CHEF’S SELECTION 43The Crown at Whitebrook’s James Sommerin chooses Severn & Wye smoked salmon, Penclawdd laverbread and Vorroni extra virgin olive oil

DELI OF THE MONTH46Joanna Griffiths’ Deli Tinto in Presteigne

May 2012 · Vol 13 Issue 4

THE MEANING OF LOAFWhy bake-off meant take-offat our Deli of the Month

w

FATALLY FLAWED? 4Does Union’s closure mean the market-styleurban store model is dead in the water?

NEWS 4CHEESEWIRE 19BRITISH TERRITORIALS 23SWEET & SAVOURY BISCUITS 32SPECIALITY OILS 36SHELF TALK 41REFRIGERATION 49CLASSIFIEDS 50

GORWYDDCAERPHILLY23Todd Trethowan on the cheese-making legacy of Chris Duckett

PARTRIDGESFOOD MARKET15Why John Shepherd plays host to 70 smallproducers each week

Tuesday June 26 2012 Pavilions of Harrogate, Yorkshire Event Centre

What’s included

BETTER RETAILING

• Is your business making as much money as it should?

• Are your team trained to the right level?

• Need some fresh hints & tips on how to merchandise?

• Are you controlling your margins?

Register for the show which takes place on June 24-25 2012 www.specialityfoodshow.co.uk

Better Retailing will give you the tools to generate additional revenue in your shop, easily repaying your investment on the day.

Booking a placeGuild of Fine Food member £90.00 plus VAT (includes lunch) Guild of Fine Food non-member £110.00 plus VAT (includes lunch)

To book your place contact Tortie Farrand on 01963 824464 or email her on tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk

Better Finance. Charlie Turnbull, ex-accountant and owner of Turnbulls Deli, looks at good practice in running your shop and explores margin, cash flow and all things financial

Better Merchandising. Georgie Mason Gonalston Farm Shop, takes the lid off how you can merchandise your shop to increase sales and how you attract and retain customers

Counter Intelligence. A Question Time-style debate hosted by John Farrand with a panel of industry experts discussing issues that relate to the wider fine food market

Make more of your visit to the Harrogate Speciality Food Show. A one-day workshop that will help refresh & renew your retail skills and increase profitability. Spend Monday at the Speciality Food Show and then join industry experts the next day to swap ideas, generate merchandising tips and tackle issues specific to your store.

You can even join us for an informal drink on the Monday evening.

Who should attend?• Deli, farm shop and food hall owners and managers looking

for inspiration and ideas to generate revenue in their store

• Anyone involved in fine food and drink looking to exchange ideas and debate the hot topics in our sector

Sponsored by

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 3

Selected by Mick WhitWorthEditor’s choice

OpinionBoB FArrAND

Following Chancellor Osborne’s latest budget it’s patently clear VAT was invented solely to screw up small businesses.

During an inspection some years ago, our friendly local ‘enforcement officer’ queried why we weren’t charging VAT on World Cheese Awards entries from outside the UK. “Your office told me I needn’t,” I answered.

“Who did you speak to?” asked the enforcer. “Can’t remember,” I replied. “Our usual contact was on maternity leave, her stand-in was on long-term sickness and I forgot the name of the person I was eventually put through to.”

The enforcer was unsure if I’d been misinformed, and needed clarification on the rules from his boss. He warned me that if VAT was due, I’d have to pay for each of the previous 10 years’ awards. I grew a touch aggressive and asked how he expected me to know if entries were VATable when he wasn’t sure.

It turns out all entries are liable for VAT but the enforcer’s boss graciously agreed not to seek payment for previous years. It wasted three days of my time.

UK producers entering our awards reclaim VAT in the normal way but those from other EU countries give us their VAT numbers and we must list them on our quarterly returns. Producers then reclaim the tax from their local VAT

office. This is money going around in circles – food producers pay us, we pay our enforcer and overseas producers re-claim from theirs. Not a single additional euro is generated for new schools or hospitals.

Nearly 250 overseas producers entered this year’s Great Taste Awards. Like me, they mostly run small businesses and get confused by regulations, often forgetting to supply their VAT number. We’ve had to recruit someone to phone them all. One extra job equals one extra salary.

Osborne’s proposal to put VAT on all hot take-away food may help reduce the top tax rate for Tory donors but it’ll do nothing for the blood pressure of those running small businesses.

Heated food will attract 20% VAT but the same stuff sold at ambient temperature won’t. The press had a field day discussing how pasties would attract VAT hot from the oven but not once they’d cooled down.

I’ve hatched a cunning plan: sell all food at room temperature but install microwaves for customers to heat it themselves. Government recruits an army of new EHOs to check each pasty is heated to a safe temperature, and thousands of customers who accidentally cook their arms as well as their pasties need loads more doctors and nurses.Everyone’s got a job, billions more is generated in income tax, Osborne scraps VAT and small firms don’t get screwed. I ought to be Chancellor.

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

EDitoriAL editorial@finefoodworld.co.uk

Editor: Mick Whitworth Assistant editor: Michael Lane News editor: Patrick McGuigan Art director: Mark Windsor Editorial production: Richard Charnley Contributors: Lynda Searby, Clare Hargreaves

ADVErtiSiNGadvertise@finefoodworld.co.uk

Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey, Gavin Weeks

Published by Great Taste Publications Ltd and the Guild of Fine Food Ltd

Chairman/FFD publisher: Bob Farrand Managing director/associate publisher:John FarrandDirector/membership secretary: Linda Farrand Marketing & circulation manager: Tortie Farrand Administrators: Charlie Westcar, Julie Coates Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance

For regular news updates from the industry's

favourite magazine visit:

❛i’ve hatched a cunning plan: sell all food at ambient temperature but install microwaves for customers to heat it themselves❜

GENErAL ENQUiriESTel: 01963 824464 Fax: 01963 824651info@finefoodworld.co.ukwww.finefoodworld.co.uk

Guild of Fine Food, Guild House, Station Road, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9FE UK

Fine Food Digest is published 11 times a year and is available on subscription for £43pa inclusive of post and packing.Printed by: Advent Colour, Hants, UK © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2012. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.

What’s new this month:

www.ffdonline.co.uk

p41

Country Puddingswww.countrypuddings.co.uk

❛It will be a few months before Country Puddings’ new packaging is available here – as you’ll see on p41, it’s going into Australia first, where Lynne Mallinson has managed to pick up her first export order. But it looks like being worth the wait. Lynne has already built a creditable business among independents with her Cumbrian chilled puds using packaging that’s best described as ‘traditional’ (check her website to see the old look). She sent me empty versions (shame!) of the new packs to photograph and I reckon these could propel her into a different league. Best of all, Booth’s apart, she’s not chasing supermarkets.❜

p20p19

p32

p36

p39

p33

p41 p44

p37

p37

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 44

fine food news

Union’s owners had indentified 100 potential sites, but the future of this urban format now looks shaky

By PATRICK McGUIGAN The closure of London’s Union Market in February represented a watershed moment in attempts to recreate the ‘farmers’ market’ experience on the high street.

That’s the view of several industry experts contacted by FFD, who said that the failure of the shop in Fulham Broadway has exposed fundamental flaws in the concept of a city centre store specialising in local and regional produce.

Opened in 2010 by Tony Bromovsky with backing from Odey Asset Management, Union Market promised to combine the quality and traceability of a farmers’ market with the convenience of a supermarket.

The company planned to open 10 stores in London within five years and had pinpointed 100 sites in the UK where it said the concept would work.

However, the shop was hampered by problems with layout, product ranging and low footfall and closed after 18 months.

Union is the latest is a string of retailers that have failed to translate the success of farmers’ markets and farm shops into a city centre environment.

“I think the demise of Union is a watershed,” said Gordon Leatherdale, owner of Wild Trail Foods, who founded the farm shop chain Country Food and Dining.

“Without parking, people will never do their weekly shop at one of these places. Basket spend will therefore be limited to what a consumer is willing to carry home.

“Rents and rates are enormous in high street locations. If you have lots of space, like Union, lots of staff, and a misplaced customer offer, your rents and business rates

No parking, high costs, too little footfall: is the Union Market model a no-hoper?

Poor outlook for urban ‘food market’ format

do nothing but savage the fixed costs even further.”

Leatherdale’s views were echoed by Rob Gregory, retail analyst at Planet Retail, who argued that large urban fine food stores need scale to reduce overheads.

“It’s a very difficult concept,” he said. “[These kinds of stores] are expensive to run with high wastage

Other urban farm stores that have come and gone

and require a lot of staff. “Rents and finding the right

location are also challenges. Until you get significant scale, it’s very hard to run a business like that efficiently, which is something Union recognised by talking about opening more branches.”

While city centre retailers have struggled, Gregory said farm shops

benefit from having more space, lower rents and offering a leisure experience – a view that was backed up by Paul Castle, business manager at Farrington’s Farm Shop in Bristol.

“People come out to farm shops for the experience,” he told FFD. “You can’t replicate 400 acres and wonderful views in a city centre.

“There probably are some

l Exeter local food hall and restaurant Foodeaze went into administration in 2007 just

three months after opening, blaming competition from the nearby Princesshay shopping centre. The £1.8m 11,000 sq ft operation reopened under new management soon after, but closed again in 2009.

l Farmers’ City Market opened a 10,000 sq ft store in Hampton Hill in 2007, followed by a second outlet in Camberley in 2008 as part of a plan to build a chain of new-concept stores. The

company went into liquidation in 2009 blaming the “tough economic climate”.

l Brighton local food store Thorne’s (right), which opened last August with ambitious plans to roll out across the South of England, closed down in February. The shop, founded by former investment banker Jason Hurwitz, was hampered from the beginning by high fit-out costs.

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 5

Vallum Farm is latest to bring producers on-site

l Mary Portas wants the government to take more action despite its decision to adopt most of her 28 recommendations for reviving Britain’s high streets and pledging £10m to the cause. While she welcomed the promised High Street innovation fund, the retail guru said she would continue to lobby for proposals that were not approved, such as ministerial veto on out-of-town developments.

l The Specialist Cheesemakers Association is inviting nominations for this year’s James Aldridge Memorial Trophy, awarded to the best British raw milk cheese. The trophy will be presented at the SCA Farm Visit, which is being held at the Sharpham Estate in Devon on June 30 and July 1. sian.oliver-gay@provtrade.co.uk

l Shropshire’s Ludlow Food Centre will hold a festival on July 21 to celebrate a decade of farming rare breed pigs on owner the Earl of Plymouth’s Oakly Park Estate. The inaugural Festival of the Gloucester Old Spot will include a hog roast as well as tasting workshops, cooking demos and sausage-making classes.www.ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk

l The Potted Fish Company has moved to a 6,000 sq ft production facility on the back of increased listings with Sainsbury’s. The Devon firm, which began in a small farm kitchen, now plans to start a training academy to help young people develop food businesses.

l Teapigs has launched a training initiative to improve its retailers’ tea knowledge and to boost sales. Stockists will receive an in-depth training manual as well as a ‘tea geek’ badge as part of the School of teapigs scheme.

l Consumer magazine delicious is leading a crusade to revive forgotten and endangered dishes such as stargazy pie, hog’s pudding and Bath chaps. The ‘Save Our Heritage’ campaign, which kicked off at the Exeter Food & Drink Festival last month, is now asking the public to nominate dishes it could help.

l Organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show expect a record number of entries into the event’s cheese and dairy sections. Last year there were around 800 entries from Switzerland, Greece and Australia. The show takes place at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate from July 10-12.

l For regular news updates from Fine Food Digest, visit: www.finefoodworld.co.uk/ffdonline

IN BRIEF

Vallum Farm in Newcastle Upon Tyne is on the hunt for artisan food producers as part of a plan to develop one of its barns into a food production hub, which will be open to the public.

The farm, which currently houses an ice cream parlour and tea room, plans to build a new shop, production kitchen and ice cream manufacturing operation as part of the 4,000 sq ft barn, but will also add a further five production units for other businesses, plus a first floor space for conferences, meetings and demonstrations.

Visitors to the farm will be able to walk through a covered central hallway and see the food being made through large viewing windows. The units will also be able to sell directly to the public on their own stalls, creating a farmers’ market style atmosphere.

“We’re hoping for a nice mix of different producers, such as a cheese-maker, artisan baker, butcher, jam-maker and craft business,” said Vicky Moffitt, who runs the farm with husband Peter. “We want different energies in the business, which will create an

exciting and vibrant atmosphere, plus give more reasons to visit.”

Construction work is expected to be finished by the end of June and Moffitt is keen to hear from producers interested in taking space. The project has been part-funded with a grant from the Rural Development Plan for England.

There is a growing trend for farm shops to become food production hubs. Ludlow Food Centre has long produced much of its own food, including bread, cheese and jam, while the Suffolk Food Hall is building eight commercial kitchens as part of the Cookhouse.

Vallum Farm already includes its own ice cream operation

SEEING ROUND CORNERS: They say location is everything, and at The Cheese Delicatessen in Keswick, being tucked just round a corner from the main street meant many visitors never realised the shop was there. For owner Joanna Taylor, the answer was to turn the deli’s side wall into a work of art. She commissioned local decorator and mural painter Paul Wilmott to paint a trompe l’oeil shop window, complete with an artistic display of cheeses, chutneys, oils and vinegars. Taylor hopes the mural will pull in more passers-by as the tourist season begins in the region.www.keswickcheesedeli.co.uk

It’s not just high rent and rates, but low footfall tooBy JASON HURWITZ It’s common to assume that it’s city centre rents and rates that cause problems with urban independent food retailers’ finances, where margins are so tight.

Finding and affording a prime location is certainly a huge challenge. However, it’s more a question of insufficient volume of customers spending enough with sufficient frequency to cover

general business costs – staff being amongst the highest.

Thorne’s tried to bridge the gap between occasional purchases at farmers’ markets and small delis and everyday purchases at the supermarket, but we are still a long way off changing five decades of entrenched and deeply habitual consumer shopping behaviour.

Look how long Whole Foods took to reach break even and how much money they had to spend to get there. If only more independent food retailers’ pockets were as deep, then the landscape might look different.”

Jason Hurwitz founded Thorne’s Foods, the Brighton local food hall and restaurant, which closed in February after only six months of trading.

comment

sites that are large enough to do something similar, but the rents are so huge that the numbers don’t stack up. If you’re going to pay £150,000 for 6,000 sq ft on two floors, you’ve got to be turning over £5-6m at least. There just aren’t those kind of big hitters in this market – but Waitrose might be able to make it work.”

One way to overcome these barriers, said Castle, was for several independent retailers to join together to buy individual units in the same location.

“If you could get five or six really good independents to take over vacant shops in the same area, you might stand a chance, providing they worked together and marketed themselves as a whole. You could have a butcher, a greengrocer, a bakery, a café and a damn good deli. It would become a destination.”• Read the views of John Shepherd of Partridges on the London store’s weekly outdoor markets – p15.

❛We’re still a long way off changing five decades of entrenched and deeply habitual consumer shopping.❜

fine food news

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 46

By MICHAEL LANEThe US has stepped up its war of words with the European Union over the naming of food products with the launch of a campaign to protect “generic” food names such as parmesan and feta.

The new Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) – spearheaded by the US Dairy Export Council – said it is concerned about the European Commission’s “aggressive efforts to confiscate common food names”.

While not opposed to the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin system, the CCFN said Europe is going too far by building geographical indication provisions into trade negotiations.

The consortium’s agenda is not limited to cheese. It is also striving to protect bologna, salami and terms used by winemakers such as ‘classic’, ‘vintage’, ‘fine’ and ‘superior’.

It cited recent EU agreements with Peru, Colombia and South Korea as well as on-going talks with the US, China, and Japan as examples of the EU over-stepping the mark.

The consortium said its goal is to usher in a model that protects PDOs like Parmigiano-Reggiano while preserving all producers’ right to use words such as parmesan.

“No one country or entity should own common food names,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of the new initiative, and senior vice president of trade policy at USDEC. “If such efforts are successful, consumers will no longer recognise many of their favourite foods. Producers around the world will be forced to consider relabeling potentially billions of dollars’ worth of food products.”

US-led consortium turns up heat on protected names

By MICHAEL LANEWest Wales deli chain and Spanish food importer Ultracomida has added to its management team as it looks to expand its wholesale business.

The firm, which has retail outlets in Aberystwyth and Narberth, has taken on James Grimwood, the younger brother of one of the company’s co-founders, to help develop its wholesale arm.

Paul Grimwood, who started Ultracomida with partner Shumana Palit, said the company had built a reputation over the past decade for sourcing authentic produce from small, artisan producers in Spain, specialising in lines “which never find their way into supermarkets

European Commission agriculture spokesman Roger Waite told FFD: “This is a difference which has existed for many years. Everyone in Brussels would say we’re right and everyone in Washington would say they’re right.”

