Best Brands 2015-16

FROM THE MAKERS OF Starring

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“GREAT TASTE

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“LE GRUYÈRE AOP CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR”

THE 10 BEST

FINE FOOD SHOPS & DELIS IN THE BRITISH ISLES

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W W W. T I P T R E E . C O M

Sifting through photographer Richard Faulks’ images of Whole Foods Market in Kensington – one of the top three stores in this year’s Great Taste Shop of the Year (see p16) – I found myself doing a double-take at one exterior shot of the US retailer’s flagship London store.

It shows a shop window completely filled by three monster jars of pickle – not your obvious subject for a sexy window display in Kensington High Street.

Despite the metre-high labels on the supersize jars, it took me several seconds to twig this wasn’t just a particularly wacky Whole Foods window but a promotion for Tracklements – winners of the pickles & chutneys category once again in this year’s Best Brands survey (starting on p5).

I didn’t place the labels at first, not because Tracklements doesn’t normally do 1,000 kilo jars, but because they seemed out of context. How often do you spot producers from our little world of niche, speciality foods commanding so much prime street frontage in central London?

There’s another reason, too, why I didn’t instantly register this was Tracklements. Its packaging, so very traditional up to now, has had an overhaul this year by design agency Big Fish, whose client roster over the years has included Clipper Tea, Dorset Cereals and Belvoir Fruit Farms alongside the real big fish like Unilever and Coca-Cola.

We all know speciality food is cool these days, but what a change from over 10 years ago, when only a handful of “How often do you spot fine food producers could really be said producers from our little to be competing on design terms with mainstream brands. Now, scores of them world of niche, speciality are doing it – to the extent that it’s the foods commanding so much supermarket brands that now ape the prime street frontage in style of the trendy little guys. central London?”

A year or so back, Fine Food Digest explored whether the speciality sector was being hijacked by high-net-worth individuals who could afford to create (or attempt to create) the equivalent of a Tracklements or an Olives Et Al overnight, stealing the market from those who had slogged longer and harder to make a mark with something a bit special.

What the line-up in Best Brands suggests, however, is that that many more genuine speciality producers are investing not just in quality but in looks, and earning the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the biggest names in British food and drink – Peter’s Yard (winner of the biscuit category this year) being perhaps the most obvious case. Its products have been gobsmackingly good since they were launched, but its branding is second to none too.

Interesting also to look at the up-and-coming products selected by top retailers in our ‘Emerging Brands’ section this year (p37). In terms of eye-appeal there’s hardly a duffer among them, and it’s also clear from buyers’ comments that the expectations of independent retailers are high too.

At Garsons farm shop in Surrey, manager Nigel Chandler cites the high profile on Twitter and Facebook of Cho Gazpacho’s ‘salad in a bottle’ as a reason for getting behind it. And at Craigie’s farm shop near Edinburgh, John Sinclair tells us of two unproven ranges – Poporopo popcorn and The Pea Green Boat cheese snacks – that he’s happily giving a chance to since they upgraded their packaging and branding.

Enjoy this 2015-16 edition of Best Brands. If delis, farm shop and food hall buyers put it at the core of their ranging decisions over the next 12 months, they won’t go far wrong.

Mick Whitworth Editor

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TAKE 1: Best Brands survey results 5 16 TAKE 2: Great Taste Shop of the Year TAKE 3: Le Gruyère AOP Cheese Counter of the Year 26 37 TAKE 4: Emerging Brands 42 TAKE 5: National & Regional Award Winners 53 TAKE 6: Deli of the Month ‘must-stocks’ 57 TAKE 7: FFD staff’s Pick of the Year

Editor: Mick Whitworth Deputy Editor: Michael Lane Writers: Arabella Mileham, Patrick McGuigan, Lynda Searby Art Director: Mark Windsor Photography: Richard Faulks Cover Illustration: Garen Ewing Advertising: Sally Coley, Becky Stacey, Ruth Debnam Publisher: John Farrand Published by Great Taste Publications Ltd & Guild of Fine Food Ltd, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB t: 01747 825200 f: 01747 824065 Fine Food Digest is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £45pa inclusive of post and packing.

Printed by: Blackmore, Shaftesbury, UK © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2015. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

FROM THE MAKERS OF Starring

THEY’D SOLD OUT SOME FOLKS SAID and that just ss

made succe TASTE SWEETER Introducing...

“GREAT TASTE

SUPREME CHAMPION”

“LE GRUYÈRE AOP CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR”

THE 10 BEST

FINE FOOD SHOPS & DELIS IN THE BRITISH ISLES

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Crisps as they should taste. @Piperscrisps 44 Pipers Best Brand ad ART.indd 1

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BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T 15/12/2015 14:43

KINGS OF Ker-CHing Over the next six pages you’ll discover the outcome of our annual survey of Fine Food Digest’s retail readership to discover the topselling brands in a range of ambient categories.

As well as analysing the results, MICHAEL LANE has spoken to the winners.

Biscuits 1st - Peter’s Yard 2nd - The Fine Cheese Co 3rd - Border Biscuits 4th - Artisan Biscuits 5th - Botham’s of Whitby

Best Br ands

BEST BRANDS SURVEY

1

HOW DOES IT WORK?

At the heart of this special edition of FFD is our annual Best Brands Survey. Every brand featured in this section is here because independent retailers put it here. For the fifth year running, we asked buyers in delis, farm shops and food halls around the country to name their top-selling lines from around the store. We conducted the survey of our retail readership by post, email and telephone. The top scorers in each category are revealed here. Where brands achieved very similar scores we have given them a joint position.

For the first time since Best Brands launched in 2011, there’s a new number one in this category.

Peter’s Yard’s Scandinavian recipe crispbreads, in their various sizes, have proved popular enough to take the top spot from The Fine Cheese Co and its iconic Toast

MEET THE WINNER Ask most speciality food businesses where their brand’s magic comes from and they will list a combination of factors but for Peter’s Yard co-founder Wendy Wilson-Bett, there’s only one answer.

“We recently did some market research and it is without doubt the product itself,” she tells FFD. “It’s the fact we use simple, natural ingredients.”

“The sourdough takes 10 days to ferment and is treated with love and care by people who are making sourdough bread. It’s not made on a mass-produced line.”

The resulting crispbread – pockmarked with bubbles, wavy, thin and crisp – is what appeals to so many people.

The ascent of Peter’s Yard to the top of its category in Best Brands is hardly a surprise. Its crispbreads – now in a variety of formats and sizes – seem to be gracing more and more deli and farm shop shelves and are becoming go-to items for restaurant cheeseboards.

2015-16

for Cheese range – still a major vote-winner. Both are well-suited to the cheeseboard and that theme continues across the results, with savoury styles prevailing. The Miller’s Damsels cracker range – from The Fine Cheese Co’s sister business Artisan Biscuits – is a further case in point.

That said, dark chocolate gingers (another perennial favourite in the survey) accounted for the bulk of Border Biscuits’ votes, while Botham’s Shah ginger biscuits also flew the flag for the sweeter end of the category.

“The sourdough takes 10 days to ferment and is treated with love and care. It’s not made on a mass-produced line.”

Wendy Wilson-Bett

The figures bear this out, with this year’s sales forecast to rise 58%. It will be the sixth year in a row that the brand has seen double digit growth, and the recent market research suggests there’s more to

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

come.

Topping Best Brands is the culmination of a busy year that has seen Peter’s Yard give out more samples to retailers and consumers than ever before and engage more with consumers online. It has been developing recipe ideas with chefs, including Valentine Warner, and there has even been time for some NPD: a three-strong range of flavoured crispbread bites, called Knäcks. The original recipe crispbread also picked up a three-star award and a Top 50 position in Great Taste 2015. www.petersyard.com

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BEST BRANDS SURVEY

Chocolate & Confectionery

MEET THE WINNER “Speciality brands can still deliver premium products but without having to do it in a pompous way.”

1st - Montezuma’s 2nd - Green&Blacks Joint 3rd - Rococo/Monty Bojangles Helped by its Sea Dog bar and giant chocolate buttons, Sussex-based Montezuma’s was the clear winner in an otherwise fragmented category, with votes spread thinly among numerous brands.

Dark chocolate is clearly still a winner for many shops – and for Green & Blacks – but there are few

MEET THE WINNER

“We describe ourselves as quirky and I hope that comes across in the product,” says Montezuma’s co-founder Helen Pattinson.

“Chocolate is a fantastic substance but it can be taken too seriously. It should be a fun, joyful experience.”

This approach may have created some unique and winning flavour combinations but it’s only part of Pattinson’s explanation for the success of the Chichester-based company.

The other aspect is “Monty’s Magic”, a code every member of staff works to. Essentially it means

Julie Wild

clear preferences when it comes to flavour.

Sea salt and peppermint both seem wellliked but chilli is on the wane.

Votes weren’t just confined to chocolate, though, with some retailers citing liquorice, nougat and fudge as best-sellers. treating customers as they would like to be treated themselves. That includes helping even the smallest retailers with what to stock and how to price it. After all, Montezuma’s is a small retailer itself, with six shops in the South East.

“We understand what it’s like to run a single store,” says Pattinson, who set up the company with husband Simon. “We understand that you’re not going to be free to pick up the phone at 2.30 in the afternoon and you want information by post or email instead.”

The range may have expanded in many directions – truffle boxes, giant buttons – over the years but Pattinson says the bars are Montezuma’s flagship offering. The price point of £2.40 is “low enough that people will pick it up for themselves but it’s also a good token gift for a babysitter”.

While 2016 is sure to bring some more off-the-wall ideas, courtesy of Simon in the development kitchen, Helen says the groundswell for healthier products will see Montezuma’s trying out very high cocoa content bars in the near future. www.montezumas.co.uk

“Chocolate is a fantastic substance but it can be taken too seriously. It should be fun.”

Helen Pattinson

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What’s in a name? According to those behind the Grumpy Mule brand, it is a lot more than they were giving the consumer.

Hence, the comprehensive make-over of the Yorkshire roastery’s image. Still in its original, 10-year-old livery, the Grumpy Mule brand wasn’t matching up to the “imagined promise” of its name, says brand manager Julie Wild.

Owned by Irish beverage firm Bewley’s since 2013, Grumpy Mule is now a different beast, with a newfound attitude that Wild says is fun and irreverent but also straighttalking.

Coffee 1st - Grumpy Mule 2nd - Taylors of Harrogate 3rd - Monmouth 4th – Miles Tea & Coffee This is another category that features a lot of smaller and regional names. A few, like Somerset’s Miles and London-based Monmouth Coffee, were mentioned enough to get on the leaderboard but, in the end, 2015 saw another tussle between two Yorkshire companies for top billing.

Despite the scope of its reach beyond God’s Own Country, the ever-present

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

“Coffee can be quite patronising and intimidating,” she tells FFD. “Speciality brands can still deliver premium products but without having to do it in a pompous way.

Speak to the consumer as if they were a mate. Tell them where the coffee comes from and what it tastes like.”

Even if the visuals are markedly different, Wild says Grumpy Mule has retained its coffee credentials.

Its Guatemala Pocola typifies the retail range and demonstrates a commitment to ethical sourcing, with 20p from every bag going towards school projects local to the farmers growing the beans.

Independent retailers needn’t worry that the slick re-design means the brand is eyeing the multiples.

“At our price-point we couldn’t ever be in the likes of Morrisons or Tesco,” says Wild, “and it would potentially devalue the brand.” www.grumpymule.co.uk

Taylor’s couldn’t shift Grumpy Mule, which retained its title while also unveiling an entirely new brand image.

Espresso blends are doing the business for a lot of our surveyed retailers, while Colombia seems a well-liked source of beans for others.

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BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5¡ ¡F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

BEST BRANDS SURVEY

Oils & vinegars 1st - Seggiano 2nd - Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil 3rd - Deli-cious Joint 4th - Farringtons/ Honest Toil Joint 5th - Aspall/Olive Branch Seggiano holds on to first place this year thanks mainly to its own extra virgin oil, despite the quality and

Meet the Winner

Given the trouble Seggiano co-founder David Harrison had with the 2014 harvest, the brand’s 2015 win is a testament to his blending skills. Even though the oil is monovarietal, it comes from several small producers who pick at different times and they have all struggled with the destruction caused by olive fly brought on by excessive humidity.

