Recession?

Maybe it is because we had a town market and my deliveries couldn’t get through and I ran out of large bags of liquorice, or maybe it is a sign of a recession, but the bagged liquorice is no longer the biggest seller. It has been suddenly and dramatically overtaken by...small liquorice logs. Maybe there isn't enough money around for the large bags any more? Is liquorice the new recession indicator?

Tales of nice people

I think I've said before that it is the people I meet every day that makes running the deli so enjoyable. But it isn't just the wonderful food producers, it is the customers as well. Dan, who sells his wife Anila's, curry sauces at the Windsor farmers market, has been telling his customers that if they run out mid month they can now buy the same products in the new delicatessen in Eton. (He's a very nice man!). His customers have been popping in to see what else I sell, which has been wonderful! I got chatting to one and he told me about a recipe involving Halloumi and Capers (both of which I sell). He was having it for his dinner and very excited about it. And it did sound good; simple and tasty. The next day he came back with a photocopy from his wife's recipe book so I could make the same meal. (How very nice and unexpected!) And last week I did. And it was good. And easy. And the only thing it needed that I didn't sell was a lime and some fresh coriander. I happened to have a lime at home and made do without the coriander. And it was good. Delicious, quick and easy. I've since found the recipe on Delia's website so thought I would paste it here and share with some more people. Thank you Dan and the customer whose name I don't yet know!

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/fried-halloumi-cheese-with-lime-and-caper-vinaigrette,1315,RC.html

In the news again!

Someone mentioned that they had seen the shop in Berkshire Life a few weeks ago. I thought they were mistaken, but told Jay to keep his eyes out for the magazine just in case. I thought there must be another shop that looked a bit like mine and wanted to know where. But last week Jay came home with the October copy of Berkshire Life, and sure enough, on the first page of an article about the changing face of Eton, there is a photo of Tastes Delicatessen! Not a very good one though, taken back in May (I can tell from the window display) and not from its best side - the shop front is mostly in shadow. But it is there, amongst Coutts and the college chapel. Very fine company. The article covers a few pages and basically says how Eton has changed and improved in the past few months. It has more photos and adverts for some other shops and on the last page a list of things to do in Eton. And there we are again under “Shopping”! I wish I'd known they were going to do it, I could have sent a much better photo, but it is a nice surprise. Now we just need lots of people to read it and come and see the wonderful high street for themselves.

Good Feedback

The last few days have gone really well at the deli and I've received some great feedback. Last week I sold far more Epoisse than I expected and chatting to a boy from the school I found out why... It was part of a cheese tasting by the school’s cheese society and scored an amazing 9.5 out of 10! Then yesterday I had three different customers ask if I had provided the nibbles for a photography exhibition last Saturday. And I had! Apparently it had all gone down very well and they thought it must be from the deli! Three quarters of the chorizo had been eaten within half an hour and not a scrap of food was left by the end of the evening. It's wonderful to hear that other people enjoy the things we sell as much as I do and makes it all worthwhile.

On to better things…

This Sunday we went to an autumn food festival at RHS Wisley. It was incredibly popular with queues blocking the A3 and people everywhere. The food festival was fairly small, but the gardens were huge and there were plenty of apples to try. I came away with a bag of cobnuts (which I am contemplating stocking), a bag of apples, a small shrub (its hard to resist!), and plenty of enthusiasm to try harder with stocking more apples next year.

Robbery

On 10th October we had a robbery in the shop in broad daylight at lunch time. I’ve been meaning to write about it ever since but it just put me in a miserable mood.
I am sure the thieves don’t realise the impact their actions have. It isn’t just the loss of the money. It is the inconvenience of not being able to use the till drawer for a further day and a half until finger prints have been taken, of spending hours giving statements to the police. It is having to close the shop, not just long enough to get over the shock and have a brief sob, but long enough to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to put a float back in the till to reopen. And as with the guy who tried to pass off forged notes, because I know what the thief looks like, anyone of a similar appearance (and plenty of others) are now viewed with suspicion. And it has also sapped my motivation. There has been no financial reward for all the work I have put into getting the shop open, but someone else feels they can just walk in and help themselves to money I can’t really afford to lose. But a week has passed now and I’m feeling much better. The shop is almost back to normal, and business has been good over the past few days, so I shall finish this blog entry and draw a line under the theft.