Waite said it was logical that the EU included its own system of geographical indications in free trade negotiations. He added: “A bilateral free trade agreement between the

EU and South Korea is a bilateral trade agreement between the EU and South Korea.”

As well as several American organisations, the Consortium is backed by the Argentine Dairy Industry Federation, National Chamber of Milk Producers of Costa Rica and Costa Rican cheese producer Monteverde.www.commonfoodnames.com

because of their limited scale”. He added: “Bringing James on

board means we can look to firm up our standing as wholesalers in the UK market.”

The firm’s artisan range includes

l Independent retail groups have voiced their concerns that the summer relaxation of Sunday trading laws during the Olympics will eventually become permanent. Both the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the change would favour bigger retailers at the expense of smaller operators.

l Scotland’s food and drink industry saw exports increase by 19% last year, underpinned by strong performance from the whisky industry. Whisky exports were worth a record £4.23 billion (23% up on 2010), according to government figures. Scotland’s top food and drink exports markets were France and the US with strong growth in China.

l A report from consultancy firm Deloitte said that four out of 10 shops may have to close over the next five years as more people turn to online shopping. The company also predicted there would be a rise in the number of large warehouse-style outlets, where consumers will go and collect items they have ordered online.

l Boycott Farm Shop in Stowe says business has dropped dramatically since Aylesbury Vale District Council demanded roadside advertising signs were removed earlier this year. Shop manager Helen Jefferies said: “The impact has been huge. People think we’re closed, and people who are new to the area can’t find us.”

l Shrewsbury Flower Show is seeking food producers to exhibit at this year’s 125th anniversary event on August 10-11. The show’s organisers are offering all Heart of England Fine Food members a 10% discount on plots in the show’s dedicated food hall, which will also be hosting a cookery demonstration from celebrity chef James Martin.www.shrewsburyflowershow.org.uk

l Preserve manufacturer Wilkin & Sons’ is seeking support for its plans to build a new factory in Tiptree, Essex, after Colchester Borough Council put its application out to public consultation. The firm, which also produces the Thursday Cottage brand, wants to redevelop its Factory Hill site into around 250 houses and construct a new premises on land to the south of its current home.

l Belvoir Fruit Farms has launched its first still elderflower drink under a new sub-brand. The Stills range, featuring four drinks made from natural fruit juice and Belvoir spring water, replace its Fruit Crush brand.

IN BRIEF

Bell: protect foods if they are ‘authentic to a region’North Yorkshire cheese-maker Shepherds Purse fell foul of an EU ruling that, in 2007, forced it to re-name its Yorkshire Feta to Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese after a 10-year battle.

Owner Judy Bell told FFD: “It certainly has affected our sales of feta because people couldn’t relate to the name we gave it: ‘fettle’.”

“It does affect trade. I don’t understand why you can’t say parmesan-type or feta-type.”

She added: “I don’t think the EU is going too far [with PDOs] provided the product has something that is authentic to a certain region. In the case of feta, the ruling [against us] was an unjust one because Greece does not produce the vast majority of feta.”

Ron

Cha

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com

Protect Parmigiano-Reggiano but let everyone make ‘parmesan’, says the Consortium

‘No country should own common food names,’ says new trade body

Ultracomida bolsters wholesale operationsMojo sauces produced on Tenerife by Mojos Guachinerfe and a specially commissioned chorizo from Roig-Bellevehi, a small artisan company in Catalonia.

It also distributes a wide range of Spanish wines and beers including the best-selling Estrella Damm Inedit (a Spanish wheat beer) and a new range of organic white wines from Rueda by Bodegas Menade.

James Grimwood will also be responsible for overseeing the firm’s new consumer website.

Ultracomida’s wholesale customers include FFD’s Deli of the Month, Deli Tinto in Presteigne (see p 46).www.ultracomida.co.uk

Ultracomida’s core outlets are its own two delis in west Wales

The Artisan Food CentreThe Artisan Food Centre@

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Special seasonal offer – buy 3 (any mix, get any one free).• *Farmhouse Pâté – a smooth chicken liver & pork pâté with herbs & spices- Pâté of Distinction• *Dorset Pâté- a premium gourmet coarse pork and pork liver pâté with herbs & spices-

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spices- Pâté with Passion• Porterhouse Pâté - Dorset Piddle Brewery Porter – very coarse venison, duck, wild boar, pork & pork liver pâté,

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 448

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fine food news

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 9

Food writer Xanthe Clay (right) joined BBC 2’s Nigel Barden, Guild of Fine Food chairman Bob Farrand and Cadogan Hotel general manager Will Oakley at a celebration of the Knightsbridge hotel’s Great Taste at the Cadogan pop-up restaurant.

Clay, a Weekend Telegraph food columnist, was the first celebrity chef to create a special menu for the restaurant featuring ingredients from Great Taste Award-winning producers, including More? The Artisan Bakery, Rhug Estate, The Real Boar Company and Salcombe Dairy.

The menu – available at Great Taste at the Cadogan during March and April – is succeeded this month by a menu ‘curated’ by Masterchef winner and restaurateur Thomasina Miers and Sunday Times Style food writer Lucas Hollweg. Other guest curators lined up for 2012 include TV chef Sophie Michell and Financial Times food writer Bill Knott.

Clay is pictured at a Producers’ Evening where she and her fellow chefs and food writers were joined by many of the specialist suppliers

Xanthe celebrates Great Taste at the Cadogan

Bodnant draws 150 to jobs fairThe £6.5m Bodnant Welsh Food centre was inundated with job hunters when it held a jobs fair in the nearby town of Llanrwst ahead of its delayed opening in June.

Over 150 people came to the town’s conference centre during a single afternoon in March in the hope of securing one of the 40 jobs being created at the centre, which will showcase Welsh food through a farm shop, tea room, restaurant and cookery school, plus artisan food production units.

MD Sandy Boyd, who previously set up the Ludlow Food Centre, said holding a jobs fair was a good way to find new talent. “We need everything from cleaners to bakers to shop managers, so rather than taking out lots of different adverts we did it in one fell swoop,” he said.

“We found people who we might have overlooked solely on the basis of their CV, but once we met them saw they had a spark and something to offer the business.”

Bodnant was meant to start trading in early spring but delays to the refurbishment of the 18th century buildings on the Bodnant Estate in the Conwy Valley have put back the opening until June.

whose award-winning foods are featuring on the Cadogan menu.

This is the first time that a Great Taste Awards promotion has extended from retail outlets into fine dining, raising the profile of small, artisan producers.

Speaking at the event, 2010

Great Taste Awards supreme champion Patrick Moore said the awards had change his life, taking his Cumbrian bakery from a husband-and-wife operation to a thriving business with more than a dozen employees.www.cadogan.com/restaurant.html

If I'd known then what I know now...Phil hauGhTon THE BETTER FOOD COMPANy, BRiSTOL

We opened our first organic food shop in St Werburghs, Bristol, in 2002. Back then the area was very down at heel, with a lot of drugs, prostitution and crime. it was almost a no-go area. Before we opened i spoke to a couple of property agents about my idea and they basically laughed in my face and told me i was off my trolley.

it was pretty foolhardy and very risky, but the area has come up enormously since then and estate agents have told me that the shop has played a really big part in that.

The biggest thing i kick myself for is not finding enough investment in the beginning to open the shop properly. i was very gung-ho about

the whole idea of what we were doing. i set up the business with very little money, refurbishing a 4,000 sq ft former showroom that had been empty for 15 years and making do with very old tatty equipment and furnishings. We were always on the back foot in the early days because it was so hand to mouth.

We weren’t profitable enough to make it stack up and it was a close-run thing whether we’d pull through. i managed to raise some more money a few years later

through small investors – basically friends and family – plus a loan from Triodos Bank through a government loan guarantee scheme. it was enough to refurbish the shop properly and put a café in, which is when the business really found its feet.

What kept us going through the early years was a combination of sheer tenacity and a scheme where we asked customers to put in credit to the business. They

would put £500 into the company and spend it over a certain period. in exchange, we gave them a discount. At one point we had £14,000 in credit, which helped tide

the business over. We weren’t very savvy retailers

in the beginning. We didn’t do enough to make shoppers realise organic food is affordable, so we

got tarnished with an image of being ‘that organic shop that is so bloody expensive’. it put quite a lot of locals off, but what changed perceptions more than anything was opening the café. That gave people a different reason to come into the shop. Once they were in, they would have a look around and begin to realise that there was a quite a lot of food that wasn’t expensive.

Not that cafés are easy to run. They’re a lot more difficult to get right than everyone thinks. The staffing ratios are always much higher than you realise and you have to keep a very close eye on margins. Management needs to be damn tight and we’ve learned a lot as we’ve gone along. We’re much sharper on margins now. Every dish is properly costed. We trial it, prove it and if it works get it on the menu. if it doesn’t, we kick it out. Interview by PATRICK McGUIGAN

❛The area has come up enormously and estate agents tell me that the shop has played a part in that❜

THE LONG VIEW: building hold-ups have delayed opening until June

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 410

fine food news

Berry’s Farm Shop & CaféNorth YorkshireThe Swinithwaite Estate in Wensleydale has opened a new farm shop and café specialising in locally sourced food. Set up by Estate owners Bridget and Adrian Thornton-Berry and managed by Benita Jacobs, Berry’s Farm Shop & Café is located on a working farm and is set around a large courtyard.

The farm shop has a traditional butcher’s counter serving beef, lamb, pork and game from the estate and local producers. There is also an extensive deli counter, which stocks

pies and ready-meals made on-site by the café kitchen. Country walks and trails are also planned, as well

as animal viewing areas, where visitors can view the farm's pigs.www.berrysfarmshop.com

The Urban PantrySouth YorkshireThe Urban Pantry deli in Crookes, Sheffield, opened last month with suppliers including Our Cow Molly, Teabox and Moss Valley Fine Meats on hand to talk to customers about their products.

The shop, which has been set up by former builder Reece Lippolis (pictured), aims to provide locals with better access to food and drink from the Yorkshire region.

“We will be opening into the early evening so that people at work can shop for fine food on their way home without having to take time out in their lunch hour,” said Lippolis.

Key focuses for the shop include artisan cheese, cured meats, antipasti, preserves and gift products.www.urbanpantry.co.uk

Semley Village StoresWiltshire

A new community-owned village shop and cafe in Semley, Wiltshire, has opened

after raising nearly £110,000 from a community share offer and through government-backed funding schemes.

Semley Village Stores stocks locally sourced food and drink from small suppliers and includes a café run in partnership with Pythouse Walled Garden. Part of the shop is rented to a local cake and biscuit company, and bread comes from Gemma Morgan, the village’s artisan baker. The previous Semley Shop stopped trading after its post office was raided 10 years ago, but locals have joined together to reopen the business.www.semleyvillagestores.co.uk

Olive’s ready-meal offerinspired by Cook chain

Opening or expanding a shop? Email details to editorial@finefoodworld.co.uk

l Olive in Cirencester's home-cooked ready-meals retail for between £3.60 and £3.95 and include dishes such as Tuscan five bean stew, pork & wild mushroom stroganoff, and courgette & ricotta lasagne. It also sells homemade quiches, soups, cakes and pastries from the shop.

l The dishes are made with locally sourced ingredients, including Hedonist Bakery bread, cheese from Brinkworth Farm and Kelmscott Pork.

l Baxter previously owned a deli and café in Truro, Cornwall, and ran ski chalets in Bulgaria, where she honed her culinary skills.

l The deli also stocks a wide range of products from local producers including Days Cottage fruit juices, the Cotswold Pudding Company, James' Gourmet coffee and Selsley’s Herb and Spice Company.

l The small shop is based in a residential area away from the town centre. A new development of one- and two-bedroom flats, plus a nearby primary school, provide a steady flow of customers, said Baxter.

what’s in store

new openings

By PATRICK McGUIGANA new deli in Cirencester plans to build its business around the growing demand for ready-meals by making a range of home-cooked dishes that offer healthy margins and tap into changing consumer eating habits.

Owner Jenny Baxter makes fresh and frozen ready meals in her EHO-approved kitchen at home for sale in her new shop, which opened in March and is called Olive in Cirencester.

“People don't want to eat out at the moment because of the recession,” she said. “They are being quite cautious with their money, but they are willing to pay for one of our home cooked dishes, which is an affordable treat.”

She added that inspiration for the concept had come from the success of Cook, which sells frozen ready-meals to the trade and through its own chain of shops. “They have built an enormous business on ready-meals,” she said.

According to research company

Kantar Worldpanel, sales of chilled ready-meals in supermarkets grew 9.5% in 2011, although Baxter said she believed her meals were much better quality.

“Whenever I've tried a supermarket ready-meal they tend to be over salted and not very fresh,” she said. “Ours are freshly prepared with completely traceable and local ingredients.

“We've found that they appeal to all sorts, from people on their way home from work to more mature customers who don’t want to cook.”

By producing the meals in her own kitchen, Baxter did not have to take on large premises with high rent and rates. The food produced by the deli also has higher margins than bought-in products.

“Running a deli can be tricky with huge counters full of expensive cheese and ham, but people often want something that is convenient to eat there and then or to take home and warm up,” she said.www.oliveincirencester.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 11

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fine food news

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 412

Owner Mark Driver is targeting the high-end market worldwide

By PATRICK McGUIGAN The English sparkling wine market is set to be joined by a major new player with the launch of the Rathfinny Estate in Sussex, which will be the largest single vineyard in the UK.

The first 50 acres of vines, which will contribute to the eventual production of over one million bottles of high quality sparkling wine a year, were planted in March at the new 400 acre vineyard near Alfriston.

Four different grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Riesling – were planted, with the estate’s first still wines possibly hitting the shelves next year and its sparkling expected to debut in 2016 or 2017.

Rathfinny will plant roughly 50 acres of grapes per year until 2020, when the full 400 acres will be under vine.

The estate is owned by Mark Driver, the former boss of a hedge fund management group.

“This marks the start of a journey for us to create a sparkling wine to rival the best on offer from across the Channel,” Driver said.

“English sparkling wine is

FLOWER POWER: Following the success of the Great Taste Market at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show last year (above), the Guild of Fine Food will be staging a similar event at this year’s Hampton Court show (right).

The Great Taste and Artisan Food Market will showcase a host of gold star winners at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2012, which takes place on July 3-8.

The Nottinghamshire-based School of Artisan Food will also have a dedicated area within the market, giving daily demonstrations of bakery, butchery and butter-making as well as cider brewing.www.rhs.orgwww.finefoodworld.co.uk/consumershows

Getting busy with the fizzy

Second outlet sinks Salt’s Deli

Farm shop streams live lambing

By PATRICK McGUIGAN Salt’s Deli in Leeds has closed both its shops with the owner blaming high rents and the ‘disastrous’ performance of the company’s recently opened second outlet.

Bruce Salt set up the first shop in 2005 in the Calls area of the city, adding a second branch in The Light shopping centre last year.

He told FFD that he now plans to concentrate on his catering business, operating from the central production kitchen that he previously used to supply the shops with homemade food. “The recession was a factor and the rents and rates we were paying were difficult to get over,” he said. “The second shop was also a disaster. It just didn’t get the sales or the footfall. I made a few mistakes and events conspired against us.”

Salt said the rent on the first store was around £25,000 a year, compared to just £7,000 for the production kitchen on an industrial unit in the city centre. “The margins on deli products were just not enough to cover rent and rates, plus staff costs. The catering business isn’t saddled with such high costs.”

Mainsgill Farm Shop in North Yorkshire set up a camera in its lambing barn last month to stream live images on their website and in their tearoom.

The ‘Lambing Live’ stream gave people the chance to have a closer look at life on the farm, with plans to film other animals once the lambing season is over. Maria Henshaw, who runs the business with her husband Andrew, said: “We’re always looking for different ideas and we’re very much an open farm so we thought this would be an even better way of letting people see how the farm really works.”

As well as broadcasting 24 hours a day on the website, visitors to the farm’s popular tearooms can watch live action on a big screen.www.mainsgillfarm.co.uk

already very highly regarded and I hope Rathfinny will be compared favourably with the likes of Bollinger and Pol Roger.

“I want Rathfinny to be sold not just in the best restaurants in

London, but in Paris, New York, Beijing and Hong Kong as well.”

East Sussex has almost identical soil to the Champagne region and increasingly enjoys a very similar climate. A state-of-the-art winery

will be completed by the summer of 2013 as part of the multi-million pound project and Rathfinny is also funding the construction of a new Wine Research Centre at Plumpton College.

