Mojito Recipe

Following on from Dean Railton's fantastic Sage and Onion Gibson recipe which won Yorkshire's inaugural Best Cocktail competition on August 1st, Chef Jason Rowe has come up with a really interesting twist on the traditional Mojito.
Jason owns the popular restaurant Dine on the Rowe in Beverley, makes some excellent brownies and was also one of the chefs who contributed to our demonstrations at Harrogate Flower Show in April. You can see him working in the kitchen on our You Tube page.
Mojitos are a particular favourite of mine since I did a charity cycle ride across Cuba in 2008 with a few chums. But it did mean that I do appreciate a really well made one. So I am delighted that Jason has pulled off such a cracking recipe using our Lime, Black Pepper and Lavender Vinegar Dressing.
Try it at home and let us know how you get on.

Womersley Mojito

 

50ml Gomme Syrup

25ml Lime, Black Pepper & Lavender Vinegar Dressing

Crushed Ice

Soda Water, to serve

50ml Doorley's White Rum

Lime Slices to serve

Lavender sprig

Black Pepper for the rim of the glass

Method

In a cocktail shaker, add the syrup, Womersley Vinegar, ice and rum. Stir or shake thoroughly.

Take a slim jim glass and lime the edge of the glass; dip in crushed black pepper.

Pour the contents of the shaker, including the ice, into the glass.

Decoratewith a slice of lime and a sprig of lavender if available.

Enjoy

Abergavenny Food Festival

I enjoyed a very successful and busy weekend in this scenic corner of Wales  and we had a great time seeing lots of new faces at one of the biggest food festivals in the calendar.

This was my first ever trip to Abergavenny Food Festival and I had heard a lot about what a great festival it is for meeting very enthusiastic festival-goers. Having now done the show, I can certainly say that the people who I saw were very knowledgeable and keen to know a lot about what we do and were amonst the friendliest and most cheerful I have ever seen at a food festival. They were also really positive about their "food finds" as gifts for others as well as themselves, and there was plenty to choose from!

View from the Castle, Abergavenny

It's great spending time talking to people about how we got to where we are now and all about growing up with the aroma of all the jellies and vinegars in our home in Yorkshire. But most of all, I find it great fun to talk about what people love to eat and how we can provide an essential ingredient to really perk up nearly any dish with a really fruity flavour!

There will always be scope for a good chat about "what can I do with that vinegar/dressing" and I love hearing as well what great ideas you all come up with.

Doing a show is quite a lot of work and tends to be a long day, so I like to try to break it up a little by walking around with the camera (a Nikon D80 with 18-200mm Zoom, fact fans) taking one or two snaps to give some setting and idea for what it is like visiting a food show and what is on offer, whether it be charcuterie or a load of balls!

Charcuterie in the Market

A load of Balls

At Abergavenny, Rude Health also gave many people, including me, the opportunity to "do a rant" at the castle. This was another good way of breaking up the day and Camilla Barnard from Rude Health looked after the stand for me while I did a little piece about Food Labelling. Fortunately (or not) this topic had just been in the news, but I wanted to keep a positive message about what we do since I feel that it is important for you and me, as consumers, to know what is in our food. Fortunately, this did give me the opportunity to talk about the lovely large quantities of fruit we put in our vinegars and dressings (do not listen to it, though, it is very boring).

The Market beautifully decorated for the Festival

One of the highlights at Abergavenny was seeing food writers Niamh Shields (who took some lovely photos, too) and Signe Johansen who did a wonderful job demonstrating how to use our Raspberry vinegar to bring out the best in Beetroot as part of her Nordic Masterclass thus ensuring we had lots of visitors wanting to try for themselves!

There will be a pre-Christmas Food Festival at Abergavenny on 11th December, and I am really looking forward to going back for that.

Our newly awarded bottle on display for the first time

Finally, I must thank Claire Martinsen of Breckland Orchard and her family for allowing me stay at their home where I was spoilt rotten (and got to watch the rugby World Cup). 

You can see some more of the photos I took at Abergavenny on our News and Shows Page and our Facebook page.

London Deli of the Year 2011

 

The excellent El's Kitchen has won London Deli of the year 2011 and been awarded 2nd Place in the UK Finals of Deli of the Year! Following our meeting at Speciality and Fine Food Show in London last year, we have been proud to supply the hard-working Eleanor Thompson with our goodies.

The Shopfront in Ladywell

 And now, Eleanor is getting so busy, she is recruiting! If you're a cook, love food, live in South East London and fancy a challenge, you can apply via Caterer.com

 

 

As you can see, El's Kitchen stock very fine food!

You are sure to find plenty of tasty treats to keep the good people of Ladywell properly fed. Do go and visit for lots of well-sourced cheeses and meats to great olives, wines, bread and of course vinegars and dressings!

Ludlow Food Festival

Despite the very blustery weather, lots of people came to visit the small, picturesque Shropshire town of Ludlow for the food festival last weekend. We were positioned in The Fringe section, being from Yorkshire, where we were also joined by the day-long cooking of 6,500 fine Legges of Bromyard's sausages on the groovy new Big Green Egg barbecues.

Market Place, Ludlow

 

 

 The rain and winds were occasionally bracing, while exhibitors and visitors alike enjoyed sharing their passions for food. I was lucky enough to be next to the Cheshire Cheese Company, so got to taste their delicious Vintage Cheddar and Smoked Cheese which I can thoroughly recommend.

 

As soon as I was home, I tried the Vintage Cheddar with a delicious Lewis & Cooper Plum Pudding: great combination! Also in the same area at Ludlow was the very fine Chilton Damson Gin producer who make ideally sized 100ml bottles- great for Christmas! 

I did manage to get a few minutes off to see the fabulous set up at the castle, the grounds of which were buzzing with activity and demonstrations. This was my first ever visit to Ludlow and I am so impressed to see such a well-loved little town thriving with small food businesses and able to muster such a huge number of volunteers to help over the festival weekend. Hopefully, we will be there again next year!

Ludlow Castle