FFD August 2015

DELI OF THE MONTH 48 ‘I’m a great believer that if you help people, they will help you in turn’

MAKE MORE OF ORGANICS 13 The green stuff is on the up, says the Soil Association.

So how can indies make the most of it?

LYME BAY WINERY 39 General manager James Lambert predicts a ‘new wave’ of UK still wines

August 2015 · Vol 16 Issue 7

A BIG SPLASH

Ahead of the first Speciality & Fine Food Fair Ireland, meet more than 50 of the best Irish producers, north and south

What’s shaking and stirring in wines and spirits CHEF’S SELECTION 45 Why Michelin-starred Josh Eggleton of the Pony & Trap keeps space behind the bar for Bristol Beer Factory milk stout, Sharpham Park spelt flour and Tunworth cheese

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY 21 Start polishing your festive range now and you'll give the multiples a run for their money in December

NEWS CHEESEWIRE CHARCUTERIE CAKES & PUDDINGS SPECIALITY TEAS WINES & SPIRITS SHELF TALK DELI OF THE MONTH

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opinion

What’s new this month:

undermined by the move. But it’s a t’s hard to believe, judging by pretty clear signal of where our new some of the pronouncements Government’s priorities lie. from Whitehall in recent weeks, Alongside this comes the news that the towering figure of postof a planned National Living Wage, war Conservatism was a grocer’s kicking in at £7.20 next April. As daughter. one of the UK’s top deli owners, Maybe the current mob have got Nottingham’s Sangita Tryner, told us Grantham shopkeeper Albert Roberts (see page 7) it seems unlikely that (Margaret Thatcher’s dad), muddled moves on corporation tax or other up with ‘Grocer’ Jack Cohen of Tesco, measures will offset the impact of the because they’ve moved a lot more Living Wage on small firms. The whole swiftly to helping the heirs of Cohen point is to shift cost away from the than to give high-street independents welfare budget and onto employers. a leg-up.

And I wonder which ones are best News that the Government placed to swallow this. Probably wants to deregulate Sunday trading, not your average for example, was independent slipped out even Who is best placed shopkeeper, in before the Budget. to swallow this?

Grantham or It's a populist anywhere else. move. Great Probably not your If the swathes of the average independent Government didn’t public think 24/7 shopkeeper. hang around with shopping in chain those moves, stores is not only a we’ve heard rather less about swift basic human right but more spiritually measures to ease the biggest burden rewarding than spending time at facing many small shops. As we home with the family or in the park report on page 4, the Association of with the dog.

Convenience Stores, which lobbies And – surprise, surprise – it won’t on behalf of more than 30,000 small do any harm to Government relations stores – including all members of the with the Big Four supermarkets and Guild of Fine Food – is demanding their fellow megastore-operating plcs, fundamental reform of business rates. who stand to benefit most.

It’s an unwieldy and unfair Truth be told, it’s system that is widely seen as bust, likely to have less and another of our most respected impact on speciality retailers, John Shepherd of Partridges food shops than in London, says rates are a far bigger on our friends in worry than a National Living Wage or the independent weekend opening hours. convenience store If they’ve forgotten what they sector, whose owe to little Lincolnshire grocers, whole maybe our leaders will listen to raison Partridges. With its Royal Warrant to d’être supply groceries to the Queen, there is might even be a knighthood in it.

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MICK WHITWORTH Editor

EDITORIAL

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Tel: 01747 825200 Fax: 01747 824065 info@gff.co.uk www.gff.co.uk

Editor: Mick Whitworth Deputy editor: Michael Lane Reporter: Arabella Mileham Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Clare Hargreaves, Patrick McGuigan, Lynda Searby, Felicity Spector

ADVERTISING advertise@gff.co.uk Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey, Ruth Debnam Published by Great Taste Publications Ltd and the Guild of Fine Food Ltd Managing director: John Farrand Marketing director: Tortie Farrand Chairman: Bob Farrand Director: Linda Farrand Operations & Guild membership: Charlie Westcar, Karen Price, Jilly Sitch, Claire Powell Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance, Julie Coates

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Editor’s choice

Selected by MICHAEL LANE Deputy editor

Joe & Seph’s chocolate & hazelnut caramel sauce www.joeandsephs.co.uk

^

I dubbed last month’s maple water “liquid pancakes” and now we’ve got molten brownies.

Joe & Seph’s popcorn should be familiar to most but you may not have expected the next step to be a set of six caramel sauces, based on the coatings it uses for its sweeter flavours.

While the chocolate & hazelnut was our pick of the bunch, there is something in the line-up for everyone – from sticky toffee and trendy salted caramel through to a gin & tonic variety.

Early adopters are using them as both a dessert topping and an ingredient.

There’s good branding unity with the popcorn range so retailers could easily merchandise them side-by-side or – with a certain TV programme back on the air – you could pitch these sauces to the seemingly endless army of home bakers out there.

p43

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Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

3

fine food news Government is being lobbied to make rates more flexible and geared to small business growth

Small stores back call for overhaul of business rates The ACS is seeking a tiered system of rates to take pressure off the smallest businesses and remove one major obstacle to growth

‘Business rates are stealth taxes’ elephant ❛in theTheroom is what is happening with business rates, as we haven’t had any clarity on it and it is a burning issue for the retail sector.

The Government said they were minded to do it, but there has been nothing more specific. We would definitely support a review of the business rates process. The current system is archaic and a bit unfair and needs to be reviewed, but we are still watching this space.

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

Independent delis and food stores are backing proposals that could make the business rates system more transparent, more flexible and more conducive to small business growth.

The Association of Convenience Stores, whose members include the Guild of Fine Food as well as thousands of independent stores, is pushing for changes to the current system and submitted recommendations to a recent Government consultation.

It argues that the process needs to be fundamentally reformed to become more flexible and fair and encourage investment on the high street rather than acting as a “brake on growth”.

The moves are being supported by independent retailers, who described the current system as antiquated, unfair and counterintuitive.

The ACS has called for greater flexibility, with more frequent valuations (every three years rather than five), and the value of rents linked more closely to inflation.

It is also demanding a more tiered system be introduced, whereby the smallest properties don’t pay any business rates while others pay a flat rate charge. It also wants to see investment rewarded by letting businesses offset capital spending against their rates bill.

Maike Hachfeld of Chiswick delicatessen Hack & Veldt welcomed

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

the idea that independents should be taxed at a different rate to big corporations. “There should be more differentiation, as it is difficult for businesses that add value to the community,” she told FFD. ”We’re trying to have a nice community with independent shops, but it’s getting harder and harder to stay independent.”

According to Steven Salamon, owner of Wally’s Deli in Cardiff, business rates have become “out of kilter” with rents since the recession.

“Rents change with the market and can be very reactive if the market changes, but rates don’t move as responsively between the five year valuations,” he said.

“I can negotiate a better rent because of the economy, but the rateable value won’t reflect that.”

He added: “There should be a small business cap. We are all doing our best, but rates are a major overhead. Anything they can do to encourage people to keep trading would help.”

High overheads were stifling investment, which was counterintuitive, Salamon told FFD. “There’s a direct correlation between overheads and the bottom line and what you can do in employing local people. If there was any leeway, at least we could afford pay rises – that is one way money could be put back into the local economy.”

One Scottish deli owner – who did not wish to be named – said greater transparency was

needed in how the rates related to other businesses and also better communication. “You get a bill, and they take the money out of your account, but there needs to be better communication, getting into a dialogue that supports businesses to trade and employ people, rather than focusing on collecting revenues.

“The current system is very broad brush and quite unyielding.

The rates don’t take into account variations in location to a great enough extent, and the process of querying is too long and expensive.

“More frequent reviewing would be good – and greater transparency as to how they are coming to the figure and how those figures related to other businesses and premises. It’s not a very transparent process.”

More frequent valuations and index-linking business rates to inflation rather than to a historic values would be a fairer system, according to Stephen Springham, head retail analyst at commercial property agents Knight Frank.

“The whole thing needs to be more transparent,” he said. “The market has changed. Rents used to be in favour of the landlord, but downward rental pressure has meant the pressure is shifting to the rateable value.

“And it’s a big cost for independent operators – the difference between staying afloat and going bust.”

❜

Stephen Springham, retail analyst, Knight Frank

is very hard to know what we ❛areItpaying rates for. It is basically just a tax. As far as I’m concerned, I pay £1,300 a month for nothing, which is a big outlay for a small business. We are looking at new sites, but the rateable value is a huge factor to consider.

❜

Maike Hachfeld Hack & Veldt deli, Chiswick, London

For lots of us, rates are ❛stealth taxes. We all struggle as independents, but we just have to suck it up. ❜ Sophie Legard Malton Relish, North Yorks

❛ratesBusiness are a big consideration and, to be honest, I am more worried about them than the latest development such as Sunday trading and the new National Living Wage. The [ACS’s] suggestions sound very sensible. Transparency is what we need, something that is easy to understand, clear and seen to be fair.

❜

John Shepherd, Partridges of Sloane Square

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Delilah banks on Leicester for its second deli-café

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

Delilah Fine Foods is in the process of buying a second outlet, two and a half years after it relocated and quadrupled the size of its Nottingham store.

The shop and café, which was national Deli of the Year in 2012, is in talks with Leicester City Council to buy and refurbish a disused bank in St Martin, close to the city’s Cathedral and the new King Richard III Visitor Centre. It plans to open at the start of 2016.

Owner Sangita Tryner and her husband Rick have received planning permission for a sensitive renovation of the Grade II listed former bank to retain its character while making it work for the business, and are waiting to complete on the building.

“We’ve been talking about it with Leicester City Council for six months as the property needs a lot of work,” she told FFD. “It is a beautiful building, but we need it to work for us.”

The footprint will be greater than the Nottingham store – itself housed in a former HSBC branch – allowing for more space for retail and a bigger downstairs seating area, as well as having space outside for further seating.

“It has a lovely atrium and we want it to have the same feel as our Nottingham store, with the food bar for our regulars and a mezzanine floor for diners,” she said.

The new deli will be overseen by Nik Tooley, general manager of the

English wine producers are looking to boost their presence in farm shops and delis – particularly for still wines – as the reputation of the industry and the quality of the wines continues to rise.

“There is definitely scope to develop this market further, especially where farm shops are close to those regional producers,”

l Loch Duart Smokehouse in South Uist has reopened under the revived Salar Smokehouse name following a management-buyout. Production of its signature hot-smoked flaky salmon, which halted three months ago after the previous owners failed to find a buyer, has now restarted.

The new owner is planning NPD and a major on-site expansion.

l Selfridges has replaced plastic bottles of water in its food halls with grab-and-go glass and Tetra Pak formats, to raise awareness of the harm plastic causes to the world’s oceans. It has installed a ‘Sea Change Drinking Fountain’ in its London store, with reusable plastic vessels, as part of the Project Ocean scheme. l Rural food businesses are to benefit from a £24m Defra funding pot unveiled by Farming Minister George Eustice. The Defra Growth Programme aims to boost the rural economy with grants to set up or expand new businesses and develop food processing facilities.

l WBC, a leading bag-for-life Delilah’s existing Nottingham store is also located in a former bank

Nottingham store, who will oversee both properties. A new team will be recruited for the Leicester shop, although Tryner said there may be some cross-over of duty managers from Nottingham Tryner said a second site has been planned for two years and although she and her husband had looked at different cities across the East Midlands areas, Leicester was the “right place” in terms of its

proactive plans for regeneration and proximity to the existing shop and key target market.

The site has been empty for eight years and comprises the original 1873 bank, as well as an adjacent three-storey building “bolted on to the back", which the couple plan to convert into serviced apartments in order to boost the long term viability of the site. www.delilahfinefoods.co.uk

English makers see scope for emerging still wines in farm shops and delis

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

IN BRIEF

English Wine Producers marketing director Julia Trustram Eve told FFD. “There is also a real opportunity to get some great interaction between farm shops and vineyards themselves.”

Currently only a third of the wine produced in the UK is still.

Larger commercial producers tend to concentrate on sparkling products, which have performed well in international competitions.

But Trustram Eve said there was an opportunity for smaller and local producers, many of whom concentrate on still wine, to tap into the rising reputation and popularity of English sparkling.

Still wines did well at the English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition, announced in June, which is organised by the UK Vineyard Association.

Some 327 wines from more

supplier, has launched a project in West Bengal offering sewing skills to widowed local women people to train them to make handicrafts out of locally produced jute. Profits will be invested back into the project.

l Small food producers are being urged to adopt new best-practice guidelines for gluten-free products, aiming at making labelling clearer for consumers and more consistent across the industry. The guidelines were developed following the introduction of new EU food information rules in December.

l Hider Foods has launched a free than 90 English and Welsh producers were entered, with 284 winning medals. Still wines scooped more than half the gold awards and nine out of the 13 trophies for specific wine styles.

This was due in part to last year’s record breaking harvest, Trustram Eve said, which had helped push total production up 42% to around 6.3m bottles.

“2014 was a great vintage and it is showing its colours really well. It was also a very big vintage, so there were a lot of still wine produced,” she said.

Devon’s Lyme Bay Winery, widely known in the speciality market for it cider, mead and English country wines, has just launched a range of five English wines – see our Wines & Spirits feature, p37. www.englishwineproducers.co.uk

app that allows customer to place orders direct from smartphones and tablets. It offers faster order by enabling them to view stock availability and build up a ‘virtual shopping basket’ for repeat purchases.

l Restrictions on the sale of raw milk are to remain in place, the FSA has confirmed. A review found that consumer protection could not be totally ensured if the market was expanded, and that labelling about the risks needed to be improved.

l Droppa & Droppa Specialist Foods has ceased manufacturing gluten- and dairy-free products to concentrate on its allergen training business. It said the time was right to focus on helping catering and foodservice businesses get to grips with best practice procedures, due diligence and compliance.

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

5

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I am an investor looking to invest in/ form a joint venture with a business with the potential to develop, produce and market game based ready meals in the UK. If you would like to discuss this opportunity please email your contact details and a brief outline of your business to: sframpton2010@hotmail.co.uk or contact Steve Frampton on 07989 553241

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Process

fine food news Fear of Sunday trading free-for-all is eclipsed by Living Wage plans ❛

Sunday is our third busiest day, so there will probably be a detrimental effect as people will go to the big [out-of-town] shopping centres. Only time will tell. But I agree with the Living Wage – fair pay for a fair day’s work.

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

Proposed changes to Sunday trading laws, revealed just ahead of last month’s Budget, have been overshadowed by the announcement of a new National Living Wage, which some delis and farm shops argue may prove a bigger challenge.

The ACS, which represents thousands of small shops, was quick to condemn the proposed relaxation of Sunday trading hours, claiming it would strip smaller stores of an advantage over the multiples.

The Government plans would see restrictions for larger retailers in England and Wales scrapped, with local authorities or elected mayors instead regulating opening hours.

But industry experts and independents contacted by FFD said the changes may not be as damaging as many small shops fear.

Stephen Springham, head of retail research at commercial property consultant Knight Frank, argued that as long as independent stores provide something better than mainstream grocers there was no reason why shopping dynamics would change.

“We will see the same amount of spend dissipated over a wider time frame, rather than lots of spend moving away from traditional channels,” he predicted.

Scotland has had no restrictions on Sunday trading in recent years. Charlotte Billingshurst of

ACS has condemned move to drop Sunday trading restrictions for larger stores

newly opened 181 Delicatessen in Edinburgh argued all-day Sunday trading made little practical difference, especially for city-based delis, while out-of-town farm

Christine Garnett Hunters of Helmsley, North Yorkshire

❜

shops had become a destination in themselves.

However, some retailers told FFD they were more worried about Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement of a new National Living Wage, set at £7.20 from April 2016 but rising to £9 by 2020 – even though many support the principle.

