Food Stars

50 Food Stars to celebrate 

the future of UK food and drink

We are very excited to report that the Government, and specifically DEFRA, have launched a new initiative in which we are included.

Fifty of the country’s most promising food and drink entrepreneurs have been recognised as Food Stars for their contribution to the UK’s growing economy. These 50 are proud entrepreneurs and innovators who showcase the best of British foods. You can read more about the initiative and see a list of all the others involved on the DEFRA website.

The official launch is on Thursday 26th February 2015 and we will be there to see the start of this exciting new idea. Do follow developments on social media using #50FoodStars.

This comes at an exciting time for us, as we are just about to launch our new (significantly improved) website and online shop, followed by our whole new range of "fruitier" recipes in Spring. More on this soon, but here is a teaser of our beautiful new bottles. We think all this news is worth celebrating, so here is some Raspberry Vinegar in a glass or two of Prosecco: "honky tonks!"

Great Taste Awards

We are seeing stars, GOLD STARS!

Following some very helpful feedback from all of you, we have been spending a lot of time over the past few months adjusting our recipes so that they are all more fruity and less sweet. We have reduced the sugar we add by around a quarter. It was these recipes that we entered into the Great Taste Awards this year with the intention of getting feedback BEFORE going into full production. We hope to have our whole range available in these new recipes before the end of the year so that you can indulge yourself in time for Christmas!

Here is a little video that BBC Radio 2's resident food expert, Nigel Barden, has made about the Golden Raspberry and Apache Chilli Vinegar:

With remarks from the judges such as those below, it seems we are thinking along the right lines!

Golden Raspberry & Apache Chilli Vinegar won Gold***

Top 50 Foods

The Nigel Barden Heritage Award

 Golden Fork Award 

"Crystal clear vinegar aroma of both raspberry and chilli. Good sweetness level. A perfect balance of raspberry and chilli allowing the the vinegar flavour to come through as well."

"This vinegar has a wonderful aroma. You can smell the raspberries and chilli. The vinegar is light in colour. This vinegar has a wonderful flavour. The raspberry is on the front of the palate followed by the warmth of the chilli which is gentle but builds nicely. We loved this product..." 

Raspberry Vinegar won Gold***

"A beautiful coloured vinegar with a lovely clarity. The raspberry aroma is incredible. The raspberry flavour and sweetness come through beautifully at the front of the palate before the acidity of the vinegar kicks in. The balance of this vinegar between sweetness and acidity is just perfect. The judges were all very excited about this product."

Orange & Mace won Gold*

"We like this - good balance of acidity from the vinegar and a freshness from the orange. The mace nips in at the finish in a very pleasant way."

 

FreeFrom Food Award

We are delighted to report that our Raspberry Vinegar has just been awarded Highly Commended at the prestigious 2013 FreeFrom Food Awards in the Grocery Ambient category. Our Raspberry vinegar was one of over 340 products that were entered for the FreeFrom Food Awards, a record 37% increase on last year!

A team of 50 expert judges tested freefrom products across 15 categories including Plant ‘Milk’, Spread, Cheese & Desserts; FreeFrom Breakfast Cereals; Grocery; Ready Meals; and Savoury Biscuits and Snacks. In order to be eligible to enter the awards the products must be free from one or more of the ingredients (including wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, yeast, nuts and soya) that trouble so many people. It is estimated that globally between 220 and 250 million people suffer from food allergies (World Allergy Organisation) and this figure is continuing to rise. 

Rupert Parsons from Womersley attended the Awards and commented that “for those with a restricted diet, it is a bonus to have a key ingredient to enhance your dishes so we are particularly pleased that the first vinegar my father made has proved so popular in the FreeFrom diet.” 

2012 review

Well, what a year it has been! Highlights this year include awards, Olympics, our best year of sales ever, lots of shows, appearances on Radio, a successful trip to Scandinavia to launch our vinegars there and lots of plans in the pipeline for 2013....

We entered our Lime, Black Pepper & Lavender Vinegar into the Taste Awards this year and the judges awarded it Gold**, describing it as "drop dead gorgeous!" Also, we decided to enter our Raspberry Vinegar since this was the first one my father, Martin, ever made and a good Yorkshire tradition with your roast beef and Yorkshire puddings.

Much of the year was taken up for us with providing LOCOG with our vinegars. We feel that we did our small part for providing a lasting legacy, showcasing some of the best of what food this country has to offer and we are proud to have been invited to supply our vinegars.