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 13

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 414

Bespoke Foods catalogue coming soon

Our catalogue is packed full of exciting products from around the world, ranging from San Marcos’ brand new authentic Mexican products to ethically sourced chocolates from Madécasse, produced entirely in Madagascar. For more information or to request a copy, please call us today!

Phone: 020 7819 4300 Fax: 020 7819 4400

Email: sales@bespoke-foods.co.uk Web: www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

At Luscombe, we think the heady muscat blossom of elderflowers epitomise the English summer. During the long sunny days of June, we handpick our crop when the flowers are full of scent to capture the delicate flavours at their peak and put the very best in the bottle.

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Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 15

fine food newsInterview Partridges boss John Shepherd is convinced that letting producers sell direct to the public outside his shops is good for business. MICK WHITWORTH finds out why.

How posh Partridges turned market traderJohn Shepherd’s co-directors

thought he was crazy allowing a bunch of small producers to

sell direct to the public outside Partridges’ flagship London store on Saturday, its busiest day of the week. Surely they’d just poach customers from the shop?

That was in 2005, when Shepherd launched the first Partridges Food Market outside his swish Duke of York Square shop and café, just off the King's Road.

Seven years on, the market regularly attracts 70 small producers a week, selling everything from sourdough bread and handmade sausages to goats’ cheese and oysters, and looks like a role model for the kind of city centre initiative that shopping tsar Mary Portas has been calling for.

Shepherd admits to spending hours “poring over the figures”, trying to calculate the costs and benefits of the market to the biggest of his five outlets. On the one hand, it hugely increases footfall on Duke of York Square each Saturday. On the other, a percentage of shop sales is inevitably lost as stall-holders sell some of Partridges' staple lines direct to the public.

However, he is convinced starting the market was a good move – and a model from which other independent delis could learn.

“You do have to make a leap of faith,” he tells FFD. “When we started the market we were very worried it might undermine the shop. But it has become a real landmark event in the area. If it stopped happening every Saturday it would be a real loss.

“We obviously lose some sales of cheese and preserves on the day, but we benefit from more people coming here, it’s really enjoyable and it has given the shop a new dimension. We now have an image of being much closer to producers.”

There is income, too, from the sales of pitches, to be balanced against the cost of providing the infrastructure. “We rent out pitches at £60 and provide a traditional covered market stall,” says Shepherd. “We try to keep the rent as low as possible to attract authentic, small producers, not just restaurants and wholesalers. And we get a surprising

number who are genuinely local to London, and very small businesses like Wapping Sourdough. That’s a fantastic start-up – a couple of social workers who decided they wanted to start making their own bread.”

Shepherd came up with his market plan soon after Partridges of Sloane Square moved round the corner to the pedestrianised Duke of York Square in 2003. He wanted to replicate some of the atmosphere of Borough Market in Southwark, and was lucky to be supported fully by landlord Cadogan Estates.

“This was the first new London square in a 100 years,” says Shepherd, “and Cadogan wanted to create a really nice environment that families and residents would want to spend time in.”

The market started with just 15 stalls – not enough to hold shoppers for long – and took a while to build up. “I used to go round other markets asking people to come along,” says Shepherd, who now

feels creating a successful market is as much about the product mix as about the overall numbers.

“To me, it’s all about the balance of hot and cold food. Hot food is where the margins are made, but you lose the integrity of the market if it’s just burgers and sausages. You need that credibility that comes from local producers.”

He doesn’t downplay the management time and bureaucracy

involved in running a weekly event on this scale. It requires third-party liability insurance, a street trading licence, and each

stallholder needs suitable hygiene certification. But the bulk of work is in “policing the mix”, he says, to create a balanced offer. “For example, we get loads of applications from people making cupcakes, and cakes in general – everyone’s a baker now.”

Started by John Shepherd’s brother Richard before he left to start a career in politics, Partridges

celebrates its 40th birthday this year. It has seen good times and bad, with pressure from new supermarket formats forcing it to rein back its once nine-strong chain to five stores (two badged as Partridges, three as the more deli-like Shepherds).

But John Shepherd still looks at new sites and says he wouldn’t consider anywhere that didn’t have a “forecourt”, as he is already extending the producer-market idea to his smaller units. “At our Shepherds shop in Primrose Hill we have a maximum of three stalls a day, five days a week, and again it complements the shop.”

He urges other independents to get together and explore options outside their own boundaries – taking small markets into shopping centres, for example, or onto school playgrounds. “London Farmers’ Markets have markets in places like Chestnut Grove Primary School in Balham. Is there a section of the town you could use, perhaps where there are a lot of office workers? It’s an adaptable concept.”www.partridges.co.ukwww.lfm.org.uk

❛You do have to make a leap of faith. When we started, we were worried the market might undermine the shop.❜

John Shepherd (above right) says the weekly market has changed perceptions of Partridges, positioning the upmarket food store closer to the small-producer community

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 416

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Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 17

If you’ve seen TV adverts for some of the big multinational brands you might think coffee is picked from the tree as a brown bean!

That’s a long way from reality. While we depend upon nature to produce a delicious crop of raw beans, much of what we enjoy in our cup is down to the skills of a ‘roastmaster’ – much in the same way that winemakers shape the drinking experience by the way they produce a finished wine from their grapes.

Artisan roasting is about balance: respecting the intrinsic flavour nuances of the coffee while, most importantly, avoiding the heavy hand of a dominant ‘roast’ that can destroy these delicate flavours.

The true art of coffee roasting is allowing the flavour to sing out loud in the cup, retaining the delicate top notes that come from zesty fruit acids while balancing these with other naturally occurring elements such as sugars and oils to develop body and an overall rich, clean-drinking cup.

We roast our coffee in small

A promotional feature on behalf of Union Hand-Roasted Coffee

While high-volume brands flash-roast beans with computerised efficiency, a skilled artisan roastmaster takes a more nuanced approach, as JEREMY TORZ and STEVEN MACATONIA of Union Hand-Roasted Coffee explain

Understanding Coffee

A toast to the roastmaster

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The flavour characteristics of any single coffee type are influenced by many factors, including soil type, elevation, sun, rain and specific varietal.

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individual batches, in a vintage, rotating-drum roaster, paying close attention to developing the characteristics required by each coffee to deliver bold flavours and natural sweetness.

Each roast lasts up to 15 minutes and throughout this time our roastmaster constantly draws off samples to check the colour and aroma of the beans, gently adjusting the burners to keep the temperature moving forward steadily through several key stages of development.

These foundations make our coffee very different from high volume, mainstream brands. The big guys may use computer-controlled systems that ‘flash-roast’ in just three to four minutes. This turns the bean brown but does not allow all the complex changes that produce high quality coffee.

As our beans are roasted their colour changes from sage green through straw to ochre and chestnut brown, and they begin cracking as they double in size. We roast for

The choice of roast style for each coffee in our range is selected to allow the character to shine through. Some coffees have a bold, intense character that will support a more developed (darker) roast. Others are delicate, gentle and smooth and need a lighter touch or roast.

Broadly, the darker the roast, the more ‘intense’ the brew, which is why people perceive darker roasts as ‘stronger’. With dark roasts a more bitter-sweet note, like dark chocolate,

appears. With light roasts, softer milk chocolate sugars are retained. This is one factor that steers the ‘strength guide’ numbers on the pack.

We always advise that retailers choose a selection that not only covers the geographical coffee regions (Africa, Latin America and the Pacific) but also encompasses a range of roasts. This is the best way to accommodate the flavours and strengths that coffee drinkers are now looking for from boutique retailers.

Why each bean deserves its own ‘signature roast’

flavour, not colour, to achieve our demanding standards, and absolute precision is needed, especially towards the end of the roast, until finally the beans are released from the drum at just right moment and a wisp of smoke and intense aroma fills the air. www.unionroasted.com

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 418

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Training from the Guild of Fine FoodWhat will you learn?1. The five golden rules for

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Cheese Thursday May 10: Yarnfield Park, Staffs.Monday June 18: West Retford, Notts.Wednesday June 20: York Monday July 2: Guild House, Somerset

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Course costsMembers of The Guild of Fine Food just £70, plus VAT (@ 20%). Non-members £95, plus VAT (@ 20%).*NB. Unfortunately there is a £10 plus VAT (@ 20%) surcharge for London training dates due to higher venue costs.

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 19

cheesewireEuropean retailers’ body seeks members after French launchBy PATRICK McGUIGAN UK cheesemongers are being urged to join a new European confederation set up by some of France's best ‘fromagers’ to protect and promote specialist cheese retailers.

Set up by trade association Fromagers de France, the new European Confederation of Cheese Retailers launches next month in Paris before being rolled out to the rest of Europe, including the UK. Patricia Michelson, owner of La Fromagerie in London, has been approached to promote the scheme here, gathering up details of cheesemongers that want to join.

“The Confederation will encompass all aspects of cheese retailing... for those wishing to know more about how to keep

cheese, how to cut cheese, how to wrap, how to display,” she said. “Further along there will be committees and professionals to help those retailers new to cheese and also programmes for learning and hands-on experience.”

The organisation will also lobby the EU on legislative issues and will help to support small cheese producers by providing them with a strong and stable customer base.

Fromagers de France, which is also known as the National Federation of Dairy Product Retailers, represents around 3,800 cheesemongers in France.

“Cheese retailers have no European or international organisation that represents them. But nowadays regulations are increasingly created by Europe,”

said Fromagers de France deputy MD David Bazergue. “The aim is to recognise the peculiarities of the cheese business in a community setting. The confederation will work first on draft European regulations concerning the profession. Then it will work for the representation of the trade at an international level.”www.lafromagerie.co.uk

Maurice Johnson of cheese consortium Interprofession Le Gruyère AOC regularly berates me at the World Cheese Awards (WCAs) for permitting South African-made ‘gruyère’ to enter.

The Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano has expressed similar views on US-made ‘parmesan’, and my wife was confronted by 15 angry Greek

cheese-makers at the WCAs a few years back because we’d accepted ‘feta’ made outside the EU.

So it comes as no surprise to read that US food producers have created a consortium to fight the EU’s perceived right to license food names that US producers believe are in common usage (p 6). They don’t see why they shouldn’t make parmesan or provolone.

Then we learn that Grana Padano is working alongside Parmigiano-Reggiano to stamp out these fake parmesans (p 43) and we could be excused for thinking toys are flying from prams on both sides of the pond.

Protecting food names is hardly ever a guarantee of quality. I’ve tasted rubbish parmesan and poor Parma ham. I’ve also tasted many that are exquisite. I hardly ever get excited about feta – unless like me, it’s been well aged in a barrel.

Rogue River Blue from the USA was within half a point of taking the World Championship at the WCA in 2003. Each time I have tasted it since, it clearly needs no protection – it’s stunning.

But there’s the rub. Food is global and that’s how it should be. It could be argued that food producers need to establish regional credentials before seeking the

umbrella protection of a specific name.

I quite like it that Parmesan is protected and for that matter, Gruyère too. But what matters more to me in every case is where within the protected region it was made and the name of the person who made it. All too often, regulatory bodies controlling the use of PDOs or PGIs prefer that you don’t find out.

Let’s protect producers and celebrate the quality of their food above everything else and not waste time arguing about names.

FFD publisher Bob Farrand is chairman of the UK Cheese Guild

Le Grand Fromage BoB Farrand

Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie will promote the scheme, which will “encompass all aspects of retailing”, in the UK

The beech smoked cheddar comes in 200g and 2kg formats

Snowdonia Cheese Company has made its first foray into smoked cheese with the creation of a naturally smoked cheddar.

The new addition, which is smoked over beech wood for nine hours, will be available in individual 200g truckles and 2kg cutting wheels for deli counters, both coated in yellow wax.

The cheese-maker’s business development manager Michael Mort told FFD that using beech wood, as opposed to the more commonly used oak, gives the product a point of difference on the cheese counter.

“Smoked cheese is something we’ve been asked about for years now. The smoke flavour will run all the way through the cheese rather than just on the outside.”

Long Clawson has said that its new Claxstone branded range of pre-packed British cheese is targeted at independent retailers as well as multiples.

The range – comprising Blue Stilton, Shropshire Blue, Aged Leicestershire Red and Smooth Blue – was launched at the end of March and has already gained listings with Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Asda.

Long Clawson pre-packs aimed at indies and multiples

Snowdonia boosts range with smoked cheddar

news & views from the cheese counter

Individual truckles have an RRP of £3.75 while the larger format has an RRP of £17-£18/kg.www.snowdoniacheese.co.uk

"The positioning we have chosen for Claxstone is a premium British cheese brand,” said Claxstone marketing manager Janice Breedon.

“Through our versatile selection of flavours within the range, we have secured listings with major high street retailers but we are also in talks with independent retailers for

further listings opportunities.”

www.claxstone.co.uk

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 420

cheesewire

Jongia to fund cheese scholarshipBy PATRICK McGUIGAN Budding cheese-makers are to be given a helping hand on the career ladder with a new scholarship scheme launched by equipment and ingredients supplier Jongia UK.

The company, which is headed by Jaap de Jonge, will fund two scholarships comprising a three-day professional hard cheese-making course at the School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire and a two-and-a-half day soft cheese course at AB Cheesemaking in Cheshire.

The scholarships are open to commercial dairies in the UK and Ireland with an annual tonnage of up to 100 tonnes per year. They have been launched to motivate employees in the dairy industry to aim for a career in cheese-making and to encourage employers to invest in dairy training and education.

“The scholarship will be a co-

operation between Jongia and the dairy that submits the application,” said de Jonge. “The dairy has to do something. It could be paying the travel expenses; it could be supporting another employee to go on a course. The idea is that everybody gets a boost of energy. It gives more people a better grounding in the subject and brings new people through the doors of the educators.”

To enter, companies must detail the nominee's current role and his or her potential career within the dairy, why the nominee is worthy of the scholarship and what the dairy management will do to support them.

A committee of three cheese-makers will approve the candidates, with a lottery deciding the winners. Applications must be submitted by December 31 2012.www.jongiauk.com/cheese-making-education The scheme will sponsor places at the School of Artisan Food

Sussex-based High Weald Dairy is to join the growing number of companies to offer regular cheese-making classes for the general public.

The company held the first of the hands-on one-day courses in March, teaching eight students how to make a soft fresh cheese and a hard cheddar-style cheese.

The classes, which cost £135 per person, are held in the roof space of a converted barn on the company's farm in Horsted Keynes with milk heated up in saucepans and the cheese made in home cheese-making kits, which can also be purchased on the day.

Mark Hardy, who runs the business with his wife Sarah, said that they will look to run the classes at least twice a month given the level of initial response.

Cheese wedding ‘cakes’ made from whole cheeses stacked on top of each other have long been a profitable sideline for delis and cheesemongers, but competition is set to increase after Waitrose launched its own range.

The retailer now offers three different cheese cakes: the £70 classic celebration cake, which weighs 3.45kg and comprises petit Basque, Cashel Blue and Appleby’s Cheshire; the 16.6kg ultimate celebration cake (£200) of Cashel Blue, manchego, Hafod cheddar and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester; and the British cake (£110) of Baby Yarg, Cropwell Bishop Stilton and Hafod.

Lincolnshire Poacher has invested around £800,000 in a new wind turbine and solar panels, which means the business is now a net exporter of electricity. The new kit will power the entire manufacturing process from the dairy equipment to the maturing rooms. The cheese-maker is now looking to reduce its oil consumption by installing a wood burner.

High Weald: cheese-making classes after trial success

Waitrose to take cheese ‘cake’ concept into supermarkets

Poacher producer goes green

IRISH CRACKERS: Sheridans Cheesemongers in County Meath has become the latest retailer to launch its own brand of crackers for cheese, made by Dunmanway’s Cookies of Character.

The three varieties are rye & linseed, mixed seed, and Irish brown bread crackers.

The majority of the ingredients used are locally sourced – the flour is stone-ground at Macroom Oatmeal Mills, butter is from Bandon Co-op and buttermilk produced by the Cronin family from Belgooly is used in the Irish Brown Bread crackers. www.sheridanscheesemongers.com

“We've had a real mix of people getting in touch about the courses from yummy mummies to small holders and even cheese retailers,” he said. “Running staff training sessions for cheese retailers could be a big market. It really helps the staff to understand the product they are selling, if they have actually made it themselves.”www.highwealddairy.co.uk

Waitrose's cheeses and prices compare well with cheese cakes offered by independents. The Cheese Works in Cheltenham offers a 3.5kg tower of four cow's milk cheeses at £75, while The Cheese Shed in Devon sells a 2.5k cake called Burgh Island for £68.

At Lyme Regis-based Town Mill Cheesemonger, owner Justin

Tunstall told FFD that rather than sell 'off the shelf' cheese boards he prefers to tailor cheese cakes to customers’ requirements.

“We do bespoke cheese wedding cakes, catering to

people's geographic and epicurean preferences.