Sangita Tryner of Nottingham’s Delilah Fine Foods, who employs around 20 staff, said the incremental increases would rack up to a “massive” cost over time, particularly for shops serving food.

“You can’t keep escalating your wage costs without putting the price of something else up to implement it, and there’s only so much customers

will pay,” she said.

“Businesses will close over this. I know the Government says corporation tax will go down and we will get other benefits, but I doubt very much it will offset the increase in wages.”

The move is most likely to affect growing businesses employing at least six or seven people, according to 181 Delicatessen’s Billinghurst.

“They may not be turning over a huge amount but they need the staff to expand and keep the service high, and that sort of cost will make a big difference,” she told FFD. “All delis should be nervous, as they are dependent on their staff. Although I think it is a good thing, the money has to come from somewhere.”

It is almost two years since I opened in October 2013. I started out thinking I’d be a deli that did a little bit of coffee and cake, but realistically I’m a coffee shop that does a little bit of deli stuff. In Easter ETTA LEGGATE KITCHENETTA, WOODHALL SPA, LINCS 2014, I reduced my dry goods offering by 40% to make way for the happier and more stimulated The artisan food scene in more seating, which drastically people are in your shop, the longer Lincolnshire hasn’t really kicked off improved my turnover, almost they will stay, and hopefully the in the same way it has in the south, overnight. And because I’m busier, more they will spend. and when I left my job at London my retail food sales have improved There are 24 places you can go design agency Big Fish to move up too, despite the range being smaller. for coffee and cake in this village to Lincolnshire, where my husband While it’s not was a brassica farmer, I missed I’ve done staff trips to London and exactly what having my favourite foodie joints to disappear to on the weekends.

York to see what other people are doing I originally wanted, I’m So, in a nutshell, that was what and where the trends are heading still able to use I wanted to re-create in Lincolnshire. my specialist suppliers and introduce so the competition is high. But The majority of café-delis in this them to my customers. For example, by offering a premium and more tourist village are old fashioned tea I use Ortiz tuna and chorizo picante modern approach, we’ve managed houses and lack the innovation and from Brindisa in my baguettes, which to set ourselves apart. I’ve also attention to presentation that you in turn boosts retail sales of these. made a point of sourcing all our get everywhere in London.

Finding engaged and interested foodservice items from specialist For me, the whole shopping staff has been more of a challenge suppliers: drinks from Luscombe and experience needs to be a pleasure. that I thought it would be. I realised Brew Tea, chorizo sausage rolls from You’d be amazed at how much time very quickly that no-one loves your Country Victualler and fresh bread I spent choosing light fittings and business like you do and that it’s from the Welbeck Estate. floor tiles, but I firmly believe that

better to have someone brilliant for six months than someone mediocre for a year. I currently employ two girls full time and another three part time.

Something else I have learned is that you can’t ever afford to sit back and take your eye off the ball. Things change so quickly and it’s imperative you keep on top of them. I’ve done a few staff trips to London and York to see what other people are doing and where the trends are heading.

It’s been a great way of engaging staff and finding new ideas to take home.

In the first year we turned over £84,000 and this year I’m hoping to increase that to just over £120,000.

I don’t think the business will turn over as much as I had originally hoped, but my overheads are lower, so it has balanced itself out. My shop is quite small, which is the main limiting factor. I’d love to move into the shops next door if they ever became available.

❛

It’s another blow to small business from this Government.

They are just making it easier for the big boys to work, while smaller businesses just get a fleeting glance.

❜

Reece Lippolis Urban Pantry, Sheffield

If I'd known then what I know now...

❛

❜

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Interview by LYNDA SEARBY

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

7

fine food news new openings

Opening or expanding a shop? Email details to editorial@gff.co.uk

Mobile shop puts down roots in the Highlands

At a glance l The new site comprises 500 sq ft of retail space alongside the takeaway coffee bar and bake shop. It also showcases a selection of co-owner Lorraine Hopwood’s etchings and artworks.

l In addition to its own homebaked cakes, bakes and biscuits, All The Goodness stocks around 120 ambient products, with a heavy focus on Scottish provenance.

l Suppliers include: Golspie Mill,

All the Goodness has relocated from Cheshire to new 500sq ft premises overlooking Eilean Donan Castle

A former mobile cake and coffee business has opened its first bricksand-mortar shop overlooking one of Scotland’s most picturesque landmarks, Eilean Donan Castle in the Highlands of Scotland.

All the Goodness coffee & bakeshop opened its doors in June, after relocating from Marbury Country Park in Cheshire last October.

Open seasonally between April and October, it will target passing tourist and coach trade en route

to the Isle of Skye, as well as locals and holidaymakers in self-catering cottages in the area.

The site, which was previously an outdoor clothing retailer and had been closed for around 18 months, has undergone a complete refurbishment. In addition to the 500sq ft retail area, which includes a takeaway coffee bar and bakeshop, owners Mark and Lorraine Hopwood have installed a new kitchen to supply the bakeshop with homemade cakes, bakes, biscuits and

confectionery, and an office/studio.

The shop stocks a wide selection of Scottish speciality products and Great Taste award winners. Local suppliers – including Stag Bakeries, Orkney Ice Cream, Mara Seaweed, Cullisse Oils, Hebridean Sea Salt, Black Isle Berries and Struan Apiaries – are stocked alongside selected products from further afield.

“Being in a fairly remote area has its logistical challenges but we try to make direct links with producers wherever possible,” said owner

The Udder Farm Shop East Stour, Dorset A Dorset farm shop has doubled the size of its retail space as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The extension and refit of The Udder Farm Shop, which reopened on July 3, has seen the addition of a new fresh fish counter, a COOK frozen meals concession, an improved butchery counter and a deli offering sandwiches and cakes to take away, as well as a dedicated home-baking section.

The extension took nine months to complete and has seen the farm shop broaden its supplier base, as well as increasing stock from its existing suppliers, owner Jane Down said.

New suppliers include Samways Fish Merchants, South Devon Chilli Farm, Stokes Sauces, James Chocolates, Charlie Crown Wines, Cerne Abbas Brewery and the Dorset Brewing Company.

It has also increased its range of free-from products, and upped its

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

Island Bakery, Stag, Gusto oils, Chocolate Tree, Coco Chocolatier, IQ Chocolate, Angelic, Trotters, Uncle Roy’s, Orkney Ice Cream, Huntly Herbs, Forest Kitchen, Rose Cottage, Whisky Sauce Co, Mara Seaweed, Cullisse Oils, Hebridean Sea Salt, Black Isle Berries, Struan Apiaries, Peter's Yard, Grate Britain, Artisan Biscuits, Easy Bean, Kent & Fraser and Against The Grain, Silver & Green, Scarlett & Mustard and Baru.

Mark Hopwood. “This allows us to provide our customers with a unique selection of items that we believe in, and can recommend passionately.”

Lorraine Hopwood added: “The retail is rapidly growing and we’re looking at supplying more products for the self-catering trade, from nice bakery to sauces, olives and casual dining, to make it simpler for them.” www.allthegoodness.co.uk

Cathedral Deli Gloucester

selection of gifts.

“The focus hasn’t changed. Our aim has always been to offer as much local product and produce to our customers as possible so that we are a legitimate alternative to supermarket shopping,” said Down.

The extension is the latest development for the shop, which

launched its online shop and meat box scheme last year and started its fresh oven-ready pre-packed meals for two people in January.

The farm shop and café was opened by farmers Jane and Brian Down in 2005, with the conservatory café extension built in 2008. www.theudderfarmshop.co.uk

A former bank in the centre of Gloucester is re-opening this month as a new 1,000 sq ft deli, following an extensive refurbishment.

The Cathedral Deli on Westgate Street, which was bought by formerfinancier-turned-cake-maker Claire Melvin (pictured) in March 2014, will comprise a food retail area, selling local jams, chutneys, beers and ciders, and a coffee bar and café catering for around 20 covers, selling cakes, pies, sandwiches and soups made in the on-site kitchen.

Melvin is planning to use the bank manager’s former office and one of the upper rooms as a community space to host classes, pop-ups and supper clubs. www.cathedraldeli.com

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The Lyme Bay Winery, Shute, Axminster, Devon EX13 7PW Phone: 01297 551 355 Email: sales@lymebaywinery.co.uk www.lymebaywinery.co.uk August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

fine food news Cranstons to create third food hall by relocating Brampton butchers’ shop our other shops we have a good idea of what we will stock, but we are in the process of drilling down to work out what will work in Brampton,” he said.

Planning permission has been granted to refurbish and convert the building. This includes opening up the ground floor banking hall, offices and safe into one large room, converting rooms at the back to chillers, freezers, stores and preparation areas, and improving the access from these back-of-house rooms to the service yard.

The company acquired the site in February this year, after missing out when the bank was put on the market following its closure in February 2014. According to Cranston, the original buyer had hoped to interest a multiple retailer into converting the property into a supermarket convenience store, and there was speculation in the local press last July linking Tesco to the site.

In addition to the Brampton store and its two food halls, Cranstons operates three traditional butchery shops in Penrith, Carlisle and Hexham, and recently expanded its Penrith production facility by around 5,000 square feet.

It will give up the lease on the existing Brampton shop once the new shop is open.

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

Cumbrian fine food retailer Cranstons is to open a food hall in Brampton, a few miles northeast of Carlisle, in a relocation and expansion of its existing butchers’ in the market town.

The new food hall, opening in mid-November, will be located in a former HSBC bank on Front Street, opposite the existing outlet in Brampton.

More than double the size of the current shop, it will include a larger butchery and deli counter, a hot food counter, a wine area and more space for ambient goods.

Managing director Philip Cranston told FFD the feel of the new store would be similar to its other food halls – Orton Grange, which opened in 2013, and its flagship Cumbrian Food Hall in Penrith – albeit on a smaller scale.

“The ambient retail space in the Brampton shop is practically zero, so we will be able to include more of an ambient element in the new food hall,” he said.

“We will be majoring on fresh lines that we produce ourselves, including locally sourced beef, pork and lamb, freshly baked pies, patés and cooked meats, but ambient will be a very important part.”

Cranston said the bulk of products would come from existing suppliers. “With the experience in

Philip Cranston: New food hall will major on products made in-house

www.cranstons.net

Denstone Hall to expand after ‘Best Staffs shop’ award

By MICK WHITWORTH

A Staffordshire farm shop is planning its second major expansion in three years as it celebrates being named the top retail outlet in the region.

Denstone Hall farm shop & café, owned by Rupert and Emma Evans, beat 60 other stores to win Best Retailer in the inaugural Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce Awards last month.

The couple have run the shop, on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire, for eight years, and expanded into new, purpose-built premises in 2013.

Other retailers were brought in to occupy the old farm shop building, helping build footfall to the site, which is located near Uttoxeter and about four miles from Alton Towers.

The farm shop has its own butchery and kitchen, and sells home-produced pies, quiches, pastries, pudding and cakes alongside the farm’s own beef, local lamb and pork and regional cheeses.

At last year’s Staffordshire

Rupert and Emma Evans plan to extend their café and gift shop

Tourism Awards, it collected four trophies: Best Food Retailer, Best Tea Shop, Best Food Producer and NFU Local Food Champion.

At last month’s Chamber of Commerce event at Staffordshire’s county showground, the Denstone Hall team were told their commitment to creating unique homemade produce, good customer service and strong growth plans had

set them apart.

Rupert Evans said a second phase of development planned for 2016 would see expansion of the café and gift shop and the addition of further retail concessions. www.denstonehall.co.uk

A German semi-soft cheese with a red-tinged rind was named Supreme Champion cheese at last month’s Great Yorkshire Show.

Rougette Bavarian Red is made

by Kaserei Champignon, whose creamy blue Montagnolo Affiné took the Supreme Champion title at the 2013 World Cheese Awards.

The Bavarian maker is represented in the UK by Elite Imports, and its Rougette Bavarian Red is distributed by Rowcliffe’s and Tom Walker & Sons.

Supreme Dairy Product at the 157th Great Yorkshire Show, which attracted over 130,000 visitors to its Harrogate show ground over three days, was a raspberry, toffee & meringue ice cream from Ryeburn of Helmsley. www.elite-imports-limited.co.uk www.ryeburn.com

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

11

Little bag.

Lots of cake.

For homemade cakes just add water, a little oil and your imagination.

There are 5 cake mixes available from larger Sainsbury's, Morrison's, The Co-op and Wright's Mail Order.

G R Wright & Sons Ltd. Ponders End Mills Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4TG

12

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

For great ideas and a FREE recipe book, why not join the Wright’s Home Baking Club on Freephone 0800 064 0100 Or visit our website www.wrightsflour.co.uk

fine food news

Get some on your shelves Interview

Organic food is having another growth spurt and independents are leading the way.

MICHAEL LANE speaks to the Soil Association about how retailers can make the most of it.

T

here can’t be many concepts that have encountered as much cynicism over the years as organic food. But despite the stereotypes, criticism of prices and dismissals of the movement as a fad at various peaks during the last two decades, it appears to be in good health.

What’s more, the profiles of typical retailers selling and consumers buying organic products are quite different from common perceptions.

“As an offer, organic is not going away,” says Soil Association trade relations manager Lee Holdstock, backed up by the positive figures in the organic accreditation body’s 2015 Organic Market Report.

Both 2013 and 2014 saw nationwide sales increase after five years of decline but the sector’s latest upturn is different from its previous booms in the Nineties and Noughties.

This time, it is the independents leading the charge – accounting for some £286m in 2014 and achieving growth at a faster rate than the multiples – and Holdstock is spearheading a campaign to boost their sales further.

“Organic food has very good potential,” he says. “85% of consumers have bought something organic in the last year.”

To help retailers, the Soil Association has made free marketing and POS toolkits, as well as merchandising guides, available to order from its website.

Holdstock tells FFD that there are opportunities across the board for delis and farm shops, not just wholefood or organic specialists, but they need to understand their customer.

“If I was to say to you ‘Is the organic consumer a very tech-savvy, early adopter?’ You would say ‘No’,” says Holdstock.

Lest anyone starts wheeling out the traditional “beard and sandals wholefood seeker” or the “empty nesters” of the mid-noughties, Holdstock points out that these are dated images of the typical organic shopper.

Even those working at the Soil Association have been surprised by the socio-economic split in types of shoppers, with national sales divided equally between AB categorised high earners, those on intermediate salaries and people with low or no incomes. The UK’s large student

Soil Association’s free POS material is just one of the ways it is helping independents to sell more organic food

population bolsters this final category.

The average age of the organic consumer is also changing.

“We’re seeing a younger consumer that is globally aware and understands that you have to think harder about the food on your plate,” says Holdstock, adding that this demographic, of 18-35 year olds, is seeking out alternatives to the multiples both online and on the high street. They are also shopping more frequently and buying smaller quantities.

This shift in consumer behaviour, he says, is not anecdotal.

“We’ve seen evidence from IGD, Nielsen and Kantar. There is this reduction in the size of shop as supermarket shoppers move to different channels.”

Holdstock acknowledges that not all consumers want organic but he says that there is a strong indication from research that plenty would buy more organic if it was more available.

So what should retailers be considering if they want to try it out?

Like any type of food, organic is sold with a story. The only problem is that conveying that story can be more difficult because of assumptions by both sellers and customers.

“Organic is a holistic approach not a one-trick pony,” he explains.

“Because there are so many benefits it’s hard to encompass it in a strapline or a single word.”

Holdstock admits to being frustrated with consumers who think that free-range eggs are effectively the same as organic eggs.

Animal welfare is just one aspect, he says pointing out that looking after soils and reducing human consumption of certain chemicals are just as important.

The complicated story means that those who are engaged with their customer base and their community are those that get the best out of organic. That’s where the Soil Association’s free POS material comes in, not to mention its tips on visual merchandising.

