FFD July by Guild of Fine Food

July 2011 · Vol 12 Issue 6

at the heart of speciality food and drink

Eastern promise Sally Butcher of Persepolis lists her Middle Eastern essentials digest

SPECIAL REPORT JULY 2011

INCLUDES: • Atlantico (UK) • La Bandiera • Bellota • Bespoke Food • Brindisa • Cheese Cellar • Cotswold Fayre • Country Products • La Credenza • Delicious Fine Foods

IN THIS ISSUE: YOUR FREE GUIDE TO IMPORTERS & DISTRIBUTORS ‘ROTTEN’ FISH AND 45 KINDS OF CRISPBREAD Scandinavian Kitchen is our Deli of the Month

WE PICK THE BEST LINES FROM HARROGATE ’11 Read our Editor’s Choice on p56

• Delicioso • El Olivo Olive Oil Co • The Fine Confectionery Co • France Gourmet • Gourmet World

2011 Guide to Importers & Distributors

• Guidetti Fine Foods • Heart Distribution • hf Chocolates • Hider Food Imports • Iberflavours • Just So Italian • Marshwood Foods • Il Mercato/ Fine Foods from Sicily • Olives Et Al • Robert Wilson’s ‘Ceylon’ Tea • Anthony Rowcliffe & Son • Shire Foods (Norfolk) • Taste of Barbados • Terra Rossa

ANNUAL PULL-OUT-AND-KEEP GUIDE TO FINE FOOD IMPORTERS, WHOLESALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

‘HANG ON TO YOUR MARGINS’ Top retailers warn delis against letting inflation erode profits

INSIDE: CHEESEWIRE PAUL CASTLE PASTA OLIVES DE’CLARE DELI OLIVE OIL LOCH LEVEN’S LARDER

F THEY FAIL OUR EXAMINATION THEY DON’T GET ANY MARKS

The authentic taste of Prosciutto di San Daniele and Formaggio Grana Padano can be traced back to traditional Italian recipes handed down from generation to generation and to meticulous quality control.

While both proudly bear their own marks to denote the meticulous production control and rigorous selection process, the PDO hallmark (Protected Designation of Origin), a trademark issued by the EU, is also added to the packaging.

The location of Friuli, where cold northern winds from the Alps and warm breezes from the Adriatic Sea meet, makes for the perfect conditions to produce the air-cured, fragrant tasting Prosciutto di San Daniele.

So look for the marks of authenticity, and enjoy some of the finest food Italy can produce.

•

OTECTED PR

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July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

ORIGI

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Campaign financed with aid from the European Union and Italy.

Formaggio Grana Padano, with its centuries old savoury sweet flavour and rich grainy texture, comes from the Po Valley area and is still made to the same original recipe created by Cistercian monks.

Guaranteed.

opinion

in this issue

You’ve got to feel sorry for Sainsbury boss Justin King. First he gets a lowly CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list when, a decade ago, Sir Terry of Tesco got a knighthood. Then his takehome pay slumps from £8 million to a measly £3.5 million. We’re all suffering badly in this recession. Sainsbury posted a 17% profits rise, which followed Tesco’s hike of 12.3% to £3.8 billion. In case you were wondering how much supermarkets are sharing our pain, new Tesco boss Philip Clarke assured us 70% of growth came from Asia and Europe while UK profits only increased by a miserly £120 million. I’ll say it again: we’re taking the pain together. I was told recently that wherever possible, supermarkets look for a 50% profit on return on the majority of their lines and many grant interviews to salespeople on the explicit understanding that price increases are not part of the discussion. Last month, Cathedral City cheddar producer Dairy Crest was quoted in The Grocer claiming the company wouldn’t “be outpromoted by anyone”, which might explain why some farmhouse cheddar makers struggle to achieve wholesale prices that deliver any margin at all. On p4 of this issue, Country Food & Dining’s Tom Newey claims holding margin is difficult for delis and farm shops because they must compete with the big guys on ‘core basket items’. He may well be right but there’s no denying high quality speciality food and drink can rarely be made on the cheap. The relationship between speciality food producer and independent retailer is closer than any supermarket will ever be with its suppliers, born out of mutual dependence. If prices are held artificially low, quality suffers or the producer goes broke. Or both. Read Colin Dawes on p6 to understand how supermarkets screwed up British lamb. Without top quality food and drink, we’ll slide back to the early 1990s, to a time of ‘value’ when our culinary heritage was piled high and sold cheaply, we had less than 1,000 delis and most farm shops were pick-your-owns. Consumer expectations have risen enormously, but to survive this recession we need to keep exposing the lie that supermarkets are “taking the pain” by holding down food prices. Their profits tell the real story. But we also we need to get clever. Producers need margin to survive. So do retailers. If both are to be sustained, neither should compete on price. The battle will be fought on wider fields. Supermarket shopping is boring and offers little excitement. Paul Castle may have the answer on p12. His deli weekends at Farrington’s Farm Shop, highlighting new lines and bringing suppliers on-site to meet shoppers, create an interesting, fun shopping experience and have upped sales by 30%. That’s almost worth a knighthood.

❝Producers need margin to survive. So do retailers. If both are to be sustained, neither should compete on price.❞

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

fine food news

High footfall but low profit margins are a ‘recipe for disaster’ for independents p4 at the heart of speciality food and drink

digest

SPECIAL REPORT JULY 2011

INCLUDES: • Atlantico (UK) • La Bandiera • Bellota • Bespoke Food • Brindisa • Cheese Cellar • Cotswold Fayre • Country Products • La Credenza • Delicious Fine Foods • Delicioso • El Olivo Olive Oil Co • The Fine Confectionery Co • France Gourmet • Gourmet World

2011 Guide to Importers & Distributors

ANNUAL PULL-OUT-AND-KEEP GUIDE TO FINE FOOD IMPORTERS, WHOLESALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

special report: importers & distributors

Your pull-out-and-keep guide to suppliers of UK and international speciality foods p19

product update: olives Will creating new snack packs help upgrade the snack category – or risk downgrading olives? p47

product update: pasta Fresh or dried? We hear why Italians find a place for both on their menus. p49

product update: olive oil

The latest bottles, tins and bulk formats to refresh your olive oil fixture p51

Pick of Harrogate ’11

FFD editor Mick Whitworth selects his personal favourites from last month’s Harrogate show p56

regulars:

news deli of the month deli chef cheesewire shelf talk

4 12 15 16 55

EDITORIAL Editor: Mick Whitworth News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Menna Davies, 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

What they’re saying ❝I’d love to have 10 shops, but only if each one operates as a unit, so I can just oversee it. I’ve seen a lot of retailers burn out because they try to do everything themselves in every store. You have to allow yourself to train others to do the job.❞ Bronte Blomhoj-Aurell, Scandinavian Kitchen – p12

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 High footfall but low profit margin is a ‘recipe for disaster’, warns Chandos boss

Delis urged to hold margins as food inflation tops 5% By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Leading retailers have warned that delis and farm shop owners who do not maintain control of margins as inflation bites are putting their businesses at risk. Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show food inflation is currently running at 5.3%, well above the general rate of inflation of 4.5%, due to huge leaps in commodity prices such as wheat, sugar, cocoa and coffee, as well as increases in packaging and fuel costs. Fish, oils and sugar-based products, such as jam and confectionery, showed the biggest price increases, up 11%, 20% and 7.5%, respectively compared to a year before. Cocoa prices have risen 22% in two years. “There seems to be a price rise almost every day now and we’ve had to put some Iain Keith Smith: ‘We’re paying the same rent and rates as fashion retailers who make 60-80% margins’ of our prices up 10% after holding out for over a year,” said Iain Keith Smith, who At Country Food & Dining, which runs four farm shops owns West Country deli chain Chandos. in the south of England, operations director Tom Newey “Not paying close attention to margins is hugely added: “If people think it’s a simple case of passing on dangerous. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s only an extra 50p per price increases as a matter of course, then they will face kilo, we can absorb that,’ but lots of customers but no problems in these rough economic times. We have to margin is a recipe for bankruptcy. We’re paying the same weigh up each price increase as they come. It’s crucial we rates and rents as fashion retailers who make margins of compete with the larger retailers on core basket items, 60-80% and restaurant chains making over 80%, so you such as milk and bread, and this year we have decided to have to be brave.” take a small hit on some margins.” Dan Mortimer of London deli Mortimer & Bennett Newey predicts further inflationary pressures ahead. backed up the advice. “We monitor prices on a weekly “I suspect we are in for more significant rises right across basis. I’ve become almost paranoid about it. You have to the board – I would certainly not like to be entering the be so careful. Increases can sneak up on you and before market with a new food product this year.” you know it you’ve taken a big hit to your bottom line. At the Suffolk Food Hall, director Oliver Paul warned It’s where you can go under if you’re not careful.” that he would expect suppliers to drop prices when Putting up prices is not easy, however, with all the commodity increases eased. “Although secondary retailers contacted by FFD admitting they had taken a hit producers always put up prices when raw materials rise, on margins in the past year. “There’s no doubt margins we never see a corresponding drop when they fall. This are being squeezed,” said James Dart of Darts Farm in time around if commodity prices do fall I think we will Devon. “We try to introduce increases as and when we see even independents demanding this be reflected in the receive them, but we have to be careful because we are cost of products.” already at the premium end of the market.”

HOW top retailers TACKLE food inflation “We’ve increased the range of products that are prepared on-site and therefore command a healthy margin. They go a long way to offsetting any hit we might have ‘accepted’ in other parts of the business.” Tom Newey, Country Food & Dining 4

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

“The Suffolk Food Hall takes each price increase on a case by case basis, weighing up whether the customer will notice the price change if we maintain our margin. In some cases we decide the supplier has priced itself out of the market and will source new artisan

products which can be produced with a lower cost base.” Oliver Paul, Suffolk Food Hall “We aim for higher margins on fresh products like cheese and charcuterie which require a lot of handling compared to, say, a pot of jam that just sits on the shelf.” James Dart, Darts Farm

Masterchef joins Great Taste jury Last year’s Masterchef winner Drhuv Baker joined celebrity chefs Antonio Carluccio and Sophie Michell, restaurant critic Charles Campion and 11 other writers, chefs and retailers for the 2011 Great Taste Awards final judging in London last month. The Supreme Jury met at Olympia’s Pillar Hall after a morning judging session saw 75 experts re-evaluate this year’s 114 three-star gold winners to produce a shortlist of just 18. Compered by BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden, the final judging was captured on video to be shown during the Great Taste Awards presentation dinner at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on September 5, when the regional, and national awards winners will be named along with the 2011 Supreme Champion. This year has seen a record 7,484 awards entries judged by 350 experts during 32 days of blind tasting. All results – apart from the major trophy winners – will be available from the Guild of Fine Food from the middle of this month, along with judges’ feedback.

Deli of the Year line-up revealed Sponsor and organiser Olives Et Al announced the regional winners in the second Deli of the Year competition as FFD went to press, after a first-round judging session at Fortnum & Mason. The 11 stores are all now contenders for the national Deli of the Year title, to be announced at the Great Taste Awards dinner in London on September 5. The regional winners are: Arcadia, Belfast (Northern Ireland), Provender Brown, Perth (Scotland), Leon’s Deli, Presteigne (Wales), The Monkey Tree, Wigton (North West), Haley & Clifford, Leeds (North East), Brown & Green, Trentham (West Midlands), Limoncello Delicatessen, Cambridge (East Midlands), Arch House Deli, Bristol (South West), Jacobs & Field, Oxford (South East), The Deli Downstairs, London (joint regional winner), El’s Kitchen, London (joint regional winner). Over 400 delis were nominated this year, with 120 going forward for first-round judging. Finalists will now be visited and scored by mystery shoppers before the overall winner is announced.

shopfitting Lack of co-operation stumps promotion of British PDOs By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Brits are losing out to Continental rivals in securing EU funds to promote the Protected Food Names (PFN) scheme because of a lack of co-operation between producers, according to the organisation running the scheme in the UK. Irene Bocchetta, EU PFN manager at rural development consultancy Adas, also called on larger producers to take a greater role in promoting PFNs. Italian consortia representing Grana Padano cheese and San Danielle ham recently announced a threeyear joint media campaign, match-funded by the EU, to promote Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products in the UK. Glossy adverts highlighting the Italian cheese and ham, and their protected status, are currently appearing in major food magazines. However, producers of protected foods in the UK are missing out on the opportunity to secure match funding for promotions because it is dependent on co-operation between suppliers. “One of the EU's key funding stipulations is that different producers must work together on crosspromotional campaigns, but as it stands there just isn't the same level of co-operation in the UK as there is

in the rest of Europe,” said Bocchetta. “It drives me mad to see Italian protected food names being promoted in the pages of Olive and Delicious, but British PFNs never get the same amount of coverage, either here in the UK or in the rest of Europe. “I’m not being overly patriotic, all I'm saying is that the UK has equally strong, well established protected food products as the Italians or French, and they should be hitting our headlines.” Most of the UK companies with protected status are very small, she said, and simply don't have the money or the necessary know-how to apply for match funding. “It would need some of the larger companies to take the lead to make it happen.” Among the UK’s 44 PFNs, Scotch Beef, Welsh Lamb, Cornish pasties, Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies all include food manufacturers that are potentially large enough and have sufficient resources to apply for funding. But Matthew O’Callaghan, chairman of the UK Protected Food Names Association, said they were unlikely to take a lead. “Larger companies have their own marketing mechanisms and the smaller producers just don’t

Machiavelli plans deli-café roll-out Italian food importer and distributor Machiavelli has set up a deli and café under its own name for the first time with plans to open up to five further outlets across London. Machiavelli Kitchen and Dining Room, on Long Acre in central London, comprises a ground floor deli and 35-seater café, plus a basement 45seater dining room. The outlet sells a range of Machiavelli’s imported Italian products including charcuterie, fresh pasta and pasta sauces and olive oils and balsamic vinegar. It also houses a cheese room, which stocks around a dozen speciality cheeses from Italy with plans to increase the range as the shop becomes more established. Battersea-based Machiavelli was set up 16 years ago by Ninai Zarach and her husband Andrew and distributes Italian charcuterie, cheeses, olives, antipasti, wine, oil and vinegar to chefs and delis. The business also runs two high-end Italian restaurants in London called Manicomio, one of which has a deli. Ninai Zarach said that she had decided to open the new deli and café under the Machiavelli name to increase brand awareness among consumers. “Machiavelli is well known in the trade, but I wanted to bring its identity to the fore with consumers. Each part of the business will help each other. So if people taste our mozzarella in [Michelin-starred restaurant] Locanda Locatelli,

they will also be able to buy it at our new shop,” she said. “We aim to open three to five outlets in London, but will take it slowly, opening one every six months to a year.” The restaurant is expected to generate the bulk of the revenue, but Zarach said the retail offering was essential to the new concept. “We need to focus on retail, partly because they are such wonderful products, but also because each part of the business complements the other. “If people try our lovely blue cheese from Piedmont made with 100% buffalo milk on the cheeseboard, they will also be able to buy it in the cheese room to take home with them.”

The first Machiavelli Kitchen and Dining Room is on London’s Long Acre

have the money,” he said. “There also isn’t currently any funding support from the UK government for these kinds of initiatives.” The Grana Padano and San Danielle promotion is similar to the EU-funded Discover the Origin promotion launched in 2009, which showcased PDO products including Parma ham, ParmigianoReggiano cheese, wines from Burgundy and the Douro, and Port. Glossy ads for Grana Padano and San Danielle, match-funded by the EU, have begun appearing in food magazines

Everards offers pub space to artisan producers By PATRICK McGUIGAN

With several delis now operating from pubs, Leicestershire brewery Everards has launched a scheme aimed at providing production and retail space for artisan food businesses across its 174-strong estate. Project Artisan was launched last month and builds on a similar scheme called Project William, which has successfully encouraged micro-breweries to manufacture from, and in some cases take over, Everards pubs. Communications manager Micky Sandhu told FFD the company is keen to talk with all kinds of artisan food producers and independent delis and farm shops to explore ways of working together. “We’re looking into converting outbuildings at our pubs to provide production space for small producers like bakers, butchers and cheese-makers, who could then sell through the pubs,” he said. “It could also be about selling more locally sourced products on our menus or through deli counters. We’re open to all sorts of ideas. Getting food producers involved will help our pubs further become hubs of the community and will give people more reasons to visit.” Everards has around 30 pubs with outbuildings that could be converted into production sites and is also looking into acquiring stand-alone buildings to lease to producers. The company already operates a deli at its Rutland & Derby pub in Leicester, which Sandhu said was proving a success. Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

If I’d known news then what I know now… farm shops

Clare Prowse, de’Clare Deli, York When we opened the first deli in 2006, we made sure to have takeaway food like coffee and sandwiches, but we didn’t have any seating. That was a mistake. As we went along we realised that it was crucial to have at least a few tables so customers could sit in and eat. We managed to squeeze in a few tables (we can seat 10 altogether), which not only boosted sales of sandwiches and salads, but also our retail sales. People are tasting the products that surround them and it’s amazing how many will buy something after they’ve finished. We learned from that, and our second shop on Peter Lane, which opened in 2010, has 30 seats. Opening the second store was easier because my partner David North became more involved in the business. It would have been harder on my own. Small businesses are all about the people behind them. Customers like to see the owner in the shop and as you expand there’s a danger you can spread yourself too thinly. The fit-out for our first store was really high spec

“As you expand there’s a danger you can spread yourself too thinly” and people thought we were quite an expensive deli, which scared some customers off. We didn’t appreciate the importance of signage. We used to have a small A4 board advertising that we sold takeaway coffee, but now we have great big signs on the walls that really shout about the shop. They say things like ‘Americano £1.40’, which helps get the message across on both price and the kind of business we are. We also put up a big blackboard with all our sandwiches, which has worked really well. People can choose what they want before coming in, which helps us in terms of customer flow. We should have been doing that from the beginning. The other thing we didn’t do was get a licence to sell alcohol. When we moved in there was a Threshers on the same parade, so we thought we would not be able to compete, but we’ve found there’s a niche for local sloe gin and Ampleforth cider brandy. We’re in the process of sourcing local ales. Finally, we’ve learned to think about the position of the sun! When we looked at the property for our first deli it was autumn. We hadn’t realised that by the spring we would get full sun on the window through to September. It added to the temperature of the shop, especially with the heat generated by the refrigerators, so we had to fit air conditioning. We keep meaning to sort out planning permission for an awning, but in the meantime have internal blinds instead. It just goes to show you can’t think of everything when you’re starting a business, but you can find a way to solve problems when they arise. 6

Interview March 2010 · Vol.11 Issueby 2 PATRICK McGUIGAN

Dawes puts Foxbury up for sale to fund new farming venture

Foxbury Farm Shop in Oxfordshire has been put up for sale by owner Colin Dawes who says that rises in lamb and beef prices mean he is able to focus on his true love of farming. The shop, which includes a 40-seater café, was set up by Dawes 10 years ago as a way of adding value to his sheep farming business when lamb prices were at record lows. “We were getting £20 a lamb back then so we had to diversify to sell direct to people to make some money,” he said. “Since then the supermarkets have turned the supply base on its head by driving down prices so much that a lot of farmers have just given up. There isn’t the supply base anymore, so the Colin Dawes: ‘I’m a farmer at heart’ price of lamb has gone up to Launched in 2001, the farm shop comprises a around £120 per animal. It’s a similar story with large butchery and delicatessen and has won the beef. I’m a farmer at heart, not a retailer.” Countryside Alliance’s Best Rural Retailer award The farm is being sold in three lots – the farm on two occasions. shop and café with 260 acres, plus two other “It needs someone with retail experience to plots measuring 80 acres and 14 acres – at a total take it to the next level as a larger farm shop and asking price of £3.5m. Dawes plans to set up tourist destination,” said Dawes. another farm raising lamb and beef once the sale goes through. www.foxburyfarm.co.uk

Revills rides British asparagus boom According to the British Asparagus Growers It’s become the ‘poster veg’ for the local food Association, 2010 was a record-breaking year, movement and now the popularity of asparagus with sales up 22% on 2009. is helping one farm shop to almost double in size. “We started out as a small stall selling Revills Farm Shop, which is based at a bunches of asparagus, but sales have kept 1,000-acre asparagus farm near Pershore in growing year after year and so has the shop,” Worcestershire, is currently converting a barn said Revills manager Darren Hedges. “We to give itself more space for coach parties on grow several different varieties, including a asparagus tours. purple asparagus, which people find interesting. The British Asparagus Festival, which takes We’ve even been on The One Show and the place across the Vale of Evesham through April Hairy Bikers.” and June, includes ‘Asparabus’ tours to Revills, which puts on talks, cookery demonstrations and tastings. To meet demand for the tours and to attract other coach companies during the rest of the year, Revills is creating a larger retail area with a more extensive deli counter and will expand its tearoom from 35 to 85 covers. A new toilet block and larger kitchen will also be added early next year. Asparagus has seen sales rocket in the past 10 years as people become more interested in local and seasonal British food. Asparagus sales role 22% last year

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Lancashire social enterprise launches first ‘floating deli’ Delis have appeared in unusual locations in recent years, from pubs to motorway service stations, but newly opened Larder on the Lake is believed to be first in the UK to be floating on water. The store is part of a new £8.6m visitor ‘village’ at Brockholes nature reserve near Blackburn, which includes a restaurant, gift shop, children’s play area, conference facilities and education centre all built on top of a huge pontoon that floats on the lake. Around 250,000 people are expected to visit the Lancashire Wildlife Trust site each year to observe and learn about the birdlife. As well as food gifts aimed at tourists, Larder on the Lake also sells locally sourced produce such as speciality meats and cheeses in an effort to attract regular shoppers from the local area and commuters from the nearby M6. “It’s a similar model to Tebay Services, which attracts a lot of regular customers with an excellent cheese and

meat counter,” said the shop’s manager John Caffrey, who used to run Chilli Lime Deli in Blackburn. “There’s excellent parking here and we’re literally a few minutes from the M6, so access is really good.” The new shop is owned by The Stable Trading Company – a social enterprise that provides training and work experience across several food-related businesses for people from disadvantaged backgrounds and with learning disabilities. The company grows organic fruit and vegetables at sites in Gisburn and Clapham, as well as operating an organic bakery in Hyndburn. It also plans to open a micro-brewery and produce honey from local bee-hives. Products will be sold through the deli, as well as a new restaurant and farm shop called Stables that is due to open later this year. w

Murray gambles on growth of Nunhead

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Huey Murray: ‘Nunhead is an area in transition’

The new floating deli is part of an £8.6m visitor ‘village’ at Brockholes nature reserve

ON TOUR WITH HARVEY NICKS: Speciality food producers and farmers supplying Harvey Nichols hosted a series of tours and meals for the retailer’s customers last month. The Hand Picked by Harvey Nichols events were designed to celebrate the sustainable local produce sold in the retailer’s food halls and restaurants. Harvey Nichols chefs took paying guests on tours of some of their suppliers, finishing with a meal cooked at

the supplier’s premises. Initially launched in September of last year, the events were so popular that the upmarket retail chain decided to reprise them in June and early July with guests paying around £65-£75. Destinations included spelt specialist Sharpham Park in Somerset, Yorkshire-based organic meat producer Swillington Farm, Surrey pork producer Gatton Park, Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire and fishing boats in Tarbert, Scotland.

