FFD June 2012

DELI OF THE MONTH 50 We talk to Katie Taylor of East Yorkshire farm shop Drewton’s

LEWIS & COOPER 13

Spending £2.25 on cheese won’t save the High Street, says Dr David Gearey

MARTIN GOTT 17

‘Why is it that so many local cheeses in the UK are cr*p?'

June 2012 · Vol 13 Issue 5

IN THIS ISSUE:

BUN LOVE Keep your shop on top of the home baking craze CHEF’S SELECTION 47 The Three Chimneys’ Michael Smith sings the praises of Isle of Mull cheddar, Hebridean sea salt and Opie’s pickled walnuts

LETTER FROM FARRINGTON’S 9 Watching families enjoying a field of pick-your-own tulips changes your ideas of ‘value’

Your 16-page guide to Harrogate 2012 starts on page 19 NEWS CHEESEWIRE HARROGATE PREVIEW GLUTEN-FREE FOODS HOME BAKING SHELF TALK DELI OF THE MONTH

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JOIN US for the most glittering evening in the fine food calendar as we discover the foods that struck GOLD at GREAT TASTE 2012 Don’t miss the Great Taste Golden Fork Awards Monday September 3 2012 – Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London

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oin us in the company of leading chefs, food writers, top retailers and the very best food producers for fine food’s biggest night of the year.

Two golden opportunities in a single evening.

Firstly, after walking the red carpet into the Palace Suite, be part of the pre-dinner reception, enjoy an early evening drink as you taste 3-star Gold award winning products from Great Taste 2012 and meet the people who made them.

Next, join us for a sumptuous four course meal created by Royal Garden Hotel chef, Steve Munkley using Great Taste Award-winning foods and matched with fine wines selected by the Guild of Fine Food to complement the stunning

gold-standard ingredients.

In between courses, the story of this year’s Awards will unfold as BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden along with Guild director, Bob Farrand announce the winners of the 2012 Golden Forks and the winner of the Delicatessen of the Year.

Tension will mount as you watch the judging unfold on the big screen, until the moment when members of the supreme jury make their final choice for Great Taste Supreme Champion 2012.

If you’re in the business of fine food, this really is the best night of the year. Call or email Charlie Westcar on 01963 824464 or charlie.westcar@finefoodworld.co.uk for details.

What’s new this month:

Opinion

independents see as exclusively theirs.

Ever-tightening consumer spending is forcing small shops into price wars. David Gearey of Yorkshire’s Lewis & Cooper is less BOB FARRAND concerned with price than with how much each customer spends. He tells us shoppers at the North Allerton food hall plead with Lewis & Cooper Among the 21 delegates on one of to “never change the store one little our recent cheese training days were bit” then leave with nothing more a dozen hopefuls about to open than “a bit of cheese at £2.25.” new delis or farm shops and two More worrying is that a business M&S buyers who announced they’ll model that worked for generations be launching 90 new in-store deli in North Allerton is now struggling in counters before Christmas.

Lewis & Cooper’s The angst new shop in welling up inside As the economy Harrogate, close to our budding tightens, supermarkets M&S and Waitrose. retailers eased a David plans to shift touch on learning increasingly steal outside his comfort that just 2ft of retail concepts that zone and redirect M&S counter independents see as the offer towards would be devoted exclusively theirs gift foods. to cheese, but it Some 371 served as a timely towns have bid to be one of 12 pilot warning for all new kids on the high areas sharing the £1.2m allocated street: competition is tough out there.

by Government to help revive dying Depending on whose statistics high streets. I worry that the local you believe, between 70 and 90% authorities that win these grants will of business start-ups fail inside two fail to use the money intelligently. years. Our current government was Few have grasped what high street two years old last month and has retailers really need. They must failed miserably to solve this wretched change too. recession. Does this mean Cameron, A blackboard seen outside a large Clegg & Co is on its way down the M&S on the outskirts of Manchester toilet like so many other start-ups? offers a crumb of comfort. It urges Businesses that survive the first us to “Try our cheeses from around two years generally do so because the world – Jarlesberg (their spelling), their owners research, trial and Old Amsterdam and Oak Smoked nurture a concept that works, Chedder (also their then stick with it. Operating spelling)”. They even offer inside your comfort zone does to cut it while you wait. exactly what it says: you stay Bless! comfortable. Or did!

Well outside their This month’s FFD news comfort zone, I’d say. suggests there’s no guarantee a format that succeeded a few Bob Farrand is publisher of years back will work today, and as Fine Food Digest and national the economy tightens, supermarkets director of the Guild of Fine Food increasingly steal retail concepts that

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EDITORIAL editorial@finefoodworld.co.uk Editor: Mick Whitworth Assistant editor: Michael Lane News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Lynda Searby, Clare Hargreaves

ADVERTISING advertise@finefoodworld.co.uk Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey, Gavin Weeks Published by Great Taste Publications Ltd and the Guild of Fine Food Ltd Chairman/FFD publisher: Bob Farrand Managing director/associate publisher: John Farrand Director/membership secretary: Linda Farrand Marketing & circulation manager: Tortie Farrand Administrators: Charlie Westcar, Julie Coates Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance

GENERAL ENQUIRIES Tel: 01963 824464 Fax: 01963 824651 info@finefoodworld.co.uk www.finefoodworld.co.uk Guild of Fine Food, Guild House, Station Road, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9FE UK Fine Food Digest is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £43pa inclusive of post and packing.

Printed by: Advent Colour, Hants, UK © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2012. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.

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Editor’s choice

Selected by Mick Whitworth

Irish Coffee Curd www.crossoguepreserves.com

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Take a big dollop of Crossogue Preserve’s Irish coffee curd, spread it on banana, top it with clotted cream ice cream, et voila! Bang-on banana split with just a hint of Irish whiskey. For me, this Tipperary-made treat is an instant pud component that can live in the fridge until it’s used up, then will need replacing quick. It’s not new to Ireland, but it’s one of six Crossogue products new to the UK, in distinctive packaging just created for ‘export’ markets, which to the Irish includes us. Producer Veronica Molloy tells me it’s good in banoffee pie and on pancakes too.

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For regular news updates from the industry's favourite magazine visit:

www.ffdonline.co.uk Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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fine food news Orders are being delayed, payment terms changed and suppliers going bust as euro falters

Importers feel heat of emerging Eurozone crisis

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

what they're saying

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Spain has been badly hit by the crisis. Everyone is suffering to a greater or lesser extent and we have been lucky to have only one supplier go out of business last year.

We have seen a couple of takeovers and occasionally a delay in us getting the products because the supplier is having difficulty getting hold of a particular ingredient or packaging.

Elisabetta Scalvini/Dreamstime.com

Fine food importers are having to contend with suppliers going out of business, delays to orders and sudden changes in payment terms as the Eurozone financial crisis takes its toll on the Continent’s small artisan producers.

Spain, Italy, and Greece, all major exporters of fine food to the UK, have been particularly badly hit by the debt crisis with stagnant growth, high unemployment and severe government austerity measures driving many traditional food producers to the wall.

With the Greek economy and political system in paralysis, Panos Manuelides, MD of Greek food importer Odysea, said that many food producers would go under.

“We haven't seen it yet, but there will be a lot. Things are going to be very tough in Greece,” he said.

“Our suppliers will be okay because they are all focused on exports and they will get our support, but those producers that sell a lot in the domestic markets or do not get the support of their export customers will be in trouble.”

Spanish food producers are also struggling, leading to disruption for UK importers. “Some of our producers have closed, others have reduced the hours they are open. All of them are trying to export more than they sell at home. It has had a great impact on us,” said Ana Gomez, a director of Flavours of Spain. “It's a real shame to see these companies closing – to see someone you have worked with for five years have to close up. I worry about what future they will have. It's very difficult to find

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Kate Shirley-Quirk, director at Spanish food importer Delicioso

Euro’s plight also hits UK exports The Eurozone financial crisis has also had an impact on UK food and drink producers, who have seen exports to Southern Europe fall. According to the Food and Drink Federation, exports of British food and drink to Italy, Portugal and Spain fell by 2%, 15% and 9%, respectively, last year due to falling demand linked to the economic difficulties in those countries.

Exporters targeting Northern European markets fared much better with sales rising in the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland, helped by a weak pound in 2011. a job in Spain at the moment.”

At Deli Station, which sources food from Spain, France, Italy and Germany, director Joanna AnastasiouMilne, told FFD that the small suppliers it buys from in Italy had largely weathered the crisis because the general public in the country still have an ethos of buying from local shops and producers.

She added that larger suppliers were “feeling the squeeze” from

Joanna Anastasiou-Milne: larger suppliers are ‘feeling the squeeze’

supermarkets, which had a knockon effect for Deli Station. “Some of the larger producers in Italy have got much tighter on credit in the past year, reducing payment terms from say 90 days to 45-60 days,” she said.

“This has put huge pressure on our cash flow, particularly as we like to pay our small suppliers in advance or within 30 days. We've had to put more of our own finances in to cover this because banks in the UK are very reluctant to lend.”

A clamp-down on credit has also affected Odysea, with some suppliers asking for quicker payment. “They can't get any working capital from the banks,” said Manuelides. “We help where we can, but if everyone asked we wouldn't be able to. We recently agreed to buy olive oil from one producer, but the bank refused to lend him the money to buy bottling equipment, even though he was able to provide a signed contract.”

Dublin's Fallon & Byrne food hall taken out of administration Troubled Dublin food hall Fallon & Byrne is to come out of examinership – the Irish equivalent of administration – after the Irish High Court approved a rescue plan.

The business will continue to trade as a going concern after securing new investment of more than €1 million with the retailer's shares acquired by a new company, Sarzala Ltd. Founder-directors Fiona McHugh and Paul Byrne will hold 45% of the shares in Sarzala and run the business on a day-to-day basis. Two businessmen, Frank

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Murphy and Cormac Tobin, have also joined the board.

As reported in FFD JanuaryFebruary, the four-floor shop and restaurant was given court protection from creditors after being hit by a €1.4 million tax bill.

In a statement, McHugh and Byrne said: “All of us at Fallon & Byrne are enormously relieved that the business we love so much has come out of examinership.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our suppliers and customers for their steadfast support throughout.”

RAISING THE BAA: Slow Food UK has entered Shetland Lamb into its 'Ark of Taste' – a list of endangered foods that need reviving and saving. The Scottish Crofting Federation nominated Shetland Lamb for the list to highlight the fact that production of this breed is endangered in its native Shetland.

IN BRIEF l The Taste Cumbria Festival is gearing up for its third year in Cockermouth. The show, which takes place on September 29-30, will feature a pop-up version of famous local chef Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume restaurant as well as showcasing local producers and Cumbrian beer. www.tastecumbria.com

On the up: Café, restaurant and deli chain Bill's has stepped up its expansion programme with a raft of new stores set to open around the country this year. The company opened its seventh store in Exeter last month and has secured an eighth site in Soho. It is also advertising for managerial positions for new stores in Chichester, Guildford, Cardiff and Wimbledon, and is believed to have revived its interest in opening in Horsham. Combining elements of a deli and greengrocer with an all-day café and restaurant, Bill's was founded by greengrocer Bill Collison in Lewes, but was acquired in 2008 by restaurateur Richard Caring, who owns The Ivy and Le Caprice.

Just Rachel takes HEFF’s top award

Farm shop group in £2m expansion

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Herefordshire’s Just Rachel scooped top prize at the Heart of England Fine Foods Diamond Awards for its honeycomb ice cream.

The product, praised for its depth of flavour and “super smooth texture”, won the dairy category and also took the overall Taste award at the food group’s annual gala dinnner held last month at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Other category winners include Kit’s Kitchen’s sweet pickled red cabbage, Just Crisps’ black pepper and sea salt crisps, ready-meal specialist Cotswold Traiteur’s Sri Lankan black lamb curry, Tipsy Fruit Gins’ damson liqueur, and Jus for its Cox’s Orange Pippin juice.

Coopers Gourmet Sausage Rolls were given a special award commending their business growth while Legges of Bromyard won the inaugural Best Retailer category.

For a full list of winners visit: www.heff.co.uk www.justrachel.com

Farm shop group Country Food & Dining plans to spend £2m expanding two of its outlets and is in talks to buy a seventh, but admitted that raising investment in the current economic climate was increasingly challenging.

The company has just finished a fifth round of fund-raising via the Enterprise Investment Scheme, which encourages individuals of high net worth to invest in new businesses by offering generous tax breaks. Although the company did not raise as much as in previous years, it is still planning major expansions of its Green Fields shop in Telford and Fielders Farm Shop in Pangbourne. Both sites will be

CFD’s Greens Fields shop in Telford is in line for major expansion

increased to around 7,000 sq ft with a full farm shop and café offering.

Permission is also being sought for a new children's play barn at Cobbs Farm Shop near Hungerford.

“We’re also at early stage discussions about another opportunity in the South that we’re very excited about,” said operations director Tom Newey. “It's a trading shop doing good business but we feel we can add additional value through operational improvements and ultimately development of the site to again incorporate a fuller offer.”

Newey said raising investment to fund future growth had been more challenging than in previous years.

“The EIS market is a crowded one and renewable solar products took a lot of funds last year when the feedin tariff was much higher. People don't have the money to invest like they did back in 2008. If we need to we can always look for private equity funding, but we're happy with what we've got and it's probably good for the business to take things a little slower and make sure we invest in the absolute best sites.”

Country Food & Dining's group sales exceeded £5.5m in 2011, which represented a 21% like-forlike increase on 2010. The company saw a 31% increase in group profits last year, while the first quarter of 2012 saw like-for-like sales increase by nearly 4%. www.countryfoodanddining.co.uk

l Premier Cheese held its second Cheese Makers Market in Beaconsfield in April, which featured over 40 cheese-makers from Britain, Ireland and the Continent including Somerset’s Jamie Montgomery (pictured). The market, which Premier estimates was around twice the size of the first event, was attended by over 5,000 members of the public. www.cheese.biz

l The Government has launched a UK-wide consultation on front-ofthe-pack labelling with the aim of developing a unified system for displaying how much fat, salt and sugar, and how many calories are in products. The consultation will run until August 6. consultations.dh.gov.uk

l Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has given the go-ahead to plans for Waitrose to build a Cornish Food Hall next to a new store in Truro, which is part of a larger park and ride and new housing development. Local residents have campaigned against the development, saying it would draw business away from the town centre. l Selfridges has stopped selling unpasteurised milk after the Food Standards Agency launched an investigation into whether the practice is legal. Shops are not allowed to stock raw milk under food hygiene legislation, but since December Selfridges has got around the ban by allowing Longleys Farm in Hailsham, East Sussex, to sell the product from dispensers in its food hall.

Selfridges said customers should have the choice, but it would honour any “newly clarified rules”. l Dairy co-operatives Milk Link and Arla have announced plans to merge. With a combined turnover of £2bn, this will create the largest business in the UK dairy market.

For regular news updates from FFD visit:

www.ffdonline.co.uk Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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fine food news New Scottish distributor to supply artisan foods to multiples Show of vans: With Britain’s weather yo-yoing between drought and flood, East Anglian cream ice maker Alder Tree is taking no chances with the upcoming outdoor sales season.

After several years “messing about with freezers and gazebos” to sell fruit ices at markets and festivals, owner Stephany Hardingham has bought a 1967 Morris ambulance on eBay and had it converted into a comfortably weatherproof ’cream ice van’ (pictured right).

Meanwhile, Easingwold-based deli Tea-Hee! is going Continental this summer. Owner Sophie

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Smith plans to boost turnover by catering at festivals and weddings with Jean-Claude – a 40-year-old Citroën H van converted into a

Kate. “They are taking a step back,” he said. “I would not say they will not be involved at all, they know everything about it.”

In a statement given to FFD, Wilson said that there would be no job losses and that Huntley’s would continue trading as before.

Set up in 2001 by charismatic farmer Eddie Cowpe, the farm shop was expanded in 2007 with a £1.5m 6,000 sq ft food hall and restaurant, and was widely regarded as a leading player in the farm shop market.

Deli and farm shop owners in Scotland could be seeing more local food and drink products on supermarket shelves after the launch of a specialist distribution company in Cumbernauld.

The Scotland Food & Drink Hub, set up in March, specialises in distributing products from small, artisan producers and has already signed deals to supply all Waitrose, Asda and Dobbies stores in Scotland.

Instead of making deliveries to individual retail outlets, suppliers deliver to the Hub’s 10,000 sq ft tritemperature warehouse, where orders are consolidated and dispatched to supermarket chains. Founded by transport consultant Paul Anderson and James Law, who was Sainsbury’s head of local sourcing for 15 years, the firm charges producers on a ‘per case’ basis at what it says is a fraction of a cost of the big courier companies.

Producers on its books include Heather Hills Honey, Thistly Cross Cider and Summer Harvest Oils.

Anderson told FFD he is in negotiations to supply the regional distribution centres of several other supermarkets and plans to supply farm shops and garden centres across central Scotland by July. “Independent retailers shouldn’t feel threatened by us. It’s an opportunity for them to access products they might not have been able to previously and make better margins,” he said.

He is also looking to expand the business South of the border.

www.huntleys.co.uk

scotlandsfoodanddrinkhub.co.uk

mobile catering unit complete with coffee machine. www.alder-tree.co.uk www.teahee.co.uk

Jobs saved as Huntley’s is bought out of administration Around 80 jobs have been saved at high profile Lancashire farm shop and food hall Huntley’s of Samlesbury after it went into administration last month and its assets were promptly bought by a local businessman.

Huntley’s Country Stores – a new company set up by local agricultural contractor Harry Wilson – is now the owner of the business, which has continued to trade throughout the administration process.

Wilson, who has retained the outlet’s previous managers Carl Barlow and Lisa Jackson, told local

The Samlesbury-based business will continue to trade as normal

newspaper The Lancashire Telegraph that there could still be roles for founder Eddie Cowpe and his wife

If I’d known then what I know now...

I helped set up Ditto Deli’s two shops in Wandsworth, so I had a fair amount of retail experience.

However, the London market is very different to Somerset. Wedmore has Lisa Salter Pumpkin Deli & Cafe, Wedmore, Somerset a population of about 2,500 people with a mix of older customers and young families. People here are more concerned about supporting of deli bubble so that you can’t see I took over Pumpkin four years their local shops and producers, the wood for the trees. Even if it’s ago after helping to set up a deli which is great for us but it means just half a day each month visiting business in South London. If I could you have to stock the right kind of another shop, it really helps give you go back to give myself some advice products. perspective on your own business. it would be to take some more time Coming from London, I had it Having time away from the shop off in the early days. I opened the in my head that I had to stock a lot also helps you keep on top of the shop in April and from then until of Continental stress. You need Christmas I was working six days cheeses, but to be relaxed a week and my day off was spent It’s really important actually people when you work in doing paperwork. here are loyal to a deli to create a I’ve learned since then that it’s to have a break from local producers nice atmosphere really important to have a break the shop, not just for and we get a lot of for your staff and from the shop, not just for your own your own well-being, tourists who want customers. well-being, but also for the benefit but also for the benefit to take something Before I of the business. If you’re at work back from the local bought Pumpkin, of the business. all the time, you get stuck in a kind

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

area. It took a little while to work out, but I now just stock a handful of key European cheeses like Brie de Meaux and Dolcelatte, with a much higher percentage of West Country cheeses. I still try to get something new in every month, but I have to put it on taster and promote it quite hard. If the customer doesn’t know it, they won’t buy it.

Taking over an existing business was a double-edged sword. It was great to have an existing customer base but I also inherited a kitchen that is not set up for the kind of things I wanted to make. It’s laid out like a domestic kitchen and I would love to rip it out and start all over again to make it more efficient. You can’t have everything, I suppose. It’s a matter of working with what you have got.

Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

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Drury Pyramid Tea Bags Leaf tea in the bag

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Vol.13 Issue 5 9/3/12 · June 11:06:06 2012

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Make sure your products are in all the best shops this December

PRE-CHRISTMAS ADVERTISEMENT OFFER While shoppers are relaxing on the beach, retailers are preparing for the vital Christmas period.

By advertising in Fine Food Digest, you can be part of every fine food store’s festive line-up.

We’re offering special price deals on a series of three advertisements in our August, September and October issues.