“If you’re not a completely organic retailer, creating an organic ghetto in store is a bad idea,” says Holdstock, who argues that by pigeon-holing it a retailer is only offering items to existing organic consumers. Interspersing products and dressing them alongside nonorganics in the same category will highlight an organic product as an

❛

If you’re not a completely organic retailer, creating an organic ghetto in store is a bad idea

❜

Lee Holdstock, Soil Association

alternative to the item they would normally buy.

Carrots are one of the most common entry products for retailers taking their first steps, says Holdstock, but chilled lines should not be overlooked. In 2014, dairy accounted for more than quarter of all organic sales and it posted yearon-year growth of 6.3%.

Prior to launching its independent retail drive, the Soil Association identified three areas in which retailers needed assistance. Having begun to address a perceived knowledge gap with its free materials, it has turned its attention to keeping retailers up to date (via regular e-newsletters) and is now looking at revamping its training programmes to help optimise sales.

Holdstock says there are many retailers that cannot spare staff for the training days that the association runs on farms and, as a result, it is developing online courses.

The creation of shopping bags with “organic messages” is also being mooted to help back up the toolkits.

With the Soil Association’s Organic September initiative on the horizon, there won’t be a better opportunity this year for independents to experience some organic growth. www.soilassociation.org/trade/ independentretailersupport

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

13

LE GRUYÈRE AOP

*

BORN IN SWITZERLAND, 1115 A.D. And remains the only cheese that’s 100% Natural, 100% Traditional, 100% from Switzerland and 100% Le Gruyère AOP *AOP = PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) – must be traditionally and entirely prepared and produced within the region, thus acquiring the unique properties of Gruyère AOP cheese, to bear the name Le Gruyère AOP.

The uniquely smooth, savoury flavour you’ll find only in Le Gruyère AOP is a product of its upbringing – where the cows that supply the milk are grazed (only in the villages of Western Switzerland), the way the cheese is aged and cared for (slow-aged in the region’s cheese cellars and caves), and the recipe that’s remained, unchanged, for centuries (hand-made, in small batches). For a smooth and mild yet extremely satisfying taste, Le Gruyère Classic is aged 5 months minimum. Le Gruyère Reserve, which has been aged for 10 months or more, has a smooth but more robust flavour. Both varieties are great in recipes, or sliced as a snack. Either way, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the only cheese that can call itself Le Gruyère AOP.

Switzerland. Naturally.

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

Castle of Gruyères

Born in Switzerland in 1115. www.gruyere.com

Cheeses from Switzerland. www.cheesesfromswitzerland.com

cheesewire Unsung heroes Hidden gems from British producers

news & views from the cheese counter

New dairy helps with demand for Supreme Champ Bath Blue

New 650 sq m Bath Soft Cheese Company dairy will see capacity double to 100 tonnes per year

ELMHIRST In a nutshell: The French triple cream cheese Brillat-Savarin has long been loved by gourmands. What’s less well known is that Britain also makes triple cream cheeses, such as Elmhirst – a mould-ripened soft cheese made with raw Jersey milk by the Sharpham Partnership in Devon. The cheese comes in 800g and 300g rounds and is matured for two to six weeks.

Flavour and texture: When young it has a mild flavour with a light, moussy texture, but as it matures it develops a luxuriously rich, creamy interior with mushroom and earthy flavours.

History: Situated on the banks of the River Dart near Totnes in South Devon, Sharpham has been milking cows and making wine and cheese for more than 20 years. ‘Elmhirst’ was the maiden name of Ruth Ash, who helped establish cheese production at Sharpham.

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

The Bath Soft Cheese Company has completed its move to a new 650 sq m dairy, which will help it meet soaring demand for last year’s World Cheese Awards Supreme Champion Bath Blue.

The new production facility at its farm in Kelston doubles capacity to more than 100 tonnes a year, following a five year period in which annual sales have tripled to around £750,000. Further pressure was put on the old dairy by the WCA success last November, which saw its Stiltonstyle Bath Blue beat nearly 2,600 cheeses from around the world to the top title.

Germany and Austria on the roster at Paxton & Whitfield

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Cheese care: A full-size cheese has a maximum shelf life of two weeks from the date of dispatch.

Smaller sizes have shorter shelf lives.

Why stock it: Raw milk triple cream cheeses are rare in the UK, especially made with Jersey milk.

The difference in flavour and texture between the young and more mature cheeses means that Elmhirst is almost like two cheeses in one.

Perfect partners: It matches well with a Czech-style pilsner from Harbour Brewing Co in Cornwall.

The bubbly, crisp lager cleans the palate in readiness for the next mouthful. Sparkling wine also works – try Sharpham Sparkling.

Where to buy: Wholesalers including the Cheese Man, La Fromagerie and Devon Cheese.

FFD features a different ‘unsung hero’ from Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association members each month. To get involved, contact: patrick.mcguigan@gff.co.uk

“We were bursting at the seams after the WCAs win” said director Hugh Padfield. “Because it was close to Christmas a lot of orders were turned away – we were giving people half what they wanted – and demand has really stayed up after that.”

Padfield estimated that sales of the blue cheese had risen by 50-75% since the WCAs with the company now making 450-500kg a week, compared to 250-300kg before the move.

Bath Blue is now pushing the company’s traditional best seller Bath Soft Cheese to be its number one product.

They might be better known for bratwurst and apple strudel, but Germany and Austria are also home to some good cheeses, according to Paxton & Whitfield, which is introducing several new products from Central Europe.

The shop recently launched an Austrian cheese called Hubaner after requests from retail and wholesale customers, and is also showcasing other ‘guest’ cheeses from both countries. The most recent of these was a cows’ milk cheese covered in Alpine blossom, while an Emmenthal and a blue called Chiriboga, both from Bavaria, are also in the pipeline.

“The Hubaner is a real stand out product and is now part of our core range,” said Hero Hirsh, manager at Paxtons’ Jermyn Street store. “It’s made with raw milk, matured for eight months and has a supple texture and tangy flavour with a hint of salt and toasted

walnuts. We get regular requests for customers for cheeses from this part of the world, so it was exciting to find some really good products.”

Paxtons is remaining tight-lipped on who supplies the cheeses, but Hirsh said the importer specialises in products from small producers in both countries.

Pimlico-based cheesemonger Rippon also has a selection of German and Austrian cheeses, including Bergkaese, Limburger, Hubaner and Chiriboga Blue. www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

The new dairy has a viewing window looking into the cheese room and five maturing rooms.

The company sought the advice of other cheese-makers who had moved premises to minimise any effects on the cheese.

“They told us to stick exactly to the same processes as in the old dairy when we first moved in and then slowly look to introduce changes and new equipment,” said Padfield. “We started with Wyfe of Bath, then the soft and then the blue because it is the most sensitive of the cheeses. So far it seems to have gone very smoothly.” www.parkfarm.co.uk

Cooleeney takes up smoking and beer-washing

Irish cheese maker Cooleeney has invested in a new smokehouse at its farm in Tipperary, which is being used to make two new pasteurized cheeses.

Smoky Tipperary Brie (pictured) is cold smoked over oak chips for an hour-and-a-half to give the soft cheese a subtle smoked flavour, while Smoky Tipperary Orchard is a semi-hard cows’ milk cheese smoked over apple wood for twoand-a-half hours.

Another recent addition is a beer-washed soft cheese called Ruby, which is made using a red ale from local brewer The White Gypsy.

All three are available through Harvey & Brockless. www.cooleeney.com

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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Cornish Blue

Award winning Blue Cheese

www.cornishcheese.co.uk Tel: 01579 363660

enquiries@cornishcheese.co.uk

SUPREME

CHAMPION 2010

Winterdale Cheesemakers award winning...

Kentish Handmade Cheese A traditional unpasteurised, cloth bound cellar matured hard cheese from the county of Kent.

Stuff of legend

Gold winners at

www.winterdale.co.uk +44 (0)1732 820021 Winterdale, Platt House Lane, Wrotham, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 7LX 16

August 2015 路 Vol.16 Issue 7

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British Cheese Awards (Best Cheddar, Best Goats Cheese, Best Export Cheese & Best Traditional Cheese) World Cheese Awards, Great Taste Awards, Nantwich, Royal Bath & West EES ISH CH E AWARD Great Yorkshire, Devon County Show, Taste of the West and Frome RIT B

One of the most local farm produced cheeses to London and now achieving carbon neutral production.

When it comes to exceptional cheddar, the old ways are still the best.

Our award-winning, traditional truckles are wrapped in muslin and allowed to breathe as they slowly mature, resulting in a creamy complex flavour with a long finish.

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

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cheesewire

Bigod that’s good Interview

While declining milk prices have spawned many a British cheese-maker, the Crickmores of Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk were cleverer with their diversification than most. PATRICK McGUIGAN finds out the story behind their raw milk brie, which is out-performing its French cousin.

I

n many ways the story of Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk is a familiar one. Third generation dairy farmer Jonny Crickmore and his wife Dulcie became so fed-up with rock bottom milk prices in the late noughties that they decided to turn their hands to cheese-making.

They certainly aren’t the first and won’t be the last disillusioned milk producer to diversify, but the way they have gone about things has demonstrated an unusual amount of ambition, understanding and flair.

Before setting up, they took advice from Neal’s Yard Dairy on the kinds of British cheeses that were missing from the market – a shrewd move that eventually led them to make a raw milk Brie de Meauxstyle cheese called Baron Bigod (pronounced ‘by-god’), named after a local 12th century nobleman.

Influential French consultant Ivan Larcher was also recruited and it was on his advice that the couple travelled to Comté country in France to buy as many Montbeliarde cows as they could lay their hands on.

“They produce fantastic quality milk for making cheese so we found a contact in France, who knew a lot of farmers, and then basically drove around visiting lots of small dairy farms, buying one or two cows from each,” says Jonny Crickmore.

“We visited well over 30 farms in three days – it was all a bit of a whirlwind.”

They came back with 72 Montbeliarde cows (which must have been slightly confused to suddenly find themselves in a field near Bungay) and not much change from £130,000. That was on top of the £250,000 they had spent on constructing a new dairy.

The investment was balanced by selling off some of their existing Holstein-Friesans to pay for the French cows, while the dairy was supported by a £75,000 rural development grant. The rest came out of the Crickmores’ own pockets. “We’d been saving up for a long time,” he says.

It’s only been two years since the first cheeses were made, but Fen Farm already supplies more than 20 wholesalers, including Paxton & Whitfield and Rowcliffe.

Neal’s Yard, which takes around 40 of the 100 or so 3kg cheeses made each week, has seen sales of Baron Bigod outstrip its Brie de Meaux from French producer Dongé

Fen Farm Dairy produces around 100 of its 3kg Baron Bigods every week using milk from its own herd of Montbeliarde cows

by as much as seven to one, while The Courtyard Dairy in Settle has de-listed French brie altogether.

Fellow cheese-maker Julie Cheyney has also relocated her business from Hampshire to Suffolk and now makes her lactic cheese, St Jude, one or two days a week in the dairy. The rapid increase in volumes means the company is already at two thirds of its capacity and an extension to the maturing rooms is under discussion.

“It’s going really well and that’s partly because no one else makes a raw milk Brie de Meaux in the UK,” says Crickmore. “There are lots of artisan producers buying milk from farms, but not many who do both, so it really makes us quite unique.

Right from the start we wanted to aim nationally. We had the attitude that if we make one good cheese we could sell it around the UK as opposed to making lots of different

cheeses and aiming at our local area.”

The ambitious project has not just caught the imagination of wholesalers and retailers. Crickmore was asked to join the board of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association last year and Fen Farm was the venue for the body’s annual gettogether earlier this summer – the ultimate seal of approval from Britain’s close-knit artisan cheese sector.

Members of the public also travel from far and wide to buy raw milk and cheese directly from the farm’s cow-print shed. The growing interest in the health and taste benefits of unpasteurised milk has definitely helped Baron Bigod, says Crickmore.

“The more people talk about raw milk and the more coverage there is in the press, the better it is for the cheese,” he says. “People

We had the attitude that if we make one ❛good cheese we could sell it around the UK as opposed to making lots of different cheeses and aiming at our local area

Jonny Crickmore

❜

are now asking specifically for unpasteurised cheese. They are just that more aware.”

Despite his success, Crickmore says he is still learning as a cheesemaker and is continually assessing the cheese and tweaking the recipe.

Once a month, he takes samples and copies of his daily production sheets to Neal’s Yard to discuss how the cheese tastes and compare it directly with a French Brie de Meaux.

“The potential is that we could be a lot better than French Brie because we have our own herd of cows. We have times when the cheese is really good – better than the French – and then we lose it and have to work out why.”

Rather than slavishly following a recipe, Crickmore adapts the process depending on how the milk is behaving on a particular day, so if the cheese is too dry, he will use less starter culture or cut the curds a bit bigger to retain moisture.

“Sometimes you think you have the perfect recipe, but then a few weeks later the cheese is totally different,” he says. “That’s because the milk changes during lactation or the temperature of the cheese room is different. It’s about learning from those changes and adjusting what you do. That’s the true art of cheese-making.” www.fenfarmdairy.co.uk

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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cut & dried

making more of british & continental charcuterie

New premises help Bellota extend high-end Spanish range

By ARABELLA MILEHAM

The importer is increasing its range of Ibérico ham and other regional lines

A British charcuterie maker that supplies upmarket country house hotels and restaurants has postponed the launch of its first retail packs after finding a new distributor to expand its wholesale business.

A Pinch of Salt has signed with distributor Oakleaf European and intends to target hotels and restaurants. Owner Alan Bartlett told FFD he had decided to put the launch of the retail packs on hold “for a few months” to concentrate on the wholesale side.

Earlier this year FFD reported that the company was doubling production capacity by installing a larger drying room in order to develop retail lines.

However Bartlett told FFD a new contract with an upmarket pizza company had taken up a lot of the new production capacity.

A Pinch of Salt is now planning to launch the lomo, coppa, bresaola, chorizo and salami into retail in the New Year. The small Hampshirebased curer was set up 10 years ago by Christchurch-based butcher Bartlett and James Golding, the chef-director of The Pig Hotels. It currently supplies charcuterie to all four of Pig hotels, as well as Mark Hix’s restaurants in London and Dorset. www.apinchofsaltcuring.co.uk www.oakleaf-european.co.uk

Surge in demand means venison’s getting dearer

Jochenschneider Dreamstime.com

Growing demand for fresh venison in mainstream markets is pushing up the cost of raw ingredients, according to venison charcuterie producers.

Mintel’s The Fifty Report reported game sales up 9% in 2013-14 on the back of buoyant venison demand, and tipped British game as one of the world’s top 50 consumer growth markets.

Demand has been fuelled by the growing number of shoppers who see venison is as a healthy alternative to red meat, it said.

Anja Baak of Great Glen Charcuterie said increased awareness had helped boost

DE

demand for venison charcuterie, but was also having a knock-on effect on prices. “There was not so much demand for venison when we started but the price of ingredients has gone up,” she told FFD. Jean Edwards of Deli Farm Charcuterie, which produces two venison salamis and a bresaola, said this was largely due to the meat’s newfound popularity.

“There is lots of wild venison out there and that needs to be controlled, so you’d think the price would come down, but it has been driven by increased demand,” she told FFD.

SIGNATIO

N OF

ORIGI

TECTED

www.quailsfinefoods.co.uk

www.bellota.co.ukk

N

O PR

Northern Irish beef producer and deli Quail’s Fine Foods has created a salt-aged beef pastrami which it plans to launch into wholesale.

The family-run company wants to capitalise on its success at last year’s Great Taste which saw it win seven awards, including a 3-star for its 28day dry salt-aged sirloin steak.

The pastrami (RRP: £1.95/100g) is made from brisket from its grassfed herd, which is aged in Quail’s Himalyan salt chamber for two weeks before being slow-cooked for 10 hours, and peppered.

