Tag Archive: Latest

  • How Hart’s of Nottingham spent 20 years at the top

    Posted on Thursday March 22nd, 2018

    Hart’s, the fine-dining restaurant in Nottingham, has celebrated 20 years in business and kicked off a whole year of celebrations. Owner Tim Hart, who is also behind Hambleton Hall, tells us where it all began.

    Tim Hart

    How did Hart’s come about?
    “I had opened Hambleton Hall in 1980 and it had proved a great success. I knew I wanted to grow the business further, but after looking at various options I reached the conclusion that trying to make the existing premises any bigger would be a mistake, as it would fundamentally change the character of the hotel.

    “So, I decided to capitalise on our strengths, which was very much the food we were offering, and began to look at what else was happening in the market. London was seeing the rise of more informal mid-market restaurants such as Conran’s early ventures; very good establishments at an accessible price, and I could see how this could work in other locations – Nottingham being one of them.

    “A contact of mine told me about the ex-hospital site which we now occupy. At that time it was largely derelict and really quite rundown but this didn’t put me off, in fact I could see the benefits of being somewhere more accessible, with space for parking onsite. Looking back, we were really pioneers in the area.”

    Inside Hart’s

    Tell us about the first few years – given your location in what was a fairly rundown area, was it difficult to attract customers?
    “I was never concerned about the area. We weren’t asking people to live there, just come for dinner and it doesn’t take too much to encourage people to do that. Obviously, you never know exactly what will happen when you start something new but you can prepare as much as possible. We put a few key people in place, who we trusted and we knew would be able to cope with whatever got thrown at them from the start. Ben Jones [now co-owner of The Olive Branch in Rutland], Mark Gough [now head chef at the Finches Arms, also in Rutland] and my son Eddie [who, in partnership with his brother Sam, opened Fino and Barrafina before taking over Quo Vadis] all worked at Hart’s in the early days. And having this experienced team in place proved essential, as we were busy from day one. There was no time for a soft launch, the restaurant was full every day, such was the appetite and enthusiasm for this new concept of more relaxed dining.”

    How would you describe Hart’s now – is it still about relaxed dining?
    “What we have tried to create with Hart’s is a restaurant that can be a special place for a celebration but can also be a part of your everyday life, should you wish. Whether that’s for business or pleasure, at lunchtime or in an evening.

    “I do feel strongly that relaxed dining can also be fine dining; the two are not mutually exclusive. Our customers come to eat, drink and enjoy themselves, they don’t want formal service but they still want to experience the pleasure that comes from enjoying really good food and wine.”

    And where is Hart’s heading? Do you have plans for the future?
    “The thing about Hart’s, and I believe one of the reasons for its ongoing success, is its consistency and clear place in the market. While we may have changed the style of dishes over the years, our offering has always been the same: local ingredients, classic combinations, great service. And while there’s no doubt that the market has become much more competitive, there are still very few people in Nottingham offering what we do.

    “Going forward Aaron Patterson, the Michelin-starred chef from Hambleton Hall, is moving into an executive chef role which will see him overseeing both establishments and working much more closely with our head chef Dan on new ideas and menu development.

    “We are also spending more time than ever looking for really great local producers and exploring the more undervalued ingredients out there. Things like quince and more unusual cuts of meat can taste wonderful if they are handled correctly but a lot of people don’t know how to make the most of them.”

  • Pop-Up Smokehouse returns to Leicester after four-year break

    Posted on Wednesday March 14th, 2018

    Die-hard Leicester foodies might remember The Pop Up Smokehouse when it was open above The Obar on Braunstone Gate. After a hiatus of almost four years, The Pop Up Smokehouse is back in business and ready to serve the low and slow oak-smoked dishes we all knew and loved.

    Available for takeovers, festivals and events, The Pop Up Smokehouse is making its return with a one-night-only pop-up on April 11 at the Rutland & Derby on Leicester’s Millstone Lane. They will be serving both a bar and restaurant menu from 5pm to 10pm. Evening tables are expected to go quickly, so if you want to book, best be fast! Book here.

    The Pop Up Smokehouse was formerly part of the Orange Tree Group but is now under sole control of its former head chef, Liam Watson. Over the past four years, Liam has worked across the city as second chef at the White Peacock and head chef at Fenways, Loughborough. But it’s in smoked food that his passion lies. And he has big things planned.

    “Along with my new team, I’m seriously excited to be bringing our brand of creative smoked food back to Leicestershire. When we started at The Obar four years ago I took a crash course in smoking and since then it’s become something of an obsession. I spend my time finding the best rubs, new meat cuts and exciting ways of smoking vegetables. To be able to bring this back in such a free creative format is just great.”

    If you can’t make it to the Rutland & Derby on April 11, follow The Pop Up Smokehouse on social media (Facebook and Twitter) for info on future events. Liam and the team are also interested in talking to venues across the city for future pop ups and takeovers so if you’re a bar or restaurant looking to try something different, get in touch.

  • Doddington Hall to hold ‘Food Feastival’

    Posted on Monday March 12th, 2018

    Lincoln’s Doddington Hall – a Great Food Club-recommended venue – is to hold its first ever ‘Food Feastival’ this May, bringing together the finest food producers from across the region.

    The Elizabethan hall will host the free event on May 7 – the first Bank Holiday Monday in May. The event will take place in the Elizabethan coach house alongside Doddington Hall’s award-winning farm shop, with more than 20 additional stalls stocking locally produced food and drink. The day will also include food demonstrations, classes and talks.

    Visitors will get the chance to browse and sample a variety of new produce and check out cookery demonstrations and drinks masterclasses. Doddington’s own Hambleton Farms Butchery (another GFC recommendation), which specialises in local meats, will be sharing BBQ tips and demonstrating how to best cook meat.

    Following the success of Doddington’s recent popular Gin Masterclass, the festival will also offer the chance to sample the Burleighs range of gins. Meanwhile, the farm shop’s fruit and vegetable specialist, Emily Warrior, will be talking all things vegan and giving her advice on vegan cooking.

    Farm shop manager Sarah Hall explained: “This will be our first Food Feastival and is sure to be the first of many. We are bringing together local artisan suppliers and giving people the opportunity to find out more about locally produced food and how they can use the ingredients to create dishes at home.”

    “We are passionate about providing food that has little or no food miles and we will be championing local food suppliers. It’s all about returning to basics: good ingredients, sourced locally with low environmental impact. At Doddington Hall we supply fruit and vegetables from our own kitchen garden and locally reared beef, pork and lamb in the butchery. We are also trying to reduce plastic packaging on all of our fruit and veg and encouraging others to do the same.”

    During Food Feastival visitors will be able to stock up on fresh produce ranging from cheeses, pies and snacks to cakes, pastries and biscuits, as well as party food. There will also be a range of artisan breads from the bakery section and an extensive range of chutneys, jams, sauces, and sweet treats and chocolates. That’s not to mention the famed Doddington Estate Honey, Doddington-recipe marmalade and the farm shop’s very own apple juice made using the apples from the orchard.

    Visitors can refuel in the café and, as the hall and gardens will be open too, explore the house and stroll around the gardens and parkland.

    Food Feastival takes place on Monday May 7, 10am and 4pm. The house will be open 12-4.30pm and the gardens 11am-4.30pm. While admission to the festival and car parking are free, normal admission costs apply for the house and gardens.

  • Good Sixty plots expansion via crowdfunding campaign

    Posted on Friday March 9th, 2018

    An online platform that enables users to shop from the best of Bristol’s independent food retailers and producers, is looking to expand across the South West and into London. Since launch, Good Sixty’s growing community of retailers and shoppers have been enjoying the site’s many benefits: retailers grab an additional revenue stream; shoppers relish the convenience of shopping online from local independents and having their food delivered.

    Good Sixty’s aim is to raise £150,000 through Crowdcube and under the government’s SEIS investment scheme. The funds will help facilitate the planned expansion and enhance site functionality.

    Good Sixty launched in Bristol in September 2016, connecting people with the best independent food businesses in the City. Using the latest technology, the Good Sixty website allows busy people to browse and buy from independent stores and have it delivered to their doors. The number of independents listed on the website has expanded to over 70 and sales have grown by an average of 15% month on month since launch.

    Good Sixty’s vision is becoming a reality. By enabling independent food stores and producers to compete online is not only helping the city’s high streets thrive but contributes to creating wealthier, better-connected communities. “That’s why the platform is called Good Sixty,” says co-founder Chris Edwards. “There is a 60% greater economic benefit to the community when you choose to buy from local, independent retailers rather than shopping at a large supermarket.”

    Consumer demand for better, ethical, convenient food is at an all-time high and it has been proven time and again: shopping locally has a positive impact on our neighbourhoods, ploughing money back into the local economy and strengthening communities.

    Rosie, The Bristol Cheesemonger, is one of Good Sixty’s High Street Heroes

    Offering amazing service for customers – and retailers – Good Sixty is the perfect platform for anyone who loves good food and wants to support their local independents. The website profiles the owners of each food business listed so the users get to know their High-Street Heroes. With a direct messaging function on the website, the lines of communication are clear, simple and transparent. If you fancy your steak prepared in a particular way, simply send the retailer a message and consider it done. There is also a ‘Click & Collect’ option for people who can’t guarantee they will be at home to receive deliveries.

    Founder Chris says: “I’m amazed by the amount of great independent shops and small-scale producers out there. Many people want to support their local high streets but simply don’t have the time to buy groceries from specialist shops or hunt out their local producers. Good Sixty and the service we provide will become an essential tool for these great independent food businesses in this digital age, helping these retailers and producers share their passion and build on their loyal customer base.

    “Through the crowdfunding campaign, Good Sixty will enable more of these retailers and producers to compete fairly online with the big players. There are over 40,000 retailers across the UK that fit the Good Sixty model and all would benefit from being listed on the site. Collectively they are a force to be reckoned with as Good Sixty has the potential to bring them all together in one place online. This would connect them with new customers and allow their existing ones to shop from them more frequently.”

    To find out more, visit the Good Sixty website.

  • The Inn at Freshford to The Cross Guns at Avoncliff – a great pub walk near Bath

    Posted on Monday March 5th, 2018

    The Inn at Freshford sits in a sun-baked spot at the bottom of a narrow high street, overlooking the water meadows of the River Avon. It is a long, Bath stone building with wooden benches looking out over fields with a decent-sized outdoor seating area.