A former carpenter who has singlehandedly fitted out his new deli hopes to benefit from the regeneration of an area in south-east London. Huey Murray has spent the past year gutting and rebuilding the shop in Nunhead – an area close to Peckham and East Dulwich that has been earmarked for regeneration by the local council. Due to open this month, Bambuni takes its name from the bamboo worktops and furniture made by Murray and will focus on a handful of key product categories, namely cheese, charcuterie, craft beers and coffee. A café with around 18 seats will also be a key feature. The shop is next door to a popular fishmonger and close to several other independent retailers, including a craft bakery. “Nunhead is an area in transition, with lots of young professionals buying houses round here. You only have to walk up our street on a Friday and Saturday and there are lots of mums with Bugaboos who come to shop at independent retailers,” said Murray, a New Zealander who has lived in the UK for 20 years. “The local authority is also investing money to help regenerate the area and has provided funds for refurbishing shop fronts for independent retailers. It’s something that we’re trying to take advantage of ourselves.” Nunhead falls under a government scheme to regenerate Southwark with “a thriving network of town centres, built on an entrepreneurial culture”. Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Letter from Farrington’s Promotional events can be great, but at Farrington’s Farm Shop PAUL CASTLE has discovered they don’t all deliver the same pay-back With summer well underway, now is the time to think about events to drum up trade and give something back to the local community who support us all year. I’ve had a real dilemma lately in trying to focus on the right type of event, the benefits both for us and our customers and how I will measure success. There’s a myth that every event that’s bigger and better than the last will provide bigger and better results. Recent experience says that may not be the case. For example we decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary year with three days of events centred on a large marquee. Day one – a Friday – was our ‘Day of Great Food’, with 40 supplier stands, plus our own produce on display with lots of sampling and new products. As it was half term we had a great turn-out with excellent customer and supplier feedback. Day two – Saturday – saw us hosting a family fun-

“There’s a myth that every event that’s bigger and better than the last gives bigger and better results.’’ day with all the games and activities you could wish for. You name it we had it. Then Sunday – which was pretty much rained out – was to support the ‘Big Lunch’. In the end, it was Friday’s sampling day, with the excellent support of our suppliers, that gave by far the most positive results. The other days cost us more money and we believe kept our regular shoppers away, struggling to park and not wishing to shop. Our new café space has seen us venture into ‘fine dining’ evenings. We have marketed these relentlessly with the support of a guest chef, and at three courses for £20 they should be a winner. However, bookings have been inconsistent. Yet tonight we’re running a ‘Fine Fish & Chips’ at £10 a head and the bookings have come thick and fast. Why? Our deli weekends, with a few new products and suppliers turning out in support, seem to just fly, with 30% increases in sales commonplace. Experience is telling me to keep true to what we’re renowned for: great food and great value. Keep the event simple, just enhance the core business by using the knowledge of our staff and suppliers, coupled with some new and exciting products or promotions. Don’t drive existing customers away by interfering with their usual shopping pattern. Less in our case has certainly proved to be more. We are still going to say ‘thanks’ to our community, but with lots of smaller, more meaningful events throughout the year, as that’s what they vote for. • Paul Castle is business manager at Farrington’s Farm Shop near Bristol, named British Local Food Champion in the 2011 Countryside Alliance Awards

March 2010 · Vol.11 Issue 2

news food production centres

Reaseheath food centre to open in September The £7.2m overhaul of Reaseheath College’s food department is close to completion with new stateof-the-art facilities for cheesemakers, bakers and butchers set to open in September. The final phase of the threeyear project, which has been partly funded by the North West Regional Development Agency, involves the construction of a Food Centre of Excellence for dairy, bakery and butchery at the Cheshire site. The new facility includes new classrooms, offices and three innovation rooms that can be used by start-up food companies to scale-up production and to develop new products. Last year saw the completion of phase one of the project with the opening of a new dairy training facility called the Eden Academy.

This offers a new foundation degree in dairy technology, which is backed by some of the biggest cheese, butter and yoghurt manufacturers. It is also the new home for speciality cheese courses run by Chris Ashby of AB Cheesemaking. www.reaseheath.ac.uk

chocolatiers

Soho hosts Young’s third store Tomato, basil & olive oil flavoured chocolates are just one of the wacky cocoa-based creations at Paul A Young’s newly opened outlet in Soho – his third shop in the capital. Orange & tarragon, black sesame tahini and jasmine tea & ylang ylang are some of the other outlandish chocolate flavours developed by the award-winning chocolatier as part of a new seasonal summer collection in the shop. These are sold alongside classic filled chocolates, truffles, bars and brownies, which are all made by hand and displayed on reclaimed and recycled furniture such as a round elmwood table and a large church altar. Young previously worked as a pastry chef under Marco Pierre White and at Quo Vadis before developing products for Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s. He also has shops in Islington and the City of London. www.paulayoung.co.uk Paul A Young: whacky flavours

organic meat BUFFALO BUTCHER: Biodynamic and organic food producer Laverstoke Park Farm, owned by former F1 motor racing world champion Jody Scheckter (left), has opened a butcher’s shop in Twickenham, South West London. The 120 sq m shop sells meat including wild boar and buffalo from the company’s 2,500 acre farm in Hampshire, which is around an hour’s drive away. The product range also includes pies, pasties, desserts, buffalo mozzarella and buffalo milk ice-cream in 19 flavours.

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deli of the month

Norse trading Ex-Innocent executive Bronte Blomhoj-Aurell and her husband are providing ‘cures for homesick Scandinavians’ at their central London deli-café

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

’m nursing a coffee in the basement of Scandinavian Kitchen, the specialist Nordic eatery and store in Fitzrovia, a few hundred yards north of London’s Oxford Circus tube. At the next table, Bronte Blomhoj-Aurell is just wrapping up a meeting – and I’m wishing I had a voice recorder running. The stereotypically fair-skinned and fair-haired Dane, who founded the business with Swedish husband Jonas Aurell four years ago, is talking to a colleague about ideas for improving merchandising in the shop and café above our heads. It’s a textbook example of good coaching. First she makes clear her business objectives. “We don’t need to sell more to Scandinavians,” she explains. “We need to sell more to locals – the people who walk in and say, ‘I didn’t realise there were 45 different types of crispbread’. If Scandies can’t see the meatballs they’ll ask for them, but the English won’t.” The young employee proposes making a feature of liquorice, a favourite among sweet-loving ‘Scandies’, on an under-used area of shelving. Okay, good idea, says Blomhoj-Aurell. But if you’re going to create a new promotional section, it has to have some sense to it. Why are you doing it? Which products will you choose? What signage does it need? “We’re going to be doing [promotional] events all the time,” she says. “So come up with a blueprint. Once you’ve identified the process – four or five stages – you can use it for every event.” Then she wraps up the conversation: “Spend some time on it at home. I’m happy to pay you for two hours at home. I don’t

think you’ll need more that that. And before you do it, go and look at Carluccio’s down the road. It’s something they’re really good at.” Brilliant: a clear task, designed to get the employee thinking not just about the products but where they fit into the business. She’s been given the context, pointers on where to go for more inspiration, and a small reward for putting in the extra work – but with a clear time boundary. With that meeting over and ours underway, it becomes apparent why Bronte Blomhoj-Aurell makes this kind of thing look easy. She was the chief “people person” (translation: human resources director) at Innocent Drinks, a business that churns out hot young entrepreneurs – Peppersmith chewing gum founders Mike Stevens and Dan Shrimpton, Bear snack brand bosses Gareth Helm and Giles Brook – as readily as it does cool smoothies. “Before Innocent I worked in banking,” she tells me. “I learned a lot there, but it’s very dry. Innocent was my school – they actually call it ‘the School of Innocent’. They’ve always hired people with entrepreneurial flair. They know those people will leave one day, but what they get in the meantime is passion. You can’t instill that in someone who hasn’t got it.” Innocent also enabled her to break out of the “boxey” world of HR, she says – and it sounds as though she’d been waiting to break out for a while. Both she and her husband grew up wanting to be chefs but their respective parents insisted they get an education first. Jonas Aurell ended up in marketing with Barclays and the BBC, and it was only when his wife was pregnant with their first child that the pair revisited Plan A. “We both wanted to run our own food business and we wanted to have children,” she says. “We

Interview by MICK WHITWORTH

SCANDINAVIAN KITCHEN’S MUST-STOCKS ●L eksands crispbread ●K alles Kaviar/Mills Kaviar

creamed cod roe ●T illmans arctic cloudberry jam ●V ästerbotten - the ‘King of Scandinavian cheeses’ ●G amle Ole mature Danish cheese ●A bba pickled herring in dill & onion ●F azer Tykisk Peber hard salty liquorice ●A mo rye bread mix ●F elix sliced pickled gherkins ●R ydbergs Rödbetssallad (beetroot & apple salad) ●A alburg aquavit ●D ruvan gravlax sauce ●K -Salat remoulade (sweet piccalilly sauce)

Ideally, café and shop would each be in separate premises, says Blomhoj-Aurell

decided if we didn’t do one or the other we’d end up doing neither.” Child number one arrived within 24 hours of the shop opening and they now have two kids. So far, they have just about managed to share childcare equally, as planned. They opted for an all-day café-deli to avoid restaurant nightshifts and chose to create something for their fellow Nordic ex-pats – Swedes, Danes, Norwegians and Finns – that would also appeal to Brits. But it was always going to take time to turn locals onto Scandinavian open sandwiches, so the retail offer was developed to provide instant cashflow by appealing to Scandinavian exiles in London, with everything from Toro fish soup mix to Plopp chocolate bars. “We’re selling cures for homesickness,” says Blomhoj-Aurell. “It’s amazing what meatballs or a bar of chocolate can do for a homesick Scandie.” Sure enough, the Nordic community turned up almost immediately. “And slowly the locals began coming in and thinking, ‘It’s not so scary, this gravlax and meatballs’.” Having said that, some of the full-on Nordic products on her shelves make even Blomhoj-Aurell laugh. Like surströmming, the Swedish fermented (or ‘rotten’, as it’s sometimes described) herring. “You have to open it outdoors,” she says, “and even Swedes think it smells horrible! But it tastes amazing.” Other products are just culturally off our map, like Sweden’s Kalles Kaviar: creamed cod roe in Primulastyle tubes that apparently appears on most Swedish breakfast tables, where its squeezed over boiled eggs. And still others would be perfectly at home in any English deli, like large, round Leksands crispbreads, sold in 830g wheel packs for a bargain £3.95 and so good you’ll never touch Ryvita again. Jonas spent most of his wife’s first pregnancy working on the business plan for Scandinavian Kitchen and searching for premises. Their chosen site in Great Titchmarsh Street, just off the main tourist drag of Oxford St, gave them the footfall they wanted, while rents here were “cheaper than Oxford St or Covent Garden, but not much”, says Blomhoj-Aurell. “Even though you can always negotiate deposits, you still have to pay three to six months upfront, which is why everything else was done on a shoestring.” The interior design project was carried out by her younger sister, an architecture student at the time. Walls were given a slap of white paint and café furniture was bought on a budget. “The chairs were only £30 each, and okay, we’ve had to replace them because they don’t have a 10-year life. But you don’t want to spend too much when you could be one of the 60% that close in their first two years.”

Now, Scandinavian Kitchen comprises a compact ground-floor shop and café with further café seating and a kitchen downstairs. Sales are split 60:40 in favour of the café. On the whole, says BlomhojAurell, the two sides appeal to different clients and ideally they would have separate premises for what are effectively separate businesses. At Christmas, when it’s “relentless retail for the Scandinavians who can’t afford to go home”, it’s hard not alienate regular café customers, who can find themselves jostled at their tables. But there’s a buzz. “It’s like being in a supermarket – bip, bip, bip…,” BlomhojAurell says, doing her best scanner impression. The retail product list is 500-strong now, and there’s very little that would be instantly familiar to Brits. “When we started, we asked ourselves and our friends what we missed from home and put together a Top 40 from each place: Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Each of those has its own cuisine so we’ve tried to stock products that bridge them. “Luckily, there are a lot of pan-Scandinavian products, because Norway is a very expensive place to import from, with lots of paperwork, and Denmark has high chocolate taxes. The biggest challenge was to find products we could get from one supplier – the pallet price then comes down considerably.” So Scandinavian Kitchen also quickly became an import business, and it now has a separate warehouse in south London, run by Jonas Aurell, to supply foods direct to shoppers via mail order and to develop trade sales. Blomhoj-Aurell says centralised purchasing is essential if the couple are to open more outlets. “I’m not sure my nerves could handle 10 shops,” she tells me at one point in the conversation, but later she adds: “I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to have 10 – I’d love to, but only if it can be done in a way that each shop operates as a unit, and I can just oversee it. I’ve seen a lot of retailers burn out because they try to do everything themselves in every store. You have to allow yourself to train others to do the job.” Early on, a friendly customer dropped in a copy of The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E Gerber’s bestseller about the growing pains of small firms. It took her six months to get round to reading it, then it really opened her eyes to the need to delegate. I ask whether the success of Denmark’s Noma, named the World’s Best Restaurant 2011, has helped bring more people into Scandinavian Kitchen. “No, I don’t think so,” she says. “But four years ago we said to ourselves, ‘Surely Scandinavian food is due a break – it’s not all about meatballs and herrings’. So it’s great that someone has decided Scandinavia has a food culture.”

“Some of the full-on Nordic products make even Blomhoj-Aurell laugh. Like surströmming, the Swedish fermented herring. ‘You have to open it outdoors,’ she says.”

www.scandikitchen.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

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July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

delichef interview By PATRICK McGUIGAN

Peter Backhouse Loch Leven’s Larder, Kinross

oup, sandwiches and cake: the staples of any farm shop café are all present and correct on the menu at Loch Leven’s Larder, a 6,500 sq ft operation overlooking a beautiful loch in Kinross. But in the café’s large kitchen they’re equally at home cooking dishes that wouldn’t look out of place on the menu of a fine dining restaurant in Glasgow or Edinburgh. Perfect little towers of crab (sourced from Scrabster in Northern Scotland) topped with tomato fondant and coriander ‘micro leaves’ stole the show at a recent charity fundraiser at the shop, which combined a cookery demonstration and flower arranging display. Then there was the ‘chef’s dish of the month’ for June, comprising mackerel with tempura squid and lettuce veloute. It’s ambitious fare for a café on a farm two miles from the nearest village and more than 30 miles from Edinburgh, but not for head chef Peter Backhouse. He is well versed in the arts of fine dining after stints at the Reform Club on Pall Mall, the restaurant at Liberty’s department

putting deli ingredients to work

store and most recently a luxury shooting lodge in the Highlands. “Loch Leven is different from your normal run-of-the-mill farm shop,” he says. “We have a full-time pastry chef and five chefs in the kitchen. It’s a busy operation that can do up to 500 covers in a day, plus outside catering, functions and demonstrations.” Set up on the family farm in 2005 by Emma Niven and her husband Robin, along with Robin’s brother Mike, Loch Leven’s Larder certainly looks the part with waiters dressed in smart black aprons and a light contemporary café space. But beyond the odd cheffy flourish, the menu is relatively straightforward, starting with traditional fry-ups for breakfast and moving on to paninis, baked potatoes and sandwiches at lunchtime, alongside hearty specials, such as roasted pork belly with sweet potato mash. Much of the produce comes from the farm – broccoli, carrots, leeks, cabbage and squash – while bread and cakes are made inhouse. Scottish suppliers such as Puddledub pork, Stornoway black pudding and Rannoch Smokery make regular appearances on the menu, along with cheeses such as Isle of Mull Cheddar from wholesaler Clarks. “The food we sell in our deli, we also sell in the café. For example, we’re doing a homemade pork pie with Cottage Delight chutney at the moment. If people like it, they can go into the shop and buy a jar,” says Backhouse.

Loch Levan isn’t ‘your run-ofthe-mill farm shop’ says head chef Peter Backhouse

Chris Leachman/Dreamstime.com

Scrabster crab with tomato fondue & lemon micro coriander leaves Ingredients 1 live hen crab or 250g of white crab meat 1 clove of garlic 1 tbsp of mayonnaise

For tomato concasse 3 ripe plum tomatoes 1 pkt micro coriander leaves 1 lemon (juiced) ¼ pt extra virgin olive oil For the tomato fondant 4 ripe plum tomatoes 2 basil leaves 1 tsp tomato purée 1 small shallot finely chopped 1 clove garlic ¼ pt extra virgin olive oil 2 gelatine leaves

Method: Cook the crab in boiling water for about 10 minutes, take out of the water and leave to cool. Take off the claws, crack with a hammer and pick out the white crab meat. To make the tomato fondant, place the tomatoes, basil, tomato purée, shallots, garlic and extra virgin olive oil in a pan and warm over a gentle heat until the tomatoes are cooked then place in a liquidiser and blitz. Pass through a sieve and add the gelatine. For the tomato concasse,

place the plum tomatoes in hot water for one minute, submerge into cold water then skin and de-seed. Chop into small chunks then put together with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Mix the crab with the garlic mayonnaise and place into a ring. Top with the tomato fondant and let it set in the fridge. Place the crab in the middle of the plate, take off the ring, arrange the tomato concasse around the crab and decorate with the micro coriander. Then serve.

