Slice Magazine

Slice a

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l i t t le

Hi, Tea

The best afternoon teas in Cardiff

taste

o f

luxur y

Which mince pies will you be leaving out for santa this year?

“You never finish learning about chocolate...�

Caerphilly Chocolatier

Pungent cheese and lusty Port big flavours for the festive season

Slice

Welcome

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to the first issue of Slice magazine. We’re a new mini magazine that aims to bring you the best in luxury treats and snacks.

In this day and age it is often common place to find yourself skipping meals because of time. Snacks are to us what elevenses, afternoon tea and supper were to the Victorians. They are now part of our daily routine, and we believe that from time to time it is fine for those snacks to be a bit more lavish.

And at Christmas it’s definitely allowed to indulge in something more luxurious.

In this issue of Slice we’re going to suggest some cheeses to have on your Christmas cheese board and show you how to rustle up some gourmet popcorn.

A Welsh chocolatier reveals the secrets behind his luxury chocolates. Christmas is a time for meeting up with friends, so we’ve gone to the liberty of testing out some of Cardiff’s best afternoon teas. If you’re a fan of mince pies, then you’ll love our feature comparing supermarkets ones – find out what our favourites were on pages four and five.

We’d love to hear what you thought of our first issue and what you’re favourite snacks are. Tweet us @SliceMag, or post on our Facebook wall.

Merry Christmas, The Slice Team

Contents

Castle Chocolates.....page 3

Anna Fearon speaks to Welsh chocolatier and director of Castle Chocolates, Dave Hughes

Slice Samples: Mince Pies...................................pages 4&5 We put five supermarket mince pies through their paces in a taste test

Hi, Tea.................................page 6

Sally Biddall samples two of Cardiff’s festive afternoon teas

Christmas Cheese and Cheers.................................page 7 The best cheeses for your Christmas cheese board, paired with a lusty port

Corn for Poppin’...........page 8 Learn how to make gourmet popcorn with a few simple ingredients

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Slice

Castle Chocolates Welsh chocolatier and director of Castle Chocolates, Dave Hughes tells Anna Fearon about his luxury chocolates and Bruges How did you learn how to become a chocolatier?

I did a chocolatier course at Cardiff Metropolitan University and a senior lecturer called Ray Newberry taught me how to make chocolate.

Where is your chocolate from?

We import it from a company that buys it from Belgium.

What makes your luxury chocolates different?

Dave Hughes with his Baileys Truffles

They’re all handmade with Belgian chocolate in Wales.We use moulds and machinery from Belgium to keep the chocolates authentically Belgian.

Who are your main customers?

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I’m supplying to some supermarkets in Wales. We supply the Tourist Information in Caerphilly and Cardiff Bay. We’ve been selling chocolates at the Caerphilly Medieval Christmas Market for the last few years.

Baileys Truffles

What was the chance meeting you had in Bruges?

Before I created Castle Chocolates I was on holiday in Bruges and I bumped into a man wearing chef whites and I asked him where The Chocolate Museum was. We got talking and he told me he was Paul Depla, a chocolatier. He invited me to his manufacturing unit in Bruges and advised me on types of chocolate and machinery.

What have you learnt about chocolate over the years?

You never finish learning about chocolate.

It’s a fine art.

Is it important to serve locally produced chocolates at a dinner party?

Absolutely. I believe we should all buy local.

Luxury Chocolate Assortment

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Slice Samples:

Mince Pies

The humble mince pie sits alongside roast turkey, brussel sprouts and family arguments as a Christmas staple. To find out which was best Stuart Knapman went on a mission to find the perfect pie.

Returning to the family home

do you decide where you’ll get

Morrisons’s pie failed to live

for christmas brings with it

the best pie for your pennies?

up to expectations, with a

many promises; a battle for the

Slice taste tested five of the

lacklustre filling and dry pastry

TV remote, an elderly

country’s most popular pies to

coming as a major

relative slipping into a

bring you the definitive guide

disappointment. Costing £2

post-lunch slumber and, of

to the ultimate festive treats.

for six, Morrisons’s offering was

course, enough food to feed a small army.

also one of the pricier pies.

Morrisons

When it comes to little tastes

The first pie on the menu

of festive luxury the undisputed

was Morissons’s Signature All

champion is the magnificent

Butter Deep Filled Mince

mince pie. But with everyone

Pies. Sadly,

from Heston Blumenthal to Co-op trying to lure you with their take on a classic, how

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Verdict: 3/10

Heston Blumenthal, the

By Us Deep Filled Mince Pies

Waitrose pies came topped

was the spicy, fragrant flavour

of Morrisons’s, we hoped that

with almonds and a sachet of

of their filling. Delivering a

Marks & Spencer would

tangerine sugar dusting. The

powerful punch of cinnamon,

reaffirm our faith in the humble

pastry was heavily infused with

they were the pie that most

mince pie.The crumbly pastry

ginger, adding to the decadent,

strongly divided opinion. At £1

and sugary filling made M&S’s

aromatic flavour of the pies.

for six the Co-op pies

mince pies a suitably indulgent

Despite breaking from mince

represented the best value for

option. While M&S’s pies were

pie convention, Waitrose’s were

money of all the pies we tried.

enjoyable, their whopping price

an exciting alternative to the

Verdict: 5/10

tag of £4 for four stopped them

traditional pie and not overly

from achieving a higher rating.

expensive at £3.50 for six.

