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Larder award will bolster excellence in safe food and drink manufacturer (August 2010)

Food and drink manufacturers in the region are set to benefit thanks to new accreditation awarded to Northumbria Larder.

Northumbria Larder’s technical support manager Sue Cresswell has become accredited in Level 4 Award in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) in Management for Food Manufacturing, paving the way for the food and drink organisation to help members and potential members understand and meet legislation governing food production.

Beckleberry's NOW Available on VIRGIN Airlines!

Award Winning Ice Cream & Sorbet manufacturer Beckleberry’s based in Blaydon, Tyne & Wear are celebrating after securing a lucrative contract to supply Virgin Atlantic Airlines with their gourmet desserts.

All passengers in Virgin’s Premium Economy cabins will now have the opportunity to sample a Beckleberry’s gourmet dessert; the first of which is a light St Clements Mousse garnished with semi candied peel.

Larder member cuts it to clinch UK Family Business of the Year title

Dicksons, the north east based traditional family pork butchers and wholesaler is officially the UK Family Business of the Year.

Northumbria Larder member Dicksons has branches across the north east and supplies its range of quality meat products to supermarkets and delicatessens across the country. It was crowned Coutts UK Family Business of the Year at a highly contested final which took place on the Strand, London earlier this month.

Cheese company is cream of the crop (June 2010)

A Northumberland company has scooped gold in a global cheese competition.
Northumberland Cheese Company in Blagdon’s handmade Kielder product claimed a gold medal in the World’s Best Jersey Cheese Awards 2010, which this year attracted over 100 entries from cheese makers around the world.

Rising success as bakery toasts first anniversary (May 2010)

When artisan bread enthusiast Carrie Winger launched the Allendale Bakery a year ago, little did she imagine it would arise as the runaway success it is today.

Scientist-turned-baker Carrie opened the Allendale Bakery and Café in Allendale, south west Northumberland, with her husband Larry a year ago, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to make a living from making real bread that has been naturally and slowly fermented without artificial additives.

LOCAL BREWERS LINK UP FOR NORTH EAST BEER FESTIVAL
(March 2010)


Drinkers will be raising a glass this Easter at the first in a series of beer festivals planned for each Bank Holiday in 2010 at the Bamburgh Castle Inn in Seahouses.

The Bamburgh Castle Inn has teamed up with the Newcastle-based Hadrian & Border Brewery plus County Durham micro-brewers Consett Ale Works and Scottish cider maker Thistly Cross Cider to offer a range of locally-produced real ales and ciders to tempt the taste buds...

Foreign visitors enjoy a taste of the North East

A group of visitors from the continent enjoyed a successful expedition to Northumberland recently, learning about local food producers and getting the chance to sample a true taste of the region.

Jenny Hayes of Newcastle based teaching organisation Academy International organised the trip which gave participants from countries including Poland, Spain, Italy and Germany, the chance to gain a better understanding of food and food production in the North East and use the experience to also enhance their cultural understanding and linguistic abilities. The expedition was a Life Long Learning funded Grundvig project. [more]

FISH, CHIPS AND MUSHY PEAS ARE “MUCH HEALTHIER” CLAIM (February 2010)

A North East company which has wowed the world with its fish and chips claims to have made a breakthrough in proving that as part of a well-balanced diet fish, chips and mushy peas really are much healthier than many fast foods.

Great Taste Awards - Enter Now

Last September, 5.5 million listeners heard CHRIS EVANS talk to GREAT TASTE AWARDS GOLD-STAR WINNING PRODUCERS on his BBC RADIO 2 DRIVETIME SHOW. Over 30 million consumers read about gold-star winning food and drink in newspapers and magazines and tens of thousands got to taste them at food exhibitions throughout the country. Many also met producers at GREAT TASTE LIVE theatres at REAL FOOD FESTIVAL and BBC MASTERCHEF LIVE and thousands bought from shops, food halls, markets, exhibitions and the TASTE GOLD MARKET in Cardinal Place, London last November.

Coveted black & gold-star GREAT TASTE stickers adorn thousands of speciality foods stocked on shelves and counters in stores throughout the UK and more recently, even as part of a television commercial.

Of all the UK’s food award schemes, the GREAT TASTE AWARDS is the most important. Completely independent and uncompromisingly rigorous, it is trusted by retailers, buyers and consumers. GREAT TASTE is to speciality food and drink what MICHELIN is to fine dining.

Closing Date: 9th April 2010

Entry Form http://www.finefoodworld.co.uk/downloads/gta2010_entryform.pdf
The NEW 2010 Classes, Terms & Conditions http://www.finefoodworld.co.uk/downloads/gta2010_classes_t_cs.pdf

NORTH EAST FARM LAUNCHES VEAL PRODUCTION (February 2010)

A North East farm noted for its award-winning ice cream has set up a separate business to produce and market rose veal with encouraging results.

John and Susan Archer, who have a 300-cow Jersey dairy herd at New Moor Farm, Walworth Gate, near Darlington, have gone to great lengths to educate the public about the production methods used at the farm as they set about launching Newmoor Veal.

Business Link Innovation Vouchers

Innovation Vouchers are a Solutions for Business product which enable small and medium-sized businesses in England to buy specialist support from knowledge-based institutions to help in the development of new products, services and processes.

Innovation Vouchers make it easier for more small businesses to engage with the knowledge base and, in particular, with universities.