The marketing benefits of having such an efficient brigade of chefs are obviously not lost on the shop’s owners with the kitchen team regularly asked to host demonstrations and give talks about the shop’s products. Later this year, Backhouse is even set to be auctioned off at another charity event – donating his time to cook a meal for the highest bidder. “It’s a part of the job I really enjoy – meeting people and talking about what we do. I’ve done everything from selling our chutneys and pickle at the Dundee Flower Show to doing the catering at the World Junior Curling Championships in Perth, which ended with a banquet for 350 people.” The shop has close links with the local curling centre in Perth, where it sponsors all four divisions of the Perthshire curling league and has its logo embedded in the ice. Promoting the Loch Leven’s Larder name also extends to the product range, which includes an extensive line-up of own-brand foods from smoked salmon (produced by local supplier Campbell’s to recipes developed by Backhouse) to Christmas puddings and mince pies during the winter that are all produced and packaged on-site. It’s a far cry from Backhouse’s days in London restaurants. “It’s a totally different life working in a farm shop. I finish at 5pm rather than toiling away until midnight. It’s great – at my age I want that quality of life.”

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

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

cheese wire Could pulsed light system deliver ‘raw milk’ taste at lower risk? By MICK WHITWORTH

Patented technology that offers a heat-free, lowercost alternative to pasteurisation could help cheesemakers provide the taste of raw milk cheese without the perceived food safety risks, its developer has told FFD. New start-up Microtek Processes is building systems that use microwave technology to generate different forms of high intensity pulsed light to treat food and drink at a fraction of the energy cost of heat treatment. Taylerson’s Malmesbury Syrups in Wiltshire, which makes flavoured syrups for coffee, has become the first speciality food business to use the technology. Owner John Taylerson – a former Milk Link marketing director – said the switch from heattreatment to pulsed white light had actively improved the flavour of his syrups, as well as promising to substantially reduce his energy bills and carbon footprint. “If you’re using natural ingredients you want to keep as many of the flavour volatiles as possible,” he told FFD.

The new system has also been shown to use 95% less energy than Taylerson’s old thermal bath pasteuriser. Mictotek believes the heat-free process could now help brewers, cider-makers, juice producers and, most notably, cheese-makers extend shelflife and kill spoilage bacteria and pathogens without affecting taste. Business development director Peter Moore told FFD’s e-news service FFDonline: “The French think the way we make cheese in the UK is mad because we pasteurise the milk and lose all that complexity of flavour. We believe with our process we’ll be able to give that raw milk flavour, but remove any concerns about food safety.” But Ivan Larcher, a French cheese consultant who advises many UK artisan producers, is sceptical about the potential benefits. He told FFD: “Unlike products such as coffee syrups that already contain their complete set of flavours, cheeses require an ageing process to release their potential aromas and flavours.” This relies on enzymatic digestion of

the curd, he said, which in turn relies on diversity of enzymes. “The point of using raw milk is to capitalise on the diverse organisms present in it to get more complex and unique flavours.” This is the key to “terroir”, he said – the way artisan products differ according to where they are made. “If you eliminate the native bacteria in the milk – whether you do it by pasteurisation, centrifuge or pulsed light technology – the net effect is a considerable reduction in bacterial diversity, and cheeses without identity or uniqueness.” Concerns about raw milk cheese are based on only a few pathogens, Larcher said, compared with a “huge number” of beneficial bacteria. “If we destroy the latter, the result can only be industrial cheese. But he added: “If Microtek can adapt this technique to be more selective and not an ‘Attila technique’, I’m sure the artisan cheese community will be interested in hearing more.” www.microtekprocesses.com www.larcher-consulting.com www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk

Shetland cows’ milk maker to go national By PATRICK McGUIGAN

East Yorkshire-based Epicure’s Larder plans to roll out its cheeses to a national audience after building up its herd of Shetland cattle and doubling production capacity. The micro-business, which produces rare breed meat and pasteurised hard, blue and soft cheeses, was started five years ago by Jaqueline Broadhead with just three rare breed Shetland cows. Today, the herd has reached a total of 15 heifers enabling the company to invest in a new 300-litre vat producing around 40kg of cheese three times a week at its farm near the village of Wold Newton. Products such as Wold Wonder (fresh), Wold White (brie-style), and Wold Blimey (blue) are made in individual 200g-250g rounds, while Epicure’s Larder also produces a hard cheese called Wold Whey and a mozzarella-style product called Wold Marvel. “Milk from Shetland cattle is richer and has a higher protein content than from Holstein Friesians. It also tends to have more flavour because the animals like eating roughage [herbs and rough grass] out in the fields,” said Broadhead. “I’ve developed the cheeses over several years, selling at farmers markets and to local businesses, but I’m in talks with national wholesalers now I have the extra capacity.” Broadhead grew up on a farm but also has a biology degree from York University and a PhD in plant biochemistry and molecular biology from the John Innes Institute in Norwich. As well as making cheese, she also rears rare-breed pork, lamb and beef using sustainable farming practices. Most of the feed for the livestock is grown on the farm to help reduce food miles, while energy is provided by a wind turbine. 16

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Shetland milk is richer and higher in protein, says Jaqueline Broadhead (above). Wold Blimey (left) is one of several varieties made from this milk

le grand fromage BOB FARRAND

Lightwood launches first goats’ cheese Lightwood Cheese in Worcestershire has started producing goats’ cheese for the first time with two new products already launched and several others in the pipeline. Capria and Rhapsody are both unpasteurised and made with locally sourced milk from Toggenburg, British Alpine and Saanen goats. Proprietor Phil Hulland, who already makes cows’ and ewes’ milk cheese, decided to extend his range after the owners of nearby goats’ cheese company Mar Goats retired. Capria is made to a camembert recipe and, according to Hulland, has a mild goaty, mushroomy flavour, which strengthens as it reaches maturity at eight weeks. Rhapsody is a soft blue goats’ milk cheese made with Penicillium roqueforti, which gives the cheese a bluey-green coating. Blue streaks also develop though the body of the cheese after piercing. “The flavour is a lovely combination of goat, Stilton blue and salt,” he said. “It ripens in the same way as Capria, but develops a stronger flavour and greater pungency as it matures to the same sort of age. “We would like to make more goats’ cheeses and will make a trial batch of a hard, crumbly cheese. The milk is so nice to work with that we are itching to have a crack at all sorts of recipes. Last year we made a proper goats’ milk Greekstyle cheese called Lightwood F**a, which proved

very popular. It would be nice to do that again, if time allows.” Away from goats’ cheese, Lightwood is working with John Sadler's Windsor Castle Brewery in Lye to make a cows’ cheddar washed in Mud City Stout and with chef Alan Coxon to develop a mature cheddar using his recipe for alegar – a medieval English vinegar. Capria and Rhapsody come in 250g rounds and as 8in cutting cheeses weighing around 1.3kg. Capria also comes in log form. Lightwood’s distributors include B&S Dairy Foods and Cheltenham Cheese.

Phil Hulland and (inset) the new Capria goats’ cheese

Sedli sees gap in market for ‘British Reblochon’ By PATRICK McGUIGAN

After learning her trade with artisan producers in the US and the UK, an up-and-coming young cheese-maker from Hungary has launched her own company, producing a Reblochon-style raw milk cheese. Julianna Sedli has worked for companies including Capriole Dairy in the US, Neal’s Yard Dairy and Wootton Organic, but has now launched her own business called The Old

Julianna Sedli is making Baronett in a new dairy at Neston Park

Cheese Room, which is based in a converted outbuilding on the Neston Park Estate in Wiltshire. Her newly launched Reblochon-style cheese is called Baronett and is made with the Estate’s Jersey cows’ milk. It will initially only be sold through Neston Park Farm Shop (Deli of the Month in June’s FFD) before distribution is expanded to farmers’ markets and other retailers. Other new cheeses are also being developed. “Reblochon is a cheese I have always loved, but this is something a little bit different. The Jersey milk has a high fat and protein content, which gives it a mellow buttery flavour with a hint of lemon,” she said. “There’s a gap in the market for a British-style Reblochon. Something like Stinking Bishop has a very different texture.” The cheese is named in reference to Sir James Fuller, who is the fourth baronet of the Neston Park Estate and is on the board at his family’s famous London brewery, Fuller’s. His wife Lady Venetia Fuller set up the farm shop in 2006.

“Have you any idea who I am?” I asked the young lady serving me a piece of Ossau Iraty from the cheese counter in my local Waitrose. I’d already asked her not to wire from the rind inwards as it would drag residue across the paste and spoil the cheese. She’d asked me how much I wanted and I explained half of the piece she was holding would be ideal. She prepared to wire it downwards, which would have resulted in a tall, very thin wedge that would dry out quickly and look rubbish on a cheese board. Cutting it across would provide a good chunky piece from which to cut ample portions. “Can’t do that, not allowed to,” she said. “Why not? “It’s the rules,” she replied. “We must cut our cheeses down and not across.” She clearly had no idea who I was so I enlightened her. “I’m actually a customer in this shop. I help pay your wages and your not insignificant bonus, earned during a year when most of the food industry is suffering the worst recession since records began. Don’t you think what I want is worth taking into account?” As I pondered on who keeps records of the number and severity of recessions, it slowly dawned on me I had become Victor Meldrew. But old people do occasionally sense things that younger people don’t.

“Almost every competition now has ‘retailer classes’ in which supermarket wedges from anonymous cheese-makers win prizes they don’t deserve” Like when I judged two enormous classes of supermarket own-label pre-packed cheese at this year’s Royal Bath & West Cheese Show. I hardly need to tell you how dull the experience turned out to be. Over lunch, I asked fellow judges why cheese competitions had changed their rules to allow supermarkets to enter products they don’t actually make themselves. The concensus was that ‘supermarkets sponsor cheese competitions, so they want be allowed to enter.’ Almost every competition now permits ‘retailer classes’ in which supermarket wedges made by anonymous cheese-makers are awarded prizes they don’t deserve. But as a sponsor, the supermarket becomes a customer and is therefore right, so the rules must be changed. Except that is, when I happen to be a customer of theirs and prefer my cheese cut how I like it. In case you’re wondering why I was buying Ossau Iraty in Waitrose and not from Charlie Turnbull’s deli up the road in Shaftesbury, it was for a Guild training day when we compared it with Charlie’s 10 month-old unpasteurised world-beater. No danger of a supermarket cheese taking first prize that day. • FFD publisher Bob Farrand is chairman of the UK Cheese Guild Vol.7 Issue 1 · January 2006

A tasty and healthy alternative to traditional salty and fatty foods. Our crisps are free from additives, added sugar and each packet contains less than 1% fat making it the perfect snack for children’s packed lunches, diabetics, and health conscious consumers sales@crispysnacks.co.uk or Tel: 020 3519 1935 www.crispysnacks.co.uk

WORLD CHEESE AWARDS CHAMPION 2010 Supreme Champion Bath & West 2010

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

at the heart of speciality food and drink

digest

SPECIAL REPORT JULY 2011

INCLUDES: • Atlantico (UK) • La Bandiera • Bellota • Bespoke Food • Brindisa • Cheese Cellar/Dell’ami • Cotswold Fayre • Country Products • La Credenza • Delicious Fine Foods • Delicioso • El Olivo Olive Oil Co • The Fine

2011 Guide to Importers & Distributors

Confectionery Co • France Gourmet • Gourmet World • Guidetti Fine Foods • Heart Distribution • hf Chocolates • Hider Food Imports • Iberflavours • Just So Italian • Marshwood Foods • Il Mercato/ Fine Foods from Sicily • Olives Et Al • Robert Wilson’s ‘Ceylon’ Tea • Anthony Rowcliffe & Son • Shire Foods (Norfolk) • Taste of Barbados • Terra Rossa

YOUR pull-out-and-keep directory of fine food importers, wholesalers & distributors

Importer of local and regional French products

FRANCE

GOURMET We distribute a wide range of French speciality foods, as well as charcuterie and cheeses directly from Rungis.

finesse and elegance, the perfect

chocolate gift!

Amazing seasonings from around the world to put a chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature into your dishes...

AWARDED SIAL INNOVATION PRIZE Biscuiterie de Provence new Gluten free sweet and savoury biscuit range, Les Aristocades, will delight all! info@francegourmet.co.uk 020 7639 1711

Guide to

importers & distributors

Bellota

El Olivo Olive Oil Co

Ballingham Hall Lodge, Ballingham, Hereford HR2 6NH 01432 840998 info@bellota.co.uk www.bellota.co.uk

1 Dalrymple Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 2NU 0131 6684751 info@elolivo-olive-oil.com

In 1998, having worked in London for 10 years, Peter Snow wanted to return to Herefordshire. Before moving back, he decided to tour Spain for a few months, having fallen in love with the country and its food when he had lived there for a year in his teens. During his travels, he was introduced to the producers of one of Spain’s finest Serrano hams, Jamon de Trevélez. On his return to England, Bellota was established, with Jamon de Trevélez as its first and only product. The aim was to supply delicatessens and independent retailers with quality products that would appeal to a growing number of discerning customers. Ten years later, Bellota’s product list has grown comprehensively and it continues to offer an excellent range of Spanish foods. Brands on offer: Jamon de Trevélez Embutidos Senora Julia Legumbres La Autentica

Embutidos El Chorillo Hacienda Chambergo

Ibericos Torreon Arroz Montoro

Specialist areas: Spanish charcuterie, olives, olive oils, cheeses & accompaniments, preserved seafood, rice and pulses Jamon de Trevélez The village of Trevélez, in the heart of the Sierra Nevada National Park, is the highest village in Spain. At more than 1400m above sea level, the cool, dry air is perfect for curing ham. “Tradition 1862” ham is air-dried for a minimum of 20 months and is considered to be among Spain’s highest quality Serrano hams. It carries the marque of quality ‘Denominacion Especifica’ and is the only ham in Spain to have been awarded a Royal Warrant. Available on the bone, boned, half hams or pre-sliced in 100g packs.

www.elolivo-olive-oil.com

A Spanish fine food distributor based in Edinburgh, El Olivo was set up by Maria Cumming Panadero six years ago when she moved to Edinburgh from London, where she had worked as a fund manager. Her aim was to bring top quality extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) to the UK at affordable prices. The company now offers 14 different EVOOs, including Oro de Bailen, declared last year the best EVOO in Spain by its Ministry of Agriculture. All products are personally selected by Maria. She takes care to seek out small family firms from the most remote corners of Spain where the passion for taste and quality reflect the El Olivo ethos. The company takes pride in its aftersales service and every new client is provided with pointof-sale information and posters. Apart from Maria, Ian (sales director) and John (administration manager) are on hand to answer any queries. Specialist areas: In addition to olive oil, the company has an extensive product range from all areas of Spain. These include cherry sundried tomatoes, baby peppers stuffed with olives, garlic cloves in olive oil, canned fish, rice, spices, vinegars, patés and some olive oil cosmetics. Chorizos It took Maria a year to source these chorizos which contain no E-numbers. They need no refrigeration and have a shelf life of one year. They were awarded three gold stars at last year’s Great Taste Awards and have become the company’s best selling product.

Bespoke Foods

1st Floor, 80-84 Bondway, London SW8 1SF 020 7091 3200 sales@bespoke-foods.co.uk

www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

Established in 1982, Bespoke Foods is a leading UK importer, distributor and brand builder based in central London. Bespoke started out supplying top quality Belgian butter biscuits to Harrods and from there the company went from strength to strength. Today Bespoke Foods trades in over 50 different product categories and represents over 100 brands from around the world. It works with independent and specialist retailers including around 700 delis and farm shops throughout the UK, as well as department stores, supermarkets and foodservice. Brands on offer: more than 100 from around the world, including: Belgian Butters Briannas Buiteman Hannah’s Naturals Jardine’s La Mortuacienne Peanut Butter & Co Pepperidge Farm Pertzborn

Connétable La Truffe Cendrée Plaza del Sol

Specialist areas: Canadian maple syrup Malaysian curry pastes Pasta from Italy

American cookies and peanut butter Mustards, mayonnaises and vinegars from France Thai curry pastes and dipping sauces Amaretti and panettone from Italy

American mustard, hot sauces and barbecue essentials Jerk sauces and seasonings from Jamaica Traditional French lemonade Pasta from Italy Indian curry pastes, chutneys and pickles Fairly traded vanilla from Uganda Authentic German gingerbread men and houses

La Truffe Cendrée

Plaza del Sol

La Truffe Cendrée is a range of traditional French delicacies produced in the south west of France, including duck and goose fat, truffles, pâté, foie gras, cassoulet and duck confit. Bespoke says goose fat is fast becoming a kitchen musthave, low in saturated fats with just the right amount of fatty acids and is ideal for cooking crispy roast potatoes and poultry. Pack size: 340g, unit price: £2.10.

Plaza del Sol is a range of authentic Spanish products including olives, pickles, sauces, seasonings, crisp breads, paella rice, gazpacho and more. The whole range has recently been rebranded and comes in bright, eye-catching packaging. These products are all good for recreating the traditional tastes of holidays in Spain, particularly the gazpacho which is ready to pour and serve. Pack size: 750ml, unit price: £2.52.

Delouis Malay Taste Thai Taste

Frank’s RedHot Marine Gourmet Truly Indian

French’s Ndali

Pepperidge Farm – Finz! Direct from Pepperidge Farm in the US and exclusive to the European market, Finz! is a baked cheese snack in an iconic trademark goldfish shape. Baked with real cheddar cheese and containing no artificial colours, preservatives or flavourings, these crackers are ideal for snacking or adding a crispy bite to soups and salads. Pack size: 187g, unit price: £0.89

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Guide to

importers & distributors

Guidetti Fine Foods

Unit C, Astbury Business Park, Astbury Road, Peckham, London SE15 2NW 0207 635 9800 info@guidetti.co.uk www.guidetti.co.uk Guidetti began trading in London in1989, and is now a leading supplier to retailers and restaurateurs across the UK with a wide range of speciality Italian products. Brands on offer: Scores of top Italian brands including: Salumi Franceschini Veroni Salumificio Cima Guffanti Vivaldi Hombre-Bio Barbieri Mostarda Filotei Lombardi Roi Pietrantica Italiana Capers Mutti La Motticella Iasa Tuna, Sala Ellesse Rustichella d’Abruzzo Sapori di Casa Ferron Gazzani Conserve della Nonna Panificio Zorzi Sapori delle Marche Tega Clemente Sebastiano Galioto Acetaia Bellei Acetaia Sereni Bosco del Merlo Sala Honeys Mokaflor Sorelle Nurzia Albertengo panettone Fiasconaro Tre Rossi Betti Panforte di Siena and Ricciarelli Venchi Gentilini Deseo Cantucci di Prato Specialist areas: Charcuterie, cheeses, tomato products, pasta, pasta sauces, rice, flours, pulses, bakery products, balsamic and wine vinegars, glazes, coffee, confectionery, biscuits, panettone, pandoro, nougat, chocolates. Rustichella d’Abruzzo Pasta and Sauces Guidetti regularly stocks 58 different pasta shapes all made by the Rustichella factory in Abruzzo. Many are organic and gluten free (made with rice or maize flour) and some are made with egg. Rustichella is now a UK market leader in its category. Helping with its success is its range of pasta sauces, many tomato based. These are said to be particularly good with its cuttlefish-ink pasta or gnocchi, or the very unusual Fregola Sarda (tiny roasted balls of pasta).

www.labandiera.eu

www.iberflavours.com

Iberflavours is a distributor of exclusive, artisan Spanish food products to specialist retailers and caterers, and has been operating in the UK since late 2008. It also offers a wide range of products for independent retailers. The team is split between Spain and the UK, so there’s a close relationship both with suppliers and clients. To have a foot in two different countries allows it to identify new trends on the producers side and understand its clients’ needs on the other. Brands on offer: several artisan Spanish products including: Maldonado (Ibérico range); Casa Oms (Catalan charcuterie); Valle del Esla (beef cecina); Queseria La Antigua de Fuentesaúco (ewe’s Torta from Zamora); Castell de Gardeny vinegars; Agustí Torrelló Mata Cava vinegar. Specialist areas: Sourcing the best artisan products Spain provides and supplying them to customers in the best condition. Maldonado 100% Pure Iberico Bellota Range Maldonado ham received three stars at the 2010 Great Taste Awards and its chorizo and cured loin received two stars in 2009. The ham is described as “among the best in Spain at the moment”. It is said to have rediscovered ancient traditional techniques and a pure Iberian breed of pig after several generations in which producers crossed pigs to improve productivity. Hams and paletas (shoulders) are available on the bone or deboned, while chorizo, cured loin and Salchichón are sold in pieces.

