Last month saw the official opening of the new restaurant at Highfield Garden World, a development inspired by a stop-off for a coffee on the way to have Sunday lunch with Edinburgh Woollen Mills in Cockermouth.  Joint owner Tim Greenaway tells GTN Food Xtra the story behind the new development:

“The company was started in 1921 and moved to Whitminster in 1935. Joan, my mother, now the joint owner of the business, started working for them as a part time secretary in 1975.  Little did she know then that one day she would be standing here in this development.  We never had a garden centre, we still have the original nursery in the village and we still grow but in 1987 we did a management buy-out from the previous owner who retired and Joan then pushed forward for the garden centre to be built on this site. We didn’t have any money and very little experience so Barclays lent us the money, a lot of money in those days, and we built the centre."

"We struggled for a few years, things were not easy, but the business grew and grew. We ploughed profits back into the business and expanded as we were able.  Five years ago we were approached by Edinburgh Woollen Mills who wanted to have a concession on the site.  Steve Simpson, their Commercial Director said 'come for Sunday lunch, I live in Cockermouth.'  So a round trip of 550 miles for Sunday lunch actually saw the seeds sown for this development.  Joan and I visited somewhere on the way and while we were sitting having a coffee we said if ever we rebuild or renew the restaurant, this is the type of outlook and view we want.  It was just that chance visit five years ago that led to the development we are in today."

"We have been incredibly lucky in working with some marvellous people to get this off the ground. I would like to pay tribute to Chris Primett from Malcolm Scott Consultants, who have been the architects.  Chris has been an absolute guiding light.  I know he has relentlessly toured garden centres and their restaurants sampling their coffee and admiring their views throughout the country.  It was his vision that has seen us be here tonight.  We have also been fortunate to work with a great contractor in Hodges and in particular Graham Jones their MD and Carl Odom, who really should be called Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen for all his design input."

"Throughout this, Highfield staff have also been brilliant.  They have endured 18 months of upheaval, we’ve had to move departments, we’ve had to carry on trading as a business which has been extremely difficult at times.  We’ve had to cram things into areas where they weren’t meant to go.  Not only have we carried on trading, we’ve actually increased turnover during the build period."

"Our new Restaurant Manager used to be our IT Manager, who decided he would like a change of career.  It was a big shock to Jamie Lewis but he has stepped up to the mark."

"We’ve also been very fortunate in using where ever possible a lot of local companies – for telecoms, security, alarms and all our concrete came from only a mile away."

"But if there is one person who all this is due to it’s got to be my mother Joan, for taking that job back in 1975."

"Finally, Barclays Bank, Kay Bethencourt, who stepped up to the mark again and lent us some of the money, not all of it.  As a family business we can be a bit impulsive at times.  Chris Primett got us the planning permission two years ago, but we hadn’t got the funding sorted.  Yes, we’d got funds, we thought we should push the button, let’s go for it and worry about getting the funding afterwards.  I thought we could fund this for six to eight months, then we’ll need some money and eventually Barclays won through.”

Kay Bethencourt from Barclays, pictured with Tim and Jean, who organised and sponsored the opening event said that the first time she saw the project was when there were plans across Tims desk and was thinking:  How much retail space are they actually going to put there? 

"It’s now fantastic to see everything here what a great facility it is, she told the gathering, "As anybody who’s ever had an extension put on their home or office knows how much disruption that causes.  So you can only imagine the disruption that has been caused to Highfield during this development.  Credit has to go to all at Highfield for not only continuing to trade but also to increase turnover and profitability. 

"I’ve been delighted to support this family that have been in business here for 27 years and support you in a small way with the funding towards this development.  I wish you continued success and I’m sure the location and facilities you have here have set you apart already from many of your competitors and really will provide a positive economic contribution to the local economy.

Jamie Lewis is the Restaurant Manager at Highfield Garden World who prior to the new restaurant opening was responsible for Marketing and IT at the garden centre.  GTN Food Xtra interviewed him to find out what made him move from IT to catering and how he is managing the new expanded restaurant.

Listen to the interview here 

or download from Dropbox using this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kh9m9rc8wvwyaw0/Jamie%20Lewis.mp3 

GTN:  What were you doing prior to your new role so we can put your job change into context?

Jamie:  I did all the marketing, our printed newsletter which went out to 12,000 customers; I was the driving force behind that. It was A4, glossy full of offers, gardening tips, on the lines of Gardeners' World only fewer pages. 