Book into all three issues and you can: • Reach buyers as they plan and finalise their Christmas ranges • Benefit from extra distribution at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair • Take advantage of our design & creative services

Visit us on Stand 208 at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show

Talk to the sales team today on 01963 824464 or email advertise@finefoodworld.co.uk

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Phone: 020 7819 4300 Fax: 020 7819 4400 Email: sales@bespoke-foods.co.uk Web: www.bespoke-foods.co.uk 8

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

fine food news Partridges on the look-out for indoor market site

By MICK WHITWORTH

Upmarket London food store chain Partridges is exploring potential sites in the capital for an indoor food market, with Madrid’s Mercado de St Miguel providing a possible model.

Partridges already runs a successful market outside its flagship Duke of York Square store, just off Sloane Square, which draws around 70 speciality food and drink producers every Saturday.

Managing director John Shepherd told FFD he was looking for a venue for a traditional-style indoor market, where pitches would

be taken by producers and a limited number of hot food takeaways.

He ruled out following the sophisticated ‘urban farm shop’ concept tried by several retailers including Union Market in Fulham, which closed earlier this year.

“It’s a format that attracts lots of [businesses] but we haven’t really got an example of it working well,” said Shepherd.

“They fall between two stools: they haven’t the full range of a supermarket, so people can’t buy everything they need there, and they haven’t got the variety that you

get in a market, where competition between stallholders keeps the prices down.”

Shepherd said he planned to look at the Mercado de St Miguel in Madrid, Spain (pictured) – a traditional indoor market that was reborn as chic shopping and eating venue in 2009 after a two-year facelift. “They have market stalls selling top-quality food,” said Shepherd, “so it’s something I want to check out because it could work here.” www.partridges.co.uk www.mercadodesanmiguel.es

Madrid's Mercado de St Miguel is a possible model for Partridges

Lincs sausage Whole Foods shifts Soho store to larger Piccadilly site denied protection

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Defra has turned down the Lincolnshire Sausage Association’s application for Protected Geographical Indication status after a campaign spanning more than seven years.

The Government will not be submitting an application to the European Union’s Protected Food Name Scheme, citing the potential damage to sausage-making businesses across the UK. Food and farming minister Jim Paice said that 95% of the ‘Lincolnshire‘ sausages produced come from outside the county and there was also a wide variation in recipes.

Paice added that the Government was open to looking at other ways to promote sausages from Lincolnshire. www.lincolnshiresausages.co.uk

Whole Foods Market has relocated its Soho branch to a much larger 17,000 sq ft store in Piccadilly, which is part of a major revamp of Regent Street.

The new £3.5m store is located in the former Regent Palace Hotel on the newly pedestrianised Glasshouse Street, part of a £1bn overhaul of the area by the Crown Estate. Spread over two floors, the shop features an in-house bakery, greengrocer, fishmonger, butcher, fresh sushi counter and café. Other attractions include a ‘Grains, Greens and Beans’ takeaway counter, a panini bar and a huge selection of cheese, charcuterie, wines and beer. Confirmed suppliers include Blueberry Hill Cakes, Gourmet

Letter from Farrington's I’ve just heard the sad news that Clinton Cards has gone into administration – yet another in a long list of high street chains feeling the economic squeeze.

Clinton was a big name back in the ’80s, making a good profit and growing to over 800 stores.

So, why such a tough time now?

Well, my thinking is that, in part, the shops look tired and the company have not looked to refresh their offer, letting the competition steal a march on them.

Avoiding stagnation in the farm shop industry to date has often been achieved through creativity, turning on a sixpence, and coming up with a fun event or promotion at Follow us on

@ffdonline

Popcorn and St John Bakery.

The store, which opened last month, has been backed by an extensive social media marketing campaign, incorporating Facebook, Twitter and blogger events, as well as traditional billboard advertising on the Underground.

Whole Foods has recently opened another new store in Glasgow with branches in Richmond, Fulham and Cheltenham due to open in the coming year, taking its total number of UK shops to nine.

The company, which has over 300 stores in North America, struggled initially in the UK with heavy losses at its flagship Kensington store after it opened in 2007.

David Gray, an analyst at Planet Retail, told FFD that the new

full of locally-made activities and games with no high-tech gimmicks.

However, delivering an attraction that is fun and great value has been a tough ask.

Planting 100,000 pick-your-own tulips and watching families really enjoying themselves out in a field for a small price has changed our little cost, all out of the simplest of perceptions of ‘real value’. things. How times are changing.

It seems that our customers are Clearly, that game has really now looking to us moved on and to let them join in the bar has been Planting 100,000 with an ‘experience’ raised. Bigger, slicker pick-your-own – something new operations – often not run by the owner tulips and watching and different. This families enjoying gives independents and in some cases a real edge against not even associated themselves for the multiples and a with a farm – with a small price very real chance to multi-million pound has changed our play to our industry’s backing and stateof-the-art equipment perceptions of ‘real strengths. value’.

Take our Easter are all now egg hunt. More than commonplace.

500 kids took part in that over the Being innovative on a tight course of the school holidays. Tesco budget is really difficult. For can’t provide that. example, our new Farm Park is As the high street is squeezed harder now is the time to be creative, says Farrington’s PAUL CASTLE

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Piccadilly store was an encouraging sign, but that Whole Foods would need to increase store openings if it was ever to become more than a niche operator in the UK. “Its store opening strategy has been impacted by dampened demand for organic products in the UK as a result of the recession and strong (perhaps underestimated) competition from mainstream supermarkets,” he said. “I wouldn’t call this a turning point in Whole Foods’ fortunes in the UK. “In addition, the outlet is a relocation of the existing Soho location, hence won’t increase the number of stores. However, Planet Retail believes there remain opportunities for expansion of smaller format stores in particular.”

What about the way we completely swapped our deli counters around?

Our recent exploits with cupcakes are another example.

We created a brand new display in three hours, baked the cakes and filled the display in four hours.

It was posted on Facebook with photos an hour after that and we were sold out by the close of play the following day. Morrisons would struggle to do that.

Then there’s the salad dressing recipe which was seen on the Monday then made, bottled, on the shelves and selling by the Wednesday. Asda could not do that.

The big boys carry lots of baggage that the little ones don’t.

We can move quicker, and we can do it with a smile on our face.

Paul Castle is business manager at the award-winning Farrington’s Farm Shop near Bristol and provides consultancy services to other farm retailers. Email: paul@farringtons.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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fine food news new openings

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

Meat’s at the heart of Haigs food hall A former Daylesford Organic manager has launched a food hall in Aberdeen city centre, which takes a modern approach to traditional high street food retailing.

James Haig helped establish the meat counter at Daylesford’s farm shop in Gloucestershire over a five year period before setting up his own Q-Guild butcher’s shop in Coventry in 2007.

The Scot has now returned home with his wife Julie to set up the 4,000 sq ft Haigs Food Hall, which is set over two floors and specialises in locally sourced food.

The ground floor contains sections dedicated to meat, fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and an in-store bakery and kitchen, along with wines and groceries. The first floor houses a large butchery – currently applying for Q-Guild status – with a customer viewing window.

“Our vision is to recreate the specialist food shops that have left or are leaving the high street under one roof with a very modern approach to suit today’s high paced lifestyles,“ said Haig.

Products on sale in the ground floor shop, including the meat, will be pre-packaged to take away,

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2,200 sq ft of retail space, while the first floor features a 1,200 sq ft butchery and office space.

day delivery service through its ‘VIP Customer’ scheme.

l Story boards and video footage shown on a plasma screen instore will highlight the small local producers that supply the food hall.

l Haigs has won a dozen national awards in the past four years from organisations including the Soil Association, Bpex and Eblex.

l Suppliers include Ola Oils, Cottage Delight, Mrs Bridges, Mitchells Dairies and wholesaler The Cress Company, while meat comes from Scotch Premier in Inverurie.

although customers will be able to talk to the butchers upstairs if they require a particular cut.

“A lot of the younger generation prefer pre-packs because they want to pick something up quickly on their way home from work or are just a bit intimidated about going to a butcher’s counter,” said Haig.

“The shop is designed so that it

Hunstanton

Ilfracombe

l The ground floor shop takes up

l Haigs also offers a national next

Wells Deli

Harbour Deli

what’s in store

Norfolk-based Wells Deli has opened a second shop in Hunstanton with plans to open another outlet in Fakenham later this year.

The new deli, which joins the original shop in Wells-next-the-Sea, is close to the beach and has a focus on “grab and go” products, from homemade sandwiches, pies and pizzas to pre-packed cheeses and

suits people’s fast-paced lives, but it also caters to people who want to take things a bit slower and have a chat with the butcher and see the sausages being made in store.”

One of the reasons why Haig decided to leave Coventry and open a much larger shop was because of growing pressure from EHOs to completely segregate raw meat from charcuterie. “We’re in a great location for holiday makers looking for picnics and for something simple to take away for lunch,” said manager Tabitha Turner. “We’ve designed the shop to be really convenient, so customers can get in and out quickly without having to queue.”

She added that the company is currently looking for other sites in the area, with a shop in Fakenham due to open later in the summer. www.wellsdeli.co.uk

other products.

“We’ve got the space here to have separate areas for cooked and uncooked meat, each with their own dedicated staff and tills,” he said.

“New legislation is coming out all the time and it will soon be impossible for a traditional butcher’s shop to sell cooked products.” www.haigsdirect.co.uk

The Quince Tree Stonor

The owner of the newly opened Harbour Deli in Ilfracombe hopes to plug a gap in the local market.

Situated close to the north Devon town's picturesque harbour, the deli stocks a wide range of cheese, charcuterie and gifts from local and international suppliers.

“I felt there was a real lack of specialist food shops in Ilfracombe – especially in the harbour area,” said owner Amy Fairchild. “Ilfracombe has the most beautiful harbour and is inundated with tourists in the summer months. I felt that, unlike most seaside resorts, it wasn’t offering visitors a wide enough choice when it came to food both from our region and further afield.”

A new-concept food and drink destination, which comprises a pub, deli, café, restaurant and function space, finally opened last month.

The Quince Tree in Stonor, Oxfordshire, was meant to open last year, but was held up by building delays. Housed in a 12,000 sq ft restored and extended coaching inn, the shop stocks a mix of locally sourced food, international specialities and everyday products like milk and newspapers. It also sell a range of ready-meals and sauces made by the restaurant.

Owner Bobby Yerburgh said the “multifaceted” business encouraged people to visit at different times of the day and week.

www.harbour-deli.co.uk

www.thequincetree.com

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

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fine food news IN BRIEF l Assured Food Standards’ Red Tractor food label scheme has the lowest standards of any British food quality mark, according to a report from charity Compassion in World Farming. The report claimed that the scheme – the most widelyused in Britain – just met legal requirements for animal welfare.

The Soil Association was hailed as the best quality mark. AFS branded the report “very poor”.

l Just Oil and Cheshire Cheese Company will be among the producers on show at the second annual Gailey Fruit Farm food fair in Staffordshire. The free Fabulous Food & Gift Fair, which takes place on June 23-24, will also feature producers Snoggable Garlic and the Great Little Honey Company. www.gaileyfruitfarm.co.uk

l Waitrose has listed the new range of Women's Institute branded jams and flours in all its stores. The new products, which are made under the new WI Foods brand, have also been taken by 19 Notcutts Garden Centres, while Nisa will be taking its range of biscuits.

l Business Bites, a networking group for small food and drink producers in Lancashire, has expanded to cover the whole north west region. The group, set up by Lancashire trading standards expert Joanne Scott late last year, has joined forces with Claire Thomas Marketing & Events to roll out events across Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Merseyside.

Claire@clairethomas.biz

l One pot meal specialist Easy Bean is celebrating Fairtrade status for a third product. Its improved recipe Spanish Puchero pot is made with Fairtrade white beans. www.easybean.co.uk

l Marks & Spencer reported a 16% fall in full-year profit but saw its like-for-like food sales in the UK increase by 2.1%. The retailer said its pilot stores, some of which feature deli counters, were delivering good results.

l The owner of new deli Olive in Cirencester is Jenny Buxton, not Baxter as reported in the last issue of Fine Food Digest. Photos for the article were supplied by www. commatic.co.uk.

For regular news updates from FFD visit:

www.ffdonline.co.uk 12

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Olives Et Al flags Sainsbury deal to independent stockists

By MICK WHITWORTH

Olives Et Al wrote to all its independent retail stockists last month to tell them it has agreed to supply a limited range to Sainsbury supermarkets.

Co-founder Giles Henschel told FFD he was braced to receive complaints from some delis and farm shops but had decided to be transparent about the new tie-up, which involves only four of his company’s 400 product lines and will not cover all Sainsbury stores.

“We hummed and haahed about whether we should or should not supply Sainsbury,” he said, “but we see the added exposure as beneficial all round. More people will be familiar with the Olives Et Al brand, so when they see other products in delis – the sauces, the

Giles Henschel: added exposure will be ‘beneficial all round’

dressings, the nuts – there will be added recognition.”

He added: “We want more people to be familiar with the name Olives Et Al, but we are still a small company and we can’t afford to do

Great promotion for Anila’s as it wins Hong Kong listing

By MICK WHITWORTH

Anila’s Authentic Sauces featured among a clutch of speciality food brands in a British promotion at prestigious Hong Kong food hall Great.

Smoked fish from H Forman & Son in London and artisan cheeses including Montgomery’s cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire, Gorwydd Caerphilly and Ticklemore goats’ cheese were also highlighted alongside mainstream UK brands like Dorset Cereals and Walkers in the British Food Festival, which ran until the beginning of May. Anila’s won a contract to supply Great and its sister store Taste, also in Hong Kong, after a meet-the-buyer event at London’s IFE show in March 2011.

The sauce-maker’s owner, Anila Vaghela, visited Great in October

and an order for 18 lines from her range, including curry sauces and accompaniments, was placed in January. It was shipped in February to arrive in time for the British promotion.

The 34,500 sq ft Great Food Fall – part of the AS Watson group, owned by sprawling ports-to-telecoms multinational Hutchison Whampoa – is ranked among the world’s great food shops and has one of the widest gourmet food ranges in Asia.

A spokeswoman told FFD: “Britain is one of our most important import countries. British products are not only introduced for the food festival, many of them are also listed items on our shelves. We always look for new brands from different suppliers to provide more choice.” www.anilassauces.com www.greatfoodhall.com

Hong Kong’s Great food hall played host to a range of British products

mass consumer advertising.”

The Dorset firm – which organises the annual Deli of the Year competition to support high street independents – already quietly supplies other retail multiples as well as selling to the pub trade, airlines and other foodservice outlets.

“We try to support every sector we work in, and in the speciality trade we do that through Deli of the Year,” said Henschel. “Initiatives like that are expensive, and it’s the overall mix that allows us to do what we do.”

He continued: “Writing to all our customers was an unusual step – other speciality brands haven’t told anyone when they’ve gone into supermarkets – but I think it’s the right thing to have done.” www.olivesetal.co.uk

New smokery is just for indies A group of entrepreneurs has invested £100,000 in a new business supplying smoked Mediterranean foods exclusively to independent retailers.

The Smoked Olive has begun production using new equipment at the Castle Ashby Smokehouse in Northamptonshire, which is owned by master smoker David Cook, one of the company’s four founderdirectors.

The firm says its wholesale pricing structure for its smoked products – which include olives, olive oil, sea salt and feta – will afford retailers a 50-60% margin. A 120g pack of olives will wholesale for £1.25 with an RRP of £2.50, while the smoked olive oil (200ml) will cost £6.50 (RRP £14).

The company will officially launch its products at this month’s Speciality Food Show in Harrogate.

Turn to p19 for a full show guide.

Interview

As Lewis & Cooper ponders a shift towards gifts at its fledgling Harrogate store, its chairman tells MICK WHITWORTH why communities need to spend more in the shops they claim to love

Save the High Street: use a shopping basket!

I

f people really care about saving town centre shops, says Lewis & Cooper chairman Dr David Gearey, they need to use them, not just pay lip-service to them. “Don’t just buy a little paté at the weekend,” he says. “Use a shopping basket!”

Dr Gearey is talking to FFD in an airy, but currently empty, first-floor room above the venerable Yorkshire gourmet food company’s latest store, opened last November in the centre of Harrogate.

The upstairs space, overlooking Parliament Street, one of the spa town’s main shopping and eating spots, is crying out for conversion to a café or tearoom. But that will require capital investment, and the company is holding fire until it sees how trade develops in the shop downstairs.

Stocked with a heavily strippeddown range from Lewis & Cooper’s iconic gourmet food hall in North Allerton, which carries a massive 30,000 British and international lines, the Harrogate store had a good Christmas but has yet to settle into a strong trading pattern in 2012.

There is no loose deli – it’s almost impossible to make a serviced deli counter pay if it means employing more staff, reckons Dr Gearey – and he says the store, managed by ex chef Penny Wood, is most likely to move towards a ‘foodie gift’ model, targeting tourists and conferencegoers, rather than trying to function as an everyday delicatessen or highclass grocer.

Times are “very tough” for independent stores, and Dr Gearey muses on whether the flag-waving for high street shops that followed last winter’s Mary Portas review is going to turn into any concrete improvement for retailers.

“After the Portas report, [communities minister] Grant Shapps went into print saying, ‘It’s a stiff challenge, but there’s a clear desire from communities to see high streets survive’.

“If you convert that into ‘see small independent shops survive’, it requires some response from the community to get in there and spend money.

“The message needs to go out: ’If you want lively high streets and you want independent shops,

Dr David Gearey: ‘If you want independent shops then use them’

wealthier people.” then use them.’” And this plea Then there are the structural applies as much to shoppers at issues facing all independent food Lewis & Cooper’s North Allerton stores. Bureaucracy is a major store, opened in 1899 and a North headache. “The government has Yorkshire institution, as it does to been promising to cut red tape for those at its new outlets in Yarm, years,” he says, “but it’s an evernear Stockton-on-Tees (opened in increasing burden. You practically 2009) and Harrogate. need a full-time legislative person.”

“We have had so many people The pace of change in increasing come into North Allerton over the too. “There’s more competition years saying ‘Don’t ever change nationally, locally and on the web. this store one little bit’,” says Dr And the supermarkets are getting Gearey, “and what do they put in better and better at fine food their baskets? A little bit of cheese retailing, going out locally and at £2.25.” getting stuff in.”

Sometimes dubbed “the Fortnum Hampers are one growing area & Mason of the North”, Lewis of business for Lewis & Cooper, & Cooper turns over £4m a year clocking £650,000 in sales last through traditional retailing, online year. But are they are logistically sales, wholesaling and hampers. It difficult and dominated online by employs 80 or so full- and part-time bigger retailers who have the clout staff in its shops, bake-house and to rise to the top of search engine hamper packing operation. rankings.

But it is finding times no less The best hope for independents, challenging than the rest of the Dr Gearey says, trade.“This is the worst of the There’s no way you can it to be “smaller, nimbler and recessions I’ve stop the supermarket cleverer” than the been through,” ‘suits’ coming in. The multiples. says Dr Gearey. answer is to be nimbler “In North “It has gone with your own offer.

Allerton we’ve on and on, always been and it has been surrounded by supermarkets. We’ve fanned by the media. They like got Morrisons, Sainsbury, Tesco, to tell a negative story – ‘the cuts Asda – the whole shebang. And have only just started’ – and that over the years we’ve combated degrades confidence, even among

❛

❜

The Harrogate outlet (top) joins the original North Allerton store (centre) and Yarm, opened in 2009

them by offering what they don’t, which is foodie treats that people can pick up after they’ve finished their main shopping.

“We’ve seen the supermarket ‘suits’ coming in here for years, and there are more and more of them, thinking they can go off and buy 55,000 packets of some pasta we’ve got. There’s no way you can stop that. The only answer is to be nimbler with your own offer, so by the time they have been in, you’ve moved on.” www.lewisandcooper.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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Vol.13 Issue 5 路 June 2012

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cheesewire Premier sees ‘local’ angle in washed rind cheeses Premier Cheese is aiming to tap into demand for local food with a new range of cheeses washed in regional beers and ciders, which are being developed at its newly expanded base in Bicester. The wholesaler, which also owns retailer La Cave a Fromage, has expanded its HQ from 8,000sq ft to 12,000sq ft. The site is now home to four different temperature-controlled rooms for maturing and washing British cheeses, many of which

are made exclusively to Premier's specifications.

