Good Food Shops

Shrewsbury - Jabulani South African Foods

2009-12-14T07:00:00.000Z

Where else but Shrewsbury can you walk out of a shop selling French food straight into a half-timbered shop selling South African food!

In Jabulani South African Foods there's lots of of foods I've never even heard, but Lizette Coetzee (the owner) is very friendly and will give help and advice if you need it.

You can buy biltong (with or without peri peri):

and packets of South African soups like Chakalaka soup (which seemed quite mild when we started drinking it, but got hotter later! You can make your own traditional Bobotie (the national dish of South Africa?) or Tomato Bredie.
I wasn't convinced that my family was ready for the Monkey Gland Sauce (an exotic blend of oriental fruits and aromatic spices) on sale here, even when I found it didn't contain any monkey parts! The best explanation for it's name I've found is here.
You can also buy frozen Boerewors and other South African Specialities.

There's some selected South African drinks and fruit balls to finish off your South African meal.

Jabulani South African Foods

2 Bear Steps

Fish Street

Shrewsbury

SY1 1UR

Tel: 01743 562104

Web: www.jabulanisafoods.co.uk

Shrewsbury - Plat du Jour

2009-12-11T07:00:00.000Z

I first heard of Le Plat du Jour in Shrewsbury from the excellent Eat Shrewsbury site, it's on the corner of Fish Street and the delightfully sounding (if rather narrow) Grope Lane!
It's a really nice shop, with a helpful and owner (Andrew) who's passionate about French food. He imports all sorts of things which you don't find elsewhere. There's an interesting selection of French cheeses, crêpes bretonnes, some luxurious sauces and pâtés, nuts for Christmas, shallots and (of course) garlic.
There's a far wider range of Bonne Maman preserves and tartlets than you'll find in most supermarkets. They sell Lotus Speculoos (caramelised biscuits) to go with your coffee and the new Speculoos Spread (which I've not yet seen elsewhere in this country) which you can spread on the biscuits for a touch of luxury.

The croissants and baguettes come from the Shrewsbury Bakehouse:
There's also some stylish artefacts that Francophiles might wish to add to their home.

Upstairs there's a language school where you can learn French (and have coffee and biscuits) for a modest fee:

and some more French pottery:

It's like stepping into France, with the advantage that the staff speak perfect English!

Le Plat du Jour

11 Fish Street

Shrewsbury

Shropshire

SY1 1UR

Tel: 01743 247770

Web: www.leplatdujour.co.uk

Shrewsbury Bakehouse

2009-12-09T07:00:00.004Z

This relatively new shop is very close to Shrewsbury Railway Station and specialises in traditional bread made the old fashioned way. This takes longer but the long ferment that their bread receives results in a much chewier crumb. Their traditional white bread was the winner at this year's Ludlow food Festival.
They sell pain de campagne, seeded, whole wheat and walnut, rosemary and raisin, spelt and rye and brown made from sour dough, and country white, wholemeal, wholegrain seeded and pain rustica yeasted breads. In addition they do "celebrity guest breads" which change daily, like lapsang souchong and ginger which apparently goes beautifully with soft blue cheeses and was a runner-up at Ludlow Food Festival. They've got quite a following on Twitter, where they tell you what celebrity breads they'll be doing next.Besides bread, they do pastries, croissants and cakes. The cake flavours, like some of the breads, are seasonal. At the end of the week they also make a bread and butter pudding with croissants.

Shrewsbury Bakehouse

7 Castle Gates

Shrewsbury

Shropshire

SY1 2AE

Tel: 01743 248384

Out-of-hours: 07775 691325

Web: www.shrewsburybreads.co.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/shrewsburybread

Email: mail@shrewsburybakehouse.co.uk

The Staffordshire Oatcake - a history

2009-12-07T07:00:00.001Z

Pamela Sambrook's new book on Staffordshire (and Derbyshire) oatcakes and pikelets is an interesting read for anyone interested in food history. It dismisses the story that they were brought back by the Staffordshire regiment from the Indian Raj, and goes back much further in history. It's fully illustrated throughout and shows how they've evolved through history to the present day.

