Fine Food Digest

October 2010 · Vol 11 Issue 9

at the heart of speciality food and drink

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Why Lawson’s of Aldeburgh

Inside: The Best Produce From Your Region

has been voted Britain’s Best Deli PASS THE DUCHY?

Ex Duchy Originals boss Belinda Gooding repeats the formula with Roots & Wings

digest

GO NUTS FOR COBNUT OIL Meet this year’s GTA Supreme Champion

INSIDE: FIVEMILETOWN CREAMERY JAMS & PRESERVES EPoS CHRISTMAS UPDATE ROD & BEN’S PATCHWORK’S ICE CREAM

2010-11 This year’s finest food & drink judged by the experts

FEATURING OVER 180 OF THIS YEAR’S GREAT TASTE AWARDS WINNERS

IN THIS ISSUE TASTE GOLD 2010-11

Featuring over 180 Great Taste Award winners Extra copies available FREE to delis, farm shops and food halls. Call 01963 824464 for more details

2

All sales enquiries to OXFORD BLUE CHEESE COMPANY LTD 01844 338055 October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9 www.oxfordfinefood.com

opinion

in this issue

2012 Olympics food supremo Jan Matthews held a ‘meet the buyer’ event with 16 artisan food producers at last month’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair. Ms Matthews is promising that the world’s most expensive extravaganza for fit people in trainers, Lycra and Speedos will also be a massive celebration of British regional food and drink.

This was the first of several events to select foods good enough to persuade 24,000 athletes, 21,000 broadcasters and journalists and nine million ticket holders that we Brits make the best grub on the planet. It could prove an uphill struggle.

Lead sponsors and gourmet British food suppliers McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Cadbury have protected their investment in the 2012 Games by securing a guarantee of ‘exclusive branding and promotional rights within their specific categories’.

According to Food vision for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the report outlining the Games’ commitment to British food, this exclusivity does not mean major sponsors provide all the food and drink but that ‘all products and services not provided by these companies must be unbranded’.

I’m not entirely clear what this means but it’s possible some or all food producers supplying products into the Games will not be allowed to reveal any branding. I’m not sure how much this helps British producers or British food exports. But all beef, cheese and organic milk served at the Olympics by McDonald’s will be from these isles. Cadbury’s, which sources from 65 farms in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, will exclusively supply confectionery, chewing gum and ice cream, and we’re told CocaCola has been making its Elysian nectar in London for more than 100 years. So everything’s reassuringly local.

You do wonder then why Defra spent so much taxpayers’ money encouraging dairy farmers hit by foot-and-mouth to diversify into ice cream, only for the Olympic committee to deny them the best opportunity in a generation to market their products. How sad that one in five of the 14 million meals served during the Games will be a McDonald’s, so the closest most visitors get to savouring the best 28-day dry-aged British beef will be a Big Mac. What chance the orchards of old England, with their freshly pressed, single variety apple juices? Does CocaCola do that sort of thing?

For pity’s sake, Coke is much the same wherever you are in the world. So are Big Macs, which are mostly drowned in relish and sauce anyway.

McDonald’s sourcing British beef is great for farmers and should be applauded, but it hardly helps position our meat at the forefront of global cuisine.

At the very least, our street cleaners can rest easy in their beds. After the running and the jumping is done and hard-won medals hang from proud shoulders, it’ll be 100% British chewing gum they’ll be prising from the pavements of the Olympic village.

❝Coca-Cola has been making its Elysian nectar in London for more than 100 years.

So everything’s reassuringly local❞

Bob Farrand

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

What they’re saying ❝You can wait a long time before you sell a bottle of truffle oil in Portadown.

People want everyday food. In a rural town like ours, your balsamics are always going to be slow. We sell 10 times more olives in Belfast.❞ Simon Dougan of Yellow Door Deli – p42

fine food news

Local veg box schemes feel the pinch as organics market loses its shine p5

great taste awards We bring you news of all the major winners and report on a fantastic finals night at Fortnum & Mason p15

deli of the month: lawson’s

We uncover the secrets of the Aldeburgh store that has just been named Britain’s Best Deli p24

cheesewire: Fivemiletown Creamery

Mervyn McCaughey tells FFD why the Northern Irish producer’s future is in speciality cheeses p42

product update: jams

p47

regulars:

news deli of the month deli chef cheesewire shelf talk

4 24 37 39 51

EDITORIAL Editor: Mick Whitworth News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Gail Hunt ADVERTISING Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey 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

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fine food news Roots & Wings brand offers alternative to Duchy Originals for independents and multiples

Ex Duchy boss aims to plug gap left by Waitrose tie-up

Former Duchy Originals chief executive Belinda Gooding has launched a premium organic brand to plug the gap left by Duchy’s exclusivity deal with Waitrose.

Gooding ran the Prince of Wales’s organic food company for seven years, taking turnover to £75m, but left in 2007 after a disagreement over strategy. A former Dairy Crest marketing director, she is currently a non-executive director of chilled foods group Uniq.

Her new brand, Roots & Wings, aims to win space in supermarkets and independents that have delisted Duchy

Crabtree & Evelyn is among a mix of small and larger producers supplying the new brand

products since it signed an exclusive licensing deal with Waitrose and rebranded the range Duchy Originals From Waitrose. None of Roots & Wings’ products will be exclusive to independents, but Gooding said the range would be too large for any multiple to carry everything.

A tenth of Roots & Wings’ profits will be donated to children’s charities.

The newcomer will offer a range of premium organic food and non-food lines, saying they will be “hand-made and hand-crafted by artisans”. But like Duchy, it is using a mix of smaller and some larger

Redundancies at HEFF underline pressure on regional groups

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

The full extent of government spending cuts are being felt among England’s Regional Food Groups (RFGs), with even the better funded groups starting to feel the squeeze.

Heart of England Fine Foods has been forced to make redundancies following a 20% cut to its budget from regional development agency (RDA) Advance West Midlands, while Food North West will have to charge its members more for services after being hit with a 16% cut.

HEFF said it had no alternative but to lay off six staff, reducing its team to 22, following this year’s budget cut.

The RFG’s funding for next year is also expected to be cut.

“Advantage West Midlands had to find £41m of savings in this financial year and like other projects we had to take a hit,” said HEFF chief executive 4

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

Karen Davies. “Going through redundancies is very unfortunate but we had no alternative. We have now restructured and have the right business model to go forward.”

The funding Food North West receives from the Northwest RDA has also been cut and will end altogether after March 2011.

A spokesman said: “The lack of public funding will mean some of what we would have provided for free or greatly subsidised in the past must now be charged for, but we’ve no doubt we can still offer great value for businesses. We have kept outgoings to a minimum, maintaining only a small and flexible team so are not in the position at this moment where we have to reduce staff.”

Chief executive Pat Foreman added: “Food North West will soon be announcing exciting new offers

firms, including Furniss (biscuits), Crabtree & Evelyn (jams), Broad Oak Farm (sausages), Denhay (bacon), Lessiter’s (chocolates) and Welcome Foods (soups).

The biscuit range has already been listed in 150 Tesco stores nationally and Gooding is in talks with Sainsbury’s and Ocado. Advanced negotiations are also underway to supply independents through the Blueberry group, which owns distributor Fosters Traditional Foods.

“There’s a gap where Duchy used to be in the supermarkets and I think we can fill it. We did have a very loyal following [at Duchy] and people wouldn’t swap out of the brand,” said Gooding. “We’re inventing new products and improving on what I did at Duchy.”

She said organic sales had improved in 2010 prompted by consumers returning to premium products, following a tough year in 2009 when overall sales dropped 13%.

“There has been a bounce back to premium after the credit crunch. The growth in premium is being driven by key consumer dynamics including concerns over food safety and traceability, increased consumer affluence and an increased focus on health and well-being,” she said.

“At the same time, organic consumers are discerning shoppers who are more likely to examine food labels and look for, and pay for, quality when they buy.

Organic is shorthand for people who want to know the food is well-produced and doesn’t have any funnies in it.”

Morrisons c-store plan ‘bad news’ for high streets Food North West’s Pat Foreman: ‘New offers to meet changing needs’

to meet changing and demanding industry needs. The team are very positive and keen to ensure we continue to offer companies a high standard of support.”

•In other RFG news, Tastes of Anglia CEO Julie West has left the organisation to become a specialist business advisor for Business Link East, working with food, farming and rural companies. A replacement has yet to be announced.

Morrisons’ plan to follow Waitrose into convenience store retailing will make it harder for independents to get a foothold on the high street.

That’s the view of the author of a new report from the New Economics Foundation, Escape from Clone Town Britain.

Paul Squires said the domination of town centres by national chains will be exacerbated by Morrisons’ plan to trial convenience stores next year. “The announcement is bad news for UK high streets,” he said.

The New Economics Foundation report found that 41% of UK towns are clone towns (over half the stores are chains) and a further 23% were on the verge of becoming so.

Only 36% of the high streets surveyed retain their distinctive character with more than two thirds of shops being independents.

inbrief shopfitting Organic box schemes have stalled as shoppers fall back on supermarkets

Local box schemes squeezed as organic veg market loses it shine

By PATRICK McGUIGAN & MICK WHITWORTH

The organic veg box market has “stalled” after heavy losses last year due to pressure from the supermarkets and large national schemes, with smaller players now reassessing their futures.

Sales have failed to bounce back from the recession last year when the market fell in value by 10%, smaller operators told FFD. Rod Hall of Rod & Ben’s near Exeter, which began as a box scheme operator before extending into branded organic soups, said the sector had proved more pricesensitive than expected. Many shoppers are opting to buy organic veg from supermarkets, believing it to be cheaper, he told FFD. “If you compared our boxes with organic produce in a supermarket, we would work out cheaper overall. But people are habit-forming and they like to shop in the same place every week.”

Ian Tolhurst, owner of Tolhurst Organic in Berkshire, said he lost around 40% of his customers last year but has managed to halt the decline in 2010. “Box schemes have stalled for a variety of reasons, but essentially fashions have changed with the buying public,” he said.

“We’d have liked the sector to become more than a niche, but that’s not going to happen. It’s going to be difficult to take it forward on a large scale.

“We can’t compete with the supermarkets’ marketing power or national schemes like Riverford and Abel & Cole, so we have to find our niche within a niche.”

Rod Hall said the larger operators had survived by “massively changing their profiles” to offer dairy, bakery and meat products. Abel & Cole now offers everything from pickles and chutneys to ‘green’ washing powders and toilet paper for home delivery.

At local food website Big Barn, which lists around 250 box schemes on its site, founder Anthony Davison said he had seen more schemes merging together or being

taken over by larger players in the past 18 months.

“At the height of their popularity, veg boxes were a status symbol, but that has now worn off and smaller players have found it hard to compete with the aggressive marketing and wider product ranges of Abel & Cole and Riverford,” he said. “However, interest in local food could give a nudge to smaller schemes in the future, if they market the personality and provenance of the business properly.”

Ian Tolhurst added: “Companies will have to metamorphose to maintain their degree of market share.

There are lots of growers chasing a small market, which is pretty static, so it’s inevitable that some of the smaller ones will fall by the wayside.”

• Rod & Ben’s launches heat-and-serve meals - p52

● Restaurateur and TV chef Rick Stein has opened a new deli in Falmouth, Cornwall. The outlet joins a Rick Stein fish and chip shop and seafood bar, which both opened in March this year, and will sell homemade curry pastes, hummus and pesto, as well as Tywardreath sausages and Inverawe smoked salmon.

Sales of game in 2010 are projected to rise by a further 6.7% to reach £80m, according to Mintel. Venison sales were worth £43m in 2009, which represented an increase of 34% between 2006 and 2009.

Bigger suppliers like Riverford have survived by branching into meat, dairy and even non-foods

Organic label ‘not much of a turn-on’ Only 9% of shoppers actively look for ‘organic’ as a food product claim, according to a survey of 1,000 consumers conducted by MMR Research Worldwide.

The term ranked a lowly 27th on a list of 34 of the most sought-out product claims by UK shoppers.

“Consumers are telling us organic as a ‘brand’ is not much of a turn-on,” says MD Mat Lintern. “Yet they find claims such as ‘healthy’, ‘natural’ and ‘free of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives’ – benefits clearly associated with organic food – up to five times as appealing. The implication for organic food brands is to introduce more of the benefits of

Fresh and smoked seafood specialist Jollys of Orkney has been bought from owners Tony and Elizabeth Bown by its management team, George Stout and Gavin Warnock.

Jollys sells whole and processed whitefish, salmon and shellfish locally while despatching kippers, smoked salmon, smoked cheeses and other specialities further afield.

Rod Hall: ‘Complex message’

organic into their messaging, instead of relying on organic alone.”

Rod & Ben’s founder Rod Hall told FFD: “The organic message is strong, and as time goes by the benefits will become more and more obvious. It ticks all the right boxes in terms of protecting small farms, creating employment and looking after the environment.

But the sadness is, it’s a complex message so it’s not easy to

understand. It’s not BOGOF [buy one, get one free].

“Socially I think we have a big issue, because the one thing supermarkets do is provide cheap food, and you cannot stop poorer people having access to that.”

He added: “I feel organic is not for everyone. Fundamentally, poorer people are going to want to spend less of their income on food.”

The MMR survey also found that while in June 2008, 64% of consumers felt organic produce was growing in popularity, that number had dropped to 43% by June 2010.

A quarter thought organic produce was “on its way out.”

● Daylesford Organic aims to reverse the losses of previous years with a ‘mini farm shop’concession in Harrods and a franchise outlet in Tokyo. It is also launching a range of branded ready-meals to be sold through the multiples. The initiatives have been introduced by CEO Jamie Mitchell, who joined from Innocent Smoothies at the start of the year, and are part of a plan to triple turnover to £30m in five years.

The new Real Meals range is already on sale in Selfridges and Daylesford stores, while Mitchell revealed that he is also in talks with supermarkets.

Farm retail group FARMA hosted a 12-day farmers’ market as part of the ‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’ last month. The event was part of the national Start initiative launched by The Prince of Wales to encourage sustainability. ● The food and drink sector in the Cairngorms National Park has received a boost with the launch of the Food for Life Plan, which aims to build a sustainable food economy across the region. The initiative is funded by a £55,000 grant from the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

5

If I’d known news then what I know now…

estate shops

Simone Clarkin, Mmm…, Newcastle upon Tyne We opened in May 2008 and moved to new premises that are about twice the size of the first shop in June this year.

Starting small is something I’d advise everyone to do. It was an incubation period when we could find our feet and get to know our customers, but with hindsight we should have moved after the first year rather than waiting for two years.

We’ve seen the business grow phenomenally since we opened the new store mainly because we now have the space to display all our stock. People keep saying, ‘I didn’t know you sold this or that’ when we’ve actually stocked it for ages.

The other thing we would have done differently is to have been a bit bolder in our convictions when we started. The core of the business is selling really good local food from small producers. We always listen to what our customers want and are quite flexible, but in the early days we didn’t stick to our guns enough and got led down some blind alleys.

For example, we had people asking about glutenfree products, so we bought lots of them in. That

“People were asking for gluten-free products but they never seemed to come back and buy them” was a mistake. Although people were asking for them, they never seemed to come back and buy.

And the gluten-free stuff put off our main audience because people thought we were a different kind of shop. It’s good to be flexible, but we’ve learned not to get waylaid by customers too much.

Social networking is something we discovered late. I’m a big fan of Twitter now, but we only started using it after 18 months of trading. We should have done it from the start, but it never crossed our minds. We have nearly 2,500 followers and it’s an amazing resource. It doesn’t cost anything and you can use it to communicate directly with customers and suppliers. We get lots of encouragement from our customers, which is really nice, and lots of feedback about new products and where to find interesting producers. Some of our best products have come from recommendations on Twitter.

The only other thing that took me by surprise with the shop was how hard you have to work. The hours are long and it’s physically tough lifting boxes and chatting to customers all day. I wouldn’t swap it for anything, but perhaps I should have taken on staff a bit sooner. On the other hand being on the shop floor every day has allowed my husband and me to get to know our customers and build up some excellent relationships.

Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

6

March 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 2

Hopetoun House shop to showcase award winners Hopetoun House hosts a meet-thebuyer event this month

Scottish food products that have been recognised by the Great Taste Awards and other award schemes will be showcased at a new 2,300 sq ft farm shop at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh next March.

The stately home, which is part of a 6,500 acre estate on the outskirts of the city, has commissioned retail consultancy The Retailer to set up the shop, under the name Hopetoun Farm Shop, Scotland’s Finest Foods.

The company has previously worked with retailers such as Loch Leven’s Larder and Cairnie Fruit Farm, as well as tourist destinations such as the Falkirk Wheel, and plans to position the new farm shop as a showcase for Scottish food producers.

A meet-the-buyer event is to be held at the house later this month with The Retailer keen

to source award-winning products including fish, baked goods, fruit and veg, dairy and grocery items.

The Retailer’s MD Gordon Bell said the shop would be a showcase for award-winning foods.

“We plan to offer our suppliers a guaranteed one-year listing, until the following year’s awards, so that we have consistency of supply and the producers can plan production through the year.

If they win another award and sales are good enough we’ll obviously keep listing the product after that.”

Much of the shop’s produce, particularly fresh meat, will be sourced directly from the estate, while a cookery area will be used for demonstrations and master classes. www.hopetoun.co.uk www.theretailer.co.uk

local food

Store makes ‘fantastic backdrop’ for restaurant A Suffolk restaurant has been relaunched with the addition of a village shop selling home-grown produce and fine food from local suppliers.

The Dark Horse, on the grounds of the Stowlangtoft Estate, near Bury St Edmunds, was reopened last month after being taken over by flamboyant restaurateur Justin ‘T’ Bone, who has worked at restaurants across Cambridge and most recently Browns in London.

The shop is located along one side of the restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling shelving and a long counter selling fresh produce, with hams and bunches of garlic hanging above.

“Stowlangtoft doesn’t have a village shop and it doesn’t really cost us anything to run one as part of the restaurant,” said Bone. “We would be holding the stock for the kitchen anyway, so why not have it out front?

“It’s a fantastic backdrop to the dining room and people can pop in and pick up what they need to cook at home.”

Housed in a former stable and coaching house in the countryside, the 60-seater Dark Horse serves a daily changing menu of seasonal British

and Mediterranean dishes as well as breakfast, afternoon tea and Sunday roasts.

Plans are afoot to have a livestock area in the grounds of the restaurant, while produce will be grown on a one-acre plot, which will be open to visitors. Opera and theatre events in the courtyard are also in the pipeline.

“Hopefully, people will drop by on Saturday and Sunday mornings to buy their milk, eggs and bacon from the shop, and stay to have a coffee and a pastry. We can also make chutneys in the kitchen to sell through the shop,” said Bone. “It’s about trying to give people as many reasons to visit as possible and making the different elements of the business work together.”

Justin Bone (right) and chef Chris Rowell

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Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

7

Letter from Morzine

news deli-cafés

Prowse steps up café offer at second de’Clare Berits & Brown franchisee JOHN KANE is forsaking the ski slopes and heading home with his new family I know it’s a cliché, but everything changes when you have a baby. That’s why this is my last Letter from Morzine.

Joanne and I had Isabella five months ago and although Morzine is a good place to raise a child, we’ve realised it would be great to bring her up closer to her family at home, so she can see grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins more often.

It’s been a really tough decision. The business was doing well, but we had come to a natural T-junction where we had to fully commit to it or not.

We’d been renting the premises for a year and had an agreement with the landlord that we would

“To grow the business the way we wanted would have required both of us working full time.’’ buy the freehold at that point or get out. They wanted to sell the building rather than rent it out, so we had to make a decision.

To grow the business would have meant both of us working full time. With Isabella, we could have managed, but we would like to expand the family in the near future and if kid number two had come along it would have been impossible.

So with heavy hearts we closed at the end of the summer and shifted all our stock by discounting it by 50%. Even the furniture, dishwasher and fridges were snapped up by people who run ski chalets.

We got a lot people coming in saying they were disappointed we were closing and that they were going to miss the coffee and the food. Berits & Brown, who own the franchise, have also been very understanding. It was a strangely positive experience.

The business has done quite well so we’re not coming out of it broke. We’ve taken a bit of a hit on the property – because we came out of the lease early there was a penalty clause – but we’ve not lost enough to keep us awake at night.

We plan to have a break, before moving back to stay with Joanne’s parents for a while. In the last three years, we got married, moved to France, set up a business and had a baby. Now we’ve closed it and are moving back, it feels we’ve gone full circle.

If we watch the pennies we can get by for a year or so and then who knows? We might set up a shop in the UK. It would be a shame to waste all the experience. I’ll keep you posted!

Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

8

March 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 2

Cafés offer a lifeline to delis as their retail sales come under increasing pressure from the supermarkets.

That’s the view of Clare Prowse, owner of York deli de’Clare, who has just opened a second shop in the city including a 40-cover café.

“Relying purely on retail sales is a tough ask for delis these days. Since we opened our first shop in 2007 we’ve seen a lot of our local suppliers getting bigger and ending up in the supermarkets.

We still have a point of difference in terms of cheese, bread and olives, but it’s tough to make a business out of just these products,” said Prowse.

“There’s a real synergy between having a deli and somewhere to sit down and try the products on sale. We only had space for 10 seats at our first store, but I was surprised how popular they were. In choosing our second location we wanted more space so that customers could sit and fully enjoy the de’Clare experience and we could be even more adventurous with what we offer.”

The new de’Clare store is three times the

size of the first shop and the café serves more substantial dishes, such as roast belly of pork with quince aioli or seared marinated sirloin steak with barley salad, alongside platters, salads and desserts. w

www.declaredeli.co.uk

The new de’Clare includes a 40-cover café

delicatessens

Anderson & Hill harks back to Victorian times A dark wood Victorian interior and old fashioned shop door bell are the hallmarks of a new deli in Birmingham city centre, which has aspirations to open further outlets.

Anderson & Hill opened last month in the city’s historic Great Western Arcade, which was

Anderson & Hill: ‘We wanted to avoid the chrome look that so many have these days’

given a £250,000 refurbishment last year.

The shop design aims to echo the Victorian architecture of the arcade, with old-fashioned kilner jars filled with loose leaf tea, lentils and pine nuts, which are weighed out for customers.

“We looked at a lot of delis before we opened and wanted to avoid the chrome look that so many seem to have these days. We wanted a distinct identity and brand that could be replicated in other stores, if we decide to expand,” said co-owner Gary Anderson.

His business partner Matthew Hill added: “We’re aiming to attract customers who are seeking a more personal and individual shopping experience, while building a reputation for our products, knowledge and service.”

Products include a wide range of Continental cheeses and charcuterie, as well as local speciality brands such as Shropshire Fine Herbs biscuits, Pimhill flour and Just Rapeseed Oil. Other food businesses at the arcade include a chocolatier, artisan bakery The Bread Collection and a new French patisserie.

“Since the Bull Ring was redeveloped on the other side of the city, this part of town was a bit neglected, but in the past year or two we’ve seen several new independent retailers opening in the arcade, including a growing collection of food businesses,” said Anderson. w

www.greatwesternarcade.co.uk

Jules_and_Sharpie_finefood_advert_artwork.pdf 10/9/10 10:26:32

The Charcuterie Guild & UK Cheese Guild

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Non-members £85, plus VAT (£99.88).

For more information: E-mail: linda.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk | Tel: 01963 824464 www.finefoodworld.co.uk/charcuterie | www.finefoodworld.co.uk/cheese Avilton foods

Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

9

10

October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

fine food news

shopfitting better retailing GORDON LEATHERDALE

food halls

Cryer & Stott looks for more food hall sites

Cryer & Stott hopes to roll out the new format within two years

Cheese wholesaler and retailer Cryer & Stott is on the hunt for further retail sites after opening a 6,000 sq ft food hall in a Yorkshire village.

The company, which already operated three cheese shops, opened the Samuel Valentine food hall at a former pub on the outskirts of Allerton Bywater in July.

The shop was named after MD Richard Holmes’ children and houses a 40-cover café, meat, cheese and deli counters and a wide selection of ambient products.

Business development executive Jemma Hammond told FFD: “We’re putting our all behind making this shop a success but hopefully in the next 18 months we’ll be looking at other premises to recreate more food halls.”

The company decided to branch out from cheese retailing because a new housing

development has recently been built in the village providing around 5,000 new homes.

“It’s what Allerton Bywater needed,” said Hammond. “Richard also wanted to go back to his family roots in butchery. His great grandfather was a butcher in the village back in 1916 and this was passed down three generations.”

Large photos of Holmes’ grandfather and father, who helped launch Cryer & Stott, take pride of place behind the counters. The shop also features other unusual design elements, such as a ‘Mini bar’ – a real Mini car filled with racks of wine.

Local products on sale include Voakes pies, Wharfe Valley rapeseed oil and 40 local cheeses from producers such as Wensleydale, Shepherds Purse, Ribblesdale and Swaledale. Meat is sourced from farms in Kippax and Selby www.cryerandstott.co.uk

delicatessens

Country Harvest shoppers sign up for Cook’s Club Celebration Cakes, a free family visitor Food hall, gift shop and café Country pass to Wensleydale Creamery at Harvest, on the edge of the Yorkshire Hawes and a Country Harvest jute Dales at Ingleton, has launched a shopping bag.

Cooks’ Club following feedback from Cooks’ Club members also receive customers. a 20% privilege discount on Simplicity Wensleydale Creamery’s Jervaulx and Stow Green tableware and a Blue and Wensleydale with cranberries 10% discount on the two featured are the first ‘ingredients of the month’ cheeses.They will be able to attend in the club, which was launched earlier regular demonstrations from local this month at a ‘grand day out’ with Club benefits include chefs and tasting events for free, the in-store tastings and a feast of recipe a goodie bag worth first of which is a Christmas tasting in ideas.

November.

Members pay a one-off £15 joining nearly £50 Marketing manager Gillian Cowburn said: “This fee and in return receive a goodie bag worth is something completely different for Country nearly £50. Contents currently include a Country Harvest but when we talked to customers about a Harvest apron co-sponsored by Divine Deli, Cooks’ Club they all jumped at the idea.” a copy of Jenny Linford’s Great British Cheeses book, Debbie Brown’s Wallace & Gromit Cracking www.country-harvest.co.uk

How’s your in-store signage? Decent signs help increase sales and give you credibility. So what messages do yours convey? Are they backing up your branding and getting the right information across?

Here are some tips to help you plan for Christmas and the New Year.

Use directional signs. Whether they are gondola signs or on-shelf signs, these steer the customer to particular sections or to features such as tasting tables or special offers. It’s important customers can easily find what they want, but also what you want them to find.

Support your branding. Messages about who you are should be consistent across the store.

Branding is like a subliminal advert, so your logo, tag lines and website address should be carried consistently across all your signage.

Not just selling. Signs are an opportunity to share information, announce upcoming events or entice customers to frequent your website.

‘Prompt and command’. Give the customer a reason to pick up the product – and remember, it's not always about price. Use positive statements such

“Stock up on featured products. Don’t draw customers in to buy goods you don’t have enough of.’’ as ‘fresh, local…’ or ‘freshly pressed…’ that can prompt purchase.

Shout about new products. Signs can generate excitement around new additions to your stock. You can bring in the greatest new line but if you don’t have good signage it will remain a secret.

Design it right. Scruffy or amateurish signs ruin your professional image. Be consistent with fonts, colours and type sizes – for example, use the same font and size for prices every time – so the customers’ eyes can scan signs easily. Use plenty of white space and a simple, easy-to-read typeface.

Highlight key words in bold or by using a different colour rather than using all capital letters, which can makes signs difficult to read. You want customers to understand at a glance, ‘Here’s the cheese I’m looking for, it’s local and it’s only £1.99’.

When you have lots of information on the sign, design it to read from left to right, like a book, by having the text start on the left side rather than in the centre. Longer messages – three lines or more – are harder to read if the text is centred.

Be specific. People love provenance. Instead of saying ‘Sardines’, say ‘Fresh Cornish Pilchards’. Limit the words, but make your signs sizzle!

Be proactive. Track products to see which ones haven’t been selling, then use signage to create more excitement around them. Used proactively, good signage can have an instant impact on sales. gordon@stcatherinesltd.co.uk Vol.7 Issue 1 · January 2006

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October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

news producers

producers

Dragons’ advice pays dividends for Clippy’s

Wilkin & Sons acquires pudding maker Cole’s The new label (below) brings Clippy’s personality to the fore

Left: the old-style label Michelle ‘Clippy’ McKenna with partner Paul Gorman, at the Harrogate ‘Feed the Dragon’ session

By MICK WHITWORTH

Apple preserves specialist Clippy’s says its sales have doubled after it heeded the advice of retail ‘dragons’ to rethink its packaging.

Founder Michelle ‘Clippy’ McKenna and her partner Paul Gorman were among producers who took part in a Dragon’s Dens-style ‘Feed the Dragon’ session at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show in June. The panel of buyers – including Tim Howard of Harrods, Sangita Tryner of Delilah deli and Georgie Mason of Gonalston Farm Shop – were bowled over by McKenna and her products. But they said her black labels were too dark and didn’t capture either her own personality or the Clippy’s ethos: to make more use of British apples.

McKenna told FFD: “Georgie said if I’d walked into her shop she’d have bought 20 cases straight away on the back of my passion for what I do, but that passion didn’t come across from the jars sitting on the shelf.”

Clippy’s already had listings with Fortnum & Mason and regionally with Harvey Nichols, and Gorman, who gave up his job as an IT consultant to help his fiancée run Clippy’s, says the pair were initially shocked by the feedback. “As a small

company there are so many things going on, the last thing we needed was to go through a redesign.”

But by the time Clippy’s exhibited at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in London last month, its packaging had been revamped, with lighter colours and a new logo combining a stylised silhouette of an apple with Clippy’s face.

McKenna’s photograph also appears on the side of the jar.

Gorman and McKenna showed the new look to family, friends and customers before going ahead. Harvey Nichols, whose buyer Claire Mossford was also on the Feed The Dragon panel, has already extended Clippy’s listing to all stores, and other new clients have followed.

Gorman said: “It was a really tough six or seven weeks after Harrogate, but I’m so glad we went through it. These new labels are going to make a massive difference – our sales have doubled in two months.” Output from Clippy’s rented production unit is likely to hit around 100,000 jars in the current year.

The design revamp cost around £5,000, and all new clients are receiving stock in the new labels. www.clippys.com

On a mission to preserve orchards Michelle McKenna, who also runs chutney and jam-making courses under the banner Preserving the Nation, set up Clippy’s in 2006 to help provide a market for traditional British apple varieties.

She had completed a degree in cultural studies and was preparing to start a PhD looking at issues of sustainability and local food networks when she opted to start a business instead. “I had come up with an idea about protecting English apple orchards, and I thought, I can either spend four years writing a thesis that only a handful of people will read, or can I get out there and do something practical.”

Tiptree jam maker Wilkin & Sons is planning further acquisitions after taking over luxury pudding company Cole’s Traditional Foods.

Cole’s employs 20 staff in a purpose-built production unit at Great Chesterford, near Saffron Walden. Wilkin & Sons plans to keep the unit running and develop the brand further.

“Cole’s has an international reputation for high quality.

It’s a great opportunity for two premium brands to work together,” said Ian Thurgood, joint MD of Wilkin & Sons, which also owns the Thursday Cottage speciality jams brand. “Although Tiptree sales remain in strong growth, it's clear that to meet ambitious targets set for our business we need to develop areas other than the traditional preserves market.”

The company already has a cake business after investing in local companies Passionately Cakes and Raven Patisserie, which have been rebranded Tiptree Patisserie.

“We expect both to grow the businesses we have now and to add new ones,” said Thurgood. “Cole’s is a strong brand in the Christmas pudding market. It also has a great deal of expertise in cakes and baking. It’s likely that the existing range will become more widely distributed and that we'll be working with Cole’s on new products and ranges, perhaps even new market sectors.”

distributors

Olives Et Al sales chief joins Pride of Place Wholesaler Pride of Place has appointed industry veteran Simon Hurley as joint managing director to develop sales into retail and foodservice chains that currently do not stock speciality products. Hurley joins from Olives Et Al – one of the brands distibuted by Pride of Place – where he was sales director. He is also chairman of food group Direct From Dorset and has over 20 years experience in the food industry.