The company is currently trialling products such as goats’ cheese washed in Welsh cider and cows’ milk cheeses washed in various regional beers, which could be sold as “local” products in different regions of the UK. The company is also experimenting with maturing cheeses for varying lengths of time.

“Customers want something exciting and unique, whether that is

cheese made with local ingredients or something that they haven't seen elsewhere,” said Premier director Amnon Paldi, who founded the business with Eric Charriaux. “There are some wonderful beers and ciders you can buy locally in this country and they work very well with cheese. We are cheese specialists and developing our own local products reinforces who we are and what we do.”

OVER THE RAINBOW: Somerset Cheese Company has developed a washed rind version of its Rainbow's Gold cheese, using Golden Chalice beer from Glastonbury Ales.

The unpasteurised Caerphillystyle cheese (right) is made with Channel Island milk and is named after co-director and head cheesemaker Phil Rainbow. Washed two to three times a day over four weeks, the cheese begins to break down and become much softer.

“The initial hit is slightly sweet, but this quickly deepens into a rich, mature, savoury flavour with a sharpness to it,” said co-owner Anita Robinson, who set up the business with Rainbow eight years ago. “You are left with a hint of the ale at the finish.”

“We wanted a nice local story

and a lot of washed rind cheeses round here are made with cider, so we thought beer would be something different,” said Phil

Rainbow. “If it's a success we might look at washing some of our other cheeses like the hard sheep and buffalo.”

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

www.cheese.biz www.la-cave.co.uk

Emmi to re-name US-made Gruyère Swiss cheese giant Emmi has decided to stop using the name Gruyère for cheeses produced by its American arm to support Le Gruyère AOC’s efforts to protect its name in the US. The company said the decision, which takes effect from May 2013, will affect three of the 20 cheeses produced by Emmi Roth USA – chiefly its Grand Cru product.

Currently Le Gruyère AOC is only recognised as a protected food name in the European Union but the body representing the cheese, Interprofession de Gruyère, is pursuing trademarking the product across the globe. Its applications to trademark “Le Gruyère” and “Le Gruyère AOC” were recently rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Emmi is the largest seller of Le Gruyère AOC into the US, accounting for 80% of total sales. Chief executive Urs Riedener said: "With this decision, Emmi is sending a powerful message in favour of Le Gruyère AOC and underlining the years of effort it has put into promoting the marketing of this cheese."

Last month, an Americanbacked campaign, the Consortium for Common Food Names, was launched to take on the European Union’s “aggressive” enforcement of protected food names. “Gruyère” is on its list of disputed names and it has welcomed the decision to reject the trademarks. www.gruyere.com

Blend new: Ford Farm has developed a flavoured version of its Coastal cheddar based on the recipe for rarebit. The cheesemaker’s Dorset Rarebit is a blend of the cheddar, Worcester sauce, wholegrain mustard and local ale. The new product, which has a shelf life of 76 days, will be available in cases of 2 x 1.2kg half moons. www.fordfarm.com

Cheese Cellar open day brings staff and suppliers together The Cheese Cellar hosted over a dozen cheese-makers, including some of its newest additions, at its London headquarters last month to help staff learn more about the company's suppliers and their products.

The first Suppliers' Open Day saw 13 cheese-makers set up stalls at the wholesaler's Battersea base, with staff from the Cheese Cellar's depots across the UK invited to attend.

Among the guests was Scottish producer HJ Errington, which has just started supplying the Cheese Cellar with its new Corra Linn ewes’ milk cheese. The Manchego-style cheese is one of several new products the wholesaler is launching this month.

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Others include an 18-month Prestige Comté, an Ossau Iraty and two new Irish goats’ cheeses – Gouda-style Killeen and Knockdrinna's Kilree washed-rind, which was named Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards last year.

Senior buyer Owen Davies told FFD: “Our staff often meet up with suppliers at trade shows and cheese awards when there are a lot of distractions, so it was good to have an in-house open day when we all had the time to really get to know each other.”

A second open-day is already planned for October. www.cheesecellar.co.uk

SHINE ON: The Queen is not the only one celebrating a Diamond Jubilee this year. The Appleby family has now been making its famous Cheshire cheese at Hawkstone Abbey Farm since 1952 and it is marking its 60th year with a new logo. The business is now run by two generations of Applebys, including (L-R) husband and wife Paul and Sarah Appleby, and Paul's parents Christine and Edward.

news & views from the cheese counter

Taking a hard line Profile

Whether he’s making it or selling it Holker Farm Dairy’s Martin Gott tells PATRICK McGUIGAN that he can be a bit of a cheese ‘fascist’

I

first spoke to Martin Gott last year for an FFD article on his new Brother David washed rind cows’ milk cheese. It ended up being less a new product story and more a discourse on how retailers treat washed rind cheeses as the “joke” of the cheese counter.

The outspoken Cumbrian cheesemaker and retailer doesn’t disappoint second time round, airing opinions on everything from why local cheeses are often “crap” to how being “a bit of a fascist” is a good thing in the cheese shop. “I enjoy turning people’s perceptions on their head and stirring things up a bit,” he admits.

It might sound like youthful bravado (he has only just turned 30), but Gott has more experience in artisan food than most people 10 years his senior. The son of wellknown Cumbrian pig farmer and retailer Peter Gott, he worked with his dad from the age of 14 selling cheese and meat at country fairs and Borough Market.

He left school at 17 to go full-time with his father, before striking out on his own as a cheese-maker, learning his trade with Graham Kirkham at Mrs Kirkham’s and Mary Holbrook at Sleight Farm in Somerset, where he also kept his own sheep and started

to make his own cheese.

Gott and his partner Nicola Robinson moved back to Cumbria in 2006, taking a 20-acre holding on the Holker Estate near Cartmel and setting up their own business, Holker Farm Dairy. In 2007 they went through the traumatic experience of having to cull their entire flock because of disease, but today have just under 100 Lacaune sheep and seven Shorthorn cows.

They produce two unpasteurised seasonal ewes’ milk cheeses – St James and Swallet – and the raw cows’ milk Brother David.

St James was named in honour of legendary cheese-maker James Aldridge and, in a nice turn of fate, won the James Aldridge Award for Best Unpasteurised Cheese of the Year in 2005. Washed in brine, the ewes’ milk cheese has an intense smoky, meaty flavour with a texture that can range from crumbly to creamy.

Holker Farm Dairy produces around 10 tonnes of cheese a year, the majority of which is sold to Neal’s Yard in London and through Gott’s shop, Cartmel Cheeses. This was set up with Nicola’s father Ian Robinson in 2010 and has just been expanded

by buying the bakery next door.

Gott says he set up the shop because he has always loved the interaction that comes with retail – “I don’t do well put in a room on my own for seven hours making cheese” – but he was also “frustrated as hell” by local delis and farm shops. “They couldn’t handle a specialist cheese like ours. They just wanted something with a local stamp on regardless of what it tasted like. I spent increasing amounts of time ranting at deli owners about how they should sell cheese and eventually realised I was wasting my time. I thought, ’I’ll show them.’”

The shop sells around 50 mainly British cheeses, including well known names such as Innes, Stichelton and Tunworth, and follows a strict policy of only stocking products that are “on form”.

“It can be a soul-searching question. Do you stock stuff because customers keep asking for it or do you stock it because you think it’s a really good cheese?” he says.

“If we put a pile of Babybels on the counter people would buy them, but that doesn’t mean we should be selling them. You’ve got to be a bit of a fascist at the end of the day.”

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I spent increasing amounts of time ranting at deli owners about how they should sell cheese and eventually realised I was wasting my time.

I thought, ‘I’ll show them.’

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Holker Farm's St James (left) is one of its two unpasteurised ewes’ milk cheeses while the recently launched Brother David (above right) is made with raw cows’ milk

This hardline approach extends to delisting products, if they’re not up to scratch, while Gott will stock cheese from larger producers if the quality is right.

“There’s a misconception that artisan cheeses are the same as farm-made cheeses,” he says. “Just because you are a small producer with your own cows doesn’t mean you automatically make good cheese.

Bigger dairies making outstanding products are more artisan to me than a smaller dairy producing an inferior product.”

Perfecting his own cheeses is an on-going battle, he says, and one that is still being waged after six years at Holker. “[Founder of Neal’s Yard] Randolph Hodgson said to me that it would take four years to get the cheese where I wanted. Bearing in mind we’re seasonal and culled our entire flock, we’re now at that point.

It’s about tweaking what you do everyday over years; gearing a system that suits your cheese in the make and the recipe.”

Gott reckons this painstaking attention to detail is sorely lacking from some small producers, partly because of the huge demand for local products. “Why is it in the UK that so many local cheeses are crap?” he says. “It’s because the producers are so small and are selling into such a vibrant local market that their cheeses are snapped up even before they’ve begun to perfect the product. Things are changing, though. As the market gets more sophisticated and cheese quality gets better, people will start to differentiate.” www.cartmelcheeses.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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SHOW GUIDE

FIND A WORLD OF FINE FOOD IN THE HEART OF BRITAIN

T

REGISTER NOW FOR THE HARROGATE SPECIALITY FOOD SHOW www.specialityfoodshow.co.uk

here’s no better way to kick-start your summer season than with a visit to the Harrogate Speciality Food Show.

Organised, as ever, by the Guild of Fine Food, the annual trade exhibition for the heart of Britain is back at its popular Yorkshire Event Centre venue on June 24-25.

Located on the Yorkshire Showground, the centre offering plentiful parking and easy access to one of the friendliest shows on the trade exhibition circuit.

As you’ll read in this show guide, this year’s line-up is even stronger than 2011, and includes dozens of new exhibitors. So deli and farm shop buyers are guaranteed to find genuine new lines that offer a real point of difference from the multiples.

Retailers can add value to their visit by staying on for our second Better Retailing seminar, taking place at the showground on Tuesday June 26. It’s a chance to get advice and share ideas on maximising profits in a tough trading environment. You’ll find details on page 46 of this issue.

Why not also pay a visit to Fodder farm shop? It stands at the entrance to the Yorkshire Showground and this year collected a special Judges’ Award from trade group Farma.

GREAT TASTE LIVE FFD EDITOR’S CHOICE OVER 150 EXHIBITORS FEED THE DRAGON TUTORED TASTINGS SEMINARS FREE GOODIE BAGS Visit www.specialityfoodshow.co.uk for the most up-to-date listings

harrogate speciality food show

WELCOME

EXCLUSIVE OFFERS FOR SHOW VISITORS

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This year’s show is bigger than ever, with more than 150 exhibitors, of which 50% are new. But coming to Harrogate isn’t just about meeting new producers, there will also be a wealth of retailing knowledge at the Great Taste Live theatre. Be sure to check the listings in this guide on p23. We look forward to seeing you at the show.

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John Farrand, director, Guild of Fine Food

Getting to Harrogate HG2 8QZ Using sat nav?

The Yorkshire Event Centre’s postcode is HG2 8QZ. From the south Turn off the A1 at Wetherby and follow signs for Harrogate (A661). Go straight across the roundabout and turn left at the traffic lights at Sainsbury’s into Railway Road and follow signs for the YEC (Yorkshire Showground).

ENING

From the north or east Turn off the A1 onto the A59 York/ Knaresborough road in the direction of Knaresborough.

At the first roundabout take the A658 Bradford/Harrogate exit, straight across the second roundabout and turn right and at the third roundabout onto A661.

Turn left at the traffic lights at Sainsbury’s into Railway Road and follow the signs for the YEC.

OP TIMES 4 JUNE 2 Y A D N SU 4pm 11am25 Y JUNE A D N MO -4pm 9.30am

Organiser Guild of Fine Food www.finefoodworld.co.uk

Show personnel Show director: John Farrand Show manager: Sally Coley Marketing: Tortie Farrand Sales executives: Becky Stacey, Gavin Weeks Great Taste Live: John Farrand

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

From Leeds on the A61, Bradford or Leeds/Bradford airport on the A658 At the first roundabout follow signs for York/A1 along the bypass on the A658.

At the second roundabout take the A661 Harrogate exit and turn left at the traffic lights at Sainsbury’s into Railway Road and follow signs for the Yorkshire Event Centre.

A1 (M) NORTH

KNARESBOROUGH A61 RIPON

A59 YORK

A59 SKIPTON A661

YORKSHIRE EVENT CENTRE A61

HARROGATE

A661

A658

A1 (M) SOUTH

A658 BRADFORD

✈

A61 LEEDS & M62

WETHERBY

Provac UK is giving away free samples of its Woodhalls burger and sausage ingredients and Avo marinades and glazes. Look out too for ‘show only’ prices on Deko 800 slicers and Turbovac 140 cooked meat packers.

Metro Drinks is offering 15% off all its product ranges at the show: Folkington’s juices, Latitude iced tea and Qu4ttro juice drinks.

Olives Et Al has discounted its entire range of jarred olives by up to 20% so retailers can give shoppers a ‘three for £10’ offer without any loss of margin.

Mr Chill's Traditional Sweet Emporium is offering free jar label artwork to all customers placing an order at the Harrogate show – a saving of £12 inc VAT. Original Drinks is offering 15% off all orders taken at Harrogate for three varieties of Rochester drinks: ginger, dark ginger and the Grapevine fruit & herbal drink.

Catherine’s Choice promises all show visitors a 10% discount on all orders over £50.

Hydropac, which already provides bespoke packaging sizes at no extra cost, is offering Harrogate visitors free one-colour printing on its insulated boxes and ice sheets, subject to a minimum order quantity.

Suffolk’s James White Drinks is offering one case free with every three cases ordered at Harrogate 2012.

A658 RAILWAY STN

Everyone’s looking for a deal this year, and visitors to Harrogate 2012 can benefit from a basketful of show offers:

The Kandula Tea Co will be offering one free case (12 packs) of either its Green or White Ceylon Tea or Ebony Ceylon Tea, plus free delivery, for orders over £150 placed during the show.

STAND 90 Harrogate Speciality Food Show sales@cotswold-fayre.co.uk www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk Call us: 08456 121201

"

Merry Christmas OUT NOW!

Halloween BCII 800

K-Class 800

SCII 800

scan using your smart phone or visit us at www.bizerba.com

Large LCD display Auto backlight Storage of up to 10 PLU’s Weight range 6/15kg x 2/5grams Mains powered with built in battery life of 70 hours (12 hours charge required for full battery power)

ECO

Ergonomically Ideal

Electronic retail scale with display, operating and printer unit mounted on a stand

Easy to understand, easy to operate

Stand mounted scale for assisted sales or self-service. Cash register solution in

Touch screen, receipt & label printer

Stand mounted scale with 12.1" operator display and 7" customer display

See us on Stand 38 FW-22 Mincer Harrogate Speciality Food Show 24-25 June 2012 One-piece feed hopper made of high-quality CrNi steel Cutting set shaft made of highly resistant Q&T steel Cutting system entirely removable Very easy to clean High-quality precision worm for high-quality mincing Funnel-shaped feed opening for better product flow

GSP-H Slicer 330mm blade gravity feed slicer offering perfect slicing Easy to clean and made to the highest safety standards Offering cost savings by increased slice yield and minimal clean down time

Bizerba UK Limited, 2-4 Erica Road, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK12 6HS Tel: 01908 682740 Email: info@bizerba.com Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

21

100% Pure Coconut Water Hydrate your shelves and stock GoCoCo Fast, natural hydration for sprinter James Ellington at the 2012 Olympics.

Go Team GB

Unique Flavours Exciting UK Drinks Brand with wide appeal Natural, healthy alternative to sports drinks First UK brand to package in 500ml PET plastic bottles High growth category /on-trend product

0141 959 1059

sales@gococodrinks.com

www.gococodrinks.com

Masterclasses will be held across the UK until September and are free to attend. Visit the website to learn more about Discover the Origin (www.DiscovertheOrigin.co.uk) and sign-up to the bi-monthly webzine. Or come and visit us at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show in June. Catch up on how the masterclasses have gone on facebook and chat to us on twitter @discoverorigin

D

iscover the Origin is an EU campaign to raise awareness of five products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status: Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, Parma Ham, Burgundy Wine, Douro Wine and Port. The campaign aims to promote food and drink that has

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June 2012 ¡ Vol.13 Issue 5

real provenance, and educate trade professionals about product origin, storage, correct use and other customer-relevant information.

We know that the expert knowledge and advice of your staff can help make a difference to your customers’ purchasing experience,

and help cement in their minds a truly positive impression of your business. Through a series of free Masterclasses across the UK and by attending trade events such as the Harrogate Speciality Food Show and Speciality and Fine Food Fair London, Discover the Origin aims to give

trade professionals the knowledge and tools to enhance the dedicated service they provide. If your business sells Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese or Parma Ham, or is thinking of doing so, why not take up the opportunity to learn more, including food and wine pairing from experts.

harrogate speciality food show

greattastelive!

Sponsored by

This year's programme of workshops, interactive seminars and tastings covers British and Continental charcuterie, improving retail displays and matching coffee with wine, as well two Feed the Dragon sessions. Here's the full timetable.

SUNDAY JUNE 24

12.30-13.30

THE ESSENTIALS OF FOOD AND WINE PAIRING Karen Hardwick & Discover the Origin

All small businesses know the importance of personal service, and in fine food stores that includes guiding customers to the right food and wine choices. Join wine expert Karen Hardwick, Riedel WSET Wine Educator of the Year 2012, to learn the essentials of food and wine pairing in a tasting session focused on five PDO products – Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Port, Parma ham, Burgundy wine and Douro wine – currently being promoted through the EU’s Discover the Origin campaign.

13.30-14.30

DRINK TO SUCCESS: FINE WINE, FINE COFFEE Grumpy Mule and Hoults wine merchants

Join Damian Blackburn from Grumpy Mule Distinctive Coffees and Rob Hoult from Hoults independent wine merchants in Hudderfield to taste and compare the aromatic styles and complex flavours of the world’s most intriguing coffees and wines, from Bourbon and Geisha to Riesling and Pinot Noir. Plus: how careful wine and coffee matching can improve sales in restaurants, deli-cafés and specialist stores.

14.30-15.30

FEED THE DRAGON Hosted by John Farrand, director, Guild of Fine Food

Always a highlight of the annual Harrogate Speciality Food Show, Feed the Dragon sees the bravest of our exhibitors pitted against a fearsome panel of top food buyers in a live, Dragon’s Den-style encounter. Today’s panel includes retail buyers from Harrods and Lewis & Cooper as well as wholesalers The Cress Co and Hider Foods.

Supported by

11.00-12.00

CHARCUTERIE BITES BACK Hosted by Mick Whitworth, editor of Fine Food Digest

With the emergence of new home-grown farmhouse producers and cleverly-branded premium salamis, charcuterie is coming back under the spotlight. So how can fine food stores make more of this core deli category? Find out as we sample British and Continental charcuterie from Harrogate exhibitors and get expert advice on ranging, storage and merchandising.

Supported by

12.00-13.00

OFF THE SHELF: HOW TO BOOST SALES THROUGH BETTER DISPLAY Eve Reid, director, Metamorphosis

Visual retail specialist Eve Reid takes you through 10 powerful ‘Retail Truths’ to give you a better understanding of what visual merchandising is and how you can use it to increase sales. Eve Reid worked in visual merchandising for leading brands including Habitat, before joining the Metamorphosis Group. The company provides consultancy and training to retailers and works with local authorities on high street regeneration.

FEED THE DRAGON Hosted by John Farrand, director, Guild of Fine Food

The second of our Dragon’s Den-style sessions see four more Harrogate Speciality Food Show exhibitors pitch their products to leading retail and wholesale businesses. Find out who can hold their nerve and who crumbles as they are quizzed by buyers from Harrods, Booths, Fodder, Gonalston Farm Shop and Cotswold Fayre.

MONDAY JUNE 25

13.15-14.15

Packaging & Creative Presentation

Supported by

* Programme subject to change.

Correct at time of going to press.

