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Robin Alway
Editorial Director
INDUSTRY NEWS
Somerset is Supreme at British Cheese Awards 2018
The overall Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards 2018 was Sheep Rustler from Somerset-based cheesemaker White Lake Cheese.
The winners of the 25th British Cheese Awards were announced on 30th May at the Royal Bath & West Show, in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. This year’s competition attracted over 1,000 entries from 147 makers, with 77 judges reviewing 123 classes of cheese.
Peter Mitchell, chairman of the British Cheese Awards, said: “The number and quality of the cheeses entered for this year’s awards has been exceptional and made judging and choosing the winners a real challenge. We’re delighted that White Lake Cheese, a local Somerset cheesemaker, won the Supreme Champion trophy for its Sheep Rustler; a delicious and intriguing ewe’s milk cheese.”
Sheep Rustler is made using thermised ewe’s milk, then aged for around three months. The result is “a semi-hard cheese with a medium, mellow flavour that is slightly nutty with a hint of caramel.”
As well as Supreme Champion, the Reserve Champion, the four Country Awards and the eight Main Category Awards, there were also 13 Special Awards given to cheesemakers. Within the Special Awards, there was a new award this year for Best Sheep Milk Cheese. For a full list of winners go to www.britishcheeseawards.com
Hale Events aim for single-use plastic free trade shows by 2019
Specialist trade exhibitions organisers Hale Events have announced their aim to go single-use plastic free at all their 2019 trade shows.
This follows their support of the Final Straw Cornwall initiative at their Expowest Cornwall trade show. This campaign raises awareness of the damage single-use plastics cause to the environment and aimed to rid Cornwall of single-use plastic straws. Hale ran a straw amnesty for businesses visiting the show and collected around 30 thousand straws from takeaways, restaurants and hotels for up-cycling later.
Hale Events will be actively looking for environmentally-friendly alternatives to any single-use plastic used at their shows. As well as no longer using plastic carrier bags, they are planning to stop using plastic wallets for exhibitor and visitor badges, which tend to be only used once, and then thrown away. Instead, exhibitors and visitors will be able to pre-print their badges or collect them on arrival, and then use completely recyclable badge clips to fix them to their clothing, or bags, avoiding the need for wallets.
They are also working closely with event caterers to lessen environmental impacts. At Expowest Cornwall, Truro & Penwith College, the event caterers, have removed single-use-plastics from the restaurant, and replaced them with compostable paper cups, biodegradable take away containers and cutlery. They also stock re-sealable cans of water, made from aluminium, which are 100% recyclable, instead of plastic water bottles
Hale Events MD Mike Anderson said: “We will look back on this time with incredulity. Plastic can be a fantastic and practical product, if multiuse or fully recyclable, but it is so irresponsible to dispose of items that have only been used for few minutes or hours. We will be doing everything we can to cut down on and ultimately remove any single-use plastic items”.
For more information about Hale Events and their trade shows, please visit www.hale-events.com or call 01934 733433. For more information about Final Straw Cornwall please visit finalstrawcornwall.co.uk.
Free Range Egg Co. expands as demand grows
The Traditional Free Range Egg Company has expanded its purpose-built headquarters, The Egg Shed in North Cadbury, Somerset. It has added an additional 6,000 square feet of production space, allowing it to reach out to more independent family-run farms and partner with those using the traditional flat deck production method.
The expansion will allow The Egg Shed to process 50% more eggs, helping to satisfy an increased demand for traditionally-produced free range eggs.
Dan Wood, managing director of The Traditional Free Range Egg Company, explains: “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of where their food comes from and how it is produced, which is great news for us small independent family-run farms, but we need to ensure that we have the capacity to get these eggs out the door and into the hands of ever more consumers. We’ve done everything we can to support traditional free range egg producers over the past few years and raise consumer awareness of the difference between flat deck free range egg farming and other more modernised methods, so it’s incredibly rewarding to see traditional free range eggs rising up the pecking order, with everyone from chefs in professional kitchens to home cooks looking for a better quality of egg.”
Taste of the West launch pop-up food village in Exmouth
A new pop-up food village run by Taste of the West has opened on Exmouth seafront in Devon.
The food village is part of the new Queen’s Drive Space temporary attraction which will also include a Jurassic-themed play area, an outdoor cinema and events space, and a bar.
John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, said: “At Taste of the West, one of our aims is to provide the region’s residents and visitors with great food and drink, as well as increasing their awareness of where that food comes from.
“We are so lucky to have some of the best food producers in the country here, and our food village in Exmouth provides us with a great opportunity to show them off to potential customers this summer.”
The food village will feature stallholders offering food-to-go and gifts, and change from week to week. Amongst those involved so far are Kenniford Farm, offering hog roast and Jurassic breakfasts of award-winning pork, Pandas Pan Roll Ice cream bringing a Thai-style cold pan ice cream, Pancrepes’ sweet and savoury crepes and locally sourced bison, venison, beef and lamb from Bus Farm.
Seed Fund announce their class of 2018
The 12 start-ups selected for this year’s Seed Fund Academy have been announced.
Being taken through the philanthropic programme of workshops and mentoring from industry experts will be: Black Twist, Waterford, Ireland – cold brew single origin coffee and Irish whiskey spirit; The Bridge Lodge, Dee Valley, North Wales – foraged wild garlic leaf products; Dorset Sea Salt, Portland – hand harvested sea salt from the Jurassic Coast; Green Lady, London – sparkling green tea; Loving Foods, Hale Barns near Altrincham – organic, raw, naturally cultured, fermented foods and drinks; Made for Drink, Wokingham – premium bar snacks inspired by different drinking cultures from around the world; Norty Puds, Bristol – handmade pudding pots, free from gluten, dairy, soya and refined-sugar; Pep & Lekker, London – organic plant-based soups; Pura Panela, Sheffield – 100% natural dehydrated raw sugar cane juice; Rathlee Distilling Company, Lostwithiel, Cornwall – Latin American rum blended with pure Cornish water; Sloshed Sorbets, London – artisan alcoholic sorbet; and Wild Flour Cake Company, Bath – wholesale fresh cake company.
