Speciality Food January 2024

39 LAST WORDS The final word on fine food TRIED & TESTED SEGGIANO, ORGANIC BEAN & QUINOA SOUP Awelcome addition to the Seggiano family. In true Seggiano style, everything about this product screams quality. From the recyclable jar, to the clean bill of ingredients listed on the label. With consumers ever looking to shift away fromultra-processed foods, and ‘soup season’ in full swing, this could prove an exciting and timely addition to your store. The soup is richly-flavoured, wholesome-tasting, and packed with gut-friendly, tender pieces of whole vegetables. We definitely give it our stamp of approval. seggiano.com A LL THINGS BUTTER, GARLIC & HERB BUTTER “Ohmy, this is so good,” ones of our tasters drooled as they sunk their teeth into a slice of fres h bread, smothered with a layer of All Things Butter’s organic Garlic & Herb Butter. It’s blended with all-natural ingredients, including garlic paste, black pepper, lemon, parsley andmint, and is delicious as it is, with bread or crackers, or used in cooking, perhaps as a stuffing for chicken, pork or white fish, or for finishing soups and sauces. The overall consensus was that it’s seriously addictive stuff. allthingsbutter.co.uk BELVOIR FARM, NON-ALCOHOLIC RHUBARB & GINGER G&T Wow, this is delicious! Belvoir Farm is certainlymaking an impact in the no- alcohol market with its sophisticated approach to grown-up soft drinks. The Non-Alcoholic Rhubarb & Ginger G&T is one of the brand’s best yet, bringing a tart, punchy, rhubarb crumble flavour to the fore with natural juice, and enhancing this with ginger extract, and hints of juniper and quinine for added complexity. Available in 750ml sharing bottles, the drink is just as delightful over ice on its own, as it is with a mixer, such as premiumgin or vodka. belvoirfarm.co.uk NOT ALL OILS ARE CREATED EQUAL PARTNER CONTENT Olive oil is the foundation of most Italian cooking - but it pays to shop around for the best specialityfoodmagazine.com F at is back in fashion. Margarine, long feted for its supposed health benefits, is increasingly being supplanted by butter and olive oil, as research continues to demonstrate the clear advantages of eating natural foods, that are as unprocessed as possible. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), in particular has been getting a lot of attention in both scientific circles and the press, as the kitchen essential we’ve long overlooked. Health claims for the oil include anti-inflammatory properties, a richness inmonounsaturated fats, and links to it supporting the brain and gut. Professor TimSpector, a luminary in the field of gut health, is a strong advocate of incorporating EVOO into the diet, noting that the extraordinary levels of polyphenols are something we all need to sit up and take note of. Unfortunately, not oil olive oils are made equal. Insiders will tell you there are imposter products in the industry, where practices include blending old harvests, mis- labelling, andmuchmuchmore. With EVOO a hot topic, it’s well worth investing time (andmoney) in ensuring the bottles of ‘liquid gold’ on your shelves are actually the real deal. Work with specialists, and speak to peers about their olive oil selections. Invest in a simple testing kit to check the acidity levels of any oils you are interested in (a factor in quality). And, importantly, try before you buy. An extra virgin olive oil that’s insipid or bland is unlikely to be worthy of shelf space. Look out for grassy, peppery, herbal, complex, fruity notes, building out your range with oils you feel sit nicely for both cooking, and dipping. Once you’re happy, encourage customers to try oils in store, perhaps inviting a local chef in to demonstrate the myriad ways this glorious natural ingredient can be used. Garofalo takes the sourcing of its oil very seriously indeed, with a completely traceable supply chain, fromfield to bottle. The brand’s 100% extra virgin olive oil is made only with Biancolilli and Coratina olives harvested at the height of ripeness, and crushed within a few days in Italianmills. It’s a difference you can taste. THE INDEPENDENT SHOPPER Kate Attlee, Sabzi Cornish roastery Rising Ground, which is so exciting. The combination of our fully traceable, ‘chocolate-dried fruit flavour profile’ espresso and Trink’s wonderful milk, is something I cannot wait to share with our guests. For me, when choosing produce I must consider a few things. Number one, is it local to Cornwall or British at the very least? Because annually transporting food to and from the UK produces 19 million tonnes of CO2. Number two, is it seasonally appropriate? Using seasonal products is cheaper, tastes better and is better for the planet, so I have to consider if the produce I use is seasonally appropriate to be cooking with. Number three, can we cook or prepare this ingredient creatively – and in a delicious way that will suit Sabzi, and (of course) does it work financially within our menu plan? We are privileged to feed hundreds of people every day in our Falmouth and Truro delis, and with the addition of Padstow and Newquay I’m so proud to be bringing Sabzi’s food to a wider audience. It’s going to be a busy few months, but I can’t wait!” cooking with local and seasonal ingredients. Our dishes are built from simple core products that most people have access to; you would be surprised at how fantastically creative we are able to be with just three staple ingredients of carrots, cabbages, and potatoes. It is all about sympathetic cookery and the intelligent use of herbs and spices to elevate and combine our ingredients into dishes that are both delicious and healthy. When it comes to my favourite suppliers, I have a few staples. I love using Trink milk. It brings me joy to know of the wonderful life the cows are enjoying, and the immense pride Trink Dairy (rightly) has in its product is inspiring. It tastes incredible too! We have just finished developing our very own Sabzi coffee ‘Duke Street’ blend in collaboration with S abzi is centred around a simple concept; a small menu of delicious, creative dishes that are different every day. Available to eat in and takeaway, our food champions humble and sustainable ingredients that, when used properly, create incredibly delicious dishes. Alongside my dedicated team, I curate menus that highlight accessible produce, making our culinary delights enjoyable for everyone. We were excited to bring this same concept to two new Cornish locations, Padstow and Newquay, last year. We are so lucky to be based in Cornwall, with an abundance of wonderful produce available to us locally. My Iranian heritage is a huge part of the food you’ll eat at Sabzi, and while we seek to give our customers a taste of the Middle East every day, it’s incredibly important to me that we are We are so lucky to be based in Cornwall, with an abundance of wonderful produce available to us