Fine Food Digest April

April 2010· Vol 11 Issue 3

Spears of the realm How to buy the best British asparagus for your menu TAKE A BUTCHER’S

Richard Howard on beefing up Elveden’s everyday food & drink offer

LIMP LOGO?

EU’s compulsory organic mark gets the green finger from producers

GOOD FOOD, GREAT CHEESE

BBC Good Food Show to host world’s biggest cheese competition

INSIDE: ICE CREAM café oswald’s HAMISH JOHNSTON SAUCES & DRESSINGS TASTE OF THE WEST TRADE SHOW

Follow the Star, find the true Italian quality.

Negroni, “the brand with the star”, was established in 1907 in Cremona in the heart of the Po valley. Thanks to its expertise and strong links to this area with a long tradition in farming and food, Negroni is now one of Italy’s most prestigious and authentic Italian Delicatessen Meat brands with a leading position in many markets. With a wide variety of deli counter products which include traditional salamis, mortadella, cured and cooked hams and many other regional specialities, the Negroni Star has always been synonymous with quality. All the authenticity of Negroni flavours is also available in our finely sliced pre-cut “Stella” range. A wide selection of specialities, packed in sterile premises to preserve the taste and its original freshness.

Negroni, a reference point for anyone who wishes to savor Italy’s finest delicatessen meats.

PLEASE CONTACT: WWW.NEGRONI.COM - EMAIL: EXPORT@NEGRONI.COM April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3 2

THE STAR OF ITALIAN DELICATESSEN MEAT SINCE 1907

opinion

in this issue

I often despair of our food culture and last month did nothing to lift my spirits. It began during a Guild training day, when we were comparing Parma hams.

One was a counter-cut 18-month-old ham from Morrisons, where the assistant had cut one end of each slice slightly thicker than the other. The eating quality wasn’t pleasurable.

A second was a 90g pre-pack of 18-month-old Parma from Waitrose, containing eight slices. That works out at 11.25g per slice. Daylight shone through each sliver, which lacked real flavour. I’m told it’s sold in packs of eight to provide four diners with two slices each and it’s sliced this thinly to achieve a 90g pack, which allows the buyer to sell at the most competitive price point.

In the first case, a traditional PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) Italian meat is ruined by poor counter skills, in the second by overt commercialism. The buyer should know better.

The month deteriorated further after I read the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association’s application to modify regulations governing their PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). Giving the history of these treasured pies, it tells how pigs were fed on whey left over from making local Blue Stilton, which “when mixed with bran is an excellent pig food”.

In the 19th century, this would have created very special pork, not dissimilar to the whey-fed animals used in making Parma ham. Yet within the myriad of regulations governing presentday production of PGI Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, no mention is made of the pork other than it must be cooked, not cured.

Need it not now be local to the Stilton region, whey fed or even British? It doesn’t say.

Our blessed Government boasts that is has spent millions on vocational training but a cursory glance through courses on offer for food retailers reveals that while they’ll teach you how to smile at customers and work the till, and will even coach you on logistics, people management and IT, when it comes to learning about the foods you sell you’re on your own.

Which brings me to the straw that finally snapped an indifferent month. During a well-lubricated after-dinner conversation, a supermarket buyer told my son how she had asked her employer to let her attend a specialist product knowledge course. (As ever, details cannot be revealed in order to protect the guilty.) A request for funding was denied – as we all know, supermarkets are very poor – so she paid for the course herself.

Later, when she applied for a buying role specific to the area in which she’d received specialist training, her application was turned down. Why? Because, she was told, she now knew too much about the quality of the products she would be buying.

❝The government has spent millions on vocational training but when it comes to learning about the food you sell you’re on your own.❞

Bob Farrand

Bob Farrand is publisher of Fine Food Digest and national director of the Guild of Fine Food

What they’re saying ❝Everyone’s fairly confident, but also realistic. Where delis used to buy three bries and keep one under the counter, they’re now buying one, and if they run out they run out.❞ William Johnston of distributor Hamish Johnston – p23

fine food news

Retailers cast doubt on £2m plan to revive consumer interest in ‘expensive’ organics p4

feature: selling online

How former Edeli director Emma Lopez-Johnson is tapping social media to launch her new online shop p25

special report: food & drink from the south-west Includes our preview of the Taste of the West trade show p27

product update: sauces & dressings

From tomato & mint to sweet & sour tamari p35

focus on: ice cream

What matters more: price, quality or a quirky down-on-the-farm back-story? p41

regulars:

news deli of the month deli chef cheesewire shelf talk

4 14 17 21 47

EDITORIAL Editor: Mick Whitworth News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Gail Hunt, Lynda Searby ADVERTISING Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey, Julianne Parry Circulation manager: Tortie Farrand Publisher & managing director: Bob Farrand Associate publisher & director: John Farrand THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD Membership secretary & director: Linda Farrand Administrators: Charlie Westcar, Julie Coates Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance

t: 01963 824464 Fax: 01963 824651 e: firstname.lastname@finefoodworld.co.uk w: www.finefoodworld.co.uk Published by: Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd. Fine Food Digest is published 10 times a year and is available on subscription for £40pa inclusive of post and packing.

Printed by: Advent Colour, Hants © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2010. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, recipes, photographs or illustrations.

Vol.11 Issue 1 · January-February 2010

3

fine food news Weeton’s Andrew Loftus says local food has overtaken organics as a way of ‘doing the right thing’

Delis raise doubts over £2m bid to restore interest in organics

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Fine food retailers and producers are sceptical that a £2m advertising campaign to boost the fortunes of organic food in the UK will help reverse recent falls in sales.

The Organic Trade Board has raised around £1m from big organic brands including Green & Blacks and Yeo Valley, and has applied for match funding from the EU, to finance a nationwide threeyear advertising campaign starting in October, promoting the various benefits of organic food and farming.

A new consumer website – www. whyiloveorganic.co.uk – was launched last month ahead of the campaign, which aims to turnaround falling sales of organic food and drink.

According to researcher TNS, sales of organic food fell 1% in value in 2009 compared to a 7% increase in sales of non-organic food. The industry-led OTB aims to increase annual sales of organic food, which currently stand at £1.8bn, by around 15% or roughly £200m through the campaign.

But retailers contacted by FFD said they were doubtful that sales would bounce back so quickly.

“Local food has superseded organic,” said Andrew Loftus, managing director of Weetons in Harrogate. “People have found a more cost-effective way of doing the right thing for their family and the planet. Organic has lost the intellectual argument.

“The marketing push may boost sales in the short term, but I doubt whether it will provide a big enough return.”

At Roots Delicatessen in High Wycombe, Les Root said that he had cut back on organic stocks in the past year because of sluggish sales.

“The organic movement has been hijacked by large producers and the supermarkets. Quality has gone down and there’s been a lot of publicity questioning the accuracy of health claims for organic food. Shoppers have become cynical and it’s hard to justify the higher prices, which are typically 20% more.”

Changes to consumer attitudes have also prompted some organic producers to branch out into nonorganic products. Kent juice maker Moor Organic Juice has launched the Kings Orchard range as a conventional, lower-cost alternative

to its main organic brand, while Hampshire-based pesto and dressings company Pollen Organic recently changed its name to Pollen True Taste after it started making a range of nonorganic sauces. Co-owner Richard Pollen said: “Organic ingredients became more and more expensive last year and there is also a perception issue among consumers that organic means expensive. People want food that doesn’t have additives and other nasties in it, but they don’t want to pay a premium.”

Finn Cottle, trade director at the

producers slam compulsory logo as ‘A pain in the neck’ Organic food producers have criticised a rule making it mandatory for products to carry a new EU organic logo (below).

The logo – designed by a German student in a Europe-wide competition and featuring EU stars in the shape of a leaf – must be printed on the packaging of all organic food and drink products produced in the EU from July 2010, although existing producers have a two-year window to change their packaging.

4

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

The ‘Euro-leaf’ was designed by student Dusan Milenkovic as part of an online competition which saw over 130,000 people vote for their favourite designs.

The Soil Association said it was concerned the new EU logo would “serve no useful function” and would “force out more valuable information from labels that are already very limited in space”.

Richard Pollen of Pollen True Taste said it could cost up to £5,000 to get his labels redesigned to accommodate the new logo. “The logo is not going to do anything to improve sales and could actually confuse some consumers,” he said.

Axel Steenberg of Steenberg Organics told FFD: “It’s a pain in the neck that will confuse the hell out of everybody.

It doesn’t help the consumer or the producer and seems to have been introduced just to satisfy a bureaucrat somewhere in Brussels.”

Soil Association, who is helping organise the advertising campaign, said that the feedback from the fine food sector was understandable.

“Last year was a bad year for organic food, but early signs suggest the market is turning the corner,” she said. “The longer organic remains a niche, the longer it will remain at the premium end of the market, and will be seen as more expensive.

Supermarkets have an important role in making organic food accessible and increasing sales, which will in turn bring prices down for everyone.”

comment Perry Haydn Taylor “Why can’t anyone make a decision these days without turning everything into a pseudo X factor? Soon we’ll be asking people to select our spouses by vote.

“As a piece of graphic design, this is a confusing logo because it uses the universally accepted mark for ‘vegetarian’ as the base for the design. This could be disastrous.

“The shortlisted logos were presented out of context on a computer screen without so much as a sniff of a picture of what they would look like on the packaging for which they intended. Visually, the one that has been chosen simply isn’t bold enough to be seen at the size it will be used on packs – unless the shopper has bionic vision.

“Why don’t they just commission a professional to do the job instead of relinquishing their responsibility and turning every facet of their decision-making into a glorified PR exercise?”

• Perry Haydn Taylor is creative director at branding & design agency Big Fish, whose clients include Clipper Teas, Belvoir Fruit Farms, Dorset Cereals and Harrods. www.bigfish.co.uk

inbrief shopfitting More pressure on independents as multiples pile back into high streets

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Competition among the big supermarkets to open smaller high street stores is set to intensify this year, putting further pressure on independent retailers, according to a report from retail analyst CACI. The report, called Who’s Winning the Battle of the Baskets, says Britain’s high streets are becoming the new battleground for supermarket expansion as locations for large stores dry up. Just over 40% of retail centres in towns and cities now have five or more supermarkets, said the report.

According to Paul Langston associate director of Location Strategy at CACI, the trend intensified last year with the sale of 126 Co-op and Somerfield stores when the two retailers joined forces. The stores were sold off to other supermarket brands to satisfy the requirements of the Competition Commission.

“These smaller size stores have traded very well in the past year, giving retailers such as Morrisons and Waitrose the confidence to push forward in this area,” said Langston.

“Supermarkets are likely to move further into the c-store market going forward and will be competing with independents more often. Smaller towns in particular are

A move into c-stores has driven down the average store size at Waitrose

very much on the radar of supermarkets. There is plenty of space and planning consent is easier.”

According to CACI, Morrisons has seen its average store fall from around 30,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft in the past year as it takes on smaller units, while Waitrose’s average store size has fallen from 20,000 sq ft to 13,000 sq ft.

In September, Waitrose MD Mark Price outlined a 10year plan to open 300 convenience stores across Britain, the majority of which will be between 2,000-3,000 sq ft. Stores in motorway service stations are also being rolled out.

Rural food hall taps staycation market Lancashire-based rural food hall Country Harvest has launched an order-and-collect service for Brits heading off on self-catering holidays in the region.

Located on the A65 at Ingleton, the retailer hopes to tap into the growing trend of people ditching foreign holidays in favour of a UK ‘staycation’, offering a shopping list of essential items. Customers can pick up the list in store or download it from the website with orders placed online or by phone. Goods are ready to collect 24 hours later.

According to research from Tourism Trendspotter, 25% of those who intend to take a UK holiday this year are likely to opt for selfcatering accommodation, with 16% likely to take a camping or caravanning holiday.

“Country Harvest is ideally situated to tap into this market,” said food hall manager Richard Simmonds. “The shop sits on the main route between the Dales and the Lakes and has a huge car park with plenty of room for people driving motorhomes and towing caravans.”

The shopping list is split into sections, including breakfast, sandwich fillers and snacks, evening meals and puddings, as well as offering a range of drinks and wine.

Products include Slacks bacon, Mackenzies smoked salmon, and homemade gourmet ready meals.

Country Harvest: on the tourist trail

Garden centre chain Dobbies has opened a new eco-friendly store in Aberdeen which houses a Farm Foodhall specialising in locally sourced produce and a 370-seater restaurant with deli bar and outdoor terrace. ● The annual Gloucestershire cheeserolling event has been cancelled after concerns about safety because of the number of spectators it attracts.

Organisers of the event at Cooper's Hill near Brockworth said 15,000 people attended last year's event – more than three times the site's capacity.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of requiring the country of origin to be labelled on meat, poultry, dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables and other singleingredient products.

Waitrose saw gross sales climb 9%, to £4.5bn last year thanks to the opening of 25 new stores.

Operating profit increased by 25%, to £268.4m.

●

Barrica Wines, which is based at the Huntley’s of Samlesbury food hall, was named UK Independent Wine Retailer of the Year at the Drinks Retailing Awards.

The English Wine Producers are hosting a St George’s Day Trade Tasting on Friday April 23 at Chelsea Football Club ahead of English Wine Week, May 29-June 6. For further information contact Julia Trustram Eve at English Wine producers.

●

CENTRE OF ATTENTION: Iain Burnett, the self-styled Highland Chocolatier, has opened a new chocolate visitor attraction in highland Perthshire.

The Scottish Chocolate Centre features two display areas and a chocolate kitchen for tasting tours. It also houses an area showcasing Burnett’s wedding cakes and chocolate sculptures, as well as videos explaining how chocolate is produced. The centre is part of Legends of Grandtully – a coffee house, gift showroom and chocolate shop close to the River Tay. “Entry to the Scottish Chocolate Centre is free and is designed to educate customers about the history of chocolate and its appeal, as well as the superior skills, ingredients and techniques employed by a master chocolatier,” said business development director Julie Collier.

julia@englishwineproducers.com

Fiona Kay’s Cheese Please in Lewes, East Sussex, which stocks around 120 varieties of cheese, was named Sussex Food Shop of the Year in the 2009/10 Sussex Food & Drink Awards. Over 9,000 people voted for more than 300 Sussex food and drink businesses and personalities in the fourth year of the awards, whose organisers include A Taste of Sussex, part of Sussex Enterprise.

Chase Distillery’s English potato vodka, made by Tyrrells crisps founder Will Chase, has collected a double gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

●

Vol.7 Issue 1 · January 2006

5

news LETTERS TO THE EDITOR e editorial@finefoodworld.co.uk

DON’T BE TOO HARSH ON DELIS Sir, I have just read the letter from Deborah Richards of Crellow Preserves (‘Delis must help us to help them’, FFD, March 2010) about the lack of interest she has received from delis outside her immediate area.

From the other side, we are approached on average eight or nine times a week with yet more preserves, jams etc, but while there appear to be hundreds of producers like Crellow with excellent products, there are only so many of these types of products that a single store can stock before the offer gets confused for the customer.

We pride ourselves on our local produce and make a point to include our own products first, everything local, then the best of the rest in the UK, finally rounding off our offer with imports to complete the convenience factor of our particular store.

So don't be too harsh on us. Time is precious and unsolicited calls and visits become nightmarish if not managed by appointments, etc.

We have actually sold more preserves since we rationalised the category.

Yes, it is a concern when supermarkets also stock your products – our local Co-operative now has a shelf with items from several of our ‘local’ ranges – but they cannot compete with our ‘local’ knowledge.

Alison Baird.

Bairds Farm Shop, West Sussex w www.bairdsfarmshop.co.uk

WHO IS SELLING TO WHO HERE? Sir, I thought a word of advice for producers from the perspective of small delis was in order after reading the letter from David Elsworth (‘Buyers must be more approachable’, FFD Jan-Feb, p4) and the subsequent supporting letter from Deborah Richards.

There are many fantastic foods on the market, and my mouth waters as I read FFD, wishing I could stock every one, but it just isn’t possible.

I love to speak to new producers, and I’m especially happy to receive samples, but suppliers need to be more flexible with their minimum order expectations to get smaller shops to try them and hopefully become regular customers.

It seems we delis are expected to take all the risk, with new suppliers often blindly 6

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

asking us to outlay a minimum of £150, upfront, for stock that may or may not fly off the shelves. Who is selling to who here?

I was really refreshed when I spoke to one supplier recently. They told me their standard terms but then said the first five orders would be carriage-paid with no minimum. I’ve placed a small order with them today to try them out; I could end up as a regular customer because of their forward thinking.

On the flip side I can think of another supplier who keeps calling but has not once offered to reduce the minimum or waive the carriage. So guess what: while I still want to take on their products, 12 months later I still haven’t taken the plunge.

I think the term is ‘loss leader’! I regularly hand a new customer a free loaf of bread or ask them to try out a new jar of jam. Producers need to think along the same lines, rather than thinking that the first couple of shipments just wouldn’t be worth it, because they just could be.

Matthew Coxon Coxon’s Kitchen w www.coxonskitchen.co.uk

A QUESTION OF ‘BUSINESS MANNERS’ Sir, I have today spoken with Deborah Richards at Crellow Preserves, having read her letter to you in FFD. It was a delight to hear such honesty about a particularly thorny issue of business manners – for that is what it is.

I have been meaning to make contact with Crellow for some months, but just didn’t get around to it. Anyway, as a direct consequence of this letter, we spoke, Deborah will send samples, I and my customers can look forward to sampling them, and we may be doing business together – hurray!

I frequently get unsolicited emails, phone calls and letters offering new products, and my answer is always the same: “What does it taste like? I can’t eat an email!”

Sometimes I get no response, on other times I have to chase to get a sample and occasionally they arrive without any information or even prices.

It was a pleasure to read Deborah's comments. I only wish more suppliers had the same commonsense approach to doing business and forging relationships with independent retailers.

Bob Holman The Food Gallery, Wilts w www.thefoodgallery.co.uk

farm shops

Westmorland plans motorway farm shop in Gloucestershire Award-winning motorway service station Tebay Services in Cumbria, which champions locally sourced food and is home to two farm shops, hopes to replicate its success at a new £35m outlet on the M5 in Gloucestershire.