Thankfully he has an “absolutely sensational” new harvest oil in store for 2016.

Whatever the harvest brings,

popularity of its balsamic vinegars.

Year after year, Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil and Farrington’s transcend the supposedly regional limitations of their product to get on the leaderboard while Deli-cious selfserve vinegars – particularly the fig & date balsamic – continue to appeal.

While established brands tend to steal the limelight, Honest Toil’s emergence proves there is room for newer, well-branded oils with provenance, as does the reappearance of previous winner Olive Branch after a year’s absence from the top five.

Harrison says there is a unique quality to the oil he produces.

“It’s a delicate oil, unlike Puglian and Tuscan oils which are intrinsically bitter,” he says. “If you brought that to the UK just after it had been picked it would be too strong.”

Seggiano lacks the “bitter pepperiness” that puts off British consumers and retains its sweet character exceptionally well. “When you open the bottle there’s a grassy fresh aroma that reminds you of holidays but [with other oils] you go back a week later and that’s just disappeared.”

After more than 20 years in business, Harrison puts the success of Seggiano’s oils, vinegars and other Italian delicacies down to its commitment to quality and food ethics in the face of profiteering “big food”.

“If it’s got our name on it, people know we’ve spent far too long developing it,” he says. “It can take two years from finding a product to it getting to market.”

“It can take two years from finding a product to it getting to market” David Harrison

www.seggiano.com

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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BEST BRANDS SURVEY

Jams & Preserves 1st - The Bay Tree 2nd - Tiptree Joint 3rd - Mrs Darlington’s/ Rosebud Preserves Joint 4th - England Preserves/Galloway Lodge

The original ‘crowded market’, this category appears to have been decided this year by the preserves rather than the jams.

The Bay Tree, and in particular its passion fruit curd, pipped the more traditional jam-maker Tiptree to the top of the podium, despite the continued support for its Little Scarlett variety. Mrs Darlington’s flagship lemon curd almost singlehandedly helped it to third place while Rosebud’s Seville orange marmalade was a factor in its ranking.

Not that fruit jams are in decline.

There was a good helping of strawberry and raspberry preserves across the results and this year’s newcomers – Galloway Lodge and England Preserves – certainly owe their placement to their various berry concoctions.

MEET THE WINNER The Bay Tree has stormed back into the Best Brands fold with a commendable second behind Tracklements in the Pickles & Chutneys category and a coveted first in this one, above the jam-making bastion that is Tiptree.

Not bad for what co-founder and MD Emma MacDonald says was a year of consolidation. Improving customer service and support, increasing production efficiency and making better products have all been on the agenda, as have making “big plans” for 2016.

So far, the improvements seem to be working and it helps that the Somerset-based producer has a highly decorated passion fruit curd in its line-up. Despite the prominence of its curds (the passion fruit won a Great Taste Golden Fork in 2012),

MacDonald says the jams and marmalades are pitching in too.

“It’s always been key that we have a twist on the product,” she tells FFD. “Strawberry jam is strawberry jam but we make things with a certain flavour profile for customers who want to taste real ingredients.”

Making a good product is one thing but MacDonald finds herself just as concerned with what the end-user might do with it, especially when developing new lines.

“People are not eating jam in the same way that they were years ago,” she says. “What jam is so great for is everything else apart from just ‘on toast’.

“It’s about being more flexible with it, adding it to a cake or a roulade.” www.thebaytree.co.uk

“People are not eating jam in the same way that they were years ago. What jam is so great for is everything else apart from just ‘on toast’.”

Emma MacDonald

Tea 1st - Teapigs 2nd - Taylors of Harrogate 3rd - Miles Tea & Coffee 4th - Clipper 5th - Brew Tea Co Teapigs is one of several brands never to have relinquished first place in its category across all five Best Brands surveys. Its Everyday Brew and liquorice & peppermint teas remain firm favourites and have again helped it ward off the challenge of Taylors, which is a must for so many independent retailers, in both tea and coffee.

Miles made the top five again this year and there are fewer of the bigger, mainstream brands that normally rank highly.

Clipper has squeezed in with newcomer Brew Tea Co. Despite the proliferation of varieties and infusions available, it is breakfast blends and Earl Greys that keep most retailers’ tills ringing.

MEET THE WINNERS Teapigs is part of an elite band of producers that have done the clean sweep of their category in every Best Brands survey.

Co-founders Louise Cheadle and Nick Kilby tell FFD that, despite a busy year, they’ve concentrated on their independent customer base, offering training and improved point-of-sale materials.

Teapigs has also hired two staff dedicated to servicing delis and farm shops.

“We’ve never lost our focus on where the business has been built,” says Kilby.

Cheadle says independents are far more willing to take part in whatever Teapigs is planning, whether that’s its annual Free Tea Day event in November (some 300 independents are already signed up for next year) or new serving suggestions.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been getting the trade to brew the tea cold and serve them as iced teas,” says Cheadle. “We’ve changed the packaging now so it tells you how to brew it cold.”

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

“We’ve never lost our focus on where the business has been built”

Nick Kilby

“It shows people that you can drink tea all year round and for a café it’s a great thing because of the margins.”

New additions include variations on some of Teapigs’ best-selling products. Its Matcha Sticks are single serve portions of its popular matcha green tea powder and – exclusively for independents – there are also re-sealable tins containing 20 tea temples of Everyday Brew. www.teapigs.co.uk

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BEST BRANDS SURVEY MEET THE WINNER

At a glance you might think a challenger brand had finally knocked Tracklements off its perch. You would be mistaken.

The Wiltshire maker’s dominance continues, but 2015 saw it unveil a new look across its range of condiments and preserves.

“We hope it looks back to the traditional nature of what we do but also looks forward to engaging a new audience,” says MD Guy Tullberg, pointing out that Tracklements has been redesigning its labels in iterations since it was set up by his father in the ‘70s.

“I look at our first labels and I think ‘Gosh, that was revolutionary at the time’,” says Tullberg. “I think we’ve just returned to that point.”

He adds: “One thing Tracklements has always been good at is being ahead of the market rather than behind it.”

While the outside may look different, the contents of the company’s jars still have the same impact. Like his retail customers, Tullberg picks out onion marmalade as the most iconic product in the range but is quick to add wholegrain

mustard – one Tracklements’ first lines – as well as chilli jam and horseradish cream.

“There’s nothing really sexy about horseradish but it just whips along and does really well with chefs, too.”

Aside from the recipes, Tullberg says there are no great secrets to the brand’s success– just small batch production and “obsessive dedication”. “Speciality food businesses should always be saying: ‘Can we make this a little better?’”

Rumours persist that the category serves an ageing demographic and retailers are reducing shelf space accordingly, but Tullberg sees plenty of scope to tap into new generations of condiment users.

“Most people still have ketchup and mayonnaise in their fridge. It may not be ours but the idea that something goes on the side of the plate is still there.” www.tracklements.co.uk

“One thing Tracklements has always been good at is being ahead of the market rather than behind it”

Pickles & Chutneys 1st - Tracklements 2nd - The Bay Tree 3rd - Cottage Delight Joint 4th – Rosebud Preserves/Ouse Valley 5th – Mrs Darlington’s Tracklements’ holy trinity of condiments – onion marmalade, chilli jam and horseradish cream – saw it take first place for the fifth year running.

The top five is a Who’s Who of speciality pickle-makers, with The Bay Tree back in the running after last year’s absence. Most of these brands have shown their consistency by ranking in sweet preserves, too.

Variations on caramelised and pickled onions feature heavily across the results and there’s solid demand for traditional cheeseboard accompaniments as well as stronger, spicier combinations.

Guy Tullberg

Wholesaler/ distributor 1st - Hider 2nd - The Cress Co 3rd - Cotswold Fayre 4th - Michael Lee Joint 5th – The Fine Cheese Co/ Carron Lodge It’s little surprise to see the three main distributors serving fine food shops in the top three spots, but specialist cheese suppliers also seem to be impressing independents with their service levels and ranges.

12 12

MEET THE WINNER What with the enlarging his warehouse, bolstering his technical team and fending off questions from FFD about a potential move into chilled distribution, joint MD Duncan Hider has had a busy 2015.

All this year’s work has been about improving the efficiency and quality of the distributor’s service, which retailers have already repeatedly endorsed, voting them winner of this category for three consecutive years.

“There’s no management meeting here where we won’t talk about feedback from customers, including complaints,” says Hider. “Anyone

at any level of the business has to understand that we’ve got to think of the customer.”

Another big part of the company’s appeal, he says, is its desire to take on more brands, especially small producers who face a good deal of financial risk if they try to sell direct.

Next year will bring challenges but Hider is clear they will all be in ambient foods, as his team grapples with the red tape that increasingly surrounds getting a product to market. Then there’s damage reduction quotas, fulfilment targets and even some room for more efficiency.

Safe to say that chilled can wait. www.hider.co.uk

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

“There’s no management meeting here where we won’t talk about feedback from customers, including complaints”

Duncan Hider

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In 1980 a surplus of eggs from the family farm led Marion Darlington to produce batches of her homemade Lemon Curd following her mothers’ recipe. She sold the Lemon Curd with her eggs on a delivery round in nearby towns, paying the local brownies to collect jars for her! Such was demand, a year later, Marion’s husband Tom converted one of the farm buildings into a large kitchen and the range increased to include Marion’s Orange and Lime Curds plus her Sweet Apple Chutney and Orange Marmalade recipes.

Marion was able to expand her range to include jams when Mrs Wright, a fruit farmer from Lancashire, enquired to see if Mrs Darlington would buy her surplus fruit.

Fast forward to 1987 when Marion’s daughter Sarah joined her in the business, as a temporary stop gap that’s lasted 27 years and counting!

With the range expanding to include more of Marion’s chutneys, sauces and marmalades, demand became too high for the converted farm kitchen and in 1997 the big decision was made to relocate to Lancaster Fields, Crewe.

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BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

Savoury snacks 1st - Pipers Crisps 2nd - Tyrrells 3rd - Olives Et Al Joint 4th - Brindisa/Brown Bag Crisps/Burts

comparison to the ubiquitous Tyrrells.

Olives Et Al’s Lapsnacks subbrand has now made the rankings every year while Brindisa’s selection of imported nuts and truffle crisps means it joins Brown Bag Crisps as a new entrant for 2015.

As you would expect, crisps dominate this category and no other producer even came close to the votes that Pipers garnered.

Its staunch refusal to go into supermarkets is a strategy that continues to serve it well in

MEET THE WINNER

It’s a bit of a running joke between FFD and Pipers Crisps’ founder Alex Albone that we have to ask what he’s been up to on the new product development front. The answer is always the same: nothing, because that’s not the way Pipers does things.

“First of all, it’s got to taste really good,” he says, when pressed on why he isn’t churning out seasonal specials like other crisp-makers. “We’re known for our strong flavours and we don’t compromise on cost when it comes to putting them together. So anything new has to be as good as what we’re currently selling.”

While he admits to collecting samples in his office for research purposes and being excited about some of the innovative ideas in the sector, Albone’s efforts have been directed into working with the eight varieties he’s got.

Pipers’ “flavour partners”, such as Somerset Cider Brandy and Halen Mon Sea Salt, and the provenance and strength they are provide, are what make Pipers stand out, he says.

The pack colours have been altered slightly this year, the biggest change being a switch from orange to purple bags for the Kirkby Malham Chorizo flavour – a decision Albone says was not unanimously popular but has led to the variety “selling like billy-o”.

But the big goal of 2015 was to get 500,000 people to try the crisps with the help of a dedicated team deployed at as many events as possible, including a host of beer festivals and both CarFests.