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

23

harrogate speciality food show

What’s on show for 2012 Adlington 64 Pheasant Oak Farm, Hob Lane, Balsall Common, Coventry, West Midlands, CV7 7GX www.adlingtonltd.com 01676 532681 Advanced Dynamics 118 Unit 3 606 Industrial Park, Staithgate Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD6 1YA www.advanceddynamics.co.uk 01274 731222 Advanced Dynamics is a supplier of specialist feeding, labelling, wrapping and packaging solutions. Its sales team will be on hand to assess food businesses’ needs and design a solution to improve product presentation, packaging standards, business productivity and efficiencies.

Appleby Bakery 264 Unit 2 Cross Croft Industrial Estate, Appleby, Cumbria, CA16 6HX www.applebybakery.co.uk 01768 353113 Appleby Bakery is a family business that makes all of its products by hand.

The firm, which has won six Great Taste Awards for its cakes and Christmas products, supplies both its own shops and the wider retail trade.

Avlaki Superb Organic Olive Oils 36 Unit 3372, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US www.oliveoilavlaki.com 0772 1410974 Avlaki harvests its olives from two organic estates to produce extra virgin oils. The olives go from tree to bottle in just four weeks to create two distinct gourmet oils – Avlaki and Agatheri – to be used for finishing dishes.

Barbers Farmhouse Cheesemakers 113 Maryland Farm, Ditcheat, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6PR www.barbers.co.uk 01749 860666 Baro Lighting 58 Oakwood House, 36 Wood Lane, Partington, Manchester, M31 4ND www.baro.co.uk 01617 779292 Specialist product lighting supplier Baro says retailers will surprised what its fixtures can do for their stores and sales. It will be exhibiting its latest LED fixtures on its stand.

Bittersweet Chocolates 172 44-46 Main Street, Breedon on the Hill, Derbyshire, DE73 8AN www.bittersweetchocolates.co.uk 07968 163706 This Derbyshire business produces chocolates by hand using high quality chocolate, essential oils and natural

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Border Homebake 22 Hadrian Enterprise Park, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 0EX www.traybakes.co.uk 01434 321684 Border Homebake’s traybakes are made using traditional recipes and baking methods passed down through generations. The baker is introducing a new luxury Belgian chocolate range and will be sampling the products on its stand.

Bramley & Gage C6 Ashville Park, Short Way, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 3UU www.sixoclockgin.co.uk 01454 418046

Ancient Recipes 32 PO Box 17, Gretna, Dumfriesshire, DG16 5YL www.ancient-recipes.co.uk 01461 337239 This Dumfriesshire-based firm produces traditional savoury and sweet preserves using old-fashioned open pan cooking methods and ingredients from other artisan producers. Ancient Recipes supplies both the retail and catering trades.

ingredients. Its hand-poured chocolate ThingyMeJigs and Slabs O’Chocolate come in flavours such as raspberry & bergamot, May Chang, and chilli & lime.

Bizerba UK 38 2-4 Erica Road, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK12 6HS www.bizerba.co.uk 01908 682756 Bizerba’s new CeraClean mid range slicers and its K-Flex modular EPOS hardware, with LCCS Eureka POS software, will be among the products on show. Also on display will be the new K-scale touch intuitive labelling and cash control software, BCII & SCII tactile scale labellers and GSP-H gravity feed slicers.

Blue Whole Blueberries 170 Wood Cottage Berry Farm, Bettisfield Hall, Nr Whitchurch,

Shropshire, SY13 2LB www.BLUEsauces.com 01948 710525 BLUE Sauces, a family run blueberry farm on the Welsh-English borders, is launching its new look at the show.

The firm produces a range blueberrybased sauces, syrups, salad dressings and drink mixers for cocktails.

Bluebasil 130 3 Chivel Farm Cottages, Enstone Road, Heythrop, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 5TR www.bluebasilbrownies.co.uk 01608 645787 Bluebasil bakes a variety of gourmet chocolate brownies & flapjacks. The Cotswold-based producer’s cardamom brownie won a Great Taste Award last year.

Bonny Confectionery 292 22 Brynteg, Llandegfan, Anglesey, Wales, LL59 5TY www.bonnyconfectionery.co.uk 07427 667718 Bonny Confectionery’s gift-wrapped Bonny Mallows come in a variety of flavours that it says will appeal to young and old alike. The Angleseybased producer offers small case sizes, attractive point-of-sale material and friendly customer care.

Atkins & Potts Limited 50 Unit 3 Studland Estate, Gore End Road, Ball Hill, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 0PQ www.atkinsandpotts.co.uk 01635 254249 Based in the village of Ball Hill on the Hampshire-Berkshire border, Atkins & Potts creates, produces and distributes a wide range of lines including cooking sauces, condiments and preserves.

16

Breckland Orchard 212 Wayland House, High Street, Watton, Norfolk, IP25 6AR www.brecklandorchard.co.uk 01953 878 060 Breckland Orchard produces carbonated soft drinks in small batches.

Its eight flavours – free of artificial colourings, flavourings or sweeteners – include ginger beer with chilli, sloe lemonade and strawberry & rhubarb as well as the new cream soda with a splash of rhubarb.

Bryson’s of Keswick 38-42 Main Street, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5JD www.brysonsofkeswick.co.uk 01768 772257

42

Cairnsmhor Fine Foods 10 The Old Creamery, Haugh Road, Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, DG5 4LP www.thistleproducts.co.uk 01556 611292 Cairnsmohr bakes a range of sweet biscuits, savoury treats and confectionery, which it describes as “offering a taste of luxury that can be enjoyed every day”.

The firm says it prides itself on ensuring its customer service is of the same quality as its products.

Cambus O’May Cheese 54 Deeside Creamery, Cambus O’May, Ballater, Aberdeenshire, AB35 5SD www.cambusomay.com 01339 883722 Cambus O’May cheeses are hand made from local unpasteurised milk using traditional cheddaring, pressing and maturing techniques unique to the region. The cheeses are matured for up to 12 months in cellars in the Scottish Highlands.

Carron Lodge Cheese Park Head Farm, Inglewhite, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 2LN 01995 640352

114

Casemir Chocolates 201 Unit 3 Riverwalk Business Park, Middlesex, London, EN3 7QN www. thegrownupchocolatecompany. co.uk 020 8804 9896

S10103_Exclusivity Advert_A4_A5 04/11/2011 13:07 Page 1

- a great choice for the independent trade A family owned business supplying the very finest food & drink for almost 50 years Call our dedicated sales team on

g 01482 504333

C www.hiderfoods.co.uk

View all our product ranges online at

Hider Food Imports Ltd Wiltshire Road, Hull, East Yorkshire HU4 6PA e. sales@hiderfoods.co.uk

Just a few of our best-selling brands...

Dedic ated to fine food

Come and see us at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show - Stand No. 14 0

tish & C ontinental Cheese - exclusive artisan ranges both Bri tes Dell’ami - NE W olive mixes, pestos & pas Charcuterie - Bri tish & C ontinenta l colate Valrhona - intense and exc eptional cho Ponthier - fresh fruit purees and veg etables Fresh As - freeze dried fruits, vinegars South East 0207 819 6001 South West 01392 908 108 Central 01905 829 830

North East 01347 822 977 North West 0161 279 8020

www.cheesecellar.co.uk Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

25

harrogate speciality food show Catherine’s Choice 186 Unit B14 The Alison Business Centre, Alison Crescent, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S2 1AS www.catherineschoice.co.uk 0114 2835954 This family-owned business supplies premium preserves to the retail, catering and hospitality trades. It makes all of its products to “look and taste as special as we say”, and if the firm is not happy with them then they don’t leave the factory.

Celtic Marches Beverages 68 Wyer Croft, Bishops Frome, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR6 5BS www.celticmarches.com 01684 569142 Celtic Marches is a family-run producer of brandy liqueurs including the mapleflavoured Bloody Furlong, blackcurrantflavoured Number Nine and the newly launched citrus-flavoured Slightly Foxed. Recently, the Herefordshirebased firm has developed a cider, Abrahalls, using apples from its own farm.

Cheese Cellar 140 44-54 Stewarts Road, London, SW8 4DF www.cheesecellar.co.uk 020 7819 6001 Cheese Cellar supplies cheese, dairy, olives and speciality foods to the UK’s foodservice, delicatessens and farmshops. It carries a range spanning the smallest artisan cheese-makers to familar brands. It also offers training and product advice to customers.

26

www.claireshandmade.co.uk 01697 345974 This Cumbria-based business is a producer of all-natural sweet and savoury preserves and condiments, which it supplies to retailers and caterers nationwide. Its range includes traditional favourites such as strawberry jam as well as contemporary products like sundried tomato & garlic relish.

www.cryerandstott.co.uk 01977 511022 Cryer and Stott is a family-run cheese merchant in Yorkshire. It offers “a personal service from dairy to table”, and supplies hospitality, catering and independent retail sectors. The firm – a 2012 Olympics supplier – has also created it own artisan cheeses using locally sourced rhubarb.

Coffeebuyer 112 B.B.I.C Unit 18 Phase 2, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 1JL www.coffeebuyer.co.uk 0800 1384897 Wholesaler CoffeeBuyer supplies a wide range of instant, ground, filter, and Fairtrade coffee as well as coffee beans, tea, hot chocolate and confectionery. The firm says its relationship with leading coffee machine manufacturers and coffee producers, allows it to offer superb quality and affordable prices.

Cryor 280 442 Hardengreen Business Park, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 3NX www.eurocyor.co.uk 01227 278555 Cryor is the UK agent for Eurocryor food display cabinets, “style leaders for retail presentation of fresh foods”.

Examples of chilled, hot and ambient set-ups will all be on show on its stand, where representatives will also be on hand to offer advice on displays and shop layout.

Corn Again Consett Popcorn Company 188 Unit 7A Number One Industrial Estate, Consett, County Durham, DH8 6SS www.cornagain.co.uk/lovepopcorn 01207 588388 Corn Again says it is “popcorn reinvented”. All of the Durham-based producer’s products are handmade in small batches “using ingredients, not flavourings”. It also produces own label products for retailers.

Choc-affair 150 Station Yard, York Road, Naburn, Yorkshire, YO19 4RW www.choc-affair.com 01904 541 541 Choc-affair specialises in the manufacturing of Fairtrade family treats. The range includes hot chocolate, flavoured chocolate and lollies – all designed to tempt consumers and increase impulse purchasing.

Cotswold Fayre 90 River Barn, 14 Tessa Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8HH www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk 08456 121201 Cotswold Fayre supplies over 1,200 fine food retailers, farm shops and delicatessens. The distributor offers more than 1,500 product lines, sourced from both the UK and as far afield as New Zealand and South Africa. The vast majority of these products are entirely free of preservatives, additives or artificial flavouring.

Claire’s Handmade 94 Miller Park, Station Road, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9BA

Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers 12 20-24 Station Road, Allerton Bywater, West Yorkshire, WF10 2BP

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Davenport’s Chocolates 192 Unit 31 Evans Business Centre, Orion Business Park, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE29 7SN www.davenportschocolates.co.uk 07813 954368 Davenport’s Chocolates says its products are a “fusion of scientific innovation and artistic flair”. It will be launching its 12-strong Vintage Collection at the show. The range of hand-crafted chocolates includes a lime fondant cream, a rum & raisin ganache and a raspberry jelly.

Delights of Tuscany 26 157 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, RG4 7NJ www.delights-of-tuscany.co.uk 01189 546887 Discover The Origin 82 40 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9LG www.discovertheorigin.co.uk 0207 395 7177 Discover the Origin is an established European Union campaign designed to raise awareness around five Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products: Burgundy wines, Parma ham, Douro wines, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Port.

Epicures Larder 184 Middle Wold Farm, North Cotes Road, Wold Newton, Driffield, Yorkshire, YO25 3HY 01262 470551 Etruscany 295 1 Low Springs Cottages, Low Burton, Masham, North Yorkshire, HG4 4DQ www.etruscany.co.uk 01138 152218 The concept of Italian born and Yorkshire-based Yara Gremoli, Etruscany is an importer of foods from Tuscany. It range includes single estate extra virgin olive oil, pecorino di Pienza, cured meats, pastas and pasta sauces, fresh truffles, traditional sweets and coffee.

Fancy That From Wharfedale 210 39 Grangefield Avenue, Burley-inWharfedale, Ilkley, Yorkshire, LS29 7HA www.fancythatfromwharfedale. com 01943 864737 Fancy That From Wharfedale makes speciality preserves by hand in the Yorkshire Dales and supplies farm shops, delis, and cafés. It produces chutney, pickle, mostardo, and seasonal limited editions like the Right Royal Pickle.

Farrah’s of Harrogate 196 Pennine Range Mills, Camwal Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 4PY www.farrahs.com 01423 883000 Farrah’s of Harrogate, famous for its original Harrogate Toffee, offers a range of embossed tins for the gift market. Its own-label confectionery range, Farrah’s By Design, has been extended to more than 200 lines, including fudge, toffee, biscuits, shortbread, nougat, preserves and kids’ sweets. field fare 286 Black Robins Farm, Grants Lane, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 6QP www.field-fare.com 01732 864344 Field fare supplies farm shops, delis,

ur n ate d are o ia rog an g g l We ucin y Be Har ome 22 t rod xur e a w c nd int Lu ang Sho t sta w r d a ne late Foo me o y o oc lit e s Ch ecia mpl Sp sa

Little Doone Foods

At Border Homebake we are passionate about traditional hand baking, all our traybakes and cakes are lovingly made in small batches using recipes that have been passed down through generations. Resulting in a truly ‘home baked’ taste and appearance, which stimulates a lovely warm feeling of nostalgia. Our range is available in trays for food service, retail and individually wrapped slices e: sales@traybakes.com t: 01434 321684 w: www.traybakes.com

Sweet Balsamic Dressings of exceptional taste and character

Come and taste

Original gold 08

Chilli gold 10

Orange Zest Garlic

gold 2010

Ginger

our range of carefully blended flavours Lemon Zest at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show Stand 24 Strawberry 01294 833114

gold 09

gold 09

gold 2011

gold 2010

Raspberry

LittleDoone@channas.plus.com

Adlington ltd is now proud to be working in close partnership with Midshires Rosé Veal and Watercress Lane Duck eggs.

For details on these fantastic new products or for more information regarding any of the high quality products in our range, please contact the office using the details below.

Also look out for great Summer deals on our award winning Oak Smoked Turkey! gold 09

www.LittleDoone.co.uk

Adlington Limited · Pheasant Oak Farm · Hob Lane Balsall Common CV7 7GX

01676 532681 www.adlingtonltd.com Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

27

Our Award Winning Just Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil range includes Salad Dressings, Infused Oils and Just Crisps in retail and catering sizes.

Rapeseed Oil contains half the saturated fat of Olive Oil and is high in Omega 3.

Black Pepper & Sea Salt Crisps

Why not contact us to find out more about our exciting range of products or visit us at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show on the 24th and 25th June 2012.

Wade Lane Farm, Staffordshire WS15 3RE 01543 493081

www.justoil.co.uk www.justcrisps.co.uk

28

June 2012 路 Vol.13 Issue 5

NEW 150g Just Cris ps sharing bags

harrogate speciality food show butchers, food halls and garden centres with self-service frozen products. Its range features fruit and vegetables, baked goods, fish and ready-meals.

Gran Stead’s Ginger 166 Unit 1 Mile Oak Farm, Portslade, East Sussex, BN41 2RF www. gransteadsginger. co.uk 01273 231152 Soft drink producer Gran Stead’s makes two types of ginger wine, traditional still lemonade and still lemonade with a zing of ginger. Last autumn it launched a light and fiery ginger wine to go alongside its dark and mellow variety.

Forest Pig Charcuterie 108 Bell Farm, Far Forest, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY14 9DX www.forestpig.com 01299 266771 Run by Jeremy and Sally Levell, Forest Pig produces seven varieties of salami as well as Shropshire air-dried lomo, coppa, pancetta, black bacon and hams. All of their pigs have spent at least eight months foraging in the Wyre Forest, resulting in high quality meat.

Franchi Seeds of Italy 1783 303 A1 Phoenix Industrial Estate, Rosslyn Cresent, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2SP www.seedsofitaly.com 01904 470028 Based in the North of Italy, this seventh generation Italian seed producer says it puts a greater quantity of highly viable seed in their packs. As a result of its alpine location, the salads and vegetables its seeds produce are hardier than most UK varieties.

Freedom Brands 274 813 South Street, Glasgow, G14 0BX www.gococodrinks.com 0141 959 1059 Freedom Brands produces Go Coco coconut water, a 100% natural drink made with the clear water of Thailand’s young, green coconuts. Available in four flavours, the product’s natural isotonic properties and balance of electrolytes make it a healthy alternative to water or sports drinks.

G A Wedderburn & Co 56 Shirley Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 3UH

18

www.wedderburn.co.uk 023 8022 7645 Wedderburn specialises in supplying Electronic Point of Sale systems to both the hospitality and retail sectors. It will be exhibiting its CipherPos software, which is designed for head office, back office and PoS and can send data to mobile devices.

Gordon Rhodes 56 Dalesman House, Chase Way, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD5 8HW www.gordonrhodes.co.uk 01274 758007 This summer, Gordon Rhodes is launching a range of rubs, sprinkles and coaters which will join its gourmet sauces and stuffing mixes. The firm prides itself on sourcing exotic tastes and flavours and has supplied the food industry for over 30 years.

Grumpy Mule Distinctive Coffees 252 The Roastery, Bent Ley Road, Meltham, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9 4EP www.grumpymule.co.uk 01484 855500 The West Yorkshire-based independent coffee roaster has a retail range that

Hider Food Imports 160 Wiltshire Road, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU4 6PA www.hiderfoods.co.uk 01482 561137 Hider will be showcasing several exclusively imported brands and an extensive range of speciality foods including biscuits, cakes, chocolates, cereals, drinks, crisps, snacks, preserves, condiments and ethnic foods. Gift products from the company’s Christmas catalogue will also be on show, as well as its ownlabel ranges Essence of Quality, Sweet Shop, and Hider Bakery.

includes seasonal gifts, Fairtrade, organic, single origin and Great Taste Award winners. The firm, which also supplies the foodservice trade, has years of experience in providing coffeemaking equipment and barista training.

GST Europe 242 The Barn, Waterloo Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3BY www.gsteurope.co.uk 0844 8843351 GST Europe specialises in Italian food and high quality confectionery and chocolate. The importer and distributor only works with suppliers who make their products with artisan methods.

Hunts Quality Cooked Meats 194 Amber Business Centre, Block 17, Unit 8 Greenhills, Riddings, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4BR www.huntsqualitycookedmeats. co.uk 07809 183184 Hunts Quality Cooked Meats is a fourth generation family business that produces a “comprehensive range” of cooked meats including a Great Taste Award-winning boiled ham. All of its products are locally sourced wherever possible.

Hydropac 198 Unit 1, Network 4, Lincoln Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP12 3RF www.hydropac.co.uk 01494 530182 Hydropac specialises in temperature control packaging systems. It manufactures insulated boxes, envelopes, carrier bags and ice sheets for distributing chilled and frozen foods by mail order. All of its products are completely recyclable, fully printable and supplied flat to minimise storage space.

Infoods 134 Unit 2 Morris Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE2 6BR www.infoodsltd.co.uk 0116 270 1621 Infusion Oils 182 Unit 3b Wixford Park, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire, B50 4JS www.infusionoils.me.uk 07818 151151 Interprofession du Gruyère 220 Cottage Farm, Foxholes, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 3QF www.gruyere.com 01262 470285 The UK organisation representing the three times World Champion Le Gruyère AOC, the protected Swiss cheese, will be on hand to inform independent retailers about the opportunities open to them including funded retail tasting promotions and the Best Cheese Counter competition.

Guild of Fine Food 276 Guild House, Station Road, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 9FE www.finefoodworld.co.uk 01963 824464 The Guild of Fine Food was formed in 1995 with a mission to create close links between suppliers and retailers in the independent food sector, and now has over 1,300 members. As well as providing a wide range of membership benefits, the Guild runs professionally-accredited training programmes for shop staff, manages and organises the Great Taste Awards and World Cheese Awards and publishes the speciality food and drink trade’s most respected magazine, Fine Food Digest.

