Delicatessen Magazine August Issue

e h T DELICATESSEN AUGUST 2017

BRINGING THE INDUSTRY TOGETHER

SPECIALITY & FINE FOOD FAIR PREVIEW HOME COOKING KITS FEATURE

LA W TH UR E I E C EN NT HE CE ERV CO SH BAS IEW M IRE S F PA C R NY HE OM ES E

WE TEST OUT SOME GREAT HOME COOKING KITS!

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Explore the UK’s leading showcase of fine food and drink Condense a year’s worth of product sourcing into an inspiring journey of discovery, find out more at specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk

specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk #SFFF17

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WELCOME

From the Editor

l Welcome everyone, to the Speciality & Fine Food Fair Show Issue! It’s been a great last month for us here at the Delicatessen Magazine, and we have some exciting news to share with you. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Keightley back into the Delicatessen Magazine’s realm once more. Chris was the original creator of the title, and it’s my great pleasure to enlist Chris as our Commercial Director henceforth.

It has also been a great month for content for the magazine too, with some great products within this issue, including the brand new products from Fairfields Farm. We also revisit some brands who we featured this time last year (wishing a happy business birthday to Savoursmiths!) as well as giving us a chance to relieve PICTURED LEFT: NEW COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR CHRIS KEIGHTLEY WITH EDITOR CHRIS MCNEILL

some of our cheesiest puns ever used as headlines.

Talking of cheese, it was a real pleasure to visit the International Cheese Awards this year at Nantwich, and there will be some great content from this in the next issue!

Enough from me for now, I do hope you enjoy the read, and please do ensure you keep up with us in the meantime on twitter on @DelicatessenMag and keep an eye on our website for news and updates www.thedelimagazine.co.uk

Chris McNeill, Editor & Publisher of The Delicatessen Magazine, CJM Media

COVER PHOTO:

Laurence Bass from The Cheshire Cheese Company

A small taster of what´s inside this issue...

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WE MEET JOSEPH MUNN

EDITOR Chris McNeill E: chris@cjm-media.co.uk COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Chris Keightley E: chrisk@thedelimagazine.co.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR Dave Eastman E: dave@cjm-media.co.uk FREE-FROM FOOD WRITER Victoria McCormick E: victoria@cjm-media.co.uk DESIGNER Sharon Larder E: inthedoghousedesign@gmail.com CONTACT US: T: 01206 240 798 E: chris@cjm-media.co.uk PUBLISHED BY: CJM MEDIA LTD HEAD OFFICE: 58 MUMFORD ROAD, WEST BERGHOLT, COLCHESTER, ESSEX, CO6 3BL PRINTED IN THE UK BY: S & G PRINT GROUP GOAT MILL ROAD, DOWLAIS, MERTHYR TYDFIL, CF48 3TD T: 01685 352058 W: www.stephensandgeorge.co.uk The Delicatessen is published monthly.

The Publisher cannot accept any liability for transparancies, disks or any written material submitted for publication. Reproduction of any written material or illustration wholly or in part for any media is expressly forbidden without prior consent of the publisher.

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THE CHESHIRE CHEESE COMPANY H

aving left the house very early to head four hours away to the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich, I was feeling rather shell-shocked by the time my drive was over. I walked into the bustling hall, seeing a vast sea of judges in white coats clutching clipboards.

I stand looking in awe of the sheer amount of cheese before my very eyes

WE HEAD TO THE INTERNATIONAL CHEESE AWARDS TO MEET THE STAR OF OUR LATEST COVER, LAURENCE BASS FROM THE CHESHIRE CHEESE COMPANY TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE CHEESE! wondering if I had in fact died and gone to heaven. Before I could pinch myself, stood before me bringing me back to reality was Laurence Bass from The Cheshire Cheese Company, who joined me in appreciating the rather spectacular view.

As I perused the stalls that were offering so many wonderful cheeses, I took a moment to stop and talk with the guys on the Cheshire Cheese Company’s stall. Within minutes, the stall is bustling with buyers all flocking over to take a cheeky cube of the row

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of interesting flavours. Some opting for a spicier number and being directed towards the Jamaican Jerk or the El Gringo (Tequila & Lime), some opting from something much more ordinary and trying the rather delicious and traditional Black Bob. Then there was me, going up and down the row of flavours just wishing to try ‘one more for luck’.

I paid them back by inadvertently working for the stall for a fairly long time, talking with buyers about the range with conviction (I should know, I’m an expert on this range now!).

I was very pleased to see that they in fact won a Bronze award for their Gin & Lemon Cheshire Cheese – which I can tell you with experience and conviction, is a very nice cheese and brilliant summer combination. You get the gentle acidity of the traditional Cheshire Cheese, balanced with slightly sweetened pieces of Lemon, finished with a melt in your mouth sensation from the gin. l Tel: 0808 189 0725 Email: sales@ cheshirecheese.info Web: www. cheshirecheesecompany.co.uk

We interview Laurence to find out a little bit more!

So Laurence, tell us a bit more about your involvement with The Cheshire Cheese Company l The Cheshire Cheese Company was started six years a go by Simon and Richard, who teamed up with David (Our cheese maker!) to create fun ‘blended’ cheese truckles. I joined the business in late 2014 to open up business to Delis, Farm Stores, Cheese Shops, Garden Centres and Gifting Companies as we saw increasing demand and potential from this channel. Ironically, I come from a food industry background, such as with Tyrrells Crisps and Green & Black’s Chocolate but loved the quirkiness of the brand and the fantastic taste and delivery of the products. Around the same time as I started, we opened a couple of our own retail outlets under the ‘Cheese & Wine Emporium’ banners.

How has the reception been to your range by delicatessens since starting? l Most delis love our range as it brings new flavours and variants into cheese. I think we as a nation are now really open to experiencing different taste sensations and combinations that maybe 15-20 years we wouldn’t have embraced. Our fun design and quirkiness allows us to bring some unique ingredients married with fantastic, artisanal cheese. The key for me is to ‘sample’ where possible, as I know that as soon as consumers try our cheese, more often than not, we deliver on taste. Of course we do have some traditional cheesemongers and deli

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owners who are not fans of blended cheese and for that preference we have our award winning Extra Mature Cheddar, Vintage Cheddar and Traditional Cheshire.

We love the fact you have some rather interesting flavours, where do you get your ideas from for these? l We like to play around with flavour combinations and see if they work.

We visit food shows, read food publications and blogs and see which ingredients would work and what’s either ‘on trend’ or ‘coming down stream’. Of course, some flavours just won’t work in cheese. We end up rejecting many flavours before we find the right balanced ones.

What are your most popular cheeses in your range? l Our most popular cheeses are our ‘Black Bob Mature Cheddar’ (named after the Black Bob cat) and our Caramelised Onion & Rioja Mature Cheddar. For our greatest fans / cheese club members, variants such as Tequila, Chili & Lime and Sticky Toffee Heaven are really popular.

What is your own personal favourite cheese and why? l Our Caramelised Onion & Rioja Mature Cheddar is a must for me at weekends with a nice bottle of red wine. I also love our Cheshire with Black Pepper & Garlic.

What sets aside your more Cheshire Cheese from others in the market? l I believe a number of things are important

for us as a business and brand. Firstly and most importantly, we have to produce great cheese that consumers love and the number of Cheese and Food Awards we’ve won over the past six years is testimony to that. Secondly, I believe our packaging is ‘stand-out, different and quirky’. Packaging will draw attention and potentially an initial sale but thereafter it’s whether the delivery and experience of our cheese is good enough to warrant a ‘repeat sale’. Our range is wide and varied so often the case, if you don’t like one variant, you’ll love one of the others. All our range is Vegetarian Society approved so can be enjoyed by a growing section of consumers. We love experimenting with local food & drink in our variants. For example our Old Hag Ale & Mustard uses Wincle Ale, which is brewed about four miles from us. Our latest Summer variant, Cheshire Cheese with Lemon & Gin, uses a local gin. I think using these local flavours adds a bit of authenticity to our range. Some Deli owners compare us to the Snowdonia range, which has done exceptionally well over the past ten years. I like to think we are their irreverent, cheeky, young cousins who can offer something different and compliment their top sellers.

Are you planning to bring out any more cheeses in the near future? l Yes, absolutely. As I said we launched our Cheshire, Lemon & Gin for the Summer at the beginning of June (which incidentally has just won an award at the International Cheese Awards (Nantwich) last month and we’re working on some great Autumn Specials at the moment.

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SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TILL SYSTEM FOR YOUR DELI

W

hen it comes to setting up and running a delicatessen business, the number of decisions and choices you make on a daily basis can be overwhelming. You will no doubt be talking to suppliers, selecting and sampling products and working with staff while juggling a

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moved on hugely in recent years. The amount and variety of choice for EPOS systems can be quite daunting, so how can you decide which will really be the best fit for you and your business?

Here are a few things to think about when you’re making your choice.

CONSIDER YOUR LONGTERM NEEDS

hundred and one other tasks. The till system you use probably feels like a minor concern, that sits somewhere towards the bottom of your priority list as long as it is working, right?

The reality is, however, that the technology behind till systems has

l For many years, a ‘till’ was little more than a cash drawer and a calculator. However, in today’s digital world, an EPOS system can become the beating heart of your business. A till system can now pull in and use data in a way that allows you to manage stock and staff, understand and engage your customers better, manage tables and food orders, make smarter business

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decisions and even integrate with accountancy platforms to improve efficiency and accuracy. Choosing an EPOS should be about more than just taking payments from customers, so think about your business needs today and in the future.

CHOOSE YOUR MERCHANT SERVICE PARTNER

l From the wide range of options available, choose the option and cost level that suits your business best. A major bespoke system will be a significant investment; an offthe-shelf till might cost a couple of thousand pounds as a one-off payment; or you might prefer to spread the cost, choosing from the new breed of cloud-based systems that are more flexible and work on a monthly subscription model.

CHOOSE YOUR PAYMENT TYPES

l Since the rise of digital technology, convenience has become the new loyalty. The key thing an EPOS should do is remove any barriers from the customer journey, making buying as simple and convenient as possible. The more contactless and mobile payments are promoted by major retailers like supermarkets and high street giants, the more customer expectations shift.

Being able to take payments in this way will quickly become the expected standard, so don’t allow your business to get left behind.

CONSIDER YOUR CONNECTIVITY

l The ‘cloud’ has revolutionised the way lots of businesses work, providing a platform to collect, analyse and use huge amounts of business data quickly and securely. Businesses in rural areas may hesitate to use new cloud

technologies because of unreliable or slow broadband connection, but don’t be discouraged – there are solutions that allow companies to work offline and then sync to the cloud once there is a stable internet connection available.

THINK ABOUT YOUR STAFF

l In today’s increasingly anonymous digital world, genuine human interaction is scarcer than ever before. This only makes a human connection more valuable, so it pays to use the technology and data behind your till system to automate data-driven tasks, and free up the people in your team to add value through their human emotion and creativity.

Bearing in mind that your people are one of your most valuable assets, it is crucial that any technology you introduce is as simple and intuitive as possible. Your till system is there to make their lives as easy as possible, but with the right data points, it can also help you look at whether you’re getting your ratio of staff to activity right at different times, how staff are working or even who your best salesperson is.

CONSIDER THE COST

l The latest wave of POS technology is actually more accessible to smaller businesses than many people imagine.

Traditional till systems range from simple off-the-shelf options

up to state-of-the-art bespoke systems, but both often require a large initial outlay, and this can run into thousands of pounds.

The development of cloud-based POS systems has revolutionised the industry because data can be collected, processed and stored securely on a remote server. This means systems can run via a device like an iPad, making them much more flexible and cheaper to support. With many providers offering free trials, supporting a single till unit can cost little more than £1 per week. The software is intuitive to users, and the hardware looks pretty cool to customers too!

FUTURE-PROOF YOUR SYSTEM

l Using new technologies and agile hardware will give you more flexibility to make changes to your way of working in future. A tabletbased POS system is intuitive to use and completely flexible, so your business can have a system customised to its requirements rather than being restricted by set hardware solutions.

The most important factor in future-proofing your EPOS solution, however, is ensuring that it enables you to gather and use data intelligently. If you can access real-time reporting of exactly what is selling, who is making the sales, and keep on top of cash flow, continually optimising your business can become second nature. In addition, the data collected gives you the opportunity to keep communicating with your customers and to build a longer-term relationship. l

Oliver Rowbory is co-founder of The Good Till Co., a cloudbased POS system that gives independent retailers, bars and cafes access to powerful data intelligence. For more information see www.thegoodtill.com

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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FEATURE YOUR DELI IN THE DELICATESSEN MAGAZINE PLEASE EMAIL chris@cjm-media.co.uk

Deli Profile So Mark & Rosie, thank you for being this month’s deli profile! So, tell us a little bit more about how the Norfolk Deli started? Also, How long has the deli been running for now? Also, what lessons have you learnt along the way?

We opened the door to the deli on the 3rd January 2014 so we’re well into our 4th summer is what is typical seasonal seaside resort.

There’s a lengthy list of things we’ve learnt along the way. The obvious one is that to be successful you will work longer and harder than you imagined you ever would.

Not everybody will have the same worth ethic. Manage everything, be aware of what you’re selling on a day to day basis, check and see how today’s sales compare to last years and the years before. Never stand still.

Always have ideas, don’t hesitate to try them. Just because one

THIS MONTH WE MEET MARK AND ROSIE KACARY FROM THE NORFOLK DELI TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS AWARD WINNING, FORWARD THINKING BUSINESS idea doesn’t appear to work doesn’t mean that the next one won’t. If you don’t try them you’ll never know what works and therefore how best to grow the business.

Don’t fear change. For example, the previous business has a weekly wet fish counter. As this was the only one in town we felt there was an opportunity to expand the offering, in under two years it became clear that the space used was not paying for itself. Every inch of the business needs to be revenue generating, so we changed it.

We see that you have won plenty of awards and accreditations including the Farm Shop & Deli Awards ‘Deli of The Year’ for the second year running, what is the secret to your success?

We have successfully won several awards over the last few years.

However, we haven’t won anything at the Farm Shop & Deli awards

(yet). Finalists twice, so we’ve been close. We believe that we are successful because we never stand still. The business evolves and changes season after season. We are always looking at innovative ideas. There is never a day when we’re not coming up with something new or looking at elements of the business and considering ways in which to make things better. We simply don’t understand how someone can sit in their shop looking glum and complaining that there are no customers. We don’t wait for things to happen, we make things happen.

Our wholehearted commitment to supporting local producers, keeping more money in the local economy resulted in an acknowledgement by the newly formed ‘Proudly Norfolk’ scheme and we were delighted when it was announced that we were the second retailer in Norfolk to get an accreditation with the scheme.

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We love your website, it’s very well built and looked after, likely the best we’ve seen for a delicatessen! Do you feel that having a good digital offering helps business?

Thank you! Luckily for us Mark worked for 30 years in IT Sales and Marketing and has dabbled creating and running websites since 1999. We find it hard to understand how any business feels they don’t really need a website. It was a no brainer for us. Without a proper website, the only customers your shop window will attract are people who walk past it, whereas a digital shop window can attract anyone in the world. We appreciate the sense of dread many deli owners may have when faced with the task of creating, setting up and updating a website, but we feel it’s as important to keep a website updated as it is to ensure that products on your shelves have not gone past their best by date. Being online has its own responsibilities and a website or social media platform which is not updated equals a wasted opportunity. A website in our view must pay for itself. When you consider the costs involved a website which does nothing other than provide an ‘about us section’ alongside a ‘how to find us’ or ‘contact’ page is wasted money in our view.

It’s taken time to develop, but there is nothing quite as satisfying as waking up in the morning and working your way through a list of online orders. It’s like making money in your sleep.

Talking of online, we love your online cheese counter – which we think is brilliant! However, the cheese counter in the shop looks pretty awesome too! How do you decide on what cheeses to stock?

Choosing cheeses is always great fun. Some pick themselves such as the many local Norfolk cheeses. We spend time to get to know our local dairies/cheese makers and for that reason most have joined us for one of our Showcase Saturday events, which we host twice a month. Our cheese counter is hugely popular since most supermarkets can’t cope with wastage and the complexity of having to look after cheese.

Cheese is one of our key focus area, as well as one of our main revenue

sources, so not only do we offer a range of 70 – 80 cheeses at any one time, in the shop and online, but we also offer a range of additional offerings. Cheese hampers are popular throughout the year (especially at Christmas. We sell between 40 – 50 wedding cheese towers a year. Customers can choose a preconfigured cheese tower or they can book a cheese consultation.

Cheese is an essential component of The Norfolk deli Cliques. 4 different monthly subscription clubs. Each month the recipient recieves two different cheeses from a region, county or country (depending on which Clique they belong to) with crackers, chutney and tasting notes.

We see from your social media that you do a lot of events to get the community involved, such as a Gin tasting evening, Marmalade Making Awards and of course, your Showcase Saturdays… can you tell us a little bit more about your events side and how this helps grow your deli business?

Events are extremely popular and profitable for us. Hosting an event was the natural progression to the #EPHAS (Every Product Has a Story) hashtag we created to promote our suppliers on the website.

We wanted to give our suppliers personality and show customers that real people make the products we sell. We sent out an interview document to our suppliers and most responded. As a result, you get to know a little about Candida from Candi’s Chutney or that Jonathan’s (from Norfolk Gin) favourite film is “Good will hunting”. The natural progression was to get customers to meet the suppliers and for them to meet our public. We started Showcase Saturdays on every second and last Saturday of the month where customers could meet the producer, taste their products and take some home. It is now like a mini farmers market with the added benefit that we stock all the products so that they are available throughout the year.

Ali Barwick from Seasons Bounty (World champion Marmalade maker 2016) joined us in March which gave us the golden opportunity to enhance the sale of Seville oranges by launching a North Norfolk Marmalade awards. We told the local

press, radio stations etc and we were delighted with the result as we had about 30 entries, free publicity.

These things we do helps business grow. Events have produced a significant upturn of between 30-50% upturn in revenue on the equivalent days the years before.

What challenges do you see affecting Delicatessens in the coming few years?

Where do we start? Too early to say if Brexit will be an issue which will affect Delis over all over the country, although for many a deli is a luxury and not an essential and without a doubt whilst there is economic uncertainty there will be price rises and very few if any small businesses can absorb these. Apathy, it’s our belief that not a single deli can afford to sit back and think “we’re okay”. Small businesses have a benefit over larger businesses.

Being small allows greater agility.

Embrace the internet, there are many products and services a Deli can offer its customers online which are not being offered elsewhere.

Lastly from us, have you any further expansion plans or ideas for the future you can share with us?

We have a program of constant expansion where we regularly introduce innovative ideas. For example, in the 3 ½ years we have been in business we launched a website and during that time have launched gift hampers online.

We then put our cheese counter online, which was followed up by adding a range of wedding cheese towers, we launched The Norfolk Deli Cliques, we allowed people to order their sandwiches online with a click & collect offering. We then enabled customers to not only buy pre-configured hampers, but to create their own, along with many other services. The aim was always to build a business which was more than just a shop. This year we have been rushed off our feet because even though we don’t advertise it, many people have chosen us to cater for their marquee parties, weddings, drinks evenings etc.

We are cautiously looking at the prospect of opening another shop (or two) but that could be alongside having to open a commercial kitchen for our catering side and a warehouse for our online business. www.norfolk-deli.co.uk

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SIMPLY GOOD FOOD TV

H

PHOTO: JAMIE HARRIS

opefully it’s been a great summer for you all. I’ve been out and about cooking all over the UK enjoying what fantastic produce there is in Great Britain.

We are fast approach the Specialty Food Show so there is no better time to talk about Great Britain and what amazing food nation we have become. I have been a chef for 25 years now and he seen a huge change in attitude towards food and where it comes from. I am regularly blown away by the quality of the fine food we produce in this country.

I am a firm believer that great cooking starts with good shopping, this message is a great way to inspire customers to explore their local farm shop or deli. The art of cooking with

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WITH THE SPECIALITY & FINE FOOD FAIR LOOMING, SIMPLY GOOD FOOD’S PETER SIDWELL TALKS MORE ABOUT THE QUALITY OF BRITISH FOOD

local produce is about understanding how to work with products and what to do with them. Where ever I am working or travelling too, I always like to get an understanding of the area and what kind of produce it creates. I was in York not so long ago and I know that part of Yorkshire produces some fantastic pork, so while in a farm shop I was looking out for some cracking chorizo from local pigs. I found Three Little Pigs an amazing company producing a quality product from their farm near Beverley, this for me is a great example of how food producers have evolved over the years. I have chosen one example here but I could name hundreds of these examples as the rest of the UK is just the same dig deep and find your producers, meet them and know them as customers buy not just the product but the story as well.

As a chef I look to surround myself with fantastic producers who do what they do well, my job is to curate those products to create amazing recipes and dishes for my customers to buy. I take great pleasure is letting people know who I buy from as it shows I go the extra mile for my customers and I am sure many of you do also. I visit my local deli and farm shop because I know they are

on the look out for new and exciting products that will spark my creativity and imagination in the kitchen.

Its hard to compete with the big supermarkets these days as they get better all the time at buying and sourcing, however I believe the deli and farm shop can always get the upper hand as they are small and beautiful, nibble and reactive to consumer habits, trends and curiosities. My advice is stay flexible and keep things changing and evolving, create areas in your retail space that is always changing to keep your customers coming back for more.

I will be visiting the Speciality Food Show to make sure I am on the pulse of great food in the this country, I urge you to do the same! l Please check out my next magazine video on the Facebook page to find out more. www.facebook.com/ simplygoodfoodtv

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SRI SPICE!

hen I told David Mack from the Fine Food Angel about my search for spice and curry kits, he instantly told me to get in touch with Sri Spice, personally saying he has had some fantastic nights in with these kits! I took his advice and went off in search of the company that has so impressed our newest columnist.

After getting in touch with Thea, I got to learn about her interesting story.

Her story see’s her chase her childhood dreams and make it out to work in Sri Lanka, where not only did she meet her husband, but also gave her a chance to live and eat with families out in Sri Lanka, teaching her all she needed to know about the fantastic exotic cuisine.

Between juggling a busy household with young children, Thea is busily at work, hand making her fantastic spice kits, which we can say, come with great feedback from those who’ve tried them.

THE RANGE

(All the curry mixes come with additional chilli flakes if you want to make the curry a little hotter!)

Cardamom & Pepper CurryDelicate, aromatic, green cardamom with a hint of smoky black cardamom define this MEDIUM-SPICED creamy curry – especially nice with white fish, chicken or veggies Dark Roasted Black CurryThis medium-spiced dark roasted, full flavoured curry really packs a punch when mixed with tomatoes, garlic and ginger.

Tangy Tamarind Curry - A rich warming medium-spiced curry with a slight sour note – goes particularly well with Sri Spice Punchy Pineapple side dish.

Yummy Galle Curry- Named after the beautiful city of Galle, this Sri Spice speciality blend uses both our dark-roasted and unroasted curry powders together to create a robust, vibrant, mildly-spiced curry.

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WE MEET THEA SAMUEL, FOUNDER OF SRI SPICE – A WONDERFUL AND GROWING SRI LANKAN SPICE COMPANY they were - much lighter and fresher to what they had eaten before.

I launched Sri Spice in May 2015 with 9 different curry kits using my own easy to follow recipes. It has been a lot of hard work but very rewarding-I love customers telling me how much they enjoyed their Sri Spice meal!

Ala Thel Dala (Spiced Crispy Potatoes)- Very tasty and easy to make – Sri Lankan-style crispy spiced potato side dish.

Coconut Greens - Simply the tastiest way to eat your greens! A very easy to make Sri Lankan side dish – with no added chilli.

Butternut & Pea Red Curry - This medium-spiced vegetarian curry is cooked in coconut milk, giving it a creamy, slightly sweet flavour. As well as chilli, we have included paprika, to tone down the heat of what would normally be a fiery hot curry.

WE INTERVIEW THEA TO FIND OUT MORE! So, tell us a little bit more about how Srispice came about?

I lived and worked in Sri Lanka in 2007. My work involved spending one night a week with a lovely local family in a rural village. My memories are filled with amazing meals, incredible people, and beautiful scenery. The family I stayed with had no electricity but made the most delicious curries using fresh ingredients cooked in clay pots on an open fire.

After I came back to live in the UK I experimented with Sri Lankan ingredients such as cardamoms, pandanus leaves and coconut to make fresh, healthy curries but with my own twist. Many people commented on how delicious

How has the feedback been to the products so far from retailers?