Off-the-shelf is boring for a

special day. It's difficult to justify premium price if we don't give the

service.”

Eight students attended the course in March

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 21

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 422

For a real Farmhouse cheese madein the New Forest, Hampshire.

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As we say goodbye again to Vacherin for the Summer it’s not all bad news as we have just taken the first delivery of this season’s Lochois ewes’ milk cheeses. If you have yet to experience these delightful cheeses from Monsieur Froidevaux, you are in for a real treat. You will find them in our Artisan list and the choice is of the plain variety in 600g x 4 or 200g x 6. They are super soft and creamy with a clean yet slightly sharp finish. The oval shaped thyme flavoured speciality comes in 200g x 6 with a sprig of thyme on top. Our Artisan cheeses are on a pre-order basis to ensure maximum freshness.

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23Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012

It all started back in 1995, with a caravan and a flock of llamas. That was when fresh faced archaeology

graduate Todd Trethowan first learned how to make Caerphilly, during an apprenticeship with Chris Duckett in Somerset.

As well as being a third generation cheese-maker and one of the last farmhouse Caerphilly producers in the country, Duckett was also a keen llama enthusiast with a field full of the beasts, in which the young Trethowan ended up staying.

“I worked for him for six months, living in my caravan surrounded by llamas. I didn’t have a car so every time I had to go to the dairy I had to take my chances,” laughs Trethowan. “I used to come back from the pub at night and they certainly weren’t the friendliest. They’re pretty aggressive animals.”

Trethowan was hardly a cheese novice when he arrived at Duckett’s. Before going to university, he had worked for Neal’s Yard in London

Profile The first taste of Gorwydd Caerphilly is an eye-opener for shoppers raised on block cheese, as producer Todd Trethowan tells PATRICK McGUIGAN

True to its roots and had paid his way through college by working for cheese-makers such as Dougal Campbell at Tyn Grug and Charlie Westhead at Neal’s Yard Creamy. But it was his time with Duckett that really laid the foundations for Trethowan to set up his own dairy at the family farm in Ceredigion, west Wales, which is where he still makes his unpasteurised Gorwydd Caerphilly today. Duckett sadly passed away in 2009, but his cheese is still made at Somerset’s Westcombe Dairy.

“I learned absolutely everything from Chris,” Trethowan says. “Every night I would come back to my caravan with a big list of all the things I’d learned that day. I really made the most of my time there and I’ve tried to be faithful to what he taught me.”

Seventeen years later he is still learning the secrets of Caerphilly, which is why his family firm only makes one type of cheese. “I don’t feel like we’ll ever have it beaten. If we made loads of cheeses we might take our finger off the pulse and the

cheese might go off the boil. We’ve always been a very consistent cheese and I think we’re getting better.”

Run by Trethowan and his wife Jess in partnership with his brother Maugan and his wife Kim (who used to work for Neal’s Yard Dairy), Trethowan’s makes around 40 of the 4kg Gorwydd cheeses each day. These are dry salted in their moulds and then brined, before being matured for around two months.

The final cheese has a velvety grey rind and two-tone interior, comprising a creamy outer layer called ‘the breakdown’ and a firm but moist centre layer. Each element adds a different flavour, with lemony notes from the central stripe, creamy

mushroomy flavours from the breakdown and an earthiness from the rind itself.

Trethowan says Gorwydd follows in the tradition of the original farmhouse Caerphilly that was popular with Welsh miners who, legend has it, ate the cheese to replace the salt they had lost through sweating. It’s a million

miles away from the crumbly block Caerphilly on supermarket shelves which is almost indistinguishable from factory-made Cheshire and Lancashire.

“There’s no comparison between a block Caerphilly and us, but it was something to overcome when we first started,” says Trethowan. “People told us not to make Caerphilly and to do something more exotic. When we were at markets people would say, ‘Oh, we don’t like Caerphilly’. You’d give them a bit and they’d take a taste. Because the flavour doesn’t hit you straight away, they’d be walking away and then peel round in a U-shape and come back to you, saying, “What was that again?’”

He adds: “We have to do far less convincing these days. People have been won over.”

The company still has market stalls at Borough Market and St Nicholas in Bristol, where it serves ‘the ultimate cheese toastie’, made with Keen’s cheddar, and raclette using Montgomery’s Ogleshield. It also attends festivals, including last year’s Glastonbury, and runs regular cheese tastings and talks with food writer Fiona Beckett as part of The Cheese School.

The main business, however, is selling through delis, farm shops and cheesemongers, plus Waitrose, as well as at its own own store in Bristol, which opened four years ago.

“We wanted to be one of our own biggest customers,” says Trethowan, “but we also have a range of around 15 other cheeses from people we’ve worked with over the years. It means we can talk about them with some authority because we know how they are made and how they should taste.

“Having a small range means we can also sell them in really good nick. As a cheese-maker myself, I feel honour-bound to sell someone else’s cheese in brilliant condition.”www.trethowansdairy.co.uk

@trethowansdairy

british territorial cheeses

The dairy in Ceredigion makes 160kg of Gorwydd each day

❛We have to do far less convincing these days. People have been won over.❜

Trethowan learned ‘absolutely everything’ from Chris Duckett

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 424

Telephone 01934 712347 www.rosefarmsomerset.co.uk

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www.gruyere.com

Receive up to £50 and a full promotion kit and you could be crowned Britain’s Best Cheese Counter 2012

You can sign up for the 2012 self-supervised Le Gruyère AOC in-store cheese promotion and receive a cash payment of up to £50. Take part and you will be automatically entered for Britain’s Best Cheese Counter competition, which will involve a live judging finale at this year’s World Cheese Awards taking place at BBC Good Food Show at the NEC.

Register for this promotion today and we will send you:1. A high quality counter-top sampling tray with plates and cocktail

sticks2. Recipe leaflets, product information sheets and other branded POS3. A cash allowance of £30 or £50 to cover the cost of Le Gruyère

AOC cheese for samplingHow does the promotion work?• Sign-upwithusandcommittodoingthepromotionforaminimum

of two days• SelectwhichLeGruyèreAOCyousampletocustomers–Classicor

Reserve. You order the stock from your normal supplier • Launchandpubliciseyourpromotion• Taketwophotographsofyourpromotion–ashotoftheentire

counter and a close up of the promotion kit in use • TheGuildofFineFoodwillsendyouashortformtocompleteand

sendbackwithyourphotographs.Thisisyourchancetosellyourselfand your cheese counter to our judges

• Wewillsendyouachequefor£30ifyoudonotsubmitphotographsor £50 if you do

How does the Best Cheese Counter competition work?• Ourjudgingpanelwillshort-listentriesfromtheformsand

photographs submitted• Ajudgewillvisitallshort-listedshopsandmysteryshoptoevaluate

the counter, knowledge of staff and, of course, the cheese offer• ThesuccessfulfinalistswillthenbeinvitedtotheWorldCheese

Awards 2012 to present and explain in person their favourite cheeseboard ensuring, of course, that Le Gruyère AOC cheese is at the heart of it

• Thisisyourchancetodemonstratethatyoucandesignandsellthe perfect cheeseboard in front of our panel of judges and a live audience at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC

How do I apply?ThepromotionwilltakeplaceduringMay-July2012.Contact julie.coates@finefoodworld.co.uk or call her on 01963 824464 to sign up. Not only could you be walking away with the title Britain’s Best Cheese Counter but you will be treated to an all-expenses paid trip to Le Gruyère, Switzerland to enjoy the Swiss cheese-making experience for yourself.

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 426

You could be forgiven for thinking Britain’s territorial cheeses are having an identity

crisis. There is only one maker of Red Leicester in Leicestershire, an on-going campaign to save Cheshire cheese from extinction and the bulk of Lancashire and Wensleydale is made in creameries miles from their heartlands.

Regional cheeses that once, by definition, had characteristics unique to their ‘territories’ have become increasingly homogenised.

Prices have also been driven down in the grocery sector by ongoing heavy promotions on cheddar. Just two months ago, Adams Foods abandoned efforts to build a territorials range under its Pilgrims Choice brand, less than a year after launch.

Not everything in the mass market is dumbed down. Milk Link-owned Reece’s Creamery, for example, last year extended its own territorials range – largely handmade from local milk, and cut and packed in a purpose-built speciality cheese facility – and has been picking up awards. Chester Rose, its newly launched handmade Red Leicester, was among the elite top 50 cheeses at the 2011 World Cheese Awards.

But on the whole, supermarket versions, mostly made in the same few factories, have become so dominant that many consumers have no idea what traditional territorials taste like.

As is so often the case with cheese, milk is the key differentiator between mass-produced versions and the originals. Retailer and wholesaler Carole Faulkner, owner of The Cheese Shop in Chester, is a former cheese-maker herself and says territorials should be made by farmhouse producers using milk that will carry “the flavour of the soil” to the finished product. “The cheese should be made with milk just from one herd,” she says. “If you get it from a creamery they get milk from all over the place.”

John Axon of The Cheese Hamlet in Didsbury, south Manchester, agrees.

“With a lot of creameries the sourcing of milk isn’t always area specific,” he says. “They heat-treat and standardise the milk so it loses its regionality.”

Farmhouse production is not “a button pressing exercise”, he says. “Cheese-makers are very highly skilled and adjust temperatures and timings based on that day’s milk.”

For Faulkner, standardisation has

A generation of cheese buyers has grown up with little access to distinctive territorials, as MICHAEL LANE reports

Spot the difference

made it harder to sell farmhouse territorials to new customers, who often baulk at buying cheeses they now perceive as “boring”. Thankfully, Faulkner – who stocks a great deal of territorials including Cheshires such as Bourne’s, Chorlton and Appleby’s – is able to bring them around with a tasting.

She adds that there is also an older generation that wants these traditional styles of British cheese because it is what they grew up with.

“So many people don’t want fancy, poncey cheeses. These cheeses are what I call my bread and butter cheeses,” she says. “[Territorials] are unique to this country. Cheshire cheese is the oldest cheese on record.”

Gemma Aykroyd of The

Cheeseboard in Harrogate tells FFD that a taste for territorials is a generational thing. On a recent tasting she carried out at a local school, Aykroyd found that 14-year olds recognised the taste of a supermarket Red Leicester but not the farmhouse version, although they came round to it. However she sees no reason to stock milder styles in her shop, as they just don’t sell.

“If people want territorials they want the real thing and they want it to taste of something,” she says.

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester – a cheese that our interviewees are unanimous about stocking – is a case in point. It outsells the other Leicesters, which are not made in Leicestershire, that Aykroyd carries.

Unsurprisingly, her most local territorial cheese, Hawes’ Wensleydale, is one of the biggest sellers.

“We have a lot of tourists, so they

want to take a bit of Yorkshire home with them. People quite like having something of where they’ve been.”

While the locally-made, traditional versions of these regional specialities clearly have selling points, they can also be quite a profitable product for retailers because there is less distribution cost built into the price.

“Wensleydale is one of our cheaper products but I make a good margin on it because it doesn’t have to do many miles,” says Ackroyd, who can put a 100% mark-

up on local cheeses like the Hawes Wensleydale she stocks compared to 35%-40% on Brie de Meaux. She adds: “If I put the same mark-up on the French ones, no one would come into my shop.”www.reecescheese.co.ukwww.chestercheeseshop.co.ukwww.applebyscheese.co.ukwww.thecheeseboard.netwww.leicestershirecheese.co.ukwww.cheesehamlet.com

british territorial cheeses

❛Supermarket versions have become so dominant that many consumers have no idea what traditional territorials taste like❜

The Cheese Shop’s Carole Faulkner: territorials are her ‘bread and butter’ varieties

HM

Prou

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27Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012

While independents interviewed by FFD ruled out offering

creamery-style territorials alongside their core artisan products, Waitrose does this with some success.

The supermarket’s pre-packed cheese buyer Chris Dawson says he can see why this might be riskier for independent delis. “It’s very much a personal decision, because space and cashflow is limited,” he says. “The more lines you stock the more cash is tied up.”

Waitrose is seeing “strong positive growth” in territorials, but the market as a whole is declining, says Dawson. “This is partly because there’s so much cheddar being promoted – customers are switching.”

While Waitrose’s best-selling Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, Wensleydale, and Cheshire are made by Shropshire’s Belton Farm it also carries Hawes Kit Calvert Wensleydale through its speciality range, which is seeing growth.

Dawson says local territorials,

How Waitrose covers all the bases

Flavour of the localityWe asked The Cheese Hamlet’s JOHN AXON to describe Britain’s main territorials

Cheshire“It will crumble under duress but you can slice it.” That’s what Axon tells his customers about Appleby’s Cheshire. The cheese has a dry texture and a saltiness that it owes to its terroir. “The land is high in salt deposits, which comes through in the grass.”

WensleydaleAxon describes the flavour of traditional Wensleydale as “lemony fresh” and long-lasting. He says it should be moist and white in colour with a slightly creamy tinge.

Lancashire There are three common profiles of Lancashire, says Axon. The first is a mild, creamy style with a long lasting finish. Then there is the acid Lancashire – almost pure white in colour, crumbly but without a long finish. “It has a nice tang but without the strength of a mature cheese,” he adds. The final profile is stronger and full bodied in flavour, but sticky in texture. “You should be able to taste it 10-15 minutes after eating.”

Red Leicester“There are lots of bad Leicesters out there,” says Axon. “Creamery Leicester is mild, almost tasteless.” The real thing should be like a mild farmhouse cheddar – not sweet, not salty, but very slightly acidic and a bit grassy. He adds that proper Leicester should not be shiny but a dull red colour.

CaerphillyThe famous Welsh territorial should be slightly moist with slightly lemony undertones. Axon says it has “a sweet aroma that always reminds me of South Wales”.

Double Gloucester This cheese should be “rich with a slight sweetness” and slightly cheddar-y. Traditonally it should have a deep orange colour and farmhouse versions, with a rind, will be darker at the edges.

in particular, are also key lines on in-store loose deli counters.

Waitrose sells varieties like Hawes Wensleydale to give its customers the option of tasting traditional cheese, even if it is seen as more of a special occasion product, and Dawson says that there is something to be learned from the way the group sells cheddar on the deli counter.

“We put mainstream cheddars on the fixture, providing a broad range of styles and budget for consumers – not just selling Montgomery’s because not everyone wants to spend £20 a kilo.” He thinks that in time Red Leicester could also be sold this way.

Despite selling territorials nationwide, Dawson says there is no definitive answer to what makes the perfect range.

“It’s hard to generalise because it depends on what part of the country you’re in. We opened some stores in Lancashire and, no surprise, customers want a larger range of Lancashires.”

The multiple sells mainstream creamery pre-packs alongside farmhouse options such as Appleby’s Cheshire

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 428

fivemiletown.com

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Leagram Organic Dairy is a small family run firm in the Trough of Bowland in the heart of Lancashire. We use local milk to produce 28 different varieties, ranging from traditional territorial’s, a wide range

of flavour added, soft and unique speciality cheeses including those using sheep and goats milk. All our

cheeses are made by hand and in the traditional way, so if you want true tastes of Lancashire come to us. All our cheeses are directly available from ourselves, Leagram Organic Dairy and a selection

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Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 29

CANDIASOILThe firm has an exclusive range of unfiltered, single estate, artisan olive oils all produced with handpicked Koroneiki olives on the Mediterranean island of Crete. The firm’s range appears on shelves under the brand name Oi1 and features an organic and a premium variety (both available in 500ml). Candiasoil has three oils with Protected Designation of Origin status – Viannos, Sitia and Peza – that come in cylindrical tins in a number of sizes including 250ml, 500ml and 1 litre. RRPs range from £6.95 to 16.95. THE DEAL: Buy 4 bottles and get 5th freeAVAILABILITY: Nationwide. No minimum order.CONTACT: Costa Liapis on 07717 606710 or cl@candiasoil.com

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 products on which we’ve secured big discounts unique to Guild retail members.