The Gloucestershire Gateway project is a collaboration between Westmorland, the company that operates Tebay Services on the M6, and the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust.

The consortium is seeking planning permission to build a new eco-friendly service station on the north and southbound carriages of the motorway between junctions 11a and 12, near Gloucester.

The services will house retail space and cafés showcasing locally sourced and homemade food and drink.

In the cafés, at least 50% of the meat, dairy, eggs and bakery products would be sourced locally, with 20% more coming from the wider region.

In the shops, products would be purchased from at least 40 local and 20 regional suppliers.

The retail space could well follow the model of Tebay, where farm shops were opened on the northbound and southbound carriageways in 2003.

These were refurbished and extended earlier this year with new butchery counters selling meat from Westmorland’s farm and newly built cutting room.

Sarah Dunning, chief executive of Westmorland, told FFD. “The Gloucestershire Gateway project would build on what we do at Tebay Services with a strong focus on homemade food, local produce and small artisan producers.”

The proposed building has been designed to blend into the landscape so that it cannot be seen from the road.

It will also emit 20% of the carbon dioxide produced by conventional motorway services, with a kitchen garden, wildlife habitats and locally sourced Douglas fir a key building material.

If planning permission is granted, construction work is expected to start next year.

Building could start next year on the new project (above) where the food offer would echo the farm shops at Cumbria’s Tebay Services (left)

Cracking crackers...

Spoil your customers with these handmade crackers · · · ·

A range of savoury crackers with unique flavours Outstanding shelf presence Baked with British flour Handmade in the UK

To place an order or for more information please call:

01858 438 000

Fosters Traditional Foods Limited, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7DE

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

7

cyanmagentagiallonero

8

April 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 3

news delicatessens

Lewis & Cooper lunches with the literati Yorkshire deli Lewis & Cooper hopes to tap into the growing popularity of book groups with a series of literary lunches attended by well-known authors.

Last month saw Irish author Erin Kaye kick off the Literary Lunch Club at the deli’s tearoom in Northallerton with a talk about her life and work, including latest best-seller The Art of Friendship.

Tea room manager Samantha Booth said the new venture built on the shop’s regular Lunch Club events, which combined interesting guest speakers with a meal.

“A good book goes perfectly with a nice glass of wine or cup of coffee, so it was a logical step for us to expand our Lunch Club offering to include a literary theme,” she said.

“We hope to attract a broad spectrum of readers, featuring books and authors from high-brow to the more popular end of the market. The lunches are also a great way to show off our tearooms, which provide a nice place for a quiet read, and are also available for hire.”

Lewis & Cooper has also teamed up with local bookshops, reading groups and librarians to help promote reading in the local area.

Future lunch club dates include a Shakespeare-themed event on April 22 to help celebrate the playwright’s birthday, a talk by local homeopath Aileen Smith in May and a visit by record-breaking mountain climber Alan Best-selling Irish author Erin Kaye Hinkes in June. kicked off the literary lunch series

deli training

Delicious editor gets Retail Ready The editor of food magazine Delicious joined the Guild of Fine Food’s Retail Ready course for would-be deli-owners last month in preparation for opening his own shop in Brighton.

Matthew Drennan, who steps down as editor this month, plans to open a deli and café in Brighton next year, which will draw inspiration from the relaxed eateries of Sydney.

“Fine dining is well covered in the UK, but I think there’s room for the kind of laid-back places you find in Australia that are big on brunch, lunch and light café dining,” he said.

As part of his preparation, Drennan attended the two-day Retail Ready course, which is designed to equip new or developing fine food retailers with essential business skills.

Sponsored by Land Securities, Bizerba, LCCS and JLT Business Insurers, the programme included presentations from established retailers Georgina Mason – whose Gonalston Farm Shop was voted one of Britain’s top retailers in an FFD poll in December – and Charlie Turnbull of Turnbull’s in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It also covered key topics such as finding the right premises, financial planning, merchandising, staff and regulatory issues.

“The course really helped me cement my thinking about the business and was particularly useful in terms of understanding legal issues and how to find a property,” said Drennan.

Clive Ashcroft, head of legal services at sponsor Land Securities, gave a presentation on lease negotiations. “It’s important for startup delis to be aware of the possible pitfalls of retail leases in areas such as repair and service charges, being able to dispose of a lease and negotiating break clauses,” he said.

The next Retail Ready course is due to take place in the autumn. www.finefoodworld.co.uk/retailready

If I’d known then what I know now…

Richard Palmer, Number One Delicatessen & Café, Clare, Suffolk Before we opened two and half years ago I had run a restaurant in London and a sandwich shop in Cambridge, so we weren’t new to catering or running a small business. But I’d never had any retail experience and that side of the business has been a real learning curve. We’re still finding our way today.

We had a better Christmas this year because we learned from the year before. I make notes in the diary when I have ideas or people want particular products, which helps me improve the retail side.

This year, for example, we upped the number of product lines and did lots of different hampers, which we advertised properly. We also held more tastings.

Locally sourced products are particularly popular.

It’s an area we’ve definitely developed. In the beginning we spent a lot on buying and refurbishing the shop but I wish I’d had a bit extra in the bank to

“I wasted a lot of time going round farmers’ markets – most companies weren’t big enough to reliably meet orders” fill the shelves with more local lines. The feedback we were getting was that people wanted a greater range of products. We started off with 30-40 lines and now stock over 100.

Finding local suppliers was a lot more difficult than I expected. I wasted a lot of time going round farmers’ markets – there were lots of interesting products, but most of the companies weren’t big enough to reliably meet orders. We need suppliers who are small enough to be different from what you see in other shops but big enough to supply regularly. It’s a fine line. We have a lady who supplies fantastic cupcakes but we had to try three or four other suppliers before we got to her. Now we’re established, we’re getting producers approaching us and we’ve got to hear about interesting companies through word of mouth.

It takes time to build these links and work out what customers actually want.

We’ve found that finding staff in a town like Clare is very different from when we lived in London. Here I have two choices – youngish mums, who are great but can only do certain hours and don’t want to work weekends, or very young people aged 16-17. In London all my staff were aged between 20-26. At that age they can work as many hours as they can stand up and are quite confident with customers. The young people we have working here are really good, but they need a bit more support and I need to be on hand to keep an eye on them.

Retail Ready: essential business skills Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN Vol.11 Issue 1 · January-February 2010

9

news Letter from Morzine

franchises

Weak property market speeds expansion by Olio & Farina

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

JOHN KANE says weather forecasts are now essential reading at his Berits & Brown franchise in the French Alps The official winter season in Morzine started on December 15 and runs to the end of April. It’s been slightly quieter than we thought it would be, but good enough that we’re happy.

We didn’t realise beforehand that the season itself has peaks and troughs. Christmas and New Year were pandemonium, January was quiet, but then February was really good because of the school holidays.

We’ve become overnight experts in the holiday dates of most of Europe. France spreads its February school holidays over three weeks depending on the region, then there is the British half term and we

“Within a day of the Dutch holidays starting, the valley was full of Dutch number plates. It makes a big difference to business’’ seemed to get a lot of Dutch and Belgian visitors.

Within a day of the Dutch holidays starting the valley was full of Dutch number plates. It makes a big difference to business.

The weather is also a huge factor in our daily sales. Today is a brilliant ski day – crystal clear blue skies and no wind, so we are quite quiet. Last week it rained and we were jam-packed. We have started to plan the rota using a nine-day weather forecast.

The peaks and troughs mean we have also adapted the way we order stock. We previously placed large orders, spending say €5,000 on a pallet of stock, but then we ended up with wastage of fresh products like cheese, antipasti and cakes when we were quiet.

So we’ve started ordering smaller chunks of stock more often. We end up paying more on transport, but we think it works out better. Our suppliers are based in the UK and, depending on what we’ve ordered, delivery costs are about 10-15%. It costs around €200-€250 to have a €2,000 pallet of stock delivered, which we can live with.

We even had an emergency delivery of British bacon air-freighted to us in dry ice earlier in the season because we had completely run out. Joanne had to drive up to Geneva airport to pick it up.

The moment she got back to the shop a customer ordered a bacon sandwich – talk about ‘just in time’ delivery!

Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

10

March 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 2

Favourable conditions in the retail property market are helping Italian deli and café chain Olio & Farina grow its franchise business in the UK, with four new outlets to open this year.

The Genoa-based company, which currently has four stores in the UK, expects to double its retail estate by the end of the year with stores in Wales, Somerset, Bournemouth and Guildford.

David Liveing, who owns the UK master franchise, said expansion has been aided by an ‘easing’ in the property market, with landlords more willing to negotiate following the recession.

“Landlords are willing to give greater support to potential tenants, such as offering rent-free periods and providing contributions to the lease up front, which helps franchisees with fit-out costs,” he said.

“It’s not a bad time to be looking for retail space and investing in a business, especially compared to last year. Landlords seem to like the Olio & Farina brand. It offers something a little bit different to the rest of the high street.”

Set up in the UK in 2005, Olio & Farina stores stock around 350 own-brand food products, including organic wines, olive oil, cheese and charcuterie, sourced from the company’s own

commercial kitchen and farm in Tuscany, as well as small artisan producers.

The company also runs franchise shops in Italy, Ireland and France. Franchisees require an investment of around £100,000 for a five-year agreement, which covers refurbishment costs and stock for a 1,200 sq ft outlet as well as training.

Olio & Farina stores carry around 350 own-brand Italian lines

farm shops

Washingpool looks for ‘new blood’ by staging supplier showcase food producers to bring some fresh ideas to the shop,” said co-owner Simon Holland.

“Many of the producers we stocked in the early days have grown over the past 10 years to become quite large companies who are now also supplying the supermarkets. We are looking for new blood with innovative products that are unique to independent retailers.”

In an effort to attract new producers, Washingpool has contacted various farmers’ markets, sent press releases to the local media and asked current suppliers to recommend new producers.

“There are lots of jam and chutney companies out there, but truly innovative products are few and far between,” said Holland. “We’re particularly interested in products for specific types of consumers, such as children or people with dietary requirements.”

Washingpool is seeking a new generation of producers

After 10 years of trading, Washingpool Farm Shop in Dorset hopes to reinvigorate its product range this month with a Spring Fair devoted to start-up food producers and newly launched products.

The retailer will open its doors to up to 20 new suppliers at the fair, with each given a table to showcase their products to customers. Products that prove popular are likely to be listed by the farm shop in the long-term.

“We’re keen to attract a new generation of

Vol.11 Issue 3 路 April 2010

11

better retailing GORDON LEATHERDALE If you haven’t already done so, including a ‘local’ foodservice component in your business can add huge value to your bottom line. With GPs of 65% and an insatiably increasing demand for local foods, independents are really well placed to satisfy this emerging need.

Whether your premises are large or small, keep it simple and easy to execute. Look at an operator like Nando’s, effectively an indoor barbeque, which uses little tricks to provide a great product at minimal cost. It employs cooks rather than chefs and customers fetch their own condiments and drinks.

This keeps the costs down and is a highly replicable model. So think about the ways of providing a relatively simple offer which can be easily and scalably built and replicated.

People love simple food cooked well. This has two advantages. Firstly, traditional British food is very simple to prepare – there is nothing haute cuisine about a full English. Second, the margins are very high. Sausage & mash, for instance, gave me a GP of around 90%. It was also one of the best sellers.

People adore local food, so sell it. One of the best exponents of this, The Hive Beach Cafe near

“You may even be able to negotiate better sourcing deals if you promote a supplier’s name on your menu’ Bridport, Dorset, gets as close to promoting the local ‘field-to-plate’ link as possible.

To do this it uses fantastic product displays – you walk in and immediately see rows and rows of local and other artisan wines, beers and soft drinks in the huge upright chiller. POS labelling makes a real feature of the provenance on all foods, so you know, whether it’s fish, fizz or falafel, localness is its central theme.

Consistency is vital. Make sure your cooks are well trained. Recipe cards with clear, simple instructions and photographs of the dishes are important as they benchmark the quality of the dishes going out.

Bring meal choices to life by mentioning the source of the main ingredient. Greggs, Pret, and all the large chains don’t, so this is something you really can beat them on. You may even be able to negotiate better sourcing deals if you promote a supplier’s name on your menu, or have them contribute to your costs. Recently, we did just that and all menu printing costs for the year were paid for by the producer: about £500.

Foodservice should net you over 17%. The buzz is for local ingredients, so get cooking and see your profits increase. gordon@stcatherinesltd.co.uk

12

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

food halls

Cookery school gives Fennel an extra string to its bow Wetherby deli Fennel plans to offer courses in bread-making, hosting the perfect dinner party and cookery for students at its new food school after consulting customers about what classes they would like to attend.

The deli, which was opened in November by restaurant owner Lionel Strub and business partner Sarah Britton, launched the first-floor cookery school this month with several innovative classes. “We have

Fennel: food clubs, team-building events and stag parties could all be on the menu

been talking to customers for several months about the type of courses they would like and this has helped us devise options such as ‘the perfect paella’, how to make really good desserts and classes where parents and children can cook together,” said Britton.

“We are also planning courses for students who are about to go to university, which teach them basic cookery skills and recipes.”

Fennel, which also has a restaurant of the same name in the town, has gained a good reputation for its cakes and bread, which are made by experienced baker Geoff Cowlwell, father of deli manager Alison Strodder, in a bakery in the deli’s basement.

He is expected to run several bakery courses, while French chef Lionel Strub will also host cookery classes. Bespoke events for hen and stag parties, company team-building events and food clubs are also planned, with a second floor conference room available for corporate meetings and tastings.

“In the current economic climate you need different strings to your bow,” said Britton.

suppliers

Bay Tree plans £500k investment to create single-site operation

By MICK WHITWORTH

Two years after opening a distribution depot on the A37 at Pylle in Somerset, The Bay Tree Food Co is set to extend the building and move all production to the site. The producer and distributor will close its current HQ at Lower Westcombe Farm, near Evercreech, where it makes sauces, pickles and preserves for The Bay Tree brand and private-label clients. It will share the cost of the Pylle extension, estimated at £500,000, with its farmer-landlord, who hopes to attract grant aid under the Rural Development Programme for England.

Emma Macdonald, who founded The Bay Tree with Lucie Lewis in 1994, said its existing farm-based factory, deep in the Somerset countryside, had become increasingly impractical. “It’s the old story – as you grow you keep adding bits to the building, but eventually you have to make the big splurge because it becomes less and less efficient.”

The work at Pylle will see the building almost

double in size to 25,000 sq ft to accommodate factory and office functions and improve product flows, but Macdonald stressed the existing small-batch cooking methods would not change. “This is about automating packaging, not automating manufacturing. If we can pack more efficiently it will enable us to produce a lot more small batches – we could probably double or even treble what we’re doing now.”

The move follows a £50,000 investment last year in new-look packaging by Irving & Co, the designer behind The Fine Cheese Co crackers and Waitrose’s Delicatezze sub-brand.

The Bay Tree makes many of its own products but also aims to expand its distribution of third-party products. Its current catalogue includes Artisan biscuits, Clearspring snacks and Gustosecco dry risotto and pudding mixes.

• Food & drink from the South West – page 27.

awards

Pick of the crop from the Garden of England Macknade Fine Foods, Moor Organic Juice and Biddenden Vineyards were among the winners in the Taste of Kent awards organised by Produced in Kent, the county’s food marketing group.

Ashmore cheese, an unpasteurised cheddar-style cheese from The Cheesemakers of Canterbury, was named Kent Food Product of the Year after picking up medals at the British Cheese Awards and World

Cheese Awards in 2009. Moor Organic Juice of Teynham took the title Kent Juice Producer of the Year, while Biddenden scored a double, winning Best Kentish Wine with its Biddenden Ortega 2008 and Best Kentish Perry or Cider with its strong cider.

Faversham-based Macknade Fine Foods was named Kent Local Food Retailer of the Year. www.producedinkent.co.uk

Solaris 4 Day Detox

4-Day Organic Detox Variety Box “Winner of the Best Irish On-Trend Product in the category Health & Wellbeing” 16 biodegradable Silken Tea bags with Whole Leaf Tea (95% more antioxidants than ordinary tea bags) Pack contains

King of Pu-Erh (aged for 6 years)

Green Tea Chai (1st flush)

Lemon Detox

(herbs traditionally used to stimulate the organs of elimination)

Solaris Botanicals, Ireland www.solaristea.com +353 (0)91750020

Advert.indd 1

08/03/2010 12:35

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

13

deli of the month

Elveden revisited After falling back on gift sales in its early days, Elveden food shop is going back to basics with a revived butcher’s counter and a growing range of home-produced specialities

I

t’s a couple of years since I last visited the food shop at Elveden, Lord Iveagh’s vast estate near Thetford on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, and one thing’s immediately apparent: there’s a lot more stuff on the shelves.

The store opened early in 2007, part of a development of ‘lifestyle shops’ designed to connect the estate and its 10,000 acre farm with the locals and tourists who pass it every day on the busy A11, including those heading for the nearby Center Parcs.

But to my mind the food shop suffered the curse of many grand estate operations: it was pretty, but a bit pointless. With many visitors just wandering through on their way to Elveden’s 80-cover caférestaurant, the offer had drifted from farm-shopstyle fresh foods to long shelflife gifts. You’d have struggled to find the ingredients for a square meal.

According to shop manager Richard Howard, who joined a year ago, that’s the opposite of what Michael Douglas, managing director of the estate’s operating company, Elveden Farms, wanted to see.

“The guvnor has never been a fan of this becoming a foodie gift shop,” Howard tells me. “We don’t want people to come to Elveden just when they’re bored on a Sunday morning. What we’re trying to encourage is the habitual shopper.”

Hence, in part, Howard’s appointment. He’s a butcher by trade, and invigorating the fresh meat offer was one of his priorities, to make this a destination for everyday main meal ingredients, create a bit of theatre and, as he puts it, “authenticate” the food offer.

When the shop first opened it included a butchery counter, selling game and poultry from the estate alongside other local meats, and a serveover cheese counter. In less than a year, both serveovers had gone, to be replaced largely by pre-packs. Cheese is today sold from a smart, three-tiered chiller in the centre of the food store, mostly in portion packs from Rowcliffe’s, although a few whole cheeses, like brie de meaux and the local Suffolk Gold, are cut on request.

