FFD May 2019

May 2019 Volume 20 Issue 4 gff.co.uk

Get the scoop on summer Make the most of ice cream and more with our outdoor dining special

ALSO INSIDE Going waste-free down in Devon

Social enterprise: Catford’s Good Food

Buffalo salami from Northern Ireland

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

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CONTENTS 5

BIG PICTURE

7

NEWS

Not only is that gelato top stuff but it’s literally a stone-cold money-maker, too.

12 SHOP TALK

By Michael Lane, Editor

15 CHEESEWIRE 21 CHARCUTERIE 23 CAFÉ CONFIDENTIAL 26 SUMMER DINING SPECIAL 41 SHELF TALK 48 DELI OF THE MONTH 53 GUILD OF FINE FOOD NEWS

May 2019 Volume 20 Issue 4 gff.co.uk

You won’t believe this when I tell you but I visit my local barber’s every couple of months (stop laughing at the back) and no matter how early I get there on a Saturday morning, I find myself sat waiting in silence for at least half an hour with no phone signal.

Once I’ve counted the number of people ahead of me, assessed their hairstyles and tallied up how many minutes I’ll be sat there for, my mind turns to a different kind of maths.

A standard cut costs £12 but how much – after rent, rates, utilities and other expenses – is the barber actually left with? It perplexes me, every time, how there could be any profit margin on a haircut.

Whatever I’m paying for these days I tend to think about the size of the margin being made on it. You could call it a professional hazard.

At a trade show recently, I

was slightly impressed that those wonderful caterers lurking on the fringes of the NEC were charging nearly £3 for a bottle of Coke. When I get tempted by a chocolate bar at a till (according to our story on page 8 that could be a thing of the past), I feel a similar mix of outrage and admiration. I even consider margins when I’m at a cheese counter – but I’m able to rationalise most prices given what I know about how it gets there and what it takes to sell it.

Strangely, I had never considered it about ice cream – despite a number of recent family visits to the coast. But my eyes were opened when I went to see Sam Hanbury of Baboo Gelato. Not only is that gelato top stuff (I ate quite a lot while we shot the cover) but it’s literally a stone-cold money-maker, too.

You can read more about running an ice cream kiosk on page 23, but the numbers are worth

repeating. You buy a 5-litre Napoli for £25, sell 50 x 100g scoops at £2.50 a pop – that’s £125 of pure turnover. Take away the cost of the ice cream itself plus additional costs like staffing and the rough estimate is £75 of profit. 60%? That’s what I call a margin.

When I first started out as a business journalist, a concrete contractor told me very matter-offactly: “It’s not about turnover, it’s what’s left over”.

No matter what your goal is, profit is vital. Even the directors at Good Food (our Deli of the Month on page 48), which is a social enterprise, have to price things to make money.

Given the amount of people you will have visiting your shops over the coming months, those margins have got to be on your mind, too.

I’m off to tell my barber to install an ice cream counter – without the 99 flakes.

EDITORS’ CHOICE Chosen by Lauren Phillips, Assistant editor

Get the scoop on summer

Cariad Bakery

Make the most of ice cream and more with our outdoor dining special

Organic Cariads

ALSO INSIDE Going waste-free in Totnes

Social enterprise: Catford’s Good Food

Buffalo salami from Northern Ireland

Cover photography by Michael Lane with thanks to Baboo Gelato

There is a lot in these little confectionerytype balls from Cariad Bakery, but I don’t mean ingredient-wise. Made using Welsh organic ewes’ milk (read more on page 42),

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Editor: Michael Lane

Sales director: Sally Coley

Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065

Editorial director: Mick Whitworth Assistant editor: Lauren Phillips Reporter: Andrew Don

Art director: Mark Windsor

Contributors: Nick Baines, Nick Hook, Patrick McGuigan, Sumear Safdar-Robins, Lynda Searby

advertise@gff.co.uk

Sales manager: Ruth Debnam

Sales executive: Becky Haskett ADDRESS Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB United Kingdom

the strawberry flavour was a particular favourite of mine. Soft and almost jam-like, it satisfies a sweet-craving without any refined sugar.

I met owner Sara Sharpe last month and there was no doubt of her genuine belief in the health benefits of ewes’ milk.

She also makes a new chocolate & Anglesey chilli fudge made with ewes’ milk butter which is delicious with a very subtle hum of heat coming through. cariadbakery.cymru

Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200

Published by The Guild of Fine Food Ltd gff.co.uk

editorial@gff.co.uk

© The Guild of Fine Food Ltd

Printed by: Blackmore, Dorset Fine Food Digest is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £50 p.a. inclusive of post and packing.

2019. 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

Turn to page 53 for news from the Guild

or publisher.

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

3

For trade enquiries please contact Bridget or Laura on 01568 720244 or email tyrrellsdirect@kpsnacks.com.

2

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

THE BIG PICTURE

It’s cheese... but not as you know it This cheese goes by the name of Aged Cheddar but it contains no dairy whatsoever.

Made by Keynsham-based former dairycheesemaker-turned-vegan Sumear SafdarRobins (@crummysummy), this product is part of a range that includes Feta-style, soft and blue cheeses all made with fermented nuts.

If you want to know what it tastes like, Sumear and his creations are guests on the next episode of The Fine Food Podcast (produced in partnership with FFD).

Download it from iTunes now.

Photograph: Sumear Safdar-Robins

Manufacturers of depositors & filling machines for the food production industry

Lotus BiscoffÂŽ Gateau Available to Order Now Telephone: 01274 590698 or email: sales@just-desserts.co.uk

Tel: 01282 440040 info@riggsautopack.co.uk www.riggsautopack.co.uk

cOtTaGeDeLiGhT.cO.uK 6

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

www.just-desserts.co.uk

NEWS

More foodie garden centres incoming as Dobbies chain doubles in size

By Andrew Don

Dobbies Garden Centres has snapped up 31 branches from rival Wyevale in a move that is expected to boost the sites’ food offerings and pose further competition for local independents.

Rumoured to be worth £135m, the deal nearly doubles the chain’s estate and could see nearby speciality food retailers challenged on price and vying for customers especially for mutuallystocked food and drink.

A Dobbies spokeswoman told FFD the new stores would be phased over to Dobbies’ livery and format – which includes food halls and restaurants – between May and June.

“We are working to get all of our ranges into the new stores as soon as possible,” she said.

The retailer has already demonstrated its focus on

speciality food by striking partnerships with high-end supermarket Booths and Loch Fyne Seafood last year.

Matthew Grindal, owner of Manor Farm Shop in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, is about 15-20 minutes from one of the acquired Wyevale outlets and said it would be harder to compete on mutually-stocked lines.

“With their scale they can undercut which is why we made a decision five or six years ago to forget about selling lines like pasta and make sure that whatever we sell cannot be bought elsewhere,” he told FFD. “That is the only way we’ll survive.”

Emma Mosey, co-owner of Minskip Farm Shop near York, another location in which Dobbies has acquired a site, said the more speciality food businesses the better because they encouraged people to shop in

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT...

THE QUALITY OF NPD IN THE SECTOR RUPERT TICHMARSH, MANAGER, COWDRAY

FARM SHOP,

MIDHURST,

WEST SUSSEX:

The Dobbies’ garden centre format, which features food retail space and restaurants, will be applied to the old Wyevale sites

them more regularly.

“Dobbies is far enough away that local people can still use us,” she said.

“The better the existing businesses are, the better for the industry.”

Melanie Scragg, who owns Melanie’s Kitchen in Bristol near where one of the newly acquired Wyevale’s is located, said the upgrade would pose a threat but it was not “a game changer”.

The food offer in other Bristol garden centres had reduced and she thought

they were all struggling.

The deal with Wyevale takes Dobbies to 69 branches. Tesco owned Dobbies between 2007 and 2016 before a group of investors bought the garden centre chain for £217m.

The new outlets take annual combined turnover to more than £300m.

Chairman Andrew Bracey said the deal would benefit customers with “broader ranges, national coverage, a leading online offer and great prices”.

The genuinely new and innovative products that have commercial viability are scarce.

I wouldn’t say that’s down to lack of new product development so much, but the fact that it’s already been done. There is a danger of trying to reinvent the wheel. There needs to be recognition that sometimes you can’t improve on what is already out there.

MARCUS CARTER, OWNER,

ARTISAN FOOD CLUB:

It’s really hard nowadays to come up with innovation, and catch a trend and be at the right time. So many people have moved away from high fat, high sugar. I’d love to meet more companies bringing out sugary fatty foods but that’s just me.

Bank trialling fingerprints to replace card PINs A leading UK bank is testing debit and credit cards that use fingerprint recognition for authorising payments.

NatWest said its pilot programme using biometric fingerprint technology meant that PINs would not be required.

It is working with digital security company Gemalto along with Visa and Mastercard to bring the service to UK customers, incorporating fingerprint sensors on plastic cards.

Gemalto MD Howard Berg said: “Using a fingerprint rather than a PIN code to authorise transactions has many advantages, primarily enhanced security and greater convenience.”

Cardholders could pay quickly and easily with just a touch, whatever the

value of their purchases so they no longer needed to worry about the limit on contactless payment transactions.

Banks consider fingerprint payment to be the next logical extension to quick and easy payment after contactless. Facial and voice recognition are also expected to be part of the mix.

David Crawford, head of effortless payments at NatWest said: “This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years and we are excited to trial the service.”

SARAH GRAY, BURTENSHAWS BUTCHER &

World’s best marmalade crowned at Dalemain Flint-based marmalade-maker Beth Furnell (pictured) is looking forward to making the most of her win as Best in Show at the 2019 Marmalade Awards, staged by Dalemain Estate in Cumbria.

She saw off more than 3,000 other marmalades from more than 40 countries to scoop the grand prize with her Bitter Sweet Marmalade which Thursday Cottage will now commercially produce.

The prestigious Double Gold winners were Cakebole Orchard (spiced Seville orange & pumpkin preserve), Keya Jam (orange blossom, kumquat & yellow lemon preserve) and A&E Gourmet (The Royal Delicacy Preserve). dalemain.com/marmalade-awards/

DELICATESSEN, RUSTINGTON,

WEST SUSSEX:

On the British charcuterie side there’s a lot that’s quite same-same between producers. They’re all doing the normal salami, a fennel one, maybe a garlic one and then maybe something that’s very specific to them, but maybe not.

There seems to be a lot of new stuff coming out in glazes, rubs and sauces.

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

7

NEWS

CYBER CRIME

Government plans to restrict “unhealthy” impulse purchases could hit indies

By Andrew Don

Fine food retailers have condemned government proposals to crack down on the prominent placing of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products – if small outlets are lumped together with supermarkets.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is especially concerned with the locations of HFSS items at key selling locations, including store entrances, checkouts and aisle ends.

But several retailers have told FFD they are concerned that a rule aimed at larger retailers could cripple delis and farm shops.

The DHSC claims that this practice can lead to “pester power and impulse purchases”, in a document outlining its Consultation on restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar and salt by location and by price that closed on 6th April.

Beware bogus health officials, says FSA The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has alerted food businesses to fake officials, who are demanding money for food hygiene re-rating and warning failure to pay will lead to a fine.

The FSA said neither it nor local authorities would demand money in this way and there was no charge for inspections that resulted in food hygiene ratings.

It said local authorities could only charge when individual businesses requested a re-rating inspection and they would never demand one.

Businesses should ask for ID from callers and report any suspicious activity to their local authority, the agency said.

The FSA said the number of reports of this scam were low but it was still concerned.

8

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

Cakes at the till could be a thing of the past, if Department of Health & Social Care proposals to crack down on retailers go through

Its ultimate aim is to reduce the purchase of socalled unhealthy food and drink –both in shops and foodservice outlets – as it bids to tackle child obesity.

Sarah Clout, co-owner of Holwood Farm Shop in Keston, Kent, said small shops should be exempt.

“You haven’t got the flexibility to move your products around and I have a lot of chocolate on my till.

“I think it’s fine to apply it to supermarkets that have

flexibility to move products but if you have a small shop how can you accommodate it?”

Clout said the government should credit people with the intelligence to know what they were buying. “Where it’s displayed in a shop is irrelevant because people will seek it out.”

Paul Castle, business manager at Farrington’s Farm Shop in Gurney, Bristol, said it was one thing cracking

DOWN ON THE FARM

The latest from farm shops across the country

Cowdray Farm Shop in Midhurst, West Sussex, (pictured) has reopened after undergoing a refurbishment to coincide with its 10th anniversary.

It replaced its old refrigeration, installed new shelving, freshened the

look and introduced more interactive elements to get people to engage with the business more. cowdray.co.uk/cowdrayfarm-shop/ Gates Garden Centre, in Cold Overton, Leicestershire,

down on supermarkets selling such products in key areas but “a store checkout and an aisle end can be the whole part of an independent”.

A typical independent, smaller than 3,000 sq ft, does not have the same wide choice of options for merchandising as supermarkets, he said.

But he added that if everyone focused on providing the best possible food “in the healthiest possible way”, such restrictions would become incidental.

When FFD contacted the DHSC, a spokesman refused to be drawn on whether it was considering an exemption for smaller shops.

The Association of Convenience Stores is lobbying government to exempt small stores from the placement restriction because it could be “extremely destructive”.

Read the ACS argument in full on page 55.

IN BRIEF Premium tonics maker Fever-Tree has revealed ambitions for further US expansion after posting a 40% increase in sales to £237m last year. Pretax profit surged 34% to £75.4m. Its US sales climbed 20% to £35m.

The Seed Fund has revealed that nearly 60% of entries into this year’s Academy programme are female entrepreneurs – revealing a trend for women to run new food and drink businesses.

Fewer than half of the producers entering in 2016 were run by women. The Seed Fund Academy’s Class of 2019 will be announced in May. UK food and drink exports slowed last year.

According to Food & Drink Federation analysis, they increased by just 2.5% year on year – about a quarter of the growth rate seen in 2017 when exports climbed 9.7%.

has started building a new 12,000 sq ft farm shop which is scheduled to open late summer. It will include a large butchery run by Hambleton Farms with meat from a small select group of farmers, including beef and lamb from the Gates family’s own farm. It will also feature an extensive delicatessen, a cheese counter and artisan bakery. gatesgardencentre.co.uk

Opened late last month, ‘Garden Gems’ Plant Nursery & Garden Centre, is a new addition to Salts Farm Shop in Rye, East Sussex. Much-needed in the local area, the garden centre will offer seasonal bedding plants, tools, hanging baskets and fruit trees as well as garden furniture and water features. saltsfarmshop.co.uk

Consumers looking for a bit of coastline in Cambridgeshire are now in luck, thanks to a new adventure play area at Bury Lane Farm Shop in Royston.