Stonehaven, Nuttree, North Perrott, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 7SX 01460 77508 info@wilstea.com www.wilstea.com

La Bandiera is the UK partner of Vivai della Bandiera in Italy. The team in Italy has many years experience in the production and distribution of wine and olive oil throughout Europe and the US. La Bandiera extra virgin olive oil is a relative newcomer to the UK market where it is selling well to restaurants and delis. La Bandiera says it has a “very small but very dedicated and professional” team.

Five generations of the Wilson family have been involved in opening and owning coffee and tea estates in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The present Robert Wilson was the fifth and last generation to be planting there. In 1995 he started imports from his business in Colombo, run by a Sinhalese planter. His teas have won 43 Great Taste Awards since 1999 and the business was named Speciality Importer of the Year 2005.

Brands on offer: La Bandiera is a privately-owned estate

Company aims are: The direct manufacture of the highest quality teas in the two quality seasons. Ethical trading – buying higher priced teas direct. Utilising local packing facilities and workers to return benefits to the industry Keeping its carbon footprint as low as possible.

Specialist area: Single estate, IGP extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany sold to delis, restaurants, at food fairs and online. La Bandiera extra virgin olive oil La Bandiera extra virgin olive oil is produced in the traditional wine growing area of Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast of Italy – home of the Super Tuscan vineyards of Ornellaia and Sassicaia. The team responsible for the blend of the three varieties of olives on the estate continues to use the traditional methods of deciding when the time is right to harvest to ensure the acidity level is low and to create the perfect blend. The result is a smooth yet full-bodied olive oil which has been endorsed by the IGP in recognition of its quality. La Bandiera olive oil is available in five sizes – 250 ml, 500ml, 1 litre, 3 litre and 5 litre.

Negrevernis 30 Local3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain :+34 93 517 33 81 info@iberflavours.com

Robert Wilson’s ‘Ceylon’ Tea

La Bandiera

12 Stanley Crescent, London W11 2NA 020 7243 5150 jacqueline.lane@labandiera.eu

Iberflavours

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Brands on offer: Robert Wilson’s ‘Ceylon’ Tea plus three clients’ brands it packs for. Specialist areas: Ceylon Teas from the seven classic districts and Indian Tea (Darjeeling and Assam single estate). Black, green and white teas plus a range of flavoured teas, including Earl Grey using only natural Bergamot oil. Robert Wilson’s Ceylon Tea While standard blended teas may not be so badly affected, high quality teas are easily degraded by light and are highly hydroscopic. Teas are also highly susceptible to any aromas in their vicinity. So Robert Wilson’s teas, having been fired down to just 2% moisture, are packed into polyfoil pouches at source to conserve quality. They have a threeyear ‘Best Before’ at packing Pack size range from 125g for loose retail teas to 1kg for catering, and from 25 tea bag cartons to 400 tea bag foils for catering.

Vol.12 Issue 6 路 July 2011

Guide to

importers & distributors

Dell’ami (CHEESE CELLAR) 44-54 Stewarts Road, London, SW8 4DF 0207 819 6001 info@dellami.co.uk

Shire Foods (Norfolk)

www.dellami.co.uk

The Dell’ami brand, owned by the Cheese Cellar, draws on its parent business’s 20-plus years of experience in importing. Encompassing products from Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Morocco and Turkey, it aims to track down specialist regional producers with unique products. Dell’ami has its own production facility in New Covent Garden Market where it produces its own pesto, hummus, dressings, capers and olive combinations. Retailers can select from this range or work with the company to create something original. The Dell’ami collection, available to retail and foodservice clients, is constantly evolving. Products can also be developed to customer specific requirements, with either new recipes or specific pack sizes. Specialist areas: Olives, extra virgin olive oils, other oils, vinegars, Mediterranean vegetables, antipasti, rice, pastes, pestos and mustards, dressings, branded bowls and olivewood spoons. Dell’ami Piedmont rice Dell’ami’s Piedmont rice shows the company’s long-standing relationship with local producers. This supplier has been farming rice since the 16th century and cares about preserving the land and traditions of the area. This is a “…really excellent rice that cooks beautifully, while helping preserve a tradition for future generations”.

Sovereign Way, Trafalgar Industrial Estate, Downham Market, Norfolk, PE38 9SW 01366 381250 sales@shirefoodsofnorfolk.co.uk www.shirefoodsofnorfolk.co.uk The company started in the late ’80s as a packer of wholefoods, and has steadily progressed to provide more and more items. It was originally known as Devonshire Foods, reflecting one of the partners’ surnames, but as a Norfolk based company, ‘Devon’ was eventually removed from the name. Shire Foods now packs a vast range of fruits and nuts, cereals, beans, pulses, rices, snacks, chocolate and yogurt enrobed products, traditional sweets, herbs and spices. The company says it prides itself on quality of service. Brands on offer: Scores of brands, firstly from Norfolk, secondly from East Anglia, thirdly from Britain and, finally, the rest of the world. Free Range Goose Fat Shire Foods’ Goose Fat, from free range East Anglian geese, comes straight from the farm for packing, labelling and distribution. Produced on a farm within 15 miles of the company’s warehouse, the fat is sold singly to enable smaller retailers to buy as much or as little as they need. The jar size is 150g and the trade price is £1.75 per jar.

TASTE OF BARBADOS

PO Box 7260, Tadley, Hampshire RG26 5FB 0118 982 1277 pete@tasteofbarbados.co.uk

www.tasteofbarbados.co.uk

Taste Of Barbados is the UK partner of Barbados Export. Its product range comprises premium speciality food and drink products from Barbados manufacturers. Products in the UK benefit from a full package of marketing support and brand development along with a presence at many trade and consumer shows and high profile sporting events. Brands on offer: All speciality producers in Barbados Specialist area: Sauces, marinades, condiments, seasonings, sugar, cakes, confectionery, chocolates, jams, biscuits, beverages, rum, and beers. Taste of Barbados provides a complete route to market from production, packaging, export, sales, distribution, marketing and PR. Clayton’s Cola Tonic Originally produced in Battersea London in 1880, this versatile non alcoholic mixer is based on the West African Kola Nut. It can be used for a wide range of cocktails, long drinks and fruit coolers.

Tortuga Rum Cake An iconic brand from the Caribbean,this fresh baked cake is available in a variety of flavours: chocolate, banana, lemon and ginger, with real aged golden Tortuga rum Aunt May’s Sauces and Jellies Traditional island flavours: guava, sorrel, spicy pepper jelly and famous Barbados hot pepper sauce

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

St. Nicholas Abbey Aged Rum Designer aged golden rum from St Nicholas Abbey, said to be one of the finest examples of quality rum in Barbados

Vol.12 Issue 6 路 July 2011

fineCONF1-2:fineCONF1-2

14/6/11

Page 1

For confectionery at it’s finest

The Fine Confectionery Company Ltd Tel:

01992 551075

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

www.

fineconfectionery.co.uk

Guide to

importers & distributors

JUST SO ITALIAN

46a Northampton Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 9HE 01858 419554 hello@justsoitalian.co.uk www.justsoitalian.co.uk A small family owned company with “a big passion for high quality Italian food”, Just So Italian says it focuses on bringing some of the best kept Italian secrets to the UK. Many of its products are “food & drink with a story”, made by small producers and rarely seen beyond the next village, let alone in a different country. Run by two chefs, Danilo and Alison Trozzi, the company began in 2008 as a progression to their successful Italian event catering company. They use their expertise and knowledge of Italian food together with their Italian family background to source some really special products. Just So Italian now has nearly 100 delis and fine food stores throughout the UK selling its products. Specialist areas: Cheese, salumi, baked goods, antipasti, pasta, rice, sauces, olive oils, vinegars, store cupboard items, coffee, biscuits, Italian cakes and liqueurs, all from small Italian artisan producers. Just So Italian is often asked to source individual Italian ingredients to a pre-defined specification. In this case the company’s services include dealing with technical specifications, negotiating with different Italian suppliers, ensuring that certificates are in order and organising distribution. Cipolline in Aceto Balsamico: baby borettane onions in balsamic vinegar Top quality borettane onions from San Marzano in southern Italy are used to create this antipasto. With no artificial ingredients, the onions have a sweetness that comes from infusion with balsamic vinegar, and a satisfying crunch,making them perfect served alongside a selection of cured meats. They are produced by Oliveri, which started in the 1920s but is still thriving today as an ‘old style’ family producer. They are available either in a 290g jar or in a tub of 2.5kg for spooning out.

Terra Rossa

10 Burnell Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4EE 020 8661 9695 info@terra-rossa.com

www.terra-rossa.com

Terra Rossa (named after the Biblical name for the Levant area of the Middle East) was established with the aim of bringing premium Arabian food and drink products to the UK market. Over the past years its range has developed to include: five infused extra virgin olive oils (three of which have won Great Taste Awards), dukka and sumac herb mixes and two internationally acclaimed olive oils from Morocco, Anglo-Jordanian products such as zaatar and pine nut sauce, zaatar passata and dukka harissa, designed to incorporate the best of the two worlds, are proving to be particularly popular. Terra Rossa also offers a catering range for delis and restaurants who wish to cook with it or offer zait & zaatar as an appetizer. Brands on offer: Terra Rossa Les Terroirs de Marrakech

Al-Karawan Desert Miracle

Atlas Olive Oils

Specialist areas: Olive oils from Jordan and Morocco supplied to delis, farm shops, restaurants, independent retail and foodservice. Terra Rossa olive oil presentation gift box This gift box contains six 50ml Jordanian plain and infused extra virgin olive oils. These comprise: first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil; chilli, basil, garlic and lemon infused olive oils; and the top of the range unfiltered and cold-drip extracted sinolea extra virgin olive oil. The flavoured oils are all made using first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and the best of fresh Jordanian herbs and fruits which are left to infuse naturally until the oils change their colour to signify that the flavours have been completely absorbed.

Heart Distribution

Longacre Industrial Estate, Rosehill, Willenhall WV13 2JP 0121 5226320 cblakemore@afblakemore.com

www.heartdistribution.co.uk

A F Blakemore and Son has been a food retailer, distributor and wholesaler for nearly 100 years, so it knows the industry well. It is a family owned and run company which was approached by regional food group Heart of England Fine Foods five years ago to help with their distribution. Heart Distribution was set up as a separate company in answer to this. It has created a network allowing retailers to access over 120 regional food and drink producers with one order, one invoice, and one delivery, helping to significantly reduce food miles while still supporting producers directly. All producers must be from the Heart of England Fine Foods region and adhere to its food hygiene and safety audits.

Brands on offer: Heart Distribution is in partnership with 124 companies from the region, including well known brands such as Tyrrells, Westons and Hobsons and up-and-coming names such as Just Crisps, Country Flavour Free Range Eggs and Mr Moydons Cheese. Specialist areas: Herefordshire and Worcestershire apple juices and ciders (e.g. Mannings Apple Juice; Hogans Cider; Westons Cider); Hereford Hop Cheeses; Bertelin farmhouse cheese – PDO Staffordshire cheese ; Staffordshire oat cakes (e.g. Taste of the Moorlands); Regional microbrewery ales (e.g. Hobsons Ale; Freedom Organic Lager); Shropshire cheese (Shropshire Blue from The Shropshire Cheese Company); Warwickshire Truckle (e.g. Cheese from Fowlers Forest Dairy); Pasta from Italy; Amaretti and panettone from Italy; Authentic German gingerbread men and houses

Flavoured Butter Company After enjoying watching her chef husband make flavoured butter when she first met him, Emma now produces her own range for the retail market from a purposebuilt food unit in Shrewsbury. Her bestseller, Red Chilli, Cracked Black Pepper and Garlic, is available in cases of 6 x 160g and has a recommended retail price of £2.50. The sweet farmhouse butter from Netherend Farm is combined with fresh ingredients then moulded and wrapped by hand. All the ingredients are natural.

Maynards Staffordshire Black - Treacle Dry Cured Bacon Twenty-two years ago, Maynard Davies started curing his farm reared pork and today Rob Cunningham continues the tradition just outside Shrewsbury. Maynards sources outdoor-reared pigs from local farms with an emphasis on animal welfare. The bacon is cured the old fashioned way. The Staffordshire Black takes one month to cure using black treacle which softens the meat. Rick Stein has named Maynards a Super Food Hero.

Clive’s Fruit Farm Apple Juice Established in 1911 near Upton-upon-Severn in South Worcestershire, Clive’s is a family-run farm that has managed to capture the freshness of its apples and pears in a bottle. All products are home grown, pressed and bottled, allowing the full flavour to come out without any additional flavourings, colourings or preservatives. The best seller is Conference Pear Juice, which is available in cases of 12 x 75cl to retail at £3.25.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Bellota Fine Foods from Spain

For more information please contact

Peter Snow Tel: 01432 840998 Email: info@bellota.co.uk

www.countryproducts.co.uk 6 Centre Park Tockwith York YO26 7QF Tel: 01423 358858 Fax: 01423 359858

Suppliers of Quality Dried Fruits â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nuts - Snack Products & Other Fine Foods. 3 comprehensive colour catalogues per year On-line ordering on www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk Weekly deliveries nationwide Team of field sales people nationwide Over 1,600 products from 140 producers Friendly and helpful customer service!

Wholesaler of Speciality Food to the UK & Ireland www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk

July 2011 Âˇ Vol.12 Issue 6

Guide to

importers & distributors

FRANCE GOURMET Ltd

5 Bedale Street, Borough Market, London SE1 9AL 07891 715 636 christian@francegourmet.co.uk

www.francegourmet.co.uk

France Gourmet was created by Christian Cazazian, its current managing director, and has enjoyed three years of development in a middle of an economic crisis. The company now has more than 40 clients, including luxury specialty fine food shops such as Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Partridges. The product range is mainly French and includes a large range of savoury and sweet ambient goods. The company’s suppliers are French regional producers who develop top-end products. Cazazian says this is what gives an independent shop the edge over mass market products – and the product ranges of supermarkets in particular. France Gourmet imports fresh products – especially cheeses and charcuteries – from France on a weekly basis, while offering premium products from other EU countries like a 48-month Iberico Bellota ham. France Gourmet is owned by two families, the Cazazians and the Harrisons. Stephen Harrison is the creator of Le Marche du Quartier in the Borough Market as well the Bedales wine bars in the City. Brands on offer: a wide range of mainly French products including: Terre Exotique; Mademoiselle de Margaux; Biscuiterie de Provence; Medicis Dragee; Comtes de Provence; Azais Polito; Rayon d’or Specialist areas: Importing ambient, French speciality top-end products and some Spanish and Italian charcuterie and cheeses from Rungis for sale by independent delicatessens, farm shops and organic retailers. Biscuiterie de Provence This regional producer has strong recognition as a biscuit manufacturer with an innovative edge. It received a prize for trend and innovation at the Sial 2010 exhibition for its Aristocades biscuits introduced here in June 2011. Its products have been sold by Fortnum & Mason for many years. Current best sellers include Nyons Olive savoury biscuits, perfect with an aperitif; canistreli sweet biscuits for Champagne and Prosecco; and a gluten-free almond cake.

Le Fumeton The company, located at an altitude of 1000m in the southern Alps near Gap, employs five people producing high quality patés and saucissons. Recipes have been handed down through the generations and their quality is largely down to the meat used. The patés are described as smooth, not aggressive, and the saucissons have proved to be a real success, with customers coming back to buy again and again. Pure pork is one of the favourite saucisson, while hare with rosemary is among the most popular pâté. At a retail price of less £6 for the 250g saucissons and less than £5 for the 180g patés, the products are said to offer great value.

Mademoiselle de Margaux These elegant twigs of fine chocolate with delicious fruity notes are produced in the middle of the Margaux Vineyard. The two best sellers are the orange twigs and the guinette with Armagnac. They are both aready sold successfully in UK stores.

Rayon d’Or This range comes from a small company located near Perpignan which collects different honeys from the Pyrenean mountains. The flavours, which include rosemary, rhododendron, thyme and lavender, are unusual in England. At less than £6.00 RRP, Rayon d’Or honey is said to offer great value for a top quality product.

AMF (Au Marche des Fromagers) Every week France Gourmet receives fresh cheeses and charcuterie from Rungis (France). AMF is a specialist in top-end cheeses such as 24-month Comté, Camembert Val d’Ay, and St Marcellin. France Gourmet also markets its yoghurts and butter.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

BRINDISA SPANISH FOODS Brindisa sells top quality Spanish foods and ingredients. Our expert sales team is here to help you choose from our selection of Spanish hams, charcuterie, olive oils, olives, paprika, saffron, and much more.

EXCELLENT QUALITY AT LOW PRICES: Brindisa offers real value for money, with foods priced to suit every pocket. We aim to be competitively priced on everything from chorizo to cheese and the relationships we have enjoyed for over 20 years with many of our suppliers, have grown our expertise and88skill in INCE 19 selecting the best foods for ourScustomers.

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE: •Next day, FREE delivery both in and out of London, low minimum orders •Sales support: ham training with our master carver, tastings, recipe cards and serving suggestions •Peace of mind: we have our own technical team Try our new range of Brindisa store-cupboard essentials for even more affordable quality.

CALL OUR SALES TEAM NOW ON 020 8772 1600 TO FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU! WWW.BRINDISAWHOLESALE.COM • 020 8772 1600 • BRINDISA SHOP & TAPAS BRINDISA LONDON BRIDGE • TAPAS BRINDISA SOHO • CASA BRINDISA SOUTH KENSINGTON

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www.olivesetal.co.uk 30

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Olives Et Al eat more and live very happily

Guide to

importers & distributors

Gourmet World PO Box 355, Witney, OX28 6WY 01993 774741 info@gourmet-world.co.uk www.gourmet-world.co.uk

Gourmet World was established in 1995 to offer a range of products with a point of difference in the UK market, specifically for the quality independent retailer – and the company was asked to be the official supplier of sweets at the recent British Soap Awards. It has launched a new range of confectionery under the Sweetilicious brand that offers a wide range of retro and indulgent sweets. These are available branded or with the customer’s own label, in bags or jars and with no minimum order offering an opportunity to create your own brand. While the Sweetilicious brand has a young retro look, a more traditional label can be purchased under the Penwardens brand. The Penwardens name was established and has been associated with confectionary since 1932 when Bill Penwarden began to supply sweets in his home county of Devon. His grandson has continued with the brand into the 21st century and expanded to include the Sweetilicious name.

Rice Bites Rice Bites are a new, healthy snacking alternative said to offer health and wellbeing benefits. The vibrant and colourful Rice Bites pouches contain tasty snacks which are gluten-free, trans-fat free, cholesterol-free, low in fat and baked, not fried. They are available in six flavours: Sweet Chilli, Sour Cream & Onion, Teriyaki, Lime & Black Pepper, Wasabi and Pizza.

Di Costa Flower Fairy Range The Di Costa Flower Fairy Range is inspired by the famous illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker. Individual light and fluffy panettones, Italian pastry assortment, Dolci Passione (Sweet Passions) are described as a perfect after-dinner treat. Soft Italian nougat in decorative tins and fruit fondant-filled chocolates in a unique hexagonal keepsake box are said to provide gift ideas for any occasion. The family-owned Sicilian company has been supplying Gourmet World with its products for many years.

Vicenzi For more than 100 years, Italy’s Vicenzi has prepared these refined pastries and sweet specialities using top quality ingredients and following traditional recipes. The Vicenzi product range includes classic specialities; Cantuccini, Amaretto and puff pastries, the Mini Voglie range with classic macaroon and tempting shortbread patisserie filled with custard and cocoa cream and fine Italian patisseries presented in beautiful boxes and elegant tins.

1880 1880 is one of the oldest confectioners in Europe. Founded in 1725, each generation of the Sirvent family has passed on the traditions associated with producing 1880 turrón – a traditional sweetmeat prepared from almonds, honey and sugar. In addition to the traditional, chocolate and sugar-free turrón, 1880 produces a selection of almond wafers, almond crumble cake and marzipan treats and a ‘decadent’ range of truffles and sweets.

