The Garden Centre Group has brought the 'green of the garden centre' inside its newly launched Garden Kitchen restaurant concept at Brighton Garden Centre.

With a freshly remodelled space, customers can now enjoy a new, lighter summer menu with ingredients from the garden, as well as pick-up items such as hand-made sandwiches and fresh boxed salads for lunch on the spot or a spur-of-the-moment picnic. 

Jason Danciger, Food & Beverage Director for The Garden Centre Group, said: “This light refurbishment is part of a 360-degree design refresh which aims to bring the joy of the garden to the plate and improve the experience in the restaurant, one of many initiatives we are taking to improve our vibrant hospitality offering.

"Our customers and team alike enjoy the improved atmosphere of the restaurant and the resulting footfall into our restaurant has been excellent.” 

He added: "We refreshed the space to allow for better flow for customers, embracing the design features of a garden centre and adjusting the scale of the space to bring more focus to the ‘theatre of food’.

"These changes improve the customer journey through the restaurant and bring the garden environment into the restaurant.

GTN Food Xtra asked Jason whether there had been any changes in catering personnel at Brighton, and he replied: "Our people are our most important asset and we are proud that the same very capable team are running the restaurant."

The Garden Kitchen is a new concept which seeks to link dining experience more strongly with the unique character and architecture of the garden centre, while improving layout to increase the efficiency and overall atmosphere of the space for customers. 

Jason also told GTN Xtra that a restaurant refresh was due to take place at Syon Park in the next few weeks and that they would be refurbishing the restaurant at Huntingdon Garden & Leisure in the Autumn.  Huntingdon Garden & Leisure already has a Costa Coffee in store.



The 'green of the garden centre' has been brought inside the restaurant (above).

Below: The serving and seating areas at Brighton BEFORE the refurbishment...

Sturmer Nurseries Garden Centre, just outside Haverhill in Suffolk, is using locally-sourced produce in its new tearoom.

Manager Samantha Morgan says: "All our bread is from a local bakery, our meat from Kedington Butchers and our barista coffees and teas specially prepared in Newmarket.

"We only use organic milk, free-range eggs, pole-and-line tuna, free-range meat, Fairtrade hot chocolate and Rainforest Alliance teas and coffees."

The tearoom has just opened in the eye-catching new shop at the family-owned garden centre, which has been operating for over 30 years.

"Our customers can start the day off with our bacon and sausage baps or wake up with one of our posh coffees," adds Samantha. 

"The tearoom is also a great venue to meet up with friends for light lunches. And in the afternoon, our well-priced and delicious cakes and bakes and toasted teacakes will appeal to all.

"There’s a simple children’s menu and a play area – complete with Wendy house filled with toys."

Customers can wander around the garden centre with a takeaway coffee or ice-cream, pop in and leave with a bacon bap or sausage roll or simply sit outside among the flowers and enjoy a good gossip.

Home cooking is another feature of this establishment. "All our food is homemade and we have different cakes, savouries and traybakes on sale all the time – so every experience is a little different," explains Samantha.

The menu includes jacket potatoes, homemade quiche, vegetarian bakes, sausage rolls, soup and baguettes. There’s also a large array of sweet treats during the day – from loaf cakes to iced Victoria and ginger sponges.

Samantha says: "We will start doing paninis and cream teas – with our own freshly baked scones very soon. We’re building up the menu and listening to our customers. They have asked us for teacakes and gluten-free cakes and we’re happy to oblige."

The tearoom is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm every day except Thursdays. Sunday opening hours are 10am to 4pm.

For more information visit www.sturmernurseries.co.uk

Pictured: The team in the new tearoom at Sturmer Nurseries Garden Centre.

Van Hage Peterborough's food hall manager Barry McGuinness says more customers are searching for outlets that sell locally-sourced products and ingredients.

The trained butcher believes a growing number of customers want to know where their meat and groceries come from, and that buying from local suppliers is important for a lot of people.

"We sell Lincoln Red beef and get all our pork from Grasmere Farm, based at Market Deeping," said Barry. 

The butcher's department in the food hall is the most popular section with quality meats at affordable prices being a big attraction. 

But it's not just the meat that draws customers into the food hall. Van Hage Peterborough has extensive displays of oils and cheeses, and all the hams and pies are cooked in store.

