FFD April 2011 by Guild of Fine Food

April 2011 · Vol 12 Issue 3

at the heart of speciality food and drink

Great outdoors

Six top food writers tell us what’s hot in summer dining WAITROSE Farm shop plan for John Lewis estate at Leckford

RACHEL CAPPUCCINI

‘Not everyone has the same tastes as you – people want brands they know’

TWEET LITTLE MYSTERIES How Mmm…’s Simone Clarkin has targeted the Twitterati

INSIDE: MALTBY STREET SAUCES & DRESSINGS ICE CREAM THE SOURCE EXHIBITION DELI CHEF PROTECTED FOOD NAMES

www.specialityfoodshow.co.uk

The Harrogate Speciality Food Show is the biggest trade event for fine food & drink buyers in the North of England. It brings together around 150 producers and distributors of local, regional, national and international specialities, over 30% exhibiting at Harrogate for the first time. To make your visit even more worthwhile, the Guild of Fine Food’s greattastelive! programme of teach-ins, tastings and workshops includes: • Crafty beers Tutored tastings with beers & ales expert Melissa Cole • Refresh & Renew – how to revamp the look & feel of your speciality food store • Profit from Coffee – how to offer perfect coffee that brings customers back time and again Plus, Feed the Dragon – the live forum where specialist producers pitch their products to key buyers from delis and food halls. Our most popular feature, Feed The Dragon will now be staged on both days of the show.

Who should attend: • Delicatessens • Farm shops • Food halls • Garden centres • Specialist grocers • Butchers, bakers & greengrocers • Restaurants & deli-cafés • Heritage & gift shops

The North of England’s biggest event for delis, farm shops & food halls Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate, June 26-27 2011

opinion

in this issue

Splendid news! Tesco is creating 9,000 new jobs this year. Quite bad news! 350 jobs disappear in Okehampton. In the wake of three business closures in as many months, the Devon country town has lost more than 350 jobs. The Times reported: “This left 200 people dependent on food parcels distributed by a charity set up to help the poor of Eastern Europe.” Reading the full story, it’s not merely 50 families reduced to accepting hand-outs that worries me but the total disinterest in why these three businesses failed. Each was a food business. First to go was own-label desserts producer Polestar, with the loss of 232 jobs. Second was speciality chocolate producer and Great Taste Award winning Browne’s Chocolates, and more than 20 staff were sent packing. A further 67 jobs disappear this month following a decision by milk giant Robert Wiseman to close its Okehampton dairy following rationalisation “to establish an economic basis for continuing to process milk”. Almost overnight, unemployment in Okehampton jumped from 1.9% to 11.6% and while there’s enormous sympathy for those involved I’m more fearful of the wider implications these closures suggest. Rural Britain depends on food for employment. More country folk work in the production, distribution and selling of food than in any other sector, except perhaps for those raking in Prime Ministerial salaries from the public sector. If three businesses the size of Browne’s Chocolates had gone to the wall, it would have been tough but hardly catastrophic. But the other two companies were significant employers in the town and, by coincidence, both supplied supermarkets. There is no evidence to suggest any supermarket precipitated either of these closures but we’re all too aware how economies of scale dictated by a competitive market obsessed with cheap food squeezes every link in the production chain. Except of course, the supermarkets themselves who continue to do rather nicely. A handful of part-time roles on the shop floor of a new Tesco will never replace 350 full time skilled jobs in a rural town of 7,000 inhabitants. Repeat the pattern around the country and we end up with a small number of highly efficient giant businesses employing masses of relatively unskilled workers producing bland food at cheap prices sold in thousands of supermarkets. And in food parcels for the unemployed. Well-healed middle class consumers won’t buy the stuff. They’ll be supporting the few remaining farm shops and delis selling foods made by skilled workers employed in what’s left of our small, rural food businesses. Wake up and smell the future of food, Mr Cameron. Stop pandering to big business and spend time with those that deliver real jobs.

❝It’s not merely 50 families reduced to accepting hand-outs that worries me but the total disinterest in why these businesses failed❞

Bob Farrand Bob Farrand is publisher of Fine Food Digest and national director of the Guild of Fine Food

What they’re saying ❝It’s a myth promoted by supermarkets that organic farming is more expensive. The supermarkets add on a premium because they see organic as a niche. Mind you, I would rather die than supply a supermarket❞ Heather Anderson, Whitmuir the Organic Place – p21

fine food news

Waitrose seeks go-ahead for farm shop p4

news feature: maltby street

New foodie venues are giving Borough Market a run for its money p15

show previews

What to expect at The Source/Taste of the West shows and the Real Food Festival p31

focus on: ice cream Parlour operators reveal their top 10 favourite flavours p35

product update: sauces & dressings

Manufacturers unveil a shower of new sauces, dressings, vinegars and marinades p39

focus on: summer dining Top food writers tell us how to get the barbie started p47

regulars:

news deli of the month deli chef cheesewire shelf talk

4 18 21 23 51

EDITORIAL Editor: Mick Whitworth News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Hilary Armstrong, Gail Hunt, Lynda Searby ADVERTISING Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey Circulation manager: Tortie Farrand Publisher & managing director: Bob Farrand Associate publisher & director: John Farrand THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD Membership secretary & director: Linda Farrand Administrators: Charlie Westcar, Julie Coates Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance

t: 01963 824464 Fax: 01963 824651 e: firstname.lastname@finefoodworld.co.uk w: www.finefoodworld.co.uk Published by: Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd. Fine Food Digest is published 10 times a year and is available on subscription for £40pa inclusive of post and packing. Printed by: Advent Colour, Hants © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2011. 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, recipes, photographs or illustrations. Vol.11 Issue 1 · January-February 2010

fine food news Waitrose seeks go-ahead for Leckford farm shop but has ‘no plans’ for chain By PATRICK McGUIGAN

It’s moved into convenience stores, motorway service stations and local food formats, but now Waitrose plans to make its mark in farm shops with a 5,550 sq ft store on owner John Lewis Partnership’s Leckford Estate in Hampshire. The news comes as Tesco-owned garden centre Dobbies revealed further details of its plan to roll out its Farm Foodhall brand at dozens of new sites across the UK (below). Waitrose has made an application to open the farm shop, café and educational facility, under the Leckford Estate Shop brand, at its Longstock Park Nursery near Stockbridge, which is located on its 4,000-acre estate and farm. Expected to open in 2012, the shop will sell produce from the farm, which currently supplies Waitrose stores with milk, eggs, meat, fruit and vegetables. A spokesman told FFD that the exact range is yet to be finalised, but products are not expected to carry the Waitrose brand. He added that there were “no plans” to roll out the Leckford Estate brand to other sites. However, Planet Retail analyst David Gray, who tracks developments at Waitrose, said that if the venture was successful the retailer may decide to develop the Leckford brand further. “This is part of Waitrose’s aim to

develop new formats and create distinct consumer brands, which distinguish it from its competitors,” he said. “In the past 18 months it has set up Market Town stores selling local food, convenience stores and shops at motorway services. A farm shop would be unusual for a supermarket, but if it’s successful it’s possible it would be rolled out.” Paul Castle, chief operating officer of Farrington's farm shop near Bristol, said it would be difficult for a supermarket to build a farm shop chain. “An established farm shop could open a few outlets in a local area, as long as they not too far from the farm, but it would much harder for a supermarket to do something nationally. I don’t think it would be credible with consumers if they were buying beef from Hampshire in Exeter.” Tom Newey, operations director for Country Food & Dining, which operates two farm shops close to the proposed store, said he would relish the challenge of going head to head with Waitrose. “It’s encouraging that major players recognise the importance of the farm shop sector and want to be involved,” he said. “We’re confident in our abilities, but do wonder how they will be able to deal with the kind of small local businesses that we work with. They’re very different to deal with than the large producers that typically supply Waitrose.”

A Leckford-branded farm shop would fit the Waitrose approach to creating new store formats, says Planet Retail’s David Gray

Dobbies is linking up with local independent butchers to run in-store concessions

Tesco-owned Dobbies on course for 100 Farm Foodhalls Dobbies, the Tesco-owned garden centre chain, looks set to become a major player in the speciality open scores of new food halls specialising in found with was aplans smalltoselection of Tesco might trumpet its local food sector local food. belly pork. credentials online, but in Scotland The garden already operates garden centres, 18 of which include Asda was criticised for29 stocking the National Farmers’ Union centre chain its retailer, Farm Foodhall and has ambitious plans for growth. A further four sites will imported bacon, gammon, pork has criticised the along concept, thishomeyear with a target outlets by the end of the decade. chops of and100 bacon joints. with Asda, for open shunning Each new store will contain a Farm Foodhall NFU Scotland presidentand Jim the chain’s turnover is expected to produced pork and chicken in reach £1bn by 2020. McLaren said: “Pig and poultry favour of cheap imports. well out as selling locally sourced foodthe from small suppliers, the Farm Foodhalls producers across country NFU Scotland As carried a four key elements: in-store bakery, produce from local growers, a large have an faced an astronomical spot check on feature Tesco’s Bathgate delicatessen counter and a butchery runAtby a local business. increase in theircounter feed costs. store and found that its “3 for The butchery counter at Dobbies’ new £8m Ashford store is run by local company the very time when we need £10” offer only applied to Dutch the while Butcher Braehead, near Glasgow, UK In supermarkets to stand by the new Dobbies garden centre chicken and pork, no of Brogdale. and foodtohall counter run by butcher Dalduff Farm, which also producers, thisAyrshire quick look British bacon appeared behouses aUK operates a concession at the Dobbies store in Ayr. at the shelves has found Tesco available. Fresh pork shelves “Working with Dobbies seemed an easier way to expand than opening another and Asda appearing to shun were stocked with Dutch, Dobbies foodhalls shop, with a lot less risk involved,” said MDmaking James McFadzean. “We run our own small producers here while French and Northern Irish include an in-store farm shop aand supply the a lotmost of other shops and delis. But a couple of those have of thefarm opportunities product, despite carrying baker, deli counter closed recently and others are really struggling. presented by the collapse inThe market is also quite saturated with ‘Specially Selected Scotch Pork’ and local butchery pies and ready-meals.” prices seen in Europe.” concession banner. The only Scottish pork He added that further Dalduff Farm concessions could open at other Dobbies stores in the future. 4

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

inbrief shopfitting H&B picks up the pieces as Bruce Oliver goes under By PATRICK McGUIGAN

H&B Foods bought the customer book and stock of Yorkshire-based cheese wholesaler Bruce Oliver before it went into liquidation last month. H&B, which is the parent company of The Cheese Cellar, said it would also try to take on Bruce Oliver’s staff. Existing customers would still be able to buy Bruce Oliver’s range of locally sourced cheeses from H&B, but would now also have access to a larger range or products, including chocolate and olives, said sales director Simon Yorke. “We already have a strong presence in Yorkshire, so Bruce Oliver complements our business," he said. “The more business we have, the easier and more cost effective it is to serve customers in the region. Bruce Oliver’s turnover was around £1m, so it’s a decent chunk of business.” The company supplied mainly delis and farm shops with cheeses from producers such as Shepherd’s Purse and Swaledale. H&B took over The Cheese Cellar in London and Manchester-based David South in 2007 to create a company employing around 300 staff with a turnover

of £70m. It supplies the trade from depots in London, Worcester and Manchester. Yorke said cheese would be distributed from its Worcester hub, but would be “crossstocked” with local cheeses at a site in Yorkshire, possibly Bruce Oliver’s original premises in Easingwold. Set up over 20 years ago, the company was sold by Bruce Oliver when he retired in 2007 to Andy Kirk.

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The Organic Trade Board hopes ads will help ‘stabilise the sector’

● Browne’s Chocolates in Okehampton, Devon, whose clients included Harrods, went into liquidation in mid-March with the loss of around 30 jobs.

Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley is investing £3m to expand its farm shop and build a new restaurant, bakery and smokehouse.

Bruce Oliver distributed locally for cheese-makers including Shepherds Purse

Slump in organic sales continues as £4m campaign gets up steam nic We love orga care e w e us ca be als about anim

UK exports of food and nonalcoholic drink grew 11.4% in 2010 to £10.83bn, according to figures announced by Food Minister Jim Paice. Exports of smoked salmon rose 28%, with Italy, France and Germany the top three destinations.

Organic food and drink sales continue to fall despite the launch of a multi-million pound advertising campaign in January. Sales figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that sales of organic food and drink in the supermarkets fell 4% in the 52 weeks to February 20 2011. Meanwhile the Soil Association’s 2010 annual market report, due to be released as FFD went to press, was expected to show a slightly larger decrease across the entire sector, including falls for independents, farm shops and farmers markets. This follows a record 13% fall in sales in 2009 when the recession hit. The poor showing comes despite the launch of a £4m press and online advertising campaign in January, funded by large retailers and manufacturers with European funding. The three-year ‘Why I Love Organic’ campaign is being spearheaded by the Organic Trade Board and runs under the banner: “There are lots of reasons to love organic – discover yours”.

A key objective is to double the value of the market for organic products in the UK within the five years from 2008 to 2013, although Finn Cottle, trade consultant at the Soil Association, who is working with the Organic Trade Board, said this target may have to be “recalibrated” following the disappointing performance in 2010. “The campaign is about stabilising the market and developing growth in certain sectors,” she told FFD. “There are signs that confidence is returning to the organic market in the first quarter.” Belinda Gooding, MD of new organic brand Roots and Wings, who previously headed up Duchy Originals, said that much of the fall was down to shoppers ditching organic staples such as fruit and veg, meat and bread. “A lot of organic produce has been commoditised and people aren’t willing to pay the extra, but the premium end of the market is growing. People are treating themselves at home and think ‘what the hell’ when it comes to price,” she said.

● Cheese-maker Fivemiletown Creamery has been voted Northern Ireland’s Medium Sized Company of the Year. It took the title at the Viscount Awards, organised by Ulster Television and Business Eye magazine. The creamery saw sales of its handmade cheese double in 2010 to UK clients including Harrods, John Lewis and Harvey Nichols.

Delivery charges are the biggest turn-off when it comes to shopping for food online, according to a report from grocery analyst IGD. More than half of food shoppers say delivery fees are the single biggest obstacle. But an average of 13% of shoppers say they expect to use online food shopping more in the next year, with the figure rising to 24% among 18-34 year olds. IGD says online grocery sales are set to double by 2015 to reach £9.9bn, compared with £4.8bn at the end of last year. ● Over 20 dates have been announced by the organisers of the 2011 Great Taste Markets. In this new initiative, producers who have taken gold in the Great Taste Awards over the last three years are eligible to take a stall at consumer events across the UK. Organiser David Popplestone told FFD: “The markets are an inexpensive way of selling to a guaranteed foodie audience and a simple way to raise awareness of your products.”

www.finefoodworld.co.uk/events david.popplestone@finefoodworld. co.uk 01993 805000

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

news food halls

suppliers

Demand is buoyant but producers must review costs, warns Sheaves

Selfridges goes sustainable on seafood Selfridges will unveil a new sustainable fish sourcing policy across all its food halls and restaurants in May as it launches the Project Ocean campaign to raise awareness of overfishing. The retailer has spent the past six months working with suppliers to ensure it only stocks fish and seafood that are approved by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This means red-rated species on the MSC’s list of sustainable fish will not be sold on the Oxford Street Food Hall’s fish counter or in branded products across all its other stores. The James Knight fish counter has de-listed several species, including Atlantic salmon, Atlantic halibut and North Sea/Atlantic cod, while introducing products such as tilapia and grey mullet. Food outlets including Hix Restaurant and Champagne Bar, Yo Sushi and Eat will also abide by the policy. To highlight the commitment, Selfridges’ Project Ocean campaign, running from May 5 to June 12, will see events hosted by celebrity chefs, exhibitions and installations. Customers will also be given pocket fish guides highlighting sustainable alternatives to the fish they normally buy. The retailer has established a managed ‘marine protected area’ (MPA) on the Danajon Bank in the Philippines, which will safeguard local fish and the coral reef ecosystem. It has also donated £50,000 to the MPA and is hoping to match the amount through fund-raising.

Fine food producers have been warned to start reviewing their costs in the face of soaring raw material and fuel prices or risk paying the price later on. Taste of the West chief executive John Sheaves told FFD small manufacturers may find it hard to pass on price increases to retailers and consumers. Speaking ahead of this month’s Taste of the West and The Source trade shows in Exeter, Sheaves said

Wheat is just one major ingredient that has soared in price on commodity markets

that while consumer demand for regional and speciality food remained “buoyant”, costs were a greater threat. “My message to all producers at the moment is to start rationalising their costs now,” he said. “We’ve got wheat prices that have doubled, sugar prices that have gone sky high and fuel prices that have gone sky high. “They need to take a long hard look at their cost structure and at doing things more cheaply – that whole base of raw materials, processing, distribution and marketing costs. For example, is there a cheaper way they could get their products to market, by using another producer’s distribution or working though a hub?” At Taste of Arran, a co-operative of 10 small producers on Arran, event manager John Boyd echoed Sheaves’ comments. “There is a constant pressure on ingredients and distribution costs, which needs to be looked at now. Some members have managed to squeeze up [their own] prices a little and there has been a degree of cost management, but there are further opportunities to increase buying power through buying groups.”

Catering orders ease winter blues for Crellow Premium chutney maker Crellow says it has eased some of its midwinter cash-flow problems this year by switching production to bulk catering tubs for spring and summer delivery. Co-owner Deborah Richards told FFD: “Over the winter, when demand for jars drops, we’ve filled some of the quiet quarter by offering special order slots to catering customers whose bulk orders we previously had to turn away.” The Cornish producer takes orders for catering pails in November, with a deposit, for delivery and final payment in either

March or June. Bulk orders this winter included marmalade for Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes and chutney for two National Trust cafés. “It enables our kitchen to stay open all year and flattens out a major cash-flow trough,” said Richards. It also ensures production can be focused on retail jars “when demand is at highest and autumn fruit is at its cheapest”. “There’s now a queue for these winter ‘slots’,” said Richards, adding that, while it would be difficult to distribute bulk pails outside the local area, they were a simple way to diversify at no extra cost.