I also diversified into cctv, keeping on top of theft in store, which is always a problem I'm afraid, I look after telephone systems, the website, Facebook, all the in-house POS, and troubleshooting any computer issues which we had.

GTN:  Then you decided to change all that, or do you still do that as well as be Catering Manager?

Jamie:  I've dropped a few of those roles, not all of them but catering is taking a lot of time.

GTN:  So what made you move over to the catering side?

Jamie:  Progression in the garden centre really. I’ve been with Highfield since 2002. I started as a weekend assistant and my marketing and IT role came about with Tim and Joan creating the role for me. It was something they thought was necessary for the garden centre to grow so that's where they pushed me on to.

GTN: Tim (joint owner of Highfield) mentioned to me earlier that your family have a background in catering so it's not completely alien to you?

Jamie:  No it's not. My wife's father has six pubs, all successful sites, and I've spent ten years in and around him running his businesses on the side of being at Highfield so I’ve had a good insight into what the local customers are after and what they expect in the service and also I’ve been able to monitor my father-in-law as to how he would manage a site like this so I’ve been able to borrow on a lot of experience really. He won’t give me any assistance, of course, because he's got pubs three miles away but it’s been good.

GTN:  Were you involved in the design and the specification of the new restaurant?

Jamie:  I wasn't actually, I applied for the role in a bit of a tongue in cheek way.  Tim came into my office with the advert for the jobs for the restaurant and at the top of it was Restaurant Manager. I said don't bother advertising that, I’ll do it.  I heard nothing more, we did advertise. I actually met with one of my competitors for the role and interviewed him with Tim, but sadly he didn't turn out to be right and Tim and Joan came back to me and said they wanted me to take on the mantle.

GTN:  So how long have you been doing the catering manager role now?

Jamie:  Since the end of October.

GTN:  Did you manage the old restaurant and the transfer over?

Jamie:  A little bit. I left the old restaurant to the old catering managers to continue. It was transitional; we were closing the restaurant down in certain aspects at the end of November because we've used some of our old equipment, our ovens, fryers, some of our refrigeration equipment, our mixers, all of that had to come down here to lighten the load on cost. So we had to manage closing that one down but keeping the customers happy.  In November we were actually up, even though we had reduced our services and then took on in full swing here.  Tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery are all things I’ve been involved in from the outset. I got back from my honeymoon in mid October and then I had six weeks with Tim and Joan frantically creating a scheme for crockery, tea, coffee. We had already tied in with Soho but we still had to decide how we would present their brand. Staffing issues, who were we going to get in, where were we going to allocate them.

GTN:  Have you kept all of the staff from the original restaurant?

Jamie:  Yes, all of the old staff have come with us.  It’s been a bit of a shock to the system for them. They have gone from making a combination of 20 baguettes and sandwiches all day to 40 rounds of sandwiches in the morning and a similar number of baguettes so their prep time has got much busier for them. They've had to come away from their  "I want to do 15 varieties of sandwiches today to we're going to do 5 varieties and were going to build up on volume so that the customer has always got something which is on offer for the day. Our bakery staff have come across with us, Judith has been with us for five years, making the cakes, and now we've added Diana and the two of them in the bakery can't keep up with production.  That’s, tray bakes, sponges, fruit cakes, scones.  We can sell anything up to 100 scones in a day and more on a quiet day.  The numbers are huge going from 20 scones a day to 100.

GTN: How many staff do you have in total in the catering team now?

Jamie:  I’ve got 30 staff in total, it’s quite service led, quite hands on for the staff, it's counter based service, so I need two to serve on the salad bar, two people minimum to serve on our Soho coffee bar.  On our hot counter we need a minimum of three staff and that's before we look at the dining room, food prep.

GTN:  And how many chefs do you employ?

Jamie:  I've got four chefs on the books at the moment, there is room for expansion possibly to offer a later serving time in the afternoon with hot meals but as we prepare everything fresh on the premises my chefs will not pick up a packet of anything or a jar of something, it has to come from scratch.

GTN:  And are the chefs from the original restaurant?

Jamie:  We've added a head chef to come in above the chefs we had to offer a bit of guidance and experience in large volume catering and also making it more profitable for us.  Those jars of sauce we used to use were quite expensive. Actually making a curry from scratch is much more cost effective, to use a paste, fresh chillies and all the other ingredients - the customers can definitely tell the difference.  I’m not saying the food we did previously was bad but we've now stepped up. How brilliantly the restaurant looks now, we've matched that with the food.  Everything has stepped up, production, quality and service.