Cheese is likely to stay this way, according to Michael Douglas, who says that while meat sales fell when the shop moved to pre-packs, cheese sales actually rose. But since Richard Howard reintroduced a small butchery serveover counter at weekends, meat sales have doubled. He now is awaiting a bigger, smarter counter that should be in operation all week in the summer.

Douglas told me: “When we launched we didn’t have a manager with a meat background, so we relied on a part-time butcher and interested staff, which was perhaps too ambitious. We needed someone like Richard driving it forward.”

Howard previously worked for Harpers Foods, a Bedfordshire farm shop and ready-meals business that also had a retail butcher’s, Barwells, in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk. Here, the challenge was to

14

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

ELVEDEN MUST-STOCKS ●S uffolk

Maid Norfolk & Suffolk pickles (Butterworth & Son) ●S uffolk Maid Suffolk Blend tea ●T eoni’s cookies ●G arlic-infused and chilli-infused oils (Deli-cious/Rowcliffe) ●F ig vinegar (Deli-cious/Rowcliffe) ●F rozen pastries (Deli-cious Pastry Traders) ● ‘ Home’-branded frozen shepherds pie and steak & ale pie (Harpers Food) ●A spall cyders ● Applewood cheese ●B rie de Meaux ●S uffolk Gold cheese ●C offee & walnut cake (The Wheaten Mill, Ipswich) ●H ouse of Sarunds loose Continental chocolates) ●E lveden estate wild rabbit ●E lveden Pickle ●E lvedenilli (piccalilli)

tempt shoppers to a town centre largely denuded of traditional traders by edge-of-town supermarkets.

“You could buy what we were selling anywhere,” he says, “but people came to us for the experience, and to be treated a bit special. It was about empathy, about relationship-building.”

Elveden was different. Most visitors viewed the whole retail complex, with its bookshop, plant sales, cookshop and bath & body store, as a “destination”.

They would happily spend a full morning or afternoon there, yet few would turn up to do their everyday food shopping. “Sometimes a place like this can be quite cold, because you don’t get to know your customers as well as you do in the high street,” Howard says. “That’s something you have to grow.”

Is that why he was brought in? “I think they felt there was something missing: a human element, a service element – a bit of salesmanship, almost.” That’s confirmed by Michael Douglas. “Richard’s a great people person,” he says. “I was one of his customers at Barwell’s, and he was just the same there.”

As well as schmoozing customers, Howard is employing every trick in the retailer’s manual to gradually change the atmosphere of the Elveden store. “We’ve been looking at the flow of the shop, maximising shelf space, doing more to highlight the cold areas and creating new hot spots,” he tells me.

“Dead space” against side walls has been fitted

Interview by MICK WHITWORTH with high retail shelving to create a feeling of plenty.

Since visitors have to walk through the shop to reach the adjoining café-restaurant – the “main driver” of Elveden’s food business – he has installed tall island units through the centre of the shop to grab their attention. “This had become an extended corridor,” he says. “You’ve got to try to trip people up as they go through.”

Other moves are more radical. In a bid to shake off that gifty image, all the confectionery currently scattered around the shop – including a serveover cabinet of loose chocolates from House of Sarunds – is to be relocated into a standalone ‘sweet shop’ in a side room currently operated as a wine shop by Thos. Peatling of Bury St Edmonds.

Wines will move into the main shop, where Howard says the offer will not be reduced, just compressed. “The wine shop occupies a lot of space, and while it’s good turnover we think we could extract more sales from the same area.”

He admits to being “slightly nervous” about separating off confectionery when it has been so central up to now – especially the loose chocolates.

However, creating the new sweet shop will enable him to add more old-fashioned sweets and give the confectionery offer more impact. He adds: “It will create more space in the rest of the shop – and we do need to be smarter with our square footage.”

Some of that extra space will go on cooks’ ingredients – herbs, spice, dried porcini mushrooms. “We might sub-brand it as something like ‘Kitchen at Elveden’, but I’m struggling to know where to go with that at the moment.”

What’s not in doubt is that more room will be given to Elveden’s home-produced range, developed by former Claridges head chef Peter McBurnie, who joined last year as innovations and development chef. McBurnie started, inevitably, by creating a range of Elveden-branded pickles, chutneys and preserves, including a raspberry jam with single malt whisky that collected a Great Taste Awards gold star in 2009.

He is going on to look at sauces, marinades, gravies and soups, and while Howard says it’s important not to end up with wall-to-wall own-brand products, these will have the single biggest impact on the food shop range.

Priced competitively against existing brands, they will inevitably elbow some of these competitors off Elveden’s shelves as well as giving the shop a clearer point of difference.

And when I speak to Michael Douglas a few days after my visit, he says the estate-produced range could and should go further. For several years Elveden Farms has operated a regional food hub for Asda in East Anglia and nine months ago it became the first Waitrose regional food hub too. Douglas seems the wholesale contract with Waitrose as an opportunity to push the home-produced range to a wider audience. “It’s not just about the shop, it’s about establishing Elveden as a brand.”

Elveden’s ultimate “guvnor”, Edward Iveagh, is a member of the Guinness family and ranked 52nd in the Sunday Times Rich List last year. He may or may not care that, according to Howard, his food shop is hitting its 35% gross margin aspirations almost on the button at the moment, but the business is clearly expected to pay its way, which is probably it’s saving grace. After a few years finding its feet, it’s looking more like a serious store. www.elveden.com

Shop manager Richard Howard (pictured) has brought a touch of salesmanship to the operation. ‘He’s a people person,’ says Elveden Farms boss Michael Douglas.

“We don’t just want people to come here when they’re bored on a Sunday. We’re trying to encourage the habitual shopper” Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

15

FOR SALE;Refrigerated transport business, established 16 years with many long term customers. A small but profitable family run business, currently operating from home.

This is an attractive stand alone prospect with considerable scope for further growth, or ideal expansion opportunity.

For Further details contact 01829 751675.

A.W.Smith & Sons (Sundries) Ltd ife, g Kn licin S e e Fr ith A le w line. b a l i n Ava tion o Now ec and e gifts s t S Ham k out th c Che

New Catalogue Available Now!

Hundreds of packaging and display items to suit any requirements.

Please call us or visit our website for more information.

Sundries, Packaging, Equipment and More.

Tel: 0844 880 6910 www.awsmith.co.uk

Online orders taken 24hrs a day 7 days a week

SHOUTING about creating Great

and

British

fine foods...

...is all very well but it’s such an un-English thing to do. Really rather vulgar and simply infra dig don’t you think?

That’s why we don’t engage in such things. Olives Et Al - as

British as tea, as English as

marmalade and an awful lot less American than Cadbury’s. How crafty of us.

Olives Et Al - ask for us by name and enjoy fine foods Made Great in Britain.

www.olivesetal.co.uk

01258 474300

Now: We’re fairly certain that a few folk may take issue with us being British so here’s the science bit: The Romans introduced the humble olive to these shores around 2000 years ago whilst the dear old potato only arrived in 1597 and tea followed in 1662 so, in all honesty, eating a nice bowl of olives with a jolly good glass of wine is a much more British thing to do than sipping an earl grey munching on a packet of cheese and onion... Olives Et Al - the only foreign thing about us is our name (and that’s Latin which is what the Romans spoke in the first place).

16

April 2010 · Vol.11 finefoodmarch2010.indd 1

Issue 3

Olives Et Al eat more and live very happily

04/03/2010 15:30:21

delichef

putting deli ingredients to work

British asparagus: cream of the crop?

For a couple of months starting in May, you can offer your customers a real British delicacy His view was also In March, two months backed up by David before the start of the Antune, who chefs at British asparagus season, The Food Company in a press release landed Marks Tey, Essex, and on my desk, headed gave us his recipe for ‘Yorkshire asparagus tastes gratinated asparagus better than imported with four cheeses. “We varieties.’ It gave the results buy our asparagus from of a study showing that Fiveways farms in Stanway, Check out www.britishasparagus grown in the Colchester – literally down asparagus.co.uk for region is sweeter, thanks to the road. There is no recipe ideas like griddled higher levels of sugar and comparison between this asparagus, crab & antioxidants due to greater English asparagus and its watercress sandwiches chlorophyll and anthocyanin imported equivalent.” levels.

Andy Allen did, however, I have to admit I was sceptical, but Andy say it was highly unlikely that Yorkshire Allen, chairman of the British Asparagus asparagus was any better than asparagus Growers’ Association, convinced me this from any other region in the UK. wasn’t all spin.

“I wouldn’t say Yorkshire asparagus “British asparagus does taste better than is any different in flavour to the rest of imported,” he said. “It grows quite slowly England. There are no discernable regional because of our cool climate and therefore differences.” has a much more intense flavour than the British asparagus is best bought locally imported stuff. That’s generally grown in during May and June, and there are stacks of very hot climates where it grows much great recipe ideas on the industry’s website. faster and therefore has less flavour.” www.british-asparagus.co.uk

By LYNDA SEARBY

Gratinated asparagus Serves 4-6 Here’s a recipe from David Antune, chef at The Food Company, the premium food hall and restaurant in Marks Tey, Essex Ingredients 200g Gorgonzola 200g Fontina 200g Stilton 200ml double cream Method Preheat the oven to 200°C. Melt the Gorgonzola, Fontina and Stilton over a low heat with the double cream and finely chopped herbs. Simmer gently to thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat and chill for 1 hour.

Break off the ends of the asparagus and boil with the tips out of the water for 5 minutes.

Remove the asparagus from the heat and put into icy cold water for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and wrap in a tea towel.

Line up the slices of Jarlsberg and put one spoonful of the cheese sauce onto each slice. Add 2 asparagus spears to each slice and roll up in the cheese, 4 spears per portion.

Place either in individual serving dishes or in one large baking dish. Place in the preheated oven until the cheese is golden (approx. 10-15 minutes).

Serve with toasted ciabatta and salad.

SHORT ORDERS

How to buy asparagus Andy Allen of the British Asparagus Growers’ Association answers questions on sourcing the best spears.

opportunity to buy Class Two – on the farm you can buy bent and twisted pieces which are perfect for cooking.

What should I look for in quality asparagus?

An all green spear, as opposed to one with white on it, and quite a tight head closure if buying Class One. Class Two, which is a slightly more mature or open headed spear, is considerably cheaper but perfectly adequate for soups etc.

When are prices at their lowest?

The season starts on May 1 and lasts through June, so prices will be steady from then on. You can buy British asparagus from the beginning of April, but you will pay more because it will be from a polythene protected crop.

Where will I get the best spears?

Go straight to the farm so you know you’re getting it fresh. You can search for your nearest grower on www.british-asparagus.co.uk.

The next best thing is to buy from a wholesaler. If you buy from a supermarket you don’t have the

I’d like to try cooking with white or purple asparagus – where can I get hold of some?

White asparagus isn’t grown in this country because the British palate doesn’t seem to demand it.

Taste-wise it’s almost a completely different vegetable and has a more subtle flavour than the full-bodied

8 slices of Jarlsberg 16 asparagus spears Basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley and coriander Salt and black pepper

green variety. The purple variety doesn’t suit the UK climate; it’s got a much sweeter flavour but it turns green when you boil it. It’s also more expensive. There is only one grower in the UK – Cobrey Farms in Ross.

Truckle upgrades grated cheese Cambridge-based the Truckle Cheese Company has developed catering packs of pre-grated premium cheeses to help cafés in delis, farm shops and garden centres boost cross-selling opportunities.

The company, which supplies cheddar, Stilton and Blue Shropshire in up to 2kg truckles, is targeting foodservice with 1kg and 2kg packs of grated cheddar and Stilton crumb after seeing sales rise of its red onion marmalade in 3kg catering buckets. “Café owners increasingly want to highlight the provenance of ingredients on their menus,” said MD Richard Callum. “Rather than serving a bog standard cheese sandwich they can now easily offer a Truckle Cheese sandwich, which could also help boost retail sales of our products,” The Stilton crumb is made by Cropwell Bishop and the cheddar is sourced from West Country cheese-makers. www.trucklecheese.co.uk

Recognised as the cornerstone of European cuisine!

Deli chef is sponsored by Le Gruyère AOC

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

17

Miller Park, Station Road, Wigton, Cumbria CA7 9BA Tel/Fax: 016973 45974 Email: claire@claireshandmade.co.uk Web: www.claireshandmade.co.uk

Handmade sweet and savoury preserves and condiments Multi-award winning recipes made with all-natural ingredients A colourful array of products from traditional favourites to innovative specialities Powerful new branding and packaging with comprehensive retailer support Call Claire Kent for wholesale information…

A complete range of manual, semi-automatic & fully automatic slicers suitable for sausages, ham, bacon, smoked - roast - fresh & stuffed meats, parma - sarreno & other speciality hams and cheese

Bizerba Slicers offer greater yield, quicker clean down, better quality slices time after time and give a fantastic return on investment; compared to other models on the market, Bizerba Slicers can offer a payback as quickly as year one. Bizerba’s design & build quality ensures the machines last longer added to which they are safe to operate & sleek in design with less food traps, ensuring the Bizerba Slicer is the most hygenic in the market.

The Bizerba Food Processing range also includes High-Speed Automatic Slicing to 250 slices/min, with or without integrated checkweighing; Mincers, Tenderisers & Band Saws.

BIZERBA (UK) Limited, Unit 1 Eastman Centre, Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7DU Tel: 01442 240751 Fax: 01442 231328 Email: info@bizerba.co.uk Web: www.bizerba.co.uk 18

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

delichef

putting deli ingredients to work Nick King (left) and his team are handling up to 240 covers a day at weekends

interview

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

I

t’s an indication of just how popular Café Oswald’s has been since it opened in November that head chef Nick King sometimes struggles to keep to the original plan of baking cakes for Cranstons food hall downstairs.

“I really want to get the Oswald’s brand into the food hall with homemade scones, tray bakes and cakes, as well as maybe chutneys and preserves, but we’ve been so manic since we opened that we find it hard some days,” says King.

Oswald’s popularity is testament to the convictions of the company’s owners – brothers Philip and Roger Cranston – who decided to invest around £1m last year extending retail space at the flagship food hall near Penrith by around a third and opening the 86-seater first-floor café to showcase locally sourced food.

Speaking to FFD in March last year, MD Philip Cranston said it was important for food businesses to “hold their nerve” in the downturn and continue to provide “a distinctive, quality food experience”.

The stance certainly seems to be paying off, judging by King’s hectic working week. “We easily do a 100 covers most days, rising to 240 covers at the weekend,” says King, who previously worked at the nearby North Lakes Hotel restaurant.

“We do need to allocate more time and space for making retail products, but it’s hard to predict when we are

Cumbria Life

Nick King Café Oswald’s, Cranstons, Penrith

going to be busy. So far it seems to be pretty much all the time, but we’re learning from month to month and we’ll get the balance right soon.”

Café Oswald’s, named after the village of Kirkoswald where the first Cranstons store opened in 1914, is open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. King’s busy schedule also includes catering for monthly ‘foodie nights’ where Cumbrian ingredients and products are showcased in a themed menu.

February, for example, saw a celebration of Herdwick lamb including a butchery demonstration and talk from a spokesperson from the Herdwick Breeders Association, as well as a three-course meal.

“Later this month we’re planning a sausage and ale evening, which will be less formal and will hopefully appeal to our younger customers,” says King.

“We’re looking at serving three new types of sausage and getting people to vote on their favourite, which we will then sell down in the food hall.

There will be live music and a good atmosphere.”

Local ales on the Oswald’s menu

Nick’s Pork, Apple & Black Pudding Hotpot Serves 4 Ingredients 8 oz (225g) pork steak 4 slices black pudding (into quarters) 1 lb (450g) potatoes 1 onion 1 small carrot 1 turnip Fresh sage 1 onion 1 cooking apple 1 tablespoon flour Salt and pepper Vegetable or chicken stock Method Wash, peel and slice the vegetables. Peel and dice the apple. Mix a good seasoning of salt and pepper with the flour. Chop the black pudding, cut the meat into small pieces, and dip each into the seasoned flour. Line a casserole with the vegetables, then add a few pieces of meat and black pudding, some cooking apple, and some sage, then more vegetables, meat, apple and sage. The top layer should be the potatoes peeled and sliced.

Cover with stock, and bake in the oven (190C/375F, Gas Mark 4) until the vegetables are done.

include Loweswater Gold, Mitchell Krause Pale Ale and Geltsdale Brampton Bitter, while sausages are made at Cranstons’ meat production unit next to the food hall. This supplies the food hall, Cranstons’ four other butchers shops and a thriving mail order business with meat from around two dozen local farms, including beef from local farmer David Dickinson, lamb from Penrith Mart, and Pork from Hunters of Newbiggin. The unit also produces a range of award-winning sausages, dry cured bacon, black pudding, ham and pies.

With such a resource on the doorstep, it’s not surprising King makes the most of Cranstons’ meat in his kitchen. The grill section of the menu offers a full English breakfast, Cranstons’ sausages with mash and an 8oz Oswald’s steak burger with streaky bacon, while sandwiches include dry-cured bacon and brie, char-grilled minute steak and home-cured ham with tomato chutney.

Small producers who supply the food hall are also an integral part of the menu with Mary’s Westmorland Chutneys and Appleby Creamery cheeses, such as Eden Chieftain and Black Dub Blue, making regular appearances.

The food hall’s range of teas and bespoke coffee blend, made by Farrers of Kendal from South American and African Arabica beans, are served in the café, while customers can pick any wine from the food hall to have with their meal for a £6 corkage fee.

King highlights more unusual and seasonal ingredients on the weekly specials menu. A good example are Carlin peas – small black peas traditionally eaten on the Sunday before Palm Sunday – which Cranstons sold in the food hall throughout March and featured in a ham & pea broth in Café Oswald’s.

“When products are on offer downstairs we always try to use them in the café,” says King. “I love working with products and ingredients that are on promotion in the food hall to give people ideas on what they can do at home.”

This link between the food hall and café is exactly what Philip Cranston meant when he talked about a “distinctive, quality food experience”. It just shows what comes of holding your nerve.