The cost of wheat

The cost of wheat is rising quite dramatically and having a knock on effect everywhere. I've not put up any of my prices, but may have to soon as much of my stock is already costing me more. The first things to go up were the eggs as the increase in the cost of wheat put up the cost of chicken feed. Next it was bread, and then cheese (twice in one month). The smart people where I buy flour from stockpiled wheat a couple of years ago and say prices have gone from £60 to £220 per unit in that time. Their stockpile mean their prices have remained static. The only trouble is I sell very little flour, but a lot of cheese, bread and eggs!

In the news

The editorial in this month’s “Windsor This Month” is focussed on Eton and gives the town a very positive write up. Tastes even gets a mention (page 17) and some of our tasting days make it into the “What’s On” section (page 18). Fame at last!

http://www.windsorthismonth.co.uk/uploads/october%202007.pdf

British Food Fortnight

British Food Fortnight has got off to a good start. Though no one seems to have heard anything about it until they arrive and I tell them! So far our tastings have been a little biased towards breakfast, with muesli and granola on Saturday, then smoked trout and today another Granola. But there is more to come and I am excited about Suzanne coming to offer tasters of her Proper Preserves on Saturday as they have always gone down well when I've had samples out to taste, and then next week we have the local rapeseed oil and John & Mary will be back with their sweet fruit vinegars. I'm now considering extending the fortnight to three weeks to offer more of this year's Great Taste Award winners.

Royal Berkshire Show

This weekend was my first visit to the Royal Berkshire Show, and I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I intended to just pop along to see the local food producers, but ended up staying far longer than I expected. I met Mike Cooper who was launching his cold pressed rapeseed oil, and saw a number of other producers whose products I already stock: Anila’s Authentic Sauces were as popular as ever, as were Susie’s preserves and the bread from GW Shepherd & Son. I did see a few new producers whose goods I may stock in the future. But I also ventured out of the food tents and saw amazing horticultural displays, beekeepers, falconry, garden furniture and the occasional horse and dog. I had a really enjoyable day and came away with tired feet and slightly more plants than it was possible to carry!

Speciality & Fine Food Fair

On Monday I spent a very long day at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in London. I had planned my day around the only trains with just one connection, and had a list of stands I wanted to visit and where they were. The trouble was I started with a "quick" walk around to see if I spotted any other stalls I hadn't put on my list and the show was closing before I realised the time! I didn't even get my list out of my bag. So much for being organised!

I was then caught up in the rush hour tube strike mayhem and it took three times as long as I had planned to get home. But it was worth it. The show was a good one. I enjoyed catching up with producers I hadn't seen in a while and am very excited by some new products I saw. I just wish I'd picked up more samples to sustain me on my journey home!

Apple Picking

On Sunday morning, before opening the shop, I went Apple Picking at Home Cottage Farm. Pat and Peter have some wonderful orchards, full of short trees, which are ideal for picking from. The apples, plums and soft fruits are all delicious and full of flavour. I picked damsons, Laxtons Fortune eating apples and Grenadier Cooking apples and hope to sell them in the shop over the next few weeks. If they don’t sell I shall be eating a lot of apple crumble which isn’t much of a hardship!

Great Taste Awards 2007

The judging for the Great Taste Awards has been completed and this year's winners have been announced. More than 4500 foods were entered. Each one was blind tasted (some by me!) and judged on its own merits. Fewer awards have been given than in previous years, so it is especially nice to see so many familiar names among the award winners. My local preservers did very well! This was the first time Suzanne had entered and she won awards for both her Hot Banana Chutney and Red Onion Marmalade! And Susie added to the award she won for her Mango Chutney last year, with an award for her very popular Fig Chutney. And the other Susie, won awards for her crumbly vanilla fudge, very cherry fudge and brown sugar maple pecan fudge (I didn't even know she had entered!). John and Mary's Sweet Redcurrant Vinegar was also awarded.