“It’s important we get people to taste our product because we don’t sell to the major multiples,” he says, adding that Pipers will be redoubling its efforts this year and is even asking the public which events they’d like the crisps to be at in 2016. www.piperscrisps.com

“We’re known for our strong flavours and we don’t compromise on cost when putting them together”

Alex Albone

Soft Drinks 1st - Sanpellegrino 2nd - Fentimans 3rd - Luscombe 4th - Belvoir 5th - Cawston Press Aside from the odd place swap, very little has changed in this category compared to last year. It is still dominated by big brands, some larger than others.

Of the top five, only Luscombe’s drinks are not available in the multiples.

The Sanpellegrino range of sparkling fruit drinks stormed into first place again, with its lemon variety proving the most popular. Elderflower accounted for the bulk of both Belvoir

and Luscombe’s votes. Fentiman’s ginger beer proved to be its strongest performer, although all its varieties were mentioned.

The most noticeable result this year was the arrival of Cawston Press and its apple-based drinks to oust Coca Cola from the top five.

MEET THE WINNER

Or not, in this case.

Almost every winner FFD contacted jumped at the chance to speak to us but Sanpellegrino’s, or rather parent company Nestlé’s, press office did not seem quite as bothered. We’re still waiting for a response to our interview request as we go to press, but we’re not offended. That’s the nature of big business – and why we like working with small ones.

It’s the second year running the fizzy fruity range has topped the category and, even if it is owned by a mega corporation, it’s still made using spring water in the Italian

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

Alps and looks premium enough to be in a deli. It’s not quite Coca Cola, which only narrowly missed out on the top five again this year.

The truth is, while Sanpellegrino’s very presence in the survey upsets some people, these products sell by the bucketload, both in supermarkets and independents.

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BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

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In its latest phase of store development, this year’s Great Taste Best Bran Shop of the Year is ds 2 Great 015-1 bringing producers 6 Taste and consumers even closer together, as Shop of the ye LYNDA SEARBY reports ar

2

WINNER

Ludlow Food Centre Ludlow, Shropshire

W

hile much of the business world is concerned about the removal of glass ceilings, at the Ludlow Food Centre, it is the plate glass panels separating the shopping area from the production rooms that are coming down.

The windows, which allow shoppers a peek at artisans busy at their trades – whether that be coffee roasting, butchery, baking or jammaking – have become a trademark feature of the centre. So why the decision to get rid?

“It felt a bit like a zoo – people watching as the producers worked behind glass,” says Edward Berry, the outgoing managing director of the centre, which sits on the Earl of Plymouth’s Oakly Park Estate in Bromfield, near Ludlow.

“The glass also prevented customers from being able to hear or smell what was going on and meant there was no real interaction.

Some people commented that the shop was a little sterile, which was not at all what we wanted. We decided we needed to open the units up so that they were part of the shop.”

The bakery area, which previously comprised a glass-fronted unit with a selfservice counter in the main food hall, was the first unit to undergo a structural transformation.

Now, the aroma of freshly baked Victoria sponge, croissants and sourdough wafts from the ovens and across the newly created counter.

The dairy was the next unit to be opened up – a project that was “slightly more complicated as it required consultation with Environmental Health,” according to Berry.

But it was worth the red tape and hassle, as on entering the food hall, customers are

greeted by a well-stocked dairy counter manned by trained and knowledgeable staff and can see cheeses maturing in dedicated fridges.

The next candidate for treatment is the butchery counter. This, says Berry, will involve moving doors and windows, bringing a butcher’s block onto the shop floor and installing an ageing fridge for charcuterie.

“We’re doing more and more in the way of charcuterie,” he says, “We’ve got one of the largest herds of Gloucester Old Spots and we do our own curing and smoking.

“It helps that our butcher is very adventurous, so as well as the more usual salami, chorizo and coppa, he’s happy to experiment – we’ve just started doing a fiocco.”

It’s clear from talking to Berry that not a square foot of the store goes unscrutinised: there is constant assessment of whether displays and layouts are working. Everything is geared towards enhancing the shopping experience, from the strategically positioned island gondoliers that create a natural and interesting flow through the store to the recent redesign of the fruit and vegetable area.

“We removed the old shelving, which was difficult to merchandise, and reconfigured the area, so that from a customer journey point of view, the produce is much better displayed and organised. From a practical point of view, it has also solved issues we were having with the freshness and quality of the produce as a result of having too much stock out,” he explains.

This ethos of continual re-evalution and improvement is clearly paying off.

After eight years in business, the Ludlow Food Centre is running at a profit and turning over £3.5 million annually in retail sales.

“Sales growth plateaued a couple of years ago, but now we are into a

The aroma of freshly baked Victoria sponge, croissants and sourdough wafts from the ovens and across the newly created counter

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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LE GRUYÈRE AOP

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The uniquely smooth, savoury flavour you’ll find only in Le Gruyère AOP is a product of its upbringing – where the cows that supply the milk are grazed (only in the villages of Western Switzerland), the way the cheese is aged and cared for (slow-aged in the region’s cheese cellars and caves), and the recipe that’s remained, unchanged, for centuries (hand-made, in small batches). For a smooth and mild yet extremely satisfying taste, Le Gruyère Classic is aged 5 months minimum. Le Gruyère Reserve, which has been aged for 10 months or more, has a smooth but more robust flavour. Both varieties are great in recipes, or sliced as a snack. Either way, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the only cheese that can call itself Le Gruyère AOP.

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Born in Switzerland in 1115. www.gruyere.com

Cheeses from Switzerland.

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GREAT TASTE SHOP OF THE YEAR growth spurt again,” says Berry.

In addition to the food hall, the centre is also home to a 200-cover café, which Berry says is full most of the time, and the five star Clive Hotel.

However, the centre’s location on the outskirts of rural market town Ludlow “has its challenges”, according to Berry.

“A lot of farm shops have tourist cities within a short distance. We don’t have that. Our nearest are Hereford and Shrewsbury, which are not huge and are both a 40-minute drive,” he says.

Despite geographical challenges, the centre still welcomes 300,000 people a year through its doors, and each spends on average £20.

“Within the farm shop sector that is at the high end,” says Berry.

“People come to us to because we are more than a shop. The centre is a destination in its own right.”

But the location isn’t all bad either.

Over the last 20 years or so, Ludlow has built a reputation as a foodie haven, and now attracts around 100,000 tourists every year between the months of April and September.

Being on the estate also gives the centre a major point of difference, as all the meat that passes over its butchery counter comes from animals reared on site.

“Hand on heart, we can say that all our meat comes from our own livestock. The abattoir – Griffiths at Leintwardine – is just a few miles down the road and we hang our own carcasses,” says Berry.

It’s not just meat that is produced on the 8,000-acre estate.

A hundred and fifty hives in the grounds yield honey and there is a walled garden that provides a wealth of produce, including fennel, courgettes, chillis, salad leaves, root vegetables and soft fruit.

Sixty per cent of revenue comes from lines that are either grown, reared or made on the estate, and it is this promise of complete provenance that draws people in.

“It is our own products that people come for,” says Berry. “It’s the well-known cheeses, like Ludlow Blue, Remembered Hills and Cheese With No Name, the steak & ale pies, pork pies, terrines, Scotch eggs and fidget pies on sale on our deli counter…” And the list goes on.

What can’t be produced on the premises is sourced locally: a further 20% of lines are local products “brought in” from the four surrounding counties.

While the business’s guiding ethos is built around championing local and seasonal food, there is, admits Berry, sometimes a case for sourcing products from further afield – even internationally – for example, if a product is “best in its class”.

It goes to show that even in this temple of regionality, local sourcing has its limits, but the centre is still a shining example of a food outlet that knows how to make the best use of its assets. www.ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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GREAT TASTE SHOP OF THE YEAR

SECOND PLACE Macknade Fine Foods Faversham, Kent

By LYNDA SEARBY September saw the opening of a butchery counter at Kent’s legendary Macknade food hall, giving customers even more incentives to do their weekly shop there.

“It’s the one counter we were missing. Now we have fresh meat, people will be able to do a complete shop with us,” says co-owner Stefano Cuomo.

But as you would expect from a store that is known for its eclectic and esoteric ranging, this is no standard British butchery counter.

Although the focus is on local meat from Kentish suppliers and farmers, in true Macknade spirit, international flavours feature heavily, with Tuscan sausages and South African Boerewors among the top sellers.

Butchery might be the counter that has made this Faversham store

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complete, but it is the delicatessen counter that is the real attention grabber. The selection of almost 300 cheeses is testament to the second generation co-owner who spends months each year searching, tasting and importing.

The deli also houses an impressive array of charcuterie as well as olives and antipasti, pies, Scotch eggs, Jamaican patties and homemade dishes.

The store offers a supermarketsized range of loose fruit and vegetables that are comparable in price but superior in quality. Here, “weird and wonderful” fruit and veg from around the globe, such as outsized Italian pumpkins, pomelo and yams, are juxtaposed with Kent heritage potatoes and Faversham asparagus.

Many of the lines in the food hall are showcased via the café, which is renowned for its cheese and charcuterie platters.

In recent months Cuomo and his team have also been busy creating a point of difference from the tea and

coffee varieties they serve.

“We’ve teamed up with a local roaster and are looking to offer two guest blends per month alongside our traditional Italian house coffee,” he says.

On teas, Macknade has always worked closely with local blenders, but Cuomo says that, historically, not enough has been made of this.

“We’re engaging people to make them understand that there is a difference between tea bags and selectively blended loose leaf teas,” he says.

It’s hard to believe that this tardis of a food shop started off as a tent on a farm 35 years ago, but the old agricultural buildings on site serve as a reminder of its farming roots.

These buildings will have a key role to play in the future of the business too, as its owners look to make Macknade more of a ‘destination’.

While the surrounding buildings have always had tenants, the intention now is to let them to “sincere” artisan producers, thereby

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creating a mutually beneficial link with the store.

“People come onto the site for food and drink experiences,” says Cuomo. “A key aspect of our model is identifying quality producers we can shout about. Having these producers on-site means we can do that even better.”

Macknade already has a resident sourdough baker, and micro-brewery Boutilliers has just moved into the old hop shed and will start brewing at the start of next year.

Behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on too. With Renato – Stefano’s father and Macknade’s founder – looking to pull back from the business, plans for succession are being carefully laid.

“We’ve always been a familyrun business and now we’re looking forward to being led by a senior management team,” says Cuomo.

“A large part of my time has been spent trying to get the right structure in place, to support the ethos our customers love.” www.macknade.com

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GREAT TASTE SHOP OF THE YEAR

THIRD PLACE

Whole Foods Market Kensington, London

By ARABELLA MILEHAM Whole Foods in Kensington is a great example of a large scale food shop that’s well-positioned between the exclusivity of the top food halls and the mass appeal of the average supermarket.

It is what every supermarket could – and should – be, said this year’s Shop of the Year judges, with a mind-boggling range of extremely high quality products, and a very creative approach.

It offers, for example a wastebusting scoop-your-own ‘cook’ section, where shoppers can top up on store cupboard essentials and ingredients including coffee, rice, pulses, dried fruit, grains and breakfast cereals.

There’s also a Tap House, where daily sampling and weekly tastings highlight the latest wines, local and

craft brews sold in store.

Another highlight is the cheese counter, which reflects the influence of Whole Foods’ renowned global cheese buyer Cathy Strange. Her team select anything from 250 to 1,000 cheeses for their stores worldwide, and Kensington’s range include Blue 61, Basajo, Mons Roquefort and a Picos de Europa.

The store also hosts after-hours bread-baking classes in its on-site bakery, which supplies the shop with a good range of organic, sourdough, gluten-free and European loaves.

The flagship store opened in 2007, four years after the UScompany first hit UK shores, and recently launched a home delivery service from Shutl.

