Articles by Matt Wright

Leicestershire’s March House Farm Shop extends delivery area

March House Farm Shop in Great Dalby, Leicestershire, was a finalist in our Farm Shop of the Year Award 2019/20. It’s a well-loved, friendly and top-quality family-run shop that sells meat raised on March House Farm’s land in Leicestershire. It also offers an excellent range of fruit, vegetables, cakes, BBQ boxes, Sunday lunch boxes, bread, […]

Local food heroes of lockdown: Wigston Fields News & Deli

Each morning during lockdown, Pratik and Bee Master – owners of Wigston Fields News & Deli – get up at 4am and go to Leicester Market. “If we get there early, we can choose the fruit and veg our customers want,” says Pratik. “Some – especially the older ones – are struggling with the change […]

What you’re eating & drinking to get through the lockdown. Pt. 2 – smoked eel & spaghetti to ‘yuk/wow’ breakfasts

We asked Great Food Club members to tell us what they’re eating & drinking to get through the lockdown. Here’s Part 2. “As I’m shielding, I’m making sure I waste nothing – fava beans in a vegetarian chilli, smoked eel with spaghetti, and a recipe from India helped me make a fabulous cauliflower stalk & […]

Round Corner Brewing rapidly builds 250 customers for milkman-style beer drops

Like many food and drink businesses, Melton Mowbray’s Round Corner Brewing has had to show agility and determination to keep trading during the coronavirus crisis. The brewery, just over a year old, had relied on pubs and its own taproom for most sales. However, those two revenue streams disappeared overnight. So, it is temporarily focusing […]

Hambleton Hall launches home-delivery service

Michelin-starred hotel and restaurant Hambleton Hall near Oakham has launched a home-delivery service covering Melton Mowbray and the Vale of Belvoir, Rutland and Stamford. Wines and Champagnes from Hambleton’s famous wine cellar are also available for delivery (see below), along with bread from Hambleton Bakery, local milk from Vine Farm Dairy and local eggs from […]

Offering a new delivery or takeaway service? These app-builders can help

Loughborough’s Indigro Digital has launched a service building apps for new takeaway & delivery services. The mobile-friendly web apps can be ready in a single day and allow customers to make orders and payments, view menus and key info and buy gift cards. Here is an example of the basic version. Indigro’s apps can also […]

Positive Kitchen launches local online supermarket for Leicestershire deliveries

Leicestershire-based food entrepreneurs Aatin and Helen Anadkat have launched an online supermarket delivering local food and essentials to Leicestershire & surrounds. Positive Kitchen Supermarket is working with local suppliers including Hambleton Bakery, The Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co, St Martin’s Coffee and Evingtons Wine. Aatin said: “For us, it’s about helping the local economy and safeguarding […]

What you’re eating & drinking to get through the lockdown. Pt. 1 – Menai oysters to Marmite hummus

We asked Great Food Club members to tell us what they’re eating & drinking to get through the lockdown. You provided an interesting response. Here’s Part 1. “I am enjoying Menai oysters. I took delivery of eight dozen to spread the delivery charge and keep the price at under £10 per dozen. The first few I enjoyed au […]

Lockdown heroes: The Black Horse in Aylestone

The Black Horse in Aylestone is spreading happiness and keeping its community entertained and supported during this testing time. Alan Merryweather and Sarah Cunnington, business owners of The Black Horse in Aylestone, Leicestershire were stranded in Tenerife as the coronavirus crisis started to take hold in the UK. “Being in isolation in our hotel room […]

Food heroes of lockdown: Nottingham’s Alchemilla

Alchemilla, Nottingham’s newest Michelin-starred restaurant, initially launched a local delivery service in response to lockdown. Many loyal customers took advantage and enjoyed having Michelin-starred cuisine delivered to their doorsteps, often dropped off by the head chef & owner himself, Alex Bond. However, Alchemilla has since decided to focus its energy on cooking for the NHS […]

Local food heroes of lockdown: The Blue Bell at Desford

The door to The Blue Bell Inn & Lodge in Desford, Leicestershire, is temporarily closed but the pub remains at the heart of its community. Michael Cosgrove has run the Blue Bell since 2015 and despite the pandemic crisis, he’s busier than ever. “The pub is the heart of the village and at times like […]

An easy-to-follow overnight no-knead bread recipe

A superbly simple visual bread recipe from the Real Bread Campaign…

Local food heroes of coronavirus: The Larder of Oakham

The Larder in Oakham has responded to the coronavirus crisis in an inspirational way. When lockdown started, Great Food Club’s Café of the Year 2020 chose to close temporarily to help struggling people in the local community. Co-owner Alyson Kyle, who runs the café with Iain Stares, explains: “We considered opening The Larder as a takeaway and […]

Local producer fights to stay open with wartime-style food-parcel scheme

A food producer whose grandparents supplied the frontline during World War II is pushing to create a similar food-parcel system for vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis. William Sutherland’s grandparents sent potted beef to soldiers in the 1940s. Today, William – managing director of Chesterfield-based Pro Chef Terrines & Patés – makes potted beef to […]

Coronavirus: Support independents. Talk to them. Spend with them.

