WITH ALL THE HYPE SURROUNDING PLASTICFREE RECENTLY, THE CYNIC IN ME EXPECTS SOME BRANDS WILL BE MAKING CHANGES FOR MEDIA ATTENTION. WANTING TO BE PROVED WRONG, I WENT TO VISIT PERCOL TO FIND OUT THEIR REAL MOTIVATION BEHIND GOING PLASTIC-FREE.

36 The Delicatessen Magazine

C

offee is for life’s doers, and one company that’s been on the go since day one is Percol. Percol was the first ground coffee to be Fairtrade certified. They pioneered the use of organic and single-origin beans. And they’ve spent decades investing in the farmers who grow our delicious coffee, generation after generation. They have definitely ‘bean’ busy.

The Percol portfolio comprises of a range of Ground, Beans, Coffee Bags, Iced Coffee and Instants.

They have a diverse coffee offering, which includes a wide range of blends and single origin profiles across a range of coffee formats, allowing all consumers to experience great tasting coffee at an affordable price.

From a product portfolio perspective, Percol has always had high ethical sourcing standards, built from long-standing relationships with the certification bodies - with all products now Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certified, and many Organic.

GOING PLASTIC-FREE!

When looking at their packaging they had work to do to push the business and the category to be more sustainable, particularly in the Ground and Beans category which uses non-recyclable multi-layered laminated packs as the industry standard.

And so, in 2018 Percol launched its plastic-free range of Ground and Beans under its new positioning ‘Percol: Coffee on a Mission’, with one clear objective – to be the most ethical and sustainable retail coffee brand.

With this launch, Percol became the very first retail coffee brand to adopt home compostable packaging in the UK, and also the first to receive the official ‘Plastic-Free’ Trust Mark from A Plastic Planet. Yay!

This pioneering packaging - made entirely from renewable resources - breaks down in compost and can be used as a soil improver. This is ground-breaking as one of the first products on the supermarket shelf to enable the customer to dispose of packaging in this way. All other traditional coffee packs will end up either in landfill, incinerated or in our ecosystems.

Over 100 million non-recyclable packs of coffee are produced and used in the UK each year. We needed to find a sustainable solution to the traditional plastic

flexible foil used by the coffee industry - and needed it to work on conventional packing lines. After a lengthy research phase, we partnered with one of the leading flexographic printing and laminating companies to produce and deliver this innovative home compostable solution - a first of its kind in coffee.

The innovative packaging is made from a blend of compostable polymers, derived from a range of natural products such as paper, plant fibres and eucalyptus wood pulp. The paper used is made from FSC, PEFC accredited pulp, and for every tree felled at least one more is grown.

The cellulose used is made from sustainably grown eucalyptus trees from managed plantations.

The pack is certified home compostable and will break down in less than 26 weeks in home compost, and 12 weeks in industrial compost.

This move is forecast to strip out over 5 million pieces of plastic from our business and offers consumers a more sustainable, plastic-free option.

NOT STOPPING THERE…

As part of the delivery of this new plastic-free range, and indeed our aim to become more sustainable as a business, last year we became carbon-neutral certified, meaning we offset our emissions from farm to factory to shelf.

The Delicatessen Magazine 37

PERCOL’S NEXT MISSION…

PRODUCTS

rom a new product perspective, we recently launched an exciting addition to our range of Iced Coffees, just in time for summer 2019! Introducing our Fairtrade and Organic Dairy-free Iced Flat White!

INSTANT Instant coffees expertly roasted and freeze-dried, locking in the taste and aroma of their top notch beans.

• Barista Gold • Smooth Colombian • All Day Americano • Organic Rich Roast • Delicious Decaf • Classic Italiano • Espresso Noir

�

Made with oat milk and with no added sugar, this is the perfect pick me up for a dairy-free and healthconscious lifestyle. We chose to use oat milk as a milk alternative in part because oat production has one of the lowest impacts on the environment in comparison to other dairy-free options - across emissions, land use and water! And, like our other iced coffees, it’s packaged in a unique recyclable “CartoCan”, which is made from 70% renewable materials and has a 20-60% lower carbon footprint than an aluminium can or a PET bottle.

From a packaging perspective, we are on a mission to make all our packaging reusable, easily recyclable or home compostable by the end of 2019. Our next step along this journey will be the removal later this year of the plastic wrap from our range of Instant coffees – so watch this space! l

“ Our aim is to be the most sustainable coffee company.

Plastic-free. Carbon-neutral.

Fairtrade-certified. It’s not the only way to run a business, but it’s the only way we want to run ours.”

GROUND A brand-new range of ground coffee that is Fairtrade, Organic and comes in fully home-compostable and plastic free packaging. Also hand-picked and freshly roasted in the UK. • Vibrant Guatemalan • Rich Americano • Delicious Decaf • Intense Espresso • Bold Peruvian • Smooth Colombian WHOLE BEANS Another brand-new range of beans that are 100% Fairtrade, Organic and that all come in fully homecompostable packaging.

• Intense Espresso

COFFEE BAGS As easy to use as tea bags; you can enjoy a proper ground coffee without the fuss. With the box being widely recycled and the individual bags home compostable they are fab for the environment too.

• Colombian • Americano • Espresso

ICED COFFEE These are the UK’s first Fairtrade & Organic Iced Coffees, abailable in three tempting flavours. All are made with 100% Arabica beans and packaged in s unique “CartoCan’, which is 100% recyclable and at least 30% more eco-friendly to produce than aluminium cans.

• Oat Flat White • Protein Latte • Flat White

www.percol.co.uk

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NOT YOUR AVERAGE PASTA

Garofalo UK: 01438 813 444 www.pastagarofalo.it info@garofalo.co.uk Distributed in the UK by:

Amato Food Products • Continental Food & Wine • Cotswold Fayre • Gustalia • Hider Holleys Fine Food • Shire Foods • The Gorgeous Food Company • Ticco Foods Ltd