Pails are produced when demand for jars drops in mid-winter

awards schemes

Ffolas/Dreamstime.com

Deli of the Year to be named at GTA dinner

Species like tilapia (pictured) are replacing Atlantic cod and halibut in Selfridges’ James Knight fishmonger concession

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

As entries for the 2011 Great Taste Awards closed last month, with a record 1,400-plus producers putting products forward for judging, the Guild of Fine Food announced that the awards presentation dinner is to return to the Royal Garden Hotel this September. Three months of judging start early this month and the final judging day has been confirmed for June 23 at the Pillar Hall at

London’s Olympia. The move back to the Royal Garden in Kensington on September 5 comes after two successful years at Fortnum & Mason. Guild national director Bob Farrand said the event promised “an even greater evening of gastronomic enjoyment” for up to 500 guests. Every three-star gold winning producer will be able to supply

products for tasting before the dinner, during which all major winners will be announced along with the 2011 Great Taste Awards Supreme Champion. Also announced during the evening will be the winner of Olives et Al’s Deli of the Year competition, entries for which will be open on April 4. www.delioftheyear.co.uk www.finefoodworld.co.uk

Up to £50 cash promotion for independent retailers 5. Every store sending a photograph will automatically go forward for the second stage of judging for the 2011 Britain’s Best Cheese Shop competition. The winner will be announced at the 2011 World Cheese Awards at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham in November 6. You can select which Le Gruyère AOC you sample – Classic, Reserve or Cave aged. You order cheese stock from your normal supplier but we will send the cheque for your sampling allowance directly to you How do I apply? Email your name, the name of your shop and address to: julie.coates@finefoodworld.co.uk or call the Guild on 01963 824464

Sign up for this brand new self-supervised Le Gruyère AOC in store cheese tasting and receive a cash payment of up to £50. And you might just end up being crowned Britain’s best cheese shop. Register today and we will send you: 1. A high quality counter-top sampling tray with plates and cocktail sticks 2. POS material such as recipe book marks, 100 recipe leaflets and product information sheets 3. A £30 cheque as a tasting allowance if you run a two day in-store sampling OR 4. A £50 cheque as a tasting allowance if you run a two day in-store sampling and email or send us a photograph of your Le Gruyère AOC counter display

www.gruyere.com ruyere.com

*Please note that the sampling allowance will be sent at the end of May after your twoday promotion has taken place.

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April 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 3

news community stores

Exeter’s Real Food Store opens with £155k of community shares

Pictured (l-r) are Real Food Store general manager Sally Partington, assistant manager Ian Taylor, cook Sima Cutting and supervisor Kelly Luff. The fit-out of the store, near Exeter’s Princesshay shopping centre, was due to be completed at the end of March.

A community-owned local food shop in the centre of Exeter was due to open as FFD went to press in late March after raising over £155,000 from local residents through a community share offer. Located in a three-storey building opposite the city’s Princesshay shopping centre, the Real Food Store comprises a local food shop, café and organic bakery. Around 300 people bought shares in the co-operative last year, with most paying between £100-200. Co-founder David Mezzetti said the shop was needed in Exeter because the city was dominated by

big brand retail chains with very few independent outlets for local farmers and artisan producers to supply. “In 2006, Exeter was named the most cloned city centre in Britain by the New Economics Foundation,” he said. “Local farmers gather every Thursday morning in the farmers’ market, which has given people a taste, but it doesn’t deal with the fundamental issue that our whole distribution system is geared to global food operation requirements using big distribution hubs. “You want food in the shops within 24 hours, not taking five days being driven around the country for sorting, packing and distribution.”

The shop will stock fresh produce from Shillingford Organic and Linscombe Farm, local cheese such as Sharpham Brie, Ticklemore and Beenleigh Blue, plus pre-packed beef, pork and lamb from local farms. Emma’s Bread is to run a bakery concession producing sourdough breads and traditional British loaves. “It’s not some niche or nostalgia trip; it’s a place you can stop and buy what you need but also learn about the provenance of that food from staff who are committed to understanding how it is produced,” said Mezzetti. The funds for the shop were raised over a four month period last year

with people buying membership with a minimum investment of £100 and a maximum of £20,000. Shares can be withdrawn after three years, but no interest is paid. The business is an Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community, which means any profits are ploughed back into the shop or will be put to communitybased projects. “If we had tried to raise £150,000 as a private enterprise in the current climate, you would be looking at 79% interest on a loan. We would also have had to give every kind of security going,” said Mezzetti.

Truly Local takes a pop at farm shops A community-owned shop in Norfolk aims to only stock food and drink made within a 35-mile radius, as an antidote to what it says are misleading claims made by nearby farm shops. Truly Local, on Stalham High Street, was opened last month by traders from the town’s fortnightly farmers’ market to provide locally sourced food to residents on a permanent basis. Smallholder and meat producer Mick Sims, 49, who runs the shop and was a founding member, said it would stick to a 35-mile rule on sourcing. “You won’t find lemons, oranges, bananas or even tea here, although we do have a coffee roaster close by,” he said. “We called the shop Truly Local because there are so many farm shops around here that claim they stock local products, but when you look closely it’s not

the case. Own branded products like jam and pickled onions are a particular problem. Customers think they are buying something made on the farm, but they are actually made in places like Scotland.” The shop was set up with £28,000 worth of grants from the Rural Development Programme for England and the Broads Authority’s sustainable development fund. Set up as a Community Interest Company with support from Stalham Farmers’ Market Association, the shop is a not-for-profit business and must work to promote, encourage and promote small local food producers. Any profits must be reinvested in the shop or go towards giving suppliers a better return. “Alternatively we could invest profit in a second shop,” said Sims. “I would love the idea of setting up a small chain in the area’s struggling towns and villages.”

Truly Local: the clue’s in the name Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

inbrief For two months, Cheshire Farm Ice cream is offering 50% of the takings from sales of a new luxury mint chocolate ice cream to a local charity. Joshua’s Absolutely Mint is a more indulgent version of the producer’s established mint choc chip ice cream. It was created especially to support The Joshua Tree, a Cheshire charity raising money to develop a holiday home and support centre for children with life-threatening illnesses. The new flavour has been on sale at the ‘ice cream farm’ since mid-March. ● Fudges Bakery is on the hunt for its best-performing stockists, offering retailers the chance to become its ‘Shop of the Month’. Winners receive a profile piece on the Fudges website for one month, a certificate, a hamper of Fudges product and an exclusive tasting session.

Wiltshire’s Langley Chase Organic Farm has launched a range of lamb and mutton boxes using meat from owner Jane Kallaway’s flock of fourhorned Manx Loaghtan sheep. The Manx Loaghtan is a primitive rare breed that is believed to have arrived in Britain with the Vikings. It has dark, gamey flesh that’s lower in fat and cholesterol than mainstream commercial sheep breeds. Langley Chase is selling small boxes of lamb or mutton online at £79 or large boxes at £148.

news farm shops

Kilnford Barns puts butcher’s at the heart of new store

The Scotland Rural Development Programme provided £333,000 in funding for the new operation

A major new farm shop operation near Dumfries aims to become a hub for local food with a focus on good meat thanks to a butchery counter selling its own Galloway beef, Blackface lamb and outdoor-reared pork and bacon. Kilnford Barns opened last month and comprises a butchery, deli, larder, café and 50seater restaurant housed in several renovated farm buildings around a central courtyard. The site also includes a nature trail and a ‘secret garden’ with a play area for children. Farmer Jock Rome received £333,000 from the Scotland Rural Development Programme to help set up the business. “We want people to come here and do a weekly shop, so we have everything you could need from our own Belted Galloway beef through to eco-friendly washing up liquid,” said Rome. “We have all the big supermarkets round here

like Tesco and Morrison but nowhere to buy really good local food. That’s why we set up. Virtually none of the products we sell can be found in the supermarkets.” The shop’s nature trail takes visitors past Rome’s herd of distinctive black and white ‘Belties’ and Blackface sheep and ends at the secret garden with a woodcutter’s hut and a giant willow hedgehog. The butchery hangs all its beef on site for three weeks, while the deli counter stocks a range of regional cheeses, patés, freshly baked pies and quiches, along with olives, stuffed peppers and mushrooms. The shop uses a kiln as its motif, reflecting the name of the farm, with a huge brick kiln at the entrance made from local sandstone and a smaller version built from slate to create a water feature in the courtyard. www.kilnford.co.uk

Blaencamel goes carbon neutral An organic vegetable farm and farm shop in Wales has become carbon neutral, following the installation of solar PV panels. Blaencamel Farm in the Aeron valley in Aberaeron is able to produce enough electricity from the panels to run the shop and farming operations, while also providing enough power for future growth. Machynlleth-based renewable energy company Dulas installed 39 solar PV panels on the roof of a barn in the project, which cost £30,000. The panels generate over 80% more electricity than is used by the farm, with the remaining energy being sold back to the grid. They also generate enough power to pump water around the 50-acre site to crops and greenhouses, and make a new range of relishes and preserves, which are 10

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

sold through the shop. “We’ve always been an environmentally friendly operation but we’ve recently ramped up our drive to becoming truly self-sustainable,” said farmer Peter Seggers. “Installing solar PV panels is one step in de-carbonising our energy needs and reducing our carbon footprint.” The installation was part of the Feed In Tariff scheme, which provides cashback for all energy generated and enables any unused electricity to be sold back into the grid. “It is crucial that people see that renewable energy works and is accessible and affordable. Farmers need to be wise and anticipate the rising cost of energy, putting in place the systems they need while the government is still offering a financial incentive to do so,” said Seggers.

Peter Seggers: ‘We’ve ramped up our drive to become self-sustainable’

Vol.12 Issue 3 路 April 2011

If I’d known news then what I know now… UK edges towards target of Rachel Cappuccini, Gusto Italian Delicatessen & Italian Caffe, Cheltenham My business partner Gavin Thomson and I were convinced that location was the most important thing when we opened the shop nearly five years ago. We spent a good six months looking for the right premises, spending hours outside potential sites counting footfall. In the end we did get a shop in a really good location, but we perhaps didn’t pay enough attention to the layout. The way customer demand has grown means the building isn’t very conducive to what we do. The café, which we opened in the second year, now brings in the same income as the deli, but it’s on the first floor, two floors up from the kitchen. It’s not big enough either. We can only fit 28-30 seats so we have to turn away 60-70 people at weekends. I previously owned a hotel business and one of the main reasons I decided to open a deli was to have a better lifestyle, not working at nights and having more time to spend with the children. As the business has grown, it’s meant doing a lot of evening work anyway. Our outside catering business has grown enormously since it launched in

“We can only fit 28-30 seats in the café so we have to turn away 60-70 people at the weekend” year two, which inevitably means unsociable hours. It accounts for about 60% of our business and has grown by word of mouth. You can’t turn that sort of business down these days. Luckily, I enjoy doing it. One of the other lessons I’ve learned is that not everyone has the same tastes as you. We’re an Italian deli, so when we opened I started stocking some amazing specialist Italian foods that I love, but people want products and brands they recognise. We had cheeses such as burrata, which I’m sure would sell in London, but here people are more comfortable with a buffalo mozzarella. It was a similar story with bottarga. We put it on the menu and sampled it in the shop, but it didn’t sell. But we sell tonnes of grissini and olive oil. It drives me mad sometimes that our best selling wine is Pinot Grigio. I have to own up to one classic boo-boo I made in the early days. We wanted to do gift vouchers, so I had some stunning ones designed at great expense that were like plastic credit cards in a presentation folder. I had thousands made so we wouldn’t run out, but of course gift vouchers are given back to you when customers use them. Ours are so hard wearing they will last for years. We could have got away with buying 50 or so! There was a horrible moment when the penny dropped, but we laugh about it now. You have to learn from your mistakes. Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

March 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 2

50 Protected Food Names

essence or hay, can be registered as PDOs where their ‘terroir’ Eels and apples from Northern Ireland sets them apart. Richard Briggs of could be the next traditional UK Briggs Shetland Lamb told FFD: “A foods to gain recognition under the PDO for Native Shetland Wool EU’s Protected Food Names (PFN) will differentiate it from imported scheme. wool that has been spun in If an application currently lodged Shetland and wool from Shetland with Brussels is approved, fresh and flocks worldwide.” smoked eels from Lough Neagh, Bocchetta is working with the Europe’s biggest commercial wild eel Welsh Assembly Government fishery, would follow on the heels to promote the PFN scheme in of Cornish Pasties and Traditional Wales. “Applications that are taking Cumberland Sausages, both of which Irene Bocchetta: PFN shape include Anglesey Sea Salt, have seen their PFN bids approved by scheme is ‘definitely Brussels in the past two months becoming more established’ Pembrokeshire Earlies [potatoes] and Carmarthen Ham,” she said. According to Irene Bocchetta of Earlier this year, an application for Isle of Man farming consultancy ADAS, which has run the Queenie scallops got through its UK consultation PFN scheme in the UK since the closure of Food stage and was forwarded to Brussels by Defra, From Britain, Lough Neagh Eels could achieve PGI while an application for Fenland Celery is currently (Protected Geographical Indication) status by late being considered at UK level. The announcement summer. Growers of Armagh Bramley Apples hope that only Cumberland sausages made in Cumbria to to achieve PGI recognition by the end of the year. specific standards can be called ‘traditional’ in future “This is all subject to the outcome of the was made by Food Minister Jim Paice in March. consultation process,” Bocchetta told FFD. “But “With Traditional Cumberland Sausage we now these are interesting because the eels and apples have 44 UK PFNs,” said Bocchetta. “The scheme will be the first applications for Northern Ireland.” is definitely becoming more established within the More unusual is an application for PDO food industry overall, and with the new applications (Protected Designation of Origin) status for coming through we should hit our target of 50 in Native Shetland Wool under the Protected Food no time.” Names scheme. Shetland Lamb already has PDO protection. Non-food products, such as lavender www.euprotectedfoodnames.org.uk By MICK WHITWORTH

pub-delis

Pub kitchen to supply its own deli By PATRICK McGUIGAN

A Wiltshire country pub says it will be the first in the country to offer a ‘chef to shop’ service when it opens its deli specialising in local food. Seasons opens this month in the grounds of the Tollgate Inn, which also houses a restaurant and rooms in the village of Holt. The brainchild of owners Alison Warde Baptiste and chef Alex Venables, the shop is positioned as ‘the cooks’ country store’, selling packs of prepared ingredients with recipes for customers to recreate their favourite dishes from the pub restaurant. “I want Seasons to be a bridge between a professional pub and a retail shop for home cooks,” said Venables. “I’m happy to share chef’s secrets whether with recipe cards, advice on butchery or filleting, or how to create a balanced menu from what we have on offer in the shop.” Housed in a renovated 16th century barn behind the pub, the shop is surrounded by vegetable beds planted by Holt schoolchildren and has its own hens, goats and pigs. Once a month, the local school will use the shop as a classroom with pupils becoming shop keepers to sell the vegetables grown in the garden. The shop will also run craft workshops, from classes on

Chef Alex Venables is positioning his new pub-deli as ‘the cook’s country store’

poultry-keeping to willow-weaving, pottery, and felt-making. Products on sale in the shop will include local cheese, vegetables from nearby allotments, and organic lamb, pork, and poultry from smallholders, alongside artisan bread and line-caught fish from day boats in the South West. “We constantly scour local farmers’ markets and have even put a ‘wanted’ ad in the local press to find the right producers,” said Alison Warde Baptiste. Alex Venables began his career at The Savoy and won a Michelin star as head chef at Lucknam Park.

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Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

11 s 20 te ed da eas l re

Learn more, understand more and sell more

The School of Fine Food is a series of masterclasses and food experiences that will expand your product knowledge and improve your foodie credentials. Our industry experts will develop your understanding of each counter in your fine food store and help you to sell more. You should know where the food and drink you sell comes from, how it’s made and who makes it.