If you can't get it in your local bokshop, you can get it from Amazon here.

Stoke - Traditional Oatcakes

2009-12-06T07:05:00.000Z

Stoke-on-Trent has had a market since 1818, but the Victorian market was largely destroyed by fire in 1982. Only the clock tower, entrance arch, fish section and shop frontage were saved. It's not a great market (in my opinion) but the best bit is outside, - where you'll find Traditional Oatcakes.

It's run by Jim, who used to work for Rolls Royce, and has now had the shop for 20 years. He starts work at 3:00am to make the oatcakes. He's got a machine, which he bought second-hand 20 years ago. I find Staffordshire oatcakes fans either love or hate the machines! If you like a thin oatcake, then you'll like the ones made on an oatcake machine, whereas the people who like thick oatcakes (with more oatmeal in) prefer the ones poured by hand.

Traditional Oatcakes

57 Church Street

Stoke-on-Trent

Stafordshire

ST4 1DQ

Tel: 01782 744559

Borough Market - Neal's Yard

2009-12-04T07:00:00.000Z

I've already covered the Covent Garden branch of Neal's Yard here, but it's such a great shop I thought the Borough Market branch deserves a post of its own! It's one of the best cheese shops I know.

There's stacks of Parmigiano-Reggiano, erroneously called Parmesan by many:

and great British cheeses (please excuse the pun) like Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire, Keen's and Montgomery's Cheddar:
I wanted to take a picture of their main cheese counter, but there were too many people in the way! They do mini truckles which are perfect to eat (or give) at Christmas.

Bread and cheese is a marriage made in heaven, they sell Poilâne (French bread), Pugliese bread (a rustic bread from the south of Italy), Tortano bread (from Campania), Rye Levain and Walnut and Raisin bread:
Another marriage made in heaven is cheese and Staffordshire oatcakes. The ones they sell here are made in a factory and not quite as good (in my opinion) as the ones here but if you live in London it's an easy way to try them.

Neal's Yard Dairy

6 Park Street

London

SE1 9AB

Tel: 020 7367 0799

Fax: 020 7367 0798

Web: www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk

Borough Market - Best Italian

2009-12-02T07:00:00.000Z

Best Italian is a CareTrade certified Social Enterprise company. They aim to bring the finest artisan products Italy can offer and every penny of profit goes towards helping people with autism.
Their shop and café is a working classroom where the pupils will gain valuable workplace skills. They sell pasta, rice and other Italian products, including their own Villaggio di Bestagno 100% single estate Ligurian extra virgin olive oil and more products will be available soon.

If you're tired of shopping you can sit down and have meal, or a coffee and a cake:

As a sign in the shop says "helping others has never been so enjoyable".

Best Italian

4 Park Street

London

SE1 9AB

Web: www.caretradeuk.org

Borough Market - Applebee’s

2009-11-30T07:15:00.000Z

If going round Borough Market has made you hungry, you could call at Applebee’s fish shop and café. At the front there's a counter selling fresh fish:
and at the back there's a restaurant. My son and I went for the mixed grill:
When we got home I told my wife we'd had just fish and chips for lunch!

Applebee’s

5 Stoney Street

London

SE1 9AA

Tel : 020 7407 5777

Web: www.applebeesfish.com

The Best Local Food Retailer

2009-11-29T07:29:00.003Z

Congratulations to Paddy and Sue Ryan of A Ryan & Son butchers in Much Wenlock (featured here in this blog in July this year), who have won the Best Local Food Retailer category in the prestigious BBC's Food and Farming Awards.

I suppose it will be bad news for the people of Much Wenlock, the queues will be even longer now!

Borough Market - Bread and Cakes

2009-11-28T07:00:00.000Z

It's sad that today many people don't even know what proper bread should taste like. Rhodes Bakery (pictured above) make bread the old fashioned way.