Owner Joe Quail said the wins had attracted interest from across the UK and he wanted to develop value-added products showcasing its dry-aged beef, which offered “significant growth potential” for the company. “We knew we could make a better product than the pastrami we were buying in – a lot is made from silverside, but we wanted to use brisket, which is more traditional,” he said.

“We’ve already sold close to three quarters of what we did last year in the three months of this year – and are looking to increase that,” he told FFD. “Last year we weren’t chasing new business because of the capacity constraints, but my partner Sarah is taking on an increased role, taking over the operations of the warehouse to free me up to chase new business.”

•

from acorn-fed free-range Basatxerri mountain pigs, and a selection of wild boar patés, which it says have become a best-seller at tastings.

“People don’t just want a chorizo or salami, they are looking for specific breeds of pigs – they are very interested in trying things,” said Tolhurst.

The additional capacity means the company is set to develop new business and Tolhurst said he was expecting “serious growth”.

•

Spanish food importer Bellota is expanding its range of Ibérico hams and premium Spanish charcuterie after tripling the size of its cold room.

Owner Nic Tolhurst told FFD the installation of a bespoke refrigeration unit at its new Burnham-on-Crouch site enabled it to take on new suppliers, as well as significantly boosting its ability to hold stock, which he said had eased supply problems.

“Before, we had a two week lead time and it was very difficult to supply, but now we are holding a lot more stock and can supply customers much more easily,” he said.

The company is increasing its choice of Ibérico hams, and will stock products from different regions. “Ibérico hams vary in flavour depending on the region, as different areas used slightly different techniques,” said Tolhurst, adding that it was looking at products from the Extremadura in South West Spain and the Los Pedroches Valley region, close to Portugal.

It will also stock Cecina (a cured beef) and Cabezada, a cured tenderloin of pork, which is similar to Italian coppa, and has recently added Fuet salamis, picante and poco-picante chorizo hoops made

Pinch of Salt in Oakleaf deal

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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Hillside’s Award-Winning New Gift Range

All you need is the cheese!

Tel: 01392 833630 email: info@hillsidefoods.co.uk www.hillsidefoods.co.uk

Super Premium Sparkling Soft Drink Range Heartsease has been our family farm since 1903.

We love great flavours and using our own spring water, we have blended these delicious drinks for you.

I hope you enjoy them!

6 Delicious flavours; Elderflower Pressé, Traditional Lemonade, St Clements Pressé, Fiery Ginger Beer, Raspberry Lemonade and British Blackcurrant Crush

www.radnorhills.co.uk 20

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

For a wide range of artisan Spanish foods, including treats for Christmas like our Chocolate Fig Bombons, Marron Glacé and Christmas Pudding Truffles, ask for our new catalogue now!

01865 340055 | info@delicioso.co.uk | www.delicioso.co.uk Delicioso UK Ltd, Unit 8 Tower Business Park, Oxfordshire OX10 7LN

product focus

Christmas

Yule be happy If you’re already thinking about Christmas, you’ve come to the right place. MICHAEL LANE unwraps the latest festive lines and gift packs.

Cottage Delight has introduced some 47 new lines to its already extensive Christmas Collection for 2015. Among the new additions are chocolate and butter pastry bowties, five new artisan patés and a date & orange roulade for hampers and cheeseboards. As well as its new products, Cottage Delight’s range has received a makeover and now sports re-designed packaging with colourful mop tops to ensure visibility on shelf and tags featuring hand-drawn illustrations. The Cottage Delight logo has also been updated with the tagline ‘Passionate about Taste’. www.cottagedelight.co.uk

In addition to Christmas puddings in its traditional 680g ceramic bowls (trade £9.85), The Carved Angel will produce 454g servings in plastic containers shrouded in gold metallic paper. Traditional, apple strudel, cranberry & white chocolate and double chocolate & cherry will all be available in this new format as will the brand new addition, Irish Cream pudding (whisky, cream & white chocolate). They come in cases of 12 with a trade price of £5.75-£5.95 per unit. The Carved Angel will also be making a new gluten-free traditional Christmas pudding with oats (cases 10x454g, £6.50 per unit). www.thecarvedangel.com

Meridian Sea’s festive brochure is now available to retailers.

It offers a selection of pâtés, terrines, salads and stuffed fish for retailers’ chilled counters. The range includes a Trout Yule Log, made with both smoked and poached trout. It can be sliced or sold whole as a centrepiece for a buffet or dinner party. It is supplied in cases of 3x1kg for £12.75/kg. The RRP is £18.95/kg or £2.25 for a 100g portion. www.meridian-sea.com

Retailers looking to stock a festive tipple will be pleased to hear of the re-launch of Cornish Orchards’ Wassail mulled cider.

The aromatic brew of cider with fresh oranges and spices is a style of drink traditionally consumed during wassailing, an old ritual conducted to improve the cider apple harvest. It comes in 1l and 500ml flagons and 5l bag-inboxes. Cases of 12x500ml cost £28.27. There is also a gift pack containing a 500ml flagon and a cider chutney. Cases of five units cost £23.48 with an RRP of £7.10 each. www.cornishorchards.co.uk

Distributor Hider has a Scrumptious Sprinkles Christmas tree gift bag (cases of 4 cost £49.95+VAT) for decorating all manner of cakes and cookies. Its Create-ATreat gingerbread cookie kits, in snowman and tree varieties (14x185g, trade £45.36), and the larger gingerbread self-assembly house (6x1kg, £56) might also appeal. Hider is also stocking fruit & nut (250g) and chocolate fruit & nut (300g) selections in Christmas tree boxes (cases of 8 cost £30), as well as a Christmas Stocking selection (10 snack size packs) of Joe & Seph’s popcorn for a trade price of £13.80 each. www.hiderfoods.co.uk

Gift packs Marshmallow specialist Bonny Confectionery has a new mallow melt dipper & mug gift set (RRP £12.95), featuring a 10oz printed enamel mug, one Madagascan vanilla dipper and one Belgian chocolate dipper.

Confectioner Flower & White has created a presentation box filled with a selection of its bite-sized chocolate Merangz for Christmas.

Each box (RRP £4.95-£5.95) contains five mini meringues: chocolate orange, chocolate strawberry, white chocolate, mocha and white chocolate & raspberry.

www.bonneyconfectionery.co.uk

www.flowerandwhite.co.uk

Olive Branch is launching three gift tube selections of its bestselling jarred lines: trio of chunky olive tapenade, trio of Greek mezze and the Fine Dining set – Kalamata olive tapenade, aubergine & basil paste and sweet olive, fig & almond relish. RRPs start at £9.99 and all sets are available from distributors Cotswold Fayre and Hider.

New for Christmas 2015, teapigs has introduced 10 of its most popular blends in gift tins. Each airtight, reusable tin (RRP £10) contains 20 tea temples and will be supplied in cases of 6 from October.

www.myolivebranch.co.uk

the producer’s macarons – including Great Taste award-winning pistachio and raspberry flavours – have a shelf life of seven days, are naturally gluten-free and can be made dairyfree upon request. www.evaparis.co.uk

blend (available as instant and pre-ground) and its three-jar selection packs. This year, Little’s has added two more Christmas coffee sets, one with a mug and one with a cafetiere. www.wearelittles.com

One of JK Chocolates’ newest creations, the handmade salted caramel triple truffle, is available as part of a mixed truffle gift box (8 truffles, wholesale £6.90). Each thick, creamy caramel center is wrapped in coca bean ganache before being rolled in 64% Costa Rica dark chocolate. Also available in single flavour packs of four (wholesale £3.49).

The Norfolk Sloe Company has created a Black Shuck gift pack (trade £10.63, RRP £19.95) featuring 6cl bottles of its raspberry vodka, plum brandy and blackcurrant rum liqueurs as well as its Great Taste three-star sloe gin. The set also includes cocktail suggestions and explains the legend of Black Shuck, the mythical black dog said to roam East Anglia.

www.jkfinechocolates.co.uk

www.thenorfolksloecompany.com

www.teapigs.co.uk

Irish macaron-maker Eva Paris will be offering Christmas gift boxes (wholesale £6, RRP £9.90) with hand-tied ribbons. All of

Flavoured coffee producer Little’s has extended and revamped its seasonal gift range for independents. Decked out in the Devon-based family-run company’s recently rebranded livery, the line-up still includes the Christmas Coffee Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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product focus Christmas pudding specialist Berries’ latest creations are a Sicilian Orange variety, matured for six months using Triple Sec, and a gluten-free version of the traditional recipe pudding.

The two new products will be available in the same 1lb and 2lb (454g and 908g) formats as its Great Taste three-star luxury Christmas pudding. Wholesale prices for the two sizes are £7.20 and £9.60 respectively. All of these puddings are made on the Isle of Man to an old Berrie family recipe and come wrapped in linen with a wooden tree decoration.

Christmas

Paxton & Whitfield has developed a new range of versatile gifting packs for trade customers. Supplied labelled and shelf-ready, several new formats have been developed to accommodate both chilled and ambient lines.

There are Duo Gift Boxes (eg. a waxed Dorset goat cheese with a jar of white fig confit) and the Eat and Keep Collection (eg. a cream ceramic camembert baker with a jar of apricot & orange confi) as well as the Acetate Collection (eg. Original Crackers with jars of Nuts About Chestnuts, Nuts About Prunes and Nuts About Figs) and the Wooden Box Collection (eg. Original Oaties, a waxed Hundred Dram Cheddar and a jar of No. 93 Ale Chutney). Trade prices for the packs range from £4.00 up to £18.00 (RRPs from £6.95 to £25.95). www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

www.berries.co.im

Spanish food importer and distributor Delicioso has added three Christmas-themed gift products made by Vira – the same Barcelona master chocolatier behind its awardwinning chocolate fig bombons.

Christmas pudding chocolate truffles come in 12x200g boxes (8 truffles each) for a trade price or £57.45. Marzipan Panellets, an assortment of marzipan with nuts and fruit, come in two sizes: boxes of 8 and 12 pieces (185g and 290g). They are sold in cases of 12 units, priced at £36.95 and £54.95 respectively. www.delicioso.co.uk

James Chocolates has developed three Christmas Day tasting menu boxes. The mini (RRP £2.50) features three single fresh cream truffles – gingerbread, mulled port and figgy pudding – while the small (RRP £7.50) features three of each and the medium box (RRP £12) adds Florentine and Christmas Pudding chocolate discs. It has also introduced a Plump Winter Robin (RRP £15) to its range of display pieces.

The recently rebranded Grumpy Mule has launched its organic Christmas coffee, Grumpy Yule (“Better. Than. Socks.”). The Ethiopia Harar gives the blend a “sweet and boozy” undertone to the chocolate and dried fruit flavours from the Peru Sol y Cafe and Sumatra KOPTAN co-op beans. Available in 227g bags (RRP £4.49), the coffee is described as “Christmas pud in a cup”. www.grumpymule.co.uk

www.jameschocolates.co.uk

If you’ve got customers looking for an alternative starter at the festive table, JCS Fish has diversified its Big Fish Brand range from marinated salmon fillets to include deep-filled fish cakes. Its four-strong range comprises cod, salmon, salmon Thai and smoked haddock, spring onion & cheese fish cakes. www.bigfishbrand.co.uk

Rosebud Preserves has developed a vegetarianfriendly almond & orange mincemeat (340g, trade £2.76). The Yorkshire producer has also created a Christmas Chutney (198g, trade £2.02) made with prunes, dates, apricots, allspice and strong dark ale.

Gadsby has recently diversified into metal items for the first time and it says a number of these new galvanized steel lines could be used for festive displays and hampers. Its round metal pails come in three sizes and four finishes – red, black, French grey and zinc – while the rest of the range, which includes rectangular buckets and large tubs, comes in red, black or grey. www.gadsby.co.uk

www.rosebudpreserves.co.uk

Gift packs Divine Deli has three new Wildly Delicious trios for Christmas 2015.

The mustard trio set (3x130ml, trade £7.25) comprises classic herb, garlic & lemon and honey mustard while the Compotes for Cheese set (3x170ml, trade £7.91) includes a mulled wine compote, which works well with Stilton. The distributor is also carrying a 3x150ml pack of Wildly Delicious bread dippers (trade £9.44). www.divinedeli.com

Saladworx is now offering customers gift packs of 3x100ml bottles of the bestselling dressings and marinades of their choice from the 13 varieties across its three ranges – Highland Premium, Citrus-Sea and Little Red Dressings. Each pack has a trade price of £8.24. www.saladworx.co.uk

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

All three of Avlaki’s extra virgin olive oils, produced on the Greek island of Lesvos, can be sampled in its new presentation box.

There is a 100ml bottles of Agatherí Groves, Avlaki Groves and Lesvos Groves in each set, which has a trade price of £8 (RRP £12). www.oliveoilavlaki.com

Godminster has assembled the flavours of Somerset with its latest gift set (RRP £23.95), which includes a 200g truckle of its vintage organic cheddar and a jar of its own chutney with Perry’s single orchard Grey Heron cider. www.godminster.com

Olives Et Al has devised the Oliveer gift bag (trade £16.75, RRP £25) – a mini jute bag featuring a Tunisian olive wood dish and a tub

of Posh Pricks cocktail sticks, plus 220g pitted olive pouches of its recently launched sunshine rosemary & garlic and classic chilli & ginger varieties. www.olivesetal.co.uk

The Great Taste Selection Tin from Stag Bakeries includes a choice of savoury biscuits that have each received an award from Great Taste. The selection (250g, RRP £9.99) includes smoked butter oatcakes and two flavours of Stag’s signature water biscuits: salt & pepper and seaweed varieties. www.stagbakeries.co.uk

Made on the Indonesian island of Bali, Awani’s tropical preverves are now available in 4x28g (mango, pink guava, pineapple and tamarillo jams) 3x28g (tangerine, lime, lime with ginger marmalade) and 2x98g (mango and pink guava jams

or pineapple with ginger and lime with ginger preserves) gift packs.

RRPs range from £4.95 to £7.50. www.awani.com

Somerset cidermaker Sheppy’s has a presentation box of three ciders: Oak Matured Vintage (Great Taste 2014 Top 50 and three star winner), Dabinett apple cider (Great Taste one star) and Taylor’s Gold. The RRP is £7.99. www.sheppyscider.com

Claire’s Handmade is offering both two- and three-jar jute gift bags of its sweet and savoury preserves. One example combination contains St Clements marmalade, red onion marmalade and Old English apple chutney in 130g jars (wholesale £4.45). www.claireshandmade.com

Confectionery Corner, 4 Wessex Road Bourne End, Bucks. SL8 5DT

01628 520927 enquiries@originalcandyco.com www.chocca-mocca.com www.originalcandyco.com

Great value fast moving products with eye appeal G

We are an award winning family craft bakery offering an extensive range of traditional products and gifts to the retail trade.

Our range is ideal for deli’s, garden centres, farm shops and hampers.

Salsa accredited.

Contact us for samples or to discuss your requirements: Email: lottie@lottieshaws.co.uk Telephone: 01422 372335

www.lottieshaws.co.uk or call Lottie on 07703029087

Call us on 0870 240 0172 or e-mail info@meridian-sea.com Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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product focus

Christmas

Eyes on the experts FELICITY SPECTOR takes a look at what the food halls and the premium multiples are planning for Christmas

F

rom sparkle to Scandinavia, this year’s Christmas trends are all about luxury and classic ingredients with a twist. The big food halls are going all-out to impress, promising all sorts of innovation while paying tribute to the provenance of their key ingredients. This is certainly not a time of year for cutting back.

There’s no shortage of innovation at Marks & Spencer, where dessert development chief James Campbell has come up with an impressive range of treats, some encased in delicate spheres, others in carefully constructed layers. There are new chocolate ranges from Spain, including several varieties of Turron, while an equally sophisticated meat offering includes beautifully prepared game birds, and sausages with added Brussels sprouts. Whether the ‘sprouta-mole’ dip becomes a best seller is another matter.