     

    We park up as we plan to do the circular Two Valleys walk before lunch in the pub, so set off across the fields towards the old mill following the excellent written instructions I had downloaded from the pub’s website. We are lucky and trudge happily up wooded hillsides amidst blue skies, birdsong and golden stone buildings. The route takes us past Iford Manor, a National Trust property I have been meaning to visit for ages as the gardens look so good on Instagram – it will have to wait until April.

    Cunningly this is not just a walk of two rivers, but two pubs: The Cross Guns at Avoncliff, right on the junction where the Kennet & Avon canal crosses the River Avon, via aqueduct, and The Inn at Freshford. The Cross Guns is a great pub for walkers and dog owners as it has a huge decked and terraced garden, ending up right on the river bank, with splendid views towards the arched aqueduct, and back towards the weir. Dogs gamble and families enjoy the sunshine – it is half term and the pub is doing a roaring trade.

    Credit: The Cross Guns

    We squeeze in a pint of locally brewed ‘Tunnel Vision’ and then step on it, as we’re beginning to get hungry and the table at Freshford is booked for 1pm. With over two-thirds of the walk completed, without one map reader’s hitch, we are on the home straight and follow the path along the river, back towards Freshford. This is by far the muddiest section (it is February though), especially at the gate alongside the bank – beware and wear good boots .

    Out of the mud we head into the cosy pub, log fires doing their hygge stuff at either end of the long, bright pub. A stone bar and a cheerful team greet us. The pub is busy, but all is calm, and we get our drinks easily – more of that local bitter, made at Holt we’re told. Conversation leads to gin, as is so often the case, and I decide to try Elephant Gin, as the small bottle is unusual, and pub owner Jack de Bruin tells us he is South African and plans to bring some of his country’s magic ways with local meats to Freshford. I have already spied a smoker out back and we settle to read the menus with some excitement.

    The specials look good, and I am a sucker for herby dumplings (don’t worry Mary Berry, I have never given up on these little suet beauties) so decide on the partridge and pheasant casserole, and Mike goes for the cider-battered fish & chips. Now we can study the rest of the menu at leisure; the small-plates section, tapas style, cost £6 each or three for £15. It would not be hard to choose three: I had mentally selected the meatballs in roast tomato sauce, salt & pepper squid and roast mushrooms with Wyfe of Bath cheese. There is a South African twang here with Rooibois and honey marinated mackerel, and a rooibois and honeycomb dressing options for the salads. Sadly I am in the camp that dislikes the flavour, so someone else will have to try it.

    If the kids were here I know the box-baked Camembert would be on its way to the table. They use local where they can here, and have an excellent choice of good Bath cheeses, micro brewers, butchers and bakers.

    We are debating whether to get a packet of crisps when the ever-cheerful Danny sweeps over and explains that my casserole is off, their mistake, would I like the lobster? Nope I say, I’ll have the twice-cooked belly of pork with bubble and squeak and cavolo nero with watercress hollandaise, without catching breath, as this was my second choice – be prepared.

    He apologises for the wait, brings more drinks and our food arrives a little later. Mike’s cod has an amazing bronze casing and my pork belly is pretty as a picture with the vibrant hollandaise. I have to say I would have cooked the belly a little longer, to crisp things up, but the meat is mouthwateringly soft and the bubble and squeak a good, chunky mix, with the acidity of the watercress hollandaise cutting the fat well. I like the crisp, well-baked chips with the cod, which is white and pearlescent as it should be. The wait was a tad long but this is a lovely, welcoming family pub. They are working on some exciting specials this year, including the “asado” open-fire style of roasting meat, which I think will be very popular here on a summer’s evening.

    I will definitely come here again. I also notice, on leaving, that the group owns the Freshford Cake Co, another good reason to come back to this delightful village, just five miles from Bath, and easily accessible by train, foot, boat or road.

  • The story behind ‘Patriot’ – Everards’ latest seasonal brew

    Posted on Friday March 2nd, 2018

    Everards has delved into Leicestershire’s rich history to come up with its latest seasonal beer, ‘Patriot’.

    ‘Patriot’ – available in many Everards pubs this March – is a 4.3% golden hoppy ale with citrus and grapefruit flavours and a crisp, bitter finish. The new beer supports The LMS Patriot Project in its attempt to build a new ‘Patriot’ class steam locomotive, named The Unknown Warrior.

    So how did ‘Patriot’ the beer came about? It started when the Everards team came across a Leicester Mercury Mr Leicester article. The piece said: “On March 2, 1938, Leicestershire celebrated the 250th anniversary of its county regiment ‘The Tigers’ in style. At Jubbulpore, India, the Regiment’s 1st Battalion was ceremoniously presented with new colours by the Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, while in Leicester the occasion was marked with a civic parade at Victoria Park. As part of the celebrations, LMSD ‘Patriot’ class steam locomotive 5503 was named ‘Leicestershire Regiment’ in a ceremony at Fox Street sidings in Leicester.”

    After seeing the article, Everards got in touch with Peter and Andy from the LMS Patriot Project, who told them all about their idea to build The Unknown Warrior to create a lasting memorial for the British public. Everards liked the idea and brewed ‘Patriot’ to support and raise awareness of the project.

    The LMS Patriot Project team with Claire Cannell of Everards (centre).

    Claire Cannell, events and promotions manager at Everards, said: “Each year we deliver a diverse range of monthly beers. We take inspiration from annual events such as St George’s Day, to great local stories such as The LMS Patriot Project. We then start to build the links such as teaming up with Peter and Andy from the LMS Patriot Project to brew a great-tasting beer that reflects the story. If it can help a local community, project or charity along the way, even better!”

    The beer will be available in many Everards pubs this March as well as at Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival.

  • Recipe: The Revel Bakery’s focaccia

    Posted on Friday February 23rd, 2018

    This recipe from The Revel Bakery of Warwickshire is a shortened version of their focaccia (“we take a bit longer to make ours,” says the Revel’s head baker, Maurice Hartnett).

    Ingredients
    500g strong bread flour or Italian ’00’ flour
    340g water (hand warm)
    10g olive oil
    5g salt
    5g fresh yeast or 7g dried

    “Add toppings of your choice,” says Maurice. “Try rosemary and sea salt, cured meats, olives… whatever takes your fancy. The difference between a focaccia and a pizza is the thickness of the dough.”

    Equipment
    A large bowl
    Scales
    A mixing tool (spoon, spatula or just your hands)
    A tray pan – about A4 size is ideal

    Method
    1) Weigh out the flour into the bowl and add the salt. Put to one side.

    2) Measure out the warm water (the colder it is, the longer your dough will take) and tip in the yeast. Mix. If using dried yeast, follow the instructions on the packet.

    3) Now add the water and yeast to the flour. Mix. It will get sticky – that’s the nature of gluten – but keep going. When it has loosely come together, add the oil and keep working the dough. Work it for about 10 minutes until it’s nice and smooth.

    4) Cover and set aside on the countertop for about an hour until well risen.

    5) Take your tray and lightly lubricate with oil. Turn your dough out into the tray and walk the dough out with your fingertips to fill the tray. Try not to flatten it, just poke it and walk it out.

    6) Let it rest and then stick on your topping ingredients. Poke them in – they need to be anchored to the dough.

    7) Let it rest for 30 minutes.

    8) Get your oven hot while the dough is resting – 225-235 degrees Celcius is ideal.

    9) Just before putting it in the oven, spray or drizzle some olive oil and water over the dough.

    10) Bake for about 20 minutes until baked to the colour that you like.

    Photos: Jamie Gray

  • Recipe: Whissendine wholemeal

    Posted on Friday February 23rd, 2018

    This recipe from Julian Carter, head baker at Hambleton Bakery, uses flour milled at Whissendine Windmill in Rutland – but any stone-ground wholemeal bread flour will work.

    Julian says: “The recipe uses a starter, which creates a better flavour and texture. It requires no kneading time, which is achieved by delaying the salt going into the dough. You will see that just by doing this you get a strong dough without any work.

    “When you allow the wholemeal flour time to absorb the water it softens the bran and improves digestion, and your body absorbs more of the nutrients.”

    Equipment required
    Large bowl
    Five 2lb loaf tins

    Starter (make the night before)
    330g water
    500g wholemeal flour
    5g yeast

    Dough
    Starter (made the previous night)
    1000g wholemeal flour from Whissendine Windmill
    650g water
    25g treacle
    35g sea salt
    15g yeast

    Method
    1) Make your starter the night before by mixing all the ingredients together and putting the mix into a covered bowl. Place in the fridge.

    2) In a large mixing bowl add warm water at 38C, sprinkle in your yeast to dissolve it, then add your starter and flour. Add the treacle and bring it together to make a sticky mass.

    3) Cover and leave for 30 minutes, then kneed in your salt – just enough to make sure it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

    4) Lightly oil your large mixing bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with a lid or cling film and leave for 45 minutes at room temperature.

    5) Take the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured table and fold it over itself till it tightens up.

    6) Place it back in the bowl  and rest for another 45 minutes.

    7) Tip the dough out onto the table and cut into five equal pieces, round up the pieces of dough and rest on the table for ten minutes.

    8) Fold the dough over itself to create an oval shape and transfer to your greased loaf tins.

    9) Cover with a cloth and leave till doubled in size.

    10) Place them in a hot oven at 220C and bake till a rich dark colour is achieved – about 30 minutes.

    11) Bang them out of the tins and onto a cooling wire.

    Julian Carter (left) with Hambleton Bakery owner Tim Hart

  • How The Revel Bakery rose from the ashes

    Posted on Friday February 23rd, 2018

    The Revel Bakery in the hamlet of Little Walton near Pailton, Warwickshire, was founded by bakers Maurice Hartnett and Lac Hincu.

    Their philosophy is that good ingredients, time and zero additives leads to great-tasting products. The approach has paid off.

    Maurice Hartnett mans the ovens

    In 2015 they opened Revelicious – a patisserie – in Rugby’s Churchside Arcade. With Lac and her patisserie skills at the helm, Revelicious began wooing Rugby with sweet treats from macarons to cakes and tarts. On top of all that, the talented team offered bread and macaron courses to pass on their skills and spread the word, with rave reviews coming in.

    In June 2016 a blaze ripped through Malt Kiln Farm Shop, Revel Bakery’s old home, decimating the building. In one night, everything Lac and Maurice had worked for was gone and they were left facing an uncertain future. Four months later, after lots of work, Revel was reborn in its current Little Walton home – a former woodworking workshop complete with its aptly named oven, Phoenix. Hidden down a tiny lane with wheat fields all around, it seems the perfect place for a bakery.