Promising visitors the fun of the seaside, The Beach at Burys boasts go carts, mini diggers, trampolines and even bungees. burylanefarmshop.co.uk

Established in the 1800s, W.J.Castle Farm Shop is undergoing a transformation to become a 21st century food emporium. Its newly refurbished, urban farm shop in Burford will host a butchery and a deli, as well as take-away hot food and fresh coffee. jessesmith.co.uk

In association with

Fabulous Farm Shops fabulousfarmshops.co.uk

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

NEWS

Farm shops well-placed to make the most of plastic-free demand

By Andrew Don

Farm shops are well-placed to boost footfall and fresh produce sales if they publicise their plastic-free credentials, new research has confirmed.

Rural retailers have widely embraced the call to reduce plastic – and FFD has spoken to several owners confirming this – but new data shows consumers are actively seeking sustainable businesses and products.

Now research from Kantar has found sales of loose fruit and vegetables are growing twice as quickly as those wrapped in plastic.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Consumers are applying pressure on the retailers when it comes to packaging and making their feelings known in the fruit and vegetable aisle.”

Some 21% of fruit and vegetables were sold loose

Most farm shops already offer paper bags alongside their loose produce – a category that is growing rapidly across all food retail

in the 12 weeks ending 24th March, with sales growing twice as quickly as packaged produce, he said.

Robert Copley, who owns Farmer Copleys in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, said a “huge” number of farm-to-fork businesses already had less plastic produce packaging than supermarkets and many had made an increased effort over the past year.

Food price inflation at fastest rate since 2013 Food price inflation has climbed at its fastest rate in five years, triggered by global commodity prices and adverse weather, researchers have found.

Food inflation accelerated in March to 2.5%, up from 1.6% in February. This is the highest inflation rate since November 2013.

Fresh food inflation accelerated to 1.9% in March, up from 1.7% in February – the highest inflation rate

2.5% food price

inflation

in March 2019 Source: BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index

since October 2017.

Ambient Food inflation picked up in March, prices increasing by 3.4%, a significant increase on February’s rate of 1.5% and the highest inflation rate since February 2013, the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index found.

Rises in global cereal prices pushed up bread and cereal prices and last year’s bad weather meant that a number of UK crops, such as onions, potatoes, and cabbage, saw much lower yields. These products are now consequently experiencing significant price increases.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, said: “The upwards pressure on pricing continues across food retailing and a key driver this month was inflation in ambient food and drink.”

“Customers can just choose the produce they want and use paper bags rather than plastic,” said Copley, who also chairs the Farm Retail Association (FRA).

The FRA has been urging the public, who are looking to reduce their plastic waste, to visit farm shops and farmers’ markets.

Minskip Farm Shop in North Yorkshire, for

example, estimates it has reduced its own waste by 45% since 2017 by reusing produce and egg boxes and moving to paper bags.

Farndon Fields Farm Shop in Leicestershire reuses all its produce boxes by offering them to customers for carrying their shopping.

Milly Stokes, the shop’s co-owner, said it now sells loose dried goods from glass jars and all the shop’s deli counter items are wrapped in brown or greaseproof paper.

“We have had an overwhelming positive response from customers for our recent changes to 100% eliminating single-use plastic.”

Victoria Holland, buyer at Washingpool Farm Shop, in Dorset, does not sell anything in plastic apart from cucumbers. “The shelf life’s better in plastic so there’s less food wastage with the cucumbers when wrapped.”

Holland said this showed it was important to weigh up the different sides of the environmental equation before acting on certain products.

IN BRIEF The government has called for evidence of violent retail crime, as part of a consultation, to gain an understanding of the scale of the crisis and what it can do to prevent it.

Craft distillery Greensand Ridge, near Shipbourne, in the Weald of Kent has laid claim to being the first UK carbon neutral distillery. It launched in 2015 with the aim of having an ultra-low impact on the environment and using surplus produce from local farmers Two-thirds of respondents to a survey by Farmers Weekly, sponsored

by Carter Jonas, said they were currently diversifying on their farm or estate with additions like shops and cafés. Almost all – 97% – who had diversified considered it a commercial success.

Mixed-size boxes of eggs prove a hit on the shelves A campaign to increase acceptance of mixed-size eggs has captured retailers’ imaginations in a bid to minimise wastage.

The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) launched a campaign last autumn calling on British consumers to “end their obsession” with large eggs and shop for mixed weight and medium instead.

Now retailers large and small from online grocery business Ocado to Minskip Farm Shop near York, offer their customers boxes of mixed-size eggs.

Minskip co-owner Emma Mosey said it was a myth that laying large eggs was painful for hens,

but the claim had gone viral and was prompting shoppers to demand mixed-sized eggs.

Minskip initially trialled selling mixed-sized eggs only but has now switched to offering both boxes of large eggs as

well as mixed-sized ones because its customers want the choice.

Mosey said: “The consumer has been consistently buying 70% large eggs whereas the hens lay about 55% large eggs and 45% medium throughout their life. If people are buying more large then there’s a shortage of large and an excess of medium eggs.”

She pointed out the yolk was the same size in every egg and it was just the size of the albumen that varied.

A spokesman for BFREPA said the campaign had “really caught on” and was hopeful it would shape buying habits going forward.

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

11

SHOP TALK IF I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW...

RICHARD ECKERSLEY, co-owner, The Zero Waste Shop, Totnes, Devon I used to be a professional footballer. I started at Manchester United, then Burnley, and eventually moved to North America. My interests shifted to the environment and veganism, which changed my perspective. When I came back to the UK to play for Oldham Athletic, I was no longer enjoying football. In January 2016, my wife, Nicola, found out she was pregnant, and we decided to move from the North West to Totnes, having previously travelled down there and discovered how amazing it was for organic, natural food and drink.

We had lots of “earthy” dreams around cultivating land or setting up a shop like the Unicorn Grocery in Manchester. Then I discovered Unverpackt in Berlin. It was the first time I’d come across a zero-waste retail concept and at the time, there was nothing like it over here.

We found premises in November 2016 and opened in March 2017. One of the hardest tasks was tracking down the dispensing units – we didn’t even know they were called gravity bins.

At the time, there was just one company, Martek, importing them from the US. We had to make sure the units were installed at the right height – too high and not everyone would be able to reach them.

Our speciality is dried foods, with fruit, nuts and cereals our best-sellers – we sell about 100kg of porridge oats alone every week. We also do nut butters and have a machine that grinds the nuts into butter before your eyes, which is very engaging. At one point, we tried selling coconut nectar but it wouldn’t physically dispense, so we had to get it all out and clean the machine. Maple syrup has been another learning curve; we realised it was going off at room temperature and had to bring in a refrigerated dispensing unit. Then there was the issue with ‘the mother’ from our cider vinegar blocking the valve…

Keeping on top of stock control has been the biggest challenge for me, coming from a non-retail background. Luckily, we work with mainly long shelf life foods. We also have a really effective wall board in the back of the shop. Every time a member of staff refills a container they chalk it up on the board. It sounds simple but it works precisely because it is so easy and doesn’t involve a computer. Not that we avoid technology. We use an online accounting system called Zero, which is great for managing income and outgoings.

We’ve steadily built up to an annual turnover of £240,000, surpassing our expectations. But in business, you can’t rest, you have to keep on reinventing yourselves.

Interview Lynda Searby Photography Nick Hook

12

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

CONFESSIONS OF A DELI OWNER ANONYMOUS TALES FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER I’LL GET THIS MONTH’S confession in early.

I’m still thinking about EHOs, even after struggling with their star rating system last time.

Like I was saying, EHOs should be helping rather than intimidating us. Our friendly neighbourhood Officer should be an ally – someone who is always welcome, sees how you are trying hard, checks the relevant stuff and maybe throws in a couple of blunt but friendly words to keep you on the straight and narrow.

It never feels like that. Each one of their reports – delivered in triplicate – feels like the school report you are afraid to show your parents because they’ll re-hire that creepy tutor with the sweaty hands.

Look, I am not here to abuse EHOs. Some of my best friends are EHOs. Actually, that’s not true, I don’t know any socially. Not to say they aren’t good friendly people with challenges of their own.

Indeed we did have one gent, in fact the first EHO we ever had. At our food festival a while back, he popped in for a chat. Probably the first time he’d been in without wearing his HazMat suit. He had retired. I asked him how he was and

MODEL RETAILING

Our EHO had been reduced to a life of PTSD and a weekly raw veg box joked that he must know all the best places to eat locally after such a long time in the game.

No, he had turned vegan. Animal products are basically the source of all evil pathogens, he said. Having seen so many good restaurants with bad kitchens, he could not bring himself to eat anything he hadn’t prepared himself. Rather than be inspired by ever-improving standards of British restaurant kitchens after 30-odd years of inspecting food businesses, our EHO had been reduced to PTSD and a raw veg weekly box.

SOLVING EVERYDAY SHOPKEEPING DILEMMAS. IN MINIATURE. Erm, are you sure it’s safe?

Has it even been tested?

Check out this amazing kebab grill I got second hand. This is exactly what we need. I could be the next Ottolenghi!

Everyone’s heard the urban myths about badly run kitchens. We’ve all got stories – roast chickens still frozen inside, the slug you discovered in that salad, chefs abusing food you complained about and putting it back on your table. These things happen, but EHOs see even worse things that don’t even make it to the pass.

And when you see how they are drilled, it’s no wonder EHOs are the way they are.

Legislation is spat out by the EU (that’s unlikely to change), translated straight into UK law and winds its way through FSA and local authority training guidance and courses. At every stage originally reasonable directives have been interpreted just a little more conservatively – just to be safe, just to be sure. It’s a system that sets up trainee inspectors to become paranoid pedants before they even don their first snood to tick their first box.

And are we nice to our EHOs, the people who take one for the team and engage with the worst of British food? Not really. We grovel, yes, but we really can’t wait to get them out the door.

Maybe none of my friends are EHOs, but I do feel for them. Sort of.

It’ll be fine...

Now, shall I whip up some chilli sauce, or is it hot enough for you?

FFD says: Introducing new food-to-go concepts is vital for attracting new customers and improving those margins. In short, it is a great idea. Doing it on the cheap, though, is always a bad idea. There’s nothing wrong with buying second-hand equipment but check that it actually works and that it will be a practical addition to the shop floor.

With kind permission of Geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG, Germany. PLAYMOBIL is a registered trademark of Geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG, for which also the displayed PLAYMOBIL toy figures are protected.

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CHEESEWIRE

news & views from the cheese counter

Alex James and White Lake split up as rock star revamps range

By Patrick McGuigan

Musician-turned-cheeseentrepreneur Alex James has parted ways with one of the key artisan producers behind his British cheese range, a year after it was relaunched with Ocado.

Four out of the six cheeses curated by the Blur bassist are now no longer in production, after Somerset-based White Lake Cheese stopped making Goddess, Farleigh Wallop, Little Wallop and Glastonbury brie under licence.

The cheeses were numbered from 3-6 under the Alex James Great British Cheeseboard range,

which was launched in May and dubbed the “UK’s first branded British cheeseboard” when it launched.

White Lake is now making the cheeses under its own brand with new names: Solstice (Goddess), Stitch in Thyme (Farleigh Wallop) and Eve (Little Wallop).

According to cheesemaker Roger Longman, the split came about after he tried to put prices up by 10% to compensate for a drop in sales. “It started well, but really faded dramatically,” he said. “The original deal was we would be selling 300 of each type of cheese, but by January

White Lake will continue to make cheeses like Goddess but under new names – in this case, Solstice

we were only selling 40. We said the only way we can do it is if we have a price increase to cover the increased costs of running such small batches.”

The two other cheeses in the range – No 1 Cheddar, made by Barber’s, and No 2 Blue Monday, made by Shepherd’s Purse – are still in production.

Alex James told FFD that he is working on a new range of Continental cheeses from European cheesemakers, which would launch with Ocado shortly, before being made available to delis via Rowcliffe later in the year.

The new range includes: The Universal (a hard cheese), Blu (blue), Concorde (soft white), Planet Claire (washed rind) and Goat Log. “It was not an easy decision to part ways [with White Lake] after so many years working together but change is an inevitable part of running a business,” said James. “White Lake are among the best in the world at what they do but with the increased demands of a new range in the works, we needed to take another look at how best to meet our requirements.”

Blur bassist Alex James first launched a range of artisan cheeses, including Goddess and Little Wallop, with cheese writer Juliet Harbutt in 2006.

NEWS IN BRIEF British cheeses, including cheddar and Stilton, could soon be subject to stringent US import tariffs. The Trump administration is planning additional tariffs on about $11bn (£8.4bn) worth of EU goods, including a wide range of cheeses, in response to subsidies that support Airbus.

Raw milk cheese supporters in France continue to fight against proposals to allow pasteurised cheeses to be labelled Camembert de Normandie PDO. The Association Fromages de Terroirs held a raw milk cheese summit last month, highlighting the benefits of raw milk for health, while protestors posted unpasteurised Camemberts in politicians’ letterboxes to highlight their concerns.

The country’s largest cheese festival takes place this month with more than 70 artisan cheesemakers and 10,000 visitors expected to attend the Artisan Cheese Fair in Melton Mowbray, 4-5 May. The event will also feature talks and workshops, plus the results of the Artisan Cheese Awards.

The Department of Dairy Related Scrumptious Affairs has returned in a new £1.2 million consumer marketing campaign to promote dairy products to millennials. The campaign, which features a spoof government ministry, first launched last year and is funded by Dairy UK and AHDB Dairy. It features online, outdoor and cinema advertising, plus posters that can be downloaded by retailers.

THREE WAYS WITH...

Westcombe Red

Westcombe Dairy in Somerset is best known for its raw milk, cloth-bound cheddar, but it has also made this raw milk Red Leicester-style cheese since the early 2000s. Made in traditional clothbound 10kg wheels, the cheese is aged for around five months until it has a firm, flaky texture and mellow nutty flavour.

Cured meat As well as making cheese, Westcombe has recently started trials of charcuterie, which are aged in a small maturing room attached to the dairy shop. Its new veal saucisson is made with meat from the farm’s own animals, plus locally sourced pork fat. Both the cheese and the cured meat are rich and satisfying, while there’s a nice contrast in textures between the two.

Alcoholic tea There’s a reassuring earthiness about Westcombe Red that works as a base for more aromatic flavours. Noveltea is a case in point. The alcoholic tea brand’s Tale of Oolong drink is particularly good with the cheese. A sweet and fragrant blend of oolong tea and Scotch whisky, infused with jasmine, rose petals, papaya and mango, it’s good served over ice with a few slices of apple.

The floral flavours add a new dimension to the easy-going cheese.