Benefits for businesses include:

ease of access to knowledge base experts
new skills and knowledge retained in the businesses
improved business ability to exploit new ideas
To find out if Innovation Vouchers could help you, contact the Business Link Helpline on Tel 0845 600 9 006.

Solutions for Business products are only available in England. Government support for businesses is different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Click here for further information

Make a Food Co-op Your New Year’s Resolution

If you want to eat more healthily in the New Year or do your bit to help the environment by eating more local food then help is at hand. Sustain, the Alliance for Better Food and Farming, has a team of regional advisers to help local communities and farmers set up food co-ops.

Download Full Press Release

RE-INVENTED POPCORN STARTS WITH A BANG ( December 2009)

Savoury-flavoured popcorn with flavours such as chilli and fennel, garlic and herb, and honey and mustard, looks like taking the adult snack market in the UK by storm, according to husband-and-wife team, Richard and Catherine Furze, who have set up the Consett Popcorn Company to market Corn Again popcorn.

NEWS RELEASE: 4 December 2009

Christmas Lunch doesn’t have to cost the Earth
Natural England and Prue Leith launch The Nature of Food

October 2009

JAM MAKER JEN OPENS FOR BUSINESS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH. (November 2009)

Jennifer Morrison has given hundreds of jars of her home-made jams and jellies as gifts to family and friends over the past three years. And such has been their enthusiastic response she has decided to launch a new business, calling it Jen’s Jams, to sell her produce, starting at Chester-le-Street Market on Friday, November 13.

“When I found out the date of the market, which will be my first one, I nearly had second thoughts but I am not all that superstitious and I’m going to take the plunge,” she said.

Jennifer, who is 38 and lives at Pelton Fell, took up jam making in rather sad circumstances. Her partner Simon Bousfield’s aunt Aylis died at Greenside, Gateshead. Her garden contained a large orchard of mainly apple and plum trees and most of the fruit was in danger of rotting on the ground. But Jennifer had other ideas. She gathered up great quantities of the fruit, loaded it into her car and took it home. “It covered the whole kitchen floor,” she recalled. And then armed with a recipe book she started to make jam. “I couldn’t bear the thought of all that fruit going to waste.”

“I had never done anything like it before. My mother and grandmother used to be good cooks and bakers but when I was growing up I wasn’t really interested. It was only when I started trying out different recipes and then adding my own touches that I realised I had a passion not only for making jams and jellies but also chutney, preserves, and herb dressings,” said Jennifer.

Her hobby has grown to such an extent she has had a small extension built to the house which is used solely for food production. “ I am spending about 20 hours a week jam making and another 20 hours working as an administrator for the Association of International Accountants at Gateshead,” she added. “If the jam making business takes off as I hope it will, I would then give up working in an office and run my own company full time.”

Jennifer, who has a BA degree in Literature, Life and Thought from Liverpool’s John Moores University, will marry Simon, whom she met at the university, next February. He studied chemistry and now sells pharmaceuticals to the medical profession.

On her stand at Chester-le-Street Market she will be selling her personal favourite product, spiced cider and apple jelly, together with strawberry jam and a caramelised onion marmalade. “I’m very gingerly dipping my toe in the water,” she said:

EX-SOLICITOR LYDIA CELEBRATES HER CUPCAKES SUCCESS (November 2009)

Even before she became a successful solicitor Lydia McCaslin used to enjoy baking cakes for herself, family and friends, so much so that when she took time off for the birth of her first child, Joseph, a year ago, she decided she preferred to be a full-time mother and commercial baker. She gave up her well-paid office job and instead set up the Jesmond Cupcake Company, operating from home.

Instead of dealing with wills, probate and other legal issues, Lydia is now working in her kitchen seven days a week making and selling hundreds of celebration cupcakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other joyful events, and loving every minute of it. The business has made so much progress she is already planning to open a shop and bakery in about a year’s time to cope with the demand.

Lydia, 31, who comes from Manchester, studied at Newcastle University, where she met her husband James, a surgeon, who currently practises in Sunderland. “ I love Newcastle. It’s a great city. Ideally, we would both like to stay here forever ! “ she said.

Before setting up the company she did some market research and found that boutique bakeries specialising only in cupcakes were proving successful in New York and London. “I thought to myself there was no reason why Newcastle couldn’t have one as well,” she said. “So I started up on a commercial scale in June this year and have done so well I now have orders for special occasions as far ahead as 2011.”

Lydia bakes her cupcakes on the range oven in her kitchen in batches of four dozen. She then adds buttercream and decorates the cakes individually by hand, which is time consuming but carried out “very lovingly”, she adds. She sources the main ingredients from North East suppliers, including using free-range eggs and organic butter from Acorn Dairy of Darlington.

She currently bakes six varieties of cupcake – vanilla, chocolate, carrot, banoffee, lemon, and white chocolate and raspberry, which is the most popular. Lydia describes it as a classic vanilla sponge laced with white chocolate pieces and raspberries then topped with tasty vanilla buttercream and more raspberries. “It’s mouthwatering,” she says.

A range of Lydia’s cupcakes are currently on sale at Café Antipasto, 217 Jesmond Road, Newcastle. For weddings she offers a tasting service where customers can choose the design and flavour of their celebration cupcakes, at no extra charge, and decorations are personalised for other special occasions.

October 2009

Wallington Food and Craft Festival - 17th & 18th October

The Wallington Food and Craft Festival takes place on the 17th & 18th October and will showcase a huge range of regional produce. Over 50 exhibitors from the North East and Cumbria will be attending Wallington and the Northumbria Larder demonstration kitchen will also be at the event, with leading chefs Richard Sim (of Six at the Baltic and Zecca) and David Kennedy (Black Door Brasserie and North East Chef of the year) on hand to entertain and inform.