    Lac (left) and Alice at the opening of The Revel Bakery’s new premises in Little Walton

    Maurice said: “It’s like when you want to buy a house. You see all sorts that tick the boxes but they’re not quite right; then you walk into one and think, ‘this is it, this is the one’. That’s what it felt like.”

    As soon as they could, Lac and Maurice, along with Revel’s third baker Alice, got in there and started turning out their trademark loaves ranging from white to wholemeal to sourdough and focaccia, all with names that tip a nod to the local area like The Fosse, The Malt Kiln, The Monks Kirby and, of course, The Revel.

    Today, the Little Walton site is a bustling wholesale production site for The Revel Bakery. To try Revel loaves head to Revelicious, the refurbished Malt Kiln Farm Shop, and a growing number of places across the area.

    Revelicious in Rugby is one of Great Food Club’s recommended independents – click here for more information.

    Photos: Jamie Gray

  • How Tim Hart, owner of Hambleton Bakery, went in search of the perfect local loaf

    Posted on Wednesday February 21st, 2018

    Traditional ways are not always best. But in bread making there is no contest. Modern bread has only one advantage. It is cheap to make. For taste, nutrition and digestion, the bread you could have bought from a baker in any Rutland or Leicestershire village in 1810 was streets ahead of today’s offerings from the factories.

    We all like the price of factory bread. Some people like the soft, moist texture but unless you add nuts, seeds, caramel or other flavourings it is tasteless and, for many, indigestible.

    Hambleton Bakery Master Baker Julian Carter and I started Hambleton Bakery because we were mad about traditional bread and felt that a significant and growing minority were ready for something better than their supermarket loaf. We perfected our recipe for sourdough using French flours but wanted to research and reproduce the bread that England made in the pre-industrial age.

    Tim Hart, author of this article and owner of Hambleton Bakery

    We started with local flour and we are lucky to have more than one mill producing stoneground organic flour in our region. Bread-making needs yeast and nowadays it’s easy to get some. Huge manufacturers use a precise process to produce strains that can be depended on to work hard and fast.

    Before 1900 this product was hard to find and before 1850, impossible. So how did the village baker in our area make his bread before 1850? The answer is that they developed their own ‘starters’ from relatively mild wild strains of yeast in a variety of ways. Generally, the simplest way was to borrow some yeast from the local brewer. The starter was then fed with a mixture which might contain molasses, mashed potato or other starchy ingredients, as well as flour. When the yeasty brew was vigorous enough it could be added to dough to leaven it. Some of today’s dough was kept back to help leaven tomorrow’s dough. The yeasty starter was fed and re-used daily. Each village baker had his own yeast strain and his own starter recipe.

    The traditional bread-making process is different from the modern process in three fundamental respects. First the yeast dose was low and worked slowly. Second the flour used was not stripped of its germ and important nutrients (as in today’s roller mills). Third, no additives or preservatives were required. Flour, salt, water and yeast were the only ingredients needed.

    The baking process was different too. Our traditional wood-fired oven doesn’t just save electricity. It gives our local loaf a crust that’s quite different to that obtained in our electric oven. So we really think we are offering bread with the delicious taste that our ancestors enjoyed.

    For more information on Hambleton Bakery, click here.

  • New Everards Meadows development brings exciting opportunity

    Posted on Tuesday February 20th, 2018

    Work will soon start to create Everards Meadows, an exciting new food, drink and leisure development in Leicestershire next to the expanding retail park “Fosse.” – previously known as Fosse Park – just off Junction 21 of the M1.

    Everards are looking for the right people to take on the new café business at Everards Meadows.

    The cafe will be a focal point for the many customers and occasions taking place at Everards Meadows. Offering food and drink, there will also be scope for events and more formal dining occasions – both standalone and to complement other happenings at Everards Meadows. The building naturally connects to the outdoors and will be a perfect gathering place for people enjoying a coffee, a bite to eat and a meeting with friends.

    Everards Meadows will also feature a cycle centre run by fellow local business, Rutland Cycling, all nestled amongst green fields and cycle paths. It will be the new home of the Everards team and their new brewery.

    Everards expect the site to be ready from early 2019. For more information or to chat about the cafe opportunity, call Everards on 0800 056 4111.

    To find out more about the opportunity, visit www.everards.co.uk and for information on Everards Meadows visit www.everardsmeadows.co.uk

    Photos: Artist’s impressions of the café at Everards Meadows

    Information about this post: 
    Everards is part of GFC’s recommended network. It is – like all businesses we feature – recommended on merit – you cannot pay to be recommended by GFC. This is a promoted post. GFC has more than 12,000 members. Would you like to work with Great Food Club? For more info, click here.

  • Welbeck Bakehouse hires new head baker

    Posted on Monday February 19th, 2018

    The Welbeck Bakehouse of north Nottinghamshire has hired a new head baker to build on recent successes.

    The Great Food Club-recommended bakery, located on the Welbeck Estate, received a ‘Highly Commended’ in Britain’s Best Loaf 2017 (Sourdough category) and has been nominated for Best Artisan Business in North Notts Business Awards 2018. Peter Friese from Hanover in Germany is the new head baker and he can’t wait to get stuck into baking for one of Britain’s best artisan producers.

    Welbeck Bakehouse is a wholesale business and covers the Midlands area, delivering to businesses large and small seven days a week.

    General manager Emma Hall told Great Food Club that to meet a surge in demand for sourdough cheese toasties from tearooms and cafes, the Welbeck team has recently created a new product: the sourdough tin loaf.

  • “How I followed my dream and started my own brewery”

    Posted on Tuesday February 13th, 2018

    Thames Side Brewery owner and head brewer Andy Hayward started home brewing in 1978. With such a wide choice of craft beers and real ales available today, it’s hard to imagine things being so different back then. CAMRA was still fairly new and it wasn’t easy to get ‘real ale’. The beers on offer in the 1970s, ’80s and into the ’90s were pretty bleak.

    Andy was never a lager drinker, finding that a good bitter has more flavour. Keg bitter however, which the “Big Six” brewers were all producing in those days (and wanted everyone to drink because it was convenient to make in bulk) was not good. Between them the “Big Six” owned most of the pubs and their tied landlords didn’t even need any special training or skills to handle their new-fangled keg beers. It was brewery conditioned, meaning it was filtered and pasteurised and not exposed to any air between brewery and glass. The beer came in a sealed keg, was connected to a gas bottle and served up under CO2 pressure. It was said that a monkey could serve keg beer then, and it was probably true!

    Thames Side Brewery’s Heron on the bar at The Dispensary in London, E1

    Thankfully enough like-minded people were so incensed by what was being foisted on them as ale, that many – including Andy – regularly met in the few pubs still selling real ale and became activists. This movement became the most successful consumer movement in history and prevented the demise of British beer!

    While that revolution was going on, Andy figured that if he couldn’t always buy the beer he enjoyed drinking, he could make it himself. At about the same time, he began a career in the insurance industry (on a very junior salary), and he discovered that homemade beer not only tasted better, but cost a fraction of the price.

    Fast forward 40 years to 2014 and, despite an enjoyable and rewarding career in insurance, Andy’s job had become frustrating due to a company takeover. With his wife Michele’s encouragement, he decided to leave the insurance world and try his hand at doing something he enjoyed. With this in mind, he bought a book called “The Microbrewer’s Handbook” and read it five times.

    While Andy knew how to brew what he and his friends considered good beer on a small scale, he knew there would be a lot more involved in starting a new business from scratch. So in January 2015 he went on a course at Brewlab in Sunderland called ‘Start Up Brewing’. He says: “To be honest, I was intending that the course would scare me off of the whole idea! In the end it did scare me, but not enough.”

    Andy decided to have a crack at brewing commercially, and the thought of seeing his beer on sale in some of his local pubs became a real ambition.

    In mid-2015, Andy found premises on the banks of the River Thames in Staines, at Tims Boatyard, which would just about accommodate a 4BBL (655l) kit with three fermenting vessels. After three months of delays, he finally started brewing at the end of October 2015. The rest will – hopefully – become history!

    Andy and friends at the brewery after winning a ‘beer of the festival’ award

  • Great Food Club’s guide to pleasing your lover

    Posted on Friday February 9th, 2018

    Valentine’s Day is looming. Whether you spend it at home relaxing with cheese on toast and a cuppa, or drinking fine wines over a seven-course tasting menu, the important thing is this: enjoy yourself. If you have a lover – celebrate your relationship. If you’re single – celebrate too. Don’t settle for second best: there’s more to ‘V’ Day than supermarket chocolates. Here is a selection of brilliant ideas on how to celebrate February 14th (and beyond) in style. All the people and things in this feature are recommended by GFC…

    EXPERIENCES

    Be charmed by The George of Stamford
    The Garden Room at the historic George Hotel of Stamford is known for its extensive menu, currently featuring ‘A Butcher’s Block’ – delicious British meat at its glorious best. Team great food with a fabulous setting, excellent wines, and a warm and welcoming ambience, and you’ve got a wonderful Valentine’s Day! The George is offering all GFC members the opportunity to complete the evening with a night in one of its sumptuous rooms, with full English breakfast, newspaper and morning tea brought to your bedroom, from £120 per room, inclusive of VAT. Total relaxation and no need to drive! Book on 01780 750750.

    Cosy up at The Geese & Fountain
    You can’t beat a cosy rural inn and The Geese & Fountain in Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, is just that. It’s serving a Valentine’s dinner menu from Wednesday Feb 14 to Saturday 17 (ideal if you can’t get a babysitter on the big night). The menu is £28.50 per person (10% off for GFC members on the Thursday). The pub, which has rooms, is also offering special dinner, bed and breakfast offers on all four nights, to include home-made chocolates and organic sparkling wine or Champagne. More details here.

    Spend a Dapper evening in Northampton
    The excellent Dapper Sandwich Company in Northampton is hosting a three-course meal with acoustic singer this Valentine’s night. To find out more or book, call 01604 621881 or click here.

    Treble-date at home with Stanley Street Eats
    Why not have a double, treble or quadruple date at home this year? Forget about cooking yourself and let Northamptonshire’s Stanley Street Eats do it for you. Stanley & Paula – who have just won a well-deserved Eat Out Eat Well award – are superb caterers, brilliant at creating food from all over the globe. Give them a call to work out how they can cater for your party. More here.

