In an unexpected part of London that I have never ventured to before, stands Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall. Recently opened and proclaimed as the biggest oriental foodhall in London, it boasts 30 kiosks offering a variety of different delights from every corner of Asia. As the leading foodservice pr agency, we felt obliged to check it out and report back on what is has to offer.
Yesterday evening I was delighted to attend Arena’s latest event which strayed from the norm, being based in the informal setting of Mercato Metropolitano. Andrea Rasca, the founder opened up the event explaining his vision and hopes of creating a sustainable ‘shopping mall’ with a strong community feel.
Norway, which has been ranked highest in standard of living, life expectancy and education for the 13th consecutive year, has its perks and quirks and BIT is certainly one of them. The café first opened up in Oslo – the capital city – and is unique to Norway.
“Here is the selection of teas we have, and for the Princesses, we have hot chocolate, apple or orange juice”.
My 7-year-old niece Lucy beamed as the waiter referred to her and her 5 year-old sister as princesses and sat politely as he circled the table laying the pristine white napkins on our laps. We were at The Castle in Taunton, Somerset, for a very special afternoon tea in honour of my pregnant sister-in-law who is due at the end of September. With no one in our group ever having gone out for proper afternoon tea we didn’t fully know what to expect.
At Jellybean, we’re always on top of the latest goings on in the world of food and drink marketing, indeed we thrive on knowing what’s happening in the foodservice industry. To see all the latest food trends in action, a few of us Beans decided to get out there and experience for ourselves exactly what’s going on. Well… any excuse for some good food!
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in July, I found myself heading to Hoxton based pizzeria, Radio Alice, to take part in a pizza masterclass. Taking its name from a pirate radio station in 1970s Italy, Radio Alice promises pizzas done a little differently and by the end of the session I was hoping to find out why.
With Wimbledon upon us, everyone is getting into the spirit of the tournament. Hopes of Andy Murray retaining his title are strong and with many preparing to glue ourselves to our screens our minds have, of course, turned to food. When thinking of the quintessential food for Wimbledon, everyone thinks of strawberries and cream, an important snack for court-side viewing. It’s the lot in life of those of us who work at a food and drink agency, to often see the event catering in action as much as we do the back and forth of the ball! It is so popular, in fact, that 140,000 portions of strawberries were sold at the tournament in 2016, not to mention those eaten by viewers at home.
According to newspaper reports Sainsbury’s has entered into exclusive discussions with Nisa about a potential acquisition of the retail business for a reported £130m.
Back in August 2015, Facebook added a new feature to their social media platform: the ability to broadcast live video streams. It’s now taken off and we’re seeing all sorts of brands getting involved.
There’s nothing wrong with standing back once in a while and taking a bit of pride in your labours. After all, we Jellybeans are a proud people – we take great pride in our work, and, much like cigar-toting soldier of fortune, John “Hannibal” Smith, nothing makes us prouder than seeing a plan come together.
Truly life changing little berries that, when blended into a smoothie along with other exotic fruits, poured into a bowl and topped with cool coconut yogurt and chunky granola is simply life changing.
Whether it’s thanks to my aversion to cooking, or the fact I’m lucky enough to work for the leading foodservice agency and some of the industry’s top brands (let’s go with that one), I eat out A LOT. Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Japanese – if the food’s good, I’m not fussy when it comes to cuisines.
Having been to Greece on a work trip a few years ago and loving it, when it came at looking for a holiday this year, we decided we would try one of the Greek islands.
After looking around, we decided that Crete would be the best option for us as it’s the most southerly of the islands and therefore the hottest – going in October that was very important to us.
I was lucky enough to spend a week in Barbados and one of the highlights was the Friday night Oistins Fish Fry. Oistins started out as a fish market but then someone came up with the bright idea of setting up a stall to fry and sell the freshly caught fish and now it has developed into THE way for locals and tourists alike to spend their Friday night in Barbados.
Despite searching the back of many cupboards as a child, I never found it but I came close one time. The journey starts with an innocuous walk into a dark, sullen lift. Intriguing as this may be, it also seeks to squash your expectations of what is on the other side. The only clue of what is to come is a single Took Took which stands there somewhat juxtaposed to the darkness of the night and the sullenness of the lift, with its radiant colour. As you tentatively step into the lift, you scan your eye up and down the numbers to find the floor. The poorly lit digits reveal nothing until you reach the top one. The Thai Terrace. You may chance to look around at this moment and notice the exotic pattern of plants and wildlife from another land, carefully splashed on the back wall of the lift. The lift ascends and you hold your breath in anticipation.
The best thing about a city weekend away for me, is discovering new places to eat! A Jellybean through and through…everything is about food! And on a recent weekend to Manchester with friends, being based in the popular Northern Quarter meant that we had no shortage of fantastic restaurants and bars to try out.
In the creative world, we all want to create that winning piece of work that has impact, gets recognised and delivers on the objectives. As the leading foodservice agency, here at Jellybean we strive to do this for our clients every day. However, to deliver outstanding creative you have to start with a killer brief – one that drills down to the fundamental proposition and steers the transformation of your thinking and your business.
At the end of July, I hastily threw a pair of neon Primark wellies, an extra thick sleeping bag, a very unattractive head torch and various other ‘staycation’ essentials into the back of my friend’s car. After the rather predictable game of car-Tetris which resulted in a fair few sacrifices, we were on our way through the Dartford Tunnel.