Highlights of the festival include displays and stalls by suppliers of fresh local food and drink, with products such as home-made cakes and biscuits, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, cheese and sweets. Real Food Works will also be there to entertain the children and assist them understanding the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Visitors to the festival will also find a wide range of arts, crafts and jewellery, and the magnificent Wallington house and gardens will be open to the public as usual. Organised by a partnership of the Northumbria Larder, The National Trust and Made in Cumbria, the event runs from 10am until 5pm both days.

Sandy Duncan, general manager for Northumbria Larder, comments: “Wallington Food and Craft Festival is a wonderful event. It is really important to showcase and celebrate the fantastic food and drink that is produced in our region, and Wallington does that so well, which is why the North East England Food and Drink Group is such supporter of the festival. I am particularly looking forward to watching top chefs from across the region showcase dishes using fresh, local produce”

Entry to the grounds and gardens is free. Why not come along and see all we have on offer over this special weekend at Wallington.

Far East to North East -
Northumberland Farm launches Wagyu Beef (October 2009)

Northumberland farmer Steve Ramshaw is set to become one of the country’s first producers and processors of rare Wagyu beef as his three-year project to bring the breed to North East England was launched this month at his Monkridge Hill Farm near Otterburn.

Wagyu beef is renowned across the globe as the ultimate beef-eating experience, the ‘Caviar of the Beef World’. Consumers may recognise it as ‘Kobe’ beef as it is more commonly known, but technically it can only be branded under this name if it comes from the Kobe region of Japan.

Wagyu beef is famed for its deep flavour, extreme tenderness and rich, smooth texture owing to its remarkable level of intra-muscular fat or ‘marbling’. These characteristics have long made it the gastronomist’s choice and allow it to command exceptional prices in the few top restaurants and outlets it is available in across the world.

Steve imported embryos from the finest ‘full blood’ Wagyu cattle in the USA and transplanted them into his own cattle to establish a small herd of this extremely scarce breed.

Nearly three years since the project started, in October, Steve’s marketing company Northumbrian Quality Meats based on the farm will begin to retail Wagyu beef directly to the consumer. The product will be strictly limited at this early stage but will be made available nationally in order to make sure the country’s finest restaurants can allow as many consumers as possible to try the meat for themselves.

There will also be a website dedicated to the Wagyu range, with lots of information about the breed and images of the livestock on the farm as well as an on-line shop for those wishing to try some at home.

The Wagyu project has been only part of Steve ongoing programme of striving to produce the finest beef in the country and ultimately beef that will compete at an international level. His organic Aberdeen Angus herd has some of the best bloodlines available and has been recently further improved by importing embryos and semen from some of the finest Angus specimens in Canada, where animals are selected and bred specifically for eating quality. The progeny of these have already been genetically scored for tenderness and achieved exceptional levels.

The company is also embarking on a project with Newcastle University to research the nutritional benefits of highly marbled beef (Wagyu and Angus) as intra-muscular fat is known to contain elevated levels of Omega 3.

Steve hopes to turn the myth around that all fats in beef are bad for you. Some are, in fact, very important to our diet.

The launch took place at an Open Day Steve held at his farm as part of a Mutton Renaissance Club event.

The club, which is based at Malvern in Worcestershire, aims to develop the growing popularity of Renaissance Mutton, to strengthen the link between producers, butchers and chefs. Apart from his award-winning quality beef, Steve is also well known for his herd of Scottish Blackface sheep.

Learn more about Northumbrian Quality Meats – contact the websites:
www.wagyu-beef-direct.co.uk and www.northumbrian-organic-meat.co.uk

GOLD AWARD IS PROOF OF THE PUDDING (September 2009)

A homemade sponge pudding made in a tiny farmhouse kitchen on the outskirts of Alnwick in Northumberland has won a top national award in this year’s Great Taste Awards organised by the Guild of Fine Food.

Farmer’s wife Susan Green, who runs The Proof of the Pudding at Heckley High House, has picked up a two-star gold certificate for her sticky ginger pudding, to follow the gold she won previously for her steamed golden syrup sponge.

LAMMAS LOAF PROMOTION STIRS APPETITE FOR REAL BREAD (AUGUST 2009)

Independent bakeries in Tyneside and Northumberland banded together this summer with an organic flour miller to bake the ancient Lammas Loaf as part of the Real Bread Campaign.

Taking its name from the Old English for loaf mass, baking the Lammas was the highlight of the ancient harvest festival of eating bread using flour from the Autumn’s first cereal crops.

SELLING NORTHUMBRIAN MEAT TO THE SCOTS (August 2009)

Winning a coveted national trade award has attracted many new customers to one of the North’s fastest-growing firms of catering butchers.

Freeman Catering Butchers, of Team Valley, Gateshead, who won the title of 2009 National Catering Butcher of the Year, have picked up substantial new contracts since their success a few weeks ago at the Meat Management industry awards in London.

A RETURN TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF BREAD MAKING (July 2009)

The revival of a centuries-old method of bread making in the rural north of England has led to the creation of a new type of loaf that is already selling like hot cakes.

