Speciality Food April 2024

46 @specialityfood A t Speciality Food , we have summer on the brain. While the rain and chilly weather may be lingering longer than we’d like, we know that sunny days and warm evenings are just around the corner – and that means it’s time to start stocking your shop with food and drink fit for everyone’s favourite warmweather activities, from the infamous rain-or- shine barbecues to lovely seaside picnics. This year, could you take the festivities up a notch? Why not host an event or create a themed area in your shop around a key selling point, such as a sport-themed Olympics bash or Mexican-inspired barbecue feast? Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, however, spring has only just sprung, and it’s worth stopping to smell the flowers, so to speak. Spring naturally brings with it a sense of opportunity and optimism. We’re feeling it at Speciality Food – especially after receiving a fantastic response to our sustainability-themed Green Issue in February/March – and we hope you are too. As always, we would love to hear from our readers about their big plans for growing their shop’s profile this year, whether that’s diversifying into a new area of business, solidifying a brand ethos into firmbusiness commitments or investingmore time into defining a USP. Are you planning to spring clean your business this year? That might take the form of a physical clear-out, deep clean and rework of your shop layout, but it could also be a chance to dig into your finances, review contracts and chase invoices; take a digital cleanse, offering the opportunity to tidy up your website and review your social media performance; or perhaps you could take some time to perform some mental clearing out, by checking in with yourself and your business goals for this year. Behind the scenes, the Speciality Food team is as busy as ever. We’re excited to get out frombehind our desks to meet new and familiar industry faces at upcoming trade shows. We’re also spending some time digging into exciting food industry trends and the forward-thinking brands that are pushing the boundaries. We look forward to continuing to connect with you about all this andmore over the months to come. We love hearing from our readers. Do you have a story to share or expertise to pass on? Please get in touch with courtney.goldsmith@artichokehq.com FINAL CALL specialityfoodmagazine linkedin.com/company/ speciality-food @SpecialityFood BE CONNECTED WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Adventure and new challenges – when I was growing up I had a fear that one day I would regret not doing something, so I made an agreement with myself to do something at least once to know for sure that I don’t like it before writing it off. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE JOB? When you have a plan for the day, wine dictates how this plays out. The excitement is that you never have to think of the day being the same. It opens your mind up to thinking on your toes, and allows you watch how diverse the life of a wine can be, seeing it grow into something exceptional. AND YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE? The greatest challenges always relate back to what excites you, because wine is so temperamental and is constantly changing, it creates an environment that can be quite unsteady. You need to be realistic and flexible to the fact that your day could take an unexpected turn in the name of quality and perfection, this can be tough for someone like me who thrives on organisation and planning. THOUGHTS ON THE DRINKS/ ENGLISHWINE INDUSTRY? Whilst Bolney has been producing wine for over 50 years – the UK wine industry as a whole is still very young and pioneering. This creates a platform for such an exciting time ahead, especially for winemakers. It has opened up the opportunity to be innovative and define the style FOLLOW SPECIALITY FOOD ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO HEAR MORE FROM FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRY VOICES CONTENT Editor (maternity cover) Charlotte Smith-Jarvis, 01206 505981 charlotte.smith-jarvis@artichokehq.com News & Digital Editor Courtney Goldsmith courtney.goldsmith@artichokehq.com Editor Holly Shackleton Art Director Lee Whiteford lee.whiteford@artichokehq.com Published by ArtichokeMedia Ltd Global House, Global Park, Moorside Colchester, Essex, CO1 2TJ Next issue available: May 2024 COMMERCIAL Advertising Manager Jessica Brett jessica.brett@artichokehq.com Deputy Advertising Manager Sammy Kirby Account Manager Louise Barnes 01206 508629 louise.barnes@artichokehq.com Accounts artichokemedialtd@integral2.com Publisher Sam Reubin 01206 505936 sam.reubin@artichokehq.com 5 MINUTES WITH CARA LEE DELY, HEAD OF WINEMAKINGBOLNEYWINE CHEESE BUYER 2024 ISSUE COMING SOON For more information contact: louise.barnes@artichokehq.com 01206 508629 Summer Drinks Oils, Vinegars & Dressings Crisps & Bagged Snacks Outdoor Eating centrespread Condiments Trendsetters Inside the next issue of Speciality Food of the region in order to create wines that are unique to us and launch this further into international markets TEA OR COFFEE? Coffee, definitely, how else do you stay awake during harvest? Or red cappuccino which is made from Rooibos tea - this is reserved for when I’ve had my ration of coffee for the day WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU’VE EVER EATEN? Sea anemone – it was disgusting. I also had a cocktail that used Blood Curacao which is essentially pigs’ blood. FAVOURITE BOOK? I know you probably want me to give you an inspirational wine book that changed my life, but actually The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein – I ugly cried at the end, it was just beautiful. SWEET OR SAVOURY? Haha – we play this game in the winery! Savoury – I can have cheese on anything! But let’s be honest, I actually often combine the two, everyone thinks it’s very weird but how good is honey and goats’ cheese?