Great Food Club comment: This is an existential crisis for many local independents. Before heading to the supermarket to stock up, consider what you can buy from your local food shops, traders, pubs and restaurants. Also, talk to them. Give them a call or pop in for a (socially distant) chat. Start a conversation. Explain […]

Wigston Fields News & Deli celebrates its first birthday

The owners of Wigston Fields News & Deli – Pratik & Bee Master – are our Food Heroes of the Year. The couple won the award after transforming their corner shop into a local-food hotspot. Time flies, and on Saturday, March 7, 10am to 3pm, the shop celebrates its first birthday. For 17 years, the Wigston Fields […]

Pie-making and pie-eating for British Pie Week

Welcome to British Pie Week, which runs from March 2-8. Great Food Club’s HQ is in Britain’s Pie Capital – Melton Mowbray – so we couldn’t let this event pass us by without focusing on the art of pie-making and showcasing some excellent local pie-makers. How to make your own Melton Mowbray pork pie First, here’s […]

Make the perfect Melton Mowbray pork pie

Stephen Hallam shows you how to make an excellent Melton Mowbray pork pie at home…

The Engine Yard at Belvoir begins to bloom

The Engine Yard at Belvoir Castle has rapidly become a rural food-and-drink hub – and a lovely one at that. Its creation has happened seemingly overnight – it’s hard to imagine that The Engine Yard was a building site up until the spring of 2018. The Duchess of Rutland’s plan to transform this piece of […]

A Leicestershire gem: The Stag & Hounds, Burrough on the Hill

Yesterday, I ate at The Stag and Hounds in Burrough on the Hill. It was absolutely superb! Head chef Dom Clarke is a talented guy and his lovely partner Antonia runs front of house with aplomb. While we were eating, Dom’s new hogget supplier came in for a pint of Parish ale. He grazes his sheep yards […]

Let’s celebrate our local, high-welfare livestock farms. Try these five top-quality East Midlands meat producers

“Eating meat & dairy is bad for you and the planet.” That’s the misleading message put out by many commentators and social-media influencers in 2020. There are many problems with this black-and-white idea, and one of the biggest is that it does not distinguish between industrial meat production and sustainable, high-quality, small-scale livestock farming. At […]

Nottinghamshire’s School of Artisan Food named ‘Britain’s Best Cookery School’

The School of Artisan Food at Welbeck near Worksop in Nottinghamshire was named Best British Cookery School in the inaugural national Food & Drink Awards, which aired on ITV on February 9. The award coincides with the School’s 10th anniversary year. Alison Swan Parente, founder, collected the award from Stephen Fry during the glittering ceremony. The awards, organised […]

Northampton’s Daily Bread celebrates 40th anniversary

Daily Bread, one of Northamptonshire’s best-loved independent food & drink businesses, is marking its 40th anniversary. To celebrate, the Northampton wholefood retailer – a co-operative – has planned several events for the next 12 months. John Clarke, Daily Bread’s longest-serving member of 33 years, said: “We’ve come a long way since a church group at […]

Editor’s Blog: Apply praise liberally.

Happy New Year from Great Food Club. Are you making any changes for the year ahead? One of my resolutions for 2020 is to send more praise to restaurants, pubs, producers and retailers via quick emails and social media shout-outs. Here’s why… Few people go into food and drink for the cash – most are […]

Editor’s Blog: Sheffield hits the spot

With our 2020 guide book finished, printed and posted, yesterday we rewarded ourselves with a food & drink tour of Sheffield. We do these self-guided walking tours every month and they’re brilliant fun, as well as being an education. We started with a pork pie and a pint at the Sheffield Tap next to the train station. […]

Great Food Club Awards 2020: The Results

The Winners Fine-Dining Restaurant of the Year – full details & picturesThe Hammer & Pincers, Wymeswold, LeicsLast year’s winner: John’s House, Mountsorrel, Leics Casual-Dining Restaurant of the Year (new category) – full details & picturesHouse of Feasts, Eye Green, Peterborough, Cambs Dining Pub of the Year – full details & picturesThe Wheatsheaf, Greetham, RutlandLast year’s […]

Fine-Dining Restaurant of the Year: Great Food Club Awards 2020

Winner The Hammer & Pincers, Wymeswold, Leicestershire Finalists The Jew’s House, LincolnHambleton Hall, near Oakham, RutlandPrévost, Peterborough, CambridgeshireAscough’s, Market Harborough The winner is The Hammer & Pincers in Wymeswold, Leicestershire. This restaurant has evolved into something special. The food hits all the right notes via a unique style of cooking that the kitchen here has […]

Food Shop of the Year: Great Food Club Awards 2020

Winner The Melton Cheeseboard, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire Finalists Just So Italian, Market Harborough & StamfordWigston News & Deli, Wigston Magna, LeicestershireBarrowden & Wakerley Community Shop, Barrowden, Rutland The winner is The Melton Cheeseboard. This small shop in the centre of Melton Mowbray is packed to the gunnels with over 150 cheeses. The local selection is […]

Butcher of the Year: Great Food Club Awards 2020

Winners The Snobby Butcher (Johnny Pusztai), Nottingham – Butcher of the YearPrice & Fretwell, Tibshelf, Derbyshire – Catering Butcher of the Year Finalists Hambletons, Oakham, RutlandThe Artisan Butcher, Market Harborough, Leicestershire The inimitable Snobby Butcher (aka Johnny Pusztai and his hard-working team) win our Butcher of the Year Award for their commitment to local sourcing, passion […]

Bakeries of the Year: Great Food Club Awards 2020

Winners Small Food Bakery, Nottingham – Sourdough Producer of the YearHambleton Bakery, Exton, Rutland – Cake Baker of the Year Finalists Bisbrooke Artisans, Bisbrooke, RutlandBakery Cottage, Melton Mowbray, Rutland The winners are Small Food Bakery of Nottingham for its sourdough, and Hambleton Bakery of Rutland for its cakes. This category was judged via a blind tasting, […]