Masterclasses Beer & Cider May 10 The Grain Barge, Bristol

Olives, Olive Oil, Jams & Marmalade June 14 Sturminster Newton, Dorset

The Meat Counter July 6 Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Kitchen Garden July 12 New Covent Garden Market, London

Come and join us for a microbrewery tour to see the brewing process. Talk to the experts and understand how to retail bottled beer and cider and educate your palate in both through comparative tasting

A journey through the life of an olive and how to sell them, plus a tutored tasting and how to retail olive oil with Fortnum & Mason buyer, Sam Rosen-Nash. Jams and marmalades are brought alive by preserves legend, Pam Corbin

Join Rob Rees, the Cotswold Chef, for a tour around a topnotch meat counter and learn how to get this category right. This is followed by a guide to the major cuts of meat and how you can advise your customers to use them in cooking

Where better to learn how to retail fruit, veg and salads than in New Covent Garden Market, London. Come and experience the market in action and see the important must-stocks for any food retailer. We then go into detail with Nick Hempleman, retail expert

Booking

Guild of Fine Food members Non-members

£39.00 plus VAT per masterclass £59.00 plus VAT per masterclass

How to book

You can book online at www.schooloffinefood.co.uk or contact Charlie Westcar on 01963 824464.

www.schooloffinefood.co.uk

The School of Fine Food has been developed with funding and support from South West Food & Drink

Product knowledge training for fine food retail

news feature

london markets

Market rivals give Borough food for thought Traders at Maltby Street include Monmouth Coffee, Neal’s Yard and (main pic) KaseSwiss

The quiet emergence of Maltby Street and the Real Food Market is giving London’s iconic Borough Market a run for its money By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Borough Market was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons last summer. Newspapers reported that the last remaining fruit and vegetable wholesalers at the iconic market were taking the board of trustees to court in a row over leases that could see the tenants evicted. Other stallholders were said to be angry about the introduction of anonymous ‘taste tests’ to judge whether they were worthy of space. The negative press has since died down but the legal case with the market’s wholesalers remains unresolved. There are also still grumbles from some traders about high rents, especially as the market’s charitable trust reported income of £3.27m in the year to March 31, 2010, with a surplus of £770,000. Other stallholders say Borough has become too pricey and too much of a tourist attraction. One told FFD that despite high footfall, takings were actually down as regular customers had been put off by the crowds. It seems visitors are keen to take photos and nibble on free tasters but not to buy food in serious quantities. To be fair, the board of trustees has taken steps to address some of these issues with initiatives that it says will “rebalance” the market. The beginning of the year saw the opening of a new farmers’ market offering affordable primary ingredients for shoppers to take away and cook at home. Run by City & Country Farmers’ Markets, it contains a 23-strong group of farmers and small food producers from the south east

of England, selling products such as fish, meat and milk. Pitches in other parts of the Jubilee Market have also been given over to local suppliers in an effort to encourage people to do their weekly shop at Borough, while cooking demos on Thursdays give visitors recipe inspiration for simple dishes using ingredients from the site. “What we are desperately trying to do is to get local-to-London primary producers into the market, so we can start supporting any customer that comes,” says Borough MD Glenis Reagan. “We want to attract back to Borough the real food shoppers. It’s also about engaging once again with the local community. Affordability is one of our big agenda items in terms of creating a shopping space for any customer. We can assist you, whoever you are.” The changes also come at a time when Borough is facing new competition in the area. A stroll along the river at the South Bank Centre, the Real Food Market is currently held monthly from Friday to Sunday, but from May will take place every week. Like Borough, its focus is on “fresh, high quality, affordable products”. A group of traders at Borough have also started opening their warehouses on Saturday mornings under the railway arches on Maltby Street and Druid Street in Bermondsey, a 10 minute walk from Borough. These include Monmouth Coffee, Neal’s Yard Dairy and The Borough Cheese Co, while St John has recently opened a bakery and Raef Hodgson (son of Neal’s Yard’s Randolph Hodgson and Monmouth’s Anita Leroy) has set up Gergovie Wines. This budding foodie destination is proving popular with local shoppers put off by the crowds at Borough. However, while the emerging Maltby Street has its own website, traders are reluctant to talk publicly about what is happening here and at Druid Street in case of ruffling Borough’s feathers, where many still have stalls.

“We’re just finding our feet at the moment and we’re not looking for publicity,” one told FFD. “A lot of us are still trading at Borough and we don’t want to upset them. We’re not a market and we’re only open Saturday mornings. We just want to grow quietly.” Another didn’t want publicity because he was worried rents would be ramped up. “It’s a delicate time. I’m negotiating with the landlord to extend the lease and I don’t want them to start thinking this area is on the up because they’ll increase the rents.” One trader who is happy to talk about what was happening in Bermondsey is Rachael Sills of KaseSwiss. Her warehouse on Druid Street sells a range of Swiss and Dutch cheeses, as well as providing space to small producers including Polish charcuterie company Topolski and Jacob’s Ladder Farms. “We’re not trying to start another market. It’s different to that. We’re opening our warehouse and creating a different atmosphere,” she says. “People can see where we work and have time to stop and talk with us. “A lot of our products are available in other shops, but if you come to the warehouse and talk directly to us it’s a much better experience. We can pass on how the cheese is tasting and what producers are doing differently. “There’s meat, cheese, fruit and veg, bread and coffee [on sale at Druid and Matlby], so we’re starting to get quite a lot of regulars and people who live in the area.” In other words the same kind of customers Borough and the Real Food Market are trying to attract. Locals in this part of London are spoiled for choice. www.boroughmarket.org.uk www.maltbystreet.com www.weareccfm.com

“This budding foodie destination is proving popular with local shoppers put off by the crowds at Borough” Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

A promotional feature for Ramtac Computer Systems

House of Westphalia

When you look at House of Westphalia’s impressive freehold premises in Sundon Park, Bedfordshire, with 3 cold stores offering some ¼ million cubic feet, it is hard to relate to its beginnings. These included a young Alan Mills renting the rear half of a butcher’s shop in Dunstable and selling cooked meats from a rented van.

n those days the company was Medallion, growing constantly and often changing premises. It became incorporated into House of Westphalia in 1991, with Alan using his hard won experience and connections in Europe – especially in Germany, to acquire and store a wide range of products as an importer, wholesaler and distributor covering the whole country with now a fleet of 8 large delivery vans. Today’s range of over 1000 products include Biogarde yogurts, Bavarian desserts, organic German breads, pre-packed meats in both consumer and bulk for delicatessens and Belgian pates. Alan Mills has high standards which are reflected in the quality of the products, his management team and in his overall involvement in every aspect of the Company. It is not surprising therefore that he found his first 3 computer systems unable to meet these standards and failing to help him run his business well enough. It was with great care therefore, that he selected the Intact Accounting and Business Management Software from Ramtac Computer Systems in Berkhamsted at the end of 2009 and went live in May 2010. “The ‘go live’ went very smoothly”, says Alan, “and our staff accepted the new system with enthusiasm – it is so easy to use. There are specific features for our industry including catchweights.” The benefits the system has brought include much more management information and control, very high speed responses, and fingertip drill down to all transactions. Ramtac ensure it is completely up to date with constant new releases. House of Westphalia is BRC certificated to the highest levels and to help ensure compliance the computer has full traceability of all transactions. Whilst Alan Mills is still Chairman, to ensure competent continuity of the

business, his son Danyel is now the Managing Director and is equally shrewd and committed. Alan continues: “As well as our mainstream business, we have enabled Continental manufacturers to supply multiple delivery points in the UK. We now handle stock for 13 manufacturers and it is growing.” Alan has come a long way from the back of the butcher’s shop; with his high standards, innovative approach and a close IT relationship with Ramtac, House of Westphalia, is still driving forward in a most impressive way.

Alan Mills (Chairman) & Danyel Mills (Managing Director), House of Westphalia

01442 878879 sales@ramtac.com www.ramtac.com 16

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR FOOD AND DRINK SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

• Quotes, Sales and Purchase Ordering • Stock Management • Batch Tracking • Cases and Units with Barcoding • Weights • Catchweights • Task Manager

• Outstanding Datadrills for Management Information • Key Performance Indicators for all Management • EDI • E-Commerce Portal or full trading website

With hundreds of recent users, Ramtac could help you to drive your business forward. Ramtac Computer Systems Ltd R & R House, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 1EH 01442 878879 sales@ramtac.com www.ramtac.com Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

deli of the month

Tyneside twitterati

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

A little bird tells us that Newcastle’s Mmm… deli is growing steadily on the back of a 3,500-plus following on Twitter

direct message (or DM, as we social media experts call it) arrives in my Twitter inbox. “Got a spare slot for deli of the month coming up? Hint hint mmm…” FFD doesn’t normally fall for such shameless publicity-mongering. But since Simone Clarkin of Newcastle’s Mmm… was among the first to use social media to pull punters into her deli, and since I’m a bit over-excited about Twitter as a recent convert, it seems only fair to say ‘yes’. It’s also the first time in living memory we’ve featured a shop in this slot without actually visiting it. But Clarkin’s husband Ian – a communications manager who helps with the deli business out of hours – is a dab hand with a camera, so that’s one obstacle removed. We also owe Simone Clarkin a favour, since last year she came along to the Harrogate Speciality Food Show to take part in our workshop on marketing via Twitter, Facebook et al, alongside Rufus Carter of Patchwork and Dom Lane of consultancy Bray Leino. And her reputation is clearly spreading, as she has also been approached by Newcastle City Council to help with promotion of Grainger Market, the 100-unit city centre site where Mmm… is based. Clarkin set up shop here just under three years ago, one of a wave of new businesses to arrive here as part of a rejuvination of the site by the Council. She started in one of its smallest units, building the deli business up slowly from a limited range, and then in June 2010 moved into her current unit, twice the size. Here, she says, turnover varies from “£3,000 per week in slow February, to £4,000-£4,500 by the autumn” and a lot more at Christmas. Not huge numbers by some town centre standards, but this is a small business: just Clarkin, two part-time staff who have recently joined her, and occasional help from husband Ian. It’s hard to pin down a typical week’s sales because takings have risen steadily since Mmm… opened and Clarkin doesn’t really know at what point they’ll plateau. “We’ve hit target every year,” she says. “Turnover more or less doubled in the second year and we’re growing again in the third year.” The business, which has been entirely selffunded, moved into profit by the end of year two, helped by the relatively modest rent (just under £15,000 a year) in this off-High Street market location. “You’ve got city centre footfall,” she says, “but you’re not paying the sort of rents you would in a more commercial shopping centre.” Since both Simone and Ian Clarkin are marketeers by background, it’s hardly surprising they have generated good publicity by all the traditional routes. “We’ve done PR, we’ve sent out

Interview by MICK WHITWORTH releases to the local press, we’ve done leafleting and we do outdoor events like Christmas markets, primarily to advertise our presence,” says Clarkin. “But the online stuff has been most effective. “Compared to London, Newcastle is quite a small market where word of mouth counts a lot, and Twitter is just a version of that. “At first it was just an add-on to our other marketing activity, because we hadn’t appreciated how good it could be for us. Now, I wouldn’t exactly say we have a strategy, but we’re clear about what we want to say, what we want to promote and who we want to reach. It’s about finding people within our geographical area. We look at the sites that other people are following, look at food bloggers and writers, look at local suppliers and see who’s following them. And we follow all the local food festivals.” Twitter, with its short-but-sweet 140-character messages, has proved more effective than Facebook in drawing in custom (Ian Clarkin told marketing website reputationonline.co.uk it has “literally added thousands of pounds” to the deli’s revenue). The couple tweet a mixture of direct sales messages (“More free range local eggs delivered yesterday – £1.25 per half dozen for the large ones. Better value than supermarkets.”) and more chatty stuff to engage with customers and hook them into Mmm…’s fun, foodie values – for example, taking votes via twitpoll.com on whether peanut butter should be crunchy or smooth. “We do a ‘first Twitter purchase’ discount,” says Clarkin, “for people who discover us through Twitter, and we do get an awful lot of new customers that way.” Twitter is also used to promote new products – usually by posting a photo too – and short-term seasonal or fresh lines. “We’ll always let people know if we’ve got fresh corn tortillas, fresh chilli or fresh garlic, and if we’re doing tastings.” What you won’t see promoted this way is cheese – because Mmm… doesn’t stock any. “We’re restricted, because there are other people on the market doing things like fresh veg, fruit and fish, and we can’t do cheese because there’s already Matthew’s Cheese Specialist. But in some ways that has been a good thing because we’ve really had to work at building up a range that sells.” Clarkin started her career in the food and wine trade, working for importers including Ciborio in London and Sapori in Edinburgh, dealing mainly with Continental producers. “At that time, 10-15 years ago, there were nothing like the number of really good, small suppliers in the UK that there were in France or Italy,” she says. For a while she left the food sector, then about five years ago began thinking about setting up her own business. “I wasn’t necessarily looking at retail. I thought about opening a café-bar, or even becoming a producer, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of retailing because of everything it involves: the marketing, the merchandising, the face-to-face selling and looking for suppliers.” The hardest part came when she started contacting agents about property. “You know what it’s like in retail: you get sent all the rubbish no-one else wants, like shops on out-of-the-way council estates where nobody’s ever going to pay for premium foods.” She moved into the Grade 1 listed Grainger Market as the site was coming back to life after a period of decline. “Ten years

mmm… MUST-STOCKS ●G ilchesters

Organics Northumbrian flours ●Y ellow Fields Northumbrian rapeseed oil ●D avenport’s chocolates ●E dible Ornamentals fresh chillies (in season) ●G arlic (The Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight) ●H ot Stuff Chilli Company Chilli sauces ●R obsons Honey (Chainbridge Honey Farm, Northumberland) ●Y our Piece Scottish oatcakes ●C ool Chile Company fresh corn tortillas ●A rabica Spice sumac ●A rabica Spice pomegranate molasses. ●M r Vikkis King Naga chilli pickle ●M utti Italia passata

“Newcastle is quite a small market where word of mouth counts a lot, and Twitter is just a version of that”

ago people really didn’t consider this as a place to shop,” she says. Now, the market is more or less fully tenanted with a mix of interesting outlets, and Clarkin says the growth in trade is as much down to external changes as the market refurb. “The perception of markets is changing. People don’t want to shop in supermarkets any more.” Is there still an expectation that market foods should be cheap? “It’s a strange thing: it’s split. The traditional shopper wants things to be cheap, and by and large the fresh stuff here is really good value. But you’ve also got a new wave of more educated, middle-class people who’re looking for better quality, better choice and a different style of shopping. Price is not the main issue for them. “Having said that, we’re competitive too against the supermarket ‘Finest’ type ranges. I was slightly shocked when we opened, because I had assumed we wouldn’t be able to match them on price. But then I started to look, and I found they’re cheap on the rubbish but not on quality stuff.” In fact, she says, Mmm… can generally beat supermarkets on quality and still be competitive. “We’re starting to get people doing their whole weekly shop at the market. So in pasta, for example, we have a more affordable middle range as well as the more expensive range, and while we can’t compete with supermarket ‘basics’ we’re selling a good Italian durum wheat pasta for 99p as well as a top-end Rustichella at £2.75-£3.00.” Clarkin started Mmm… from a “standing start” financially, running the shop alone apart from weekend help from Ian , and she recommends other start-up delis should do the same. “You get a really good feel for the business.” What she hadn’t anticipated was the sheer hard work involved - or the expense. “If anyone had told us how much money we’d need, we’d never have done it. And one of the hardest things is constantly having to make decisions. You hardly ever get a chance to jut sit down and do nothing.” Nonetheless, she is already thinking about opening a second Mmm… outlet, enabling her to develop the cheese and fresh produce that she can’t sell on Grainger Market. “You can’t stand still. You have to go forward. And I’m as much interested in growing a business as I am in food.” www.mmm-food.co.uk @mmm_newcastle Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

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April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

Tel: 0121 486 4500 www.awsmith.co.uk

Sundries, Equipment, Machinery and More.

Ballancourt

delichef

putting deli ingredients to work Heather Anderson, pictured with husband Pete Ritchie, says: ‘I wanted to put up a sign saying ‘tomorrow’s meal is still grazing’ but I thought it might put people off.’

interview By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Heather Anderson & Pete Ritchie Whitmuir the Organic Place, West Linton, Edinburgh

here’s knowing where your food comes from and then there’s the restaurant at Whitmuir the Organic Place in West Linton, just south of Edinburgh, where diners can look out across the fields where their vegetables and meat were grown. “I wanted to put a sign up saying tomorrow’s meal is still grazing, but we thought it might put people off,” says Heather Anderson, who along with husband Pete Ritchie runs the 149-acre farm, farm shop and 88seater restaurant. “Everything you eat at the restaurant you can go and see on the farm. It’s important people understand that animals are well kept if they’re going to eat meat.” The fully organic mixed farm rears Galloway and Short Horn beef, North Country Cheviot lamb and Tamworth-Duroc pork, as well producing its own eggs, around 32 types of vegetables and salad and strawberries in polytunnels in the summer. Not bad for a farm that is on the same latitude as Moscow. All of the fabulous produce is sold through the farm shop, its butchery counter and the restaurant, which

is headed up by French chef Didier Nemesien. The menu changes with the season and by the day, depending what’s available, so you won’t find lettuce in your salad in mid winter but will find pickled cabbage. When FFD calls, broccoli, cauliflower & cumin soup, onion tart and slow-cooked beef shin in red wine are all on the specials menu. These are running alongside regulars of open sandwiches, burgers, jacket potatoes and mains such as Whitmuir stovies and steak pie. Despite organic’s expensive reputation, the menu is keenly priced with mains at around £10-12. “We try to make everything on the menu as affordable as possible. Our prices are about average for a licenced restaurant around here, plus you get a huge amount of food for your money,” says Anderson. “It’s a myth

Pig Cheek Terrine

Supplied by Didier Nemesien, head chef, Whitmuir the Organic Place. In France this is called ‘fromage de tete’ (cheese head). Ingredients: 1 pig’s head, cut in half 1 carrot 1 onion 2 tomatoes 3 garlic cloves 1 litre of white wine 1 litre of vegetable bouillon 1 tablespoon mixed herbs Salt/ pepper

Method: Peel and chop the carrot, onion and garlic. Chop the tomatoes. Put the two head halves and the vegetables in a baking tin. Sprinkle with herbs, season lightly and add the stock and white wine. Cover with kitchen foil and bake in the oven at 150ºC for 10 hours, until the flesh is almost collapsing. Remove the head and scrape all the flesh, chopping it roughly.