Waitrose has also come up with a sprout-sausage mix, this time in stuffing balls wrapped in bacon, but their main theme is a Signature Spice mix which runs through much of the seasonal range, from shortbread biscuits to shower gel. A third-generation family bakery has been chosen to make a Prosecco panettone, using a 49-year-old mother sourdough with an injection of prosecco syrup. New cheeses on offer include a mushroom truffle brie and a Brillat Saverin with cranberry.

Selfridges says it’s already seen a rise in tea gifting, and wants to introduce more premium-style blends.

“Opulent gifting is also key for our dedicated foodies”, it says, pointing to 12 new products in its Selfridges Selection range, including a ginger spiced cake and special panettones, including one with pear and chocolate. Last year’s personalised Nutella jars were such a success, they’re moving up a gear in 2015 – partnering with Moët to produce personalised mini-Champagne bottles, complete with selfies.

Their key theme this year, across all their food halls and restaurants, is a Nordic Christmas, and their buyers have been working closely with specially selected Scandinavian suppliers to deliver

Selfridges has added panettones and spiced ginger cake to its Selfridges Selection range

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

O As you might expect, Fudge Kitchen’s NPD department has come up with a host of ideas with December in mind.

These include a stocking filler set of its Liquid Fudge (RRP £8) and a seasonal sharing bar trio of its chocolate orange, clotted cream and Hazelnut Heaven flavours. www.fudgekitchen.co.uk

O Mrs Darlington’s is pitching for the festive breakfast table with its Christmas Preserve (340g, RRP £2.25), made using its popular plum jam as a base but with the added twist of Port and Christmas spices. www.mrsdarlingtons.com

O Hans Sloane’s new dark chocolate bauble (35g, trade £1.20) is filled with the producer’s famous chocolate beads and can be dropped into a cup of hot water or milk and stirred to create hot chocolate.

Harrods’ will be focused on ‘shimmer, sparkle and magic’

a range of authentic Christmas products. Not for the faint-hearted, they’re even including a gin infused with ants, which is sold at Copenhagen’s famous Noma restaurant.

Selfridges has long been a champion of small producers, and they’ve taken care to seek out some of their favourite artisan firms to provide the Christmas range. There are some new products this year, like hand-made peanut brittle from Fudge Kitchen, and exclusive recipes for the store, like the salted caramels by chocolatier Marc Demarquette.

Fortnum & Mason is particularly proud of its provenance: with products like wild salmon, which “only ever comes from aboveconservation-limit rivers in Scotland and nowhere else”. This year’s comes from the River Tweed, with every process carried out by hand, from the selection and grading of each fish to the filleting and curing.

This year’s theme, they say, is “wonder and our incredible packaging”. New products include a potted Stilton blended with truffles and honey, and a White Stilton mixed with festive spices, Madeira soaked orange peel and cranberries.

To match the renaissance in English sprits, they’ve blended their Sir Nigel’s Marmalade – made to

a 100-year-old recipe – with vodka, which is then rested in cognacinfused oak wood. A 20cl bottle will be paired with a gin, to make up an English spirits gift box.

The store is also showcasing a range of products from a drug rehabilitation community in Rimini, San Patrignano, including an awardwinning panettone, cheeses, salamis and biscuits – on sale from October.

New recipe Christmas cakes include one, which is alcohol-free, and a classic fruit-free pandoro.

Harrods says its main theme this year is “shimmer, sparkle and magic”.

There’s an own-label range of handpicked “shimmering” tea from the retailer’s estate in Darjeeling, which makes up part of an advent calendar with their top range couverture.

Or for something completely different, they’ve come up with a new selection of hybrid fresh and ambient products. There’s a panettone kugelhoph, a savoury tarte tatin, meringue-topped mince pies, and even a mince pie brownie.

Harrods has one more surprise up its sleeve: a new collaboration with two Michelin star chef Tom Kerridge.

He’ll be taking over as their Chef of the Season, offering a selection of The Hand & Flowers-inspired dishes to go in a dedicated area of the traiteur counter. Among the Christmas range, which launches in mid-November, there’ll be a honey-roast ham with salt-baked pineapple, and a beerbraised ox cheek with pearl barley and braised carrots. And not a Brussels sprout in sight.

www.sirhanssloane.com

O Multi-British Pie and Great Taste award-winner The Real Thai Pie Co has launched two Christmas pies – one for meat-eaters and one for vegetarians. Roast turkey Panang curry pie and red Thai curry vegetable pie both feature its “rich yet light” shortcrust pastry. www.therealthaipie.co.uk

O Flossie’s Fudge has created a festive cranberry & orange flavour made with cranberries soaked in French brandy. Each 200g gift bag (trade £4.85) is supplied chilled with a 12-week best before date. www.flossiesfudge.com

O The Sugar Tree’s latest handmade, small batch sugar blend has been designed to evoke the taste and smell of Christmas. It comes in cases of 6x100g resealable pouches for a trade price of £18 (including p&p) and 12x21g jars for £15. www.thesugartree.co.uk

O Wiltshire chocolatier Lick the Spoon has added a Rudolph the Reindeer to its snowglobe range (10cm diameter, RRP £8.95). Available from Diverse Fine Food and The Cress Co. www.lickthespoon. co.uk

Game for a Seasonal Pickle?...

Helen Dean began baking shortbread in her kitchen to raise money for the Huntly Pipe Band where her husband Bill was drum major.

Forty years on, Dean’s continue to bake their shortbread to Helen’s original recipe – still delicious and guaranteed to melt in the mouth.

We also offer a delicious range of ‘homestyle’ biscuits and cheese oat nibbles.

Browse our full product range at www.deans.co.uk

Dean’s, Huntly, Aberdeenshire AB54 8JX

For more information on the full range & to request a brochure Ɣ email: info@hawksheadrelish.com Tel: 015394 36614 Ɣ

HANDMADE FROM TREE TO TRUFFLE Exquisitely Handcrafted Chocolates and Truffles Using Fine Ingredients, Single Origin Chocolate and Single Estate Cocoa Beans.

Strive Business Awards 2015 ‘Best Food & Drink’ Finalist

‘After living and working on a family run cocoa farm in Costa Rica I was inspired by their wonderful passion for growing and harvesting cacao. I now have the pleasure of using their beans TRIPLE in my gooey chocolate ganache T R U recipe, found in a selection of my chocolates and truffles.’

Jamie O Kemp

LAYERED F F L E S

HELLO@JKFINECHOCOLATES.CO.UK | WWW.JKFINECHOCOLATES.CO.UK Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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THE GREAT TASTE GOLDEN FORK AWARDS DINNER Monday 7 September 2015 The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London Drinks Reception followed by Dinner and Award Presentations Hosted by Nigel Barden and John Farrand

Join the Guild of Fine Food for a night when the stars will be out

Be the first to hear the eagerly anticipated results of Great Taste 2015 as the Golden Forks and the Supreme Champion are revealed during a three course meal showcasing winners past and present.

Places are limited. To avoid disappointment, reserve your ticket today. Email charlie.westcar@gff.co.uk or call 01747 825200 Ticket price includes pre-dinner drinks and ½ bottle of wine £130 including VAT for Guild of Fine Food members £150 including VAT for non-members 6.30pm Drinks reception 7.30pm Seated for dinner 11.30pm Carriages Dress: jacket & tie

5

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www.gff.co.uk | www.greattasteawards.co.uk |

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

@greattasteawards |

/greattasteawards

Boxing Day comes but once a Year MARSHMALLOWS Available from:

Folkington’s Juices, The Workshop, Endlewick House, Arlington, East Sussex BN26 6RU 01323 485602 info@folkingtons.com

www.folkingtons.com

(ZR HIV\[ V\Y ZLHZVUHS NV\YTL[ PJL

THE UNIQUE GIFT FOR A FOODIE’S CHRISTMAS Presentation boxes of olive oils bottled fresh from the fruit

Christmas treats include: Clementines & Cointreau Sorbet Mince Pie Ice Cream Over 80 Great Taste Awards!

www.oliveoilavlaki.com

07721 410974

minghella.co.uk Call us today on 01983 883545 icecream@minghella.co.uk Briddlesford Road, Wootton, Isle of Wight PO33 4RY Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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Handmade Speciality Cakes from Sussex Taste without compromise Wholesalers of handmade highest quality gluten free, dairy free and vegan cakes from our family bakery on the South Downs. Produced from the finest ingredients to our own recipes and independently tested.

Celebrating the Great British pudding Country Puddings Lodge Farm, Dacre, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0HH tel: 017684 80864 fax: 017684 80249 email: info@countrypuddings.co.uk

www.countrypuddings.co.uk

Please get in touch for more information 01273 858656 | info@atasteofdreams.co.uk

www.atasteofdreams.co.uk

SALES@GLOBAL-EAT.CO.UK | WWW.NATAPURA.COM | WWW.GLOBAL-EAT.CO.UK 28

August 2015 路 Vol.16 Issue 7

product focus

cakes & puddings

It’s in the mix LYNDA SEARBY gets stuck into the latest cakes and desserts

O Shropshire’s Simply Delicious Cake Company has added a gluten-free lemon & lime marmalade fruit cake and ginger & orange fruit cake to its range. www.simplydeliciouscakes.co.uk

Since coming onto the scene in January 2015, Edinburgh’s Wood’s Brownie Company has developed four flavoured brownies – salted caramel, morello cherry & almond, maple syrup & pecan nut and ginger & cardamom – to go with its signature Belgian chocolate variety. The brownies come individually boxed (RRP £3.95) but can also be supplied loose, or in 28 portion trays for counter and café sales. woodsbrownieco@gmail.com

Lemon slice and chocolate brownie are the latest additions to the Incredible Bakery Company’s line-up of cakes, all of which are gluten-free and free from the 14 allergens listed within the new Food Information Regulation. RRP is £1.60 per cake. www.incrediblebakerycompany.co.uk

Italian bakery Loison has put a twist on the traditional panettone with an aromatic camomileinfused version, launched for Christmas 2015. The cake is available to the trade from Fine Cheese Co, giftwrapped, in two sizes: 500g (RRP £12.50) and 1kg (RRP £17.95). www.loison.com

Isle of Man producer Berries has dusted off some old family recipes to create a new range of fruit cakes: Great Aunt Nellie’s original fruit cake, Dundee cake, whisky & orange fruit cake, ‘drunken’ prune & bourbon fruit cake, Jamaican rum & spice fruit cake and classic matured fruit cake with fine cognac. RRPs are between £9.95 and £11.95 for 600g. www.berries.co.im

La Gelatiera has teamed up with master Italian gelato cakemaker Giada Vancini to launch Unconventional Cakes: a range of cakes handmade entirely from gelato. Besides selling through its own London gelato parlour, La Gelateria is keen to supply the spongeless cupcakes, bespoke occasion cakes and tiered wedding cakes to other outlets. RRPs start from £3.80 for cupcakes and £20 for large cakes. www.lagelatiera.co.uk

O Cake Angel’s Absolute Fruitcake, which is soaked in Dark Star espresso rich coffee beer from Sussex brewery Partridge Green, is pitched as the perfect gift for men. RRP £8-10. www.cakeangelsussex.com

O Prague bakery Beránek is now targetting the UK market with its regional layer cakes, which come boxed in chocolate, royal cherry, caramel tidbit and ‘Napolean’ varieties. www.torten-beranek.com

O Great Bakes is a new venture focused on selling tray bakes in refillable ‘retro’ tins with an RRP of £19.95. Distribution is direct and currently limited to south west London. www.greatbakes.co.uk

O Huddersfield Modens Bakery of Spilsby, Lincolnshire, has revived a local heritage cake recipe from 1834. Traditionally made to sustain busy farmers out tending crops, Lincolnshire plum bread is a rich, spiced fruit loaf, baked with ginger, nutmeg and dried fruit. Sold in cases of 12x400g with a shelf life of three months and an RRP of £2.99, Slater Eyre Lincolnshire Plum Bread is available via Mintons Good Food or Doughty Cakes. www.modens.co.uk

Yorkshire baker and pâtissier Just Desserts has launched five desserts with a seasonal slant: cranberry franzipan, winter berry meringue, rocky road gateau, choc ’n’ caramel gateau and salted caramel & chocolate torte. They are available to cafés and foodservice for between £14.50 and £16.25 for 12-14 portions. www.just-desserts.co.uk

Deli-cafés getting requests for dairy-, gluten- or wheat-free cakes should check out The Free From Bakehouse.

The London-based business is focusing on whole cakes it considers are missing from the free from market, such as treacle tart, black forest cake and bitter chocolate tart. Wholesale prices are between £16 and £25 and cakes can be delivered nationwide in ambient or chilled packaging. www.sugargrain.com

Marlenka is hoping to make a name in the UK for its Armenian honey cake. The Czech producer has BRC accreditation and has created English packaging that meets EU allergen labelling requirements.

Several independents, including Victor Hugo Deli in Edinburgh, Temple Lounge Canary Wharf in London and Corner On The Square in Inverness, are already selling the multi-layered honey cake. It comes in three varieties – honey cake with nuts, cocoa honey cake and lemon honey cake – all with an RRP of £11.99.

bakery ProperMaid is launching a lager & lime cake (trade £15.75) to coincide with the Heineken-sponsored Rugby World Cup. Other unusual seasonal offerings from the bakery include Bucks Fizz, Pimms and rhubarb & custard cakes. www.propermaid.co.uk

www.marlenka.uk

Pots & Co has launched four new pots (RRP £2, 110g) in its signature reusable ceramic ramekins: roasted hazelnut & chocolate, chocolate fudge pudding, passion fruit & orange and strawberries & cream.

Having 12 loaf cakes in its portfolio hasn’t stopped Nevis Bakery from coming up with new flavour combinations. The Highland bakery has just introduced its thirteenth variety – strawberry & white chocolate. Available nationwide from August in cases of 12x360g (RRP £2.60 per unit), the cakes are made with real freeze-dried strawberries and Belgian white chocolate chunks.. www.nevisbakery.com

www.potsandco.com

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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Nevis Bakery are delighted to announce a new addition to our loaf cake range

Strawberry & White Chocolate

The loaf contains real freeze-dried strawberries and white Belgium chocolate.

For an unforgettable Christmas contact Ginger Bakers: info@gingerbakers.co.uk 015394 22084 www.gingerbakers.co.uk

Deluxe Christmas Pudding

To view our full range visit www.nevisbakery.com or call 01397 772087

Sticky Toffee Pudding

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Celebrating 30 years of happy baking.

NER O IN F Winners of

22

Golden Syrup Pudding

great taste Awards

Gluten Free Christmas Pudding

Truly SCRUMPTIOUS

CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS STICKY PUDDINGS

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5A W ARD

We’ve put together a rather scrummy range of indulgent, tempting, heavenly, naughty, and jolly scrumptious desserts for Christmas… but remember… a dessert is for life… not just for Christmas!

So, to find out about this and the rest of our range, contact: Amanda, Joan or Vicky… they know what’s cooking!!

Voted...

“The best gluten free Christmas Pudding.’ theguardian

www.burtreepuddings.co.uk enquiries@burtreepuddings.co.uk @burtreepuds 01325 463 521 12/06/2014 15:52

t: 01274 590698 e: Sales@just-desserts.co.uk w: www.just-desserts.co.uk Station Road • Shipley • West Yorkshire • BD18 2JL

product focus

tea

Brew’s up Green teas, spiced chai and matcha powder are some of the hottest teas in town. LYNDA SEARBY gets the kettle on.