GTN:  And of course they've got a wonderful new kitchen to work in?

Jamie:  Yes they have, and it's not big enough. Maximising time in the kitchen is vital.

GTN:  How have you learned to manage and help them maximise that time?

Jamie:  I’m opinionated and strong willed. We will do it my way. If it’s wrong we'll look at it. I do listen to my staff, they've all got experience, and they’ve all been dealing with these customers quite a lot longer than I have.  I know what they (customers) come into the garden centre to see but they know what they have served them.  Its good team work, I will listen and we bounce ideas off each other.

GTN:  Have you gone off and done any particular training to help with the new role and managing people?

Jamie:  I haven't done any management courses as yet, I've got a strong sport background, I was captain of the football and cricket team, there's a lot of comradery in those sports.  I was an outspoken member of the office when i worked with Tim and Joan. Other than that I've done my food hygiene level two and three, HASAP, in quite quick succession, I've enjoyed every moment of them. It just re-enforces things that I was aware of but now when i talk to my staff about them i can talk with a lot more confidence

GTN:  How many covers do you serve?

Jamie:  We have 284 internally and 100 on the patio.

GTN:  And do you have any stats on number of meals served, cups of coffee, average transaction value?

Jamie:  December to mid March we had sold 17,500 cups of tea. We’re selling loose leaf tea now with filters so that’s turning those teapots over on a massive level.  They are in and out of the kitchen all day long.

GTN:  Do you sell 2 coffees to one tea?

Jamie:  No the level is about on par, we've got an even split.  Our coffee range is definitely growing, customers are enjoying the Soho brand.  It has increased sales through quality and consistency. Through their training and their product support they offer a great coffee bean, they offer a fantastic product and constant support. If I want them to audit the staff they would come out and spot check for me to make sure we are on par.  One of my baristas got 100% on everything - it shocked them, he could put flowers in the top of a latte, he could put swans, hearts, he's really talented.  Marlon would be in for a barista championship.  He's number 1, he's done a fantastic job. And Soho have backed that up with their support.

GTN:  And do you know how many hot meals you serve on average?

Jamie: On a quiet day we can do 100 covers comfortably at lunchtime, that’s excluding breakfasts, but normally it’s upwards of 100.

GTN: How long do you serve breakfast for?

Jamie:  We serve breakfast from 9 until 11 every day, normally it creeps on because queues are still there and well always serve them.

GTN:  Is that a growing trade?

Jamie:  It is.  It's one of those trades I feel I can expand on for the restaurant.  It’s busy but we can serve a lot more. I think our breakfast is possibly the best in the county, value for money, quality, and for what they get; we offer a 5 item breakfast which includes toast and orange juice on top for £4.49. That’s a real pork sausage cooked in the oven, not bread crumbed and deep fried.  Thick cut back bacon - we get very little shrinkage so it stays like a rasher of bacon as you'd expect it, full of flavour, not too salty.  Between Simon Danzel, the head chef, and myself we've really tried to tie down our breakfast market to make sure it is quality and it’s consistently good for the customer.

Natural & Organic Products Europe 2014 bid farewell to London’s Olympia in style, with its biggest ever edition, securing another record turnout. Organised by Diversified Communications UK, the two-day annual trade show welcomed 9,503 industry professionals from 77 countries through its doors over 13-14 April. 

Now in its 18th year, the sold out show featured 550 exhibiting companies and enjoyed an 8% increase in total unique attendees (excluding revisits) compared to 8,810 in 2013 (a 30% increase since 2012).  Significantly, the surge in footfall has been backed by glowing testimonials from across the show floor.

“There couldn’t have been a better way to say goodbye to Olympia than with an excellent show packed full of interesting new products, great networking opportunities and a vibrant atmosphere,” commented Richard Anderton, a buyer from leading wholesaler The Health Store and a frequent visitor to Natural & Organic Products Europe.

“It was really busy and there were lots of new and interesting products that I want to take on,” agreed Sally Eveleigh, owner of Toucan Foods, which was recently named Best Independent Retailer at The Natural and Organic Awards 2014.  “As per usual I didn’t manage to get round it all – but that’s a good thing!  I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“The array of new products from around the world was dazzling.  Walking around the stands was like taking a mini world-trip, travelling from Italy, through Russia and onto Greece in a few short steps.  It was an amazingly positive experience,” said Jane Clempner from LoveLula (winner of Best Online Retailer in The Natural Health Beauty Awards 2014).