Filter the stock and add the vegetables to the chopped pork. Stir well. Put the mix in a terrine mould, firmly pressing to make it a compact terrine. Add a little stock to cover the top. Rest in the fridge for 12 hours. Serve slices with fresh bread and gherkins. Chef’s tip: add 250ml of red wine to the left over stock and reduce to a rich gravy, which can be used for Sunday roasts.

promoted by the supermarkets that organic farming is more expensive than conventional. If we were selling our beef to the supermarket, we’d get exactly the same price – £15.10 per kilo deadweight – as conventional beef. The supermarkets add on a premium because they see organic as a niche. Mind you, I would rather die than supply a supermarket.” While organic farmers pay out more for pig feed and on labour to weed crops, conventional farmers spend more on fertilisers, which are linked to the price of oil, and vets’ bills because they tend to dose their animals with medicine. “It’s swings and roundabouts,” says Anderson. The farm sells its produce to the farm shop and restaurant at the going rate. “The price is the price. We can’t screw the producer because we are the producer,” she says. “There’s also a trading system between the shop and the restaurant. The kitchen makes bread, which is sold to the shop, while the shop sells milk, wine and tomato sauce back to the restaurant. Everything is sold at cost.” Retail products used regularly in the kitchen include cheese from Connage, Loch Arthur and Criffel, as well as milk from Clyde Organic and wine through Vintage Roots. The cross-pollination between the shop and the restaurant also stretches to the customers, who often come to do their shopping and stay for lunch, or vice versa. Whitmuir has a clever scheme whereby customers become ‘farm supporters’ by setting up an account based on a monthly standing order, the size of which they decide. This can then be spent on anything in the shop or in the restaurant. “About a third of our customers are account holders, who pay anything from £40 to £700 a month. Some people come just to buy their meat and vegetables, others do their entire weekly shop. We stock over 2,000 organic product lines from toothpaste to wine, so you can buy everything you need in one place. Obviously if people have money left over at the end of the month they might like to use it up in the restaurant. Likewise, if people come for a cake and a coffee, we try to encourage them to become supporters,” says Anderson.

Recognised as the cornerstone of European cuisine! Deli chef is sponsored by Le Gruyère AOC

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Stuff of legend When it comes to exceptional cheddar, the old ways are still the best. Our awardwinning, traditional truckles are wrapped in muslin and allowed to breathe as they slowly mature, resulting in a creamy complex flavour with a long finish.

Gold winners at British Cheese Awards (Best Cheddar & Best Goats Cheese), World Cheese Awards, Great Taste Awards, Nantwich International, Royal Bath & West, Great Yorkshire, Devon County Show, Taste of the West and Frome Cheese Show.

WORLD CHEESE AWARDS CHAMPION 2010 Supreme Champion Bath & West 2010

Home Farm . Newton St Cyres . Devon . www.quickes.co.uk

Along with our continued success at the renowned World Cheese Awards for our Extra mature, we have been awarded The Farmhouse Champion Cheddar Trophy at the Nantwich Cheese Show

KEEN’S CHEDDAR Traditional, unpasteurised, award-winning Cheddars from Wincanton Somerset For details call 01963 32286 or email keenscheddar@hotmail.com. www.keenscheddar.co.uk 22

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

cheese wire

le grand fromage BOB FARRAND

Shetland Cheese gears up for growth Former accountant Jay Hawkins: ‘There’s a big appetite for local food in Shetland’

By PATRICK McGUIGAN

A new cheese-maker in Shetland aims to supply restaurants, shops and hotels on the islands and eventually ship to the mainland, after taking delivery of a new 1,000-litre vat. Located in a former smokehouse in Skeld, Shetland Cheese has been producing products such as Shetland cheddar, Sandstinger (based on a Dunlop recipe) and flavoured cheeses on a small scale for sale at farmers’ markets. But the new 1,000 litre vat from Jongia will enable the company to increase capacity to around 600 kilos per week. “We already have orders from eight cafés and restaurants, plus 15 shops,” said Jay Hawkins, a former London chartered accountant who moved to Shetland with wife Dilys Evans two years ago. “There is a big appetite for locally produced food in Shetland from the people that live here, but also from the tourists. In the summer, cruise liners pull up at Lerwick Harbour and 2,000 people descend on the town.” Shetland Cheese is one of only two cheese producers on the island, said Hawkins, and he expects to build a good customer base with

the small independent food shops that make up Shetland’s retail market. “There’s one Tesco and a Co-op, but no other supermarkets,” he said. “Once we’re established, we’ll also be looking to export to mainland Scotland. There are only a handful of small independent cheese-makers in Scotland, so we think there would be a market for our products. “Shetland’s council is very supportive of food and drink producers and would support us at meet-thebuyer events.” The cheese is currently made with pasteurised milk from Shetland’s dairy co-op but Hawkins plans to use unpasteurised milk from a local farm in the near future. The cheddar is matured in 10kg cloth-wrapped rounds for at least four months. Other cheeses include Shetland Wedgee – a soft brie-style cheese; Soothe Mooth, which has a similar texture to Edam; and Monterey Mild – a firm mild cheese with a nutty flavour. There are also 200g Peerie and Muckle waxed truckles in chive, chilli and caraway flavours. Hawkins is also trialling an Italian-style provolone and a rind-washed Swiss-style cheese with holes. www.shetlandcheese.co.uk

Raw milk reminder from FSA Producers of raw milk cheeses are being reminded by the Food Standards Agency that they must use unpasteurised milk from Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) dairy herds. Milk that does not come from an OTF herd, or which comes from herds that have lost their OTF status, can only be sold for human consumption after it has been heat-treated. The FSA has written to local authorities asking for information about raw drinking milk and

unpasteurised milk-based products being made in their area. It says producers may be contacted by local officials “to help ensure their records are up to date”. “Notification of the loss of OTF status should immediately prompt you to ensure that milk from the suspect herd is heat treated and that raw milk-based product manufacture continues only with milk supplied from an OTF herd,” the FSA says.

What a lying bunch politicians are. In 2009, as Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron told the BBC: “Where taxpayers own a stake in a bank, no employee should be paid a bonus in excess of £2,000.” Later that year, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne told The Guardian: “It is totally unacceptable for bonuses to be paid off the back of taxpayer guarantees. It must stop.” In January this year, the Prime Minister admitted his government would not limit bank bonuses after a leaked document revealed he’d failed to block an EU proposal to restrict the cash element of such bonuses to 20%. He thought they deserved 40%. The week following the appalling tragedy in Japan, those same bonus-grabbing bankers jeopardised world oil and raw material prices by offloading millions of shares in Japanese businesses to protect their billionaire clients’ global portfolios and their own 2012 bonuses. None of which has much to do with the price of cheese apart from the fact that, when in opposition, Cameron also promised to sort out agricultural sustainability, possibly by regulating the prices supermarkets pay farmers. He suggested the idea of trading partnerships, which would guarantee farmers realistic prices for milk, pigs, beef and so on. Last month, in the wake of the rise in grain prices, BBC Breakfast reported that pig farmers are selling each animal at £10 less than the cost of production. Cheap EU pork arrives daily in the UK, much of it reared

“It did my heart good to see supermarket cheese hammered in a recent taste test in The Times” in conditions no longer legal in the UK to be sold in supermarkets at prices higher than a year ago. The wimp from the British Retail Consortium wheeled into the studio to justify this obscenity wittered on about how wonderful supermarkets are because they “only act in the best interests of the consumer”! So it did my heart good to see supermarket cheese hammered in a recent taste test in The Times. Proper chefs, as opposed to know-nothing, so-called food researchers, tasted the cheese and apart from Waitrose’s Brie de Meaux and Parmigiano Reggiano, everything was judged second rate. What a shame that The Times’ researchers selected cheddars they presumably buy themselves (medium and mature creamery blocks) for the chefs to try, as opposed to a decent wedge of West Country Farmhouse. It hardly matters though: the freezing storage temperatures used by supermarkets would have killed the flavour anyway. It’s fitting testimony to every cheese buyer who values price above quality and mercilessly screws producers into funding another BOGOF – then pays a TV chef a fortune to tell us how good it is. Waitrose remains the benchmark in supermarket cheese, so delis and farm shops should check its offer regularly. Waitrose staff may not be as knowledgeable as yours, but does your cheese deliver on its promise? Or are you just like another bloody politician? • FFD publisher Bob Farrand is chairman of the UK Cheese Guild Vol.7 Issue 1 · January 2006

cheesewire Artisan food school opens dairy section The School of Artisan Food on Nottinghamshire’s Welbeck Estate has opened a new dairy training centre, which as well as running cheese-making courses will provide students with an insight into the art of ‘affinage’. Designed to train aspiring cheese-makers, existing professionals and dairy farmers, the 1,200 sq ft centre houses several cheese-making production areas and professional equipment, including two 400-litre vats, peg mills and a press, and equipment for fresh and washed cheeses. Six separate maturing rooms are a key feature of the new facility, which will enable students to learn more about how maturing affects different cheeses. “The rooms and equipment are ideal for a first step in cheese-making,” said Val Bines, the school’s head of dairy. “We can also mature almost any variety of cheese and carry out experiments on weight loss during maturation. “The maturing facilities replicate the conditions available to ‘affineurs’, allowing students to examine and understand the importance of the maturing process.” Upcoming courses include Introduction to Cheesemaking on June 12 and Professional Cheesemaking Fundamentals from July 4-7. www.schoolofartisanfood.org

ROLLERS RETURN: Rob Seex, master of ceremonies at Gloucestershire’s famous cheese rolling-event, is celebrating the return of the event this year after it was cancelled in 2010 because of health & safety concerns. Renamed The Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling Festival and now a safetyconscious all-ticket affair, the event will take place over the weekend of June 11-12 at Coopers Hill near Gloucester. Cheese rolling involves competitors hurling themselves down a steep Cotswold hill to claim the famous double Gloucester cheese, which in previous years has been supplied by Diana Smart. The 2009 event was overwhelmed by around 15,000 visitors, which led to its cancellation last year. It was previously a free event, but organisers have decided to charge contestants an entrance fee this year to help manage crowd numbers.

Fivemiletown develops easy-meal cheeses Fivemiletown Creamery is producing a range of cheese-based cooking ingredients in what the Northern Ireland co-op calls a “radical departure” into convenience meals. The first two products are goats’ cheese filled with sun-dried tomatoes and goats’ cheese filled with a black olive tapenade pesto. They can be used with other ingredients, such as fresh pasta, to make an easy-to-cook meal. Fivemiletown’s Boilie goats’ cheese pearls marinaded with herbs & garlic infused oil and its O’Reilly’s goats’ cheese with chives & mustard have been successful in Britain, Ireland and parts of continental Europe. A spokesman told FFD the new products were aimed, not just at convenience-loving multiples, but at high-end delis “including the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols”. “We’ll also be targeting key export customers especially those in Scandinavia, Denmark, Netherlands and France that sell our existing Boilie cheese.” Prices, packaging and branding are still to be finalised, but the products are expected

Students get a taste of beer-rind cheese Twelve post-graduate students from Europe and Central and Southern America are being introduced to the joys of British rind-washed cheese by a food technician at Harpers Adams University College. Clare Hutchinson works in the West Midlands Regional Food Academy, based at the Shropshire agricultural college. She came up with her own beer-rind cheese recipe last year, washing the cheese in beer she had brewed on-site and maturing it for nine months. Now Hutchinson plans to re-make the cheese with help from the European Masters 24

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

students based at Harper Adams until June. The 12, who come from France, El Salvador, Armenia, Peru, Afghanistan and Britain, will also get a chance to visit local producer Martin Moyden of Mr Moyden’s Handmade Cheese Co, who started his own business at the college. Hutchinson has not yet named her nine-month matured beer-rind cheese, which may be just as well as she says the recipe could be hard to reproduce. “It was trial and error really,” she said. www.harper-adams.ac.uk

to be appear in 150g packs for multiples, 200g for delis and 1kg tubs for loose deli counters and catering. The black olive tapenade cheese product was test marketed at last year’s Nantwich International Cheese Festival and gained a gold award. Two further recipes are said to be in the pipeline. www.fivemiletown.com

Clare Hutchinson: ‘beer-rind recipe was trial and error’

Vol.12 Issue 3 路 April 2011

Suppliers of Glass and Plastic Containers & Closures Need Jars and Lids to bottle your Honey & Preserves ? We can supply everything you need. At Compak we carry a comprehensive range of packaging from mini jars for use on the breakfast table to standard screw neck 1lb honey jars used in exhibitions. We also stock a full range of sizes in the more decorative Hexagonal and Octagonal designs. All our jars and closures are of the highest quality and are British made. Manufacturers insist on using a percentage of re-cycled glass in their production to help the environment. Our prices are extremely competitive and we can deliver Nationwide from a one box order to a container load. For further details on our Honey Jars or any other products, please get in touch with our Sales Team, we’ll be pleased to hear from you. Compak (South) Ltd 3, Ashmead Road Keynsham Bristol BS31 1SX Tel : 01179 863 550 Fax : 01179 869 162 Email : sales@compaksouth.co.uk Website : www.compaksouth.com

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April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

A promotional feature for Guild of Fine Food

REVERSE THE DOWNTURN

PUT MORE MONEY IN YOUR TILL

NEW L I A T RE N O I T O M O R P E M E SCH INCREASE MARGIN AND MAKE MONEY IN 2011. EXCLUSIVE TO GUILD OF FINE FOOD MEMBERS. The Guild of Fine Food has developed a brand new scheme to help retailers survive recession hit Britain. We are negotiating with our 700 producer members and have handpicked a selection of cracking foods on which we’ve secured big discounts unique to Guild retail members. Over the coming months, this ongoing promotion will help you drive sales by offering genuine reductions on the prices you offer in store OR just make you more money by increasing margin. The choice is yours. The next two pages list our introductory collection of foods and the details of the deals we’ve negotiated on your behalf. Choose all or simply those you know will sell in your store.

Guild members will find shelf barkers enclosed in this issue of Fine Food Digest, to highlight these products on shelf. Throughout 2011, each issue of FFD will roll out more and more great deals that we are currently negotiating to help increase margin. If you’re not currently a Guild member – it’s just £95 plus VAT for a year – your first deal on our offers will comfortably cover that. You’ll find full details of membership benefits and how to join on page 30. Remember – these discounts are unique to Guild of Fine Food members – you won’t find them anywhere else. Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

THE PROMOTIONS GRIOTTINES

These high quality Morello cherries are seeped in Kirsch or Cointreau® for the ultimate mouth-watering addition to a simple dessert or a sumptuous and extravagant dinner party. Perfect for spring, and summer, in fact we can’t think of an occasion when they’re not perfect ! Available exclusively from Keylink in 5cl or 35cl jars/gift boxes. Free with every jar – a promotional recipe booklet containing 13 ideas and serving suggestions created expressly for your customers. THE DEAL: 20% off retail jars, please quote PROMOGM AVAILABILITY: Nationwide directly from Keylink (minimum carriage paid order £150, smaller orders £9) CONTACT: 01142 455400 sales@keylink.org www.keylink.org

DEVONSHIRE TEAS

Devonshire Tea is a unique blend of black tea created using only the finest leaves from four Kenyan Fairtrade Estates. Blended by a family company based in Plymouth, it delivers a delicious and complex flavour that your customers will love. They will also love the fabulous offer the company is making on Devonshire Tea “40 Count” tea bags – a free jute bag. THE DEAL: Buy one case of 48 boxes of ‘40 count’ tea bags and you’ll receive 20 of our stylish souvenir jute shopping bags absolutely FREE. You can then do an ‘in-store’ offer. We suggest ‘Buy 2 boxes of Devonshire Tea and get a FREE bag’ AVAILABILITY: Whole of UK, buy one case of 48 boxes, FREE delivery CONTACT: Gavin Sheppard, 01752 220226 info@devonshiretea.com

CANTON TEA CO

All the artisan teas from this specialist supplier of high quality Chinese tea and teaware are handpicked and made today just as they have been for two thousand years. The company’s experienced buying partner lives in Guangzhou and buys direct from small traditional tea farms which is your customer’s guarantee the quality and authenticity of the teas is second to none. Don’t take our word for it, Canton Tea picked up six Golds in the 2009 Great Taste Awards and dominated the green tea category in 2010 with a further eight Gold Awards. Jasmine Pearls shows its class by winning top stars each year. Hand-rolled, soft young tea leaves layered with fresh jasmine blossoms for a heady, perfectly balanced infusion. Flowering Teas are young white tea leaves, hand-tied around colourful blossoms. When in hot water they blossom out and release a deliciously fragrant, honeyed infusion. THE DEAL: 25% OFF: Jasmin Pearls. 50g Mixed Flowering Teas.50g. Sweet Osmanthus Flowering Teas.50g Secret Heart Flowering Teas.50g Canton Tea Selection Tin AVAILABILITY: Nationwide (minimum carriage paid order £50, otherwise £5) CONTACT: Jennifer Wood, 0845 519 5575 jennifer@cantonteaco.com

TOM’S PIES

These pies have been the talk of Devon for 5 years, ever since owner and head chef, Tom Cull set out to make the county as famous for its pies as Cornwall is for its pasties. Very special ingredients, all locally sourced, are crammed into delicious short crust pastry and the results are stunning judges in food awards as well as an ever increasing band of contented consumers. Steak with pot-roasted carrot & pickled walnut, lamb with chick pea & chorizo, chicken & leek with lemon thyme, hock & pea or Teign Valley venison with butternut squash, caramalised red onion & juniper form part of a range of over 10 pies that are available fresh or frozen. This is your customers’ chance to taste how good a pie gets when a proper chef moves into retail. The brand new steak, parsnip & horseradish pie is offered at a 25% discount. THE DEAL: 25% off the brand new steak, parsnip & horseradish pie AVAILABILITY: South West, South East, Midlands for fresh and nationwide delivery frozen CONTACT: 01395 239000 tomlittle@toms-pies.co.uk

Accredited supplier members – want to take part? Contact mike.cook@finefoodworld.co.uk for more information 28

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

A promotional feature for Guild of Fine Food

ORGANICO – TUSCAN ORGANIC TOMATO

These tomatoes are uniquely traceable right down to the field in which they were grown. Packed and produced by a co-operative of farmers in the middle of the Tuscan countryside with ethical standards for labour as well as the environment. The striking new-look design and the exclusive Tuscan origin make this a premium product with a high unit return for retailers, which is well worth testing alongside any basic alternatives. THE DEAL: Organico’s new Tuscan organic tomato range is on promotion at 33% off AVAILABILITY: National via Organico (minimum order applies) phone for details, also available via Hider, Queenswood, Tree of Life CONTACT: Freda Catrell, 0118923876 sales@organico.co.uk