MAY’S PROMOTIONSA promotional feature for the Guild of Fine Food

GUILD RETAIL PROMOTION SUMMARY (Available to Guild members only)COMPANY DEAL TEL EMAIL/WEBCANDIASOIL Buy 4 bottles and get 5th free 07717 606710 cl@candiasoil.comMERIDIAN SEA Buy two units get 3rd free 08702 400 172 sales@meridian.co.ukEL OLIVO Buy 5 jars get 6th free 0131 668 4751 www.elolivo-olive-oil.comINFOODS 20% off list prices 0116 270 1621 www.infoodsltd.co.uk

MERIDIAN SEAThe importer and distributor is now offering three terrines produced by French firm Amand. The prawn with rocket & grapefruit, avocado & crab and “Italian Style” tomato, mozzarella & basil terrines all come in 1.5kg units that are suitable for deli counters or caterers.THE DEAL: Buy two units get 3rd freeAVAILABILITY: Nationwide with free delivery for orders over £40CONTACT: Nigel or Andrew on 08702 400172 or sales@meridian.co.uk

EL OLIVOThis Edinburgh-based distributor is offering a six for the price of five offer on three products: Whole Garlic Cloves in olive oil, Organic Cherry sundried tomatoes, and baby peppers stuffed with olives and anchovies. Each glass jar is priced at £2.80 and the offer can either increase your margin or be used as a taster to

encourage new sales. Point of sale material and recipe cards available.THE DEAL: Buy 5 jars and get a 6th FREE on stated range

AVAILABILITY: Nationwide £150 orders carriage paid. Smaller orders £7.99. for new customers carriage is free irrespective of sizeCONTACT: Maria or Ian on 0131 668 4751 or visit www.elolivo-olive-oil.com

Retail Promotion Scheme – exclusive to Guild members

Guild of Fine Food • Guild House • Station Road • Wincanton • Somerset BA9 9FE UK t: +44 (0) 1963 824464 f: +44 (0) 1963 824651 e: info@finefoodworld.co.uk w: www.finefoodworld.co.uk

Whether you’re launching a new product, targeting seasonal sales or just looking to raise the profile of your business, this scheme will get your message to our retail members.

HOW DOES IT WORK?Create an exclusive offer for at least four weeks by way of a discount (we would suggest a minimum of 20% off), free stock deal (buy 4 get 5 for an example) or other benefit which will be attractive to our members. Please note that offering free samples for retailers to test themselves would not be considered legitimate.

WHAT DO I GET?• In print: An entry (image and up to 150 words

of copy) in the Guild Promotional Offers special insert in Fine Food Digest, plus downloadable point of sale artwork which both you and your customer can print.

• Online: Access to our detailed database of retail members and full promotional deal information on the Guild of Fine Food website.

• E-cast: New for 2012 - we will email all Guild retail members with the details of the promotion

WHAT DOES IT COST?All this for just £70, or £120 if your annual turnover is more than £1m.

Contact Sally on sally.coley@finefoodworld.co.uk

Did you know that you could reach 700 independent retailers through the Guild of Fine Food’s promotions programme?

❛What we wanted was a nationwide retail promotion that we could target at the right people over a set period of time with full control, traceability and above all a Return on Investment that actually delivered. The Guild of Fine Food Retail Promotion offered exactly that.❜ Kim Sauer

– Demarquette Fine Chocolates

INFOODSThe Omega-3 specialist is introducing Chia seeds to the UK market. Described as “nature’s most nutritious grain”, the seeds are high in fibre, Omega-3 and 6, and antioxidants. They are also suitable for gluten-free, vegan andkosher diets.THE DEAL: 20% discount on list pricesAVAILABILITY: NationwideCONTACT: Mahdi on 0116 270 1621

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 430

NEW FROM SHORTBREAD HOUSE – THE PERCENT RANGE

Available in four flavours: Original, Ginger, Lemon and Mocha @ £1.10 per box mainland UK

10% of profits from sales of these boxes donated by manufacturer to charitywww.shortbreadhouse.com

Contact: info@shortbreadhouse.com or tel: 0131 555 5212

• Scottish grown and ground oatmeal, fine, medium, coarse, pinhead, and oat flakes

• A wide range of flour for all baking needs • 1★ 2010 handmade and hand cut oatcakes, also a

selection of sweet biscuits using old family recipes• Scottish handmade preserves, marmalades, jellies

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Also available from Ochil Foods www.ochilfoods.co.uk

• Oatcakes: 1-star 2011 & 2008 • Millers Crunch: 1-star 2009 & 2-stars 2010 • Kenmore Shortbread: 1-star 2009 & 2-stars 2010 • Sheila’s Gingers: 1-star 2010 • Homemade Tablet: 1-star 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2-stars 2010

gold 09

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 31

The aim of Deli of the Year is to support delis and farm shops all over the UK, to create noise, and

an opportunity for retailers to shout out and get noticed and recognised. Created and organised by Olives Et Al, Deli of the Year boosts each nominated deli’s profile in its area and encourages customer loyalty.

Giles Henschel, co-founder of Olives Et Al explains: “We’re delighted to be back for a third year with the Deli of the Year competition. 2011 was incredible, with 400 delis nominated, over 10,000 customers voting for their favourite delis and some delis recording sales increases of 30-40% as a direct result of the competition. In this economic climate, we wanted to do what we could to raise the profile of delis across the UK, highlighting who they are and celebrating what they do.

“As part of the entry process, delis ask their customers to vote for them, leaving comments that the team of independent Deli of the Year judges read through on the judging day. Last year, what came through overall was the strong sense of community spirit. There were many, many comments on how delis are at the centre of life in towns or villages with one memorable voter remarking that if it weren’t for their local deli, they’d move.

“Each deli receives all of their voter comments at the end of the competition and this has proved to be invaluable feedback and a massive boost for owners and staff. Clearly, we need to support all delis across the UK and the communities they’re in and we’re very proud of Deli of the Year and all it achieves.’

“We’re delighted to announce that Deli of the Year 2012, backed by the Guild of Fine Food, is also being supported this year by some of the UK’s top food producers: Laverstoke Park, Godminster, Luscombe, Tracklements, Choc on Choc, Capreolous Fine Foods and Fudges. Each of the producers has promised generous prizes of stock for each of the 10 Regional Winners. Fine Food Digest and several consumer magazines including delicious and Great British Food are also very kindly supporting the competition, offering valuable media coverage.”

Giles continues: “The winner of Deli of the Year will of course win the Deli of the Year trophy, an incredible trip to the Full Moon Olive Harvest at Naturvie in Extremadura, western Spain, as well as a private, behind-the-scenes tour of Fortnum & Mason, kindly donated by Fortnum’s and, of course, masses of PR across the UK. And this year, for the first time, we’ll be taking one lucky Regional Winner to Spain as part of a ‘wild card’ draw on the night of the awards!”

Consumers who nominate and vote for their favourite deli also have

A promotional feature on behalf of Olives Et Al

and the judging process, that they run an exceptional food retail business and that food, food knowledge, deli attitude, customer service and community are all equally at the heart of who they are and what they do.

Deli of the Year is independently judged, it’s completely free to enter and entrants do not have to stock Olives Et Al products.

It’s also important to remember that the deli with the most consumer ‘votes’ will not necessarily go on to win Deli of the Year. Votes are a vehicle for customer feedback and a means by which judges can get customers’ views of the business, an idea of what is most important to them, and why it should be considered for the top title.

In the first two weeks of the competition, there have been nearly 100 deli nominations and over 1,000 votes. All of the delis that entered last year are invited to enter again as the standard of entries was incredibly high.

Giles adds: “We hope that 2012 sees the best Deli of the Year competition yet and supports the industry more than ever before.”

If you’d like to get involved, visit www.delioftheyear.co.uk or email hello@olive-setal.co.uk. Twitter/facebook: @olivesetal and #delioftheyear

of the competition, each nominated deli, farm shop or good food retailer needs to return the completed Deli of the Year 2012 ‘Deli Profile’ form by deadline of the June 7.

When the entries and votes are all collated, a panel of independent judges will meet for a day on June 13 at Fortnum & Mason, Britain’s most respected deli, to assess all the entries against a set of pre-established Deli of the Year criteria. Entries go through a series of stages on the day, with the 10 Regional Winners being chosen and announced at the end.

Through July and August, each of the 10 Regional Winners will be visited by one of the independent judging panel and marked against the judging criteria. Each of the 10 Deli of the Year Regional Winners will then be invited to The Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Award Gala Dinner in September where the winner of Deli of the Year 2012 will be announced.

The winner will have shown, through consumer votes, entry form

Last year’s national winners, David Greenman and Debbie Atherton of Arch House Deli in Clifton

a chance to win a delicious Foodie Weekend in Dorset, including a cookery morning with Lesley Waters at her Abbots Hill Cookery School.

Launched on March 24 and with a nomination stage which runs until May 31, delis are nominated by one of their customers through www.delioftheyear.co.uk. Nominated delis can then download various tools to help start raising their profile and get ‘votes’. There’s a press release, web badge, posters and voting slips – they’ll also receive a special Deli of the Year nomination pack in the post with posters, tent cards, stickers and a Deli Profile form.

Each deli is encouraged to treat nomination as a vehicle to ‘shout’ about its business by issuing the press release to its local papers, by encouraging customers to vote for it on www.delioftheyear.co.uk and by any other way you can imagine. For example, one nominated deli in 2011 got a monthly slot on local radio! For entry into the next stage

Deli competition is back with a bangOlives Et Al’s Deli of the Year competition is back, and with some major changes for its third year it promises to be bigger and better than ever

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 432

sweet & savoury biscuitsproduct update

Double chocolate pecan, double chocolate fruit & nut and double chocolate chilli are the latest additions to Pourtoi’s range of cookies for chocoholics. The Belgian chocolate cookies are sold individually (RRP £1.39-£2.25) or in bags containing five bite-sized cookies (RRP £2.99-£3.50). www.pourtoi.co.uk

Aberdeenshire bakery Dean’s has linked up with another Scottish brand to launch a range of cheesy bite-sized biscuits. Cheese Oat Nibbles are made with Seriously Strong extra mature cheddar and are positioned as a “little treat for the big night in”. There are three variants – extra mature cheddar, extra mature cheddar & chive and extra mature cheddar & chilli – all of which come in 150g boxes with an RRP of £2.49. www.deans.co.uk

Frank Roberts & Sons has created a new sweet treats brand called The Little Treats Co, with the aim of providing the independent and convenience trade with products similar to those available from supermarket in-store bakeries. The range includes gingerbread Mini Men, Rocky Road clusters and milk chocolate cornflake cakes. They retail at £1.59 for a crystal tub and £1 for a bag. www.thepastrycase.co.uk

Stockan’s is building on the success of its Original Mini Orkney oatcake with the launch of three flavoured miniature oatcakes: cracked black pepper, garlic and cheese. The firm recommends pairing the cracked black pepper with brie, the garlic with pâté and the cheese with a variety of toppings. The bite-sized biscuits come in shelf-ready packaging with 12 x 200g packets to a case. www.stockans.com

New start-up Good Puds is hoping to bring the ‘raw foods’ movement that is building momentum in the US to consumers over here. The company is the brainchild of Jessica Emms, who used to be a chef at a high-end raw food restaurant in New York. Its first products are vanilla and chocolate macaroons,

which are made according to ‘raw food’ principles. “Through the process of dehydration - where nothing is heated above 40.5°C - all the ingredients maintain their nutritional integrity, just as nature intended,” explains Emms. 55g packs of mixed macaroons retail at £2.99. www.iwantpuds.com

In January, Peter’s Yard launched its Swedish crispbreads in a new smaller size, which it says are perfect for entertaining – as a canapé base or an accompaniment to dips. Made to a traditional Swedish recipe from sourdough, milk, flour and honey, the new bite-sized crispbreads are priced around £2.50 for a 105g pack containing 36 small crispbreads. They are available through Hider, The Cress Company and Clarks. www.petersyard.com

Make it snappy LYNDA SEARBY rounds up the latest developments in cookies, crackers and biscuits

Retailers can encourage multiple purchase and gifting with The Isle of Skye Baking Company’s new triple pack boxes (RRP £8.50). The boxes can be made up with any combination of biscuits, from rose petal, lavender or strawberry balsamic shortbread hearts to cumin coriander oatcakes, heather honey biscotti or gingerbread men in kilts. www.isleofskyebakingco.co.uk

New from The Miniature

Bakery in Yorkshire is the Chocolate Biscuit

Selection, which brings together seven varieties of milk, dark and white chocolate biscuits in gift pack format. Besides all butter Viennese, white chocolate coconut meringues, chocolate crisps and dark chocolate coated snaps, the 200g assortment (RRP £5) contains three new lines which are exclusive to the selection: milk chocolate coated snaps, plain chocolate coated snaps and milk chocolate coated all butter Viennese. www.theminiaturebakery.com

Nutritious Nibbles’ gluten-free cookies and cookie mixes are sporting a new 1950s inspired, retro-style look. Launched in 2011, the range includes white chocolate & hazelnut cookies, Irish Cream biscotti and cinnamon & raisin cookies. www.rebeccasmyth.com

Top sellers…… at Maple Delicatessen,

Bradford on Avon,

WiltshireBorder Biscuits

Artisan Biscuits Elegant and English

Artisan Biscuits Caffè Dolcetti

The Fine Cheese Co Toast for Cheese

Stockan’s Orkney Oatcakes

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 33

sweet & savoury biscuits

Stag Bakeries has treated its range to a new look, designed to reflect the Outer Hebridean provenance of its biscuits and crackers. The Isle of Lewis producer has also introduced smaller ‘cocktail’ versions of its Stornoway water biscuits and oatcakes, following positive feedback to sampling at the

Speciality Food Show in Harrogate. They have RRPs of £1.50 and £1.25 respectively. www.stagbakeries.co.uk

Top sellers…… at Delifonseca, Liverpool

Teoni’s Cookies dipped stem ginger

cookies

Teoni’s Cookies dipped chocolate cookies

Teoni’s Cookies pure butter shortbread

biscuits

Stockan’s Orkney Oatcakes

Artisan Biscuits Miller’s Damsels

Cotswold Fayre has added a number of new biscuit producers to its catalogue for 2012. These include West Yorkshire brandy snap maker Wright & Co, Italian bakery brand Crosta & Mollica and Latvian bakery Flora – known for its oat flake biscuits. It is also listing Ashbourne Foods (producer of chocolate chip cookie bites, Very Oatie biscuit bites and banoffee biscuit bites), New Forest biscotti and amaretti producer

NISI’S, and new organic brand Roots & Wings.

www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk

Doves Farm is catering for food intolerance sufferers with a conscience and a sweet tooth, with the launch of two gluten-free biscuit lines made with ethical ingredients: gluten free Cocoa Crunch cookies and gluten free stem ginger cookies. Both have an RRP of £1.59. www.dovesfarm.co.uk

Diabetics can indulge in specialist Polish food importer Morgiel’s new fructose sweetened wafer biscuits. Made from spelt flour – an ancient grain that is popular in Poland and making a comeback here – the wafers come in plain, vanilla and chocolate flavours. A box of 22 is available to the trade for £43.73. www.morgielfoods.co.uk

Known for its waxed organic cheese, Godminster is branching out into savoury biscuits made with locally grown ingredients, such as flour from Stoates of Shaftesbury and oats and rosemary grown on the Godminster Farm. The oaty digestive biscuits and rosemary water biscuits are made by local baker Declan Farrell of Mattima who is based in Wincanton – less than four miles from Godminster’s farm in Bruton, Somerset. They are sold as part of Godminster’s Party Packs, which include a 400g round vintage organic cheddar, a 235g kilner jar of beetroot & apple chutney, a 220g packet of digestive biscuits and a 135g packet of rosemary water biscuits, for an RRP of £31.95.www.godminster.com

Cottage Delight has succumbed to the bite-sized biscuit trend,

launching a three-strong range of ‘mini bites’ in sharing tubs. Luxury lemon shortbread, luxury Rocky Road and luxury caramel brownies are all available in a trade case of six tubs with an RRP of £5.95. www.cottagedelight.co.uk

Unlike many cheese flavoured crackers, The Fine Cheese Co’s new cracker with cheese hasn’t been anywhere near a vat of cheese powder. The company is at pains to point out that its Crackers with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Crackers with Roquefort are made with Gold Label 30-month-old Parmigiano-Reggiano and Roquefort AOC. The small, square snacking crackers retail at £1.65 for a 45g pack. www.finecheese.co.uk

Prewett’s has updated its packaging, improved its recipes and launched new flavours. Made by Northumbrian Fine Foods and with an RRP of £1.49-1.69, the range offers gluten-free versions of biscuit staples such as chocolate bourbons, triple chocolate cookies, milk chocolate digestives and Jammy Wheels. www.northumbrianfinefoods.com

Earl Grey’s new 200g gift cartons of English shortbread swirls (RRP £4.50) are said to be

so quintessentially English they are already receiving a lot of interest in the -up to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. www.earlgreysbiscuits.co.uk

“American know-how meets Derbyshire can-do in a cookie that takes its inspiration from a classic Bakewell”. That’s how Artisan Biscuits describes Cherrie & Al – the latest addition to its Fine Cookie Co range. An American-style soft baked cookie with almonds and cherries, Cherrie & Al retails at £1.45 per cookie. www.artisanbiscuits.co.uk

Several artisan biscuit producers have launched their biscuits in twin-packs in a bid to boost impulse sales and give customers the chance to try the product before buying a larger pack.