The whole process of producing the new 1lb Heatherslaw Bloomer takes place within a three-mile radius on the Ford and Etal Estate in north Northumberland. A farm near the site of the famous Battle of Flodden grows the wheat and supplies it to the water-driven Heatherslaw Corn Mill which grinds it into flour before passing it on to the adjoining bakery which is now producing the bread on a commercial scale.

“When we started making the bread we tested it out on customers in the tea rooms next door and they couldn’t get enough of it, so we’re pretty sure we’re on to a winner,” said Colin Smurthwaite who runs Heatherslaw Bakery Limited. Until now, the bakery has concentrated on making cakes and biscuits which are on sale in many parts of the country. “It now looks as if we could also be in to bread making on a big scale,” said Colin, who plans to sell the Heatherslaw Bloomer throughout the North East to begin with.

Julia Nolan, head miller at the corn mill which dates back to the 19th century and is a popular tourist attraction, also thinks the new loaf will be a great success. “It consists of stoneground wholemeal flour and cracked wheat which is a kind of coarseground meal which adds to the texture of the bread and gives it extra bite. It has a great taste. Our only worry is for the waistlines of the staff at the mill ! “ she said. All the wheat used at the mill comes from East Flodden and Encampment farms run by Phil Moore.

The idea for the new loaf came from Marlyn Mair, shop manager at Heatherslaw Mill, who is keen to promote local produce and is already stocking the bread.

Colin Smurthwaite, whose bakery company employs up to 40 people in an area where jobs are hard to come by, says it has not been seriously affected by the recession. “We still hope to reach a turnover of around £1.4 million this year, which is in line with last year’s performance, and we might even do better.” Business has been given an extra boost by orders from Wyevale Limited, which owns 100 garden centres across the country.

KIDS PROVIDE INSPIRATION FOR DAD’S FLAPJACKS BUSINESS
(June 2009)

Yorkshire-born chef Mark Peacock has his two kids and their school friends to thank for inspiring him to launch a handmade flapjacks business that has recently taken off in rural Northumberland.

Forty-three-year-old Mark, who was born in Driffield and worked as a chef in County Durham for several years, found his two children, now 12 and 14, always looked forward to the weekends when their Dad would bake flapjacks for them, their friends and neighbours. The flapjacks went down a treat.

So, when the family moved last year to Chathill, in north Northumberland, and Mark was thinking about setting up on his own, he asked the family, including his wife Audra, what line he should make. The answer was unanimous: “Flapjacks.”

Today, Mark’s Simply Northumbrian handmade flapjacks, which he makes in a small commercial kitchen in his farm cottage, are to be found in wide range of outlets in the county, including The Alnwick Garden, Lindisfarne Winery, Holy Island, Bamburgh Castle, post offices, health food shops, butchers’ shops, tea rooms and art galleries. And another growing market is hotels and B&B’s where Simply Northumbrian flapjacks are to be found in small gift packages for guests in their bedrooms and as traybakes in the kitchens.

“Hospitality providers are always on the lookout for quality local produce they can provide for visitors and flapjacks give them another option,” said Mark.

On Spring Bank Holiday Mark exhibited for the first time at the Northumberland County Show at Tynedale Rugby Club, and on June 14 and 15 he will take part in the Harrogate Speciality Food Show.

Mark’s best selling lines are date and walnut and cherry and almond. Also popular are chocolate and caramel, chocolate and ginger, cranberry and orange, and pecan and maple. He uses local ingredients wherever possible, including oats from the Borders and Chain Bridge honey from near Berwick.

“Customers tell me they enjoy my flapjacks knowing they are wheat and dairy free, and that I use ingredients from local suppliers,” said Mark. At the moment I devote one whole day each week to making flapjacks, but I’m hoping sales will take off as a result of taking part in the shows at Corbridge and Harrogate. Looking ahead, I would like to open a unit on an industrial estate.”

ORGANIC ASPARAGUS WITH DAILY PINTA (MAY 2009)

A well-known County Durham dairy business which delivers organic milk and cream to thousands of customers in Darlington and the surrounding towns, helped a branch of the family at Morton-on-Swale by selling their first crop of organic asparagus with the doorstep milk recently.

“We started supplying the asparagus bundles for the first time and we had a really good response,” said Caroline Tweddle, sales manager of Acorn Dairy, of Archdeacon Newton.

“The asparagus is grown by our cousin Barry Tweddle and his son Steven on their farm which is five miles from Northallerton. The asparagus season lasts for only a few weeks and we helped them to sell some of their crop. The asparagus tastes wonderful just lightly steamed or grilled and served with some Acorn butter, and our customers were very pleased with the results.”

The asparagus crowns were planted in April last year in a field at Morton-on-Swale in its second year of conversion to organic status. As the plants are young, the asparagus was available for only four to six weeks in the first year.

The Tweddle family has been farming at Archdeacon Newton since 1928 through four generations. The family, which today consists of Gordon and Linda, son Graham and daughter Caroline, revived the tradition of doorstep and wholesale deliveries with their own organic milk and cream. They also supply leading supermarkets such as Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose as well as several independents – ( see www.acorndairy.co.uk ).

RECORD SALES FOR BORDER HOMEBAKE (April 2009)

A small bakery in west Northumberland which specialises in traditional tray bakes has just enjoyed the best trading year in its 18-year history and expects to do even better in 2009, according to its owner and farmer’s wife, 37-year-old Justine Carruthers.

The 2009 GREAT TASTE AWARDS is open for entries.

Acknowledged by producers, retailers and consumers as the definitive independent benchmark for speciality food and drink, over 5000 products will be blind tasted this year by our panel of experts.