They will be working with mentors including Renée Elliott, founder of Planet Organic, John and Tortie Farrand from the Guild of Fine Food, Camilla Barnard from Rude Health and Guy Tullberg from Tracklements.
Brewery supports Atlantic row challenge
South West craft ale producer Dartmoor Brewery are sponsoring Row for the Ocean – an Exeter-based team of four women who are competing in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2018 in December.
With the 3,000 mile row across the Atlantic, reckoned to be the “World’s toughest rowing race”, the team’s funding efforts are to back the campaign to remove unnecessary plastic from the world’s oceans and support Surfers Against Sewage and the Plastic Free Exeter campaign.
Richard Smith, Managing Director at Dartmoor Brewery, said: “Our beers enjoy a firm association with the natural environment of Dartmoor and the active pursuits which the area offers in abundance. When Row for the Ocean asked us to partner them, the fit was so obvious in terms of reflecting our passion for the environment on an international platform, and helping in a small way towards the campaign to reduce the prevalence of plastics in our oceans.”
EQUIPMENT
New plastic-free drinking straws
Plant-based packaging and labelling company Planglow are launching a new sustainable paper drinking straw.
Made with a natural paper finish, Planglow say it’s stronger than your average paper product and “looks eco-friendly from first glance to reassure your customers of your environmental stance.”
Jess Lyons, PR and marketing coordinator at Planglow commented: “The need for a viable, ecological substitute to single-use use plastics has never been so keenly felt, not least because many single-use plastic products – including straws – may be banned in 2019. With this in mind, and following a growing number of requests from our customers, we are delighted to offer a sustainable paper-based alternative to the plastic drinking straw”.
Planglow also makes plastic-free bio cups which are suitable for both hot and cold drinks and have a corn-based, food-safe bio-coating which meets the European composability standard EN13432, so the cup may be industrially composted.
For more information, visit planglow.com.
Scotsman launches new eco-friendly ice makers range
Scotsman has launched the EcoX range of icemakers that it says are not only amongst the most eco-friendly on the market but also produce a wide choice of different ice types.
The EcoX range uses only natural refrigerants and complies fully with upcoming European Union F-Gas Regulations. It includes machines making gourmet, dice and cubelet/nugget ice cubes, as well as flake and scale ice systems. It also includes ice dispensers suitable for self-serve and bottomless drinks.
The list prices start from £2,764 for the AC87 R290. It is air cooled and produces up to 40kg of ice per day, the equivalent of 2,000 medium (20g) cubes.
For more information email sales@hubbardsystems.co.uk or visit www.scotsman-ice.co.uk.
APPOINTMENTS
Butcombe appoints senior managers to drive growth
Butcombe Brewery, part of Liberation Group, has appointed two new senior managers to support the brewery’s expansion.
John Breading has been announced as UK sales director. He will be responsible for Butcombe’s On and Off-trade sales, including trade marketing. He has previously worked for The Beer Seller, Magners UK, and latterly developed a national sales strategy with Frobishers Juices.
Phil Rowsell has joined Butcombe as operations manager at their new 54,000 square foot Distribution Centre in Bridgwater. He has extensive logistics and project management experience, working as a General Manager with DHL Tradeteam. In recent years he has worked on several large national projects within the drinks industry and has worked in partnership with the likes of Molson Coors, Carlsberg, Greene King, and Mitchells and Butlers.
John Breading, UK sales director at Butcombe Brewery, said: My role will involve supporting our sales team’s passion for customer care and ensuring our focus is on quality. We plan to build on the brewery’s success in the local beer market, growing our loyal West Country customer base, as well as increasing sales further afield.”
Phil Rowsell, operations manager at Butcombe Brewery, said: “It’s a pleasure to take on the challenge of running Butcombe’s new distribution centre. The site will allow us to increase our production to keep pace with growing demand and serve our customers more effectively at a lower cost. Butcombe intends to reinvest the savings into the development of the Butcombe beer brands to secure our future growth.”
INDUSTRY EVENTS
June
How to Maximise Targeted Leads for your Business
5th June 2018
Natwest & Luv4 Marketing event
Weymouth College, Cranford Ave Campus, Weymouth. Dorset. DT4 7LQ
“Join us at this free event on lead generation and how to scale your business through Marketing!”
To register, please visit – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-maximise-targeted-leads-for-your-business-tickets-45193381621
Commercial Kitchen Show
5th – 6th June 2018
NEC, Birmingham
Discover the latest equipment and innovations at the UK’s only show dedicated to the running of effective, profitable kitchens.
https://www.commercialkitchenshow.co.uk/
The London Produce Show & Conference
6th – 8th June 2018
Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London
The annual event for all parts of the fresh produce supply chain from seed to plate. The exhibition gives trade exhibitors direct access to a wide range of international produce buyers from the retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors.
https://londonproduceshow.co.uk/
Bellavita Expo London: Italian Food & Beverage Trade Show
17th – 19th June 2018
Business Design Centre, London
“Bellavita Expo London is the UK’s biggest trade event promoting the finest Italian food and beverages to thousands of buyers, as well as educational content including the latest trends, masterclasses with Michelin-starred Chefs, seminars and debates.”
http://www.bellavita.com/gb/london