He plans to target untapped sectors such as convenience stores in wealthy areas, pub groups and tourist destinations. “There are several groups with 30-60 shops that don’t have a great fine food offering,” Hurley said. “We want to open those markets up.

“We’re looking to offer a service where we take over their retail ambient offering within their chains. We’re already in talks with one high street group where they would give us a metre bay for our products in 200 stores.”

Olives Et Al’s Giles Henschel said Hurley had not been replaced, but the company has recruited Jon Parvin as head of sales, to build the sales and customer service team. “Jon comes from a print background, where service and delivery are paramount,” he told FFD. Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

13

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October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

the

big winners

Humble cobnut produces a mighty harvest To kick off our five-page report on September’s GTA finals, we talk to the Kentish producer behind this year’s Supreme Champion limited to a few thousand bottles, sold at farmers’ markets It’s the last week of September, Supreme Champion 2010 or to visitors attending the and Hurstwood Farm in Kent is Hurstwood Farm piano concerts staged at the a whirlwind of activity. “We’re Cold pressed Kentish cobnut oil farm (Dain is also a piano buff). right in the middle of the “I’m trying to grab all the cobnut harvest,” says product cobnuts I can for oil this season, manager Catherine Robinson, but we’re committed to Mr when FFD calls. “We’ve got Dain’s long-standing contracts about 20 students out there for nuts in-shell this year,” says picking in the orchards and I’m Robinson. “That means we’ll run off my feet getting bottles only be able produce 9,000of oil sent out.”

10,000 bottles this season. But Robinson still can’t quite if we turned all our nuts into oil believe Hurstwood Farm’s we could do around 16,000, cold-pressed Kentish cobnut and if the current interest oil, entered in the Great Taste continues, that’s what I’ll be Awards for the first time this aiming for in 2011.” year, rose to the very top to be As a statement of intent, named Supreme Champion.

Hurstwood Farm is now “It might have sunk without investing “several thousand trace,” she says, pointing out pounds” in its own pressing that few shoppers who spot machine and weighing up the the oil at local farmers’ markets larger outlay needed to bottle its own oil too. Up to now, have a clue what it’s like. (Answer: “The taste of hazelnuts in while it has cracked and dried its own nuts, pressing and a bottle,” according to one GTA judge.) bottling has been contracted out.

But Britain’s only commercially produced cobnut oil didn’t Now, the business could even start pressing and just triumph over 6,000 other speciality food products – it did bottling nuts for other farmers in Kent, where the onceso in style. While the final judging panel (see page 21) spent threatened cobnut orchards are slowly being revived. the best part of an hour debating whether Wensleydale’s But Robinson is conscious that the Supreme Champion Jervaulx Blue cheese or Laverstoke Park’s buffalo fillet steak trophy went to an oil from Hurstwood Farm’s own should win Best Speciality from England – eventually agreeing nuts – a unique mix of varieties planted by Dain to to split the honours between them – they unanimously suit his various orchards. chose the Supreme Champion at almost the first taste.

Intriguingly, the 80-something Dain Food writer and restaurant critic Charles Campion was on has this month been spotted sketching the panel. He described the winner, which sells at around out ideas for a new piece of agricultural £9.95 for 250ml, as “an amazing oil, with bags of flavour”. hardware – to crack walnuts. Ten years “By the 1990s Britain was down to its last 250 acres of ago he planted 780 walnut trees on 14 Kentish cobnuts. This oil gives us a good reason to start acres of Hurstwood Farm, and this year planting some more,” he told FFD. they could yield several tonnes of nuts.

With distributor Petty Wood stepping in to help get “Nearly all the walnut oil in the UK the unknown Kentish oil to market after the award comes from Turkey, and a little from announcement on September 6, and Selfridges immediately France,” says Robinson. “If anyone listing the product, Catherine Robinson certainly wishes she out there knows how to get the had more oil to offer this year. Hurstwood Farm owner kernels out of walnuts…”

Richard Dain, an agricultural engineer by profession, began One to watch for the 2011 planting cobnut orchards in 1985, developing his own GTAs? machine to shell the nuts. Since then, the harvest has risen www.cobnutoil.co.uk to around 30 tonnes, but most has so far been dried for www.pettywood.com sale into the Christmas nut market. Oil production has been

By MICK WHITWORTH

What are cobnuts?

Also known as filberts, cobnuts are a cultivated variety of the native hazelnut that grows in British hedgerows. Cobnuts are typically twice the size of their less cultured cousins, although they vary in size according to variety. It’s becoming trendy to buy them complete with their frilled husk for a more traditional look.

The name ‘filbert’ is a corruption of ‘full beard’, referring to the longer fringed husk on some varieties.

Catherine Robinson, pictured at the GTAs, says she is still amazed at the first-time entrant’s success this year Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

15

the

big winners

2010 Supreme Champion

Speciality Producer of the Year Kendal Jacksmiths

Hurstwood Farm Virgin cold-pressed 100% Cobnut Oil

Liz Berners-Lee of Kendal Jacksmiths with (left) John Shepherd of Partridges and chef Nic Watt of Roka

Award sponsored by

Hurstwood Farm’s Catherine Robinson is pictured with (l-r) Simon Burdess of Fortnums, Ewan Venters of Selfridges and BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden

Award sponsored by

Speciality Importer of the Year Olives Et Al

Giles Henschel of Olives Et Al (centre) with Toby Wand of Fresh RM (left) and Sunday Times food columnist Lucas Hollweg

Award sponsored by

Best First-Time Entrant Little Rose Bakery Little Rose Bakery’s Kate Poole (centre) with Bee Hodge of InkREADible and Fine Food Digest editor Mick Whitworth

Guild of Fine Food Lifetime Achievement 2010 Mike Cook Mike Cook (centre) collects the Lifetime Achievement award from the Guild of Fine Food’s Bob Farrand (left) and BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden

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October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

Award sponsored by Award sponsored by

Ambient Product of the Year Hurstwood Farm Virgin cold-pressed 100% Cobnut Oil Catherine Robinson of Hurstwood Farm, with Mike Hogg of sponsor Petty Wood (left) and chef Bruno Loubet of Bistrot Bruno Loubet

Award sponsored by

Best Speciality from Northern Ireland Mullins Ice Cream Goats’ milk ice cream with vanilla

Best Welsh Speciality Rhug Estate Sirloin of Beef

Award sponsored by

Rhug Estate owner Lord Newborough (centre) with Rhian Williams of WAG and judge Brett Sutton, head chef at Dorset’s Eastbury Hotel

Best Scottish Speciality Reids of Caithness Traditional all butter shortbread

Award sponsored by

(L-R) Fiona Lavery of Invest NI, judge and Telegraph food columnist Xanthe Clay, award winner Walter Mullin and BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden

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Best Irish Speciality Ummera Smoked Products Silver Hill Duck Ummera’s Lorna Duffy (centre) collects the Irish trophy from Maria Stokes of Bord Bia and judge Sat Bains of Restaurant Sat Bains

Award sponsored by (L-R) Paul McLaughlin of Scotland Food & Drink, with winners Gary and Graham Reid and Charlie Turnbull of Turnbulls Deli in Dorset Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

17

the

big winners

Best English Speciality Joint winners: Laverstoke Park Produce Buffalo Fillet Steak Wensleydale Dairy Products Jervaulx Blue

Award sponsored by

(L-R) Sandy Duncan of the English Food & Drink Alliance, Jody Scheckter of Laverstoke Park, food writer and TV chef Silvena Rowe and Peter Andrew and Alison Whitehead of Wensleydale Creamery

ENGLISH

FOOD & DRINK

Best Speciality from the North of England Wensleydale Dairy Products Jervaulx Blue

ALLIANCE

Best Speciality from the South West Bramley & Gage Six o’clock Gin (L-R) Christine Marshall of South West Food & Drink, Michael Kain of Bramley & Gage and awards judge Georgie Mason of Gonalston Farm Shop

Award sponsored by

Award sponsored by (L-R) Peter Andrew of Wensleydale, sponsor Duncan Hider, awards judge Henry Harris of Racine restaurant and Wensleydale’s Alison Whitehead

Best Speciality from the South East Laverstoke Park Produce Buffalo Fillet Steak Best Speciality from the Midlands and East Anglia Thursday Cottage Damson Fruit Coulis

(L-R) Food writer Charles Campion with Jody Scheckter of Laverstoke Park and award sponsor Tim Rowcliffe

Award sponsored by Thursday Cottage’s Tim Came (centre), with Carine Hodgkiss of Aga Rangemaster and Stuart Gates, director of food development at Harrods

18

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

Award sponsored by

A New Kid On The Block

“the nut, the Filbert and the cobnut, are all botanically the same, and the two last were cultivated in England long before Shakespeare’s time, not only for the fruit, but also, and more especially, for the oil”

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October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

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the

judges

THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE: This year’s Supreme Jury Sat Bains, Restaurant Sat Bains, Notts

Georgie Mason, Gonalston Farm Shop, Notts

Charles Campion, food writer & restaurant critic

Silvena Rowe, food writer & TV chef

Xanthe Clay, chef & Saturday Telegraph food columnist

Brett Sutton, head chef, Eastbury Hotel, Dorset

Stuart Gates, director of food development, Harrods

Charlie Turnbull, Turnbulls Delicatessen, Dorset

Henry Harris, chef patron, Racine, London

Ewan Venters, food director, Selfridges

Lucas Hollweg, food columnist Sunday Times

Nic Watt, executive chef, Roka, London

Bruno Loubet, Bistrot Bruno Loubet, London

Mick Whitworth, editor, Fine Food Digest

The final judgement After months of tastings, the task of choosing the year’s big winners was down to the 14-strong Supreme Jury

Michelin-starred chef Sat Baines, Telegraph and Sunday Times food columnists Xanthe Clay and Lucas Hollweg and Selfridges food director Ewan Venters were among the 14-strong Supreme Jury who, under the guidance of BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden, decided this year’s top GTA award winners. Meeting in the Gallery Restaurant at Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly a few hours before the final awards presentation, the judges tasted and discussed more than 40 products – all of them already three-star gold winners – before agreeing the top regional and national awards and the 2010 Supreme Champion.

Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

21

the

awards night

Stars put to the test

At Fortnum’s on September 6, guests had their own chance to taste-test this year’s three-star winners

Around 500 guests at the Great Taste Awards finals night at Fortnum & Mason on September 6 had a unique chance to test their tastebuds against the GTA judges.

Almost of all of this year’s three-star gold winning foods were being sampled at tasting tables and chefs stations spread around two floors of Fortnums’ famous Piccadilly store. And rather than being tasted as ingredients in dishes, each food and drink was sampled on its own – exactly as it had been by a succession of GTA judges.

Many of the award-winning producers were also there to give a helping hand to Fortnum’s chefs and serving staff and offer guests an insight into the foods they were tasting.

22

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

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23

deli of the month

Lessons from Lawson’s What does it take to be Britain’s best deli? Not flashy premises, not a café, not even a huge range, but a great ‘deli attitude‘ and a gut instinct for food retailing

W

e’re squeezed into the cluttered office-cum-storeroom above Lawson’s in Aldeburgh, newly crowned Britain’s Deli of the Year in the competition staged by Olives Et Al. Owners Richard Lawson and Claire BruceClayton are perched on folding chairs while I pump them for clues about what makes this seaside business such a winner. After all, it has also been named top deli in the Suffolk Food & Drink Awards three times in five years.

Every few minutes, Bruce-Clayton hears a familiar customer’s voice wafting up from the shop and breaks off to shout a ‘hello’ down the staircase. Chef Peter Harrison climbs over us in search of peanuts for a batch of spiced nuts he’s roasting in the kitchen. It’s enjoyably chaotic but after an hour of this I’m ready with my killer question. “A lot of deli owners will come to see why you won Deli of the Year. Is there anything about the shop that you wouldn’t want them to see? Anything that lets you down?”

Bruce-Clayton (who does most of the talking while her partner, smiling behind his trademark bushy beard, gets the occasional word in edgeways) tells me: “Tons of things. Richard 24

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

and I go home all the time and say, ‘Oh God, that didn’t look very good...’. There are tons and tons and tons of things.”

In fact, most of these are down to lack of space in the deli’s narrow, period property in the middle of Aldeburgh, a quietly prosperous town unspoilt despite an influx of classy clothing chains. Chef Harrison complains daily that he needs a bigger kitchen. They’d also like more space for tastings, and the fresh produce display could be bigger, but there’s no scope to expand.

Few of these shortcomings will raise many eyebrows. Is there anything else that visiting retailers might snipe at? “I do look at our ambient range and wonder, is it sufficiently different? I’ve walked into other delis and thought, ‘Oh, they’re using Brindisa, Seggiano, Olives Et Al, Fratelli Camisa…’ People might think the same about us.”

And that’s true. Lawson’s is no Aladdin’s Cave of obscure Continental treats. Its range of packaged goods looks familiar – brands like Atkins & Potts, Ortiz, Opies, Meridian, Gustosecco, plus locals like Pinneys of Orford, Jules & Sharpie and the Artisan Smokehouse in Woodbridge. The shop is small, too – a couple

of rooms, each no more than 10-12ft wide, and with no eat-in facilities. There’s not even an espresso machine – the owners took it out within a year of opening because of the queues it caused. But it was neither size not breadth of range that clinched the inaugural Deli of the Year title. Olives Et Al boss Giles Henschel made it clear to the judges (and I was one of them, along with the likes of Fortnum’s grocery buyer Sam Rosen-Nash and Sunday Times food writer Lucas Hollweg) that he wasn’t looking for the biggest stock list or swankiest premises but the right “deli attitude”.

Lawson’s has that in abundance, and it comes across most strongly in its fresh offer, built around products made by Peter Harrison, fellow chef Kim Churchyard and the team. Changing daily according to the ingredients available – including surplus garden fruit and veg bought from Lawson’s customers – products range from salads like roasted butternut squash, lentil & red onion, to chilli jam, lemon & parmesan wafers banana bread and Blythburgh free-range pork, apple & thyme pasties.

“We’ve always encouraged everyone to cook as the mood takes them, and with the seasons,” says Bruce-Clayton. “That’s when something interesting can happen. A lot of people shop here four or five days a week and it’s really important we offer an ever-moving choice.”

“We’re more like a French traiteur than a typical deli,” adds her partner. “Holiday-makers come in on a Tuesday wanting what they

Interview by MICK WHITWORTH

“We’re more like a French traiteur than a typical deli”

bought on Saturday, and we have to explain that we like to move things on. Once they understand, they think it’s great, but it’s as if they’ve been brainwashed by the supermarkets.”

The key with producing food in-house is consistency, says Bruce-Clayton, and it’s important staff understand that too. Chef Kim Churchyard, for example, is “incredibly steady and consistent, and knows the importance of getting product out of the door”.

The shop’s own products are supplemented by local lines like Bray’s Cottage pork pies from north Norfolk and a serious cheese selection, mainly from East Anglian wholesaler Hamish Johnston. “We’re lucky to have [owner] Will Johnston on the doorstep,” says Bruce-Clayton.

“We have a great relationship with him and he really goes the extra mile. We buy direct from Neal’s Yard Creamery and a bit of Italian from Fratelli Camisa but we have great faith in Will.”

If Lawson’s ‘deli attitude’ shines through its fresh food offer, it’s equally apparent in the general ambience and the obvious rapport between customers and deli staff like Juliet Day and Tina Robinson. During a three-hour visit, I don’t think one shopper walked though the door without being hailed with a loud and friendly ‘hi’, usually followed by a bit of banter or gossip.

So it’s the staff and the food they produce that give this deli its USPs – things Waitrose, which opened nearby two years ago, can’t replicate.

Aldeburgh used to be relatively supermarket-

free. There was a Co-op in the high street and a Somerfield in Saxmundham, seven miles away.