CAPTAIN TIPTOES AND THE OCCASIONAL SNACK COMPANY

(The new moustache on everyone’s lips) A brand new snack, to make your customers laugh out loud, but with serious credentials – made by artisan nut roasters Olives Et Al in Dorset with brand new packaging and a new web site – welcome to the wonderful world of Captain Tiptoes and The Occasional Snack Company. A world where seriously splendid snackage meets complete and utter buffoonery – all impeccably delivered with wit, charm and a dash of sophistication. Big PR campaign starting right now means customers will be looking for the Captain in a shop like yours. The range includes: Irresistibly taut Cajun Spiced Nuts, grippingly stout Fire Cracker Rice puffs, courageously pert Chilli Harissa Nuts, undeniably crisp Salt & Pepper Nuts , redoubtably firm Wasabi Flaming Rice THE DEAL: 20% off the first order through this promotion AVAILABILITY: Nationwide (minimum carriage paid order, £200 from the Olives Et Al range, smaller orders £9) for next day service CONTACT: Captain Tiptoes, 01258 474300 ahoy@captaintiptoes.com

THE FINE SEAFOOD COMPANY

This is one of the most luxurious ranges of luxury pre-packed seafood for sale through specialist independents. The dressed Lobster is arguably one of the most eye catching products on the market and the Canadian Lobsters are steamed, processed and packaged in custom built processing facilities overnight to arrive with you within hours of being cooked. This offers you maximum shelf life and maximum taste. Innovative packaging creates stunning impact in your chilled space offering a point-of-difference to any seafood offer. The Finest Quality Canadian Lobster (454g), cooked and dressed and ready to eat. Served with a mayonnaise accompaniment and a slice of lemon. THE DEAL: 15% off the range AVAILABILITY: London & South east via own transport. Nationally via courier (minimum order £100, £15 on smaller orders) CONTACT: 0800 012 6966 info@fineseafood.co.uk www.fineseafood.co.uk

FARRINGTON’S RAPESEED

Duncan Farrington has been passionate about the culinary properties and nutritional benefits of cold-pressed rapeseed oil for years and so Farrington Oils was born in 2005, becoming Britain’s first ‘seed to bottle’ producer. Delicious, healthy and truly British, Farrington’s MELLOW YELLOW® coldpressed rapeseed oil contains Omega 3, vitamin E and has the lowest saturated fat content of any commonly available oil. Farrington’s range of award winning cold-pressed rapeseed oil and dressings are produced at Bottom Farm in Hargrave, Northamptonshire where the family has farmed for four generations and where all crops are grown to LEAF Marque standards. The most recent additions to the range are the one star Great Taste Awards Gold-winning Mayonnaise, a classic blend of cold-pressed rapeseed oil, RSPCA Freedom Food free range eggs with a hint of Dijon mustard and the stunning new Garlic Mayonnaise. Both are additive free and made using Eli Farrington’s own recipes, as are all Farrington’s products. THE DEAL: 20% off retail jars AVAILABILITY: Nationwide – directly from Farrington Oils (minimum carriage paid order £80), as well as Hider Foods, Cotswold Fayre and Michael Bance CONTACT: Jo Giles, 01933 622809 info@farrington-oils.co.uk

GUILD RETAIL PROMOTION SUMMARY – APRIL DEAL 20% Off Griottine Cherries 25% Off Steak, Parsnip & Horseradish Pie 20% Off Full Range Of Canton Teas 20 jute shopping bags free with box of 48 teas 20% Off Captain Tiptoes 33% Off Organico’s Tuscan Organic Tomato 20% Off Farrington’s Rapeseed Oils And Mayonnaise 15% Off Fine Seafood Co’s Dressed Lobster

TEL 01142 455400 01395 239000 0845 519 5575 01752 220226 01258 474300 0118 923876 01933 622809 0800 012 6966

EMAIL sales@keylink.org tomlittle@toms-pies.co.uk jennifer@cantonteaco.com info@devonshiretea.com ahoy@captaintiptoes.com sales@organico.co.uk info@farrington-oils.co.uk info@fineseafood.co.uk

LE GRUYÈRE RETAIL PROMOTION. Available to all fine food shops and not just Guild members, Le Gruyere are running a full in store promotional programme including a sampling kit and a £50 cheese allowance for tasting. See page 7 for full details.

JO TU IN FI R TH ND N E OU OVE GU T R ILD HO TO W

COMPANY Griottine Tom’s Pies Canton Tea Co Devonshire Tea Captain Tiptoes Organico Farrington’s Fine Seafood Co.

Join the Guild of Fine Food and save time and money. As an independent retailer have you ever thought how much of your day is spent doing the bits that don’t actually earn you any money? You are not alone: 1300 other like-minded businesses felt the same, so they joined the Guild of Fine Food. The Guild can help you: • increase sales through the Retail Promotion scheme and take advantage of exclusive discounts and access to new launches • drive more customers to your door • track down artisan-made food & drink specialities that won’t be found in supermarkets • train your staff in cheese & charcuterie product knowledge and improve retail management through Retail Ready • keep informed on industry news, services and new product launches through Fine Food Digest magazine • stay in the loop on food shows, political views and member activities, with an e-newsletter direct to your desktop • save money with business & vehicle insurance, card transactions, personnel issues, health & safety advice plus much more

To find out how to become a member TODAY, call 01963 824464 or email tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk Check out our consumer websites too, driving more customers to Guild members’ shops and deli-cafes 30

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

www.finefoodworld.co.uk/retail

previews

the source/real food festival

The great western

We look ahead to this month’s The Source exhibition in Exeter, where new start-up suppliers are being given a special showcase Now firmly ensconced at Westpoint, home of the Devon County Show, The Source exhibition has become recognised as the principal annual show for the South West’s speciality food sector. Originally a showcase for members of regional food group Taste of the West, it was broadened out a couple of years ago under its new name to give suppliers a chance to meet West Country buyers on their home territory. So, while Taste of the West still has its own clearly defined section, when The Source opens on April 4 it will list the likes of national cheese wholesalers Anthony Rowcliffe and H&B Foods among its 150-plus exhibitors. “By splitting the show in two, [organiser] Hale Events has given the show a real point of difference,” says Taste of the West chief executive John Sheaves. “It’s actually quite unique.” You might think South West producers would be reluctant to let in competition from outside the area, but Sheaves says this hasn’t been an issue. “The Taste of the West Trade Show used to run alongside a gift show, and I’m not sure anyone really knew which was the main focus of the show. For the last two or three years there has been an upsurge in interest, and that’s because Hale have got the thrust of it right.” This year, to encourage more startups to take part, South West Food & Drink (part of the South West Regional Development Agency) has sponsored a special newcomers section where fledgling businesses can exhibit at reduced cost. You can find a full list of The Source’s exhibitors on the show website, www.sourceexhibition.co.uk, but here we’ve highlighted a few of the newcomers taking part.

NEW FOR 2011

Carole’s Cupcakes Carole Bryant describes her range of hand-baked, hand-decorated cupcakes as “a little bit of affordable luxury”. Alongside indulgent sweet cupcake flavours such as Lemony Lickett and Strawberry Dream is The Savoury Cupcake – an innovative cross between a muffin and a scone. www.carolescupcakes.co.uk Daisy’s Farmhouse Icecream Set up in 2010 at Hackthorne Farm in Marhamchurch, near Bude, Daisy’s offers Cornish ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt in 120ml, 500ml and 4.5 litre tubs, all produced on the farm. www.daisysicecream.co.uk Phansit’s Kitchen Established by a former restaurateur in Bideford, north Devon, Phansit’s Kitchen produces authentic ‘restaurant quality’ Thai curries, made with its own curry pastes, fresh Thai herbs and locally produced meat. phansitskitchen@gmail.com Filbert’s Fine Foods

Launched a year ago, Dorset-based Mr Filberts produces a range of air roasted nut snacks, gourmet British oils and dressings, all of which are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. www.mrfilberts.com

Locals and tourists alike are buying into West Country food, says Taste of the West’s John Sheaves

Local food culture now ‘endemic’ in South West By MICK WHITWORTH

Back in December, tourist authority Visit Britain released figures citing food & drink as the single biggest attraction for visitors to the South West of England. Around two million foreign holidaymakers head for the West Country each year, and 71% of them say the region’s produce is its biggest draw. That’s on top of the hordes of Brits – especially from London and the South East – who head to Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, summer and winter, to participate in an increasingly wellestablished local food & drink culture. And that doesn’t just mean dining at Masterchef Mat Follas’s Wild Garlic in Dorset or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Bath and Axminster Canteens. According to John Sheaves, chief executive of Exeter-based regional food group Taste of the West, holiday-makers and weekenders represent a growing market for retailers too. “The tourist sector is looking pretty good at the moment, and a lot of independent shops, as well a pubs and restaurants, are becoming part of the whole visitor experience. Most people in the sector can now look at a solid six months of good trade from visitors each year.” He adds: “Hospitality and independent retailers are the two sectors that are in buoyant mood.” There’s also an increasingly loyal retail customer base within the region for local food – although there’s also a very clear split between rural and urban buying habits. “In rural areas, people are very engaged with the local food story,” says Sheaves. “The urban consumer is not so switched on to that. We’ve got a fantastic number of delis in the region, we’ve got more farm shops than ever before. But 80% of us still shop in supermarkets.” Sheaves says every multiple is “bending over backwards to get into provenance-based products” but he also says their performance in the West Country has been mixed. “Some are doing a good job. Waitrose is probably more provenance-based than regional-based, but their offer is very good. But some of the others do need to up their game. “We’re doing quite well in terms of John Sheaves the local food culture down here. In the independent sector we’ve developed it to the point where it’s endemic in what we do as a region of five million consumers, and our overseas visitors are buying into it too. But the supermarkets need to engage more with this part of our culture because the market here wants provenance-based quality products.” Taste of the West is courting supermarket buyers, not just to get them buying more regional food for their West Country stores but also to stock more in the South East – the area with most potential for ‘exports’ from the South West. “We’re very much focused on getting into London and the South East,” says Sheaves. “People come down from London in their droves in the summer and they want the same foods when they go back so it would be folly not to look at that market.” Taste of the West is running a bespoke Meet The Buyer event for Waitrose in June and Sheaves expects to see the major multiples at this month’s Exeter show. And he sees no conflict between pushing producers into the arms of supermarkets and maintaining a healthy independent sector. “There’s enough of a market for everyone,” he says. www.tasteofthewest.co.uk

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

for fine food digest magazine 14.1210.ai

CMY

Devon Crab ices Sp with Butter &

Award Winning

Hand Made Puddings

Tel: 017684 80864

Web: www.countrypuddings.co.uk Email: info@countrypuddings.co.uk Country Puddings, Lodge Farm, Dacre, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0HH 32

April 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 3

12/14/10

3:53:04 PM

product updatethe source/real previews picklesfood & chutneys festival Fine Country Lifestyle Charcuterie, fruit juices, chutneys and preserves are among the lines produced in small batches by Fine Country Lifestyle on its farm in East Devon. Most are made with its own produce, including charcuterie using its rare breed Oxford Sandy & Black pigs. www.finecountrylifestyle.co.uk

Small producers drawn by a big consumer audience

Intensely Chocolate

Devon’s Intensely Chocolate produces 100% handmade chocolates ranging from vanilla to fiery vodka-soaked chilli for special occasions and dinner parties. www.intenselychocolate.co.uk Raw Lisa

Lisa Sture’s new speciality food business, Raw Lisa, produces ‘vitality foods’, vegan and freefrom foods such as its ‘flavour-packed flatbreads’ that can be used as healthy snacks or as substitutes for bread and crackers. lovinglifesmagic@gmail.com

Red Peach Patisserie

Handmade cake and pastry maker Red Peach says it was inspired by the patisseries of France to produce a range that stretches from Breton gateau – a moist, dense all-butter sponge originating in Brittany – to pear and apricot tarts. www.redpeachpatisserie.co.uk

Wild Trail FFD columnist Gordon Leatherdale is one of the founders of Wild Trail, a premium popcorn-based snack bar brand that will be launched at the Exeter show after more than a year of development and consumer trials. Three varieties are being offered initially: double cut cranberry & yoghurt, fruit & double nut with yoghurt and raspberry & apple with yoghurt. gordon@wildtrail.co.uk

VISITING THE SOURCE When: April 4-5 2011

Where: Westpoint, Exeter

Opening times: Mon April 4, 10am-5.30pm Tues April 5, 10am-4.30 Entry tickets: Free to trade only. Register online. www.sourceexhibition.co.uk

t may be something of a hybrid, with small producers selling direct to consumers for three of its four days. But the fact that trade buyers from Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges have already pre-registered to visit this year’s Real Food Festival, at Earls Court from May 5-8, suggests it’s more than a grazing and shopping show. Most of the ‘added value’ features, such as the chef demo theatre, and the butchery and cheesemaking workshops, are really geared towards that consumer audience. But there’s a dedicated trade day on Thursday May 5, before the show opens its doors to the general public, and the organisers say they expect to see 3,000 buyers during the event. There is also a programme of workshops and seminars tailored specifically to the buying community. Organised in conjunction with distributor Pride of Place they will mostly take place on Thursday and Friday. The programme includes sessions by FFD columnist Gordon Leatherdale on ‘better retailing – what the customer wants’, Nutrichef boss Barbara Cox on ‘nutritional food labels and the impact on your health’, Jeremy Bowen of Paxton & Whitfield on ‘sexy deli counters’ and ‘cheese dating’, and the Jamie Oliver team on ‘the power of marketing and branding’. There will also be a Dragon’s Pantry event, in which producers can pitch for listings to a panel of retail buyers. But Real Food is also an opportunity to meet smaller, artisan producers after last month’s more corporate-led IFE at Excel, many of them tempted by the chance to reach a big foodie shoppers at a lower cost than at the big-name consumer shows.

Swansea-based Gower Cottage Brownies is one example. Owner Kate Jenkins told FFD: “I am a small producer, the epitomy of the cottage industry. I’ve exhibited at the Real Food Festival twice and although I’ve done various other shows, this is the one I really love because it’s about provenance, real food and real people. “The organisers have made it affordable for people like us to exhibit and it works really well for us compared with the BBC Good Food Show and Taste of London where there are just too many big boys for us to compete with.” Over 300 producers like Gower Cottage Brownies have taken space at Earls Court, taking advantage of discounted space for firms with a turnover below £500,000. According to show director Philip Lowery, this means trade buyers will see products they won’t find at any other show. He adds: “The feedback from thousands of trade buyers over the last three years of the festival has been that because the show is also designed as a consumer event, as well as being a really useful business opportunity, it’s great fun.”

Visiting the Real Food Festival When: 5-8 May 2011 Where: Earls Court 1, Warwick Road, London Opening times: Thursday May 5 – 12pm-4pm: trade only Thursday May 5 – 4pm-8pm: public Friday May 6 – 11am-5pm: public Saturday May 7 – 11am-6pm: public Sunday May 8 – 11am-5pm: public Entry tickets: Register free in advance online or by calling 0871 231 0827 Show website: www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Organico

Farm produced Mediterranean specialities Organico Realfoods - sales@organico.co.uk 01189238760 www.organico.co.uk

Award winning ice-cream Winner of Quality Food Awards (Local Food Category) 2009 Quality Food Awards Highly Commended 2010 Winner of 2 Great Taste Awards 2009 Winner of 2 Great Taste Awards 2010

Stem Ginger and Marmalade

Raspberry

The Nook, Bonnington, Ashford, Kent TN25 7BA 01233 720 922/0779 665 3890 34

April 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 3

focus on

ice cream

Parlour talk Looking for a guide to today’s favourite flavours? ANNE BRUCE asked five farm-based and town centre ice-cream parlours for their current Top 10s.

Nardini’s

Greenock, Scotland

Bluebells Real Dairy Ice Cream Spondon, Derby

Winstone’s Ice Cream

1. Bourbon vanilla 2. Devilishly Chocolate 3. Strawberries & cream 4. Amaretto & black cherry 5. Bread & butter pudding 6. Liquorice 7. Lemon meringue 8. Sticky toffee fudge 9. Mint crisp 10. Honeycomb crunch

Stroud, Gloucestershire 1. Vanilla 2. Chocolate 3. Strawberries & cream 4. Blackberries & cream 5. Honey & ginger 6. English toffee fudge 7. Lemon meringue 8. Rhubarb crumble 9. Gooseberry fool 10. Brown bread Winstone’s has been making ice cream in the Cotswolds since 1925 and sees itself as “quintessentially English” according to communications director Ben Vear. Using milk from cows that graze in the field next to its ice cream parlour, it has benefited from the growing support for locally sourced food. “We introduce seasonal specials throughout the year,” says Vear, “and we’re doing an elderflower & Champagne sorbet for the Royal Wedding.”

Bluebells sells ice cream through its own café and farm shop as well as selling to the retail trade. In summer, most of its ice cream is in cones and in winter it’s in take-home tubs. Owner and ice cream maker Oliver Brown says: “Seasonal flavours such as Hot Cross Bun and Christmas Pudding are always popular. In summer, people prefer fruit ice creams using fresh locally grown fruit and sorbets. In the winter it’s the richer ones like white chocolate & pistachio.”

www.winstonesicecream.co.uk

www.bluebelldairy.co.uk

Joe’s Ice Cream Swansea, south Wales 1. Vanilla (80% of sales) 2. Strawberry swirl 3. Chocolate swirl 4. Mint choc chip 5. Caramel Swirl 6. Strawberry 7. Milk chocolate 8. Cappuccino 9. Welsh cake 10. Banana toffee “The majority of customers eat our ice cream all year round,” says Dominic Hughes, MD of this long-established Welsh

ice cream maker and parlour operator. “Most locals stick to vanilla but tourists try a greater range of flavours.” “We’re working on a range of fruit sorbets and we’re hoping to launch these fresher flavours in time for the summer tourists.” The company has also looked at allergy-free products, but Hughes says ice cream free of a specific ingredient is “rather difficult to engineer”. “We wouldn’t want come away from what we’re good at doing and risk tarnishing the quality of our brand.”