Jules and Sharpie, who have collected numerous awards over the past few years, won some more this year: for their Hot Redcurrant Jelly, Hot Pear Chutney and Hot mmmmarmalade. Tracklements also added to their collection with awards for their Thai Jelly, Spiced Honey Mustard, Horseraddish & Cream, and my favourite, their Onion Marmalade. Stokes, makers of fantastic mayonnaise won an award for their Herb Mayonnaise. Shropshire Fine Herbs won awards for their oatmeal biscuits for cheese and Piper's won awards for both Anglesey sea salt and Sea salt and Somerset cider vinegar crisps. Pukka Teas won awards for their revitalise, refresh, relax and clarity herbal teas and Luscombe for their Organic Sicilian Lemonade. The Nunez de Prado Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain also won an award, as did many other Spanish foods including the Date and Walnut bars, 1000 flower mountain honey and creamy Marcona almonds. RJ’s natural licorice was the only winner in the liquorice category.

Even the chilled and frozen foods were judged at the Great Taste Awards and many of our producers excelled. Alder Tree for their Christmas ice cream (which isn't a flavour I stock, but will certainly try now as everything I've tasted of theirs has been fantastic). The Dairy House won two awards for their yoghurts, Trioni for their Strawberry milkshake and Patchwork for their handmade pates. Mike's Smokehouse won another award for their Hot Roast Salmon.

Anila did amazingly well and won two of only forty-six 3 star awards; for her spicy mild and spicy korma curry sauces. Honeybuns won another of the 3 star awards for their deliciously Moorish Almondi cookie.

The regional, national, international and 2007 Supreme Champion will all be announced in September. Here's hoping some of the wonderful producers we stock collect some more prizes.

Olive Oil Tasting

The Rains

We’re still waiting for the flooding to reach Eton. It seems every other person has a different opinion about what is going to happen. Either the Jubilee River and the flood provisions the College put in, will save us, or Thursday will be very wet indeed. I’m not feeling terribly confident we will be spared, as everything seems to be going wrong at the moment. Yesterday morning the four month old bottle cooler broke (defrosting and leaking water all over the shop floor). And when I came to leave in the evening, found a cartoon style nail in my car tyre.

Today the shop opened late after I wasted two hours driving constantly but never moving more than 2 miles from home. Every road I tried was flooded! It was like being in a maze. At some points I could see my destination, the M4, and then round the next bend, a queue of cars waiting to do a u turn. It became quite comical, seeing the same faces on different routes, everyone waving their arms, shaking their heads and indicating the road ahead was closed. The trouble is, you can travel quite a long way down a lane before finding it is blocked and having to go all the way back and look for another route. I know I found at least nine closed roads.

At one point I was driving along beside a rat, soaked through and head down looking truly miserable and like a “drowned rat”. I saw a cyclist up to his axles in water and lots of abandoned vehicles.

But eventually after all routes East and West were exhausted I went North, then West, South, and East and got to my junction on the M4 about 2 hours later than usual.

Fortunately the shop isn’t flooded, but the rain is keeping the shoppers away. Thank goodness I have some paperwork to keep me busy!

100 units sold!

At some point today I sold my 100th bag of liquorice and my 100th pack of harvest rolls. It would have been quite a momentous occasion, had I known! Unfortunately, I've been so absorbed in getting some of the other reports to work I've not been paying attention to the report on sales and hadn't noticed how it had crept up over the last two weeks. I think I'll treat myself to one of my chocolate brownies to celebrate!

Cheese & Wine

Last week's excitement came from a Cheese & Wine evening at Stephen Phillips Interiors. Stephen and Phillip held the event to launch their new collection of furniture and furnishings. I supplied the cheese! We had Buche Ruffec, Brie de Meaux, Black Bomber Cheddar and Manchego (all displayed on a rather glamorous table, beside a candelabra).

Strange Sightings

It isn’t uncommon for something unusual to take place in Eton. It also isn’t unusual to see the odd famous face around. But this week has been particularly bizarre.

On Tuesday, the third of July, we experienced a thunderstorm, torrential rain, and a hailstorm. Not exactly summer weather! And on Friday I spied a very famous chap, also quite out of place.

As anyone who has tried to play that six degrees of separation game with me will know, my “who’s who” knowledge is rather limited. But this week even I recognised our famous visitor... Father Christmas...In Eton... In July...

It appears he had a lovely day, took an open top bus tour and rode the Royal Windsor Wheel. He should be back again in about five months time, when the weather is bound to me more or less the same!