Homecook Homecook is a new range of prepared fruits which provides an easy route to making your own home preserves. Marmalade or preserves can be made in just thirty minutes with no peeling, coring or slicing – just add sugar and water to the tins of prepared fruit to make up to six pounds of preserves. There are four varieties in the range; Medium Cut and Thick Cut Prepared Seville Oranges, Prepared Strawberries and Prepared Lemons.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Guide to

importers & distributors

Country Products

Unit 6 Centre Park, Tockwith, York, YO26 7QF 01423 358858 mark.leather@countryproducts.co.uk www.countryproducts.co.uk Country Products sells healthy snacks and fine foods, including its own muesli range, under its own brand as well as packing under customers’ own labels. It was founded in 1983 by Mark Leather, the present MD. Originally a one-man band, it now employs 21 staff selling its products across the UK and Europe. It says growth in sales has been achieved by recommendations, and its reputation for providing excellent products and never letting customers down. Specialist areas: Independent retail sector and some foodservice. Healthy snacks and fine foods A wide range of healthy and indulgence snacks, mixed, blended and packed in-house and supplied to the convenience, vending, education, hospitality, and leisure sectors. Packed in single-serve sizes for 35-50g at trade prices from £3.48 per dozen. Merchandising stands are also available.

Delicioso

Unit 14, Tower Business Park, Berinsfield, Oxon, OX10 7LN 01865 340055 info@delicioso.co.uk www.delicioso.co.uk The company was launched in 2004 by Kate Shirley-Quirk and Jose Luis Alvarez Bernal, with the aim of importing and distributing high quality foods and wines from Spain. The range includes ham, chorizo and other charcuterie, cheeses, seafood, salsas and patés, vegetables and rice, olives, olive oils and vinegars, spices, nuts, snacks and fruit, jams and honeys, biscuits, sweets and chocolates, sherry, wines and ciders, paella kits, terracotta dishes, paella pans and olive oil-based skin care products. In 2008 Delicioso was awarded Speciality Importer of the Year by the Guild of Fine Food, and it has won many Great Taste Awards golds. These include two three-star products in 2010, one of which, its Tortas de Aceite (sugared olive oil biscuit), was also nominated for the Ambient Product of the Year award at the Great Taste Awards. Delicioso has also recently opened a riverside restaurant and tapas bar in Henley-on-Thames. It offers no minimum order quantities, and a nextday courier service for deliveries throughout the UK. Specialist areas: Products are sourced from around 80 suppliers across Spain, including the north (Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias and Cataluña), from Madrid and Valencia, Extremadura, Andalucia and the Canary Islands. Rabitos Royale Fig Bombons These brandy-truffle filled figs, from Extremadura in southern Spain, are dipped in dark chocolate. Winner of a two-star gold Great Taste Award in 2009, they are made using a particularly small fig variety called Pajarito. Available in boxes of three or nine individually-wrapped figs, and now for 2011 in a larger 1kg box.

Anthony Rowcliffe and Son

Unit B, Paddock Wood Distribution Centre, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6UU 01892 838999 sales@rowcliffe.co.uk www.rowcliffe.co.uk Rowcliffe offers speciality cheeses, charcuterie, cooked meats, paté, olives, antipasto, oils and vinegars, biscuits for cheese, salsas and preserved fish. With over 40 years in the business, it has worked with 1000s of new business start-ups. It offers next-day delivery nationwide, with only orders of less than £100 attracting a £4 delivery charge. Rowcliffe says it has a“hands on” approach and commitment to helping customers make the most of their chilled food sales. Advice on ranging, merchandising, ticketing and staff training is supported with ongoing promotions and product launches. It can also provide advice on product marketing and branding as well as environmental health or Trading Standards challenges. Products are sourced from Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Holland. Brands on offer: Castellino olives (exclusive) Die Kasemacher Negroni Italian meats Reinert German meats Villar Spanish meats and chorizos Thiol Brittany paté

French cheeses A range of artisan French cheeses sourced from independent farmers majoring on fermier, PDO, handmade and unpasteurised varieties. Hard cows’ milk, washed rind, goats’ and sheep’s milk cheeses make up this selection.

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Colston Bassett Stilton Vandesterre Dutch cheese

Castellino Italian olives Rowcliffe has been the exclusive partner for Castellino Italian olives and antipasto in the UK for over 10 years. The range includes marinated and stuffed olives and grilled vegetables. Their low salt and vinegar content gives “a unique mild flavour” to the olives and the oven-dried and barbequed vegetables are described as “sweet and full of flavour”.

Clonakilty black pudding, Orkney herrings

Negroni Italian meats The Negroni range of Italian meats and salamis has been a great success. Negroni has been producing meats for over a century, including Milano and Napoli salamis and Parma ham, as well as Cremona and Felino salamis, coppa and rolled pancetta.

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Hider Food Imports Ltd is a family-owned business which has been trading for nearly 50 years. During this time we have gained a reputation for supplying quality products which are delivered by our own fleet of vehicles. A dedicated telesales department is employed to support our external sales team in order to provide all customers with a rapid response to any specific requirements. Our best selling brands include Hazer Baba, Green & Black’s, Montezuma’s, Border Biscuits, Fudges Bakery, Belvoir Fruit Farm, Twinings, RJ’s Licorice, Mrs Crimble’s, Fentimans, Tyrells and many more. We produce seasonal brochures each year including our popular Christmas brochure which features a superb range of luxury gift food. Also available under our ‘Essence of Quality’ and ‘Sweet Shop’ brands are a wide range of pre-packed nuts, snacks, dried fruits, confectionery and good old fashioned traditional sweets. The recent launch of our ‘Hider Bakery’ label has been well received by customers, offering a delicious range of quality handmade fruit cakes. Please contact our sales team on 01482 504333 and ask for our latest product list which will hopefully give you a further idea of our full range of products. Hider Food Imports Ltd, Wiltshire Road, Hull, East Yorkshire HU4 6PA tel: 01482 561137 fax: 01482 565668 website: www.hiderfoods.co.uk email: sales@hiderfoods.co.uk Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

We bring Mediterranean Sicily to your table – wherever you are. We offer high quality traditional and innovative Sicilian products. We work with local producers for raw materials – such as Gaetano Marchetta from Salina who furnishes freshly picked raw capers for our caper spiced sea salt and Salvino Marino from Graniti with sun dried tomatoes for our Crema di Pomodoro (Sun dried tomato pate). We follow each product from beginning of production until the finishing and quality applies product itself but also to confection, packaging and delivery. Labelling of products is possible either in Italian or English. We are accredited suppliers of the Guild of Fine Food. We are certified exhibitors at Slow Food Fairs in Germany and Switzerland. Piazza San Sebastiano 5, I – 98036 Graniti / ME w: www.ilmercato.biz e: info@ilmercato.biz Contact Salvatore or Karin (English & Italian spoken) t: +39 0942 29529 m: +39 331 304 23 23 Trade inquiries welcome. Visit us in Sicily. 34

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Guide to

importers & distributors

hf Chocolates

5 Fitzhamon Court, Wolverton Mill South, Milton Keynes MK12 6LB 01908 315003 sales@hfChocolates.co.uk www.hfChocolates.co.uk hf Chocolates supplies 1500-plus small, independently owned, specialist food shops, delicatessens, fine food shops and department stores, as well as gift shops, garden centres and hamper companies. The product range includes fine chocolates, chocolate novelties, sugar confectionery and liquorice. It repackages many lines and supplies own label products to customers, as well as offering personalised confectionery for promotional use. Brands on offer: Amarelli, Amatller, Arosa, Barnier, Booja Booja, Bovetti, Boynes, Chocolate Craft, Chocolotol, Confiserie Weibler, Cuevas, Divine, Duke & Mandarine, Elit, Francois Doucet, Gina, Gnaw, Gourmet Pizza Company, Hint Mint, Klett, Ko-Koá, Koska, La Suissa, Le Monelle, Leone, Lessiter’s, Limar, Linda’s Lollies, Madelaine, Maku Laku, Meybona, Montezuma’s, Plush, Prestat, Quaranta, RJ’s, Simón Coll, Storz, Sweet Boutique, Venchi, Vosges

Marshwood Foods

202 Saint Andrew’s Road, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3BS 01308 455789 marshwoodfoods@btconnect.com Marshwood Foods launched in 2000 and specialises in importing high quality and “hard-to-find” goods from across Europe. The brands imported – from France, Spain, Germany and Italy – are well known in their home markets and attractively packaged to give a strong on-shelf appeal, says the company. Products available include soups, sauces, stocks, patés, vinegars and mustards. The diversity of products and small case sizes means retailers can order frequently throughout the year. Brands on offer: Crustarmor Vilux

Englert

Marguerite de Turenne

Sweet Boutique range of filled bags This range includes 96 bags of all-year products as well as a selection of seasonal lines - standard dragées, luxury dragées, sweets, foiled chocolate novelties, La Suissa Italian chocolates, Lessiter’s English truffles & pralines. It includes two styles of bag intended for everyday purchases (heat sealed and twist tie) or gifting (heat sealed, twist tie and ribbon).

Based in the south west of France, Marguerite de Turenne make traditional regional speciality terrines and patés. These come in 180g jars and are made from game, as well as the duck and goose for which the region is famous. They don’t need refrigeration and have a long shelf-life so are ideal for hampers. Goose fat and duck fat are also available and are best sellers in the last quarter of the year.

Atlantico (UK) Ltd

Unit 10 Commerce Way, Commerce Park Croydon CR0 4YL 0208 649 7444 claudia.rosinha@atlantico.co.uk www.atlantico.co.uk Atlantico was established in 1994 by José Cruz, who spotted a gap in the UK market for Portuguese products. The wholesaler has grown over the years and today also offers Brazilian and Spanish lines. The range of products available includes patés, Serra sheeps’ cheeses and fine charcuterie including Porco Preto (black pig). Many of these products are hand-made. Atlantico currently supplies independent retailers, delicatessens, coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels. Brands on offer: La Gondola Porco Preto Ribeiro e Guimaraes Cheeses

Porco Preto/Black Pig The homemade recipes used by Porco Preto are based on the traditional seasonings of Barrancos (red pepper and bittersweet pepper) and on slow, natural curing in its drying rooms. The Alentejo pig grazes extensively in total freedom and feeds mainly on acorns.

La Gondola La Gondola has been trading since 1940 and its products include sardine roes, pickled mackerel fillets in olive oil and smoked trout fillets. Atlantico also stocks its sardine and tuna paté.

Cheese The selection of cheeses includes the famous Serra sheep’s cheese, a soft rounded variety made from unpasteurised milk.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

It’s all about the product When times are not so good and the media constantly tells us we’ve never had it so bad, it is tempting to become obsessed with price. The danger is that we then allow product quality to become secondary which inevitably impacts on our unique selling proposition. At Rowcliffe, we never compromise quality as we continually strive to source the very best examples for all our product categories. With our new French artisan list, we have personally visited all the farms and selected each cheese, almost all of which are AOC (PDO) and made using unpasteurised milk – and made by hand, of course. For Italian charcuterie, we are delighted to have partnered Negroni and believe we have found the quality and variety your customers expect from a specialist retailer (try Negroni’s Felino or San Danielle, they’re both fabulous). Our exclusive range of olives from Castellino are superb. These Italian olives are selected for perfect plumpness and thin skin and are processed in the beautiful town of San Severino. They are marinated in sunflower oil which perfectly suits the British palette, delivering the olive’s characteristic fruitiness but with less acidity or saltiness. 01892 838999 www.rowcliffe.co.uk

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Guide to

importers & distributors

Cotswold Fayre

Units 9-11, Manor Farm, Peppard Common, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 5LA 08456-121201 sales@cotswold-fayre.co.uk www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk Cotswold Fayre stocks a range of ambient products for speciality food shops including bakery, snacks, beverages, confectionery, store cupboard essentials, grocery, international and seasonal ranges. It represents over 150 producers predominantly from the UK & Ireland, most of which have no or very limited exposure in the multiples. The company was established in 1999 when it saw the opportunity to supply the growing speciality food sector with a wide selection of British speciality food and drink products from one source. In 2011, due to rapid growth during the recession, the company is moving to new premises two-and-a-half times larger than its current ones, to facilitate more growth in the next few years. It also offers warehousing and distribution, sales and marketing, and advice on branding, packaging and product launches. Specialist areas: Of the company’s 150 suppliers, 40 are in a partnership relationship which means that Cotswold Fayre is their main route to market.

Brindisa

9B Weir Rd, Balham, London, SW12 0LT

Cotswold Meringues These meringues are ideal for anyone selling soft fruit in the summer, or indeed any retailer with people shopping for dinner parties. It has even been known to be a best-seller in some butcher’s shops, says Cotswold Fayre.

Wessex Mill A miller for over 100 years and a multiple Great Taste Award-winner, Wessex Mill produces a range of 23 bread-making flours, three baking flours and two mueslis. The range will never be stocked in supermarkets and is a “must stock” for all independent retailers, says Cotswold Fayre.

The Bath Pig This range of award-winning chorizo sausages, made using pork from British farms approved by the RSPCA Freedom food scheme, is available exclusively from Cotswold Fayre. New for 2011 is a snacking chorizo.

020 8772 1600

sales@brindisa.com

www.brindisa.com

Brindisa imports and distributes Spanish foods. It supplies mainly cured or preserved foods, the majority in both retail and catering formats, sourced from many of Spain’s regions. They include: Ibérico and Serrano hams and charcuterie; cooking meats such as chorizo, morcilla, pancetta and lomo; cheeses including a range of Manchegos but also many lesser known styles; olives, nuts and snacks; cured fish such as tuna, salt cod, anchovies, boquerones, sardines, mackerel; olive oils and vinegars; preserved vegetables such as piquillo peppers and legumes; herbs and spices such as paprika and saffron; an organic range plus paella pans, ham carving equipment and other kitchenware. Brindisa supplies retailers including delis and foodhalls; independent hotels, restaurants and catering; foodservice; multiple retail; export and can also offer tailored ranges or even bespoke sourcing. Customers are supported with comprehensive sales and technical information. New products for 2011 include: A revised Ibérico ham range, covering hams from the main ham curing regions of Spain, and featuring Brindisa-branded Ibérico ham; artisan Pyrenean pâté; Catalan cheeses from a new dairy and other artisan cheeses; a seafood range; an ‘Eco’ range of tuna and anchovies from Ortiz in organic olive oil; and ‘Fideus’ Catalan angel hair pasta. Brands on offer: As well as offering products under its own brand, Brindisa represents some 70 Spanish suppliers including: Alejandro chorizos Casa Riera Ordeix salamis Biobardales (Enebral) organic sliced charcuterie Villarejo Manchego Ortiz tuna and anchovies Núñez de Prado olive oil Navarrico beans and vegetables La Chinata paprika

Monte Enebro goats’ milk cheese Calasparra rice

Specialist areas: Brindisa considers itself to be “the home of Spanish food”, specialising in all things Spanish, from everyday, and competitively priced commodities to the finest artisan products. It is also expert in Spanish ham, offering a range of regional representation and price points as well as ham training with its master carver. Brindisa olive oils Single estate and blended olive oils are available. Arbequina EVOO is made with olives grown and milled on Brindisa’s supplier’s estate in Navarra, while North and South is a blend of Arbequina with Picual, an Andalucian variety from southern Spain. Two formats are available for kitchens and retailing. 5L Arbequina £24.45; 5L North & South £21.95, 1L Arbequina £6.30.

Ortiz Bonito Bonito is white tuna, fished using rods in season, all caught off the Cantabrian coast of Spain. It comes in colourful tins and flies off the shelves, says Brindisa. .

Señorío Ibérico Bellota ham, D.O.P. This premium Ibérico Bellota ham holds a DOP from Extremadura, Badajoz. This is where the most important areas of dehesa are, the native habitat for Iberico pigs and where the acorns grow that form much of their diet. Brindisa’s supplier is a partnership of farmers who control the entire rearing and curing process.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Guide to

importers & distributors

The Fine Confectionery Company 19 - 20 Mead Business Centre, Hertford, Herts, SG13 7BJ 01992 551075 info@fineconfectionery.co.uk www.fineconfectionery.co.uk

The Fine Confectionery Company, established in 1985, is a key supplier in the confectionery trade. As well as supplying well-known brands it also offers some smaller, lesser-known names. It’s been working with various manufacturing partners across Europe for over 25 years to market their products. The company says all its suppliers share its passion for great chocolate, sugar confectionery and biscuits. Its modern office and warehouse in Hertford has a packing facility where special packs are processed for retail and foodservice customers. This can include anything from a large run of single chocolate boxes for major airlines to complex hand-packed gifts for retail and corporate customers Brands on offer: Niederegger Marzipan Conrad Schulte

Jelly Belly jelly beans Dolfin Chocolat Loacker Wafers Retro Sweets

Summerdown Peppermint Belgian Butters Whirly pops

Specialist areas: Fine chocolate, marzipan, sugar confectionery, Continental biscuits, infusions. Retro Sweets Retro sweets have been enjoying a revival and good market growth. The company’s registered Retro Sweets brand has a strong ’70s feel and is available as pick-up bags and gift products.

Niederegger Lubeck Niederegger has been producing marzipan in the famous Hanseatic City of Lubeck since 1806. Made with 58% Mediterranean almonds, its recipe has never changed. The Fine Confectionery Compnay carries a wide range of Niederegger lines, from 40g chocolatecovered marzipan sticks to 1,000g luxury assortments, along with other specialities such as marzipan fruits and drinks.

Dolfin Chocolat Master chocolatier Dolfin blends rich Belgian chocolate with fruits, herbs and spices to create unique tastes. Dolfin offer a 70g bar, 30g bars, squares and drinking chocolate.

Hider Food Imports Wiltshire Road, Hull, East Yorkshire HU4 6PA 01482 561137 sales@hiderfoods.co.uk

www.hiderfoods.co.uk

Hider Food Imports is a family-owned business that has been trading since 1965. Its ever-expanding product list contains hundreds of brands and over 2,000 individual items including nuts, dried fruit, confectionery, cakes, biscuits, snacks, soft drinks, beverages, breakfast cereals and other fine foods. More recently, greater emphasis has been placed on the development of the company’s own label, with its “Essence of Quality” and “Sweet Shop” brands offering pre-packed nuts, snacks, dried fruits, confectionery and traditional oldfashioned sweets. Hider Food Imports has set up its own roasting and salting plant which means it can offer a wide range of salted nuts. It is also interested in contract roasting and salting or cleaning of nut kernels. It has its own fleet of vehicles and a dedicated telesales department to support the external sales team. The company is accredited by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), achieving Higher Level status on its last audit Brands on offer: Hazer Baba Turkish Delight Chocolates Valor - Spanish sugar-free/no added sugar chocolate bars Schlunder - seasonal traditional German Christmas stollen Fischer & Wieser - Texan specialities Bloomsberry designer gift chocolate bars Kastner of Austria – chocolate confectionery

La Buena Vida – Spanish tapas products Corsini - Tuscan cantuccini and panettone Revillon of France – chocolate confectionery

Specialist area: While branded products are a large part of the business, the main core business is in nut kernels and dried fruits. These are re-cleaned on site using the latest technology and packed in house. Hider Bakery Hider Foods has linked with a local craft bakery to offer indulgent, handmade bakery products. There are currently five loaf cakes and two round cakes with prices to suit all tastes, along with Christmas cakes for the festive season.

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Corsini Corsini, an Italian family business established in 1921, is a leading manufacturer of Cantuccini, the classic Tuscan biscuit with almonds. It also produces an extensive range of speciality biscuits and panettone for the Christmas season, along with Cantuccini, Biscotti, Amaretti and Croccoli.

Fischer & Wieser Fischer & Wieser Speciality Foods, founded by artisan farmers in 1969, manufactures more than 100 award-winning speciality foods. These include hand-crafted sauces, mustards, salsa, dressings and preserves. Its signature sauce, The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, is characterised by “sweet heat” with a combination of raspberries and chipotle peppers. The 270g bottle has an RRP of £4.99. All other Fischer & Wiser products have an RRP of £3.99.

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Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Distributor of authentic artisan Spanish food products in UK Prestigious winner

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Fine, gourmet wholefoods wholesalers with a difference

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Nuts & Seeds Cakes & Confectionery Herbs & Spices Organic Flour & Pasta

Shire Foods specialise in packing and distributing a wide variety of well known heath and whole foods to farm shops, general grocers & retailers, including our own range of delicious nuts, seeds & confectionery. Our new range of traditional ‘Scrummies’ sweets boasts over 80 flavours in quality packages, including 20 sugar-free varieties suitable for diabetics.

01366 381250

www.shirefoodsofnorfolk.co.uk

Dell’iciously Mediterranean Olives, one of the oldest foods known to man, are the foundation of the Dell’ami brand. As well as Olives, Dell’ami offers an extensive range of speciality Mediterranean fine foods including Olive Oils, Vinegars, Antipasti, Risotto Rice, Pastes and Pestos. For more information or a copy of our latest brochure, please email info@dellami.co.uk or call 0207 819 6001.