1. Vanilla 2. Strawberry 3. Chocolate 4. Mint choc chip 5. Toffee tablet 6. Honeycomb 7. Toffee fudge 8. Irn-Bru sorbet 9. Donvito (cherry & choc) 10. New York cheesecake At Nardini’s, which describes itself as “Scotland’s most famous café, restaurant and ice cream parlour”, general manager Craven Cooper says: “We do a lot of seasonal lines, like mince pie flavour and the traditional Scottish raspberry Cranachan (oats, cream, whisky, raspberry) at Christmas. “At Valentine’s Day we do a honey flavour called Honey I Love You, and we also do Easter egg flavour. “We source milk locally, and organic is also something customers are becoming more aware of. I would say the big trend we are seeing is more and more people wanting allergy-friendly products – wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free and so on.” www.nardinis.co.uk

Shepherds Ice Cream Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire 1. Vanilla 2. Chocolate 3. Toffee honeycomb 4. Mint choc chip 5. Strawberry 6. Banana toffee 7. Stracciatella 8. Blackcurrant & liquorice 9. Hazelnut 10. Elderflower sorbet Shepherds, which has ice cream parlours in Hayon-Wye and Hereford, nowadays describes itself proudly as the maker of “the original sheep’s milk ice cream”. Founding partner Juliet Noble says: “We used to have to keep that quiet but people are open to sheep’s milk now. Our product is lighter than cows’ milk ice cream – like an Italian Gelato. People who can’t tolerate cows’ milk are delighted to be able to buy ice cream from us. Flavours are very seasonal. Nutty flavours do well in winter. Chocolate won’t sell as well in really hot weather, but that’s when sorbet sales really go up. We do strawberry and elderflower sorbets in season, which are very popular.” www.shepherdsicecream.co.uk

www.joes-icecream.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Mendip Moments

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April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

500ml

125ml

CMYK VERSIONS

Contact Liam Whelan, Export Sales Manager on 01534 818545 or Email: liam.whelan@jerseydairy.je • www.jerseydairy.je

PANTONE VERSIONS

focus on

ice cream

• Tiramisu is among this year’s new flavours from Dorset’s Purbeck Ice Cream. It’s a combination of fresh milk and thick double cream blended with an Italian sponge soaked in Marsala. Also new is Banoffee Ripple made with rich, creamy banana ice cream laced with dulce de leche ripple sauce. “The two flavours naturally complement one another,” says Purbeck Ice Cream’s Hazel Hartle.There are two new spicy options this year – cardamom and beetroot & horseradish – and a new sorbet that can claim ‘zero food miles’. Joe’s Cider Sorbet uses cider made with apple varieties gathered from Purbeck Ice Cream’s farm near Corfe Castle, including Golden Balls, Brown Snout and Slack Ma Girdle. www.purbeckicecream.co.uk

Recipe boost to year-round sales Mendip Moments has added two dishes to the recipe cards featuring its ice cream as a key component. The cards can be used by delis and farm shops to crosssell ingredients and encourage year-round purchase. “Rather than creating savoury ice creams,” says director Jayne Lunnon, “these recipes integrate existing ice cream flavours into a savoury dish. It’s all about encouraging customers to be more adventurous”. The recipes were devised by Amy Hunt of the Oak and Glass restaurant in Weston-super-Mare, who has worked with Raymond Blanc. They are Somerset lamb rump, hazelnut & green bean salad & Mendip Moments praline & pecan ice cream, and Cornish crab cakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce & Mendip Moments stem ginger ice cream. www.mendipmoments.co.uk • Cream o’ Galloway is adding two new flavours to its Made Fair range this summer: strawberries & cream, described as a swirl of strawberry through a creamy ice cream base, and caffé latte, a smooth coffee ice cream made with Fairtrade coffee and Fairtrade sugar. Both are available in 120ml impulse tubs (RRP £1.55) and in 500ml take home tubs (RRP £4.55). www.creamogalloway.co.uk • It’s Only Natural’s orange & mango Fruit Freezies are now available in a four-unit ‘family pack’. Founder Dan Brown launched the squeezeup ice lollies in 2010 as “a natural alternative to standard children’s impulse ice creams”. The family packs are available through Stratford Fine Foods at £15.60 plus VAT for a case of six. www.itsonlynatural.eu

• The Ice Cream Union has launched a new range of 120ml pots for London’s cinema, deli and theatre markets. Available in six flavours – vanilla, chocolate, stracciatella, strawberry, lemon sorbet and dulce de leche – the handmade ices have already been taken by The Electric Cinema in Notting Hill.

• Moocluck is a new all-natural ice cream brand made with fresh milk, fresh cream, free range egg yolks and fruit juices – and no added sugar. The company, which currently offers mango, blueberry and strawberry flavours (RRP £4.49 for 500ml) started six months ago in a small kitchen with a domestic ice maker. It is now selling into health food shops, farm shops and delis nationwide via The Health Store. www.moocluck.co.uk • Essex-based Hadley’s Diary launches a range of 125ml ice cream and sorbets this month, aimed at farm shops, delis and tourist outlets. Hadley’s says the Individuals pots have been priced to “compete competitively in the impulse market”, delivering a 35% gross margin at an RRP of £1.55. Every flavour in the range has won a Great Taste Award during the last four years, including three-star gold winners caramel & pecan, lemon sorbet and espresso coffee. Hadley’s, which is based in the Colne Valley area, has been making ice cream for eight years. www.hadleysdairy.co.uk

• Totally Indulgent is a new range of Fairtrade premium dairy ices from Benji’s. Five flavours are available in 50ml and 125ml tubs: strawberries & cream, chocolate, vanilla, rum & raisin and mint chocolate crisp. Benji’s Dairy Ice Cream is made in South Oxfordshire from Guernsey milk and cream sourced from a local dairy farmer. RRP for a 500ml Totally Indulgent tub is £3.99, and Benji’s offers support to run a threefor-£10 campaign with a wholesale price of £1.90 per tub. RRP for the 125ml tub is £1.50, trade price 69p. www.benjis.biz

• Tourists are a key target of the new Clan Maxwell luxury ice cream range launched last month by Northumberland’s Doddington Dairy. The dairy’s owners, the Maxwell family, are descendents of one of Scotland’s great Border clans. The new lines, packed in distinctive tartan cartons, are made from the Maxwell’s milk mixed with Scottish cream. Scottish growers will supply strawberries and other soft fruit and there will be limited edition and Scottish-themed flavours. The Maxwells farm near Berwick upon Tweed and hope “a taste of Scotland’s heritage” will appeal to food outlets and tourist attractions throughout the Borders. www.doddingtondairy.co.uk

Frozen yoghurt without the ‘tart taste’ Panzers deli-grocer’s in St John’s Wood and the Chelsea Design Centre café are among the first stockists for I Love FY, a new frozen yoghurt brand described as “a luxury-end product that’s lower in fat and calories but maintains the taste of ice cream”. The product, made for London-based I Love FY by Lovington’s in Somerset, has been on the market for a year or so in a different format, but the first I Love FY-branded packs are set to go on sale next month. Flavours are Vanilla But Thina, The Chocoholic’s Choice, Berry Believe It and The Honeycomb Effect. “It’s totally different to all the tart-tasting frozen yogurt products on the market at present,” says I Love FY co-founder Lisa Novick. Initially available in four flavours, the product are being sold in 100ml and 500ml tubs with RRPs of £1.49 and £3.99 respectively. “We know from the product in its previous form that cafés and delis were charging up to £2.50 for a 100ml tub and regularly placing repeat orders,” www.ilovefy.com says Novick.

www.icecreamunion. com Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Winner of over

40 Great Taste ®

Awards

Speciality Producer of the Year

embellish with relish ™

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THE FINEST ICE CREAM IN THE LAND

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4.5 litre Napoli pans available in any flavour required Great Retailer Margins and marketing support Please get in touch and request a free sample and more information BENJI’S DAIRY ICE CREAM · GREENLANDS FARM · MOULSFORD · OXON OX10 9JT steve@benjis.biz · www.benjis.biz · 01491 871654 · 07828 917363

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

product update

sauces & marinades

Drip,

• Proving cold pressed rapeseed oil can hold its own in a market dominated by olive oil, Farrington Oils has added another dressing to its range. A British take on a classic balsamic dressing, the dressing contains Aspall apple balsamic vinegar, British mustard, garlic, herbs and Farrington’s own Mellow Yellow rapeseed oil. It retails at around £3.25 for a 250ml bottle.

drip,

www.farrington-oils.co.uk

drip…

Spring’s here, and specialist suppliers have unveiled an April shower of new launches in table sauces, dressings, vinegars and marinades. LYNDA SEARBY reports. • British consumers seem to like the nose heat sensation of wasabi, which is why Atkins and Potts launched a wasabi & lime dressing at IFE last month. Atkins and Potts is running a 20% off promotion across all of its dressings during July and August.

• Uncle Roy’s One & Only Dressing with mustard seed oils went into production in November last year. It is prepared with mild mustard, organic cider vinegar, Moffat Meadows flower petal seasoning, honey and mustard seed oils. www. uncleroys.co.uk

• Red Soldiers, Marrowbones, Port Wine and Buttery Door are just a handful of the 30 local heritage cider apples that Robert’s Sauces grows for its vinegar based dressings, sauces, marinades, mayonnaises and vinegars. Owner Robert Imlach says the vinegars are matured in wooden barrels, which lend a vanilla and oaky flavour, before being mixed with other ingredients like cold-pressed rapeseed oil. The 17-strong ‘dressit’ range includes Somerset walnut & honey dressing, Seville orange & juniper dressing, walnut vinegar and garlic mayonnaise, and is available via Plough to Plate throughout the West Country. www.ploughtoplate.co.uk

www.atkinsandpotts. co.uk

Why Womersley won’t be dropping the ‘v’ word By MICK WHITWORTH

His company’s slogan is ‘botanically enthused’, and no-one could accuse Rupert Parsons (right) of failing to live the message. Parsons has poured heart and soul into promoting the Womersley brand of fruit and herb vinegars since taking over the firm from its founder, his father Martin, who died last year. As well as working hard at trade shows this year, Parsons is a relentlessly upbeat Tweeter about the Womersley brand and makes plenty of capital out of the many chefs, especially in the Yorkshire area, who regularly use his products. All three of the region’s Great British Menu chefs for 2011 cook with Womersley vinegars, he says. Whitby’s Rob Green, a former National Seafood Chef of the Year, now uses Womersley’s lime, black pepper and lavender vinegar in his batter. And Michelin-starred Lancashire chef Nigel Haworth is another long-standing supporter. They use flavours such as golden

raspberry & apache chilli or lemon, basil, bay & juniper both for their intense fruit kick and for their functional benefits in thickening and reducing sauces. But still, Parsons says, he’s battling hard against the preconception that vinegar is something to make you “screw your face up”. He took over running the Yorkshirebased business in 2009 and has instigated major changes, including a range rationalisation and a dramatic brand redesign by Mayday Living Brands. Of around 100 retail products and

pack sizes introduced by his father over the years, Parsons kept just eight vinegars, all in 250ml bottles, RRP £6.00, plus four fruit and herb jellies. Choosing which flavours to discard was “very hard” he says. But the toughest choice was not dropping variants but retaining the word ‘vinegar’. “At one time my father had used the word ‘dressings’, and various people have suggested ‘infusions’ or ‘essences’. But I made the brave decision to stick to 'vinegar’ and to focus on pointing out the difference between our products and people’s preconceptions. “A few years ago balsamic vinegar was almost unheard of, but once there was enough coverage from TV chefs, people began to understand that balsamic is ideal if you want that very, very sharp taste in your salad. We also have that sharpness, but for me it’s more about having an intense fruit flavour. We have just three ingredients: sugar, spirit vinegar – which is the mildest form of ascetic acid – and fruit. In something like our

raspberry vinegar it’s the fruit that is the critical part, and chefs use it to get that intense raspberry flavour.” To encourage more delis and their shoppers to try the product, Parsons will soon be providing 25ml samples in simple plastic bottles, so retailers can sample the full range at minimal cost. He also plans to reinstate 100ml bottles, to make the first purchase less of a risk for wary consumers, and is looking at swing tags to promote recipe and usage ideas. And he’s determined not to stop using the ‘v’ word. “I find it really exciting. If we were to do anything other than that we’d just be conforming – and where’s the fun in that?” www.womersleyfoods.co.uk

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

product update • Righteous All Natural Salad Dressings contain only ‘store cupboard ingredients’ and are made with rapeseed rather than olive oil. There are three variants: raspberry & sweet basil, ginger & toasted sesame and lemon & mustard seed, available through Marigold Health Foods and Cotswold Fayre. www.loverighteous.com

sauces & marinades

• Jamie Oliver has collaborated with a number of artisan producers to launch the Jme collection for the independent sector (see FFD last issue). The range includes three dressings: shallot & orange, beetroot & thyme and pink grapefruit & orange, which have an RRP of £4 for 250ml. www.aprideofplace.co.uk

• Suzanne’s has added two new flavours to its range of virtually fat free dressings. The elderberry, balsamic & tarragon dressing is recommended for dressing warm salads of mushrooms & caramelised shallots, goats’ cheese & roasted figs or sautéed chicken livers & pancetta. Lemon chilli & coriander dressing, meanwhile, is said to complement salads of smoked fish, roasted vegetables and smoked duck or chicken.

• Gastro Nicks is adding to its family of dressings with a classic vinaigrette which, like its other three dressings, contains just two basic ingredients: oil and vinegar – in this case a peppery extra virgin Sicilian olive oil and equal amounts of a young dark balsamic vinegar and an organic white balsamic vinegar, to give natural sweetness. www.gastronicks.co.uk

• New Zealand dressing and condiments company Wild Appetite is expanding its offering to UK retailers with three new products available from May. Balsamic & blackcurrant glaze is a marinade of Modena balsamic, blackcurrants and lime, while teriyaki marinade is an Asianinspired soy & mirin sauce. Both retail at £3.75 for 250ml. The third product is a strawberry & Champagne chocolate sauce for pouring over desserts, crepes, fresh fruit, cakes, muffins or waffles. The RRP is £3.99 for 250ml. www.wildappetite.com

www.suzannesvinegars.co.uk

• No.6 Balsamic Dressing is the sixth addition to The French Dressing Company’s wardrobe of dressings. It is made from Spanish extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and all the other ingredients ‘you would use to make dressing at home’, such as lemon juice, mustard and garlic. It retails at around £4.25 for 250ml.

• Retailers who like to stock products with an ethical dimension may be interested in a new vinaigrette from Just Oil, which is made from rapeseed oil produced by the Froggatt family on their farm in Staffordshire. The farm is part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and other environmental schemes, including encouraging the reintroduction of natural species such as the grey partridge. Just Vinaigrette comes in a 220g bottle and is said to combine the nutty flavour of the triple filtered oil with white wine vinegar, lemon, garlic and English mustard. www.justoil.co.uk

www.fdc-online.com

Some like it hot It seems consumers can’t get enough of fiery chilli sauces and speciality food producers are cashing in on this trend with their hottest ever introductions, several of them featuring naga chilli – reputedly the hottest chilli in the world. Cottage Delight has launched a table sauce that blends herbs, spices and peaches with super hot naga jalokia chillies. It is supplied in a 220ml bottle and retails at around £2.95. Scomac’s scotch bonnet sauce, containing 1% scotch bonnet chilli, is apparently too tame for palates south of the border. This has prompted the company to launch a hotter version of the sauce with double the amount of chilli. 40

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Karimix launched a fourstrong range of chilli sauces at IFE which are said to give ‘a hot, delicious depth of taste without decimating your taste buds’. The four 100ml variants are naga chilli sauce, piri-piri chilli sauce, scotch bonnet & mango chilli sauce and – for the cautious – sweet chilli sauce. The latest sauce from The Chilli Company rewrites the flavours rule book with the unusual combination of chipotle chillies and raspberries. The company says smoky chipotle raspberry sauce is a great pour-over sauce on steak, sausages, venison, turkey, or as a dessert sauce poured over ice-cream. www.chillicompany.com www.cottagedelight.co.uk www.karimix.com www.scomac.net

• Olives Et Al has made all eight of its dressings available in larger one litre squeezy bottles for the catering and foodservice trade. Made with extra virgin olive oil, fruit and vegetable juices, mustard and herbs, the range includes shallot & orange, raspberry & mint, chilli & mint, beetroot & thyme, lemon & dill, chilli & ginger, mustard & herb, and Pink Mojo. The dressings are also available in 250ml retail bottles (RRP £3.95). www.olivesetal.co.uk

• Greek food specialist Odysea has branched out into vinegars with three new products. Odysea red wine vinegar and Odysea white wine vinegar are both produced from Corinthain sun-dried grapes grown in the Kalamata region of the southern Peleponese. These grapes are renowned for their sweetness and produce delicious vinegars, says Odysea. The third vinegar is a dark, intense balsamic produced from Cretan red grapes and aged in oak barrels, a process which is said to produce a dark, intense vinegar with a well-balanced sweet-sour flavour. www.odysea.com

• Dutch company aMust is hoping its gourmet mayonnaises will prove a hit with UK foodies. The mayonnaises come in variants like fig & pepper, peppadew and truffle anchovy, and have a shelf life of one year despite being free of artificial additives, colourings, flavourings and preservatives. www.aMust.eu

DELI-CIOUS FINE FOODS

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Discover a whole new world of flavours Culinary inspiration to feed your imagination Truly tempting tastes, excellent quality, natural ingredients Gold great taste award winners Eye catching contemporary branding with unique shelf appeal

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info@deli-cious.net | www.deli-cious.net

DELI-CIOUS FINE FOODS Proudly announces our innovative 2011 range of • Infused Naturally Flavoured Olive Oils • Naturally Flavoured Fruit Balsam Vinegars • Herb & Spice Mixes • World Cuisine Inspired Dips • Mediterranean Herb Blends • Real Fruit Mustards • Pesto Mixes • Salsa Mixes

For orders and further information call Craig Riches on 0701 424 1352 DELI-CIOUS FINE FOODS | 5 Queen’s House | 176 South Road | Vauxhall | London SW8 IQS

info@deli-cious.net | www.deli-cious.net

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WE MAKE A DELICIOUS RANGE OF DRESSINGS, SAUCES, MAYONNAISE, VINEGARS AND OTHER CONDIMENTS. WE MAKE OUR OWN APPLE VINEGARS, HAVING PLANTED OVER 30 VARIETIES OF LOCAL HERITAGE APPLES. WE MAKE ALL OUR PRODUCTS FROM OUR OWN RECIPES. WE MAKE BESPOKE AND OWN LABEL TO ORDER. WE HAVE MADE TOP QUALITY PRODUCTS SINCE 1988. WE USE A WONDERFUL RAPESEED OIL COLD-PRESSED ON THE FARM. ALL AVAILABLE FROM PLOUGH TO PLATE 01579 363942

Our award winning dressings are all made right here in Dorset with lashings of Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil and big helpings of completely natural fruit juices. Nothing is added, no gunk, no artificial sweeteners, no thickeners, just natural ingredients and inspiration.