Stratta Tasting Day

One of the best things about running my own shop is seeking out, finding and meeting talented and friendly producers. This weekend, my customers got to meet two such producers when John and Mary, of Stratta, came along to hold a tasting day. It was a miserable day weather wise, but we had a good turn out. The tasters went down well, with a lot of positive feedback (which won’t be a surprise to anyone familiar with the products). Customers really appreciated being able to try things and hear first hand what to do with them. And I really enjoyed having John and Mary’s company for the day (plus they were very useful when it came to adjusting the door closure and selling liquorice!).

I’ve now extended the range I offer and carry five different sweet fruit vinegars and six infused extra virgin olive oils (including two chilli oils; one hot and one very very hot). I’ve also stocked up on more of the preserved lemons, which now feature in Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook.

Ascot Picnics

I'm not sure what happened to the original Ascot picnic blog post, but there were no words here until I wrote these and I'm sure there used to be. I think I said something about Ascot being the first "picnic event" in our calendar for 2007. I made up lots of lovely picnic baskets for customers to take to the races and the weather held for most of the day. Looking forward to next year!

A School Outing

On Thursday I was visited by a class of infant school children who are studying where food comes from. They were all well behaved and polite! Quite a few told me they didn’t like cheese but it was important to try things they didn’t think they liked. They all tried at least one of the cheeses they were offered. And those who didn’t like the first cheese, did try another type. I was very impressed with them and at the end of it there were only two children who still didn’t like cheese.

Where have I been?

The blog was meant to be about all the new things going on in the delicatessen, but everything is new and I don’t know where to start. So I haven’t written anything for ages.

But the shop is open, getting busier every week and more and more crammed with stock by the day. I’m almost on top of the paperwork, the stock control database is controlling at least half of the stock and I’m just about organised. I will have to start somewhere with entries about products. Maybe tomorrow...

Great Taste Awards

A few weeks ago I was invited to be a judge at this year’s Great Taste Awards and on Friday I left the shop for the first time and travelled down to London for the tasting. I was very pleased to be allocated ice cream with nuts, fruit cake with alcohol and plain chocolate, a little dubious about bacon and hot chutney and not terribly keen on meat based pies. But it was the pies, which really surprised me. One was amazing! Not like any pie I had seen or eaten before and totally delicious. I now need to track it down, maybe not to stock in the shop, but certainly to eat myself.

Official Opening

On 27th April we had an "Official Opening" with lots of tasters available. It was a lovely day. We even had people coming in to say they had seen posters advertising the event in various places (none of which I made or put up - that was one of the customers!). The tasting even featured in a local primary school's trip out. 35 seven year olds appeared in groups of 5 to try cheeses from different countries. Only one found the taste so unpleasant he cried!

I'm not sure where the blog entry or photos from the day went, but have posted again today - better late than never.

Celebrity Visit

Yesterday I had a surprise visit from Adrian Smith, of the Mortimer Chocolate Company, and Steve Wallace who founded the co-operative in Ghana that produces the cocoa beans used in Mortimer’s Ghanaian chocolate powder. Rather than creating a blend of cocoa of different origins, to produce a consistent chocolate, each of the Mortimer Chocolate Company’s powders has a different origin and different taste. I currently stock some from Venezuela and some from Ghana so it was great to meet the man who set up the co-operative in Ghana. And he seemed to get a buzz from seeing his product in sale. In fact, he took so many photographs; my neighbours came in afterwards to ask if I’d had the press in!

Looking Back

Prompted by all the positive feedback customers have given me about the refit, I've been looking back at the old photos and put together some before and after comparisons.

Open For Business

Things continued to conspire against us, including a whole herd of cows who blocked the road on Saturday. I was beginning to think it wasn't meant to be. But we made it in, had the pump replaced, moved the stock around to fill the gaps that were meant to hold the pasta and eventually managed to open!

Have had a constant stream of customers ever since and almost all have commented on how lovely the shop looks and how excited they are that I'm open. Feeling quite proud of how it has all turned out and relieved to eventually be open. Still so much to do, but we're open!