    Wow your soulmate at Hart’s
    For a classic approach to Valentine’s night, head to Hart’s in Nottingham on February 14. The food and service is always sublime at Hart’s, plus charismatic jazz singer Campbell Bass will be on hand to make your evening even more special. More here. NB: Pic for illustrative purposes.

    Get intimate at Kavanagh’s in Oakham
    Kavanagh’s Tea Room is set in a charming, ancient building down a little passageway near Oakham church. It becomes a magical and intimate candlelit bistro on Friday and Saturday evenings, and will be taking on its night-time persona this Valentine’s night. Book on 01572 868570 or 07427 936763.

    Share lobster at The Fish And The Chip
    Imagine your eyes meeting over a whole lobster, jerk fish and chips, or a triple-layer fish finger sandwich. The Fish And The Chip in Leicester is bright, fun and serves great cocktails. It has a superb vegan menu, too. Perfect for a relaxed Valentine’s treat. Check out their website here.

    Say “I love you” with a Birmingham balti
    A classic balti on Valentine’s Day? Sounds like a great idea to us. So, where to go? Al Frash in the heart of Birmingham’s Balti Triangle. Al Frash serves one of the tastiest curries in town, and chef Azam and his team cook food that is authentic and fresh, with lovely clean flavours.

    Discover the romance of sausage-making!
    There’s no one quite like Nottingham’s Johnny Pusztai. His sausages are legendary, his butchery skills extraordinary. He’s also offering something unique for Valentine’s Day – gift vouchers for either “A Day with the Butcher” or “Sausage Night”. Sounds romantic to us! Call either 07740 378 987 or 0115 960 5901, or email johnny@johnnypusztai.com.

    MAIL ORDER PRESSIES

    Mail your true love a Gin Martini
    Thanks to Burleighs Gin, now you can mail your lover a Lychee and Rose Martini and have it delivered to your door! Place the Martini pouch in your freezer until chilled and serve. Voila, the perfect Martini. Order (and watch a video) here.

    Enjoy sexy sobriety with Teetotal G’n’T
    Celebrate Valentine’s Day in style with Teetotal G’n’T – it has all the flavour of gin and tonic but zero alcohol. It’s perfect if you’re pregnant or not drinking – a thoughtful way of showing your love and enjoying a thoroughly inclusive celebration. Order here.

    Share great chocolate in bed
    Seed and Bean produces bold, unusually flavoured, high quality chocolate that is also organic, Fairtrade and ethically produced. Perfect, then, for a Valentine’s gift. And you can get 20% off using the code Valentine18 here.

    Use a pie as Cupid’s arrow
    Nothing says “I love you” like a perfectly crafted pie from Bray’s Cottage. Now you can send one to your dearest by post. Get 10% off with the code GFCVal here.

    Savour the best with Under Fine Wraps
    Every product in every hamper from Rutland-based Under Fine Wraps has been tasted and approved. It has to be excellent – usually award-winning. If a product is not up to scratch, or if a better alternative comes along, it does not make it in. No surprises then that Under Fine Wraps Valentine’s hampers make excellent gifts. Order here.

     

    Quaff a little vodka & strawberry
    A wee dram of Sloeberry Sprits of Melton Mowbray’s Strawberry Vodka is just the thing to enjoy in front of the fire on Valentine’s night. Get 15% off until Feb 17th by entering the code Valentine15 here.

    Discover great places together
    Use the Great Food Club Handbook to explore and discover great food with your other half! It has 132-pages and features over 500 hidden gems across the UK. You can have it delivered – with a gift message – for just £5.95. Order here.

    Celebrate with Mum’s Back
    This is the perfect gift for anyone enjoying her first Valentine’s Day as a mum. There are various options, including The Boozy One – Rioja, Prosecco, cheese, chutney, biscuits and paté designed to celebrate the end mum’s abstinence in style! Order here.

    Every business featured in this post is part of GFC’s recommended network. They are recommended on merit – you cannot pay to be recommended by GFC. However, this is a promoted feature and therefore contains advertisements.

  • How Conker puts Dorset into its gin

    Posted on Wednesday February 7th, 2018

    Let’s face it: gin is everywhere. Exceptional gin, however, is harder to find. You see, with its carefully balanced botanicals, it’s a tricky thing to get right; get the balance wrong, and the subtlety that defines gin goes out the window.

    Which is why we’re so excited about Dorset’s very first gin distillery, Conker Spirit. Nestled in the sandy backstreets of Bournemouth, Conker Spirit bows to the classic notes of juniper but marries it with the botanicals that define Dorset – marsh samphire, elderberries and handpicked gorse flowers. The result? An alarmingly drinkable gin, even on the rocks.

    Conker gin is made with marsh samphire

    To say this gin is a labour of love is an understatement. Conker Spirit quietly distils its Dorset Dry in tiny 60-bottle batches. And when it needs more gorse flowers, the team go out and pick them; the scratches on their hands are testament to that.

    So when they say they’re the real deal, they mean it; these guys are the distillers, bottlers and labellers. They’re the ultimate small-batch gin distillery doing it for themselves, and they’re darn good at it. Combine this authenticity with one of the best gins we’ve tasted in a long time, and you can see why they’ve become so popular, so quickly.

    Conker Spirit is the brainchild of Rupert Holloway, who left his nine-to-five to create Dorset’s first gin distillery that would, in just 19 months, have 10 industry awards under its belt and be the only gin served at River Cottage HQ. It also launched in Fortnum & Mason this year, who know a good thing when they see it.

    Rupert says: “I wanted Conker to be a genuine alternative to the mob of London Dry gins out there, without being a gimmicky flavoured gin that you politely decline the second time around. When it comes to getting it right, subtlety is king; I recommend serving Conker with just a strip of fresh lime peel.”

    Gorse flowers also go into Conker

    The proof is in the tasting, so we’ll leave you to make up your own mind. We’ll just say that you may find yourself happily sipping Conker straight over ice, giving you a heady blend of sweet, sour, bitter and dry. Mix at your leisure, but this gin can definitely hold its own.

  • Leicester’s Gelato Village celebrates suffragette hero Alice Hawkins

    Posted on Tuesday February 6th, 2018

    Leicester’s Gelato Village has joined in with the celebration of Alice Hawkins’ dedication to women’s rights and the improvement of working conditions.

    “Alice was a local working class hero who campaigned tirelessly in Leicester to improve working conditions in the boot and shoe industry and to gain women’s suffrage,” said Daniele Taverna, co-owner of the Leicester gelateria. “The least we can do is name a gelato for her!”

    Gelato Village has selected a white chocolate and lavender gelato to simply name: ‘Alice Hawkins’.

    “The colours of the gelato – purple, green and white º are the same as the colours used by the Women’s Social and Political Union,” said Daniele. “These would have been the colours of the sash shown on the newly unveiled status of Ms Hawkins in Market Square.”

    This is not the first time Gelato Village has immortalised significant local figures in gelato. A Richard III gelato, made with rose blossom and fruits of the forest ripple, has been available since the gelateria opened in August 2014. And the Gelato dei Campioni, which celebrated the historic Premier League victory of Leicester’s football club in 2016, was ‘retired’ in February 2017 when Claudio Ranieri was sacked by the club.

  • The Norfolk Deli calls all marmalade makers!

    Posted on Tuesday February 6th, 2018

    The Norfolk Deli in Hunstanton will host the second Norfolk Marmalade-Making Awards on March 31, 2018. “We had over 30 entries last year,” said shop director Rosie Kacary. “There was everything from traditional Seville orange marmalade to more exotic flavour combinations. It made the judging very difficult.” Fortunately The Norfolk Deli was supported by Ali Barwick from Seasons Bounty, a marmalade-making world champion. Customers can find many of her jams and marmalades on sale at The Norfolk Deli.

    Hunstanton cook shop You Cook is supporting the event by stocking up on all the equipment needed to make marmalade. “We saw an increase in customers buying jam-making kit last year,” said You Cook owner Richard Atkinson. “I am keen to support the awards as it brings in people to Hunstanton.”

    Norfolk Marmalade-Making Award judging takes place at the end of one the Deli’s Showcase Saturday events, which occur on the second and last Saturdays of each month. Showcase Saturdays have proved popular: in 2017 more than 30 Norfolk producers showcased their products.

    “Plans for 2018 are well under way and several producers will be joining this year,” said Mark Kacary, managing director of The Norfolk Deli. “Hosting these events and having the support of the people who make the products is what makes us different to to supermarkets. You’re unlikely to ever meet Mr Kipling, but we can guarantee that you’ll meet somebody like Candice Robertson of Candi’s Chutney or Catherine Temple who makes Mrs Temples Cheeses.”

     

  • Stanley Street Food wins Eat Out Eat Well Award

    Posted on Tuesday February 6th, 2018

    Stanley Street Food of Barnwell in Northamptonshire has won a well-deserved Eat Out Eat Well Award from Northamptonshire County Council.

    If you don’t know these guys, they are superb caterers and all-round lovely people. Run by Stanley and Paula Crump, they are brilliant at creating cuisines from all over the globe. They have a relaxed yet professional approach and a few examples of their many specialities include Massaman curry with mango salsa and peanut salad, Persian-style kebabs with homemade coleslaw and flatbreads Bavarian Brunch.

    If you need a caterer that offers something bespoke and different for your party, wedding or festival, look no further.

    Highly recommended by Great Food Club here.

  • Veganuary scared me… but now I’m a convert

    Posted on Friday February 2nd, 2018

    As a child, GFC Northamptonshire editor Lisa Hayter spent her pocket money on breaded ham, not sweets. Veganuary was always going to be tough…

    January 1st, 2018. The day I woke up and said to myself: “You know what? I think I might give this Veganuary a go this year.” And that was that.

    Now, Veganuary, for those of you who have somehow missed the news stories, is a month of being vegan – kind of like Dry January but without meat, fish and dairy products! Piers Morgan hates the idea. What other reason do you need to do something?

    Before I explain how it went, let me fill you in on my normal meat eating habits. When I was young my Nana used to take me to the shops after school, pocket money in hand. I would walk past the sweet shop and their selection of 10p mix-ups and I would go next door… to the butcher’s. My treat of choice was two slices of breaded ham.

    Not much changed as I grew up. My choice of food at my wedding was roast beef dinner with all the trimmings, and have I told you about that time I had pork knuckle in Budapest?

    So, when I woke up on January 1st and announced to my husband that I was going to try a vegan diet for a whole month – he looked at me like I had finally lost the plot. But I was determined. And I am so glad that I did it.

