Northern Ireland in three days and 300,000 calories
A pint of Guinness, a side of tobacco onions and non-existent portion control. That was my lunch for three days running. Well, maybe not the tobacco onions every day, but the stout and hefty portions, well they’re in fact understatements!
I arrived on the Tuesday just in time for lunch. The bite of the cool summer air (10 degrees lower than England’s I might add!) instilled in me quite the appetite, so on to The Wildfowler Inn, in County Down, I went.
An early morning flight on an ‘Eat’ bacon roll and orange juice was just not enough to sate my hunger. As I sat eagerly awaiting my pub lunch I treated myself to my first ever pint of Guinness. They say you can’t beat Ireland and its Guinness – how right they are. The velvety black mass with its creamy white top is a wonder to behold.
The wow moments continued for me at The Wildfowler Inn, as soon after arriving, in front of me was a meal fit for a King. Two handfuls of fries, two handfuls of tobacco onions, and a ten ounce beef burger smothered in cheddar. You’ll see from the picture, it needed a trough! Soaked in beer, the beef burger paired with the crunchy tobacco onions and relish proved a delight. Someone should have warned me though, a pint of the black stuff is a meal in itself and it’s safe to say my eyes were bigger than my belly in this instance. Still, what I managed was wondrous.
Heading off in a food-induced coma I retreated to my cottage nestled in the green fields, mentally preparing for my next meal.
Wednesday came and I was fortunate to be given a longer break before a food coma enveloped me once more. It was the day of my cousin’s wedding and a hog roast awaited us in the evening. Served in a bun with a hefty spoonful of apple sauce the bun and its filling covered half my plate. But that wasn’t enough for these hearty Northern Irish caterers. Then came the potatoes (yes, I did pronounce this with a high pitched voice), sweet chilli noodles (questionable choice), salad and pasta. Not one to stand on ceremony, I scooped the lot on to my plate. Then very proudly devoured the lot. And I’d learned my lesson by day two and had my Guinness well in advance of the meal!
The dessert spoiled us even more: a trio of gooey chocolate sponge, strawberry cheesecake and honeycomb ice cream and miniature cone. My mouth’s watering all over again.
In true party style we washed these down with a strawberry daiquiri and saved the Guinness for later.
Sore heads and swollen bellies greeted us in the morning. A stroll around Belfast city centre in the fresh breeze was on the cards. But we all know what some exercise and fresh air can do…hunger pangs.
So, in the early hours of the afternoon we stopped off at The Fountain Bar and Restaurant. True to its roots, the building was plastered with Guinness wraps, signs, wind breakers and awning.
Scanning the menu I couldn’t help but notice our lovely client, Moy Park Foodservice’s ‘Chicken Teddies™’, succulent chicken breast perfectly shaped to look like a teddy bear. Naturally my three year old cousin opted straight for that.
I on the other hand opted for a lighter snack and went for the Chicken and Bacon Caesar Wrap – forgetting the lack of portion control I was in shock when I received what can only be described as two bricks of Chicken Caesar goodness. The tobacco fries made a welcome appearance on the plate as well. But alas, the hearty meal was too hearty for this English girl, and a lot was left on the plate! (Apologies to the chef!)
Heading to the airport later that day with a very heavy belly, although everything told me not to, I had to round off the mini-break with a final half pint of Guinness.
I can still feel the bubbles and taste the creamy smoothness now.
Northern Ireland, I’ll be back! (I just need a little rest-bite to recover from my culinary tour)
If you fancy a taste of Ireland you can find out more here.
jellybean is a leading food service agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
A Night of Mother's Ruin
There are few things that will motivate me to head into The City of London on a hot and sticky Wednesday evening, but luckily for Wirehive, gin ranks very highly amongst these few things. So I hot-footed it (quite literally) from the end of the tube line at glamorous Ealing Broadway via the lovely Central Line to The City of London Distillery, a hop, skip and a jump from Chancery Lane tube, to mix and mingle with digital gurus and geeks alike at the Wirehive gin tasting event. Wirehive is a digital hosting company and also well known for its Wirehive 100 Awards (which we eagerly await the shortlist for!). And I have to say I rather like the company’s approach to new business, which is far less ‘hard sell’ and far more ‘get ‘em tiddly on gin and have a chat’. Now it is safe to say that our Digital Director Andy was very much amongst his own, surrounded by other men in jeans and shirts talking UX and disaster recovery galore. I however may not be a fully-fledged digital geek, but with the help of our regular internal workshops from the digital team and a bit of extra-curricular reading I managed to keep up and throw in the odd salient point here and there.
