Category: Interesting Stuff
History of Pumpkins

History of Pumpkins

As we turn the corner and practically fall into Halloween, the summer of twenty nineteen fades away. The nights are drawing in, the leaves have begun to change and it’s finally time to dig out the chunky knits again – can I get a hell yeah!? With the pending autumnal festivities fast approaching and with every pub in proximity burning a cheerful blaze on the log fire, it’s unquestionably one of the most loved and popular times of year.

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Five Foodie Things I’ve Learned Since Flying The Nest

Five Foodie Things I’ve Learned Since Flying The Nest

After hearing horror stories from my Dad about what my Mum attempted to cook when they first moved in together I shut my eyes and prayed I wouldn’t follow in her culinary footsteps. What could be so bad you ask? How about slicing up a ‘Ready to Cook’ chicken and sandwiching between two slices of bread with some salad cream for good measure. Don’t say you made the same mistake as Mum and read ‘Ready to Eat’ instead of ‘Ready to Cook’! Luckily Dad questioned the squidgy-ness of the sandwich and opened up the slices of bread to reveal the pink chicken inside – eek! Food poisoning avoided, culinary lesson learned.

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History of ... Gin

History of … Gin

My favourite tipple…so I thought I would investigate its origins a bit more. The delicious craft gins which we enjoy today are a long way from the original gin, which is said to have been created by a Dutch physician, Franciscus Sylvius, and was essentially a malt wine base using juniper to disguise its harsh flavour and was deemed to be ‘medicinal’. Although even as far back as 70AD juniper berries mixed with wine were used as a herbal medicine.

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History of NZ Sav

History of NZ Sav

I am lucky enough to have visited Nelson in the Marlborough area of New Zealand’s South Island several times now as my daughter lives there and of course I have fallen deeply in love with NZ Sauvignon Blanc or Sav as it is known locally.

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More than a Mixer: The Vermouth Revolution - Jellybean Creative Solutions

More than a Mixer: The Vermouth Revolution

The time is approaching, and the vermouth revolution is on the brink of worldwide domination.

Many still picture vermouth as an epitome of that dust-gathering liquor at the back of their grandparent’s cupboard (right next to the Advocaat and Maraschino Liqueur) which rarely sees the sunlight. But just like the old proverb says, “Everything comes back into fashion if you wait long enough!”.

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Lunch 2019 - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Lunch! 2019

Over the last 10 years the snacking industry has continued to grow, highlighting a huge opportunity for operators and retailers to market their newest innovations. This month saw the return of the Lunch! Show. Having outgrown its previous location, it was back bigger and better than ever before, in its new home at the ExCeL London.

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The History of the Sandwich - Jellybean Creative Solutions

The history of…the sandwich

Imagine a world with no sandwiches, no egg mayo, no ham and cheese. It would result in boring lunches to say the least! Nothing beats a good sandwich, but there are so many elements that need to be considered to make it perfect; nothing must be forgotten! From the bread, the thickness of butter, right through to the salad leaves and chutney.

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Food Marketing Agency - A Nation of Foodies

The State Of The Foodie Nation

As a merry band of devoted foodies, we’re fascinated by the Great British Chefs recent survey from a nationally representative panel of 4,000 people, which examines the attitudes and behaviours of the UK’s foodies. We couldn’t claim to be a leading integrated food and drink agency if we didn’t deliver the best and latest insight in the food and drink world, so with that in mind, let’s dive into our top ten take-outs:

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Utopia - The Ultimate Eating Out Concept

The Perfect Eating Out Concept

Despite the title of this blog, it is fair to say that there really is no perfect eating out concept. We all know that where we want to eat out depends entirely on the occasion, location, mood, our food preferences, company you are in, how long it is until pay day and a myriad of other factors. However, that said, we thought it might be interesting to distil the latest MCA Eating Out Report findings to hypothesize the perfect eating out concept based on what currently seems to be hitting the mark.

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Beans on Toast With Cheese - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Baked Beans Forever

Hello there! My name is Rachael, and I’m currently undertaking some Work Experience at Jellybean while I am on my University summer holidays. It is really exciting to be immersed in an agency totally focused on food, aka one of my favourite things in the entire world.