The retailer, which now has seven outlets in London, one in Cheltenham and one in Glasgow, seems to have recovered from a difficult few years, with sales definitely on the up. www.wholefoodsmarket.com

BEST OF THE REST Selfridges Food Hall, London www.selfridges.com

Darts Farm, Devon www.dartsfarm.co.uk

Fodder, Harrogate www.fodder.co.uk

Harrods Food Hall, London www.harrods.com

Avoca, Rathcoole, Ireland www.avoca.com

Gloucester Services Southbound & Northbound, Gloucestershire www.gloucesterservices.com

Bodnant Welsh Food, Conwy www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Cultured counters

16 s 2015-

rand Best B

ese e H C nter e u o C F Th O Year

Rhuaridh Buchanan is no stranger to the Le Gruyère AOP Cheese Counter of the Year competition but this year he’s gone and won it. The competition’s head judge and FFD cheese expert PATRICK McGUIGAN guides you through the top 10.

WINNER

Buchanans Cheesemonger London W2

I

f the cheesemonger in the main photo looks familiar that’s probably because you’ve seen him before. Rhuaridh Buchanan’s smiling face appeared in this magazine last year after his eponymous shop – a stone’s throw from Marble Arch in London – came third in the Cheese Counter of the Year competition, sponsored by Le Gruyère AOP. Alternatively, you might recognise him from his time at Paxton & Whitfield, where he spent eight years at its flagship Jermyn Street store (the winner of the competition in 2012) and became a well-known and well-respected figure in British cheese.

Either way, Buchanan’s smile is a little broader this year after going two steps better than last time, taking top spot and beating some of the best names in the business in the process. He collected his trophy at a special dinner at the World Cheese Awards in November to loud cheers from a room packed full of cheese experts, who spent so long congratulating him afterwards that

26 26

he missed his train.

“I ended up getting a later one and was worried I was going to get into trouble with the ticket inspector,” he says. “But when he saw the award he bumped us up to first class and gave us a bottle of wine on the house.”

Virgin Trains’ hospitality is fitting given that Buchanan’s career started in restaurants, working at Michelinstarred Martin Wishart in his native Scotland. A management position at chef Thomas Keller’s world famous Per Se restaurant in New York was all lined up, but a brief spell at Edinburgh cheesemonger IJ Mellis changed Buchanan’s mind and career path. “It was a kind of ‘sliding doors’ moment,” he says.

Those early experiences proved useful when he set up on his own in 2014 as a wholesaler supplying top London restaurants. Luckily for the Capital’s cheese enthusiasts, the premises he moved into on Porchester Place, just off the Edgware Road, also came with a small retail unit. He has transformed it into a beautiful shop, carrying out much of the work himself with a little help from people like the friend that designed the Roquefortprint wallpaper.

Supplying restaurants is still the

main focus of the business and its 80-90 customers include The Ritz, The Ledbury and The Square, but the retail shop has also built up a loyal following. The tiled counter showcases a daily rotated selection of 25-30 cheeses picked from the company’s 130-strong wholesale range. What makes the cut is dictated by what tastes good and what Buchanan feels like selling on a particular day.

“We are constantly tasting our cheese and the question we always ask ourselves is, ‘Does it taste delicious?’,” he says. This extends to every other product in the shop, from chutneys and crackers to beer, wine and cider, which have all been carefully chosen to pair with the cheese. Every Friday afternoon, Buchanan opens a bottle or two of something and he and his staff – promising young cheesemongers Sam Wilkin and Lucy Wright – sit down to see which cheeses they match with.

“Customers can taste anything they want in the shop,” he says.

“Obviously the cheese, but we will open the chutneys, the wine and the beer. I got in a new Beaujolais the other day for one of my regulars, so we opened it up when he came

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3

CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR

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CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR

BEST OF THE REST

in. He bought six bottles and four cheeses straight away and we tasted the rest of the wine with other customers over the weekend.”

This dedication to flavour is also evident from the cheese itself.

Whatever Buchanan picks from the counter is always in immaculate condition, whether it’s a Gruyère Reserve AOP or a gooey blob of Tunworth. That’s because he spends a huge amount of time and effort maturing the cheeses himself in two temperature-controlled rooms underneath the shop.

“I’ll buy half a dozen cheeses here and another six there and mature them myself so we always have something different and interesting,” he says. “I bought four

Arch House Deli, Bristol

David Greenwood and Debbie Atherton’s award-winning deli in Bristol sells a variety of speciality food and drink, but it’s the cheese counter that is the jewel in the crown.

West Country cheesemakers are well represented, with Montgomery’s, White Lake and Somerset Cheese Co sitting alongside a selection of British and Continental classics.

There are also a few quirky choices, such as the creamy, orangerinded Brebirousse d’Argental.

Arch House also supplies cheese for weddings and holds fortnightly cheese and wine tastings, which keeps the line-up fresh.

“I’ll buy half a dozen cheeses here and another six there and mature them myself, so we always have something different and interesting”

www.archhousedeli.com

raclettes in March which I have been turning and brushing. We opened one the other day and it was much more dense and salty than you normally find with raclette. It’s more of a cheeseboard cheese than something for melting.”

Affinage [the art of cheese maturation] is all about attention to detail, he says. Cheeses must be constantly monitored and cared for to get the best results.

“Anyone can chuck together a decent sample, but doing it consistently is much more difficult,” he says. “The same cheese can be very different from week to week, so a soft goats’ cheese might come in with a high moisture content one week and need to be dried on a straw mat or it might be hard in the middle so we put it in its own box wrapped in wax paper to soften it up. It would be a lot simpler to serve super young cheese, but it just wouldn’t taste as good.”

Great cheese, interesting accompaniments and knowledgeable staff were all factors in Buchanan’s victory this year, but equally important was the warmth and hospitality (that word again) shown to customers.

“You’ve got to have your game face on for customers at all times,” he says. “It’s the simple things like making eye contact and saying ‘good morning’, but most important of all is to smile.”

Thomas Keller’s loss was British cheese’s gain.

Aston Marina, Stone, Staffordshire

The cheese counter at this retailer, which is part of a marina for canal boats near Stone in Staffordshire, has a far wider range of cheese than you find in most farm shops.

Local suppliers are represented, but there are also cheeses from producers in Wales (Perl Wen) and Scotland (Strathdon Blue), plus some intriguing options from Europe, including Rougette Bavarian Red. The marina’s bistro uses the same cheeses on its seasonal menus, which helps keep the counter ticking over. www.astonmarina.co.uk

The Cheese Hamlet, Didsbury, Manchester

The Axon family has been selling cheese in Didsbury since 1960 and the business continues to go from strength to strength.

Owner John Axon has overseen a shop refurb in the past year and some new shelving enhances the already impressive display of 160 or so cheeses that line the back wall.

Service is prompt and charming.

www.buchananscheesemonger.com

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CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR

SECOND PLACE Paxton & Whitfield, Stratfordupon-Avon

Paxton & Whitfield’s Jermyn Street shop won the Cheese Counter of the Year title in 2012 and its sister store in Shakespeare’s home town very nearly replicated the success this year.

Managed by young cheesemonger Clare Turner, the shop is on a busy high street in the town centre and has an eye-catching range of around 80 cheeses displayed on open counters

thanks to an air-conditioning system that keeps the shop at a cool temperature.

Rather than standing behind a counter, Turner and her staff (which includes former Berkswell cheese producer Linda Smith) stand shoulder to shoulder with customers as they browse, creating a convivial and relaxed atmosphere.

British and European big hitters are all present and correct, but there’s also a great range of local cheeses, including Oxford Blue, St Egwin, Cerney goats’ cheese and Jonathan Crump Double

Gloucester. A sizeable washed rind selection, including David Jowett’s new Rollright cheese, impressed our judge, as did the monthly guest cheese – Miss Muffet from Whalesborough in Cornwall. The truffle Brie de Meaux and Fourme d’Ambert soaked in Monbazzillac wine, which are made in house, were further highlights.

Staff undergo rigorous training that includes visiting artisan producers and coming up with their own cheese recipes and drink matches. www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Manager Chris Coiley seems to know every customer by name. www.cheesehamlet.co.uk

The Cheese Yard, Knutsford, Cheshire

Former dairy buyer Sarah Peak has put her experience to good use since opening her shop two years ago.

She focuses on small artisan cheeses, including locals like the cider-washed Drunken Burt and the territorial titan Appleby’s Cheshire.

There is also a carefully considered range of wines, beers and ciders, plus a café which showcases the entire product range.

When our judge visited, there was a Port tasting in full swing with a producer fresh off the plane from Portugal. www.cheeseyard.co.uk

The Old Cheese Shop, St Andrews

Tucked away in a courtyard just off a main street, this small shop has been given a new lease of life after being taken over by Alex and Carolina Nite.

The young couple had never run a shop before but have taken it in their stride.

There are more than 80 cheeses packed into two small chillers with

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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DISCOVER THE TREASURE The Greek land hides invaluable treasures.

Gifts of nature. Pure. Unpolluted. Nutritious.

Healthy. Aromatic. Trésors de Grèce® is a selection of some of the finest delicacies that the Greek gastronomy has to offer...

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BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

CHEESE COUNTER OF THE YEAR Scottish products, such as Barwheys Cheddar and Tain Truckle, joined by a strong Continental line-up, including the best-selling Basajo – an Italian wine-soaked blue. www.oldcheeseshop.co.uk

Rippon Cheese, London

Philip and Karen Rippon’s shop round the back of Victoria train station has been trading for more than 20 years but remains something of an undiscovered gem.

Behind the humble façade are two temperature-controlled rooms filled from floor to ceiling with anywhere between 400-500 cheeses.

Effectively a storeroom for the company’s thriving wholesale business, the shop was offering some 40 blues cheeses and a stunning selection of unusual French goats’ cheeses when our judge visited. www.ripponcheeselondon.com

Sourced Market, London

London commuters are spoiled to have Sourced Market at St Pancras.

The shop, which opened in 2009 and is planning to open several more sites, stocks everything from craft beer to artisan bread and new wave British charcuterie.

Its cheese counter is the work of experienced buyer Anna Leroide. She sources directly from small producers, such as Wodehill in Bedfordshire and Tottenham’s Wildes, as well as working with respected French cheese supplier Une Normande à Londres. www.sourcedmarket.com

THIRD PLACE La Cave à Fromage, Hove

Amnon Paldi and Eric Charriaux’s wholesale business Premier Cheese supplies some of the best restaurants in the UK but they also have three shops under the La Cave à Fromage brand. The Hove branch, which recently celebrated its fifth birthday, is a temple of fine cheese, charcuterie and wine.

Around 200 cheeses, split mainly between French and British, are

displayed in open-top chillers in the window, frequently stopping passers-by in their tracks. None of the cheeses are labelled, which is testament to the knowledge and expertise of manager Alan Watson and his staff, who are informative, helpful and fun.

Highlights included different age profiles of the same cheese, such as 12-, 16- and 20-month-old Gruyères from different affineurs or Lincolnshire Poacher at 12 and 24 months.

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

The company makes its own washed rind cheeses at its headquarters in Bicester, such as Tipsy Billy (washed in cider) and Windsor Blue (whisky), and has a comprehensive range of local cheeses, including Lord of the Hundreds, Burwash Rose and Mayfield.

The cafe’s £10 tasting slate, which comprises six cheeses or six types of charcuterie, is a must for any visit to the seaside. www.la-cave.co.uk

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Open for entry 20 January-2 February Members’ Fortnight*

Guild of Fine Food members can enter Great Taste ahead of the general ‘open for entry’ and at a special discounted members’ rate

3-22 February

General Entry open to all

Members’ Fortnight ends and normal rate of entry applies

22 February Midnight Closed for entry (or when we reach the 10,000 entry cap) March to end of June Delivery Instructions. Download notifications begin via email 21 March

Judging begins

16 June

Judging ends

27 June

3-star products re-called for judging

13 July

3-star Judging Day

Early August Mid August 5 September

Results and Feedback List of Top 50 Foods announced

Golden Fork trophies awarded at Great Taste Dinner, London

Cost of Entry 2016 Members’ Fortnight (20 Jan-2 Feb)

General Entry (3 Feb-22 Feb)

Turnover less than £1million: £34 per product (plus VAT)

Turnover less than £1million: £48 per product (plus VAT)

Turnover more than £1million: £44 per product (plus VAT)

Turnover more than £1million: £78 per product (plus VAT) Supermarket own label products: £175 per product (plus VAT)

www.gff.co.uk | www.greattasteawards.co.uk |

* Guild members must have a valid membership up until 29 February 2016 to qualify for Members’ Fortnight

NEW Guild members must join by Friday 8 January to qualify for Members’ Fortnight

@greattasteawards |

/greattasteawards

Entremont_Layout 1 14/07/2015 10:22 Page 1

Add some gold to the chiller Traditional butter produced in the heart of Brittany, from the finest local milk and cream.