“Then two years ago the Somerfield was bought

by Waitrose, and a lot of our ambient sales went to them,” says Bruce-Clayton. Lawson’s hasn’t delisted many lines but the rate of sale has dropped, so produce from the in-house kichen has become doubly important.

Although they came to retail with no formal training, Bruce-Clayton and Lawson are both professional foodies. In 1991 they took on the catering at Snape Maltings concert hall, hub of the music festival that turned Aldeburgh from a sleepy fishing town into one of the country’s most sought-after spots. At one stage the couple were running the Aldeburgh Foundation’s high street restaurant too. Then, after giving up the catering contract, they first bolted a small deli onto the restaurant, before moving to a bigger shop at 138 High Street in 2006.

Both say they are content to have left the restaurant lifestyle behind, although they continue to cater for private parties. There’s a tie-up with ‘big house’ rental provider Turnkey Estates to provide hampers and full catering for posh house-parties, and also a hamper service for smaller holiday cottages promoted through letting agent Best of Suffolk.

Turnover in the deli now averages £6,000 a week in the winter and £12,000-£13,000 in summer. Bruce-Clayton says she and Lawson are imagined by some to be making a small fortune, based on the queues in the deli at

lunchtime. But she points out their staff costs are high, as are rents in a town where property prices have been untouched by the recession.

“Financially, we’d be a lot better off if we took on some of the big weddings we’re asked to cater for. But we’d rather do small and special and not overburden ourselves.”

They opened the deli “knowing nothing” about retail and worked on gut instinct, finding “skills we didn’t know we had in terms of marketing, branding and promotion”. That includes publicising their Deli of the Year status effectively with help from Olives Et Al’s agency, Positive PR. Lawson’s works closely with local businesses too – for example, highlighting a ‘recipe book of the month’ in conjunction with The Aldeburgh Bookshop and sampling its recipes in-store.

And the owners have embedded themselves in the community, whether that’s working with schools, buying up surplus produce from local gardeners or, in Richard’s case, being part of the town’s RNLI lifeboat beach crew.

Deli sales grew steadily until the winter before last, which, with fears of recession, was “very nasty”. But Bruce-Clayton says: “We’re very, very lucky to be where we are. I have a suspicion none of us in Aldeburgh really knows how tough it is for the rest of the UK. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I wouldn’t like to have been stuck anywhere less affluent over the last two or three years – or going into next year.” www.lawsonsdelicatessen.co.uk Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

25

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SC II 800

Stand scales for serving customers or serlf-service. Checkout area solution when combined with cash till drawer

Decorative pre-pinted labels, including in-house design service

SC II 100 G

Platform scales with separate load receptor 30kg x 60kg for serving customers and displaying prices

Battery Operation (optional) Internal lithium-ion battery pack, can be charged via the scales power supply within 3.5 hours 10 hours operation time approximately External Battery Operation (optional) 12V, via a battery connection cable

26

October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

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

great taste awards 2010

ColleCtion AN EXCLUSIVE SELECTION OF AWARD-WINNING SPECIALITIES FOR FINE FOOD STORES “If I were an independent retailer, I’d want to be able to order a wide range of Great Taste Awards gold winners from a single source. I’d want to make one phone call, receive one delivery and one invoice. I’m delighted to say you can now do that from Petty Wood.”

Mike Hogg, Chief Executive, Petty Wood

Every featured product has been awarded gold in the 2010 Great Taste Awards. So you and your shoppers can be sure it’s going to taste great.

A special promotion in association with

at the heart of speciality food and drink

digest

A promotional feature for To place your order now, call 01264 333393

Gilchesters

OriGinal spelt Biscuits Hurstwood Farm

KentisH cOBnut Oil

Top of the pile, the 2010 Supreme Champion is the first oil to be produced from UK-grown cobnuts.

Over a kilo of cobnuts is needed for each bottle for an intensely nutty but wonderfully satisfying flavour. This is a premium oil - use for drizzling, in salads and dressings.

Delicious when used for grilling, particularly with fish or chicken, or in roasting autumn and winter vegetables. This really is a muststock for winter.

Delicioso

Olive Oil Biscuits ‘Tortas de Aceite’ are traditional hand-made sugared olive oil biscuits from Seville, imported by Spanish food specialist Delicioso. They’re gently flavoured with aniseeds and sesame seeds, sprinkled with sugar and briefly toasted to lightly caramelise the sugar, before being individually wrapped to preserve the crispness of the biscuit. Traditional tortas are made with olive oil whereas these use of a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and high-oleic acid sunflower oil, making them cholesterol free as well as preservative and additive free. They’re not only delicious but healthy too.

Gilchesters Original Spelt Biscuits are made from the company’s own grown and milled spelt. This ancient grain was used in Roman times and is enjoying a revival thanks to its unique flavour and digestive benefits for people with wheat sensitivities.

Gilchesters Farm is located just four miles from Hadrian’s Wall, where Spelt was grown over 2000 years ago.

Enjoy Original Spelt Biscuits with cheese, smoked fish, patés or just as a wholesome snack.

rude Health

Daily Oats pOrriDGe Rude Health’s classic organic porridge, Daily Oats, was awarded a gold star this year. This blend of the finest Scottish porridge oats and jumbo oats creates a perfect combination of creaminess and texture. It’s healthy, hearty and a winter top seller.

rude Health

tHe GranOla Rude Health’s indulgently healthy The Granola won two gold stars just weeks after its launch. So called because it’s the ultimate organic granola, its unique multigrain blend of oats, spelt, barley and puffed amaranth is lightly baked with freshly roasted nuts, honey and date syrup to create a fiercely more-ish cereal. Its already much loved by breakfast aficionados across the country.

cumbrian Delights/Friendly Food & Drink

sticKy tOFFee sauce

This Sticky Toffee Sauce is as wicked and naughty as it sounds. The GTA judges described it as “Superb! It will shorten your life, but worth it.” Simply remove the lid, warm for a few seconds and then drizzle over puddings, desserts or ice creams.

There’s no wastage as any left can be popped into the fridge and re-used later.

That’s if there is any left.

cumbrian Delights/Friendly Food & Drink

cHOc-O-tOFF sauce

Choc-O-Toff Sauce is a twist on our classic sticky sauce, combining it with a rich dark chocolate giving a dessert sauce that when warmed will lift even the dullest of desserts or ice creams. Perfect for anyone unable to exist without a chocolate fix. It’s naughty and irresistable and will unlock your wicked side.

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

great taste award gold winners new Forest Biscotti

SpiCed Fruit & AlmOnd BiSCOtti

New Forest Biscotti is the South’s number one Biscotti producer, satisfying our dunking needs since 2008. Spiced Fruit & Almond Biscotti are 100% handmade from start to finish, hand-mixed using New Forest free range eggs and British beet sugar, hand-cut, and then handed over in beautiful biodegradable bags. They really are the perfect ‘dunking’ accompaniment for any hot beverage.

James Chocolates

StrAwBerry & pepper ChOCOlAte BAr James Chocolates' Strawberry & Black Pepper Bar is a gold star winning combination of creamy white chocolate, freeze dried strawberries and ground black pepper. The peppery kick brings out the flavour of the strawberries and cuts down on the sweetness of the white chocolate.

Presented in James' new free standing bar pack this is sure to be a winner sales-wise too.

James Chocolates

dArk ChOCOlAte truFFleS with rASpBerry & BAlSAmiC VineGAr Winning two gold stars at this year’s GTA’s, James Chocolates Raspberry & Balsamic Fresh Cream Truffles are a carefully balanced blend of dark chocolate, fresh raspberry, cream and a dash of balsamic vinegar. The crunch of the dark shell gives way to a smooth ganache with a zingy, fruity flavour enhanced by the sweet acidity of the balsamic.

Bonne maman

COnFiture de CArAmel Famed for fine conserves and marmalades inspired by authentic French recipes, Bonne Maman has become a byword for style and quality, attracting a loyal following of discerning consumers. The perfect accompaniment for any dessert, this GTA gold award-winning Confiture de Caramel is made using sweetened condensed milk for a luxuriously smoothe and delightfully creamy caramel sauce with no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours.

Cranberry enterprises SpiCy SmOked AlmOndS These award-winning Spicy Smoked Almonds from Cranberry, are roasted and flavoured in their factory in West London using the traditional Middle Eastern hot air method. These form part of a range of fruit and nut products offering a choice between really healthy options, such as sliced, chunked mango or more indulgent options such as yogurt coated cranberries. A full range of support merchandising options is available.

Cox’s Original

OriGinAl BlOOdy mAry SpiCer Launched in July 2010, Cox’s Original Bloody Mary Spicer is a harmonious blend of fifteen herbs, spices and chillies allowing you to enjoy the perfect Bloody Mary every time.

The sauce conveniently and consistently delivers body, depth, and complexity for the perfect Bloody Mary by simply adding to tomato juice and vodka. The Spicer is also the perfect spicy alternative to Worcester Sauce, combining this classic flavour with a real chilli kick.

Ouse Valley Foods

SlOe, Apple & Gin Jelly One of Ouse Valley Foods’ range of delicious, crystal-clear jellies which were originally introduced in 2006. The range is constantly evolving as director Julian Warrender develops more tantalising recipes. Julian commented: “To be awarded a highly coveted GTA gold for our Sloe, Apple & Gin Jelly is totally uplifting news for our small but growing company”

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

A promotional feature for To place your order now, call 01264 333393

ike & sams

Kestrel Foods - Forest Feast

HAndmAde BelgiAn milK cHocolAte mAngo Kestrel Foods - Forest Feast

HAndmAde BelgiAn dArK cHocolAte sour cHerries Award-winning Forest Feast Dark Chocolate Sour Cherries & Milk Chocolate Mango use the finest dried fruits, carefully hand dipped in luxurious Belgian chocolate for an indulgent fruit & chocolate fusion. A perfect pick-me-up, each re-sealable pack offers at least three 25g portions, so chocolate connoisseurs can indulge their desire for a little luxury over and over again.

Aspall Apple BAlsAmic VinegAr A distinct rich caramel colour and a fragrant sweet aroma of apples and toffee is the flavour from Aspall Apple Balsamic Vinegar, falling between sweet and sour but with a sharp cidery kick at the finish. Available in a size of 350ml. All Aspall vinegars are suitable for vegans, vegetarians and coeliacs.

sweet & sAlty popcorn Nothing is quite like the gold award-winning Ike & Sams Sweet & Salty Popcorn! It’s neither too sweet nor too salty with just the right amount of both to make a classic blend.

Best of all, this popcorn has zero grams of trans fat and no cholesterol or preservatives, so you’re eating pure goodness. If that wasn’t enough, Ike & Sams uses 100% pure corn oil for the corniest experience ever!

Aspall clAssic orgAnic suFFolK cyder (7% ABV) Aspall Organic Suffolk Cyder is made using 100% organic apple juice, of which 90% of the fruit is from Aspall’s own orchards.

The ancient apple varieties combine to deliver a unique flavour profile and attractive golden colour. The palate is rich, initially full and slightly sweet with good balancing acidity and a pronounced astringency followed by a very long dry finish.

Aspall dry premier cru suFFolK cyder (7% ABV) Of mid straw-gold colour and a clean, light aroma of dessert apples, Aspall Premier Cru is dry, round and creamy on the palate with a good acid balance, pleasant soft tannins and an elegant, long finish. Made from 100% apple juice, Premier Cru’s Champagne taste embodies the essence of an orchard and has won many awards including the World’s Best Cider.

mr organic orgAnic tomAto KetcHup This two gold star award-winning ketchup is produced at the Mr Organic factory near Rome using 600g of tomato per 100g of ketchup. Only the finest sun-ripened Italian organic tomatoes from the local area go into Mr Organic products, as does the experience gained from three generations producing mouth watering tomato products in their ketchup.

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

great taste award gold winners Newby Teas

ImperIal JasmINe - loose Tea Caddy An extraordinary tea where the fresh tea leaves are hand-rolled into small pearls of tea. The scenting process requires up to six lots of jasmine blossoms.

Each lot is removed manually before the next is applied. A delicate and bright tea, pale in colour and with the sweetest jasmine fragrance giving a distinct and floral aftertaste.

Newby Teas

eNglIsh BreakfasT - loose Tea Caddy The Scottish origins of this blend were edited out of its name. Queen Victoria enjoyed the blend so much while at Balmoral Castle that she brought a personal supply back to London. It became known as English Breakfast Tea and to this day is still one of the most popular blended black teas. A bright and full bodied earthy tea, it’s amber in colour with a rich malty aftertaste.

Newby Teas

INdIaN BreakfasT - loose Tea A unique Newby blend of Indian Assam and high grown teas from the Himalayan regions. This is a lighter breakfast blend which combines the delicate flavours of high grown Himalayan tea with the rich fullness of Assam tea. The cup has good body with medium-strength liquor and a delicate fruity fragrance that is refreshing at any time of the day.

Newby Teas

JasmINe Blossom - 25 Tea Bags The traditional scenting process begins in the evening when the harvested jasmine flowers bloom and release their rich perfume. Layers of the blossoms are laid over the tea and their scent is absorbed. This is a light yellowish cup with the delicate perfume of jasmine and a sweet and fragrant aftertaste.

Newby Teas

rosehIp & hIBIsCus - 25 Tea Bags Rosehips are the fruits of the wild dog rose and are naturally endowed with high levels of vitamin C. Rosehip’s fruity flavour has been traditionally combined with the stronger, tart taste of hibiscus. Hibiscus flowers have been used for centuries in Hindu, Chinese and Western herbal medicine. The red, rich, fruity and aromatic infusion is naturally caffeine free, sharp and tangy and invigorating to the palate.

Newby Teas

JasmINe moNkey - loose Tea These top quality fresh tea leaves with their many ‘tips’ covered in white hair, combined with the long twisting shape of the leaf, give the tea a monkey tail appearance. Its appeal is further enhanced by the traditional jasmine scenting process that create a delicious sweet and fresh tasting tea with a long-lasting aroma of fragrant jasmine.

simtoms

simtoms

Simtom’s new restaurant-style range offers a more contemporary approach to a discerning market of curry enthusiasts.

Created by two award-winning Indian chefs, the restaurant-style Jalfrezi cooking sauce is made using authentic ingredients offering a combination of aromatic herbs and spices enriched with fresh onions & peppers.

Savour the aromas, tastes and flavours you’d come to expect from Simtom.

Its restaurant-style Lime & Chilli chutney is another gold award winner.

Produced in India, this authentic chutney offers a truly mouth-watering combination of flavours from the zest of the lime and medium bite of chillis.

JalfrezI sauCe

lIme & ChIllI ChuTNey

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

A promotional feature for To place your order now, call 01264 333393

Kendal Jacksmiths

Finest FlAPJAcK Kendal Jacksmiths

lemon & GinGer FlAPJAcK Kendal Jacksmiths

APricot & Almond FlAPJAcK Kendal Jacksmiths

dAte & molAsses FlAPJAcK Kendal Jacksmiths began in 2006 when Liz Berners-Lee launched a sandwich business with friend Julie Thomas. In 2008 when Liz continued the business on her own, she started specialising in the sticky oat flapjacks that are now her mainstay. She was right to focus on them as both her date & molasses and lemon & ginger flapjacks collected a maximum three gold stars at this year’s Great Taste Awards. She also won the title Speciality Producer of the Year after no fewer than seven of her recipes collected gold awards.

Atkins & Potts

Beetroot & HorserAdisH relisH A crunchy beetroot relish with the warmth of grated horseradish, this hearty accompaniment to cold meats and cheese is popular in Central Europe with fish and smoked sausages. Made using Britishgrown beetroot in Berkshire, the GTA 2010 judges said: “Good texture and crunch with excellent balance. Great colour, keep making it.”

Atkins & Potts

BAlsAmic & Plum cHutney

This exceptionally fruity chutney with the added piquancy of balsamic vinegar is excellent with good strong cheeses and paté and delicious with duck. Made in small batches, it contains generous quantities of the best quality ingredients.”

demarquette Ben tre sinGle estAte VietnAmese milK cHocolAte 40% cocoA demarquette Ben tre sinGle estAte VietnAmese dArK cHocolAte 70% cocoA The 2010 vintage GTA three-star gold Ben Tre single estate Vietnamese chocolate is exclusively available to independent retailers. Launched in support of Action Against Hunger, each 70% cocoa solids dark bar and 40% rich milk bar sold raises £1.00 for the charity. Ben Tre is attracting massive publicity and every store stocking it will be listed on the Great Taste Awards website. Sold in counter display packs of 10 dark and 10 milk, this is your chance to publicise your store, sell what is arguably the best chocolate in the world and help under-privileged children around the world.