It is always fun to contribute to radio food programmes and so I was delighted to be invited to appear on Vanessa Kimbell's show on BBC Radio Northampton as well as Bill Buckley's Radio Oxford slot. Both are delightful and entertaining hosts and we were also joined by "Great British Bake Off's" Urvashi Roe and food journalist Hazel Paterson. You can listen again to these on the radio widget on the right, numbers 4 and 5.

Our Wendy went to Copenhagen recently and we have already received our first order to supply to Denmark. This is particularly exciting for us, since our brand designs are deliciously Scandinavian and they sure know their fruit vinegars in that part of Europe. More news on this soon....

And the year has been rounded off very nicely by Theo Paphitis awarding us an SBS award on 23rd December: the day which would have been Martin's 74th Birthday.

Thank you to all of you who have kept up the fruity enthusiasm this year, we hope you will find plenty more to keep your imagination flowing next year.

We wish you a very happy and peaceful New Year.

Abergavenny FoodFest

The much anticipated Abergavenny Food Festival is once again almost upon us. Last year, this proved to be our busiest town food festival, full of knowledgeable and enthusiastic visitors. The town is so picturesque that I used a few spare minutes last year to take some photos as well, like this one:

Abergavenny Market Hall

We have been fortunate enough recently to supply our fruit vinegars to a particularly prestigious event of an elite sporting nature in a city not too far from here and this will be our first chance to show off our goods since the event ended. As you can tell, we are not allowed to say what this is, but come and taste for yourself why we were chosen...

This year, we are in the Market Hall and have far more space to exhibit. You can find us on Stall number 35, see the map below. Unlike last year, this means we'll be under cover (in the unlikely event of rain) and in the same area as the exciting Kitchen Stage where we hope to see the chefs doing a few demonstrations with our vinegars...well, you never know! You can see the timetable of the chefs demonstrating on the Abergavenny FoodFest site.

Do come along, then, to Abergavenny this Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th September for an exciting visit to a beautiful town at its' best. We will, for the first time, have our four chutneys available for you and our new Taste Award winners have lovely new labels, too...

Goldrush

GREAT TASTE AWARDS

We are so delighted to report that our Raspberry Vinegar has been awarded Gold*** and Top50 in this year's Great Taste Awards and our Lime, Black Pepper & Lavender Vinegar has won Gold**

 This is a particularly special recognition since Raspberry is the first one we did, following a traditional recipe, as we still do to this day. And our Lime, Black Pepper & Lavender is perhaps the most inventive recipe with its' fascinating fragrant and sour blend. The Lime one is the favourites in our home as a marinade for chicken breasts prior to pan-frying. And Raspberry is just sublime blended with Rapeseed Oil to make the perfect salad dressing.

In honour of these awards, here is a fantastic new recipe for you:

 

Rhubarb and Raspberry Vinegar Pasties

with Smoked Wensleydale Cheese

by Josh Angell

Ingredients:

PASTIES

200g Rhubarb, finely diced (Yorkshire Forced, if available)

1 Red Onion, finely diced

10ml Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil
100ml Womersley Raspberry Vinegar
75g Dark Brown Sugar

250g Puff Pastry

100g Oak Smoked Wensleydale Cheese

3 Egg Yolks
Pinch Salt and Pepper

DRESSING
50ml Womersley Blackberry Vinegar
25g Wholegrain Mustard
50ml Rapeseed Oil

Rocket or fresh salad leaf
Pinch Salt and Pepper

 

METHOD

 

1. Heat the finely diced red onion and rhubarb in a heavy based pan with the 10ml of rapeseed oil

2. Sweat off the onion and rhubarb, adding the Womersley Raspberry Vinegar at this point; also add seasoning and the dark brown sugar

3. Continue to cook on a low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally

4. When the contents have turned to a chutney-like state, set aside and allow to cool gently

5. Pre-heat oven to 180˚C, place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a flat baking sheet and set aside

6. Flour a clean, dry surface and roll out the puff pastry; using a 10cm cutter, cut discs of the puff pastry

7. Cut the cheese into 5cm squares and place on half of the puff pastry discs; place a spoonful of the chutney onto the cheese and then an additional disc of puff pastry on top

8. Seal the discs together using a fork and place the finished pasties on the baking sheet

9. Use the egg yolks to wash the pasties before placing them into the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

10. Whilst your pasties are in the oven, make the dressing; take a glass bowl and mix the Blackberry vinegar and mustard, along with the seasoning. Slowly add the oil, stirring continually to avoid the dressing splitting

11. Remove your pasties from the oven

12. Take your rocket or other fresh leaf, and dress lightly with the dressing.

13. Assemble on the plate and place your pasties on top; if preferred place an additional spoon of the chutney on top

14. Enjoy with a crisp glass of chilled chardonnay for that extra treat