    I have always been extremely careful when buying meat, eggs and milk. I buy the best that I can afford (from farm shops and delis if I can) and ALWAYS buy meat that I know has had good welfare standards. It is a minefield out there – packaging in supermarkets seems deliberately misleading. Who else has stood for too long holding packets of pork reading “outdoor bred” and “outdoor reared” and trying to remember which is best? And do not get me started on the trend for sticking a farm name on a product just to make it seem more homely and appealing!

    I always knew that if I ever decided to change my eating habits that I would never be able to give up meat while continuing to consume milk and eggs. Not while knowing the nature of what has to happen for those products to exist. Don’t worry, I am not going to start lecturing or going into details – it is out there for people who want to know.

    But aside from any of this, I must admit that my main reason for doing Veganuary was curiosity. It is something I knew little about. What would I eat? How restrictive would the meals be and what would I do when I went out for food? And I genuinely do not believe you can have an opinion until you have tried it yourself.

    It was another excuse to buy more cookbooks, too. I’m always looking for an excuse to buy more cookbooks.

    My first obstacle was my 12-hour working day on January 1st. All of my quick and easy lunch options were out the window. That was when I discovered hummus. Oh, I ate so much hummus this January. Luckily as the month went on and I got a couple of cookbooks, I was able to be more prepared.

    I discovered a few simple recipes for those days when I couldn’t spend much time in the kitchen. One was a Sri Lankan coconut dhal, another an adapted version of Singapore noodles with whatever vegetables I had left in the kitchen. And for those times when you want a sneaky treat? Oreos. There is a full (and sometimes surprising) list of food on the Veganuary website.

    I must admit I was too scared to eat out for the first two weeks of January. I was worried I would be too tempted or that I wouldn’t know what I could eat. But then I discovered that a lot of my favourite Northamptonshire finds for Great Food Club were vegan friendly. The Plump Partridge and The Magic Bean Emporium both cater for vegan diets, and I was over the moon to discover Karmana – a brilliant vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Northampton. It was great to be able to choose food from an entire menu! And a trip out for a midweek brunch was thoroughly enjoyable when I discovered that Vintage Retreat Tea Room offers loads of vegan versions of their meals.

    Now when I started this I thought that by the time February rolled round I would be hallucinating and seeing meat everywhere I went. I wondered how I would get through the month. But you know what? I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve only wanted to grab a sausage sandwich out of someone’s hand once. And I resisted.

    I think I might have cracked the secret of it, too. I found that if you make something not usually vegan into a vegan meal then it would never live up to the original. A vegan mac and cheese will be a pale imitation of a ‘proper’ mac and cheese full of gooey, stringy cheese. But make something completely new that just happens to be plant based – that you have nothing to compare it against – then you are opening up a world of new and exciting flavours.

    But my main reason for enjoying Veganuary so much is the health benefits. I have so much more energy, feel less sluggish and I’m sure my jeans are not quite as tight as they were. That for me is motivation enough to not want to go back to my old ways.

    You know what? I think I might carry on eating a plant-based diet. Most of the time. I still do quite fancy a steak and ale pie and a chunk of cheese. But one thing is for sure… now it will be a treat to enjoy every now and then.

  • The Olive Branch launches ‘dine and donate’ hospice campaign

    Posted on Friday January 26th, 2018

    The Olive Branch in Clipsham, Rutland, has come up with a great foodie idea to raise funds for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough. Throughout February 2018 the award-winning pub is charging just £10 for a two-course meal booked between 6.30pm and 7pm, Sunday to Friday. Diners are then given the opportunity to donate – however much they feel appropriate – in an envelope on their table. This will go to the hospice.

    Dishes include beef short rib with slow roast onion, celeriac mash and red wine gravy; five-spiced honey glazed ham hock with mac ‘n’ Red Leicester and parsley sauce; and banana & custard crème brûlée with coconut sorbet.

    Olive Branch co-owner Ben Jones said: “We have come to know all about Thorpe Hall’s great work by talking to guests and friends over the years. The wonderful thing about running a community pub is that we get to know many people. We hear both the happy and the sad.

    “We were particularly touched by the hospice’s work with a friend, Simonetta, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and passed away six months later in August 2017. Her family have since set up a trust – www.tantocositrust.org. Some of Simonetta’s care was at Thorpe Hall. The hospice does a quite amazing job.”

    This is the second consecutive year that The Olive Branch has run its February dine-and-donate campaign. Last year the pub raised £3,718 for the long-term rehabilitation of 19-year-old George Robinson, who suffered a serious spinal injury whilst playing rugby in South Africa for Stamford School in July 2015.

  • “The worms were a challenge”

    Posted on Monday January 22nd, 2018

    GFC Nottinghamshire editor Abby Brennan has been eating insects “Thai street-food style” as part of a BBC news programme…

    It was a Sunday like any other, except it wasn’t, as I was on my way to London on behalf of Great Food Club as a guest of BBC East Midlands’ Inside Out programme to experience a bit of entomophagy (eating insects). Yep. The programme is considering whether we should increase our insect consumption to feed the growing world population and reduce unsustainable farming practices. Insects are nutritious, low in fat and high in protein. They are eaten in many parts of the world and have been for millennia. Whether they can be produced on an industrial scale to provide protein for animals or humans is not yet clear, but in the West – particularly Europe – probably the biggest reason why this cheap and nutritious food is shunned is the “disgust” factor. We generally find the idea of eating bugs pretty revolting, as a certain celebrity reality show clearly demonstrates.

    With that happy thought in mind, I joined Mike Dilger (ecologist and TV presenter) at the critically acclaimed Farang restaurant in London’s Highbury Park for their pop-up “Eat Grub” event. Owner Shami Radia is determined to prove that, when prepared well, insects can appeal. To that end he has teamed up with the exceptionally talented chef Seb Holmes (the guy behind Smoking Goat), who specialises in excellent Thai food.

    The menu consisted of grasshoppers, crickets and worms, served in Thai street food style and accompanied by drinks with such additions as cricket powder and insect marmalade. We started with a salty snack of Pandan Crickets, followed by cricket flour Miang served in a Betel leaf (with fresh ginger, chilli, peanuts & coconut), tempura grasshoppers, a Som Tham salad with roast crickets and a vermicelli salad with meal and buffalo worms.

    I seriously enjoyed the Miang, it had some great chilli flavours. Although I’m not sure how elegant being asked by the producer to eat the not insubstantial serving in one go will look on screen (perhaps they will cut that bit). The tempura crickets had the added frisson of Mike explaining to me that the crunchy bit (think water chestnut) was the “thorax, they have a big thorax”. Thanks, that helped.

    The worms were a bit more of a challenge. But I won’t give too much away (that just wouldn’t be cricket). You’ll need to tune in to see how it went. I really enjoyed the experience – I have not eaten insects before (at least not intentionally) and they do offer a unique flavour. However, suffice to say I’m not sure I will be swapping my meat for bugs any time soon.

    BBC Inside Out with Abby airs on Monday January 22 on BBC One East Midlands at 7.30pm. Here’s a trailer.

  • National Trust teams up with The School of Artisan Food

    Posted on Tuesday January 9th, 2018

    The National Trust has turned to The School of Artisan Food to help its top chefs develop innovative menus using locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable ingredients at its properties across the country.

    Ten top chefs from National Trust’s Food Innovation Group travelled to The School of Artisan Food on the Welbeck Estate, between Nottingham and Sheffield, to start an ongoing partnership between the two organisations.

    Using the extensive kitchens and teaching facilities, the School’s food experts worked with the National Trust chefs for several days on cheesemaking, breadmaking, venison butchery, gnocchi and risotto. The School of Artisan Food is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity dedicated to teaching skills in all aspects of sustainable and artisan food production.

    The School’s butchery expert Rich Summers chats to the National Trust chefs

    “We’re passionate about developing a seasonal and sustainable food culture so working with National Trust chefs means we can spread the gospel far and wide. We can help them develop their skills and that means better menus and better food for the millions of people who visit their wonderful properties every year,” said Julie Byrne, managing director at The School of Artisan Food.

    Following the session in November, courses will run several times each year for National Trust chefs as part of a long-term partnership to develop their skills in butchery, brewing, charcuterie, chocolate-making, patisserie and more. Returning to Trust properties around the country, these chefs will in turn train other kitchen and catering staff in the new techniques and approach.

    Tim Howard, National Trust food & beverage development manager, said: “The National Trust is committed to using responsibly sourced ingredients with provenance. The butchery workshop used venison from the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire, where the team there manage the estate’s population of deer to support nature conservation. We’re delighted to partnered Welbeck, an organisation that we feel shares our food values.”

    The School of Artisan Food runs dozens of short courses each year to teach practical food skills as well as the UK’s only FDQ-accredited, full-time Advanced Diploma in Baking. It has recently launched a new Artisan Business Start-Up Certificate, which teaches students practical skills and the opportunity to test their ideas with experts before risking everything by going to market too soon.

  • Essential Cuisine’s new concentrated liquid cooking stocks are a must for any home chef

    Posted on Friday November 24th, 2017

    Essential Cuisine has been making stocks for professional kitchens since 1995 and for home chefs since 2011. Free from artificial colours, gluten, preservatives, MSG, and hydrogenated oil, we’ve tried all the Essential Cuisine powdered range and have been impressed. They are all packed full of flavour.

    Now Essential Cuisine has launched a new range of concentrated liquid stocks. You can use them to make standard stock but also add a few drops to a dish to add instant flavour and depth. They are fantastic store-cupboard essentials for any home chef.

    We caught up with Essential Cuisine’s Jeremy Palmer to find out more…

    What’s the story behind Essential Cuisine?
    We’ve been making stocks for professional kitchens for many years but launched our home range in 2011. We realised there was a need for a higher-quality stock for passionate home chefs. We started out with a range of well-received, award-winning powdered stocks and now produce concentrated liquid stocks, too.

    How are the stocks made?
    The new concentrated liquid stocks are made as a blend. We use exceptional ingredients supplied by UK-based companies.

    How do Essential Cuisine stocks differ from others on the market?
    They look and taste great for a start! These aren’t just stocks – they are also fantastic flavour boosters. You can use them as a stock and then simply pop a drop or two extra to your dish to really lift the flavour.

    What awards have you won?
    We’ve won 11 Great Taste Awards for our powdered stocks. We’re very hopeful we will win more when we enter our new concentrated liquid range for the first time next year!

    Where can people buy Essential Cuisine stocks?
    Either at Lakeland from December 2017 or online. You can also buy our stocks at many farm shops and quality butchers. Please contact me at jeremy@essentialcuisine.com and I’ll point you to a stockist near you.