As everyone gathered in the private area of the basement bar there was a seemly never ending stream of gin and tonics with pink grapefruit (no complaints here!). We then moved onto the business of the evening – the gin tasting, with four gins to taste, either on their own or with a little water accompanied by a detailed description of the flavour profile and ingredients of each. I have to say my favourite was the sloe gin, but equally the gin and tonics with pink grapefruit went down a treat too and Andy was very taken with the Square Mile Gin (even buying a bottle at the end of the evening). Then it was time to hear all about the history of gin. From its ori‘gin’s (see what I did there?) with the Dutch (hence ‘Dutch Courage’), through to its use as an alternative to water for the poor (good thinking!) and on to its reputation as mother’s ruin, all the way up to the modern day renaissance of gin, with niche distilleries crafting distinctive high quality gins for the connoisseur. As fate would have it, just a few short steps from our private table, The City of London Distillery houses just such a craft distillery where they create some very fine gins! The beautiful copper stills shone in the basement lighting as Luke, our host for the evening, talked us through the finer details of the distillation process. Then it was back to our table for more chat, more gin and tonics (would you believe it!) and a charcuterie and cheese board – very much required after the amount that everyone had imbibed.
So after both an enjoyable and informative evening it was time to wend our way back to Surrey, stopping-off at the bar to give a bottle of Square Mile Gin a good home (it had to be done). Congratulations must go to Rob (MD and official bag guard) and the team at Wirehive (namely Amelie who I am led to believe was very much the brains behind the night) on a fabulous event. Not forgetting of course Luke and the team at The City of London Distillery who have an amazing place and some fabulous gins. If you haven’t been I would highly recommend it – you can find out more here and even order their gins online! I for one will definitely be back!
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Heading southwest for cider
(The following blog contains ‘west country’ slang for which the author apologises and translation has been dutifully offered….)
Although I am now living the Surrey life, I was born between the rolling hills and roaring sea in the deepest depths of the West Country. I am well and truly a Janner (a Plymouthian for those not familiar with the term). Although a proud Plymouthian, during my 24 or so years there I probably didn’t live West Country life to the fullest. Sure, I couldn’t walk past a pasty shop without the smell drawing me in, but when I visit home now I am well and truly a grockle (holiday-maker) and keen to try everything my beloved home-town is known for.
My latest adventure involved, amongst other things, a cream tea in Cornwall (thoroughly betraying my Devonian roots by having jam first, then cream – it’s the only way), and attending a pirate festival. This was more by chance than choice, but we were entertained by a pirate choir singing witpot (nonsense) sea shanty’s – were those lyrics really ‘Hey ho, chicken on a raft’?
It was a particularly warm weekend in Plymouth so as the day rested into dimpsy (twilight), we wandered down to the harbour in need of some refreshment and decided upon Stable Pizza, a chain of restaurants specialising in pizza, pies and cider. We were, on this occasion, solely there for a gurt big pint of thee best zider (hopefully translation isn’t needed here). To my shame, traditional cider is never a drink I have frequented, always leaning more towards Plymouth’s other famous beverage, Plymouth Gin (which is world class). So what better way to be initiated into proper cider than trying one of Stable Pizza’s tasting platters – a half a pint of five chosen local ciders. I am keen to point out this was shared, not solely for me. The five ciders we sampled were:
• Sandford Old Kirton – Quite dry and strong – I could only manage a little bit!
• Pubeck Dorset Draft – This was lovely and crisp, quite light to drink.
• Gert Lush – Definitely the most ‘west country’ cider I tasted – still, tangy, and quite a strong taste!
• Sandford shakey Bride – Quite sweet and apple-y…yum!
• West Country Perry – Technically not a Cider as it’s made with pears, but definitely my favourite.