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

Atkins & Potts

KAsHmiri KormA sAuce This Persian-Indian sauce embodies the unique flavours in Asian cuisine that arise as much from the preparation method as from the ingredients.

This sauce is quick to use. Fry prawns or chicken and then add sauce to the pan. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with toasted flaked almonds or fresh chopped coriander and serve with naan bread and steamed basmati rice. The GTA 2010 judges commented: “Nice, fresh, good flavour and gentle creaminess.”

great taste award gold winners munchy seeds PumPkin mix Created over 11 years ago, Pumpkin Mix is one of Munchy Seeds’ most popular lines. The three seeds (sunflower, pumpkin & sesame) give a wonderfully nutty flavour that enliven a salad, while a banana dipped into Pumpkin Mix is a real kids’ favourite. The mix provides a good source of the antioxidant vitamins A and E needed for a healthy immune system.

munchy seeds omEga mix Epicure

TomaTo & Basil PasTa saucE

Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, linseed, flax, rapeseed and hemp are all dry roasted with a dash of Munchy Seeds’ special savoury sauce to make Omega Mix. The addition of rapeseed not only increases the levels of Omega 3, but also gives a fantastic crunch. Rich in essential fatty acids, which can help maintain a healthy heart and circulatory system.

Epicure

TomaTo & chilli PasTa saucE The Epicure brand was created in 1891 with an ethos dedicated to the pleasure of good food. That philosophy still holds true today. The company originally brought food innovation to Britain by importing exotic fruits, vegetables and spices previously unseen in this corner of the world.

Today the objectives are broadly the same: seeking out only the finest quality foods.

To assist the development of new ingredients and recipes, Chef James Moulson, who has held positions at Claridges and on the cruise ship QE2, is now part of the Epicure team.

The award winning Deli~Italia pasta sauces use only the finest ingredients and are made in Modena, Italy in small batches to ensure outstanding quality. Cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and hot chillies are used to create magnificent sauces inspired by traditional Italian recipes.

chutnee’s

luxurY mango chuTnEY This addition to Curry Cuisine’s ‘Chutnee’s Handmade’ range takes mango chutney to a different level. A myriad of freshly roasted spices are added and combined with saffron to give an almost honey-like aroma, with each mouthful delivering a different taste sensation as the spices come in to their own. This is a mango chutney that moves away from the 'norm' and leaves you wanting more.

chutnee’s

sPicEd YorkshirE Plum chuTnEY Using naturally grown plums sourced from a social enterprise for people with learning difficulties, this spiced plum chutney is handmade in small batches by Curry Cuisine under their new brand, ‘Chutnee’s handmade’. The chutney is a perfect balance of spices and chilli heat, bringing out the rich flavour of the plum. Perfect with cold meats and cheeses as well as a pleasant accompaniment to curries.

A Fine Food Digest Special Promotion

Petty Wood and the Great taste aWards Petty Wood has been serving the independent retail trade for nearly two centuries, having been established in Threadneedle Street in London in 1816. This is a distribution business covering the whole of the UK and Ireland and also exports products around the world. As well as owning the resurgent Epicure brand, Petty Wood represents over forty other brands of distinction including Walkers Shortbread, Baxters and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks.

Chief executive Mike Hogg is very proud of his company’s sponsorship of the Ambient Product of the Year in the 2010 Great Taste Awards. Following a discussion with Bob Farrand, director of The Guild of Fine Food, Hogg developed an idea to help small producers grow their businesses through a more effective route to a wider market. Hogg and his team selected over 40 GTA gold-winning ambient products for inclusion in the new Petty Wood sales brochure (available October) that is distributed to 4,000 customers.

Hogg said: “With a career that spans retailing, buying, marketing and manufacturing I am in the fortunate position where I can give something back to an industry that has sustained me for over 35 years. As any small producer will confirm, one of the biggest challenges they face is route to market. Post and packing can be up to 30% of product cost and there are always issues with breakages. But it’s not just the cost. So many small producers tell me taking orders, dealing with customers and then packing products for distribution takes a disproportionate amount of their time.

Time better spent doing what they do best – making product.”

Now, these selected gold award-winning producers can supply just one point – Petty Wood – to acheive national distribution. Hogg continues: “My thought is that in streamlining distribution, both producers and retailers will save time selecting a range of outstanding gold award-winning products to increase sales and for their customers to enjoy.”

To request a Petty Wood brochure or to place an order now, call 01264 333393 or visit www.pettywood.co.uk

www.pettywood.co.uk

Challenge The Taboo I ask for your help to raise awareness and help break the taboo of talking about cancer. Over the next 3 months 30,000 bottles of this Cranberry Crush will be on shelves all over England. The profit will be passed to Cancer Research UK, but more importantly we hope people start to talk a little more openly about this disease. Breaking that taboo can mean that it is discovered at an earlier stage and can be treated successfully. It touches us all.

Please put this on your shelves.

T. 01364 64 30 36 Sicilian Lemonade Raspberry Lemonade

Apple & Elderflower Juice

w w w. l u s c o m b e . c o . u k

Tel: 01555 772277 www.ramsayofcarluke.co.uk

Po Fr r ee k R Sa a u ng sa e g es

Award winning black pudding, bacon, hams, haggis, sausages & cooked meats

T: 01983 866907, F: 01983 864733 , E: info@thetomatostall.co.uk

www.thetomatostall.co.uk

Vol.11 Issue 9 路 October 2010

35

Yorkshire Provender Soups: doing justice to the veg. We combine a passion for quality with unique, original recipes.

Solaris.Botanicals

As Belinda says:

“Award winning, Organic Whole Leaf Teas”

“We try to keep a clear focus and use culinary skill and the best ingredients to produce a superior product.

We want our soups to sing of a wonderful British season!”

Solaris Botanicals,Ireland - Tel+353 (0)91 750020 / Mobile (UK): 079 03262720 Visit our website to see our full range - www.solaristea.com

e2832 WAG Fine Food Digest Ad a-w 20/09/2010 11:28 Page 1

www.yorkshireprovender.co.uk info@yorkshireprovender.co.uk

LOOK OUT FOR THE LOGO

Here at ‘Wales The True Taste’, we’re on a mission to promote the very best of what our country has to offer. Welsh produce is made by people with bags of creativity and a passion for approaching food in original and inventive ways.

Look for the logo for True Taste Award Winning Food and Drink from the people of Wales.

Visit www.walesthetruetaste.co.uk

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October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

delichef

putting deli ingredients to work

interview

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Angela Baird Yum Cafe at Earthy, Edinburgh

S

it down at one of the wooden farmhouse tables in Yum Cafe at Earthy in Edinburgh and you could find yourself sharing it with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver or Fergus Henderson.

Not the celebrity chefs themselves – sorry to disappoint excited autograph hunters out there – but their cookery books, which are left on the tables by head chef Angela Baird for customers to browse as they wait for their orders.

“We try to give customers in the café as much inspiration as possible about how to use the ingredients we sell in the shop. The open kitchen means I get to interact with knowledgeable, inquisitive customers all the time and I do my best to highlight particular ingredients in different ways on the menu. But we also give them cookery books to flick through,” she explains.

Ottolenghi’s book Plenty is a particular favourite. “I used to live near his shop on Upper Street in Islington and would go there a lot,” she says.

The famous chef’s love of seasonal fruit and vegetables and his use of colour and bold flavours are echoed in Earthy’s food, which makes full use of the shop’s produce in a daily changing selection of soups, salads,

Head chef Angela Baird: ‘We try to give customers in the café as much inspiration as possible about how to use the ingredients we sell in the shop’

paninis and specials.

On the day that I speak to Baird and shop manager Archie McDiarmid, the five salads on the menu make for a dazzling multicoloured display with options such as coleslaw of new season apples, fennel, kohlrabi & caraway, and roast organic nectarines with local basil & mozzarella.

The emphasis on fresh seasonal produce is not really surprising when you consider that the shop was set up in 2008 by organic farmer Patricia Stephen and horticulturist Pete Jackson, along with marketing expert Dirk Douglas. Over 100 Scottish producers supply the store, many of which are local and organic, and their products are grouped in theatrical displays that lend the shop a market feel.

“Angela and I will wander around the store of an evening looking to see

Wild Foraged Mushroom & Fresh Ricotta Tart Ingredients: pastry 250g Doves Farm organic plain flour 125g cold butter 2 organic egg yolks beaten with a splash of cold water to help break them down Pinch of Halen Môn sea salt Ingredients: filling 250g fresh ricotta from SS Dei Naufragati in East Lothian 400g wild foraged mushrooms (cultivated chestnut ones can be used if you don’t have access to good woodland) 3 organic eggs

2 cloves of garlic (in spring, a handful of wild garlic is a great foraged alternative) 500ml organic double cream Handful of organic chives A pinch of Halen Môn salt Method: pastry Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Grate the cold butter into the flour and salt. Add the egg yolks. Roll the pastry out and place in a 26cm tart tin. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake blind, remove the beans and place the pastry in for another five minutes.

Method: filling Slice up the mushrooms, chop the garlic.

Sauté them both, then season and put the mushrooms into the pastry base.

Crumble the ricotta and add evenly throughout the base. Beat the eggs and cream to mix well, season and add chives. Pour over mushrooms. Bake in the oven at 180ºC until the tart takes on a golden brown colour on top (around 20-25 minutes) then allow to rest for at least 10-15 minutes. Serve warm, with a salad of favourite seasonal leaves with a good, peppery dressing.

what needs using up but also what’s new and in season to showcase in the café,” says McDiarmid. “For example, one of our suppliers in East Lothian currently has a big glut of courgettes so we can get them at a really good price and unbelievable quality. A courgette might be something that people don’t know what to do with, but they can get inspiration in the café from dishes such as our organic cous cous salad with courgette, basil, green chilli and pumpkin seeds or from our courgette, ricotta and dill fritters.”

Cheese and meat from local producers are also regularly highlighted on the menu. Gartmorn free-range chicken, red pesto & roasted pepper panini and Glazert goat’s cheese & wild salad on onion bread from local artisan baker Nir are just a few of the sandwich options on the day we speak, while a tart of wild foraged mushrooms, Flower Marie ewe’s cheese & garlic is one of the specials.

Coffee from Artisan Roast is another big draw for customers.

“They are flat out the best coffee roasters in Scotland as far as we’re concerned,” says McDiarmid. “They roast for us to order every week so the coffee we’re serving is never older than three or four days and we use exclusively organic unhomogenised milk from a local farm.”

Before joining Earthy, McDiarmid previously worked for cheesemonger IJ Mellis and for Valvona & Crolla.

“A lot of places in Edinburgh specialise – so you have Peter’s Yard, which has a Scandinavian focus, and Valvona & Crolla, which is Italian, but at Earthy we’re trying to provide a much broader range of produce and menus. We’re one of the only retailers in Edinburgh to put so many producers in front of people every single day,” he says.

Angela Baird has also had an interesting career, working for several Michelin-starred restaurants including Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and heading up new product development at London-based Japanese chain Itsu. So do sandwiches and salads at Earthy provide enough inspiration on a daily basis?

“The food I make now is a lot more real and a lot less fussy,” she says. “You don’t have to do too much with the food because it speaks for itself.”

Recognised as the cornerstone of European cuisine!

Deli chef is sponsored by Le Gruyère AOC

Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

37

Stuff of legend When it comes to exceptional cheddar, the old ways are still the best. Our awardwinning, traditional truckles are wrapped in muslin and allowed to breathe as they slowly mature, resulting in a creamy complex flavour with a long finish.

Gold winners at British Cheese Awards (Best Cheddar & Best Goats Cheese), World Cheese Awards, Great Taste Awards, Nantwich International, Royal Bath & West, Great Yorkshire, Devon County Show, Taste of the West and Frome Cheese Show.

Home Farm . Newton St Cyres . Devon . www.quickes.co.uk

VEG OUT NOW!

PURE RAW VEG. JUICE FAST, HEALTHY AND NATURAL WAY TO 5 A DAY

FRESH FROM WB&CO LONDON T: 020 3178 3601 E: sales@wbcouk.com Made by WB&CO UK LTD London

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October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

www.wbcouk.com

cheese wire £25,000 investment helps rejuvenate Cheddleton cheese-making

Dovedale gives boost to Staffordshire production The Staffordshire Cheese Company plans to relaunch this month with a range of new products, including the EU-protected blue cheese Dovedale.

The company put its cheese operation on the back burner in recent years as it concentrated on producing real ales under the Leek Brewery brand and supplying bottling equipment to other manufacturers. But the cheese arm is to be rejuvenated with new products and more production. This comes after Cottage Delight founder Nigel Cope bought a stake in the business, joining existing directors Adrian Corke and Sue Carline.

Around £25,000 has been invested in new maturing rooms and cheese-making equipment at the premises in Cheddleton, and a full-time dairy

Tom Green has been appointed dairy manager at Staffordshire Cheese Company

manager, Tom Green, has also been appointed.

New products to be launched later this month include the PDO-protected blue cow’s milk cheese Dovedale, which was previously made by the Hartington Creamery. Production was stopped at Hartington last year after Long Clawson took over the company and closed down the factory, transferring Stilton production to its premises in Leicestershire, which are outside the remit of Dovedale’s PDO. The pasteurised cheese, which is matured for three to four weeks, will also act as a base for a number of flavoured cheeses including Black & Blue, made with cracked black pepper, Chilly Bomb (chilli powder) and Blue Ginger (ginger).

The new products join a range of Cheshire-style cheeses under the Archie’s Choice brand and the PDO-protected Staffordshire Cheese.

“Our cheese production has been patchy in recent years because we’ve had our hands full with the brewing and equipment parts of the business,” said MD Adrian Corke, “but we’re finally getting the cheese side organised. We aim to up production from around 20 days a year to a regular two-days-a -week schedule, making 250280kg of cheese each day.

“With Nigel Cope joining the business, it means we have an excellent customer base to tap into and good mail-order rates, so we can post our cheeses to any deli in the country.” www.beersandcheese.co.uk

Top judges at World Cheese Awards to face final choice of ‘Super Golds’ As cheese-makers around the globe complete their entry forms for the 2010 World Cheese Awards (WCAs), its organiser, the Guild of Fine Food, has announced a new schedule for the fiveday event.

The WCAs are back in the UK this year after taking place in Dublin in 2008 and Gran Canaria last year. While Birmingham in November may not promise the sunshine of the Canary Islands, this year’s awards are taking place alongside the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC, where an estimated 100,000 visitors will ensure a warm reception for the global cheese industry’s biggest competition.

The show runs from November 24-28, with WCA judging taking place on the first day. The morning session will be followed by a trade lunch including the presentation of all major trophies with the exception of the 2010 World Champion.

Gold, silver and bronze award winners will also

have been chosen during the morning session, but this year each team of judges will be selecting one ‘Super-Gold’ to go forward to the final stages in the afternoon.

A Supreme Jury including 14 experts from 12 different countries will carry out the final judging in front of a live audience in the British Theatre, adjacent to the WCA area, before 2010 World Champion cheese is announced at the end of the afternoon.

Over the following four days of the BBC Good Food Show, visitors will enjoy a programme of tutored tasting sessions featuring cheeses from around the world.

The lead sponsor for the 2010 World Cheese Awards is Le Gruyère AOC, supported by Barbers 1833, Isigny St Mere, Avilton Foods, US Dairy Export Council and Grana Padano.

Closing date for UK entries is October 22. www.finefoodworld.co.uk/wca

le grand fromage BOB FARRAND Odd isn’t it, how people of a certain age claim foods don’t taste like they used to. I heard it repeated several times at cheeses competitions this year. In reality, we have no idea if foods taste the same today as they did 35 years ago and we never will.