    This is a promoted post.

  • The Hopping Hare stars in the Carlsberg Northants Food & Drink Awards

    Posted on Thursday November 23rd, 2017

    After much anticipation, the winners in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2017/18 are celebrating being named the best of the county’s best!

    The competition, in its ninth year, celebrates all that is great about local produce and drink, recognising excellence within the county’s dining venues and rewarding those who work so hard within the culinary sector.

    The results were announced at a glittering awards dinner staged at Northampton’s Royal & Derogate on Wednesday November 15.

    Artisan Local Drink of the Year
    Winner: Triple ‘F’ Pure Apple Juice – Floyers’ Fruit Farm, Flore
    Runner-up: Bell Ringer – Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester

    New Local Drink of the Year
    Winner: Burnt Ox Blood – Nobby’s Brewing Company, Thrapston
    Winner: Dream Catcher – TeaLab Company, Northampton

    Artisan Local Savoury Product of the Year (sponsored by Heygates Flour & Animal Feed)
    Winner: Northamptonshire Blue – Hamm Tun Fine Foods, Hannington
    Runner-up: Phipps Firkin – Neneview Dairy, Stanwick

    Artisan Local Sweet Product of the Year (sponsored by Moulton College)
    Winner: Honey, Lemon and Ginger Marmalade – Nature’s Fayre, Thrapston
    Runner-up: Dark Espresso Chocolate – Seed & Bean, Corby
    Runner-up: Gooseberry & Elderflower Gelato – Ganders Goat, Cottingham

    One To Watch (sponsored by Whitworth Bros Flour Millers)
    Winner: Ganders Goat, Cottingham
    Winner: Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester

    Farming Innovation Award (sponsored by Weetabix Growers Group)
    Winner: Mee Farmers, Nassington
    Runner-up: Courteenhall Farms, Courteenhall

    Healthy Eating Workplace of the Year (sponsored by Northamptonshire County Council)
    Winner: Weatherbys, Wellingborough
    Runner-up: John Lewis, Northampton
    Runner-up: Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Brixworth

    Independent Café / Tea Room of the Year (sponsored by Pidy UK):
    Winner: Workbridge Coffee Shop, Northampton
    Runner-up: The Bread & Butter Factory, Northampton

    Spice Restaurant of the Year (sponsored by British Pepper & Spice)
    Winner: The Exotic Dining, Kettering
    Runner-up: Taste of Spice, Northampton

    Restaurant of the Year (sponsored by Whitco Catering and Bakery Equipment)
    Winner: The Folly, Towcester
    Runner-up: Tap and Kitchen, Oundle

    Booker Food Pub of the Year (sponsored by Booker)
    Winner: The Hopping Hare, Northampton
    Runner-up: The Wheatsheaf Pub & Dining Room, Northampton

    Great Service Award (sponsored by Northampton College)
    Winner: The Folly, Towcester

    Chef of the Year (sponsored by Dawn Farms and Cordant People)
    Winner: Richard Walker – Fawsley Hall Hotel, Fawsley
    Runner-up: James Peck (freelance chef)

    Booker Young Chef of the Year (sponsored by Booker)
    Winner: Victoria Austin – Highgate House, Creaton
    Runner-up: Arturs Dzerins – The Hopping Hare, Northampton

    Community Pub of the Year (sponsored by Carlsberg UK)
    Winner: The Dukes Arms, Woodford
    Runner-up: The Sun Inn, Kislingbury

    Weetabix Local Food Hero of the Year (sponsored by Weetabix)
    Winner: Steve Reid of Friars Farm, Northampton
    Runner-up: The Good Loaf, Northampton

    F&B Achiever of the Year (sponsored by Howes Percival LLP)
    Winner: Tom Warner and Christina Warner-Keogh – Warner Edwards, Harrington

    Chairman’s Award
    Winner: Alaric Neville – Phipps NBC, Northampton

    The winners of all the categories were presented with trophies by awards patrons William Sitwell and Sophie Grigson.

    For the team at The Hopping Hare in Northampton, the evening was double cause for celebration for not only was 23-year-old Arturs Dzerins named runner-up in the ‘Booker Young Chef of the Year’ category, but the venue also took the ‘Booker Food Pub of the Year’ title.

    The Hopping Hare team receive their award!

    Having been a regular finalist in the category and indeed the runner-up last year, owner David George was thrilled to have clinched the top spot this time: “At the start of the year we set out to secure 2 AA Rosettes and win this title and we couldn’t be more delighted to have now achieved both!” explained David.

    Sadly missing from the proceedings was Antonio Carluccio OBE, who passed away just a week before being due to follow in the footsteps of chefs Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton and Michel Roux OBE as the evening’s special guest. It was therefore appropriate that the event began with a toast to the man known as the ‘Godfather of Italian cooking’ led by his good friend William Sitwell.

    Guests then enjoyed a sumptuous three-course meal designed and created by Lee Scott of Tom Hewer Catering’s newest restaurant, Hisbiscus, with help from a team of culinary students from Northampton College who switched their regular classes for the experience of being part of the occasion.

    The menu included a wealth of Northamptonshire ingredients, including the runner-up goats’ cheese from Stanwick’s Neneview Dairy, winning marmalade from Nature’s Fayre of Thrapston, mayonnaise from Farrington Oils at Hargrave, and runner-up goats’ milk gelato from Ganders Goat in Cottingham.

    The culinary offering concluded with petits fours generously provided by Belflair Chocolates of Brackley, with the tea coming courtesy of Northampton winners, the Tea Lab Company, the coffee from Great Brington Coffee and the milk from Newlands Farm at Hannington.

     

  • Johnny Pusztai’s Nottingham “restaurant within a butcher’s shop” comes a step closer

    Posted on Wednesday November 22nd, 2017

    Guardian food writer Mathew Fort once described Johnny Pusztai as a “a ham-curing, bacon-smoking, sausage-making force of nature”. As a past holder of The Observer Food Monthly’s prestigious Producer of the Year award, and with a host of other awards and recommendations to his name, Johnny is something of a celebrity in the world of meat.

    I last met Johnny when he took me on a tour of his butcher’s shop, JT Beedham’s (named after the shop’s original owner, under whom Johnny worked) on Nottingham’s Mansfield Road, followed by a visit to see the farms that supply his shop. Johnny mentioned then that along with Beedham’s, his many food festival appearances, outside catering, BBQ events and cookery demonstrations, he wanted to add “restaurant owner” to his list of accomplishments.

    So I was delighted to catch up with Johnny again, enjoy an enormous bacon butty and hear how his plans have developed. Johnny has acquired the building next to his butcher’s shop and now the time has come for Johnny to start putting his plans in place. This former newsagents will, over the next year or so, be gradually transformed into the first ‘Snobby Butcher’ restaurant.

    The newsagents will be transformed into ‘The Snobby Butcher’ restaurant

    Johnny will bring his butchery passion and expertise to the front of the menu. He tells me that the Snobby Butcher will be a “restaurant within a butcher’s shop and butcher’s shop within a restaurant”. During the day a butcher will be on site to cut your meat to any requirement before it is cooked to your taste. You can even have your meat order for home prepared as you enjoy something to eat or drink in the restaurant.

    We took a tour of the empty shell that will be transformed into Johnny’s vision. Having done the same myself (taken a completely empty building and fitted it out as a restaurant), I don’t underestimate the work needed to turn this former shop into into his dream, but he is clear about what he wants and is no rush. He wants to take his time and get it right.

    There’s lots of work to do!

    Johnny’s vision includes a full wood-fired grill for barbecuing meat, a homage to his well-known love of all things grilled and BBQ’d. There will be a complete spit for a hog-roast, a Himalayan rock-salt fridge for ageing the meat, and an open kitchen so people can see their food being cooked by Johnny’s expert team. “There will be nothing like it in Nottinghamshire,” he tells me.

    Along with the faggots, black puddings, sausages (over 50 varieties), pies and pulled pork, there will be an evolving menu using novel and more unusual cuts of meat. At this point Johnny asks me if I would eat lamb or beef testicles and begins to demonstrate the technique for preparing them. I flinch only mildly and assure him I’d try anything once (and indeed I would).

    As well as opening during the day, the Snobby Butcher will available for evening pop-ups, butchery and sausage-making classes, and of course, in celebration of his roots – regular Hungarian evenings, with traditional specialities.

    This restaurant will be different, special and well worth a visit. We can’t wait for it to open. Johnny hopes The Snobby Butcher will launch before the end of 2018.

    MAIN PIC: http://www.johnnypusztai.com/

  • Rutland pubs team up to beat foodie criminal

    Posted on Tuesday November 7th, 2017

    Rutland publicans have joined forces to put a brass-necked serial offender into police hands. The female con artist – who cannot be named – left a series of Great Food Club-recommended inns out of pocket by ordering three-course meals with wine, staying overnight – sometimes multiple times – and then ‘doing a runner’. She targeted the region’s highest-end dining pubs and restaurants with rooms, including The Olive Branch in Clipsham, White Hart in Ufford, Marquess of Exeter in Lyddington, and Fox & Hounds in Exton.

    Each out-of-pocket business contacted the police, who said there was little they could do unless the perpetrator was caught red-handed. So working with local tourism committee Discover Rutland, Ben Jones, co-owner of The Olive Branch, emailed all inns in the surrounding area. The publicans noted the description of the woman and together they devised a plan to keep the criminal, should she appear, inside their establishment for as long as possible without arousing her suspicion. At the same time they would surreptitiously call the police, giving them as much time as possible to arrive.

    With local businesses on high alert, the foodie criminal – seemingly unable to resist the urge to return to the beautiful Rutland area to steal yet another luxury night’s accommodation and gourmet meal – soon booked in at The Bewicke Arms in Hallaton. Despite using another alias, the team at the Bewicke recognised her description. It was to be her last comfy night’s sleep and free meal. The plan was followed, the police were called, and they arrived to arrest her.

  • Everards launches ‘Tubby’ – a beer inspired by a Leicester legend

    Posted on Friday November 3rd, 2017

    Everards has launched ‘Tubby’, a dark ale with rounded character, to celebrate a legendary – and portly – local policeman. Tubby is available this November 2017 in selected Everards pubs. It is described as a beer that has “inviting layers of blackberry and vanilla”.