Quintessential has created White Elixir, a beauty blend that claims to “promote smooth complexion and foster inner glow”. These health benefits are attributed to the inclusion of ingredients such as white tea, jasmine blossoms, blue mallow flowers and spirulina algae. It comes loose in 50g packs (RRP £8) and 100g boxes (RRP £23), which feature travel tea filters and a QR code that links to music that acts as a timer and “calms the soul”. www.quinteassential.co.uk

On shelf in London department stores from Christmas 2015, Jadu Tea is a new brand targeted entirely at the gifting market and conceived

by Yulia Zhizhaeva to “celebrate the ancient art of tea drinking”. Jadu’s blends range from English Breakfast to Mademoiselle Grey and China Green, hand-packed into suede boxes, and priced at £16 for 12 tea envelopes or £19 for 100g whole leaf tea.

As well as its iced varieties, Tg green teas are available via Tree of Life in three hot varieties: green tea, green tea with ginger & lemon, and green tea with jujube & osmanthus. A pouch containing 15 pyramids has an RRP of £4.15. www.drinktg.com

Jenier Teas has developed a “tea for all seasons” package to help retail and foodservice customers who find its range of 200 teas too overwhelming to focus their ranging and displays. The package contains a selection of teas designed for spring, summer, autumn and winter, and supporting materials such as menus and information cards. www.jenierteas.com

www.jadutea.co.uk

Brindal berry, an Indonesian fruit believed to have anti-obesity properties, is the star ingredient in Natur Boutique’s new diet blend, which combines the pumpkin-like berry with green and java teas. Organic cinnamon & green tea is the other new addition to the range.

This blend uses leaves from a wild variety of tea trees grown at high altitude in Vietnam, said to have a richer flavour than some cultivated bush varieties. RRP £2.99 for 20 teabags.

Taylors of Harrogate has teamed up with botanists at the Royal Gardens, Kew, to create a range of green teas, in packs of 20 teabags (RRP £2.19).

The teas use Chinese sencha as a “gentle base flavour” and come in four varieties: pure sencha green tea, green tea with grapefruit & lime, green tea with strawberry & vanilla and green tea & sweet mint.

Eastern promise Spiced teas are right on-trend as cosmopolitan consumers seek out authentic chais. Two of the companies meeting this demand are Palanquin Tea and, more recently, ICHAI. Fronted by plant biologist Dr Helen Saini, Highlands-based ICHAI has launched four of its most popular spiced teas – spicy chai, ginger chai, vanilla chai and classic chai – in decorative 75g caddies (RPP £9.95).

www.taylorsofharrogate.co.uk

www.naturboutique.co.uk

Make mine a matcha Billed as the purest form of green tea and with a price tag to match, finely ground matcha is one of the hottest trends in tea, and companies are clamouring for a slice of the action.

The powder is produced by grinding the dried tips of shadegrown tea leaves between granite stones. Because of the way it is grown, matcha is said to have a much higher proportion of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than other teas. And the fact that the powder is ingested

rather than infused means a higher proportion of those nutrients is taken on board.

Novus Tea is getting in on the action with the launch of Organic Tsuki matcha (RRP £19.75 for 50g).

Lalani & Co has also joined the matcha party with a product called Matcha Gold, which it claims is “probably the best organic matcha around”.

“It’s milled in the proper way using stone, and picked only in the premium spring season from family producers,” says founder Jameel Lalani. RRP £29 per 30g jar.

Bloom has been in the game for a while now, and following the success of its initial range, has launched two new matcha tea powders. The new Ultra Cleanse

matcha and Brainboost matcha powders have an RRP of £16.99 for 30g. The range is on sale in a number of food halls, including Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Fenwick. www.novustea.co.uk www.lalaniandco.com www.bloomtea.co.uk

Palanquin Tea has been trading in spiced teas since 1993 but this year overhauled its range, introducing new blends and new branding. All nine of the teas in its refreshed range are themed around characters from the “land of royal tea” such as Black Chai Spiced (The Great King Maharajah), Spiced Ginger (The Imperial Prince Mirza) and Rooibos Cardamom (The Empress Samrajini).

www.ichaitea.com www.palanquin-tea.com

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August 2015 路 Vol.16 Issue 7

product focus

tea

South American super brew

The London Tea Company has enlarged its offering with eight new Fairtrade certified herbal and fruit infusions. Five of these – raspberry inferno, lemongrass, ginger & citrus fruit, peach & rhubarb and raspberry, ginger & vanilla – are believed to be unique blends. Also part of the range are camomile, peppermint and lemon & ginger. Boxes of 15 pyramids have an RRP of £3.99. www.londontea.co.uk

Social enterprise Tea People has come up with three new whole leaf blends: liquorice mint toffee, cherry Ceylon and pomegranate white.

As with all of its teas, 50% of the profits from sales go towards helping educate children in under-served tea growing regions. The RRP is £5.95 for a retail pack and £9.95 for a caddy.

Freddie’s Tea is bringing an Amazonian energyboosting herbal tea called guayusa to the UK market. The tea, which contains more antioxidants and caffeine than green or black tea and has a “smooth, clean and slightly sweet taste”, is already making waves in the US. Guyusa comes from the leaves of a holly tree called ilex guayusa that grows in Ecuador, and is related to the South American tea yerba mate, although guayusa is air-dried instead of smoked. Freddie’s Tea guayusa is shade grown amongst other indigenous trees and although it is not yet Fairtrade certified, the company says its supply chain supports small-scale farmers above Fairtrade standards.

RRP £3.70 for 20 teabags or £12 for 65g loose leaf. www.freddiestea.co.uk

The Rare Tea Company is capitalising on the popularity of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books through a branding collaboration with author Alexander McCall Smith. The company’s wild rooibos is now No.1 Ladies Wild Red Bush and is packaged in a tin designed by the illustrator of the detective books.

Also new from the London company is a loose leaf Earl Grey blend of single estate black tea and bergamot oil. Both are available in Selfridges and have an RRP of £7. www.rareteacompany.com

Although Jane Malyon set up fresh afternoon tea hamper business English Cream Tea Company four years ago, it took until last year for the company to develop its own range of teas. Available to the retail trade in tins containing 10 silken pyramid bags (RRP £6.90-7.35), the six-strong range comprises Earl Grey with a hint of rose, Afternoon Tea with a hint of citrus, English Breakfast, chocolate tea with a hint of spice, berry fruit fusion and Henry Norris CBE smoky tea. www.englishcreamtea.com

www.teapeople.co.uk

After experimenting with over 50 variations of fruit and oolong, The East India Company’s tea master, Lalith Lenadora, reduced this to four summer flavours: pomegranate & hibiscus, orange blossom, mint and Japanese yuzu.

The summer oolong collection teas have an RRP of £20. www.theeastindiacompany.com

Brothers John and Paul Mellor have put their heads together to launch Shibui Tea. With John based in the UK and Paul in Canada, between them they are able to source teas from all over the world, including China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and Taiwan. Their menu includes over 200 loose leaf teas and whole leaf tea pyramids, from classics such as Tippy Assam, through to fun concepts such as chocolate & ginger. Retail tubes contain 15 pyramids and have an RRP of £3.95. www.shibui-tea.co.uk

Ruby Black Tea, Himalayan Gold and Spring White are the three newest additions to Tealure’s range of Nepalese teas. The Danish social enterprise was established to introduce Nepalese tea to the international marketplace and to help make hundreds of small farmers economically and socially viable. The packaging is produced from local paper and bamboo to reduce waste and support the local economy. www.tealure.com

As the names suggest, Chantler Teas’ two new blends – Welsh Sunrise and Welsh Moonlight – are designed to help people get going in the morning and to wind down before bed.

Welsh Sunrise is a mix of honeybush, orange pieces, ginger and lemongrass while Welsh Moonlight combines peppermint, liquorice, fennel and lemongrass. Both come in 50g bags and 50g tins (RRP £2.75 and £3.95 respectively). www.chantlerteas.co.uk

Brew Tea Co’s 1/4lb loose leaf retail packs only launched at the end of 2014 but are already outselling the company’s teabag lines. The company reckons this might have something to do with its Brew Coins loyalty scheme, which rewards tea drinkers who collect coins from packs. Fruit punch, Moroccan mint, English Breakfast and chai tea are among the lines now available in the new format (RRP £4.95).

New to speciality teas…t plus With the backing of Virgin StartUp, entrepreneur James Dawson is hoping to make it big with a new tea range that claims to be the first to contain added vitamins.

Since launching in February, t plus has already won Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday award and a place on the Grocery Accelerator programme. The initial t plus range comprises: t + immunity, t + detox, t + boost and t + multi vitamin. All four teas blend green tea, herbs, fruit and added vitamins and have an RRP of £3.69. www.tplusdrinks.com

www.brewteacompany.co.uk

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The taste of pure English mint revived for the 21st century

For more about our award-winning Black Mitcham peppermint chocolates and tea: visit www.summerdownmint.com

CHOI TIME TEAS Hailed the Dom Perignon of the tea world Winner of 21 Great Taste Awards

Phone: 0845 0533269 Email: wholesale@choitime.com Visit: choitime.com

INNOVATORS IN ALL TEAS WITH SPICES Spices freshly ground and blended in house for freshness, taste and aroma

PALANQUIN LIMITED Telephone: 01279 445 216 email: info@palanquin-tea.com

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August 2015 路 Vol.16 Issue 7

product focus Historically a supplier mainly to foodservice, Belfast’s Suki Tea is increasing its focus on the retail channel, with the launch of new prism packs that open like a purse to reveal pyramid teabags. Seven of the company’s most popular blends are available in the new retail format, including Breakfast tea, green tea sencha and Earl Grey blue flower. The Northern Irish tea blender has also developed four new fruity blends – pink grapefruit, oolong orange blossom, goji berry & pomegranate and white tea pear – and plans to launch three more by the end of the year. www.suki-tea.com

tea

New to speciality teas…Anassa Anassa is a new tea brand that celebrates Greece’s larder of aromatic herbs. With guidance from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the company says it has selected herb varieties with the highest levels of essential oils, and according to their beneficial effects on health. The branding, which won a gold award in last year’s European Packaging Awards, is a light take on Greek mythology, with each blend themed on a mythical beast.

Although the tea is packed loose, each tin also contains tea bags and wooden stirrers for those who prefer this method of preparation.

Four of the blends – Pure Defence (mountain tea, wild rose, fennel & dittany), Pure Happiness, (mountain tea, mint, sage & lemon balm), Pure Symmetry (peppermint, lemon balm, sage & carob) and organic mint – have already picked up Great Taste awards. Each 30g tin has an RRP of £10 for single herb varieties and £13 for blends. www.anassaorganics. com

Tea purists might dismiss them as imposters, but Spice Way’s Fr-cinni fruit infusions are finding favour with some as an alternative to a conventional teabag – so much so that has introduced five new varieties (100g and 175g, RRPs £4.75 and £6.75). Like the other 10 varieties, Perfect Pomegranate, Dreamy Vanilla, Cool Lemon Tree, Totally Tropical and Simply Strawberry are made from real fruit and dissolve in hot water to make a fruity beverage.

O Dorset Breakfast (black tea) and Ginger & Sunshine (ginger, lemon and lemongrass) are the two latest additions to the Dorset Tea collection. www.dorsettea.co.uk

O Somerset-based tea and coffee specialist Miles unveiled a new pack design for its teas at Paignton Zoo this summer. www. djmiles. co.uk

O Mint chocolate rooibos, cherry sencha green tea, cream Earl Grey and Cheshire breakfast tea are the four newest varieties from loose leaf tea specialist Cheshire Tea Company. www.cheshiretea.co.uk

Last month, young entrepreneurs Omar Farag and Philip Perera secured £50,000 investment from Dragon’s Den’s Kelly Hoppen for their loose leaf tea brand, Phom, which began as a university project. The Liverpool start-up sells six blends in retail packaging: cherry & almond, strawberry & kiwi, breakfast, decaf breakfast, lemon gunpowder and peppermint. These are currently stocked in Selfridges and have an RRP of £5.99.

www.spicewayuk.com

O Pukka Herbs has launched Three Chamomile (a combination of Egyptian, Croatian and Hungarian flowers) and Three Licorice (a fusion of organic herbs from Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Egypt). www.pukkaherbs.com

www.phom.co.uk

Top sellers…

, n Farm Shop ...at Hopetou n West Lothia

fast ottish Break Pekoe Tea Sc 5 bag pack) ay Brew (1 yd er Ev s ig Teap i Mu Dan Hopetoun Pa ) (50 bag pack ermint tea Teapigs Pepp van ussian Cara Pekoe Tea R

O We Are Tea’s

New to speciality tea…Teatonics Rosie Marteau and Charles Grummit founded Teatonics in April 2014, after a trip around Latin America, where they first tried yerba mate.

Not surprisingly, the Latin American super herb features in two of their four blends: mind-awakening yerba mate (organic yerba mate blended with citrus peels, peppermint, rosehips and grapefruit oil) and nourishing maté-spice (organic yerba mate blended with ginger, cardamom, turmeric and a hint of chilli).

The Dorset start-up’s founding principal is to source organic botanical infusions of herbs from other cultures, too, and a recently won £100,000 Seed Fund award will assist with this mission.

gunpowder green is now available in a resealable pouch, both as loose and whole leaf tea. www.wearetea.com

O September’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair will see Brighton’s Balcony Tea debuting two new blends: Balcony Breakfast (Assam, Sri-Lankan and Chinese black tea) in silky pyramids and seasonal special Winter Love (rose & chilli black tea). www.balconytea.co.uk

www.teatonics.co.uk

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

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Sample our teas at S&FFF stand 4468

Your Customers Want Healthier Hot & Chilled Drinks. Give Them Tg Green Teas Delicious RTD Iced Green Teas with Ginseng • 3 refreshing varieties (original, mandarin, jujube) • 30 calories per bottle • Low in sugar Inspired by ancient wellness traditions, designed & bottled here in the UK

JE NIE R W HOL E S A L E

SERVING YOU

PREMIUM WHOLESALE TE A

https://trade.jenierteas.com | e:info@jenierteas.com | t: +44 1505 800 797 36

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

Naturally uplifting Green Tea blends in 15 pyramid bags • Organic green tea • 3 refreshing and delicious varieties • Come in resealable stand-up pouches A generous serving in each bag.

No added flavourings.

For more information on delicious hot & chilled Tg Green Teas visit www.drinktg.com, call on 0800 7723885 or email hello@drinktg.com

product focus

wines & spirits

A nice drop MICHAEL LANE uncorks and decants the latest speciality tipples Made in mainland Britain’s most northerly distillery, Rock Rose Gin sold out its first 11 batches within three months and won Best New Launch Design at the World Gin Awards 2015. Made by hand in the Dunnet Bay Distillery in Caithness using local coastal and forest botanicals, it is now available with an RRP of £34 per bottle. It has already gained listings with Fortnum & Mason and Harvey Nichols.

Celebrating its second year in business, Masons Yorkshire Gin has launched three new drinks.

Launched in June, Yorkshire Lavender and Yorkshire Tea flavours have now joined the original gin (a recent silver medal winner at the International Wines & Spirits Challenge) while the Bedale-based distillery has also created a Yorkshire Vodka. All three are available in 70cl bottles.

www.rockrosegin.co.uk

Sloemotion claims both whisky-lovers and haters alike will appreciate the latest addition to its range. Bramble Whisky, made from a base of blended Scotch and a mix of wild and cropped blackberries, has already proved a hit with consumers during tastings in the run-up to Christmas 2014.

It comes in 5cl (trade £1.95, RRP £3.50), 35cl (trade £10.60, RRP £17.50) and 70cl bottles (trade £16.60, RRP £26.95). www. sloemotion. com

www.masonsyorkshiregin.com

Another newcomer to the burgeoning gin scene, Cheltenham’s Sibling Distillery triple-distils its gin, using its own base spirit and botanicals, including coriander, cardamom, fresh lemon peel, blueberries and Madagascan vanilla.

The twice filtered gin comes in 70cl bottles with an RRP of £32.

Coming up Rosé While he is more famous these days for his Chase Distillery, William Chase also owns a chateau in Provence. Unveiled in April, Williams Chase Rosé 2014 (trade £7.40 per bottle, RRP £14.95) boasts notes of “white peach and grapefruit” and is said to epitomise the South of France.