Barry, whose father was an 'old-school' butcher, likes to keep his hand in, and will help with the butchering of meat.

And he also runs a happy ship, as there is hardly any turnover of staff in the eight  strong team.

"We are enjoy working here," he said. "We take pride in what we do, and our regular customers appreciate seeing the same happy faces behind the counter each week."

The HTA Catering Conference has been shortlisted for Conference of the Year at the Trade Association Forum (TAF) Best Practice Awards 2014.

This year’s sell-out HTA Catering Conference was organised in response to increased member demand and proved to be a resounding success. Feedback was excellent and delegate and budget targets exceeded all expectations, demonstrating how important this conference is to our industry.

Now in its twelfth year, the TAF Best Practice Awards is an annual prestigious event that recognises, rewards and promotes best practice amongst Trade Associations in the UK. 

The winners will be announced at an Awards Dinner on Thursday, 10th July 2014 at St Georges Hall, Liverpool, to coincide with the International Festival for Business.

For more information on the awards visit: www.taforum.org

The date for next years HTA Catering Conference has been set:  Wednesday 11th February 2015 at a venue in the Midlands which has to be confirmed.  http://www.cateringconference.co.uk/

Compass Group UK & Ireland’s Instore business has secured a new five-year partnership with Homebase. The company will introduce coffee shops in up to 30 Homebase stores around the country, starting in Worcester.

Instore specialises in delivering restaurant and café food services for many of the UK’s most well known and loved retail brands. The new coffee shops it will introduce in Homebase are part of a plan to provide customers with a family friendly, inspiring home-from-home environment where they can relax and mull over their home improvement plans.

The coffee shop will be open all day serving hot breakfast sandwiches, tempting cakes and pastries, fresh bloomer sandwiches and paninis as well as snacks to keep everyone going, whatever the time of day.

For children, picnic bags will be on offer while adults can take a break to enjoy freshly brewed Twinings tea and Costa coffee with a cake or snack on the side. Instore is investing in developing modern, colourful spaces with paint-dipped furniture and oversized soft chairs, located beside a consultation area offering customers expert home decoration advice. In stores that are tight for space, the team are also developing smaller pod café formats.

Andy Rees, Business Director for Instore, commented: “We’re delighted to have won this new contract and we are immensely excited about building on our relationship with Homebase to inspire the nation’s homemakers everywhere.

“With our experience in delivering great food for retail partners, there’s a lot we can bring to create a great customer experience for Homebase customers, working together to satisfy appetites for home improvements and tasty eats at the same time.”

Graham Heald, Retail & Distribution Director at Homebase said: “We are extremely pleased to announce that we have partnered with Compass Instore. At the heart of our decision was their understanding of our future plans, design ideas that will help build upon these, operational expertise and specialist knowledge of consumers’ favourite food and drink.”

In terms of the chef’s assessment of the cooked fish, salmon which had been stored in the Adande was said to have a “meaty, sweet flavour”, whist the cooked salmon from the conventional fridge was described as “clearly dehydrated, with a darker surface and a tangy taste”. Similarly, cooked cod from the Adande was described as “succulent”, whereas the sample which had been stored in the conventional fridge was said to be “tough and fibrous”.

The trials also established that the average weight loss, due to dehydration, of fish stored in the conventional fridge was 3.5 times higher than product held in the Adande. Taking into account the reduced yield from shrinkage and the wastage of inedible product, the monetary value of fish stored in the conventional fridge had been reduced by 33.6% at the end of the trial. By comparison, the reduction in monetary value of the fish stored in the Adande was just 1.5%.

Nicholas Melmoth-Coombs, stated: “The difference in the quality of the fish at the end of the trial was really quite noticeable. I could see immediately that fish stored in the under counter fridge was more dehydrated than fish stored in the Adande. When we cooked the fish, we saw consistently better results from the product, which had been stored in the Adande.”

A full copy of the report, detailing the results of the trials, is available from Adande upon request.

For further information call 0844 376 0023, email info@adande.com  or visit www.adande.com

The portion on the left had been stored in an Adande refrigerated drawer and the portion on the right had been stored in a conventional fridge.

Restaurant Vacancy

Food Quality
80% of respondents agreed that the inherently stable temperature of the Adande drawer system prolongs the shelf life of perishable merchandise. 87% believed that the Adande design eliminates condensation on food stored in drawers in chiller mode, whilst 82% asserted that no ice crystals form on food in drawers operating in freezer mode.