Scarlett and the Spotty Dog Cakery’s two most popular

biscuit lines now come in twin-packs as well as six-packs. The twin-packs of Canoodle Doodle (oaty, buttery shortbread hearts dipped in milk chocolate) and the Proud to be Ginger Nut (crunchy ginger and cinnamon biscuits) have an RRP of £1.10.

Lottie Shaw’s is another

Big sales come in small packagesproducer that is launching its biscuits in twin-pack format (RRP £0.80). The Yorkshire firm is now supplying the trade with mixed boxes of twin-packed oat, all butter shortbread, chocolate oat and Parkin biscuits via distributor Moordale Foods. From April, Hider Foods will also be listing

these and the rest of Lottie Shaw’s range.

Butter Fingers, butter and oat finger biscuits from Devon-based Teoni’s Cookies, are also available in a twin-pack as well as the existing 12-finger carton. www.lottieshaws.co.ukscarlettandthespottydog.blogspot.comwww.teoniscookies.co.uk

Bespoke Foods has formed new relationships with several artisanal biscuit producers in mainland Europe, giving the deli trade access to some new Continental lines. The distributor now lists savoury biscuits made with real cheese and a selection of boxes and tins from Dutch producer Buiteman. These include organic goats’ cheese biscuits 100g, Gruyère cheese biscuits 100g, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese biscuits 75g, assorted cheese savouries in a 225g gold box, Gouda cheese crumbles in a retro style 75g box and in a 200g white and blue tin. New lines from Italy include Chiostro di Saronno Cantuccini crunchy biscuits in tall 200g tins, and Baci del Chiostro – biscuits with a hazelnut and chocolate filling in tall 100g and 130g tins. www.bespoke-foods.co.uk

Refresh and renew your store

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Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 35

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 436

speciality oilsproduct update

Grove collective Nudo has developed a herb-inspired gift set of three Italian olive oils for retailers “who want to breathe some life and colour into their olive oil sections”. The Colosseum collection box – produced by Corrado Corradini in the Marche region – features first cold press extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin olive oil stone ground with basil and extra virgin olive oil stone ground with fresh garlic. www.nudo-italia.com

Retailer Murray’s General Store is also wholesaling its latest import Oro del Desierto, an organic oil from Andalucia, which has RRPs of £12.95 for 500ml and £17.95 for 1 litre. Wholesale prices are available on request for both these oils. lee@murraysstores.co.uk

Yara Gremoli, whose parents have a small olive grove in Southern Tuscany, is now selling her family’s single estate cold pressed extra virgin olive oil through her import business Etruscany. The oil, which tastes of “artichokes and lettuce, with hints of cut grass and tomato leaves”, comes in 250ml bottles (trade £4.88, RRP £8.15.) Other sizes are also available. www.etruscany.co.uk

Pressed to impressMediterranean food specialist Lefktro now sells Vassilakis Estate Extra Virgin olive oil, made from the first cold pressing of premium grade Koroneiki olives grown on Crete. The product (RRP of £8.99 for 500ml bottle) is “fruity and full flavoured with a light peppery aftertaste”. The Somerset-based importer and distributor will also be carrying re-packaged organic Lorenzo branded oils, produced by Manfredi Barbera. The Sicilian producer previously used tall bottles but has changed the shape of its No 1, No 3 and No 5 (RRP £11.99). www.lefktro.co.uk

Angeli has launched two varieties – Leggero and Intenso – of its unfiltered, organic single estate extra virgin olive oil from the 2011 harvest at Podere degli Angeli in Tuscany. These oils, which are said to have a “subtle aroma with tones of ripe fruit and wild herbs”, are available in 500ml (RRP £16) and 250ml bottles (RRP £10). www.angelioliveoil.com

Fine Italian Foods is now importing Giancarlo Ceci organic extra virgin olive oil. The oil is made with Coratina,

Ogliarola and Leccino olives harvested by hand between late October and January on the Ceci estate located near Bari in the region of Apulia. This DOP ‘Terre di Bari’ product is sold in cases of 6 x 750 ml bottles, RRP £13.95 each. www.fineitalianfoods.co.uk

Fraudulent practice in olive oil production has been brought into the public eye again with a raft of national newspaper coverage generated by a new book. Extra Virginity, published earlier this year, is a new exposé by American journalist Tom Mueller of malpractice, such as bulking up extra virgin oil with lower grade oils.

The founder of oils and wines chain Demijohn, Angus Johnson, says adulteration of olive oil is not a revelation for the industry and in fact, only strengthens the case for shopping at speciality retailers.

Johnson – who operates three ‘liquid delis’ in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and York – says multiples are much more likely to fall foul of fraudulent oil because they don’t have the time to devote to sourcing and

sampling it and because their major concern is price.

He adds: “Anyone seeking good supply needs to check out provenance.

“Right from the start we wanted to be able to say what we’re buying, what it’s made with and who it’s made by.”

Lee Murray, owner of Murray’s General Store, based in The Goods Shed food hall in Canterbury – tells FFD he is not concerned about fraud because he knows where his oil comes from.

Murray buys some of his stock from wholesaler Seggiano but he also sources direct from producers in Spain, including a single estate variety from Ubeda in southern Spain.

“Sell it loose and import it yourself, that’s the way to maximise

‘Extra virgin’ row re-treads old ground

your margins with olive oil.”He adds: “People know what

they are looking for. Customers are more aware. Where I used to think they wanted value, they don’t.”

Murray’s range reflects this with prices varying from £10/litre to £20/litre, although he says there is a limit to what people will pay.

“Some places you see oil for £37. How many people are going to be prepared to pay that?”

According to Demijohn’s Johnson, the extra virgin label is just one way of identifying a good quality oil, and he adds that anyone can pick up the basics.

“The first thing, before you even taste it, is to smell it. If it’s musty, or has any hint of petroleum, avoid it. It should be a fresh, natural, grassy smell,” he explains.

Secondly, Johnson says that the colour of an oil is not a reliable indicator of its quality.

“Colour is not important. A yellow buttery type oil can look old but that’s not true.” He adds that he has encountered some mass producers, who have even dyed their oil to make it greener and more appealing.

Johnson says a milder taste is a more accurate indicator of an oil’s age, as it will degrade over time. He says you should instantly be able to taste a good oil because it is “fresh and exciting”; earlier harvests have a stronger, more bitter taste while oils produced later in the season are a little bit sweeter.www.demijohn.co.ukwww.thegoodsshed.co.uk

Press coverage about adulterated olive oil is not necessarily something specialist retailers should worry about

A flood of British and Continental products has hit the market. MICHAEL LANE reports.

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 37

speciality oils

Guidetti Fine Foods has launched a range of flavoured oils made in Umbria by Luigi Tega using extra virgin olive oil and natural ingredients, such as hot red Calabrian chillies in his chilli oil. Both are available to the trade in 250ml bottles for £4.70. Bergamot, lemon and pink grapefruit oils are also available in 250ml bottles (wholesale £5.60). Guidetti also has Tega’s white winter truffle, black winter truffle and porcini mushroom oils in 100ml and 250ml bottles (RRP £3.55 and £6.05 respectively). www.guidetti.co.uk

The Oil Merchant is now supplying Umbrian producer Viola’s Biologico organic olive oil to the trade for £10.10 per 500ml bottles. The Italian oil has an aroma with “hints of rosemary, mint and basil” and tastes of “rocket and almonds with a black pepper finish”. Viola was recently named Oil Mill of the Year in this year’s edition of global olive oil guide Flos Olei. www.oilmerchant.co.uk

Spanish importer El Olivo has introduced a “bargain price” non-organic extra virgin olive oil into its range. Although these 500ml tins of oil have a trade price of £1.99, El Olivo says this does not mean quality has been sacrificed given the producer Jacoliva’s numerous awards for other products. This latest oil is very green in colour because it is made with early season Manzanilla olives. www.elolivo-olive-oil.com

Seymours of England has boosted its On Tap range of extra virgin olive oils. The latest addition is an oil infused with orange.

The Norfolk-based firm’s On Tap system is now available through two new wholesalers – Shire Foods of Norfolk and Med Foods in London. www.seymoursofengland.com

Recipe Tree grown from Olive BranchLow acidity Cretan oil producer Olive Branch has developed a recipe campaign that it hopes will promote deli owners and chefs as well as its own products.

The Recipe Tree is a weekly recipe e-newsletter that will feature dishes using Olive Branch oil from a range of food professionals. Each recipe will also feature a profile and photo of the contributor.

“We want to demonstrate our support and commitment to regional delicatessen owners, chefs, cookery schools, food bloggers and caterers,” says Olive Branch founder Maria Koinaki. “The format allows retailers to show off their flair for combining good ingredients, whilst promoting themselves alongside their recipe as a point of

purchase to the local area.”Celebrity hairdresser Nicky

Clarke and the head cook at Jamie’s Ministry of Food, Stratford, are among the first contributors to the scheme.

The producer’s single variety oil, which has less than 0.3% acidity comes in 250ml, 500ml and 1litre bottles (RRP £4.99, £8.99 and £14.99 respectively). www.myolivebranch.co.uk

Oil of the TigerBalensya is a new brand of oil made from tiger nuts – or chufa, as they are known in Valencia. The Spanish producer describes the oil, which is rich in vitamin E and retails for £10, as “fresh, fruity and sweet”.

The firm is already in conversation with some independent stores in the UK looking to stock the product. Tigernuts, which are actually an edible tuber, have been farmed since the time of the ancient Egyptians. They are more commonly used in the UK as bait for carp fishing.www.balensya.es

Founded by painter Lady Deborah MacMillan and broadcaster Natalie Wheen, Avlaki is a new brand of olive oil based on Lesvos. The pair

inherited some olive groves when they bought a property on the Greek island in 1996 and have since purchased a second estate. Avlaki has launched with two single estate organic oils – in 750ml bottles (RRP £20-£25, trade £15) – made with Kollovi and Andramytiani olives that are peculiar to Lesvos. The Avlaki oil has “grassy, fruity flavours and a round finish”, while the Agatheri

oil has a more complex flavour as it is made with olives grown at a higher altitude. www.oliveoilavlaki.com

Top sellers…… at White Row Farm

Shop, Frome, Somerset

Fussels Fine Foods’ rapeseed oil

Manfredi Barbera unfiltered extra

virgin olive oil (Lefktro)

Self service Spanish extra virgin

olive oil (The Fresh Olive Company)

Lorenzo No 5 extra virgin olive oil

(Lefktro)

Vassilakis Estate extra virgin olive

oil (Lefktro)

Both La Cultivada’s premium single variety, single estate extra virgin olive oils – Arbequina and Hojiblanca – are now available in 250 ml cans. The Hojiblanca, described as sweet with a slightly bitter finish, is produced in smaller quantities and was previously only available in 500ml

cans. Arbequina is also available in

3 litre cans (two units per case). The Spanish firm, based in the Andalusian province of Cordoba, is looking for UK distribution. www.lacultivada.com

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 438

See us

on stand 230

at Harrogate

Speciality Food Show

and stand GF7 at the

Spirit of Summer Fair

Commission based sales agents required for North West and North East region, London and Birmingham.A new range of Rice Bran Cooking Oil requires distribution to the catering trade including restaurants, hospitals, schools, hotels, pubs, etc.

Interested parties should contact info@ricebranproducts.co.uk with

details of experience.

Surprisingly good

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 39

Taste of Palestine extra virgin olive oil is a new brand from the Middle Eastern territory’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees. It is made with Nabali olives sourced directly from the farmers, who have been growing this native tree of Palestine for centuries. The oil (RRP £11 for 500ml) has “green hue with flashes of gold, a medium thickness, and a fruity aroma”. tasteofpalestine@gmail.com

Currently seeking UK distributors, Sicilian producer Il Mercato’s Fud del Sud extra virgin olive oil comes in 250ml, 500ml and 750ml metal bottles, which keep the oil in good condition for up to 15 months after harvesting. Assorted boxes of six bottles (two of each size) have a trade price of £35.50 (€42.60), excluding transport and VAT.info@ilmercato.biz

Spanish importer Delicioso now offers its Gourmet Coupage blend olive oil from Jaen, Andalucía, in 100ml Lagrima and 500ml Egypcias bottles as well as a 250ml San Miguel bottle. The blend of extra virgin Arbequina, Picual and Manzanilla oils has a “well-rounded and intense flavour” but is low in acidity. www.delicioso.co.uk

speciality oilsproduct update

Hillfarm Oils has updated the label design for its extra virgin rapeseed oil to make consumers more aware of the product’s health benefits and ethical certification. 500ml bottles have an RRP of £4.99.www.hillfarmoils.com

Duchess Oil is a new brand of extra virgin rapeseed oil from Essex. Oscar Harding produced his first batch, made from the oil seed rape crop grown at his family’s farm in Sheering, in November and is now looking to up production and supply it nationally. Duchess Oil comes in 250ml and 500ml bottles (RRP £3 and £5 respectively). www.duchessoil.com

Since starting up last spring, Cullisse Highland Rapeseed Oil has gained more than 40 listings with independent retailers, including Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges. Produced on a farm in near Tain in Ross-shire, Cullisse says its oil is lighter than most due to the longer growing season and extra daylight afforded by a Higland summer. It is available in both 250ml and 500ml glass bottles (RRP from £4.50 and from £6.99 respectively). www.cullisserapeseedoil.co.uk

Scottish producer supernature now offers several infused varieties of its cold pressed rapeseed oil. The lemon, ginger, jalapeño chilli and garlic infusions come in 250ml bottle with a wholesale price of £2.75 and RRP of £3.95-£4.25. All of supernature’s oil – which won a Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Award when it was launched last year – is harvested, produced and bottled at Carrington Barns Farm just south of Edinburgh. www.supernature.uk.com

Norfolk-based rapeseed oil producer Larchwood Foods has launched two new ranges – Mr Hugh’s extra virgin cold pressed and single variety oil Mr Hugh’s Gourmet. The extra virgin oil is available in 250ml (RRP £2.69) and 500ml (RRP £4.49) bottles, while 250ml and 500ml bottles (RRP £3.89 and £6.49 respectively). www.larchwoodfoods.co.uk

RH Amar brand Cooks&Co has launched three rapeseed oils it says are designed specifically for delis, food halls and farm shops. Its 100% pure rapeseed oil and a steam-deodorised extra mild version are both available in 500ml bottles with an RRP of £3.49, as is its “unique” lactose-free butter flavoured rapeseed oil. www.cooksandco.co.uk

Golden glugsFrom the Highlands to East Anglia, here are the latest additions to the ever-growing rapeseed oil market

Double truffleTwo producers have tried their hand at truffle-infused versions of their oil. Oxfordshire-based Cotswold Gold has created a white truffle-infused extra virgin cold pressed oil in 100ml bottles (trade £6, RRP £12), which it says will add a “wow factor” to cooking.

Stainswick Farm has also recently launched a British rapeseed truffle oil. The Worcestershire producer says it has “a wild garlic, mushroomy taste and should primarily be used to dress dishes just prior to serving”.

The oil comes in100ml bottles with a trade price of

£4 and an RRP of £7.50.www.cotswoldgold.co.ukwww.stainswickfarm.co.uk

Top sellers…… at More Than Memorable

Cheeses, Ipswich, Suffolk

Mr Hugh’s rapeseed oil

Hill Farm rapeseed oil

Artisan Smokehouse maple wood smoked

Italian olive oil

Artisan Smokehouse maple wood smoked

Suffolk rapeseed oil

Santagata extra virgin olive oil (Fratel

li

Camisa)

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 440

FB Fine Food Digest_AW.ai 1 04/04/2012 11:49

41

products, promotions & peopleshelftalk

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012

Bob Marley’s son to launch gourmet coffee brand in UK

Cumbrian firm is investing £50k in its first packaging overhaul

Marley Jr to lively up UK coffee market

Aussies get first glimpse ofCountry Puddings revamp

By MICHAEL LANEA gourmet coffee brand founded by music icon Bob Marley’s son Rohan and already established in the USA is targeting independent stores for its UK launch this month.

Marley Coffee UK will initially offer three organic blends – One Love, Lively Up! And Buffalo Soldier – as well as a Jamaican single origin coffee.

They will be imported and distributed here by Blue Mountain Coffee, which currently represents the iconic Jamaica Blue Mountain brand in Europe.

Its operations manager, Guy Wilmot, said Blue Mountain is in discussions with large high-end

By MICK WHITWORTHCumbrian chilled desserts maker Country Puddings will unveil an upgraded

pack format next month – in Australia.

The firm is investing around £50,000 in a move from basic stick-on labels and cellophane wrapping to full-colour sleeves featuring photographs of each of its 20 puddings and what owner Lynne Mallinson calls “Farrow & Ball-style” colours.