I’ve had very positive responses so far. Retailers have told me they really stand out on the shelf due to the eyecatching design and the brown stand up bags. Also, the flavour of the curries are unique and so customers can’t buy anything similar elsewhere, resulting in repeat purchases to the shop where it was first bought.

What issues have you faced since launching and how have you overcome them?

Juggling family life and Sri Spice was challenging in the beginning but now that the kits are selling well I have been able to increase capacity to ensure I can manage big orders.

We love the look of your range, what is your favourite kit?

That depends what I want to cook with it, but probably the Cardamom+Peppers. However, if I’m going to cook with darker meats such as venison or lamb then I especially love the Tangy Tamarind.

Have you got any plans to add any further products to your range in the near future?

Yes, I do …. watch this space!! l

Products available with a low MOV of just £15 from the Fine Food Angel website or buy direct.

Email: info@srispice.co.uk or tel: 07956773277. Web: www.srispice. co.uk Check out my 5* reviews at www.facebook.com/srispiceltd

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MY BALLS HAVE SOUL

M

ost delivery drivers almost launch boxes at me a millisecond after scrawling an attempt at my signature on their handheld computers with the interesting range of implements they have to sign with.

However, when my box of Kitchen & Soul Energy Balls came though, the delivery driver stood looking for a moment, looking me up and down with a big grin, for on the side of the box was daubed “My Balls Have Soul” in big print.

A better man could have explained the innocence here, yet the devil in me wanted him to go away having a story to share with his colleagues.

Inside this box of joy sat a nice collection of the energy balls I had heard so much about, and I couldn’t wait to dive in and get eating!

Puns and jokes aside, these clever little balls deliver a real punch of flavour and enjoyment. I certainly was disappointed when one by one, they ran out. It was also nice aesthetically to have something a little different in shape to normal.

A BALL OF NATURAL ENERGY

Nadra lovingly hand rolls each and every Soul Ball in the range from her base in the Chiltern’s. All the balls in the range all contain natural ingredients, they are high in fibre, energy releasing and have the fantastic healing mineral properties of Copper and Manganese.

With her upbringing around spices, Nadra has masterfully created each and every flavour profile, carefully blending the perfect spice combinations to get exceptional taste from each ball.

All of the Soul Balls are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, refined sugar free but are bursting with goodness.

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WE MEET NADRA SHAH, FOUNDER OF KITCHEN & SOUL – THE BRAND BRINGING NATURAL ENERGY ‘SOUL BALLS’ TO THE MARKET AND WE GET TO TEST THE RANGE OUT!

THE RANGE

TAHINI SURPRISE A rich velvety bite blended with Tahini, Macadamia Nuts, Hazelnut Butter, Grounded Sri Lankan Cinnamon Bark and Maca. Rich in fibre, naturally energy releasing and supportive to the immune system.

These sesame balls will definitely nourish you and keep you going.

CHOCOLATE BOMB A raw cocoa ball bursting with flavour; organic dates mixed with cocoa nibs, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and the wonderful beneficial Indian turmeric.

A source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.

KICK START A fruity ball with Cranberries, Goji Berries, mixed with Nuts and Seeds, finished off with an all important metabolism boosting

touch of Peruvian Chilli. Now, don’t be scared this isn’t blow your head off chill it’s the more “ooh that’s nice and warm” sort of the chilli.

ZEST FOR LIFE Orange, Cashew, Coconut and Cardamon. An exotic tangy treat that is rich in fibre and has the healing properties of Copper that helps to protect cells from oxidative stress.

Everything you want in a ball and then just a little bit more. l Available to buy online www.kitchenandsoul.uk/shop Retail enquiries via The Fine Food Angel www.thefinefoodangel.co.uk Instagram/Facebook @kitchensoulfood Twitter @nadrakitchsoul www.kitchenandsoul.uk

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WE INTERVIEW NADRA TO FIND OUT MORE! So Nadra, tell us how it all begun? l Well, I left my job at the end of July 2016 to pursue a dream of running my own business in food and wellbeing. That journey took me to Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland and in February 2017 Kitchen & Soul was truly born. Through a chance encounter with a local retailer in Amersham (my very first stockist Twelve Twenty) the idea to create natural energy balls was seeded.

There aren’t similar products in my area and the energy/protein balls I had tasted always felt functional rather than flavoursome and I was confident that I could create something that could both be nutritious and taste interesting. The challenge was set and development commenced.

We love your products and all the samples were devoured in minutes!

What’s the feedback been like from retailers since launching? l Thank you! Well it has been really positive, they always comment on the freshness and the depth of flavour.

The feedback from their customers has been so encouraging people really do appreciate a hand made product.

The branding has also caught people’s eye too. I mean who doesn’t smile when they see “My Balls Have Soul” “As one of the first few stockists of Kitchen & Soul we are so happy to have hopped on the journey from virtually day one. Nadra’s ‘Soul Balls’ tick all the boxes- great branding, handmade in small batches, an emphasis on tip top ingredients, plus the fact that they are completely and utterly moorish. That’s before you get onto the list of health benefits provided by these little power balls. Needless to say they are flying off the shelves; these balls are definitely going places and we can’t wait to see where.”

So, your Energy Balls are healthy and contain a lot of great things, did you consciously make them gluten and dairy free? l They naturally lend themselves to being dairy and gluten free so it wasn’t so much as conscious but more a design of the natural ngredients that I choose to use.

We read that you became a qualified nutritional adviser earlier this year, does this help with product design? l It certainly gave me a foundation knowledge to work with but for me it has to begin with flavour, texture and taste. This is along with feeling nourished inside and out is the driver for Kitchen & Soul.

We noted that you try to keep as many of your ingredients ‘raw’ as possible, can you explain the benefits of raw eating to our readers? l Food in its natural state will always be kinder to your system, it will be nutritionally dense and any sugars will be naturally occurring so won’t interfere with your blood/glucose levels. When you eat raw food you are eating whole foods.

We loved the careful blend of spices in each of your balls; does this take a long time to perfect? l I am half Asian so using spices comes very naturally to me however

it is easy to get the balances out, the smallest adjustment can make all the difference. There is quite a lot going on in a 30g ball. I am currently working on a peanut ball. It is becoming my nemesis so I would say in this case yes it takes far too long!

What is your personal favourite in the range and why? l Oh how can you ask that!

They all have their place. I love the chocolate bomb, I think Turmeric is just such a wonderful spice and I love how it really comes through. And it’s chocolate so its always going to be a winner. Zest for Life is hugely popular and is probably my top seller. But we can’t forget Kick Start and Tahini Surprise. They are all wonderful.

Have you any plans to increase the range in the near future? Moreover, where do you see the future taking Kitchen & Soul? l Yes! I am about to introduce two new flavours (maybe 3 if that pesky peanut behaves) but watch out for Beets ‘n Berry an amazingly fudgy ball that contains no nuts and only a trace amount of fat but it tastes so indulgent I can’t believe it is so good for you. I think I am most excited for my Christmas Ball Ball which is like all the treats of the season in a ball… I can’t wait to release that one into the world. Christmas pudding will be a thing of the past. Ha!

PHOTOS: JOSEPH CONWAY

Katy Brill, Peterley Manor Farm & Wild Strawberry Café, Great Missenden

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24/08/2017 14:52

BERKEL

MEAT SLICERS W

ith their distinctive bodywork and Olde-Worlde look, Berkel’s meat slicers are famous.

You will almost certainly have spotted these beautiful machines out and about; a familiar and show-stealing presence at delis and restaurants.

What makes Berkel so popular is its place in the market – it is very much the Rolls Royce of meat-slicing machines. The comparisons are there in the dedicated following, the public’s curiosity and the exquisite designs.

You will be aligned with the best of meat slicing, and your taste in quality machinery will not go unnoticed.

Berkel is cherished by high-end customers, making it an aspirational and fashionable brand.

Originating in Italy over a century ago, the Berkel company brings a wealth of experience to its range.

Equally at home as a wow-piece on display as it is as a hard-worker in the busy restaurant kitchen, the sleek appearance of the Berkel meat slicer belies their reputation for dependable, precision workmanship.

For small runs, as much as for showmanship, some of Berkel’s

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machines are hand-operated, lending the possibility that intrigued spectators can be invited to take part!

All Berkel slicers are hard-wearing and durable creations; if kept in good condition and serviced yearly, they can last for a lifetime. They really are built to last, with manufacturing and of an impeccably high and far-sighted standard. This stands in comparison to other meat slicing machine, whose lifespan typically ranges from 5 – 8 years, even if well looked-after.

Investing in a Berkel meat slicer is like employing an extra member of staff; one who will ease your workload and make life easier at your business.

The main effect of Berkel ownership is peace of mind; confidence that the day’s work will always be taken care of. All the slicer asks for in return is that you look after it well, and keep to the recommended daily usage. For all the care you give, you will be rewarded with a faithful and diligent machine.

And for that, there is no substitute for the Berkel meat slicer.

A RANGE OF OPTIONS

In the UK, Berkel products can be purchased from restaurantsupplystore. co.uk. But which Berkel meat slicer is best for you? As with most specialist equipment, there is a progressive range to choose from; each level to suit your own needs and budget. From the setup-and-use simplicity of the Easy Line series, to the volume-happy Avantgarde range, as well as plenty of shades in between, there is a Berkel meat slicer for everybody. Here, we examine several enticing suggestions: LOW DUTY (NO MORE THAN 2 AND 3 HOURS PER DAY): EASY LINE TEFLON For some light regular work, the bestselling Easy Line range offers faithful service and ease of use. With a choice between blade widths of 250mm and 300mm, and with adjustable slice thicknesses of up to 12mm possible, this helpful slicer is very popular with delicatessens.

Best of all, the Teflon coating protects the blade from stains and

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debris, making it last a lot longer between trips to be serviced.

MEDIUM DUTY (BETWEEN 5 AND 7 HOURS PER DAY): FUTURA GRAVITA For greater demands, this model is more than capable. The Futura Gravita range cuts for longer hours without breaking a sweat; its greater cutting capacity and thicker slices (up to 17mm) makes this range an ideal all-rounder for any business with frequent and busy meat-slicing needs.

The Futura Gravita slicers are available with blades measuring between 280mm and 360mm in diameter, with progressively more generous proportions and cutting capacities to match.

HEAVY DUTY (OVER 7 HOURS PER DAY): AVANTGARDE GRAVITA Intended for the heavier duty end of the market, this slicer will readily put in the hours and handle greater demands. Regular and constant requirements are welcomed, and slices of up to 32mm are the Avantgarde Gravita’s speciality.

This machine comes in two sizes, depending on your needs, with a cutting capacity of up to 248mm.

THE FLYWHEEL SERIES Perhaps Berkel’s signature look is the Flywheel series. Evoking the ironwork genius of the nineteenth century’s finest engineers, these slicers, with their decorative, flower-patterned crank wheel, is what Berkel is most famous for. Turning by hand offers the additional benefit of slower, brief bursts of activity.

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machine should only ever be dried with a towel (drying with warm air drying is attempted surprisingly often, but this should never be done!)

MAINTENANCE

A high-performance example of a Berkel Flywheel slicer is the Flywheel B300, which is capable of working for over 7 hours per day with its 300mm blade - looking effortless and elegant all the while. Enduring and attractive, the Flywheel B300 occupies the very best of both worlds.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR BERKEL SLICER

A regular problem with the owners of Berkel slicers is the lack of care they give to the machines. Ignorance, lack of cleaning or even overuse can lead to unnecessary wear and tear, or even serious damage. Instead, the maintenance of a Berkel meat slicer should be viewed in the same way as the care lavished upon of a luxury car.

While proudly polishing a Berkel slicer every weekend may be a step too far, there are some simple rules that will secure the long, long life that these fine slicers are intended to enjoy.

CLEANING

All Berkel slicers must be cleaned daily.

All moving parts and any meat residue needs to be removed from all trays and moving parts. Not only is such cleanliness important for smooth and faultless operation, but such this is also an essential hygiene consideration.

A frequent error for the owners of meat slicers – regardless of the brand – is to clean machine parts, in a dishwasher. This is in fact very harmful, especially to the blade.

Instead, it is recommended that all cleaning is done with warm water, a small amount of washing-up detergent, and a soft cloth or sponge.

Abrasive cloths, scourers or rough sponges should never be used.

The bodywork of the machine must be protected from acidic fluid or oils to ensure its continuing workmanship. Finally, the

Above all else, it is crucial that grease is applied to moving parts in order to ensure smooth and trouble-free operation. Removing grease from the machine can result in moving parts becoming stiff, or locking altogether.

Professional sharpening of the blade itself is strongly recommended, because a dull blade leads to laboured and inefficient cutting, not to mention increasing piles of wastage.

Most importantly of all – and the luxury car analogy rings particularly true in this case - a full service should be performed on Berkel slicers to keep them in peak physical condition. This will identify any likely problems, and prevent them from becoming worse.

SAFETY

The safety and wellbeing of the machine operator is a major consideration, and several important steps should be taken to reduce the elements of danger inherent in meat slicing.

First of all, the safety guards should be kept in place to avoid injuries.

(It is disturbing how cavalier some operators’ attitudes are towards this vital safety consideration!)

Furthermore, the Slicer Thickness Adjuster should be set harmlessly to ‘0’ when not in use.

Importantly, the slicer and electrical plug should be kept well away from water and other liquids.

Finally – and this applies to whether the machine is switched on or not – users must never touch the cutting edge of the blade directly. After all, the blade is in the business of cutting meat, and should be respected from a safe distance at all times. l www.theberkelworld.com

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24/08/2017 14:58

LEELA’S KITCHEN H

earing a roar of a motorbike and seeing the cool leather clad motorbiking chef and spice trader that is Kumar Menon, you’d surely know you were in for a great night. So many enjoyed and still enjoy Kumar’s workshops, lessons and dinner parties (albeit he now drives a car too!) that it inspired him to launch his range of spices for sale that have been widely awarded and stocked in all the best retailers on the Island and now he’s ready to take over the UK too.

The key reason to start Leela’s Kitchen was to start offering healthy Indian cookery workshops to clients at their residence in Isle of Man, U.K. However, the business has grown from cookery workshops to providing tailor made dinner parties, bespoke marinated meats and Award winning premium spices & Award winning Onion bhaji mix.

A FAMILY LEGACY

Kumar started Leela’s kitchen in memory of his late nana Leela. His Grandmother and his mother are the inspiration behind his passion for food, especially Indian food, spices and the culinary journey. To continue the

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WE MEET KUMAR MENON, FOUNDER OF THE MULTI AWARD WINNING LEELA’S KITCHEN TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESS, THE ISLE OF MAN, AND HOW YOU CAN GET HOLD OF HIS AWARD WINNING PRODUCTS!

WITH CHRISTMAS AROUND THE CORNER, THE SPICE GIFT PACK (ABOVE LEFT) IS A PERFECT OFFERING, AND WITH FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER £25!

family tradition and journey Kumar’s daughter Leela is also interested in food and spices and Kumar hopes to grow Leela’s kitchen and one day hand over the reigns to Leela.

Spices are also a family legacy & business; Kumar’s grandfather started trading spices way back in 1950’s out in Jew town, Kerala, India. This makes Kumar a third generation spice trader.

His love for great food and association with the spice business aspired him to launch the new premium range of spices not just to the Isle of Man but also to the world. Most of his spices are actually family recipes, such as the Garam Masala, Mild Curry (Great taste award winner) and Vindaloo (authentic Goan recipe, also a great taste award winner).

DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR THE QUALITY OF LEELA’S KITCHEN PRODUCTS! After already winning Great Taste awards for his Mild Curry Powder and his Vindaloo Curry Powder back in 2016, and a Q award for his Onion Bhaji Mix in 2016, he has now added to his collection of awards with another two Great Taste awards!

Winning Great Taste awards for both the Tumeric Powder and his Malabar Bold Black Peppercorns, Kumar, who has only just come back from a ‘culinary journey’ across south India where he visited the plantations where his peppercorns come from said that it was “fantastic News” to come back to. l www.leelaskitchen.co.uk

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We speak to Kumar to find out more So, Kumar, what made you start Leela’s Kitchen? l Leela’s kitchen was started in memory of my late nana Leela in 2010. I started off by providing Indian cooking lessons at client’s residence to providing bespoke Taylor made dinner parties and in 2015 I launched my award winning spices. When I started off I only had a motor bike licence, so I used to turn up at my clients residence all kitted up on my Green Kawasaki ZX6R Ninja, I just didn’t want not having a car licence stop me from starting Leela’s kitchen, I wanted the local Manx community to flavour and taste my nana’s recipes and educate them about South Indian cuisine, its not full of fat or ghee infact its a much heakthier cuisine.

I would like to say a big thank you to my partner Michele, without her encouragement and support I wouldn’t have started my small company.

How has the reception been to your brand from retailers since starting? l Since it’s a very small island the good word travels faster and now my brand of spices is used by people who like quality produce hand packed here on our beautiful Isle of Man, I’ve local restaurants to local brewery using my products.

We hear you have recently been traveling, and have been discovering more recipes and ideas; can you tell us a bit more about this? l I’m just back from a three week culinary journey across South India, and my tutor and mentor is my mom, who still plays a major role when it comes to designing new recipes and spice blends. I just love spending time with my mom, she’s an amazing chef and we cooked some scrumptious dishes together some of them were fusion dishes too. I’m delighted to say that my Malabar Black peppercorns (One of the best verity out there) won the Great taste awards 2017 along with my ground Turmeric. This was received very well by the farmers in the Malabar region whom I visited to see the new crop, it was just an amazing feeling to receive the awards, especially my Black Peppercorns as my grand dad would be very proud of his grandson for winning an award for something he was very fond of and is a great recognition for my family who traded in spices since the 1950’s.

LEELA’S KITCHEN FEATURE.indd 3

We see that you have won a plethora of awards and accolades for your products, which has been your proudest moment? l To date, I’ve won Four Great taste awards and One U.K Quality food awards, the one that sticks out has to be the quality food awards which was held at London’s Grosvenor Hotel, my small company was along with big brands such as Tesco, Aldi, M&S, Co-op and winning the Gold Q for my Onion bhaji mix in the home baking section was the best experience ever, still get goose bumps talking about it.

We love the Onion Bhaji Mix, and according to the awards, we aren’t the only ones! Is this one of your more popular products? l Anyone who has tried my products will notice the difference straight away, the quality is at its best and I don’t like to add any artificial preservatives or thickeners, this has been followed through to my Mango & Red Habenero chilli sauce as everything has to pass my rigorous quality test and customer service is utmost important to me. The bhaji mix is actually my mom’s recipe, something me and my sisters used to fight for after we got home from school. All my products have been received very well by my clients here on the island, they are sure they are buying a fantastic product which is of the highest quality and taste speaks for itself from all the feedbacks I’ve received to date.

Do you stock many delicatessens around the Island or the UK? l All my products are stocked in all top retailers on our island; this includes delicatessens to major wholesalers. It’s also stocked in restaurants so their clients can buy my quality products from them once they have tasted the dishes that have been cooked using my spices.

What advice can you give to our readers about picking a good selection of products and spices? l My advice would be please, please, please don’t display/keep your spices out. Keep them in a dry cupboard away from direct sunlight and heat, this will preserve their quality and aroma for you to enjoy all the time you use them.

What is your favourite Indian inspired dish? l There is so much to list, not just tikka masala that Indian cuisine is famous for in the U.K. India has a vivid

array of culture and so does its cuisine, when someone says lets go for an Indian, people always associate Indian cuisine to just curries, this is not the case. We have dishes that go well for breakfast something light and mild, different dishes for lunch and the same goes for dinner. Every state in India has a unique style of cooking, from the use of different cooking oil to meat and veg grown in that region. I lived by the sea side when I was in India and I now live on a small island, so my favourite dish has to be fish, especially Mackerel or King fish and I cook them according to my nana’s recipe using tamarind and Kashmiri chillies, oh just the thought of it is making me salivate.

Have you any plans to bring out any new products in the near future? l I’ve just launched my Peri-Peri spice as part of my “World Spice Series” this week, if you like a good kick to your Peri-Peri like I do, then it’s a must try as its blended with Birds eye chillies & Cayenne pepper. I’m also planning to launch chai (Spiced tea), but this is at a very early stage as we speak.

I still offer my cookery workshops and dinner parties and they are very popular here on our island. A typical dinner party would be me coming into my client’s home and cook everything from scratch using authentic recipes handed down by my nan and my mom. I try to use local products as much as I can, grown, reared here on our island.

I make it a very relaxing and fun evening for my clients as I chat and cook for their friends and family. In the end I serve the dishes, tidy up after myself and leave my clients to enjoy their evening.

I’ve 10 products so far: Black mustard seeds; Black Peppercorns (Malabar bold) (Great Taste); Coriander powder; Turmeric powder (Great Taste); Chilli powder; Garam masala; Mild curry powder (Great Taste); Vindaloo curry powder (Great Taste) (Authentic Goan recipe); PeriPeri spice; Onion Bhaji Mix; Mango & Red Habenero chilli sauce.

All ground and blend spice mix is heat treated to release their natural oils and then ground making them burst with flavour and quality. I do not use any additives, its non-irradiated, and GM free.

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24/08/2017 15:02

KIT ´S SP FEA EC TU IAL RE

THE BIG CHEESE MAKING KIT CO! WE MEET THE BRILLIANT AILSA PROVERBS MBE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FAMOUS BIG CHEESE MAKING KIT CO.

A

s part of our kit’s special this month, we are very happy to feature The Big Cheese Making Kit Co as these kits are absolutely brilliant, helping many people understand more about cheese making, impressing friends and overall creating great flavours.

Ailsa is a self-confessed cheese lover, who got curious if she could make it herself. After seeing a TV chef making his own yoghurt, Ailsa decided to get involved and have a go herself. Then after impressing many friends with her self made cheeses and wanting others to experience the same pleasures, she set about testing kits out on many focus groups until the right recipe was sorted, and the Big Cheese Making Kit Co was born.

Over 400 independent retailers have got on board with these kits so far and counting, with big names such as Selfridges, and the business doesn’t stop just within the UK. There is a healthy order list going as far as South Africa and Gibraltar with plenty of other places in between.

If all that success wasn’t enough, Ailsa was then awarded a MBE by the Queen for her services to the food and drink industry. All of this success starting with a love of quality food!

We love stories like this in the Delicatessen Magazine, where passion and determination makes business a success, a truly great company to deal with in our opinion.

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THE RANGE THE ULTIMATE CHEESE MAKING KIT Each kit makes 40 batches! Our New and Improved kit makes an amazing 10 varieties of cheese and comes with a beautiful recipe book. The perfect gift for foodies and a real ‘hobby in a box’).

MEDITERRANEAN CHEESE MAKING KIT Each kit makes 20 batches! The NEW Mediterranean Cheese Making Kit contains everything you need to make 5 varieties of fresh delicious Mediterranean cheeses. It comes with a range of herbs and spices, a cheese mould, and simple step-bystep instructions.

MOZZARELLA AND RICOTTA KIT Each kit makes 10 batches! This simple kit contains everything you need to make your own fresh Mozzarella and Ricotta in under an hour! Just add milk and you are on your way…

HALLOUMI MAKING KIT Each kit makes 12 batches! The Halloumi Making Kit is a simple and fun introduction to cheesemaking and contains everything you need to make fresh, delicious Halloumi in under 3 hours. Just add readily available unhomogenised milk (Gold top)…

GOAT’S CHEESE KIT Each kit makes 10 batches! Making your own Goat’s Cheese is so incredibly simple with this Kit. Fresh soft and creamy or rich and crumbly goat’s cheese is under 2 hours away…

SCOTTISH CROWDIE KIT Each kit makes 12 batches! This simple kit contains everything you need to make fresh Scottish Crowdie in under an hour! Just add milk. l

Available wholesale direct or through Fine Food Angel. Email: info@bigcheesemakingkit.com or telephone: 0131 561 7299 Web: www.bigcheesemakingkit.com

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WE INTERVIEW AILSA TO FIND OUT MORE! So Ailsa, tell us a bit more about how you went from making your own cheese at home to making kits for others to be able to do the same l The Big Cheese Making Kit came about through a love of cheese and the curiosity to find out if I could make it myself. This curiosity was triggered 6 or 7 years ago by a Celebrity Chef making yoghurt (I won’t name names but he lives in a cottage by the river!) I thought it looked really easy, and if you can make yoghurt maybe you could make cheese too?

I started digging about online and found that yes, you could make cheese at home without any fancy equipment or having to age the stuff for 5 years under your stairs. In fact, you can make it really quickly and be eating it within an hour!

I became hooked on making cheese and wanted other people to feel the same. I was always pleased by people’s reactions when they came for lunch and I had made cheese. They couldn’t believe I’d made it myself and said they wanted to try it too.