Exclusively available from:

Cheese Cellar – 44-54 Stewarts Road, London, SW8 4DF Tel: South East – 0207 819 6001 Central – 01905 829 830 North East – 01347 822 977 North West – 0161 279 8020 South West – 01392 908 108

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Dell Ami Advert A5 portrait.indd 1

13/06/2011 14:06

Guide to

importers & distributors

Il Mercato – Fine Foods from Sicily Il Mercato by VitaSicula Srl., Piazza San Sebastiano 5, I – 98036 Graniti (ME) Sicily 0039 0942 29 5 29 info@ilmercato.biz www.ilmercato.biz

Karin and Salvatore Romano sold their Italian bar and deli in northern Europe and moved back to Sicily to set up Il Mercato in Graniti, a small village in the Alcantara Valley near Taormina. They produce and sell their products locally and abroad and also work with young local producers. They say they are driven to try and find new ways of transforming traditional local raw materials into new and exciting products, always maintaining typical Sicilian flavours. Each year they invite friends and helpers from abroad to help out during the olive harvest, giving them a chance to find out how quality olive oil is made. Products include pestos, tapenades (black olive, spicy black olive, sundried tomato with pinenuts, peperoncino, Sicilian wild fennel), extra virgin PDO olive oil, freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil and caper spiced sea salt. Specialist areas: Sicilian spicy black olive tapenade, black olive jam, Sicilian caponata (eggplant peperoni antipasti), the company’s own PDO-certified extra virgin olive oil handpicked and cold-milled in Sicily, giant capers from Salina, walnut pesto with basil and Malvasia soaked sultanas, and Sicilian sweet red orange marmalade handcut from whole local tarocco oranges Extra Virgin Olive Oil Missa Uno This oil has PDO status and olives are handpicked, selected and cold pressed within six hours. The oil is called Missa Uno because the olive trees grow in Contrada Missa Uno in Graniti. Available in 0.25 L bottles with oil pouring tap.

Black Olive Jam Slightly salty yet candied black olives are the main ingredient of il Mercato’s Black Olive Jam, which combines the strong salty flavour of black ripe olives with the sweetness of sugar. This handmade jam is said to be ideal with mature cheese such as Parmesan, Sicilian Pecorino, Spanish Manchego or mature cheddar. Available in a 110g jar.

Caper spiced sea salt / Sale speziato ai Capperi This uses freshly harvested capers from the island of Salina and sea salt from Trapani. The salt can be used to season tomato salad, Caprese salad, fish, pasta sauces, dips and boiled vegetables. It comes in individual 95g glass jar with salt grinder top.

Olives Et Al

1 North Dorset Business park, Sturminster Newton, Dorset DT10 2GA 01258 474300 sales@olivesetal.co.uk www.olivesetal.co.uk Olives Et Al supplies marinated olives, extra virgin olive oils, antipasti, balsamic vinegars, dressings and marinades, freshly roasted nuts, snacks and accessories. The company, which launched in 1993, still uses some of its original recipes and techniques whilst continually developing, creating new recipes and inventing new products using ingredients from farmers and producers it trusts. Ingredients are sourced from across the Mediterranean – olives from Greece, Italy, France and occasionally further afield; olive oils from Spain, Italy and Greece; and spices from around the world. It supplies independent retailers as well as foodservice and larger retail and leisure attractions. It also does some private label work for clients and can develop specific products to suit different markets and applications, providing advice on pack style and brand development. The company says it is well versed in all aspects of sales, marketing, warehousing and distribution of speciality foods. In addition to holding full BRC Accreditation, it operates retail and foodservice outlets of its own. Brands on offer: Olives Et Al

Naturvie

Soler Romero

Psaltiras

Specialist areas: All ingredients are sourced and selected with care from trusted suppliers and producers, says the company. Most products are made in Dorset using artisan, traditional and authentic processes and techniques. Marinated olives Naturally ripened and fully matured olives are graded and inspected by hand before water-curing and marinating. The classic olive is a best seller. Mixed green and black olives in extra virgin olive oil with chilli, garlic and black pepper are prepared to a Sicilian recipe from Ragusa. Available in retail jars as well as 2.5kg and 5kg foodservice or deli packs. 260g jars have a trade price of £2.56 each

Extra virgin olive oil Olives Et Al works with artisan olive oil producers in Spain to produce this single estate extra virgin olive oil specifically blended to suit the British palate. Fruity without overpowering, with just enough bitterness and pepperiness to bring out its character, it’s a great all round, everyday oil, says the company. Available in 500ml bottles (trade price £4.62) and 5L tins for decanting or foodservice.

Roasted nuts Olives Et Al says it has developed a unique and innovative method for roasting and spicing nuts that captures freshness and depth of flavour. Freshly kiln roasted almonds spiced with a sweet but hot North African-style harissa chilli paste are a best seller. Available in 160g jars (£2.57 trade) and 2kg foodservice bags.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Exquisite

MARSHWOOD FOODS TOP BRANDS FROM EUROPE

Award Winning Arabian Specialities

MARGUERITE DE TURENNE, CRUSTARMOR, VILUX, LADY SAFFRON, ENGLERT, CASCINA VENERIA, LOREA, OROVERDE, LA TOURANGELLE.

020 8661 9695 www.terra-rossa.com

MARSHWOOD FOODS. TEL: 01308 455 789 EMAIL: MARSHWOODFOODS@BTCONNECT.COM

Artisan delicacies from Italian traditions

...Celebrating 10 years of Consistency La Credenza Ltd - Unit 9, College Fields Business Centre - Prince George’s Road - London SW19 2PT Tel. 020 7070 5070 - Fax 020 7070 5071 - Email: info@lacredenza.co.uk

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Guide to

importers & distributors

Delicious Fine Foods

5, Queen’s House, 176 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1QS +44 (0)701 424 1352 enquiries@deliciousfinefoods.co.uk

www.deliciousfinefoods.co.uk

Delicious Fine Foods is a new, wholesale division of the speciality food company Deli-cious, launched back in 2006. The company aims to provide high-quality, great tasting organic or all-natural, artisan foods. Products are sourced from all over Europe and Delicious Fine Foods works with small producers and suppliers, supporting them by introducing their products to the UK market. The company says its brand partners are important and it believes in building strong working relationships with them. The range includes organic extra virgin olive oils, infused olive oils, organic nut and seed oils, organic nut and seed butters, fruit vinegars, organic balsamic vinegars, infused honey, organic sauces, dressings and mayonnaise, fruit and chocolate spreads and fruit balsamic glazes. The company likes to stock new and interesting products, that are not available everywhere and keeps its selection small and focused. Warehousing and distribution, sales and marketing, and advice on branding and packaging are available. Orders of £125.00 or more qualify for free delivery. Brands on offer: BioBandits

Deli-cious

Imhonig

Sun & Seed

Bisini Gambetti

Strakka Organics

Eleones

Specialist area: Organic and all-natural artisan foods sourced from all over Europe and the UK.

Imhonig This small artisan company produces infused honeys. Pure Acacia honey is sourced from small beekeepers’ co-operatives in Romania. Each jar is then hand-filled and flavoured with natural extracts and then the fruits and spices are added. Flavours offered are mango, mango & chilli, lemon, apple and also ginger.

Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oils Deli-cious is the speciality food brand of Deli-cious Fine Foods. Sourced from a Catalonian farmer’s co-operative estate, and using a balance of Arbequina, Picual and Hojiblanca olives, these oils are infused using only the essential oils of the fruits, herbs or spices. No artificial flavourings, colourings or preservatives and no GMO ingredients are used. The oils can be used as dressings and marinades or drizzled or stirred through warm dishes, and the garlic infused variety is a Great Taste Award winner.

BioBandits With a range of nine organic sauces, dressings and mayonnaises, BioBandits offers some original and unique flavour combinations. “Striking, contemporary looks on the outside – genuine delicious flavours on the inside,” is how they are described by Delicious Fine Foods. A free sample bottle or jar is shipped with every case for in-store tastings.

Sun & Seed Sun and Seed offers a range of organic nut and seed oils, nut and seed butters and also its own wild pomegranate vinegars. Delicious, which is the producer's main wholesale partner, says this represents a perfect opportunity to introduce some award-winning healthy products with exceptional taste into the speciality food market, The oils are in 250ml & 500ml sizes, the vinegars 250ml and the nut and seed butters 250g. All come in cases of six.

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Guide to

importers & distributors

La Credenza

Unit 9, College Field Business Centre, Prince Georges Road, London SW19 2PT 020 7070 5070 info@lacredenza.co.uk www.lacredenza.co.uk La Credenza was founded 10 years ago by Fabio Antoniazzi with the aim of sourcing and importing farmhouse and artisan delicacies from all over Italy to the UK. Products are sourced from small artisan producers and family-run businesses in all 20 regions of Italy. It supplies food halls, independent retailers, restaurants, delis and catering companies. The range includes: farmhouse Italian cheeses; burrata and buffalo mozzarella; Prosciutto San Daniele and Parma Ham; artisan charcuterie made with pork, goose, duck, wild boar and venison meat, beef bresaola, salami and carpaccio; cured fish carpaccio; botarga; pulses; pasta from Gragnano, extra virgin olive oil; stone milled flour; rice (Carnaroli, Arborio, Vialone Nano); panforte and handmade biscuits; fresh fruit and vegetables; olives from Puglia; and honey and coffee from a small family-run business near Venice. The company has a new location in SW19 where it organises tastings and courses to help customers get to know its products. Specialist areas: Farmhouse Italian cheese including Burrata from Puglia and Italian cured salumi including its prosciutto San Daniele. Burrata from Corato (Puglia) Burrata is a creamy cheese with a delicate hint of sweetness, and comes wrapped in leaves.

Sweet Giant Green Olives From Puglia, this giant olive is treated to give it a sweet taste and a natural brilliant green appearance. Prosciutto San Daniele This is produced in the small town of San Daniele in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The town has a unique microclimate that naturally enriches the maturing of the famous Prosciutto di San Daniele, says La Credenza.

QUINTA VALE DE LOBOS OLIVE OILS Quinta Vale de Lobos is a historical, family-owned estate located 70 k m North of Lisbon, in the Ribatejo region. The unique characteristics of the terroir and the extreme care with which the olive oils are extracted and bottled, explain the superior and consistent quality of the Quinta Vale de Lobos Extra Virgin Olive Oils. SINGLE VARIETY - 100% COBRANÇOSA Silver Medal at the 2010 Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition PREMIUM BLEND - 50% COBRANÇOSA + 50% ARBEQUINA Great Taste Award GOLD. London 2010 Featured in Marco Oreggia’s Guide to the Best Olive Oils in the World

Atlantico UK Ltd, Unit 10 Commerce Park, Commerce Way, Croydon CR0 4YL T 020 8649 7444 F 020 8649 8005 info@atlantico.co.uk www.atlantico.co.uk

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

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

www.finefoodworld.co.uk/retail

Vol.12 Issue 4 · May 2011

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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 Kitchen Garden July 12 New Covent Garden Market, London

Still to come...

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

Beer & Cider: 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

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

Sea fin fish, shell & fresh water fish: We start at dawn with a visit to the fish market. This is followed by a session on catching methods and sustainability. We’ll then look at responsible sourcing, seafood quality assessment, fish handling, preparation and display skills

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

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

product update

olives

Trove from the grove Olives stuffed with peppers and peppers stuffed with olives – LYNDA SEARBY’s found them all for her round-up of olive options

• Oloves is adding two new summery variants – Lemony Lover and Hot Chilli Mama – to its range of olive snacks. Lemony Lover blends lemon • The Fresh Olive Company • unearthed has extended its range of tapas pieces, oregano and garlic, hopes its new Belazu-branded and antipasti products with three new olive while Red Hot Chilli Mama is 55g snacking olive pots will give selections, which have been on sale in Waitrose, said to be a fiery mix of red nuts and crisps some ‘healthy’ Abel & Cole and independent retailers since hot habanero chillis and lemon competition. Harlequin (green April. Almond stuffed olives with smoked paprika; pieces. Sold in 30g packs with and purple olives dressed green olives with pesto & pine nuts; and French around 50 calories per pack, with red pepper and olive mix all have an RRP of £2.95 for a 170g the snacks are available in www.discoverunearthed.com herbes de Provence) and Pompeii (green olives pot. shelf-ready boxes of 10 and with a chilli dressing) are two of the six pots bulk boxes of 300, with the • RAW Health says its new Pure Classic www.mybelazu.com available. option for pre-loaded hanging Kalamata olives are jarred without oil strips. RRP for a single pack is • Greek food specialist Odysea has chosen a or brine so nothing detracts from the 89p to £1. www.oloves.com pillow pack as the format for its new Karyatis authentic flavour other than a hint of • Research green pitted olives with chilli to reinforce their oregano used to offset the taste. Available suggesting snack credentials. The Halkidiki olives, which are from Windmill Organics, the olives are due that shoppers dressed with crushed chilli peppers, extra virgin olive oil and to hit the shelves this month at an RRP of who reject herbs and spices, come in 90g bags which are supplied on a £3.99 for a 205g jar. www.windmillorganics.com olives do so clip strip and carry an RRP of £1. www.odysea.com because they • Retailers on the look-out for something different • The Greek Deli has added to find them too might be interested in El Olivo Olive Oil Co’s new its loose olive selection with some salty informed Filippo Berio’s baby red peppers stuffed with olives. Company owner flavours that won’t be found on decision to launch a range of Maria Emilia Cumming Panadero describes them as any supermarket deli counter, such olives in extra virgin olive oil. having a ‘pleasant peppery after-taste’ and says in her six as olives stuffed with blue cheese, The range includes mixed years in business she’s never come across a product like olives marinated in African spice whole olives, feta stuffed them. RRP is £3.99 a jar. www.elolivo-olive-oil.com (fenugreek, chilli, cinnamon and olives, sun-dried tomato cumin cloves) and olives marinated stuffed olives, garlic stuffed • Anchovy-stuffed Manzanilla in orange and cumin. They are olives and pimiento stuffed olives are Delitte Spain’s newest available in 1, 2 or 3kg kegs. olives, all of which retail at www.thegreekdeli.com product and the Spanish export £2.79. www.filippoberio.com consortium’s only olive product • Dell’ami, from the Cheese Cellar, has designed three to be sold in tins – owing to new regionally-themed loose olive mixes. The Italian mix the light sensitive nature of the combines Nocellara, Cerignola and Gaeta olives, in the anchovy stuffings. They come in Crete mix Kalamata olives are infused with orange zest 300g retail tins, with an RRP of and the aroma of rosemary sprigs, and the French Mix 85p, as well as 4.5kg containers marries Lucques and Tanches olives with garlic. for deli kitchens. www.delittespain.com

www.cheesecellar.co.uk

Snack pots or crack pots? A growing number of companies are packaging olives in portion-sized pots or bags and positioning them as impulse snacks. But does pitting olives against lower priced snacks like crisps and chocolate bars threaten to devalue the category by dragging olives down from their premium pedestal? Not as far as olive snack supplier Oloves is concerned. The company’s Matt Hunt says: “Olives always have been and always will be perceived as more of a sophisticated offering than crisps and peanuts. By offering them as an alternative to crisps and nuts, retailers are providing a premium snack that stands out from the crowd and appeals to those who have sophisticated tastes.” He adds: “Sophisticated snacks like olives

aren’t as price sensitive as other snack products and because the finished retail price can be higher, this allows for a bigger margin for delis.” Graham Stoodley of Mediterranean food brand

Dell’ami, imported by Cheese Cellar, doesn’t seem to think olive snacks are likely to damage the premium image of the olive either. “I think it can only be positive that olives are being eaten more frequently in the UK as a snack. In the Mediterranean, olives are eaten as an everyday food and it is good to see this happening here.” Odysea MD Panos Manuelides goes one step further, predicting that the addition of olives to the snacks category will ‘upgrade snacks rather than downgrade olives’. However, this optimism comes with a caveat that companies marketing snack olives need to make sure they are not offering convenience at the expense of quality. “From what I have seen, I am not very impressed with the quality of the products and the marinades,” he says. Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

July 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 6

product update

pasta

Shape shifters LYNDA SEARBY goes pasta hunting and asks if the benefits of the fresh variety are cut and dried • Children’s pasta has historically been confined to cans of soft shapes soaked in baked-bean juice. The Bay Tree Food Co, however, plans to offer something a little more authentic with the launch of a children’s pasta range. Made from durum wheat semolina, they come in four shapes: Animal Pasta, Let’s Go! Pasta, Teddy Bear Pasta and Spooky Pasta. The RRP for a 250g bag is £1.75. www.thebaytree.co.uk

• Doves Farm has expanded its range of organic, gluten-free pasta with two new varieties: macaroni and ditalini (RRP £2.49 for 500g). Made from maize and rice, the pasta features the Coeliac Society crossed grain symbol on-pack. Ditalini, which translates as ‘little thimbles’, is a small tubular shaped pasta which Doves Farm says children will enjoy and it works well in soups and stews.

• Tagliatelle with black summer truffle from Mediterranean Direct is a durum wheat pasta blended with truffle from Umbria. The RRP is £4.99 for a 250g pack.

• Fresh pasta made by Vittorio Maschio (Vima Ltd) graces the tables of some of London’s best restaurants and is now available to the trade from Natoora. Vima uses bronze dies to extrude the pasta, giving it a rougher powdery texture that holds sauce better than pasta made industrially with Teflon-coated dies. As well as familiar shapes like linguine (pictured), Vima offers several more interesting options, such as bigoli (thick strands of pasta that are traditionally enjoyed with an anchovy sauce as 'bigoli in salsa'). RRPs start at £2.25 per pack.

www.mediterraneandirect.co.uk

www.natoora.co.uk

• The Fresh Pasta Company has expanded its range with three new products: a handmade artichoke hearts tortellini, fresh egg lasagne sheets and the Italian wheat ‘00’ flour. The latter is said to be ideal for making pizza and pasta, creating a smooth, pliable and delicate dough which can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours without discolouration. www.thefreshpastacompany.com

www.dovesfarm.co.uk

• After five years of research, Rustichella believes it has identified the wheat varieties that yield the best-tasting pasta. The Italian firm is now producing pasta from San Carlo, Varano and Mongibello wheat that has been sown in the Abruzzo region. Branded Primograno, the pasta is produced with traditional bronze dies and slow dried. It comes in four shapes: traghetti, spaghettoni, penne rustiche and sagne a pezzi, which retail at £3-3.30 for a 500g pack and are available from Guidetti Fine Foods. www.guidetti.co.uk

• New for summer from La Tua Pasta are two new tortellini: mixed Mediterranean vegetables, which comprises aubergine, courgette, red peppers and onion hand-folded in green spinach pasta, and sunblushed tomato, fresh basil & mozzarella encased in tortelloni made with tomato pasta. www.latuapasta.com

• Foodinthecity has tracked down what it claims is the ‘Ferrari of pastas’ and is supplying it to Harvey Nichols and other independent retailers. In making Pastificio dei Campi, wheat is mixed with spring water from the Monti Lattari and dried at low temperatures in the mountain air. The giant Gragnano shells are said to be perfect for absorbing sauces and retail at £6 for 500g. www.foodinthecity.com

Fresh pasta: weekend treat or ‘waste of money’? In the multiples, fresh pasta is one of the fastest growing fixtures, but can it work as well for delis? Not according to Malcolm Smith, sales director of Martin Mathew & Co, which has imported pasta for the foodservice and retail trades for the last 18 years. “With the exception of filled pastas like tortellini and ravioli, fresh pasta is a waste of money,” he says bluntly. “You can get perfectly good dried pasta for a fraction of the price and it has a shelf life of two to three years rather than days and takes a lot less space to display.” He continues: “In Italy you rarely see fresh – it’s a British thing being driven by the supermarkets. People are being led to believe fresh pasta is better but in my view it’s a con and for independent retailers to sell it would be lunacy!” It may be true that you rarely see fresh pasta on sale in Italy, but as fresh pasta maker Vittorio Maschio counters, this isn’t because the Italians don’t eat it, but

because they only eat it on special occasions for which they make it themselves from scratch. “In Italy for a special meal on a Sunday, people make pasta fresh – it has a different purpose from dried pasta, which most Italians live off during the week.” For him, the dilemma for deli owners isn’t whether to stock fresh pasta, but whether to stock pasteurised or unpasteurised/lightly pasteurised fresh pasta. “You can lightly pasteurise pasta to give it a shelf-life of about a week without noticing much quality difference,” he says, “but when you heavily pasteurise it to give it a shelf-life of a month or two, that strips it of its natural flavour and texture, stops it from absorbing sauce and reduces its natural elasticity. At that level I would rather go for dried pasta.” A shelf-life of a week is unworkable for many retailers, which is why La Tua Pasta offers both pasteurised and unpasteurised fresh pasta.