The winners in 2008 continue to be bowled over by the publicity and additional sales that are generated, just by simply entering great-tasting products.

How you do enter? It’s simple:
Download brochure and select the class that your food or drink should be in.
Download entry form for the UK, Europe and Rest of the World (excluding Eire) or for Eire, fill it in and send it into us.

If you have any questions call us on +44 (0) 1963 824464 – and press ‘4’.

Great Taste Awards team
www.finefoodworld.co.uk
www.greattasteawards.co.uk

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

NORTH ICE CREAM PARLOUR’S EARLY SEASONAL SCOOP (March 2009)

A North farm’s ice cream parlour has become such a popular visitor attraction that it opened its doors six weeks early this year and will now stay open seven days a week until November to meet the demand for its produce.

It is the first time in its six-year history that the parlour, situated at Morwick Dairy Farm between Warkworth and Acklington in north Northumberland, has been open to the public so early in the season. The farming couple who run it, Michael and Angie Howie, decided not to wait until their usual starting date in April. “ We opened the doors for the half-term school holidays in February, not knowing what to expect, but we were almost overwhelmed by the numbers of visitors. It came as a great but very welcome surprise,” she said

NORTHUMBERLAND’S ORGANIC GRAIN SPREADS NATIONWIDE (February 2009)

Rare breed organic grains grown and stoneground in Northumberland are on sale for the first time in an area stretching from the Bristol Channel to the Scottish Highlands.

Gilchesters Organics, of Stamfordham, near Hexham, have expanded their sales territory following a link-up with two of the country’s largest wholesalers, Suma Wholefoods, of Leeds, and GreenCity Wholefoods, of Glasgow.

Both wholesalers are radical workers’ co-operatives supplying retailers, restaurants, bakeries and delis with organic, vegetarian, ethical and natural products, and are “ excellent partners” for Gilchesters, according to Andrew and Sybille Wilkinson who run their organic farm at Hawkwell.

Gilchesters’ organic mill was the first stonegrinding mill to be built in the North East for over 150 years. The Wilkinsons grow and grind their own grain, producing a range of flours from traditional wholewheat to unbleached white.

For a business like theirs, it was not surprising that a recipe for pancakes from Sybille found top place in the Foodlovers Britain website – www.foodloversbritain.com - just before Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day).

Sybille’s pancake recipe came originally from her grandmother. “It is quite a rich recipe using three eggs but my grandmother only made them as an occasional treat and therefore was generous with the ingredients. I use Gilchesters pizza and ciabatta flour, as the extra semolina in the flour makes the pancakes extra crispy,” she said.

Ingredients

200ml milk
40g melted butter
3 eggs
100g pizza and ciabatta flour

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the milk and eggs and whisk until there are no lumps. Add the melted butter and leave for 20 minutes.

Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and lightly grease with a little butter. When the pan is hot, pour a ladle of batter into the pan – just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

Cook the pancakes until the underside is cooked. Flip the pancake over and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.

DICKSONS PRESS AHEAD WITH MAJOR RE-BRANDING (February 2009)

Dicksons is a familiar name to shoppers on Wearside, Tyneside and Northumberland as traditional pork butchers, but the company is pressing ahead with a multi-million pound refurbishment programme which will bring about major changes to its many shops and the nature of its business, through to 2011.

CHRISTMAS CHEER BEGAN IN AUGUST FOR TWO NORTH FOOD AND DRINK PRODUCERS (November 08)

A home-made Christmas pudding created by two of the North’s best-known food and drink producers has proved so popular it has been selling at food fairs since August.

Farmer’s wife Susan Green, who runs The Proof of the Pudding company from her farmhouse kitchen at Heckley High House, Alnwick, Northumberland, and Ian Linsley, managing director of the Alnwick Rum Company, signed an agreement allowing Susan exclusive use of the legendary dark rum in her luxurious Christmas pudding. The demand for the festive treat, says Susan, began back in the summer, and now with Christmas on the horizon the pudding is being sold in Fenwick’s food hall in Newcastle.

Recipes for the Wallington Food & Craft Festival

TIPTOE NOW A NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FARM (OCTOBER 2008)

Around 50 guests, including farmers, restaurateurs, school caterers, environmentalists and supermarket representatives recently attended the official launch of Tiptoe Farm in north Northumberland as a LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Demonstration Farm.

NORTH EAST WINS SUPREME FOOD AWARD AGAIN (September 2008)

For the second time in three years a North East food producer has won one of the most prestigious awards in the international food industry – the Fortnum & Mason Trophy for the Supreme Champion at the Great Taste Awards held in London in early

FURTHER SUCCESS FOR NORTH FARMER/PRODUCER (September 2008)

A well-known North East farmer/producer has picked up further national recognition for the quality of his organic beef.

Steve Ramshaw, who runs Northumbrian Quality Meats at Monkridge Hill Farm, West Woodburn, near the border with Scotland, has been highly commended for his Aberdeen Angus beef in a prestigious competition run by the Soil Association and judged by top names from the food industry.September.

SALSA RECOGNITION FOR IAN AND JAN’S BAKERY BUSINESS (September 2008)

The few remaining traditional family bakeries in the North East have a constant fight on their hands to withstand fierce competition from supermarkets. But Ian and Jan Thomson, whose artisan bakery in Stamfordham Road, Westerhope Village, Newcastle, has been going since 1956, continue to survive against all the odds and are always on the lookout for new ways to move the business forward.