But UK customers – which include around 200 independent stores, plus Booths supermarkets in the North West – will have to wait until the summer for the changeover, as the revamped packaging is initially being used for the company’s first export client.

Country Puddings has secured a 10,000-unit-per-month order with Costco cash-and-carries in Australia through Somerset-based dairy exporter Somerdale International.

Somerdale is an established exporter of cheeses including Barbers 1833 and Long Clawson Blue Shropshire, and it is currently establishing a salesforce to handle Australia and the South East Asia.

Costco will take four of Country Puddings’ baked products – sticky toffee, sticky ginger, tangy lemon and chocolate fudge – in 500g family packs.

retailers and that Marley Coffee will be aimed at the independent trade.

“We’re not planning on going mass market anytime soon,” he told FFD. “It would debase our beliefs.

“This is a new coffee. We want to establish it slowly with the independents. With the supermarkets, the house always wins and the quality of the coffee has to take a hit.”

He added: “I think it would be hard to compromise price-wise.”

The three blends, roasted in the UK, will all be available in both whole bean and ground formats in 227g packs, RRP from £4.99, while the ultra-premium Jamaica Blue Mountain variant has an RRP of

l Jamaica Blue Mountain A single estate, medium roast coffee. Its aroma is described as floral and it is said to have a “sweet, mellow, lingering finish”.

l Lively Up! Espresso roast that offers “hints of cocoa, candied fruit and sweet caramel”.

l Buffalo Soldier This dark roast is described as “earthy, smoky, and smooth” with “dark chocolate and berry undertones”.

l One Love Organic A medium roast “full of floral notes and revealing hints of blueberry, cocoa and spice” with a “profound cherry finish”.

Marley’s roasts

Mallinson told FFD: “In the UK we sell our products fresh chilled, but for Australia it takes six weeks to get the product there. It will be defrosted under controlled conditions and they’ll apply a shelf life at that point.

“We’ve gone for the new livery and branding in Australia first because there are some specific things needed on-pack for export. Some of the wording will be different, we’ll include a Union Jack

flag and ‘Made in the UK’, and it will have to say ‘Previously frozen, do not refreeze’, which obviously doesn’t apply here.”

The rebranding is a big investment for the firm, which started on the family farm in Cumbria but now operates from a 3,000 sq ft commercial kitchen nearby.

“We felt the time was right to change after 11 years,” Mallinson

said. “We’re still very much a cottage industry, but this confirms our place in the market. We grew 18% last year, 33% the year before and we’re expecting 16% growth this year.”

Country Puddings has around 200 independent customers and, while the brand is in Booths supermarkets in the North East, Mallinson said it would not be seen in Tesco. “There’s still scope in independents,” she told FFD.www.countrypuddings.co.uk

£24.99. All Marley’s Jamaican beans are from a 52-acre private estate while the blends feature sustainably sourced organic Arabica beans from Central America, Africa, and Indonesia.

While they carry the same branding, the three European blends differ from their US namesakes. Wilmot said US consumers prefer darker roasts.

The US range includes other blends – such as Mystic Morning, Simmer Down, and Get Up, Stand Up – as well as coffee pods. Wilmot said that the UK range could be extended with similar products if the brand takes off.www.marleycoffee.eu

Lynne Mallinson: ‘This confirms our place in the market’

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 442

Discover La Bandiera Premium Olive Oil Connoisseurs of olive oil will delight in tasting the exceptional extra virgin olive oil

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blend. The result is a smooth yet full-bodied olive oil, endorsed by the IGP in recognition of its quality and origin.

A recent winner in the 2011 Great Taste Awards, La Bandiera olive oil is available for delivery throughout the UK in sizes ranging from 250ml bottles up to 5 litre cans.

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43Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012

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shelftalkTop chefs tell CLARE HARGREAVES their deli essentials

CHEF’S SELECTION

James Sommerin

Chef owner The Crown at Whitebrook www.crownatwhitebrook.co.uk

Italians join forces to beat copycatsBy MICK WHITWORTHItaly’s Grana Padano cheese consortium says it is not ruling out a possible UK promotional push with rival Parmigiano-Reggiano, as producers of key Italian PDO foods join forces to fight off cheaper, generic alternatives.

Consortium marketing manager Elisabetta Serraiotto told FFD: “There are a lot of fake products out there, and with the economic crisis a lot of people are looking to spend less, so quality and certification are key issues.

“A lot of so-called ‘parmesan’ could just be any hard cheese made by a multi-national, so it’s important people are able to recognise the differences.”

Serraiotto said Grana Padano had begun carrying out joint marketing projects in the US with Parmigiano-Reggiano and the consortia for the two key Italian hams, Parma and San Daniele, reflecting a growing interest in provenance and quality among American consumers.

Asked if Grana would consider similar activity in the UK, she said: “In the future, why not? The mentality in Italy is changing. We understand now that we have to fight alongside each other outside the country, not fight each other inside it.”

Serraiotto was speaking to FFD at a consumer press event at chef Giancarlo Caldesi’s London cookery school to mark the second year of a three-year, EU funded campaign to support Grana Padano and San Daniele in the UK.

Caldesi has been recruited as an ambassador for the two products and is devising recipes to suit the way UK consumers use Italian hard cheeses and air-dried hams.

The two producer groups have run joint projects in Germany, France, UK and the US for 10 years. UK sales of Grana Padano – the world’s biggest-selling PDO product – rose 14.5% in volume last year, while San Daniele sales were up by 28%.www.prosciuttosandaniele.itwww.granapadano.it

TALKING ITALIAN: (l-r) Elena Cozzi of the San Daniele consortium, chef Giancarlo Caldesi, Elisabetta Serraiotto of the Grana Padano consortium, Annalisa Libè (San Daniele) and Carlo Canale (Grana Padano)

Netherend Farm butterwww.netherendfarmbutter.co.ukThis traditionally churned farmhouse butter is amazingly creamy, has great flavour, and no nasty colourings. Plus it’s made just five miles away. We whip it so guests can enjoy it with our breads. We use the unsalted version, then sprinkle it with flakes of Halen Mon salt. The farmer,

Wyndham Weeks, delivers direct; it’s nice to have contact with a supplier as it means we get a feel for the company. Sometimes Wyndham brings buttermilk, and other things for me to try.

Chocovic Guinea chocolate www.mediteria.comThis is a strong blend chocolate from West Africa that I buy through Mediteria in 5kg bags. It’s from Chocovic in Catalunya which supplies Spain’s elite establishments. For a 70% chocolate it’s surprisingly sweet, and has a caramel taste. From a chef’s point of view it’s good because it tempers well and it’s versatile. It comes in buttons so you can use small amounts. I use Guinea for a sauce with venison. I also use it to make cannelloni of chocolate and passion fruit – I temper the chocolate and line moulds, then fill the shells with passion fruit mousse.

Severn & Wye Smokery long cut smoked salmonwww.severnandwye.co.uk or www.ashtonsfishmongers.co.uk

I buy my smoked salmon long cut as it has fewer dark veins – I get a pre-sliced side. It costs a bit more than Scottish salmon but it’s still reasonably priced, and worth it for the quality. I like the fact it’s lightly smoked which means you can still taste the product

itself. The company smokes over oak, and uses a lovely cure that makes the salmon slightly sweet. I serve it for breakfast with buckwheat blinis and soft poached egg. I also use it in a mousse on canapés.

Selwyn’s Penclawdd laverbreadwww.selwynsseafoods.co.uk or www.vin-sullivan.co.uk I buy this laverbread, made from seaweed found on the Welsh coastline, in 200g tubs. We serve it for breakfast with bacon and mushrooms. I also put it into my wholemeal bread; it provides an unusual, slightly oystery, flavour and extra moisture and seasoning. The bread takes on a speckled look, and people love it. I’ve no idea how I first got the idea of putting laverbread into my bread. But it works.

Vorroni extra virgin olive oil from Monti Sabini www.montisabini.itI was sent a sample of this by Paolo and Emily who established Monti Sabini in Britain to promote the oil that Paolo’s family produce in Italy’s Sabine hills. Their Vorroni oil is named after the valley where the olives grow. It has amazing flavour so it makes a great finishing oil. Olive oils can be quite harsh, but this is mellow, well balanced, slightly peppery, not too bitter. It’s quite expensive, but it’s so special you don’t mind paying a bit extra. You don’t need a massive amount: I get through six 500ml bottles in four months. The oil is great for confit fish, especially sole or salmon. I poach the fish sous vide, then flavour it with fresh thyme and olive oil. It’s a good dressing oil too.

James Sommerin appears on the Great British Menu on BBC2 this spring.

A difference in taste, or place?How can delis help shoppers tell their Grana from their Parmigiano, or their San Daniele from their Parma?

Elena Cozzi, external relations manager at the Consortium of Prosciutto di San Daniele, says the two great Italian hams are hard to distinguish unless sampled side by side, although San Daniele may be a little less salty. Faced with a slightly higher price, retailers might also want to stress San Daniele is produced in much smaller quantities, with just 31 producers compared to more than 160 making Parma, and in ”a strictly confined area of the Municipality of San Daniele del Friuli”.

Grana Padano cheese – the

world’s biggest-selling PDO product – has many similarities to Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it is aged for slightly less time (9-24 months, compared with a minimum 12 months for Parmigiano) so it’s cheaper.

The main differences are in the milk. While Parmigiano is restricted to the five provinces of Bologna, Mantua, Modena, Parma and Reggio Emilia, Grana comes from a wider area of the Po valley, so the cows may be grazing on quite different land. More importantly, Parmigiano-Reggiano uses a mix of semi-skimmed and full-fat milk, whereas all the milk used in Grana is partially skimmed. Result: it’s a lower fat cheese.

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REDITEDLooking for suppliers accredited by the Guild of Fine Food?

Follow the logo

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 4

shelftalk

Range of chutneysROSE FARMwww.rosefarmsomerset.co.uk

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REDITED The Somerset-based preserve maker has developed four new

chutneys. The Chutney for Cheese (spiced apple), Chutney for Curry (banana and date), Chutney for Cold Cuts (apple, pear and tomato), and Chutney for Anything (onion and apple) all come in 210g jars (RRP £2.40).

Marshmallow dippersBONNY CONFECTIONERY www.bonnyconfectionery.co.uk

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REDITED The gourmet marshmallow specialist has individually-wrapped versions of its

dippers to be sold alongside cups of coffee or hot chocolate in cafés. It recommends using the Dipper Café as part of a hot drink deal with an

RRP of £3.50-£3.95. The products – available in natural vanilla, double chocolate, orange, and mint chocolate flavours – come in cases of 50 units for £40.

Pyramid tea bagsTHE DRURY TEA & COFFEE COwww.drurycoffee.com

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REDITED Drury’s new 19-strong range of speciality teas in pyramid bags includes

Darjeeling, spiced Chai with Assam, and Ti Kuan Yin China Oolong. Each Art Deco-themed pack contains 15 teabags (RRPs £3.50, £3.95 and £4.95 per pack depending on variety). The firm is also offering a free counter-top merchandiser with first time orders.

Chocolate slabsMONTEZUMA’S www.montezumas.co.ukThe Sussex-based firm has created a series of Cockney rhyming slang-themed half-kilo slabs (RRP

£13.99). These Monkey Bars (rhyming slang for 500) come in five varieties

including Airs & Graces (Ecuadorian dark chocolate with nougat pieces), Nanny Goat (Venezuelan milk chocolate with salted peanuts & butterscotch), and Daisy Roots (Ecuadorian dark chocolate with cherry & almond slices).

Summer linesOLIVES ET ALwww.olivesetal.co.uk

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(wholesale £23.56). Its Very Deli olives – mixed pitted Greek olives marinated in extra virgin olive oil with herbs – are available in 250g jars (trade case of six units £17.82). It also has a red pepper and almond pesto in 135g jars (trade case of six units £16.38).

Pioneers add to spice and racksSeasoned Pioneers has extended

its range of specialist spice blends as well as launching new merchandising options

to retailers.The firm’s new blends include

the hot Shichimi Togarashi (‘seven flavours’ in Japanese)

featuring red chillies, orange peel, black sesame seeds, sesame seeds, sansho pepper, ginger root and nori flakes.

The new Portuguese-

Mozambique Peri-Peri spice blend also has a chilli kick but with “a warmth and smokiness with citrus notes”.

Its wild herb cooking sea salt is at the other end of the heat scale but the firm said this blend of thyme, lavender, black pepper, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, savoury and tarragon with sea salt will give extra depth to dishes both as an ingredient and a condiment.

The Merseyside-based firm is also offering a smaller version of its popular 48-unit spice rack, which will hold 24 units, and now has branded header boards that can be attached to the racks. All merchandising material and racks are supplied free of charge.www.seasonedpioneers.co.uk

MAKING STOCK: Essential Cuisine

has added a lamb variety to its range

of concentrated stocks. The new stock – which joins

beef, chicken, veal, fish and vegetable flavours – is now available to retailers in 96g pots for £2.75. Each pot (RRP £3.95) makes up to 8 litres of stock.www.essentialcuisine.com

what's new Union Jack labelsPLANGLOWwww.planglow.com

The labelling and packaging provider has created a Best of British label, which comes in a nine-per-sheet format with a matt finish. Suitable for both inkjet and laser printers, these labels feature a Union Jack design and come with a bonus sheet of nine

highlight labels. Planglow has designed the labels with forthcoming summer events – the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee – in mind but says that the labels could also be used to highlight the provenance of a retailer’s food-to-go offering. Best of British can be customised with Planglow’s labelling software LabelLogic, which is provided free on loan with any first time order of £250 or more (excluding VAT).

Organic extractsSTEENBERGSwww.steenbergs.co.uk Building on its range of home baking extracts and flower waters, Steenbergs Organic has developed three flavours of extract in sunflower oil rather than alcohol. The North Yorkshire firm recommends using its orange extract – made with organic orange oil – in ice creams, sweet pies, and even in fish dishes. It says its lemon extract works well both in sweet dishes and with chicken while its peppermint extract will add a “real zing” to home baking. All of these extracts are available in 100ml bottles (RRP from £4.85) from wholesalers Hider, Suma, Cotswold Fayre, Essential, and Tree of Life.

Jubilee gingerbreadIMAGE ON FOODwww.imageonfood.co.uk

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specialist will mark 25 years of trading with the release of a Best of British range featuring “iconic” designs, such as the London bus and British telephone box. It also includes a biscuit baked onto a lollipop stick featuring the Union Jack. Each hand-decorated biscuit (RRP £2.25-£3) is wrapped in a clear cellophane bag with a satin ribbon. Cases of 12 are available direct or through Hider Foods, Cotswold Fayre or the House of Sarunds.

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Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 45

SURPRISE & DELIGHTYOUR CUSTOMERS

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May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 446

shelftalk

of her working life, is also building up her skills as a retailer after a difficult start, and I’d guess this accounts for much of the sales improvement. First year turnover was £87,000; if April is good, she hopes to exceed £100,000 in year two. Not a fortune, but with a modest rent of £386 a month and zero rates thanks to Welsh Government small business rebates, it’s enough for her to earn a living with help from just a core team of trusted part-timers.

Two years back, Griffiths was well outside her professional comfort zone as a shopkeeper, but after years of running projects for other clients she has thrown herself 100% into her “own little project”. “When we started I totally immersed myself in ‘deli world’,” she says, “and I still do that, from the minute I get up in the morning.”

Her first reward was to be named Welsh regional winner in Olives Et Al’s Deli of the Year competition last year – not that she’s let it go to her head. “Two years on, I know a fantastic amount more

Better by designthan I did, but I still feel I know nothing,” she tells me.

When the little shop opened in May 2010 under the Leon’s banner it was dubbed ‘The Accidental Deli’ by one Welsh lifestyle magazine. Just a couple of months earlier, it wouldn’t have crossed Griffiths’ mind to become a retailer. After making a permanent break from her successful design career (her first client was British Airways) she was casting around for a source of income. At the same time, her then partner, Leon Abecasis, who had a sales background, was hunting for an office base for his fledgling Leon’s Handmade Sauces business. Abecasis fell for the quirky little premises at 6 High Street, Presteigne, only to find it had a retail tie. The ‘accidental’ deli was set up purely to get round this planning restriction.

Griffiths had never so much as rung cash into a till or sliced a piece of Manchego in anger, but she agreed to bank-roll the retail business and do all the buying and back-office work provided Abecasis,

An email arrives at 9 o’clock on a Sunday evening from Joanna Griffiths, owner of

the freshly rebranded Deli Tinto in Presteigne, Powys. It’s 10 days since my late-March visit to the former Leon’s Delicatessen, and Griffiths has had a chance to do that month’s books. Takings were up 43% on 2011, she reports, on top of a 30% year-on-year improvement in February. “But I guess things are looking a lot brighter all round for most delis.”