Renowned for attracting top buyers from across the health, nutrition, beauty, natural living, and food and drink categories, the show’s aisles were packed with a ‘“Who’s Who” of the sector – including buyers from Ocado, Amazon, Wholefoods Market, Planet Organic, NBTY Europe, Waitrose, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Boots, BaxterStorey, John Bell & Croyden, Marks & Spencer, Superdrug, BigGreenSmile, Naturisimo, Fenwick, Harvey Nichols, The Body Shop, TK Maxx, Abel & Cole, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Fresh & Wild, Pret A Manger, Tesco, Carrefour, Biocoop and De Tuinen; plus thousands of independent retailers and foodservice buyers, distributors, wholesalers and importers.

Carol Dunning, Natural & Organic Products Europe’s event manager, is delighted with the phenomenal feedback the show has inspired so far: “From the moment the doors opened this year, the aisles were full and the enthusiasm and excitement was energising.  We are delighted that so many exhibitors, and visitors, are calling this year’s edition their best show yet – so we really couldn’t ask for a better result!”

“We’ve had a fabulous two days.  I haven't left my stand all day – that’s how busy it's been,” said Soo Cieszynska, sales & managing director at Global By Nature.  “And most importantly, we’ve made so many great new contacts.”

“This show has been the busiest I’ve known,” said Mike Batten, director of Venture Foods.

“We’ve been mobbed since the moment we opened the stand.  This event has been transformational, if we hadn’t of come here, I don’t see how we could have launched in England at all,” said Oz Garcia.

“It’s been incredibly successful.  We’re launching in thousands of stores thanks to this show.  We fully intend coming back next year and every year thereafter – it’s been a great show for us,” said Jessica Mulligan, VP sales & marketing at NeoCell Corporation.

New Product Showcase

As ever, the show’s New Product Showcase was a hive of activity – and for the first port of call for many visiting buyers.  Featuring a record total of 320 entries for 2014 (up 8% from 2013), showcase visitors voted for their favourites on Sunday 13 April.  The winning exhibitors were presented with their trophies by TV presenter Julia Bradbury at the industry’s prestigious Natural and Organic Awards later that night. 

This year’s winning products included Vanilla Choc Chip Protein Bar by Pulsin’ (food); beond Raw Organic Blueberry Bar by Pulsin (organic food); CoYo Coconut Yoghurt Vanilla distributed by Marigold Health Foods (special diet); Oi Ocha by Unione Trading UK (drink); Red Yeast Rice 600mg by Natures Aid (health & nutrition); NeoCell Keratin Hair Volumizer by NeoCell Corporation (natural beauty & spa); and Children’s Strawberry Toothpaste by Kingfisher Natural Toothpaste (natural living & home).

Big name speakers draw in the crowds

A brilliant line-up of big-name speakers and top retailers made this year’s three theatre seminar programme its best to date.  As well as top figures from the natural health world, such as Patrick Holford and Dr Marilyn Glenville – each pulling in big crowds – there were fast-paced business-focused sessions, lively panel discussions, and a tour de force of a talk from organic and Fairtrade pioneer Craig Sams. 

Other notable highlights included Natural Food Kitchen sessions from Barny Haughton, Dale Pinnock – The  Medicinal Chef, who was joined by ITV’s Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley, and cookery writer Jane Hughes, and The Vegan Society’s Ambassador actress Roxy Shahidi. 

Thanks to an exciting new partnership with the Natural Health Magazine Beauty Awards for 2014, the show’s Natural Beauty & Spa Theatre also played host to the Natural Health Beauty Awards ceremony for the first time.  Many Natural & Organic Products Europe exhibitors were among the lucky winners, including Antipodes (Kinetic Natural Products Distributor), Urban Veda, Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps (Kinetic Natural Products Distributor), Green People, and Madara (Australis).

Next stop ExCeL London

The record-breaking attendance was complemented by a 20% rise in international visitors, plus an 11% increase in exhibition space compared to 2013 (filling the venue to capacity for the first time).  Whilst the show’s on-site exhibitor rebookings were equally impressive, with around 40% of exhibitors demonstrating their continued support for the growth of the show by reserving stand space for 2015 at the new venue of the ExCeL London.