    Leicestershire Police Chief Constable Simon Cole enjoys a pint of Tubby

    Tubby is inspired by Leicester PC 83 John William “Tubby” Stephens, who served for 22 years with Leicester Borough Police Force in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is believed to be the inspiration behind the song ‘The Laughing Policeman’ thanks to his wit and jovial nature. Five pence from every pint sold will be donated to the charity, COPS (Care of Police Survivors).

    Leicestershire Police Chief Constable Simon Cole said: “Tubby was an iconic Leicestershire police officer who patrolled Leicester Clock Tower. He weighed 24 stone and was a famous figure. People travelling to the city would know about Tubby and seek him out on duty. He often had a crowd following him around. Around 10,000 people attended his funeral – he was absolutely legendary.”

    Tubby would no doubt approve of pairing his eponymous beer with hearty winter dishes, and it is said to go very well with apple and blackberry crumble.

  • Crunch on a Slack Ma Girdle. Tuck into a Dog’s Snout…

    Posted on Tuesday October 17th, 2017

    Do you prefer a sweet apple or a sharp, tart apple? It all depends on mood and individual taste, I know. And there are apples whose very name puts you off eating them. I don’t really fancy the Dog’s Snout (an old Yorkshire cooker) or Bloody Ploughman, or tucking into a Sheepnose, Ballyfatten, Hangdown, Redstreak, Manks Codlin or Maiden’s Blush. And least said about Slack Ma Girdle (an old variety of cider apple) the better. Then there are those strange apples named after people: Cardinal Von Galen, Ben Davis, Charles Ross, although, strangely, Granny Smith sounds fine.

    But the things you can make with apples – even the mushy textured ones – are remarkable. In Yorkshire there are many producers working wonders with various varieties, creating a range of products including wine, cider, vinegar and chutney. Here are a few of my favourites:

    Yorkshire Apple Wine
    A 14.2% wine from Luddenden Valley Wines in West Yorkshire. They hand-mill and press a blend of apples from their own orchards and other local trees. The pure apple juice is then fermented with a fine wine yeast to produce a crystal clear, smooth and fruity wine. A lovely social wine and great with pork, of course. More here.

    Yorkshire Vinaigrette
    A Sweet Apple Vinaigrette Dressing from Wharfe Valley Farms near Wetherby. A simple but great dressing with a sweet apple flavour made with their low saturated oil. More here.

    Yorkshire Pork, Apple & Stuffing Pie
    Do you know what goes really well with apple? Pork, of course. Actually, it might be the other way round: pork goes really well with apple. C & G Starkeys butchers in Sherburn-in-Elmet, who are a cut above the rest as members of the Q Guild Butchers Association, make a wonderful pork, apple and stuffing pie. More here.

    Yorkshire Cider
    A collaboration between two villages led to the formation of Colemans Cider Company in 2014. They are going from strength to strength and varieties include traditional apple, damson and, of course, Yorkshire rhubarb. Their apple juice is refreshing and made with 100% Yorkshire apples. You can buy them at various outlets, food festivals and farmers’ markets. Fodder in Harrogate is a favourite of mine for all Yorkshire produce! More here.

    Yorkshire Apple and Ginger Chutney
    Bessie’s Yorkshire Preserves are based in York and specialise in making homemade chutneys, jams and relishes. Elaine was inspired by her Nan, Bessie, who turned produce from her family farm in Pateley Bridge in the heart of Nidderdale into something yummy! Bessies Punchy Apple and Ginger chutney is just delicious with roast pork and crackling. More here.

  • “Sourcing from the best farms is only justified if followed by the best abattoir”

    Posted on Tuesday October 17th, 2017

    Q&A with Oliver Stubbins, manager of Welbeck Farm Shop in Nottinghamshire, which was shortlisted in the Great Food Club Awards 2017/18…

    Oliver Stubbins, manager at Welbeck Farm Shop

    Tell us about the history of the Welbeck Farm Shop?
    The idea of opening a farm shop here was sparked in the most wonderful fashion – over a couple of pints in the local between two good friends. Joe [Parente, farm shop director] was disappointed by the lack of availability of the kind of produce he would readily see in London, and Michael Boyle [first general manager] was looking for a new venture. This happened alongside the first production of Stichelton cheese here at Welbeck, and the love and affinity for great food has continued. We now have Welbeck Abbey Brewery, Welbeck Bakehouse, Stichelton, Welbeck Raw Milk, The School of Artisan Food, and a host of great independent producers resident on the estate, including Ottar Chocolate and Karkli Indian snacks. Of course, we offer this wonderful produce under the ‘Made in Welbeck’ banner in the farm shop.

    Explain Welbeck Farm Shop to someone who has never visited…
    It specialises in fresh foods. We pride ourselves on our multi-award winning butchery, with lamb, game and occasionally beef and pigs from the estate and neighbouring villages, as well as supply from some of the many great farmers and producers in our area. Our butchery, cheese and deli items are served over the counter in the traditional manner, with friendly knowledgeable staff at hand to offer cooking tips and meal ideas, and ensuring you leave with exactly what you want – whether it’s a certain thickness of steak or all of your items packed in the exact weights you need for your recipes (we aim to minimise packaging waste and food waste).

    Who are your favourite local suppliers?
    I am sure I would be in a lot of trouble if I didn’t say all the fabulous suppliers based here on the estate! Outside of the estate we are fans of Rhubarb Farm – a fantastic local social enterprise who grow a variety of traditional and heritage vegetables, as well as other great producers such as Hedgerow Preserves (Sheffield), Sauce Shop (Nottingham) and Liza Bakes (Chesterfield). We also have a wonderful relationship with our local abattoir, Elliots of Chesterfield – it is particularly important to know the animals are still treated with great respect and by knowledgeable, caring people, as sourcing from the best farms is only justified if followed by the best abattoir.

    You recently won five Great Taste Awards for your butchery products. What’s your secret?
    Now that would be telling! We have a great team here, and everyone is given time to get to know their products. Our bacon is cured by hand every week, and we have a specialist curing room, which is visible as you enter the shop. Taking out as much water as possible to give great quality product that maintains the taste of the pork is one of the most important steps.

    What happens next?
    We will continue to work with local and artisan producers to offer our customers an array of wonderful foods we think they will enjoy. The farm shop is continuing to grow year on year, meaning we are adding to our team, which brings new ideas and possibilities, so it’s a really exciting time. As the trend continues for people to look beyond the cheap mass market and eat less meat each week but look for better quality, we are in a great position to be able to offer our customers local meat from a source they can trust, prepared with care and expertise by our award-winning butchery team.

    What is the best thing about your job?
    I can’t lie, there are many great things about my job! Working with such a great team always ensures we make it through the most testing days. Our team are encouraged to be themselves and let their personality shine; this makes our service genuine, which is often commented on by our lovely customers, and means we get to know each other really well. Sampling an immense amount of great food is of course an extra perk!

    Where do you like to eat out locally?
    I have a teenage son so this can depend on who we are with and what we fancy. Being located between Sheffield and Nottingham we have a wide choice. Recent excursions have seen us visit Rafters in Sheffield (great for couples) and World Service in Nottingham. A little closer to home we like The Devonshire at Langwith.

  • Results of the Great Food Club Awards 2017/18

    Posted on Wednesday October 11th, 2017

    The large but pleasurable task of judging the shortlisted businesses in the 2017/18 Great Food Club Awards is complete. Members of our editorial team have visited each business on the shortlist – from the Bristol Food Tour to Yorkshire Dama Cheese, from the Royal Oak in Evesham to Welbeck Farm Shop near Worksop. We are hugely impressed by the quality and passion demonstrated by each contender.

    Before we get to the winners, a quick word on the format. The Awards shortlist was created via online vote throughout summer 2017. Votes were cast mainly by Great Food Club members (they could vote for any independent food/drink business they like) and well over one thousand people took part. Voters were presented with five categories – Producer, Pub/Restaurant/Café, Shop, Street-Food and Food-and-Drink Experience. The top five vote winners in each category made the shortlist. Multiple votes from single IP addresses were discarded.

    From there, with 25 businesses on the shortlist, it was over to the Great Food Club writing team. We visited and spoke to each business and judged them to the best of our ability in a variety of areas. We scored each out of either 5, 10 or 20 in each area, and the business with the highest final score won.

    Everyone on the shortlist deserves recognition for their fine work. Indeed, every business we recommend on this website deserves recognition: all are listed on merit alone.

    Here are the winners, with comments where appropriate.

    PRODUCER CATEGORY

    Shortlisted businesses
    Redhill Farm Free Range Pork, Gainsborough, Lincs
    Hambleton Bakery, Exton, Rutland
    Harker’s Farm Shop, Clipston on the Wolds, Notts
    Freshly Spiced, Nottingham
    Yorkshire Dama Cheese, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire

    WINNER: Redhill Farm Free Range Pork, Gainsborough, Lincs
    Redhill Farm Free Range Pork takes its pigs from birth to table. The animals are free range and lead fabulously natural lives amongst the trees and pastures. Redhill Farm demonstrably takes huge care to reduce stress in its animals’ lives, including at the point of slaughter. It does all its own butchery, plus smoking, pie-making, bacon curing and more at its well-specced, modern production unit on the farm. As a result of all this, Redhill Farm Free Range pork is, in our opinion, the best quality pork you will find anywhere. Moreover, rather than chasing commercial success at the expense of animal welfare, this producer has kept its integrity. It has also shown commitment to ‘local’ over many years, selling mainly to Lincolnshire farmers’ markets. Its new butchers shop on Bailgate in Lincoln is a fantastic addition to the city.

    The other shortlisted producers
    Harker’s Farm Shop on Blackberry Farm, Clipston on the Wolds, Nottinghamshire, focuses primarily on producing and selling its own beef, but also rears and sells its own lamb, pork, goose and duck. The quality of the meat is outstanding and ethical farming (plus a welcoming approach to all who visit the farm and farm shop) is a priority.

    Yorkshire Dama Cheese of Sowerby Bridge wowed us with its amazing story. Founder Razan Alsous was a Syrian asylum seeker who made a new life in Yorkshire and launched a cheese business. Unable to use the name ‘halloumi’ following a legal battle with the Cypriot government, she was forced to change the name of her product to “Squeaky Cheese”. Razan is an amazing woman with a fine product and she continues to expand and innovate.

    Multi-award-winning Hambleton Bakery of Exton, Rutland, is unarguably one of the best and most successful small independent bakeries in Britain. Its range of artisan breads is very special indeed, baked in its huge wood-fired oven powered by ash and beech logs gathered at local forests. Hambleton Bakery breads are made traditionally using either the sourdough method or the beer barm method.