Intolerable Food Company 98 Kingswood Cottage Stables, Ketches Lane, Sheffield Park, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3RX www.intolerablefood.com 01825 790090

HR4UK.com 214 6-8 The Edwards Centre, The Horsefair, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0AN www.hr4uk.com 01455 444222 Established in 1980, human resources specialist HR4UK is retained by the Guild of Fine Food to provide members with contracts of employment and handbooks free of charge, plus other services including advice, personnel systems, letter drafting and much more, all at discounted prices.

Invopak 282 Hyde Point, Dunkirk Lane, Hyde, Cheshire, SK14 4PL www.invopak.co.uk 0161 366 4451 Invopak’s container range has many applications for storing, transporting and decanting various food stuffs such as powders, pastes and liquids both in large bulk trade and consumer-ready formats. The firm’s food industry range covers all sizes from 120ml polypropylene tubs through to open top kegs.

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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harrogate speciality food show potatoes, sliced with their skins on, cooked in Just rapeseed oil and flavoured by hand.

King Rice Bran Oil 230 Wattlesborough, Wick Road, St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan, CF32 0SW 07767 463077 Cardiff-based Rice Bran Products is the first company to import rice bran oil into the UK. The oil, which has a high smoke point and no trans fatty acid, is a healthy alternative and contains vitamin E and Oryzanol – an antioxidant not found in other vegetable oils.

Kandula Tea Company 34 Stanley House, Station Road, Wilburton, Cambridgeshire, CB6 3PZ www.kandulatea.com 01353 741325 Kandula imports premium whole leaf teas and spiced fruit & herbal infusions from the ethical plantations of Sri Lanka for both retail and catering. All teas and infusions come both in pyramid tea gems and loose in tins and refill purses.

Isabella’s Preserves 88 The Galley Kitchen, Edzell Base, Edzell, Aberdeenshire, DD9 7XH www.isabellaspreserves.co.uk 01356 648 500 Isle of Man Creamery 2 Ballafletcher Farm Road, Cronkbourne, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM4 4QE www.isleofmancreamery.com 01624 632000 Isle of Man Creamery is a small co-operative of family-owned dairy farms, whose herds graze on the island’s pastures. The creamery’s range of cheddars – which includes vintage, extra mature, mature and several flavoured varieties – is made using only this locally sourced milk.

J & N Food Equipment 216 Units G & H Station Road Industrial Estate, Station Road, Epworth, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 1JZ www.jnequipment.co.uk 01427 872186 JB Packaging 226 Cornhill Close, Lodge Farm Industrial Estate, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN5 7UB www.jbpackaging.co.uk 01604 596800 With over 25 years experience, JB Packaging supplies temperature controlled packaging solutions to meat, fish and organic food producers throughout the UK. Its product range includes polystyrene boxes, re-usable deluxe EPP boxes, waxed cardboard boxes, ice packs and a range of sundries.

Jenkins & Hustwit Farmhouse Fruit Cakes 176 3B Laurel Way, Bishop Auckland, Durham, DL14 7NF www.jenkinsandhustwit.com 01388 605005

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Jumi and HP 301 Unit 5 Station Approach, High Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 4RE www.jumi.lu 020 8988 1244 Jumi supplies Swiss cheese made by small family dairies in the country’s Emmental region to the UK market.

The firm was set up five years ago with the sole intention of ensuring its cheese was of the highest quality – from the milking of the cows right through to the delivery to customers.

Just Oil and Just Crisps 168 Wade Lane Farm, Hill Ridware, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 3RE www.justoil.co.uk 01543 493081 Just cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil, dressings and infused oils all contain the oil that is farmed and bottled in Staffordshire. Just Crisps are made from the farm’s homegrown

Lakeland Computers 238 3 Tullynagarn, Lisnarick Road, Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, BT94 1EY www.lccs.co.uk 0845 257 0829 Lakeland Computers provide a complete suite of EPOS, stock control, labelling and financial reporting products to suit every need in the speciality food arena.

Link Print & Packaging Link House, 4 Stanley Road, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 4RH 01772 453838

20

Link Shelving 294 46 Chatto Road, London, SW11 6LL www.linkshelving.com 0208 224 2697 Link Shelving will be exhibiting its Crate and Deli range of rustic display equipment designed specifically for speciality food retailers. The range features crates from 375mm to 2.2m in height, fruit and veg stands and various tables. The company will also be presenting new designs, including a wine display system.

Little Barn 158 Highfield House, Brackenthwaite Lane, Burnbridge, Harrogate, Yorkshire, HG3 1PQ

Mic’s Chilli 234 Unit 2 Block J, Kilcoole Industrial Estate, Kilcoole, Wicklow, Ireland www.micschilli.ie 00353 86 368 0053 Established in 2010, Mic’s Chilli produces its artisan Inferno Sauces in small batches using only fresh habanero chillies. Its Inferno Extreme sauce won a one star gold at the 2011 Great Taste Awards.

www.littlebarnltd.co.uk 01423 870843 Little Barn supplies both ready-to-bake chilled cake mixes and doughs as well as ambient ranges of biscuits, cookies, florentines and traybakes in a range of candy coloured pots for display in delis, farm shops, and speciality food stores.

The SALSA-accredited bakery also supplies the foodservice trade.

Little Doone Foods 24 92 St Andrews Gardens, Dalry, Ayrshire, KA24 4JZ www.littledoone.co.uk 01294 833114 Ayrshire’s Little Doone makes sweet balsamic dressings by hand in small batches. Its range of flavours includes original, chilli, garlic, ginger, orange zest, and strawberry. Its chilli extra and smoked garlic flavours are new to the show while it will debut its latest creation, lime zest, on its stand.

Lottie Shaw’s 84 Southgate, Elland, West Yorkshire, HX5 0EP 01422 372335

236

Love Leaf Tea 152 PO Box 400, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 9AX 0845 5219877 Love Leaf Tea sells a range of healthy teas and infusions, developed to promote wellness, in environmentallyfriendly packaging. The company has also recently added a range of glass teaware to the products it sells.

Metro Drinks 138 The Workshop Endlewick House, Arlington, East Sussex, BN26 6RU www.metrodrinks.co.uk 01323 485602 Metro’s portfolio consists of Folkington’s pure fruit juices, Qu4ttro premium juice drinks and Latitude iced and green teas. It supplies delis, cafés, farm shops and hotels.

Michael Lee, Purveyor of Fine Cheeses 260 Unit 9, Lister Park, Green Lane Industrial Estate, Featherstone, West Yorkshire, WF7 6FE 01977 798012 Mr Fitzpatrick’s Number 1 Fallbarn Road, Rawtenstall, Rossendsale, Lancashire, BB4 7NT www.mrfitzpatricks.com 01706 234620

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Munchy Seeds 250 Unit 6A Eastlands Road, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4LL www.munchyseeds.co.uk 01728 833004 My Olive Branch 136 Olive Branch Towers, 24 Datchet Close, Hemel Hempstead HP2 7JX www.myolivebranch.co.uk 01442 240 602 Founded last year, Olive Branch’s

Enjoy...

...“jolly fine food”

Handmade sweet and savoury preserves and condiments

Winner of 14 Great Taste Awards Miller Park, Station Road, Wigton, Cumbria CA7 9BA Tel/Fax: 01697 345974 Email: claire@claireshandmade.co.uk

www.claireshandmade.co.uk

For recipes or more information: T: 01274 758007 E: ask@gordonrhodes.co.uk www.gordonrhodes.co.uk

Coming soon…

Gordon’s Really secret summer range…sneak a peek at stand 56.

‘Dimension’ Software - For XM & XT Series Scales

New Product...

blend drizzle smoked marinade

Ideal for independent retail and catering outlets who long for a replacement to the carbonated book. Print invoices and statements at the touch of a button.

• Product Centre • Picking Lists • Invoice, Statements & Delivery Notes • Special Customer Price Lists • Debtor Outstanding Balances • Seamless Integration in XM & XT Scales

Automatic Communications Scheduler

Exclu SCS Cu sive to stomer

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Customer Editor

enhance aroma infuse The smoked olive Smoked olive oil, Smoked olives, ... info@thesmokedolive.co.uk T. 07852 932066

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orders@southcoastsystems.co.uk Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

31

HEALTHY ICED TEAS AND GREEN TEAS

Taylor Davis EXPERTISE IN CONTAINERS

tea Peach iced e er hiding h

✓

✓

NO PRESERVATIVES

Raspberr y green tea

✓

HEALTHY ANTIOXIDANTS

NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS & ADDITIVES

✓

✓

REFRESHING

330ml BOTTLES

Metro Drinks Limited, The Workshop, Endlewick House, Arlington, East Sussex BN26 6RU +44 (0) 1323 485602 · info@metrodrinks.co.uk · www.metrodrinks.co.uk

‘suppliers of packaging to the food trade’

contact us on 01373 864324 www.taylor-davis.co.uk AR_Ad2_AW.qxd:Layout 1

10/5/12

23:16

Page 1

In a pickle about where to buy your food jars?

Ancient Recipes

Then look no further!

Contact us for further information: t: 0113 2350662 e: emma.speight@spinks.co.uk www.spinkscompak.com 32

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Co m st e Sp and and ec 2 s ia 90 ee S Ha ho lity at us rr w Fo th on og in o e d at e

• Authorised distributors for Ardagh glass, Allied Glass and Beatson Clark • Nationwide delivery service available • Free samples available • Glass jars, Beer bottles, Food grade pails, Plastic bottles and much more Think SPINKS for high quality glass and plastic containers.

makes quality savoury and sweet preserves for use in the home and by discerning caterers.

We’re launching our new range at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show 2012 on 24-25th June.

Visit us on stand 32 or contact us using the details below.

For more information please contact: tel: +44 (0)1461 337 239 fax: +44 (0)1461 338 436 email: info@ancient-recipes.co.uk web: www.ancient-recipes.co.uk Ancient Recipes, PO Box 17, Gretna, Dumfriesshire, DG16 5YL

harrogate speciality food show extra virgin olive oil is produced at a community co-operative on the island of Crete, Greece. The low-acidity oil has been described as tasting “fresh and grassy, with a hyperfresh lemony aroma, walnut undertones and a striking peppery finish”.

Patchwork Traditional Food 258 Unit 5 Ilys Parewr, Ruthin, Denbighshire, LL15 1NJ www.patchwork-pate.co.uk 01824 705832

Once Upon a Tree 124 Dragon Orchard, Putley, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 2RG 01531 670263

Pentic Price Ticketing 70 Broomsleigh Business Park, Worsley Bridge Road, Lower Sydenham, London, SE26 5BN 0208 461 9389 Pentic offers a variety of counter display solutions for butchers, delis, cheesemongers, fishmongers, bakers, cafés and specialist stores. Its range of personalised tickets provide a flexible way of incorporating branding, logos and product descriptions. It also supplies a range of clips, stands and spikes to display these waterproof tickets.

Organic Andalus 86 Fern Cottage, East Martin, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 3LJ www.organic-andalus.com 0844 8115138 Organic Andalus supplies retailers and restaurants in the UK with a range of Spanish artisan foods and lifestyle products. Its suppliers are a mix of small to medium sized business and products include extra virgin olive oil, vinegars, fish, paella ingredients, paella pans, olive wood products and tapas bowls.

Provac UK 14 Unit 1 Spa Well Lane, West Cowick, Nr Goole, N Humberside, DN14 9EA www.provacfm.com 01405 861556 Provac is a family run business that sells, repairs and maintains the machinery – slicers, mincers, ovens etc.

– used by food producers and retailers throughout the Yorkshire region. Its sister company, Yorkshire Essential Sundries, supplies a comprehensive range of sundry items including ingredients, cleaning items, packaging, labels, and kitchen utensils.

Organic Seed and Bean Company 84 15 Nottingham South and Wilford, Wilford, Nottingham, N11 7EP www.seedandbean.co.uk

Quay Ingredients 100 Low Laithe Barn, Wigglesworth, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BS23 4RQ www.quayingredients.co.uk 01729 840740 Quay Ingredients offers an extensive range of herbs, spices and store cupboard essentials. It is also the European distributor for Peppermate Peppermills. It can supply mixed cases and merchandising packs, with no minimum order.

Nino’s Masala and Fine Indian Cuisine 122 25 Ferryhill Place, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB11 7SE www.ninosmasala.co.uk 01224 592701

Parkers Packaging 228 Overbrook Lane, Knowsley, Liverpool, Merseyside, L34 9AS www.parkerspackaging.com 0151 547 6700 Parkers Packaging supplies plastic and paper packaging, in sizes from 80 ml up to 10 litres, to the food and dairy industries. All containers and lids can be decorated in small runs using labels or direct print.

Raydale Preserves 240 School House Farm, Stalling Busk, Leyburn, Yorkshire, DL8 3DH 01969 650233

Resdev 60 Pumaflor House, Ainleys Industrial Estate, Elland, West Yorkshire, HX5 9JP www.resdev.co.uk 01422 379131 Yorkshire-based Resdev is a manufacturer of hygienic seamless and easy to clean resin flooring and wall systems primarily for use within the food industry. From sealants and coatings through to heavy-duty screeds, Resdev’s products have been applied throughout the UK and worldwide.

Anthony Rowcliffe & Son 200 Unit B, Paddock Wood Distribution Centre, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 6UU www.rowcliffe.co.uk 01892 838999 Scarlet Angel 289 Pentre House, Mynyddislwyn, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 2BG www.scarlet-angel.co.uk 07792 751334 Produced on a bright yellow Aga and bottled on a farmhouse kitchen table, Scarlet Angel produces three Soil Association approved organic salad dressings two of which won Great Taste Awards in 2011.

Scrubbys Foods 287 Innovation Centre, Innovation Way, Europarc, Grimsby, South Humberside, DN37 9TT www.scrubbys.co.uk 01472 289255 Scrubbys vegetable crisps are made with beetroot, carrot, sweet potato & parsnip. The vegetables are sliced with their skins on, gently cooked using high oleic sunflower oil, and lightly seasoned with sea salt.

Selsley Foods 6 Brambles, Oakridge Lynch, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL6 7NZ www.selsleyfoods.com 01285 760716

Selsley offers a selection of syrups – such as its gourmet mulling syrup – for use in desserts as well as cocktails and coffee. It also produces chutneys, preserves, sauces and condiments as well as starter kits for ginger beer. This year it has added a select range of Christmas puddings.

Sheepprint 102 Unit 5 at 50 High Street, Wanstead, London, E11 2RJ www.sheepprint.com 0208 530 2400 Sheepprint offering labeling, packaging, and design services to food businesses.

Products include tamper-proof pots and lids, boxes, and bespoke labels, and promotional material.

Silesia Grill Systems 9 Richmond Close, Market Weighton, York, Yorkshire, YO43 3EX www.silesiagrill.co.uk 01430 879967

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Silver Hill Foods 110 Emyvale, County Monaghan www.silverhillfoods.com 00353 4787124 Silver Hill Foods supplies ducks, bred on over 1,000 acres of farmland across Ireland, to both the retail and foodservice trade. It describes is own Silver Hill breed as “flavoursome, succulent, tender and consistent in its quality”.

SLOEmotion 293 Green Farm, Barton-le-Willows, York, Yorkshire, YO60 7PD www.sloemotion.com 0844 800 1911 Sloe Motion is based on Green Farm in North Yorkshire. As well as a traditional handmade sloe gin, the firm also produces a sloe gin chocolate from the gin-infused fruit.

Its other products are sloe whisky, sloe vodka and a spicy and plummy sloe chutney.

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

33

harrogate speciality food show The Miniature Bakery 52 P O Box 150, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 5WS www.theminiaturebakery.com 01924 359900 The Miniature Bakery is a specialist craft bakery based in Batley, West Yorkshire. It hand bakes biscuits using Belgian chocolate and "all butter" recipes. The company will also be launching its Mini Selections at this year’s show.

Smoked Olive 268 96 Ashlawn Road, Hillmorton, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 5ER timnewnes@pgrsolutions.net The Smoked Olive has sourced a range of Mediterranean products that it smokes over food grade wood chips in the UK. As well as olives it also produces smoked olive oil, tomatoes and sea salt.

South Coast Systems 206 Station Approach, Buxted, East Sussex, TN22 4LA www.southcoastsystems.co.uk 01825 732497 South Coast Systems is the main distributor for Avery Berkel retail scales, Sure Range food machinery, Sure Slice meat slicers and Sure Vac vacuum packing machines. The company also offers after-sales service for both its own stock and other manufacturer’s products, as well as the Dimension back office software system.

Spinks Compak 290 9 Shannon Street, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS9 8SS 0113 235 0662 Staal Smokehouse 297 The Cottage, Riston Grange, Long Riston, Hull, Yorkshire, HU11 5SA www.staalsmokehouse.co.uk 01964 541946 Staal Smokehouse is a small family-run

business producing cold smoked salmon and trout as well as hot smoked chicken and Gressingham duck. The East Yorkshire-based firm sources its chicken and trout locally and only uses salmon from sustainable farms on Scotland’s west coast.

Stag Bakeries 272 8 Cannery Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2SF www.stagbakeries.co.uk 01851 702733 Stag Bakeries specialises in handmade Stornoway water biscuits in a wide range of flavours both in cocktail and standard size. This year it has already launched a savoury selection box and a Hebridean shortbread selection, while it will be debuting its eight-strong loaf cake range at the show.

Taylor Davis 4 Moat Road, West Wilts Trading Estate, Westbury, Wiltshire, BA13 4JF www.taylor-davis.co.uk 01373 864324 Terra Rossa 208 10 Burnell Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 4EE www.terra-rossa.com 0208 6619695 Arabian food specialist Terra Rossa has a range of plain and infused extra virgin olive oils from Jordan, Palestine and Morocco. It also sells herb mixes – including Zaatar, Dukka and Sumac – as well as UK-made Anglo-Jordanian

Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil 66 North Breckenholme, Thixendale, Malton, Yorkshire, YO17 9LS www.yorkshirerapeseedoil.co.uk 01759 369573 Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil offers a range of high quality oils, hand-blended dressings and mayonnaise made from its own cold pressed rapeseed oil. The team will be on hand to provide information about the company’s refill offers and free tasting kits.

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

sauces and sweets such as Manna from Heaven and Nougat.

The Brownie Bar 190 14 Southleigh, Esplanade Avenue, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE26 2AQ www.browniebar.co.uk 07875 441274 The Brownie Bar offers a delicious selection of gooey rich chocolate brownies in a variety of flavours, such as triple chocolate, Nutella, Malteser, white chocolate & pistachio, and banoffee. Its rich chocolate brownie, which is the base of all flavours, won a Great Taste Award in 2011.

The Cress Company 106 Unit 8 Castle Industrial Estate, Queensferry Road, Dunfermline, Fife, KY11 8PX www.thecressco.co.uk 0845 643 1330 The Cress Company is a fine food wholesaler based in Fife, Scotland, distributing a range of premium food and drink across Scotland and the North of England. It delivers ambient and chilled ranges at least once a week in its own vans, with low minimum order quantities.

The Dip Society 299 The Barn, South Farm, Wold Newton, Nr Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 6BP www.thedipsociety.co.uk 07970 171962 The Dip Society makes all of its dips in a certified kitchen on a farm in the middle of the Lincolnshire countryside.

It sources local ingredients where possible and says there are no “nasties” in its products.

The Fine Cheese Co. & Artisan Biscuits 146 29 & 31 Walcot Street, Bath, Somerset, BA1 5BN www.finecheese.co.uk 01225 473 252 The Fine Cheese Co. works exclusively with the independent trade. As well as selecting and maturing over 150 British and European artisan cheeses (some exclusive to the company) it also has its own crackers, fruits and pickles. The Bath-based business owns Artisan Biscuits, which produces savoury and sweet crackers, biscuits and cookies.

The Handmade Oatcake Company 96 Stables Lodge, Strowan Farm, Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 4HU www. thehandmadeoatcakecompany. co.uk 07926 194651 This Perthshire business produces a range of handmade oatcake biscuits using pure Scottish wholegrain oats, natural spring water and no GM ingredients or artificial additives, flavours or preservatives.

The Ice Cream Alliance 244 3 Melbourne Court, Pride Park, Derby, Derbyshire, DE24 8LZ www.ice-cream.org 01332 203333 The Ice Cream Alliance is the UK membership association for the ice cream industry. It aims to encourage and support the production, vending and consumption of premium quality ice creams & other frozen treats.