Friday the Thirteenth

It certainly felt like an unlucky day to me. The pump turned out to be beyond repair and not covered by the warranty. The meat slice turned out to be bent in such a way the blade won't turn. The shopping basket delivery man turned up and then found he didn't actually have my baskets on board the truck. The cheese delivery man turned up with another shop's order which leaked all over his trousers and my Italian pasta delivery didn't arrive at all.

Water, Water, Everywhere

We now have hot water, thanks to the new water heater installed on Tuesday, but the waste pump (the one that wouldn't switch off a week ago) now won't switch on! Had three sinks full of water that I've been bailing out with buckets. The plumber came out again but couldn't fix it this time and has referred it back to the manufacturer. An engineer is due at 7am tomorrow and should be able to simply replace the pump. Then we might be able to open the shop in the afternoon! But looking at how things have been going recently, I'm not sure opening on Friday the thirteenth is something I should be excited about!

1500 deli pots

I spent months last year looking for suitable packaging for the deli. I hated the idea of contributing to the mountain of waste packaging produced every year. The decision to avoid plastic carrier bags was easy. There are plenty of recycled paper bags which will do the job just as well, if not better. But I also needed something to put olives in. It needed to be food safe, hygienic, light and leak proof. The only choice seemed to be between different shapes of plastic pot made with different thickness's of plastic. But then thanks to a tip from a friend, I fond them......biodegradable deli pots. I got some samples and for three weeks a small pot of olive oil sat on my kitchen work top. One week it was upright, the next upside down and for the third week, propped up on its side so the oil sat on the joint between the pot and its lid. It was only in week three that it leaked. After four days of inversion a tiny amount of oil had worked its way around the seal between the lid and the pot. But that was an extreme test and I had expected it to leak within a couple of hours (which is the longest a pot is really likely to be in this position). A further three weeks later and the pot of oil was still in tact (and not decomposing).

The experimentation was over and a decision was made. I would not be responsible for the creation of pots that would be around hundreds of years after me and I could be confident that my customers wouldn't have problems with leaky pots.

That was last summer, and yesterday my first supply arrived. The deli pots I've chosen are made from plant (usually corn) starch and will degrade on a compost heap in about two months. Rather than producing pollutants as they break down they will enrich the soil. Having seen how much space 1500 deli pots take up I am more pleased than ever that mine will degrade.

Bank Holiday, what Bank Holiday?

No chance now of opening before the bank holiday, so instead I'm pretending it isn't happening. Kevin came down for the day today and was a fantastic help with the cleaning. We've wiped walls, floors, ceilings, shelves.... and generally sorted things out.

Last week's problem was the amount of time it took to paint the shelves, and the incredible five days it took for the first ones to dry (strangely those I painted with the 2nd tin of paint dried much quicker). This week it has been plumbing. First the pump was pumping constantly (which it isn't meant to do), the plumbers managed to fix that, but in doing so noticed that the tripping of the electrics, which I'd thought was the fault of the pump, was actually an entirely different fault on the water heater. A leak somewhere that necessitates an entirely new heater, obviously not available straight away and without hot water...well, we can't open. Still it gives me some time to perfect things like the shelf labels and try to work out how to position the scales and cheese slice.

Painting Shelves and Drinking Tea

Last week I really liked the shelves, especially the small cubes and the corner pieces. But, after being let down at the last minute by the spray painter, and having spent two days sanding, priming, sanding, undercoating and sanding, I'm not so sure they were such a good idea! What is wrong with long wide shelves with the minimum number of corners?

On a more positive note, I did find time for two tea breaks today. This morning, we enjoyed samples from Jane at Crumbles, who makes melt in the mouth shortbread from flour milled in the last working corn and grist mill on the Thames. Then in the afternoon I received a box of “Elephant tea” from Williamsons. Shame we'd finished the shortbread by then, but I dashed over to the offices opposite with my sample stock and had a lovely cup of Earl Gray. Both the shortbread and tea went down well with those I shared them with and will be making an appearance on the newly painted shelves soon.