And so, after lots of trial and error, lots of focus groups, 100s of pints of milk and countless recipe edits later…

The Big Cheese Making Kit was born.

That was 5 years ago this month!

What has been your proudest moment since starting the company? l I’d like to say that it was receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the food industry. Though that really was a tremendous honour (and a great day out for the family) it was actually watching Mary Berry making goat’s cheese on TV using one of our kits. The whole point of our kits is to demystify cheese making and you really couldn’t get a wider reach than Mary Berry!

How has the reception been from retailers for your kits? l They’ve been a huge hit from day one. Selfridges was our first retailer and 5 years on they are still selling well there. They are a really beautiful product, which customers love but also I suppose there are a handful of things retailers want: good margins, small MOs, long shelf life, an easy ordering process ohhh and friendly service. I’m happy to say we tick all those boxes! Also, because we don’t sell through conventional distributors we are much more able to respond instantly to our retailers during their busy Christmas period. I know

THE BIG CHEESE MAKING KIT CO FEATURE.indd 3

being able to restock right up to Christmas Eve is something they really appreciate. After all, we all have to make the most of the crazy season!

What is the most popular of the cheese kits in your range? l Without doubt it’s The Ultimate Cheese Making Kit. I’ll be honest, at first retailers were dubious about the price point. They felt that it wouldn’t sell. But customers LOVED them & they flew off the shelves! Last Christmas, some smaller shops were restocking weekly. We are really proud of this kit and now with it’s even more stylish packaging are sure it’ll be even more popular.

What is your personal favourite kit in the range? – Moreover, do you use your own kits at home? l Being Scottish, I perhaps should say it’s the Scottish Crowdie, though actually, it’s the Halloumi that I most enjoy making. It’s soooo much better than shop bought and the smugness factor is really high! Feta, by popular demand, is a new cheese for us this year and we really enjoyed getting to grips with that & creating the dishes in the recipe book. It takes slightly longer to make than the other cheeses but is well worth it!

There has been a huge rise in the popularity of DIY kits, why would you suggest that this is? l When we launched 5 years ago we were one of the first ‘Foodie’ kits on the shelves…it was right at the start of what continues to be a huge demand for ‘make and grow your own’ products. I think, in these economically straitened times people

are spending more free time at home and are looking for enjoyable experiences rather than just ‘stuff’.

They are also wanting a closer connection to their food. They want to understand where it comes from, what it’s made of & how it’s made. Whether that’s the weekly shop or weekend cooking. Part of the popularity of our kits is that everyone knows someone who’d like to make their own cheese!

Do your kit cheeses taste as good as their shelf brought equivalents? l Even better! In fact I’d say that because all of our cheeses are ‘fresh’ cheeses they are of course best eaten as soon as they are made. Fresh.

Commercially produced fresh cheeses need additives & preservatives so that they last on the shelves. The great thing about making it yourself is that you know exactly what’s gone into it and I think that’s becoming more and more important to people.

Have you got any plans to add any more cheeses to your range in the future? l As this is our 5 year anniversary we’ve taken things up a level! As one of the first kits on the market it’s been really important for us to keep innovating and improving so that we stay ahead of the ever increasing competition and so that we can offer our retailers something fresh and exciting! So September sees the launch of our stunning ‘new look’ kits, our even bigger range of cheeses, new style thermometer and wonderful new recipe booklets. We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved so far but we’re REALLY excited to see the response to our new kits!

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24/08/2017 15:17

F

YESTERYEAR!

irst up, I love ginger drinks.

Ginger is an ingredient I’d never run out of in some form in my own kitchen, and it’s always a pleasure to see a ginger drink, especially when it’s from a genuine traditional recipe and tastes as good as this!

Gran Stead’s Ginger Co. produces unique non-alcoholic ginger drinks and traditional lemonade with a nostalgic nod to yesteryear. They were inspired by an original recipe created

by Gran Stead herself back in the 19th century. Today, Gran Stead’s ginger drinks are made in Sussex by Chris and Rosemary Knox, who just like ‘Granny’ herself, love ginger.

Initially starting with Gran Stead’s original ‘Mellow Ginger’, the company has grown a loyal following and has increased their range as they go.

With an impressive range featuring different strengths of ginger as well as a traditional lemonade, all made traditionally, these drinks really are well worth some space on any shelf!

THE RANGE

MELLOW GINGER l Winner of the highest accolades at the 2009 Great Taste Awards - Three Star Gold and Best Speciality for the South East For over 150 years, Granny Stead’s original non-alcoholic ginger drink has delighted generations. Expertly prepared, her unique combination of exotic spices and ingredients make this Mellow Ginger drink the true family favourite.

Rich, smooth and vibrant, Gran Stead’s Mellow Ginger drink has broad appeal and won’t leave you gasping for water. That’s because the heat is

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A nod to

WE CATCH UP WITH CHRIS AND ROSEMARY KNOX OF GRAN STEAD’S GINGER CO. WHO ARE KEEPING TRADITIONS ALIVE BY OFFERING HANDMADE, NON-ALCOHOLIC GINGER DRINKS AND TRADITIONAL LEMONADES. expertly balanced with a welcome hint of sweetness. The unique taste is derived from an intense essence extracted from the rhizomes of fresh ginger. A sprinkling of capsicum adds definition but doesn’t overheat.

The colour is intensified by caramel, which also contributes to the lusciously rich flavour.

FIERY GINGER Reduced sugar fiery ginger drink. l More ginger and less sugar go into this astoundingly spicy ‘all year rounder’. Inspired by Granny Stead’s original 150-year-old recipe, this ginger drink is unashamedly fiery it’s for those who love their ginger to be hot, hot, hot! We can guarantee it will fire up barbecues, picnics and parties, whatever the weather!

And if you’re watching your sugar intake, you’ll be delighted to know that Fiery Ginger contains 40% less sugar than Mellow Ginger.

STILL LEMONADE l A refreshing thirst quencher, it represents a break from the traditional for Gran Stead’s Ginger Co. The only one of our drinks which is ginger-free, it’s made with a generous helping (13%) of Sicilian lemon juice.

LEMONADE WITH ZING l Granny Stead’s knowhow was the inspiration behind this extremely

lemony little number, in which zest and spice mingle somewhat tantalisingly. Lots of refreshing Sicilian lemon juice combined with just enough spicy ginger to bestow a gentle hum.

It’s lemonade, but not as you know it. You could say it’s a fusion of the Mellow Ginger and our traditional Still Lemonade. Just don’t let that spicy kick catch you out!

BLACKCURRANT WITH ZING l An exciting fusion drink, this is blackcurrant juice with an added hint of spicy ginger. It’s made to our own recipe and inspired by Granny Stead’s historic ginger drink.

Blackcurrants are regarded as a ‘superfruit’ as they are packed with healthy antioxidants. Add in a few dashes of spicy ginger extract and you have a winning combination. We have to say, we’re pretty chuffed with the feedback so far.

SPICED GINGER PUNCH l The latest addition to the range is Spiced Ginger Punch, a secret blend of exotic spices combined with our signature ginger kick.

This exciting new aromatic drink delivers a punchy hit of ginger delight and is a sure-fire hit with adults and children alike. l www.gransteadsginger.co.uk

24/08/2017 15:14

We interview Chris Knox to find out more!

So, tell us a little bit more about how Gran Stead’s started? l It all began for our family with my dad who was a Yorkshireman, born and bred, but by that time was living down on the South Coast. He used to buy a non-alcoholic ginger wine at Shoreham Beach, which he absolutely loved, as although the drink was made locally in Steyning, the recipe originated from the lady’s granny up in the north east in Middleton-on-Tees – hence the name Gran Stead’s (after Granny Stead)! Anyway, to cut a long story short, my dad had such great affection for this old northern recipe, which was originally created 150 years ago, that he eventually ended up buying the company – and here we are today.

You have a great range of products with some great flavours; can you tell us a little bit more about how they came about? l We started off initially with just the original one, the Mellow Ginger Wine, and aside from reducing the sugar content – mindful of today’s more health-conscious society – the recipe is identical to how it was. However, we have also expanded the range to include five other drinks – Fiery Ginger Wine; Spiced Ginger Punch; Still Lemonade; Lemonade with Ginger; and Blackcurrant with Ginger.

What has the reception been to the products from delicatessens and farm shops? l I’m delighted to say that it has been very good indeed and we always seem to get very positive feedback.

We are distributed to a wide range of independent suppliers across the country, from down here in the south to over in Bristol and you can even find us in London - they all seem to love our range of artisan drinks. I think it helps that the bottles look very good on the shelf too. We took the decision

to rebrand with a fresh new look about four or five years ago, with a different colour for each label, and the bottles all complement each other very nicely.

Q: What are your best-selling products in the range currently? l It really does fluctuate according to the time of year. For example, this weekend I was at the Chilli Fiesta at West Dean, in West Sussex, and there it was the Fiery Ginger Wine that was flying off the shelves. Come wintertime, though, I know it will be the Spiced Ginger Punch and Mellow Ginger Wine – both of which are perfect for Christmas.

Would you say ginger drinks have seen quite a revival lately? l Yes, they’ve never really gone out of fashion, as ginger has always been considered to have a whole host of great benefits – from aiding digestion and antiseptic properties for sore throats to curing nausea. It’s also a very warming drink. One of my favourite ways to serve the Spiced Ginger Punch is heated up with apple juice and an optional brandy – the perfect winter warmer!

We love the branding; do you think that your packaging and design helps make your products stand out on the shelf? l Yes, absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, I think that following our rebranding we have the design just right now with a lovely mix of complementary colours on the labels. So, if you see them together on the shelf, it creates a real impact.

We worked on the design with a branding agency called What Came Next and we think it’s spot on now.

We also added extra information onto the labels too, with advice on how best to consume the drinks, so it’s the full package now.

What is your favourite product in your range and why? l Personally, that would have to be the Fiery Ginger Wine for me, which has 40% less sugar and twice as much ginger as the Mellow version. It’s a really intense flavour, which carries quite a punch, so gets straight to the point! Most of the time, I have it on the rocks, as they say, but for a treat I also like to indulge by mixing it with a toffee vodka! That idea came from when I was at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and had some fun experimenting with the guys on the Thunder Toffee Vodka stall! The two drinks make a great combination.

We noted that there have been comments that your products are very authentic and traditional in taste; how close to the original recipes are your drinks? l As mentioned earlier, the Mellow Ginger Wine is still very close to the original recipe. In fact, it was lovely actually, as not long ago we sent a few bottles to some of Granny Stead’s family, and they said it tasted exactly how they remembered it as children – so you can’t get a much nicer compliment than that!

Have you got any plans to add any more flavours to your range in the near future? l Yes, there are plans afoot for something a little bit ‘off-the-wall’ actually! But we need to do a few more sampling trials first, so for now at least, it’s a case of watch this space.

Lastly, can you give our readers just a few unique selling points of your products that they could relay to their consumers if they stocked your products? l I think the key thing is that we are a truly artisan product. Also, we don’t use artificial preservatives, which results in a nice clean flavour, and we in-bottle pasteurise – which means that once the drink is bottled and capped, it is then placed in a hot-water tank for 20 minutes at 72 degrees. This means the drinks have a shelf life of two years, or three months from opening if kept in the fridge. Last but not least, we are also gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

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24/08/2017 15:14

Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017 BUZZING, BUSTLING AND BOUNTIFUL, SPECIALITY & FINE FOOD FAIR 2017 IS A DAZZLING CELEBRATION OF THE VERY FINEST FOOD AND DRINK. AND THE CURTAIN IS POISED TO RISE ON THIS LEADING TRADE EVENT IN JUST A FEW WEEKS TIME.

W

ith more than 700 producers from across the UK and around the globe exhibiting, including 50 premium chocolatiers, The Fair is a centre of excellence for those in the world of artisan food and drink, rich with gourmet gems and new trends to discover.

From well-being teas, nut butters, fermented drinks, all natural condiments, raw foods and juices and sugar free chocolate to alternative protein snacks, hand crafted confectionery, oils, craft spirits and premium cheeses - there is a feast of opportunity waiting at Olympia London on September 3-5 - including a Sunday for deli owners busy in the week.

Producers lining up for the three day extravaganza include: Acropolis, Al Chipino, Anglesey Sea Salt, Belgian Boys, Belvoir Fruit Farms, Billington’s Gingerbread, BKD, Brindisa Spanish Foods, Burts, Caws Cenarth, Chase Distillery, Chunk of Devon, Coconut Collective, Darlish, Don Gaucho, Fudge Kitchen, Godminster, Harem Delights, Honestly, Joe & Seph’s, Lilypuds, Little Turban, Mrs Tilly’s, Nix&Kix, Noble, Rubies in the Rubble, Simon’s Sauce, Ten Acre and Willy Chase’s.

FAIR ATTRACTION Not just an unrivalled opportunity for sourcing the finest food & drink, the Fair is also a hotbed of inspiration.

Meet more than 200 up and coming brands and unearth exciting new trends in the Discovery Zone; explore the gourmet goodies on the new Speciality

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Chocolate Trail and sample all of the Top 50 Great Taste finalists including the Supreme Champion in the Great Taste Deli.

Learn from inspiring professionals at two new live visitor attractions: Food For Thought provides case studies, solutions and practical advice on a wide range of topics to overcome everyday business hurdles.

Competition has never been fiercer - which is why the free expert advice dished out at Food For Thought is widely sought after. The speakers this year will offer practical tips and advice on selling organic produce, new food trends and the business of beer. They include: Pritesh Mody, World of Zing Flavour Guru; Shami Radi, Co Founder of Eat Grub and food blogger Alla Drikse delivering her verdict on food and drink trends.

Savour the Flavour, hosted by chef Steve Walpole, will be filled with live demonstrations delivering ideas and practical menu and cooking tips,

to help drive more customers and increase profits. These sessions are the perfect way to keep on pace with the latest flavour trends and menu design styles. The line-up includes author and television presenter Rachel Green, blogger and nutritional expert Nathalie Newman and Great Taste chef Nick Crosley. Themes this year include: food allergies and intolerances and craft, authenticity and provenance.

Kara Bowen, Event Manager, said: “Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017 is just around the corner, and already the excitement is building. We have a top notch line-up of both passionate producers and informative attractions, so it promises to be a unique experience to savour.

It is not just an opportunity to source the very latest products for retail shelves, but a chance to be immersed in the diverse and dynamic world of artisan food and drink.”l www.specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk

24/08/2017 14:33

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS NOBLE

MANFOOD

Stand 3390 madebynoble.earth

Stand 4412 welovemanfood.com l Manfood will be launching three new sauces and one pickle inspired by the food trucks of Los Angeles, where traditional flavours and ingredients are given a new twist.

The family of four includes: Wasabi mayonnaise, Filipino Adobo Wing sauce, Vietnamese pickled onions and Korean Taco sauce.

l Noble creates nutrient rich, all

natural drinks full of vitamin, minerals, antioxidants, essential amino acids and vegan plant proteins. The range includes five new blends, including Golden (turmeric latte), Upbeet (beetroot latte) and Roasted (chicory and dandelion). Add to hot milk, mylk or smoothies.

Available in 250g tubs and from this Autumn 150g tubs.

URBAN VILLAGE CHOCOLATES Stand 2776 urbanvillagechocolates.co.uk

Urban Village Chocolates will be showcasing the latest additions to their collection of hand-crafted chocolates - a series of single-origin bars. Each bar features a unique ‘word cloud’ decoration highlighting the country from which the chocolate comes.

Available in 110g bars.

l

ZAYTAS

Stand 3140 zaytasaove.es l Zaytas produce two

types of Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Arbequina, which is produced on the first day of harvest, characterised by its delicate bitterness and medium spice; and Picual, which is cold extracted and is slightly more bitter with an intense spice.

SOUL FOOD COLLECTIVE

Stand 2905 soulfoodcollective.co.uk l Soul

Food Collective are launching a range of natural and healthy snacking and condiment products. They include a range of Gourmet Vinegars, designed to help people elevate their food, with flavours including a new Fig Balsamic, Fig & Cinnamon, Fresh Mango, Ginger, Apple Lemon & Honey, Seaweed and Honey and Red Berries.

YUMELL

Stand 2777 yumello.com l New

brand Yumello will be showcasing their range of argan nut butters. The range includes Argan Almond Butter, Argan Peanut Butter, and Argan Cashew Butter. Available in 170g jars.

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24/08/2017 14:34

HIGHWAY to HELLAS WE MEET DIMITRIS ZAFIRATOS OF HELLENIC IDEA, WHO IS GIVING THE UK THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THE VERY BEST THAT GREECE HAS TO OFFER!

I

was very excited about featuring Hellenic Idea; it’s a real pleasure to introduce a company offering such interesting and great products to the UK market.

It’s no lie that I’m a huge fan of Greek food and drink. I’ve spent a lot of time in Greece for work throughout my career and I found products that were so great, yet aren’t available readily in the UK, or not at least to the same quality.

To me, there is no greater pleasure than a bowl of real Greek yoghurt with delicious raw honey on top, or a healthy dash of Greek extra virgin olive oil on a Mediterranean salad. I’ve spent many years hunting out Greek wines and liqueurs in the UK, albeit the best ones aren’t over here yet. Until now…

A Hellenic Idea: Dimitris Zafiratos

GOLDEN FOODS

comes from a family who have been in the tourism business for over 15 years.

Each set of visitors to one of their villas would be greeted with a hamper of Greek produce to enjoy upon arrival.

This soon escalated into offering a full range of speciality Greek fine food and produce. Then, after this the idea to create their own premium quality label ‘Hellenic Idea’ was born.

Dimitris started by sourcing the

which it is associated – it illuminates and enhances other things around it. l The other side of the business At the uppermost level, this is a Dimitris has created is Golden Foods, colour, which is associated with higher which is a luxury brand with products ideals, wisdom, understanding and that really are luxury on every level. enlightenment. It inspires knowledge, Dimitris says: “The colour gold is the spirituality and a deep understanding of colour of success, achievement and the self and the soul. triumph. Associated with abundance In the meaning of colours, gold is and prosperity, luxury and quality, generous and giving, compassionate and prestige and sophistication, value and loving, the benefactor or patron, sharing elegance, the psychology of this colour its wisdom, knowledge and wealth with implies affluence, material wealth and others. Gold is the colour of the winner – extravagance. first place medals are always in gold.”

Gold in its physical state, by its very nature, denotes wealth and prestige in THE GOLDEN PRODUCTS OLIVA DIVINA every country, culture and market in Made by HELLENIC IDEA, is a unique the world today. combination of organic, premium Therefore we introduced 24k quality, awarded, Greek extra virgin Edible Gold in our Natural Golden olive oil with 24K edible Gold flakes.

Products to obtain the infinite The pure organic cultivation and satisfaction and pleasure that caters harvesting of olive trees, with respect to our heavenly bodies. to tradition and sustainable growth, Optimistic and positive, gold adds richness and warmth to everything with provides a full-bodied harmonized taste,

very best products from his native Kefalonia, and then this soon turned to him looking further afield.

Dimitris says: “We started off by collecting from the island of Kefalonia a, our roots, the traditional wine and sweets. We then moved onto the rest of the Ionian Islands of Corfu and Zakynthos and to the rich lands of Peloponnese and Crete for their supreme quality of virgin olive products and honey.”

The Range: The incredible range

includes products such as, Olive Oil & Vinegars, Wines & Liqueurs, Honey, Marmalade, Herbs & Spices, Sweets & Bars, Nuts and Gift sets.

There are products that you simply can’t get anywhere else, such as Mandola, a traditional sweet from Kefalonia. Right through to the extra virgin olive oils and organic Greek honey. Not forgetting our favourite, the Masticha, which is from the island of Chios. It’s well worth mentioning the wines too! l Tel: +30 211 4088066. Mob:+30 6944 344683 , +30 6940 708675.

Email: hellenicidea@gmail.com Web: www.hellenicidea.com, www.goldenfoods.co.uk

aroma and very low acidity OEVOO. The exquisite glass bottle is housed within an inspiring aesthetically really beautiful black, handmade case that brings sweet memories from the past.

DIVINE HONEY If you wish to taste the divine, look no further from Greek Organic Honey with edible 24k Gold. Its unique blend of sun, mountain flowers and purity of the sea make for a luscious taste experience.

Greek organic honey, with its rich flavour and aroma, provides you with all the benefits in just one teaspoon. And if you close your eyes, you’ll feel like you just stepped on a Greek island.

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HELLENIC IDEA FEATURE DPS.indd 2

24/08/2017 14:38

Interview with Dimitris Zafiratos, Hellenic Idea & Golden Foods So Dimitris, tell us a bit more about how Hellenic Idea came about? l Our family has been involved in the tourism business for almost 15 years now. Each summer we welcome our guests like it is our first opening season. With this mindset we have been working hard to provide our guests with the best possible Greek hospitality experience.

Good food is essential to enjoy one’s holiday. So with this in mind we started offering a welcome basket with Greek flavours in our villas.Later on, we established a full range of traditional and specialty foods that our guests could enjoy while staying in our villas or they could take back home.

The inspiration came from their positive feedback. All of the products have been gathered and sourced with great thought in order to provide a premium quality label, “Hellenic Idea”.

knowledge which has been passed down generation to generation from the start of how the seeds are treated down to the extraction of the oil. Therefore allowing them to produce &extract the finest, smoothest flavoured olive oil.

The quality the Greek olive oil is renowned throughout the world as one of the finest. Everyone knows that the Italians and Spanish use 2/3 of Greece’s annual production to supplement their own and they label it as theirs. They do this to improve their own olive oil.

Greek wines may have not been promoted as best as they could have been in the past, but they are gaining ground in the marketplace and winning various awards.

Our editor Chris McNeill actually shrieked with delight when he saw that you sold Mastika (or Masticha) as this is his favourite drink and is hard to find in the UK, what are your favourite products in your own range? l Indeed our Masticha liqueur, from the island of Chios, makes for one fine drinking experience, but so do our aromatic and flavourful organic wines from the vineyards of Limnos Island.

Sourced from awarded local vineyards and certified for their organic processing, makes it an excellent addition to one’s cellar.

But believing in the proper foundation of everyday nutrition, I would have to say that my favourites are the olive oil and honey. Olive oil, because of its many uses in cooking and food preparation and honey for its dense, yet smooth flavour.Plus the great energy boost it gives me when I have it for breakfast or served with Greek yogurt.

We love that you have found a collection of great and authentic Greek products that we can enjoy.

How have you sourced all these products? l We started off by collecting from the island of Cephalonia, our roots, the traditional wine and sweets. We then moved onto the rest of the Ionian Islands of Corfu and Zakynthos and to the rich lands of Peloponnese and Crete for their supreme quality of virgin olive products and honey.

Each product is carefully sourced and selected to add to our collection. The selection of our products has entailed a lot of travelling across Greece, working together closely with producers and suppliers to guarantee the organic procedures and the cultivations and the final development of the product.

The journey of niche flavours, of course, never stops. We are always looking for new & exciting products to We also love your Golden Foods offer our customers! range, what gave you this idea? l Being a true fan of reading about Having spent a lot of time in Greece, the history of ancient people and the editor Chris often talks about different cultures, I realized that a the quality of Greek food especially common pleasure of people, since the olive oil and wine. How do you think beginning of time, was having gold in Greek products compare to others their possession.

Gold in its physical state, by its very around the world? l Well, Olive trees have existed in nature, denotes wealth and prestige Greece since the ancient times. There are in every country, culture and market depictions in the ancient artefacts across in the world even today. Thus I got various regions of the country explaining inspired to create the Golden Series the importance of this rich tree, in life of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and and its value in everyday nutrition.

Organic Honey.

So the existence of Olive trees, since We believe our customers should the beginning of times in Greece, has have the opportunity to treat provided Greek families with ample themselves with all the best nature

HELLENIC IDEA FEATURE DPS.indd 3

has to offer and as a gift, it is something utterly unique and special.

How has the reception been to these products since launching? l We are researching the UK market and promoting the Greek flavours since November 2016 by participating in three big exhibitions, two in London and one in Birmingham so far.

The feedback we have received is certainly very positive and we love seeing the surprise and joyful expressions when visitors taste our specialty foods that we have brought directly from Greece to the shows.

Just watching them take a simple corner of crusty bread & dipping it into our quality organic olive oil which we mix with our balsamic vinegar& seasoned with wild Thyme, is a true pleasure.

We’d suggest that a bottle of your Oliva Divina with gold flakes would look excellent on any shelf; do you personally use these yourself at home? l Gold has been associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality.