Training documentation available for download

Training Courses for North East England Food and Drink Manufacturers
January to June 2009

The North East England Food and Drink Group are pleased to announce the launch of a programme of training courses ands workshops to be running up until June 2011 specially selected for food and Drink Food manufactures in the North East of England, these businesses to meet best practice and legislative requirements.
From Food Safety, Quality management Standards to introduction to BRC/SALSA, Health and Safety, Environmental, First Aid, Food Labeling, Food Styling, Allergy Awareness, this exciting project will be delivered by HSF Training Ltd “Winner of the SOFHT Best Training Company of the Year 2008” (under 100 employees) and Winner of the SOFHT Trainer of the Year Award 2007"

Have a look at the schedule, check out the dates, then simply complete and sign the booking form and send along with your payment to secure a place. Or alternatively go onto our website www.tastenortheast.co.uk or please contact the North East England Food and Drink Group for further details.

We hope you agree that this is a marvellous opportunity for food and drink manufactures in North East England and that you will take advantage of moving your business to the next level in training and skills.

a. Download Training Schedule January to June 2009

b. Booking Form

c. Policy document

David Hall Recipes - August 2008

David Hall Recipes September 2008

NORTH EAST FOOD PRODUCERS HEAD FOR TOP LONDON FOOD FAIR (SEPTEMBER 2008)

Eight food producers from across the North East are heading for London in September to take part in the Speciality and Fine Food Fair 2008, one of the top events of its kind in the country, in search of new business from national and international buyers.

WET HARVEST DOESN’T HOLD UP CORN MILL PRODUCTION (August 2008)

Heavy rain may have held up this year’s grain harvest but North breadmakers will be pleased to know they can still source supplies of stoneground wholemeal flour from Heatherslaw Corn Mill on the Ford and Etal Estates in north Northumberland.

DARLINGTON COUNCIL’S FIRST-EVER FOOD FESTIVAL (August 2008)

Darlington Borough Council announces its first-ever Food Festival will take place in the Market Square on Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5, between 10.00am and 5.00pm. It will consist of around 100 stalls with a food marquee and restaurant and pub promotions and tastings.

COLIN’S CAKES AND BISCUITS BRING SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS (August 2008)

A north Northumberland food producer whose first attempts at creating high quality cakes and biscuits began on the kitchen table at home in the early nineties, can today look back on a record of uninterrupted progress.

BILL ‘N’ GEOFF SCOOP MAJOR ICE CREAM ORDER (August 2008)

Two County Durham farming brothers who last year added an ice cream plant to their already successful milk processing business at Lanchester, have received an order worth many thousands of pounds to supply ice cream to Heron Frozen Foods, the Hull-based company which has 136 stores from Humberside to the North and Midlands.

DICKSONS ENTERS A NEW ERA (August 2008)

Dicksons, the region’s long-established food manufacturer and retailer, has completely revamped its Washington store to mark an exciting new era for the business.

The shop, based in The Galleries, is the first of Dicksons’ 20 outlets to benefit from a complete refurbishment, costing over £200,000.

A NEW WORLD FOR LINDISFARNE OYSTERS (July 2008)


The North East’s only oyster farm expects to open up a world of new customers following heavy investment in a French-built oyster barge that operates on land and sea, plus new grading and purification equipment and other improvements. [Continued...]

DAVID RIDLEY LEADS NATION’S FISHMONGERS (July 2008)

Not for the first time, national recognition has come the way of David Ridley, Northumberland’s well-known fish and game specialist.

David, whose business was recommended by celebrity chef and TV presenter Rick Stein a few years ago, has been elected president of the National Federation of Fishmongers, the official body representing the retail sector of the UK fish industry. He will serve three years in the top post after spending two years as vice-president.

CAKES HAVE THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (June 2008)

Set up only in June last year by two farming sisters, a unique cake-making enterprise in rural Northumberland based largely on locally-sourced root vegetable ingredients, is making such impressive progress it expects to quadruple its turnover in the next 12 months.

The Cake Root Company, established by Jane Slater and Fiona Woodcock, has been successfully selling its range of distinctive cakes at Fenwick of Newcastle, The Sanctuary at Alnwick Castle, country stores, delicatessens, farmers' markets and tourist attractions across the region. The company's website, www.thecakeroot.co.uk, has a list of all future events the company is taking part in.

Orders are pouring in for the company's signature varieties such as chocolate and beetroot, parsnip with lime and ginger, sweet potato with coconut and honey and carrot with orange and walnut.

Jane and I are incredibly passionate about our recipes, as well as using high quality regional produce as much as we can, says Fiona. We really enjoy experimenting with flavours and our customers tell us they love the natural sweetness of our cakes, which are made from honest, healthy ingredients derived from farm businesses across the North East.

Jane, who lives in Longframlington, and Fiona, whose home is a few miles away at Glanton, are from a farming family. Their background combined with the quality and uniqueness of their products has attracted a growing fan base, which led to a recent appearance on BBC television. A young BBC reporter bought one of their cakes in a Newcastle delicatessen and wanted to know more about its origin.

We've been almost overwhelmed by the positive feedback about the cakes and are very excited about the prospect of expanding into new markets to broaden our commercial reach, adds Jane. We hope to be at the stage shortly where we can both make a full-time living out of the business and in due course employ others. In the meantime we are maintaining our regional brand focus which has been very successful so far.

To assist in its continuing development, The Cake Root Company has recently become a member of Northumbria Larder, the lead partner in the North East England Food and Drink Group, which has ambitious plans for the future development of the food and drink sector in the region.