Available in 250ml bottles in cases of 6 and also in 1 litre polybottles. To find out more about the full range, call one of our lovely olively sales people

01258 474300 sales@olivesetal.co.uk

www.olivesetal.co.uk 42

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3



Dressit – East Chinnock, Somerset, BA22 9EY Tel. 01935 863663

product update • Sweet balsamic dressing with whisky – the latest creation from Scotland’s Little Doone Foods – might sounds like a mismatch, but according to owner Colin Hanna, the flavour is subtle with the smooth mellow notes of the whisky giving depth to the balsamic. “Even people who hate whisky, like my mother, actually really enjoy my new dressing,” he said. Little Doone has just completed a large order of the whisky dressings for the Scottish government, to be sent to America and Canada to promote fine Scottish produce as part of Scotland Week celebrations. www.littledoone.co.uk

sauces & marinades

• Sauces from US chef Tyler Florence, Ohio’s Robert Rothschild Farm, Wine Country Kitchens in Napa Valley and Kansas-based American Stockyard are just some of the lines available from RB Distribution, a new importer of speciality food from the US. www. americanfoodwholesalers. co.uk

• Delicioso is hoping to bring a ray of Spanish sunshine to the UK with the addition of four summer fruit vinegars to its 2011 catalogue. All packed in 100ml bottles, they are raspberry, passion fruit, fig and mango. www.delicioso.co.uk • The newest product from Tan Rosie is a line of Caribbean hot sauces, which includes garlic & pepper and spicy mango and hot papaya. Mother and daughter team Monica and Lee started Tan Rosie Foods in August 2010 to create Caribbean food inspired by Monica’s grandmother Tan Rosie, who was from Grenada.

• Chef, TV presenter, author and ‘food archeologist’ Alan Coxon has created presentation boxes for his historical range of vinegars. The gloss black gift boxes with metallic silver lettering contain his 15th century Mediaeval Old English Ale-Gar, Roman Vinaigre and Ancient Greek Vinaigre, as well as notes about the history and provenance of the products. www.alancoxon.com

• Chaat-tastic tamarind sauce claims to be completely different to the ‘low grade’ tamarind sauces in supermarkets and ethnic food stores, which the company says ‘are loaded with artificial ingredients, skimp on tamarind content and are often imported from the Indian sub-continent in leaky bottles’. Made from just four ingredients – raw tamarind, water, sugar and salt, the sauce can be used for dipping, cooking or as a marinade and goes with foods as diverse as chips and burgers, ice cream, salads and yogurt. www.chaat-tastic.com

Italian food importer Vado A Cena says that its search for the best balsamic vinegar ended with Giuseppe Giusti, the oldest producer of balsamic vinegar in Modena. It now distributes Riccardo Giusti’s Three Gold Medals vinegar, which it describes as ‘extraordinarily dense and with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste’. The vinegar is made according to an old family recipe and aged in antique barrels to create a ‘rounded, full bodied balsamic’. Vado A Cena is also supplying a Scrigno, which is a collection of five rare Giusti balsamic vinegars in handmade bottles presented in a solid wooden case. These are 20-, 25-, 30-, 40- and 50-year-old balsamics and include the Profumato and the Banda Rossa. www.vadoacena.com

www.tanrosie.com

• Seymours of Norfolk has redesigned the packaging for its sauces, vinegars and dressings. Lines sporting the new look include raspberry vinegar, hot pepper & chilli sauce and the latest addition, sweet pepper & mango sauce. www.seymoursofnorfolk.com

Ludlow’s the backdrop for new brand Delis who are on the lookout for products with a tale to tell may be interested in a new sauce story from Shropshire. Hall & Hesketh might sound like the name of a comedy duo but they are in fact two Ludlow locals who used to work in the music industry, then decided to redirect their creative talents into cooking, setting up a sauce making business.

A brace of balsamics

The business operates from a supposedly haunted 16th century house in the South Shropshire hills, where the sauces are made by hand in batches. The label adds another dimension to the quirkiness of the products – it was commissioned from Shropshire artist Katy Alston and is a bird’s eye view of Ludlow. Their range of three condiments, Ludlow Sauce, Ludlow Hot and Ludlow Summer, which were launched nationwide this spring, can be used as sauces, marinades and

dressings. Ludlow Sauce is described as a ‘full-bodied, smooth, rounded flavour that is intense, delicate and lightly acidic with wooden notes’. It is recommended for enhancing soups, strews, risottos and other savoury dishes. Ludlow Hot is a hotter version of the original Ludlow Sauce, which can be added to soups, stews, chilli-concarnes, curries and Cajun dishes. Ludlow Summer is a blend of oils, herbs and spices for use in salads, dips, cold meats and barbeque sauces.

Wholesaler Rowcliffe has started stocking a line of balsamic cream vinegars, whose texture and taste is said to be reminiscent of a traditional Balsamico Crema. The use of date syrup makes them very different from the more traditional Italian versions which achieve their creaminess mainly through using concentrated grape must and thickening agents, according to Rowcliffe. They are said to be ideal with hard and soft cheeses, leaf and fruit salads, folded into vanilla ice cream or combined with meat juices and reduced to gravy. www.rowcliffe.co.uk

www.hallandhesketh.co.uk

Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

THUR SDAY COT TAGE H A N D M A D E

P R E S E R V E S

GREAT TASTE 2010 RESULTS 2� Exquisite Thursday Cottage Lemon Curd Thursday Cottage Diabetic Three Fruits Marmalade 3� Wow – taste that Thursday Cottage Damson Fruit Coulis

Thursday Cottage was awarded the Best Speciality Product for the Midlands and East Anglia for the Damson Coulis in the 2010 Great Taste Awards. Perhaps the secret to this product is its simplicity, being just 80% fruit and 20% sugar. The variety we use is the Shropshire Prune, famous for its tart flavour which balanced with the distinctive sweet flesh, makes for a wonderful full flavoured product. Pour over Pavlova, ice-cream or yoghurt.

thursday cottage ltd trewlands farm tiptree colchester essex co5 0rf Telephone: 01621 814529 Fax: 01621 814555 jams@thursday-cottage.com www.thursday-cottage.com 44

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

A promotional feature for Anthony Rowcliffe & Son

Talking Cheese...

Main pic: Chabichou du Poitou is identified by its distinctive rind. Above: Bleu D’Auvergne often thought as the cows’ milk version of Roquefort. Below: Rocamadour can be eaten at 12-15 days but flavours intensify after two months ageing

Is there a new French Revolution? STEVE SMITH believes the French are rediscovering their old tricks

o, I’m not talking about storming the Bastille or barricading the streets of Paris, nor is this a scene from Les Miserables, but there does seem to be a shift in attitude from French cheesemakers and it may be good news for us. France has gone through a period of rationalisation, with large dairies taking over farms resulting in a reduction in farmhouse cheesemaking. It's similar to the trend of the sixties and seventies in the UK. I do believe that there are signs of a renaissance on these farms or in ‘fermier’ cheesemaking, with small producers reverting to artisan methods and using specific and traditional breeds of cows and goats for better quality milk rather than high yields. Some goats’ milk cheese producers are using goats’ rennet to complement the milk type and are even using warm milk straight from the milking sheds rather than allowing it to cool down. There are so many stories to tell customers that can create interest in store. Did you know that the farmers who make Ossau Iraty live in mountain huts for long periods to ensure their herd are grazing on the right grasses giving the unique flavour to this semi-hard cheese? It is an ideal time to support the great French cheesemaking tradition. Why not feature some new artisan cheeses this summer? Our new Artisan selection of roughly 30 cheeses are new to our list and the cheeses travel directly from France ensuring no unnecessary

storage time to retain shelf-life and freshness. Meanwhile, to whet your appetite and to give you some ideas for your counter here are a few of my favourites. Chabichou du Poitou is one of the older French goat cheeses made in the designated area above the chalky soils of Poitou. It is a small cheese with the classic crinkly rind and a lovely sticky paste. The flavour has a tangy finish. Mothais, another goats’ cheese from the region of Poitou/Charentes comes in a disk shape and on a chestnut leaf. Softer and slightly milder than the Chabichou. In the South of France some farmers are diverting their milk from Roquefort manufacture and making some superb sheeps’ milk cheeses such as Perail and Rocamadour with their fresh, clean flavours and tangy finish. Over the last few years I have noticed a decline in the sales of the cheeses from the Auvergne, so why not promote the fermier cheeses for a point of difference. Made on the farm, Bleu D’Auvergne, Fourme D’Ambert and St. Nectaire are unpasteurised and superior in quality with more character than the creamery made varieties. Marie Antoinette may have suggested they eat cake but I am sure you will agree, there are many more reasons to encourage our customers to eat cheese!

01892 838999 www.rowcliffe.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

THE FINEST PRE-PACKED SEAFOOD DELIVERED TO YOUR STORE

0800 012 6966 • info@fineseafood.co.uk • www.fineseafood.co.uk

TYRRELLS_FINE_FOOD_AD.indd 1

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

14/03/2011 13:29

focus on

BBQs & summer dining

Spice up your

BBQ fixture

Silvana Franco

consultant food director, delicious. “We’ve been hearing a lot about sharing dishes. People aren’t theming menus in such a tight way so you might find crostini or bruschetta at the same table as fresh Cornish mackerel coated with spices and served with a seasonal salsa. Exciting spice blends such as ras el hanout and Cajun rubs will be big. ‘Caravan cooking’ or ‘campervan cooking’ – food you can cook on a single ring or stove or on a disposable barbecue at a festival – is another trend as people holiday on a budget. They’ll be looking for exciting essentials like salt, spice rubs and oils.”

Debora Robertson

associate food editor, Red “Barbecuing is changing. We might now do it for a midweek supper rather than inviting 20 people round for burgers and bangers. I am seeing more people cooking whole, larger pieces of meat on it such as spatchcocked chicken and butterflied leg of lamb then possibly buying in all the other bits – some marinated artichokes or peppers. People want shortcuts that don’t compromise on flavour. I’m also detecting a trend towards southern Mediterranean and Persian spices such as cumin and sumac.”

Sarah Randell

food director, Sainsbury’s magazine “Barbecues are being glammed up. People are starting to theme them and to look beyond burgers in buns. For al fresco dining, we’ll be focusing on Mexican, Spanish and Moroccan flavours – tortillas and flatbreads with different fillings – and also at steak. People have a very high understanding of steak now and are prepared to spend money on it. Argentinian chimichurri, Moroccan spice rubs and Vietnamese and Thai spice mixes can be used to add a little interest to meat while smoked ketchups and relishes replace barbecue sauce. “Salads have changed too. Expect to see people using different grains such as quinoa, barley couscous and giant couscous and Middle Eastern spices such as sumac. Don’t forget pudding: frozen yoghurt is going to be huge.”

Jiri Vaclavek/Dreamstime.com

From aromatic French vinaigrettes to Argentinean chimichurri, an adventurous approach to outdoor cooking creates new sales opportunities for fine food. HILARY ARMSTRONG asked six consumer food editors for their hot – and cold – tips. Alex Mead

editor, Food & Travel Magazine “Barbecuing brings out our competitive streak. We’re already past the idea of really good British beefburgers. We now want to show off that our beef is biodynamic and our buffalo is British. We can’t just put any blue cheese with our burger: we have to know all about it. “We know that our core ingredients – great meat, great fish – are good now so we’re turning our attention to the extras: the marinades, relishes and specialist condiments. I really like some of the interesting speciality salts that are around – I’ve just seen a red wine one from France – and the aromatic vinaigrettes from Le Moulin des Cépages.”

Chloe Scott

food and drink editor, Metro “The burger is bigger than ever this year. Thanks to the likes of Yianni Papoutsis of #meateasy [a South London ‘pop up’ burger restaurant], the burger has gained cult status. I’m going to be looking at all the elements that go into creating the perfect burger at home. Starting with the beef, do you go for grass-fed British and what cut do you choose? Then there’s the bread: do you use a sourdough roll or an American brand like Martin’s potato bread? Montgomery’s Cheddar or an American cheese? For the sauces and mayos: do you go the Deep South route and serve a spicy mayo or try an aioli? These are the big debates.”

Marina Filippelli

food editor, Waitrose Kitchen “The food of the eastern Mediterranean is going to be big. Thanks to Yotam Ottolenghi more than anyone else, people are now using spice mixes such as za’atar and starting to recognise giant couscous (moghrabieh). One can see it in the new restaurants such as Ottolenghi’s Nopi, Peter Gordon’s Kopapa and Silvena Rowe’s Quince, all of which have a ‘tapas’ slant. Food for sharing is a direction people are likely to take at home. Instead of dinner parties, they’ll just put everything in the middle. Look out for ‘the big salad’ – the power of Ottolenghi yet again! As we eat less meat, the main dish is no longer a big chunk of meat; it’s just one of many dishes.” Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

Fine Food Digest Portrait.pdf 1 24/02/2011 14:02:24

The Bay Tree BBQ Range.. The Taste of Summer

CMY

Summer BBQ promotion now running! Call for details..... T: 01749 831300 E: sales@thebaytree.co.uk

The Bay Tree Food Co Lower Westcombe Farm Somerset BA4 6ER

ee r s Th EWuce Nle Sa b Ta

Perfect for summer barbeques Flavoured with JIM BEAM® Bourbon

Available from 1st July

Only for serious chilli fans - taste with care!

We produce a wide range of award winning table sauces, chutneys, jams and marmalades by hand using the finest ingredients. These sauces have been created by our development chef and made by us in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Our passion for great tasting products and devotion to quality has been recognised, to date, by 111 Great Taste Awards. Cottage Delight’s commitment is to the independent trade and we will never be seen on supermarkets shelves. Get ready for the barbecue season by placing your order now on 01538 32020.