The Nut Free Chocolatier 128 22 St Mark’s Grove, York, YO30 5TS www.thenutfreechocolatier.co.uk 07891 734235 The York-based chocolatier uses Belgian nut-free chocolate to make all its artisan products, which include ranges for children and adults.

The Original Drinks Company 218 Barnfield Farm, Gravesend Road, Fairseat, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 7JR www.original-drinks.com 01732 823449 The Original Drinks Company produces the Rochester range of adult soft drinks, including Rochester ginger and Rochester dark ginger. This year it has launched Rochester grape vine, an organic fruit and herbal drink that it says is an alternative to wine.

Three Little Pigs 155 Kiplingcotes Farm, Dalton Holme, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 7PY www.threelittlepigsonline.co.uk 07910 315956 Toftly Treats 270 The Old Vicarage, Newton-uponRawcliffe, Pickering, North Yorkshire, YO18 8QD 01751 476126 Vanfridge 104 Unit 338 Rushock Trading Estate, Rushock, Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 0NR www.vanfridge.co.uk 01299 253478 Wharfe Valley Farms 232 Lilac Farm, Jewitt Lane, Collingham, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 5BA www.wharfevalleyfarms.co.uk 01937 572084 Wolds Cottage Kitchen 120 41 Main Street, Wetwang, East Yorkshire, YO25 9XL www.woldscottagekitchen.co.uk 01377 236061 Preserve maker Wolds Cottage Kitchen is based in Wetwang, East Yorkshire. It sells its handmade products through farm shops, tearooms, delis, hotels and village stores.

Your Piece Baking Company (t/a New Alliance Limited)

283 & 285 Monimail House, Monimail, Near Cupar, Fife, KY15 7RJ www.yourpiecebakingcompany.com 01738 622851

Artisan regional produce from our Italian partners delivered next day

Retailers & Wholesalers of Vanilla Pods Vanilla Extracts ADVERT -FF digestMay 2012 - Gluten free-outlines.pdf 21/05/2012 15:21:39 Vanilla Paste Vanilla Powder & Flavourings E: www.VanillaMart.co.uk | W: info@vanillamart.co.uk First Floor | 10 Horsted Square | Bellbrook Business Park | Uckfield | TN22 1QG T: 01825 933491 | F: 01825 762018

FREE DELIVERY to UK mainland for orders over 拢150

WWW.VALLEBONA.CO.UK Tel: 020 8944 5665

Vol.13 Issue 5 路 June 2012

35

AWARD-WINNING COFFEE suPPliers of PreMiuM italian Coffee & Coffee MaCHines

Visit us www.theitalianconnection.co.uk t: 01202 434 800 e: info@theitalianconnection.co.uk

Call now to stoCk our award-winning Coffee

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June 2012 路 Vol.13 Issue 5

product update

gluten-free foods

Appetising alternatives MICHAEL LANE checks out the latest additions to the ever-growing diet and health food market Kent-based nutritionist Bethany Eaton discovered dairy-free CO YO yoghurt on a visit to Australia and now produces the coconut milk yoghurt under licence. Created by Henry and Sandra Gosling down under, CO YO is gluten-, nut- and soy-free, is suitable for vegans and contains no artificial colourings or preservatives. CO YO natural (recently a winner of a Free From Award), mixed berry, pineapple, mango and raw chocolate come in 125g (RRP £1.99), 250g (RRP £3.49) and 400g (RRP £4.99) pots.

Doves Farm has recently launched two gluten-free cookie flavours: Cocoa Crunch and stem ginger. The cookies will be made in the firm’s Wiltshire bakery, which has banned nuts, milk, gluten, egg, soya, peanuts and sesame in order to cater for the growing number of people following special diets. Cases of 12x150g packs cost £14. www. dovesfarm. co.uk

www.coyo.co.uk

Looking for gluten-free baking mixes?

Turn to p43 for Fine Food Digest’s roundup of new home baking products.

In the last six months Mellyn Bakes has concentrated on developing main courses and “onthe-go” foods for its range of glutenand wheat-free products.

It has created a fish pie and aubergine pasta bake in individual portions (trade price £2.15) while the pasta bake is also available in a larger size (trade £4.30).

The firm also offers a range of “mini-loaf” muffins (trade £1) such as its savoury spinach & feta variety and the new breakfast muffin, made with fruit seeds and gluten-free oats.

Lake District firm Ginger Bakers says 50% of its business is gluten-free. It is now hoping to take its brand national with launch of a range of brownies spearheaded by a gluten-free plain chocolate brownie. Each brownie costs £1.10 to the trade with an RRP of £1.65. www.gingerbakers.co.uk

Top sellers…

Holt, & Larners of … at Bakers Norfolk rolls ials ciabatta Dietary Spec ts ch tea biscui True Free ri ise cereal th Mesa Sunr Nature’s Pa ocolate Moo Free ch rice pasta Doves Farm

www.mellynbakes.com

Dorset-based Honeybuns has baked a new hybrid – the Sconeybun. Half scone and half bun, each one weighs around 65g and is gluten-free thanks to a unique flour blend that includes Sorghum flour and ground almonds. Sconeybuns are available in wholesale packs of 24. www.honeybuns.co.uk

Confectionery maker and free-from baker Sugargrain is set to launch an apricot, almond & tahini flapjack, which is gluten-, wheat-, dairy-, and sugar-free. The product, which comes in bags of five bite-size pieces (trade price £2.12, RRP £3.45), won a category at this year’s Free From Award.

Meanwhile its zesty lemon polenta and iced carrot cakes also won commendations.

The firm has recently launched a banana & chocolate chip loaf in two sizes – mini (trade £1.25, RRP £2.50) and loaf size (trade £3.70, RRP £6.30).

Flax Farm didn’t want those on special diets to miss out on its Flaxjacks so it has transferred its wheatfree linseed flaxjack formula into a flapjack-style cake made with quinoa instead of oats. These gooey date cakes (£1.50 each, £5.20 for pack of four) are gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, nutfree, salt-free, and suitable for vegans. Each Flaxjack contains enough ground linseed to provide 100% of the recommended daily intake of Omega-3 and 50% of recommended fibre intake. These linseed and quinoa flaxjacks are also available in chocolate tiffin variety.

www.sugargrain.com

www.flaxfarm.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

37

product update Top sellers…

London chen, south it K l’s E t a …

Crunch olate Butter

gluten-free foods Meridian has added organic pumpkin seed butter to its range of speciality nut and seed butters. The producer recommends spreading on crumpets, stirring through pasta or adding to salad dressings. The butter comes in 170g glass jars with an RRP of £2.99.

er Choc Kent & Fras biscuits bar erry Delight Nakd Bars B flour blends Doves Farm ocolate Moo Free ch ispbread poppyseed cr Amisa spelt

www.meridianfoods.co.uk

Artisan Bread Organic has developed a sweeter version of its gluten-free bread made with raw cacao. The new raw cacao bread sweetened with dates is available in the baker’s trademarked Glutini (345g, trade price £3.84) and Glutini bites (200g, trade price £2.10) formats, as well as in 1kg bags of bite-sized bread for a trade price of £8.41. The firm is now selling its high protein pea bread – a product that is said to date back more than 400 years – to retailers in loaf (400g, £2.38), Glutini (£2.18) and Glutini bites (£1.31) formats.

Lovemore, a freefrom brand owned and manufactured

by Welsh Hills Bakery, has added several new lines for retail. Its custard creams (RRP £1.58), O’chocos (£1.41) and Jammy Wheel (£1.39) biscuits are available in cases of eight. It has also launched bourbon biscuits (RRP £1.47) and iced cup cakes (£1.55) available in cases of nine and four units respectively. www.lovemore-freefromfoods.com

Swansea-based Munchcake’s cupcakes come in six flavours including raspberry & white chocolate, carrot & pecan and lime & coconut. Mini cupcakes are available to the trade for 30p while the larger versions cost 90p. It also produces a range of muffins and savoury mini loaves (trade price 90p and £1.46 respectively).

www.artisanbread-abo.com

Cereal specialist Rude Health has added gluten free Corn Thins to its range of organic snacks. These slices of corn are “puffed, popped and packed with taste” and the only added ingredient is a pinch of sea salt. The firm says the product (130g RRP £2.29) is equally suited to dipping or loading with leftovers. www.rudehealth.com

www.munchcake.co.uk

Divine intervention A new online retailer plans to sell free-from foods to delis too Diagnosed as a coeliac around 20 years ago, Debra Lendrum describes eating cheese on a rice cracker as “the ultimate insult to food”.

The former accountant has now set out to spare others from the same fate with her specialist gluten-free business Deli Divine.

Although she initially wanted to open a shop, Lendrum soon reconsidered given the welldocumented plight of the Britain’s high streets. She will now supply consumers through a new website, launching this month, and is also planning to supply both the catering and retail trades.

“We’re pretty much there with the consumer website,” she tells FFD. “Now we are looking at the trade side.

“It’s a longer term approach.

This year I supplied a holiday

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

company with basic products and out there who are looking for a I’m going to concentrate on markets vehicle for their products,” she I’m comfortable with.” says. “There could also be other Lendrum, who expects the items that are naturally glutengluten-free market to double in the free but the manufacturer has not next three years, says the biggest thought about moving into the problem for retailers considering marketplace.” gluten-free lines is the case sizes.

Of all the gluten-free “Delis and independents don’t products available, the one stock [gluten-free products] because Lendrum recommends to retailers the order volumes are “Delis and independents don’t stock prohibitive,” gluten-free products because the she explains, adding that she order volumes are prohibitive” will aim to sell smaller cases of products so delicomes as no surprise. owners don’t have to take on a risky “A good quality gluten-free amount of stock. cracker will do well,” she says Lendrum is also on the hunt because it’s often a coeliac’s for gluten-free food producers and biggest frustration. It will also help hopes to give them a leg up. retailers to sell more cheese.

“I’m looking for unusual www.delidivine.co.uk products. There may be producers sales@delidivine.co.uk

All of artisan chocolatier Pourtoi’s products are geared up for a range of dietary requirements – suitable for coeliacs, lactose intolerance, and vegetarians as well as halal and kosher diets. The firm has launched a range of mini cookies and bites in cello bags. The cookie range includes double choc chip, orange choc chip, double choc pecan and double choc chilli while the bites available are double choc brownie and cinnamon pecan blondie. All bags (RRP £2.99£3.50) contain five pieces. www.pourtoi.co.uk

• Scottish grown and ground oatmeal, fine, medium, coarse, pinhead, and oat flakes • A wide range of flour for all baking needs • 1★ 2010 handmade and hand cut oatcakes, also a selection of sweet biscuits using old family recipes • Scottish handmade preserves, marmalades, jellies and honeys

Aberfeldy oAtmeAl, milton HAugH fArm SHop, CArmyllie, ArbroAtH, AnguS, dd11 2QS telepHone 01241 860579 SAndy@AberfeldyoAtmeAl.Co.uk • www.AberfeldyoAtmeAl.Co.uk

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Baking Mixes for: cakes frosting/icing brownies cookies  organic gluten-free low-glycemic allergy-free vegan  delis farm shops food halls catering restaurants specialty shops healthy living schools online stores weddings



www.gleeka.com

 Perfect Texture and Taste!

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

39

“Simply Incredible”

A Real Taste of Italian Sunshine

Jean-Christophe Novelli

“Just so smooth, amazing.

10 out of 10!”

Antonio Carluccio

Natural Yoghurt with Wild Berry Fruits

Golden Fork Winning, Northumbrian icecream with an Italian twist

Alnwick Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

The Old Chandlery, Coquet Street, Amble, Northumberland NE65 0DJ Opening Hours: 10am – Early Evening 7 days a week e: hello@spurreli.com t: 01665 710890 w: www.spurreli.com

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Sicilian Pistacchio Ice Cream

New antipasti available now 01749 831300 www.thebaytree.co.uk

A promotional feature for the Guild of Fine Food

JUNE’S MONEY MAKING PROMOTIONS The Guild of Fine Food has developed its Retail Promotion Scheme to help retailers survive recession hit Britain. We are negotiating with our producer members and have handpicked a selection of great products on which we’ve secured big discounts unique to Guild retail members.

CAMPBELLS FUDGE

BLUE SAUCES

LA BANDIERA

BLUE Sauces, produced at a familyrun blueberry farm on the WelshEnglish border, is offering a special deal to promote the re-branding of its range this month. Its products carry a 12-month shelf life and come in cases of 12. Trade price is £2.89 with an RRP of £4.50 – £4.99.

THE DEAL: Buy 4 cases, get a 5th case free.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide, delivery is complimentary.

CONTACT: Guy Springett on 01948 710525 or sales@BLUEsauces.com

The La Bandiera estate is located in the Maremma area on the coast of Tuscany. Its single estate extra virgin olive oil is a blend of three varietals – Moraiolo, Leccino and Razzo – which gives the oil a robust and fruity flavour. This low acidity oil won one star gold at last year’s Great Taste Awards.

THE DEAL: Buy 2 cases (6x500ml bottles), get a free case of 6x250ml bottles (worth £48).

AVAILABILITY: Mainland UK. Free delivery for orders over £100.

CONTACT: Jacqueline Lane on 0207 2435150 or sales@labandieraoliveoil.com

The Scottish family firm produces its crumbly fudge to a Campbell of Argyll recipe dating back more 100 years. The fudge is available in 115g and 150g bags in vanilla, lemon, coconut, banoffee, crunchy peanut butter, Iron Brew, Glayva, and whisky flavours.

Cases come in 25 x 115g bags or 20 x 150g bags; flavours can be mixed.

THE DEAL: Buy 3 cases, get 1 free.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide. Carriage paid on orders over £150. £7 charge on smaller orders.

CONTACT: Stephen or Jayne Edge on 01899 880320 or enquiries@campbellsfudge.co.uk

ODYSEA

DUCHESS OIL

DORSET SMOKERY The Dorset Smokery has an awardwinning hand-crafted range of artisan pâtés.

They are produced in small batches to ensure quality and consistency, having a traditional robust flavour and have no artificial colourings or flavourings. All are available in 1kg and 500g pots.

All products are despatched chilled overnight and have 28 days shelf-life on arrival.

THE DEAL: Buy 3, get 4th free.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide – minimum carriage paid order £40.

CONTACT: Telephone 01202 479977 or email artisanfood@hotmail.co.uk

The Greek food specialist imports a range of Iliada flavoured oils made with premium extra virgin olive oil from the Kalamata region in the southern Peleponese.

Odysea says that the orange and basil flavour oils are good for dipping or drizzling over salads while the “robust” truffle flavour oil is suited to risotto and pasta dishes. Each case (£34.47) contains 12x250ml tins.

THE DEAL: Buy 2 cases get 3rd free for all orders this month.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide.

CONTACT: Martin Bumpsteed on 07769 670278 or martin@odysea.com

This new brand of extra virgin rapeseed oil is produced by Oscar Harding on his family’s farm in Sheering, Essex. The first batch of oil, which comes in 250ml and 500ml bottles, was produced in November and Harding is now looking to sell it nationally.

THE DEAL: Buy 4 cases of large bottles (6x500ml), get a free case of 9x250ml bottles.

AVAILABILTY: Nationwide. Delivery to London and South East is free, £10 elsewhere CONTACT: Oscar Harding on 07715749797 or oscar@duchessoil.co.uk

STOKES SAUCES

THE TRUCKLE CHEESE COMPANY

The condiment and preserve producer makes more than 75 different lines. It has recently launched several new products – chilli yellow pepper jelly, Bloody Mary ketchup featuring Chase vodka, chilli jam, chilli ketchup and chilli mint jelly – which it is promoting this month.

THE DEAL: Buy 4 cases from the new range, get 5th free.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide.

CONTACT: Sam or Louise on 01394 462150 or sales@stokessauces.co.uk

The Truckle Cheese Company now offer 1kg logs of its Oak Smoked Cheddar, Vesuvius (Vintage Cheddar with Chilli), Fig & Honey Wensleydale and Goats’ cheese. This new format is designed with deli counters and wholesalers in mind.

THE DEAL: 10% discount off first order and free delivery on orders over £250.

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide, within mainland UK. CONTACT: Sally Callum-Holman on 01223 234740 or info@trucklecheese.co.uk

GUILD RETAIL PROMOTION SUMMARY (Available to Guild members only)

COMPANY

DEAL

BLUE SAUCES Buy 4 cases, get a 5th case free CAMPBELLS FUDGE Buy 3 cases get 1 free DORSET SMOKERY Buy 3 pâtés get 4th free DUCHESS OIL Buy 4 6x500ml cases get 9x250ml case free LA BANDIERA Buy 2 6x500ml cases, get a 6x250ml case free ODYSEA Buy 2 cases get 3rd free STOKES SAUCES Buy 4 cases from the new range get 5th free THE TRUCKLE CHEESE COMPANY 10% discount on first orders. £250+ orders, free delivery

TEL

EMAIL

01948 710525 01899 880320 01202 479977 07715749797 0207 2435150 07769 670278 01394 462150 01223 234740

sales@BLUEsauces.com enquiries@campbellsfudge.co.uk artisanfood@hotmail.co.uk oscar@duchessoil.co.uk sales@labandieraoliveoil.com martin@odysea.com sales@stokessauces.co.uk info@trucklecheese.co.uk

RETAIL MEMBERS – To sign up to the retail promotion scheme contact: tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk or ring her on 01963 824464 to ensure you receive your shelf-barkers to help promote these discounts instore.

SUPPLIER MEMBERS – want to take part? Contact sally.coley@finefoodworld.co.uk for more information.

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

41

an ha F d br nd b or ea d akin ma g ch in es

Winner of 13 Great Taste Awards 2011

A family run company since 1824 W: www.flour.co.uk · T: 01245 354455 E: floursales@marriagesmillers.co.uk

“Eco friendly” shred with a small of carbon footprint – sourced in the UK, using UK paper and shredded in Wiltshire using bespoke equipment. A contemporary ZigZag shred which is easy to use and compliments all types of product.

A range of crisp Acid Free, Bleed Resist MF sheet tissue, offered in reams or 100sheet packs. Matching tissue shred available.

A wide range of colours of kraft paper are offered in a variety of pack sizes to suit all uses where attractive presentation and support cushioning is needed.

Order your wicker trays or hampers, imported direct by Shredhouse, or just use our Shrink Bags on your own container to give a smooth professional finish to your gifts.

Online Training in Food Safety & Nutrition Courses are City and Guilds accredited and include: Level 2 Food Safety Online Suitable for all food handlers involved in preparing or serving food in a retail, catering or food manufacturing environment. From £15+VAT Level 3 Food Safety Online Ideal for supervisors or catering managers and those responsible for training other food handlers in food safety.

We recommend that at least one person in any food business should be trained to Level 3. £125+VAT Foundation Nutrition Online (Level 2) Suitable for those interested in learning the basics of healthy eating and nutrition principles, in order to develop healthy menus, recipes or products. £45+VAT Classroom-based courses in HACCP, Food Safety, Auditing and Nutrition take place in Skipton or can be run at your own premises for groups of 5-15 people.

Contact: Sue Greenhow Shredhouse Ltd · Salisbury Road Business Park · Pewsey · Wilts SN9 5PZ sales@shredhouse.co.uk · www.shredhouse.co.uk tel. 01672 564333 · fax. 01672 564301

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Contact Claire Lennon on 01756 708526 or email claire.lennon@vwa.co.uk Verner Wheelock Associates 4 Stable Courtyard, Broughton Hall Bus. Park, Skipton BD23 3AE

www.vwa.co.uk

product update

home baking

Oven love

Gluten-free baking mixes

The home baking revival is showing no signs of slowing, and suppliers are keeping up. LYNDA SEARBY reports.

HB Ingredients, a supplier of bulk baking ingredients to manufacturers and wholesalers, is now offering some of its lines in smaller retail packs. Ingredients available in the new home baking format include milk, dark and white Belgian chocolate in 1kg bags, 50 vanilla pods in a tin, patissier fondant in a 1kg pot and fruit purée in 1 litre packs.

All products are available to purchase online and HB offers a 3% discount for online orders. www.hbingredients.co.uk

Dough It Yourself has added a shortbread mix with Belgian chocolate to its range of baking mixes. Customers simply need to add butter to the mix to make 24 oven-fresh shortbreads with chunks of Belgian chocolate. The RRP is £3.99 for a 450g pack. www.doughityourself.co.uk

Two Irish entrepreneurs are helping consumers rediscover the lost skills of baking with the launch of cookie mix company Angelfoods.