Closer to home, the Orkney Wine Company has recently launched its less conventional Orkney Rosé. Made with aronia, salal, rose hips & cranberries, the 13% ABV wine comes in 75cl bottles (trade £7.30, RRP £12.95).

Dorset is one of the latest English counties to get its own distillery with the arrival of Conker Spirit.

Dorset Dry Gin (40% ABV, 700ml, wholesale £23, RRP £35-38) is made from British wheat spirit, New Forest spring water and a host of botanicals reflecting the county’s flavours, such as samphire, elderberries and hand-picked gorse flowers.

After creating an experimental batch of meadowsweet wine in 2013, Cairn O’Mohr has put it into full production. The wine has a “powerful aroma that is very evocative of the watery banks where meadowsweet grows” and counts TV baker Paul Hollywood, who used it on his Pies & Puds programme, as a fan.

www.conkerspirit.com

www.cairnomohr.com

Company has extended its range of gift packs to include a selection of gins that can be enjoyed with Prosecco or sparkling white wine as an alternative to traditional G&T. The 3x100ml bottle pack (trade £38 for a case of four units) contains Ely Gin raspberry, Ely Gin blackberry and Ely Sloe Gin with cherry. www.elygin.co.uk

O Suffolk’s 55 Above is a new producer of artisan British potato

www.spencerfieldspirit.com

www.siblingdistillery.co.uk

www.williamschase.co.uk www.orkneywine.co.uk

O The Ely Gin

Seaweed, scurvy grass and ground ivy are among the unusual botanicals used by Spencerfield Spirit in its latest addition to the Edinburgh Gin collection. Its Seaside Gin, devised with the help of postgraduates at the Heriot-Watt University’s school of distilling, has been designed to evoke the “slightly sweet, yet minerally flavour of summer at the beach”. Best enjoyed with tonic or in a Seaside Martini, the gin has been produced in a run of 1,000 bottles (70cl, RRP £35). Meanwhile, the distillery has launched its third gin liqueur, the 20% ABV rhubarb & ginger flavour. Made with locally sourced rhubarb and oriental ginger, it comes in 50cl and 20cl bottles (RRPs £17.99 and £10). The original Edinburgh Gin has also had a makeover with a new look Art Deco-inspired 70cl bottle (RRP £30) hitting shelves soon.

vodkas and has launched with five varieties. The range consists of the premium 37.5% ABV house spirit and a “surprisingly smooth” high strength 56% ABV vodka, as well as three flavour-infused vodkas: pineapple, coconut and toffee. All come in both 70cl and 20cl bottles.

sells in 200ml bottles (trade £9, RRP £14.95).

has re-branded its range, which includes a number of liqueurs.

Raspberry & chocolate vodka, blackberry gin and blackcurrant brandy are among the spirits it

www.axiom-brands.com

O Importer

Hoopoe range of organic wines from Sicily, with blends created for the UK. The line-up includes Chardonnay, Catarratto-Nero d’Avola and Merlot – all under £5.40+VAT per bottle

Green Island Rum has launched Divine Tropical Lychee Wine in the UK. The drink is made from 100% lychees in Mauritius and comes in cases of 12x500ml bottles (RRP £8.99 per bottle).

www.vintageroots.co.uk

www.greenislandrum.com

www.thefruitkitchen.co.uk

www.55above.co.uk

O The Fruit Kitchen

Axiom Brands has added a number of new lines. Evangelista Organic Limoncello (50cl, 26% ABV, RRP £23.95) is said to be the only organic version of the Italian liqueur available in the UK. It also offers an organic amaro (70cl, 18% ABV, RRP £23.45), made

by Mondino to an original Italian recipe. Its range of Belsazar Vermouths – in red, rose, white and dry varieties – comes from Germany. They are available in 37.5cl bottles (RRPs £16.75-£18.45).

O Vintage Roots has relaunched it

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

37

Feel the magic of tea with us!

luxury gift

info@jadutea.co.uk | 02075810860 JADUTEA.CO.UK @jadutea #DrinkJADUtea

@jadutea

/jadutea.london

Cheese retail: it’s all in the detail

Guild Retail Cheese Training dates:

Training is vital to retail success and will dramatically improve sales. Guild retail cheese training will help you to: • Enhance your understanding of the cheese making process • Understand the impact terrior has on cheese • Recognise the main families of cheese • Learn how to select, display, sell and care for cheese • Comparatively taste over 40 cheese types • Inspire customers with your knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for your cheese counter • Succeed and increase turnover Call 01747 825200 or email jilly.sitch@gff.co.uk

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Sept 1 Sept 2 Oct 26 Nov 2 Nov 3 Nov 4

Course fees Guild Member Offer: £75 plus 20% VAT Non-members: £100 plus 20% VAT

SUCCEED

SPONSORED BY

co.uk 38

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

www.gff.co.uk |

London London Guild House, Dorset Edinburgh Edinburgh Venue to be confirmed

@guildoffinefood

product focus

wines & spirits

Grape white hope?

Interview

After years of producing fruit and country wines, Lyme Bay Winery has launched a range made with grapes grown in its own Devon vineyards. ARABELLA MILEHAM speaks to director James Lambert about the new English still wines.

M

ention Bacchus and some people conjure up images of the party-loving Roman god of wine. But to James Lambert, director of Lyme Bay Winery, it’s a white grape variety that represents the exciting potential of English still wines.

Until now, it has been English sparkling making waves at awards and in the national press, but Lambert is convinced that Bacchus (England’s third most widely planted grape) will put still wines on the map. Judges at the recent English and Welsh Wine of the Year Awards, organised by the UK Vineyards Association, clearly agree – all the golds awarded in the ‘still white’ class went to the varietal.

“People are cottoning onto the fact that English still wines have great potential,” Lambert says. “We have some grape varieties worth shouting about but they are not instantly recognisable. But as the industry develops and starts winning international awards, they will start to be more well-known and I think it will make everyone’s life easier.”

All this is good news for Lyme Bay, as the Axminster-based company has just launched its first range of English wines, aiming squarely at independent and fine food retailers.

“It would have been madness not looking at the independents for our English wines,” Lambert says, pointing out that its award-winning fruit and country wines and liqueurs are stocked by more than 800 delis, farm shops and fine food shops nationwide.

“Clearly we have an advantage, as there is the opportunity to upsell products rather than come in as a new supplier,” he says. “But it’s a very different product than buyers are used to getting from us and we clearly have to compete against some very good English wines that are local to specific outlets.

“Lots of retailers are looking for local provenance and local people want to buy local products, which we support 100%. But we are gaining traction. It’s been an interesting experience – a learning curve – but an overwhelmingly positive one, as the English wine industry is such an exciting environment.”

The new line-up comes from its own vineyards in Devon and comprises a Bacchus, a lightly oaked Bacchus Fumé, which Lambert

‘While our fruit wines are instantly recognisable we wanted the English wines to have a very different feel,’ James Lambert tells FFD. ‘We felt we could be more ambitious and it was a good opportunity for us to differentiate ourselves.’

describes as “more complex and layered”, a white blend of Seyval Blanc, Bacchus and Pinot Noir called Shoreline, a Pinot Noir rosé and a light, Prosecco-style 2013 Brut Reserve made from 100% Seyval Blanc (RRP £18.99).

“For our first year, we took the opportunity to showcase where we think the potential is,” Lambert explained. “It is clear England and Wales can make world leading sparkling wines – it has beaten Champagne in blind tastings – but the problem with sparkling is that it is a luxury product, which sells for £22 to £40. And how often do you buy sparkling rather than still wine?

“In England, the problem was always going to be the price. We are a marginal climate in terms of growing grapes and that has a direct impact on the cost – so the quality has to match the price or it is not viable.”

He is adamant independents

need to focus on marketing English wine’s quality and the growing clutch of awards, along with greater exposure on the shelf of upmarket supermarkets, will all help. “This could be a very good shop window for the industry [among consumers], and obviously the fine food retailers would see a knock-on effect,” he says.

“What we need to see from independent retailers is a clear focus on English wines in particular,”

he adds. “If there is not a clear English wine offering, retailers will be tempted to put them alongside French and Italian wines or whatever else is on the shelf, which will be a lower price point.

So an educational philosophy needs to creep into this. But I do see this happening already, and we are seeing more and more retailers looking to supply local wines.”

Although he is convinced the English sparkling market will become crowded, and some producers will drop out as a result, Lambert is hugely optimistic both about Lyme Bay’s new venture and the overall future for English wines.

“I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see a new wave in the UK in the next decade focusing on still wines, and that’s why I’m very excited. Hopefully, we can sit here in 10 years and say we were here from the beginning.” www.lymebaywinery.co.uk

People are cottoning onto the fact that English still wines have great ❛potential.

We have some grape varieties worth shouting about but they are not instantly recognisable. ❜ Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

39

500ml Organic Cider

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WE ARE CONKER SPIRIT, DORSET’S FIRST GIN DISTILLERY.

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

To stock the Yorkshire Spirit, call 01677 426467, To stock info@masonsyorkshiregin.com the Yorkshire Spirit, call 01677 426467, email info@masonsyorkshiregin.com or visit www.masonsyorkshiregin.com email or visit www.masonsyorkshiregin.com

tel/fax: +44 020 8803 5344 mobile: +44 079 732 948 56 email: info@ilgelatodiariela.com

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RetailReady `

No one should even consider entering any form of fine food retail without completing the Retail Ready course at The Guild of Fine Food. The two day course is brilliantly structured offering advice on every aspect of the business from insider experts and successful retailers. It gave me insight I was lacking, to feel fully confident about getting started.

RetailReady is a two day course that will steer you through the minefield of opening and running a fine food store.

The course is designed to equip managers of prospective, new or developing delis and farm shops with the business essentials of fine food and drink retailing.

The next course takes place on October 27-28 2015.

Visit www.gff.co.uk/training for more details and an application form.

Call us to find out more on 01747 825200.

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The Premier HR Solution

www.gff.co.uk |

@guildoffinefood Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

41

The Brief A paper feel pack that displays the product and highlights the Tesco Finest logo—to be packed on an automated packing line.

and silver hot foil

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

shelf talk

products, promotions & people

Joe & Seph’s looks beyond popcorn with caramel sauces

Launching another snack line was the ‘obvious thing’ but customers wanted Joe & Seph’s caramel coatings

By MICHAEL LANE

Joe & Seph’s is entering a new category with the launch of six flavoured caramel sauces based on the recipes it uses to coat its sweet varieties of popcorn.

The line-up – which includes salted caramel, cappuccino caramel and gin & tonic sauce – has already been listed in Selfridges and will soon appear in Whole Foods Market and on Ocado but will be aimed at Joe & Seph’s existing independent retail and foodservice customer base.

“For us the obvious thing would’ve been to launch another snack product but this came out of customer feedback. They were asking us, ‘How do you make this caramel?’,” said co-founder and director Adam Sopher, who started the business in 2010 with his popcorn enthusiast father Joseph and his mother Jackie.

Although the production process is similar to that of the caramel used to coat the majority of the company’s flavoured popcorns, the sauces took two years to develop

what’s new Ginger punch GRAN STEAD’S www.gransteadsginger. co.uk

Pitched as an “alternative to mass-market drinks” for both children and adults, the new spiced ginger punch is the sixth beverage in the Gran Stead’s range.

The drink, which comes in 750ml bottles (RRP £4.25£4.40), features a secret blend of exotic spices with the signature Gran Stead’s ginger kick.

The producer says it can be served warm or over ice, both on its own and as a mixer.

what’s in the range Salted caramel, sticky toffee, chocolate caramel, chocolate caramel & hazelnut sauce, cappuccino caramel and gin & tonic sauces all come in 230g jars with an RRP of £4.99 (except chocolate caramel & hazelnut). before they were shelf-ready. The producer recommends using them as ice cream toppings and sweet spreads but the sauces can also be used in baking.

Sopher said that, although the move into caramel seemed like a departure, it was preferable to deflecting popcorn sales with another snack range.

“There is a risk but, for us, trying a different category is a better thing,” he said. “So many of our fans are foodie people, who bake at home, and the caramel appeals to them in the same way our popcorn does.”

Joe & Seph’s will soon be backing the launch by publishing a

number of recipes from well-known chefs, and independents will receive sampling kits to drive sales.

Sopher said that were a number of new products in development and the company will soon be launching a limited edition chocolate orange flavour for Christmas.

In less than five years, the producer has seen its turnover grow to £2m in its most recent financial year, with 35 staff on the books, including eight chefs.

In spite of this rapid rise, Sopher said that gaining listings for the popcorn with Ocado and selected Waitrose stores was as far as the company wanted to go into the multiples.

“Beyond that I think we might damage the brand by putting our popcorn in every single store in the country,” he added.

As well as strong sales in independent retailers, Joe & Seph’s has also excelled in the export market, which accounts for 20% of its turnover, and currently has listings in 15 different countries. www.joeandsephs.co.uk

Cocktail-maker’s favourite pitched to retailers

By MICK WHITWORTH

A brand of Maraschino cherries popular in cocktail bars worldwide has gone on sale in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, as UK distributor Cellar Trends looks to build sales in retail.

The premium Luxardo brand uses an exclusive variety of Marasca sour cherry grown in its own orchards in Torreglia, northern Italy.

Luxardo is Italy’s oldest liqueurs company, know particularly for its Maraschino and Sangue Morlacco cherry liqueurs. Its cocktail cherries, which are steeped in dark syrup, are now available to UK stores in 400g jars (around 60 cherries) with an RRP of £6.99-£7.99.

According to Celler Trends, these dark, plump preserved fruits provide a subtle hint of almond flavour and offer a premium alternative to the “bright red, bleached and dyed” mass-market variety.

They can used as a substitute for fresh cherries in dishes such as Bakewell tart or clafoutis, in a fruit salad, or spooned over ice cream.

Cellar Trends’ marketing manager for Luxardo, Craig Chapman, said sales had been growing on the back of increased use at home and “enthusiastic recommendations by professional chefs”. www.cellartrends.co.uk

Curry pies

Veg juices

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CAWSTON PRESS

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Okemoor has teamed up with fellow Devon producer and curry kit specialist Boom Kitchen to create two gourmet pies: mild-medium Tarka Masala and hot Lady Naga. Both come in individual 4" pies (RRP £3.60) and they have won Taste of the West gold and silver awards respectively. The Tikka pie features British chicken in a creamy sauce, prepared using Boom Kitchen’s spice blends, while the Lady Naga pie is made with the notoriously hot Naga Jolokia chilli and West Country chuck steak.

Cawston Press has introduced two new pressed vegetable and apple juice blends to sit alongside its Brilliant Beetroot variety. Terrific Tomato features 51% tomato juice, 40% Cawston’s signature apple juice, plus a drop of warming chilli, a little salt and 5% pressed celery root juice. Incredible Carrot is made up of 68% carrot juice blended with 30% apple juice and 2% lemon juice.

Free from concentrates, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and colourings, both new varieties come in 750ml TetraPaks with an RRP of £2.49.

Frozen sausages FIELD FARE www.field-fare.com

Frozen food specialist Field Fare has launched pork sausages in two flavours.

Both the wholegrain mustard & rosemary and cracked black pepper varieties are made from prime cuts of pork and come in packs of eight sausages (wholesale £2.55, RRP £3.75). Each sausage is individually frozen so consumers can take only what they need from the pack and cook it straight from their freezer.

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

43

Preserving British fruits and vegetables for use in, on or with everyday cooking.

Oliver’s

For a truly artisan pudding experience After having been in business for just 18 months, Oliver’s Kitchen were rewarded with a two star Great Taste award for their Original Sticky Toffee Pudding. Now, back by popular demand their Orange and Cointreau Sticky Toffee Pudding is available now and for the festive season. A ginger version is also a popular choice. www.oliverskitchen.co.uk oliverskitchen@virginmedia.com or 0161 871 7372

44

August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

shelf talk

Looking for suppliers accredited by the Guild of Fine Food?