Fruit & nut slice The Fine Cheese Company’s Grace & I fruit and nut slices are genuinely innovative cheese accompaniments – made by pressing layers of dried fruits and nuts tightly together. The Orchard Fruit & Nut Press is a particularly good pairing for Westcombe Red, combining apples, figs, apricots, peaches, plums, almonds, pecans and walnuts. It accentuates the nuttiness in the cheese and adds mellow autumnal flavours.

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

15

CHEESEWIRE

news & views from the cheese counter

Struggling Premier Cheese bought out but La Cave trades on

BEHIND THE COUNTER TIPS OF THE TRADE

By Patrick McGuigan

Wholesaler Premier Cheese has been bought from administration by fresh produce supplier Premier Fruits, but the sale will not affect sister retail business La Cave à Fromage.

Set up in 1998 by Amnon Paldi and Eric Charriaux, Premier Cheese went into administration at the end of March – citing a drop in sales and increased operating costs – with many British artisan cheesemakers among its creditors, along with Premier Fruits, which supplied it with butter.

The business was immediately acquired by Premier Fruits in a pre-pack deal that included the main Bicester depot in Oxfordshire, securing more than 40 jobs.

Paldi and Charriaux continue to work in the business, which is now known as Premier Speciality Foods.

The La Cave à Fromage shops in London and Hove are separate companies, owned by Paldi and Charriaux, so were unaffected

CHEESE IN PROFILE with Fontina PDO What’s the story?

Fontina is an Alpine-style cheese made in the Aosta Valley, in north west Italy and has a history dating back to the 13th century.

There are several theories

16

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

Rhuaridh Buchanan, Buchanans Cheesemonger, London

Premier Cheese’s sister business La Cave à Fromage has not been sold and remains unaffected by the wholesaler changing hands

and continue to trade.

“Premier Cheese was too small to procure [stock] at the size they required for their profit margins,” said Richard Hickson, managing director of Premier Fruits, which is headquartered at New Covent Garden Market. He also cited the weak value of the pound, rising insurance costs and high rents as contributing factors.

Administrator Quantuma said the company ran into difficulties following a fall in

around the origin of its name. It could derive from Fontin – a hamlet in the valley – or the village of Fontinaz. It has also been linked to a local family name or the old French word for melting.

Fontina has PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status meaning it can only be made with raw milk from a single milking of the local Valdostana breed of cows. Production is split between larger dairies in the valley, who

sales and the rising costs of depots.

Work is underway to upgrade the Bicester site with new charcuterie curing rooms and plans to work towards SALSA and BRC accreditation.

“We have a lot of infrastructure that will help move the business forward,” said Hickson. “We’re looking to introduce the business to some of our existing partners, including airlines, hotel groups and cruise liners.”

Most retailers do a little business on the side to local restaurants and hotels, but for Rhuaridh Buchanan it’s the bulk of his sales.

The key to making wholesale work, he says, is offering consistently excellent customer service. “Don’t phone a chef at 1pm – you’d be amazed how many people do,” he says. “We work really closely with customers so we know what they want, whether that’s cheeses that are pre-cut in 250g chunks to make portion control easier or helping them hit average margins by developing cheeseboards with products at different price points.”

Upselling to chefs is just as important as when you are dealing with the public, he adds, with chutney, crackers and butter all important add-ons. Staff training and good tasting notes are also vital, as is making sure soft cheeses are properly ripe when they are delivered. “Retailers often look for cheeses with maximum shelf-life, but chefs want it to serve the next day,” he says.

manufacture all year round, and Alpeggio (Alpine) producers who make cheese in the mountains in the summer only, taking the cows to as high as 2,500m to graze on the rich pastures.

Milk: Raw cows’ milk How is it made?

The curds are cooked at between 46-48°C and then pressed for up to 12 hours. The cheeses are brine-washed and then dry-brushed during maturation – a minimum of 80 days but can be for up to nine months. The resulting cheese are flat wheels weighing between 7.5 and 12kg.

and nutty flavours on the palate.

Variations: None

Appearance & texture: It is semi-soft and elastic with a melt-in-the-mouth consistency. The interior paste varies in colour, from pale cream to deep yellow, and is punctuated with small holes. It has an intensely fragrant aroma and earthy, mushroomy

Cheesemonger tip: You can identify genuine Fontina PDO cheeses by the Matterhorn mountain illustration on each label.

Recommend serving it with roasted meats and truffles.

Chef’s recommendation: Use to make the speciality dish Fonduta – an Italian fondue made with melted Fontina, whipped cream and eggs. Serve with a fruity Barbera d’Asti from neighbouring Piedmont.

Whether you have a professional or personal interest in cheese, the Academy of Cheese is a not-for-profit organisation, providing a comprehensive industry recognised certification. Level One courses are available across the UK. Visit academyofcheese.org to start your journey to Master of Cheese.

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

CHEESEWIRE

news and views from the cheese counter

I don’t want to get to a massive herd, which would change what we do

A very modern territorial Renowned for its softer cheeses, Innes is also using its goats’ milk and following an old Caerphilly recipe to produce a new hard cheese Interview by Patrick McGuigan

Neal’s Yard Dairy held an event at its Bermondsey HQ last year to showcase the recent mini revival of territorial cheeses. The makers of Stonebeck Wensleydale, Pitchfork Cheddar and the Stiltonstyle Sparkenhoe Blue were on hand with tasters of their new cheeses, which are firmly rooted in British history and geography. But there was one cheese that caught this correspondent by surprise.

With its natural rind and crumbly texture, Highfields looked at first glance like a farmhouse Caerphilly, but its pale colour and sweet, earthy flavour told a very different story. Made to a Caerphilly recipe, but with raw goats’ milk in Staffordshire, the new cheese is a major departure for producer Innes, which is best known for soft, lactic cheeses.

“It’s exciting to see British territorial styles coming back again,” says Innes co-owner Joe Bennett. “We felt there was room for that kind of cheese in the market. There aren’t many hard goats’ milk cheeses at a relatively young age.”

The 4kg cheese, which is aged for two to four months, is still in its infancy – only 15 or so batches so far. These are currently being matured

by Neal’s Yard, but there are plans to build a new maturing room at the farm later this year.

“We’re tapping into Neal’s Yard’s expertise,” says Bennett. “They know what they are looking for and are tasting it on a regular basis, even at a week old or a few weeks old. There’s a lot of tasting and commenting with all our cheeses, analysing moisture contents and acidity levels.

Our make sheets are very detailed with notes on drainage rates, curd structure, flavour and smell.”

First set up at Highfields Farm in 1987 by Hugh Inge-Innes-Lillingston, owner of the 5,000acre Thorpe Estate near Tamworth where it is located, the business was taken over by Bennett’s mother Stella in 1997 (she had made cheese there from the start). The family has run it ever since as tenants and now freehold farmers, with Joe and his partner Amiee Lawn becoming increasingly involved as Stella wound down for retirement last Christmas. The launch of Highfields is one of a number of changes introduced by the couple, who have also refurbished the dairy and introduced new packaging and branding.

“It feels like we’ve made a lot of changes,” says Bennett. “We’ve simplified things and we’re more focussed now. We could get a bit bigger and be more efficient in terms of producing more from the same number of goats, but I don’t want to get to a massive herd, which would change what we do. It’s about improving quality and efficiency rather than big volumes.”

Key to this has been rationalising the range to five main products: Innes Log (also known as Bosworth Ash), Innes Brick, Innes Burr (an aged version of the log), fresh curd and Highfields. The company previously produced around 30 cheeses with different shapes and toppings, including Innes Button – a small round goats’ cheese sprinkled with paprika, ash or herbs – which has now been discontinued.

Innes also used to make the same cheeses with different cultures, using commercially produced Penicillium Candidum for some customers and whey starters for Neal’s Yard. Now, it only uses natural starters, which are made at the farm by culturing whey from the previous day’s make. “It’s the only way you can guarantee that you’re getting something individual to your farm, your herd, your area,” explains Bennett.

You could say it helps put the terroir into a new British territorial. innescheese.co.uk

CROSS

SECTION

Highfields 1

Natural whey starters help give the cheese a flavour that is “round and pleasant with more depth,” says Bennett. Whey from the lactic cheese make is added to the evening milk and Highfields is made the next morning. Flavours are sweet and milky, becoming more savoury and aromatic.

2 Highfields is made with raw milk from the farm’s own herd of 200 goats, which are a cross between Toggenburg, British Saanen and Alpine.

Golden Guernsey goats have also been introduced, which produce milk with a higher fat content.

3 The cheese is dry-salted three times. Once by adding salt to the curds before they are moulded, and twice by rubbing salt onto the exterior in between pressings. The natural rind on the cheese creates a dense, semi-soft layer just beneath, which has interesting earthy notes.

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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CUT&DRIED

making more of British & Continental charcuterie

NI firms join forces for first buffalo salami

By Mick Whitworth

More innovation emerged last month from Northern Ireland’s burgeoning charcuterie sector with the launch of the UK’s first buffalo salami.

It is a joint venture between established charcutier Alastair Crown of Corndale Farm and butcher Barry O’Brian of Ballyriff Farm, in Magherafelt, whose family runs a herd of over 60 water buffalo on pastures close to Lough Neagh.

Formerly a beef farm, Ballyriff is now one of only two buffalo meat producers on the island of Ireland.

According to O’Brian, buffalo meat contains half the fat, up to 60% less cholesterol and twice the calcium and protein of conventional beef.

He has already launched a range of burgers, sausages silverside roasts and steaks as part of a wider farm diversification.

Corndale is handling manufacturing and packaging

of the new salami at the production unit in Limavady where it makes fermented sausages and whole-muscle meats from its own free-range pigs.

It also produces venison salami using wild sika deer from Baronscourt Estate, and Crown has worked with Broughgammon Farm at

Buffalo meat is leaner than beef, with a sweet, gamey flavour

Online directory set to ‘expand awareness’ of Brit producers British Charcuterie Live has established what is says is the first online directory of British charcuterie producers.

Launched on St George’s Day, 23rd April, it is designed to give both consumers and trade buyers “instant access”

to producers across the UK, searchable by name, product or location.

Henrietta Green, founder of British Charcuterie Live, said: “We have seen that free and simple access to information is crucial in expanding

Ballycastle to create a veal salami.

While beef salamis are starting to appear in the UK artisan sector, Crown told FFD buffalo was “next level”. “It’s a beautiful meat – leaner than pork, but it has a wonderful sweetness and almost gamey flavour,” he said. “We blend it with some of our own freerange pork fat to help bind the salami but also to achieve the correct texture.”

A buffalo picante chorizo, based on Corndale’s own award-winning pork chorizo recipe, has been developed “for those that like it hot”, and buffalo bresaola is also in the pipeline. “We’ve done trials and the end product has been fantastic,” Crown told FFD. “Bigger batches are currently maturing and will be available soon.”

The salami is being introduced at markets across Northern Ireland and sampled with local chefs. corndalefarm.com

awareness and helping to widen distribution of the dynamic range of British charcuterie now being made.”

Green will stage the second annual British Charcuterie Live Awards at Blenheim Palace on 1st August alongside the fourday BBC Countryfile Live show.

Every producer who enters the awards is being offered a free entry in the directory.

While describing it as a “work in progress”, Green said she expected the directory to list over 100 UK makers by the end of this year. britishcharcuterie.live/ directory

Native Breeds to go organic after buyout

by Helen Browning’s

By Mick Whitworth

Fourteen years after it was founded by Ruth and Graham Waddington, Gloucestershirebased charcuterie pioneer Native Breeds has been taken over by national organic meat brand Helen Browning’s.

The two have been working together for five years, with Native Breeds making products for Helen Browning’s using organic pork from the brand’s base at Eastbrook Farm in Wiltshire.

James Westhead, business development manager for Helen Browning‘s, told FFD the Waddingtons remain “very much involved” and will continue to handle charcuterie production from their existing unit at Lydney in the Forest of Dean.

“We will be serving all of Native Breeds’ existing customers, and all its current products will still be available,” he said.

“The exciting part is that all the charcuterie produced will eventually be organically certified and using our meat from the farm.”

Native Breeds has gained a reputation as one of the best artisan charcuterie makers, with a client base of top retailers and restaurants including Fortnum & Mason.

It also pioneered production of ‘gourmet street food’ such as spiced pulled pork and ‘clean label’ hot dogs made with high-welfare meat.

Helen Browning’s is the consumer products brand for Eastleigh Farm, which is owned by organic foods champion and Soil Association chief executive Helen Browning.

As well as hot dogs and pulled pork, its range includes bacon, meatballs and “speedy sausages”. helenbrowningsorganic.co.uk

Native Breeds’ artisan meats have won it numerous high-end clients

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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SNACKING GETSFor MORE EXCITING Get Ready Summer With summer around the corner,

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flavourings, with sales to delis seeing a With almost 1 in 3 food items chosen ** 34% increase YOY. for health reasons , thisis ismade a bigfrom trend Brindisa’s new gazpacho in 2019; Brindisa almonds are an 96% raw Spanish vegetables; tomatoes increasingly popular snackand choice; rich (loaded with anti-oxidants vitamins), in essential amino acids, fatty acids cucumber and peppers. With sherry and vitamins, they are choice for vinegar, excellent forthe gutideal health and 3% a health conscious foodie.

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CAFÉ CONFIDENTIAL

the secrets of smarter foodservice

Ice cream could be a hot option If you’re looking for improved footfall and great margins, everyone’s favourite treat could be just the ticket, Baboo Gelato’s Sam Hanbury tells Michael Lane

MARGINS IN FOCUS 100g per scoop 50 scoops per 5-litre Napoli £2.50 retail price per scoop (Hanbury says it is in the middle of a pricing spectrum that runs from about £1.80 to £2.75) Turnover of £125 per container Subtract cost of ice cream (£25), VAT, staff and running costs, etc.

Roughly £75 profit per container

Whether it’s a parlour, in-store counter or a kiosk, the concept is hardly new but selling ice cream by the cone or cup offers retailers decent margins and is an extremely effective footfall generator.

Dorset-based producer Baboo Gelato is proving this theory with its own kiosks in Lyme Regis and West Bay on the south coast and is setting up several more this season.

Co-founder Sam Hanbury tells FFD buying an ice cream should be special for consumers, so retailers must commit fully to it, rather than dragging out a stale chest freezer in July and August.

“I’m always surprised that farm shops don’t make a thing about it because it’s such a catch,” he says.

“People will stop their car and have an ice cream. And once they’ve stopped they’ll buy some cheese and charcuterie and a bottle of gin.”

Done right, Hanbury insists ice cream is not just a summer proposition and surely the margins

FROM THE DELI KITCHEN

on offer will tempt many retailers to try it (see box).