“Our unpasteurised pasta has a shelf-life of five days, which is difficult for delis to manage. We offer both and it tends to be the delis nearby, who we can deliver to two or three times a week, who take the shorterlife pasta,” says director Caroline Boggian. Vittorio Maschio: ‘I’d rather have dried pasta than heavily pasteurised fresh pasta’ Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

A new on-line marketplace oﬀering everything for the foodie under one roof

Premium

GREEK EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FIRST COLD PRESS

MADE IN

OLYMPIA

GREECE

www.oleahouse.com

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

We are looking for more fabulous artisan producers to join us Please visit:

www.tastia.com Contact: ﬁona@tastia.com 01279-447615

product update

olive oil

Best of the pressed Need to refresh your olive oil fixture? MENNA DAVIES finds out what’s new in bottles, tins and bulk dispensing formats • El Olivo is launching olive oil in 250ml ceramic bottles and tins – a size it says is very popular with customers, especially for hampers. The 250ml tin of Arbequina oil is produced by Omed Oil and a 250ml Egyptian jar of the same variety is produced by Oleasalar. El Olivo says Arbequina oils are popular in this country as their mild flavour suits British palates. RRP for both formats is £3.00 (trade price £2.00). The Omed Oil Arbequina will also be available in a 500ml ceramic bottle, with an RRP of around £9 (trade www.elolivo-olive-oil.com £6.99).

• A new Kalamata extra virgin olive oil with PDO status has been launched by Elli & Manos. It is made from Koroneiki olives and is described as having a “fruity, spicy taste and a smooth texture”. The oil is made using traditional cold-pressing methods without the use of chemicals. Bottled in a dark green marasca bottle, it is said to be suitable for every culinary use. The trade price per case of 12 is £41.60, with an RRP of £4.95. The Gorgeous Food Company is the first UK distributor of this range. hello@gorgeousfoodcompany.co.uk.

• The Oil Merchant has a number of new olive oils available to the UK market. Lulu de Waldner is produced from the single variety Verdale olive in the Vaucluse area of south east France and is described as “sweet, light and delicate”. There are also two new oils from Castelas – a certified organic oil harvested from 100-year-old trees on the slopes of Les Alpilles in the Vallée des Baux, and Fruite Noir, described as “fruity, sweet with rounded flavours with a hint of mushroom and vanilla”. Ravida Everyday has been blended for cooking and making dressings and according to The Oil Merchant is “aromatic, fruity and with a delicate but long peppery finish”. Marina Colonna has produced three new flavoured oils: RosaOliva rose oil, mustard oil and Peperoncino oil, made by infusing oil with Mexican merken smoked www.oilmerchant.co.uk chilli powder and crushed local chillies. • Mediterranean Direct has re-launched an organic extra virgin olive from Sicily. Produced by Giuseppe Giordano on a small organic-certified farm near Messina, it's described as “a blend of classic fruity Sicilian olives, the Santagatese, Leccino and Cerasuolo, producing a lively, clean and full-bodied aroma with an intense, clean fruit flavour”. Recommended for drizzling on grilled meats, fish, soups, salads or enjoying on its own with bread, it’s available in sizes from 250ml to 5L. RRPs are £3.99 for 250ml (trade £2.99), £6.99 for 500ml (trade £4.69), and £8.99 for 750ml (trade £6.49). The 5L catering size costs £6.99 to the trade.

• Messenian single estate extra virgin olive oil is new from The Gift of Oil. A single estate oil from Messenia in southern Greece, it is made from handpicked Koroneiki olives and is unfiltered to give a “fresh and fruity” taste. It has a golden colour, an aroma of fresh apple and a rustic olive flavour with a little pepper on the finish, says The Gift of Oil. Two sizes are available – a 250ml bottle with an RRP of £8.85 and a 500ml bottle with an RRP of £13.85. www.thegiftofoil.co.uk

• Mestral extra virgin olive oil from a co-operative in Cataluña, northern Spain, is made using Arbequina olives. Available from Delicioso, its flavour is described as “freshly cut grass predominating with clear notes of fennel, almonds and green walnuts, and banana and apple fruit”. It is available in 250ml and 500ml size bottles, with a trade price of £2.75 for 250ml (case of 12, £31.35) and £4.99 for 500ml (case price of 6, £28.45). www.delicioso.co.uk

• An organic extra virgin olive oil made by Chambergo using Picolimon olives is now available through Bellota. Chambergo is said to be the only company making olive oil commercially from 100% organic Picolimón olives, harvested from the company’s own trees in Aljarafe near Seville. The variety is characterised by the strong aroma of green grass and fresh olives and the flavour has hints of tomato, banana, apple and almond. Bellota says this oil is exceptionally smooth and it is important to let people taste it, so one free bottle is being offered per case of 12 (buy 12 and pay for 11). The trade price is £6.75 per 500ml bottle.

www.mediterraneandirect.co.uk

www.bellota.co.uk

Display some infusiasm • Terra Rossa has added a mint-infused extra virgin olive oil to its range of Jordanian infused olive oils that also includes basil, garlic, lemon and chilli. The mint oil is produced using coldpressed extra virgin olive oil, infused with fresh Jordanian mint leaves to produce a “gentle yet distinctly sweet flavourful oil”. It can be used as a starter by dunking with freshly baked bread, as a marinade for fish or chicken, drizzled over salads, steamed vegetables, grilled Halloumi or barbequed fillets, couscous, pasta and mashed potatoes, or for making bread. It is available in 250ml bottles (RRP £7.65) as well as in 2.7L PET bottles for

caterers or for those who sell from demijohns or other dispensers. www.terra-rossa.com

garlic & thyme and lemon & thyme, and are all made with natural ingredients. www.seymoursofnorfolk.com

• Anthony Rowcliffe & Son has four new infused extra virgin olive oils available in 5L containers for delis for selling oils ‘on tap’. They include an extra virgin olive oil with Tuscan herbs and another with Provencal herbs. There is also an oil infused with coriander, said to be ideal for use in North African and Moroccan dishes and with Indian food, and another infused with lemongrass, suited to Chinese and Thai cuisine. www.guidetti.co.uk

• Seymours of Norfolk has added new flavours to its infused olive oil range, available through the ‘on tap’ system. The flavours are hot chilli & lemon, Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Ice Cream Expo 2011 back in Yorkshire Event Centre

Harrogate

1st - 3rd November 2011

Ice Cream Expo 2011

for

Yorkshire Event Centre 1st - 3rd November 2011

Tuesday, 1st November 2011 10.00a.m. - 5.00p.m. last entry 4.30p.m. Wednesday, 2nd November 2011 10.00a.m. - 5.00p.m. last entry 4.30p.m. Thursday, 3rd November 2011 10.00a.m. - 3.00p.m. last entry 2.30p.m.

2011

The show attracts around 200 trade seller and buyers from all sectors of the industry. Whether your focus is in ingredients, machinery, production, distribution or retail, you will appreciate that ice cream is big business within the uk and abroad. Should you wish to join us at Harrogate, please register for your free tickets online at www.ice-cream.org. For stand bookings at the exhibition, please call Lorraine on 01332 203333 or Email lorraine@ice-cream.org

July 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 6

Hand-made in the Garden of England www.thewoodenspoon.co.uk Tel: 01233 812 251

A promotional feature for Guild of Fine Food

JULY’S MONEY-MAKING PROMOTIONS The Guild of Fine Food has developed its Retail Promotion Scheme to help retailers survive recession hit Britain. We are negotiating with our producer members and have handpicked a selection of great foods on which we’ve secured big discounts unique to Guild retail members.

IMAGE ON FOOD

The aromatic taste of ginger, the smooth velvetiness of liquid golden syrup and the delicate crunch of fine sugar. Only the finest ingredients are used to create our gingerbread biscuits before they are lovingly hand iced to create a wide variety of fun and beautiful designs. Our most popular product line is our Deluxe Farm gingerbread animals, one of our original creations. Our Deluxe Farm, consisting off Meadow Maisy (Cow), Fleecy Flora (Sheep) and Greedy Gertrude (Pig) are presented in an attractive mixed shelf dispenser creating an eye-catching point of sale display unit ready for your shelves. They are also decorated using only natural colours. THE DEAL: 20% off cases of Deluxe Iced Gingerbread Farm ordered during the month of July AVAILABILITY: Nationwide - directly from Image on Food (minimum order carriage paid is £175) as well as Hider Foods and Minton Good Foods. CONTACT: sales@imageonfood.co.uk 0845 095 1270, then press option 1.

THE ANGLESEY SEA SALT COMPANY

Spend £98.88 and make a profit of over £160 on RRP. Halen Môn’s Sea Salt crystals are famed for their purity, their crisp texture, unique taste and gem-like beauty. It’s all down to the water we use, which is taken only from the Menai Strait, just off the Isle of Anglesey. We follow a traditional process, using modern equipment, to gently gather these delicate crystals which are then seasoned and packed by hand to deliver to your customers. THE DEAL: buy 2 Starter Packs of our award winning 100g tubes (Total contents 8x pure, 8x fine pure, 8x black peppercorns, 6x organic spiced, 6 x organic celery, 6x oak smoked, 6x Tahitian vanilla) and receive a FREE mixed pack of 50 x 10g tubes to use as tasters, in picnic hampers, sell with complementary foods such

as quails’ eggs, or do a free offer of your own. Payment with order and FREE carriage. AVAILABILITY: offer valid for first delivery only, during July, mainland UK. CONTACT: chris@halenmon.com 01248 430871

FARRINGTON’S DRESSINGS

Cold pressed rapeseed oil not only tastes great, it has one of the lowest concentrations of saturated fats. With less than half the saturated fat than olive oil, as well as 8.9g of Omega 3 per 100ml, this uncompromisingly tasty oil is a healthier choice. Farrington’s range of dressings consist of old family favourites like our Classic Vinaigrette and Honey & Mustard Dressing, an original and exciting Blackberry Vinegar Dressing and our new Balsamic Vinegar Dressing. We are really excited about our latest dressing. Once again Eli has recreated a classic with a British twist. It has the smooth, well rounded flavour of Farrington’s MELLOW YELLOW® partnered with Aspall Apple Balsamic Vinegar, packed with a punch of garlic and balanced with basil. THE DEAL: 20% OFF RETAIL BOTTLES 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

ROWCLIFFE’S

From the exclusive range of Olives and antipastos from Castellino, we have chosen the grilled artichoke hearts for our summer promotion. These come from Southern Italy and are prepared in the beautiful town of San Severino in the Marche region

of Italy. Fresh vegetables are used rather than “ ready cooked” which some are (this double cooking can make them soft) and ours are peeled by hand. They are oven roasted to lose some water before being grilled until the barbeque markings confirm that the subtle taste of the artichoke is complimented by a sweet caramelised outer coat. The sunflower oil keeps the end product moist and tasty without losing the crunch of the roasted flavour of the artichoke. THE DEAL: 20% off Castelino Grilled Artichokes. AVAILABILITY: Nationwide CONTACT: Steve Smith or Claire Philip 01892 838999

MR FILBERT’S IMPECCABLE PEANUTS

Upmarket, impeccable and totally new: the healthier snack product in a handy lunchbox-friendly format. These 40g bags of hot air roasted peanuts pack a delicious punch and with an RRP of just 99p per pack, are delivered in an eye-catching shelf ready box. With three deliciously quirky flavours in the range, these delectable snacks are hand crafted using only fresh, natural ingredients. The range includes Sea Salt and Herb with Dorset Wild Garlic, Tangy Tomato combining rich tomatoes with pomegranate and fresh basil, and Sweet Chilli with a dash of mango. Impeccably created in true artisan style by the culinary inventors at Filberts Fine Foods; winners of five major industry awards for taste and enterprise since July 2010. Try some today and see what everyone’s talking about! THE DEAL: Buy three cases and get a fourth free. AVAILABILITY: Nationwide (minimum carriage paid order £100 from the Filbert’s range). CONTACT: 01258 881345 sales@filbertsfinefoods.co.uk

GUILD RETAIL PROMOTION SUMMARY – JULY COMPANY

DEAL

TEL

Farrington Oils

20% off retail bottle

01933 622809

info@farrington-oils.co.uk

Image on Food

20% off for GFF members ordering Deluxe Farm

0845 095 1270

sales@imageonfood.co.uk

The Anglesey Sea Salt Co

Buy 2x100g starter pks. Get 1x10g starter pack FREE . Plus FREE carriage

01248 430871

chris@halenmon.com

Anthony Rowcliffe & Son

20% off Grilled Artichokes

01892 838999

clairep@rowcliffe.co.uk

Filberts Fine Foods

Buy 3 cases of Impeccable Peanuts and get a 4th FREE

01258 881345

aimee@filbertfinefoods.co.uk

Retail members – sign up to the retail promotion scheme contact tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk or ring her on 01963 824464 to ensure you receive your shelf-barkers to help promote these discounts instore. Supplier members – want to take part? Contact mike.cook@finefoodworld.co.uk for more information Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

Handmade sweet and savoury preserves and condiments

Winner of 13 Great Taste Awards

Miller Park, Station Road, Wigton, Cumbria CA7 9BA Tel/Fax: 01697 345974 Email: claire@claireshandmade.co.uk

www.claireshandmade.co.uk

The Finest Hand Cooked Vegetable Crisps The perfect snack for any occassion Give us a call on 0845 685 1008 | www.glennans.co.uk 54

July 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 6

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shelftalk

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

S U P LI E P

products, packaging & promotions

Good news from the Middle East The region is in political turmoil, but its cuisine presents a more positive story, says Sally Butcher of specialist deli Persepolis

Paul Cowan/Dreamstime.com

cooked over fire, with a range of salads. “This type of food has a lot to offer the Western diet,” she says. “For a start it opens a whole new range of carbohydrate options: the world’s first grain eaters lived in what is now Northern Iraq, and bulghur wheat, freekeh, kasha and barley are enjoyed across the region.” Butcher says Middle Eastern food can easily be recreated at home with some core ingredients. “Most delis are already providing staples such as houmous and yoghurt, and many also offer ready-made salads and dishes from the Maghreb – couscous, tagines – and the Levant – tabouleh, falafel. “But by offering those harder-to-find ingredients [see box], along with a little insider knowledge of what to do with them, delis will earn both the gratitude and respect of their customers.” www.foratasteofpersia.co.uk

WHERE TO BUY: General Arabic: Damas Gate Wholesale, tel: 020 8575 8800 British-born Sally Butcher and her Iranian husband Jamshid were both chefs until they decided to start importing produce from Iran nearly 20 years ago. Ten years later they opened their shop, Persepolis, in Peckham High Street, mainly as a showcase for their imported ingredients. But their corner-shop-with-a-difference has since taken on a life of its own, and Butcher suggests other delis should now make more of a feature of this region’s cuisine. “When we started there wasn’t a huge demand,” she told FFD, “but Middle Eastern food is becoming big – partly down to the effect of people like Yotam

Ottolenghi and Sam Clark of Moro. They’ve really captured people’s imaginations.” Moorish restaurant Moro in London’s Exmouth Market and Ottolenghi, which now has four London takeaways and a restaurant, have both released best-selling cookbooks and Nigella Lawson has also created a “sort of nouvelle Arabic cuisine” says Butcher. The Middle East has a strong emphasis on family food, which “could see us returning to slower and more sociable meals” says Butcher, and its meze dishes suit the modern habit of grazing. There’s also strong tradition of al fresco dining: meat or fish

Arabic bread: Dina, tel: 020 8621 5511 General Iranian: Persepolis, tel: 020 7639 8007 Iranian saffron: Afropol, tel: 020 7819 9990 Greek and Lebanese: John & Pascalis, tel: 020 8452 0707 Turkish: Gama, tel: 020 8897 7373

Essentials of a Middle Eastern ingredients fixture halls in years”. • Dried limes • Saffron • Ras el hanout and Za’atar – two of the most common Middle Eastern spice mixes though it’s easy to blend your own, says Butcher. Sally Butcher suggests delis stock these ingredients and arm themselves with a bit of knowledge about how to use them in Middle Eastern cuisine. SPICES •Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom and coriander seeds are essential. Butcher says sumac is in demand too, although it is “possibly the most overrated ingredient to hit our food

GRAINS/RICE • Bulghur wheat, couscous and basmati rice • Moghrabbieh/Israeli couscous • Freekeh: smoked green wheat CONDIMENTS & SAUCES • Pomegranate molasses • Sour grape juice or verjuice. Middle Eastern brands are much cheaper than French.

• Rose water • Orange blossom water • Harissa paste PICKLES & PRESERVES • Pickled lemons • Arabic makhdous and pickled turnips are good • Iranian pickled garlic and cucumbers

• Pine nuts • Amardine.This apricot paste is seasonal and used as a drinks flavouring in Arabic countries. • Nibbed almonds and pistachios • Barberries • Dried Bokhara plums HERBS Parsley, coriander and mint

BAKERY “A range of flatbreads is a must,” says Butcher. “We buy in as we’re rubbish at baking. There are some very good long-life flatties on the market.” FRUITS & NUTS • Raisins, dried apricots, dried figs Vol.12 Issue 6 July 2011

shelftalk ‘My pick of the crop from H FFD editor MICK WHITWORTH makes his personal selection of the best new launches, based on taste, branding and ‘sellability’ from last month’s Harrogate Speciality Food Show

MICK SAYS: “You’ve got to admire anyone with the baubles to launch teabags at £12 for 20 at the moment, and with a trade price of about £8.30, some stores will need to charge even more. I was dubious until I got a second opinion from a pro, and we concluded the only thing wrong with this tea is the ‘one bag in a cup for 4-5 mins’ brewing instruction. Give it a bit less time, and maybe a splash of milk, and the floral notes are really evident. Subtle branding too. A class act, if a little pricey.”

Organically certified rare-breed pork, salt, pepper & garlic go into this air-dried ham from Berwickshire’s Peelham Farm Produce. www.peelham.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “The rise of British charcuterie continues. Some I’ve tasted lack the depth of flavour of Italian or Spanish meats but the addition of garlic gives this one a nice bit of roundness. Oh, and if you fancy having a go at charcuterie-making yourself you can book on a pig butchery course at Peelham in October.”

Based in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Stag Bakeries claims to be Britain’s only producer of hand-baked water biscuits. Parmesan & garlic is one of five new flavour options launched at Harrogate. www.stagbakeries.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “I could have picked these just because I love the Outer Hebrides, but luckily I didn’t have to. Don’t be fooled by the name – they bear no resemblance to mainstream Carrs water crackers, which do serve their purpose for sampling chutney at trade shows. These are twice the thickness for starters, softer and flakier, and – in the case of this Parmesan & garlic variety – flavoursome too. I could snack on these all day, sans cheese, if only they’d send me some more.”

Lottie Shaw’s Yorkshire Parkin Biscuits

She started with Yorkshire Parkin, the traditional ginger cake with oatmeal, syrup and black treacle. Then she launched a parkin pudding. Now Charlotte Shaw has come up with a Yorkshire parkin biscuit (RRP £2.20-£2.40 for 10 large biscuits) based around the same core ingredients. Early samples sent to FFD were in simple flow-wraps but the product launched in Harrogate in a compostable corrugated card outer. www.lottieshaws.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “A great biscuit that does what it says on the carton: it tastes like parkin and it’s got the stickiness of the cake in a crunchier biscuit format. Not everyone loves ginger (I do) but the flavour here is well balanced so the ginger doesn’t bite. I also like the way Charlotte uses her branding. It’s simple and consistent across everything she does.” 56

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

Harp & Lyre describes this high-end tea as “an exquisite fragrant second flush Darjeeling with a fine muscatel flavour”, and recommends it as an afternoon and evening tea. RRP is £11.95 for 20 teabags in biodegradeable Soilon teabags that have natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. These are packed in foil-wrappers and then in a foil-lined outer padded bag. www.harpandlyre.co.uk

Peelham Farm – prosciutto crudo

Stag Bakeries – Parmesan & garlic water biscuits

Harp & Lyre – Tippy Golden Leaf Tea

The TeaShed – Pick Me up at 3 Tea The TeaShed is a “design-led tea, teaware and homeware company”, newly launched this year in Northumberland. Pick Me up at 3 Tea is part of an initial range of teas presented in insulated, recyclable cups, with 20 silky pyramid tea bags per cup. This one is a Sri Lankan whole leaf Assam, RRP £3.50 (trade £2.50). www.the-teashed.co.uk

MICK SAYS: If this wasn’t a recyclable cup in a recyclable sleeve I might have grizzled about overpackaging, but I think this looks great. At a selling price of £3.50 it’s not going to break anyone’s bank and, as it says on the sleeve, you can actually use the packaging to drink out of (once, anyway). Not a bad drop of Assam either – I enjoyed it with just a dash of milk.”