Angela Murray and Donna Black set up the Cork-based business in 2011 and are supplying retail outlets throughout Ireland with mixes to make double Belgian chocolate chip, spiced oat & jumbo sultana and chocolate brownie cookies. The duo are currently expanding the range, with a toffee crisp and a Snickerdoodle cookie mix in the pipeline. angelfoodsireland@gmail.com

Mummy’s Yummies is cashing in on the cupcake revival with the launch of three mixes in kilner jars and cartons. The Britannia brownie cupcake, Lemon Crunch cupcake and Tutti Frutti cupcake mixes have an RRP of £9.99 for a jar and £3.95 for a box. info@mummys-yummies.com

Scarlet Bakes’ cookie mixes, which were previously only sold in kilner jars, are now available in cartons, at a trade price of £3.73. The Hampshire baking mix company has initially launched three mixes in cartons: Belgian white chocolate & cranberry, Belgian chocolate chip and Rainbow cookie mixes.

Wessex Mill is hoping its limited edition Union Jack bag will appeal to patriotic home bakers who are donning their aprons for the Queen’s Jubilee.

The company’s 1.5kg six seed bread flour (RRP £2.30) and strong white bread flour (RRP £1.70) are available in the red, white and blue bags from mid May. www.wessexmill.co.uk

www.scarletbakes.co.uk

Combining the rich bourbon vanilla flavours of vanilla extract with ground pure vanilla powder, Steenbergs Organic vanilla paste (RRP £6.95 for 100g jar) is said to offer a convenient way of adding sweet vanilla flavour to recipes.

Food intolerance sufferers can now enjoy Yorkshire puddings with their roast beef, following the launch of a gluten-, wheatand dairy-free Yorkshire pudding mix (RRP £2.99) from The Foodmentalists. Other new gluten- and wheat-free baking mixes from the West Yorkshire free-from producer include a vegan bread mix, (RRP £2.55), a tortilla mix (RRP £2.99) and a naan bread mix (RRP £2.99). www.foodamentalists.co.uk

Amy Ruth’s gluten free baking mix is touted as the first baking mix to use the Omega-3 rich super seed chia. The all-purpose baking mix contains 70% whole grains and seeds (quinoa, teff, brown rice, flax and chia seed) and can be used as a flour alternative to bake muffins, cakes, loaves and scones. The trade cost is £5.20 and the RRP is £6.99 for a 500g pack. www.amy-ruths.com

Providing an alternative to mixes made with wheat, sugar, dairy and eggs, Gleeka, based in California, is offering organic gluten-, dairy- and egg-free baking mixes sweetened with sweet potato and coconut nectar. Its brownie, chocolate Dream cake, golden vanilla cake and Semisweet chocolate cake mixes have an RRP of £4.99.

Gleeka is currently looking for a UK distributor/importer and will be present at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in September. For now, retailers can buy the mixes online. www.gleeka.com

www.steenbergs.co.uk

All that glitters...isn’t edible This month Divine Deli Supplies is adding 40 new lines to its Decorate! range of cake decorations, including edible glitters that it hopes will address consumer concerns about the safety of glitter.

For years, cake glitter has been sold in pots labelled either “edible” or “non-toxic”. Edible glitter is made from starch-based food products that can be digested by the body. Non-toxic glitter is

manufactured from plastic and is not digestible.

Comments about edible glitter on a charity edition of BBC2’s The Great British Bake Off in April prompted so much panic among viewers that the product category has now been registered as one of the top 10 food concerns by the Food Standards Agency.

Divine Deli director Andy Shepherd says: “We have found a

new supplier in the market that can supply a new product that - for the first time - looks just as good as the plastic glitters but is fully edible and natural.”

Other new products include kids’ sprinkles, high end extracts and lustre dusts that are said to be the only ones on the market that come complete with a dusting brush. RRPs range from £2.25 to 2.99. www.divinedeli.com

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

43

Simply better baking!

The Mummy’s Yummies range of homebaking mixes includes 17 original recipes for cookies, muffins, brownies and now three fabulous new cupcake recipes – Britannia Brownie Cupcake, Lemon Crunch Cupcake and Tutti Frutti Cupcake Mixes.

With no artificial colours or flavours, the range is now available to the independent retailer in eye-catching new boxes as well as in our signature decorated Kilner jars.

For more information please contact Annie Low at Mummy’s Yummies on: T: 01798 861800 or E: info@mummys-yummies.com.

PACK A PUNC H This Hot Ginger Beer is made with fresh root ginger, simply milled and pressed – no delays, no unnecessary processing, purely capturing the citrus nose of root ginger. The unique recipe and techniques used protect and enhance the ingredients’ natural flavour profile and give this drink a well weighted punch and a long, spicy finish.

Luscombe doesn’t sell to supermarkets so offer your customers something different, contact us for a sample pack.

T. 01364 64 30 36

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

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

shelftalk

products, promotions & people

Spanish salsa... made by Brits

By MICHAEL LANE

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AC

Specialist Spanish food importer Delicioso is having S U P LI E four salsas made in Britain P under its own brand – a first for the business – after failing to find a “really good source” in Spain.

They are being produced by a third-party manufacturer, with Delicioso supplying the ingredients.

Co-owner Kate Shirley-Quirk said: “We searched for six or seven years and eventually thought ‘We’ve probably tried all of them, so there’s a gap in the market’.”

Delicioso previously brought in salsas from mainland Spain and the Canaries. However, deliveries proved costly and problematic, particularly from the islands, with some shipments delayed by up to two months.

“We can’t be doing that,” Shirley-Quirk told FFD. “If you can’t guarantee having something in stock people will stop buying it.”

The salsas were developed by chefs at the firm’s sister restaurant, La Barca in Henley-on-Thames. They EDITE CR

are all made with ingredients sourced

by Delicioso, such as Piquillo peppers, purple garlic, extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar and paprika.

“Lots of the products you can buy in supermarkets, at least in Spain, have thickeners and padding in them,” said Shirley-Quirk, adding that her Mojo Picon is 44% Piquillo peppers.

One bonus of own-label production is avoiding the

“Spanglish” descriptions found on some imported jars. It also means Delicioso can provide dietary and allergen labelling often left out by Spanish producers.

All four salsas are available in 200ml glass jars (£11.95/case of six) and 1.2 litre catering jars (£7.95 each or £45.00/case of six). www.delicioso.co.uk

SALSA LINE-UP: Mojo Picon – a spicy piquillo pepper sauce from the Canary Islands; Ali oli – a garlic mayonnaise from Cataluña; Salsa Brava – a fiery, smoky tomato & pepper sauce from Madrid; and Mojo Verde – a mildly spicy green pepper & herb sauce from the Canary Islands.

‘Irishness’ is Crossogue’s secret ingredient

By MICK WHITWORTH

Tipperary producer Crossogue Preserves is making its first foray into the crowded UK market with a limited range of distinctively Irish flavours.

The business, owned by Veronica Molloy, sells over 60 jams, chutneys, curds and coulis on its home turf, all handmade in tiny batches. Clients include lifestyle stores such as Kilkenny Design and the 10-strong Avoca chain, for which it also makes private label curd, brandy butter and mincemeat.

Six products have been repackaged to appeal to British consumers: lemon curd, Irish coffee curd, blackcurrant & Irish stout jam, Irish whiskey marmalade, Irish Harvest fruit chutney, strawberry & Champagne, and the recently launched parsley jelly with Carrigeen Moss (seaweed), which doubles as a cooking ingredient. They are in 225g jars (trade £2.50, RRP £3.50-4.00)

with usage ideas attached on tags.

“We’re putting our toe in the pool and seeing where it ripples,” said Molloy, who has appointed her daughter Anna Francis-Jones, based in Wiltshire, as UK agent.

Crossogue took part in The Source trade show in Exeter in late April, followed by a pitch at a two-day consumer fair in Wiltshire, and is pushing Irishness as the brand’s key point of difference.

Molloy told FFD: “We’re well aware there are millions of artisan products out there – and really good ones. Ours will be as good, but with a difference. The Welsh have theirs, the Scots have theirs, and we’ll have ours, what with the blackcurrant & Irish stout, with Guinness, and the Irish whiskey marmalade.”

She added: “I want to see how the brand’s received. If there’s a great response we’ll bang ahead.” www.crossoguepreserves.com

Lines repackaged for the UK include parsley jelly and Irish coffee curd

Puddings & Pies has enlivened its packaging with classier colours

West Country cake baker rejects austerity package

By MICK WHITWORTH

West Country cake baker Puddings & Pies has revamped its retail range with a more upmarket look aimed at shoppers suffering austerity fatigue.

The Sherborne company’s basic yellow packaging has been enlivened with classier colours, while new pointof-sale trays highlight the strapline “butter, flour and a sprinkling of Dorset magic”.

It is part of a wider re-brand for the 30-year-old firm, says owner Edward Cunningham, who bought it four years ago after moving to Dorset from southern Africa with Englishborn wife Rosie.“Our entire image has changed,” he told FFD. “Last summer we sent the retail range off to taste panels in Surrey and the Somerset/Dorset area. They suggested a few tweaks and what we have come out with is a slightly more indulgent range. We’re in a downturn, but if people want a treat

they’ll spend money on it.”

Eighty per cent of sales are in foodservice, where products include crumbles, puddings and roulades. The retail range centres around traybakes and slices, sold ambient with a 90-day shelflife, and loaf cakes sold frozen for the retailer to defrost. “They can just pull them out as needed, then apply a best-before date,” said Cunningham.

“It gives them seven to 10 days and it’s a lot safer for them than buying fresh cakes – the one thing people cannot afford is waste.”

The traybakes include Crunchyjacks – a crisper, South African style variant on the British flapjack. Slices are available as singles in boxes of 18, with unit prices starting at 93p (RRP £1.45), or lunchbox-friendly four-packs with unit prices from £3.25 (RRP £4.65). Loaf cakes cost £5.25 each to the trade, in cases of two. www.puddingsandpies.com

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

45

WHOLESALE NOW AVAILABLE ESTABLISHED FOR OVER 10 YEARS MARINADES OLIVE OILS

DIPS AND SAUCES

VINEGARS

GIFT SETS

ARTISAN FOODS

SPICES CALL NOW TO ORDER THE 2012 WHOLESALE BROCHURE

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Contact our new wholesale department sales team on 01483 301173 or email: sales@oilvinegar.co.uk

BETTER RETAILING Tuesday June 26 2012 Pavilions of Harrogate, Yorkshire Event Centre

Sponsored by

Make more of your visit to the Harrogate Speciality Food Show.

A one-day workshop that will help refresh & renew your retail skills and increase profitability. Spend Monday at the Speciality Food Show and then join industry experts the next day to swap ideas, generate merchandising tips and tackle issues specific to your store.

You can even join us for an informal drink on the Monday evening.

Who should attend?

• Deli, farm shop and food hall owners and managers looking for inspiration and ideas to generate revenue in their store • Anyone involved in fine food and drink looking to exchange ideas and debate the hot topics in our sector Better Retailing will give you the tools to generate additional revenue in your shop, easily repaying your investment on the day.

Booking a place Guild of Fine Food member Guild of Fine Food non-member

£90.00 plus VAT (includes lunch) £110.00 plus VAT (includes lunch)

To book your place contact Tortie Farrand on 01963 824464 or email her on tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk

• Is your business making as much money as it should?

• Are your team trained to the right level?

• Need some fresh hints & tips on how to merchandise?

• Are you controlling your margins?

Register for the show which takes place on June 24-25 2012 www.specialityfoodshow.co.uk 46

June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

shelftalk

CHEF’S SELECTION

Top chefs tell CLARE HARGREAVES their deli essentials

Mike’s gives tomatoes the manuka treatment

By MICK WHITWORTH EDITE CR

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Artisan processor Mike’s Smokehouse, best known for S U P LI E P its smoked fish and poultry, has launched a new smoked tomato product in a chilled, 140g tub format (trade price £2.21).

Grant Holden, who run the Devon business with wife Sasha, told FFD: “They’re cherry tomatoes smoked over Manuka woodchips and then set in basil oil. The oil adds a sweetness to enhance the flavour.”

It’s only the couple’s second move away from meat and fish – the first was 2010’s honey & mustard dill sauce – since taking over the business from Sasha Holden’s uncle in 2005.

“Sasha and I have been focused on building the business organically to maintain a solid footing through a difficult economic climate,” said Holden, “so we've

very much concentrated on our core products.

“We’re now keen to increase our range but can't compete with other smokehouses on higher volume products like mackerel. So we’ve been looking at alternatives that complement our existing range and also offer a good shelf life that works for both our customers and our production team.”

The Holdens have been working on new packaging with the help of supplier Plastosac and will phase in new designs during the course of this year.

“We wanted to change the imagery to more closely identify with our base in Devon and also move to a slightly more classic look to appeal to the widest possible range of outlets,” Holden added.

Michael Smith Head Chef The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye www.threechimneys.co.uk

Hebridean Sea Salt www.hebrideanseasalt.co.uk

Stocking up on the right store-cupboard essentials is vital in a place as remote as Skye where there are few shops. As with fresh produce, I try to use dry ingredients from as nearby as possible – our philosophy has always been locality so long as the quality is there. I’ve tried making sea salt myself but it’s labour intensive, so I’m delighted Natalie Crayton is now producing it on the Isle of Lewis. It’s evocative of here – I really believe salts have the characteristics of the water they are from. This salt is delicious. Wonderful for seasoning the water we cook our shellfish in.

Golspie Mill medium oatmeal www.golspiemill.co.uk

We use oatmeal as much as possible in our recipes because of where we are and our ethic. This medium-ground oatmeal is traditional, Scottish and authentic, and the quality is amazing. It’s stoneground in Sutherland, in one of Scotland’s last remaining traditional water-powered mills. We buy 1kg bags through Jacksons Wholefoods in Portree, an hour south. We use it for oatcakes that we serve with cheese, in our breads, and in our homemade haggis. We also toast it and put it in the mealie ice cream (mealie is Scottish for oatmeal) that accompanies our marmalade pudding soufflé.

Isle of Mull mature cheddar

www.mikes-smokehouse.co.uk

Jubilympics round-up British-themed product launches continue apace. Here’s our selection from the past month: Distributor Cotswold Fayre’s Diamond Jubilee collection is out now. It features confectionery and drinks including Prestat Chocolate, Monty Bojangles’ Best of British boiled sweets, and Belvoir’s Summer Celebration Punch. www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk

The Pickled Village has created a Jubilee Jammyboree preserve featuring a layer of red (strawberry), white (pear and elderflower), and blue (wild blueberry) jams. www.thepickledvillage.com

Humbers Homemade has also launched a layered red, white, and blue jam (trade £2.30, RRP £3.50) to mark the jubilee. www.humbershomemade.co.uk

Mullion Cove will be celebrating 60 years of the Queen’s reign with themed ginger Cornish fairing biscuits topped with crystallised ginger and handpiped white Belgian chocolate designs. www.mullioncove.net

Thursday Cottage has produced a limited edition Jubilee strawberry jam (RRP £2.65), which is made with three varieties including Norfolk’s Jubilee strawberry. www.thursday-cottage.com

www.isleofmullcheese.co.uk

For me, this is not only a wonderful product from Scotland’s west coast, but also Britain’s answer to Parmesan. In my quest to do recipes that are genuinely Scottish, I’ve been looking for the right cheese to replace Parmesan for eight years. Now I have it. This farmhouse cheese, made on the Isle of Mull by Brendan Reade and matured for up to 18 months, has real depth of flavour, savoury but with a bit of fruitiness.

We always have it as part of our cheese selection, and use it in our cheese scones. I buy through Letterfinlay Specialist Foods in Fort William.

Opie’s pickled walnuts www.b-opie.com

In the old days walnuts were pickled in Scotland, but no longer, so I buy those produced by Opie’s in Kent. The walnuts are harvested before the shell forms. They make a delicious accompaniment to beef and game; we chop them and put them through the gravy that we serve with hot tongue. The malt vinegar that the walnuts are cooked and marinated in gives them a wonderful dark mahogany colour that’s visually enticing. Their texture is yielding but firm.

Moniack Castle horseradish sauce www.highlandwineries.co.uk

When I came here I asked the greengrocer for fresh horseradish and was met with blank stares. So I was thrilled when I found this horseradish sauce made near Inverness.

If you can’t get fresh horseradish it’s the perfect substitute and saves lots of hassle. Moniack was always in my mother’s store-cupboard so I’ve known it since childhood. It’s hot and strong, made with fresh unbleached horseradish and a little cream and seasoning. We make a beetroot & horseradish relish to accompany smoked fish – a dish we always have on our showcase Isle of Skye menu.

Sponsored by

Price ticketing firm Pentic has added a Union Jack border to its popular chalkboard tickets for retailers looking to capitalise on summer selling opportunities.www.pentic.com Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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what's new Indian Salsa

ANILA’S AUTHENTIC SAUCES www.anilassauces.com

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Premium curry sauce producer Anila’s is launching a new spicy Indian salsa to celebrate 20 years in the business. The salsa, which is gluten-free, dairy-free and contains no onions or garlic, features a blend of tomatoes, red peppers, green chillies and spices. It comes in 200g jars (RRP £3.30).

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Union Jack chocolates

HOLDSWORTH CHOCOLATES www.holdsworthchocolates.co.uk

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Handmade chocolate firm Holdsworth has created a Union Jack chocolate box (trade price £7.50, RRP £14.95) to mark this summer’s celebrations.

Each 240g box contains Britishthemed chocolates, such as clotted cream truffle, praline cup, and apple & geranium cream. The packaging can be re-used as a gift box.

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WHOLE CREATIONS

www.wholecreations.co.uk

This new start-up, founded by Kate Keane, produces pizzas with crispy wholemeal bases. Four varieties – spinach, ricotta & tomato; mixed pepper & goats’ cheese; roasted vegetable; and cherry tomato & mozzarella – are available chilled or frozen. The firm says its “restaurant quality” pizzas deliver two or three of the recommended five-a-day and provide a healthy alternative to other pizzas, given the 100% wholegrain bases. varieties of pouches (170 x 110mm) each containing four top grade flowering blooms, including Flying Snow, Jasmine Arch, Jasmine Fairy, Red Aramanth, Sweet Osmanthus and Dragon’s Eye. A mixed selection pouch is also available.

Steak & ale pie

Freezer boxes

www.clarkesqueniborough.co.uk

www.field-fare.com

The frozen ready-meal specialist’s latest pie is made with Tiger Bitter (the official beer of the Leicester Tigers rugby squad) from Everards Brewery and beef from former Tigers and England prop Julian White’s herd of South Devon cows.

The 325g pie (trade price £2.76, available in cases of 55 units, supplied frozen) was created to mark the business’s 30th year in Queniborough.

The Kent-based frozen produce and ready-meal supplier has redesigned its cabinets. Large freezers now have eight slots, which can also be subdivided into halves or thirds to display additional lines. The new units are available free of charge for the first order, and where possible Field Fare will provide help with installation.

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From July, importer and distributor Bespoke will be carrying Ndali organic vanilla powder, produced in Western Uganda. Each 13g pot of this potent Fairtrade product is made with six vanilla pods. Trade cases of 12 units cost £42.84.

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Lower alcohol wine

THE LYME BAY WINERY www.lymebaywinery.co.uk

The winemaker has launched a range of light fruit wines, which contain half the alcohol of its other varieties. The Lymelight range features blackberry, cherry, elderberry, ginger & nettle, gooseberry and strawberry (75cl bottles, trade £3.64, RRP £5.99).

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250ml clear plastic bottles (RRP £1.95, £10.20 for trade case of 12) with an ambient shelf life of six months.

www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

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The Gloucestershire ice cream producer has added a strawberry variety to its clotted cream range. The glutenfree product is made with the firm’s clotted cream ice cream and real strawberries from the Vale of Evesham.

A 1 litre tub costs £3.50 (RRP £4.99).