Adande has published two reports, detailing scientific research undertaken at Griffith Laboratories and Westminster Kingsway College. The trials assessed the performance of Adande  drawers in terms of prolonging the quality and appearance of perishable food, compared to conventional refrigeration solutions. Copies of these reports are available upon request.

Temperature Versatility
A feature of the Adande drawer system is the ability to vary the temperature through a range from -22^oC to +15^oC, adjustable in 0.1^oC increments, via a user friendly controller, giving chefs the flexibility to store chilled or frozen food. 90% of respondents replied that being able to control the temperature set point precisely is important to them, whilst 84% added that the ability to switch between chilled and frozen storage is a valuable function.

Product Quality
In response to questions on build quality and robustness, 87% of customers believed that the Adande drawer system is superior to other refrigeration solutions, with 82% responding that Adande drawer seals are more reliable than seals on traditional cold storage units.

Overall Product Satisfaction
In terms of overall product satisfaction, 92% of respondents stated that their Adande drawers had performed to the expected specification and standard, with 89% adding that the drawers are a good alternative to traditional cold storage solutions. Reassuringly, 87% stated that they would recommend Adande drawers to other chefs and catering operations.

Cost Savings
Customers were asked their opinions on cost savings as a result of using Adande drawers, in terms of lower energy consumption, the reduction in the amount of food wastage, ease of cleaning, maintenance and operational efficiency. All those who offered an opinion, agreed that the use of Adande drawers had resulted in cost savings. Of these 52% believed the saving to be up to £400 per year, with 48% stating that the saving was over £400 per year, based on a two drawer Adandeunit.

The survey also provided customers with the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience of working with Adande drawer systems. Amongst the numerous positive responses were the following statements:

“Food stored in our Adande drawers lasts up to twice as long compared with our regular chiller.” – Head Chef of a specialty restaurant.

“Shelf life of our seafood and salad ingredients is noticeably improved with the Adande because there's no dehydration. Salads retain moisture whereas before we had to throw these items out come the second day.” – Head Chef of a hotel.

For more information visit www.adande.com

Top labelling and eco packaging provider Planglow has got pots of new cups and lots of new pots too.

A trio of cups and two sizes (12oz and 16oz) of pots have joined Planglow’s slate-look Gastro Collection, extending the deli-style branding of the popular range to drinks, soups, stews and other liquid-based foods – hot and cold.

Planglow’s best-selling Natural Collection has been expanded too and now includes a 16oz Natural Pot as well, which sits alongside the much in demand 12oz version in the same range.

Rachael Sawtell, marketing director for Planglow, commented: “We developed Gastro’s slate look to echo the use of this material in premium delicatessen’s and fine dining presentations. We anticipated its strong design would be popular, but it’s gone above and beyond our expectations. We identified a need for cups and pots in the collection too at the end of last year, so we are pleased we can now support providers in further extending the gastro brand to liquid products as well as sandwiches, wraps, baked goods, salads and snacks." 

Planglow launched the first of its pot products, a 12oz Natural Pot, last summer. The larger sized 16oz pot further compliments the extensive Natural range of rustic packaging and labels. It sports the same kraft finish as the rest of the collection and, like the Gastro Pots and Cups, is suitable for a whole range of produce from ice cream to curries, and is industrially compostable too.    

All pots in the Natural and Gastro Collections come with a choice of two lid options. The 12/16oz Pot Lid - which is made from a recyclable (PS) plastic; and the 12/16oz Bio Pot Lid. This is made from a corn based material that is also certified EN13432 (the European standard for compostability). And unlike other compostable container lid products, the Bio Pot Lid can be used with piping hot food without warping, cracking or melting.    

Planglow only use compostable and biodegradable materials and all of Planglow’s suppliers are commissioned for their own pro-active environmental best practice. The board and PLA come from international sources that fully manage sustainable and renewable plantations.

For further details on any of the items or collections mentioned, please visit www.planglow.com 

Urban14 is a new collection of stylish and highly durable furniture coming soon from Morris.

Previewed at this year’s Northern Restaurant & Bar show in Manchester, the response from trade professionals and public alike was overwhelmingly positive.

Presently comprising of a high stool, low stool and dining/drinks table, the collection will soon be expanded to include a chair, poseur and coffee table to suit any bar, restaurant, café or club.