Tyrrells – Proper Popcorn

Tyrrell’s “gourmet range of English popcorn” was launched at the start of this year in 70-80g sharing bags (RRP £1.59), with 20-23g impulse bags (RRP 65p) coming soon after. Flavours are lightly sea salted, sweet & salty and sour cream & jalapeno chilli. Tyrrells Proper Popcorn is “butterfly popped”, www.tyrrellscrisps.co.uk using kernels that open out to give a lighter, fluffier corn. MICK SAYS: “Whether any popcorn can really be described as ‘gourmet’ is a moot point, but that’s not really what popcorn is about. These are light and fresh for a packaged product, and annoyingly moreish. Tyrrell’s potato chips sell like hell in delis and farm shops despite being everywhere now. So the combined brand strength and price-point make Proper Popcorn a pretty safe bet.”

products, packaging & promotions

m Harrogate’ Breckland Orchard – sloe lemonade

Claire Martinson of Norfolk’s Breckland Orchard describes this premium, carbonated product (RRP £1.50 for 275ml) as “very grown-up lemonade, using a winter fruit and creating a summer drink bursting with flavour”. Like all Breckland’s drinks, it is now packaged with a screw top bearing the words “posh pop”. www.brecklandorchard.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “My pick of the pops so far this year. The label describes it as “a little sharper in taste” than straight lemonade, but the addition of sloe juice actually makes it more rounded than some really full-on lemon drinks. It’s a pity it’s not just a tad pinker naturally, but it’s certainly a neat non-alcoholic ‘blush’ - and a great mixer. Nice degree of fizz, too.”

Terra Rossa - mint-infused extra virgin olive oil

Launched at Harrogate, this is a quality Jordanian EVOO that has been infused with mint leaves to give a full bodied flavour and slight mint colouring. RRP is £7.65 for a 250ml bottles, and it’s also available in 2.7L PET bottles for caterers and bulk dispensing in delis. www.terra-rossa.com

MICK SAYS: The label suggests using this on “salad greens, grilled seafood and steamed veg”. I took it home and tried it once on crushed new potatoes and lamb (naturally), and then again to stir-fry broad beans and courgettes from the garden with pan-fried salmon and feta. Terra Rossa can add those to its serving suggestions because it was great both ways. The ‘filled under nitrogen’ statement on the front label is a tad ‘industrial’ for the fine food market. But I’d definitely buy this.

Just Crisps - Sea salt & apple balsamic vinegar crisps

A new brand extension from Anthony Froggatt’s Staffordshire-based Just Oil business. Just Crisps are made with Froggatt’s home-grown potatoes, batch-cooked with their skins on in Just Oil rapeseed oil. Ingredients include Aspall apple cider vinegar. www.justcrisps.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “Whether you like these will come down to how you like your crisps. These suit me: they’re thinner than a lot of so-called ‘hand fried’ chips, so they’re all crispness and not much doughy potato texture and neither the salt nor the vinegar is overpowering. The hint of apple lends a bit of sweet-and-sour to the flavouring. Neat ‘potato sack’ packaging too.”

MICK SAYS: “I opted for the strawberry jellies purely on looks, and coming straight after a mouthful of salty popcorn they were death by sugar. But as someone almost old enough to remember when all sweets looked like this, Hope & Greenwood’s stuff presses all my buttons. £5.99 is going to be too steep in some outlets, but then look at H&G’s stockist list: Liberty, John Lewis Food Halls, F&M. It’s horses for courses.”

These are described as: “crisps like you’ve never tasted before” and a “deliciously crunchy, melt-in-the-mouth ‘all butter’ sandwich with a generous filling of rich milk chocolate.” www.theminiaturebakery.com MICK SAYS: “These little gems have got to be spot-on for the deli-café that likes to pop a biscotti on the side of the plate. They even come ready portioned. Serve them with drinks, then have a few packs at point-of-sale for the customer to buy.

Grumpy Mule - Organic Bolivia Café Femenino

This medium roasted Fairtrade and organic 100% arabica ‘breakfast coffee’ is from the Café Femenino Project – a social programme for women coffee producers within the Union Pro-Agro co-op in the tropical Yungas region of Bolivia. It’s part of a new Grumpy Mule range launched at Harrogate with “new packaging, new coffees and a new approach”. www.grumpymule.co.uk MICK SAYS: I’m a committed espresso drinker, but I dug out the cafetière for this one and didn’t regret it: rich enough for a morning wake-up but nicely rounded, with a creamy mouthfeel, nutty flavour and really good length. Bordering on ‘too much information’ on-pack now, but the new Grumpy Mule packaging look great.

Hope & Greenwood - Magnificent Jellies

Magnificent Jellies are a new line for 2011 from those “purveyors of splendid confectionery” Hope & Greenwood. There are three options – strawberry jellies, hearts and fruit slices – with an RRP of £5.99 for 340g. Unit price to the trade is £3.00 ex VAT. www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk

The Miniature Bakery Chocolate Crisps

Reece’s Creamery – Hampton Blue

This blue Cheshire is one of three new varieties developed by Milk Linkowned Reece’s Creamery to commemorate 125 years of cheese making. www.milklink.com

MICK SAYS: “Reece’s is a full-on creamery, but its new Hampton Blue is made in traditional fashion by hand-filling Cheshire curds into moulds. Our example sat in a cheese fridge at Guild House for a good month after delivery and if anything the extra time seemed to have improved it: well-rounded and with a surprisingly gentle flavour. “That’s a bit good, isn’t it?” was our Big Cheese Bob Farrand’s reaction, and I concur.

The Proof of the Pudding - luxury raspberry & almond pudding

Susan Green of The Proof of the Pudding launched this moist almond sponge with 19% fresh raspberries and a layer of home-made almond paste to celebrate the Royal Wedding. It’s now in regular production. www.theproofofthepudding.co.uk

MICK SAYS: “As a good republican I didn’t give a monkey’s about the Royal Wedding and didn’t attack this pudding until it was near its sellby date, by which time it had a healthy crop of mould on top. Had I read the label I’d have seen it was fresh, not ambient, and needed to be kept in the fridge. Luckily Susan had a few left in stock, so I was able to enjoy a mould-free version – well worth the wait, and noticeably superior for being fresh.” Vol.12 Issue 6 July 2011

July 2011 路 Vol.12 Issue 6

JOIN US for the most glittering

evening in the fine food calendar as we discover the foods that struck GOLD in the GREAT TASTE AWARDS 2011 Don’t miss the Great Taste Awards Presentation Dinner Monday September 5 – Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London Join us in the company of leading chefs, food writers, top retailers and the very best food producers for fine food’s biggest night of the year. Two golden opportunities in a single evening. Firstly, after walking the red carpet into the Palace Suite, be part of the pre-dinner reception, enjoy an early evening drink as you taste 3-star Gold award winning products from the 2011 Great Taste Awards and meet the people who made them.

Next, join us for a sumptuous four course meal specially created by Royal Garden Hotel chef, Steve Munkley using Great Taste Award-winning foods and matched with wines specially selected by the Guild of Fine Food to complement the stunning gold-standard ingredients. In between courses, the story of this year’s Awards will unfold as BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden along with Guild director, Bob Farrand announce the top winners including, for the first time, the winner of the Delicatessen of the Year.

Tension will mount as you watch the judging unfold on the big screen, until the moment when members of the supreme jury make their final choice for Great Taste Awards Supreme Champion 2011. The choice is yours. Join us just for the early evening reception or make a cracking night of it in the company of the great and the good of fine food.

Book your seat today but hurry, places are limited To book contact Charlie Westcar on 01963 824464 or email charlie.westcar@finefoodworld.co.uk Pre-dinner reception £15 inc VAT Pre-dinner reception plus dinner – Guild members: £90 inc VAT. Non-members: £95 inc VAT

Nordic Bakery, the Scandinavian-influenced café chain, has been trialling a new wholegrain snack product at its Soho and Marylebone stores before making them available to the wider trade. The dark rye chips, currently available in a plain version only, are something completely new for the UK, according to MD Jali Wahlsten. High in fibre, they have a strong rye flavour and are being marketed as a healthy and low-fat snack. Other flavour options, from chilli to creamy pepper, look set to follow. “I think they have great potential,” Wahsten told FFD. “The response in our stores has been good.” Wahlsten said the rye chips, made by a Finnish bakery, are very popular in their home country as a snack to eat on their own like crisps, or as a base for canapés or with dipping sauces, houmous or taramasalata. The RRP is £2.00, and trade price £1.30 for 80g. www.nordicbakery.com

Nordic Bakery gives British snackers a rye smile

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S U P LI E P

Deli kitchens that make their own pasta may be interested to learn that Fords Food Equipment S U P LI E P has introduced a new shape, campanelle, for the Lillo Due pasta machine. Lillo Due is the smallest in a range of five machines that produce fresh, bronze-drawn pasta. Campanelle means ‘bells’ and this new shape has a ruffled edge which, combined with the rough texture that comes from the bronze dies, will hold a sauce better, says Fords. EDITE CR

• Belvoir Fruit Farms is adding a new orange & pink grapefruit flavour to its Fruit Crush range. Fruit Crush is made with 40% real pressed fruit blended with Belvoir spring water to produce a still soft drink, with no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives or sweeteners. The range is available in 12 x 27.5cl bottle cases, each with an RRP of £1.95. Other flavours are pear & raspberry, apple & blueberry, apple & elderflower and blackcurrant & apple. www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk

• Brindisa has a new Jamón Ibérico ham range, chosen from areas of Spain with “a long tradition of excellence”. It includes Señorio Ibérico Bellota from Extremadura, Brindisa Ibérico Bellota from Salamanca and Jabugo Ibérico from Jabugo. These Extremadura and Salamanca hams are both Bellota (acorn-fed) and the Jabugo ham free-range and grain-fed. The Brindisa Ibérico Bellota is the first Ibérico ham to carry the specialist importer’s name. • Isle of Man Creamery has introduced three fruit-blended cheeses. Made with a new recipe of Druidale cheese, which has a milky and crumbly texture, the varieties are Druidale with apricots, with cranberries, and with mango & pineapple. The cheeses also feature on-pack smart tag technology which, when scanned by a smartphone, redirects shoppers to the company’s website. The range is available in 200g packs and in halfmoon format for deli counters. www.iomcreameries.com

www.freshpastamachines.co.uk

• Black Olive Jam from Sicily is the latest product launch from iL Mercato. The company says it’s a “true surprise to the palate”, combining the strong salty flavour of black ripe olives with the sweetness of sugar. Handmade in Sicily, it goes well with mature cheese such as Parmesan, Sicilian Pecorino, Spanish Manchego or mature cheddar. Available in boxes of 12 x 90g jars. www.ilmercato.biz

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

S U P LI E P

product news from Guild accredited suppliers

www.brindisa.com

Make fresh pasta ‘bells’

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shelftalk

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

• The Gorgeous Food Company is now supplying the Elli and Manos range of Greek-inspired products. It includes artisan spreads, dressings and fresh herbs in oil made with natural ingredients and extra virgin olive oil (also available within the range).The company has put together an introductory offer exclusively for Guild of Fine Food members. It is offering a free tasting box and 10% off any orders placed for the Eli & Manos range before the end of July 2011. www.gorgeousfoodcompany.co.uk

• So Baby Organics has added a salmon & seasonal vegetable medley to its organic baby meals range. It now includes 11 main meals (180g) and two puddings (100g). From the new medley to the delicately spiced Moroccan lamb with cous cous, the range caters for all tastes and weaning stages. So Baby Organics supplies over 100 retailers across the UK, including delis. Meals are supplied in recyclable tamper-proof pots and have a shelf life of eight months. RRPs start at £1.25 per pot. www.so-baby.co.uk

• Just add water to new Quick Crêpes mix to make “thin, light and fluffy” crêpes, says the family business behind it. The blend is made with natural ingredients, including buckwheat. Quick Crêpes has served over one million Frenchstyle pancakes at events as diverse as Badminton Horse Trials and London movie premieres. The mix is packaged in a hessian drawstring pouch containing three 128g sachets. A profit-on-return of 35% is offered at an RRP of £5.95 per pouch. www.quickcrepes.com • Totally Terroir has launched a new Sel de Chateau wine salt in Britain. Made by wine maker Pascal Delbeck using handharvested Ile de Re sea salt (fleur de sel), the crystals are infused with Bordeaux wine and aromatic herbs and spices. It’s available in cases of 16 x 160g bottles (plastic) and has an RRP of www.totallyterroir.com £5-£6. • Mortier’s Fine Tea has a new range of single estate Ceylon teas in tea bags and loose leaf. It includes a single estate breakfast tea caddy, Connoisseur’s Choice tea caddy, natural Earl Grey and organic and bio-dynamically cultivated green and black teas. RRPs range from £2.85 for tea bags to £4.25 for single estate loose leaf. www.mortierstea.com

Inglewhite Goat

A.W.Smith & Sons (Sundries) Ltd

Lincoln Blue

Online orders taken 24hrs a day 7 days a week Call for your free catalogue.

The Cave Range

Dambuster

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

Sundries, Equipment, Machinery and More.

True Grit

Carron Lodge Cheese t : 01995 640352 f : 01995 641040 e : carronlodge@talk21.com Park Head Farm, Inglewhite, Lancashire PR3 2LN

Bizerba remain committed to supplying and maintaining slicers in the UK Offering a complete range of manual, semi-automatic & fully automatic slicers suitable for salami, ham, bacon, smoked, roast & fresh meats, parma - serrano & other speciality hams and cheese

Bizerba Slicers offer greater yield, quicker clean down, better quality slices time after time and give a fantastic return on investment; compared to other models on the market, Bizerba Slicers can offer a payback as quickly as year one. Bizerba’s design & build quality ensures the machines last longer added to which they are safe to operate & sleek in design with less food traps, ensuring the Bizerba Slicer is the most hygienic in the market.

NEW IN 2011 - Ceraclean surface finishing Exclusive to Bizerba in the food services industry

The Bizerba Food Processing range also includes High-Speed Automatic Slicing to 250 slices/min, with or without integrated checkweighing; Mincers, Tenderisers & Band Saws.

30% increase in abrasion resistance - longer lifespan & hygiene perfection 20% increase in gliding properties - less physical application & effortless work Takes half the time to clean - removable components are dishwasher safe

BIZERBA (UK) Limited, Unit 1 Eastman Centre, Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7DU Tel: 01442 240751 Fax: 01442 231328 Email: info@bizerba.co.uk Web: www.bizerba.com Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

classified

BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUSINESSES FOR SALE CLOT EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT HYGIENE PROD PACKAGING PHOTOGRAPHY RECRUITMENT REFRIGERATION SECURITY SHO WANTED WEB DESIGN BAKING EQUIPMENT BOILERS BOTTLES & JARS BUSIN EPOS TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION EQUIPMENT FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPME • baking equipment

• bottles & jars

Do you make PIES or other sorts of pastry products? We make incredibly versatile PIE MACHINES 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 OR EMAIL spencer@johnhuntbolton.co.uk

JOHN HUNT (Bolton) Ltd Rasbottom St, Bolton, England BL3 5BZ

• baking equipment

• ingredients

• labelling

In a pickle about where to buy your food jars?

Then look no further! • Authorised distributors for Ardagh glass, Allied Glass and Beatson Clark • Nationwide delivery service available • Free samples available • Glass jars, Beer bottles, Food grade pails, Plastic bottles Think SPINKS for high quality glass and plastic containers. Contact us for further information: Spinks Compak t: 0113 2350662 · e: emma.speight@spinks.co.uk www.spinkscompak.com

• food processing machinery

Fine Food Classified 2010:Layout • labelling

• ingredients

Serving chocolatiers for 40 years

Confectionery and Gift Packaging � Chocolate � Ingredients

Suppliers of equipment for artisan producers of fruit juices, wines, ciders and oils. Our wide range extends from extraction processes to filtration, bottling, sealing and labelling.

�

Tel: 01404 892100 Fax: 01404 890263 Email: info@vigoltd.com www.vigoltd.com

• bottles & jars

• food processing machinery

HS HS French Flint Ltd FF

Griottines and Framboisines � Machinery and Display Units �

www.keylink.org Tel: 0114 245 5400

• ingredients

Crestchem

Crestchem Ltd., Crest StationAmersham, Rd, Amersham, BucksHP6 HP6 5BW 5DW Crestchem Ltd., 10Hse, Hill152 Avenue, Bucks,

Speciality Glassware for the more discerning producer.

Food Division - suppliers of

PECTIN XANTHAN GUM CITRIC ACID POTASSIUM SORBATE GLYCERINE & more

Tel: 020 7407 3200 Fax: 020 7407 5877

www.FrenchFlint.com

• food processing machinery

• bottles & jars

• labelling

L A B E L S

Suppliers of labels to Artisan Food Producers, Delis, Farmshops, Cafés, Independent Retailers…

FREEPHONE 0800 096 2720

www.inkreadible.com sales@inkreadible.com

CARNI

Peppero

Served

ni, Salam

with TO

AMANT

i, Baco

RTILLA

July 2011 · Vol.12 Issue 6

L T D

Passionate about labels

Do your labels lack lustre? Find something flashier in digest

Print Your Own Food Labels

Contact: LORETTA ATKINS loretta@crestchem.co.uk T: 01494 434660 - F: 01494 434990 www.crestchem.co.uk

Unit 4G, The Leathermarket, Weston Street, London SE1 3ER

• labelling

n and M

elted Ch

CHIPS an

eese

d cole

slaw.

Ring us on: 01628 668836 or visit us at: QuickLabel.co.uk

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

• packaging

• refrigeration

Packaging Foil & PET Diaphragms

CODING AND MARKING SYSTEMS FOR FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL New

Paper packaging, labelled and direct print containers

• packaging

• packaging Tamper Evident Packaging

Refurbished

Hire

Hire-to-Buy

Offline sleeve and watch strap band feeders Ink jet printers - 5yr warranty on new units Hot Foil & Thermal Transfer Printers Laser coding systems

• refrigeration

• training

FOOD SAFETY

Training & Consultancy

DEPOSITORS & PACKAGING SYSTEMS MEATS/SEAFOODS & READY MEALS

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

Visit www.innavisions.com or call us for a brochure TEL: 01886 832283 EMAIL: nick.wild@innavisions.com • ingredients

BUY ONLINE www.

Make sure you’re meeting legal requirements for food safety.

Depositors for sauces and dressings Pot fillers and liquid fillers Vertical Form Fill Seal Thermoformers Tray sealers Pumps

Level 2 Food Safety online £25 Level 3 Food Safety online £125 Meat managers hygiene and HACCP training of all levels

At your own premises or in Skipton, North Yorks.

Verner Wheelock Associates

parkerspackagingdirect.com t: 0151 547 6700

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

• packaging

01756 708526 / office@vwa.co.uk

For more information call 01962 761761 info@printsafe.co.uk www.printsafe.co.uk

• training

www.vwa.co.uk • washing equipment

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 • ingredients • refrigeration through comparative tastings

❞

Jo Davies, Stokely Barton Farm Shop

• packaging

Training dates for the Charcuterie & UK Cheese Guild Charcuterie dates for 2011 Date Venue Weds July 6 York Cheese dates for 2011 Date Venue Thurs July 7 York New dates and locations in London, East Anglia, Glasgow, West Midlands and Wincanton, Somerset will be available shortly and posted on our website : www.finefoodworld.co.uk If you wish to receive information about these by email or post please contact : linda.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk

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

Vol.12 Issue 6 · July 2011

4-6 Se ptemb er Londo n Olymp ia

INC

ORP

ORA

TIN

The quintessential e food trade event for fin

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