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This new range of 100% natural smoothies features six flavours: mango, passion fruit, pumpkin & carrot; pomegranate, acai & blackcurrant; and mandarin, guava, & grapefruit. Made with pure fruit juice (not from concentrate) and purée, the smoothies come in EDITE CR

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www.love-mojo.com

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Condiment specialist Le Mesurier (which should be pronounced ‘measurer’) is adding four new lines this month, taking its total product range to 19.

Founder and chef Patrick Le Mesurier describes his new BBQ mustard (175g, trade £1.90) as “slightly sweet from honey with a kick”, while he says his hot horseradish sauce (175g, trade £2.20) will go “up your nose and down again”. He has also come up with a wholegrain English mustard (175g, trade £1.90) and a chilli jam relish (240g, £1.90).

These latest creations come hot on the heels of the Surrey firm’s versions of salad cream and hollandaise sauce, launched earlier this year. But Le Mesurier told FFD he is unlikely to launch any more lines in 2012.

“We’ve expanded the range to 19 products, which is a lot to do,” he said. “This year we’ve taken it as far as we want, but we’re still looking at some seasonal specials, like a Christmas chutney.”

In a crowded marketplace, Le Mesurier said his focus remains on providing “chef quality at affordable prices”. His products offer retailers a 30-40% margin.

Independents are his core clientele and he is currently running a five-for-four offer through Cotswold Fayre, as well as providing tasting boxes and point-of-sale recipe cards.

Since he began working with the Reading-based wholesaler Le Mesurier said he has gained 90 stockists and is on course to meet the target of 150 within a year.

Patrick Le Mesurier told FFD that his hard-to-pronounce name has played a part in growing the brand.

“I don’t mind how people say it,” he said. “It’s quite a talking point and people also think of Dad’s Army, but it’s very distinctive.” www.lemesuriers.com

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winning coffees – the Costa Rican Morning Blend, Espresso Blend and the three-star Indian Blend – all of which are handroasted in small batches. Trade price is £16.40 per gift pack (minimum order 8 per case), with an RRP of £25.

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Wholemeal Pizzas

CLARKES OF QUENIBOROUGH

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shelftalk

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Kent’s Kitchen, the online food company that helps foodies create great culinary creations, has just launched a range of Posh Noodles – delicious and authentic noodle pots.

The Kent’s Kitchen Asian Posh Noodles come in five flavours and are made with natural ingredients.

The new Posh Noodle range includes: Pad Thai Teriyaki Spicy Szechuan Miso Prawn & Wild Garlic Beef Pho Visit www.kentskitchen.co.uk for more information on the new Posh Noodles and other products. emma@kentskitchen.co.uk 01732 758024 | www.kentskitchen.co.uk

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Email: Sales@fosters-foods.co.uk Visit us at: www.fosters-foods.co.uk Fosters Traditional Foods Ltd, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7DE Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

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shelftalk

Katie Taylor (right): ‘This is a very affluent area – but people with money are also cautious.’

Turning style into substance Deli of the Month INTERVIEW BY MICK WHITWORTH

Katie Taylor has created one of the UK’s best-looking farm shops. Now she has to make it pay.

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f I’d known then what I know now,” says Katie Taylor, “I would have done things so differently. The displays, the lighting, everything…”

Taylor – a small, engaging bundle of nervous energy – is talking to me in the café of her stylish East Yorkshire farm shop, and, perhaps a little reluctantly, unburdening herself of the problems she has faced in starting a retail business in the teeth of recession. It all sounds like a classic case study for students of retail management.

Perched on a breezy hillside at South Cave, a few miles north-west of Hull and the Humber estuary, Drewton’s must be one of the country’s finest-looking farm shops.

It opened 18 months ago after a no-expense-spared conversion of redundant farm buildings on the 1,200-acre Kettlethorpe Estate, owned by Taylor’s family.

With its brick and timber construction, Farrow & Ball colour scheme, Lloyd Loom-style seating, bespoke signage and glossymagazine lifestyle props it’s almost

guaranteed to trigger shop envy among other farm retailers.

The business has been well marketed – smart newsletters, a busy programme of events and tastings, tie-ups with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and other charities – and has already picked up awards both for the pies and burgers sold from its retail counters and the breakfasts sold in its restaurant.

Its foodservice operation, divided between a teashop-style section within the main body of the shop and a more intimate dining room in a connected building, is doing stormingly well. A Saturday night Supper Club, launched late last year with a menu of seasonal dishes based on local produce at £25-30 for three courses, picked up a glowing review in the Yorkshire Post. The restaurant is now set to open on Friday evenings too, and is hired out regularly for events.

But here’s the rub: footfall in the farm shop remains stubbornly low, and while Christmas and the summer holidays delivered a sales surge last

year, the business is, on average, running 10% short of the £15,000 a week it needs to break even. What’s more, the sales trend is broadly flat.

Changes are needed to move takings up a notch, and as FFD went to press, electricians, joiners and refrigeration engineers were at work, reshaping parts of the interior in the light of 18 months tough experience. “I thought I’d researched this,” Taylor sighs at one point in our interview. “I honestly thought I knew what I was doing.”

One of her dilemmas is a classic of the costly retail start-up: does she sacrifice margin for volume, and drop prices to get more people through the door, or hold her nerve and go all-out for the high-spending lifestyle shopper? “This is a very affluent area,” she says, “but people with money are also cautious – that’s why they’ve got money.“ Her family, who part-funded the £750,000 farm shop development and have recently provided more financial help, have told Taylor she needs to keep prices down. Others have urged her to hold her nerve and

products, promotions & people

go for the premium market. and butchery. Cakes and pies are You can have too much advice, of baked here – Drewton’s steak pie course, and it can’t all be right. Either won a silver EBLEX award last year – way, Taylor seems deeply reluctant and Taylor is currently rejigging the to price out customers who, simply space and adding extra ovens to cope because the shop looks so good, with demand. “Our baker can’t bake perceive it to be expensive before quick enough,” she says. they’ve walked through the door.

Butchery is another key section, “I didn’t want this business to be selling 100% Yorkshire meat (and bottom end or top end,” Taylor tells winning two further EBLEX awards me. “I wanted somewhere people for its burgers this year). A blackboard would feel comfortable whether they above the counter gives price were dressed up or were in jeans and comparisons with Tesco: free range a jumper.” chicken at £4.65/kg here compared Drewton’s offer has been heavily with £4.95 in Tesco; back bacon at Yorkshire-based from day one, but in £7.88/kg against £11.88, and so on. a bid to widen the store’s everyday Again, some might say Taylor appeal Taylor has is crazy to been ramping We’re very competitive – undercut up the number probably too competitive. supermarkets, of national and given the But we’ve purposely kept overheads she international prices low to build the lines, pulling is carrying here, market up. storeroom and she’s doesn’t racking out onto entirely disagree. the shop floor to accommodate “We’re very competitive – probably them. “We want people to come too competitive,” she says. “But here and buy the ingredients for a full we’ve purposely kept prices low to meal,” she says. “As many as 80% of build the market up.” our suppliers are Yorkshire-based but Pricing and ranging are only I’ve gone further afield now to give a two of Taylor’s challenges. Others wider offer.” are layout-related. For example, for So Bespoke Foods’ Thai Taste planning reasons she ended up siting sub-brand and Jamie Oliver’s Jme part of her café-restaurant seating in range now share space with locals the main shop area rather than in the like Womersley fruit vinegars and smaller buildings that adjoin it. Not Shah ginger biscuits from Botham’s only did she sacrifice retail space, but of Whitby. A blackboard announces customers walked through the shop “Jamie Oliver range in store now” to door and headed straight for the highlight a name that the more wary open-plan eatery, bypassing the store shopper will be comfortable with. completely.

Running the full length of the Just before FFD’s visit, a halfshop’s back wall is a counter-service glazed partition wall went up around operation includes ‘food to go’, deli the seating area, separating it from

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shop, and she has a long track record the entrance while still giving diners a as a charity fundraiser.) view across the shop. And now, after Taylor’s family made their money taking advice from merchandising in the textile industry, branched specialist Hayley Rodgers of into carpets, then started a building Newcastle-based consultancy Vistory, restoration business too. Taylor further changes are being made to worked there for 22 years, doing all layout and sightlines. the interior design for the restored “Hilary’s really good on layouts, properties, learning the skills she customer flows, merchandising and would later apply to the “traditional, customer behaviour,” says Taylor. classic and timeless” look of “She came down here, scratching Drewton’s. her head, arguing with herself about When she decided to move from the same things I’ve been arguing Harrogate to be closer to her parents, with myself about. And we’ve come she sold her house and put the entire up with a plan. It’s not ideal, but we proceeds into the new farm shop: a have to work to a budget.” £750,000 development only made As part of the scheme, two possible by a Yorkshire Forward grant existing multideck chillers are being and a loan from the family “which I redeployed near the shop entrance have to pay back”. and clad in timber, partly to create At times, the “born organiser” a stronger fruit and veg display but who was apparently nicknamed also to steer shoppers into the shop Clipboard Katie, may have regretted and block any short-cuts to the her eagerness to start her own restaurant. business. Last year she had to Shop-baked bread and cakes make two redundancies and move are being sited on a new fixture a employees onto staggered rotas to few feet beyond the entrance. A avoid over-staffing in slack periods new section highlighting promotions – standard practice for the retail and seasonal offers will also go by sector but a move that led to “vicious the door, in combination with a rumours” that the shop was about new Vinegar Tips oil and vinegar to close, with suppliers reluctant dispensing display, and this should to give credit and shoppers staying make it much harder for shoppers away. “You can actually see it in the to ignore some of the shop’s main monthly figures for last summer,” she attractions. says. “It was an awful, awful time.”

While Taylor might wish she She has come through it, though, could start again with a clean sheet, as has her “fantastic” team of 45 she has been reassured, to a degree, full- and part-timers. “These obstacles by talking to other farm retailers – in we’ve had to overcome have fact, she was due to host a meeting made the staff stronger and more of several dozen of her peers this determined,” she says. month. “The farm shops round here “I’ve always said to them, ‘For don’t see each other as competition,” every negative there are 100 good she says. “We’re all members of comments’. And now it’s probably FARMA, a lot of us are members of more like 200.” the Guild of Fine Food too, and we all If Taylor can double her footfall work together. as quickly as she has doubled the “Recently I’ve spoken with a positive feedback from customers few other shop owners – Edward she’ll know she has turned the [Garthwaite] from Blacker Hall, corner.

Georgie [Mason] from Gonalston, Rob [Copley] from Farmer Copleys www.drewtons.co.uk in Pontefract – and found a few people in the business cks that have had the must-sto same issues. And as Drewton’s eam Eggs much as I have learned Cadbury’s Cr from them, some of lollies Choc Affair them have also got gs chocolate lo something out of RH’s licorice cards coming here, which I find h greetings Sacha Smit s toys encouraging.” bles children’ House of Mar Bear in mind, too, cards p greetings that Taylor has no retail Compost Hea background, and – unlike eak burgers Drewton’s st burgers many farm shop operators mb & mint Drewton’s la – has no other family ee vodka members helping full-time Thunder toff in the business. onde beer Wold Gold bl She is also a mother, usage rolls Drewton’s sa whose son George suffers s cookies from the debilitating illness Cookie Liciou (Handmade lymphoedema. (Copies of Scotch Eggs Black Watch ) Taylor’s cookery book By Co Scotch Egg eese George… It’s Scrummy, sold l Reser ve ch e ydal Specia sle en W to raise money for Leeds goats’ cheese Teaching Hospitals, are on Ribblesdale ck Bomber display throughout the farm owdonia Bla Sn

m shire ice crea Yummy York s 2012 Vol.13 Issue June dy 5sn· ap bran Wright & Co

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A promotional feature for Rowcliffe

Manchego and Berkeswell

Have I got ewes for you STEVE SMITH isn’t at all sheepish when it comes to ewes’ milk cheese

Talking C heese

with STEVE SMITH

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have a meeting this Wednesday with a consolidator of Spanish and Portuguese cheese which I am really looking forward to because I’m a massive fan of sheep’s milk cheeses of all types and varieties. Now is the time these cheeses come back into season, once the sheep have finished feeding their lambs.

I’m so looking forward to enjoying a runny Serra de Estrella or the equally unctuous Azetaio, which

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quickly became one of my top five favourite cheeses after a visit to the beautiful countryside not far from Lisbon a few years ago. Whether we can take it in stock depends on how good this year’s cheeses taste but also on the logistics of making sure we can deliver this sometimes volatile and fairly short life product into your stores in peak condition.

We also need to make sure our technical department are happy with it too!

I’ll also be tasting a massive selection of Manchegos from a wide selection of artisan producers and at every age profile, from a frisky young three-month, through a semi curado to a deeply complex 10-month aged cheese. We are

looking to satisfy as broad a range of consumer tastes as possible, I’m convinced retailers now appreciate the need to offer their customers a choice of ages reflecting the different flavours consumers have discovered on their travels.

Personally, I prefer a firm, nutty, full-on mature cheese, sliced and accompanied by a good membrillo. or perhaps dipped in a balanced peppery olive oil. I’m constantly surprised and delighted at the lovely fruity flavours of these raw milk, softer cheeses, I can’t wait!

Ossau Iraty has now become a must stock for any serious cheese counter and of course, hit the headlines when it won the World Cheese Awards for a second time

last November. There are several great producers down in southwest France and in this modern age, it is amazing to think that this one-thousand year-old cheese is still made by shepherds in the time honoured tradition who take their sheep up into the Pyrenees during the summer and produce cheeses in little mountain chalets.

We have a superbly complex artisan Ossau Iraty which is made in 2.5kg rounds, which offers the additional benefit of being easy to handle. For something lighter and softer there is always the white bloomy-rinded Brebiou or the Brebirousse D’Argental, with its characteristic orange coloured washed rind. Both are great additions to the counter in summer.

During this important year for Britain, we should not forget we boast some excellent ewes’ milk varieties in the UK, including the fresh soft Slipcotes and clean tasting Duddleswell from Sussex and the firm, caramel notes of a Berkswell or the lovely tang of a Lord of the Hundreds.

With sheep’s milk cheeses pre-dating those made using cows’ milk by several centuries, it’s little wonder they remain a firm favourite for all cheese lovers and not for just those who suffer an allergy to cows’ milk.

Steve Smith is sales director of Rowcliffe

01892 838999 www.rowcliffe.co.uk

THUR SDAY COT TAGE H A N D M A D E

P R E S E R V E S

Thursday Cottage is famous for our lemon curd - we sell more than any other product we make.

Perhaps the secret to success is the fact we start with whole fresh lemons which we juice and zest by hand. The result is a wonderfully lemony curd that has an army of followers both at home and abroad.

Available in all good farm shops, delis, garden centres and food halls countrywide. thursday cottage ltd trewlands farm tiptree colchester essex co5 0rf Telephone: 01621 814529 Fax: 01621 814555 jams@thursday-cottage.com www.thursday-cottage.com

Make the most of your member benefits with discounted card processing rates through Streamline For discounted card processing rates for members of the Guild of Fine Food call us today on 0800 015 3301 quoting code GFF0111A or visit us at streamline.com Streamline is a service provided by Worldpay (UK) Limited on behalf of National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England No. 07316500. Registered Office: 55 Mansell Street, London E1 8AN. Authorised and regulated as a Payment Institution by the Financial Services Authority 530923. National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England No. 929027. Registered Office: 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UR. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority 121878.

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www.refractometershop.com Fine Food Classified 2011:Layout • labelling

• ingredients

• labelling

Serving chocolatiers for over 40 years

Chocolate � Ingredients � Confectionery and Gift Packaging �

Griottines® and Framboisines® � Chocolate making starter kits �

www.keylink.org Tel: 0114 245 5400

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June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

Do your labels lack lustre? Find something flashier in digest

Tel: 01603 721804 Mobile: 07711437242 www.fda-packaging.com

Call our sales team on 01963 824464 today to discuss the right classified heading for your equipment, ingredients or services

• packaging

• packaging

• packaging

• refrigeration

Packaging CODING AND MARKING SYSTEMS FOR FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL

Foil & PET Diaphragms

New

Paper packaging, labelled and direct print containers

• packaging Tamper Evident Packaging

Tamper evident & film sealable plastic food packaging

Hire

Hire-to-Buy

Reliable leadtimes and service - sensible minimum order size Sizes available from 30ml to 5000ml Visit www.innavisions.com or call us for a brochure TEL: 01886 832283 EMAIL: nick.wild@innavisions.com • refrigeration

Heat seal machines for pots, bottles, trays and ALL types of packaging Low cost hand operated, semi automatic and fully automated systems Specialist suppliers to small & medium sized food companies

BUY ONLINE www.

Refurbished

Offline sleeve and watch strap band feeders Ink jet printers - 5yr warranty on new units Hot Foil & Thermal Transfer Printers Laser coding systems

SiS

Seal-it-Systems

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

FOOD SAFETY

DEPOSITORS & PACKAGING SYSTEMS MEATS/SEAFOODS & READY MEALS Depositors for sauces and dressings Pot fillers and liquid fillers Vertical Form Fill Seal Thermoformers Tray sealers Pumps

Training & Consultancy Make sure you’re meeting legal requirements for food safety.

Level 2 Food Safety online £25 Level 3 Food Safety online £125 Meat managers hygiene and HACCP training of all levels

At your own premises or in Skipton, North Yorks.

Verner Wheelock Associates

parkerspackagingdirect.com

01756 708526 / office@vwa.co.uk

t: 0151 547 6700

For more information call 01962 761761 info@printsafe.co.uk www.printsafe.co.uk

Purchase with confidence from a company that has been trading since 1952!

• packaging

• training

• temperature moitoring

Training from the Guild of Fine Food

• training

What will you learn?

1. The five golden rules for increasing deli sales 2. How to select the best cheese and charcuterie 3. How to create the best counter display • ingredients • training 4. How to avoid bad quality cheese and charcuterie 5. How to sell proactively rather than reactively 6. The difference between artisan and mass-produced cheeses and meats through comparative tastings

• packaging Cheese

For more information:

Course costs

E-mail: linda.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk Tel: 01963 824464 www.finefoodworld.co.uk

www.vwa.co.uk • washing equipment

Monday June 18: West Retford, Notts.

Wednesday June 20: York Monday July 2: Guild House, Somerset

Members of The Guild of Fine Food just £70, plus VAT (@ 20%). Non-members £95, plus VAT (@ 20%). *NB. Unfortunately there is a £10 plus VAT (@ 20%) surcharge for London training dates due to higher venue costs.

Vol.13 Issue 5 · June 2012

55

AOC, the sign of special products...

A traditional cheese

The cheese of western Switzerland, with a delicate, distinguished flavour.

Made since at least 1115 AD in and around the small town of Gruyères, today it is still produced by village cheese dairies in western Switzerland according to the traditional recipe.

Le Gruyère AOC owes its characteristic delicacy and flavour to the top quality raw milk produced by cows fed on grass in the summer and hay in winter, coupled with the skill of the mastercheesemakers.

No less than 400 litres of fresh milk are needed to produce a single wheel weighing around 35kg.

During the slow maturation process, which takes several months in special cheese cellars, the wheels are turned regularly and rubbed down with saltywater. The maturing process lasts between five and 18 months.

Each cheese is systematically identified by the number of the mould and code of the cheese dairy. The day and month of production are also noted on the wheel. These black markings are made with casein, the cheese protein. No artificial additives are involved here either.

Le Gruyère AOC takes pride of place on any cheese platter. It makes for a delicious desert and can be used in tasty warm dishes. What’s more, no real fondue would be complete without genuine Gruyère AOC.

From this time on, the name ‘Gruyère AOC’ and the code of the production facility appears on the heel of each wheel of Gruyère AOC as an effective way of preventing fakes and guaranteeing authenticity.

This technique employs branding irons, which give an indentation in the wheel. It is this marking that makes it possible to identify and trace each individual cheese.

The humidity and rind washing process develops the characteristic appearance of the cheese and assists in bringing the cheese into full maturity.

This is what gives Le Gruyère AOC its famous, distinct flavour. It’s no great surprise that this authentic gift of nature is appreciated by cheeselovers throughout the world.

www.gruyere.com ruyere.com Cheeses from Switzerland.

Switzerland. Naturally.

56 June 2012 · Vol.13 Issue 5

www.switzerland-cheese.com