Although I may have brought shame on my roots for thinking some of the ciders a bit too strong in taste, it was great to be able to try so many different types. We may not have been there for the food, but we couldn’t resist ordering some garlic bread to soak up all that cider. If the delicious garlicy goodness on a sourdough base was anything to go by, trying some more of their food is a must.
They may be mainly based in the West Country at the moment, but don’t be surprised if you see a Stable Pizza near you soon. With openings lined up for Southampton and Winchester, it’s time to bring the best cider (and pies and pizza) to the rest of the country. Plus with a menu that focuses on locally sourced food for each restaurant, you’d be maze as a brush (silly) not to try it!
Find out more about Stable Pizza at Stable Pizza or follow them on Twitter @_TheStable
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
LACA – The Main Event 2015
It was an exciting and busy week for jellybeanand clients last week as the annual LACA Main Event and conference came to the UK’s second city. Up bright and early, I jumped on the train and headed north to see our wonderful clients, Hobart UK, Tilda Foodservice, Dr Oetker, Pritchitts and Aviko UK who were all exhibiting.
For those that aren’t aware, The Main Event, aka the Education Catering Exhibition, is the only show in the UK which is dedicated to the school meals market. Not only does it offer visitors the chance to meet with companies in this all-important sector, the exhibition also offers the following features:
· Finishing Touches – 10 classes for school caterers to compete in and two for students
· Innovation Zone – coveted product awards for exhibitors to enter and delegates and visitors to vote for
· LACA Demonstration Theatre – sponsored by our very own client, Hobart Cooking Solutions, where live demonstrations take place each day
So, for visitors and delegates alike, the Main Event provided a host of spectacles and networking opportunities.
But what about jellybeanclients? What were they up to this year?
Well, Hobart Cooking Solutions sponsored the Demonstration Theatre and supplied a Bonnet Precijet 6 Grid and a set of induction pads for chefs to cook on. One particularly exciting session was with School Caterer of the Year, Kate Davies who cooked up a firecracker chicken curry, with help from the Bonnet equipment.
Tilda Foodservice had development chef, Simon Hall on stand to tingle visitors’ taste buds with a delicious chilli and Tilda Brown ‘n’ White rice dish. The Brown ‘n’ White was a hit, and check out the burrito in the picture – plenty of serving options for school caterers to delight their students with! This, along with the pre-launch of the Tilda Together schools campaign, saw their stand buzzing.
Dr Oetker and Chicago Town, positioned by the Demonstration Theatre were in the midst of action. The Stuffed Crust Ham & Pineapple Pizza was a delight. And who would believe it complies with school meal guidelines when it tastes so good? Who knew a reduced salt, reduced fat (to the minimum!) pizza could be just as good as the ones in the supermarket! Looks like they are on to a winner with this new addition to the range.
Pritchitts captured the interest of passing school caterers with its extensive product line up on stand: the education sector’s favourite milk range, Viva Flavoured Milk and Modern Milk – the new flavoured milk for over 16 year olds – as well as new Millac Gold Single a school friendly cooking cream (with only 15% fat). The newly launched Viva Weekly Win campaign also caught the interest of visitors with a weekly prize of a pair of Beats headphones up for grabs to students!
And finally, Aviko – it was almost impossible to get to the front of the stand where they showcased Aviko’s latest range of gluten-free and FSA salt compliant options for school caterers. Delicious!
Having taken in the whole show it was clear that the exhibition itself had a great feel to it; everyone was energised and excited to showcase and learn about the latest trends, products and services the school meals market had to offer.
I travelled home with a belly full of food and the knowledge our clients had a great show. Well done to the team at Dewberry Redpoint on another successful year.
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and social media foodservice agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
The steak that almost made me cry
As your average skinny jeaned teenager, I have many a time, indulged in a “Cheeky Nandos”. Satisfying food at a manageable price range was once enough. Alas, whilst my skinny jeaned comrades crave mango & lime ¼ chicken with spicy rice and creamy mash and garlic bread and chips and the odd dab of coleslaw, I am now blind. I am blind to the taste of all that is not Wahaca.