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

19

the finest organic apple & pear juices

conventional, but not ordinary

exceptional juice from traditional varieties Nichol Farm, Deerton Street, Teynham, Kent ME9 9LJ

Tel: 01795 521341

www.moororganicjuice.co.uk

THAI NEW YEAR

Thai New Year Promo Buy 5 lines or more and get 30% off your Thai Taste order Offer valid until 30th April on Thai Taste products only

Happy Thai New Year! 13th – 15th April Celebrate ‘Songkran’ with a delicious, easy to prepare meal made with Thai Taste, the all-natural, authentic range of pastes and ingredients from Thailand. www.thaitaste.co.uk Contact our sales team for more details on our full product range – Bespoke Foods Ltd, Tel 020 7819 4300, Fax 020 7819 4400, sales@bespoke-foods.co.uk

20

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

cheese wire Could regular gift parcels give you a new sales angle?

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Forget toasters and wine glasses; the latest must-have wedding present is a gift-box of good cheese delivered to the happy couple each month.

Stilton producer Cropwell Bishop was recently asked to send a delivery of its Blue Stilton every month for a year to a newly married couple.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened,” said sales manager John Duesbury. “People often ask us for wedding cakes made of cheese, but this is something new.

“We think the trend will continue as more people get married for the second time or later in life and already have everything they need for the home.

“Delis and farm shops should definitely consider offering a similar service. Independents have to look for different angles and this is something that supermarkets don’t do.”

Cheltenham-based cheesemonger Cheeseworks has also seen increased sales of its ‘monthly cheese selection’ delivery option, which provides a selection of cheeses to customers every month for three, six or 12 months for £105, £200 and £390, respectively.

Co-owner Paul Selby said: “Regular cheese deliveries are a really nice gift because the enjoyment is spread out over a period of time.

Our selection always includes a blue, soft, hard and maybe a goat’s cheese, and we make sure the customers get a different range each month.

“We deliver on a Thursday so people can enjoy them at the weekend and provide tasting notes for each cheese. It’s good business for us – we’re paid up front and it’s relatively easy to put the orders together.”

Cropwell Bishop: unusual wedding gift

Bristol’s Bordeaux Quay hosts first Cheese School course Jess Trethowan of Caerphilly producer and cheesemonger Trethowans Dairy has teamed up with food writer Fiona Beckett to launch Cheese School, offering the public one-day courses on all things cheese.

The first takes place this month at Bordeaux Quay, the Bristol restaurant, deli and food cookery school, with a second lined up for June. Course-goers will get to meet Jess’s husband Todd Trethowan, who makes Gorwydd Caerphilly, and Sam and Rachel Holden, who make Hafod Cheddar.

The producers will talk about their farms and how they make their cheeses, while Fiona Beckett, who writes The Cheeselover blog, will give tips on using cheese in cooking and what makes

the ultimate macaroni cheese. Ben Ticehurst, cheesemonger at Trethowans’ Bristol market shop, will also give a talk on how to buy, store and cut different cheeses, followed by a session on pairing cheese with food and drink.

“We’ve been running small evening events in restaurants around Bristol for a while now, but wanted to extend them and cover more topics,” said Jess Trethowan. “In the future we’ll be looking to team up with cheesemakers in different regions, so we might organise courses in London and Norfolk.”

The one-day event, which includes lunch, course notes and a goody bag of cheese, costs £120 per person with a maximum of 12 participants.

Courses will showcase Trethowan’s own Gorwydd Caerphilly and other regional cheeses

le grand fromage BOB FARRAND Contrary to any rumours you may have heard, this year’s World Cheese Awards will not be travelling to Vancouver, home to Cendrillon, last year’s World Champion cheese.

No, we’ve just signed the deal and I’m delighted to announce we’re staging the world’s largest cheese competition at the UK’s largest consumer food show.

The 2010 World Cheese Awards will take place at the NEC in Birmingham as part of this year’s BBC Good Food Show from November 24-28.

It’s unlikely we’ll get the warm sunshine and sandy beaches of Gran Canaria, and while a part of me would have loved the challenge of shipping all that cheese to Canada, after two years trekking we felt it was time to bring the Awards home.

Maybe we also got bored with flight delays, import and export duties and health regulations written in foreign languages. For the time being, at least.

The last time the WCAs were staged at a UK consumer show was at Taste of London in Regents Park in 2006 and they generated enormous popular appeal among 25,000 visitors. Post-show research revealed it was by some margin the most popular feature with visitors.

This year now promises the biggest and most cosmopolitan cheese festival ever staged in the UK, with almost 100,000 consumers tasting unusual

“We’re staging the world’s largest cheese competition at the UK’s largest consumer food show” cheeses from 34 different countries over five days.

The anticipated 3,000 cheese entries will be staged in a massive 1000 sq m area within the main show and judging will take place on the opening day in front of a live audience.

Around 180 experts from around the world will spend the morning identifying gold award-winning cheeses. Each successful cheese will then be judged a second time by a different jury and by the time the judges disappear for their traditional lunch we’ll know the top 40 cheeses in the world.

After lunch, a Supreme Jury of 12 experts and celebrity foodies from around the globe will assemble in the British Theatre, adjacent to the awards area, and taste their way through the finalists in front of a packed crowd. By around 5.00pm, we’ll have totted up the scores and a new World Champion cheese will be crowned – hopefully live on national radio.

So book November 24 in your diary now. It promises to be a tremendous occasion and, who knows, you might even get a letter inviting you to join us as a judge.

• FFD publisher Bob Farrand is chairman of the UK Cheese Guild Vol.7 Issue 1 · January 2006

21

Dambuster

available in 2kg wheels or 200g minis

Carron Lodge Ltd. Park Head Farm, Inglewhite, Preston, PR3 2LN Tel: 01995 640352 Fax: 01995 641040 Email: carronlodge@talk21.com

Along with our continued success at the renowned World Cheese Awards for our Extra mature, we have been awarded The Farmhouse Champion Cheddar Trophy at the Nantwich Cheese Show

KEEN’S CHEDDAR Traditional, unpasteurised, award-winning Cheddars from Wincanton Somerset For details call 01963 32286 or email keenscheddar@hotmail.com. www.keenscheddar.co.uk 22

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

cheesewire Comté tops the French medals table Delis looking to spruce up their French selection might want to consider stocking more Comté, SaintNectaire Fermier and Reblochon Fermier after the cheeses topped the medal table at last month’s Concours Général Agricole exhibition in Paris.

The cheese section of the General Agricultural Competition at the exhibition in Porte de Versailles saw Comté win a total of 23 medals, closely followed by Saint-Nectaire Fermier and Reblochon Fermier, with 18 and 13 medals respectively. All three hold Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status under the EU’s Protected Food Names scheme.

Gold medal winning producers included Rivoire-Jacquemin (Comté), GAEC Gregoire (Saint-Nectaire) and Fromagerie Paccard (Reblochon).

A total of 417 medals were awarded for different types of French cheese including 131 gold, 147 silver and 139 bronze medals.

Sopexa, the marketing organisation for French food and wine, has recently launched a campaign to promote French cheese in the UK to younger consumers. The Vive le Cheese online campaign comprises a website, Facebook page and Twitter site and recently launched a competition to find out which French

cheese people identify with through four imaginary characters: Becky Brie, Cara Camembert, Eddie Emmental, and Elliot Epoisses.

The Europe-wide promotion is funded by French dairy producers and FranceAgriMer, a government-run organisation for agriculture and fishery products.

Around 417 medals were awarded to cheeses at the Concours Général Agricole

Visit French cheese-makers with Sopexa The Guild of Fine Food is organising a trip on behalf of Sopexa for buyers, retailers, wholesalers and importers to visit Cahors in the Lot Region of France from May 19-22. For details, contact Tortie Farrand at the Guild. tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk

East Anglian distributor Hamish Johnston is holding its own against the big guns with a mix of farmhouse classics, lesser-known local varieties and personal service

Local knowledge goes a long way for Johnston

By MICK WHITWORTH

Eastern England isn’t exactly awash with farmhouse cheeses but Suffolk-based regional wholesaler Hamish Johnston is seeing healthy returns from the few that have so far emerged.

“We carry every single East Anglian cheese,” says founder-director William Johnston, “and with the push towards all things local, they’re selling well.”

Perhaps the best known is the soft, creamy Mrs Temple’s Binham Blue, produced by Catherine Temple near Wells, in north Norfolk. Mrs Temple’s also makes the hard, mature Walsingham, and the Comté-style Wells Alpine, the latter made with milk from her own Brown Swiss herd. But Johnston says Binham Blue is perhaps the only East Anglian variety that pops up regularly outside the region. “Most producers here are probably too small to get a place on cheese counters nationally.”

He continues: “Because this is such a dry region we don’t have the rain that you do in the West Country. That does affect the flavour. And these are all fairly young businesses too, so there’s still a lot of experimenting going on. Everyone is looking at how they can improve.”

Among those cheeses with promise are the unpasteurised, crumbly white Hawkston and harder Shipcord from Rodwells Dairy Farm in Baylham, Suffolk, and two varieties from Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses in Creeting St Mary: Suffolk Gold and Suffolk Blue. “The Blue is creamy and light veined – sometimes it’s hardly blue at all – and the Gold is harder,” says Johnston. “They’re both made with Guernsey milk, so you get that creaminess and golden colour.”

In Norfolk, Ellie Betts of Ferndale produces the clothbound cheddar-style Norfolk Dapple, as well as Norfolk Carrow with added mustard seeds. And Jane Murray, at Willow Farm Dairy near Thetford, produces a brie-style sheep’s milk White Lady as

William Johnston: East Anglian cheese-makers are mostly small, relatively new and ‘still experimenting’

well as the firmer Wissington. “With today’s food intolerances, goats’ and sheep’s milk cheeses are more popular than ever,” says Johnston. When new deli owners come to him for advice, he urges them to carry a decent range. “The worst thing is if people who can’t eat cow’s milk go into the deli and can only see a goat’s cheese log.”

Delis and farm shops are the biggest outlets for Hamish Johnston, which is based in a 2,500 sq ft unit just off the A12 near Framlingham. “We’ve got about 220 customers now and we aim to talk to every one of them every single week,” says Johnston, who sees the personal touch as the only way to compete against larger operators like Rowcliffe and Carron Lodge.

“Because of the size of this business we all know exactly what we’ve got in stock, we can explain if something has gone out of season and can suggest a good alternative. And unlike a lot of wholesalers, we’ll sell halves of cheeses like Cornish Yarg or chaumes, because we always know someone who’ll take the other half.”

Hamish Johnston offers around 30 Italian and Spanish cheeses and 60-plus French, delivered weekly from Rungis in Paris. The list of Brits covers two A4 sheets and includes Montgomery’s cheddar and raclette-style Ogleshield, Sparkenhoe red Leicester, and Flower Marie ewes’ milk and Golden

Cross goats’ milk cheese from East Sussex. There’s also Stichelton, for which Hamish Johnston is the only wholesaler other than Neals Yard.

The euro rate has forced prices on imported cheeses up by around 10% in the last year, says Johnston, with Irish specialities, which he buys through Sheridans in Dublin, a particular problem.

“It’s partly the euro, but the Irish have also put their prices up further. Gubbeen is a classic Irish cheese but we’re having to sell that at £11.80/kg. Ardrahan is £12.58 now. And Durras is going into delis at £15.88. If they’re going to add 50% on top that it becomes very expensive.”

Despite such challenges, this specialist distributor’s turnover rose 10% last year to around £1.5m, following a 15% rise in 1998. This year, after a disastrously weather-hit January, William Johnston is happy sales are holding steady.

“Everyone is fairly confident, but they are also being realistic. We’ve noticed delis are holding less stock – where they used to buy three bries and keep one under the counter they’re now buying one, and if they run out they run out. Everyone is holding back, but I think things will become a lot clearer after the election and when we see what happens to the euro in the second half of the year.”

01728 621544 www.hamishjohnston.com Johnston claims to handle every East Anglian cheese

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

23

A promotional feature for Anthony Rowcliffe & Son

Talking Cheese...

Was it really 30 years ago?

STEVE SMITH recalls the early days and draws on the past for some inspiration.

It was in 1980 when I decided to quit my job in marine insurance in the city to follow my dream of opening a delicatessen. Although it took me two years to find the right premises and suppliers, it was during this time I turned into a complete cheese fanatic. This was during the great British cheese renaissance. The world of British farmhouse cheeses was escalating at a fantastic rate and had become a fascinating business to be involved in.

At this time I was introduced to several wonderful Welsh cheeses with impossible names all beginning with double’ L’ and made in dairies beginning with Caws something or other. I was recently reminded of this when we re- introduced one of these cheeses, Llangloffen and introduced Perl Las and Perl Wen from Caws Cenarth.

Of course the Welsh have the advantage of all their lush pastures. The cheeses are rich in character and these three create a great cheeseboard.

The lovely unique soft brie looking, yet Caerphilly-like Perl Wen, ingeniously created by Carwyn Adams, has all the lemony hints of a Caerphilly but with a white mould rind.

The firm-bodied flavoursome Cheddar style Llangloffan was developed by Leon Downey in the 1970s and was one of the first of the new wave of Welsh artisan cheeses.

Now made by Carmarthenshire Cheese, it retains that firm yet silky texture and a flavour that changes from slightly citrus to something more robust with a little aging. As with so many cheese, it was a fortuitous accident that caused a batch of maturing Caerphilly to turn blue but it took Carwyn and Susanna some time to deliberately recreate the effect. Perl Las

is a full flavoured blue, balanced with a creaminess that is long lasting, complex and round.

Enough of reminiscing because even now, there are new cheeses to again enthuse and excite. If you’ve not tried Winterdale Shaw from Kent you’re in for a treat. This unpasteurised Cheddar-style cheese has a particularly smooth texture, possibly because the milk comes directly from the cows into the dairy and is slowly trickled into vats to avoid damaging the milk fats. It is matured for around 9 months in a cave below the dairy, resulting in complex, mouth filling flavours. A version is delicately smoked locally, to ensure it doesn’t lose its creamy texture.

Also new from Kent is Kentish Blue from Steve Reynolds, which fills the growing demand for unpasteurised English blue cheeses. He has not tried to replicate Stilton or a creamy continental style blue. It’s a cheese with its own taste and texture - mild and mellow with a rich curd flavour.

This has been a journey through time and also a trail around Britain so I need to mention Jane Stewart from St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company, who I met recently at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show. We were so impressed by their Anster cheeses that we had to buy some. Again, it’s unpasteurised and handmade and White Anster has the texture of a traditional Lancashire, creamy yet crumbly with a clean and distinct flavour. To make Red Anster, they add garlic, chives and thyme to the curd to produce a natural additive cheese with merit.

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas to freshen up your cheese counter to improve sales now the busier season is upon us.

01892 838999 www.rowcliffe.co.uk 24

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

selling online

idelica.com

Social media are providing low-cost exposure for a new e-tailing venture, as MICK WHITWORTH reports

Start-up looks for friendly reception on Facebook

F

Facebook | Idelica

ormer Edeli director Emma Lopez-Johnson says she will be leaning heavily on the internet’s “free resources” to grow her new online Continental food store, Idelica.

Lopez-Johnson left Spanish foods specialist Edeli in March to set up the retail venture, which she is running from her home in Dorset.

The idelica.com retail website was due to go live this month, but even before its launch Lopez-Johnson and her husband began keeping a Facebook diary of the business start-up process.

“It’s a great way of getting a little pipeline of information online quickly,” she told FFD. “The plan is to expand outwards and keep the contacts we make at shows or from online searches connected on Twitter or Facebook.

“The fostering of little personal connections goes a long way in all specialist businesses, online or not, and it helps enormously to be marketing up from a friendly base of contacts.”

1 of 3 Consumers will be able to influence Idelica’s product selection by reviewing products and voting online, she said, and will be able share “news, ideas and experiences” through newsfeeds, blogs and social networking.

With her IT manager husband Steve providing technical support, she has already begun promoting Idelica through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

She will continue to work with her former company, becoming its first online distributor in the direct-to-consumer market. Edeli’s products will be available through idelica.com, with its existing online shop replaced by a trade-only site.

Edeli directors Nick and Tracy Hayward will now focus on sales of their premium for olive oils, vinegars and other Spanish deli lines to independent stores. They do not sell to supermarkets.

Lopez-Johnson worked mainly on marketing and consumer sales at her old company but says she didn’t have time to fully exploit the opportunities presented by social networking sites.

“I have a Facebook account and I’ve been ‘tweeting’ for Edeli, but I’ve really been on the outside of it. I’ve been so busy with all the logistics of running a business that I’ve only had a chance to look at my account at 10 o’clock at night.

“But there has been a huge boost in interest in the internet, and it’s really exciting. It’s like word of mouth, and it’s a way of getting to a bigger audience. So this is my chance to see what I can achieve if I give it more time.”

While Lopez-Johnson will initially focus on selling the Edeli range, she aims to add more lines from other specialist importers in due course, not necessarily confined to Spain. She will distribute to online shoppers through couriers but will not

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=339945947650

Find People and More

Home

Profile

Account

Idelica Wall

Info

Discussions

Photos

Video

Events Create an Ad

Write something...

FREE Purple Phone

Attach: Message All Members Promote Group with an Ad Edit Group Settings Edit Members Invite People to Join Create Group Event

Options

Emma Lopez-Johnson Today is the day I take a good hard look at the books and think - should I spend a bit of my newly acquired bank overdraft on booking a show sooner rather than later - a very nice 3-day event over Easter weekend at Somerley house near Ringwood, one of six Craft and Garden Fairs being held at National Trust sites in Hants and Dorset.

Welcome to Somerley - a spectacular stately home in Hampshire available as a wedding venue and for c www.somerley.com Welcome to Somerley - About Us

Leave Group

Visit our launch page at idelica.com. It's not that exciting just yet, but go on, make me feel better!

Wed at 11:13am · Comment · Like · Share Tony Banner Could be interesting. Nat trust is trying to roll out across all it's estates local produce sustainability.

Admittedly, all of what you purvey, cannot be grown here.

But, you do fit quite nicely into the perception of local market econemy.