Follow the logo

Top chefs tell CLARE HARGREAVES their deli essentials

what’s new

Josh Eggleton

Cooking wines GOURMET CLASSIC

Chef-patron The Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, near Bristol

www.gourmetclassic.com

Gourmet Classic has revitalised its retail ready range by switching its red and white cooking wines from 250ml glass bottles to 187ml plastic bottles (RRP £1.19) under a new Montebello brand. The company says the smaller size is the industry standard for a single serve of drinking wine, so consumers will now clearly see the savings to be had by using the cooking wines. The Montebello 187ml range will also include four fortified wines made with 21% Port, Maderia, Marsala and a newly introduced Sherry (all RRP £1.99).

Fruity cider SHEPPY’S www.sheppyscider.com

The Somerset cider-maker has developed a 4%ABV blackberry & elderflower cider with summer in mind.

Created using dessert cider apples with a blackberry juice and elderflower infusion, the lightly sparkling cider is said to be a good accompaniment for warm salads and pasta dishes. It comes in 500ml bottles (RRP £2.50) and a 20-litre bag-in-box for the on trade.

Latin American sauces CAPSICANA www.capsicana.co.uk

Chilli specialist Capsicana has launched four Latin American cooking sauces, including a “first-to-market” Peruvian sauce (chilli & lemon) plus a Brazilian chilli & coconut sauce.

Two Mexican varieties – chilli & garlic and chilli & honey –

CHEF’S SELECTION

www.theponyandtrap.co.uk

complete the range, which has already gained listings in Whole Foods Market. Each 100g pack (RRP £2.29) features a pair of recipes that serve two and can be prepared in less than 20 minutes. The range will all sport a new look that Capsicana has extended across its existing range of chilli sauces.

Having started his career in a Bristol fish and chip shop, then studied at City of Bristol College, Josh is now the Michelin-starred chef-owner of The Pony & Trap pub at Chew Magna, near Bristol. He recently opened Salt & Malt, on Chew Valley lake.

Homewood fresh ewes’ cheese www.homewoodcheeses.co.uk

This curd has a wonderfully creamy texture and subtle flavour and carries other ingredients brilliantly, so it’s always on the menu at the Pony & Trap. And it comes from Ubley which is just three villages away. We use it in our salad of heritage tomatoes, which is a variation on the tomato and mozzarella theme. We make balls of curd, roll them in Parmesan and serve with cubes of jelly made from tomato consommé, basil purée and a dressing made from the tomato juice and rapeseed oil. As the season goes on we might pair the curd with beetroot. Once we even made a ewes’ curd ice cream which we served with poached pear.

Valley Smokehouse smoked salmon www.valleysmokehouse.com

Tomato sauces LUPETTA www.lupetta.co.uk

Importer Donatantonio has added two more lines to its Lupetta brand of Italian store cupboard essentials.

Cherry tomato sauce with porcini mushrooms and cherry tomato sauce with olives & capers will join the original cherry tomato sauce. All three are made with Sicilian cherry tomatoes and come – true to Southern Italian tradition – in 330g beer bottles (RRP £2.69). Lupetta’s products can be ordered through distributor Cotswold Fayre.

Ambient dips ATKINS & POTTS

We can see Valley Smokehouse from the pub and I’ve used their smoked salmon from day one. It’s not over-cured and has a lightness and soft texture that I really like. We use it at Salt & Malt for one of our ‘small plates’: we cover the plate with smoked salmon and top it with chopped shallot, lilliput capers and pickled cucumber. The offcuts go in our scrambled eggs. At The Pony & Trap we poach the smokehouse’s smoked haddock in milk and serve with spinach, potato mousse and beurre blanc.

Sharpham Park organic wholegrain spelt flour www.sharphampark.com

This organic stoneground flour is another food that’s produced right on our doorstep and we use it every day in our spelt sourdough. It gives the bread a nice nutty flavour. We use half Sharpham spelt and half Shipton Mill white flour to avoid the bread being too heavy. We put Sharpham’s spelt flour into our British hampers at Christmas too. We also use Sharpham’s pearled spelt to make risotto. We toast the grains first which makes them nutty, rather like toasted sesame. Unlike rice, they are hard to overcook, which is handy.

www.atkinsandpotts.co.uk

Atkins & Potts has launched a new range of Inspired Dips in four flavours: chipotle chilli & garlic (175g), Caesar & chive (190g), classic salsa (200g), jalapeño chilli (205g). The condiment and sauce specialist has been testing these flavours at major trade shows over the last few months and, following positive feedback, they are now available in cases of 6 units for £10.26. Each jar has an RRP of £2.45.

Hampshire Cheeses’ Tunworth www.hampshirecheeses.co.uk

This brie-style cheese made from pasteurized whole cows’ milk is amazing, just how a brie should be. When at its peak it’s utterly delicious – even better than French Brie. We often put it on our cheeseboard. Sometimes we slice a Tunworth in half and spread it with toasted walnuts and grated truffle before closing it up again and ageing it for a week; we serve it as cheese course with watercress and honey.

I often take a wedge of Tunworth home with me at night as my dinner.

Bristol Beer Factory milk stout www.bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

Despite its name, this smooth, creamy, full-bodied stout doesn’t actually contain any milk! It’s brewed at the Bristol Beer Factory from local raw ingredients, then fermented in the bottle, and the recipe is based on one for a similar stout that was brewed nearly a century ago on the same site. We used the stout in the sticky toffee pudding that we offered at The Pony.

We’ve now replaced that with a sticky walnut ale cake that also contains the stout.

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

45

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Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

47

shelf talk

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Community comes first Despite a loyal following, Sarah Guilder’s Hampshire deli-café has been not so much a goldmine as a labour of love. Now she’s stepping up efforts to drive footfall to the store with a social media campaign.

INTERVIEW BY MICK WHITWORTH

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

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Deli of the Month o the good people of Chandler’s Ford know how lucky they are to have Sarah Guilder running their neighbourhood deli and coffee shop? Because Bay Leaves Larder – a 30-cover café with a local-led food shop alongside – can best be described a labour of love.

As Guilder makes clear in a refreshingly honest interview with FFD, the store makes only a modest profit – and might well not have survived under a more hard-nosed, commercially driven owner.

Conceived as a community store (as in, ‘run for the community’, not ‘owned by the community’), it acts as a social gathering-place, an outlet for quality local food producers and a handy top-up shop for residents around the Hampshire town’s Hittingbury Road area.

Guilder established Bay Leaves Larder in 2008 “in a moment of madness, as I like to tell people”, in what had previously been a rundown grocery store and butcher’s.

A caterer by background and a big fan of Continental café culture, she wanted to provide Chandler’s Ford with its first independent coffee shop and, on the retail side, a genuine alternative to supermarkets, with a firm focus on local food and drink and low food miles. (It currently stocks products from around 40 Hampshire Fare members, from Flack Manor Brewery to Loosehanger Cheeses.)

“I used to say it was a ‘deli and coffee shop for all your grocery needs’,” Guilder tells me, “and we used to sell cat food and all sorts of things.”

However, what quickly became apparent was that, in this largely residential town of around 20,000 souls, north-east of Southampton, not everyone was prepared to pay a premium for convenience, let alone quality.

Although Chandler’s Ford is a sprawling suburb with no real town centre, Guilder has a Tesco Express, Waitrose and Co-op all nearby, and points out that she cannot even buy a loaf of bread or a 4-pint bottle of milk at wholesale for what some of those stores are retailing it at. And while some of her shoppers don’t baulk at the prices

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Sarah Guilder has created a relaxed community hub in Chandler’s Ford. Now she needs more ‘bums on seats’.

of the more mainstream groceries in Bay Leaves Larder, especially when it’s an ‘emergency’ purchase, others can’t seem to grasp the difference between an independent neighbourhood deli and the 3,500-outlet Tesco.

“We have a very mixed clientele,” says Guilder. “Some don’t bat an eyelid, and some will slap the milk back on the counter and say ‘I can get that for 99p in Tesco!’ – and then send me a nasty email.”

This is more than outweighed by a happy bunch of loyal customers who appreciate having Bay Leaves Larder on their doorstop, and many of whom also use the bakery, chemist, newsagent and hairdresser that rub shoulders with the deli-café on the same short parade of shops.

“We have people who come down on a Friday, get their hair done, pick up their prescription, get a loaf of bread, then come in here for their eggs,” says Guilder, “and because they’re such regulars they’ll even let us know when they’re going to be away for a week’s holiday.”

But the fact is, this has not proved

the easiest location for a premium food shop. Turnover averages around £3,000 a week – relatively low for the size of this double-fronted store.

And when I ask what gross margin she aims for on her retail shelves, Guilder – who attended the Guild of Fine Food’s Retail Ready course for deli start-ups in 2011 – is brutally frank. “On the course, [tutor and deli owner] Charlie Turnbull said that to make even £20k a year from a deli – which I don’t – you need to average 40%. But I can’t do that. I try to get between 30% and 40% but often I can’t, because I know people round here just won’t pay those sort of

prices. And sometimes I have to go a lot lower than that.”

And she adds: “If I’d done the Retail Ready course beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have opened at all.”

The saving grace is that Guilder, whose background is in hospitality and catering management, also runs a thriving catering business from a kitchen in a converted garage at her home, serving everything from weddings and funerals to fishing parties on the River Itchen.

With this income in place, Bay Leaves Larder makes a lot more financial sense for Guilder, who also benefits from a “really good deal” from her landlord. “There were originally two flats upstairs [included in the property] and letting those virtually paid the rent down here. I had to let them go because it was so much extra work, but then my landlord did me a really good deal on the shop – probably because he didn’t want two empty units.”

Whatever the economics of the shop, it means locals benefit from a light, airy, strikingly well-decorated

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Charlie Turnbull said ❛that to make even

£20k a year from a deli – which I don’t – you need to average a 40% margin. But I can’t do that.

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café and deli with a warm, relaxed vibe, thanks in part to the mix of straight café seating, comfy sofas and a little moveable breakfast bar in one window. “Lots of people come because it’s so friendly,” says Guilder.

“We have three guys who come here all the time, and I think it’s like a day-time version of the local pub to them.”

Much of the café’s food offer is produced in house, although back-of-house facilities are limited to a small, domestic-scale kitchen.

“We make everything here – cakes, quiches, our own coleslaw and smoked mackerel paté,” says Guilder.

“It’s only a little galley kitchen, but we’ve got a contact grill which is brilliant for things like cooked breakfasts.”

The menu runs from a Full English (£6.95), to homemade soup (£3.95), salad bowls (£5.25-£5.95) and jacket potatoes (around £5.50), plus sandwiches, paninis and baguettes (£3.75-£4.95), and homemade deli specials like bacon, brie & mushroom quiche.

Coffee is always important, and Guilder’s comes from up-and-coming roaster Mozzo in Southampton – a business that began as a coffee-cart operator with a single Indian tuktuk in the city but now has its own roastery and is starting to grow its business in airports as far afield as Glasgow.

“I was probably one of their first customers,” says Guilder, who has no issues with her local discovery appearing now in mass-market locations. “I remember when Olives Et Al went into supermarkets, [owner] Giles Henschel wrote to everyone saying that he had fought against it, but a lot of delis are closing, unfortunately, and they have to make the sums add up.”

She adds: “It’s nice to see people growing their business – although you do lose that personal touch.

Sometimes I’m so busy with catering that I don’t have time to see everyone here as much as I should.

“I get a real buzz from working here on a Saturday and seeing people enjoying the Bay Leaves experience – I like to be front of house, chatting to people, and giving them that ‘story’ behind the products. At the moment it’s probably only once a month that I get to do that. But obviously I can make a lot more from a wedding than the £70 I’m going to pay in wages for someone to cover for me here.”

It’s not the same as having the owner on site, however, and Guilder believes the sales split between café and shop – currently 75:25 – might be closer to 50:50 if she was in the store more frequently.

There’s a wall partly dividing the two sections, which each have separate doors from the street. The café is much busier and the staff tend to congregate there, with the result that shoppers in the deli are sometimes

left unattended. This could mean that sales are missed or, at worst, pilferage goes unchecked.

Guilder also finds some of her staff struggle to cross-sell from café to deli – usually one of the biggest benefits of a combined operation. “I was serving in the shop yesterday,” she says, “and I took £200. They only took £30 the day before, which was the same kind of day, the same weather. Some of the staff are really good at saying, ‘We’ve got this on special offer at the moment’, but some seem embarrassed to talk to people.”

With this in mind – and having lost a couple of employees who apparently found the pace in the café a bit hot – Guilder will have a slightly refreshed team in place by September, including one member tasked with sticking with the deli, engaging with customers and building sales in that half of the shop.

“Up to now we’ve talked about a lot of things, but haven’t been so good on delivering,” says Guilder.

“But one of the new ladies is very keen and has a bit of vision. She’s already coming up with ideas – like getting in touch with our beer suppliers and getting them in on a Saturday to do tastings.”

In another sign that Guilder wants to inject more momentum into the business, she has this year retained a local marketing consultant to raise the café-deli’s profile. Bay Leaves Larder is now active on Facebook (868 page likes at the last count), highlighting new products, its participation in the Hampshire Food Festival, and special events like its “vintage” afternoon teas (using some of Guilder’s 150-odd sets of vintage china, which she also hires out for events).

The marketing project started as a three-month trial, and Guilder now needs to assess whether all the social media activity is yielding more sales. “We have a lot more Facebook friends, but that hasn’t translated into more people in the shop yet. We need bums on seats.”

Guilder says she set out to create a “village feel” with Bay Leaves Larder, to give Chandlers Ford more of a point of focus. Even after seven years, though, she still meets people living two streets away who say, “Are you new here?”

So in terms of profile-raising there’s everything to play for, and Guilder also believes her strengthened team will help drive things forward come the autumn.

But she also makes clear that her original motivation for opening Bay Leaves Larder has not changed.

“It’s really trying to promote the community aspect and support local people. I’m a great believer that if you help people, they will help and support you in turn.” www.bayleaveslarder.co.uk

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

49

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t %JHJUBM TIPSU SVO MBCFMT t *OLKFU QSJOUJOH t )PU GPJMJOH BOE EPNFE MBCFMT t CBS DPEJOH WBSJBCMF EBUB BOE DPOTFDVUJWF OVNCFSJOH t 3FFMFE MBNJOBUFE TIFFUFE t )JHI WPMVNF QMBJO MBCFMT 8F IBWF UVSSFU XJOEJOH DBQBDJUZ

t )JHI WPMVNF QSJOUFE MBCFMT VQUP DPMPVST In addition with in-house design and plate making we can offer unrivalled service and response to meet your needs Unit C McKenzie Industrial Park Birdhall Lane, Stockport SK3 0XX TEL : +44 (0)161 428 1617 FAX : +44 (0)161 428 1603 www.windmilltapes.co.uk

RetailReady RetailReady is a two day course that will steer you through the minefield of opening and running a fine food store.

Next course: October 27-28 2015 For an application form visit gff.co.uk/training Call us to find out more on 01747 825200 HR4UK.com The Premier HR Solution

• refrigeration

Speciality Glassware, for the more discerning producer.

Unit 4G, The Leathermarket, Weston Street, London SE1 3ER Tel: 020 7407 3200 Fax: 020 7237 9093 www.FrenchFlint.com

Vol.16 Issue 7 · August 2015

51

Trade Only

DISCOVER...

1000s of new products Artisan and gourmet food The latest trends Explore the UK’s only dedicated trade event for ŜQH DQG DUWLVDQ FKRFRODWH

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August 2015 · Vol.16 Issue 7

www.specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk/finefood #SFFF15 #FoodHero #SCF15