Heartsease Farm premium sparkling pressés, with real fruit juices Heartsease Farm available in 330ml, 750ml glass bottles and 425ml PET bottles 7 Delicious flavours; Elderflower Pressé, Traditional Lemonade, St Clements Pressé, Fiery Ginger Beer, Raspberry Lemonade, British Blackcurrant Crush and Apple & Rhubarb

Tasting is Believing

Traditional British Recipes

jreignier@entremont.com • (+44) 07929 418672

Fresh from Dorset’s first gin distillery…

trade@conkerspirit.co.uk

Please adore Conker responsibly

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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COMING UP NEXT...

Looking for the winning products of tomorrow? We asked top retailers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to name up-and-coming brands that are making a splash in their stores. raw milk Brie de Meaux style cheese produced in the UK. Jonny and the team at Fen Farm Dairy in Bungay, Suffolk make the creamy, white bloomy-rind cheese by hand from their raw Montbeliarde cows’ milk. This year Fen Farm Dairy has started producing Bungay Raw Butter. It’s like butter, but much, much better, and is flying off our shelves.

Bonallack granola www.greatgranola.co.uk

Home-made in Norfolk, using lots of tasty fruit, seeds and toasted nuts.

We were sold as soon as we tried the tasters, and it seems customers were too, as we now have people coming in to re-stock as soon as a bag is finished. Unlike some mass-produced granolas, Bonallack’s is full of flavour, with plenty of extra crunch and a range of interesting varieties, including a great gluten-free option.

Baghi’s torchiatone www.baghis.com

Lydia Hodge

This torchiatone – a cake made with natural yeast, free range eggs, stone-ground Italian wheat flour and Torchiato di Fregona sweet wine – is leavened and baked in a glass jar.

It’s an amazing, moist, juicy, boozy treat that only lasted a few minutes once we’d opened it to try.

Shop & deli manager Gog Magog Hills farm shop Cambridgeshire www.gogmagoghills.com

Bungay raw butter www.fenfarmdairy.co.uk

The team at Gog Magog (and our customers!) are already huge fans of Baron Bigod, the only traditional,

Nigel Chandler Farm shop manager Garsons Esher, Surrey www.garsons.co.uk

Chase minis

Cho Gazpacho

www.chasedistillery.co.uk

www.chogazpacho.com

I’m getting right behind William Chase. He’s the most amazing guy when it comes to marketing – very canny. We stock all his liqueurs and his spirits, and while we don’t have his ready-to-drink ‘cocktail in a can’ yet, we do have his new 5cl miniatures of vodka and gin.

We put them next to the tills during December, at £5.99, and people were grabbing them as stocking fillers.

One of the big countryestate farm shop managers told me he bought in 25 cases of each for Christmas 2015.

As a £6 pick-up item, that’s my best new product in wines & spirits by a mile.

We don’t chop and change our range very much. We prefer established brands.

So rather than taking them in as children we tend to wait until they’re teenagers!

This “drinking gazpacho” has only been around a couple of years, but I’ve gone with it because it’s a healthy product – they call it a “salad in a bottle” – and it has a very high profile on Twitter and Facebook.

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

Best

Bran

EMERG IN BRAND G S

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Marsh Pig charcuterie www.marshpig.co.uk

We’ve stocked Marsh Pig’s British charcuterie for a couple of years now and the range is getting more and more popular, especially with the addition of new and inventive products.

The whole range is cured from the best cuts of free range British pork and rare breed British beef. That the packaging looks great on the shelves is just another bonus.

Torres Selecta black truffle potato chips www. patatastorresa.com

There were a few raised eyebrows when we recently started stocking these crisps, along with a caviar variety from the same range, but they’re quickly becoming customer favourites.

An extravagant and delightfully different snack, made in Spain with authentic black truffles and a touch of sea salt.

A ‘beef jerky bar’

Not a new product, but a different way of selling it. Everyone might have an olive bar, but not everyone has a jerky bar like ours.

Lots of people do pre-packs but we’ve got six different flavours in bowls, pick-and-mix.

We got the idea from Selfridges – they’ve been doing it for a while and are pretty on-trend. I think other shops could jump on this bandwagon, especially if they’re on a big estate or a farm where they could make jerky and biltong with their own beef.

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Helen Dean began baking shortbread in her kitchen to raise money for the Huntly Pipe Band where her husband Bill was drum major.

Forty years on, Dean’s continue to bake their shortbread to Helen’s original recipe – still delicious and guaranteed to melt in the mouth.

We also offer a delicious range of ‘homestyle’ biscuits and cheese oat nibbles.

Browse our full product range at www.deans.co.uk

Dean’s, Huntly, Aberdeenshire AB54 8JX

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EMERGING BRANDS

Alexander Evans

Buyer Tebay and Gloucester Services farm shops www.westmorlandfamily.com

Eden Brewery ales

Steve Salamon

www.edenbrewery.com

Owner Wally’s Delicatessen Cardiff

www.wallysdeli.co.uk

Mighty Fine honeycomb www.mighty-fine-chocolate.myshopify.com

A range of dipped honeycombs attractively presented in a way that prevents the honeycomb breaking up – a perennial problem with bagged honeycomb.

The pieces are larger than usually offered by other companies. There is also a range of dipped honeycomb bars, which I haven’t seen before.

The Mermaid’s Larder www.beachfood.co.uk

A new gift set from The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Co comprising five bottles of different types of seaweed.

This product purports to be the essential introduction to using seaweed in the kitchen and, with its cooking and use suggestions on the back of the packaging, it certainly does that.

Mama Eti’s Sumatran chicken curry spice paste www.mamaeti.com

This product forms part of a range of cooking pastes inspired by Indonesia.

Hand-crafted in small batches, this is a quality cooking paste presented in attractive jars with whole spices contained within the lid. This product fills a gap in the market for serious

Winners of the 2015 BBC Food & Farming Awards, Doddington have been around a while and are well known in the North of England for their excellent cheese and ice cream.

This summer they launched their own yoghurts. Made from their own full cream milk, and proper fruit purée, this small range deserves wider recognition

I saw this amazing gin at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show in Glasgow and we stock it at Tebay. It’s packed with botanicals particular to Caithness including rowan, sea buckthorn and Rhodiola rosea. The stoneware crock that it’s presented in is simply gorgeous.

This is just such a unique presentation of an old favourite and captured my imagination. If ketchup is sold in tall bottles then why not mustard?

This product is also free from gluten, dairy, soy and is suitable for vegans.

It says it’s really good on the jar – and it is!

This is New Zealand's best selling peanut butter brand, so if it’s good enough for them...

Slightly less sweet than other peanut butters and carrying a high price mark but worth every penny.

www.doddingtondairy.co.uk

www.dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk

www.lozandollys.com

www.picspeanutbutter.com

Doddington Dairy yoghurt

Rock Rose Gin

Loz & Olly's pouring mustard

Pic’s peanut butter

Jason Hill is on a mission to show those funky London craft breweries that Northern brewers are not all cloth caps and warm beer.

This autumn he launched his Psycho range of beers and our customers have snapped them up.

Not only is the beer good but Jason has created a really cool brand, backed up with eyecatching signage and leaflets.

Homebrewtique brewing kits www.homebrewtique.com

We sell a lot of craft beers local to our sites at Gloucester and Tebay, and now we’ve added these homebrew kits.

I met co-owner Posy Parsons at the Spring Fair (not really the place to find good food) and was impressed with the quality of the product and the simple but effective presentation. These ingredient packs will make great Christmas and Father’s Day presents.

Pachanka chocolate kits www.pachanka.co.uk

The Pachanka Chocolate Craft Kit is a chocolate party in a box and contains everything you need to make chocolate at home from fine, ethically sourced ingredients.

I took these kits on after meeting Suzanne James at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in the autumn. What won me over is that each kit includes cocoa beans rather than just the usual chocolate flakes.

The Pittenweem Chocolate Company www.pittenweemchocolate.co.uk

This was another great find at the Glasgow show back in January. Sophie Latinis runs her own chocolate shop and café in the fishing village of the same name, and has created a whole library of sophisticated hot chocolates in recently upgraded packaging.

It’s great to offer such a choice and we sell them at both Tebay and Gloucester.

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Award winning Blue Cheese

www.cornishcheese.co.uk

SUPREME

CHAMPION 2010

Asian-inspired potted meats and award winning chilli relishes

THE VERY BEST OF PATCHWORK PÂTÉ

info@thathungrychef.com t: 0207 503 9058 @thathungrychef facebook.com/thathungrychef

Make sure your shop stocks the Original British Artisan Pâté in the deli counter, in the freezer, on the multi deck or on the shelf.

The choice is yours so that your customer has the choice too.

www.patchwork-pate.co.uk Tel: 01824 705832

Orders: Direct, Hider, Gorgeous Food Co & Artisan Food Club 40 40

/patchworkfoods

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

@patchworkfoods

EMERGING BRANDS

John Sinclair Owner Craigie’s Farm Shop Edinburgh www.craigies.co.uk

Poporopo popcorns wwwww.poporopo.co.uk

We found out about this range of popcorns through one of our rapeseed suppliers.

His son, Damon Bush, wanted to start up a new brand totally different to his father’s.

The latest version of Damon’s packaging is really good and the flavours are a bit different from others out there: chilli & lime, for example.

He is also doing seasonal flavours.

The Pea Green Boat www.thepeagreenboat.net

Great cheesy snacks produced in Edinburgh. I have to admit we struggled with this product and we did delist it.

Then they brought out new packaging (the product’s still the same) and we brought them back in again – and they’re flying!

Summer House Drinks

The Gin Bothy mulled gin

www.summerhousedrinks.com

www.ginbothy.co.uk

There have been a few big players dominating this sector for a number of years so it was great to see this new company start up, especially with them being Scottish.

Claire Rennie used to be in the chocolate game (Berry Scrumptious) but sold that brand on and started with these Scottish soft drinks.

We were a bit worried replacing our trusted brand with the new range but they’ve flown: great branding, great taste and local. Claire has won a few awards already.

Gin sales are massive just now, with lots of new ones appearing all of the time.

We found out about this one before it was launched and couldn’t wait to get our hands on it. It comes in a lovely bottle and even non gin-lovers (are there any?) love this one infused with apples and spices.

The Gin Bothy has a wider range of products that are worth looking at as well.

Bolney wines www.bolneywineestate. com

We’re not allowed to stock imported wines, so we didn’t really bother until we came across this English wine from a Sussex estate.

My wife can’t get enough of the rosé.

Personally I have a soft spot for the Pinot Noir.

Passion Preserved chutneys & savoury jams www.passionpreserved.co.uk

Claire Kelly’s products stand out against the sea of chutneys out there thanks to their intense flavours and unique recipes, like Sunshine relish, Kasundi Indian relish and – my personal favourite – watermelon rind relish.

Often made with her own homegrown vegetables, they add so much to cold meats and hot dishes alike.

Mark Brown Owner, Arcadia Deli Belfast

www.arcadiadeli.co.uk

SeaSugar hand-pulled sweets www.seasugar.co.uk

Handmade in copper pans, SeaSugar confectionery comes in all sorts of delicious flavours such as cranberry & tangerine, piña colada and cherry cola. All natural and very moreish.

Kennedy bacon www.kennedybacon.co.uk

Traditional Irish bacon as it should be.

Traceability and provenance are more important than ever, and Mervyn Kennedy farms, cures and markets his own quality nitrate-free bacon. Great stuff.