Proper Preserves

When I am not covered in dirt and paint I do spend quite a lot of time thinking about food and trying to find really special things to stock in the deli. Recently I met Suzanne, who lives not too far from me, and makes Proper Preserves at home. She brought me a selection of her wares to sample and I enjoyed them all. My particular favourite was the Red Onion Marmalade which Suzanne very kindly left me a jar of. And before she had driven round the corner I was back raiding the jar and dolloping it on crackers. I did save some to enjoy with some goats cheese, but sadly, the jar is now empty. Fortunately for me, my first order for the deli will arrive very soon. If we don't get the shop open soon I shall I have to eat them all myself.

An identity

Today the sign writer put up the shop name. The hours I spent doctoring a photograph on the PC were well spent and I think it looks good. Thanks to everyone who offered an opinion - hope you like how it turned out.

Slight spelling problem on the door sign which was meant to read “Purveyors of Fine Foods & Beverages”. Minor panic when I realised just after the sign writer had left. But it was all OK in the end as the letters peel off and Jay, the carpenter and I all prefer “Fine Foods & Beverages” anyway! Even more people are stopping to look now. I'm excited and just want to get the shelves filled and open the door.

Old news from last week - the deli counter not only arrived, but fitted through the door!

Let there be light....(and water)

I put a third coat of varnish on the floor in the front room on Monday night and it is looking good (though covered in polythene for its own protection). The floorers have now fitted the floors in the other rooms and the electricians and plumbers have returned and installed all the lights, sockets, sinks and toilet. I have learnt how to cut copper pipes and that I don't have the muscles to do so. I shall stick with holding things still, sanding, painting and directing!

It is starting to feel like a shop not a building site, which is fortunate as the refrigeration equipment starts to arrive today.

Sanding no more

Eight weeks have passed now since we picked up the keys. We should really be opening today. We aren't..... but, after another weekend spent on my hands and knees, the floor is varnished!

(I took the photo last night as I varnished myself out the door, so it is all still very wet and shiny)

There is a Purpose for Trigonometry

For the first time since leaving school I am using the SIN, COS and TAN buttons on my calculator! Actually not my original Texas Instruments TI-30 calculator, whose batteries finally failed last year, but Windows Calc. All the same, the functions really are quite handy. I've managed to "design" the stainless steel benches to fit behind the counter which needs to join onto odd bits of angled wall. I even seem to have managed to document my design in a manner that makes sense to the steel fabricator. Though having not seen the finished article, it could all go horribly wrong!

Some of my earlier "designs" are now coming to life in the form of display shelves for the front room. From my sketches and measurements, the big machine at B&Q managed to cut the wood almost to the size I asked for. Then after a little bit of re-cutting and planeing, drilling and screwing, the sheets have become shelves. Bit more sanding to do and some colour to add and we'll be ready to stock them (if the floor is ever finished of course).

Another Day, Another Sander

We spent the weekend sanding the floor again. Everyone had a go and it seemed to be going well. Then this morning, just when it looked like we'd get it finished, the sander burnt out. Strange and unpleasant sense of deja vu.

Things could only get better...

...And they did. The last couple of days have been a blur of progress. We removed the old floor in the back room in its entirety, installed an RSJ and new joists, had these approved by Building Control and laid the new floor boards (into which I personally screwed 192 screws). It has been a long week: I'm dirty, bruised, hungry and very very tired.


            

Good days and bad days

Things haven't been progressing as well as usual over the last couple of days. The chap sanding the floor found it was taking him longer than he expected. Then his wife had to go into work unexpectedly and the only way we could keep to schedule was if I baby sat for the day. Then the sander burnt out and it all came to a halt anyway. I spent yesterday alone in the shop waiting for people who didn't turn up and passed the time painting the bits of wall and ceiling that I could get to without moving any of the heavy tools. Not a technique recommended by the experts!

But then I met with a couple of lovely producers who are going to supply fantastic things to the deli and today building work resumed. The wooden floor is still under consideration but progress is being made on the back room and the weather has been wonderful. I sneaked off mid afternoon, treated myself to a new rake and have spent the past hour adding to my blister collection working in the garden in the sun.

Dust, dust and more dust

This is the shop yesterday evening. It isn't soft focus, just full of dust. Under the carpet in the front room we found some lovely floor boards which are coming up beautifully when sanded. Much nicer (and cheaper) than the “wood effect” vinyl I'd planned to use. The arch and beam are now green and the electricians are back and starting to install the light fittings etc. Not long now...