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Arena Summer Event - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Arena Summer Event

As a leading food and drink agency we pride ourselves on keeping abreast of the latest developments in the world of foodservice and a key part of that is attending the regular Arena networking events. This week saw the summer event, held at the roof top venue of 30 Euston Square, it was impressively jam-packed with content and of course a rather fabulous lunch to boot. The day kicked-off with a presentation on the breakfast and brunch market from Deli France. As the only meal occasion in growth (at time of publication) it’s little wonder there is a desire to really understand the consumer drivers around this growing opportunity. Unsurprisingly, as with most of out of home eating market, there is a split between health and indulgence and with our busy lifestyles convenience is a big factor. As well as the more functional breakfast on-the-go, the rise of brunch was also examined in our millennial led ‘insta-focused’ world where brunch has become the go to for meeting up with friends. (For the full report visit www.delifrance.com/uk/breakfast-brunch-report to download.)

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Pie and Mash - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Pie ‘n Mash

A minced-beef and pastry pie with a generous side of mash, swimming in a parsley liquor sauce.  Not particularly pretty to look at on the plate but as we all know – looks can be deceiving!  The traditional East End dish has been feeding and satisfying Londoners for generations, and hopefully, more generations to come. Entering one of the shops is like taking a step back into the past, with Victorian decor still being present in most. Tiled walls, wooden benches and serving hatches, these shops hold stories and memories to savour over a hearty lunch or supper.

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Pink Gin - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Think Pink

Well…there’s no escaping it – Gin is most definitely in.

With gin sales soaring year-on-year, it is no wonder that sales in Britain are sky rocketing. The gin category is booming, to the point where consumers now drink gin out of home more often than they drink vodka, who’d have thought we’d see the day?

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MEATliquor W1

Picture this: London + 33-degree heat + MEATliquor = MEAT SWEATS galore! 100% worth it, though.

The Facts:

MEATliqour has taken London by storm, serving its now trademarked take on American(ish)-style BBQ and setting the trend for gourmet burgers. The story began back in 2008 when Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis set-up from a Peckham car park, with a burger van christened ‘MEATwagon’.

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The History of Fish and Chips

The History of Fish & Chips

As temperatures rise and we head to the seaside this summer, what better treat than fish & chips (with lots of salt & vinegar) enjoyed on the beach, as the waves break on the pebbles and the sun sets. Mmmm…you can just taste them now can’t you? But if that vision hasn’t already made you run straight to your nearest chippie, you might be interested to know a little about the history of the Great British fish & chips. Currently the Federation of Fish Fryers estimates there are in the region of 10,500 specialist fish & chip shops in the UK, more than McDonalds or KFC. They are predominately independent, with some obvious exceptions such as Harry Ramsden’s, and serve hungry punters around 167 million portions of fish & chips every year. That’s six servings for every man, woman and child! In fact, our annual spend on fish & chips in the UK is in the region of a staggering ÂŁ1.2 billion, with 80% of people visiting fish & chip shops at least once a year and 22% every week (possibly not the healthiest of consumers), while 56% of people buy fish and chips to eat in the home as a family.

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The History of Scotch Eggs - Jellybean Creative Solutions

History of the…Scotch Egg

The Scotch Egg.

A slightly runny egg wrapped in sausage meat, covered in bread crumbs and then deep fried – you’d think there’s nothing particularly interesting about this ‘brown food’ but that is where you’re wrong! The History of the humble Scotch Egg is an interesting one indeed…

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Marketing Agency Gin - Jellybean Creative Solutions

Silent Pool Gin Tour

Marketing Agency Gin - Silent Pool - Jellybean Creative SolutionsGin was once notorious as ‘mother’s ruin’, but it is fair to say that since legislation was relaxed to allow small gin distilleries, there has been an undeniable boom in craft gin and it’s popularity has rocketed. We may not be back to the halcyon days of gin in the 1700’s when we were consuming 10 litres of gin per head, but we’re not doing badly! In fact Kantar World Panel reported that “Gin is officially the nation’s favourite spirit (having overtaken whisky) – over a quarter of the population have purchased Gin (including flavoured/gin liqueurs) in the last 12 months, up from just over 10% 4 years ago. Gin brands have also really succeeded in connecting with younger consumers: 4 years ago, 43% of 18-24s told us that they drink gin, it’s now 55%.”.

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