The Haven Smokehouse organic turf-smoked salmon www.thehavensmokehouse.com

Goatsbridge smoked trout paté www.goatsbridgetrout.ie

From Co Kilkenny, and made with trout line-caught in their own trout farm, this is a fantastic product. A creamy smoked trout paté, perfect on toast. We love it.

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

In my opinion, the best organic Irish smoked salmon. Gently smoked by Declan McConnellogue and sliced

by Sue Cruse at their rural home in Carrigart, Co Donegal, this is a really unique product which has become a firm favourite.

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FAT LAND OF THE

GREAT TASTE 2015

www.greattasteawards.co.uk

Supreme Champion

Beef Dripping James Whelan Butchers www.jameswhelanbutchers.com

s Brand Best

rd Awa inners w 5 01 of 2

2015-16

5

The island of Ireland continued to show its might in all things meaty with the victory of James Whelan Butchers’ traditional beef dripping in Great Taste 2015. MICK WHITWORTH reports on the product’s rise to greatness to kick off our round-up of the year’s award winners.

A unique blend of beef fats is the secret to Whelan’s award-winning dripping

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NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS Golden Fork from London & the South East Sicilian Pistachio Sorbet La Gelatiera www.lagelatiera.co.uk

Golden Fork from the South West

M’hencha Moroccan Pastry Cake Orange, Date & Cinnamon The M’hencha Company www.themhenchacompany.co.uk

Golden Fork from Northern Ireland Wild Sika Venison French Rack Baronscourt Estate

www.barons-court.com

I

n November 2015, Tipperarybased James Whelan Butchers hosted an unlikely meal at the Kilmacanogue branch of Irish lifestyle store chain Avoca.

Described as a “celebratory beef dripping dinner”, the event centered around a product that has been in the Great Taste Top 50 for the past two years, and this year went all the way to the top, chosen as 2015 Supreme Champion from among 10,000 entries.

The dinner in Avoca’s Fern House Café was billed as a thankyou to friends and supporters after an extraordinary year for fifthgeneration butcher Pat Whelan, his team and their award-winning beef dripping.

It featured classic and modern recipes from beef fat buffs ranging from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge to Nigel Slater, James Martin, Fergus Henderson and Elizabeth David.

The event was co-hosted by Avoca, where Pat Whelan has a number of in-store concessions, and summed up the butcher’s approach to his business and his products.

Not just an advocate of nose-to-tail eating, he wants to see the animals that provide his living celebrated – and valued.

“In 2008-9, when we hit the recession,” he recalls, “we had people coming into our shops, waving magazine articles and saying, ‘I want one of these cheaper cuts I’ve read about’. But in my opinion there shouldn’t be any ‘cheaper cuts’.

People are eating more unusual cuts like beef cheek and hanger steak, but rather than expect them to be cheaper I’d say to them, ‘just eat a bit less’.”

“Ireland has world-class beef, and I feel we have make the most of what’s there out of respect for my craft, my trade and for nature,

which has given us these wonderful animals. There’s such a bounty of things you can do with the different part of the animal, and to discard any part of it is a sin.”

The story of Whelan’s awardwinning dripping is becoming familiar, thanks to the flurry of press interest that followed his Great Taste triumph. For years James Whelan Butchers – which processes many tonnes of beef a year for its retail and online businesses – had treated beef fat as a waste product, just like its bone and offal.

But then the firm that used to take away its fat for free for rendering said it would have to start charging for the service. This coincided with the launch of Ireland’s Origin Green programme, designed to minimise the food industry’s environmental impact. Faced with his own potential mini-mountain of fat, Whelan consulted his mother Joan, to see how she and husband James had dealt with waste when they ran the family business decades ago. The answer was: ‘We made dripping.’

Joan taught her son the basics, and then his development team began to refine the product.

According to Pat Whelan, the main secret of their award-winning dripping – now stocked in Harrods and Fortnum & Mason – is in the blend of different Angus and Hereford beef body- and back-fats.

Each has its own characteristics, and it is Whelan’s unique mix, delivering the nostalgic taste of a perfect Sunday roast, that so impressed the Great Taste judges.

“The wonderful thing for James Whelan Butchers,” he says “is that we have taken something undervalued and we have premiumised it.”

To waste any part of it would, after all, have been a sin.

“Not just an advocate of nose-to-tail eating, Pat Whelan wants to see the animals that provide his living celebrated – and valued.”

Charcuterie Product of the Year Golden Fork from East Anglia & Midlands

Fiocco Greedy Little Pig www.greedylittlepig.co.uk

Shropshire Blue Colston Bassett Dairy

www.colstonbassettdairy.co.uk

Golden Fork from the North of England Passion Fruit & Tarragon Sorbet Beckleberry’s www.beckleberrys.co.uk

Best Imported Food Organic Orange Blossom Water Saveur du Maroc

www.saveurdumaroc.co.uk

Golden Fork from Wales

Vilberie Medium Dry Cider Apple County Cider Co www.applecountycider.co.uk

Golden Fork from Scotland

Smoked Gigha Halibut Gigha Halibut www.gighahalibut.co.uk

Golden Fork from Ireland Beef Dripping James Whelan Butchers

www.jameswhelanbutchers.com

Great Taste Producer of the Year Åkesson’s

www.akessons-organic.com

Small Artisan Producer of the Year Savour Beer

www.savourbeer.com

Nigel Barden Heritage Award

Guild of Fine Food Lifetime Achievement

www.tytanglwystdairy.com

www.finecheese.co.uk

Ambient Product of the Year

Woman & Home Great Taste VIP Award

Dairy Salted Butter Ty Tanglwyst Dairy

Dried Porcini Get Funghi

www.getfunghi.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

Ann-Marie Dyas, The Fine Cheese Co

Brock Hall Farm Dairy

www.brockhallfarm.com

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Chiltern Natural Foods would like to introduce four new exciting flavours of hand roasted and flavoured gluten free granola: Cherry Bakewell, Maple Pecan Pie, Blackcurrant and Apple Crumble and finally Mandarin, Date and Fig. We will ship anywhere.

www.chilternnaturalfoods.com 01494 862133

YOUR SOUPER ALTERNATIVE TO SUGARY DRINKS

Kent’s Kitchen helps home cooks create authentic, tasty meals without the hassle of long shopping lists, long prep time and wasted store cupboard ingredients.

The gravies, stockpots, stuffings and bread sauce will all perfect a roast dinner. Our meal kits help you create an authentic curry dish in just 20 minutes for the whole family and our ranges of posh noodles and pasta pots are perfect food on the go options.

Visit www.kentskitchen.co.uk, email emma@kentskitchen.co.uk or call 07966 888240

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All Kent’s Kitchen products use only natural ingredients and many are vegetarian and gluten free; what’s more, they are all ambient stable both before and after opening.

HAND MADE DRINKING GAZPACHO! 100% REAL FOOD LOW IN SUGAR, HIGH IN MEDITERRANEAN GOODNESS

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Dairy Product

Luxurious Natural Yoghurt Jess’s Ladies Organic Milk www.theladiesorganicmilk.co.uk

Cured Meat

Confit Duck Gésiers Capreolus Fine Foods www.capreolusfinefoods.co.uk

Ready Meals, Soups & Light Eats Organic Smoked Houmous Natural Vitality www.natural-vitality.co.uk

Taste of the West Awards www.tasteofthewest.co.uk

2015 Supreme Champion Product White Crab Meat Favis of Salcombe www.favis-os.com

Savoury Bakery

www.gff.co.uk/wca

World Champion Trophy

Gruyère AOP Premier Cru Cremo SA’s von Mühlenen www.vonmuehlenen.ch

The World's Original Marmalade Awards www.dalemainmarmaladeawards.co.uk

Artisan double gold winners

Fine Cut Seville Orange ‘Tawny Marmalade The Proper Marmalade Company

Pickled Lemon Spread Yossi

www.yossifoods.com

Vicky Anna Hand-Picked Crab & Asparagus Quiche The Tanglewood Kitchen Company

Savoury Preserve

www.tanglewoodkitchen.co.uk

www.shutefruit.co.uk

Sweet Bakery

Wines, Spirits & Liqueurs

www.farleighroadfarmshop.co.uk

www.lymebaywinery.co.uk

Confectionery & Chocolate

Beer

www.lickthespoon.co.uk

www.padstowbrewing.co.uk

Ice Cream

Cider

www.tavernersfarm.co.uk

www.worleyscider.co.uk

Cheese

Non-Alcoholic Hot Drink

www.cornishcheese.co.uk

www.hennyandjoes.co.uk

Sweet Preserve

Non-Alcoholic

www.theartisankitchen.co.uk

www.fourelmsfruitfarm.co.uk

Lime & Coconut Cake Nelson & Priest

World Cheese Awards

Sauces & Accompaniments and Most Innovative Product

Salted Peanut Bar Lick The Spoon

Lemon Pavlova Orange Elephant Ice Cream

Cornish Blue (vegetarian) Cornish Cheese Co

Early River Prolific Plum Jam The Artisan Kitchen

Bread & Butter Pickles Shute Fruit & Produce

Collectors’ Whisky Ginger Lyme Bay Winery

Padstow Sundowner Padstow Brewing Company

Premium Vintage Cider Worley’s Cider

H&J Original Chai Infusion Henny & Joe’s

Cox/Bramley Apple Juice Four Elms Fruit Farm Cold Drink

www.thepropermarmaladecompany. co.uk

Free From Food Awards 2015

Amontillado Sherry Marmalade Galore! Foods

www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk

www.galorefoods.co.uk

FAIR trophy for Best Free from Food 2015

Smoky Campfire Marmalade Radnor Preserves www.radnorpreserves.com

Traditional Pork Pie Voakes Free From

Lemon & Mochito Marmalade Marmeady Safranko

www.voakesfreefrom.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Porridge but not as you know it!

Contains a unique little pot of jam or marmalade (from our sister brand Kitchen Garden), honey or maple syrup, to scoop or dollop into the hot porridge. Wolfys just needs boiling water and 4 minutes ‘to cook’.

#howlingoodporridge! 01453 759612 www.wolfys.co.uk

S.D.Bell’s Tea & Coffee Specialists

Natural Leaf Tea

Directors’ Brew” Tea

Colombian Supremo Coffee Beans

“we were blown away” - Fortnum & Mason

“a total mouth explosion” - Jimmy Docherty, Jimmy’s Farm

16 Great Taste Awards

Ireland’s oldest independent tea merchants and coffee roasters 512-516 Upper Newtownards Road Knock · Belfast · BT4 3HL +44 (0)28 9047 1774 sales@sdbellsteacoffee.com · www.sdbellsteacoffee.com

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www.scarlettandmustard.co.uk

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS Best Kentish Wine

Taste of Kent Awards

www.tasteofkentawards.co.uk

Kent Food Producer of the Year Hot Face Sauces

www.hotfacesauces. co.uk

Food Product of the Year and SPeciality Drinks Kent Dry Gin Anno Distillers

www.annodistillers.co.uk

Bakery & Confectionery

Bacchus Chapel Down Winery

Sea Salt, Vinegar & Biddenden Cider Kent Crisps

www.chapeldown.com

www.kentcrisps.co.uk

Kent Juice Producer

Chegworth Valley

Best Kentish Cider or Perry

www.chegworthvalley.com

Wise Owl Cider Wise Owl Cider

Ambient

www.wiseowlcider.co.uk

Wye Community Farm Raspberry Jam Challock Chutney Company

Best Kentish Beer Good Health Goody Ales

www.challockchutneycompany. moonfruit.com

www.goodyales.co.uk

Catering

Local Food Retailer of the Year

Kentish Blue Cheese Kingcott Cheese

Macknade Fine Foods www.macknade.com

www.kentishcheeses.co.uk

Blas na hEireann, the National Irish Food and Drink Awards

Irish Quality Food Awards

www.irishfoodawards.com

Cranberry, Coconut & Chia Seed Granola Maria Lucia Bakes

www.jameswhelanbutchers.com

www.marialuciabakes.com

Gold small producer

Chocolate & Confectionery

www.meeresporkproducts.com

www.kerryfish.com

www.wildirishforagers.ie

Best Artisan

Best Export Potential

www.lullabymilk.com

www.themeatmerchant.com

Quinlan’s Fresh Kerry Crab Meat Honeysuckle Shrub Quinlan’s Fish The Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers

Lullaby Milk Lullaby Milk

Cereals

Dry Cure Rack of Bacon James Whelan Butchers

Meere's Square White Pudding Meere's Pork Products

Best New Product

Smoked Irish Organic Hot Smoked Salmon Marinated with Honey, Lemon & Dill Burren Smokehouse www. burrensmokehouse. com

Gold winner and meat – innovation

Supreme Champion

Fish – Smoked Fish

The Dessert Menu Butlers Chocolates

www.butlerschocolates.com

British Cheese Awards

www.thecheeseweb.com/britishcheese-awards

Supreme champion

Hot Smoked Chicken Fillet Hannan Meats

Barkham Blue Two Hoots Cheese

www.twohootscheese.co.uk

The Yorkshire Post & Deliciouslyorkshire Taste Awards

Best Prepared Meat

Best New Business

Yorkshire Free Range Pancetta Anna's Happy Trotters

Rounton Coffee Roasters www.rountoncoffee.co.uk

www.annashappytrotters.co.uk

www.deliciouslyorkshire.co.uk

Supreme Product Award and Best Ice Cream, Sorbet & Yoghurt Blueberry Skyr Hesper Farm Skyr

www.hesperfarmskyr.co.uk

Best Bakery

Pork & Yorkshire Blue Pie AJ Pies and Pastries

Smoked Garlic & Black Peppercorn Bread Dipper Charlie & Ivy’s

www.andrewjonespies.co.uk

www.charlieandivys.co.uk

Best Cheese

Bluemin White Shepherds Purse Cheese

Peanut Butter & Caramel Chocolate Brownie Miss Friday

www.shepherdspurse.co.uk

www.missfriday.co.uk

Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers

Best Wholesaler/Distributor www.cryerandstott.co.uk

Best Confectionery

Luxury Mocha Bar Kacao Chocolaterie

Best Fish & Seafood

Best Savoury Condiment

Best Ready to Eat

www.kacao.co.uk

Cold Smoked Haddock Staal Smokehouse

Best Drink – Spirit

www.staalsmokehouse.co.uk

www.masonsyorkshiregin.com

Masons Yorkshire Vodka

Best Drink – Beer Thoroughbred Hambleton Ales

www.hambletonales.co.uk

Best ‘Free From’ Product

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Sticky Toffee Sauce Burtree Puddings www.burtreepuddings.co.uk

Best Sweet Preserve

Mash Tun Marmalade Black Sheep Brewery www.blacksheepbrewery.com

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Exquisitely flavoursome cheese, handmade and aged to perfection.

BEST CHEDDAR

Relish ●

®

t h e h a wks h e a d re lis h co mpa n y ●

An award winning range of over 100 handmade preserves.

British Cheese Awards 2014

For more information or to request a brochure, contact us.

HOME FARM, NEWTON ST CYRES DEVON, EX5 5AY • 01392 851222

www.quickes.co.uk

www.hawksheadrelish.com ● 015394 36614

E XCE P TI O N A L CO FFE E , M A D E BY A N E XCE P TI O N A L U N I O N

THE FINEST SMOKED AT L A N T I C S A L M O N FROM THE ISLE OF LEWIS W W W. U I G L O D G E . C O. U K T. 0 1 8 5 1 6 7 2 3 9 6

N E W 2 0 0g C A F E T IÈR E G R O U N D , ESPRESSO GROUND AND WHOLEBE AN R ANGE www.unionroasted.com/trade

EUROPEAN COFFEE AWARDS

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NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/ foodawards

Best new Retail Product Award for businesses with up to 25 employees Pulsetta Savoury Oat Thins Pulsetta Foods www.pulsetta.com

Independent Retailer of the Year Castleton Farm Shop

www.castletonfarmshop.co.uk

The Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards

www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org

Product of the Year

Meadowsweet chocolate thins Charlotte Flower Chocolates www.charlotteflowerchocolates. com

Soup, Preserves & Accompaniments 150g Fine Grain Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co

www. isleofskyeseasalt. co.uk

Dairy

Knockraich Crowdie & Crème Fraiche Katy Rodger’s Artisan Dairy www.knockraich.com

Confectionery & Snacking

Wild flavoured single origin chocolate thins Charlotte Flower Chocolates www.charlotteflowerchocolates. com

Fish & Seafood

Smoked Fish Patés (Kiln Roasted, Smoked Salmon, Smoked Trout) The Argyll Smokery www.argyllsmokery.com

Meat

Peelham Charcuterie Peelham Farm Produce www.peelham.co.uk

Food Hero

Iain R Spink of Original Smokies from Arbroath www.arbroathsmokies.net

Bakery & Cereal Based

Rustic Bites - wholemeal Highland Bites and Cranachan Golspie Mill www.golspiemill.co.uk

Hereford Cider Museum International Cider & Perry Competition

www.cidermuseum. co.uk

Overall Champion

Dry Cider Henney’s Cider Co www.henneys.co.uk

Outstanding Contribution to Food & Drink Jo & James Macsween of Macsweens of Edinburgh

Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards www.hifoodanddrinkawards.com

New Product Award

The Wolf of Glen Moray Windswept Brewing Co

New Business Award

Dunnet Bay Distillers www.dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk

www.windsweptbrewing.com

Best Drink Award

Blonde, APA, Wolf, Weizen, Typhoon, Tornado, The Wolf of Glen Moray Windswept Brewing Co www.windsweptbrewing.com

Best Marketing Initiative Great Glen Charcuterie

www.greatglencharcuterie.com

www.macsween.co.uk

Healthier Food & Drink Award Highland Crackers Highland Cordials

www.highlandcordials.co.uk

Independent Retailer of The Year Skye Farm Shop

www.skyefarmshop.co.uk

Excellence Award

Windswept Brewing Co www.windsweptbrewing.com

National Trust Fine Farm Produce Awards

Nantwich International Cheese Awards

Overall food winner

The Supreme Champion UK

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Organic Natural Yoghurt Ashclyst Farm Dairy www.ashclystfarmdairy.co.uk

Overall drinks winner

2010 Brut Sparkling Wine Charles Palmer Vineyards www.charlespalmer-vineyards.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

www.internationalcheeseawards. co.uk

Farmhouse Traditional Crumbly Lancashire Greenfields Dairy Products

www.greenfieldsdairy.co.uk

49 49

Fresh and fruity Reduced Sugar Preserves from award winning Welsh Lady Preserves.

Our exciting new range of Reduced Sugar Jams provide a fresh and fruity alternative to our award-winning traditional preserves.

Each variety has a 60% fruit content and 30% less sugar than our regular jams and marmalades.

Today, 50 years since Dio Jones started making lemon curd to sell in the local market, production continues on the same site on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, and the business is run by the same family. The factory may be a little larger but the same traditional cooking methods are used to create preserves that are as close as you can get to home made. As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations we have revised our price list to include a wider range of jams - some having reduced sugars,some using honey instead of sugar for sweetness. Our range of mustards is extended and we have included further choices to our chutney range,for example Dreyman’s Chutney which has the tang of fresh tomatoes mellowed with the addition of a good beer.

A BRC accredited site

Tel: 01766 810 496 sales@welshladypreserves.com | welshladypreserves.com welshladypreserves @WelshLadyJams Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

8L3ess ar %*

“Don’t eat anything your grandma wouldn’t call food!”

3 bottle 80482 Karimix ad 100x141.5 OUTLINED.indd 1

g u S

01454 540045

With no added sugar

et Secr s ’ y nn al Gra ue naturm o q Uni ucts fr nd to d a o l r d p woo ove the ny ’s st gran

With honey With no added sugar

With fructose

Whole fruit coulis

Gluten Free

No Added Sugar Spreads

Reduced Sugar Jams facebook.com/ jimjamsspreads

@jimjams_spreads

www.jimjams-spreads.co.uk 50 50

“I just got my Sour Cherries fix. This stuff makes me smile...”

Kinder to Teeth

Diabetic Friendly

See our full delicious range of Jams & Spreads at

13/03/2014 16:52

*Chocolate Spreads contain 83% less sugar than leading brands

Ayvar Roasted pepper spread

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

www.grannyssecret.co.uk

Extra fruit jam

Walo Von Mühlenen of more World Cheese Awards than Switzerland has mountains 5x

6x

1x

RENARD GILLARD received the GOLD medal at the annual competition of BRIE DE MEAUX, 2015/2016

Exclusively distributed in the UK

For more information, please contact Tel : 07929 418672 ; E-mail : orichard@lfb54.com PANTONE 392 C Cyan 6% - Yellow 100% - N.47% PANTONE Proc. Black C Black 100%

NEW

FLOUR

S

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Exquisite

PREMIUM GREEK HONEY

Archers Ice Cream handmade on the farm New Moor Farm, Darlington DL2 2UD · 01325 300 336 www.archersjerseyicecream.com Archers at The Station, Station Yard, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 4LD · 01748 828263 www.thestation.co.uk Trade price list available

RAW - UNHEATED - UNFILTERED w w w . c o s t i s . c o . u k

MOONROAST COFFEE IS DELIGHTED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD Speciality hand roasted coffee at its best Our passion for fine coffee began over 100 years ago in Mincing Lane, London where coffee was once traded. Coffee has been in the family ever since. In 2014 the fourth generation of Bradshaws started roasting coffee in a barn in rural Hampshire, by the light of the moon. And so Moonroast was born and our story continues...

• Our beans are ethically sourced from the best small holders.

• Each blend and single origin has its own roasting & flavour profile.

• All our beans are hand roasted to order.

• All our blends are blended after roasting.

For retail or wholesale enquiries please get in touch on 07547 451622 & coffee@moonroast.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

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picks Perfect Every retailer has a roster of products that they cannot do without.

Here’s a re-cap of the ‘must-stocks’ lists from all of Fine Food Digest’s 2015 Deli of the Month features.

ands Best Br

2015-16

MUSTTOCKS S

6

TRUFFLES DELICATESSEN GOG MAGOG HILLS FARM SHOP Cambridgeshire

• Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese • Baruffi 1470 Parmigiano Reggiano • Stichelton • The Grown Up Chocolate Co salted peanut caramel bar • Your Piece Bakery’s Fife oatcakes • Brindisa Arbequina extra virgin olive oil (1-litre tin) • Cambridge Honey cottage honey • Joe & Seph’s goats’ cheese & black pepper popcorn • Farmers Daughter gift cards • Cartmel sticky toffee pudding • Pinney’s of Orford smoked salmon • The Bay Tree marinated miniature figs • Monmouth cafetière coffee • Kandula Tea Co Earl Grey teabags

Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

• Ross-on-Wye Cider • Sue Gilmour chocolate bars • Artisan Kitchen preserves • Bim’s Kitchen sauces • Wye Valley Granola • Olives Et Al classic chilli & garlic olives • Peter’s Yard crispbreads • Artisan Malt Vinegar (Cornwall) • Charles Martell Stinking Bishop cheese • Seggiano pestos • Wilce’s Herefordshire Cider Vinegar • Monkland Cheese Little Hereford www.trufflesdeli.co.uk

www.gogmagoghills.com

CHARLOTTE’S FINE FOODS Clerkenwell, London

• Flour Power City sourdough • Seggiano pasta sauces • Havensfield Farm Eggs • Tomato Stall tomatoes • Little Black Bomber cheese • Sussex Charmer • Peter’s Yard crispbreads • Sapporo di Napoli pasta • Rude Health almond milk • Inifinity Foods grains • Tea Studio chamomile tea