    Freshly Spiced of Nottingham tantalised our tastebuds with its ingeniously devised fresh spice blends, which are created, hand-ground and toasted (where appropriate) by founder Tom Ali, who is following in his grandfather’s footsteps – Tom’s grandfather ran Nottingham’s first spice shop. Cooking with spices can be confusing but Freshly Spiced allows home cooks to make the very best of the wonderful flavours and aromas via Tom’s impressive blending knowledge. His spice creations link to online recipes, which focus on healthy eating. There are also unique blends for making divine hot drinks. If you love cooking with spices then you need to check out Freshly Spiced.

    RESTAURANT/PUB/CAFE CATEGORY

    Shortlisted businesses
    Hambleton Hall, Hambleton, Rutland
    The Royal Oak, Evesham, Worcs
    The Bewicke Arms, Hallaton, Leics
    Nourish at No 44, Belper, Derbys
    Kavanagh’s Tea Room, Oakham, Rutland

    WINNER: Nourish at No 44, Belper, Derbys
    This was a fiendish category to judge, with just two-and-a-half points separating all five contenders. Shading it, however, is this cafe/bistro in the market town of Belper,Derbyshire. The team here show just how much can be achieved by hard work, passion, an eye for detail and a love for well-cooked, locally sourced food. Nourish at No 44 works incredibly hard to beat gravity and rise above the status of generic town centre cafe to become something far classier. And it’s this heroic effort to do something special, and to do it with pride, that convinced us that it should win against some truly brilliant opposition. By day Nourish at No 44 is a pleasant cafe but it’s on weekend evenings that it really shows its quality through local sourcing, impressive cooking, excellent service and a wonderful dining atmosphere.

    The other shortlisted eateries
    If we were judging the quality of cooking and food presentation alone, then Hambleton Hall in Rutland would win. With one of Britain’s most skilful, respected and consistent head chefs – Aaron Patterson – at the helm, supported by a front-of-house team who deliver the full Relais & Châteaux and Michelin-starred brand of hospitality (while still being wonderfully friendly), this stunning hotel/restaurant with its amazing views across Rutland Water is one of the best in the land. We were blown away by the dishes we tried here – the flavours, textures, presentation… they were nothing short of outstanding.

    A trip down to Evesham was made hugely enjoyable by a visit The Royal Oak. This ancient, characterful town centre pub offers locally sourced food several cuts above what one would expect. Our slow-cooked lamb, served on a Sunday lunchtime amid a relaxed, buzzing atmosphere, was prepared to perfection and packed with an incredible, deep flavour. This is clearly a very professionally run kitchen. The service was outstanding, too: friendly and fun, with nothing too much trouble.

    The Bewicke Arms in Hallaton is a delightful thatched village pub with its own cafe opposite. The setting is hard to beat: Hallaton is a stunning village and this pub is wonderfully cosy. It has been sympathetically rejuvenated and the dining areas are pretty and carefully designed. A great amount of thought and effort has clearly gone into the Bewicke, making it an idyllic village pub. The food – majoring on traditional pub classics with the occasional twist – is of a very good standard, too.

    A new arrival in Oakham, Kavanagh’s Tea Room is set in a charming, ancient building down a little passageway near the town church. It becomes a bistro on Friday and Saturday evenings. We enjoyed a magical and intimate meal one Friday night in a friendly, candlelit atmosphere. The owners have done a superb job reviving this old building and creating such a quirky, welcoming and warm ambience. They have found a talented chef, too. Kavanagh’s offers good, simple food cooked very well.

    SHOP CATEGORY

    Shortlisted businesses
    Farndon Fields Farm Shop, Market Harborough, Leics
    Christopher James Deli, Leicester
    Waterloo Cottage Farm, Great Oxendon, Northants
    Bulwick Village Shop, Bulwick, Northants
    Welbeck Farm Shop, Welbeck Estate, Notts

    WINNER: Bulwick Village Shop, Bulwick, Northants
    In many ways, this is the perfect village food shop, offering high-quality produce, welcoming staff and tasty surprises. The birthplace of The Pickled Village’s award-winning pickles and preserves, it’s enticing from the minute you see the front door, and stays that way all the way to the back of the shop. Alongside more exotic treats are staples like milk, tea, bread, cheese and sweets. Amid the decline of so many village shops, Bulwick Village Shop shows just what’s possible, which is why it wins our award. It’s an example to all that proves there’s life in the village shop yet!

    The other shortlisted shops
    The term ‘farm shop’ is often misused, but not in the case of Farndon Fields Farm Shop in Market Harborough, which started life in 1983 when owners Kevin and Milly Stokes opened a small shop on their 250-acre fruit and vegetable farm. Today it provides a carefully chosen and interesting selection of foods, supported by fantastic information on all the produce, plus mouthwatering displays. It’s hard to imagine a better run farm shop.

    Christopher James Deli in Leicester is a tiny yet charming and characterful food shop. Every inch of interior space is put to good use, resulting in a packed, joyful deli selling an intriguing and high quality selection of sweets and savouries, including interesting cheeses and takeaway foods. It has a loyal following and it’s not hard to see why.

    At Welbeck Farm Shop near Worksop in Nottinghamshire, meat is arguably the main attraction. Its butchers are knowledgeable and the quality is superb. The butchery counter showcases the best local pork, beef and lamb from the estate and from local farmers. A full range of game is available, including birds, rabbits and venison from the Welbeck Estate. The sourcing policy focuses on low food miles, artisanal food traditions and rigorous taste testing. The amazing Ottar Chocolates, made on the Welbeck Estate, offer something stunning and different. Beer and bread made on the Estate are on sale here, too. Offering so much ultra-local yet top-drawer produce, Welbeck Farm Shop is unique.

    Excellent-quality meat is also the trademark of Waterloo Cottage Farm Shop near Great Oxendon in Northamptonshire. A converted farm barn, this shop now sells lamb, hogget and mutton from Waterloo Farm’s own animals. Waterloo Cottage Farm Shop is built on a dream to produce and sell meat from healthy, well cared for and locally reared animals, and it shows.

    STREET-FOOD CATEGORY

    Shortlisted businesses
    The Garage Bakehouse, Market Harborough, Leics
    Nanna Mexico, Cambridge
    Homeboys, Nottingham
    Vivia Crump, Rutland
    Steak & Honour, Cambridge

    WINNER: Steak & Honour, Cambridge
    This category was also a challenge to judge, with each shortlisted business impressing. In the end, though, Steak & Honour won through thanks to doing what it does to near perfection and with a flourish. This minimalistic burger restaurant (it has vans, too) in central Cambridge takes the humble burger and hones it, hones it again, and then delivers something close to the ultimate meat-in-a-bun experience. On our visit, we wolfed down a perfectly cooked medium-rare burger (beef sourced from The Art of Meat in Cambridge). It was topped with jalapeño peppers and other good stuff, and placed between a halved brioche bun (baked by Dovecote Bakery in Cambridge). Unlike some brioche we’ve tried, the bun was not too sweet. We loved the carefully chosen range of canned craft beers on sale, too. With Steak & Honour, less is more: it is simple but devastatingly effective!

    The other shortlisted street-food purveyors
    The Garage Bakehouse     in Market Harborough is a very cool little bakery housed in an old garage with a counter looking out onto the street. Its breads and cakes are of the utmost quality and on our judging visit we enjoyed a sublime cheese toasty on sourdough with chilli jam. We tried a sausage roll and one of their trademark Marmite swirls for good measure, which were also good. The Garage Bakehouse came close to winning: again, this business is simple but magnificent.

    Homeboys of Nottingham serve Asian street food. On our visit we tried one of their Taiwanese fried chicken sandwiches at Nottingham Street Food Club at the Victoria Centre. We were impressed by the incredibly succulent chicken and crisp, nicely spiced batter, presented carefully. Homeboys are clearly passionate about what they do.

    Vivia Crump of Oakham is primarily a chutney maker but also makes top quality sausage rolls (laced with her chutneys) and quiches, which she sells on her market stalls. The meat in her pork and chicken sausage rolls is sourced from Joseph Morris of North Kilworth in Leicestershire and is top quality. Eggs are from Tilton on the Hill, also in Leicestershire. Her chutneys add real sparkle to the sausage rolls.

    Nanna Mexico (of Cambridge and Norwich) focuses on burritos, “big ass burritos” according to the T-shirts of the people who served us in one of its two Cambridge outlets! We enjoyed our visit here, too.

    FOOD-AND-DRINK EXPERIENCE CATEGORY

    Shortlisted businesses
    45 West Gin School, Nanpantan, Leics
    Hobby Cooks, Northampton
    The School of Artisan Food, Welbeck, Notts
    The Bristol Food Tour, Bristol
    Seasoned Cookery School, Catton Hall, Derbyshire

    WINNER: The School of Artisan Food, Welbeck, Notts
    The sheer quality of teaching and equipment, alongside the passion and skill of the tutors, are the major reasons behind our decision to award the School of Artisan Food this title. Students are able to visit The School and leave with a deep knowledge (and appreciation) for their chosen subject, whether that is baking, cheese making, butchery or one of the less hands-on courses. The School of Artisan Food is a beacon for the transmission and continuation of valuable food skills and provides a satisfying, educational experience for those who attend.

    The other shortlisted providers of food-and-drink experiences
    Making gin at 45 West Gin School in Leicestershire is a fantastic experience that marries education with fun. Guests leave with a bottle of gin made to their very own recipe, produced using a desktop mini still. They also gain impressive knowledge of the gin-making process.

    Spending a day on the Bristol Food Tour was one of the highlights of the judging experience for us. We walked through Bristol, hopping from foodie hotspot to foodie hotspot, guided by a knowledgeable guide. We soaked up the sights, sounds and flavours of this vibrant city, with its flourishing independent food scene, and enjoyed every minute and every mouthful. Highly recommended.

    Seasoned Cookery School at Catton Hall in Derbyshire is a pleasant, spacious cookery school located in an old building on a country estate. This is a very professionally run cookery school with top-notch kit and good, clear, fun teaching.

    Finally, but by no means least, it was fantastic to spend some time with Anita Chipalkatty, the woman behind Northampton’s Hobby Cooks, which she runs from her own large and beautifully kitted out kitchen. Anita’s knowledge of Indian food, its spices and its culture, was a joy to behold. We found her kitchen tips – and the vibrant chickpea curry we made under her guidance – hugely valuable.

    Congratulations to all shortlisted businesses and special congratulations to the winners.