That said, having a location that guarantees a natural flow of people is essential, says Hanbury, both commercially and from a technical perspective.

“If you have a scooping tank with 40 ice creams and you’re only selling a few of them and they don’t turn over very fast that ice cream’s going to get crystallised, it’s going to get gooey, the quality goes out of it.”

Gelato’s serving temperature is slightly warmer, at -12°C, than regular ice cream but staff need to monitor it for consistency by eye.

If ice cream is poor in quality or, worse, a health hazard, Hanbury estimates this could dent sales by £5,000, from something like a bad Tripadvisor review, whereas throwing away a container of ice cream won’t cost more than £25.

Keeping your range tight also reduces wastage. Baboo opts for serving only 10 flavours at a time.

That gives them enough space to include some classics, sorbets for dairy-free and vegan punters, and some experimental flavours.

As with all food, customer service and cleaning are key to success but the inventory management of your kiosk or counter is critical. The last person out of Baboo’s kiosks at night sends a detailed inventory (ice cream, cones, pots etc) to the head office by tablet, to ensure that sales aren’t dented by running out of something essential when queues are building up.

If you’ve got room for a scooping counter but it still sounds too much like hard work, why not consider renting an experienced ice cream operator the space at your premises.

Baboo has just opened a similar set up at Felicity’s Farm Shop.

If potential customers can spot ice cream from the road, then they’ll surely stop and spend. baboogelato.com

Simple recipes to boost your margins. Sponsored by Tracklements 160g melted butter or sunflower oil Zest of ½ orange and ½ lemon, reserving juice for syrup For the syrup: Juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, plus the other half of the zest, peeled and cut into fine strips 80g caster sugar 1 vanilla pod 2 pods cardamom 1 cinnamon stick To top: 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Persian Bread Cake This cake is the perfect sweet treat. It’s great for morning or afternoon teas, but also a good dessert option, it gets its distinct texture from using old breadcrumbs instead of flour.

We’ve tried this recipe with all sorts of crumbs and all work really well. This recipe is adapted slightly for a croissant crumb which is a little more buttery.

If you’d like to use breadcrumbs, we’d suggest upping the butter by 20g. This cake keeps for a good amount of time and the flavours improve with age but it is not likely to last very long!

Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 35mins Makes: 1 cake serving 6-8 5 eggs 180g caster sugar 140g ground almonds 70g ground croissant crumbs 3 tbsp sesame seeds, plus extra to top 2 tsp baking powder

Method: • Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 20cm/8inch spring-form cake tin.

• Mix the eggs with the sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, crumbs, sesame seeds, melted butter and zests.

• Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through (reduce

oven temperature to 160°C if it starts to get too brown).

• For the syrup: heat the ingredients together over a low heat to dissolve the sugar.

• Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes. Remove from the cake tin and place on serving platter, then pour over the syrup and allow to cool completely.

• Serve with whipped cream, yoghurt or creme fraiche.

Recipe by Fine Food Digest

For your tables… ...from our kitchen

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

23

The Guild of Fine Food’s training arm, the School of Fine Food, sees over 1,000 delegates a year learn everything from the basics of cheese and deli products to the detail of running an independent retail business.

BUSINESS Our Retail Ready two-day training programme is designed to equip managers or owners of prospective, new or developing delis & farm shops with the business essentials of fine food & drink retailing CHEESE RETAIL Our one-day course is designed to help independent retailers capitalise on customer interaction, ensure they have the correct range and guarantees that you and your team talk intelligently about cheese to your customers ACADEMY OF CHEESE The Guild is a founding patron and training provider of the Academy. It’s trusted and structured learning provides an academic pathway for anyone in the business, and equally cheese-loving consumers. It does for cheese what the Wine & Spirits Education Trust does for wine

PROGRAMME 2019 ACADEMY LEVEL 1: £195 inc VAT Day course 20 June (London) 18 September (London) 6 November (London) Evening course 18.30-21.00 11 June (London) 18 June (London) 25 June (London) RETAIL CHEESE: MEMBERS £100 plus VAT NON-MEMBERS £195 + VAT 28 May (Birmingham) 12 June (London)

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gff.co.uk/training | academyofcheese.org

@guildoffinefood

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Try Our NEW Dressing For FREE!

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We’re so confident your customers will love our new dressing, we’ll give you a free bottle when you order a case* so you can hold an in-store tasting. Wow shoppers with the fantastic flavour of our Chilli & Cumin Dressing and watch it fly off your shelves. *Order min. 1 case of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Chilli & Cumin Dressing from either Cotswold Fayre, Hider Foods or direct from us in May and we will follow up your order with a free 250ml bottle of Chilli & Cumin Dressing.

Minimum order values may apply.

For more information, visit: www.farrington-oils.co.uk/wholesale-offer Contact us on: sales@farrington-oils.co.uk

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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SUMMER DINING

Turning up the heat Boost your summer sales with FFD’s focus on the hottest new launches for the warmer months. We kick off barbecue season with dressings, sauces & marinades followed by BBQ meats (p28), before cooling off with some ice cream (p31).

Wash it all down with some beers, wines & spirits (p32) and mixers (p37).

Compiled by Lynda Searby, Lauren Phillips and Michael Lane

dressings & sauces The Lincolnshire Drizzle Company’s new owners, Julian Sayer and Becky McCaul, have made some tweaks to the line-up and developed a BBQ marinade.

All the dressings and marinades are still made with Ownsworths’ rapeseed oil, but the marinades have moved from plastic to glass bottles and the raspberry & mint marinade has been reinvented as a dressing. thelincolnshire drizzlecompany.co.uk

Artisan Food Club has added a new six-strong range of Jamaican sauces and seasonings from Marshall and Brown to its catalogue. Made in Jamaica and marketed under the Jerk House label, the lineup includes “incredibly hot” yellow scotch bonnet pepper sauce, jerk barbecue sauce and red pepper sauce. Trade price £1.70-£2.73. marshallandbrown.co.uk

Peckish VinegarKitchen Shed has hasstarted rebranded itsimporting rhubarb jam these to become organic Yorkshire flavouredrhubarb oils from & custard northern jam, using Greece. localPellas rhubarb Drops grown combine within the locally rhubarb grown triangle herbs, oflemons West and Yorkshire. chillis with It isextra also launching virgin olivea oils. new TheyRaspberry come in Collins 250ml gin bottles jam,or made 1 litrewith tins.raspberries Prices startsteeped from £15 in Divine RRP. Gin. peckishkitchen.co.uk vinegarshed.com 26

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

Mrs Darlington’s has become the latest producer to join the ketchup fray, with a range that launches this month. The Cheshire producer says the move is a “natural progression” from its chutneys and pickles. The tomato ketchup and brown sauce have an RRP of £2.19 for 270g and beetroot ketchup has an RRP of £2.49 for 265g. mrsdarlingtons.com

Following the success of its flagship avocado oil mayonnaise, Hunter & Gather has developed two flavoured variants on this base recipe: garlic & black pepper and chipotle chilli & lime. Also new is an eggfree vegan ‘Mayocado’ that uses a combination of pea protein and avocado. All three mayos have an RRP of £4.49 for 175g. hunterandgatherfoods. com

Best After known reaching forits itsfirst African yearinspired of tomato business, relishes, Hungry Jabulani Squirrelhas has added its maple pecan to its expanded ‘Adventurous Relish’ line-up flavoured with nutthe butters. launchMade of a with pecans,and almonds, “sweet slightlymaple spicy”syrup green bean and arelish. hint ofTrade mixed price spices, is £12 thefor six smooth jars. RRP butter £3.has a trade price of £3.95 per 150g jar (RRP £5-6). jabulanifoods.co.uk feedthesquirrel.co.uk

An easy way to add flavour to meat, fish and vegetables

New ‘Marinating Bags’ from Potts Partnership are a novel way of adding flavour to meat, fish or vegetables during the BBQ season - particularly for group or family gatherings as they hold up to 600g of meat. There are five marinades: piri piri with roasted garlic & lemon; barbecue with bourbon & chipotle chilli; teryaki with soy sauce, sake & ginger; masala with mango & roasted cumin; and jerk with rum & pimento allspice. RRP £2.75. pottspartnership.co.uk

Womersley is now Lickin ChickenFoods from Pip’s selling its fruity jams in newly Hot Sauce has come outa of gift box. balance adesigned request from TheThe Plough in of herbs andto chilli in the threetojams Harborne create a sauce – raspberry chilli,chicken blackcurrant go with the &pub’s & & rosemary, and strawberry & waffles menu.

This sweet, hot mint –and is said to intensify the chilli maple syrup sauce flavour of the has an RRP of fruit. £6. womersleyfoods.com pipshotsauce.co.uk

>>

How we stock it…

Angus & Oink has conceived two new sauces for the outdoor cooking market: Red House (RRP £5) is the Aberdeenshire producer’s take on Kansas City tomato-based sweet and sticky BBQ glaze, while Dirty Barbie (RRP £5.50) is an espresso and bourbon BBQ sauce for applying to beef and pork at the end of cooking. angusandoink.com

Hawkshead Relish’s new Bloody Mary ketchup promises to “pep up anything you would normally pair with plain old tomato ketchup – burgers, hotdogs, chips or even your morning fry up”. This latest addition to the Lakes producer’s portfolio marries cayenne pepper, cloves, tamarind and vodka in a ketchup with a kick. RRP £2.99; trade price £12.55 for 6 x 290g jars. hawksheadrelish.com

Chilli & cumin dressing is the first new product in four years from Northamptonshire rapeseed oil producer Farrington’s.

Mellow Yellow chilli & cumin dressing is described as “an aromatic spiced dressing, versatile enough to add gentle warmth and fragrance to salads or marinades”. Farrington’s is giving independent retailers a free bottle for tastings when they order a case. farrington-oils.co.uk

Harnessing the foraging trend is West London catering company Peardrop, with a new trio of ‘wild ketchups’. The beetroot, blackberry & black pepper; smoked carrot, quince & honey and green tomato, fennel, nettle & pear ketchups are refinedsugar-free and prepared with ingredients that are foraged throughout the year. RRP £3.95 for 250ml; wholesale price £21.76 for a case of eight. peardroplondon.com

“Warm, rich and thick with ripe tomatoes” is how Rosebud Preserves describes its new red tomato & chilli jam. This condiment for goats’ cheese and cold chicken has a 70% tomato content and simple, natural ingredient list: unrefined sugar, fresh lemon juice, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and dried chillies are the only added ingredients. RRP £3.60 for 227g; trade price £2.30. rosebudpreserves.co.uk

Stockport-based newcomer Africa Al’s has taken inspiration from the cuisines of West Africa, developing a trio of ambient chilli dips in 80g jars. The chilli, sweet chilli and smoked chilli dips are all vegan and glutenfree and contain no added sugar. At present they are only stocked by a handful of retailers. africa-als.co.uk

Fourth generation pickles producer Driver’s Pickles has introduced a ‘summer picnic’ gift box for its chutneys, pickles and relishes. This follows the launch in 2017 of its premium ‘Deli range’, which features lines like cucumber relish and spicy mango chutney. driverspickles.co.uk

Following its popularity as a special edition line last summer, Tracklements’ smoky chilli sauce will join the main range this June.

Featuring chipotle and scotch bonnet chillies, it packs a hot, sweet and sour flavour combo.

RRP £3.35 for 230ml. tracklements.co.uk

The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight has revised the recipes of its pesto & garlic dressing, chilli & garlic dressing and garlic, olive oil & white wine vinaigrette so they are suitable for vegans. RRP £8.50; trade price £5.70. thegarlicfarm.co.uk

KATY DAY sales assistant, Becketts Farm Shop, Wythall, Birmingham Sampling is the key to ensuring table sauces, condiments and dressings don’t hang around at this established, eightdepartment farm shop.

“With BBQ sauces and marinades we get our butcher involved to show customers what they can make at home. That always works,” says sales assistant Katy Day. The shop takes a similar approach to promoting Charlie & Ivy’s bread dippers, which are one of Becketts’ top sellers in

this space, helped by their “nicely presented bottles”.

“We get the bakery to make a loaf of sour dough and sample that with the bread dippers,” says Day. Other products that perform well for Becketts include Tracklements’ proper tomato ketchup and quintessential brown sauce and The Garlic Farm’s sweet chilli sauce.

“The sweet chilli sauce sells itself. I think it has broad appeal because it is sweet rather than hot chilli.” beckettsfarm.co.uk

Add some Continental sizzle While the British banger is always going to be a staple on the UK’s barbecues, there is a whole world of sausages out there. That means those delis with a more Continental offer (and no butcher’s counter) don’t have to feel left out of the outdoor cooking action.

If you needed any proof of Spanish food’s barbecue credentials, Brindisa has been serving chorizo rolls straight from the grill in its Borough Market outlet for the best part of decade. Its own gluten- and additivefree cooking chorizo – moister than the usually

fully cured varieties – are available to retailers in 4-packs (280g) of both dulce (mild) and picante.

The Italians also know a sausage when they see one and wholesaler Carnevale has just the thing for the barbecue – the full range of UK-made Salsicciamo sausages (soon to be launched in new packaging).

Siciliana, Classica, Toscana, Calabrese are all handmade, gluten-free and available in a host of formats for foodservice and retail, including 380g packs. brindisa.com carnevale.co.uk

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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dressings & sauces

A step up from your local chippy’s curry sauce

Delis and farm shops looking for new artisan condiment brands that aren’t yet widely available should check out Hambis. There are two sauces in the inaugural Sawuchay line-up: Hot & Tangy BBQ Sawuchay is an American style BBQ sauce, whilst Sweet Curry Sawuchay is said to be a “step up from your local chippy’s curry sauce”. RRP £2.99 per 250ml bottle. hambis.co.uk

Peckish KitchenFox hassays rebranded The Foraging the itslack rhubarb jam to become of “inspiring and natural Yorkshire rhubarb & custard jam, alternatives” to mass market using local grown within brands hasrhubarb prompted it to the rhubarb triangle of West freelaunch a trio of all natural, Yorkshire.

It is also launching a range mayos.

Coconut, chilli new Raspberry Collins gin jam, & lime, avocado & lemon and made withgarlic raspberries steeped in smoked mayo complete Divine Gin. the inaugural line-up. peckishkitchen.co.uk foragingfox.com 28

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

fish & seafood Fifteen tomatoes and three apples go into every bottle of Hillfield organic ‘no added sugar’ ketchup.