Flour Power City Bakery make their bread using organic flour, salt, yeast and water and nothing else:
There's plenty of stalls selling cakes and biscuits. I was rather taken with the Cinnamon Tree Bakery:who make handmade sweet and savory biscuits, including these attractive cinnamon elephants:
On another stall Flour Power City Bakery had a tower of their ultra chocolate brownies:
Dark Sugars sell tarts like Mississippi pecan tart or red plum and almond tart or sachertorte (yikes my spell checker thinks sachertorte should be school teacher!):

There's meringues a plenty:

For some reason I missed Madame Bertaux when I went to Soho

but with desserts like these at their stall in Borough Market, - I clearly need to go and visit:

Borough Market - Cheese

2009-11-27T07:00:00.003Z

I've already covered Welbeck Farm Shop where Stichelton cheese (pictured at the top of this post) is made. I enjoyed talking to the lady on their stand, who was handing out samples of this delicious cheese, she gave me some helpful suggestions of other places for fine food near by.

You can buy all sorts of cheese in Borough Market like Dutch Farmhouse Cheese (try the mature varieties which have more taste).
You can buy Parmesan cheese (or should I say Parmigiano Reggiano) from the Parmesan Cheese Company.
KäseSwiss sell traditional farmhouse cheeses from Switzerland:
Closer to home, there's Gorwydd Caerphilly who sell a mature Caerphilly made to a traditional recipe, using raw unpasteurised milk.
Even closer to my home, I was very pleased to see Mrs Bourne's Mature Cheshire:
I'll give Neal's Yard Dairy a post of it's own, because they deserve it! The next post will cover bread, cakes and desserts at Borough Market.

Borough Market - Meat

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000Z

Grouse, partridge, pigeon, wild ducks, rabbits hares, pheasant, you name it you can get it from Furness Fish, Poultry and Game Supplies. They're based at Flookburgh, just south of the Lake District and on the edge of Morecambe Bay.

There's plenty of other sellers of meat at Borough Market. One stall was even selling pigs' heads (to see you through the week)!
Northfield Farm, on the Rutland Leicestershire border, sells rare breed meat including Dexters and White Park beef (one of Britain's oldest breeds).

Lord Newborough's Rhug Organic Farm is also present:
Some say Mrs Kings Melton Mowbray Pork Pies are the best you can get:
If you haven't got time, and are entertaining, you can get some very attractive terrines (and truffles) from Tartufaia, although personally I'd avoid the ones containing foie gras.

The next post will cover cheese sellers at Borough Market.

Borough Market - Fish

2009-11-25T07:00:00.001Z

Lovers of fresh fish will like Borough Market! There's many suppliers like Applebees (who also have a restaurant), Devon Fish who sell locally sourced and sustainably caught fresh fish direct from Devon, and the Hebridean Smokehouse who sell smoked salmon and seatrout from Uist in the Hebrides.
Most of my pictures are from Furness Fish, Poultry and Game Supplies:
It's a great stall selling all sorts of fresh fish and seafood. Having walked across Morecambe Bay, I've nothing but admiration for people who produce those delicious Morecambe Bay potted shrimps:
Oyster lovers are catered for by Richard Hawards oysters and Wright Bros
Darren, at Shellseekers, sell his freshly caught hand-dived scallops and other shell fish from Devon.

In the next post I'll cover the butchers at Borough Market.

Borough Market - Fruit and Vegetables

2009-11-24T07:00:00.001Z

As you can see from the pictures, the displays of fruit and vegetables at Borough Market are stunning. All those different tomatoes:

and this celery is clearly fresh:

There's the Gourmet Mushroom Company and Booths selling mushrooms. You could buy ceps, chanterelle, charcoal burner, eryngi, girolle, oyster, mousseron, pied blue, pied du mouton, porcini, Paris brown, portabello, and trompette de la mort mushrooms when I was there!
I love mushrooms but I'm not sure I want to eat something called "trumpet of death", I think horn of plenty is a better name!

There's also a good selection of fresh herbs:

and chillies and olives:

For those who prefer their five a day portions in a glass, the Natural Smoothie Company offers take away smoothies.

In the next post I'll cover the fishmongers at Borough Market.