Oliva Divina and Divine Honey have been created as a premium product which derives from our main Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Organic Thyme Honey.

The added ingredient of 24K edible gold into these two very traditional and nutritious products provides a unique experience and adds a prestigious perspective. I personally use them on special events or offer them as gifts because they are unique and it makes any occasion become a special one.

Have you got any plans to add any more products to your ranges in the future? l As the brand is still developing across the EU market, we plan to add new products and seasonal lines in the future.

We truly believe that the products behind the famous Greek nutrition and Mediterranean diet will make headway in the years to come. We have already seen people becoming more aware of what they eat, the nutritional value and how things are produced. In the end food has to benefit us and offer us a healthier life and as Hippocrates the father of medicine said “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food.”

The Delicatessen Magazine 25

24/08/2017 14:39

Explore the UK’s leading showcase of fine food and drink Condense a year’s worth of product sourcing into an inspiring journey of discovery, find out more at specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk

specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk #SFFF17

TRADE ONLY AD PAGE 2.indd 1

22/08/2017 20:15

CHARLES BUTLER - A REBIRTH AND GROWTH OF AN OLD FAVOURITE C

harles Butler began making his Artisan Confectionery in Sheffield in 1848. He always made his product with the “finest of ingredients” and it lead to his products becoming “world-renowned” (his words). The brand started to die away in the 1960s but then 3 years ago we found his original recipes in the archives and began making to those recipes once again.

Once making to these recipes we realised the quality and taste was, as he said, of the highest order. He used ingredients lost to the art of sweet making many years ago either due to general cost or in some cases rationing in the wars.

Mr Butler used Jam to make soft centres in our Fruit Drops which keeps a fantastic fruit flavour all the way through the soft centres sweet. Liquorice Toffee is used as a centre for Charles Butler’s Liquorice and Blackcurrant instead of plain butter toffee, again keeping the true flavour of the product all the way through the sweet. There is also a blend of milk and dark Chocolate in the centre of our Chocolate Limes rather than using a cocoa powder as is often done today which adds the quality back into the sweets.

Our skilled sugar boilers also need to refine their skills to make the designs of Fruit Rock that Charles Butler laid out and championed. He also had a fantastically traditional recipe for a good old Barley Sugar that will take people straight back to their childhood with the quality of the product. Finally no Charles Butler range would be without his Mint Rock, the original product made with Cream of Tartar as he didn’t trust the glucose, it gave it its distinctive yellow colour and made him “world renowned” (his own choice of phrase).

New packaging was

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WE LEARN MORE FROM RICHARD PITCHFORK, ONE OF THE TEAM BEHIND THE REBIRTH OF AN OLD FAVORITE, CHARLES BUTLER’S ARTISAN CONFECTIONARY

commissioned based on original drawings and almanacs written by Mr Butler in the late 1800s and the brand was ready to launch in the Summer of 2016. Since the launch the brand has grown through the farm shop, deli and specialist retailer market and we are now looking at other recipes that Mr Butler had for other products away from hard boiled sweets. It is an exciting time for a brand that has been around since 1848.

To give Charles Butler his say in his own story: I was doubly determined to triumph and to make the name of Charles Butler famous throughout the world when I began my career at a local boiled sweet maker. There I was, young, energetic and as keen as mustard when I commenced my apprenticeship. As I boiled and handcrafted innumerable sweets over the years, I laid my plans.

Eleven years later, because it takes at least that long to acquire the requisite skills, in 1848 I foundered ‘Charles Butler master confectioner and mint rock manufacturer’ My rise to fame had begun.

By the by, in case you are wondering how I

have reached such a dizzying age whilst still being so vigorous and youthful, I put it down to long hikes in my beloved Peak District, hard work, cold baths, and a half hogshead of best bitter daily which I find to be a most efficacious restorative.

You must try it some time. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes I was telling you the tale of my rise to prominence.

Well I began by making and selling a mint rock unequalled by any of my rivals and esteemed by all who tasted it. Using the finest of ingredients and leaving no stone unturned in my pursuit of perfection, my rock and I were soon lauded throughout the world.

From that moment on my daddles were never still, and my fine boiled sweets went from strength to strength.

Barley sugars adequate to rejuvenate the weariest hiker soon proved popular, as did my astonishingly agreeable Chocolate Limes. Fruit drops filled with toothsome jam and Fruit Rock handmade by some of the world’s most proficient sugar boilers followed, and finally my magnificent and distinct Liquorice and Blackcurrants. As I wrote in 1902. ‘’During all the 54 years Charles Butler’s sweets have been manufactured, not an ounce of anything in the way of adulteration has been used, but only ingredients of the purest and best quality that money could purchase, and this has achieved a success which is World wide.”

And I have never wavered from my thoroughgoing adherence to these high ideals. My sweets are still handmade in Sheffield under my abiding and ever vigilant eye, and they continue to be relished by young and old alike. l www.charles-butler.co.uk www.maxons.co.uk/charles-butler

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24/08/2017 14:35

DECLARE WAR

on the mundane We meet Lizzy Hodcroft, founder of The Sweet Beet, who is declaring war on the mundane, challenging our taste buds and giving us new ideas for condiments with a range of fantastic products that is set to grow!

F

irst things first, I love Texan and South American flavours.

I had real trouble talking with Lizzy, almost as soon as we parted ways I had to dash to find food and plenty of it. I would challenge anyone to not get hungry talking with Lizzy. Her inspiring tales of sneaking food from her mother’s house in Texas back to the UK and her amazing ideas for taste combinations are enough to make anyone start to feel their stomachs rumble.

Talking with Lizzy is also very refreshing. She is not just another person trying to find a way to make ends meet, no, she’s a strong woman with a real can do attitude who is keen to stand up and be counted and lead a revolution of the changing tastes and desires for different condiments and how they should be used.

Lizzy is a trained chef so flavour profiles were nothing new but capturing the essence of the deep, bold, smokey flavours that she lovingly grew up with in Texas to appeal to the British palate meant validating the idea through small markets and a lot of engagement from consumers. Pairing the products with recipes and food from their Street Food Stall ignited interest from retailers early on.

True to her own disposition, The Sweet Beet is creating a lot of disruption by forcing not only the public but buyers themselves to challenge how a condiment can be used and even what a condiment really is.

CHANGING TASTES

With news that Brown Sauce sales were falling dramatically back a couple of years a go and with the major condiments companies trying to add new flavours into their staple products such as a lemon zing within

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THE SWEET BEET FEATURE.indd 2

a mayonnaise or Guinness in a brown sauce, it shows how our tastes are changing and how we are wanting to experiment. I believe that we are inspired by cooking programmes that show us new flavour combinations and give us the confidence to have a go with ingredients we a aren’t familiar with.

Take for example the humble sausage sandwich – an absolute staple meal the following morning after enjoying a tipple or two. Whilst historically I’d go straight for a generous dollop of tomato or if I was feeling adventurous perhaps a dollop of Brown Sauce, now I crave a dollop of bacon jam or something else a little more interesting to really pull all the flavour out of this sandwich.

The Sweet Beet is really at the forefront of this movement, and Lizzy is not scared to trial and promote new flavours. She really understands food and how to get the most out of it!

THE RANGE

MAPLE BACON JAM Smokey, salty, sticky and sweet, and with more bacon than any other bacon jam on the market, this Maple Bacon Jam has real flavour. They smoked the pork to capture a deeper, bolder flavour which when added to their genuine Canadian Maple Syrup becomes an absolute American classic flavour.

This product can be enjoyed with burgers and sandwiches or used as a rub, dissolved in a sauce or used to construct a beautiful marinade! (Or as some customers report, eat the entire jam in one sitting straight from the jar!)

HABANERO LIME JELLY The Sweet Beet’s condiments have been consciously designed to deliver the ultimate flavour pairings. No added

water means a powerful punch of flavour. The Habanero Lime Jelly uses sun-ripened habanero peppers, crisp green citrus limes and raw cane sugar made from the sweet juices of the sugar cane plant. These key ingredients unite together for a sweetened balance of tongue tingling heat and citrus tang. It’s unmissable grilled on salmon, placed on prawns, dolloped in creamy dips and served with cheese.

NEW FOR AUTUMN 2017!

OAK SMOKED APPLE BUTTER Launching this Autumn, Oak Smoked Apple Butter. The result is apple flavour embellished with smoke and caramel, a fine addition to seared scallops, a bourbon cocktail, or just about anything that benefits from smoke and sweetness. Delicious with soft cheeses and charcuterie or great for brunch.

Apple butter contains no real butter, but is called a “butter” because of it’s rich, creamy texture which is the result of slowly cooking down the apples resulting in a spread which is as timeless and delicious as anything you’ve ever spread on a morning piece of toast, muffin or bagel.

STRAWBERRY CHIPOTLE BBQ SAUCE Strawberries and chipotle give this a sweet, spicy kick. Unique and versatile sauce used for dessert topping & cooking. Goes great with proteins such as salmon, grilled jalapeño sausages, berries such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries and is wonderful over ice‑cream or yogurt with granola and fresh berries. Excellent as a syrup over buttered waffles or pancakes or on buttered toast, biscuits or over cream cheese. The Sweet Beet use it to baste chicken, beef ribs and pork on their street food stall.

TEXAS BEER JELLY This is distinctively savoury and that’s what make it so darn interesting.

Powerful hoppy flavours make it perfect for pairing with smoked cheese or as glaze with meats.

24/08/2017 14:40

WE INTERVIEW LIZZY (WHO HAS JUST BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR THE NORTH EAST YOUNG WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD) TO FIND OUT MORE...

So, tell us how the Sweet Beet name came about?

l After 15 years working as chef and managing front of house, I was sick of seeing my colleges over worked and under paid. I wanted to change that so I started small with a Street Food Business, creating authentic Tex-Mex that could easily be altered for specific dietary preferences. We had options on the menu like Sweet Potato Nachos with Chipotle Sour Cream, Beet Bean and Fried Avocado Tacos and Fajita Chicken Wraps. Hence, the play on words for the name, The Sweet Beet.

You have a great range of products with some great flavours, can you tell us a little bit more about how they came about?

l Originally, the products were all made as add-ons to our street food.

Inspiration for them was found from the deep, bold flavour profiles I grew up eating in Texas. A lot of trial and error commenced but that’s the great thing about starting out participating in markets – you can get feedback straight from the source, immediately.

What has the reception been to the products from delicatessens and farm shops? l Jaw-dropping would not be an

overstatement. I hadn’t even clocked the retail market on my radar but within just a month of selling street food and the condiments on the side, we got approached by a local retailer that wanted to stock our products!

Needless to say, this changed everything – including the direction of the business.

It’s been a joy to work so closely with delis, farm shops and other independents because it’s true a relationship where you work together to achieve a common goal. We’re all just real people with real dreams of support ourselves with a business we’ve crafted with our own two hands and it’s a pleasure to work side by side with these people.

What are your best selling products in the range currently? l The Maple Bacon Jam certainly gets a

lot of attention and with more (British) bacon than any other in the market, it’s a pleasure to taste! The absolute BEST comment about it that I’ve had is how many customers eat it straight from the jar with a spoon in one sitting!

THE SWEET BEET FEATURE.indd 3

In the article we discussed how consumers are looking for different condiments and challenging their taste buds, what is your experience of this? l First off, food is meant to be an

adventure. To literally be able to travel the world from different foods on the same plate is a luxury I think we forget about. The economics of our world means that cultures from the four corners of the globe are coming together and creating a really exciting platform for food right now. Our meal preferences are changing and this means the traditional condiments aren’t as tailored for our meals. It’s time for condiments to step up to the challenge! The Sweet Beet helps to change our perceptions of how a condiment can be used and even what a condiment really is. The key for success in this endeavour is helping to educate consumers with recipe ideas and high engagement levels. We are looking to lead the way with innovation and food trends with our discovery products.

Within five minutes of our discussion about your products, we were quickly coming up with new taste combinations to pair with your products, do you often think of and try new ways of enjoying your products too?

l Absolutely! We try very hard to keep coming up with new ideas and recipes to use our condiments with. It’s also important that your customer has a product with a lot of versatility so that they really are getting more bang for their buck.

sourced ingredients and produced right here in England.

We notice that you work with the Fine Food Angel as well as the Artisan Food Club, how do you find these for assisting you in selling your products to retailers?

l When you are small business like ourselves and are quite new to the food retail scene, connecting with independent farm shops, delis and outlets become essential. The Fine Food Angel and Artisan Food Club give us a platform to do just that without breaking your bank. They realise that small producers can’t afford to pay the large sums of money that some distributors want and only take a small proportion of your total sales when a deal is closed to cover their costs.

Both are also fantastic with advice and insight into the industry.

With your appearance at the Speciality Fine Food Fair this year as an exhibitor being your first large trade show, have you got any plans to go to more If this one is successful?

l Ever since my first visit (as a regular joe) to IFE this summer, I’ve caught the trade show fever. It’s just too fun to just do one! We’ll also be at Food Matters Live this November.

Lastly, can you give our readers just a few unique selling points of your products that they could relay to their consumers if they stocked your products?

l Apart from our Maple Bacon Jam, all of our products are suitable for vegans and most are gluten free. We l It has to be the Oak Smoked Apple always try to source our ingredient Butter. Apple butter is a highly from the UK to support the farmers in concentrated form of apple sauce Britain and never add water to bulk produced by long, slow cooking of apples out our products. Our condiments are with cider or water to a point where the handmade, artisan and high-quality. sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning They are all extremely versatile and the apple butter a deep brown. Ours is truly have authentic flavour profiles made with Bramley apples and has a of the Southern USA but have been great oak-smoked after taste that makes consciously made for the British me perfect to glaze meat with or even as palate. Oh, and our Maple Bacon Jam dip with pork crackling. was just awarded one star from the Great Taste Awards! l

What is your favourite product in your range and why?

We really like your logo and branding, what gave you the inspiration for the design?

l I wanted a logo that looked that the old branding irons they used for cattle in the Wild West. Our branding has evolved over time but our favourite part was trying to convey that although the product flavours and ideas come from Texas, it’s very much a UK condiment, using UK

Enquires and Sample Pack: info@ thesweetbeet.co.uk Sales: sales@ thesweetbeet.co.uk Office: 0191 249 5631 Mobile: 07532 497 419 Website: www.thesweetbeet.co.uk Twitter/Instagram/Facebook Handle: thesweetbeetuk Products can be purchased directly or through The Fine Food Angel or The Artisan Food Club.

The Delicatessen Magazine 29

24/08/2017 14:40

PETER´S YARD

Growth Success

H

aving spent many years managing well known food brands at multi-national corporations it is perhaps unsurprising that Peter’s Yard co-founder Wendy Wilson-Bett conducted extensive research before deciding how to redesign the brand’s range of crispbread bites this January.

The introduction of new packaging and some small tweaks to the recipes comes on the back of investing in a piece of research that helped the company identify exactly what people love about their brand.

“The research results were very exciting for us” said Wilson Bett. “They showed just how much people love our brand and how loyal they are once they have tried it. It also showed how many of our target market are yet to discover the brand meaning there is significant up-side potential for both us and for retailers looking to increase the value of their savoury biscuit category.”

Key findings showed that consumers love Peter’s Yard crispbread with cheese and their smaller “bites” with dips although that message was not clearly communicated on the packaging of their “Knacks” bags

RESEARCH WAS THE NATURAL CHOICE FOR PETER’S YARD

launched last year. “The research showed that our target market is attracted to our natural ingredients and our lovely packaging but the pack designs for Knacks were too far away from the branding on the rest of the range and did not communicate that they are perfect served with dips.

Casual entertaining including mezze style foods and dips is an increasingly popular eating occasion, with an estimated 41% of the nation having a pot of hummus in the fridge.

The Peter’s Yard range of three varieties of crispbread bites fits this occasion perfectly.

Taste and delivering a superior product are central to Peter’s Yard, so with the relaunch, they have changed the pack design to bring it in line with the rest of the range and clearly communicate the “natural choice for dips” message on the front and back of the bags. They have also taken the opportunity to further improve the crispbread bites by slightly tweaking the recipes, which enhance the

flavour profiles and perfectly complement a wide range of dips. Sea Salt is light and crispy with the addition of Halen Môn Sea Salt. 5 Seed has a more rustic texture with the additional healthy mix of pumpkin, sunflower, poppy and chia seeds. Cumin & Nigella Seed has a crunchy texture and a warming flavour from the special whole spice mix that includes cumin, nigella, caraway, anise and fennel. Each flavour is based on a Peter’s Yard’s classic sourdough crispbread recipe, which is high in fibre and made with natural ingredients including organic whole-wheat flour, rye sourdough and organic fresh milk, before being cut into bite-sized rectangular pieces and hand-baked until golden and crisp.

Sea Salt, 5 Seed and Cumin & Nigella Crispbread Bites are available from a wide selection of speciality distributors. RRP £2.49 per 105g pack.

Wilson Bett added “We constantly monitor performance of our brand to ensure we are providing retailers and consumers with high quality products that sell well and taste exceptional.

We are really pleased with the new pack designs and very clear that there is further growth potential across the entire Peter’s Yard range.” l Web: www.petersyard.com Twitter/Instagram: @PetersYard Facebook: /PetersYard Peter’s Yard is available from a wide selection of speciality wholesalers and distributors. It you are interested in stocking Peter’s Yard or would like free point of sale, please contact clare@petersyard.com

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24/08/2017 15:34

LAUNCH OF THE CHARCOAL & RYE CRISPBREAD SINGLE VARIANT PACK

l

Peter’s Yard is further extending their awardwinning range with the launch of a Charcoal & Rye sourdough crispbread. The Charcoal & Rye variant made a debut last year as part of a Mixed Selection Box, but due to demand, Peter’s Yard has launched a 90g single pack.

The Charcoal & Rye Crispbread is made to Peter’s Yard authentic Swedish recipe with natural ingredients that include whole-wheat flours, fresh organic milk, honey and naturally fermenting sourdough that is allowed to ferment for 16 hours before each batch is made. A generous level of charcoal is added to the mix

that produces an attractive colour and distinct flavour.

The Peter’s Yard range is the natural choice for cheese as it doesn’t overpower or mask the flavours, and the Charcoal & Rye variety works well and is particularly recommended alongside a Brie or soft goats’ milk cheese. Charcoal flavours are increasingly popular due to their reputation to aid digestion.

Wendy Wilson-Bett said “The Mixed Selection Box that was launched last year for Christmas was phenomenally successful and we were inundated with requests from consumers and retailers asking for the Charcoal crispbread. With this knowledge,

we are confident that retailers will experience very positive sales and it will be a welcome and popular addition to the range. Our range provides retailers with an extensive offer to create impact in store with displays and also gives consumer’s more choice and variety.”

The new 90g Charcoal & Rye Crispbread will retail at £2.95 and will complement the existing range of Original Crispbread, Spelt & Fig Crispbread, Seeded Wholegrain Crispbread, Pink Peppercorn Crispbread and Caraway Crispbread. It will be available from a variety of speciality wholesalers and distributors. l

GREAT TASTE AWARDS 2017 Sourdough Crispbread with Caraway – 2 stars Pink Peppercorn – 1 star Seeded Wholegrain – 1 star Crispbread Bites with Sea Salt – 1 star

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24/08/2017 15:35

NIM´S

FRUIT CRISPS A

quick look in my desk drawer will reveal the amount of snacks that I have hidden in there to sneakily devour during the day. What can I say? I love food!

Well, in my search to find a healthier alternative and a guiltfree snack that tasted as nice as it promised to be to my health.

In comes Nim’s Fruit Crisps!

Healthy, tasty and convenient – what more can you want from a snack?

WE MEET NIMISHA RAJA OF NIM’S FRUIT CRISPS, THE PIONEER OF THE AIR DRIED FRUIT CRISP, TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS MULTI AWARD WINNING BRAND award-winning products by setting up her own UK-based factory. The new site means the brand can ensure an exceptional level of quality and consistency of product, as well as being able to respond to customer demands and bespoke orders swiftly and to exacting specifications.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

It’s 2012 and being an entrepreneurial café owner and mum, Nimisha was frustrated by the lack of genuinely healthy and tasty snacking alternatives, so with her can-do attitude, she pioneered the concept of air-dried fruit crisps, launching the first product to the UK market with her innovative brand Nim’s Fruit Crisps. Nimisha set out to create a snack that both her and her daughter would enjoy.

She discovered that both children and adults enjoyed the texture of crisps as much as the flavour but was shocked by the lack of healthier options on the market. Nimisha developed her products first sourcing exceptional quality fruit and then perfecting the process of air-drying them for crispness

THE RANGE

and sweetness of flavour. Tapping into the demand for genuinely healthy lunchboxes and on-the-go and after school snacks which don’t compromise on taste, her crisps quickly grew in popularity, breathing new life into stale and stagnant snack aisles.

Passionate about British manufacturing, last year Nimisha took a step to improve the quality and consistency of her already

VEGETABLE CRISPS This range is made up of great pairings, including Tomato & Cucumber, Beetroot & Parsnip and Peppers & Courgettes. There is also a kids’ range, which is made up of Kids Carrot and Kids Courgette. l

Web: www.nimsfruitcrisps.com Tel: 01795424238 Email: nimisha@nimsfruitcrisps.com

WE INTERVIEW NIMISHA TO FIND OUT MORE!

So Nimisha, can you tell us a little bit more about how it all started? l Healthy eating has always been important to me, especially after my daughter was born. The idea of fruit crisps came from finding some blueberry flavoured freeze dried apple chunks and although they were really crispy, freeze drying sounded very artificial and I simply couldn’t understand why one perfectly great tasting fruit had to

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FRUIT CRISPS The range is made up of great flavours such as Apple, Pineapple, Pear and Pineapple & Kiwi. There are also two kids’ packet varieties (either kids pear or kids apple.)

be artificially flavoured with another!

I spent 8 months researching drying methods and as a single mother with a coffee shop to run, this meant late night research, usually into the early hours.

I settled upon the age old method of drying to make thinly sliced fruit crispy.

I converted my garage into a makeshift kitchen and experimented for another 6 months. Having almost perfected the product, I had branding, packaging and point of sale created and set up stall outside my coffee shop to sell the UK’s

24/08/2017 14:56

first ever range of Fruit Crisps – Nim’s. I then approached 16 independent shops where I turned up with a tray of Nim’s in hand and asked them to place it on their counter on a sale or return basis. I had set myself a goal that if after 6 weeks, I was still replenishing the trays, then the demand was there. Sure enough, I was spending longer and longer in my makeshift kitchen slicing, drying and hand packing to keep up with demand.

I spent another 6 months trying to find a factory to make them for me in the UK which proved impossible given there was no such thing as a fruit crisp let alone a fruit crisp manufacturer. I found a factory owner in Hungary who fell in love with the concept and we adapted his existing equipment to make Nim’s Fruit Crisps. This worked well for a year and a half but the quality and consistency of the products suffered. I felt I lacked control and I decided that I wanted to bring production to the UK. This was not a decision I made lightly as not only was the investment going to be huge but it would mean me having to stop trading in the meantime in order to avoid damaging the brand with a sub-standard product. I sold the coffee shop and my home to finance the set up. Along the way, I met an investor who believed that if anyone could make this work it was me. to date he has invested over £200,000 in the business an. From the initial idea in 2010 to the months spent trialling followed by 2 years of contracting out and finally setting up production in the UK, many people have helped along the way with advice, grants and insight. The most important people are those in our small but perfectly formed team who clearly believe in the products and have made the success to date possible.

Considering there are now some air dried fruit crisp products out there, how does it feel to know you were the first? l Actually, there aren’t that many brands who make a range of air dried crisps and those that do don’t offer the diverse range we do. The main competitors to us are fried and made in China while others are freeze dried so a whole different proposition in terms of taste, texture and being the original fruit crisp brand is something I am really proud of, of course!

It’s really gratifying to know that we have now created a category and a sub category. The main category being fruit crisps and the sub category being air dried fruit crisps. We also then pioneered the first ever range of air dried vegetable crisps followed by the first ever range of air dried fruit and

Nim’s Fruit Crisps FEATURE.indd 3

vegetable crisps specially for children. We intend to keep innovating and have some amazing products to bring to market!

What I’m most proud of is that we have our own production facility in Kent and some 70%- 80% of the produce we use is British. All I need is a UK farmer to grow pineapple, kiwi and oranges and we’ll have a 100% British range!

We feel your products are the perfect solution for any delicatessen or farm shop; do you get good feedback from them on sales of your products? l We deal with many farm shops and delis and what I love about them is that they really take an interest in the provenance and in introducing new products to their customers. We always send taster packs with the first couple of orders so that the shops can organise tasting sessions to really engage with our products and offer their customers a real point of difference. One shop, having had a 3 hour tasting session sold some 85 packs in one weekend!