Let’s not kid ourselves we remember because we don’t. Our taste buds constantly change and pleasures from our youth may well have been fondly recalled as special merely because they were brand new experiences. I’m talking food here.

There are exceptions to every rule and many argue English cheddar has changed – although others maintain the best found today is a margin better than anything the ‘50s and ‘60s had to offer. I was around then and while I recall much of the cheddar with great fondness, there was also a lot of rubbish on offer.

Protecting the Authentic Taste of Cheddar, or PATCH, is the brainchild of Amanda Streatfeild, director at West Country Farmhouse Cheddar maker Denhay Farms. It’s a campaign designed to draw attention to the differences between the classic, savoury West Country cheddar and the increasingly popular sweeter flavoured styles.

I’m in favour of this campaign despite the fact that the most fun I’ve had with cheddar in a long while is during Cheese Guild training days, tasting three Barbers’ 1833 two-year-old farmhouse cheeses, all made during the same week but on different days

“The most fun I’ve had with cheddar in a long while is tasting three Barbers’ 1833 two-yearold farmhouse cheeses” using different starters. Swiss Helveticus starters are responsible for these modern, sweet/savoury flavours and Barbers 1833 is a league better than most so-called vintage supermarket own-label offerings.

Everywhere I use them they’re enjoyed, mostly by those under the age of 35. But as I’ve said before, none of us knows if, as time passes, younger consumers’ taste buds will migrate to more traditional cheddars offering a pleasing acidity on the finish.

Those are the sort I prefer, and what Amanda Streatfeild and 11 other cheddar-makers want to ensure is that if tastes do change as we get older, authentic cheddar will still be around in 30 years time to satisfy them.

I doubt I’ll be around to see it, but if PATCH succeeds in preventing a generation of 30-something supermarket buyers from forcing all producers to switch to sweeter flavours, it gets my vote. You can find out more by visiting the campaign website at www.authenticcheddar.co.uk.

• A snippet I saw recently in the Telegraph touched a nerve. A boy abducted from France by his mother in a custody battle argued in court he should be allowed to return to France to live with his father. Reason: He would eat better quality cheese in a French school than is offered in England. I promise you it’s true.

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

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cheesewire Harrods to stock artisan cheeses from Connage Dairy Connage Highland Dairy has signed a deal to supply its prize-winning organic cheeses to Harrods.

The producer of Clava Brie, Crowdie, Dunlop (Scottish cheddar), Smoked Dunlop and Cromal won the contract following a ‘meet the buyer’ event organised by industry body Scotland Food & Drink.

Jill Clark, who makes the cheeses on the family farm with husband Callum, said: “Ever since we started making cheeses back in 2006, we have been immensely proud of our range. In 2007 we won gold at the World Cheese Awards with our Clava Brie and the Best Cheese in Scotland Award at the British Cheese Awards for our Crowdie, but to be supplying Harrods marks a real pinnacle.”

The company’s cheeses are made with organic milk from its own herd of Holstein Friesian cattle and are distributed by wholesalers such as IJ Mellis. The Smoked Dunlop is made in conjunction with Delfour Hatchery, which smokes the cheese over oak whisky barrel shavings.

Bruce Langlands, director of the Harrods Food Halls, said: “At Harrods we’re always interested in working in partnership with small artisan producers who offer products of exceptional quality.”

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October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

La Cave à Fromage, Norbiton Fine Cheeses and La Fromagerie are just some of the wholesalers and retailers taking part at the second Cheese and Wine Festival at the South Bank this month.

The free event, which takes place from Friday October 15 to Sunday October 17, takes ‘produce of the world’ as its theme this year, highlighting cheese and wine from countries such France and Corsica, Holland, Italy, Sardinia and Sicily, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Austria, as well as the UK and Ireland.

Organised by Yael Rose, who also runs the Chocolate Festival at the South Bank, the Festival will incorporate ‘The total cheese experience’ – a cheese-making demonstration with TV and radio personality Bob Kitchin, who will be turning milk into cheese in just 40 minutes. Other highlights include cookery demonstrations from BBC Master Chef winner Steven Wallis and La Fromagerie owner Patricia Michelson. A trade tasting session is being held on the Friday afternoon.

Clave Brie is to be stocked by Harrods following a ‘meet the buyer’ event

Brindisa launches cheese club at its Soho restaurant Tierra Spanish food retailer and wholesaler Brindisa launched a new cheese club at its Soho restaurant Tierra last month with a tasting hosted by owner Monika Linton (pictured).

The first event of the Cheese Club, which is due to be held every month, saw a tutored tasting of four Andalucian goats’ and ewes’ milk cheeses as part of a four-course meal for £37.50.

The event focused on cheeses from Quesos Artesanales de Villaluenga, which is based in the Sierra de Cadiz mountains. The dairy was set up by former accountant Carlos Ríos and has its own herds of indigenous Payoya goats and the endangered Merina de Grazalema breed of sheep.

Dishes served as part of the meal included chicory salad with cherry tomatoes, bacon & organic Payoyo and Iberico pork fillet with goats’ and sheep’s

South Bank festival

cheese cured in rosemary, sweet potatoes and PX vinegar reduction.

Food was matched with Spanish wines from Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Somontano.

Norbiton Fine Cheeses are among those taking part in the South Bank Cheese and Wine Festival

Mortimer adds bite to new wine shop Long-standing West London deli Mortimer & Bennett has teamed up with specialist wine importer Harrison’s to open a cheese counter in its new shop – a concept that could be rolled out to other wine merchants.

The cheese and wine shop in Pitshanger Lane, which is co-branded Harrison’s and Mortimer & Bennett, sells around 50 British and European cheeses that have been picked by deli owner Dan Mortimer to match the wine shop’s range of New and Old World wines, beers and ciders.

“All the cheeses have a recommendation to go with them, so Pont-l'Évêque is great with a Burgundy or a Côtes du Rhône, while Stinking Bishop is good with a West Country cider,” said Mortimer.

The food section also stocks other wine accompaniments, such as olives, charcuterie, and bread. “Harrison’s has the wine expertise and I have the cheese knowledge, so we each look after our own sides of the business,” said Mortimer. “It’s early days, but if it works I may try to open similar shops with other independent wine merchants.”

Mortimer & Bennett was established in 1990 in Chiswick, importing directly from small producers throughout Europe, often on an exclusive basis.

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cheesewire

‘We won’t get rich on 20kg blocks of cheddar’ It might make curd by the tonne for Kerry’s Cheestrings, but Northern Ireland’s Fivemiletown Creamery sees the future in speciality cheeses

By MICK WHITWORTH

Tacked on the end of a Powerpoint presentation assembled for FFD’s visit to Fivemiletown Creamery, most of it charting the Northern Ireland cheesemaking co-op’s recent successes, is a slide that strikes a more cautionary note. It’s a photo of a discarded factory sign, thrown into a skip in a car park. The sign reads: ‘Dairy Farmers of Britain’.

Before it went bust in 2009, another victim of the supermarket squeeze on liquid milk prices, DFB was one of the UK’s biggest milk co-ops, processing over a billion litres a year from its 1,800 member farms.

As managing director of the Fivemiletown dairy co-op in Co Tyrone, Mervyn McCaughey answers to a mere 59 farmers who supply about a third of the 65-70m litres of milk processed by the creamery each year. But he faces many of the challenges DFB faced in a world where the milk price is constantly driven downwards.

His strategy, since arriving six years ago from convenience foods giant Greencore, has been to shift focus from the commodity market towards premium cheeses. “We are not going to get rich off 20kg blocks of cheddar,” he tells FFD.

Hand-crafted cheeses account for just 200 tonnes of production annually, but deliver far better returns to the co-op

And Fivemiletown is making progress. In this year’s Great Taste Awards it picked up a brace of two-star awards (one for its handmade goats’ cheese, one for its Boilíe goats’ cheese pearls infused with garlic) and three one-star golds (one for its handmade Ballybrie, and one each for the creamery-produced mature and extra mature cheddars).

The only year-round cheese-maker in Northern Ireland, and located in the small town of the same name, Fivemiletown is effectively three factories under one roof. There’s a bulk cheddar operation,

a cream cheese section making “our version of Philadelphia”, and a separate, small-batch, artisan area. The latter makes mainly mild, briestyle cheeses like Ballybrie, the smoked Ballyoak (“smoked in our kiln using sustainably foraged oakwood from the local and enchanting Forest of Caledon”) and Ballyblue.

Retailers who know Fivemiletown only through these artisan cheeses may be surprised that it also bulk-manufactures curd for Kerry Foods’ less-thanspeciality Cheesetrings. And its creamery cheddars

NI shoppers still hesitant to try speciality foods It’s taken a while, but NI shoppers are finally swapping their block cheddar sarnies for goat’s cheese focaccia

Simon Dougan’s Yellow Door Deli

42 October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

Fivemiletown Creamery joined beef and bacon producer Hannan Meats in leading the haul of gold stars for Northern Ireland in this year’s Great Taste Awards (GTAs). The two producers picked up seven stars each out of more than 100 achieved by NI companies – a figure which might suggest NI’s speciality food sector is in fine fettle Mullin’s Ice Cream of Kilrea, Co Londonderry, achieved the top threestar rating and won Best Speciality from NI for its recently launched goats’ milk ice cream with vanilla.

And alongside golds for established operators like Avondale Foods of Craigavon, tea specialists Punjana and Suki and top Belfast chocolatier Co Couture were several names new to the GTAs, like Erin Grove Preserves of

Enniskillen, the Yellow Door bakery of Portadown and Armagh Cider.

But while the market has certainly picked up with the end of the Troubles and the opening up of cheap flights to the Mediterranean, those on the ground say NI consumers are still conservative, especially outside Belfast, while the recession has held back topend sales.

“The last 10 years has seen a positive shift, but speciality food is still very much a work in progress,” says Nigel Bogle of Lakeland Computer Consultancy Services (LCCS), the Co Fermanagh-based retail IT provider that specialises in independent food stores. “Northern Ireland hasn’t yet developed the same food culture as the rest of the UK. I could name a dozen top-rate butchers, greengrocers

and bakers, but ask for a good deli, cheesemonger or farm shop and there isn’t the same choice.

“There are some gems to be found in Belfast, but the further west you go, the more rural things become, and the more conservative taste buds become.”

Yellow Door Deli, an artisan baker, patissier and event caterer that operates deli-cafes in Portadown, Belfast and Lisburn, collected two GTA gold stars for its rich chocolate brownies and one for its Irish wheaten bread. Run by chef Simon Dougan, it is making its name in trade sales and events by working with clients like the Hastings luxury hotel group. But Dougan says the fine dining market has “taken a bit of a hammering” during the downturn. In his main 80-seater

“We have about 1,100 delis taking our product now.

At the start of 2009 we had nobody.”

Mervyn McCaughey, Fivemiletown dairy

and artisan cheeses are in supermarkets on both sides of the Irish Sea, the latter in attractive prepacks featuring black-and-white ‘engravings’ that underline the co-op’s 113-year history.

Artisan cheeses account for just 200 tonnes of annual output, against a cheddar output of 8,000 tonnes, but in value they now account for around 10% of sales. That’s compared with 1% six years ago when Fivemiletown’s only major customer was Kerry Foods. If his sales team deliver their five-year plan, the figure will be 50%, although McCaughey

deli-café in Portadown, sales of more homely dishes have held up best, and he says selling high-premium deli products remains a challenge.

“You can wait a long time before you sell a bottle of truffle oil,” he says. “People want everyday food. In a rural town like ours, your balsamics are always going to be slow. We sell 10 times more olives in Belfast.”

But things are slowly changing.

When Dougan opened Yellow Door in Portadown 10 years ago, he struggled to sell Manchego or marinated olives. The first time an older lady came in and asked for goat’s cheese focaccia and two thai fishcakes, he says, “I could have kissed her”.

Some of Yellow Door’s Continental-style foods are still

admits this is an “aspirational” target. “As long as it keeps moving in a northerly direction I‘ll be happy,” he says. “The future is in speciality, not block cheese.”

The business has been exporting to the US for a decade or so, and latterly to France, Belgium, Denmark and even Hong Kong. But it had not really cracked the Great Britain market until recently.

The acquisition three years ago of Ryefield Farms brought in a new style of cheese in the shape of mozzarella-style Boilíe Irish cheese ‘pearls’, popular with delis for use in antipasti mixes. It also gave Fivemiletown an introduction to some UK multiples, most notably Waitrose. On the independents side, however, it was the arrival in June 2008 of Owen Jones that made the difference.

“I had thought about going into GB farm shops and delis but we could only do it when we had the right person,” says McCaughey. “Owen had spent seven years with Snowdonia Cheese Company, and by the end of 2009 we had about eight new wholesalers and about 1,000 delis and farm shops.

stocked mostly for window dressing.

Dougan says stressing local or Irish ingredients can be a better bet. “For example, in our focaccia we use olive oil and Champagne vinegar. We’re looking at changing that to Armagh cider vinegar – it’s not something Armagh Cider are doing at the moment, but it wouldn’t be a big stretch for them.”

The ‘local’ card plays differently in NI to Great Britain, according to Deirdre McCanny of Co Couture, now ensconsed in a swish boutique shop and chocolaterie in central Belfast. “This is still a very agricultural society,” she says. “People have grown up using ‘local’ food so it’s more accepted than celebrated.”

There’s also a rural suspicion of fancy foods. When I say I make chocolates,

And I’m not talking about cheddar, I’m talking about speciality, brie-style cheeses.”

These lines are now available in both wheel and pre-packed wedge format through national wholesalers including Rowcliffe, Carron Lodge and Cheese Cellar as well as regionals like Yorkshire’s Michael Lee. “We’ve got a sales office now outside Chester, consolidating what Owen has done,” says McCaughey. “And we spend a fortune of money doing tastings in delis and farm shops. It’s about getting buy-in from staff as well as customers. We like to give the counter staff a few stories they can remember.”

With a client base that includes Chatsworth farm shop, Fivemiletown has somehow pulled off the trick of appealing to specialist stores while serving hundreds of multiple outlets. It’s in every supermarket and symbol chain in Ireland, as well as Sainsbury, Asda and Waitrose in Great Britain. As much as he welcomes the volume supermarkets offer, McCaughey admits it can cause tensions so he is only giving them a “very limited” artisan range. “We want to focus on independents, but we need the volume the multiples can give us at this moment.”

In independents, he says, the co-op’s cheeses sell first on their Irishness and then on taste. “All our cheeses are very mild, which I think is a good thing – although connoisseurs will tell you otherwise.

You don’t get a goaty note, you don’t get ammonia.

Some people like that, some people don’t. But our only barrier to purchase is getting people to taste it.”

McCaughey sees Ballybrie competing with Somerset brie, Ballyblue with Cambozola, Cooneen goats’ cheese with Lubborn Creamery’s Capricorn.

“We realise we’re coming to the GB market quite late, and each product already has a number of alternatives, but it’s heartening that in 12 months we’ve established a nice foothold,” says McCaughey.

“We’ve got at about 1,100 delis taking our product now. At the start of 2009 we had nobody – and that can’t all be down to Owen’s good looks and charm.” www.fivemiletown.com

people will say ‘but my mother makes chocolate, and so does my aunt’. The difference is, they’re buying blocks of cooking chocolate; I’m using a blend of Valrhona, Michel Cluizel and Amadeus. So it’s an education process.”

As always, says Douggan, there’s no point in using local produce unless it’s good. He is scathing about Northern Irish cheese, but says “there are some good retail products coming along, very niche stuff” and it’s important to encourage those producers until they can start to achieve viable volumes.

“There’s definitely a ‘brand Ireland’ – it’s seen as a green, natural country.

So it’s only a question of getting people to make the right products for us.”

“People have grown up using ‘local’ food so it’s more accepted than celebrated” Deirdre McCanny, Co Couture Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

43

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product update

jams & preserves

Reach for the jars With shops topping up their posh jam for Christmas, we round up the year’s best newcomers • Very Fruity rhubarb & ginger jam is the latest addition to the Claire’s Handmade range, which was relaunched in new labels this Spring.