Borough Market

2009-11-23T07:00:00.000Z

I've wanted to visit Borough Market for some time, and having finally got there, I wasn't disappointed. It's near to London Bridge (which for many years was the only bridge over the Thames in London). Around a thousand years ago the market was actually on London Bridge! It's moved and the current location is in an area by Southwark Cathedral. There's a wholesale market here every weekday morning and a retail market on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

There's the usual range of market stalls, but many are distinctly upmarket like Artisan Foods who sell handmade savoury pastry products, using fresh ingredients, organic flours and free range eggs:

There's also shops like Brindisa

who sell hams and cheeses and other fine foods from Spain.

I'd read an article in the Guardian about about how Network Rail was building a new trainline into London Bridge station and the old market hall will be shut for at least two years:
However I was pleasantly surprised with the new Jubilee market, which is light and airy:
Besides stalls selling ingredients, you can also get a freshly cooked meal such as paella:

or Thai Green curry:

To wash it down you can have traditionally brewed draught New Forest cider:
or perry. They also do a hot mulled cider, mulled with a blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and all spice, ideal on a colder day.

You can buy fudge from the curiously named Burnt Sugar, which the Observer Food Monthly thought was the world's best:

or chocolate truffles from Dark Sugars:

Artist Richard Bramble has been in the market since it first opened for retail customers, and you can buy his food related ceramics, textiles, boards, mats on his stand:

In the next few posts I'll describe some of the greengrocers, butchers, bakers, fishmongers and cheese sellers in Borough Market.

Borough Market

8 Southwark Street

London

SE1 1TL

Tel: 020 7407 1002

Web: www.boroughmarket.org.uk

Honest Labelling

2009-11-22T20:15:00.005Z

Food marketing expert Rob Ward, whose Greenfields Farm Shop was mentioned in the early days of this blog, has just launched a new site called Honest Labelling. It aims to expose food producers who are misleading consumers with false and ambiguous descriptions on their food labels and encourage producers to be clear and honest on their labels.

Only those who have something to hide would argue with that.

Web: www.honestlabelling.com

Islington - Steve Hatt

2009-11-20T07:00:00.000Z

I was told that Steve Hatt was the best fishmonger in London, and having visited, I wouldn't argue with that statement. There's a stunning display in the window:

and inside the shop:

They get their fish direct from ports all over Britain and supply many of London's top hotels. The crabs I saw were fresh and had just been cooked in the shop:

Steve Hatt

88-90 Essex Road

Islington

London N1 8LU

Tel: 020 7226 3963

Islington - James Elliott

2009-11-18T07:30:00.000Z

Essex Road in Islington is a good place for fine food shops, there's a good butchers, bakery, fishmonger and a fruit and veg shop all within a matter of yards.
James Elliott sells free range Norfolk chickens, tender Suffolk pork, free range Lincolnshire lamb, and aged Scotch beef. They sell speciality sausages (including Toulouse) and also sell guinea fowl, mallard, partridge, pheasant, pigeons, quail and venison when in season.

James Elliott

96 Essex Road

Islington

London

N1 8LU

Tel: 020 7226 3658

Has Bean Coffee

2009-11-16T07:00:00.001Z

This blog likes quaint little old-fashioned shops, so you may be surprised that I'm featuring a company trading on the Internet in this post. I've included Steve Leighton's Has Bean Coffee because

Not everyone has access to a good coffee shop
I like the name
They do what they do (just coffee as far as I am aware) really well.

They sell green and roasted beans, coffee makers, and home roasting equipment. So far I've had their ready roasted beans. I tried a Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon 2008-2009 Crop (as it's a best seller) and a Yemen Mocha Matari 2009-2010 Crop (because I fancied it having read their extensive notes).

I used to use filters, and then a cafetière, to make my coffee, but I'm currently using a Bialetti Moka Express Espresso Maker to make my coffee. They will sell the coffee beans whole, or ground as you want it, but I'm rather fancy buying green beans and roasting them myself with one of their home coffee roasters. I've signed up for their free 10 day email course which apparently will turn me into an expert!