Using apple as a sweetener rather than cane sugar or corn syrup results in a ketchup with a 35% lower sugar content than an average ketchup, while Italian organic tomatoes make up 73% of the sauce content, says maker Coppola Foods. coppolafoodsgroup.com

The Hebridean Mustard Company has extended its Mustheb artisan mustard collection to take in three new varieties. 8-PepperCèilidh juxtaposes black, green, white and pink peppercorns with allspice, cubebs, Bengal pepper and grains of paradise; Garlic Galore uses Hardneck Porcelain garlic - a classical, sweet tasting variety; and Taste of India is reminiscent of traditional curry. RRP £6.50 for 120g. mustheb.com

After reaching its first year of Offering a soy-free, gluten-free business, Hungry Squirrel alternative to soy sauce is The has addedCompany, maple pecan its Coconut withtoits flavoured nut butters. organic coconut aminoMade sauce.with The pecans, almonds, condiment can bemaple addedsyrup to stirand amarinades hint of mixed the fries, andspices, dressings. smooth butter has a trade RRP £3.99 for 150ml; tradeprice priceof £3.95 per 150g jar (RRP £5-6). £2.09. feedthesquirrel.co.uk thecoconutcompany.co

How we stock it…

SEBASTIAN CANDELON, founder The Fresh Fish Shop, Haywards Heath, West Sussex

Whether it’s the endless enthusiasm and experimentation of TV chefs, or the growing trend for eating less meat, more consumers are trying fish and that won’t change during barbecue season.

As the founder of wholesaler and retailer The Fresh Fish Shop, Sebastian Candelon is well-placed to judge the mood of the public and his experiences of soaring sales during the summer back this up.

Fish kebabs, made with a meaty fish such as monkfish, are a sure-fire winner he says, as are whole fish like sea bass and bream. The latter in particular is heading through The Channel right now, so perfectly in season.

Whatever you are selling from the fish slab, Candelon says one of the most important pieces of advice you can offer customers is about cooking times.

“Less is more,” he says. “People always tend to overcook fish. They think it’s high risk but it doesn’t take any time at all.”

The certified master fishmonger says the same goes for seasoning – whether the retailer or the customer is applying them.

“You don’t want to put tonnes and tonnes of seasoning on. Each fish has its own flavour.”

Simple combinations like salt and pepper, lemon and lime, chilli and garlic or a scattering of herbs will ensure that you don’t kill the flavour in the fish.

In his own shop, Candelon takes the same approach.

Whole fish, like the bass or bream, are sold with their heads removed, scored and with a light crust of herbs (as pictured).

“We don’t want to use something with an ingredient list as long as the bible,” he says, referring to the bulk flavourings available from butchery and catering suppliers.

If you are offering prepared items on the counter, it’s essential to have some untouched whole fish there too, says Candelon. Some customers are happy to grab and go while others like to see the fish prepared for them.

“There’s a fine line between giving the customer what they want and educating them and making them understand more about fish and how it’s different from the supermarket.”

Although Candelon sells all manner of items to his shop’s barbecuing customers – including whole salmon, hand-sized Argentinian king prawns, octopus and cuttlefish – he says that delis and farm shops with a fish slab should play it safe with their line-up.

As well as kebabs and bream, prawns are a good bet along with swordfish and tuna steaks and butterflied Cornish sardines. thefreshfishshop.com

ice cream

>>

Indulgent pudding brand Gü has made its foray into ice cream with a range inspired by its dessert pots.

The Zillionaires’ cheesecake, zesty Spanish lemon cheesecake and chocolate torte ice creams promise to “pack all the sophistication of a proper dessert into a tub of tantalisingly tasty ice cream”. gupuds.com

Scarlet Ripple – a take on the dessert Eton Mess – is the latest quintessentially British flavour to join the ranks at royalist ice cream brand Cream & Country.

This Windsor start-up marched onto the scene last September, with flavours like New Forest Gateau and Cream Tea, and supports the British forces by donating five pence of every tub sold to Royal Hospital Chelsea. creamandcountry.co.uk

Mochi maker Little Moons has developed a vegan version of the Japanese ice cream filled confection.

Encasing Belgian chocolate in a rice flour dough coating, the dairy-free mochi are listed with Ocado and Whole Foods Market. RRP £4.99 for 6 x 32g balls. littlemoons.co.uk

A different class of ketchup When thinking up new products we always want to create your new family favourite. We’ve been producing family favourites like Lemon Curd, Raspberry Jam and Farmers Pickle for over thirty five years. That’s why Mrs Darlington’s are pleased to reveal the newest additions to our family. Tangy Tomato Ketchup, Fruity Brown Sauce and Beetroot Ketchup - all made with love and a delicious addition to any family dining table.

To find out more please visit our website at www.mrsdarlingtons.com

   Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

ice cream

A Persian ice cream packed with Middle Eastern flavours

Drawing on her Iranian roots, Laura Dawson has created a Persian ice cream range that is packed with Middle Eastern flavours. Sold via Darlish’s own ice cream parlour in St Albans as well as Selfridges, Whole Foods and As Nature Intended, the five strong line-up includes saffron, pistachio & rose, orange blossom & pistachio and coconut & cardamom varieties. RRP £5.99; trade price £3.23. darlish.com

Following the success of Pimm’s Pops, adult popsicle brand Pops is capitalising on the consumer love affair with gin, with the launch of Gordon’s Pops for summer 2019. The 3.5% ABV gin & lime ices are available via wholesalers nationally in cases of 30. RRP £1.99 per 80ml popsicle. wearepops.com

>> Broadway Market ice cream producer Hackney Gelato has teamed up with fellow independent Hackney brand, Jackpot Peanut Butter, to create an Italianstyle gelato that is said to be “bursting with roasted peanut flavour”. The new flavour has secured a spot in the freezer at Harrods, where it retails in 130ml cardboard tubs priced at £2.99. hackneygelato.com

Devon producer Stapleton says it has launched its dairy ice cream in environmentally-friendly compostable single-serve pots. Made from grass-fed Jersey cows’ milk and handprepared compotes, the pots come in Madagascan vanilla, strawberry, Belgian chocolate, salted caramel, rum & raisin and lemon curd flavours. RRP £2. stapletonfarm.co.uk

Healthy’ free-from ice cream brand MiiRO says it has improved its chocolate hazelnut recipe by creating a dark chocolate gianduja for the coating and reducing the hazelnut content of the ice cream to make it more subtle and refreshing.

The raw chocolate coated coconut milk ice cream bar is vegan, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free and fortified with pea protein.

RRP £2.49. miiro.co.uk

Following the success of its Yorlife kefir drinks, York dairy ice cream producer Yorvale has developed a frozen kefir in natural, sour cherry and jaffa orange flavours. Made fresh on the farm using live kefir grains, the fermented ice cream is said to be rich in good bacteria, essential amino acids and B vitamins. Kefir ice cream will be available in 500ml retail tubs. yorvale.co.uk

Following the success of its Ableforth’s collection, Speakeasy Ice Creams has worked with two new drinks partners to launch three more alcoholic ice cream flavours. Speakeasy has teamed up with Lazzaroni, which has been producing amaretto and limoncello in Saronno since 1851, and Conker Spirits, to produce a coffee liqueur ice cream.

RRP £6.25 for 500ml. speakeasyicecreams.com

Offering a creamy alternative to water-based vegan lollies is Ice Kitchen’s new pineapple & coconut ice lolly. Made by handblending pineapple chunks with coconut milk and lemon juice, the tropical lolly is available to retailers as a ‘freezer deal’ – for £375 stockists get 8 x 24 boxes plus a freezer, giving a return of £384 if the lollies are sold at £2. icekitchen.co.uk

Jude’s latest launch addresses rising demand for vegan and ‘no added sugar’ options. The new range comprises four flavours – peanut butter, salted caramel, vanilla bean and vegan chocolate – which provide 320-390 calories per 460ml tub, thanks to natural sweeteners stevia and erythritol as well as the sugar naturally found in cows’ milk, coconut milk and vegetable fibre. RRP £4. judes.co.uk

Italian-inspired chocolate hazelnut with roasted Sicilian hazelnuts is Luscious’ latest organic dairy ice cream flavour, available in 500ml retail tubs (RRP £6.49). The young Wiltshire company is also working on new fully biodegradable paper packaging for its ice cream, and hopes to switch to this later this year. lusciousorganics.co.uk

Following the launch last summer of a dairy-free chocolate ice cream for scooping in its Nottinghamshire parlour, this summer, ice cream producer Thaymar is planning to introduce this flavour in 125ml, 500ml and 1l tubs. thaymaricecream.co.uk

Hackney-based Poptails by LAPP is giving its non-alcoholic range of sorbet ‘poptails’ the health treatment, removing added sugar from all of its recipes, and launching a new ‘Green’ poptail.

This guilt-free ‘detox’ sorbet is a blend of pear, cucumber and lemon, sweetened with apples. poptailsbylapp.com

Known for working with unusual flavours like Tabasco, Bella Del Gelato has devised four new flavours for scooping: English mustard with shiso (Japanese basil) Irish green tea (matcha green tea and Irish liqueur), Greek yoghurt with figs & walnuts and Calpis (a Japanese milk-based drink). belladelgelato.co.uk

Italian ‘healthy’ gelato brand Coppa della Maga has launched a vegan range, made with coconut milk and containing no added sugar. The three varieties – matcha green tea, coconut & strawberry sorbet and chocolate & goji berries – have an RRP of £2.99-£3.59 for 125ml. coppadellamaga.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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ice cream Marshfield Farm is hoping its latest flavour will become a party essential at birthday celebrations.

Birthday Cake ice cream is a vanilla cake flavoured ice cream, with chunky sponge cake pieces, star sprinkles and strawberry flavoured shimmer-ripple. It is available in 1l retail rubs (RRP £6) as well as 4 and 5l catering tubs. marshfield-icecream.co.uk

North Lincolnshire’s Tuckers Ice Cream says that unlike ice creams which use flavours to impart an alcohol taste, its new alcoholic range is the real deal. Two of the flavours – gin & raspberry and whiskey & chocolate – pack an ABV of 6%. The ice cream is available in 1l retail tubs (RRP £8.50) and 4l napolis (trade price £25). tuckersicecream.co.uk

Peckish rebranded NorthernKitchen Ireland has ice cream itsproducer rhubarbDrayne’s jam to become Farm has Yorkshire & custard jam, partneredrhubarb with local Rademon using rhubarb grown within Estatelocal Distillery to develop an onthe rhubarb of West trend gin &triangle tonic sorbet.

The sorbet Yorkshire.

It is also launching a blends the floral-meadow notes new Raspberrygin Collins jam, of Shortcross withgin tonic, sugar made with raspberries steeped in and water.

It is available in 2.5kg Divine Gin.tubs priced at £9.95. catering peckishkitchen.co.uk draynesfarmicecream.co.uk 32

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

beers, wines & spirits

Dairy-full, lactose-free ice cream

Newcomer Jai’s claims to be the UK’s first lactose free, dairy ice cream manufacturer. After selling his cafe in Belsize Park, North London in 2017, Jai Lurie turned his attention to developing a lactose-free dairy ice cream. The result is a “dairy-full, lactose-free” recipe made from fresh milk, cream and free range eggs, and available in five flavours, some with home-made inclusions such as caramel, crumble and sauces. RRP £5.95£6.50 for a 475ml retail tub. jaisicecream.com

Afterand reaching its first year of Deli farm shop cafés looking business, for a veganHungry scoopingSquirrel option has added maple pecan to its should check out Suncream flavoured nutnew butters.

Made with Ice Cream’s ‘Love Vegan’ pecans, almonds, product.

This naturalmaple vanillasyrup and a hint of mixed spices, vegan ice cream is made withthe smooth oil, butter has aand trade price of coconut dextrose vanilla £3.95 and per is 150g (RRP £5-6). beans free jar from all 14 feedthesquirrel.co.uk declarable allergens. suncreamicecream.com

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Sloemotion has created a new Hedgerow Botanical Vodka using its six signature hedgerow fruit botanicals in the distillation process. The producer says the vodka “blurs the lines” between gin and vodka and has herbaceous tasting notes with a smooth and clean citrus finish. Available in 70cl bottles with a trade price of £22.95 (RRP £35.95). sloemotion.com

Silly Moo from Trenchmore has added a Wild Ferment Cider to its range. The farm developed the new cider last month using a blend of cider and dessert apples to give a balance of tannin, sweetness and acidity. It is unfiltered before packaging and recommended with pork and goats’ and sheep’s milk cheese. Trade price £1.40+VAT, 330ml cans (RRP £2.20-3). trenchmore.co.uk

Breindal is a new spirit range from North Wales’ whisky distillery Aber Falls.

Comprising of a gin and the distillery’s first vodka, the new bottles feature traditional Welsh colours with large ‘G’ and ‘V’ letters on the labelling. Bottled at 37% ABV with an RRP of £20, 70cl. Available through Blas ar Fwyd, Joseph Keegan & Sons, Harlech Foodservice and Castell Howell. aberfallsdistillery.com

Sky Wave Gin is a new craft gin company in Oxfordshire run by distillers Rachel and Andy Parsons, which has entered the market with a London Dry and raspberry & rhubarb gin. The former is juniper forward and citrusy, while the latter is soft with just a gentle hint of rhubarb.

Both are available in 200ml (trade £12.85; RRP £20) and 500ml (trade £22.46; RRP £35) formats. skywavegin.com

Deerness Distillery is run

by Stuart and Adelle Brown in Orkney. It is there they produce their Sea Glass gin, Into The Wild vodka and new Scuttled gin. The Scuttled gin was created to mark the centenary of the scuttling of the WWI German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow. It is juniper led, followed by a spicy lemon cassia bark with peppery middle notes. deernessdistillery.com

Retailers looking for an alternative to the canned G&T need look no further than Pedrino, a new Spritzer brand that is a blend of fortified wine, tonic water and citrus botanicals.

The spritzers come in 200ml bottles and three varieties: vermouth & tonic, sherry & tonic and ruby & tonic (a ruby port & tonic). They are is available via Matthew Clark, Speciality Drinks and LWC (RRP £1.95). pedrino.co.uk

Lilley’s Cider has created two new fruity ciders in time for the warmer months. Its cherries & berries Somerset cider is a sweet and lightly sparkling, while the pineapple cider is said to be fresh. Both have an RRP of £2.99 and a 4% ABV. lilleyscider.co.uk

Lemon Grove Gin was launched

by The English Drinks Company at IFE earlier this year.

A blend of juniper, nutmeg and Cassia bark infused with fresh lemon, the gin comes in a 70cl bottle with an RRP of £36. englishdrinkscompany.co.uk

Raspberry & elderflower and rhubarb & ginger are the varieties of Mr Hobbs Gin’s new gin liqueurs. Recommended to be paired with prosecco, the liqueurs join the producer’s 45% distilled gin and have a trade price of £16.50+VAT (RRP £25). mrhobbsgin.co.uk

W W W.W I C K E DWO L F G I N . CO M P LE A S E D R I N K R E S P O N S I B LY

THE STORY OF SOME WILD IRISH POACHERS The inspiration for the Poacher’s range of premium natural mixers was found in a centuries old spring located on a 250-acre estate in the heartland of beautiful agricultural County Wexford.