Claire Kent, who runs the Cumbrian company, describes the newcomer as “an outstanding jam, bursting with the unmistakable flavour of rhubarb with fantastic ginger highlights”. She recommends stirring into chilled yoghurt at breakfast or into hot custard at supper-time. Wholesale price is £1.35 per 227g jar, RRP £2.35. www.claireshandmade.co.uk

• Liquorice and Seville oranges are combined in Liquorange, the latest flavour from Auntie Val’s, the West Sussex-based artisan producer of jams and chutneys.“Proper marmalades deserve a proper jar, which is why they’re sold in the good old 1lb (454g) jars,” says Auntie Val’s Andy Challis. RRP for this size is £2.95, and there’s a 215g option www.auntievals.com (RRP £1.69).

• Cottage Delight has bolstered its range with the addition of gooseberry extra jam, made in small batches using whole gooseberries and 45g of fruit per 100g. The newcomer, which picked up at one-star Great Taste Awards gold, joins a 16-strong collection that includes pomegranate & lime and fig & ginger as well as traditional recipes such as the two star gold strawberry extra jam, hand poured into the jar to ensure the strawberries remain whole. www.cottagedelight.co.uk

• Lavender from The Hop Shop at Castle Farm in Sevenoaks, Kent, features in two new recipes from Ouse Valley Foods. Blackcurrant & lavender jam and lemon & lavender marmalade are both available in standard 340g jars or larger sizes on request. The standard jars are priced at £2.55 for trade, with an RRP of £3.70. www.ousevalleyfoods.com

• Chef on the Run unveiled its chocolate & orange marmalade in September, after securing a Great Taste Awards (GTA) gold star for the product. RRP is £3.00 for 227g.

The artisan business was set up in 2003 by chef Mike Carnell, who makes his preserves in the kitchen of the family tearooms in Hay on Wye. A consistent GTA winner, Chef on the Run has also twice picked up gongs at the Wales the True Taste Awards. www.chefontherunfoods.co.uk

• New organics brand Roots & Wings has won a Great Taste Awards gold for its “rich and luxurious” lemon curd, made by hand in open copper-lined pans using organic Sicilian lemons, organic free range eggs and butter. There is a nostalgic feel to its accompanying range of sweet preserves – Luscious Strawberry, Intense Raspberry, Tangy Blackcurrant and Tantalising Seville Orange Marmalade – launched this month.

RRPs from £2.45 for a 340g jar. www.rootsandwingsorganic.com

• Reduced sugar raspberry jam (RRP £2.10 for 340g) is the latest launch from Pembrokeshire-based Miranda’s Preserves.

The small producer makes 4,000 jars of jams and preserves a month, including the best-selling wild blackberry jam, and sells them to around 80 speciality food shops. www.mirandas-preserves.co.uk

Sally Hargrave of The Harrogate Preserves Co says she “can’t make enough” of her new spiced whisky marmalade, which is proving popular up and down the country. “The whisky and all-spice complement the oranges beautifully,” she says.

“It’s just gorgeous.” Based in Beckwithshaw near Harrogate, the small producer also offers preserves such as rhubarb, ginger & rosemary jam and strawberry & gooseberry jam. www.theharrogatepreservesco.com

• Low-sugar diabetic preserves are among Thursday Cottage’s best sellers, and the producer has now added diabetic damson (RRP £2.25 for 315g). “We believe this is the only low sugar plum preserve on the market and, of course, it’s made with English damsons,” says managing director Tim Came. Also new is a raspberry curd (RRP £2.35 for 340).

Came told FFD: “Lemon curd is our best seller, and several customers asked for us to add to the range. We use homemade raspberry purée to produce a smooth seedless curd.”

• The Pickled Village has taken a wild blueberry conserve and “given it a rebel kick” with the addition of a splash of Bourbon to create a preserve that can be used on desserts and ice cream or to jazz up game dishes, patés and cold meats. Bourbon Blues was formally launched at last month’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair. www.thepickledvillage.com

www.thursday-cottage.com

Ingredients “foraged from the flora of the Lakeland landscape” provide the inspiration for Hedgerow Jelly, a two-star GTA gold winner for Cumbria’s Hawkshead Relish.

Sales & marketing manager Kate Nicholson says the jelly, “packed with blackberries and elderberries”, makes a rich, fruity accompaniment to patés, cheese, pies and game. RRP is £2.80 for 200g. www.hawksheadrelish.com

• Hampshire’s Dart Valley Foods has added seven new preserves to its catalogue at RRPs from £2.55-£2.70. There are three new extra-jam preserves – strawberry & rhubarb, raspberry & rhubarb and peach & apricot – plus four new marmalades: the thin-cut orange & peach, orange with pomegranate, and pink grapefruit, and the thick cut lime & ginger. Dart Valley is the company behind the Butler’s Grove brand, but marketing director Claire Ramsey says about 60% of its preserves are packed under retailers’ own labels. www.dartvalleyfoods.com Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

47

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October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

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EPoS

Keeping tabs on

a growing empire Cranston’s chain says a £40k multi-site EPoS system gives a better grip on its operations

I

t’s nearly a year since Cranston’s, the butchery-based store chain straddling Cumbria and Northumberland, opened a major extension to its Penrith food hall, including the first-floor Café Oswald catering for 80-plus covers.

With the Penrith store, three traditional butcher’s shops and a butcher’s-cum-food hall in Carlisle to manage, it’s no wonder the company has also continued to develop the EPoS system introduced last year.

“We installed EPoS across the whole retail estate last November,” says finance director Charles Watt, “and the benefits have been considerable.

The single biggest positive has been the fact we can now run detailed sales reports at a touch of a button, allowing us to react more quickly to sales trends and better understand how the company is performing.

“So for example on a Monday I can now pull off the previous week’s sales by branch within five minutes of logging on, immediately understanding how we are trading and identifying growth opportunities or areas of concern.”

Cranstons installed a multi-branch Eureka system from Lakeland Computers across all its retail sites, including the new café, at a cost of around £40,000. The system is centrally managed from its Penrith HQ where it runs on a dedicated server.

Product and pricing information is

sent out to each shop over a secure VPN (virtual private network) and sales data is retrieved back from each shop every day for analysis.

Lakeland managing director Nigel Bogle says: “Eureka links with weigh scale/tills in the traditional butcher’s shops, and at the Cumbrian Food Hall and Carlisle shop we installed eight of our EurekaPOS TouchScreen terminals. Oswalds Café also makes use of two of our Fare Enough restaurant TouchScreen terminals.”

Before installing the system, Cranstons had “very limited” sales data, says Charles Watt. “Even relatively simple sales analysis like this was incredibly time consuming.”

The Eureka reporting tool is “sophisticated and easy to use”, he says. “We’re able to choose the dates, product ranges and branch we want to pull data for so can look at the whole estate performance or a single line in one shop.”

As with most EPoS packages, it has taken a while to work out all its

Despite concerns about the practicality of EPoS, feedback from till staff has been good

capabilities. “One function we were initially unaware of is the ability to report sales by the hour,” Watt told FFD. “Our shop managers have found this really useful when setting rotas and agreeing staff lunch breaks.”

Another key benefit has been the system’s promotional function. “In the past the only promotions we could run were cut-price deals but now we have the functionality to run multi-saves and more interesting promotions like our Valentine’s meal deal, which allowed customers to choose a bottle of wine, a steak and a pudding for £10.”

Watt admits there had been concerns about the practicality of EPoS on the shop floor but feedback from till staff has been positive.

“The big touch-screen monitors have been a real hit,” he says. “They save time when our people are serving, and they guide less experienced staff through the transaction process.” www.cranstons.net www.lccs.co.uk

“In the past we could only run cut-price deals. Now we can run multi-saves and other promotions like meal-deals.”

Charles Watt, finance director, Cranstons Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

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October 2010 路 Vol.11 Issue 9

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Patchwork eyes adult market with ultra-premium ice creams

By MICK WHITWORTH

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Patchwork director Jenny Whitham says there’s no reason the Welsh paté-maker S U P LI E P should not continue to extend its brand to more categories after launching an “adult” ice-cream range at last month’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair.

The company introduced a range of savoury biscuits before Christmas, made by Macleans bakery in Aberdeenshire using spelt flour from Sharpham Park, and has previously come up with fun lines ranging from bubble bath to dog biscuits. “I think it’s a brand we can stretch,” Whitham told FFD. The new ice creams have been developed with Great Taste Award-winning producer Cheshire Farm, which is based near Patchwork’s Denbighshire factory.

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They have been given their own risqué, adultoriented packaging style, with each flavour having its own photo-montage created by local designer Greenland. “We didn’t want to do the usual ‘cows in fields’,” said Whitham.

Whitham and co-director Margaret Carter worked for months with the ice-cream maker’s senior team to perfect a base recipe with no emulsifiers or stabilisers. “There are only four ingredients – cream, milk, raw cane sugar and pasteurised free range egg yolk – and the cream is the biggest ingredient,” said Whitham. “With most ice-creams it’s milk. It’s also got less than 10% ‘over-run’ [volume added by whipping air into the mix].”

The high-premium ices are priced to retail at

£6.50-£7.95 for 500ml, with recipes that include spirits such as tequila and calvados costing the most.

The range was given a ‘soft launch’ before the London show in Harden Farm Shop, Hollies and a chain of pubs. “In the pubs, they’re putting a tub on the table with four spoons for £12, or charging £9 for takeaway.”

Whitham said she and Carter had been amazed at the number of premium ice cream brands – including organic products – using additives and high overrun percentages, presumably to reduce costs. “We looked at the ingredients lists and thought ‘that’s just not Patchwork’. But Haagen-Dazs has a clean label declaration, so we knew it could be done.” www.patchwork-pate.co.uk

Patchwork on ice:

• Bourbon-soaked blueberry with bourbon caramel ripple • Calvados-soaked apple with calvados caramel ripple • Tequila-soaked cranberry with tequila caramel ripple • Belgian chocolate chunk with chilli caramel ripple (2010 Great Taste Awards gold) • Vanilla pod with Anglesey aea-salted caramel ripple (2010/11 Wales the True Taste Awards finalist) • Vodka, strawberry & black pepper (to be launched soon)

Patchwork’s Jenny Whitham believes the brand still has room to stretch after tie-ups with Macleans bakery and Cheshire Farmhouse ice creams

Mayday redesign proves a pick-me-up for Womersley R

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Womersley Fruit & Herb Vinegars says it has achieved a “huge turn-around” after S U P LI E P a complete brand and packaging revamp this summer.

Rupert Parsons, who runs the company, reports a fourfold increase in orders. He told FFD stock is moving faster in store, re-order rates are more frequent with more shops stocking the entire Womersley range, which includes apple jellies in lavender, chilli, geranium and rosemary varieties.

The upturn is positive news for the West Yorkshire business which was hit this summer by the death of Parsons’ father, Martin, who founded the company in 1979.

The redesign was carried out by Mayday, the London consultancy responsible for the Hampstead Tea range, RDA juices and Clearspring Organic food & drink brands.

Rupert Parsons, who took over Womersley Fine EDITE CR

Foods last year, says the change was prompted by a need to create interest around a major new business drive.

It was also an opportunity to consolidate the range and signal changes as a new generation took the reins of this family business.

Mayday’s Barry Gillibrand describes the redesign as a great opportunity to “reinforce the company’s gourmet credentials, add premium cues and give the brand a visual point of difference”.

Elegant illustrations of ingredients have replaced the old black and gold label to highlight the flavours and to capture a feeling of “natural modern luxury”.

Mayday was targeting a gourmet deli audience with pack designs that would be seen as the perfect foodie gift, Gillibrand told FFD. www.womersleyfoods.co.uk www.maydaylivingbrands.com

The new look (above) ‘reinforces the company’s gourmet credentials’, and signals a move to a new generation.

Left: the old design Vol.11 Issue 9 October 2010

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Ready-to-eat meals could provide an outlet for Rod Hall’s organic Dexter beef. ‘The soil is in my bones,’ says the Devon farmer, soup-maker and veg box supplier.

Organic veg brand makes its move into meat

By MICK WHITWORTH

Chatting to FFD in a rolling field on his mid-Devon farm, Rod Hall is being jostled by a friendly bunch of diminutive black Dexter cattle. He has spent five years building up this herd to graze those portions of his 150-acre organic farm that are unsuitable for crops. Now, scratching the ears of an inquisitive cow, he tells FFD it’s time to turn some of these little black beauties into soups and stews.

Hall is co-founder of the Rod & Ben’s brand, which began as a farm and veg box operation and branched into organic seasonal soups six years ago. Clients now include Whole Foods and Selfridges.

So far Hall’s company has “shied away” from using meat and poultry, but that’s changing this month with the launch of a free-range chicken & vegetable soup (RRP £4 for 600g) using organic Hubbard birds from a neighbouring farm. A lentil & bacon soup is to follow shortly, using meat from Dorset pigs.

Rod & Ben’s is also launching two new on-the-go, heat-and-serve meals – vegetable balti and threebean vegetable chilli – and while those are meat-free, Hall thinks this new format could provide an outlet for

his Dexter beef. The company’s kitchen, based in a specially-converted unit on another farm three miles away, is due for its first Salsa food safety inspection this month, and Hall says he now has the confidence to move beyond the relatively simple vegetable recipes to higher-care meat products.

“The meat soups will change our profile quite a bit,” he predicts.

Hall moved to Bickham Farm near Exeter in 1998, setting up an organic farm and veg box operation with Ben Moseley, an old friend from his days at Seale Hayne agricultural college. The two parted company two years ago, and Moseley now farms at nearby Hittisleigh.

They showed their first chilled soups at the London Speciality show six years ago. This side of Rod & Ben’s now turns over around £400,000 and takes much of the output from Hall’s 20 acres of vegetable crops, as well as providing an outlet for several other local organic growers.

While Hall says the veg-box market appears to have stalled (see News, p4), his soup sales have grown 35% in the last 12 months, partly because he

THE SOURCE • Measom Freer has added a new bottle shape to its stock bottles range.

The Fosse range has been launched in both 125ml and 250ml options with their own flip-top closures, which the maker says will give them their own identity on the retail shelf.

The ‘tottle’ option – meaning the bottle can stand on its cap – makes this versatile bottle ideal for the food market, says Meesom Freer.

The Fosse is made in-house from natural MDPE, other polythenes and both clarified and natural polypropylene, with colours to order. Screen printing in one or several colours is also available.

With a minimum of 10% PCR (post-consumer regrind) used throughout its stock bottle ranges, Measom Freer says it’s “tackling the recycling issue head on”. With post-consumer and industrial recycled plastic now more widely available, it can now produce the majority of its products in PCR. 0116 288 1588

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www.measomfreer.co.uk

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

has been getting off his tractor and visiting key retailers and wholesalers. Sales of catering-size tubs are also growing and Hall is exploring opportunities with large institutional caterers such as Aramark – a ‘hidden’ sector he thinks other artisan producers should look more closely at.

Hall says Rod & Ben’s has only “scratched the surface” of the deli and farm shop market and could achieve his target of £1m sales without straying to far from this sector. But he stresses the purpose of the soups business remains to provide an outlet for his organic farm produce, in contrast to faux ‘real soup’ brand like Glorious! from manufacturer TSC Foods.

“If you look at people like that, they’re not artisan farmers – you just know there’s some big machinery behind it. I’m a fanatical farmer. The soil is in my bones and I want to use my land for farming – the soup I produce has provided me with an outlet for my produce.”

The new on-the-go meals, he adds, should “open a lot of doors”, and help iron out the big seasonal flunctuations in soups sales. www.rodandbens.com

ingredients, equipment and services for producers • Riggs Autopack has supplied one of its entry-level semi-automatic fillers to The Spice Shelf, the West Sussex-based maker of chutneys and pickles.

The small-batch producer historically hand-filled its glass jars using jugs, but has moved to semi-automated filling for the first time after winning a large order.

The Spice Shelf ran a machine trial at its Worthing premises before ordering a Model 1000 Option 1 semi-automatic unit, which offers accurate, hygienic depositing without damaging the product.

Scott Riley of Riggs Autopack says the Option 1 model is designed particularly for artisan food producers.

“It's ideal for manufacturers producing short batch runs or who need to improve production rates by moving from manual filling to a more accurate, repeated process,” he says.