Have you encountered many issues along the way since starting out? l Too many issues! With innovation comes a plethora of problems from getting the product just as you want it to getting packaging that will keep the products crispy. But throughout we have stayed true to our ethos of creating products made using just one ingredient therefore 100% natural.

We also ensure that the process is gentle thereby retaining much of the goodness, colour and authentic taste.

It’s nice to see a genuinely healthy snack on the market; do you think that people are moving toward looking for healthier but tastier snacks? l Absolutely! Healthy snacking is one of the fastest growing trends in food and drink. Consumers are ever more savvy and look for brands that they can trust for transparency and clean labelling. We meet all these demands as well as continuing to innovate and give consumers and importantly, retailers more choice, thereby keeping the category and the Nim’s brand at the forefront of the healthy snacking sector.

What’s the secret to making your products taste so good, albeit they are super healthy? l For us, taste is of the utmost importance. The most common feedback form consumers and buyers is the incredulity that our products look and taste of the fruit and vegetable

they are made of. In an age where everything is artificially flavoured and coloured it’s so great to be able to offer a product that astonishes people. When I first started out, most healthy snacks were packed in brown wholesome looking packaging and tasted more ‘brown’ than wholesome.

I also used to see the term ‘no nasties’ on a lot of products but what they didn’t say was that because of the processes they used, there wasn’t much goodness left either. So creating a process that would not require artificial flavouring or concentrated juices to enhance the taste was a real challenge but we have managed to not only enhance the taste but retain a lot of goodness by creating a gentle drying process which takes longer, costs more but worth it for the end result. We were the first to use the whole fruit including skin, core, pips (except for pineapple) as that is where a lot of the goodness is.

Have you any plans to see any new products hit your range in the future? l We have lots and lots of new products not just in the crisps category but others too. I’m sorry I can’t go into too much detail right now but watch this space and we hope to be speaking with you again to introduce our next phase!

We noticed that you are working with The Fine Food Angel, how is this going? l When David first contacted me and explained the concept behind FFA, I think I fell in love with him a little!

Fine Food Angel is exactly the kind of company I want to be working with.

Having been producers themselves, they understand what it’s like, how low the margins can be and how difficult it is to get your products on the shelf.

They have an ethos of being fair to producers and therefore not add on huge commission so that we are able to offer our products to retailers at a fair price which in turn means we sell more and we can grow and be even more competitive. I have also been a retailer in the past and I wish I had had access to the likes of Fine Food Angel offering an amazing range of products on one platform with one monthly invoice.

As a producer, it’s great just to get the orders in and send them straight out without having to worry about sending invoices with each and every order.

It really is a no brainer for both the producer and the retailer to join FFA. They have grown so much in such a short space of time and I can’t wait to see them grow even more.

The Delicatessen Magazine 33

24/08/2017 14:56

NEW GREEK STYLE YOGURT IS ‘SET’ TO BE ALL THE RAGE

Tims Dairy is an award-winning family business based in the Chiltern Hills with a Greek heritage and 68 years of yogurt making expertise.

They produce a fantastic range of Greek style bio-live yogurts – all made with fresh British milk and cream and only natural ingredients for great taste and a really authentic luxury Greek yogurt appeal.

recipes for bread, cakes, and as the perfect healthy alternative to cream.

Yogurt has become a key part of the British diet and is rapidly growing in popularity, especially ‘Greek Style’.

Understanding the desire for innovation from consumers for great tasting yogurt with less or no added sugar, Tims Dairy have just launched a NEW range of Greek style thick SET yogurts – Natural, Passion Fruit and Toasted Coconut which are now available.

It can be enjoyed in so many ways; at breakfast, lunch, as a snack at any time of the day, with fruit, nuts, cereal and as an ingredient in dishes such as curry, or in

The Greek style Natural thick set yogurt has NO ADDED SUGAR, and the flavoured Passion Fruit and Toasted Coconut have ONLY 5% ADDED SUGAR.

SET … not stirred, these smooth yogurts have real indulgent and luxury spoon appeal and they taste delicious. They can be enjoyed as a part of a healthy balanced diet and each pot has mouth-watering serving suggestions on the inner sleeve.

‘Thick Set’ means they have a lovely firm texture which then melts in the mouth with each spoonful.

If you don’t already stock them email sales@timsdairy.co.uk or call 01494 541890 www.timsdairy.co.uk

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19/08/2017 13:40

Let’s take a look at the Range!

QUICK TZATZIKI DIP

Using Greek Style Thick Set Natural Yogurt, mix in diced cucumber, chopped fresh mint, garlic and seasoning – yum!

The Facts FIVE NEW DELICIOUS YOGURTS •

Greek Style Thick Set NATURAL 450g with NO ADDED SUGAR

✔ Bio-live, made with natural ingredients and fresh British milk and cream ✔ Innovation in the Greek style category ✔ Clear front of pack messaging

•

Greek Style Thick Set PASSION FRUIT 450g & 150g with only 5% ADDED SUGAR

✔ Recipes and serving suggestions on inner sleeves

•

Greek Style Thick Set TOASTED COCONUT 450g & 150g with only 5% ADDED SUGAR

✔ Healthy luxury with great taste and a real wow factor

THE TIMOTHEOU FAMILY Being awarded the fantastic accolade of ‘Family Business of the Year 2017 for London and the South East’ in June this year was true testimony to the Timotheou’s 68 years of Greek family heritage. Founded in 1949 by the current family’s uncle, Euripides Nicolaou, who was then joined by their father, Michael Timotheou, the four brothers (Chris, Peter, Bides and Tony) continue to run the business today. In dedicating this award to their inspiring mother, Eleni Timotheou, the family are also very proud of their excellent team at the dairy.

Their ethos from the very beginning has been to produce high quality yogurt using the best natural ingredients and fresh British milk and cream. Their years of expertise is reflected in the many Great Taste Awards they have won. The new Greek Style Thick Set Passion Fruit 450g yogurt is a finalist in this year’s Grocer New Product Awards… fingers crossed!

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19/08/2017 13:40

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24/08/2017 15:10

PURPLE PATCH Cereals

PURPLE PATCH CEREALS FEATURE.indd 3

24/08/2017 15:10

E

verybody knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! However, I tend to eat foods that don’t give me the amount of energy I need to keep me going through the day, especially to keep up with my training schedule for endurance running and other events I participate in.

After talking about this with Purple Patch Cereals owners Emma and David Mack, they kindly sent over some samples that I thought would be useful to not only taste test, but also road test!

When I start my day with a breakfast, I really want it to wake my taste buds and give me that oomph I need to deal with the rigours of the day! So, with a pending holiday to the Lake District where a good breakfast would be vital, I was very excited to trial the Purple Patch Cereal’s range.

It’s 6am and the alarm is going off.

I’m fighting the urge to hit the snooze but I manage to roll out of bed and down to the rustic farmhouse style kitchen in the cottage I was staying in, and instantly my gaze landed on the interesting and brightly coloured packaging of the packets of Purple Patch Cereal that stood on the side.

What better way to start the day than with reading the nice ‘Things are on the up and up” quote on the packet top. Ironically, this was to be what was going to happen.

With each and every bite, I experienced a different flavour and a different ingredient shining out. I loved the interesting combinations and the real quality taste with each bite. After bowl one was done, another was made just as fast. The first time in a long time I had gone for seconds of granola!

Stuffing my waterproofs into my running rucksack and added supplies for my fell climb, I grabbed one of the Snack Pot’s that I got sent too and thought that this would make for an

38 The Delicatessen Magazine

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THIS MONTH, PURPLE PATCH CEREAL GAVE THE EDITOR SOME CEREALS AND SNACK POTS TO HELP HIM SURVIVE HIS HIKING HOLIDAY IN THE LAKE DISTRICT AND IT WAS JUST WHAT HE NEEDED!

excellent on the go energy snack. I spent the next few miles and 931 metres of ascent thinking about this little pot of joy and after taking the obligatory photo atop Skiddaw Fell at a casual 931m of elevation, I decided to crack open the pot and enjoyed the contents to the full!

The mix of honey baked oats, nuts and seeds really gave me a quick, tasty and filling snack that was really what I wanted to give me the extra spring in my step for the impending downhill run.

PURPLE PATCH CEREALS

Purple Patch Cereals is an award winning, genuine artisan company run by Emma and David Mack, who hand make wonderful cereals in their

kitchen. Both Emma and David are real food lovers and when I talk with David about business for a few minutes, we quickly digress to discussing foods and wines we love and often an hour late we have to quickly remember what we were discussing in the first place!

Many companies band the word ‘artisan’ about the place, however in reality it’s only artisan at the beginning before up scaling. The beauty of Purple Patch is that they genuinely hand make their products in a kitchen and enjoy every minute of it. Their light heartedness and love of quality ingredients shows through each bite of their products and we aren’t the only ones to feel this either with Purple Patch winning a plethora of Great Taste Awards.

24/08/2017 15:10

THE RANGE GRANOLA

Honey & Nut Granola – 450g l Nutty granola with pecans, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, all slow baked in honey and rounded off with finely ground Madagascan vanilla pods.

Honey, Nuts & Fruit Granola – 450g l Pecans, coconut, some cranberries for a slight tang and sunflower seeds, all slow baked in natural honey.

Rounded off with finely ground Madagascan vanilla pods to make it taste like no other breakfast cereal.

MUESLI

Fruit & Nuts Muesli – 450g l Small batch artisan muesli made from a balanced blend of wholegrain flakes, nuts, fruit and seeds.

Beautifully rounded off with finely ground Madagascan vanilla pods that make the muesli (and the milk!) taste awesome.

Fruity Muesli – 450g l Small batch artisan muesli with a soft textured and balanced blend of wholegrain flakes, fruits and seeds.

Rounded off with finely ground Madagascan vanilla pods.

NEW - SNACK POTS

l Coming in 80g pots, these pots are brilliant on their own as a snack, add milk to make a small bowl of cereal or even top up a yoghurt.

They are versatile and full of great ingredients. Currently they come in four flavours. l Honey Baked Oats, Nut, Fruit & Seed Snack l Honey Baked Oat, Nut & Seed Snack l Honey Baked Oat & Seed Snack l Chocolate Baked Oat & Tangy Cranberry Snack

WHERE TO BUY:

Purple Patch Cereals are available from The Fine Food Angel: www.thefinefoodangel.co.uk Or contact Purple Patch Cereal directly: Website: purplepatchcereals.co.uk Telephone: 01825 721147 Email: hello@purplepatchcereals. co.uk

The Verdict

l There is already a selection of great deli’s and farm shops that stock Purple Patch Cereals and literally just after launching their Snack Pots the first orders flew in. We believe that it would be very difficult to make a better granola or muesli, make it at an affordable price, and in such great packaging.

The Delicatessen Magazine 39

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24/08/2017 15:11

NEW PRODUCT FROM GAROFALO!

MAKE SURE YOU SEE GAROFALO ON STAND 1931 AT THE SPECIALITY AND FINE FOOD FAIR!

WE GET TO TRY THE NEW GAROFALO LEGUMES AND CEREALS GLUTEN FREE PASTA! l We are big fans of Garofalo pasta here at the Delicatessen Magazine, as well as the editor being a big fan and personal customer, not just for their range of traditional pasta’s but also buying in the current gluten free range (which is very good!) – however, our favourite pasta producer has just brought out a new gluten free pasta to add to their collection!

Some ingredients are born to be together and it is together they can give their best. In this way Garofalo has carefully selected legumes and cereals and created a pasta that is perfect for those looking to maintain a healthy diet without compromising on taste.

The legumes in the pasta are chickpeas and lentils, which provide a source of vegetable protein that is more digestible than the protein from wheat pasta. Corn, Teff, Sorghum and Amaranth make up the cereal elements and provide energy and taste along with a source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Garofalo legumes and cereals pasta is formed using a traditional bronze die, which gives the slightly rough and porous surface to the pasta which means one thing, the sauce clings to the pasta and is pleasure to eat from start to finish. l www.pastagarofalo.it/uk_en

PICKING OUR STOCKING FILLERS ALREADY! WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE NEW CHRISTMAS GIFT PACK FROM PELLINI CAFFÈ AND MAKE SURE WE GET THESE ON OUR OWN CHRISTMAS LISTS EARLY! l We’ve featured them before, and will certainly feature them again! There’s a new Christmas gift pack from the coffee company who we make sure we always stock in the office: Pellini Caffè!

As we said only a few issues a go in our coffee feature, Pellini Caffè is an Italian family run company with quality and flavour at the heart of its business.

Every Pellini coffee contains the experience, history, tradition and knowhow that makes Pellini blends unique and these unmistakable flavours are available in capsules compatible with all Nespresso’s* systems.

The excellence of Pellini coffee blends has been brought together in an eye catching gift pack containing a

prestigious range of espresso capsules.

Each gift pack contains 5 exclusive blends of Pellini coffee, and includes; PELLINI TOP which represents the flagship of the entire Pellini selection with its unique and instantly recognizable aroma. It is an exclusive blend made of fine varieties of 100% Arabica beans directly selected by Pellini experts.

The selection of 3 blends of Pellini Luxury Coffee Capsules in the gift pack is suitable to satisfy the most demanding tastes in terms of variety and complexity.

Completing the pack is a decaffeinated 100% Arabica.

The Gift pack is delivered in a

limited, special edition, high quality impactive display unit that comes free with all orders.

Each display stand contains 18 gift packs containing 5 varieties of 10 capsules per gift pack. The RRP is £19.99 per pack of 50 capsules resulting in a store margin of 40% The stand makes for an immediate impressive display in any store in a coffee category that is still showing good growth as more consumer continue to want the cafe experience at home. l The Pellini capsule gift pack is available from UK wholesaler Gustalia www.gustalia.com

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PASTA DI GRAGNANO WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIRTH PLACE OF PASTA FROM OUR PASTA EXPERT AND REGULAR COLUMNIST SALLY ASSINDER Gragnano, a small town l near Naples and very close to Pompeii is considered the birth place

of pasta in Italy. It is not by chance that Gragnano became the ideal place for pasta making, artisan first then industrial later. It is thanks to its geographical position, squeezed between the mountains and the sea, lending itself to a specific microclimate in the area. The mild climate, passing winds and the humidity throughout the year made the small town a huge open air drying system, perfect for gradually drying pasta dough. In addition to the climate, the many wheat Mills in the location and the local pure water from the springs of Mount Faito, low I who invented the “Bronze Man”, the in chlorine, used by the pasta makers first machinery aimed to make the gave pasta made in Gragnano its production process more hygienic unique characteristics. and rapid to replace the feet of the In the 19th century the town was people mixing the dough, and laying even demolished and then rebuilt to the foundations for the first pasta even better exploit its heliothermic factories in Gragnano. access, transferring it into a huge King Ferdinand II, during lunch open air drying system. At the time on 12th July 1845 granted pasta there was already 100 active pasta manufacturers in Gragnano the high factories and 70% of the population privilege of providing the court with of the town worked in the all its long pasta. Since then production of pasta.

Gragnano became known The story of Gragnano as the City of Pasta. also includes the Garofalo has always HOW TO PRONOUNCE Kings from the played a main role GRAGNANO Kingdom of Naples. in the pasta story The second g in Gragnano is It was an engineer in Gragnano essentially silent and the gn of King Ferdinand and in 1789 sound is a strong, nasal n.

A familiar example of a silent g and nasal n would be gnocchi SALLY ASSINDER COLUMN_AUG.indd 1

the name Garofalo first appeared when it obtained the license for the production and sales of ‘high quality pasta’. Garofalo soon became the most important pasta manufacturer in Gragnano with its two plants, one for long pasta cuts and the other short pasta cuts. Since those days, Garofalo Pasta had been synonymous with excellence, so much that books and magazines used to refer to “high quality pasta” as “Garofalo-type” pasta. Today there is one Garofalo factory in Gragnano making both long and short cuts.

Knowing the roots of pasta made in Gragnano is a first step to understanding the quality and craftsmanship in Pasta di Gragnano. l

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TAKING THE PEA

W

hen you meet Mike, it’s hard to believe that this Pea champion actually never really liked peas in their normal cooked format. However, Mike is a true fighter and a champion – he doesn’t give up. He kept trying the humble pea in other ways until he found a Wasabi pea and realised he quite liked it. However, Mike was confused why Wasabi was the only flavour so we went forth and gave peas a chance by launching the Taking The Pea brand.

Roll on a few years and over 1000 stockists are stocking them, new stockists are coming on board each week, and awards are flying in – a real success and one that is even better when you know the full back story.

OUR VERDICT We really enjoyed all the flavours currently offered; however the favourite was probably the Wasabi pea. We’ve had many a Wasabi pea before but this one was much punchier, crunchier and just the right amount in a packet – else we’d have sat there eating them all day!

REMINDER OF THE RANGE CHEESY PEASY & ONION The UK’s favourite crisp flavour, in a crunchy pea format. Each packet is a portion-controlled 144 calories; is high in fibre and a healthy source of protein. Available to buy as a box (12 x 40 g packets).

SMOKED HAM Smoked Ham crunchy flavoured peas, [ham and pea] go together like bacon and egg! You’ll love the smokiness that comes with every crunch. Each pack a portion-controlled 140 calories; is high in fibre and a healthy source of protein. Available to buy as a box (12 x 40 g packets).

SWEET CHILLI SALSA Sweet Chilli Salsa crunchy flavoured peas combine nice with just the right amount of naughty.

Each packet is a portion-controlled 145 calories; is high in fibre and a healthy source of protein. Available to buy as a box (12 x 40 g packets).

WACKY WASABI Wacky Wasabi crunchy flavoured peas is by far one of the best wasabi peas you’ll try. Each packet is a portion-controlled 140

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TAKING THE PEA FEATURE_AUG.indd 2

again

AFTER THEIR GREAT TASTE WIN, AND HEARING ABOUT SOME SECRET PLANS ON THE HORIZON, WE WANTED TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH TAKING THE PEA’S MIKE GALLAGHER TO FIND OUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING choose them over our other flavours.

I’ve always got loads in the house so it’s almost impossible to not have a pack whilst enjoying a cold beer in front of the TV. We try to practice what we preach so I’ve cut down on chocolate and others sweets massively but I must say my pea consumption has gone through the roof! calories; is high in fibre and a healthy source of protein. Available to buy as a box (12 x 40 g packets).

So Mike, it’s been a while since we featured you, how have things being going since we last spoke?

Great! We’re nearing close to 1000 stockists now with new stockists coming on board each week. We’ve hired our first full time employee to help us grow the business so that’s been an exciting time for us. Until you actually do it you don’t realise how much responsibility comes with hiring employees and what goes with it but we’re very happy with how things are progressing. We’ve got some big retailers in our sights so keep your eyes peeled.

Well done on being awarded with another Great Taste Award win; we bet you were very happy with that?

Absolutely! From day one Cheesy Peasy & Onion has been my personal favourite so I was always quietly confident we would win a Great Taste Award for that flavour to go alongside the Great Taste Award we picked up for our Wacky Wasabi last year.

We’ve entered few more awards this year with results pending so fingers crossed this is only just the beginning.

We love that your snacks are healthy but also fulfilling, do you still regularly eat your own products?

Er yes! As I eluded to before my favourite flavour is Cheesy Peasy and Onion, I’d say 9 times out of 10 I’ll

We note that you are gaining some great retailers taking on your products, how has the feedback been on the sales of your products through them?

We’re still a new brand to most people, in fact you could say outside of wasabi peas we’re an entirely new product so in the beginning we really weren’t sure how we would be received by Joe Public but the response has been very positive. The brand is the first thing that catches the eye of most people then they become interested in learning more. We do a lot of sampling with stores like Whole Foods Market, to get the pack into as many hands (and our peas into as many mouths) as possible and the feedback has always been positive. Sampling is so important with new products like ours so we always offer our new retailers extra cases to use for sampling. Which works really well for them in terms of engaging new customers and likewise for us too.

What’s next for Taking The Pea? Have you any plans to add any further products to your range or growth plans?

Well we have to keep things a little hush hush but we have new products and pack formats in the pipeline. We have enquiries from many different industries who all have different requirements in terms of shapes and sizes. Our aim is to grow Taking The Pea into the worlds biggest pulse snack brand so we’re always trying to innovate and come up with new ideas. All I can say is follow us and see what happens next. l www.takingthepea.com

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ADDING A LITTLE

g n i Z d n Zest a

A

s a young boy, Taha who is originally from Libya, spent his holidays visiting his aunt’s home. One of his fondest memories from these exotic summers was playing football with his cousin in his aunt’s fragrant garden, where the scent of rosemary filled the air. Later, Taha realised that Mediterranean herbs also added a touch of magic to his aunt’s fabulous dishes, infusing them with ‘zest and zing’.

Taha’s mother also took a lot of pride in her cooking, and Taha has fond memories of the banquets his parents organised for their friends and family, as do those who were lucky enough to be present at them.

Taha now resides in London, yet he spent six years in Paris, where he observed how French people take great pleasure in enjoying food made with the best quality ingredients with what they call ‘joie de vivre’ or joy of living to us, which inspired Taha to share his passion for spices and herbs with us!

THE RANGE

Zest and Zing features a great range of herbs and spices, here’s just a flavour of what you can stock:

Z&Z BBQ SET

Tandoori Spice, Garlic Chilli, Greek Seasoning, White Pepper. l This flavoursome selection gives you some delicious barbecue options. Try the unique Greek Seasoning with Lamb, pork or Halloumi cheese. Or a yogurt and lemon marinade of Tandoori Spice brushed onto chicken thighs.

WE TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH TAHA FROM ZEST AND ZING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THE FLAVOURS OF HIS PAST HAVE INFLUENCED HIS BUSINESS

WHITE TRUFFLE SEA SALT Taste & Aroma: Intense, Earthy, Aromatic Recommended Use: Pasta, Rice and Eggs

HARISSA

Taste & Aroma: Hot, Smokey Recommended Use: Harissa Sauce Recipe, Marinated meat, Falafel

GREEK SEASONING

Taste & Aroma: Floral, Herby, Piney Recommended Use: Grilled Chicken, Lamb or Pork

in their field who can really inspire you with their ideas and passion for their products.

Don’t just take our word for it, Zest and Zing has many great reviews from consumers too. The range is large and well thought out, you’ll find it hard to not find what you want on their site. l

ZEST AND ZING PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE AT:

www.zestandzing.co.uk, on noonthehighstreet.com, at the Battersea General Store Deli and several high end London butchers from September. To get in touch with Zest and Zing, telephone: +44(0)7549 911 882 Email: info@zestandzing.co.uk

SUMMARY

With many companies offering herbs and spices, we love to see companies such as Zest and Zing, where they are run by real experts

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GETTIN’ TIGGY WITH IT... AGAIN We catch up with executive grandsons, Sam and Jacob of Tiggs to find out what they have been up to in the last year

I

t hardly feels like a year already, but I remember well when we first met. I remember seeing the happiest chaps I’d seen all day at the Speciality Fine Food Fair on their stand. Their infectious personalities and good humour made for a great time trailing the products on their stand.

I remember also going past the stand towards the end of the show, expecting to see two fairly tired brothers on the stand, but not a bit of it! Still buzzing and still bouncing around giving out samples to potential customers with each minute that remained of the show, true professionalism on all levels.

We caught up with Sam and Jacob to find out more about their last year and here’s what we found out!

So, tell us, what has happened in the last year? l Things have been flying along!

This time last year we launched our “Perfect Match” rebrand, bringing a spot of tongue in cheek humour to the condiment shelf which has proved fantastically successful! We then proceeded to launch with Ocado and have since brought our a new product to the range the slightly raunchy - Smokin Tomato. Furthermore, over the last few months, we have been working towards another launch, one we are perhaps even more excited about - Tiny Tigg’s!

It all began last year with the rebrand, an element of which was looking into changing our 250g glass bottle. Most of the fine food industry use glass bottles of a similar size/shape, and we wanted to offer a point of difference not only with our products themselves but also with their aesthetic (in an effort to catch the customer eye and break up the one dimensional shelf). We spent

a lot of time searching and spoke to 30 companies around Europe, however still being a small fish, we could not find anything that was close to being viable and were forced to stick with what we already had.

Then, at the turn of the year, we made the decision to enter the rapidly growing convenience market, and spotted an opportunity to implement this idea, leading us to search for packaging that was different to anything else in our market (but that also had practical value for the end user) and thus we came up with Tiny Tigg’s.