GRANNY ’S WARTIME RECIPE KEY TO NORTHUMBRIA MUFFINS’ SUCCESS (June 2008)

American GIs based in Stockton-on-Tees during the Second World War who insisted the local cook should bake them muffins like they enjoyed back home, are indirectly responsible for the success of a muffin-making business set up in Northumberland a year ago.

The cook was Marjorie Porritt, now aged 90, formerly of Huttton Rudby, North Yorkshire, and now living in a nursing home in Richmond, who passed on her original recipe to her grand-daughter, Janet Lawlor. She has used it as the basis for a successful muffin-making business which she runs from the kitchen of her home in Lynemouth Road, Ellington, Northumberland.

Janet, who had to give up her nursing career following a serious fall from a horse which saw her lose a finger and then have it successfully stitched back on by surgeons at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, took up baking after the accident. As a child she had been taught to cook by her grandmother, who showed her how to make American-style muffins which she had been asked to produce by US servicemen billeted in a special unit in Stockton, victims of post-traumatic stress brought about by their wartime experiences.

“Her muffins were very popular with the Americans. She couldn’t make enough of them,” says Janet, who is also finding that her Northumbria Muffins are selling, literally, like hot cakes at Morpeth Market every Wednesday and Alnwick Farmers’ Market on the last Friday of each month. The muffins are also being snapped up by local Scouts, school fetes and even a local children’s writer, Dinah Bell, of Morpeth, who serves them up to audiences when she talks to them about her books.

Janet, who gets up at 4.00am to make the muffins, which must be eaten the same day for maximum enjoyment, has now joined Northumbria Larder, the lead partner of the North East England Food and Drink Group, to help her expand the business.

Northumbria Muffins come in a wide variety of flavours, including chocolate, blueberry, raspberry and white chocolate (the most popular), plum and ginger, apple and cinnamon, pear and almond, toffee apple, and, in season, locally-grown strawberry, gooseberry and blackcurrant.

Janet is enjoying her now role as a self-employed businesswoman, but her only regret is that her grandmother Marjorie, who showed her how to cook delicious home-made muffins, American-style, is now very frail in a nursing home and is unaware of the key part she has played in Janet’s new career.

NEW DISHES A BIGGER CATCH AT SWALLOW FISH (May 2008)

Swallow Fish, the long-established wet and smoked fish shop and curing sheds in South Street near Seahouses harbour in Northumberland, is undergoing a major makeover which will enable it to offer a wider range of tasty fish dishes and other local produce this summer.

Ex-fisherman Patrick Wilkin and his wife Karen, who took over ownership of the business in April, 1999, hope to complete extensions to the shop by the end of May. They will then be able to produce more homemade specialities such as fish pies, kedgerees and pates, which are popular with locals and visitors alike, but whose sales are currently limited due to a lack of space.

“The shop will have two sides to it,” says Karen. “The original will stay the same with wet fish and smoked fish, and the new section will display all our homemade produce.
“We are also sourcing other ingredients, mostly from Northumbria Larder members, to complement a fish meal. The plan is that you come to Swallow Fish and buy a whole meal, say, cod, potatoes, herbs, butter, and lemon fish stock. We will also be able to prepare prawn cocktails and lobster salads in plastic bowls so that customers can take them away and eat them at their leisure while enjoying the local scenery.”

Work on the shop extensions should be complete shortly before the arrival at Swallow Fish of the first catches of sea trout from Beadnell Bay to be followed around July with the start of the wild salmon harvest, also off the north Northumberland coast.

Herring and salmon are smoked in the traditional way in the 19th century smoke houses at Swallow Fish.

Among those who have praised the quality of Swallow Fish is top chef Rick Stein who acclaimed the company as one of his Food Heroes on BBC-2.

The Wilkins, who bought the business from the late John Swallow and his wife Pauline, are keen to maintain its traditional look. They are currently sifting through about 100 photographs of old Seahouses, which have been digitally restored, to display them in the shop.

Their website – www.swallowfish.co.uk - includes information on the history of Swallow Fish and Seahouses, including a fascinating selection of old postcards, based on Karen’s own extensive collection.

Mark Toney Gains SALSA Accreditation

Local Ice Cream business Mark Toney have recently (March 2008) become the first local producer in the north east of England to achieve the SALSA (Safe & Local Supplier Approval) accreditation.

North East of England Food and Drink Group - Invitation to Tender for the Provision of Training - download document here

Wear Valley Food Festival, Chef Mike Aldridge - click here for recipes

ALNWICK IS NOW A CERTIFIED FARMERS’ MARKET (APRIL 2008)

Shoppers braved the wind and rain recently to fill their baskets with locally-produced food at the newly-certified Alnwick Farmers’ Market.

Recognition of the market’s status by the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA) was proclaimed by Alnwick town crier John Stevens at a ceremony in the town’s historic Market Place.

NORTHUMBERLAND CHEESE GETS A-LEVEL MARK (MARCH 2008)

Food producers have a major responsibility for ensuring their products are safe to eat, apart from worrying about whether customers will enjoy the taste.

And producers hoping to sell their produce through supermarkets and the larger delis and wholesalers are expected to have certification against an appropriate standard set by the British Retail Consortium(BRC), which carries global recognition.