My father, raving about a new Mexican restaurant in Southbank dragged us (my mum and I) through rainy London on the eve of my science exam. Upon arrival I was immediately charmed by the general aesthetic of the restaurant and under a grudge and a soggy raincoat, I took a seat on a bench facing the kitchen. Spicy food intimidates me so I opted for a “British steak, the Mexican way”. What arrived in front of me was a beast of a steak, lovingly smothered in cheese, accompanied by green rice and a bean salad. Such a simple description seems devastatingly patronising to what was the best meal of my young years. Oozing with gratitude to the bull that died for this steak, I imagined that he was the strongest in the field, a friend to all, a social lighthouse of cow society. I finished the meal in eight minutes flat and was left gazing into the kitchen. Watching the chefs prepare meals that weren’t for me, speaking angry Spanish, at one with the unnecessarily large fires on which they cooked the best food in the world, I planned at least thirteen birthday meals into the future.
Whilst I will always enjoy a “Cheeky Nandos”, my enjoyment of most cuisines will never be the same after the taste sensation that is Wahaca and the finishing touch of a complimentary packet of chilli seeds I received with the bill. I am changed for life by what I would call “a food epiphany”. I’m a girl obsessed, rendered somewhat insane. Pork Pibil or Chicken Tinga, I’d wager that Wahaca provides planet earth with a strong reason against an apocalypse.
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
A Picture is Worth…
Here at jellybeanwe love to push the boundaries when it comes to food photography, and it’s great when our clients feel the same. This joined up thinking between ourselves and McCormick allowed us to experience the pleasure of working with a fantastic photographer, Nick Carman.
We’re currently working on an exciting NPD launch for McCormick Food Solutions and our client, the lovely Al, was very keen to collaborate with Nick after seeing his work on the recent KFC burrito campaign. It’s clear to see that the images in this particular campaign are really stand-out and are a fresh approach for the brand. With this in mind, we were of course eager to work alongside Nick on creating stand-out visuals for our own campaign.
With much careful planning by our very own Julie (or Juliebean as we like to call her) the shoot, which was held at Nick’s Highgate studio, was a great success – achieving more shots than we had originally anticipated, all of which look fantastic.
A big thank you to Nick and his team for all their hard work pre, during and post shoot. It’s lovely to collaborate with a team who share your enthusiasm and passion for the brand and really take the time to understand and explore the brief.
Hang on, I know what you’re thinking, “where are these amazing photographic creations?!” Well we can’t share them with you just yet, but keep an eye on our Instagram for them in the future.
jellybean is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Britain’s Best Brigades
The team at jellybean have been working on an exciting project for our lovely client Essential Cuisine (aka the stock people) and we are really delighted with how it has resonated with chefs in our industry and the amazing response we have had to the idea.
Back in January, we launched an initiative for Essential called Britain’s Best Brigades, a competition designed to recognise and celebrate the fantastic chef teams we house in this great nation.
The first phase of the competition required chefs to take 10 mins from their hectic schedules to tell us in an inspiring way, and in less than 100 words why their brigade is one of Britain’s best! We had a fantastic response to the integrated PR and Marcomms campaign (something which we pride ourselves on here at Jellybean) targeting the foodservice market working in close partnership with the great team at Essential Cuisine!
The next phase involved whittling the entries down to a shortlist of just one per region, eight in total, and then each finalist brigade was required to bring their original submissions to life with a short snappy video that would then be put to the public vote to find the overall winner.
We’re pleased to say that the chefs have done us proud.
It was great getting the videos in from the finalist teams last week – there was genuine excitement and anticipation in the office. The campaign has clearly captured their imaginations and it’s clear to see how proud and engaged the brigades are with the idea of team recognition and how much creative effort the chefs have put into the video submissions.
We’re looking forward to crowning the winner on the 1st July!
Voting is open to everyone so go check them out and vote for your favourite brigade at www.bestbrigades.co.uk
Also, if you’re feeling social be sure to get involved in the action on Facebook and Twitter using #BestBrigades
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
We're officially Elite
We have always been very proud of our independent agency status. We are masters of our own fate and lords of all we survey (sort of). We’re a speed boat rather than a tanker and with our twenty four strong team we have been speeding along rather well for the last 28 years. Over this time we have built a reputation to be proud of and a much envied client list, so perhaps we shouldn’t really be surprised that we made it into The Drum Independent Agencies Elite table!
