Speciality Food Magazine May 2024

39 LAST WORDS The final word on fine food SMOOTH CHOCOLATE & ORANGE PEANUT BUTTER, MOTHERNUTTER One of the newer arrivals from this gourmet nut butter brand. Only the best, high-oleic peanuts are used in the product, alongside cacao, a touch of salt, orange zest and orange oil. We’ve really been enjoying this spread over our toast in themorning – and even used some to sandwich together a chocolate cake. While it contains no added sugar, the orange zest and oil lift the peanut butter, giving it a brightness that wakes up the taste buds. And the rich, aromatic flavour of well roasted nuts is there. But perhaps the thing we like best is its spreadability. Often gourmet peanut butters split, making them tricky to use. This one’s consistency is just right. mothernutter.co.uk LAMB ROGAN JOSH, LODGE FARMKITCHEN The founders of Lodge FarmKitchen spent time in India absorbing the cultures and tastes, before heading back home to experiment, conjuring their own spicemixes and pastes. The result is a new range of curries and sides, for meat eaters, veggies and vegans. Sold in compostable poplar trays, each dish ismade using only natural ingredients, just the way customers would cook themat home. We liked the warmth and fire generated by this Rogan Josh, which had a real depth of flavour, married withmelting nuggets of lamb. lodgefarmkitchen.com DRAGONMOJO, MIXTONS The world of RTD cocktails is growing at a pace – with producers scrambling to come upwith ever new, exciting flavour combinations. Mixtons have managed to achieve the trifactor of cool branding, newness, and (crucially) flavour, with their products, including this Dragon Mojo. Catching the eye with its peppermint and flamingo pink can, inside what you get is a burst of sweetness, balanced by a sharp whack of kiwi, mellowed by the rumandmint. Served over ice, it’s totally refreshing. mixtons.com PUT A SPRING IN YOUR STEP PARTNER CONTENT Are your chillers and shelves prepared for the warmer weather? THE INDEPENDENT SHOPPER parts of the dish are harvested from different coastal parts of Scotland, and come together to form something new that also tells a very strong story of provenance, and nods to both classic Western and Eastern culinary traditions. For me it is at the confluence of cultures and traditions, that food can be at its most exciting. There has also been a re- emergence of centuries-old techniques and foodstuffs coming back into vogue - think brewing, fermenting, foraging, smoking and distilling. Craft breweries and distilleries are popping up everywhere, and artisan cheesemakers are producing cheeses that can rival any from the continent. We work with one in particular called Strathearn cheese who are making some really F ood in Scotland is in a really interesting place right now. The country has always been famed for the quality of its ingredients, such as game meats and shellfish, and also for those products with historic, and enduring significance, like haggis and whisky; but I think a modern breed of chef is taking those things and using them in a-traditional, exciting ways, by incorporating flavours and techniques from around the world. For example, at our restaurant we are currently serving an oyster course, with the oysters coming from Cumbrae Oysters, over on the west coast. The oysters are poached lightly in smoked ham fat, and are served with a dulse kimchi made from seaweed harvested in the East Neuk of Fife, and a Laphroaig emulsion. All We work with a local forager who brings us themost wonderful chanterelles and ceps in summer interesting cheeses, including a washed-rind cheese in the vein of Epoisses from Burgundy, that is washed in Glenturret Whisky. We also buy bere barley kernels from Barony Mills up in Orkney, who are the only producer of this ancient varietal that was planted by the Vikings and may well be the oldest grain in the country. At the restaurant we also work with a forager who brings us the most wonderful local chanterelles and ceps in the summer, as well as indigenous plants and berries such as sweet woodruff, pineapple weed, spignel, crowberries, blaeberries and black chokeberries. These provide local character and interesting bursts of flavour to many of our dishes, and I suspect these sorts of things will become more and more mainstream, and more widely sought after in time. TomTsappis, chef patron, Killiecrankie House, Perthshire TRIED & TESTED S tandby. Summer’s on its way. With the change in seasons comes the inevitable reappearance of household barbecues. It’s prime al fresco cooking time, and undoubtedly barbecuing in the UK has taken off. While American cuts and flavours are headlining this sector, it’s worth remembering too that the trend towards Italian food in the UK is also growing apace. And many Italian ingredients and dishes lend themselves perfectly to the barbecue or, of course, the pizza oven. Its appearance on cooking shows and onmeatymenus in cities across the nation, has seen porchetta rise in popularity. This meltingly delicious roll of pork, usually folding a loin into a belly, with a generous seasoning of herbs, garlic, salt and pepper, is a speciality of Italy’s Lazio region, where it’s often cooked over a wood fire. An ideal choice, then, to recommend at the butchery counter for customers who hooked onto the lockdown pizza oven trend. Another way to lean into consumers’ growing obsession with larger, sharing cuts, is by offering thick slices (around 2-3ins) of porterhouse steak – perfect for mastering the art of bistecca alla Fiorentina....a simply seasoned homage to beef, that’s usually carved at the table with a feast of salads and steamed or roasted baby potatoes. Outdoor cooking Italian-style isn’t limited tomeat. Burrata and real buffaloMozzarella are seeing enormous increases in demand,as consumers seek to deliver amore authentic experience at home. Tucked into a cast iron or heat proof dish, drizzled with oil, and roasted alongside ripe peppers, tomatoes or courgettes, then given a flash in a pizza oven until oozing, there’s somethingmagical about themilky, creamy, yielding nature of a burrata. A final flourishwith a really good pesto and a sprinkle of seasoning, and perhaps some crusty Italian bread on the side, and lunch or dinner can be on the table in a matter of minutes. Even pasta can get the pizza oven treatment. Armed with a jar of beautiful, traditionally-made Italian sauce, some bronze die cut pasta, andmore of that magical Mozzarella, customers can pre-prepare a homely tray or dish, to be fired off in the smoke of live flames as their guests arrive, for the ultimate in relaxed entertaining. Don’t forget to stock other key antipasti essentials (or picky bits) to help shoppers get the party started. They’re looking for quality, flavour and convenience, and will pay a premium if you can deliver all three. Show them in store how they can very quickly prepare plates of grilled artichokes, sundried tomatoes, grilled peppers, multicoloured olives, and dips, to whet their guests’ appetites before themain event. A taste of summer, and simplicity itself.