GARSONS FARM SHOP Esher, Surrey

• Findlaters chicken liver paté • Lindt gold bunnies • St Luc Brie De Meaux • Snowdonia Black Bomber cheddar • Godminster organic cheddar • Colston Bassett Stilton • Smokey Joe Scotch eggs (The Handmade Scotch Egg Co) • The Bay Tree caramelised onion sauce • Coffee Real speciality coffees • Wessex Mill six seed flour • Biona organic tinned vegetables • The Wooden Spoon fruits in liqueur • Nocellara Del Belice olives • Belazu white condiment of Modena • Kingswood eggs • Otter Vale Devon chutney • Denbies Vineyard Surrey Gold white wine • Naked Lady beer (Twickenham Brewery)

www.charlottesfinefoods.com

www.garsons.co.uk

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VILLANOVA FOOD LTD ITALIAN Fine Food Organic Conventional

Durum Wheat Wholemeal Kamut Spelt

Torrone

Salumi Bottarga

Extra Virgin Olive Oils

Rice Biscuits Cheeses Sea Urchin Bronze Die Pasta Flours Sauces Jams Truffle Oils Passata Panettone Speciality Bread Pulses Olives Balsamic vinegar Honeys

www.villanovafood.com

info@villanovafood.com

Our full range of Fish, Seafood and Prepared Dishes supplied to Farm Shops, Delis and Food Halls nationwide

Established for over 20 yearsand still a family concern Bake-Off Pies Nationwide distribution BBC Olive magazine “Winner” May 2007 for caramelised Bramley apple pie Great Taste Awards 2005, 2006 & 2008 The only English pie maker to achieve three gold stars in the GTA 2008

Smoked Haddock Wellington’

Martyn & Melanie Reynolds Tel 01768 863841 Fax 01768 868900 info@burbushs.co.uk www.burbushs.co.uk 54 54

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01472 269871 www.chapmansfishcakes.co.uk sales@chapmanfishcakes.co.uk

MUST-STOCKS HALEY & CLIFFORD Leeds

• North Star micro-roastery coffee • Leeds Bread Co-operative sourdough • Lottie Shaw’s Yorkshire parkin • Lauden chocolate selection • Art of Mallow gourmet marshmallows • Guppy’s chocolates • Raydale preserves • Womersley lime, black pepper & lavender vinegar • Wensleydale Special Reserve cheese • Staal smoked salmon • Old Smokey cheese • Voakes pies www.haleyandclifford.co.uk

CRAIGIE’S FARM DELI & CAFÉ

South Queensferry, Edinburgh

• Pick-your-own fruit •C raigie’s homemade fruit scones • I sle of Wight tomatoes •C raigie’s raspberry jam • E dinburgh Gin rhubarb gin • S tornoway Black Pudding •O chil Fudge Pantry Scottish tablet • I sle of Mull cheddar • T he Handmade Scotch Egg Co Classic Mac ountry puddings sticky toffee •C pudding •C ookielicious barnyard animal cookies •C raigie’s apple juice •A damsons oatcakes •A rran Blue cheese • S ummer Harvest rapeseed oil www.craigies.co.uk

B-STREET DELI

Bermondsey, London

• England Preserves Bermondsey bramble jam • Jam & Tipple Champagne & strawberry jam • Volcano coffee • Montgomery’s cheddar • Brie de Meaux • Bread Ahead brown and white sourdoughs • Galeta sea salt & caramel brownie • Galeta Red Velvet cake • Finest Fayre Scotch eggs • Organic prosecco (The Knotted Vine) • Antipasti range (The Fresh Olive Co) • Nocellara olives (The Fresh Olive Co) • Mannabonbons fresh chocolate • Pierre Oteiza – Jesus salami (The Ham & Cheese Co) • Casa Graziano 24-month Parma ham (The Ham & Cheese Co) www.bstreetdeli.co.uk

ASTON MARINA

Stone, Staffordshire

• Chef’s homemade triple chocolate brownie • Chef’s homemade chocolate tiffin • Lymestone Brewery beers • Slaters ales • London Road GI Bread • Drews of Worcester tomatoes (piccolo and arnaca) • Alex Clarke cards • Chef’s homemade sausage rolls • Fordhall Farm quiche • Harrison Brown lemon drizzle cake • Mikes Homemade piccalilli • Parrots Farm Wilja potatoes • Pelagonia dried porcini mushrooms • Luscombe Elderflower Bubbly • Field Fare croissants www.astonmarina.co.uk

BAY LEAVES LARDER

Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire

BATTLEFIELD 1403

Shrewsbury, Shropshire

• Heather’s Harvest carrot chutney • Oldfield’s Orchard Discovery cider • Mrs Darlington’s Legendary lemon curd • Pimhill Farm porridge • Woods Shropshire Lad bitter • Franks Luxury Biscuits Oaties • Belton Farm Red Fox cheese • Mr Moydens Wrekin Blue cheese • Great Ness garlic rapeseed oil • Heartsease raspberry lemonade • Tanners Claret • Battlefield Beef & Shropshire Ale pie • Shropshire Spice Company bread sauce www.battlefield1403.com

• Harrington’s Benenden sauce •H ill Farm apple juice • T he Garlic Farm roast garlic jam •H ampshire honey •K ent & Fraser gluten-free Stilton & walnut savoury biscuit • S ummerdown mints •O lives Et Al ‘Posh Pricks’ (cocktail sticks) and pistou olives • T racklements fig relish • L oosehanger New Forest blue cheese • L yburn cheeses – full range • F lack’s Manor Double Drop amber bitter •U pham Brewery Stakes premium bitter wn-brand pink and white •O marshmallows (Bramble Foods) •D obla dark Belgian chocolate cordial & toasting cups www.bayleaveslarder.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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Winner of 21 awards at Great Taste

Choi Time, Award Winning Chinese speciality teas that unfurl and blossom in your cup. Hailed as “the Dom Perignon of the tea world” by the Sunday Times Style Magazine.

Phone: 0845 0533269 Email: wholesale@choitime.com Visit: choitime.co.uk

Cru8 ad.indd 1

14/12/2015 13:39

A family smokehouse in the Scottish highlands for over 70 years

Mail order service to any UK address

Luxury Scottish produce Hampers

100% Traditional cures

tel/fax: +44 020 8803 5344 mobile: +44 079 732 948 56 email: info@ilgelatodiariela.com

www.ilgelatodiariela.com 56 56

www.jaffys.co.uk

BBEST E S T BRANDS B R A N D S 2015-16 2 0 1 4 - 1 5· ·F FI NI NE E F FO OO O D DD IDGI EGSE TS T

01687 46 22 22

What a lovely bunch

Best B rands 2015-16

FFD STAFF CHOICES

7

The editorial team at FFD have always got time for a nibble or a sip and 2015 provided some real gems. Here are their favourites from the last 12 months.

Patrick McGuigan

FFD’s resident cheese expert

Rollright

This mild washed rind cheese from King Stone Dairy in the Cotswolds has a silky soft texture and aromatic, buttery notes that will have you reaching for another slice.

Similar in style to a reblochon, with a pretty pink rind, the cheese is made by David Jowett using pasteurised milk and is named after a local landmark of neolithic stone circles.

Arabella Mileham news writer

Mac & Wild cocktails

The new ready-to-drink cocktail range from Scottish game restaurant Mac & Wild offers a Highland twist to classic cocktails The Manhattan and Old Fashioned.

Its combination of malt whiskies, vermouths and spirits with foraged ingredients such as pine tincture, heather honey and gorse flower are bang on-trend and its simple and stylish packaging is far from old fashioned. www.macandwild.com

www.kingstonedairy.wordpress.com

Cornish Kern

Cornish Yarg maker Lynher Dairies has been tinkering with this goudastyle cheese for a few years now.

It was named Best English Cheese in 2014 and Best Modern British Cheese in 2015 at the British Cheese Awards, which has convinced owner Catherine Mead to step up production next year.

Matured for 12 months, the cheese has a sweet, nutty flavour with a long savoury finish and there is a pronounced crunch from the crystals that have formed in the paste. www.lynherdairies.co.uk

Hubaner

Austrian products are a rarity in British cheese shops, so I was intrigued when Paxton & Whitfield added this hard cows’ milk cheese to its core range.

Made with raw milk and matured for around eight months, Hubaner has a supple texture and is wonderfully rich and salty with walnut flavours and a spicy, chocolately finish. www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Seedlip Distilled NonAlcoholic Spirit I find it hard to get excited about low- or no-alcohol alternatives, but Seedlip Distilled Non-Alcoholic Spirit is out to change that.

Steering clear of emulating gin botanicals, its clove and citrus flavour can be used with mixers to offers something a bit more grown-up than the sweet, fruity soft drinks out there.

www.seedlipdrinks.com

Michael Lane deputy editor

Tsuki Mochi dark chocolate truffles

These little truffles were the revelation of 2015 for me.

They sound so unappetising on paper but the sticky, gelatinous and chewy outer (made from pounded rice flour) combines with the smooth chocolate filling for a texture sensation. Classy presentation, too. www.tsukimochi.com

Quinteassential White Elixir tea

Not only does this cuboid packaging stand out, it also boasts a QR-code linking to music to time your brew by.

The buildyour-own tea bags inside are fun and mean you can enjoy the tea’s jasmine and brassica notes without the usual faff that comes with loose leaf products.

Mick Whitworth editor

Arduenna bear salami

While it wouldn’t be true to say no bears were hurt in the making of this salami, this product is not the ethical nightmare you would expect.

In fact, brown bears are so common in Transylvania that they are considered a pest and hunting and slaughtering are carefully controlled by the Romanian government.

If you’re seeking a great back story and a truly unique item, look no further. www.arduenna.co.uk

Tenuta Marmorelle spaghetti with rocket & chilli Having found it at the Harrogate Fine Food Show, I couldn’t get enough of this gutsy spaghetti with just a few subtle flecks of chilli to give it an occasional bite.

I could see supermarkets and mass caterers trying to copy it and completely missing the point.

www.tenutamarmorelle.com

Soda Folk root beer and cream soda

The can is back and Soda Folk has added to the growing number of well-executed examples. The slightly child-like illustration style appeals to me but the drinks themselves are actually quite grown-up.

Both offer a big punch of natural flavour (vanilla in the cream soda, maple syrup in the root beer) that complements their inherent sweetness. A cut above your average additive-laden American pop. www.sodafolk.com

Patchwork Paté mushroom marmalade

I admit that I got it wrong with the Bacon Jam – which Patchwork makes for London’s Eat 17 – but I’m not missing the boat on this addition to the relish category.

Once I got past the texture, my favourite was the jalapeño version, which offers an emerging heat that never goes too far. www.patchwork-pate.co.uk

www.quinteassential.co.uk

BEST BRANDS 2015-16 · F I N E F O O D D I G E S T

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We are a SALSA accredited family craft bakery, offering an extensive range of award-winning traditional products for retail trade and gifting.

THE OFFICIAL TASTE OF YORKSHIRE

Our ‘Treats to Go’ range is perfect for tea room counters & food service.

www.lottieshaws.co.uk

Ouse Valley Foods’ Top Seller!

The flavours of Cheeseboard Chutney – plums, apple, cinnamon and a touch of warm cloves are a perfect complement for cheese. One of a delicious and unusual range of condiments from an award winning company.

OUSE VALLEY FOODS Unit 2, Ashgrove Farm, Piltdown, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3XN Tel. 01825 721155 www.ousevalleyfoods.com

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AWARD WINNING

rn Hand Cook o c p o P d n a s ed Crisp that tick all the boxes *

Gluten, D

*

. sting too air y and MSG Free, Vegetarian, Vegan and g reat ta

Welcome to Ten Acre’s Award Winning range of Hand Cooked Crisps and Popcorn, made with a large helping of love, heaps of crunch and a pinch of eccentricity. Our Hand Cooked Crisps come in a range of ten uniquely-named flavours and the tantalisingly tasty popcorn is available in seven delightful varieties. All the range are Gluten, Dairy and MSG free as well as Vegan, and Vegetarian approved. As well as having 4 products winning Great Taste Awards, Ten Acre has been commended in a host of other UK Awards - including the highly prestigious Free From Awards.

Now that’s wonderful.

To discover more about Ten Acre snacks contact +44 (0)161 974 7525 or email info@yumshsnacks.com yumshsnacks.com @yumshsnacks

Welcome to wonderful

/yumshsnacks

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09/12/2015 16:27