It’s only the second year we have entered and having done very respectably last year we were over the moon to find out we had managed to make it into the Elite Independent agencies list this year! It’s quite an achievement as only agencies that have featured highly on all three league tables (client feedback, peer votes and financials) make it into this esteemed list so we are very honoured. This year (for agencies with between 1 and 25 staff) we came 7th for the peer table, top 20 in the financial table and top 100 in the client table and thereby made it into the Elite Agencies (1-25 staff) table at no. 3.
Of course we wouldn’t be anywhere, let alone an ‘Elite Agency’ without our clients and the great comments they have posted on RAR and indeed all those who kindly voted for us in the peer poll. So we’d like to say a big thank you to all of you. Now it’s off to add an extension onto our trophy cabinet and open a bottle of fizz!
Read more on The Drum’s blog here.
jellybean is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Hospitality Action’s Great British Quiz raises a whopping £60k!
Last Friday evening a group of us Beans visited the lovely Park Plaza Westminster Bridge for Hospitality Action’s annual Great British Quiz. Hospitality Action are experts at hosting some very grand events – we often feel unworthy coming from our humble little foodservice design agency to the ballroom of another grand London hotel such as this, but we’re a long-term supporter of HA and are always on hand to do our bit.
This is an event that I personally really look forward to as I love a dose of healthy competition (I blame my Dad) and despite not being to up on our quiz game, we all had a whale of a time. We had a great group of people on our table including the lovely Contino family, the geniuses behind Sapori d’Italia, who were pretty hot on their sports – rather handy for us as sport isn’t our strong point. Food on the other hand…
The evening’s proceedings were led by the big man himself, Mark Labbett from the ITV game show The Chase. At 6ft 7, Mark managed to hold court in a room full of hospitality industry veterans that were buzzing with competition and rivalry!
The food and drink, served by the great front of house team at the Park Plaza, was truly delicious (big up to the back of house brigade). We had a lovely fillet of pork for main and, my favourite, caramel cheesecake for dessert (featured in the photo) which was divine!
We left the night with a new found bank of stats and facts to impress our mates, full bellies and a stuffed goodie bag – all signs of a great night! I was also rather chuffed the next day to discover the Mackie’s of Scotland honeycomb chocolate which was pretty mind blowing – thanks Mackie’s! Getting the sense that I have a bit of a sweet tooth!
The event itself raised a phenomenal £60,000 for HA, a fantastic achievement and a great cause. I was honoured to have been a part of it and I’m already looking forward to next year!
jellybean is a leading foodservice design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
National jellybeanDay
Each year we throw on our party hats and gather round a table of food and sweets to celebrate National jellybeanDay. This year, as the leading Foodservice Marketing, Foodservice Trends and PR agency, we wanted to do something bigger and better that involved more than just the ‘Jellybeans’.
We looked to industry leaders in research and statistics – Horizons and Allegra Foodservice as well as our own independent consumer research (Toluna panel 300 sample size) to pull together a thought-provoking and fun campaign.
So we had the facts, the numbers, the trends and predictions…then what?
Well, Junior Designer, Luca swapped his party hat for his creative one and produced what we like to call ‘Infobites’.
Infobites are bite-sized infographics that allow you to share individual snippets of information with a corresponding visual as opposed to essentially a full poster with multiple stats, facts and images.
As you may well know, infographics are playing an integral role in more and more digital marketing strategies. However if you’re late to the party and have yet to realise the infographic’s full potential, here are some facts for you:
- 90% of the information that comes to the brain is visual*
- 65% of your digital audience are visual learners**
- Visual data is processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than text**
- The words “infographic” and “infographics” are searched an average of 547,000 times per month in Google+
So, each day we tweeted and posted two infobites to our followers on both Twitter and Linkedin. Our jellybean themed infobites focused around stats on the out of home/foodservice market and consumers’ habits and mind-set out of home. See image on the right for examples. Can you spot the beans? 😉
To help spread the jellybean love, our creative-beans in the studio also produced ‘Happy National jellybeanDay’ jellybean bag toppers which were sent out as gifts to journalists, clients and prospects alike. Everyone loves a sweet treat after all!
And so, our social media campaign continued…
On the Wednesday, the official day of National jellybeanDay, we launched a promoted twitter account campaign targeting accounts with an interest in marketing, foodservice, hospitality and the like inviting them to follow us to win a personalised jellybean machine. The results over the three days were more than fruitful with Rebel Brewing Co. proud winners of their shiny new jellybeanmachine!