Should be a really cool way to spend a couple of days too Wed at 12:54pm · Delete

Information Category: Business - Home Business

Emma Lopez-Johnson Emma Lopez-Johnson Yes, international foods are never going to tempt the 'local food for local people' stalwarts, but its about choice too and if one does need to buy a jar of olives one should buy the sustainably produced, high quality ones of the standard that they apply to local food. And of course, one should spend ones time doing things that are really cool!

Wed at 9:46pm · Delete

Description: idelica.com will be a sociable online shop for fine international speciality food-lovers.

Privacy Type: Open: All content is public.

Admins

Be 1st to order your FREE Nokia 5230 on Vodafone! Be the envy of your friends for ONLY £15 per Month. Hurry while stocks last!

Lopez-Johnson has kept a Facebook diary to drum up interest ahead of the Idelica launch

Like

Sky+HD Box & FREE Voucher

Join Sky TV with Sky+HD and get a FREE Sky+HD box, FREE standard set-up and a £50 M&S voucher when you join online today!

Like

Your City, Your Rules

Tony Banner Party on then Dude!

Wed at 10:40pm · Delete

Emma Lopez-Johnson (creator)

Write a comment...

Chat (3)

19/03/2010 08:58

“The fostering of little personal connections goes a long way in all specialist businesses, online or not” Emma Lopez-Johnson

be involved in importing. This will enable her to manage her workload, she says, and juggle the new business with caring for her young son.

She and her husband are using low-cost shareware, rather than expensive proprietory ecommerce software, and drawing on free advice available online to mimimise the cost of developing their online shop. “By keeping the marketing and general overheads very low we can spend more time and money on the things that we think are the most important to customers when using mail-order for gourmet food,” says Lopez-Johnson.

“We aim to keep products competitively priced, offer good quality packaging, find creative food gift and hamper solutions and use a reliable delivery service, and at the same time keep packaging and delivery costs to a minimum – my previous experience with Edeli will help enormously.”

Rather than putting capital into building up stock, Idelica may also link with other distributors and either charge a percentage for referring consumers to them or, if they don’t have consumer websites, act as their online shops and taking a commission on sales.

Lopez-Johnson sees this as a relatively low-risk way to develop the new business. “Ultimately I want to aim for a high margin on a relatively low turnover to achieve a small but successful home business that I can manage myself through my son’s school years. With this business model there surely is room for many businesses to grow and thrive, especially on the non-geographical and level playing field of the internet.” www.idelica.com

www.edeligroup.com Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

25

North East Food Technology Services Ltd (NEFTS) was established in 2007 to assist small and medium sized food and drink companies to achieve the standards currently expected by the Food and Drink Industry.

Headed by two food technologists, with over 36 years collective practical experience working in technical functions (Quality Assurance, Product Development) for major blue chip food companies across the UK and, more recently, in the North East Region.

Our services include: ✦ HACCP – development and implementation ✦ BRC – development and implementation of Quality Management Systems (Food and Packaging) ✦ Auditing – Pre BRC Audits, HACCP systems, Internal audits, Supplier audits ✦ Product Development – benchmarking, recipe development, labelling ✦ SALSA – Approved Mentors and Auditors for the SALSA Standard ✦ Training – Approved Training Centre with RSPH and HABC • All levels of Food Safety, HACCP • Nutrition, Health & Safety • Sensory Analysis (panel training etc.)

• Food Labelling • Auditing ✦ NVQ Level 2 Food Manufacture Pathways All of our services are designed to ensure that they meet the exact requirements of the client companies and are usually delivered on site.

Assistance in sourcing partial grants towards meeting project or training costs may be possible.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your needs: Eleanor 07986 973570 or eleanor@nefts.co.uk

TRADE ONLY

Stand Enquiries Ticket Hotline

01934 733433 01934 733456 stands@tasteofthewesttradeshow.co.uk

tickets@tasteofthewesttradeshow.co.uk

19th – 20th April 2010 at Westpoint, Exeter

Meeting the needs of food and food service industries in the South West

SOUTHWEST

sourceexhibition.co.uk tasteofthewesttradeshow.co.uk

26

FOOD

& catering

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

Sponsors and Supporters

specialreport

west country food & drink

Out of the country As the South West prepares for its annual trade show, MICK WHITWORTH asks how well the region is geared up for ‘exports’ to the rest of Britain

L

ife in the West Country has it pros and cons. The rain rarely stops falling, and those winding, high-banked rural lanes are only picturesque if you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere. Then there’s the distance from London – from anywhere west of Exeter it’s more than three hours to the Capital by train, and a lot longer by road.

Whether these are good things or bad depends on your point of view. The rain, for example, has made this the grassy heartland of British dairy farming and given the region a speciality cheese sector that outstrips some areas of France. Five of the region’s EU Protected Food Name products are dairy-based (the others are Gloucestershire cider and perry and Cornish sardines) while two PFN applications in the pipeline – for South West beef and lamb – lean heavily on the lush grassland pastures that provide the animals’ diets.

The region’s isolation and historic dependence on agriculture have also bred considerable consumer loyalty – shoppers here love to buy local. Couple that with the power of the tourist pound, and you have a genuinely thriving market for local and regional food. And as this month’s Taste of the West Trade Show demonstrates, there’s no shortage of South-West producers looking to sell to South-West retailers and caterers.

But what about sales to delis and farm shops in the rest of the UK? While some of this region’s top producers have become national fine food brands – The Bay Tree, Luscombe, Quickes – many have still not cracked the major issue that faces all Britain’s outlying regions: distribution. Mainstream producers have their bulk transport in place, but many of the hundreds of smaller and mediumsized producers have no obvious route to market.

At the same time, as direct government funding for regional food promotion has fizzled out, they are also having to find new ways to promote their products on the wider stage.

According to Lucie Lewis of producer and distributor The Bay Tree, the very words ‘West Country’ can bring a smile to the face of consumers. But as her business partner Emma Macdonald adds, the prospects of a substantial campaign to promote West Country foods is slim.

“Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset won’t get together,” she says. “They’re all driving their own county.”

Joined-up marketing used to be the role of regional food group (RFG) Taste of the West. But since Defra ended its cash support for RFGs, Taste of the West has been trying to find a new role for itself as a private business, largely through operating its own commercial distribution arm and food brand.

Home on the range: South West brands on shelf at Udder Farm Shop in Dorset

PROTECTED NAME products from the South West ●C ornish

Clotted Cream (PDO) Sardines (PGI) ●D orset Blue Cheese (PGI) ●E xmoor Blue Cheese (PGI) ●W est Country Farmhouse Cheddar (PDO) ●G loucestershire Cider/Perry (PGI) ●S ingle Gloucester (PDO) ●C ornish

PDO = Protected Designation of Origin PGI = Protected Geographical Indication

There are perhaps a dozen other publically or privately funded local or county food groups stretching from Cornwall to Wiltshire. The nearest thing to an umbrella body nowadays is South West Food & Drink (SWFD), an arm of the South West of England Regional Development Agency, and its role is largely strategic – spotting ‘market failures’ such as skills shortages or lack or distribution infrastructure and helping the various interested parties find their own solutions.

SWFD executive director Christine Marshall says the loss of core public funding for regional food groups means the industry is having to find new ways of promoting itself. SWFD doesn’t have a budget for generic advertising campaigns, but last year it gave a three-year contract to consultancy Mad For Food, under the banner Promoting Quality Food from the South West, to help individual companies develop new markets.

Mad For Food – run by Kirsty Grieve, Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

27

specialreport the former Food From Britain regional foods manager, and Mary Macneal, a food marketeer and Somerset beef farmer – has been pushing the South West message hard in foodservice, particularly in London, and working with catering distributors who can provide the vital transport link between the region and the Capital. These include contract caterer Harrison Catering Services, which runs over 400 outlets on behalf of clients nationwide, and Hunts Foodservice, based in Dorset, which distributes chilled, frozen and ambient products throughout southern England.

Grieve and Macneal see foodservice as a means to get South West foods sampled by large number of diners, and in turn increase sales in retail in due course. “Food trends start in restaurants,” says Grieve, “so that’s a good way to influence the consumer.”

Price is proving an obstacle with caterers used to buying cheap generic ingredients, so Mad For Food is working hard to push the ‘provenance’ message and focus on products where the West Country has a clear point of difference. “There are some products you really can’t get anywhere else, like the artisan cheddars,” says Grieve, “and the South West has 44 different varieties of fish and shellfish, most of them caught in a sustainable way.”

It’s also important to match producers with the right market, she says. “Businesses that do two meals for £7.99 are not really right. But some people who used to eat in restaurants have now traded down to gastropubs, and that’s a real opportunity because those outlets tend to be about simple food made with really good ingredients.”

Promotions are being run with London’s key wholesale markets – Western International, New Spitalfield, New Covent Garden, Billingsgate – in the hope that these can become hubs for West Country deliveries. But both nationally and within the region, distribution remains a major headache for South West firms.

As SWFD’s Christine Marshall says, many producers are perfectly happy to stay within their patch, and the drive towards food security and lower carbon footprints will only encourage this.

But for those with more ambition there remain major transport obstacles. “Over the years we’ve run quite a few supply chain programmes,” she says, “and what we’ve found is that it’s impossible to create one regional solution because there are too many variables: what kind of food you carry, how often, in what quantities. Quite a lot of people have solved this by clustering together, or clustering their distribution chains so that they link up, but the bottom line is making enough money.”

west country food & drink

Sherry and Nigel Boocock of Plough to Plate are exploring options for delivering mixed pallets from Cornwall to London

“It’s impossible to create one regional supply chain solution because there are so many variables” Christine Marshall, SWFD

28

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

The Bay Tree’s Emma Macdonald agrees. She says co-operative distribution hubs, run by groups of small producers, tend to fail because as the hub grows you need technology and professional coordinators to run them. “Someone needs to be in charge, and there’s a fee to be paid for that.”

The Bay Tree sells a mix of its own products and a small selection from other speciality producers – local, national and international. Two years ago it established a distribution depot on the A37 in Somerset, and now it plans to expand its wholesale activities, saying retailers increasingly want to buy more products from fewer suppliers to streamline their own operations. This bigger range is likely to include more small West Country producers, and Macdonald says working with a distributor has to be most cost-effective option for many of these suppliers, allowing them to focus on production. But they will have to accept that the distributor needs to take a margin.

In Cornwall, regional distributor Plough to Plate, run by ex deli owners Nigel and Sherry Boocock, initially specialised in carrying Cornish products to Cornish independent retailers and caterers. Now, however, it is gradually

Pureed fresh fruit; Melted Belgian chocolate; Freshly percolated coffee; Californian raisins soaked in Pussers Rum;

See uS on Stand F26 at taSte oF the WeSt

Madagascan vanilla Just some of the finest natural ingredients we use to make ice creams and sorbets which delight the most discerning palate.

Scrumptious. Sophisticated. Simply Superb.

Salcombe Dairy Shadycombe Road Salcombe Devon TQ8 8DX 01548 843228 email: info@salcombedairy.co.uk

  

          

         

   

 



Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

29

specialreport pushing eastwards, and has also taken on distribution of Morrisons’ regional range to give it more critical mass and a guaranteed regular income. Nigel Boocock suggests that in developing a service geared to local, relatively low-volume deliveries, all sides have to accept a different delivery model from mass-market distribution.“A lot of it is ‘slow food’,” he says. “It’s ‘order on day one for delivery on days three or four’. And it sometimes takes customers a while to get switched on to that, especially if they used to the Brake Bros next-day delivery scene.”

Plough to Plate has been looking for a while at extending deliveries along the M5/M4 corridor and on to London, but Boocock says it’s all about the economics. One option would be for Plough to Plate to deliver mixed pallets of West Country foods as far as Bath or Bristol, then find partners to take those pallets down the M4 to London.

“I’ve been talking to Lowhub, which began operating out of Covent Garden, delivering into London using low-carbon vehicles,” he says.

“They set out just delivering for market traders but are now casting their net to the M25 and beyond.

“We’re talking to them about whether we could have palletised loads delivered to them, because if we hub it together at this end and then it ’s hubbed out in reverse at their end, that’s the most efficient way of doing it. And we’re also talking to other [West Country] suppliers that are already selling into London to see if we can collate their deliveries for them too.”

SWFD is currently starting a new project, Developing Supply Chain Solutions, to look at just this kind of innovative answer to the region’s distribution issues. There are, Christine Marshall says, many small clusters of producer who have developed their own, local transport solutions, but there are also numerous “grey areas” between them that have no access to markets further afield.

The trick will be to fill these gaps without creating massive, unwieldy and ultimately unprofitable distribution operations. “The way I see it, we need to built on those clusters at the local level,” she says. “Then, rather than those getting bigger, we get them to pal up with the cluster next door.”

She adds: “We’re never going to get a perfect solution, but we hope through this project to get a solution that’s the best it can be. And the main thing is making sure everyone gets enough money out of it.” www.southwestfoodanddrink.com

Coconut oil... from Devon?

• With many deli customers only just getting to grips with the benefits of cooking with British-grown rapeseed oil, Devon’s The Groovy Food Company is touting something altogether more: organic virgin coconut oil, “cold pressed from the fresh flesh of handpicked coconuts”.

Available through wholefood distributors or direct from Groovy Food, the product is accompanied by a string of positive health messages. But according to the Exeter-based company, it’s also “blessed with a distinct light coconut aroma and taste that will enhance and improve all your culinary creations”. A 460g jar will retail for around £7.99. www.groovyfood.co.uk

30

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

west country food & drink Producers from outside the region are being showcased alongside locals at this month’s Taste of the West Trade Show

West County welcomes the rest of Britain

W

hether they are shops, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs or tourist teashops, businesses across the West County know what their customers want and are firmly switched on to the benefits of buying locally and regionally.

That helps to explain why the Taste of the West Trade Show, while still a ‘new’ event by the standards of most food shows – continues to gain more exhibitors, and is said to have seen a 30% jump in visitors last year too.

But for the show’s third year, organiser Hale Events has bolted on a sister event, dubbed The Source Exhibition, enabling it also to bring in suppliers from the rest of the UK who want to target the vibrant West Country food market.

According to Hale, this addition will give buyers in the region “the perfect platform to source products from wider UK and overseas companies and those offering services such as packaging, labelling, refrigeration, EPOS, shopfitting, design, accountancy, recruitment and training”.

In total, around 200 companies are taking part in the combined event, which should make a trip to Exeter’s Westpoint centre – home of the Devon County Show in

What?

Taste of the West Trade Show and The Source Exhibition Where?

Westpoint, Exeter, EX5 1DJ When?

Monday April 19 10.00am-5.30pm Tuesday April 20 10.00am-4.30pm How do I get there?

Westpoint Exhibition Centre is about a mile from the M5 Junction 30.

Where do I register? www.tasteofthewesttradeshow.co.uk

Mar 2010.pdf

04/03/2010

12:13:21

Pure

Heaven from Devon C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Now is the time to stock our scrumptious range of extended life Creams and Creme Fraiches. Their extended life means

K

wastage is a thing of the past and the delicious fresh flavour ensures your customers keep coming back.

Recipe pads are also available.

Contact Mary on

01225 81271 2

or vis it w w w. t hed evoncreamcom p a n y. com

asts... lasts and l t a h t m c re a F re s h t a s t i n g

What are we doing? We are the link.

We find the finest, tastiest and downright scrummiest products from Cornwall and the Westcountry.

Then what?

We then deliver it to discerning retailers and chefs , those who appreciate fine, seasonal, artisan products, wherever their business may be.

The result?

Westcountry producers sell more products and our customers source delicious items for their business, at a fair and sustainable price. ...Everyone’s a Winner !

There’s not just clotted cream and pasties down here, we stock dairy, bakery, alcohol, meat, grocery and a whole lot more.

To see more of what we do and to join the Plough To Plate “family” go to our website at www.ploughtoplate.co.uk or call 01579 363942.

Telephone: 01803 752943 www.mannafromdevon.com info@mannafromdevon.com

Award winning products, handmade in South Devon.

• • • •

Double Chocolate Brownie (Gluten Free) Traditional Sticky Toffee Pudding Sticky Banana and Ginger Pudding Sticky Chocolate and Walnut Pudding

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

31

Handmade hard and soft cheese

made on the fa rm with milk from our organic herd.

Park Farm, Kelston, Bath BA1 9AG Telephone: 01225 3 3 1 6 0 1

Email: sales@parkfarm.co.uk www.parkfarm.co.uk

Client: The Bath Soft Cheese Co. Ad for Fine Food Digest / April Edition 2010 Size: 1/4 Page - 100(w) x 141.5(h)mm Prepared: 11 February’10 for press deadline: Monday 1 March’10

Devon’s Groovy Food Company proudly presents a delicious range of natural and organic foods packed with vitality and energy.

Full of beans. Maximum volume.

Bonce with bounce.

Naturally different, naturally Groovy!

Visit us at www.groovyfood.co.uk or call us for a chat about our products on 08453459686 32

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

specialreport May each year, and more or less at the centre of the South West region – well worth the effort.

The Guild of Fine Food, publisher of Fine Food Digest and itself located just an hour away in Somerset, is adding its own support to the event this year.

FFD is one of the 2010 show’s official media partners and the Guild will have a stand in the Taste of the West section, advising independent retailers and suppliers on how to make the most of business relationships and highlighting services such as the new Retail Ready course for deli start-ups.

To give a visit to Westpoint added value, a series of workshops is planned for the show, involving influential speakers from inside and outside the region.

Wine expert Susy Atkins will be talking about matching varieties of wine with regional produce.

Chefs Dez Turland and Peter Gorton will both be examining menu composition to maximise margins while still delivering taste and value for the customer Arona Khan, the international gift wrapping and merchandising consultant who features at the Guild of Fine Foods’ own Harrogate Speciality Food Show in June, will be showing West Country retailers how to maximise packaging, add value and increase profits.

And showcasing some of the learning that takes place on the Guild’s Retail Ready programme, Dorset deli owner Charlie Turnbull will deliver ‘A marginal affair – making your fine food shop make money’, giving visiting retailers valuable advice on achieving profitability with a deli or farm shop.

