The knack of the perfect picnic

Creating the best picnic for Spring 2022

knackThe

of the perfect picnic

With summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning the classic outdoor event, the picnic. But here at Inside Food & Drink, we have elevated the humble picnic into a dining experience to remember thanks to a pick of premium picnic products. So, whether you are enjoying the sea air at the coast, taking in the sights on a forest trail or hauled up on a secluded cabin getaway, we have put together a picnic for all occasions. We give you the Inside Food and Drink Picnic Hamper! Curated and written by Jordan Yallop.

iF & D Jordan – Feature Writer: “The raw milk products were bursting with flavours, from the sour skyr mixed with sweet fruit to the creamy raw butter. King of the dairy selection was the Baron Bigod Brie, soft and rich with a delicate flavour. www.fenfarmdairy.co.uk

Fen Farm Dairy

The dairy segment of our picnic selection has been provided by Fen Farm Dairy, who in just a few short years have taken the UK food scene by storm. The dairy’s signature Baron Bigod cheese has become a beloved menu staple of top chefs and is known to frequently grace the tables of royalty. Baron Bigod is the only traditional raw milk Brie-de-Meaux style cheese produced in the UK and one of only a handful of its type in the world. Beneath the nutty, mushroomy rind, the cheese has a smooth, silky golden breakdown, which will often ooze out over a delicate, fresh and citrussy centre. The Bungay Raw Butter is made by hand on the farm in the traditional way. Using still-warm milk from Montbeliarde cows, these ancient breeds are hand-picked from small farms in the Jura region of France. They only give a small amount of milk, but it is rich and high in protein, producing beautifully creamy and complex flavours. Fen Farms’ traditionally made Icelandic Skyr yoghurts are a perfect way to cool off on a hot day, layered using four varieties of artisan fruit compotes; natural, gooseberry and elderflower, blackcurrant and redcurrant, and rhubarb and vanilla. Fen Farms’ offers a true and edible account of England’s “terroir” from a special part of Suffolk, nestled in the elbow of the Waveney River Valley.

www.cartwrightandbutler.co.uk

Cartwright & Butler

Delve into this delicious collection of Cartwright & Butler’s best-selling gifts and treats wrapped into one, beautiful grey hamper. Inside the Pocklington Tin Hamper you will discover full-bodied traditional English Breakfast tea, along with Café York Blend medium roast coffee, ready to be brewed to perfection and a warm kick-start to the day. Explore an array of sweet and savoury treats, ranging from crisp tomato & basil flatbreads to crumbling butter shortbread and maple pecan flavoured digestive biscuits – all designed to appetize your palate. The hamper also has both sweet and savoury preserves, with some incredible fine cut English breakfast marmalade to complement your alfresco tea, and caramelised onion chutney to elevate any cheeseboard. As an after meal treat, indulge in crystallised ginger in dark chocolate and all butter fudge. Perfect!

iF & D Daniel – Editorial Manager: “This hamper includes all the sweet, crunchy, refreshing and thirst-quenching indulgences you could hope for at a picnic. The Maple & Pecan Digestive Biscuits accompanied by a cup of English Breakfast Tea was the perfect way to finish off the picnic.”

Jordan – Feature Writer: “Superbly smooth vodka, warming without much of a strong burn. You can tell it’s a premium drink from the first sip, while it is wonderful over ice, it works great as a base for a refreshing cocktail.”

Blacklion Vodka

Blacklion Vodka is Europe’s rarest vodka! Handcrafted in small batches, the elusive Blacklion Vodka is made using the whey from Black Lion sheep. It’s the first vodka to be made in the UK from sheep’s milk and is the inspiration of husband and wife team Tim and Tanya Spittle, who amongst other things, rear and nurture their flock of rare breed sheep on their family farm in the Cotswolds. The vodka, distilled using Cotswold spring water, won Spirit Bronze in The IWSC 2022 awards. Blacklion Vodka has a creamy nose and silky palate. The heat of alcohol develops towards the finish without any burning. While this luxury vodka is amazing over ice alone, we feel it will really come alive as a premium base for a cocktail to be enjoyed before, during or even after the picnic. Taste rarity and adventure during your picnic with Blacklion’s take on a Manhattan – The Icebreaker.

www.blacklionvodka.co.uk

The Icebreaker:

40ml vodka, 10ml sweet vermouth, 10ml dry vermouth, 10ml fig liqueur, 2 dashes of bitters Finish with fig or maraschino cherry.

Creating the best picnic for Spring 2022

Petrossian

From Paris to New York, Petrossian continues to rely on 100 years of know-how à la française. For the sake of our picnic round up, we focused on Petrossian’s seafood products – along with an extra sweet treat. The first is the emperor of ocean treats, a caviar masterpiece. Ossetra Tsar Impérial™ is a caviar that’s dark amber to golden in colour, with a firm and sensual texture. The Petrossian Tsar Impérial caviars are selected for their complexity of flavour and persistence. Tarama with caviar is a salted, beechwood-smoked cod roe blended into a paste. This tarama is mixed with different ingredients to make a flavourful, luxurious cream that is generously seasoned with Petrossian caviar. This is a creamy, smooth tarama, with a gentle flavour of smoked fish that’s heightened by the subtly briny flavour of caviar. A second, equally delicious tarama sees the caviar replaced by black truffle. Petrossian’s unique savoury macarons are handmade in Suffolk using only the finest ingredients. The Italian meringue shells are made with free range eggs and the filling uses Petrossian’s signature products to create delicious and innovative flavour combinations. Which one will you prefer? caviar & gold, chocolate & black truffle or wasabi & smoked salmon? As an after meal sweet treat, add some of Petrossian’s sweet macarons with 12 flavours ranging from salted caramel, pistachio, milk chocolate and blackcurrant. iF & D John – Managing Director: “The caviar had a wonderful full-bodied taste. While not being as salty as one might expect, the complexity of flavours shines through. The tarama was a creamy, full flavoured sensation. While smoky, there was no overpowering of the delicate nature of the fish. The sweet and savoury juxtaposition that was present within the macarons was an event to remember in itself.”

Moons Green Charcuterie

If you want to find Britain’s most exciting pair of charcutiers, go no further than Owley Farm in the heart of the Kentish Weald. Here you’ll discover British Charcuterie pioneers, and the inventors of Beer Sticks, John Doig and Ian Jones, owners of Moons Green Charcuterie. More than 20 different varieties of saucissons are produced at Moons Green Charcuterie. Using British ingredients at every opportunity, these air-dried meats are all melt-in-themouth local versions of European classics. British versions of prosciutto, loma, coppa, bresaola, and chorizo are all made by hand. Moons Green offers both whole and pre-sliced versions of most products – including an instant charcuterie board. Highlights of some of the mouth-watering products include Rosemary and Garlic Saucisson, John’s perfect English saucisson with a strong nod towards Europe. Next up, Amazing Chorizo is the result of a recipe from the 18th century that gets to the heart of authenticity. And finally, Wild Mushroom and Truffle Saucisson is a superb rustic saucisson that delivers exactly what it says on the label.

iF & D Ian – Art Director: “The quality of ingredients really stood out. The chorizo was full of flavour without being too spicy and various saucisson will make a premium addition to any picnic. The charcuterie just screamed luxury and the Beer Sticks were a revelation in flavour.”