“It all sounds very nice, but where’s the business benefits?” I hear you ask… Well our week long campaign made a total of 4,831,858 impressions!!
So, if you’d like to know how infographics, infobites or even the moving infographic – ‘scroller’ – could work for your marketing campaign, get in touch today. We’d love to hear from you!
T: +44 (0)1372 227950
E: info@jellybeancreative.co.uk
Twitter: @jellybeanagency
LinkedIn: jellybean
*http://www.jeffbullas.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/9-Awesome-Reasons-to-Use-Infographics-in-your-Content-Marketing-v21.jpg
**https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-awesome-infographics-to-inform-your-marketing-plan-for-2014
+http://ansonalex.com/infographics/infographic-effectiveness-statistics-infographic/
jellybean is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice trends, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Bucket List
If it’s not already on your list and you haven’t already ticked it off, make sure you add ‘Run the London Marathon’ to the list of things to do before you die…having just completed my fourth London Marathon in ten years, I’m a big advocate in taking part in something amazing at least once in your life.
Nothing compares to running the streets of our beautiful capital on a spring day to the shouts and screams of the great London public, cheering you on every step of the way. It’s the nicest day in London by far – even as a spectator – London becomes a hive of friendliness with a sense of camaraderie, usually reserved for Cup Finals or the folk up North.
Unexpectedly, this year was my most successful marathon. I only had 10 proper weeks training after my arm came out of plaster, so I invested in a running coach, who introduced me to the merits of the run-walk strategy…basically I ran the whole marathon and did all my long training runs running 5 minutes and then speed-walking 1 minute and it worked a treat, I didn’t hit the wall and I didn’t stop once. The last five miles my 1 minute speed-walk got less speedy, but I kept smiling and finished in just over 5 hours. I enjoyed every minute and would encourage everyone to give it a go.
I was running to raise vital funds for DEBRA, a charity which helps EB sufferers and their families – If you’ve never heard of DEBRA, please take a look at the very good work they do here: http://www.debra.org.uk/real-life-stories/intro and if you’d like to donate some money for this worthy cause, you can still sponsor me https://www.justgiving.com/Sam-RookeVLM.
Running for a charity helps you cross that finish line, it gives you the determination to get up in the morning in the wind and the rain and run 15 miles while everyone else is tucked up in bed and it certainly puts a smile on your face when you collapse into bed on race day. So, run yourself a memory that will last a lifetime and help others less fortunate in the process.
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
A Hidden Gem in Surrey Hills
Described as ‘Surrey Hill’s best kept dining secret’ I was excited last weekend to be visiting Haywards at Hurtwood for dinner with a few friends.
Nestled in the charming village of Ewhurst on the Sussex/Surrey border, Haywards restaurant is situated on the beautiful grounds of Hurtwood Park Polo Club, which as an equestrian lover, I was particularly excited about!
With everything on the menu sounding delicious, it was hard to pick just one dish. I ended up opting for the ‘Pork Saltimbocca’ – and I was not disappointed. Tender pork medallions topped with sage, Parma ham and chorizo served on a haricot bean cassoulet, not to mention a generous portion of creamy dauphinoise potatoes and fresh vegetables, it was a culinary delight – my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
There was something to suit every taste, with other dishes including ‘Venison Bourguignon’, ‘Magret Duck Breast’ and ‘Fillet of Halibut’ as well as starters, light bites, vegetarian and children’s options and of course (and most importantly) desserts!
Not only was the food fantastic, but the service was superb and the lovely staff made our dining experience at Haywards thoroughly enjoyable.
If you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy delicious gourmet food combined with stunning surroundings, I would recommend a visit to Haywards.
I’m already looking forward to returning in the summer to sample more of the menu and to watch the polo with a glass of Pimms (or two)!
Website: www.haywards-restaurant.co.uk
Address: Hurtwood Park, Ewhurst, Surrey, GU6 7SW
Contact number: 01483 267321
Twitter: @HaywardsatPolo
Facebook: Haywards at Hurtwood
jellybean is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Beans take a Break
Last week fellow bean Jess and I decided to take a well deserved break to Grayshott Health Spa. Having browsed through numerous spa options online, we finally made up our minds and booked this sanctuary for three days…and what a delight it was!