Among the exhibitors will be a host of 2009 Taste of the West gold award winners, offering buyers the opportunity to see, smell and sample a selection of leading products.

These include Luscombe Organic Drinks, Ashridge Cider, Perry’s Cider, Polgoon Vineyard & Orchards, Bramley & Gage, The Lyme Bay Winery, Forest Products, Cornish Sea Salt, Gurkha Fine Foods, Leigh Farm Gourmet Foods, The Sausage Shed, Quickes Traditional, Roly’s Fudge Pantry, Suzy Sweet Tooth, Okemoor Quality Foods and Ron Dewdney.

The 2010 Show will also be the launchpad for this year’s Taste of the West awards.

One extra attraction: each day, a visitor will win a hamper full of local produce that Arona Khan has made up during her seminars.

west country food & drink

Who’s exhibiting this year?

A E Rodda and Sons ALAKH Pure Indian Spices Anthony Rowcliffe & Son Arkells Brewery Ashridge Cider Atkins and Potts Atlas Packaging Ballancourt Bath Soft Cheese BCG BFS Direct Blackacre Farm Eggs Bocaddon Farm Bramley & Gage Brian Wogan Bringing Home the Bacon Brinkton Bakehouse Burts Potato Chips Cafe de Paris Butters Capreolus Fine Foods Caterfood Chase Distillery Cheddar Water Chipstix Wessex Choc on Choc Chocolate Blush Clarke Willmott Clipper Teas Cobley Farm Eggs Compass Spirits CoolVan Ltd Coombe Farm Direct Cornico Coffee Company Cornish Sea Salt Co

Deli Farm Charcuterie

• Free range duck breasts are the latest additions to the range of air dried meats from Deli Farm Charcuterie.

Based on the rugged north Cornish coast, Deli Farm says its has combined traditional Italian methods with modern technology to achieve the right climatic conditions for drying and maturing.

“The recipes are our own – some traditional and some with a bit of a twist,” says partner Jean Edwards.

The new duck breasts are rubbed in a mixture of salt and spices, dry cured and then slowly air dried.

The finished breasts weigh in at around 150g, RRP £9.00, and are also available sliced in 50g packs, RRP £3.10. www.delifarmcharcuterie.co.uk Gundenham Dairy Gurkha Fine Foods Hobbs House Bakery

Country Puddings Curry Leaves D J Miles & Co David's Chilli Oil DCUK Devon Cottage Organic Fudge Devon County Council Divine Deli Supplies Dorset Farms DS Smith Packaging Dunstaple Farm Icecream Essential Dressings Essential Trading Ethical Addictions Coffee FineCal Labels Food & Catering South West Food & Drink Devon Food Magazine Forest Produce Forest Products UK Foxhill Foods Franks Luxury Biscuits Co Fudge Kitchen G7 Computer Services Gadsby Basketware Garden Delights GasketGuy UK Godminster Vintage Graham Tyson Guilbert's Chocolates Guild of Fine Food

Hollies Trout Farm In-toto Kitchens James Chocolates James White Drinks Jamnastics Jendico Jessica’s Farmhouse Cakes Kenniford Farm Shop Kernow Chocolate Kingfisher Labels Kings Vinegars Lahloo Tea Langdons Leigh Farm Gourmet Foods Link Print and Packaging Longman Cheese Sales Luscombe Drinks

Lyme Bay Winery Major International Manna From Devon Martin Carwardine & Co MC Kelly Midfields Granola Mike's Smokehouse Mondo Berry New Century Creative Design Nixon Design Okemoor Quality Foods Old Mill Accountants Olives Et Al Ooh La La Chocolaterie Open Retail Solutions Peck & Strong Penny Lane Foods Perry's Cider Planit Products Plum Duff & Stuff Polgoon Vineyard & Orchard Poole Farm Potts Partnership Potts' Partnership Profile North West Purbeck Ice Cream Queenswood Natural Food Quickes Traditional Red Earth Kitchen Rico Mexican Kitchen Rod & Ben's Rolys Fudge Pantry Ron Dewdney Rose Farm Saica Pack Salcombe Dairy Salt Media Sandford Orchards Sargies Cornish Kitchen Sheppys Cider Ltd Simon Weaver Organic Simply Cornish Skinner's Brewery South Devon Chilli Farm Spanish Style Spencerfield Spirit Company Stow Green Styles Farmhouse Ice Cream Suzy Sweet Tooth Table B’hote Fine Foods Tarka Springs Taste of the West Tasty Tasty Taw Valley Creamery Teapigs The bit on the side The Cornish Crisp Company The Cornish Jute Bag Company The Devon Meat Company The Exmouth Mussel Company The Fabulous Vodka Co The Original Ham Company The Sausage Shed The Swiss Cottage The Truckle Cheese Co Tideford Organic Foods Tom's Pies Town Mill Bakery Trees Can't Dance Turton's of Devon Twins Gluten Free Tyrrells Potato Chips Water Matters Waterhouse Fayre WBC (Winebox) William Jones Packaging Wisdom Tech Wooden Hand Brewery

www.tasteofthewesttradeshow.co.uk

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

33

Kingscroft Logistics

Ltd

CREATIVE, PRACTICAL PACKAGING

The Charcuterie Guild & UK Cheese Guild Charcuterie dates for 2010 Date Venue Mon April 12 Stockport, Manchester Mon April 26 Glasgow Tues July 6 York Cheese dates for 2010 Date Venue Tues April 13 Stockport, Manchester Tues April 27 Glasgow Weds July 7 York Course costs Members of The Guild of Fine Food just £60, plus VAT (£70.50).

Non-members £85, plus VAT (£99.88).

For more information: E-mail: linda.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk www.finefoodworld.co.uk/charcuterie | www.finefoodworld.co.uk/cheese Avilton foods

Add value to your range with ‘creative, practical packaging’ Bespoke vacuum bags, stand up pouches, cartons and films Gift packaging helping you turn your products into gifts- also easily personalised Contact us for full details

www.kingscroftlogistics.co.uk Tel: 01294 313348

Refreshingly Local To celebrate our 75 years experience in the tea industry we’ve created a special new product, Dorset Tea. A blend that infuses the finest Kenyan, Indian, and Ceylon teas to create this luxury black tea.

Dorset Tea is currently looking for good delis, farm shops and independent stores to stock our new local product.

To bring the local taste of Dorset to your customers call Jenny on 01202 863804, or visit www.dorsettea.co.uk

34

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

product update

sauces & dressings

Splashing out in style Flavours from Greece, the Caribbean – and Norwich – are combined in our annual round-up of speciality table sauces. By MICK WHITWORTH. • Cumbria’s The Chilli Pepper Company has launched Chinese Burn, a blend of fresh Thai chillies, rice wine vinegar and garlic. Despite its high-temperature name it’s described by the company’s Gerald Fowler as “moderate in heat”, making it good both for marinades and for dipping. Chinese Burn costs £2.45 to the trade, with an RRP of £3.50, and Fowler says the company, which has mainly sold direct to the public up to now, is looking to get into more shops, www.thechillipeppercompany.co.uk • Colin Hanna of artisan-scale producer Little Doone Foods reports sales of its sweet balsamic-based dressings have doubled over the last 12 months. There are now nine varieties, four of which have won Great Taste Awards, and trials are underway for a new range in which the standard sweet dressings are reduced to a heavy balsamic syrup. This gives “an intense burst of flavour”, says Hanna, and is suitable either for dressing a plate, or for drizzling over desserts. It should be available by early summer, with a trade price of £2.55 for 200ml. littledoone@channas.plus. com.

Made with oil from the Cotswolds Chilli oil producer David Tait has just delivered a consignment of his “rich, exotic, healthy and intensely flavoured” oils for trial at top London deli operator Partridges after meeting boss John Shepherd at Chelsea farmers’ market.

Gloucestershire-based Tait, who was brought up in the Far East, says oriental flavours and ingredients are close to his heart. “I’ve been making this chilli oil for myself for many years, as I’ve always found the Chinese versions too salty and fishy and with too many additives such

It’s all in the preparation Former Unilever marketeer Gem Misa says she worked closely with buyers in leading food halls before launching her new Righteous All Natural range of salad dressings.

The products – in ginger & toasted sesame, raspberry & sweet basil and lemon & mustard seed variants – went straight into Harrods, Selfridges

& Co, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods Market and Fresh & Wild at the start of this year.

“I know it’s a completely new range, but the key to getting in the door with these retailers was that we’ve co-developed the products with them,” says Misa, adding that buyers wanted products that are “big on taste but also offer a string of health benefits”.

Earlier in her career Misa launched the first fresh salad and health food delivery service in the Philippines, and her first UK venture was a fresh gourmet salad business, The New Leaf Salad Company. The dressings, originally developed for inclusion in portion-packs with these salads, have now become the main focus.

Sold in 225ml bottles at £9.60 for six, they have an RRP of £2.69. www.loverighteous.com

as monosodium glutomate.” He launched the original medium version of David’s Chilli Oil at the Spirit of Christmas show in London in 2008, and now sells equal quantities of this and the new hot oil.

Both are made with R-Oil cold pressed rapeseed oil from the Cotswolds, along with a selection of chillies from a local chilli farm, garlic, ginger, shallots, blackbeans and an array of aromatic spices. Trade price for both oils is £6.50, with an RRP of around £10.00. www.davidschillioil.com • Really Garlicky Dressing with Pure Scottish Garlic is the most recent product from Scotland’s Really Garlicky Company (slogan: ‘It’s chic to reek!’). Supplied in cases of six 240g bottles, it’s a traditional salad dressing with a generous helping of Scottish garlic, free from artificial preservatives and colourings. Trade price is £2.80 with an RRP of £3.95. www.reallygarlicky.co.uk • With al fresco dining in mind, The Condiment Company has just launched a new range of Sussex Valley table sauces, including a smoky BBQ sauce and a chilli & lemongrass dipping sauce, suitable for marinading, dipping, pouring or stir-frying as well as barbecues. The Condiment Company has been making mayonnaises, sauces and dressings for over 20 years. www.thecondimentco.co.uk ● ● ➔

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

35

product update

sauces & dressings

– provided the launchpad for Chamcham sauces. As their café and catering business grew, the family began developing a retail range of hot pepper sauces that reflected the diverse backgrounds of the sisters and their husbands, and added the heat of Caribbean cooking to spices imported direct from Sri Lanka. The range now includes hot pepper sauce, which is described as “fresh, bright, pure and very hot”, and Scotch Bonnet & black pepper, which is Chamcham’s play on the Caribbean’s punchy jerk seasoning. Both retail at £2.40 for 270ml. www.chancham.com

• Cottage Delight has added three new dressings to its everyday collection.

Designed to add interest and flavour to all types of salads, they are roast garlic & red pepper dressing, coriander, lime & Thai basil dressing – said to be ideal for seafood, noodle and rice salads – and a zesty citrus vinaigrette for spinach and baby leaf salads. Also new is an aromatic Thai marinade for fish and chicken. www.cottagedelight.co.uk

• French brand Maison In'Ona unveiled two new lines specifically for delis towards the end of last year, both using Espelette chillis, or Piment d’Espelette, from the Basque region of south-west France.

Xipister is an Espelette chilli barbecue sauce, while Olibizia is an Espelette chilli olive oil. Sandrine Nesseir of Maison In’ona told FFD: “In our region, the Xipister is often used in the preparation of grills or marinades and the Olibizia goes well with salads, grills and savoury pancakes as well as marinades.” RRPs for both products are “between £8 and £10”. www.maison-inona.com

• A café in Reading, Berkshire, run by three Sri Lankan sisters – Chami, Chaya and Chani

The story begins in an old Greek watermill...

Among a growing range of products from the Ta Mylelia deli brand in Greece are a saffron flavoured vinegar & olive oil dressing and extra virgin olive oil & vinegar with chilli peppers. According to Lauren Wadowsky of Ta Mylelia, saffron was a preferred spice of the Minoans, the ancient trading civilisation that flourished around the island of Crete around 4,000 years ago. Wadowsky says a few drops of saffron flavoured vinegar & olive oil dressing can add aroma and taste to salads, grilled meat, fish, soups and 36

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

pulses without adding much fat. Extra virgin olive oil & vinegar with chilli peppers is a more conventional combination, using red fruit vinegar produce and matured by Ta Mylelia, along with chilli and bell peppers to add spice.

Ta Mylelia products are found in delis and restaurants throughout Greece. The company grew out of a restored watermill on the island of Lesvos, initially producing pastas from its own durum wheat flour and then diversifying into sauces, oils and preserves. www.mylelia.gr

• Ethical sauce and condiment maker Turnham Green has launched a spicy tomato sauce to complement its tomato ketchup, which was voted the nation‘s best on UKTV’s Market Kitchen. This spicy sauce is designed to be used as a simple condiment, as a dip for crisps or as an easy sauce for pasta and seafood.

Turnham Green products are on shelf in Chandos delis, As Nature Intended and John Lewis Foodhalls and have picked up plaudits from eco-celebrity Livia Firth and Michelin star chef Tom Aikens. www.turnham-green.co.uk • The National Trust’s Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire and top Norfolk deli-restaurant Byfords in Holt are among the latest stockists of two very East Anglian products – Famous Norwich Dressing and Polly’s Balsamic Dressing from Seymours of Norfolk.

“Both are made by my wife right here at our home in Norwich,” says owner Richard Seymour, who supplies delis, farm shops and independents nationwide. “The Famous Norwich Dressing is our version of a French dressing, made with local mustard, garlic, and herbs. As the name suggests the base for Polly’s Balsamic Dressing is balsamic vinegar, which is combined with our award-winning Melgarejo extra virgin olive oil, local mustard and garlic.” Both are sold to the trade at £2.75 each in cases of six, RRP £3.99-£4.49. www.seymoursofnorfolk.com • Manchester-based Adesso launched its salad dressings range a little late to make the most of last summer’s sales, so it will be hoping for a good long salad season this year. All four varieties – raspberry vinaigrette, Classic Sicilian, dill vinaigrette and poppy seed vinaigrette – are made with Italian extra virgin olive oil.

The Classic Sicilian is blended with Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, together with oregano and seasoning, and according to Adesso director Brian Goodhand is “outstanding” with fresh lobster, smoked salmon, scallops, artichokes or asparagus. ●●➔ www.adessofoods.com

Winner of over

39 Great Taste

Awards

®

Speciality Producer of the Year

Call now for details of FREE display Stand offer

SINCE 1994

Only the freshest top quality produce goes into our products which are all handmade at Hawkshead. www.hawksheadrelish.com The Square, Hawkshead, Cumbria, UK LA22 ONZ Z

015394 36614 | info@hawksheadrelish.com m

embellish with relish™

NO artificial flavours | colourings | preservatives | gluten | nuts

To become a Stockist or request a brochure Tel: 01453 731730 info@hot-headz.com IgNITE your SalES wITh our hoT NEw BraNdINg!

Fine Food Digest Magazine 100 x 141.5mm issue: March 2010-V11i3 File name: FFD-V11i3-100x141.50.pdf

Someone once said that it’s the little things in life that make a big difference, and we couldn’t agree more. We know that it’s our attention to detail that makes our dressings stand out from the rest of the pack – originating from a secret family recipe, our award-winning dressings have been tweaked and tested over the years to produce the perfect taste.

The

Company

To find our more about our Dressing Collection please contact us at e: sales@fdc-online.com or t: 020 8747 4089

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

37

David’s Chilli Oil

DCO is a rich, exotic, healthy and intensely flavoured chilli oil. Perfect for drizzling over food, cooking, marinading and dipping. Created with locally sourced quality ingredients from the Cotswolds. Available in Medium & Hot. Keep in the store cupboard - stays fresh for ages.

Email djct30@hotmail.com Tel/Fax 01451 831016 Web www.davidschillioil.com

THURSDAY COTTAGE HANDM ADE PRESERVES

Over 45 years hand filling marmalades, jams and curds Winners of four 2009 Great Taste Awards Our products are available through good wholesalers or direct from Trewlands Farm

www.thursday-cottage.com Trewlands Farm, Tiptree, Essex 01621 814529 info@thursday-cottage 38

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

product focus update • Original Family Recipe mint & tomato dressing is the latest addition to the dressings range from Mary Berry, available through RH Amar. The glutenfree, vegetarian and nut-free newcomer is a recreation of the veteran food writer’s ‘signature dish’ of fresh mint and chopped skinned tomatoes with avocado.

Like all Mary Berry dressings it will double up as a marinade, which make it a good option for the barbecue season.

Trade price is £3.19 per 440g bottle, with an RRP of £3.95. www.rhamar.com • Sussex producer Jethro's Marinades is about to launch a hot green chilli sauce.

Founder Adrienne Palmer and her team combine Jalapeno pieces, extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic and green herbs to make a creamy but spicy ketchup that Palmer describes as “good for fish – and chips”.

Other new products due for launch in the next few months are a horseradish dressing, Cumberland dressing and pineapple & demerara rum sauce.

All are priced at £1.95 delivered to the store, with RRPs of £3.45£3.95 www.jethros.co.uk • Port & redcurrant sauce is Cotswolds preserves maker Kitchen Garden’s take on Cumberland or Oxford sauce.

Its robust flavour, with a hint of sweetness, makes it a natural complement to roast gammon or game, particularly venison.

Made in small batches, it can be served alongside meat or incorporated in a jus or stock.

sauces & dressings Trade price is £2.05 for 200g, with an RRP of £2.77. www. kitchengardenpreserves. co.uk • Windrush Cuisine, a specialist in authentic Caribbean foods, has relaunched its range of jams and sauces – including Run-up & Rundown sauce, jerk sauce, extra hot pepper sauce and fruity hot pepper sauce – in a bid to establish these West Indianstyle condiments as everyday storecupboard items. The Belfast company is also launching a new condiment from Haiti called Piti Piti – Haitian Creole for ‘little by little’ – which is a spiced pickled vinegar with Scotch Bonnet peppers and vegetables. Development chef Wendy McGuire says Piti Piti packs a punch, with a fruity tangy taste yet delicate aroma, and can be used as a condiment or a seasoning. “It’s a must on any Haitian table at mealtimes,” she says. www.windrushcuisine.com • Somerset producer The Bay Tree’s Smokey Chipotle BBQ Sauce is described as “a hot and smoky addition to outdoor and indoor eating” that can be used to marinade or dollop into a burger. It was launched last year, along with tomato sauce and brown sauce, under The Bay Tree’s radical new branding. All three have an RRP of £2.50 for 275g. www.thebaytree.co.uk

PDO reinforces rhubarb dressing’s regional credentials The news that Yorkshire forced rhubarb has just been awarded Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status has not escaped Paresh Tejura of Curry Cuisine.