Tiny Tigg’s is our attempt to modernise our mini sector of the fine food industry. They are 25g ‘minibottles’, fully recyclable, and offer complete ease of use for the customer, a customer which is tending to shop out of convenience rather than the traditional weekly shop... There is no mess, no heavy glass bottle, no once opened use within, just a smart premium package filled with delicious results!

There are many obvious benefits such as food-on the go, work lunches, BBQ’s, diet watching, camping and even for use in cooking, plus it gives the customer a much lower priced entry point to get to know Tigg’s! Furthermore, we are being innovative in terms of presenting them to the customer, with the idea of hanging them on shelf-ready clipstrips.

The retailers can then hang Tiny Tigg’s wherever they are required (depending on certain promotions, times of year etc) and create more wealth out of their shop space than before as no shelfspace is needed. We are still offering shelf-ready boxes (of 24) for those stores who don’t want clipstrips or who would like an upsale on the food-to-go aspect of their business.

FIND TIGG´S ON STAND 3416 AT THE SPECIALITY AND FINE FOOD FAIR!

Out of your own range, what are your favourites? l Without a moments hesitation we both would go straight for our Sweet Original! This was Granny’s first recipe, the recipe we grew up on, took to and sold at university, as cheesy as it sounds we are Tigg’s biggest fans! However saying that we are both really enjoying our Subtle Pepper & Mustard which quite rightly won a Great Taste Award a few weeks ago and has been shortlisted in the Great British Food Awards!

We see you’ve been super active at festivals around the UK, how are these going for you? l We started our journey (the Tiggolution) by doing local markets and food festivals, simply to gauge an idea of how people reacted to our Granny’s Sweet Original (in those days we only re-produced one of her recipes) and we quickly learnt that trading at them has many uses! Not only are they good for the cash flow, but you get to do a mass tasting direct with your customer, build the brand, and inform people where they can rebuy in the future! There is also the obvious benefit that you can listen directly to feedback and make changes accordingly! They do eat up your weekends and our friends sometimes forget who we are… but we are fortunate enough to be very successful at them in more ways than one!

With winter looming, what would be your suggestion for the best pairing with winter foods and your products? l Its a common misconception that Tigg’s is only for your summer eating, what a load of codswallop! One of our oldest family traditions is to get tiggy on Boxing Day with all those delicous leftovers! We would also suggest cooking with our Tigglets, they are great additions to soups, casseroles, shepherd pies, stir-frys and of course as marinades! l www.tiggitup.co.uk

THE TINY TIGGS!

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07/08/2017 13:42

FINDING YOUR

WE TRACK DOWN ROSIE ALVAREZ, FOUNDER OF LA SAUCY SALSA, TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING A YEAR ON FROM WHEN WE FIRST MET!

Mojo

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T

here are some things in life you never forget, and one of those for me was learning the real meaning of Mojo and then understanding the Austin Powers joke. I can thank Rosie Alvarez personally for this, and for giving me some vital information to show off with in front of many of my friends and family when I produce some Mojo at the dinner table.

When I first met Rosie at Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2016, I was instantly in love with the products, and as far as ‘stand out products’ at the show, I remembered hers above many others.

It wasn’t just me who was impressed.

From the show, a German company placed a very large order, and many others got in touch to see how to get involved. Since then, more and more stockists are joining La Saucy Salsa, they are regularly featuring recipes with Sal’s kitchen, and have been featured by Peter Sidwell through the Simply Good Food TV app too. If you haven’t tried these products, please take it from us that you need to.

Coming back to the opening paragraph, and a common question for Rosie, the meaning of ‘Mojo’ translated directly from Spanish to English is simply ‘Sauce’ (same as Salsa). Rosie founded La Saucy Salsa, to bring to us here in the UK, her families flavour legacy, and a fantastic range of Salsa/mojo!

HOW IT ALL STARTED

In 1969 Rosie’s mother Mercedez moved to England from Andalusia in Spain. A year later, her father Clemente arrived from Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

While they were both living in a vibrant Spanish community in

Chichester they met, fell in love and married. Not long after that Rosie was born!

Growing up, meal times were traditionally Spanish events – family, laughter and lots of great food. Rosie’s auntie Conchita, who had followed my father over from the Canary Islands, would indulge them all with feasts of either ‘chuletas y papas’ or ‘papas con carne’ drizzled with traditional salsa sauces made to her own Island recipes (because salsa sauces are enjoyed on the Canaries drizzled over the main meal.) Whereas, Rosie’s mother made salsa sauces with Andalusian passion from her upbringing in Spain (where they are used as a dip for fresh bread and tapas).

Somewhere along the way, the sauces became a fusion of ideas – the best of Conchita and mum - and from the recipes handed-down to Rosie, La Saucy Salsa was born!

Rosie’s father was very influential too. He was in catering for 40 years and for a while had his own restaurant in the UK, the Bellapaiz, where on

Spanish nights mum did the cooking.

This helped Rosie believe she could turn her passion for these recipes into a business. Rosie knew the recipes were special, bringing together great ideas like good food brings families together.

JARS OF LA SAUCY SALSA COMBINE TWO CULINARY STYLES…

Spanish salsa sauces were influenced by the Moorish conquest when spices such as paprika and cumin were introduced. Traditional Canary Islands recipes date back to the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century with herbs such as parsley and coriander -but later evolved as migrants returning from Central and South America brought other ideas back with them, using garlic and chillies. l www.lasaucysalsa.com

LA SAUCY SALSA HAS JUST BEEN FEATURED IN THE FIRST SUGARWISE CERTIFIED RECIPE BOOK ‘SUGAR FREE’ WHICH LAUNCHED IN JULY ACROSS 500 TESCO STORES, WH SMITH AND OTHERS

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BACK FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE I f I ever see the A Little Bit stand at a show that I am at, I always head straight over to say hi. Firstly because it’s always a pleasure to talk with Sophie and hear more about the growth of her exciting brand, but also because I always feel the need to re-try the products on the stand to remind myself just how much I enjoy them.

Personally, I am often to be found using the dressings (usually the Fresh Parsley & Red Onion dressing) on a lot of dishes at home, especially drizzled over new potatoes. You simply can’t beat the flavour of fresh herbs on a dish, especially when all the hard work in making the dressing has been done for you.

WE CATCH UP WITH SOPHIE LANE FOX - FOUNDER OF A LITTLE BIT FOOD CO TO TALK ABOUT THEIR NEW PRODUCTS, THE BRAND REVAMP AND HOW THINGS HAVE GONE SINCE WE LAST MET!

WE CAUGHT UP WITH SOPHIE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING: So Sophie, how has it been going since we saw you last? l Everything has been going ahead really well. We made a big change to our branding earlier in the year and have had a great response to this with lots of new orders, many from new retailers so our stockist lists are growing fast, including lots of interest from Export as well so it is an exciting stage for the business.

We have also extended our collection with the introduction of three ambient dips, two sauces and this, along with the launch of the new branding, means it has been an action packed year so far! Also I have been creating a new garden at home so nothing like keeping busy!

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We really like the new packaging you changed to this year, have you had much feedback on the new design? l The new-look packaging emphasises the brands green fingered roots! When I am not in the Kitchen I am usually to be found in the garden with trowel in hand. There is something so rewarding having your own produce and I wanted to convey

this in A Little Bit’s updated brand identity. A little Bit’s key message is that we only ever use fresh herbs and the new packaging now really reflects this. We have had fabulous feedback to the re-brand with a large number of new retailers stocking our product.

It has also opened up the Garden Centre market as our products obviously have a great synergy with these kind of retailers.

24/08/2017 14:41

We love that you are still using fresh herbs in your products, you must still be one of only a few who uses fresh herbs in products like yours? l There is nothing like fresh herbs to add flavour. I believe A Little Bit are the only company offering this fresh herb addition to all their products. When I cook at home I use wheelbarrow loads of them and really wanted to capture this in a range of

products for consumers. They really do add a fabulous amount of flavour that you just don’t get from dried herbs and even the most simple of dishes will be transformed with the addition of fresh herbs. On our website blog, and social media we are constantly passing on our love of fresh herbs with an abundance of ideas and recipes to help people include more in their day to day cooking. Plus of course great ideas of how to use all our different products as they are all designed to be really versatile with many different culinary uses!

We see you at a lot of trade shows and festivals, do these work well for you? l The shows and festivals work really well for us. Ours are products that once people try them and get to taste the power of fresh herbs for themselves they keep coming back for more! It has been a great way to get our products in front of a wider audience and there really is nothing better than seeing people try them and

love them! Also it is always great fun being out and about meeting new retailers and consumers, hearing their stories and hopefully conveying a bit of the fresh herb magic to them!

Any new products on the horizon for the future? l The joy of fresh herbs is that their uses are limitless the problem is narrowing it down and deciding which direction to take them in! Our new Ambient Dip range has been such a success that we are looking to expand on those next and also our Fresh Tomato & Rosemary Ketchup has been such a hit, I have consumers buying it by the case load, that we think this is definitely a range to develop. We are in the lucky position that fresh herbs provide us with such an abundance of possibilities, it’s an great position to be in and hopefully means there will be some exciting developments from the A Little Bit kitchen soon! l www.alittlebit.co.uk

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24/08/2017 14:42

KIT ´S SP FEA EC TU IAL RE

IT´S SO

Simple WE TEST OUT THE SHROPSHIRE SPICE SO SIMPLE RANGE TO FIND OUT JUST HOW SIMPLE IT IS TO MAKE A FANTASTIC DISH!

L

ooking in my cupboards, there are many jars of spices, all of them opened, none of them even remotely nearly finished.

Yet, when I want to make a particular curry or dish, I find that the one spice I haven’t got in stock is the one I need. I’d wager this scenario is common amongst many home cooks.

Shropshire Spice, who we featured last issue make a range of spice blends under their ‘So Simple’ range, which is designed for people who love home cooked food, but don’t have the time to source a long list of ingredients.

Shropshire Spice has added three new absolute belters to their original range and we wanted to put one of them in particular to the test!

Each time I flick back through the last issue of the magazine, I can’t help

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but stop and stare at the picture of the Swahili African Curry packet in the article, even the packaging makes me want to get my apron on! With that in mind, director of Shropshire Spice Fiona obligingly sent me a kit or two to practise with.

THE VERDICT

First thoughts when I opened the kit were “oh, I’d have thought it would have been harder than this”. Gazing back at the image on the front of the packet whilst looking at the sachet inside containing the ingredients, I tied my apron and set about it.

Let’s face it; men aren’t too good with instructions. However, even an ‘anti-instructionist’ like myself couldn’t grumble at only having to follow five simple steps to the finished dish.

After heating a large pan for a few minutes, I added my chicken meat, added the spice blend and fried for a few more minutes until nice and browned. Then, adding the coconut milk and tomatoes and simmering for 20 more mins until the chicken was cooked, I served the precious curry with nice boiled rice.

And that was it. Done. So Simple!

I must say, I absolutely loved the taste of this dish, as did the family, and it took me less than 30 minutes from picking up the packet to sitting down to eat.

With more fabulous flavours in the range, I’ll be sure to be clearing out the old dusty jars of random spices and swapping them with these easy to prepare meal kits!

P.S I’m going for a Louisiana style Jambalaya next week!

THE ‘SO SIMPLE’ RANGE

STROGANOFF SPICE BLEND Gluten Free Stroganoff – Perfect with beef, chicken or pork

JAMBALAYA LOUISIANA STYLE Gluten Free Jambalaya Louisiana Style Spice Blend – Add chicken & Chorizo for a family favourite meal in minutes.

CHILLI CON CARNE Gluten Free Chilli Con Carne – Add beef mince, tomatoes & kidney beans.

SWAHILI AFRICAN CURRY Gluten Free Swahili African Curry Spice Blend – Add chicken, tomatoes & coconut milk.

ITALIAN CLASSIC BOLOGNAISE Gluten Free Italian Classic Bolognaise – Add beef mince, onion & tinned tomatoes.

INDIAN KEEMA CURRY Gluten Free Indian Keema Curry Spice Blendgently spiced & full of flavour just add beef mince, rice & peas GOAN XACUTTI CHICKEN CURRY Gluten Free Goan Xacutti Chicken Curry Spice Blend – Add chicken with red & green peppers for gentle & aromatic curry.

CHICKEN CASSEROLE Gluten Free Chicken Casserole Spice Blend – Add chicken, onion & carrots for a quick delicious classic casserole.

BEEF CASSEROLE Gluten Free Beef Casserole Spice Blend – Add beef, onion & carrots for a classic hearty casserole.

THE GLUTEN FREE STUFFING MIXES

Whenever I invite my coeliac suffering sister and her family over for a roast dinner with our family, the awkward moment always comes when I have to say she can’t have any of the delicious stuffing that I have made, as it contains gluten.

However, this is now (thankfully) a thing of the past, I have found a Gluten Free stuffing mix that is so good, I prefer it to my own special recipe.

Shropshire Spice have created quite a following from Gluten Free consumers, as they received requests to make Gluten Free offerings in their ‘So Simple’ range, and they turned the whole range Gluten Free with no impact on the flavours. With this new found following, it was only right for Shropshire Spice to make a selection of Gluten Free Stuffing mixes too!

THE PRODUCTS!

WILD SAGE & ONION CRANBERRY, APPLE & ROAST CHESTNUT l PARSLEY & THYME l BREAD SAUCE MIX! I know this isn’t stuffing, but at the same time as launching the Gluten Free Stuffing range, this fantastic Gluten Free variant of the famous Shropshire Spice Bread Sauce was launched too! A classic spooning sauce with a hint of garlic & cloves. A brilliant accompaniment to roast chicken, turkey & game dishes. l l l

Tel: 01588 640100 Email: laura@shropshire-spice.co.uk Web: www.shropshire-spice.co.uk

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SAVOURSMITH´S

FIRST BIRTHDAY!

W

e love to celebrate here, and what could be better than to celebrate a terrific brand making it past their first business birthday! So, big congratulations to Savoursmiths!

It was at Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2016 that Savoursmiths was first launched, and they are exhibiting again this year as well, on stand 2795, so please do make sure you go over and congratulate them on their birthday too!

We are big fans of the Savoursmiths brand, and of course, the team. It’s always a pleasure to talk with Colette about flavour combinations, health and wellbeing and food in general, and Mike is a true English Gentleman with an abundance of knowledge of farming and a true passion for the English countryside.

The flavours on offer speak for themselves, and are well worth a try.

They may a premium price, but they are premium products! The premium

WE GET TOGETHER WITH MIKE AND COLETTE FROM SAVOURSMITHS A YEAR AFTER THEY FIRST LAUNCHED THEIR PREMIUM SNACK BRAND ingredients, flavours, branding and luxurious feel of these products more than make this brand worth a buyer’s time. In a world where there are many of the same, we would challenge you to dare to be different and opt for a Truffle & Rosemary, or perhaps a Wagyu Beef with Honey & mustard crisp instead. However, don’t just take our word for it: Ian Larkins from Bury Lane Farm Shop said: “It is great dealing with such a lovely couple. It is so nice that they are so local to us and being able to deal with local farmers and supporting small local businesses. I personally love the Champers & Serrano Chilli it’s delicious and unlike anything else I have ever tasted before.”

Charles Bradford from The Gog said: ‘”A remarkably fab product that stands out in a very competitive field.

Better still, Savoursmiths is a premium brand that puts Cambridgeshire on the food map.” He went on to say: “When our team tasted Savoursmiths for the first time, I have never witnessed crisps vanish so quickly. And our team get to taste a lot of crisps!”

Clare at Burwash Larder said “It’s always a joy to find a product that is both super local & tastes delicious. We love Savoursmith’s unusual flavours & our customers love knowing they are supporting a business just a few miles down the road. The packaging really stands out & has had a fantastic impact on our till point sales. “

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So Mike, tell us, how has your first year been? l Well – it’s been a year of all seasons.

We’ve had some showers – we’ve had some torrential rain and thunderstorms, but there have been some periods of prolonged sunshine too!

Honestly though – it’s been a massive learning curve for us.

Whilst being experienced in running a business before – it is nothing compared to launching a new brand, whereby you are actually creating something. We are incredibly proud and passionate about our business, and whilst we like to dwell on the positive moments, there are times when you feel sucked of all your strength to keep you battling on, and ask yourself ‘is somebody out there deliberately making life hell.’ It is during these times that you realise quite how hard it is, and hence the huge respect we have for all the brands out there that have succeeded.

Perseverance and belief in yourself and your product is key – if it was easy – everybody would be doing it.

Have you faced many issues within your first year? l Gosh – yes of course, and more than I would have ever imagined….

With so many moving parts, one has to be absolutely focused at all times.

Just when you think you are on top of everything, the pipe springs a new leak. We have had issues with machinery arriving late, we have had issues with detail on packaging being incorrect, all of which, at the time can make you want to just run for the hills and hide from it all. We have learnt however to take stock of the situation, consider your options, and explore solutions, in order to rid or minimise the issue caused. What we have learnt is that issues impacting a customer are best raised and discussed with them at

become a pestering pain!

Don’t become despondent. You have worked hard to create your brand and your product, and what you have created is fantastic. So the odd negative comment, or rejection from a buyer should be smiled at sweetly, before moving on and knocking down the next door!

first realisation of a problem, and then working through it with them. At the time - bringing it to their attention at an early stage seems very intimidating, but honesty is essential.

If you could go back and give yourself some tips a year a go, what would they be? l Don’t rush things! It is very tempting to try and do everything at 100 miles an hour and get it done yesterday, but this can often lead to a lack of attention to detail.

Don’t cut corners! It is so hard being a start-up, with minimal budget, and everything coming at a seemingly overwhelming cost. Clearly you must pick and choose wisely how you allocate your funds, but cutting corners on important things, that at the time seem like an unnecessary cost, will only come back to haunt you and cost you even more at a later date.

Attention to detail. Check everything, check it again, and then have five other people check it. In the whirlwind of things going on when starting up a business, it can be so easy to overlook obvious errors Be patient. Things take time.

Potential interest today doesn’t necessarily translate in a sale tomorrow – or the next day for that matter! Keep persevering, but don’t

What we love is that you have stayed true to your original values since the beginning, has it been tempting to go up easier paths? l Why thank you. It is tempting, and it is not to say we will never incorporate a more traditional flavour – but even then it would be with a twist… We are truly proud of the flavour combinations we have created, and the response to them has been overwhelmingly positive, and it is our aim to continue with these and more.

Our price point is marginally higher, but so is the cost of our product, our natural flavouring, and frankly we believe the premium nature of it justifies the higher price point.

Have you personally gone off crisps a year after being surrounded by them? l Funnily enough - no. I never ate crisps before Savousmiths were created – but clearly I couldn’t resist after that!

Judging on this year’s success, where do you think Savoursmith’s will be in another year’s time? l The million dollar question – that would be nice for a start!

We are so delighted with the response so far, and hope that with our wonderful brand and exciting flavours we can continue to build upon the success we have had so far. Being stocked in our first customer Fortnum and Mason after two days, to launching nationally into Waitrose, at less than a year old, have been huge moments for us, and we are so grateful for the opportunities. That said – the support from the many farm shops and deli’s has been incredible, and we would welcome further exposure in this area, as we really believe this is where our brand is well suited. Aside from that….

Buckingham Palace…. 30,000 ft. up would be nice…. We will look for our brand to travel in style, and perhaps have some lovely homes around the world too!

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HEALTHY

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made easy!

onsumers are well aware of fish – and particularly Omega3 rich salmon - as a ‘healthier’ option and the Government advises that a healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish such as salmon. But stocking a good range of seafood can be a struggle, particularly for smaller food businesses.

JCS Fish, a family firm based in Grimsby, offers an attractive solution with its award-winning BigFish Brand. The brand’s flagship products are a range of highly convenient, boneless salmon fillets, available in plain, organic and a range of seven delicious marinade flavours, from Garden Mint to Piri Piri.

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WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HEALTHY EATING MADE EASY WITH THE BIGFISH BRAND™

BigFish Brand is perfect for consumers searching for easy ways to add more healthy fish dishes to their weekly menus.

The fillets are individually wrapped so it’s ultra simple to prepare as few or as many as required for each meal and there’s no danger of wastage.

Director of JCS Fish, Louise Coulbeck, says, “We describe BigFish Brand as ‘salmon with a twist.’ We have focused on this species both because of our long family experience in buying and preparing it and because we think there’s so much

more potential for people to enjoy this healthy fish more often, given the right range of products. Our aim with BigFish Brand is to make salmon supremely easy and accessible, with fillets that can be prepared from frozen to plate in just four minutes.”

Louise continues; “The wide range of flavours provides lots of scope for different meal ideas. Award-winning BigFish Brand with Garden Mint marinade is our signature flavour – it sounds unusual but really works!

Other particularly popular products are the Organic fillets and our Sweet Chilli and Eastern Thai marinade flavours. We also provide lots of meal ideas and recipes on our website for added inspiration.”

The quality and taste of BigFish Brand is underlined by the number of awards the range has received, including products twice being nominated as finalists in the Grocer Magazine’s New Product Award and the achievement of six Great Taste Awards.

BigFish Brand is made using fish that is sustainably produced by carefully selected suppliers in Scotland and Norway. JCS Fish is a certified organic supplier and last year also achieved Chain of Custody certifications for both GlobalGAP and

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the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) sustainability schemes.

Building on its salmon experience, last year the BigFish range was extended with a related fish, Sea Trout. Sharing the established BigFish packaging format, the fillets are from a strain of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) which is slow grown at sea.

This produces a fish not unlike salmon, with a fuller marine flavour and firm flesh. It’s another highly convenient option for time-poor consumers looking for healthy meal ideas.

Also in spring this year the established BigFish frozen range was joined by two exciting new smoked products: BigFish Brand Traditional Smoked Salmon and BigFish Brand Smoked Sea Trout.

Both are traditionally cured, oak smoked and hand sliced. Smoked Sea Trout has a unique taste which offers an interesting point of difference to smoked salmon in the chiller cabinet.

Louise Coulbeck says: “BigFish Brand is all about making salmon and related products as accessible as possible for the consumer and easy to stock for the retailer. Our fillet range can be slotted into any freezer cabinet alongside complementary or even completely different frozen products

BigFish Brand is produced by family firm, JCS Fish, in Grimsby. The company is owned and run by husband and wife team, Andrew and Louise Coulbeck, both of whom have many years experience in the seafood and fishing industries.

Their son, Jack Coulbeck, also recently joined the company in a commercial role after five years gaining experience with other companies in the seafood industry. Pictured (left to right): Louise, Jack and Andrew Coulbeck.

and we use packaging formats that ensure there’s no danger of cross contamination if space is short.

“Our lively and distinctive BigFish black packaging designs also have great standout for the consumer.

The brand provides an exciting and interesting opportunity for midmarket retailers, delis, farm shops and small specialist independents to broaden their seafood offering in a manageable way.”

Louise adds that BigFish Brand is looking forward to the introduction of some exciting new product ideas this autumn. She says: “We are proud to be flying the flag for salmon and sea trout, both of which are rich in Omega3. We would all be healthier if we ate them once a week as recommended by the Government!”. l www.bigfishbrand.co.uk

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HAWKSHEAD

RELISH T

he Hawkshead Relish Company based in the newly appointed World Heritage site of the English Lake District is celebrating success this autumn, with their recently created Black Garlic Ketchup which is taking the trade by storm.

Not only did they receive a coveted Great Taste award no less than four months after it was launched, but they are also in the final of the Grocer New Product Awards, up against Hellman’s’ and Heinz no less. Quite an achievement for this small producer.

Mark Whitehead Managing Director said “It’s been incredibly well received, it took a year of development before it was ready to go out into the market, and for it to have received so many awards and recognition in this short time is a real achievement” This new ketchup is made with black garlic from Spain, which is cooked slowly on a low heat and high humidity for up to 50 days, transforming into a sticky black texture, which is naturally sweet and filled with umami, the savoury flavour of the five basic taste groups.

The team at Hawkshead Relish then use a combination of onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices to create a ketchup which is deliciously sweet and savoury that is packed with unctuous flavours and is perfect to serve with steak,

IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR LATEST GREAT TASTE AWARDS, WE CATCH UP WITH HAWKSHEAD RELISH TO REVIEW THEIR JOURNEY SO FAR

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most meats and even fish. “We have added it to dishes at home to give a depth of flavour, in a Bolognese for example, or even just to dip your chips into. It’s really exciting and different” commented Maria Whitehead, Director and co-owner.

Alongside this new innovation is a range of MUDDs or spreads to you and me, as with all the Hawkshead Relish range they are free from NUTS, Gluten and any artificial preservatives, colourings or additives.