Sainsbury’s

Verdict: 5/10

Verdict: 8/10

The final pie in our taste test

Waitrose

The Co-operative

Marks & Spencer Following the disappointment

also turned out to be the best.

On breaking open Waitrose’s

Despite being deep into mince

Returning to more familiar

pie fatigue at this point, we

spiced shortcrust mince pies we

territory, the first thing that

were all surprised by how good

were confronted by a rather

struck us about Co-op’s Loved

Saisnury’s deep mince pies

unconventional pie. Made by

were. Packed with filling and with a moist buttery pastry, Sainsbury’s mince pies were the perfect traditional choice.

Verdict: 9/10.

Perfect Pies

Sainsbury’s mince pies came out on top in our taste test

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Slice

Hi, Tea Afternoon tea is having a bit of a moment. And with the festive season fiercely approaching, what better time to re-acquaint yourself with this classic luxury snack? Whether you fancy something a little refined or perhaps a more traditional affair, we’ve got it covered.

By Sally Biddall

Welsh Cakes at Razzi Restaurant

Razzi Restaurant The restaurant is situated in a luxurious conservatory attached to the Hilton in the Welsh capital’s bustling centre. With marbled flooring and a spectacular view of the Castle, it’s a real treat. And that’s before you’ve even tried the food.

The Razzi Festive Afternoon Tea arrives in a refreshingly modern arrangement. It’s wooden frame is a striking twist on the usual setup. From delicate scones to spiced mince pies, the nibbles are truly indulgent. Spoil someone special at Razzi this Christmas, you know they deserve it.

Pettigrew Tea Rooms

Razzi Restaurant take an unconventional approach to afternoon tea

Looking for something quintessially festive? Wander round the Castle walls to Pettigrew Tea Rooms and savour the festive delights this quirky cafe has to offer. Located on the edge of Bute Park, this snug venue is the perfect place to escape to after a hard day’s Christmas shopping.

Gossip over their warming Christmas tea and their tangy lemon and chocolate Yule Log. Finish the day with a brisk wintery walk through the park.

Pettigrew Tea Rooms offers a more traditional experience

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Slice

Christmas cheese and cheers ‘Tis the season to be smelly. Kate Curran suggests pungent cheeses and luxurious port for your Christmas table

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ooking for a knock-out niffy number for your Christmas cheese board?

Why not try Caws-Teifi Celtic Promise? Celtic Promise is a washed-dry cheese which is washed twice a week with a special bacterium to make it extra smelly.

John James Savage-Onstwedder, son and named after Caws-Teifi founder, describes Celtic Promise: “It is really stinky and pungent.”

For a fairly nose-friendly alternative why not try their Teifi Blue. A creamy cheese studded with blue mould, this best-seller has a mild flavour that develops with age; it is quite similar to Stilton.

Savage-Ontswedder recommends eating these cheeses with a glass of your favourite port.

The creamy and distinctive Teifi Blue cheese

Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos 2001 vintage port received a gold award in Decanter’s 2012 World Wine Awards.

This luxurious and lusty port is produced from grapes grown on the company’s famous Quinta dos Malvedos vineyard.

You can expect a deliciously deep dark colour with fruity and floral scents. Once decanted, this robust port is the perfect way to finish an indulgent lunch or dinner.

Not only would this make the perfect port for your Christmas table but it comes packaged in a wooden gift box which makes it a great present.

Graham’s lusty vintage port

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Slice

Corn for poppin’ 8 Make your own gourmet popcorn!

Popcorn is a fantastic treat at Christmas. It’s easy to flavour and popping your own is a lot healthier than doing so from packets. Your Christmas guests will be bowled over if you serve them a your very own gourmet popcorn.

How to pop your corn (makes one large bowl) Place 90g popcorn kernels into a large saucepan with a little oil. Put the pan on the hob over a high heat. Cover with a lid. After a few minutes the corn will start to pop. When the majority of the kernels have popped, take the pan off the heat. Take out the kernels that have popped.

If there are a lot that haven’t, you can stick the saucepan back onto the heat to finish them.

Plain popcorn is rather dull, but it is easy to flavour

Raspberry and yoghurt popcorn Pour 200g raspberry sauce onto the popcorn and mix it with your hands until all the popcorn is covered. Add 70g yoghurt chips and 50g freeze dried raspberries and mix through.

Salted caramel popcorn Pour 200g salted caramel over the popcorn and mix through until the popcorn is covered.

Bombay popcorn Melt 50g unsalted butter in a pan over a high heat. When it has melted, add 3tsp ground cumin, 3tsp ground coriander, 1½tsp turmeric, 2½tsp salt and 1½tsp chili powder. Fry these for half a minute. Tip the spiced butter over the popcorn and stir it until the popcorn is coated.

Cheese and mustard popcorn Chop 125g of hard cheese (e.g. Cheddar, Double Gloucester, Red Leicester) into small cubes.

Put it and 1tbsp of mustard into a non-stick pan over a high heat. Keep stirring to collect any cheese that sticks to the bottom. When the cheese has melted, pour most of it over the popcorn and mix through so it coats it. Serve it with the rest of the melted cheese poured over.

Bombay popcorn

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