Tejura says he now plans to change the labels on his Ravishing Rhubarb dressing to highlight the new status of its key ingredient.

“All the rhubarb I use comes directly from Janet Oldroyd at Ordroyd’s Farm, who were the ones who kicked off the whole PDO application process,” he tells FFD. Under guidelines used by Adas, the food and farming consultancy that runs the EU Protected Food Names scheme in England and Wales, producers can use the PDO logo to promote protected-name ingredients, provided they are a major part of the product and the PDO producer is happy with the idea.

Ravishing Rhubarb is a sweet dressing with a hint of cardomom that works well with a good Parmesan and

walnut salad or as a marinade for lamb. It can be also be mixed with crème fraîche to make a dip. It costs £2.30, with an RRP of £3.49. www.currycuisine.co.uk

• The new-recipe sweet & sour tamari dressing from Pollen True Taste is described as a “hugely versatile” oriental style dressing. It’s good for winter salads, with grated carrot, beetroot and celery and can be also used as a marinade or added to stir-fries. Wheatand gluten-free, it’s priced at around £1.99 to the trade, with an RRP of £2.89 Company co-founder Richard Pollen says he’s promoting the tamari alongside its spicy ketchup this year as a great accompaniment to barbecues. The company also launched a new horseradish sauce towards the end of last year and immediately collected a Great Taste Awards gold star, having pre-entered the product ahead of its official launch. The sauce combines finely grated horseradish, fresh cream, egg yolks, cane sugar and lemon juice, and is described as “hot but not overpowering”. Trade price is £1.85, RRP £2.65. www.pollentruetaste.com • Hawkshead Relish’s Bramley apple sauce, made with English fruit, was originally developed for local Cumbrian hoteliers and restaurants who wanted something better than the usual bulk catering fare. It’s now available to the retail sector too in 200g jars, RRP £2.80, at a price of £12.00 per case of six.

Also new from Hawkshead is orange & chilli sauce, a table sauce that, according to Hawkshead’s Maria Whitehead, works equally well as a marinade for pork, chicken or shellfish. “I’ve used it in stir-fries and as a glaze for roast ham, giving a basting of the sauce over the meat for the last five minutes of cooking time,” she says. “It’s very versatile and gives you a hint of heat rather than blasting your socks off.” RRP is £2.50 for a 250ml bottle. www.hawksheadrelish.com Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

39

Mendip Moments

™

AWARD-WINNING premium artisan dairy ICE CREAM which is rich, dense and creamy, using only natural ingredients.

Mendip Moments ™, Tel: 01749 679400 info@mendipmoments.co.uk www.mendipmoments.co.uk

40

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

focus on

ice cream

Stories that sell

Are ice cream fans looking for local provenance, colourful characters or just quality and price? LYNDA SEARBY finds out what works best for delis and farm shops.

S

producers, so it’s logical that the sales story that works best for farm shops is one of local provenance.

As Elizabeth Colegrave of Wykham Park Farm Shop in Banbury puts it: “The whole idea of farm shops is to be able to buy local produce, so if we stocked an ice cream from miles away, people would be less likely to buy it.”

But is the local angle as important to customers of town centre delis?

Damien Caldwell runs Halsey’s deli in Hitchin (FFD’s Deli of the Month in January) and is unashamed about stocking Roskilly’s ice cream, even though the farm is over 300 miles away.

“Our nearest ice cream producer is in Norfolk but we went off customer recommendations on this. The fact the ice cream is organic had a slight bearing on our decision, but really it was the taste that we went for.”

Even for those retailers who are committed to local sourcing, the fact an ice cream is produced two miles down the road isn’t necessarily enough to endear it to them or their customers.

As Rosemary Brown of Bluebells Real Dairy Ice Cream near Derby says: “Consumers are concerned about provenance – ie that ice cream is made on the farm from milk from the farm, and they like to know which part of the country it is from – but they prefer to eat good quality ice cream with a story from a different part of a country than a lower quality product with no story from closer to home.”

Heather Copley’s experience backs this up. Together with husband Robert, she runs Farmer Copleys farm shop in West Yorkshire, and sources ice cream from Birchfield Family Dairies, which is about half an hour’s drive from the shop. ● ● ➔

jimsphotos/Dreamstime.com

truggling dairy farmers everywhere have been trying to diversify beyond raw milk.

Now, wherever you are in the UK, you will most likely have a farmer-turned-processor churning out ‘made on the farm’ ice cream just a few miles down the road.

In theory, this should make ranging decisions easy for independent retailers. And for many, it does.

The Hollies Farm Shop in Cheshire, for example, stocks Cheshire Farm Ice Cream. “We want to support local producers so we stock local wherever we can,” the shop’s Anne Alcock says simply.

It’s a similarly straightforward story at Britford Farm Shop in Salisbury, where owner Aileen Frizzell says: “We stock Purbeck ice cream because they are local.”

Of course the ethos of the farm shop is centered on supporting local

Vol.11 Issue 3 April 2010

41

The new packaging for premium ice cream One material tub and lid - polypropylene, which is recyclable.

Plastic tub offers better freezer performance compared to board.

Quality image for premium ice creams and sorbets.

Excellent quality print on tub and lid. Also available in transparent PP. Reliable leadtimes and service. Sensible minimum order size.

1L available with a tamper evident lid.

Sizes available 230ml, 500ml, 1000ml.

Visit www.innavisions.com to see the range available.

Tel: 01886 832283 Email: nick.wild@innavisions.com

Jersey Dairy Luxury Ice Cream, Cheese, Butters, Yogurts and Creams actually come from

Luxury ICE CREAM

Pedigree Jersey Cows on the Island of Jersey.

Discover the heritage of the Jersey breed and more about our products visit www.jerseydairy.je

JERSEY BUTTER

PDO

CMYK VERSIONS

APPLICA T SUBMITTION ED

Contact Liam Whelan, Export Sales Manager on 01534 818545 or Email: liam.whelan@jerseydairy.je • www.jerseydairy.je

42

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

PANTONE VERSIONS

focus on

ice cream

product update: ice cream first contains chocolate chunks sourced from the Cheddar Chocolate Company, while the diabetic vanilla bean variety is sweetened with fructose, a natural fruit sugar. Both are available in 500ml and 4L packs and retail from £4.49 for 500ml. www.mendipmoments.co.uk

• Strawberries and Champagne are often paired together. Now Bluebells Real Dairy Ice Cream has taken a version of this duo into ice cream with a strawberry and Prosecco variety combining British strawberries with the Italian sparkling wine.

Available in 4.5L napolis and 1L, 500ml and 120ml tubs, the ice cream is made using milk from Bluebells’ dairy herd on Brunswood Farm, Derbyshire. www.bluebelldairy.co.uk

• Peppermint with dark chocolate and diabetic vanilla bean are two new ice cream flavours from Somerset-based Mendip Moments. The

“There is another farm that has set up ice cream production and is literally one mile down the road.

We tried their ice cream because they were so local, but actually the quality and taste weren’t there so we went back to Birchfield.”

Copley believes shoppers have really bought into the person behind the Birchfield brand. “Martin [Whitley] comes into the shop and does tastings, and customers love him. He’s quite a character – regardless of what flavours I’ve ordered, I’ll get what he’s decided to make that week.

“Because they know him, customers actually like the fact that they don’t always get what they’ve asked for because he ‘didn’t feel like making any this week’.”

It does seem that many shoppers want products made by individuals, not machines, even if it means they are less predictable. Da Vinci Italian Deli in Bath, for example,

• Criterion Ices has added Jersey Clotted Cream and Alphonso Mango Sorbet to its 500ml range.

New pots feature Criterion’s Suffolk farmhouse creamery and details of the traditional recipes used. www.criterion-ices. co.uk

• Offering an alternative to those sugary, additiveridden ice pops that turn kids’ tongues blue is the new 100% natural Fruit Freezie.

Conceived by Dan Brown, a Londonbased brand consultant, after his four year-old son had a sugar rush after eating ‘normal’ ice cream, the ice pop is made purely from fruit juice and purée and contains no added sugar, additives or concentrate. www.itsonlynatural.eu used to stock Mendip Moments ice cream. Owner Joanne Bartolo says the colour of the ice cream sometimes varied from batch to batch, which was picked up on by regular customers. “I phoned Jayne [Lunnon] at Mendip Moments and she explained that it was because it was made with a different crop of raspberries. Customers loved that.”

Yet quality and price are still important. Cullenders Delicatessen in Redhill, Surrey, for example, stocks the local St Joans Dairy brand, but deli owner Marc Cullender says he would consider a non-local alternative if it offered better quality at a more competitive price.

“People are still buying into the local thing, but I think the two main selling points are quality and price,” he says.

Bluebells’ Rosemary Brown seems to share his view, saying: “Customers are looking to buy food with a story.

But quality should be looked ● ● ➔

• Made Fair, the organic Fairtrade range of ice creams made by Cream o’ Galloway, has been extended with five new flavours. The company testmarketed lots of flavours in its farm shop in 2009, and has added the five top sellers – mango, blackcurrant, banana choc chip, elderflower and honey & ginger – to its retail range. www.creamogalloway.com • Hunky Punky Chocolate Ice Cream is the first of BoojaBooja’s organic ices to be made available in a mini 110ml pot (RRP £1.69). The Norfolk-based company also produces a range of organic chocolates. www.booja-booja.com Simply Ice Cream is launching a four-strong nut range for summer 2010. The four flavours are pistachio with whole chopped nuts, hazelnut with whole chopped nuts, pecan & maple and maple.

In addition, from the end of March, the Kent ice cream maker is making its own branded freezers available to retailers. www.simplyicecream. co.uk

Alder Tree’s Stephany Hardingham: ‘Lots of ice creams that claim to be 100% natural use highly processed ingredients’ Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

43

focus on

ice cream

product update: ice cream Retailers who want to go global rather than local with their ice cream ranges may be interested in three new antipodean flavours from New Zealand Natural. Golden manuka honey, pecan praline crunch and rum & raisin are available in the UK from Stratford Fine Foods in 9.2L and 5L containers. www.stratfordfinefoods.com

Technology Centre in Northern Ireland. It involved overcoming the technical difficulties of adding pure alcohol to a dairy fats mix, says the company’s Will Taylor. www.glastryfarm.com Made from brown rice milk and organic virgin coconut oil and sweetened with extracts of apple, carob and grape, Coconice is said to offer a low fat, low calorie alternative to traditional dairy ice cream. It is suitable for vegans, diabetics, coeliacs and dairy intolerance and nut allergy sufferers. www.worthenshaws.co.uk

Having added extra cold room storage at its Norwich factory, Lakenham Creamery is launching several new flavours this summer. It says the front-runners are blueberry, and vanilla with chillies & dark Belgian choc chips. www.lakenhamcreamery.co.uk New from La Maison des Sorbets Foods is Fruit Cake Ice Cream, which comes in 4L tubs. www. lamaisondessorbets.

com

Glastry Farm Ice-Cream’s latest introduction, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey ice cream, is the result of a product development project at the Food

Leeds ice cream company Indie Ices is encouraging consumers to vote with their stomachs, with the launch of five ‘party political’ flavours in the run-up to the general election. The varieties on offer are blue Stilton & pineapple kulfi (Conservative), almond & pistachio kulfi (Green), red rose & berry fruit ice (Labour), mango kulfi ice cream (Liberal Democrat) and rhubarb & fruitcake kulfi (Monster Raving Loony Party). Kulfi is an Indian style ice cream. www.indie-ices.co.uk

at too – there are lots of artisan producers out there but the quality is not always that great.

“And price structure is another factor – some small producers are not switched onto the wholesale market, whereas our wholesale price reflects the quality of the product, yet enables the buyer to make a decent margin.”

Another dimension which is increasingly important to consumers is what’s on the label, particularly in the case of parents buying for their children.

“Interest in ingredients has increased in recent years,” affirms Stephany Hardingham, owner of fruit cream ice producer Alder Tree.

“People are starting to understand that mass production is nothing like what you do in your kitchen.

“Most of our fruit ices are just made from fruit, sugar and cream, but what is frustrating is that there are lots of ice creams that claim 44

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

to be 100% natural yet use highly processed ingredients, powdered milk, stabilisers and emulsifiers.”

This might be irksome for companies like Alder Tree, but according to Joanne Bartolo, most consumers are clued up enough to be able to differentiate between a highly processed product and an unadulterated one.

“Consumers will stand there and read ingredients lists – especially with ice cream, because often they are buying for their kids. They are quite savvy on stuff like that.”

This is backed up by Heather Copley. “Customers love the fact the Birchfield ice cream is made from Jersey milk and doesn’t contain anything else other than sugar and fruit,” she says. “It’s what they are looking for – quality food without any E numbers. I don’t think customers particularly read our ingredients list – but they do notice that it’s short.”

Dorset’s Purbeck Ice Cream has added a trio of new flavours to its range. St Clements is made with the juice and zest of oranges and lemons, Dorset honey & ginger uses local honey and stem ginger, and raspberry ripple contains a natural raspberry fruit ripple. www.purbeckicecream.co.uk Jersey Dairy has released three of its most popular flavours – dark chocolate, strawberry and vanilla – in ‘theatre pots’. With a spoon concealed in the lid, the format is said to be ideal for impulse sales. www.jerseydairy.je Taywell’s best selling 500ml lines are now sold in new eco packaging, which is fully recyclable and made from sustainably sourced paper. www.taywell. co.uk

Deli owner Marc Cullender: ‘The two main selling points are quality and price’

Norfolk CouNty fresh Cream ICe Cream The connoisseur’s choice

Do you want the best?

Winners of 16 Gold Great Taste Awards

Delicious – Naturally..!

Award-Winning Artisan Goats’ Milk ice cream, hand-crafted in the heart of the Welsh countryside using fresh, natural produce including the milk and honey from our own Farm.

Low in fat and sugar for a luxuriously velvety texture and a pure, refreshing flavour.

WINNER Honeycomb Gelato

FIRST PRIZES Royal Welsh Shows 2008 & 2009

Please call Jo or Tony on 01559 370 132 or email info@lovespoongelato.co.uk for details.

Lovespoon Gelato, Ffarm Fach, Capel Iwan, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire SA38 9NQ www.lovespoongelato.co.uk

lakeNham Creamery Specialist Ice Cream Makers

Eileen’s Diabetic – Aldous Traditional

Tel. 01603 620970 Fax. 01603 765647 www.lakenhamcreamery.co.uk email: info@lakenhamcreamery.co.uk 2 Trafalgar St. Norwich NR1 3HN

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

45

We are now distributed through Stratford Fine Foods alongside our own distribution in Kent, Surry Sussex, Essex and London.

Come and see us at the Real Food Festival, May 7-10, stand P265.

Get advanced tickets at great prices if you book before the April 14. Select ‘Buy tickets here’ at www.realfoodfestival.co.uk and enter the code SI21C62L

The Nook, Bonnington, Ashford, Kent TN25 7BA 01233 720 922/0779 665 3890

AY Y ID TR FR 010 EN INE 9 2 L IL AD pR DE A

You know good quality when you see it.

Stand out from the crowd in 2010 Grab gold in the Great Taste Awards To help us – and to save you money – please send your entry well before the April 9 deadline. After that the price per entry will attract a £5 (€10) surcharge to cover additional administration costs For more information or to enter online please visit www.finefoodworld.co.uk/gta

Plain and simple For more information, call Helen or Jeremy on 017683 53311, email info@jeremyssoups.co.uk or visit our website at www.jeremyssoups.co.uk/wholesale 46

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

01449 721220

www.alder-tree.co.uk

R

AC

products, packaging & promotions

Four products are available in the Malay Taste range of ingredients, which reflect the diverse flavours and cooking styles of Malaysian cuisine. Produced S U P LI E P and packed in Malaysia from authentic recipes, these products are available exclusively from Bespoke Foods in the UK. The products – Nyonya Kapitan curry paste, Rendang curry paste, Laksa curry paste and Sambal Oelek are – are designed to make Malaysian flavours accessible to even the novice cook. The new range is said to reflect Malaysian food’s diversity, which comes from a multi-ethnic population of Malay, Indian, Eurasian, Chinese, Nyonya and the indigenous peoples of Borneo.

EDITE CR

R

D

Alder Tree is starting the summer season with the launch of its newest flavour of ‘fruit cream ice’ – vanilla.

“It may seem strange that it has taken us over 20 years to add the world’s most popular flavour to our range, but we’ve always been proud to produce an extremely fruity frozen dessert, ” says managing director Stephany Hardingham, who describes the company’s range as “a cross between dairy ice cream and sorbet.” Suffolk-based Alder Tree has spent a year developing the vanilla product. It joins 14 English fruit flavours in the existing range.

Available in 100ml, 500ml and 4 litre containers, the RRP is £1.50 for individual pots or £4.65 for the 500ml version.

S U P LI E P

Range reflects diversity of Malay culture AC

At last, it’s plain vanilla

EDITE CR

D

shelftalk

Looking for suppliers accredited by the Guild of Fine Food?

Follow the logo

020 7819 4300

www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

New packs keep shellfish alive for over a week The Exmouth Mussel Company in Devon says it has developed a new way to pack, store and distribute live shellfish to achieve an eight day shelf-life. The new format will be launched at the Taste of the West show at Westpoint, Exeter this month (Stand B25). The company’s award-winning mussels, cockles, clams and oysters are packed into recyclable plastic trays using a modified atmosphere technique. This enhanced oxygen pack is then sealed to give customers a dry, leakproof, live product with a shelf life of up to eight days. Packs protect the shellfish from cross-contamination and have a clear use-by date to make stock control as easy as possible. The mussels, cockles and clams are available in 3k pack while oysters can be supplied in packs of 24.