All of the items in the collection are constructed from high quality timber and mild steel to withstand the demands of the most rigorous contract environment.

The Urban14 collection is manufactured in the UK exclusively by Morris.

For more information and to sign up for the forthcoming catalogue launch, call 01360 311 555.

Fine food distributor Cotswold Fayre has announced the appointment of one of the company’s key team members into a new directorial role, as the company prepares to launch into the chilled market.

Tessa Evans, who has worked for Cotswold Fayre for more than 13 years, has been promoted from her position as Regional Account Manager for the South of England, to a new position on the board of directors responsible for new chilled division.

The company is looking to trial chilled distribution for approximately 150-200 lines in a limited area this autumn before rolling-out the service more widely. The move into chilled comes as more retailers are seeking to consolidate their supplier channels to save both time and money.

Paul Hargreaves, managing director at Cotswold Fayre, says: “As we expand our business into chilled distribution, it seemed natural to introduce a new role focusing on the new chilled ranges.

“The distribution of chilled products is a topic we are frequently asked about by current and potential customers. It is clear that there is a demand for a broader product offering and we need to do as much as we can to help the retailer by providing a more consolidated shopping experience.

“Tessa knows our customers inside out, demonstrating an exceptional knowledge of what products our customers need and I have every confidence that she will continue to source new, innovative products that our customers will love.”

Tessa Evans adds: “I am incredibly pleased to be involved in such an exciting step for Cotswold Fayre.  The extension of our product offering into chilled is a huge milestone for the company and I am looking forward to helping Cotswold Fayre continue its dramatic growth with the introduction of chilled.”

Cotswold Fayre has also appointed Lizzie Vinnicombe as Regional Account Manager for the South of England.

Paul Hargreaves adds: “We are delighted to welcome Lizzie on board. Having run a farm shop for many years, she has a wealth of experience in the industry and will be able to provide excellent product advice to our customers in the South East.”

Customers will be offered the chance to meet both Tessa and Lizzie at the Cotswold Fayre Christmas roadshows where customers can view and gain advice on the best products for their Christmas ranges.

For more information or to book an appointment at one of the fairs please email Tessa@cotswold-fayre.co.uk.

SOLEX are to provide free buses from local hotels for visitors to GTN’s Greatest Awards, to be held on the evening of Monday 7th July at the National Motorcycle Museum (near the NEC) during the SOLEX trade show.

Details of routes have now been confirmed. Pick-ups will be available from the following hotels:

• Crowne Plaza
• Metropole
• Premier Inn
• Holiday Inn Express
• Manor Park
• Arden
• IBIS
• Novotel

The Greatest Awards are in association with SOLEX and sponsored by Weber, LG Outdoor, Brother and National Garden Gift Vouchers.

                

         

To book your tickets for The Greatest Awards Party, call 01733 775700.

A spread made out of Belgian crushed biscuits is acquiring cult status in the UK, and proving so addictive it’s been dubbed ‘crack in a jar’.

Such is the word-of-mouth success of Biscoff Spread that sales of its smooth version have rocketed by 529% in Sainsbury’s over the past year — and 276% for a crunchier version — and both are zooming ‘relentlessly upward’ in Waitrose.

Now rival retailers are clamouring to stock the product, which is a spreadable version of the caramelised Lotus biscuits found worldwide, often as a complimentary nibble with a cup of coffee.

The spread is made by Belgium’s Lotus Bakeries which annually manufactures six billion of the lightly spiced, thin and crunchy biscuits for export to 40 countries.

They are also known as Biscoff Biscuits — short for biscuits for coffee. But beware – there are a whopping 2,360 calories per 400g jar.

Pipers’ gourmet crisps are now available in around 5,000 outlets across the UK, including cafés, coffee shops, bars, pubs, food halls, farm shops, delicatessens and specialist retailers. 

“The fact that Pipers Crisps are not supplied through the major supermarkets chains means that our independent outlets can offer a real point of difference at a sensible margin,” says Alex.

 “We also make our own crisps in our own production facility. There are still a few brands that don’t make their own and, for us, this is an important difference. It shows we know what we’re doing and that we’re passionate about taste, product quality, freshness and shelf life - vital ingredients for our success,” he adds.

For more information call 01652 686960 or visit www.piperscrisps.com