Poachers TASTE YOUR SPIRIT WITH POACHERS

The crystal-clear water from a spring deep in the native woodlands on the farm was treasured for its purity. The woodland itself was harvested by poachers as a rich source of wild game.

The spring used to quench their thirst.

TASTE YOUR SPIRIT WITH POACHERS

The spring, known as Toberafinn The Wellhigh of Finn - wasClassic named Our portfolio ranges from our lower -in sugar quinine Our portfolio ranges from our lower in sugar high quinine Classic from Finn the legendary Irish warrior and hunter.

Dry Tonic with a hint of Irish thyme to our popular orange and Irish Dry Tonic with a hint of Irish thyme to our popular orange and Irish on the edgeThe of society a maverick a rebel yetTonic calledis Citrus Tonic. wild elderf lower and in our Wild rosemary Citrus Tonic. The wild elderf lower in our Wild Tonicrosemary is He lived upon by kings in times for his wisdom and organic counsel. apples hand cut in Macreddin Village in Wicklow and the hand cut in Macreddin Village in Wicklow and the organic apples in our It Ginger Ale that hail defined from the Orchard in Kilkenny.

Our was Finn ourHighbank inspiration in creating the Poacher’s in our Ginger Ale hail from the Highbank Orchard in Kilkenny. Our Irish Soda Water is renowned for mixing with premium spirits. range of premium natural drinks. A new range of premium Irish Irish Soda Water is renowned for mixing with premium spirits. drinks that are bold within and adventurous andrestaurants yet rooted in a Poacher’s is popular lively bars, Poacher’s is popular within lively bars, restaurants and high end hotels who appreciate lower sugar mixers commitment to nature and theinland. and high end hotels who appreciate lower in sugar mixers bringing out the best in their spirits.

Ireland’s first and only premium natural mixers company with a bringing out the best in their spirits. vision for the future and a commitment to excellence.

For more information or to order please call +353 (53) 910 6000 for Ireland, for UK enquiries contact www.importonics.co.uk or +44 (0)1388 205252 or email info@poacherswell.com

#poachersirishmixers www.poacherswell.com

For more information or to order please call +353information (53) 910 6000 for Ireland, for+353 UK(53) enquiries For more or to order please call 910 6000contact for Ireland, for www.importonics.co.uk +44 (0)1388 205252 UK enquiries contactor www.importonics.co. email info@poacherswell.com or email or info@poacherswell.comuk or +44 (0)1388 205252

#poachersirishmixers www.poacherswell.com Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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Delicious Dairy Ice-Cream made with our own cows milk from our Pembrokeshire farm.

A wide range of flavours available for retail and catering.

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www.pembrokeshire-icecream.co.uk

@farmicecream

O R N DE O R W

20190415 Advert Quarter Page EXPORT.pdf

ORGANIC • DAIRY, GLUTEN & SOYA FREE

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Reduction applies to 500ml pots

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

beers, wines & spirits

How we stock…

BBQ meat...

STEVEN WARREN co-founder Block & Bottle, Gateshead

Steven Warren is responsible for the Block half of the Gateshead retailer and like any switched-on butcher he carries all of the cuts that American-style BBQ enthusiasts – brisket, short ribs and pork shoulder – but insists the demand for them is year-round.

When it comes to BBQ staples, Warren does one type of burger (6oz chuck), lamb koftas and a number of simply seasoned sausages using a variety of meats, including Lincolnshire, lamb merguez and his own smoked beef franks.

“Weird and wacky will

sell first time but they’re not going to keep selling,” he says, adding that he avoids having too many pre-prepared items in the counter.

“When I first started working in butchery we premade lots because people just wanted to grab and go. It was less about ethics. People were more worried about quantity.”

He will never sell marinated meat in the summer months. “One because it looks pretty cheap and two because they don’t really sell.

People think you’re trying to fob them off.”

>> 6 O’clock Gin has released a limited-edition Sloe Gin (25% ABV) which has been aged for five years to allow the gin to infuse with the flavour of the sloes. The result is a smooth, fuller gin with a distinctive hint of almond. Available in a 35cl bottle packaged in a bespoke presentation box (RRP £50).

6oclockgin.com

Herbaceous strawberry gin liqueur is the latest creation from Lakeland Artisan. A blend of London gin, strawberries, basil and mint, the liqueur joins the producer’s strawberry & peppercorn rum liqueur.

Both products come in 40ml swing top (trade+VAT £2.25; RRP £4.50), 330ml swing top (trade+VAT £7.25; RRP £14) and 500ml stone crock (trade+VAT £10.25; RRP £20). lakelandartisan.co.uk

Salcombe Gin has released the fourth and latest addition in its Voyager series. Island Queen was developed in collaboration with chef and BBC MasterChef judge Monica Galetti and is described as a rich, balanced and tropical gin with freshly cut pineapple, sweet mango and coconut on the nose followed by a spice finish.

RRP £65 per 50cl bottle. salcombegin.com

Well-known for its awardwinning ales, Monty’s Brewery has expanded its repertoire by producing its first ever gin. Monty’s Dark Secret gin uses the producer’s Great Taste threestar Dark Secret stout as a base. The hints of chocolate and coffee from the beer marry with orange and other botanicals to produce a chocolate orange gin.

Available direct or online at Best of British Beer, RRP £35.00, 70cl. montysbrewery.co.uk

Black Mountains Botanicals opened the doors to its distillery last year having launched its Hill Billy Gin (43% ABV). The gin consists of 12 botanicals (including hill cardamom, coriander and angelica) and apple from The Gwatkin Cider Company, producing a “smokey floral London dry gin”. Now, a Hill Billy Red gin has been launched using the original recipe but adding elderflower, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry. blackmountainsbotanicals. co.uk

York Gin launched its newest spirit, Outlaw, on the producer’s first birthday (1st March). A 57% navy strength gin, it has notes of juniper with a “peppery spice balanced by floral notes and fragrant cardamom followed by dry and earthy angelica”.

Available in pack sizes of 50cl (trade £24; RRP £36), 20cl (trade £10; RRP £18), and 5cl (trade £3.60; RRP £6). yorkgin.com

Orkney Distilling’s four-strong gin range is inspired by its Norse ancestry. Its flagship Kirkjuvagr (43% ABV) along with Arkh-Angell (57% ABV navy strength), Harpa (41% ABV) and Aurora (42% ABV) are distilled using local botanicals including angelica, ramanas rose and Orkney bere barley. orkneydistilling.com

The crew from Pirate’s Grog have developed a spiced rum made with salt, caramel, all-spice and a “secret ingredient”. Pirate’s Grog Spiced (37.5% ABV) is available in a single 700ml bottle (RRP £32) or in a wooden chest with a book on the history of rum (RRP £67). piratesgrogrum.com

Lymestone Brewery has changed the recipe of its Waterstone Wheat 4.5% ABV. Pale, clear and containing fresh watermelon and 60% wheat malt, the beer is sweet on the tongue with a dry bitter aftertaste. Trade £16.50+VAT per case of 12 x 500ml (RRP £2.95 each). lymestonebrewery.co.uk

…and beer KATIE CULLEN co-founder Block & Bottle, Gateshead

Katie Cullen has 150 craft beers in cans and bottles, all displayed in fridges that are organised by categories – IPAs, sours, stouts and even farmhouse-style saisons.

Block & Bottle also offers five different beers on draught kegs for customers to drink in store (with a third, half or 2/3 glass) or take-away in refillable growlers.

The margins on bottles and cans are 35% while draught is 45%.

“I like to keep a range of styles and prices. Not everyone wants a £2.65 can of pale and not everyone wants a £7 can

of DIPA.” The biggest challenge for Cullen is keeping up with the world of craft beer.

She de-lists any brewery that has been acquired by one of the big boys, like AB-InBev, and has to be wary of the supermarkets’ improving ranges.

It is stressful enough just getting hold of some of the rarer single-batch brews that keep many customers coming back.

“Within five minutes of a beer list going out from distributors, everything is sold out, so I’ll be ordering online with three different browser windows open.” blocknbottle.com

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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Organic, Vegan and Gluten Free

W

e at Meline’s strive to produce the best quality, freshness and flavour possible in our sauces.

All our produce is gluten free and vegan made by hand in small artisan batches, using the finest organic ingredients.

Chinese sauce: A new recipe developed by chef Thomas Middleton from traditional Chinese cuisine, drawing on his three starred Michelin experience as a chef.

Chilli Sauce: Based on an old Sichuan recipe, more of a classical Chinese sauce, with a stronger chilli flavour.

Joy on a plate.

For generations now, our family has been making a real commitment to taste and excellence, hoping to help you add a bit of magic to every mealtime.

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email: sauce@melines.co.uk

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

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www.jameswhelanbutchers.com | info@jameswhelanbutchers.com

beers, wines & spirits Not only served with salmon, asparagus has been used as the main botanical in a London dry gin by Hussingtree Gin. The fourth gin in its range, the producer said it spent over six months experimenting with botanical blends to ensure the best way to unlock the veg’s flavour.

Distiller Richard Meredith says the asparagus “delivers an earthy, nutty-sweetness on the palate”. hussingtreegin.co.uk

Redwillow Brewery is launching its range of cans in a new bigger 440ml format as opposed to the smaller 330ml. The brewery, based in Macclesfield, said it decided to move to the new format to meet customer demand and also saw an opportunity to freshen up the cans look and the Redwillow brand as a whole, using digital marketing agency Big Brand Ideas to create the new designs. redwillowbrewery.com

Peckish Kitchen has rebranded The oldest independent brewitsery rhubarb to become in the jam Chiltern Hill, Chiltern Yorkshire & custard Breweryrhubarb has unveiled a 3jam, Hops using local rhubarb within Gin which is a dry grown gin infused the rhubarb triangle ofhops West from with Bramling Cross Yorkshire.

It is alsoThe launching its brewhouse. result isaa new Raspberry Collins gin jam, “lively” gin with an earthy kick. made Tradewith priceraspberries £27+VATsteeped (45% in Divine ABV). Gin. peckishkitchen.co.uk chilternbrewery.co.uk

A powerful yet super silky smooth navy strength spirit

Asian botanicals inspire this new navy strength gin (ABV 59%) which was launched last month

by Hidden Curiosities.

The small-batch gin (called Hidden Curiosities Aranami) consists of 20 botanicals, including Japanese yuzu, sansho pepper, Japanese plum and salted cherry blossom, for a “powerful yet super silky smooth navy strength” spirit.

Available from The Fine Food Forager, the gin has a trade price of £29 and an RRP of £46-5 per 500ml bottle. thefinefoodforager. co.uk

After reaching its first year of Greensand Ridge Distillery business, Hungry Squirrel has created an apple brandy has added maple pecan its (trade £23.60+VAT, 50cl)tomade flavoured nutapples butters.which Madeare with from surplus pecans, almonds, syrupIt distilled and then maple cask-aged. and also a hint of mixed the has created a pXspices, Cask Gin smooth£24.75+VAT, butter has a 50cl) tradeaged price of (trade £3.95 150g £5-6). in oak per casks usedjarto(RRP age Pedro feedthesquirrel.co.uk Ximénez sweet sherry. greensanddistillery.com

mixers & mocktails Steve Cooper, the man behind Feel Good Drinks, has collaborated with Sydney bar owner Mikey Enright and artist Alan Walsh to launch The Artisan Drinks Company. Together they have conceived four mixers – Classic London Tonic, Skinny London Tonic, Violet Blossom Tonic and Barrel Smoked Cola – that feature pop art style graphics design by Walsh. artisandrinks.com

Folkington’s has put a new twist on tonic, with the launch of two quintessentially British tonic waters. A world first, Earl Grey tonic blends bergamot oil, botanical extracts and black tea extract for a “unique citrus bitterness”, whilst English Garden tonic marries rosemary, mint and cucumber. RRP £4.99 for a fridge pack (8x150ml cans). folkingtons.com

For every flavoured gin, there’s a flavoured tonic to partner it, following Franklin & Sons’ latest introduction: a mixed basket pack for its ‘Flavour Collection’ tonic range.

Elderflower & cucumber, rhubarb & hibiscus, pink grapefruit & bergamot, and rosemary & black olive are the botanical combos that feature in the selection pack. RRP £3.50 for 4 x 200ml bottles. globalbrands.co.uk

Step aside tonic, apparently tea is the perfect partner to many craft spirits.

Harnessing this relationship is newcomer Two Keys with a new range of sparklers made from cold-brewed blends of tea that are designed to enhance the flavours of the spirits they accompany. The first two mixers – black tea and green tea – launched last month [April]. twokeysldn.co.uk

Craft mixers with a regional spin are the latest innovation to come out of Raisthorpe Manor’s North Yorkshire Kitchen. The aromatic tonics – six in total – are made on Raisthorpe’s farm by blending local water with citrus and fruity botanicals. They are designed to complement Raisthorpe’s own range of gins and vodkas. RRP £1.50 for 200ml. raisthorpemanor.com

Spotting a market opportunity for lighter craft mixer options, tonic producer Inginius has introduced four new ‘Light’ blends that are sweetened with fruit sugars and provide just 18 calories per 100ml serving. The Classic, Citrus, Aromatic and Berry Light tonics come in 200ml glass bottles (RRP £1.25; trade price £0.64). inginius.com

Luscombe’s craft mixer line-up, released last summer, offers more than just tonic. There are five recipes in the 20cl glass range: cucumber tonic, Sicilian bitter lemon, hot ginger beer, lime crush and Devon soda water. RRP £1.20. luscombe.co.uk

Martin Mathew has brought a new tomato juice brand to the table, after tasting what was available on the market and deciding it “could do better”.

Harry’s is made from freshly pressed Greek tomatoes (never concentrate) with a pinch of salt. martinmathew.co.uk

Belvoir has become the latest soft drinks producer to develop a craft mixer offering. Available since March as an on-trade and food service exclusive, the 100% natural mixer range takes in four classic varieties: ginger ale, Indian tonic, elderflower tonic and low calorie tonic. belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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SHELF TALK

UK wasabi farm enters market with first branded range

By Lauren Phillips

The UK’s only commercial grower of fresh wasabi has developed its first branded range of condiments and sauces for the independent retail market.

The Wasabi Company launched its nine-strong range earlier this year which it showcased at the Farm Shop & Deli Show last month. The products include a Yuzu mayonnaise (RRP £3.85, 175g) and Yuzu mustard (RRP £3.85, 175g), as well as English wasabi mayonnaise (RRP £4.50, 175g), and English wasabi mustard (RRP £4.50, 175g) which uses the grower’s own fresh product.