NORTH EAST FOOD PRODUCERS SHOW THE NORTHUMBRIA FLAG IN SCOTLAND (February 2008)

Eight regional food producers took part in a three-day Speciality and Fine Food Fair in Glasgow in late January under the banner of Northumbria Larder, which leads the North East England Food and Drink Group. ...(more)

THE PROFESSIONAL CHEF’S PORK MANUAL (February 2008)

The British Pig Executive (BPEX) have published a free, 76-page book, The Complete Guide to Pork for the Professional Chef, which they hope will increase chefs’ understanding of how pigs are produced in the UK and how best to use the pork that comes from them....(more)

Death of former Northumbria Larder Director (January 2008)

Warm tributes have been paid to Lesley Armstrong, popular home-made food producer and a former director of Northumbria Larder, who died shortly before Christmas at the age of 48 after a three-year battle against cancer....(more)

Local Farm Shops Tie for National Honours (December 2007)

Two of the region’s best-known local farm shops have tied for top spot in the prestigious Best Farm Shop Butchery Award, run by the National Farm Retail and Farmers’ Market Association (FARMA). Moorhouse Farm Shop at Stannington Station, near Morpeth, Northumberland, run by husband and wife team Ian and Victoria Byatt, and Blagdon Farm Shop at the Milkhope Centre, run by Jo Celerier, are only three miles apart but managed to beat entrants from all over the country to take top honours....(more)

HERITAGE POTATOES IN THE SPOTLIGHT (DECEMBER 2007)

Sales of Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes, including varieties dating back to the middle of the 19th century, have enjoyed a boost following a cookery programme on national TV and an ongoing sales promotion in Booths supermarkets in North West England...(more)

RECOGNISING THE MERITS OF OLEIFERA RAPESEED OIL
(November 2007)

Oleifera Rapeseed Oil, which is produced and packaged in the Borders, has been given a stamp of approval by The Vegetarian Society of the UK, as the first British-produced rapeseed oil to carry the society’s Seedling Symbol Trademark....(more)

MICHELIN STAR CHEF TO COOK GOURMET MEAL DOWN ON THE FARM (November 2007)

Steve Smith, the only chef in the UK to win three Michelin stars at different restaurants, is to be the next guest cook at a series of gourmet meals held monthly at a Haltwhistle, Northumberland, farm which provides its own rare breed meat for its farm shop and bistro....(more)

KITCHEN ACADEMY TAKES THE FRESH FOOD MESSAGE TO CHILDREN
(October 2007)

One of the attractions of this year’s Wallington Food and Craft Festival, the Kitchen Academy, was set up six years ago by former farmer and chef Jethro Carr to teach children how to cook healthy meals using, wherever possible, fresh local ingredients.

Jethro, who is originally from Devon but now lives in Sussex, has expanded his original idea of taking chefs into schools by running fun workshops for kids at food festivals such as Wallington and at national events like the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC Birmingham between November 28 and December 2.

“At Kitchen Academy we passionately believe that all children should have the chance to gain sufficient skills and knowledge of how to cook,” says Jethro. “Through educating children in a fun environment we aim to teach them the importance of a healthy balanced diet.”

Jethro and his team of helpers have few problems in catching the kids’ attention by introducing novelties such as a pedal-powered blender and a human fruit machine as part of the more serious cooking workshops and demonstrations.

“We have learned how to make the workshops as exciting as possible for the children taking part. This not only makes it a fun day for the children but also means that they are likely to remember what they have learned,” says Jethro, who is becoming a regular visitor to food festivals in the North of England and Scotland. “I particularly enjoy working in the north of the country.” His visit to Wallington was sponsored by Food from Britain, the Government-commissioned agency which supports the growth of quality regional food producers, and also generates international business for UK food and drink producers.

Recipes for Wallington Food & Craft Festival by Nick Martin
- click here to download

COOL NEW SIGNING FOR NEWCASTLE UNITED (November 2007)

Mark Toney, makers of one of Newcastle’s most popular ice creams since 1902, have teamed up with Newcastle United Football Club to create a black and white ice cream based on the Magpies’ famous striped shirts.

The innovative ice cream, with stripes of blackcurrant running through pure white Italian-style ice cream, was launched in October with special tastings in Asda stores throughout the North East. The new product comes in distinctive, family-sized one-litre tubs.

Mark Toney’s association with Newcastle United goes back to the 1960’s when United players were a familiar sight in their ice cream parlour in Percy Street, Newcastle. In those days players such as Ron McGarry and Wyn Davies would pop in after training to sit and chat with George, the owner, often sharing racing tips.

Today George’s son, Anthony, who, like his three sons, is a keen Newcastle supporter, carries on the business. He says that Mark Toney have made ice cream in Newcastle for over 100 years, and are proud of their heritage. “ Football has been a part of Newcastle life for even longer, so the partnership of these two Newcastle institutions makes a perfect match.”

When asked about the new flavour, Anthony’s wife, Anne, said they wanted to make something which reflected the Geordies’ passion for football, and their great sense of humour. “People get a bit precious about ice cream nowadays, and we thought we’d bring some fun back to it with a striped ice cream.”

Anthony added: “It’s been an interesting process as we had to commission special equipment to get the stripes just the way we wanted them. The design of the packaging was also important, as we wanted to reflect the Magpie fans as well as the club. But most of all, the ice cream had to taste great, and we’re confident that Black and White, made with our gold medal award-winning ice cream, will appeal to United fans from five to 95.”

The new product is being sold in Mark Toney cafes, Fenwick of Newcastle, Asda stores and independent retailers in the region.

Further information is available from the company’s website: www.marktoney.co.uk