Displaying items by tag: artisan producer

Yesterday I ate far too much ice-cream, then dreamt about it all night and since then haven't been able to stop thinking about ice-cream. I even snuck back to the freezer this morning to hide the pot of stem ginger out of sight from Mr SFoodie. This is what happens when you get invited to to an ice-creamery. 

Katherine from Suffolk Meadow invited me to try her range of ice-creams and whilst collecting a selection from her ice-creamery I felt very lucky to be given a little tour, learning how the ice-cream is made. Well, hooray for Waveney Valley cows because Suffolk Meadow uses milk and cream from nearby Beccles farmers, E S Burroughs and Sons  - that's what you call 'loocal' in Suffolk. Mind you Katherine knows all about milk as she was very much part of the family firm Marybelle until the business was moved to a new partner in 2014. The family kept their ice-cream business leaving Katherine to run Suffolk Meadow full time. I had a peep in the ingredients store and saw all the different bottles of booze, nuts, fruit, chocolate etc that is used to flavour the ice-cream. There are so many different flavours of ice-cream and I chose five to take home and try. In the interests of research, to preserve my arteries and not have a riot on my hands I allowed my Mr SuffolkFoodie and my resident daughter to taste test them all with me, lining up our selection in order of favourites. If you want to treat yourself to some Suffolk Meadow then check out the list of stockists here otherwise online ordering is available from the website ... and it's well worth the drive to Walpole to stock up your freezer. Consider having a bespoke flavour made, which Katherine will do if you order the minimum production which is 8 litres. I'm thinking an ice-cream party is on the cards, and might very well be a good way to celebrate the lifting of lockdown.

• surprisingly good, rich, creamy and vanilla flecked ice cream was a favourite of us all
• where do you start? the answer is to try them all
• rum and raisin was packed full of raisins that had been soaked in rum and brown sugar
• ooh! look at the ginger in this - the all time favourite was the stem ginger, a smooth velvet ice cream base with delicious chunks of stem ginger
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Forager's Kitchen at Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham are launching their new Discovery Box very soon. I was asked to test drive the home delivery service in August and it was like no other that I have tried before. The box of foodie goodies was delivered to my door and invited me to Explore, Discover and Enjoy. It was a real treat and included a range of artisan products, information about the producers (not all from Suffolk, so some unfamiliar, which I enjoyed) and introduced some new flavours, cooking methods & skills. Instructions and superb ingredients were included for me to create my own restaurant quality meal at home. A high quality printed magazine featured augmented reality videos giving instant and easy access to every element of the box. Quite a Discovery indeed!

Well done to the East Anglian producers who have scooped 272 Great Taste accolades at this year's awards. Among the Great Taste 3-star winners are a number of products that pack a serious punch, including; Le Rêve Organic Molecular Absinthe from Linden Leaf Botanicals in Cambridge, described as “virtually the perfect expression of absinthe” as the judges enjoyed “pure aniseed-balls on the palate, but backed up by woody, herbal, citrus-noted, warm and spiritous notes”; a coffee and chocolate lover’s dream in the form of 70% Tumaco Colombia Dark Chocolate with Colombian Coffee from Tosier ChocolateMaker in Ipswich, applauded for its ““silky smooth” texture and “wild fruitiness, subtle tobacco hints and perfectly pitched bitter notes”; and the “vibrant and exciting” Blackcurrant Fruit Cream Ice from Alder Tree in Needham Market, declared to be “the essence of blackcurrant”, as one judge said, “the shackles are definitely off with this one… brilliant!” Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers, check out all the 2020 winners here and the wide range of award winning products which are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retail outlets across the country.

• 3 star blackcurrant ice cream from Alder Tree
• 3 star Le Reve Absinthe from Linden Leaf
• 3 star Free Range Norfolk Black Turkey from Morton's in Norfolk
• 3 star Tumaco Columbia Tosier chocolate
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 Cheester Eggs from Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses. Cheddar or Blacksticks Blue, definitely an Easter Egg to nibble on.