Summing up his exhibitor experience Bob Parker, business development director at G&G Food Supplies, says:  “I think it was really the best show we have ever done…anywhere – and a good one to leave Olympia on.  Everyone at G&G is looking forward to next year at Excel.”

A show review supplement will be available to download from www.naturalproducts.co.uk next month.

Natural & Organic Products Europe 2015 will take place on 19-20 April at ExCeL London. 

Horti Catering Equipment has helped Fakenham Garden Centre to transform their coffee shop which has seen a 25% increase in revenues.

The garden centre's owner Martin Turner said: "We met the Horti Catering team on their stand at Glee last year. It was clear to us that they had years of expertise and could harness those into making the very best of our budget and plans. 

"Our refurbishment was a £100k investment and one that we needed to get right whilst continuing to run the existing coffee shop. 

"Amanda McGreavy managed the design and installation process and with her 15 years of experience in running restaurant and coffee shop projects, it was clear that her advice on what equipment and design features were needed made the whole process a very professional one.

"I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the team to anyone thinking of developing a new coffee shop or restaurant refurbishing an existing one."

Following the successful refurbishment of Fakenham Garden Centre, Martin has seen an immediate increase in footfall and income as a result. Sales in the Café are 25% up and overall sales in the centre are between 12 and 15% up. The Café features a new floor, a new and extended seating area, new counter equipment and new lighting and heating.

Horti Catering Equipment is part of the Catering Projects Group of companies. This new division of the Catering Projects Group was founded in January 2014.

Horti Catering Equipment is able to supply all aspects of catering equipment from one off pieces to full schemes and ‘turn-key’ projects. With the years of experience at Horti Catering Equipment, they can oversee as much or as little of a scheme as required. Recognising the importance of working with the client to maintain a fully operational site, using the existing facilities, is vital for the garden centre.

Group Managing Director, Andrew Fulham explains: “ We recognised the continued growth in the garden centre sector and wanted to expand our business.

"The name that everyone recommends is Amanda McGreavy, who is well known and respected by all. Amanda was the obvious choice to run Horti Catering, with her vast wealth of knowledge of not only catering equipment but also the market itself. This expertise coupled with Catering Projects High Street brands has taken Horti Catering Equipment to a new and exciting level within this sector."

To find out more contact Amanada on 0771 507 7582 or email amanda@horticatering.co.uk

Webbs Garden Centre at Wychbold are holding a Foodie Sunday this week-end (18 May) – and the event will see the launch of a new cheese from Worcester-based Croome Cuisine.

In a competition jointly hosted by Webbs to find a new cheese flavour, Droitwich cheese lover Guy Jackson suggested olives and sun-dried tomatoes would be the ideal complement for the supplier’s Cheddar cheese.

Croome’s cheese-maker, Nick Hodgetts, picked Guy’s choice from more than 200 entries. Truckles of the new cheese have been made and will be unveiled at Webbs on Sunday, when customers will also be able to sample it.

Mr Jackson, category manager for Leisure Industry at Droitwich said: “The whole family are cheese lovers and we also love the Mediterranean culture and food. We often eat cheese with olives and sun dried tomatoes with chorizo and as Cheddar is the king of cheeses we thought it would make a great flavour combination.”

Mr Jackson is a fan of Croome’s Hereford Hop cheese and cites Webbs as a favourite weekend destination for him and his wife and two young children. “When I saw the cheese competition advertised I decided to enter as it involved all the things we love. I’ve never won anything like this before and the whole family is very excited.”

Webbs chairman,Ed Webb is sure the new cheese will be popular. “We had lots of interesting suggestions ranging from coconut and sprout and fruit cake to southern fried chicken and strawberries and cream – the competition really set tastebuds on fire!”

Nick Hodgetts said: "We were thrilled with the response we had and it was a difficult choice but we think Mr Jackson’s flavour of olive and sundried tomato is incredibly tasty and works brilliantly with the Cheddar to produce a delicious cheese.”

He added, “It was difficult to narrow it down but in the end, we decided the Mediterranean themed flavour is totally different to the anything we currently produce and we can see it selling well.”

In 2013 Nick made an exclusive cheese with figs and honey produced from bee hives in the gardens at Webbs. He says it has proved very popular with customers.