After a mere one hour drive, we arrived at this haven in the Surrey countryside. Having never been away in England before it was a pleasant surprise not having to wake up at 4am to catch a plane! Luckily it was time for lunch when we arrived and we wasted no time getting stuck into the extensive buffet. The food was delicious, varied and all very healthy, although we couldn’t resist a glass of wine (we were on holiday after all!).
We managed to sunbathe the rest of the day, enjoying the unseasonably hot English weather and the beautiful grounds peppered with Spring flowers and shrubs until it was time for our exhilarating evening salt scrub before dinner. The treatment left us feeling revitalised and cleansed ready for our 3 course extravaganza of a duck starter, a wholemeal penne pasta in a sundried tomato sauce and a warm fruit crumble to end. Although the portions were small, we certainly left feeling full!
The following day, we decided to explore the local area, Grayshott is a beautiful town and make the most of the facilities in the spa and even had time for a spot of croquet in the evening…well making up our own version as we’d never played!
The dinner that evening, again was delectable and consisted of: quinoa with beetroot & prunes to start, aubergine melanzane for main (my favourite) and a raspberry parfait with a nut crumble.
On our last morning, we relished our final pampering session – a full body massage (couldn’t resist!). It was incredible. But, being the foodies we are we decided that we needed to eat something substantial to sustain us on the journey home (it was an hour after all) and so took a detour to the local pub, The Fox and Pelican. This was a real find and we must have left there a stone heavier than on arrival! The temptation of a burger and fries was definitely too much after eating like an athlete the previous two days.
We both left with a different outlook and better understanding of the foods we eat and a determination to think more about a healthy balance, I even purchased a book called Gut Gastronomy which was developed by Grayshott Spa, combining a health regime and recipe book, I can highly recommend it!
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Cocoa Adventures in Ghana
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” Charles Dickens
I’m not alone in being a chocoholic – the worldwide consumption is predicted to hit 8.5 million tonnes in 2020* – but how many of us actually know how the sweet treat is produced?
As part of Callebaut’s For The Love of Chocolate campaign, two chefs won the trip-of-a-lifetime to visit cocoa plantations in Ghana, learning about the origins of chocolate, along with Lisa Jenkins from The Caterer. And I was lucky enough to be invited along with them!
Stepping off the plane we were hit with the vibrancy and colourfulness of Ghana, but also the heat! Although not the climate we in the UK are used to, it certainly works for cocoa – in fact, 70% of the world’s total number of cocoa beans originate in West Africa, with Ghana second only to the Ivory Coast in terms of crop numbers.
We spent the week travelling around the cocoa growing regions, visiting large plantations and small farms, discovering how the trees’ small white flowers grow to pods containing an average of 40 seeds/beans. As the pods don’t ripen at the same time, the trees must be constantly monitored before harvesting with machetes and then fermenting for around six days, often by covering with banana leaves – the smell is powerful! The final work of the plantation is to dry the beans for ten days before they are sold to purchasing agents and the licensed buying company.
Once away from the plantation the beans are taken through various quality control inspections before shipment. At this point we were struck by just how rigorous a process this is – each single bag of beans will be checked at least three times, labelled and sealed to ensure quality and traceability. The government strives to only export high-quality cocoa so the checks are done by hand, with the final tests evaluating samples of 100 beans per bag. All being well, these will then be shipped off around the world to continue the bean-to-bar journey.
Aside from cocoa, Ghana has so much to offer and history to share – we visited Kakum National Park for a walk above the rainforest canopy, as well as Elmina Slave Castle where we heard the horrific stories of slaves being held before they were sent to Europe.
It was also touching to visit the schools that Barry Callebaut Ghana support by building sanitary systems – only around 5% of schools in Ghana have these facilities – accommodation for teachers, I.T suites and libraries.
Working for a leading integrated foodservice agency, we’re often enjoying the finished product so to be able to travel to Ghana and learn where it all began was truly a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
To see some of my pictures and videos from the trip, check out @lflew and @Jellybeanagency on Twitter.
*http://www.statista.com/statistics/238849/global-chocolate-consumption/