Speaking to FFD about the new launch, product manager Nick Russell said the company, which already imported a range of ambient Japanese ingredients for retail, decided to create its own lines and include two wasabibased products to showcase the complex flavours of the Japanese horseradish.

“Our wasabi mayonnaise is different from what’s currently in the market because we use fresh wasabi,” said Russell. “It has a horseradish head followed by a nuttiness and earthiness.”

He added: “Other wasabi-based condiments are heavily flavoured with horseradish or mustard with less than 3% of wasabi actually used.”

Currently, the range is only available to retailers directly from The Wasabi Company but Russell said the business was in discussions with a number of wholesalers and hopes to secure national and international distribution.

The business, which has a sister company

Fresh wasabi used in the mayo and mustard products are grown in the UK using the flowing water system

producing watercress, started growing wasabi on its farms in both Dorset and Hampshire in 2010 and has been predominantly supplying restaurants, which account for around 80% of its sales.

“I am hoping we can supply the foodservice sector with these lines too,” said Russell. “I’m already looking into bigger volumes with 500ml and 1kg jars.”

The commercial farm grows 4 to 5 varieties of wasabi each year using the Japanese Sawa method, a flowing water system which is sourced from springs in the area and provide the plants with natural minerals.

“We are the only wasabi growers in the UK using this flowing water system,” he said. “It produces a cleaner crop of wasabi rather than growing it in stagnant water.” thewasabicompany.co.uk

Birken Tree unveils first UK-sourced birch tree water

By Lauren Phillips

A new UK-based producer of birch water is hoping to break into the independent retail market with its supply of the sap and challenge those imported from Scandinavian countries.

Birken Tree has entered the market with its birch water (RRP £3.50, 250ml) sourced from the Grandtully Forest in Perthshire, Scotland.

Rob Clamp, who runs the business with wife Gabrielle, told FFD that the fresher source offers more nutrients than the imported variety.

“Imported birch water is sterilised and processed to give it a one year shelf life,” he said, “But then much of the water’s

nutrients and goodness has left it.”

Birch water is hailed for its health properties, including lowering cholesterol and aiding

kidney health, and Birken Tree’s product is pasteurised for a shelf life of one month.

Clamp added that the company was pitching the brand as an alternative to sugary soft drinks. He said the product itself had a slightly sweet taste with a smooth mouthfeel and notes of cucumber.

The birch water can only be harvested during a three-week tapping period in March, where the birch tree is inserted with a small pipe to collect the birch water.

The company is currently working with Greencity Wholefoods in Glasgow to supply farm shops, delis and cafés in Scotland, however it is hoping for national distribution in the future. birkentree.co.uk

Displays that pay PEP-UP YOUR SHELVES WITH THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD’S RESIDENT MERCHANDISING QUEEN JILLY SITCH You may have the same customers week-in, week-out but those weekday mums on the school run and lunchtime office workers are completely different shoppers come the weekend. And you need to be able to cater to both. Remember, people shop with their eyes in the week for the weekend.

Have a little more pre-cut wrapped cheese in the week. But on the weekend, cut from the truckle while you regale your customers with your product knowledge.

Get tasters out of that delicious aperitif.

Relaxed weekend shoppers mean even more relaxed purse strings. Make sure your staff understand this too and know when to take it up to third gear.

You’ll be hard pressed to upsell that £12 Vacherin on a Tuesday morning, but come Saturday they will be more inclined to splash out after a long, stressful week. And you, the retailer, need to give them what they deserve.

WHAT’S NEW Qwrkee is a new brand of Pea M’lk which comes in two varieties: sweetened and unsweetened. Made using pea protein, the non-dairy alternative is said to be high in protein, Omega 3 and calcium. It has an RRP of £3 per 1 litre and is available from wholesalers Tree of Life and Buckley & Beale. qwrkee.com Guruji is a new lotus seed brand, described as an “alternative to popcorn and crisps”. The popped lotus seeds come in four flavours: Smoky Thai, Cheesy Vegan, Lightly Salted and Salt & Cacao. Gluten-free and vegan, the 17g packs have an RRP of £1.70. guruji.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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SHELF TALK My magic ingredient

WHAT’S NEW The Bay Tree has introduced three more of its best-selling condiment lines in new catering tubs for its foodservice range.

The condiments include garlic & fennel mustard (trade £7.90, 1kg), cider & horseradish mustard (trade £7.90, 1kg) and a burger relish (trade £8.00, 1.2kg). thebaytree.co.uk Joining the ready-todrink coffee market this summer is Union Hand-Roasted Coffee with its new cold brew called Sparkling Black.

Launched at the London Coffee Festival this year, the cold brew is aimed at the RTD coffee, premium soft drink and natural energy markets and has an RRP of £1.79. unionroasted.com Pip & Nut has added a Cherry Bakewell almond butter to its limited-edition lines. Inspired by the well-known tart, the almond butter is combined with chopped almonds and real cherries for a naturally sweet taste. RRP £3.95. pipandnut.com

Proper Nutty Nowt but Nuts TONY RODD Chef and MasterChef 2015 finalist This is a grown-up peanut butter from Proper Nutty. Made with nothing but the good stuff; peanuts. Slightly savoury, deliciously salty, naturally sweet, and of course, nutty.

I’ll start my day with a thick layer of its crunchy goodness over a wedge of toasted sourdough licked with fresh farmyard butter.

But my love for this spread doesn’t end there. As partner to someone intolerant to gluten, I often make our own sauces, and my gluten-free hoisin is particularly special.

With a mixture of tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, honey for sweetness, chilli for kick and a generous helping of Proper Nutty, this is a great homemade alternative to a shop bought sauce. I mix mine with confit duck legs wrapped in a steamed cabbage leaf and serve it with wild rice and loquats.

Delicious!

My favourite though is straight into the pot with a teaspoon and a glass of milk!

Tony bought his from Garsons Farm Shop in Esher, Surrey.

Slightly savoury, deliciously salty, naturally sweet, and of course, nutty

Cariad aims to spread the love for Welsh ewes’ milk

By Lauren Phillips

An Anglesey-based cake and confectionery producer is championing ewes’ milk and its health benefits through a new range of organic products dubbed ‘cariads’ – the Welsh word for love.

Cariad Bakery’s creation – pitched as both a healthy snack and a treat – comes in five varieties: seed, nut & cereal, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and seed & cereal.

The small, round balls are made from organic

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raw cane sugar, seeds, cereals, and organic ewes’ milk sourced from the Lleyn sheep breed native to north west Wales.

They are all available in 150g boxes for retail with a trade price of £4.65, apart from the seed & cereal variety which is £4.25 (RRP £5.95).

The products can also be supplied for foodservice in 750g trays with a trade price of £21 (£19 for the seed & cereal).

Owner Sara Sharpe said she wants to promote ewes’ milk and says it has potential to be more popular in the UK. She describes it

as creamier than cows’ milk adding that it has a number of health benefits including twice the protein of cows’, good-foryou fats and can protect heart health.

“I call it the Rolls Royce of milk,” said Sharpe, a qualified chef and former EHO. “I feel it could be the answer for those who can’t drink cows’ milk but also don’t like the goaty strong taste of goats’ milk.”

Sharpe has also produced a handmade chocolate & Anglesey chilli fudge made with ewes’ milk butter, produced by the same farmer who supplies her milk (trade price £8, 150g box).

Currently, the products are available only direct from Cariad Bakery as the shelf life of the products is five weeks, but Sharpe said she is looking at vacuum-packing the products to extend shelf life and open them up to be sold via distributors. cariadbakery.cymru

Sister brand of Olive Branch, The Greek Kitchen has added new lines to its range of traditional foods from across Greece. The new lines include Dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice, dill, mint and EVOO), Gigantes (baked giant beans in a herb tomato sauce) and Kalamata Olive Tapenade. The Dolmades and Gigantes come in cases of 6 x 280g with a trade price of £12.54 per case. The Tapenade has a trade price of £12.12 per case of 6 x 180g. myolivebranch.co.uk

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Quintessentially British ice cream with quirky flavours made from British milk from grass fed cows

AWARD WINNING AMERICAN STYLE APA Abdominal Stoneman is a 7% American style pale ale. Brewed using English malts and three American hops this is a beast of a brew loved by the Great Taste Judges.

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Call or email and speak to Viv about our other amazing beers or to place an order.

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Set aside standard sauces and give our Hot & Tangy BBQ and Sweet Curry Sawuchay a try.

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www.pickle-lovers.co.uk Driver's Pickles

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SHELF TALK Snack brand unveils new crisp flavours and revamped packs Independent crisp brand Darling Spuds has added three new flavours to its range and unveiled new updated packaging.

The new flavours – Thai sweet chilli, sea salt & cracked black pepper, and ham & English mustard – join the brands existing lines of Somerset cheddar & onion, Mediterranean sea salt, and sea salt & Modena balsamic vinegar.

The whole range is packaged in new modern and “eye-catching” packaging as the company prepares to mark its tenth anniversary next year.

All of the flavours are available in 40g sizes (RRP 95p), with the 150g sharing bags (RRP £2.30) available only in the Mediterranean sea salt, sea salt & Modena balsamic vinegar, Thai sweet chilli, and Somerset cheddar & onion flavours.

A part of the Salty Dog snack brand, Darling Spuds was founded in 2010 by Dave and Judy Willis and is one of the few UK crisp brands still owned by its founders.

WHAT’S TRENDING

Darling Spuds’ range is available for both retail and foodservice from independent shops to bars, cafés and other foodservice outlets. darlingspuds.co.uk

defend the cork over screwcap, forwardthinking winemakers are capitalising on the current trend for canned wine. Oregon’s Underwood was one of the first adopters, canning its well-regarded Pinot Noir. Today we’re seeing newcomers like UK based Nice, as well as Napa heavyweight Larkin releasing its £10 per tin Larkan. Combined with a growing love of Rosé, expect to see canned wine coming to a fridge near you.

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Launching to the UK market is Deli Blossoms with its traditional Greek blossom bites including stuffed vine leaves, cabbage rolls and its Great Taste award-winning stuffed zucchini blossoms with feta. With an RRP of £15 per 300g, the blossoms are handprepared and made with PDO feta and EVOO. deliblossoms.gr Coconut oil specialist CoccoMio has launched a new organic virgin coconut oil made which is made by cold pressing raw coconut before spinning the liquid in a centrifuge to separate the oil from the milk before sealing it into jars to preserve its nutrients. Available in 300ml (RRP £8.99), 500ml (RRP £13.95) and 4L (RRP £82.50). coccomio.com

1 Canned wine While traditionalists still

NICK BAINES KEEPS YOU UP-TO-DATE WITH THE NEWEST DISHES, FLAVOURS AND INNOVATIONS IN FOOD & DRINK

WHAT’S NEW

plant-based meat substitutes continues to expand, we’re seeing increasingly esoteric ingredients coming into play. The purple banana blossom is currently being utilised for a chunky texture that’s similar to firm, flaky fish. The Guardian reports that Sainsbury’s will be including the ingredient in a series of plant-based meals later this year.

3 Tinned seafood Preserved seafood is on the rise, with Bloomberg estimating the market for tinned fish to reach £2.8 billion by 2021. However, combined with an enthusiasm for Portuguese and Basque cuisine, everything from tinned mackerel to octopus and mussels is now appearing menus in New York restaurants. Some 1on 16/08/2016 10:37 Michelin-starred restaurateurs have also opened simplified high-end wine bars that serve up these ‘conservas’ as Continental gourmet bar snacks.

Tracklements has relaunched its Thai Jelly in a bid to modernise the producer’s long-running product. It will be relaunched with a recipe change and new name to focus more on the jelly’s ingredients, chilli & lemongrass jelly (available in cases of 6 x 250g, RRP £3.10 per unit). tracklements.co.uk A start-up olive oil producer based in Crete has released the first batch of its extra virgin olive oil.

Two Fields Zakros was set up in 2016 by two English brothers who bought a holding of 200 olive trees with the aim of producing olive oil that was sustainable and fully-traceable. Described as having a smooth taste with a hint of black pepper, the EVOO is said to have an acidity of 0.29 well below the 0.8 needed to be extra virgin. It is available directly from the producer in 500ml glass bottles with a wholesale price of £9.75 and £117 per box of 12 bottles (RRP £15). twofieldszakros.com

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Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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DELI OF THE MONTH It was while trying to save her local high street that Vicky Skingley decided to become a part of it when she opened Good Food – a South East London deli and social enterprise on a mission to give back to its local community Interview by Lauren Phillips

Retailing that's good for everyone MANY RETAILERS on a quiet Thursday afternoon might be checking stock or finally finishing that supplier order form.

But when I arrive at Catford-based Good Food, owner Vicky Skingley and her codirector, Julian Beaumont (pictured below), are just about to deliver two large boxes of fruit and veg to a local pub down the road as part of the shop’s not-for-profit veg box subscription scheme.

“We use the money that we make from this to buy eggs every week for the local food bank,” Skingley tells me.

This might sound unconventional for an urban deli in South East London, but that’s because Good Food isn’t your average independent retailer – it’s a social enterprise.

Skingley decided to start the business after she and other residents grew tired of

VITAL STATISTICS

Location: 7 Sandhurst Market, Catford, London, SE6 1DL Turnover: £280,000 approx.

No of staff: 7 (part-time) Average basket spend: £7.80 No. of retail lines: 1,467 (1,000 lines currently on the shop floor) 48

May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

losing local high street shops to residential conversions and wanted a better shopping experience. After costing what it would take to finance the opening, she set up a crowdfunding page.

Within six months, Skingley had reached her target of £33,500 after receiving donations from 350 local residents and businesses. And

by February 2016, Good Food opened its doors on a parade in one of Catford’s suburban areas – a journey Skingley herself describes as a “white knuckle ride”.

“It has been a very steep learning curve, especially in that first year,” she says. “I had no retail experience and was totally winging it.”

Today, Skingley is supported by Julian and Kristen Fuller, who have worked with her since the shop’s inception but came on board as codirectors at the beginning of 2018.

They might have been winging the retailing element but Skingley and her team knew the end goal: all the money made in-store would be reinvested into the business and go to pay its employees the London Living Wage (£10.55 per hour).

But the shop still needed to have an official mission statement that would outline what Good Food was trying to achieve as a social enterprise and which the team could refer to to help inform their business decisions.

On paper, it is “To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real local food, employing responsibly, engaging with the local area positively and considering the environmental impact of everything we do”.