The Banoffee MUDD made with fresh bananas won a sought-after 2 Stars at the Great Taste Awards this year, along with the Chocolate and Honey MUDD which came away with a 1 Star. They are very much in vogue at the moment, especially for those who have a nut allergy and love a chocolate spread for breakfast.

Hawkshead Relish which has been going since 1999, are known for developing new innovative flavours and are always on the lookout for new ideas. They have a wide range of over 100 products including their top selling Westmorland Chutney, a farmhouse pickle based on the ingredients being shipped into Cumbria back in the 17thC when villages such as Hawkshead traded

wool through the ports of the west coast and received exotic fruits, sugar and rum in exchange. The range also includes an array of Jams, Marmalades, Jellies, Sauces and Chutneys.

Hawkshead Relish is owned and run by husband and wife team Mark and Maria Whitehead which started off in a small café in the busy tourist village of Hawkshead.

They made a handful of condiments to serve alongside the dishes that Mark prepared daily, all of which promoted and used local ingredients.

In 2001 disaster struck when Foot & Mouth decimated their business overnight, with visitors being told to avoid the countryside leaving the area devoid of customers for weeks on end. Thankfully, this clever couple saw this as an opportunity not a catastrophe. They pooled all their resources and even talked their bank into giving them a repayment holiday on their borrowings in order to develop the brand and take their wares to the customers who could no longer come to them.

Over the years they have grown the range and they currently have around 28 staff. The café closed and production moved into a kitchen housed in a beautiful 16thC barn

housed on the edge of the small lake of Esthwaite close to Hawkshead.

Their two daughters now aged 21 & 23 are very much a part of this family business. Earlier this year they received the national “Small Family Business of the Year” award from Family Business United. “We were absolutely thrilled to receive this award, not only do we have our family in the business, but consider everyone within our small workforce as family as well and this award was recognition for our determination to grow a sustainable business in the heart of a rural community” said Maria.

They have also been named as “Export Champions” through DIT North West and work to assist and encourage other small producers in all areas of business to get a foot on the export ladder. Maria also sits on the Export Forum board responsible for developing the UK Food and Drink International Action Plan which sets out the government and industry policy for exporting up to 2020.

Mark and Maria both received joint MBE’s in 2011 in recognition of their services to the food industry in Cumbria. l www.hawksheadrelish.com

Relish ●

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Request a Christmas Brochure Now! STAND 2100 info@hawksheadrelish.com • www.hawksheadrelish.com

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RIVERSIDE LIFESTYLE

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ooking at the large 500g tins of exquisite Bonilla A La Vista crisps I reminisce back to my childhood. Alas, not because I was lucky enough to have such good quality crisps to eat, but because my mind wondered to the multitude of uses of the tin containing the crisps.

You can’t fail to be impressed by the 500g party tins, however equally impressive is the taste of the crisps inside. Also coming in smaller sizes (50g individual bags, 150g sharing bags, 300g family bags or tin top ups) so there is something for everyone, and any shelf.

These crisps are originally from Spain, from Ferrol to be exact, where the company was start back in 1932.

They were found by Clare Scott Dryden whilst sailing in a yacht next to the owner of the company, Mr Bonilla himself.

Riverside Lifestyle also grows their own lavender, which they use to make jams and marmalades as well as soaps, hand wash/creams and diffusers. This is a business which has been driven by Clare’s great passion and drive and love

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WE TALK TO CLARE SCOTT DRYDEN, DIRECTOR OF RIVERSIDE LIFESTYLE, THE COMPANY BEHIND THE UK LAUNCH OF BONILLA A LA VISTA CRISPS AND GREAT TASTE AWARD WINNER 2017!

for her country home in Hampshire, where incidentally they also have holiday rentals and a yurt café which allows them not only instant feedback from their products, but also the chance to meet people from all walks of life from all corners of the globe.

WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RIVERSIDE LIFESTYLE & BONILLA A LA VISTA FROM CLARE HERSELF!

So Clare, tell us a little bit about how Riverside Lifestyle started, and how you got involved with Bonilla a la Vista crisps? l Riverside Lifestyle incorporates everything that I love – a country home in Hampshire where we have holiday rentals, a Yurt Café in the grounds which allows us to meet and greet people from all over and a whole lot of wellbeing workshops including art, yoga and pilates.

We grow our own lavender and make jams and marmalades using it and also produce our own

range of lavender soaps, hand wash / creams, diffusers etc We love entertaining and what we needed was a food product that was unique and something everyone would enjoy. I came across Bonilla a la Vista olive oil and sea salt crisps when in Spain sailing along side the owner of the Brand, Mr Bonilla himself!

I brought them to the UK and we now have over 50 stockists. They are premium and addictive! Their packaging is matchless as is their taste and crunchiness.

Albeit there are different sizes of packets in the range, we love the look of the 500g tins, they look really cool, are they good sellers? l The Bonilla crisps tins are iconic.

Yes, they do sell well especially over the holiday and Christmas period.

They make great gifts too so we often find ourselves sending individual tins out for birthdays or celebrations. They are known as the Party Tin and house the biggest and crunchiest crisps you have ever seen or tasted

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Retailers also love the tins as they are great for point of sale. Sat amongst some of the smaller bags or positioned high up on a shelf makes for a great display.

We can think of plenty of uses for the larger tins, however what are the most popular uses of the tins from your experience? l We sent out a social media message asking people what they use or would use the tin for after the crisps have been eaten (which doesn’t take long! although putting the tin securely on after a taste keeps them fresh for a long time.)

The most popular where for planting, or in the kitchen for utensils, one made a xmas tree by piling the tins up on each other, but the most unique was placing them into a cemented wall making a real feature in an alfresco dining area.

If we had a supply of these tins, we’d seldom leave the office – do you find you have one on the go in your own home most of the time? l Ah you have caught me out there!

– it is not me but my husband who is obsessed with the Bonilla crisps and yes he has one on the go every day! As for the office, yes again but only on a Friday afternoon.

There isn’t much out there that can rival a nicely cooked lightly salted crisp, how do you feel Bonilla a la Vista crisps compare to others on the market? l The Bonilla crisp is certainly light and delicious. They are gluten free so much of the starch is removed from the potato before cooking and it is at this point that sea salt is added – it is a unique cooking process that is unlike other more widely known crisp brands. None of Bonilla crisps are ‘manufactured’ they are hand made and so a lot more care and attention is given to the process. Believe it or not the crisps in the tins are huge and hand picked for their quality and size.

Eating a Bonilla crisp takes you back to care free holidays – you’ll never be disappointed.

How has the reception been from retailers and delis to the range since you started offering them? l We have had a great response with 40 plus stockists now from Food Halls, to Farm Shops, Artisan retailers and some smaller ones. The reception has been fantastic although the product is high end and with the Euro as it is the exchange doesn’t always help.

However, it always amazes me who and where sales continue to grow –

there is a real passion that is created for these crisps from both the retailer and the buyer. Those retailers that have that passion and have really bought into the artisan, distinctive nature of the crisps are the winners!

Have you got any plans to add any more products to your range in the future? l No – we have 50g individual bags, 150g sharing bags, 300g family bags or tin top ups, and the 500g party tin!

We may offer a catering bag, as a side of crisps added to a toasty or similar is a real wow.

These crisps dipped into chocolate are also fantastic and perhaps a Christmas variety – but each of these is only a thought at the moment!

Watch this space!

Lastly from us, can you give our readers just a few examples of unique selling points of the Bonilla a la Vista range that they could use in conversation with their customers? l ‘Delicious Addictive and irreplaceable!’ as one customer described the crisps The Bonilla a la Vista crisp is a natural crisp, no additives, gluten free. There is no ‘manufacturing’ process, the crisps are cooked by hand with real care, fresh and packed immediately into a bag that is unlike any on the market keeping them uniquely fresh for a long period.

The ingredients are just potato, cold pressed olive oil and sea salt.

Nothing else.

The Tins have the biggest crisps, hand picked for their size and texture. Once open you can reseal them maintaining the freshness and crunch. The Tins also, as described above, have an iconic feel about them and customers love to keep them for uses elsewhere.

Overall the Bonilla Crisp will never disappoint and will bring customers back for more! l TRADE ORDERS CONTACT CLARE: Tel: 07973 215407 Email: clare@riversidelifestyle.co.uk

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KIT ´S SP FEA EC TU IAL RE

GETTING OUR T

BAKE ON!

here aren’t many companies that can boast that the wellrespected chef Michel Roux OBE approves all their recipes.

After hearing about this, we just had to get in touch to find out more! With the popularity of home cooking growing to an all time high, yet the need to reduce waste and convenience also being important factors, baking kits and mixes are a perfect shelf-stocking item for a delicatessen or farm shop.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Bakedin started back in 2013 when Joe and his good friend Anna had been lift sharing to work for a few months. One day, conversation turned to the subject of baking. They both love cooking, and had the idea of a time saving kit that still gave the feeling and experience of baking from scratch, but with less hassle, waste and time needed. With this, the plan for the first Bakedin baking kit was born.

Joined by their friend Elaina, a plan was hatched to test their idea.

After testing the product at a school fete, artisan market and a food festival a year later, it was clear that the public really loved the idea. Not long after, they picked up their first stockist and launched an additional product range – mug baking mixes.

The business grew steadily, but working a demanding day job and spending evenings and weekends working on the business meant that a crossroads was soon reached. After raising a round of seed investment, Joe quit his day job to manage the business full time, hired his first

AFTER THEIR RECENT GREAT TASTE AWARDS SUCCESS, WE MEET JOSEPH MUNNS FROM BAKEDIN TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FAST GROWING, AWARD AWARD WINNING HOME BAKING COMPANY employees and the rest is history.

After an introduction to Michel Roux, they are now fortunate to have their recipes exclusively approved for them by one of the world’s finest pastry chefs. Today Bakedin has hundreds of stockists including Lakeland, Ocado, Hobbycraft and Center Parcs. Their Baking Club subscription service was named in the Independents top 15 food subscriptions two years running, alongside brands such as Graze, HelloFresh and Hotel Chocolat.

THE RANGE

BAKING KITS l Double Choc Brownie Kit (Great Taste 1 Star) l Iced Cinnamon Buns Kit (Great Taste 2 Star)

Sticky Toffee Cake Kit Choc Mallow Melt Cookie Kit l Rainbow Cake Baking Kit l Chocolate Layer Cake Baking Kit l l

MUG MIXES Mug mixes are very popular, especially with social media followers where videos of mug mixes have been going viral for some time. The range Bakedin produce include flavours such as: l Chocolate Brownie Mug Mix l Chocolate Cookie Mug Mix l Sticky Toffee Mug Mix l Gooey Chocolate Mug Cookie Mix Enquiries contact: Web: ww.bakedin.co.uk Email: sales@bakedin.co.uk

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INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH MUNNS - BAKEDIN

not always practical to keep all the ingredients you need in your kitchen cupboards. Kits give people all the enjoyable bits of cooking but with a So, tell us a little bit more about little more convenience and no waste, how Bakedin started? l The food industry is still relatively new by giving you just the right amount of everything you need. to me. I went straight from university to join IBM in 2001 and worked my way You have a great range of products, up from a software engineer to a senior where do you get your inspiration management position. It was a great for new arrivals to your range? career and developed me as a leader, but I was never really passionate about l Initially our products came from Bank’s ATM software (which was one of developing our own personal go-to the main products my teams developed). baking recipes that we used when we I’d always yearned to be more in control wanted to impress people at work. Some of my own destiny and one of my last of them were handed down from our roles was in mergers and acquisitions families and others were based on trends working with a small software company we had seen in the baking industry and we had acquired to integrate them into on social media. We are now fortunate IBM. As I spent more and more time to have our baking kit recipes approved working with them, I realised that being by Michel Roux OBE. Being invited to part of a start-up was something that his house in the South of France for a really appealed to me. I also had a strong photoshoot and to talk about recipe desire to work on something that I was plans was definitely one of the highlights genuinely passionate about, and for me of my Bakedin journey so far. that was either going to be something What has the reception been to the to do with food or golf. I wasn’t good enough at golf, so food it was! I’d noticed products from delicatessens and farm shops? the rising popularity of recipe boxes, l Our first few stockists were farm with the likes of Hello Fresh having just launched, and thought it would be a good shops and delicatessens and we are proud to say that 4 years on they are still idea to try something similar but for baking. Along with my co-founders Anna re-ordering regularly. We met our first ever stockist, Saddleback Farm Shop, and Elaina we came up with the idea for a kit that gave you all the ingredients at a small food festival in a village hall where we were stall neighbours and our in the exact right quantities so you still have the baking from scratch experience products continue to be popular in their beautiful shop just outside Wantage. but with a little less fuss and no food We have designed our packaging to be waste. When you see TV chefs rustling bold and striking, but we also use kraft something up with all the ingredients cardboard boxes, which mean that the weighed out it looks so easy - that’s the product looks equally at home on a experience we were aiming to recreate. department store shelf We tested the market with a few kits in brown paper bags, sold at food markets What are your best selling and food festivals and had an amazing products in the range currently? response. The business grew slowly l The mug baking mixes are our alongside our day jobs until it reached strongest selling range and continue the point that we had major high street to become more and more popular as retailers asking for our products and mug baking continues features heavily we had received an invite to present our in social media videos. The brownie products at 10 Downing St. I decided to is always the best seller in the range quit my day job, raised a round of seed – it tastes amazing and the fact that it investment, built the factory we now contains no egg means that it’s great for operate from and started Bakedin as it is people following vegan diets. today. We started with modest goals of In the baking kit range the Cinnamon learning a bit about running a business and having a bit of fun, but now we have a Bun Kit just won a 2 star great taste full scale SALSA accredited manufacturing award and always sells well. The Rainbow Cake Kit is bang on trend too operation our goal is to be the leading and this is now our best selling baking premium home baking brand in the UK. kit. Customer love the fact that the colourings in it are natural and it makes We’ve noted that there has been a an impressive birthday cake! huge rise in the popularity of DIY Kit’s, why do you think this is? l I think a lot of it boils down to Can just anybody use a kit to food waste. We are becoming more make a great product? adventurous in the kitchen, and want l Pretty much, yes. If you can follow to try new recipes and ideas, but it’s instructions and have a grasp of the

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basic techniques needed for baking then great results are guaranteed. We are working on a range of videos that will demonstrate all of our recipes to give a little more help to less confident bakers (and also to work as a powerful marketing tool!).

We love the look of your mug baking kits, is this a good growth area currently? l Definitely, yes. If you are a Facebook or Instagram user you will almost certainly have seen mug baking videos in your feeds. These videos usually have huge numbers of views and interaction – mug baking is a great way of having a bit of fun in the kitchen and rustling up a delicious dessert or snack in no time. One customer told us they used the mixes to make mini brownies in espresso mugs and served them up with a little scoop of icecream as dessert at a posh dinner party!

What is your own favourite product in your range and why? l My personal favourite is the cinnamon bun baking kit, it makes the kitchen smell amazing when they are baking and is there anything better than a warm, sticky cinnamon bun? The answer is no, there is not.

Have you got any plans to add any more flavours to your range in the near future? l We are always looking for new ideas to turn into products. This year alone we launched a new version of our rainbow cake kit, a chocolate layer cake kit, a gingerbread house kit and a whole range of mug gift sets to accompany our mug baking mixes. We actually have a baking subscription where we send our members a different baking kit each month through the post, and the most popular ones with our members get put into our NPD process to turn into the next bestselling kit on the shelves!

Lastly, can you give our readers just a few unique selling points of your products that they could relay to their consumers if they stocked your products? l We have a no nasties policy in all our products – the same award winning flour and Belgian chocolate that we use in our kits goes into all our mug mixes too.

The fact that the kits are approved by Michel Roux OBE means you know that the quality of the recipes and ingredients is going to be up to scratch!

The packaging makes everything we sell perfect as a gift – the individual pots of mug brownie mix make amazing stocking fillers and teachers presents!

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STREET MONKEY

Indian Tiffins & Salads!

Gaining a great taste award in their first six months of trading, learning from mistakes along the way, and making awesome products – we are proud to present Street Monkey Indian Tiffins & Salads

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oming across this brand at the Farm Shop & Deli Show, and keeping an eye on their progress ever since has been exciting for us here at the Delicatessen Magazine.

Seldom do you see products wining great taste awards to early in their existence and seeing good growth as a result of changing with feedback, rolling with the punches and adapting as needed. We’d certainly suggest that Street Monkey is a business well worth a look at.

Street Monkey was founded by Sonia and Ranvir Singh, who have made great headway with their business within their first six months,

WE CATCH UP WITH RANVIR SINGH - HEAD CHEF AT STREET MONKEY INDIAN TIFFINS & SALADS TO FIND OUT MORE! So Ranvir, can you tell us a little bit more about how it all started? l I have been passionate about Indian food all my life. As an only child, I grew up cooking Indian food with my mum in our kitchen just to keep from being bored! Then as I grew up I wanted to try Indian food in all its formats – from the cheap and cheerful Indian restaurants in places like Southall in London and Rusholme in Manchester – to the fine dining Indian food offered by restaurants like Veeraswamy and Benares in London.

I even visited at least 1 Indian restaurant in every city I have ever visited on holiday which has meant I have eaten curry in at least 20 cities around the world.

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THE RANGE and are ready to take on the future with their constantly adapting and versatile young business.

Using nothing artificial in their products, and sourcing their meat & poultry from ethical UK farms are amongst the many great accolades this company has to offer. Adding to this, the range is all gluten free and 90% of the range is also dairy free too, this

is certainly a good prospect for ready meals, being that they are genuinely healthy. Coming in at nearly half the price of a take away makes us feel that consumers perusing your shelves would not be adverse to the notion of a ready meal, especially given all the plus points we just mentioned.

After tasting one of the meals, they’d certainly be back for more too.

From all my culinary travels I only found good and authentic Indian food at a handful of places in the UK. I would say that 95% of “curry houses” in Britain serve a diluted and very un-authentic curry to their customers.

Not surprising since most “Indian” restaurants are staffed by non-Indians!

So I always ended up cooking Indian food myself at home as I was generally disappointed by ready meals or takeaways every time I bought any.

I thought that if I feel this way, surely other people must feel the same. I wanted to be able to provide real Indian food to the UK public in an affordable format. Tasty and authentic recipes that have been cooked by Indian housewives for generations have rarely been available to non-Indian households.

So that’s where the idea of a ready made “tiffin” – comprising a main dish, side dish and rice – all freshly made with authentic techniques and the best ingredients – came from.

In Mumbai alone, over 1 million

people a day have a home-made “tiffin” meal delivered to them at work. The meal is made at home and the flavours are truly what real Indian food is.

At Street Monkey we have taken this concept and given the UK public our own range of authentic Indian ready meals in a “tiffin” style.

We also wanted to do something very original with our salads that compliment the tiffin meals. That’s why I looked at the traditional coleslaw and potato salads that are sold in UK stores and decided to give them an Indian twist. Our Keralan Coleslaw and Pondicherry Potato Salads take influences from both those areas of India to put some “zing” into what has been a relatively boring area.

And in July, we added a “Mumbai Street Corn Salad” based on masala corn, one of the most famous street food dishes in India. Using roasted corn and spices along with fresh chilli and lime juice to make a really wonderful and healthy accompaniment to the tiffin meals.

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How has the reception been to the brand from retailers so far? l To be honest it was quite slow to start! We must have sent out 50+ sample cases to Farm shops up and down the country and pretty much everyone said that although they liked the food they thought the product was too expensive/they didn’t sell ready meals/ their customers wouldn’t go for Indian food / they didn’t want to stock fresh meals with a short shelf life etc etc etc.

It was pretty heart breaking! But our first break came courtesy of Brown & Green in Trentham (Rob Tate at Appetite Me is their main buyer) – a retailer based around 5 miles from our kitchen! They said they would be happy to give the tiffins and salads a go and they have been really supportive of us ever since.

The orders from Brown & Green gave us a base to expand from and also allowed us to actually meet customers face to face during tastings to gather feedback on all the products. This was invaluable as we changed pretty much everything - recipes, packaging, sizes and price in the first 3 months in order to make the products more appealing to the customer.

I think it has worked. Now we sell around 500 units a week of the Tiffin meals and another 500 salads to around 15 retailers across the country.

We are still small but we have shown there is a demand for our product compared to the ready made meals, sauces and kits that are already available to UK consumers.

We were very excited to hear about your Great Taste Award, and in your first 6 months of trading! How did this make you guys feel? l That was totally unexpected given we had entered the competition with all of our original recipes which have been thoroughly improved since then.

However we were really thankful for the recognition. I think we only realized what a big deal it was after the announcement of the awards! We

are really excited to enter the rest of our new and improved food into next year’s competition. Hopefully we will win more stars and get our name further recognized!

We saw that you were at Farm Shop & Deli Show, how was this for you?

This must have been pretty soon after your launch? l It was! And to be honest it was probably too soon for us as a business to do such a large show. That being said we did pick up our biggest customer at the show (Westmoreland Group who run Tebay and Gloucester Services) along with meeting 2 representatives of 2 national retail chains who we are currently working with to launch our range with them later this year! So all in all, I cant say it was a bad thing to do.

We love that you have products to suit everyone including Vegan options, where did the inspiration for this come from? l Our customers! Whenever we did tastings we had a number of people asking us if we had vegan products and when we thought about it, it seemed silly that we didn’t as 90% of Indians are vegan or vegetarian! So we went back into our test kitchen and looked at loads of different recipes that could be used for a vegan tiffins and salads. It wasn’t easy as a lot of dishes lost their “freshness” after only 2 or 3 days when we always wanted to aim for a 10 day shelf life for the retailer.

In the end though I think we came up with a fantastic range of vegan food from all over India that isn’t available in a ready meal format anywhere else.

What makes your products different to other Indian meal solutions? l The first thing that stands out about our meals is the 3 pot “tiffin” package that the food comes in. All our pots are recyclable as well as opposed to the black trays that traditional ready meals are packaged in. We think that is really important as tonnes of these

trays end up in landfill or in the sea every month as the plastic cannot be recycled. We wanted to avoid this and although it costs us a little more, I think it’s a price worth paying.

Apart from the packaging, the other thing we pride ourselves on is the quality of our ingredients. All our meat and poultry is sourced from farms within 30 miles of where we are based. These small farms raise their animals to a much higher standard than commercial farms used by other ready meal manufacturers and I truly think this comes across in the taste of the meals.

Again it costs us more – we have been offered chicken for as low as £2 a kilo by some commercial butchers(!) – but we definitely wont compromise in this area. We want our meals to taste great and be good for whoever eats them.

Finally (and most importantly), it’s the way we make our food that makes us different to other manufacturers.

We slow cook everything like someone would at home and we use freshly ground spices to flavour the food - There are no ready made “base” sauces or pre made spice blends in our kitchen. The main reason normal ready meals taste the way they do is because the sauce is made separately to the meat/poultry or veg and then dumped on top, so its no wonder they taste the way they do…..real Indian food cant come from a jar!

So, now that you are nearing 6 months old, what’s in the pipeline for the future? l Its pretty simple – we want as many retailers to stock our product as possible and to totally transform the UK ready meal market.

No more bland and tasteless heat and eat meals. Just really tasty and authentic food for a fraction of the price of a takeaway!

If things continue to go well we also want to look into launching a global range of tiffins and salads showcasing cuisine from other countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico.

Oh, and of course – more awards!

Lastly from us, can you tell our readers just a few unique selling points of your products that they can pass on to their customers if they take on your products?

1. They taste great and we have the awards to prove it. 2. They are gluten free and 90% of the range is also dairy free. 3. We use nothing artificial in our food. 4. All the meat & poultry is sourced from ethical UK farms. 5. The meals are half the price of a takeaway.

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KIT ´S SP FEA EC TU IAL RE

ROSS & ROSS AS PART OF OUR KIT’S FEATURE, WE COULDN’T MISS OUT A BRAND EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT! - INTRODUCING ROSS & ROSS

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A

fair while a go, I stopped and stood dead still looking in awe at the Ross & Ross stand at a trade show, I presume the stand staff wondered if I was ok so came over to check. I was just stunned that I had found a kit where I could make my own bacon!

Everytime I talk about kits or great brands to feature, Ross & Ross come up, so I was very glad to be able to write about them in this issue. Even last month, Peter Sidwell spoke about Ross & Ross in his column.

A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ROSS & ROSS

Ross & Ross is a multi award winning fine food company based in the Cotswolds, founded by Ross Bearman and Ross Whitmill, who met during their 15 year career in the fine dining industry. Between them, they’ve worked in some great establishments including Le Petit Blanc, Malmaison, Paxton & Whitfield and the Peach Pub Company. They both share a passion for Great British food, especially charcuterie using traditional artisan methods.