Above: Harry Hodgetts from Croome Cuisine, Victoria Peacock from Webbs Food Hall with Guy and Helen Jackson and twins William and Amelie, proudly holding the new cheese they helped to create.

lunch! – the leading trade event for the UK’s £14.9bn lunchtime market – has added another industry title to its mantle after winning Best Trade Show at the annual Exhibition News Awards ceremony.

lunch! triumphed in the hotly-contested Best Trade Show category ahead of Speciality & Fine Food Fair, The Toy Fair, DSEI, London Vet Show, Fespa, Bett, The Business Show, 100% Design, and Pharmacy Show. 

Already a firm favourite with thousands of food-to-go manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and buyers (a record 5,929 industry professionals visited lunch! 2013), lunch! has also proved popular with exhibition industry judges.  Having already won Best Marketing Campaign of the Year 2012 and two Best UK Trade Show Exhibition under 2,000sqm (2010 and 2011) at the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) Excellence Awards. 

“We are thrilled to have won Best Trade Show for lunch! 2013,” comments a delighted Chris Brazier, the show’s group event manager.  “It is such an honour for the whole Diversified team particularly when you consider the competition within this category!  One of lunch!’s real strengths has always been its niche, boutique appeal, so for it to win against such established – and much bigger – events really is an enormous achievement and a real recognition of the impact that lunch! has made within the industry.”

“We talk about lunch!’s fantastic buzz and unique atmosphere every year but it really was incredible for 2013,” says marketing manager Grace Allwright, who has worked on the award-winning show since 2009.  “lunch! draws its inspiration from the industry it serves – so we are delighted to share this award with all the extraordinarily dedicated, innovative individuals and companies that keep the lunch market moving forward.  Huge thanks must go to our show partners, exhibitors and visitors for their fantastic support in helping to make lunch! the wonderful success it is.”

2013 was indeed a momentous year for lunch!.  Its sixth, and biggest, edition attracted a record 5,929 industry professionals over two days – that’s an unparalleled 37% increase in unique attendees (excluding revisits) compared to 4,314 in 2012.  And whilst lunch! 2014 is still over five months away, it’s already on track for a repeat performance.  According to organiser Diversified UK, its exhibition space – which accommodates around 300 companies – is selling at record speed.  At the time of writing this, over 85% of it had already been booked.

Rombouts Coffee, Tudor Tea & Coffee, Taylors of Harrogate, Freshfayre, Equip Line, Adelie Foods, Bagel Nash, Popchips, Crown Foods, Pidy, Tri-Star Packaging, Tom’s Pies, Cawston Press, Joe & Seph’s Popcorn, Butterware, SFD, Simple Simon Foods, Magrini, Craftis, Mr Sherick’s Shakes, and Berry White are just a few of the returning exhibitors confirmed so far.

Meanwhile Tyrrells Potato Crisps, Fracino, Unilever Tea Fusion, Pegarich UK (Stream), Manitowoc Foodservice, Bfree Foods, Cuisine Solutions, Plenish Cleanse, The Brownie Bar, Ancient Recipes, City Pantry, RoughStuff Oak Food Boards, Little Cherry, The Protein Ice Cream Company, Beanworks, and Metcalfe's Food Company are all busy preparing to make their lunch! debut.

Show features include the Working lunch! Keynote Theatre, Innovation Challenge Awards, Innovation Challenge Showcase, and the British Smoothie Championships.

“It’s essential to know your market place,” says Andrew Sherick, a former senior buyer with M&S Foods, who switched from visiting to exhibiting last year when he launched Mr Sherick’s Shakes.  “That’s why lunch! is so key.  I think it’s the only trade show that’s 100% focused on the impulse market.”

For more information visit www.lunchshow.co.uk/visiting-lunch

Cotswold Fayre has been appointed as exclusive distributors for the specialist independent retail sector by Italian drinks brand Galvanina.

The Galvanina Collection is a range of gently sparkling organic fruit drinks in four different flavours – Sicilian Lemon, Sicilian Ruby Orange, Sicilian Clementine and Red Grapefruit.

Clare Blampied, of Galvanina says: “We have very high hopes for the new range and are incredibly excited to launch into the UK market.

“We believe Cotswold Fayre will play a significant role in helping the brand achieve success in the independent market. With an excellent track record of driving sales and developing brands they are the perfect partner for us.”

The drinks are made using water straight from the Galvanina Spring in the Italian Appenine Mountains and pulp from tree ripened, handpicked organic fruits.