Not that much brighter. Exactly how much of Deli Tinto’s impressive sales hike is down to an improved trading climate, or to early February’s rebranding, is hard to say. The new cream and red signage looks great, the Deli Tinto name captures the spirit of the store’s Spanish-led range and there are some neat little creative touches that reinforce the friendliness of the shop. (‘Welcome to Tinto – your tiny deli in town’ says a little hand-painted message above the entrance door.)

But Welsh-born Griffiths, a graphic design consultant for most

Shop-keeping was never part of the plan for graphic designer Joanna Griffiths, but she has thrown

herself 100% into ‘deli world’

Deli of the MonthINTERVIEW BY MICK WHITWORTH

Joanna Griffiths: Going through a rebranding exercise was ‘a bit like psychotherapy’

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 47

products, promotions & people

Wales, and she also briefly used bake-off specialist Mantinga before the company went bust last year. “I bought eight types of bread from them in the first week. The bread was good, the visual effect was good, and I thought it was the answer to all my prayers. But the next week, seven of the eight loaves weren’t available.”

She turned to Castell Howell Foods, the biggest independent distributor in Wales, for advice, and found it was bringing in frozen restaurant-quality, slow-proved sourdough bread from “a massive Continental bakery in Spain”.“They get a really good price, which means I can sell at a good price too and still get a good margin,” says Griffiths, who aims for a 50% profit-on-return on bread (compared to 40% on most other lines) to cover labour, oven costs and wastage. “One of the key ones is the Barra Gallega, a loaf from Galicia. We do that rather than a Parisian baguette. Given that it’s a commercial product, the quality is really good.”

She continues: “I would say our bread and croissants really helped us take off. For locally born-and-bred people this shop could be a little bit frightening but bread’s one thing that brings them in. And once they’re here they might think, ‘We need a little present for so-and-

so…’. It’s tiny baby steps with those people.”

Bread is a lifesaver during slack periods, she adds. “On a quiet day in February, when the tumbleweeds

are blowing down the street, takings would be very lean without it.”

Loaves, which mostly sell for a reasonable £1.50, are displayed on a central table in the tiny one-room shop (the oven is in an even smaller room at the back of the quaint listed building). On the surrounding walls, displayed on shelves bought at minimal cost from Ikea, are Deli Tinto’s core ambient lines, a mix of fine foods from Spain, Wales and the neighbouring counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire. Two

in this high street.”Presteigne is a market town of

just 2,000 souls, slap on the Welsh border, just west of Hereford. It’s a largely agricultural area but with a mixed community of rich retireds, weekenders, young parents, artists and ex-hippies. Hence the importance of the word ‘inclusive’ at Deli Tinto – and of its best selling product: bread.

The town’s only commercial bakery closed soon after the deli opened, leaving locals with no mid-price, quality option between a supermarket loaf and the dearer, artisan products sold once a week from a town-centre stall by award-winning baker Alex Gooch. “Suddenly everyone in Presteigne was looking for good bread,” says Griffiths.

Her answer was to introduce a quality bake-off range, using premium frozen Continental sourdough loaves and providing a freshly baked product daily with minimal wastage. Some Spanish breads are brought from importer and retailer Ultracomida in west

the natural salesman, fronted the shop.

Taking on the building in April 2010 and anxious to catch the May bank holiday trade, they needed a name quickly, and the pragmatic Griffiths – for whom the idea of a fast-track branding exercise was anathema – suggested they use the name of their front man. “I’m a problem-solver,” she says, “and at the time it solved a problem.”

Five months later, however, when couple’s relationship had broken down and Griffiths was running the deli alone, it didn’t seem such a smart move. With Abecasis using the same Leon’s brand image for his sauces, a worried Griffiths ended up consulting intellectual property lawyers. They proved to be less concerned about the deli clashing with Leon’s Sauces as with the potential, should Griffiths wish to expand, to upset the 12-outlet Leon’s restaurant chain in London. “They said, ‘Don’t be forced to change five years down the line – run down your stock of bags and own-label products and, when it suits your business, rebrand.”

So that’s what she did, turning to one of her former employers, Huw David Design in south Wales (ironically the same agency that designed the Leon’s sauces label), to do the creative work.

Going through her branding exercise was “a bit like psychotherapy”, says Griffiths, flicking through the lengthy, probing brand questionnaire with which Huw David began the process. It asked, she says, what words she associated with her deli, and she reads out her answers to me: “Eclectic, quirky, modern, discovery, inspiring, delicious, wow, friendly, warm…”

Which of those, I ask, does she think are her real points of difference? “I think it’s ‘friendly’, ‘inclusive’ and ‘wow’. Because people find the shop so unexpected

Deli Tinto’s core range covers Spain, Wales and its neighbouring counties

Better by design

small chillers contain cheeses, pre-packed meats, local yogurts, patés and dips, and some home-made salads.

It’s a tight range, but full of interest and with very few mainstream brands – Di Cecco pasta and Barts Spices are about it. Highlights include Simón Coll Spanish drinking chocolate, six-month-matured Campo Man Manchego (from The Tapas Lunch Co), What A Pickle red onion marmalade, the local Neal’s Yard Dairy range of goats’ and cows’ milk cheeses, and the Añavieja brand of Spanish crisps, cooked in olive oil. The deli has also become the first third-party stockist of retailer Ludlow Food Centre’s own preserves range.

“One of the key considerations for me is packaging,” says Griffiths. “I can’t sell conserves with cloth caps and strings round the lid; I can’t sell Tracklements. Anything slightly old-fashioned – unless it’s in a retro way – won’t sell here.”

She freely credits Wally’s deli in Cardiff and Ultracomida in Aberystwyth as her two greatest inspirations – more so Ultracomida, because it has been one of her key suppliers since day one. She’s a fan of its timber-shelved ‘cheese wall’ and, like the Aberystwyth store, has opted against a serveover counter, preferring customers to get close to the product.

She also aims to follow Ultracomida’s lead by developing a daily hot food special – probably slow-cooked Spanish stews like fabada – as a lunchtime draw. “At Ultracomida, at the same time every day a big paella comes out of the kitchen. People queue up for it, and within 20 minutes it’s gone.”

What she is not able to copy from those bigger stores, simply through lack of space, is their loose deli operations. In fact, Griffiths beats herself up – quite unnecessarily – for offering only pre-packed meats and few loose cheeses. “I don’t consider this to be a real deli,” she tells me at one point. “Wally’s is a real deli. Ultracomida is a real deli.”

Real deli? It may be small, but Deli Tinto is the real deal.www.delitinto.com

❛One of the key considerations for me is packaging. I can’t sell conserves with cloth caps and strings round the lid.❜

MUST STOCKS

French croissants (bake-off)

Añavieja Spanish patatas fritas

Spanish Barra Gallega (and other bake-

off sourdough breads)

Ragstone goats’ cheese

CampoMan Manchego DO cheese – 6

months matured (from Tapas Lunch Co)

What a Pickle red onion marmalade

Gornos Spanish spicy cooking chorizo

(“made in Wales by Italians”)

Pan de Higo Spanish fig & almond

wedgeSingle estate Greek

kalamata extra virgin

olive oil

Gorwydd Caerphilly

Radnor Preserves

Seville orange

marmalade with

crushed coriander

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 448

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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:

• drive more customers to your door

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• train your staff in cheese & charcuterie product knowledge and improve retail management through Retail Ready and Better Retailing

• 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 insurance, card transactions, personnel issues, health & safety advice plus much more

• increase sales and margins through member-only retail promotions

To find out how to become a member TODAY, call 01963 824464 or email tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk

Join the Guild of Fine Food and save time and money.

www.finefoodworld.co.uk

Check out our consumer websites too, driving more customers to Guild members’ shops and deli-cafes www.britainsbestdelis.co.uk www.greattasteawards.co.uk

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 49

refrigeration

Austrian-owned refrigeration firm Hauser has launched an energy efficient display cabinet specifically designed for the UK market.

The new REBAS unit, which is 980mm deep, can accommodate up to seven height-adjustable shelves of 560mm depth.

Hauser says the cabinet – available in 1.25m, 1.875m, 2.5m and 3.75m lengths – has a stable single air curtain, which ensures constant and even distribution of temperature. Meanwhile, cut outs for warm air in-take in the bottom of the unit maintain constant pressure even when the cabinet’s blinds are closed at night.

The REBAS cabinet is also compatible with Hauser’s LED clip lighting system that allows retailers to illuminate each shelf individually.www.hauser.com

The chill factorMICHAEL LANE rounds up the latest news in refrigeration for retailers and small producers

TM Electronics’ latest cold storage temperature kit has been designed to save food businesses time and give more accurate readings. The kit’s slim-line box-shaped probe can be left in fridges, freezers, cold storage or chillers to simulate the actual temperature of stock – rather than measuring the ambient temperature.

When it is time to make checks the user just has to plug in the kit’s high-accuracy, waterproof, digital thermometer to take a reading.

The kit, which includes a plug-to-plug connection lead and log book, is also compatible with standard probes used in kitchens, shops and warehouses. TME says this system allows businesses to monitor one cabinet for £132.50, five for £195, and 10 for £295.www.tmelectronics.co.uk

ACE Refrigeration has won a five-figure contract to carry out the servicing and maintenance at American retailer Whole Foods Market’s recently opened Glasgow store.

As well as carrying out maintenance checks on more than 70 items of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, the Glasgow firm will also provide a

24-hour call out service to the shop in the city’s Giffnock area.As part of the deal, ACE Refrigeration will supply Whole Foods

Market with two preventative maintenance checks each year and has helped to create the company’s f-Gas register and leak testing procedures, which ensures compliance with European environmental regulations. www.acerefrigeration.co.uk

Leeds-based XL Refrigerators built and installed the chilled counters for the new Pynes of Somerset farm shop, 18 years after fitting the serve-over counters in the original store.

This time, the refrigeration specialist’s brief was much bigger, as Pynes upgraded from its small

Creative Retail Solutions, UK distributor and installer for Italian manufacturer Criocabin, now offers the Ebony D bespoke counter system launched earlier this year.

The Bournemouth-based firm says that the system’s combination of vertical front glasses and rounded counter corners make it unique.

Criocabin’s Ebony D can be constructed to any length and depth to suit the size and layout of the shop, and can incorporate 90, 45 and 22.5-degree corners to create flowing runs.

Front sections can be finished in real woods, stainless steel, tiles, mosaics, coloured panels, coloured glass, Corian and marble.

The rear serving shelves and display areas are also available in a wide range of materials while the refrigerated sections of Ebony D counters allow retailers to monitor temperature distribution, air speeds and defrosts.

The system also includes sections for chilled food, hot ready-to-eat products, ice displays, ambient displays and till sections, all of which can be built into a

butchers shop on the main street in North Petherton, near Bridgwater, to a purpose-built £1.3m shop (featured in FFD Jan-Feb 2012) next to Junction 24 of the M5.

XL designed and supplied the counters for the fresh meat, delicatessen, and fresh fish, as well as the multi-decks, freezers and

continuous counter run.The first UK installation of the

Ebony D cabinet was completed by Creative Retail Solutions at Millin

Pynes chooses XL as farm shop goes large

Straight-up – a well-rounded option

rotundas. It also provided heated displays and the till stations.

All the serve-over counters were independently tested and found to be three times more energy efficient than required for the enhanced capital allowance scheme run by the Carbon Trust. www.xlrefrigerators.com

Butchers in Tiptree, Essex, earlier this year.www.creativeretailsolutions.co.uk www.criocabin.com

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 450

• packaging

• baking equipment • food processing machinery • labelling

• bottles & jars • labelling

• bottles & jars • labelling • packaging

• labelling

HSF F

HS French Flint Ltd

Speciality Glassware for the more discerning producer.

Unit 4G, The Leathermarket, Weston Street, London SE1 3ERTel: 020 7407 3200 Fax: 020 7407 5877

www.FrenchFlint.com

Do you make PIES or other sorts of pastry products?

We make incredibly versatile PIE MACHINES

VISIT www.johnhuntbolton.co.ukTO 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) LtdRasbottom St, Bolton, England BL3 5BZ

Do your labels lack lustre? Find something flashier in

digest

Tamper evident & film sealable plastic food packaging

Reliable leadtimes and service - sensible minimum order sizeSizes available from 30ml to 5000ml

Visit www.innavisions.com or call us for a brochureTEL: 01886 832283 EMAIL: nick.wild@innavisions.com

• baking equipment • food processing machinery • labelling• 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 892100Fax: 01404 890263Email: info@vigoltd.comwww.vigoltd.com

• ingredients

• food processing machinery

• ingredients

CrestchemCrestchem Ltd., Crest Hse, 152 Station Rd, Amersham, Bucks HP6 5DW

Food Division - suppliers of

PECTINXANTHAN GUM

CITRIC ACIDPOTASSIUM SORBATE

GLYCERINE & more

Contact: LORETTA ATKINS loretta@crestchem.co.uk

T: 01494 434660 - F: 01494 434990www.crestchem.co.uk

Crestchem Ltd., 10 Hill Avenue, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5BW

Call our sales team on 01963 824464 today to discuss the right classified heading for

your equipment, ingredients or services

� Chocolate � Ingredients � Confectionery and

Gift Packaging

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Serving chocolatiers for over 40 years

Fine Food Classified 2011:Layout

Packaging Ltd

All prices are in GB Pounds Sterling and are supplied ex-VAT and ex-Works unless otherwise stated. The goods hereby supplied shall remain the property of the seller until such time as payment for the product has been made in full. Any discrepancies to be made in writing within 7 days of receipt. All goods are supplied against our standard terms and conditions which are available on request. E & O.E. Company Reg. GB996055 VAT Reg. No. 801981926

Packaging Ltd

Suppliers of bottling and packaging equipment to artisan producers in the food production industry. Depositing & filling machines Capping and crowning machines Labelling and coding machines Label dispensers Tel: 01920 484050 E: nosborne@acosales.co.uk www.acosales.co.uk

Don’t leave your advertisers in the dark. Tell them you saw them in

classified

Vol.13 Issue 4 · May 2012 51

Need a new van?Find it in

digest

Heat seal machines for pots, bottles, trays and ALL types of packagingLow cost hand operated, semi automatic and fully automated systemsSpecialist suppliers to small & medium sized food companies

Seal-it-Systems (SIS) LtdTel: +44(0)1254 239619Email: info@seal-it-systems.co.ukWeb: www.seal-it-systems.co.uk

SiSSeal-it-Systems

• refrigeration

• packaging

• packaging

• packaging • refrigeration

• ingredients • training • packaging

• packaging • packaging

• training

• refrigeration

FOOD SAFETY Training & Consultancy

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 Associates01756 708526 / office@vwa.co.uk

www.vwa.co.uk

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

• washing equipment

• training

DEPOSITORS & PACKAGING SYSTEMSMEATS/SEAFOODS & READY MEALS

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

CODING AND MARKING SYSTEMSFOR FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL

New 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

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

P a c k a g i n g

Foil & PET Diaphragms

Paper packaging, labelled anddirect print containers

Tamper Evident Packaging

BUYONLINE

www.parkerspackagingdirect.com

BUYONLINE

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

t: 0151 547 6700t: 0151 547 6700

After seeing Kliklok’s Certiwrap C150 sleeving machine at last year’s Interpack Show, Brazilian food company Adria Alimentos ordered one for their plant in Sau Paulo.

The biscuit and pasta specialist needed the machine for its new range of microwavable pasta snack bowls. Kliklok designed the C150 with a servo driven SCROLL infeed system, which ensures the smooth transfer of round tubs or bowls.

Other benefits of the system include icon-based HMI touch screen controls, a patented rotary carton feeder, powered carton hopper, and a quick size change facility.

Kliklok added that the C150, which is capable of sleeving up to 150 bowls per minute, provides continual production efficiency given its reduced maintenance needs and low running costs. The Certiwrap range can handle a variety of carton styles and shapes and can be used to sleeve an array of products such as ready meals, pizzas, dessert pots and ice cream tubs. 01275 836131www.kliklok-int.com

Kliklok bags Brazilian contract

National Flexible satisfies Quibbles

what’s new

Packaging film specialists National Flexible developed the packs for London-based producer Quibbles’ latest range of premium snacks.

In order to meet Quibbles’ need for packaging that would maximise its products’ shelf life while displaying the brand, National Flexible specified a laminate barrier structure for the block-bottom bag format.

The packaging preserves a variety of products – including honey cashews, chilli almonds and wasabi treats – and ensures their freshness.

“We are very pleased with the outcome – they look great,” said Quibbles’ founders Rhona and David Danil. “They are very eye-catching and complement the high quality nature of the nibbles.”01274 685566sales@nationalflexible.net

May 2012 · Vol .13 Issue 448