01395 277720

www.exmouthmussels.com

New range of Italian-style soups and sauces

EDITE CR

D

chicken Matriciana with tomato & pancetta goes with chicken, while peppercorn sauce and Dianne sauce with porcini mushrooms are designed for steaks. A pair of spicy barbecue sauces for pork ribs complete the range. The new soups are Italian minestrone, tomato with fresh basil and Italian vegetable.

Products are produced in the North West of England by this family-run business in small, handprepared batches. It also makes gravies, chutneys and no-added-sugar preserves.

0161 789 6135 www.foxhillfoods.co.uk

product news from Guild accredited suppliers

• Pear chutney and a carrot & almond variant have been added to the range of chutney products from Catherine’s Choice for spring and summer. The pear flavour goes well with soft cheeses as well as game such as pheasant and partridge while the carrot & almond can be used in cheese, chicken or ham sandwiches as well as with salads.

R

AC

A new selection of Italian-inspired meat sauces and soups will be launched at the Taste of the West show in Exeter this month by Foxhill Foods. Created by restaurateur Vito Biasi, the new products include sauces for chicken, steaks and barbecue pork ribs.

Creamy asparagus, creamy sweet pepper and

S U P LI E P

0114 267 0576 www.catherines-choice.com

• Pasta from FiberGourmet has 40% fewer calories than standard varieties yet, according to the maker, there’s no difference in taste or texture from regular white pasta. It is available in penne, rotini, fettuccini and a Mac-Mmm-Cheese dinner box.

The pasta is only two Weight Watcher points per portion and has over three times as much fibre as whole wheat pasta. The RRP per box is £3.49 and a case of 12 boxes costs £21.

07793 050005 www.fibergourmet.co.uk

• Luscombe Drinks has introduced cranberry crush, a gently sparkling drink with a hint of Damascan rose, Madagascan vanilla and a long dry finish. It extends Luscombe’s berry range which already includes awardwinning raspberry lemonade, blueberry crush and strawberry lemonade. Cranberry crush is designed to tap into the emerging trend for premium quality, non-alcoholic alternatives to wine.

01364 645709 www.luscombe.co.uk • A Skinny Vanilla dairy ice cream has been launched by Marshfield Ice Cream following requests from farm shop customers for a low calorie product. This product has been nutritionally analysed and has less than half the fat of the normal dairy range, which works out to 109 kcals per scoop.

This lower calorie product “has retained its creamy Marshfield taste” and is available in one litre tubs.

01225 891221 www.marshfield-icecream.co.uk

• Nisi’s Biscotti is a range of twice baked Italian biscuits that come in five flavours and are also available as gluten-free products. Varieties include chocolate chunk, toasted hazelnut, toasted almond, chocolate chunk with a hint of orange and chocolate chunk with toasted hazelnut. Each is sold in 150g bags, individually as a 30g biscotti or as a 5gm bite.

07725 782932 www.nisis.biz • WBC has launched a new website to showcase the packaging solutions it offers and to strengthen its position as a leading supplier of drinks, hamper and transit packaging. The London-based company specialises in taking packaging briefs through from design to delivery in a range of materials and to most budgets to help reach the widest possible market.

020 7737 1100 www.wbccreativepackaging.co.uk

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

47

Visit Harrogate’s annual speciality food show on June 20-21 at the Yorkshire Event Centre where you’ll discover the very best local, regional, national and international producers and suppliers all under one roof Discover a world of fine food in the heart of Britain ing n e p O s 0 time 2 June

ay Sund 0-16.00 11.0 June 21 ay Mond 0-16.00 09.3

T

Harr he Spec ogate iality Food will h Show pro ost

gra af attra mme of antastic inspi ctions d free visi e r t idease you, pr signed toor es a a mo nd help y ent new re s ou r businuccessful un ess.

Where can I find…

• truffle oils • taleggio • wensleydale • white pudding • potato vodka • parma ham • sarsaparilla • shopfittings • boquerones • burgundy wines • seaweed • sea salt • plum loaf • pâtés • sugared almonds • scottish oatcakes • jute bags • jordanian sweets • game pâté • grills • tills • clotted cream • cajun sauces • fish-cakes • flowering teas • port wines • peppermint creams

…in one visit?

The fair was a pleasure to visit again this year and it was good to see a cross-section of new independent suppliers.

Jim Corfield, Buyer, Partridges of Sloane Square

Organised by

Feed the dragon Great Taste Live Teach-Ins Exclusive show discounts Product launches Free Goodie bag Win a hamper Over 130 exhibitors Visit www.finefoodworld.co.uk/harrogate to register for your FREE visitor ticket.

‘Leakproof’ paper bag is resealable – and recyclable The new Boss range of leakproof paper bags from William Jones Packaging is said to provide an environmentally friendly option for packing all kinds of fresh produce – meat, cheese, fish and deli lines – as well as cooked products.

The Cardiff-based company says these sealable bags have a waterproof lining, echoing the type of fresh food bags used by many Continental supermarkets.

R

shelftalk

AC

EDITE CR

D

Looking for suppliers accredited by the Guild of Fine Food?

Follow the logo

S U P LI E P

The Boss bag also comes with a choice of sealing methods: a zipper style for easy re-use and a tape seal for single use.

The result is a pack that’s freezable, odour-free and hygienic and carries no risk of spillage once it’s sealed, yet is also fully recyclable. Boss bags are available in a range of sizes to suit different products and can be printed in full colour to include the store branding.

William Jones supplies a wide range of bespoke printed bags and carriers for the retail sector, including polythene, paper and eco-friendly jute bags.

02920 486262

www.wjpackaging.co.uk

ingredients, equipment and services for producers

Riggs adds doypack unit to range of fillers for artisan producers

Helping smaller firms meet sales and distribution challenges

Doypacks have been around since the 1960s, but they are currently growing in popularity because of their environmental and cost advantages.

For example, Arabian foods specialist Terra Rossa has just launched a 1 litre doypack option for its Jordanian extra virgin olive oil, saying the stand-up PET pouch is not Semi-automatic doypack unit can fill up to just cheaper to buy and 20 pouches per minute transport but can also have shelflife advantages.

Now Riggs Autopack has launched a new semi-automatic doypack filling machine that it says can provide “significant cost savings” for artisan manufacturers.

The equipment is designed specifically for opening, filling and sealing doypacks and would particularly suit companies producing sauces, dressings and marinades.

In the past, says Riggs Autopack, using this format in tandem with semiautomatic depositors often required up to three operators to open, fill and seal the packs. But it reckons its new rotary indexing machine makes this a thing of the past. The semi-auto machine, operating at 10-20 packs a minute, can be used by a single operator. With a compact footprint of only 800mm by 1000mm is should be relatively easy to fit into most small packaging lines.

UK sales manager Gary Lee said: “We recently identified a gap in the market for a pouch filling and sealing system that would provide a higher level of production but without the cost of a fully automatic line.”

The new doypack machine is being offered alongside Riggs Autopack’s other volumetric food depositors and liquid fillers, like the fully automatic version just installed for Manchester-based cooking sauce maker Foxhill Foods.

Foxhill bought its first standalone volumetric depositor from Riggs in 2003, to semi-automate sauce filling. As the producer has grown, Riggs helped it increased automation, supplying an automatic transfer pump in 2004 and an indexing conveyor system in 2005. Foxhill’s latest purchase is a twin head fully automatic, volumetric depositing machine, complete with a guarded ‘hot fill’ area, conveyor system and jar capping machine.

It is expected to increase output by up to 50%, with Foxhill using the kit to deposit a variety of sauces into containers ranging from 200g glass jars to 2 litre plastic catering tubs.

Guild of Fine Food member Model Logic has launched a new consultancy service to help food producers find the best route to S U P LI E P market for their product – whether it is chilled, ambient or frozen.

According to managing director Paul Johnson, Model Logic can offer guidance on physical distribution, by identifying transport and warehousing suppliers, and can also help producers find also sales, marketing and distribution agents.

“Many people will think that only a large company can afford to engage a supply chain consultancy,” says Johnson, “but we can offer a cost effective solution to even the smallest manufacturer who is launching their first product.”

Among Model Logic’s other services, it can help producers assess the profitability – or otherwise – or different customers by identifying the true supply chain costs of servicing them.

EDITE CR

R

D

01282 440040 www.autopack.co.uk

AC

THE SOURCE

0208 399 6464 www.modellogic.co.uk

Quick carton loading for bags or sachets Kliklok has designed a fully automatic ‘cascade’ loading system (CLS) to complement its wide range of end-load and top-load cartoning equipment.

The stand-alone unit – which is being demonstrated at the company’s Bristol plant – can feed bags or sachets in singles or collated stacks, either into the moving flights of an end-load cartoner infeed, or directly into a top-load carton as part of a forming, filling and closing line.

Standard features include an icon-based colour touch-screen providing recipe-style product listings, which also allows the operator to easily adjust drop timings or conveyor speeds.

Kliklok says the CLS can be fitted to any end-load cartoner, and has a top speed of 120 products or bags per minute. An XL version also available. www.kliklok-woodman-int.com

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

49

classified

BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUSINESSES FOR SALE CL EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT HYGIENE PRO PACKAGING PHOTOGRAPHY RECRUITMENT REFRIGERATION SECURITY SH WANTED WEB DESIGN BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUS EPOS TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIP • baking equipment

• food processing machinery

See our extensive range of bakery and food processing equipment at www.bakeryequipment.co.uk Contact us at: 0116 254 or email

2121

sales@bakeryequipment.co.uk

D T Saunders Ltd

103 London Road, Leicester LE2 0PF • baking equipment

Do you make PIES? We make PIE MACHINES Visit www.johnhuntbolton.co.uk TO SEE OUR RANGE OF MACHINES, PLUS VIDEO CLIPS OF THE MACHINES IN OPERATION OR CALL + 44 (0) 1204 521831 / 532798 OR FAX + 44 (0) 1204 527306 OR EMAIL spencer@johnhuntbolton.co.uk

JOHN HUNT (Bolton) Ltd Rasbottom St, Bolton, England BL3 5BZ

• food processing machinery

• ingredients

• ingredients

• insurance

• ingredients

• labelling

Suppliers of equipment for artisan producers of fruit juices, wines, ciders and oils. Our wide range extends from extraction processes to filtration, bottling, sealing and labelling.

Tel: 01404 892100 Fax: 01404 890263 Email: info@vigoltd.com www.vigoltd.com

• bottles & jars

www.machines4food.co.uk

Suppliers of new and top quality factory reconditioned Processing Equipment for • food processing machinery all types and sizes of production lines E:

sales@machines4food.co.uk

Suppliers of: � Confectionery and Gift Packaging � Chocolate � Ingredients

�

�

Griottines and Framboisines Machinery and Display Units

Unit 40, Second Avenue, Westfield Trading Estate, Midsomer Norton, Somerset BA3 4BH

Tel: 00 44 (0) 1761 410345 Fax: 00 44 (0) 1761 410332 • bottles & jars

HS HS French Flint Ltd FF Speciality Glassware for the more discerning producer.

• food photography

www.keylink.org Tel: 0114 245 5400

• ingredients

• hygeine / safety products

Need a new van?

Find it in

Ring us on Freephone 0800 096 2720

75m

m S un

flo

wer

Lab

el

16/

9/0

SUS 11 Chatto Way Industrial Estate,

8

16:

38

GO SEX Torquay, Devon TQ1 4UE LD

digest

Tel: 020 7407 3200 Fax: 020 7407 5877

www.FrenchFlint.com

Tel 01803 326818 Fax 01803 313102

Freshness & Flavour sealed in ice

Pure, Chilled or Frozen Lemon, Lime & Orange Zest & Juices

can be supplied as non-organic, organic or wax-free

Unit 4G, The Leathermarket, Weston Street, London SE1 3ER

EX SUN TRA V FLO IRG WE IN RO IL Thi vers s highly perf atile oi ec cook t for l is m high ing uses ost and in omeg. It is cont a-6 ar ains pres tificial no erva tives .

7319

3 In krea

dibl

e

21/9

/09

www.inkreadible.com sales@inkreadible.com

10:5

6 am

Page

Cont act: Pr Bine iors Byne WestPartridgs Road, Farm , www.Sussex e Green susse RH13 , xgold 8EQ .co.uk

13

Produced to order by FA Young Farm Produce Ltd Timsbury, Bath, Somerset BA2 0FQ England

T: 00 44 (0)1761 470523 F: 00 44 (0)1761 471081 E: info@zumozest.com w: www.zumozest.com DRY WHITE WINE

50

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3

and Bottled on

the premises at:

Produced VINEYARD 1AG UK GREYFRIARS m, Guildford GU3

The Hogs Back,

11% vol

Puttenha

75cl.

s

Contains Sulphite

)

64x92mm (CH2019

IE

AS S ✓ ✓MTS ✓D BAKIN

ARIN RESS G ADES INGS

Nutrit

ional

Inform Typic ation Energ al energy y 369 values 3kj Protein (899kc per 100 ml al) Carbo .......... .......... of wh hydrat ..... e...

Fat..... ich sug .......... .......... ars ..... .......... 0.0g of wh .......... .......... .. 0.0 ..... g ...... mono ich satura ..........

0.0 ..... polyun-unsatura tes.......... .... 97. g 7g tes of wh saturates .......... ........ 9.4 of wh ich om ............... ...... 16. g Trans ich om ega-3...... ..... 67. 7g Fibre.. fatty aci ega-6...... .......... 3g 0.1 Sod .......... ds........... ........ 67. g ium ......................... .......... 2g .......... .......... 0.0g .......... . 0.0 .... 0.0 g g Use and Storag Keep e Any in a coo low cloudine l, dar Do temper ss is k place.

Do not ref atures. natural at the not pourigerate.

Not bottle. r hot oil suitab back le for into deep frying .

ADE OO D DN FR GROWOM ESS SU HIGH N IN NFLO IN OMSUSS WER S EGA-EX 6

✓ST ✓ RO IR FR

112m l

Pag

e 1

E

m SUNXTR A V 0x140m ® 10 FLO IR GIN C FOR OLD WER PURE PR ES OIL SE M G

LOTHING COLD TRANSPORT DESIGN CONSULTANTS EPOS TECHNOLOGY ODUCTS INGREDIENTS INSURANCE LABEL SUPPLIERS LEGAL SERVICES HOPFITTING TICKETING TRAINING LEASING Call & ourDESIGN sales teamSUNDRIES on 01963 824464 today to discuss the rightVEHICLE classified heading SINESSES FOR SALE CLOTHING COLD TRANSPORT DESIGN CONSULTANTS , ingredients or services for your equipment PMENT HYGIENE PRODUCTS INGREDIENTS INSURANCE LABEL SUPPLIERS • labelling

• packaging

• refrigeration

Print Your Own Food Labels

• labelling

• insurance

Accredited Suppliers in this issue

• refrigeration

Ring us on: 01628 668836 or visit us at: QuickLabel.co.uk

• ingredients Fine Food Digest Ad revB.indd 1

• packaging 2/4/10 5:49 PMHeat

seal machines for pots, bottles, trays and ALL types of packaging

Low cost hand operated, semi automatic and fully automated systems Specialist suppliers to small & medium sized food companies

SiS

Seal-it-Systems

• training

Level 2 Award in Food Safety on CD

TRAIN ALL YOUR FOOD HANDLING STAFF WITH THIS CD

DON’T CUT BACK ON TRAINING CUT BACK ON COST!

Seal-it-Systems (SIS) Ltd Tel: +44(0)1254 239619 Email: info@seal-it-systems.co.uk Web: www.seal-it-systems.co.uk

To download demo’s go to www.foodhygienecd.net Or call: 01507 477589

By J. O. Training

• ingredients

• refrigeration

• packaging

A W Smith & Sons (Sundries) Ltd p16 Anthony Rowcliffe & Son Ltd p24 Beckleberrys Ltd t/a Artisan Foods p45 Belvoir Fruit Farms Ltd p8 Bespoke Foods ltd p20/p47 Carron Lodge Cheese Ltd p22 Catherine’s Choice p47 Claire’s Handmade p18 Cottage Delight Ltd p37 Cream O’Galloway Dairy Company Ltd p40 Criterion Ices Ltd p40 Deli Farm Charcuterie p31 FiberGourmet UK p47 Fosters Traditional Foods Ltd p7 H B Ingredients Limited p50 Hot Headz! Ltd p38 Infinity Foods Ltd p26 Innavisions Limited p40/p Interprofession du Gruyère p17/19 Jardine Lloyd Thompson p50 Keylink Ltd p50 Kingscroft Logistics Ltd p34 Lakenham Creamery Ltd p42 LCCS ltd p13 Loopy Lisa’s p18 Lovespoon Gelato p42 Luscombe Organic Drinks Ltd p47 Manna From Devon p31 Mantinga UK Ltd. p7 Marshfield Farm Ice Cream Ltd p47 Medallion Chilled Foods p52 Mendip Moments p42 Model Logic Limited p49 Moor Organics p46 Nisi’s p47 Olives Direct Ltd. P13 Olives Et Al p16 Parkers Packaging p51 Plough to Plate p31 Purbeck Ice Cream p46 Silver and Green of Lakeland Ltd p7 Simply Ice Cream Ltd p46 Solaris Botanicals p13 The Cornish Cheese Co Limited p22 The Devon Cream Company p31 The Dorset Smokery & Charcuterie p29 The French Dressing Company Ltd p37 The Hawkshead Relish Company Ltd p38 The Inkreadible Label Company p50 The Tracklement Company Ltd p11 The WBC/Wine Box Company Limited p47 Thursday Cottage Ltd p38 Tyrrells Potato Chips Ltd. p32 Verner Wheelock Associates Ltd p51 W Harvey & Sons p32 Zumo Zest p50

Vol.11 Issue 3 · April 2010

51

• Delicatessen wholesaler dedicated to the independent trade since 1977.

• BRC accreditation at the highest level.

Camford Way Sundon Park Luton Bedfordshire LU3 3AN 153

• Free delivery to any business in England & Wales (Terms and conditions apply).

www.westphalia.co.uk MEDALLION CHILLED FOODS Tel: 01582 590 999 52

April 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 3