Paul Hargreaves, managing director of Cotswold Fayre added: “We were really impressed by the range of fruit drinks from Galvanina. The drinks are beautifully presented in distinctive glass bottles, in fact consumers in Italy love to re-use them as candle holders and vases.

“We are delighted to be working with the brand at such an exciting time and look forward to helping them achieve on-going success in the fine food industry.”

The embossed glass bottles will create a bright and distinctive on-shelf presence and will be available in two different sizes 355 ml and 750 ml.   (Please note that Red Grapefruit isn’t currently available in 750 ml).

For more information on Galvanina contact the Cotswold Fayre team on 0844 840 4045 or email sales@cotswold-fayre.co.uk.

There’s no better way to engage with your cafe and restuarant customers and find out just why they think your garden centre food offering is great than by taking part in The Greatest Awards customer voting categories.

The awards for The Greatest Garden Centre Catering Teams and The Greatest Garden Centre Teams will once again be decided purely by customer votes.  There will be regional and national winners plus awards for different sizes of garden centre operations, so even the smallest of garden centre team can take part and be in with a chance of winning – it’s just down to how many customers your teams can get to vote for them.  If you’re good you’ll get votes, if you’re the greatest you’ll get the most votes!

And the real winning factor is all of the wonderful customer comments you’ll capture as part of the process.  They will give you great marketing insight and deliver huge motivation to your staff.

Voting runs from Mid May to Mid June but you need to register for a voting pack now so that you get all of the pre-voting material to enable your teams to make the most of the opportunity. 

Register by e-mailing trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or calling The Greatest Awards team on 01733 775700 today.

Head Chef Staunton Garden Centre

Staunton Garden Centre in Gloucestershire, is looking for a Head Chef to join the senior leadership team in managing the kitchen in our busy customer facing restaurant. Serving an all day freshly produced menu in stylish contemporary surroundings you will be responsible for every aspect of the kitchen.

Our restaurant offers premium quality British food and drink served with friendly professionalism and unfailing courtesy.

Much of the food is home-made on the premises using only the finest of ingredients. You will be expected to create menus (the menu changes weekly), source products and suppliers and control GP, wastage, portion control and stock.

There is seating for 120 covers within the Restaurant and local outside catering is also undertaken.  We also hold special events within the Restaurant eg; Italian Nights, French Nights.

We are seeking a dedicated Head Chef to co-ordinate the entire kitchen operation of the restaurant, manage a small team, whilst also maintaining high standards of quality control, hygiene, health and safety in accordance with legal requirements and company requirements.

Successful applicants will work retail style hours approximately 35-40 per week. A salary of circa £21K is offered.

Previous experience as a Head Chef or Sous Chef in a busy commercial restaurant, café or contract catering operation would be desirable.

If you have dedication, drive and real enthusiasm for food and would like to demonstrate this in one of our dynamic and progressive restaurant environments, I would like to hear from you.

Please send your CV to Brian Lewis at Staunton Garden Centre, Staunton Cross, Ledbury Road, Staunton, Gloucestershire GL19 3QA or call him on 01452 840612

We are looking for an experienced chef with a proven track record in a busy kitchen, putting the customer first in everything they do. This person will assist the Head Chef and Restaurant Manager in the day to day running of the kitchen, menu planning and the creation of seasonal and daily specials, and preparing and presenting our full and varied menu to a high and consistent standard.

·In conjunction with your line manager, to supervise all areas of food management including hygiene levels, stock control, profitability and adherence to all current and future legislative guidelines.

·To be proactive in the day to day running of the department including food preparation and cooking.

·To have a good knowledge of all recipes, portion sizes and presentation styles enabling us to consistently delight our customers and maximise profitability

·Short order cooking for 120+ covers for Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea

·To be able to bake a range of cakes, tray bakes, pastries, desserts, savoury pastries

·To offer the highest standards of internal and external customer service at all times ensuring total customer satisfaction, good repeat business and a first class reputation.

·To conduct all daily checks including temperature are conducted and ensure they are recorded correctly

·To conduct a monthly stock take or as requested by head office

We are looking for an experienced chef with a proven track record in a busy kitchen, putting the customer first in everything they do. This person will be responsible for the day to day running of the kitchen in our popular Java Café, menu planning and the creation of seasonal and daily specials, and preparing and presenting our full and varied menu to a high and consistent standard.