• Blacksticks Blue Easter Egg
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Love it or hate it the chances are a Christmas Pudding will be making an appearance on your festive table. I was intrigued to try a Bunty's Christmas pudding created to win over the haters amongst you. The hand-made Waveney Valley pudding arrived so beautifully presented it was a shame to cut off the ribbons and bows from the muslin wrapped Mason Cash bowl. Steamed for one and half hours according to the instructions, the waft of fruit and spice was noticable when I cut the string and removed the paper to turn it out.The texture was quite different from any pudding I've tried before; soft and light without the whole fruits and crumbly texture of a traditional pud but a rich and dark colour, yet not stodgy. The balance of fruit and alcohol is excellent, with more than a hint of prune and raisins enhanced with Pedro Ximenez sherry. In fact this is a pudding where you might possibly manage seconds. Check out Bunty's website to find your local stockist.

• Smoother and not crumbly like a traditonal pud
• Traditionally wrapped in muslin for steaming
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Top find at Alderburgh Food and Drink Festival yesterday was raw honey from Simon at Bracey's Bees.  A beautiful dark amber, raw Chestnut Honey with soft, bitter caramel flavours which I took straight home and drizzled over some Fielding Cottage Ellingham goats cheese. The slightly brighter, amber and fruity citrus Sea Lavender Honey I ate with my breakfast yoghurt this morning. An exciting find!  Bracey's Bees does not have a website but you can email Simon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 07876 274060. Slate Cheese and Provisions in Aldeburgh are also stockists.

Here's a new monthly food and flea market for you, to be held at Clare Town Hall on the third Wednesday of every month. Starting on October 17th. Check out their vintage kitchenalia.   They'll also be holding a Food and Drink Fair before Christmas and are looking for a caterer to run their Cafe at this event. Anyone out there?

Actually it doesn't need to be ice cream weather to enjoy a visit to Hadley's Parlour in Lavenham. We went on rather a chilly day but enjoyed tasting a selection of the handmade icecreams that really do offer satisfying, smooth and creamy flavours using locally sourced Fen Farm milk and cream, Elmsett Game Farm eggs, Maldon sea salt and Pump Street chocolate, to name a few. You can get very good coffee and mini cakes as well, if you are greedy like me.

• coffee and cake
• just some of the flavours offered
• milkshakes and waffles too
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We were thrilled to receive this parcel in the post; a selection of cheeses from The Fine Cheese Co. Delighted also that we were sent a selection to review called Sisters in Cheese, a one off selection created especially with Mothers Day in mind - the three cheeses recognising women's roles as cheese-makers down the ages, and a tribute to today's 'dairymaids'. A very appropriate range in time for our own Mothers Day lunch where my three daughters thought that it meant a cheese each! We're all cheese lovers in my house and considering that all three daughters worked for me at some point waitressing in my restaurant where only English cheeses were served they've had to learn their stuff, so I didn't mind sharing.       

The selection included a Sharpham Brie which is a raw, Jersey cow's milk cheese made in Devon on the Sharpham Estate. Rich, delicate and creamy with an unctuous texture. The cheesemaker is Debbie Mundford. 

A baby Curworthy, a pasteurised cow's milk cheese dating back to the 17th century, and thought to be even older than Cheddar. Smooth, firm and mellow with a creamy flavour and made by Rachel Stevens.

Wigmore, a raw, Ewe's milk cheese with a gentle, delicate flavour and made in Berkshire by Anne Wigmore. 

The Fine Cheese Co is based in Bath, with a branch also in London just around the corner from Harvey Nicks. If you are unable to visit then the online selections and cheese gifts are very tempting with a frequently changing cornucopia of cheeses to choose from. I even spotted our own Suffolk produced Baron Brigod. My parcel arrived in great shape, with ice pack keeping it cool and the cheese all in perfect shape. A handy caring for your cheese and cheese etiquette leaflet included too.

• well packaged including an ice pack to keep cool
• cheese and fridge etiquette
• unwrapped and bringing to room temperature
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We met Amos Smith aka Mossy back in the middle of 2016 when he brought us some test jars of his deliciously moreish homemade yogurt. He wouldn't deliver until he was sure he had perfected the recipe, which had been handed down to him from his Auntie Jo.  So we waited patiently. When it finally arrived we loved the slighty sweetened, faintly caramel like natural bio yogurt. In fact we have been watching Mossy and waiting ... and waiting for the product to launch. At last Mossy has his production line up and running and his yogurt production perfected. Check out this map of stockists.