In practice, this means running its veg box subscription scheme or encouraging Catford allotment holders to exchange their surplus

MUST-STOCKS San Amvrosia houmous Oatly Barista Edition mylk Organic sourdough bread Local organic fruit & veg The Coconut Kitchen curry pastes Stach chocolate Percy’s Delightful Creams Local honey Sauce Shop smoky chipotle ketchup Rubies In The Rubble spicy tomato relish Manomasa tortilla chips ManiLife peanut butter Villages Rafiki Session IPA Organic eggs St. John doughnuts

produce, which the shop sells for £2 a kilo, in exchange for a voucher.

“I didn’t just want to be a shop selling expensive stuff to people that can afford it,” Skingley says. “It had to be supportive of the community.”

She is still involved in the wider regeneration of the local area and is currently trying to get three empty shops on the parade let.

“It’s in my interest to get more people walking down here casually on a Saturday,” she says. “Because if I do well, then we’re all doing well and getting a really vibrant, sexy high street and not just takeaway chicken shops there are enough of those in Catford.”

It’s not just through external activities that the shop follows its mission statement, Good Food’s aim of “connecting people to real local food” influences how it ranges the store.

Products from South East London businesses account for over 200 of the 1,000 lines it carries. ManiLife, Rubies in the Rubble and Husk & Honey Granola are just some of the brands adorning Good Food’s shelves, and the shop regularly puts together beer boxes and hampers celebrating South East London food.

Although, Skingley and her team say they have

yet to find a South East London biscuit.

This extends to its range of British artisan cheese, which co-director Beaumont sources from Neal’s Yard Dairy, citing brand recognition and good customer service.

If not local, then organic is another of the criteria that stock has to meet because, as Beaumont says, “it ticks our social aims of supporting the environment and building healthier communities.”

The shop’s fruit and veg, sourced from Brockmans Farm in Kent and displayed towards the entrance, is organic as is the sourdough bread which sits alongside it. There are also organic grains, pulses and flours situated at the back of the store which the shop gets from Suma and Marigold. While Skingley uses Cotswold Fayre, Diverse Fine Food and The Gorgeous Food Company for its other ambient lines.

Aside from using traditional supplier catalogues to hunt for stock, co-director Kristen Fuller (a former buyer for Debenhams and Jamie Oliver) comes into contact with many local producers through her involvement in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 51

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

49

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

regeneration plan for Catford’s food market.

Many producers also contact the shop through its Instagram account, which Fuller manages.

One thing the deli has wrestled with since opening is pricing - a result of having a Co-op a few yards down the road and being the first shop of its kind in Catford (despite the donation-based crowdfunding from local residents).

Beaumont says he tries to mark up by 45% on everything in the shop, although he is willing to go lower on local products.

“Three years in, we’ve become a lot more comfortable and bullish about pricing,” he says.

“A customer might think £3 is too much to pay for a loaf of bread, but it’s organic, local and delivered by bike each day. It’s a fair price for a good product.”

But customers have to meet the deli halfway if they want a thriving local high street and Skingley brings up the Just a Card campaign, which encourages consumers to buy from independent shops by reinforcing the message that all purchases, however small, are vital to the survival of small businesses.

“For us, if everybody who bought eggs in the local area bought their eggs here instead of the Co-op, then we’d be doing great,” she says.

“You can’t exist just to make people feel better about their area, they have to shop here as well.”

One of Good Food’s biggest sellers is takeaway coffee. Skingley estimates that it costs around 35p a cup to make but a non-dairy oat

latte costs more than 50p, and all three codirectors have been debating whether or not they should be charging extra for the non-dairy milks.

Both Skingley and Fuller feel that they shouldn’t penalise a customer for making a choice for their health and the planet, but Beaumont argues that if they have opted for the more expensive option, why should the business subsidise them?

“I’m frustrated by the idea that some people take it for granted,” he says. “They don’t realise that it’s coming out of this business’s pocket – a business that you’re here to support.”

Although the shop operates under a slightly different business model to a traditional retailer, can a social enterprise such as itself still be motivated by profit?

“We’d like to make some!” The pair laugh, before Skingley adds: “We are set up as a profitmaking business, so that is the ultimate aim.”

The business is set to make its first profit this year on a turnover of around £280,000, despite a difficult trading period last year that saw five months of roadworks outside the shop front.

“We realised that our customers who came in and filled up a basket were driving to the parade and parking their cars here,” Skingley says. “Which they couldn’t do when they shut the road.”

Parking problems aside, Fridays and Saturdays are the shop’s busiest trading days with a diverse customer base visiting for

different products. The average basket spend is £7.80, but Skingley says the contents can vary.

West Indians and Rastafarians who follow a vegan lifestyle visit for the organic fruit and veg, while the shop will sell two or three £50 baskets of local ales and spirits on a Friday night to residents on their way home from work.

But its largest group of customers are young families who have moved from their flats in Peckham or East Dulwich to a house in Catford (“one of the last affordable places in South East London”). The deli is visited often on a weekday morning by mums on the school run popping in for a coffee and a croissant before returning on the weekend for their organic sourdough bread and a treat.

Now three years old and a finalist in the 2019 Guild of Fine Food’s Shop of the Year, the next big project for Good Food is opening a second outlet in South East London.

Skingley and her team are hoping to find a premises with a larger kitchen than its current small operation, allowing the shop to produce more branded lines using its waste produce and bread such as jams, chutneys and maybe even a Good Food ready-meal.

Wherever that second shop will be, there’s no doubt that Skingley and her team will run it to those same values set out in its mission statement. goodfood.org.uk

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You can’t exist just to make people feel better about their area, they have to shop here as well

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

GUILD TALK

View from HQ

Is being green now as important for a successful retailer as customer service, a compelling range and creating a sense of food & drink discovery?

By John Farrand managing director

>>

news from the guild of fine food

THEY SAY THE GREENEST car you can buy is the one you’ve got. Yes, even if it is a dreaded diesel, which we were advised only a few years ago to buy because, guess what, it was more economical and therefore better for the environment.

So it was with great sadness that in March I managed to drive my beloved 15-year-old A4, with 148k miles on the clock, into a bank – the grassy type on the edge of a lane, rather than the Lloyds or

Barclays type. Doing the latter is tempting, but that’s for another column.

I had convinced myself that this old diesel motor, with moss growing on the windows, was doing its bit for David Attenborough just by carrying on. I wasn’t ruining my carbon footprint by prompting the manufacture of another vehicle. But now I’ve killed it and my environmental stock has plummeted.

Rob Copley, chair of the Farm Retail Association, gave out a rallying cry this month (see p11) that farm shops – and perhaps any smaller food retailer – should embrace the anti-plastic movement and send their envirostock (I just made that up) soaring. He is, of course, right.

“By reusing produce boxes and egg boxes as well as moving to paper bags,” reports Rob, “one of our members, Minskip Farm Shop in North Yorkshire, estimate they have reduced their own waste by 45% since 2017.”

That can only be a good thing.

I also note with interest that both Minskip and Rob’s own Farmer Copley’s store in West Yorkshire are currently scooping awards. The latter took a big prize in our very own Shop of the Year in March, with Minskip getting close and also doing well at April’s Farm Shop & Deli Show.

Does this mean that being green is now as important for a successful retailer as customer service, a compelling range and creating a sense of food & drink discovery?

Increasingly, our more educated food-lover is going to buy with the environment in mind, as well as provenance and taste.

Yes, there is an opportunity for independents to shout about reduced packaging. The thing is, it’s kind of old news. Keeping things local, providing cardboard boxes in place of bags at the till, selling exact quantities from deli counters to avoid wastage – they’ve been in place for years. Haven’t we always been green?

Everett Collection/Dreamstime

S IN TH ’ T

ETA IL

Want to be a Shop of the Year winner?

Feedback from our expert judges reveals those retail details where crucial points are won and lost

gff.co.uk

LESS IS MORE Pitch your range to suit Goldilocks: not too little, not too much, but just right. Shelves that are thoughtfully stocked (“curated”, in modern parlance) but not overstuffed mean shoppers can browse without being overwhelmed.

CULTIVATE A PHONE FACE Be as friendly on the phone as you would in person – especially when the shop is busy. If you’re feeling flustered, take a breath before you answer a call and ‘put on the face’.

CHALK THE TALK Use A-boards, blackboards and any other boards you fancy to flag offers and new products – and update them every few days to stop them becoming ‘invisible’. Deals that noone sees are no deals at all.

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Guild of Fine Food Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065 info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk

Alexandra Fedorova/Dreamstime

D

E

I

The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them?

WHO’S WHO AT GUILD HQ Managing director: John Farrand Marketing director: Tortie Farrand Sales director: Sally Coley Sales manager: Ruth Debnam

UNHOLY SMOKE Do not let staff smoke – or vape – directly outside the shop front.

Sales executive: Becky Haskett Operations manager: Karen Price Operations assistants: Claire Powell, Emily Harris, Janet Baxter, Ellie Jones

• Compiled from feedback by retail experts and Insight6 mystery shoppers on visits to shortlisted stores in the Guild of Fine Food’s Shop of the Year competition. Visit gff.co.uk/soty for details.

Training & events manager: Jilly Sitch Events manager: Stephanie Rogers Events assistant: Sophie Brentnall Financial controller: Stephen Guppy

Accounts manager: Denise Ballance Accounts assistant: Julie Coates Chairman: Bob Farrand Director: Linda Farrand

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

53

Est. 1921

Est. 1921

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REAMERY Specialist Ice Cream Makers N LHAAKM C R E A M E ER A YMERY E N H A M C R Specialist Makers Specialist Cream KE N H Ice ALCream M RHE M CE RREYA M E R Y A KC E NIce AAMMakers Specialist Ice Cream Makers

Est. 1921

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news from the guild of fine food

The word on

Westminster

By Edward Woodall ACS IT LOOKS LIKE the Brexit negotiations could continue for another six months to 31st October.

Halloween: a spooky prospect.

The problem with the extension handed down by the EU is it’s too long to force parliamentarians to compromise and too short to allow for a Conservative leadership election and then a General Election that would break the Parliamentary deadlock.

Instead we are left to monitor the negotiations between Labour and the Conservative Party to see if they will bear any fruit.

Reports do not look good. Labour favour a customs union but this would

The deli doctor Paul Thomas Technical and regulatory advice from the Guild’s deli helpline Q: How should I avoid allergen contamination in my shop?

A: Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 requires the presence of 14 allergens – cereals containing gluten; crustaceans; eggs; fish; peanuts; soybeans; milk; nuts; celery; mustard; sesame seeds; sulphur dioxide/ sulphites; lupin; and molluscs – to be made known to customers.

require the government to move on its red line of the continuation of free movement of people.

Nonetheless, many senior Conservatives are still attempting to position themselves as future leaders – check the Sunday papers for the relaxed one-to-one interviews with the candidates.

The leadership race for the Conservative Party looks a bit like the Grand National; a crowded field, a long race, lots of obstacles and almost impossible to call.

The main focus for government and parliament should be breaking the Brexit deadlock and avoiding another cliff edge for the business community

But unlike this year’s Grand National we won’t have the same winner as last time – the party is unanimous that Theresa May cannot lead them into the next election.

Johnson, Raab and Gove line up as future Brexiteer leaders. Hunt and For pre-packed foods, this is done either by highlighting the allergen on the ingredients list or, where a list is not required, by using the words “contains [name of allergen]”.

An ingredients list is not required for cheeses which are made using only milk, starter, rennet and salt. In fact, no additional allergen declaration is necessary on any food, like cheese, whose name clearly indicates the presence of the allergen (Commission notice 2017/ C428/01).

For non pre-packed foods, the way allergen information should be presented is set at national level. Some countries insist this information is written. The UK allows it to be provided orally.

However, this approach has been questioned following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse in 2015, where the allergen labelling system used by a high street sandwich chain was criticised.

So while allergen information can still be presented orally in the UK, written signage is recommended, and any customer notices (“Ask our staff about

Javid are the senior remain candidates.

But behind these leaders are a field of younger candidates – Liz Truss, James Cleverly, Johnny Mercer – that should not be dismissed.

Although some are untested in high office there is a case for breaking with the current Cabinet that are scarred from the Brexit deadlock and therefore will struggle to unite the country (and the Conservative Party).

The selection process is also a factor: the final candidates are selected by Conservative MPs but the Conservative Association members are given the final vote.

Conservative Association members are more strongly in favour of leave while Conservative MPs are more likely to favour remain.

For the likes of Boris Johnson this causes a big problem as the membership are likely to support his leadership bid, but Conservative MPs would block it.

I won’t make a prediction but observe with interest. The main focus for government and parliament should be breaking the Brexit deadlock and avoiding another cliff edge for the business community and country on 31st October.

Edward Woodall is head of policy & public affairs at small shops group ACS

edward.woodall@acs.org.uk

allergens or dietary requirements”) should be clearly visible.

While it is obvious the cheese counter will contain milk products, care should be taken to avoid crosscontamination with non-dairy foods such as charcuterie.

The risk of cross contamination between allergenic and nonallergenic foods must be controlled, either by having designated equipment for each allergen or by effective cleaning between handling the two types of foods.

Perhaps most importantly, staff should be trained in allergy awareness. They must know which foods contain allergenic ingredients and what procedures to follow to avoid cross-contamination.

A staff notice to quickly identify the allergenic foods, or a marker on the back of the price label, may be a useful reminder.

Dairy and food safety specialist Paul Thomas runs the Guild’s e-helpline for retailers with technical or regulatory queries. It can be accessed through the Guild Members’ Hub at gff.co.uk

Till-side displays of chocolate and savouries could be outlawed

ACS: ‘Exempt small shops from rules on HFSS food display’

By Mick Whitworth LOCAL SHOPS group ACS has called on Government to exempt smaller retailers from planned restrictions on displaying high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products in store (see p8).

The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) is consulting on a number of measures to reduce promotion of HFSS food and drink to children.

Some, such as restrictions on buy-one, get-one-free promotions, would mainly hit supermarkets and convienence stores. But proposals to limit the display of HFSS products in hot spots such as checkouts and gondola ends would have clear implications for Guild retailers.

Confectionery, soft drinks, savoury snacks and food-to-go lines could all be affected.

ACS, which lobbies on behalf of over 33,000 shops, including Guild members, has called for all shops under 280 sq m (3,000 sq ft) to be exempted from the placement restrictions. It argues that banning several product categories from the main areas of a shop would be “expensive and impractical”, especially in very small outlets.

“We do not believe the Governnment’s role should be to dictate the layout of shop,” said ACS chief executive James Lowman, and he also questioned how the restrictions would be enforced.

He said: “At a time when retailers are being told trading standards don’t have the resources to investigate widespread selling of illicit tobacco by criminals, and the police don’t have the resources to investigate theft and violence against staff, allocating people and money to measure the distance between certain products and the till does not make sense.”

Vol.20 Issue 4 | May 2019

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May 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 4

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