Standard features include a 40 litre product hopper, a height-adjustable filling table with a dispensing nozzle to suit, and foot pedal operation 01282 440040

www.autopack.co.uk

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christmas product update

Left your festive orders a bit late this year? Here are a few last-minute ideas.

• Cumbria’s Appleby Bakery has won a ringing endorsement for its luxury Christmas pudding with a listing in the Lakeland festive catalogue as well as all Lakeland stores. Bakery owner Jackie Kirkpatrick says she was disappointed not to pick up a Great Taste Award for the pud this year, but adds: “I suspect the GTA tasting panel didn't like it for all the reasons other people do: it’s a very light pudding, not too rich and fruity – more citrusy and fresh.” The pudding is rum-based with vegetable suet, fresh lemons, fresh oranges, fresh apples, fresh bread crumbs and free range eggs.

RRPs are £4.25 (200g) £6.99 (450g) and £8.99 (850g). www.applebybakery.co.uk

German chocolate specialist Reber has launched one of its flagship lines, Mozart Herl'z hearts, into the UK through distributor Petty Wood.

These traditional chocs (RRP £7.49 for 150g) are made using pistachio marzipan and hazelnut praline, covered with Alpine milk chocolate, in a presentation box that positions them as a Christmas gift. Petty Wood has also taken on Reber’s Asbach dark chocolate brandy liqueurs (RRP £5.49 for 125g). They combine Germany’s rich, full bodied Asbach Uralt brandy with smooth bittersweet dark chocolate. www.pettywood.co.uk

Coffee supplier Cherizena has a selection of coffee-based festive gifts at RRPs from £2.50 to £12.50. They range from the Christmas Treat – a gold pillow pack containing 60g of ground Pure Colombian Medium Roast and 60g of Cherizena’s ground Christmas Coffee – to the Premium Selection Pack. This is a gold box containing 60g of Cherizena’s ground Christmas Coffee, 60g of ground Melton Mowbray Blend, 60g of ground Espresso Blend, 60g of ground Blue Mountain Blend, and a gold gift box containing 50g of chocolate-coated coffee beans. The limited edition Christmas Coffee comprises Colombian Excelsior medium beans flavoured with Jamaican rum, 54

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

The curiously named pears, from an orchard near Tunbridge Wells, are preserved in white wine vinegar and infused with lemon peel and spices.

The lemons are infused with red chillies, spices and bay leaves. RRP is £6.50 for a 500g kilner jar. www.ousevalleyfoods.com

toasted pecan nuts, nutmeg, cinnamon spices and a hint of orange. www.cherizena.co.uk

Cornish pottery, organic mulled tea, Cornish Christmas pudding, cranberry & port jelly and festive fairing biscuits are among lines included in a range of Christmas-themed hampers from Mullion Cove. The Bristol-based business was launched last year by Sophie Bowden to take Cornish artisan food & drink, including her own baked products, to a wider audience. Bowden has asked family, friends and producers to contribute their own festive food customs to help shape the contents of various themed hampers, available from this month. “Stories of junket and star gazey pie – a pastry covered pie with baked pilchards – are coming in thick and fast,” she says. “This year we’ve decided upon a red and white colour scheme for our hampers and they’ll be themed with the findings from our research on Cornish Christmas traditions.” www.mullioncove.net

Sussex-based Ouse Valley Foods is offering a selection of three-jar ‘jelly gift boxes’.

Options include three cranberry varieties – ginger, orange, and a plain cranberry jelly – and a threepack of Ouse Valley’s new Festive Fairy Jellies, with silver flakes ‘magically suspended’ in the cranberry jelly and gold flakes in suspended elderflower jelly.

Ouse Valley’s Julian Warrander has also developed a new line of preserved fruits, starting with preserved lemons and pickled Boar’s Head pears.

Exeter’s Jo and Richie Evans have been offering their luxury, handmade Figgy’s Puddings direct to consumers for a while, picking up plaudits from the likes of the Telegraph’s Rose Prince. But this season they are selling to the trade too. Their puddings, matured for several months in ceramic bowls, include 10-year-old Somerset cider brandy and the multi-award winning O’Hanlon’s Port Stout.

They’re produced in three sizes to serve 2 to 10 people. www.figgys.co.uk

Turrón, the Spanish nougat, is a Christmas staple in many delis, but Torta de Alicante is a relative newcomer here. Imported

by Pure Spain, it’s made by the small family firm of Manuel Pico, which has been going for over 180 years. In the shape of a torta (disc), this hard turrón is made with marcona almonds, lemon and orange blossom honey, egg whites and sugar. Trade price for a 300g disc is around £4.80. www.purespain.co.uk

Dorset baker Puddings & Pies has launched Santa Cakes: mini round Christmas cakes, weighing around 80g, that will suit one hungry person or two to share. Wholesaling at £24.00 for 12 (RRP £2.95 each) they were developed after customer research by Ed Cunningham, owner of the Sherborne firm which also produces Christmas puds for Mosimanns private club members. They’re made with dried vine fruits, mixed peel, spices and sherry and “a sprinkling of Dorset magic”, he says. www.puddingsandpies.com

Fine foods sourced direct from the producers

Bentley’s Fine Foods

award winning preserves

Gastro Nicks was set up to source a variety of fine foods direct from the producers and to help champion their dedicated cause.

Some of the foods we offer: • Extra Virgin Olive Oil imported from Crete, Sicily and Tuscany • Tuscan Infused Olive Oil • Genuine Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena • Italian and French products • Home made dressings

• English Farm House Cheese and Chutney • Sicilian Cheese • Salami • Wines • DOCG Proseco • Gift Boxes & Hampers

Based on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border Contact: Lesley Bentley Tel: 01335 324228 Email: homeproduce@aol.com

Tel: 01264 852701

www.gastronicks.co.uk E-mail: enquiries@gastronicks.co.uk 32870 GN Ad 165x120.indd 1

All jams, marmalades, chutneys, jellies are homemade in small batches

26/08/2010 17:40

The Harrogate Preserves Co. Artisan Preserves & Condiments from Cornwall • Hand-prepared local and seasonal ingredients • Consistent production quality • Three times Great Taste Award winning Beetroot Relish Extensive range • Father’s Favourite Chutney • GTA winning Chutty Chutty Bang Bang • Quince Charming • Kea Plum Jam Plus a variety of more unusual fruit and herb jellies and fruit cheeses Available direct from Crellow

www.crellow.com

Hand-made preserves from local produce, a little bit of love and nothing artificial

Pine Hill, Tregony, Truro TR2 5SE Tel: 01872 530853

The Harrogate Preserves Co., Chestnut Cottage, Church Row, Beckwithshaw HG3 1QW Email info@theharrogatepreservesco.com Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

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Get creative with Christmas gingerbread

• The Greek Delicatessen has launched a line of Greek antipasti that includes a selection of peppers stuffed with cheese; sun dried or sun-touched tomatoes in oil, and marinated olives with garlic, herbs and harissa. Delivery is free on orders over £50 and there’s an extra 10% discount on all orders over £250.

Gift sets have sold well online for Gurkha Fine Foods, so the company has created two new packs for retailers: the luxury (RRP £23.50) and the standard (RRP £14.95). These stylishly packaged sets contain a number of products from the Gurkha range and both come with a printed hand-tied ribbon and a gift tag.

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020 7819 4300 www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

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01462 482595 info@thegreekdeli.com

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A decorate-your-own gingerbread man has been added to the Christmas S U P LI E P range from Pertzborn, a family-owned company that has been making authentic German gingerbread to traditional recipes since 1894. Each kit comes complete with a large gingerbread man, ready-made icing and colourful sweets. The Pertzborn range also includes DIY gingerbread house kits, pre-decorated gingerbread men, women, houses and tree decorations, all of which are available from Bespoke Foods.

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Organic muesli producer Alara Wholefoods has rebranded four of its most popular ranges. All S U P LI E P now feature a rising sun on their packaging to reflect the company slogan of ‘welcoming the sun’, which to Alara means helping the environment and encouraging sustainable ways of living and working. The rebrand effects 16 products in total from Alara’s Everyday range (including a spiced Fairtrade muesli with cinnamon & honey), Into The Garden range (including date & cacao and goji & yacon varieties) and Dreamy Oats range of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry porridges. Alara says it was the first UK food company to go ‘zero waste’, the first cereal company in the world to be certified organic, the first to be licensed for gluten-free production and the first to make Fairtrade www.alara.co.uk mueslis.

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0845 094 8251 www.gurkhafinefoods. co.uk

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Terra Rossa’s newly launched Zaatar Passata is a pasta sauce made from S U P LI E P tomatoes, garlic, onions, its own Jordanian first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and its Zaatar thyme mix. It can be eaten as an appetiser with fresh bread by mixing a tablespoon of Passata with olive oil, but doubles as a basic ingredient to gift a ‘lift’ to soups and stews.

The passata can also be used with Terra Rossa’s herb mixes, Dukka coriander and Sumac lemon berry, to make a rub for any meat. Zaatar Passata has a RRP of £2.95 for 170g.

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Toffees that take you back ‘Simple pleasures’ is the new theme for Walkers’ Nonsuch gift toffees, with the design depicting a young boy flying his kite with his dog and the old Walkers’ delivery van on its journey.

The range is designed to bring a point of difference to any confectionery display for all-year-round gifting. It includes a new selection pack and Duo hammer pack and a 250g box of assorted twist-wrapped toffees & chocolate éclairs (RRP £2.49 for 250g). The selection hammer pack includes four 100g bars in original, nutty Brazil, luxury fruit & nut and traditional treacle. It retails from £4.50.

The Duo pack comprises one each of the original creamy toffee and nutty Brazil bars, along with a small toffee hammer.

01782 321525

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www.walkers-nonsuch.co.uk

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

www.terra-rossa.com

Chestnut panettone, available now from Peregrine Trading, is described as “a delicious variation of the celebratory Italian Christmas cake”. It’s made by master baker Fabiano Flamini, using free range eggs and unbleached flour, in a small Monte Amiata bakery in southern Tuscany. RRP is £11.75 and a case of six costs £42.30 to the trade.

020 7272 5588 www.seggiano.co.uk

Sefer Ustabas formed The Olive Tree Company because he couldn’t find olives locally that tasted like those he used to have for breakfast in Turkey. His Leicestershire business now freshly marinates a variety of olives to suit customers’ requirements, including queen green olives, deluxe kalamata and green pitted olives. It can also supply baklava soaked in local Burbage honey.

0782 463 3039 sefer@olivetreecompany. co.uk

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ws from Guild accredited suppliers This festive season brings a new Three Kings Pie from pieminister, as well as its Christingle Pie for vegetarians. The Three Kings recipe combines British turkey breast, smoky bacon and pork & herb stuffing, made with outdoor-reared pork and topped off with cranberries. Both pies are available to order from November until January and wholesale at £2.60 each (RRP £3.75).

0117 950 4567

www.pieminister.co.uk

Peppermills from US producer Peppermate are now available from herb and spice company Quay Ingredients. Two mill sets are on offer as potential Christmas gifts: a pre-filled, one-handed (that is, thumboperated) mill designed for use at the table and the original Peppermate, which is described as a kitchen essential for the serious cook. RRP for both mills is about £30.

01729 840740

info@quayingredients.co.uk

The WB&CO range of pure raw vegetable juices is available in a variety of flavours and comes in a 250ml single serving size. Pure organic carrot & ginger, pure organic beet, carrot & celery and pure organic spinach, carrot & parsley are all instantly chilled once made and delivered direct to stores from the company’s pressing plant in London.

020 3178 3601

www.wbcouk.com

Little Doone Foods has introduced new labels and added a mid-range glass bottle to its retail selection of sweet balsamic dressings. The new branding highlights the variety in each bottle, making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. To help smaller retailers stock a complete range, flavours can be mixed within boxes when ordered.

01294 833114

www.littledoone.co.uk

Gastro Nicks has created a range of gift and hamper boxes to suit a variety of palates and budgets.

Gift boxes range from £9 -£21 while hamper prices run from £25£65, making them suitabe for corporate gifts too. The company says it looks for unusual, locally produced or seasonal products that are sourced direct from small producers in the UK and Europe.

01264 852701

www.gastronicks.co.uk

Uncle Roy’s Comestible Concoctions has gained exclusive distribution rights for a mustard oil specially developed in Australia to have zero erucic acid content. Since oil with more than 5% erucic acid is banned for human consumption here, plant breeders have worked to develop first rapeseed and now mustard seed varieties without the troublesome component. Two new flavours – the extra virgin cold pressed Light & Nutty mustard seed oil and the spicy mustard seed oil – are now available from Uncle Roy’s in 250ml and 500ml bottles, and both varieties have already won Great Taste Awards golds.

01683 221076

An exclusive selection of Beta-glucan pasta is being launched in the UK by Mediterranean Direct. Beta-glucan is being promoted as a superfood in the US by pundits who say it strengthens the immune system.

The new pasta has a special blend of durum wheat and barley flour which can be easily digested and provides a full dose of Beta-glucan.

01227 261909 www.mediterraneandirect.co.uk

Keylink is launching a number of new gift and confectionery packaging options, including additions to its Cosmopolitan , Prestige and Romantic collections, to suit speciality food producers and retailers. The company says a huge variety of styles, shapes and sizes of packs are available in large or small quantities.

0114 245 5400 www.keylink.org

www.uncleroys.co.uk

Suffolk-based Jules & Sharpie has launched a gift box to take four jars of its chilli-laced hot pepper jellies. The retailer or customer can decide which flavours to include, and the box is designed to be a “great gift for the family foodie or the ‘what-on-earth-shall-Ibuy’ person on the Christmas present list”. Two of Jules & Sharpie’s flavours are currently listed by Jamie Oliver for use in the Jamie’s Italian restaurants, and its hot ‘preservaments’ are also used as ingredients in a variety of other producers’ lines, from sausages to ice cream.

Kitchen Garden Foods launched a red onion marmalade at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair at Olympia last month. It is a deep red, rich, sweetand-savoury confit offering a depth of flavour that goes well with sausages, cheese and cold meats.

It is available to independent farm shops and delis with an RRP of £2.95-£3.50.

01453 759612 www.kitchengardenpreserves.co.uk

www.julesandsharpie.com

Premier World Brands has secured the UK distribution rights for Altis olive oil, the number one olive oil in Greece.

Savvas Papachristou, managing director of Premier, believes Altis is ideally positioned to fill a gap in the UK market for high quality but affordable Greek olive oils.

RRPs start from £2.39 for a 250ml size up to £17.99 for a large 3 litre bottle.

07798 916112 www.premierworldbrands.com Vol.11 Issue 9 October 2010

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SUS 11 Chatto Way Industrial Estate,

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FLO IRG WE IN RO IL Thi vers s high perf atile oi ly cook ect for l is mos in g high t uses and in omeg. It is cont a-6 ar ains pres tificial no erva tives .

Tel 01803 326818 Fax 01803 313102

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www.inkreadible.com sales@inkreadible.com

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

13

www.keylink.org Tel: 0114 245 5400 DRY WHITE WINE

58

October 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 9

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SUNXTR A V FLO IRGIN® C FOR OLD WER PURE PR ES OIL SE M G D

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Advertise in Fine Food Digest.

01963 824464 Vol.11 Issue 9 · October 2010

59

e t a r b e l e C

A HANDMADE BRITISH CLASSIC Wensleydale has always been

famous for its cheese -and none has as much stature, and is as deserving of the name ‘classic’, as Jervaulx Blue.

This British blue cheese is a real celebration of flavour, history and location. From a centuries old recipe, perfected at Jervaulx Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales, has come a modern blue that is delicate, creamy and ready to be savoured in so many ways.

DELICIOUS WITH CRACKERS OR IN A RECIPE

Jervaulx Blue is as delicious with crusty

bread or crackers as it is in a creamy pasta sauce or generously heaped on a Ploughman’s board. Or how about Jervaulx Blue as a mouth-watering ingredient in a wild mushroom risotto or with broccoli in a satisfying soup?

A delicately flavoured, creamy blue cheese, handcrafted in YORKSHIRE SINCE 1150.

Join in the celebration of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale

www.jervaulxblue.co.uk