They set up Ross & Ross back in 2011, and specialise in Wedding & Event Catering and Handmade British food gifts. They also support their local Cotswolds producers with frequent collaborations to create brilliant fine food products worthy of stocking in any deli around the UK. Ross & Ross make brilliant home curing kits, and we’ll go into more depth on these later in the article, however it’s important to note that their BBQ range is the work of the gods. Simply put, their BBQ range would elevate your dining experience to a new height. We are particular fans of the rubs, with the BBQ salts range.

THE HOMEMADE CURING KITS

These kits are perfect for those interested to have a go at creating their own artisan bacon or salmon.

However, they also make for excellent gifts too. Here’s the current range of kits available!

THE HOMEMADE CURING KIT… BACON (ORIGINAL) This is the first in their range of Homemade Curing Kits. This version contains Original, Sweet and Smoky cures to introduce you to the traditional flavours and process of making your own bacon. All of these cures create great tasting bacon in seven days. Just add pork.

Flavours include: Original – Their traditional mix to create that classic bacon flavour Sweet – with the addition of organic Demerara sugar to really bring out the flavour of the pork Smoky – the salts and sugar have been smoked to give that favourite smoky bacon flavour

THE HOMEMADE CURING KIT… BACON (SPICY) This is the second in the range of the Homemade Curing Kits. This version introduces some newer and more interesting flavours to the classic bacon. They have taken influences from gin, classic pork charcuterie flavours and the British love of spice.

All of these cures create great tasting bacon in seven days. Just add Pork Flavours include: Old English – mild and very aromatic with hints of juniper, fennel & star anise Cotswold Chorizo – slightly spicier and smoky with hints smoked paprika, chilli & coriander British BBQ – very hot and spicy, packed with chilli, cayenne & mustard THE HOMEMADE CURING KIT… SALMON This is the third in the range of the Homemade Curing Kits. This version introduces you to classic flavours that are traditionally used in salmon curing. We worked worked closely with renowned local business The Cotswolds Distillery on the gin cure, which is made to the (top secret) recipe of their signature Cotswolds Gin. The Salmon kit won Gift of The Year 2017.

Flavours include: Beetroot Cure – earthy, full flavoured cure which tints the salmon a beautiful dark colour Cotswold Gin Cure – light, aromatic cure, which lifts the flavour of traditional Salmon Smoky Cure – the salts and sugar have been smoked to give that favourite smoky flavour THE BBQ RANGE After a successful trial run with BBQ products, Ross & Ross launched their

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CURING KIT EXTENSION DUE OUT OCTOBER 2017

BBQ range, and after teaming up with fellow artisan producers, - their 16-product range is a range to be proud of, and worthy of seeing on any shelf in any deli!

In the new BBQ range, they have hand blended freshly ground premium herbs and spices in-house to create authentic dry Rubs for marinating.

The range includes BBQ, Cajun, Jerk, Sweet Ribs, Moroccan, Chilli, Steak and Tandoori and are specifically paired to work with certain meats and fish and not to overpower. The rubs come in 50g jars in a 6 pack.

The three BBQ Jams are to be used as a condiment or a last minute glaze.

Made with Warwickshire Chilli Tree, The Habanero & Pineapple jam is great with pork and is HOT. The Smoky Chipotle jam can be teamed with beef and is MEDIUM. The Sweet Chilli & Lime is MILD and perfect for pairing with chicken and fish. All jams come in 110g jars in a 6 pack.

Collaborating with Halen Môn, the two BBQ Salts come in an original blend of smoked, garlic and charcoal and a spicy version with added chilli.

They are in 50g jars in a 6 pack. These salts can be used to season meat and vegetables but also as a finishing salt.

Perfect for enhancing genuine BBQ flavours. The original BBQ Salt also just won 2 stars at The Great Taste Awards!

With fellow Cotswolds producer, Cotswold Gold, the two BBQ Oils can be used to cover the meat before and baste during grilling. You can always add them to a marinade or create a dressing with them too. The Original oil is infused with smoke and garlic and the Spicy blend infused with chilli, charcoal and smoke. The 100ml bottles come in a 12 pack. l To place trade orders, please contact Ben at orders@ rossandrossfood.co.uk Tel: 01608 645503 Web: www. rossandrossfood.co.uk

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THE COCONUT KITCHEN WE MEET PAUL AND PREECHAYA OF THE COCONUT KITCHEN TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR FANTASTIC RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND THE ADDITION OF BANANA JOE TO THEIR RANGE

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he story of The Coconut Kitchen is one of organic growth, growth because of raw talent and entrepreneurial spirit, and one that we are really excited to tell you about.

The Coconut Kitchen Started from a catering trailer in a campsite back in 2006 in Abersoch North Wales, and then moved to a village restaurant the following year. With the high demand for being able to cook great Thai food at home, this great brand released a range of products that everyone can use to create great Thai food at home too.

After growing the Coconut Kitchen brand and gaining many retailers and awards along the way, Paul and Preechaya were visiting Thailand when they found Banana Joe crisps. They found that they weren’t being distributed in the UK and the idea came to become the UK distributors of this award wining great range of products too!

THE COCONUT KITCHEN

The products are premium restaurant quality, all developed at Wales’s best Thai restaurant.

Head Chef Preechaya has previously worked in London restaurants, but most importantly has been taught a wealth of knowledge by her Mum, Hataya, who is a retired cookery teacher and currently runs her own

BANANA JOE l On their annual winter trip to Thailand, Paul and Preechaya were in a mall when Preechaya found their next range of products - Banana Joe! Banana Joe is a perfect accompaniment to their current range and portfolio and as we have found out, they are also incredibly tasty!

Editors Verdict:

Paul was kind enough to send me a Miso, Sesame & Lem on sauce.

I pondered on how to use it, and moreover, how I was goi ng to make sure I used it well, as this sau ce is particularly good looking and sm elling!

I used this sauce to dre ss some mackerel fillets, which went down an absolute treat! Super easy to also great to use as a dip use, and for sushi, or to liven up a salad!

restaurant and farm in Pak Chong, near Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.

Reasons why you need to get the coconut kitchen’s sauces and dips on your shelves! l 10 years of tried and tested recipes in a very popular Thai restaurant with a great reputation (voted “Best Oriental restaurant in Wales at the Food Awards in May 2015). l Sauces and dips allow customer to re-create true restaurant quality dishes at home. l Curry pastes are unique in the market as they include all Headchef’s seasonings – a Top Thai chef’s palate and love in every jar. l Packed with flavour and backup up by 6 Great Taste Awards since launch in 2013. l All made in Wales, UK with fresh ingredients, no artificial additives

THE RANGE

SAUCES l Chilli Garlic & Basil Stirfry Sauce l Honey, Garlic & Pepper Sauce l Miso, Sesame & Lemon Dressing l Pak Chong Hot Chilli Sauce l Sweet Chilli & Garlic Sauce l Pad Thai Sauce

CURRY PASTES l Easy Thai Green Curry Paste l Easy Thai Massaman Curry Paste

source, they chose them because they taste better than any other variety of bananas. You can see the difference by the unique golden color and taste the difference by the fragrance.

Easy Thai Red Curry Paste Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste l Gift Set Of All 4 In Presentation Box l l

PAD THAI KIT Launched in May 2016 this kit includes good quality 3mm rice noodles, their famous Pad Thai sauce which they have used to cook 1000’s of dishes for happy customers at the restaurant over the last 9 years and a sachet of toasted peanuts which they have kept whole for extra freshness.

Just give the sachet a bash to crush them before you garnish your dish!

Add in your vegetables, chicken or prawns and egg and it ready in 15 minutes. Recreate a true restaurant quality dish at home, easily. l

Web: www.thecoconutkitchen. co.uk Email: paul@ thecoconutkitchen.co.uk Available from: Fine Food Angel, Diverse Fine Foods, Hider Fine Foods, Blakemore Fine Foods, Blas ar Fwyd, Artisan Food Club, Taste Distribution

to a powdery paste in the mouth; the seasoning is sweet and tangy - a little smokey hint comes through.”)

THE RANGE: With a great range of interesting flavour combinations, from AWARD WINNING: In the recent Great the simple and tasty ‘Sea Salt Banana Taste Awards, Banana Joe were awarded Chips’ right through to the more a 1-star Great Taste award, for 2 products powerful flavours, there really is a in the Banana Joe range of crispy, thin, flavour for everyone. Here’s the range Banana Chips, which means judges available: Sriracha with pickled ABOUT BANANA JOE: Hand picked dubbed them “simply delicious”. The garlic;, Thai sweet chilli; Hickory bananas from farms that are specifically winning products were: Banana Joe bbq; Gruyere cheese; Sea salt and ethically picked, the Banana Joe team Sriracha and Pickled Garlic Flavour pick correctly ripened and the finest (The Judges notes were: “Rather beautiful, EDITORS VERDICT I really enjoyed bananas to create their brilliant evenly golden, golden-russet slices of these crisps, the flavours were simply banana chips. They only use “hom evenly cut banana. Definitely different, marvellous, my favourite being the thong” bananas, otherwise known with a good mix of flavours and gentle same as my crisp favourites: the Sea Salt as the golden fragrant bananas. hint of heat.”)

Banana Chips. This is because I love to They are the original “Gros Banana Joe - Chips Hickory BBQ taste the quality of the chip/crisp and Michel” variety. these really are quality. I found that they Flavour (The Judges notes were: Although “hom thong” “Lovely even bake to these crisps. Crisp were nicely filling, really moreish and I bananas are more difficult to but not oily. A crunchy bite, dissolving really love the packaging.

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INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WITHINGTON – BANANA JOE/COCONUT KITCHEN So Paul, tell us a bit more about how the Coconut Kitchen started? l The Coconut Kitchen started with a Catering trailer in a campsite in the beautiful seaside village of Abersoch in North Wales. That was in 2006 before the streetfood trend had caught on! It was Preechaya’s passion to give people good quality Thai food that really made this work and we moved into a restaurant in the village the following year by the harbour We still miss the views from the trailer though as you could see all down the Welsh coastline from the kitchen, a great view to inspire you when your prepping! The restaurant has become a great success and we were awarded “Best Oriental Restaurant in Wales” at The Food Awards Wales in Cardiff in 2015 and 2016. As we have so many tourists as customers they kept asking us to open up a restaurant near them in Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, London…etc as they loved the food so much. But we love it here so went go down the route bottling our pastes and sauces so the customers could make our food at home in their own kitchens.

We did about 6 months of local shop trials of our range and then CK Food and Drinks Ltd was created to deliver The Coconut Kitchen Sauce brand to the market and we launched at the IFE show in London in March 2013.

We love the story about how on your trip to Thailand you found the Banana Joe on your travels, what made you decide to become their UK distributor? l Yes we visit Thailand every winter and it was Preechaya that discovered Banana Joe in a posh store in a shopping mall in Bangkok, we were due to go home to the UK the next day actually so there was no time to meet with the owners. They did send us samples to the UK however and we agreed to trial them in the UK. They had already been looking for a UK importer as they already sell their range in 19 countries worldwide including the US, Canada, Holland and Denmark.

As we already had a network of UK distributors giving us access to the deli and independent market for our Coconut Kitchen brand it made sense to add them to our portfolio.

Were they slightly surprised that you wanted to take their products

THE COCONUT KITCHEN.indd 3

over to sell to the UK market?

l Not really as they already have the

brand in other Western markets. This brand is hot property and we put a lot of work into our proposal to be their importer so we were really pleased when we were given the rights as they are such a great product and right on trend with fruit crisps really taking off and of course they are gluten free and Vegan (apart from the Cheese flavour) and of course they taste delicious!

How have you found the reception to the Banana Joe crisps since bringing them here to the UK? l Really good overall. There were some customers that didn’t get them at first as they didn’t know they were all actually made from bananas! The flavour of the banana isn’t too strong as they are cut from the unripe green banana which is also how they can make the so thin and crispy rather than some banana chips which are more chunky and brittle.

They really need to be tasted to be believed so we have put a lot of effort into tastings and sampling and they are starting to get a really good following now. The big news of course is that the Sriracha & picked Garlic flavour and the Hickory BBQ flavour both just won Great Taste Awards so that’s great news and will help to give the brand a bigger profile, we are already seeing more orders come in as a result!

How has the reception been to your products from delicatessens and Farm Shops so far? l Well The Coconut Kitchen brand is fairly well established in Delis and Farm Shops but we are always looking to widen our reach of course. We re-branded about 10 months ago and we are now really happy with how the products look on the shelves. Sales have definitely picked up since the rebrand and the independent sector seem to love our modern bold labels and we offer something different as we’re an established restaurant but are producing award winning, made in Wales, Thai sauces and pastes. I have to say Preechaya has a palate that is second to maybe only her mum when it comes to the tricky task of balancing Thai flavours. So as we have products that taste so good it really helps in building a loyal customer base that really appreciate quality Thai food.

As we can also offer provenance with

our products I think this goes a long way with Deli’s and farm shops and of course their customers too.

We loved cooking with the Miso, Sesame & Lemon dressing, what is your favourite product to use at home? l Thanks, yes that dressing is doing really well and is our newest product to market. We use it at the restaurant to dress cured local mackerel fillets served with a Thai salad. We got such good feedback from this dish we knew we had to launch the dressing for retail. My personal all-time favourite is the Massaman paste and I have this at least one a week!

We note how much success you’ve had with the Great Taste Awards, what has been your proudest moment since starting? l Yes we now have 6 Great Taste awards which is great. There have been a few proud moments from winning our first export customer to 12 Globus Department stores in Switzerland to our biggest ever order of 14,000 jars of massaman paste to Foodist in Germany but I guess the proudest and one we didn’t really see coming was winning 3 GOLD stars in 2014 Great Taste Awards for our Thai Green Curry paste. It then went on to win one of the top 50 products and earn us a golden fork nomination! That really helped the profile of our brand and got us noticed. Even to today the Green Curry Paste is our biggest seller!

Have you got any plans to bring out any new products in the near future? l Our next big project is coming to fruition in January 2018 when we are launching a complete packaging of our 4 curry pastes. They will be changing from the small glass jars to cardboard sleeves with 2 sachets inside. This is going to bring great benefits for the customers and wholesalers and retailer as there will be less breakages, will be easier to transport and store, they will have a better shelf presence and even more importantly we can bring the price down too so the RSP will drop from £3.99 to £3.35 which will make us a lot more competitive against the imported Thai brands.

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24/08/2017 15:13

SLICE MEATS, CHEESES AND VEGETABLES WITH BIZERBA SLICERS BIZERBA TELL US MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THEIR SLICERS

W

e are a familyowned company, founded in 1866 and are guided by a commitment to tradition, sustainability and responsibility. Nowadays, based on our core competence of slicing and weighing technology, we offer our customers the industry’s largest and unique range of products and solutions as hardware, software and services anywhere in the world.

As a globally operating technology company, we are guided by our goal and commitment to achieve maximum results in terms of ergonomic design, hygiene, safety and efficiency. We believe we have a role to play in shaping our markets and are continually setting new industry standards. We work every day to improve our products and solutions together with our customers and in the light of technical progress. The result are innovations that become new standards.

In order to continue to live up to these requirements, we focus on the highest possible quality standards and internationally recognised technology standards in our development and manufacturing work. This is how we best support our customers in achieving maximum efficiency and profitable growth.

Bizerba began manufacturing vertical slicers in the 1940’s and in 1952, our famous shiny silver Eloxal finish gave a new boost to the already successful range. Demand for the slicers increased so much that a new food service machine factory was built in Messkirch, Germany. In 2010, the new Ceraclean® surface finish consisting of synthetic resin combined with ceramic particles and PTFR (polytetrafluorthylene)

68 The Delicatessen Magazine

made our slicers even more robust, more resilient, more effective and more resistant to corrosion. 30 times harder than Eloxal (electrolytical oxidation of aluminium) with 20% improve sliding properties and easycleaning, experts throughout the trade are truly enthusiastic.

Today, one example from our range is our hugely popular automatic gravity feed slicer GSPHD. This automatic slicer uses gravity and is easy to operate even when slicing heavy products thanks to its ergonomic, inclined carriage and Bizerba precision. Servo support for the slicing movement or the automatic slicing process makes work easier.

The GSP-HD stands out due to its wealth of variants. An individual and powerful slicer for a variety of products from heavy meats to firm vegetables, to be sliced in manual and automatic mode, perfect for use in food retail, butchers shops, restaurant kitchens, cafeterias/canteens and food service applications.

It consists of a powerful intelligent Emotion® blade drive. This saves energy, there is less noise in the work area and the machine barely heats up on the blade and depositing areas, keeping products fresher for longer.

In terms of hygiene, Bizerba sharpeners are separate units representing no hygiene risk during sharpening. As with all other

removable parts, this sharpener can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

Encompassing sophisticated design, careful material selection and elegant solutions such as a lifting device for quick and easy cleaning by hand underneath the slicer.

Our customers report “it’s much quieter than other brands of slicer”, “fantastic precise slicer from Bizerba” and “there is a significant reduction in the amount of wastage from our previous slicer”. l View our wide range of manual, semi & fully automatic slicers, mincers, meat & bone saws and steaker/strip cutter food processing products at www.bizerba.com

The Delicatessen Magazine 69

INTRODUCING...

A NEW COLUMNIST

DAVID MACK OF THE FINE FOOD ANGEL WE ARE PROUD TO INTRODUCE DAVID MACK OF THE FINE FOOD ANGEL AS A NEW REGULAR COLUMNIST TO OFFER INSIGHT ON NEW PRODUCERS, BUYING TRENDS AND MUCH MORE!

70 The Delicatessen Magazine

H

ello all, I’m thrilled to have been invited by Chris to write a column for The Delicatessen. The magazine has a unique personality that clearly comes from Chris and feels “unfiltered” which makes it especially fun to read. Given that I am new to the magazine I thought I’d pop a few words down so you know who I am, what I do and why I do it.

I set up a company called The Fine Food Angel at the start of this year to shake things up and help producers and retailers work together for a better deal.

My wife and I have worked in artisan food for about 5 years now and the wholesalers, large and small, have simply not worked for us - their 30% margin plus other fees (joining fees, catalogue fees, forced advertising, marketing fees) makes it very hard to use good ingredients, earn a fair profit and deliver products to retailers at a good price. The cost magnifying effect of that middleman 30% margin is crippling and in most cases can be avoided by going direct.

So, we set up The Fine Food Angel to encourage direct trade and direct relationships and importantly to make it quick, easy and efficient for both sides. There are so many tasks that we are all duplicating and by working together we can avoid that.

We can reduce a retailer’s mountain of invoices to just 12 a year that covers all their direct supply, we can do the same at the producer’s

side to help them too. We can check producer’s product liability insurance once rather than each and every retailer doing it, we can make placing orders easier & faster for retailers and processing orders easier & faster for producers, we can help buyers find great new products that are not in the big wholesalers which clearly helps both sides... there are so many ways we can help and that is exactly what we have set out to achieve.

We are a self funded two person start-up and we’ve made a conscious decision to charge our producers a micro fee that’s currently around 9 times less than the next nearest system and 15 times less than the average wholesaler charges (and that’s ignoring all their extra fees!).

We’ve set out to help retailers and producers and to deliver a really good deal for both sides. We are hoping retailers will support us so we can grow and develop the system. The more orders that pass through our system the more we will be able to help everyone - we have exciting plans!

I’m looking forward to introducing you to some hidden gems of products in my upcoming columns as well as offering my thoughts as someone who talks to a lot of retailers and a lot of producers.

Have a cracking day everyone and catch you in the next issue. l www.thefinefoodangel.co.uk

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CHOCOLATIERS SINCE 1910

CHOCOLATES AND CONFECTIONS

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M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

‘The Finest handmade artisan chocolates

At Guilbert’s we have a true passion for excellence and all our chocolates are entirely hand made with quality ingredients, unique artistry, technical expertise, and cherished recipes handed down through generations. Hand made in Bristol for over 100 years, only the recipes have been preserved, all our products are freshly made and preservative free to create a taste of pure indulgence.

16-17 Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DE Tel: 0117 926 8102

www.guilbertschocolates.co.uk

The Delicatessen Magazine 71

WOMERSLEY FOODS W

e are big fans of Womersley Fruit Vinegars, and enjoyed putting these to the test a few issues a go in our BBQ feature. Then came the news of the newly launching range of jams by this great brand.

The fruit vinegars provide so much taste that once you get using them, you’ll struggle to put them down, and we anticipate that the jams will have the same accolades too.

The Womersley range of products are amazing, and full of flavour and we would highly recommend them.

However, if you want to find some recipes to pass on to your customers on how to use these terrific products, get yourself onto Womersley’s website to find out more.

5 MINUTES WITH RUPERT PARSONS FROM WOMERSLEY FOODS

So Rupert, since we last met, we hear that you have got some new lines coming out? l Yes, I am delighted to say that we have a range of three jams being launched at Speciality Fine Food Show at Olympia in London in September.

They are all in 250g jars, so a good, generously sized jar.

What gave you the idea for the new Jams range? l It really is the combination of a few ideas. Firstly, my Mum, Aline, made superb Strawberry jam many years before we even thought of doing vinegars, so I thought it would be a lovely part of our story to go “back to our roots.”

Sarah Weston from the Organic Herb Trading Company who grows the Moroccan Mint we are using in our Strawberry & Mint Jam

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On the eve of the next Speciality And Fine Food Fair, we catch up with Rupert Parsons to find out more about the new range of jams being launched at the show!

Secondly, I have always felt that the recipes of our vinegars lend themselves very well to inspiring new jam recipes; as a result, the three flavours we are launching are Raspberry & Chilli, Strawberry & Mint and Blackcurrant & Rosemary.

Thirdly, as much as I love our fruit vinegars, it has been quite a challenge trying to concentrate on such an esoteric ingredient. I have longed to be able to get excited about witnessing the enjoyment that people will get in tasting something which is delicious AND which they know what to do with!

How’s the feedback been for the new Jams from those who’ve been lucky enough to get hold of some? l For me, the priority was always the same as it is for our vinegars: the fruit. I felt we had to make the taste of the fruit as sublime as possible. Blending with herbs or chilli as we have done allows the taste of the fruit to really shine.

The result is that the Strawberry has a delightfully fresh taste, the blackcurrant is rich and deep in flavour and the raspberry is strong and balanced by a subtle tingle of chilli.

I worked with Vhari Russell (The Food Marketing Expert) on the flavour profiles- she set up a tasting panel and provided me with valuable feedback so that we could produce truly delicious results whilst retaining a clear point of difference. We did get some criticism- there wasn’t enoughthey enjoyed them so much they polished them off in a single sitting!

Also, we did a blind taste test with members of the WI in Yorkshire and achieved an average score of 4.9 out of 5.

They all identified the tastes accurately and were very complimentary of the look, taste, set and consistency.

I have also shown some to a few retailers who sell our vinegars and some who don’t. Those who do see this as a really helpful step for them since it gives them another visible point in store for our brand and encourages their customers to recognise Womersley as a producer of fine foods. Retailers who don’t already have our vinegars see this as an excellent introduction to Womersley, giving more

confidence to expand their horizons and try our vinegars as well.

We have also had some great feedback on the new label designs.

They are a development of our existing artwork, but reversing the grey and cream to produce a clear point of difference. I decided to do this to make them stand out as well as being a nod to the designs my parents used to use.

We see that you have been very active at a lot of shows this year, how has that gone for you? Have you many more to go to before the end of the year? l September is the busiest time for shows and we have a few lined up in the next few weeks- CarFest, Broadway, Abergavenny and Daylesford to name a few. I love doing shows because of the chance to talk directly to those who love our produce and to hear how they use them at home. They aren’t great for family relations, though, so I have cut back a bit over the past couple of years. I am looking forward to the feedback on our new lines in the Autumn…

Lastly from us, with the autumn and winter coming, can you tell us your favourite uses for your products that our readers can suggest to their customers? l With the vinegars, the new recipe from Peter Sidwell, with our Lime, Black pepper & Lavender Vinegar is a lovely Autumn treat. (Note to readers: we’ll get this on our thedelimagazine. co.uk website when the issue comes out so you can check this out online!)

For our new jams, why not try our Strawberry & Mint Jam to make jam tarts- perfect for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. l Buy direct or through the Fine Food Angel. Email: sales@ womersleyfoods.com Tel: 01608 646445 Twitter: Twitter.com/ WomersleyFoods Our jams will be in packs of 6 of each flavour, for sale to retailers at £2.09 (Strawberry & Mint and Blackcurrant & Rosemary) and £2.39 (Raspberry & Chilli) with RSPs of £3.49 and £3.99.

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