Has Bean

Unit 25, Ladford Covert

Ladfordfields Industrial Estate

Seighford

Stafford

ST18 9QG

Tel: 0845 202 2326

Fax: 0870 1326607

Web: www.hasbean.co.uk

Revels

2009-11-15T16:28:00.004Z

I bought a packet of Revels this summer and was surprised to see a question mark by the flavours. Do Mars not know whether there's orange or coffee in these sweets? This prompted me to look at the ingredients:
As it's in rather small print I've listed them for you:

sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, glucose syrup, cocoa mass, raisins, sweetened condensed skimmed milk, lactose, hydrogenated vegetable fat, vegetable fat, whey powder, milk fat, invert sugar, barley malt extract, emulsifiers (E442, E492), wheat flour, salt, modified starch, raising agents (E341, E500, E501), dextrin, flavourings, citric acid, pectin, vegetable oil, acidity regulator (E331), colours (E104, E122, E124, E132, E160a, E163), and starch.

I think I now know why there was a question mark.....

Ipstones Park Farm

2009-11-13T07:00:00.000Z

I went to visit the fantastic Consall Hall Gardens, and decided whilst I was in the area to visit Mark Bennion at Ipstones Park Farm.

I was listening to Farming Today recently, and discovered we're farming fewer breeds than ever before, to feed our desire for consistent cuts of meat. The beef at Ipstones Park Farm is from their prize winning pedigree Sussex herd. It's a traditional native breed which has been here since Roman times. They are an extremely docile breed and produces beef of the highest quality (I'm told it's what the Queen eats).
They also have pedigree Berkshire pigs, another traditional native, and rare English breed. The pork that the pigs produce is strong in flavour and cooks extremely well.

It's best to phone before calling if you want something specific. They also attend some farmers' markets including Bridgemere (which is on tomorrow).

Ipstones Park Farm

Park Lane

Ipstones

Leek

Staffordshire

ST10 2NE

Tel: 01538 266049

Mobile: 07840 076276 or 07808 086234

Aberystwyth - The Treehouse

2009-11-11T07:00:00.000Z

The Treehouse used to be the Victoria Inn (1872-1920), and still has a ship's figurehead (carved about 1838) on its corner.

Inside it's a rather superior organic food shop and restaurant.

There's plenty of good quality fresh produce:

The Treehouse

14 Baker Street

Aberystwyth

SY23 2BJ

Tel: 01970 615791

Web: www.treehousewales.co.uk

Nottingham - Chocolate Utopia

2009-11-08T07:00:00.000Z

Not far from the castle in Nottingham is Chocolate Utopia.

The chocolates are hand made in small batches in the shop. You can also have a tea, coffee or hot chocolate here, and all their hot drinks are served with a complimentary chocolate.

Chocolate Utopia

30 Friar Lane

Nottingham

NG1 6DQ

Tel: 0115 947 0016

Nottingham - Oriental Mart

2009-11-06T07:00:00.000Z

Oriental Mart are near Ice Nine in Nottingham and specialise in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Phippine foods and Vietnamese foods.
There's a very wide range of foods. Try some Korean pickled radish for an interesting change.
There's a small selection of fresh items, the lemon grass I bought was good quality. If you can't get to the shop they also sell on-line.

Oriental Mart

6-8 Heathcote Street

Nottingham

NG1 3AA

Tel: 0115 950 6615

Web: www.orientalmart.co.uk

Nottingham - The Cheese Shop

2009-11-04T07:11:00.000Z

The Cheese shop in Nottingham has a good selection of cheeses and also some interesting delicatessen items including Mrs King's Pork Pies - as sold in Borough Market and which some say are the best in the country.
Local cheeses included Cropwell Bishop Stilton (including the smoked variety), white Stilton with Ginger and Mango, and Sage Derby. There was a good selection of blue cheeses including Barkham Blue, Cornish Blue, Garstang Blue, Harbourne Blue, and Lanark Blue. Cahill's Irish Porter Cheddar was dark (as you would expect), a couple who'd been to a tasting the night before had come back to buy some Tunworth soft cheese, and were very excited about it!
Like all good cheese shops, samples are available, but be warned - the more you'll try the more you'll want to buy!

The Cheese Shop Nottingham Ltd

6 Flyinghorse Walk

St Peters Gate

Nottingham

Nottinghamshire

NG1 2HN

Tel: 0115 941 9114

Web: www.cheeseshop-nottingham.co.uk