They will assist the restaurant manager in the smooth and efficient running of our popular restaurant

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Create and cook daily specials to an agreed high standard  enabling us to consistently delight our customers and maximise profitability

Short order cooking for 120+ covers for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea

To develop new food dishes and compile / revise menus on a regular basis, in conjunction with the restaurant manager, maintaining customer interest and allowing for seasonal changes

To be able to bake a range of cakes, tray bakes, pastries, desserts, savoury pastries

Assist in achieving the weekly and period operational budgets / targets across our catering business

To assist with the training of fellow staff members to ensure that the service and quality of food is consistent at all times

To offer the highest standards of customer service at all times

Qualifications/Experience

Real Nice Organic produce the only fruit ice lolly in the uk.  

Their Mango ice lolly won best children's product at the Soil Association Awards 2013

They are 100% fruit, no added sugar, no added water, no additives, made from whole fruit.   They taste good too from the samples we checked out at the show.

http://www.soilassociation.org/awards/organicfoodawards/product/articleid/5889/real-nice-organic

If a garden centre wants to stock Real Nice Organic Fruit Ice Lollies, they come in boxes of 30 and there are three flavours; banana and raspberry, mango, and mixed berry.  They also come in boxes of 4 for take out sales.  Individual lollies retail for between £2.00 and £1.50. The boxes of 4 are retailing through Wholefoods at £2.99

The Chief Fruit of Real Nice Organic told GTN Food Xtra: ""Its a premium product, we're competing with other lollies which have got water and other additives in.  This is literally like a smoothie on a stick."  

We do currently distribute to some garden centres via Queenswood, and Stratford Fine Foods but the lollies are also available from other wholesalers:  Eden Farm, Suma Wholefoods, Goodness Foods, Roberto Ices and The Health Store.

www.realniceorganic.co.uk

Listen to the Chief Fruit at The Natural Products Show here.

Yogi Teas could be a great line for garden centres to stock and serve as they are not sold by grocery supermarkets.  "They sell through health food shops only so everyone supports the rsp, nobody is undercutting the price," UK Sales Manager Peter Otto told GTN Food Xtra at The Natural Products Show.

"We have also introduced our Sikh Santa to create a Christmas selection box with12 different varieties of Yogi teas, 2 of each tea, 24 tea bags in total, which could be an ideal Christmas line for garden centres."

Yogi Tea was started by a master of master of cundalini Yoga, Yogi Baji, and is a non-profit making organisation.  In the UK the range is totally organic.

Listen to the story behind Yogi Teas here

Garden Centres can get supplies of Yogi Tea through wholesalers who service the healthfood trade such as Marigolds, Suma, Tree of life and The Health Store.

"It's a premium product, a pack of 17 tea bags, retails at £2.29." Peter added.  "From September we have a great offer for retail customers:  If they buy any two packets from the entire range they receive a free Yogi Tea mug, and the mugs are delivered to the retailers with their order."

At the show they were serving samples of Yogi Chai Latte, which is a pre-brewed liquid version that is mixed in a heater half and half with milk.  Now that would be good for centre restaurants who hold Indian food themed events or even as a regular offering of a Chai Latte to extend your tea offering.

New British snack company, The Provenance Trading Co, is launching a range of bagged snacks under the brand name Sunakku.

The range includes a variety of dried and uniquely vacuum fried fruits which creates a light crispy snack with intense natural flavour. Some packs are fruit only, others in the range include nuts or have popular pairings such as yogurt coated raisins and honeycomb.

The Sunakku range allows retailers to offer healthier snacks which do not compromise on flavour, and are available in convenient 30g to 80g bags with SRP’s from £1.09 to £1.89 per pack.

The Provenance Trading Company, as the name suggests, has a focus on product provenance and promises traceability from farm to shop. The company sources ingredients from around the world that bring originality and innovation to the UK snack category.

MD Nick Charlton, who has worked in the snack industry for more than 15 years, says the company wants to create snacks that add something really new for consumers. “For example, by using our unique process of vacuum frying for the Sunakku Brand fruit, I challenge anyone not to agree that it delivers an explosion of natural fruity flavour in the mouth!”

The range  includes Premium Pineapple Bites, Premium Banana Bites, Banana and Pineapple Combo, Choccy Yoggy Mix - Coated Raisins and Honeycomb, Chilli and Raisin Combo – Chilli rice crackers with juicy raisins, and Barbecue Mix – Barbecue Corn & Smoky Cashews

Packs come in 30g and 80g sizes, 24 packs per case, with Euro slots.

Contact nick@provenancetrading.com.