A family company passionate about good food. 48

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

www.cottagedelight.co.uk

focus on

BBQs & summer dining

• Will fruit beer served over ice be one of the drinks of summer 2011? The producer of Liefmans Fruitesse reckons so after the refresher became popular in Belgium, its home country, last year. Fruitesse is brewed on Liefman’s traditional cherry/ kriek brown beer base, with the addition of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and elderberry. At 4.2%abv, it’s reckoned to deliver the “exuberance and balance of a top rosé wine” at roughly a third of the alcohol. It’s already on sale in Waitrose at around £1.60 for 25cl. www.liefmans.be

• Scotch eggs have seen a revival in interest, thanks partly to media coverage in magazines such as Olive. Now The Handmade Scotch Egg Co has brought its own twist to another popular picnic product: the sausage roll. New for 2011, Chelsea Tractors are ovenbaked puff pastry coils around various pork-based fillings, with extra ingredients such as cranberries, black pudding and onion marmalade. There’s also a meat-free Vegetabularian Tractor with chickpeas,cheese, sun-dried tomato & onion marmalade – but no pork. Chelsea Tractors sell to the trade at 80p, RRP £1.50. www.handmadescotcheggs.co.uk

• The Bay Tree Food Co has added sweet cucumber pickle to its everyday condiments range. The product, previously only available in a gift jar, is handmade from whole cucumber with peppers and mustard seeds and is said to “the perfect partner to burgers, fish dishes and cheese”. RRP is £3.20 for a 300g jar. • Cottage Delight has introduced four premium beers from Leek Brewery, which is co-owned by Cottage Delight boss Nigel Cope. The sporting themed beers – Armchair Referee, A Real Hooker, Howzat and Going for a Birdie – are pitched as “ideal for sports fanatics and perfect to take to BBQ gatherings”.The hand brewed and hand bottled range consists of golden and ruby beers plus a smooth dark stout, RRP £2.25 (500ml). “Premium beers can provide an additional revenue stream for independent retailers as the consumer demand for real ale continues to increase every year” says marketing manager Wayne Hampton. www.cottagedelight.co.uk

• At 10.5%abv, Biddenden sparkling cider is a powerful addition to the range of wines, ciders and juices from Biddenden Vineyards in Kent. The newcomer is bottle-fermented in the traditional method from a blend of Kentish culinary and dessert apples to create a dry, refreshing cider. www. biddendenvineyards. com

www.thebaytree.co.uk

Out of Africa, via north London

The De Beauvoir Deli in north London and The Bakery at County Hall have become the first trade stockists of Bim’s Kitchen, a new brand of North African-inspired sauces and condiments from a London-based artisan producer. With recipes including Spicy African Ketchup and Hot Tangy BBQ sauce, co-founder James Adedeji reckons many of his lines are natural partners for barbecue food. Adedeji, who spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, joined forces with wife Nicola to develop the Bim’s range, based on typical ingredients from sub-Saharan Africa, while still working fulltime for the Department of Health. “We sell our products at Palmers Green Community Market as well as online, “ says Adedeji, who also began selling at Alexandra Palace farmers’ market last month. Prices are still to be finalised as the young company begins moving into the wholesale market as well as selling direct to consumers. Meher Salman of Indian chutney maker The Spice Shelf has been acting as “informal mentor” to the business, Adedeji told FFD. Other products in the Bim’s Kitchen range include peppernut sauce, Lemony Piri Piri and lemon, garlic & pepper sauce. www.bimskitchen.com

• Mul-be, from Nottinghamshire’s Progressive Food Co, is available in two variants: a pure mulberry version and a mulberry & blueberry blend. Both contain 50% pure not-fromconcentrate fruit juice and are free from artificial colourings, sweeteners, flavourings or preservatives. Mulberries are said to be rich in antioxidants and a good natural source of vitamin C. RRPs are £1.20 for 252ml or £2.85 for 780ml. www.mul-be.com

Luxury on a skewer • Suffolk hot pepper farmer and sauce-maker The Chilli Co is launching four smoky chilli condiments that it says “would go really well with summer dining and BBQs”. Intended to complement the brand's existing Hot range, the new lines – a ketchup, mayo, salsa and raspberry sauce – contain just “a touch of chipotle chilli” for gentle warmth to ensure a broad appeal. www.chillicompany.com

Scallops on skewers and Mediterranean crevettes are among a new range of seafood products designed for the barbecue by the Fine Seafood Co, whose customers include Whole Foods Market and Lina Stores. RRPs range from £4.50 for the scallops to £29.95 for a seafood platter, all delivering gross margins of 55%-plus. Other products include the Sea & Shore skewer (tiger prawns and pineapple) and the luxury seafood skewer (salmon, tiger prawns and scallops in bacon). “We deliver to London and the South East in our own vehicles and to the rest of the UK by overnight courier,” says the Fine Seafood Co’s Alistair Ramus. www.fineseafood.co.uk

• Ludlow Summer is a blend of oils, herbs and spices designed to enhance salads, dips, cold meats and barbecue sauces. It’s part of a new range of three condiments and sauces from Shropshire-based Hall & Hesketh covering a range of uses from marinades to Cajun cooking. All are £2.99 to the trade, RRP £5.99. www.hallandhesketh.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

www.parkerspackagingdirect.com

......and then there was BARO light

Purchase with confidence from a company that has been trading since 1952!

BUY ONLINE New combi solution of containers and lids in one box.

The one-stop-webshop for all your food, drink and ice cream packaging. FREE DELIVERY on all UK mainland orders over £150.00 Promote Sales & Protect Produce with Energy Efficient Lighting Millbrook Court, Overbrook Lane, Knowsley, Merseyside L34 9AS www.parkerspackagingdirect.com

www.baro.co.uk | info@baro.co.uk | Tel: 0161 777 9292

I’ve now got ❝ boundless enthusiasm, real confidence and I really want to talk to my customers about my deli counter

What will you learn?

❞

• The five golden rules for increasing deli sales • How to select the best cheese and charcuterie • How to create the best counter display • How to avoid bad quality cheese and charcuterie • How to sell proactively rather than reactively • The difference between artisan and mass-produced cheeses and meats through comparative tastings

Jo Davies, Stokely Barton Farm Shop

Training dates for the Charcuterie & UK Cheese Guild Charcuterie dates for 2011 Date Tues April 5 Mon June 13 Weds July 6

Cheese dates for 2011 Date Weds April 6 Thurs May 26 Tues June 14 Mon June 20 Thurs July 7

Venue Cheshire Glasgow York

Course costs Members of The Guild of Fine Food just £65, plus VAT (@ 20%). Non-members £90, plus VAT (@ 20%). For more information: E-mail: linda.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk Tel: 01963 824464 www.finefoodworld.co.uk *NB. Unfortunately we have had to introduce a £10 plus VAT (@ 20%) surcharge for London training dates due to higher venue costs. Avilton foods

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

Venue Cheshire London* Glasgow GFF, Wincanton, Somerset York

EDITE CR

shelftalk

Looking for suppliers accredited by the Guild of Fine Food? Follow the logo

S U P LI E P

fresh thinking

Greek-style yogurts for kids Tims Dairy is launching a new Greek-style yogurt with raspberry that will be available in both a 175g adult size and a 4 x 85g format, dubbed Tiny Tims, designed to break into the children’s category. Suitable for children from the age of six months, these ‘no bits’ yogurts include banana, strawberry, peach and raspberry flavours and provide a nutritious snack or dessert option with no hidden ingredients. The new products, which have eyecatching packaging designed to provide strong shelf presence, will join Tims Dairy’s existing retail yogurts range in early summer. 01494 541890

NICK HEMPLEMAN

www.timsdairy.co.uk

Complex combination makes great craft beer

RAVEN BLACK IPA

Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire says it has used the best quality Maris Otter, Munich and chocolate malts and a ‘cocktail’ of hops including Nelson Sauvin, Centennial, Sorachi, Chinnook and Amarillo to create Raven, its new bottled black IPA. The 6.6% abv brew is described as providing “the classic IPA aromas of grapefruit and strong fresh bitterness”. Thornbridge says it uses a combination of technology and craft skills to brew Raven without using pasteurisation or filtration, and thus avoids any loss of delicate flavour and aroma molecules. Raven is available in cases of 12 x 500ml bottles, RRP £2.50. 01629 641000 www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk

6.6% ABV

New cross-selling option for the cheese counter R

Tracklements has produced A5 information cards to support the S U P LI E P launch of a new range of fruit cheeses launched last month. There are three varieties – quince, damson and gooseberry – supplied in counter-top boxes to provide add-on sales at the cheese counter. Marketing director Becky Vale told FFD: “I highly recommend the quince with Manchego or other sheep’s cheeses, the damson with strong soft cheeses or blues and the gooseberry with hard, nutty cheeses or a strong cheddar.” The set, pure fruit preserves can also be spread on a cheese scone, she says. The trio are www.tracklements.co.uk available in cases of six x 100g for £10. RRP is £2.65. EDITE CR

‘Wedding breakfast’ preserve for royal nuptials 29th April 2011

01780 450774 www.thepickledvillage.com

Made in Bulwick, Northamptonshire, NN17 3DY

The Pickled Village’s Camille Ortega McLean took inspiration from the Kir Royale cocktail to come up with a ‘wedding breakfast marmalade’ to celebrate the upcoming royal wedding. The result is a thin-cut lemon marmalade with Champagne and a splash of Crème de Cassis.

The Pickled Village® was founded in 2008 though the origins of Bulwick date to the 15th century. Founder Camille Ortega McLean has kept the village well-preserved if a little pickled!

Inspired by the Kir Royale cocktail.

™

the Wedding Breakfast

340g/12oz

29th April 2011

a thin-cut lemon marmalade with champagne & a splash of crème de cassis

Here’s to Wills and new bride Kate, On this most auspicious date. Let’s raise our glass - just one at most, And make our marmaladey toast! Ingredients: Sugar, thin-cut lemon, champagne, crème de cassis, gelling agent (fruit pectin). Sugar content: 60g per 100g. Made with 40g fruit per 100g.

www.thepickledvillage.com

Who can resist a fat, freshly cut bunch of English asparagus? Not me, nor most of your customers I'll bet. £2.95 a bunch is a fair price in most parts of the country, of which 50% should be profit and even a quiet deli ought to be able to shift 20 bunches a day – and twice that on Saturdays. The season is short – St. George’s Day (April 23) to the Longest Day (June 21) – so that’s £1,980 profit and two excellent themed days you can promote into the bargain. Asparagus must be fresh. Its delicate sugars turn to starch really quickly so local is best. If you don’t know of a local grower, try www.british-asparagus.co.uk or explore your local wholesale market. The cut ends of the asparagus stem are what shows its freshness. Avoid anything old and cracked. Try to buy daily or at most every other day.

“Asparagus must be fresh. Its delicate sugars turn to starch really quickly so local is best.’’ Asparagus in an old wooden trug looks the part but what else could you do? What about hollandaise? Good hollandaise contains raw egg and EHOs take different views. If you plan to make it, speak to them first – better safe than sued. If you don’t want to make it yourself then find a really good brand. Ouse Valley Foods is one of the few commercial suppliers to make a chilled, unpasteurised version (www. ousevalleyfoods.com/hollandaise-sauce). Other dual merchandising opportunities include good local butter, a really good hard sheep’s cheese (wonderful grated over the top of steamed spears) or Parma ham for wrapping up cooked stems. The key to asparagus is freshness. It will become a magnet for customers, but only if it’s good – it’s cheaper to chuck produce away than palm it off on someone who won’t come back and who tells another 10 people about their bad experience. For those retailers lucky enough to have kitchens, asparagus soup or asparagus tarts are winners, either to eat in or take away. If you find a local grower, make sure to ask them about second class ‘grass’ for the kitchen – there's nothing wrong with it apart from the shape and it will be half the price. Make the most of the asparagus season but, unless you have an extensive produce display, when the season finishes, axe it. Don’t be tempted by foreign imports – leave your customers wanting more. Next there are all those strawberries to find room for. www.thesussexproducecompany.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 2 March 2011

Great Taste Markets seeing over 250,000 customers in 2011 This year will see Great Taste Markets at over 30 locations throughout the UK. These low-cost events will provide Great Taste Award-winning producers the opportunity to reach wider audiences, raising awareness and creating unique sales opportunities. Access to these markets is only for holders of the coveted gold stars. It’s another reason to be a part of the most exclusive food producer club in the land. National Shows Three of the markets this year will be taking place at major national consumer shows and both Spirit events will feature a tasting theatre where consumers can try your award-winning food and drink. To find out more speak to Sally or Becky on 01963 824464 and select ‘1’.

RHS Show, Tatton Park July 20-24 2011

Olympia, May 11-14 2011

Olympia, November 2-6 2011

Regional Shows Great Taste Markets will also be at a series of regional events, shows and in shopping malls. You can see a full list of these markets at the Events Diary at www.finefoodworld.co.uk. To find out more contact david.popplestone@finefoodworld.co.uk or ring him on 01993 805000.

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S U P LI E P

product news from Guild accredited suppliers

• Celtic Marches has launched two liqueurs. Bloody Furlong, 27% abv, is a brandy, apple & maple liqueur said to offer spice with a hint of honey and an undercurrent of ripe apple with the earthy warm finish from the maple. Number Nine, 20% abv, is a brandy, apple & blackcurrant liqueur described as smooth and fruity with flavours of juicy fruits with a warming finish. Both are packed in 50cl bottles with a wax seal. 01684 569142

www.celticmarches.com

• Auberge du Chocolat is launching a new range of artisan frozen yoghurts and low fat frozen yoghurts in 125ml and 500ml tubs as well as in 2 litre containers or 5 litre napolis if required. RRPs are £2.50 for the 125ml tub and £4.75 for 500ml tubs. The range is available for direct delivery to delis, restaurants and fine food retailers throughout south east England. 0781 855 0872

www.aubergechocolat.co.uk

• Bread & butter pudding real dairy ice cream is a new recipe developed by Bluebells in Derbyshire to mark a visit by the Prince of Wales. Available in 500ml and 1 litre tubs, the new flavour is made using fresh milk from Bluebells’ dairy herd on Brunswood Farm and locally baked bread soaked in brandy syrup, flavoured with nutmeg before raisins and sultanas are added. 01332 673924

www.bluebelldairy.co.uk

• Artisan ice cream producer Yummy Yorkshire has launched a range of reducedfat, reduced-calorie products that contain 92% less saturated fat than its regular ice cream. The three new flavours – Very Berry, lemon meringue and blueberry – are made with skimmed milk and natural yogurt and have been launched in response to demand for slimline options. 01226 762551

www.yummyyorkshire.co.uk

• Organico’s new Tuscan organic tomato range is grown and packed in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. The range includes passata 680g, peeled tomatoes 400g, chopped tomatoes 400g, tomato & basil sauce 340g, arrabbiata pasta sauce 340g and olives & capers sauce 340g. RRPs range from £2.35 for the sauces to £1.35 for the tomatoes. They join existing tomato sauces in the Organico stable and are available from wholesalers such as Queenswood and Tree of Life. 0118 923 8760

sales@organico.co.uk

• Alder Tree has redesigned its 500ml packs of handmade fruit cream ices to better reflect the quality of its products as well as providing a more eye-catching look. There is more space on the pack to tell people about the family farm in Suffolk, how the business works and where the ingredients come from, and also some quotes from celebrities. Valentine Warner, for example, describes the products as “out of this world”. 01449 721220

info@alder-tree.co.uk

Cereal maker moves into wholegrain snacks Rude Health has launched a new range of wholegrain healthy snacks that are said to combine the company’s passion for grains with everything it has learnt from years of making award-winning cereals. Multigrain Thins, Oaty Thins and Rice Thins contain the natural flavours of corn, buckwheat, quinoa, millet and rice with a touch of Sicilian sea salt. The grains are gently puffed into a thin, crisp, colourfully speckled discs. The range comes in cases of five packs and the RRPs are £2.19 for Oaty Thins and Multigrain Thins and £1.89 for Rice Thins. The products will be listed by Cress Co, Essential, Hider, Infinity, Marigold, Queenswood, Pride of Place, Suma and Tree of Life. 020 8877 9821

EDITE CR

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BOTTLED

JOHN FARRAND Funny old times in the world of the hard stuff. We’re getting mixed messages about consumer demand. Last month Oddbins decided to call time on 39 stores across the country and it’s being a little coy about how many staff have gone. Late last year the very same high street retailer joined Tesco and Sainsbury in closing booze-cruise-focused cross-channel stores in Calais. Yet reading research by Datamonitor, published in March 2011, we’re led to believe off-sales are up at the expense of the on-trade, with beer and wine matching now de rigueur among dine-at-home foodies. What’s more relevant to our sector in this research is that premium, ethical and organic food brands are best positioned to take advantage, as consumers who buy those foods are more likely to understand how to match food to drink. The research indicates that 44% of people who feel informed about food matching

“So does the demise of Oddbins create high street opportunities?’’ buy organic or premium food and drink regularly. So does the demise of Oddbins create opportunities on the high street? Perhaps more independents should have a stab at the alcohol game. The weather’s sort of cheered up and it turned my mind to barbecues – and more specifically what to drink with them. Lighter premium bottled bitters could appeal to the majority who now drink lager. And, for a minority of traditionalists, they’re a nod to the IPA-style beers enjoyed on the sub-continent then shipped over here. I realise packaging shouldn’t sway true beer folk but I took a look at Otley’s range of multi-award-winning beers this month (including its porter, which picked up a two-star Great Taste Awards gold in 2010) because they’ve been given a fresh twist to their bottle caps. Otley has helped consumers differentiate the range by using coloured caps alongside the striking, but slightly samey, black and white main label. The one I plumped for was O-Garden, as I was in an outdoor frame of mind. It’s an excellent, clean and zesty wheat beer that somehow gets away with the mulled-wine experience (cloves, coriander and roasted orange are on the ingredients list) when it’s served very slightly chilled. Another option on a birdtweeting, heat shimmering day has got to be Otter Bright. Like the Otley it’s sold in 500ml bottles but it’s a lighter proposition altogether. Brewed with lager malt and Fuggles hops, it’s an ideal up-sell amongst the BBQ meats, charcoal and salad leaves. www.otleybrewing.co.uk www.otterbrewery.com john.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 2 March 2011

classified

BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUSINESSES FOR SALE CL EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT HYGIENE PRO PACKAGING PHOTOGRAPHY RECRUITMENT REFRIGERATION SECURITY SH WANTED WEB DESIGN BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUS EPOS TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIP • baking equipment

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Refractometers for Quality Control Digital Hand Refractometer

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Doves Farm Foods

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We mill and bake high-quality, delicious and healthful products suitable for special diets Speciality ﬂour Baking requisites Gluten free premium pasta Delicious gluten free cookies Organic ﬂapjacks & cereal bars Gluten free breakfast cereals

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Order online: www.dovesfarm.co.uk or call our sales team on 01488 684 880

VISIT www.johnhuntbolton.co.uk TO SEE OUR RANGE OF MACHINES, PLUS VIDEO CLIPS OF THE MACHINES IN OPERATION OR CALL + 44 (0) 1204 521831 / 532798 OR FAX + 44 (0) 1204 527306

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HS HS French Flint Ltd FF Speciality Glassware for the more discerning producer.

Ring us on: 01628 668836 or visit us at: QuickLabel.co.uk Unit 4G, The Leathermarket, Weston Street, London SE1 3ER

Tel: 020 7407 3200 Fax: 020 7407 5877

www.FrenchFlint.com

April 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 3

LOTHING COLD TRANSPORT DESIGN CONSULTANTS EPOS TECHNOLOGY ODUCTS INGREDIENTS INSURANCE LABEL SUPPLIERS LEGAL SERVICES HOPFITTING TICKETING TRAINING LEASING Call & ourDESIGN sales teamSUNDRIES on 01963 824464 today to discuss the rightVEHICLE classified heading SINESSES FOR SALE CLOTHING COLD TRANSPORT DESIGN CONSULTANTS , ingredients or services for your equipment PMENT HYGIENE PRODUCTS INGREDIENTS INSURANCE LABEL SUPPLIERS • labelling

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A unique range of plastic packaging for food Reliable leadtimes and service - sensible minimum order size Products available from stock in transparent

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digest

www.vwa.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 3 · April 2011

April 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 3