Good Food For Life

Cardiff - Wally's Delicatessen

Posted by Unknown Monday, May 12, 2014 1 comment

Cardiff has some lovely arcades, and it's in the Royal Arcade that you'll find Wally's Deli.

Wally's Deli is named after it's founder - Walter Salamon. Walter's family originally were originally from Poland, and came to the UK in 1939 from Rohrbach (near Vienna) whilst fleeing from the Nazis.

Just looking through the windows, you can see this shop is like an Aladdin's cave for lovers of fine food:

I couldn't wait to go in:

Inside the shop:

there's all manner of continental products. There's a large cheese counter:

with cheeses like Gorwydd Caerphilly from Trethowans Dairy, and Perl Las from Caws Cenarth and Teifi with Seaweed (Welsh Laverbread) from Teifi Cheese.

There's a good charcuterie department:

with items from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain.

They sell Belgium chocolates, and a good selection of local beers and wine:

I love the white chocolate sheep in the bottom of this cabinet!

If you go up the stairs (behind the olive bar):

there's a café, where I had some coffee and panettone:

Wally's is a lovely family business, which has now become a Cardiff institution!

Wally's Delicatessen
38-46 Royal Arcade
Cardiff
CF10 1AE

Tel: 029 2022 9265

Web: www.wallysdeli.co.uk

Bristol Food Connections

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, May 7, 2014 0 comments

I love Bristol! It's got a wonderful heritage, having been a vast international port trading all over the world.

It's also very multicultural, and even has its own language (I can now say gert lush)!

So when my wife suggested a break in Bristol I instantly said yes (I'd forgotten it was the Big Apple's Blossomtime in Herefordshire). I then found Bristol Food Connections were holding a major event - and Brisol's wonderful Cider Shop was even running a West Country Cider and Sausage Festival!

We had fantastic time. Living in a world where many are happy to mass consume junk food, it was nice to see large queues of people wanting to buy good quality food, - direct from the producer.

The BBC make a lot of their food programmes in Bristol, and there was a large area where you could learn more about how your food is produced:

as well as meet and watch celebrity chefs cook and even watch programmes being recorded.

There was even a giant water slide, as part of the city's Make Sundays Special campaign:

As there were large crowds, I went up the amazing Wills Memorial Tower:

to get a better view!

There were events all over the town (too many to cover here), but one of the highlights for me was Slow Food UK Ark of Taste,

where you could speak to people who make artisan cheese, from Keen's Cheddar, Montgomery Cheddar and Westcombe Dairy

Doves Farm organic flour specialists had a fascinating display of ingredients, including Buckwheat, Einkorn, Emmer, Khorasan, Spelt and Rye for their speciality flours.

It was fascinating talking to Michael, who knew so much about these different ingredients.

It was nice to meet the Eads from the Chough Bakery in Cornwall, who sold me some lovely Cornish pasties, saffron cake and Cornish heavy cake, as well as clotted cream:

There was a pop-up pizzeria on College Green, with freshly made pizza's made in front of you:

There was also Eat-In Bristol, hosted by the Sustainable Food Trust, in collaboration with Feeding the 5000 and Slow Food Youth Network. This was a gathering of people on College Green:

sharing a meal they have produced and prepared together.

Their manifesto (above) explains that it is a protest against artificially cheap and industrially produced food, and a demand for democratic access to food that is 'good, clean and fair'.

Next time I'll make sure I get a seat near Source, a wonderful shop and café, situated in Bristol's historic St. Nicholas Market:

They will be getting a separate mention in this blog soon...

So whilst I regretted missing the Big Apple's Blossomtime, I had a fantastic time in Bristol - and even managed to try some real cider:

Bristol Food Connections continues until 11th May 2014.

Bristol Food Connections: www.bristolfoodconnections.com

Tebay Services

Posted by Unknown Monday, April 28, 2014 0 comments

I'm not very keen on motorways, and dislike most motorway services. However Tebay services (just North of Junction 38 of the M6 in Cumbria) are like no other (yet), and I love stopping here.

It's run by the Dunning family, who are also local farmers. Apparently the big boys weren't interested when it was opened in 1972, and their loss is our gain.

You can get papers, drinks, sweets, and some interesting and unusual gifts.

There's a large farm shop:

With a proper butchers

where you can still get a shoulder of mutton

and some very nice beef ribs:

They can tell you exactly where their meat comes from, if it's not from their own farm.

There's bacon and sausage from Slacks of Raisbeck and Kitridding Farm:

There's smoked ham or turkey, chorizo and salami :

and Scotch eggs - including a "Vegetabularian" one, made with chickpeas, cheese, tomato, onion and garlic!

There's a nice range of pies:

How about a duck pie with plums and armagnac?

Like all good food shops, there are tasters available:

There's an interesting selection of breads from More? at Staveley, including crusty ancient baguettes, overnight bloomers,German rye bread and all sorts of sour dough:

There's a good choice of cheese:

including Cotherstone, Dewlay and Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire, Swaledale and Wensleydale:

and, from further afield, Cornish Yarg, Hereford hop, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, as well as some nice blue cheeses:

As we're in Cumbria, how about some damson fruit cheese to go with your cheeses?

There's also fresh fruit and veg:

and some non-food items including stylish clothing as well:

If you want something to eat, the café sells home-made dishes:

using locally sourced ingredients, where possible.

In this light and airy area you can look out across the fells, or admire the ducks on the pond.

I was going to finish this post by saying I wish there was more services like Tebay. But the good news is there soon will be!

The same company are opening Gloucester Services, on the M5, on Wednesday 7th May. Unlike the big 3 (Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef) it won't be a clone of its sister (200 miles north). It will sell local Gloucestershire food, and I can't wait to visit.

I wonder if they'll sell a copy of Schumacher's Small is Beautiful?

Tebay Services
Westmorland Place
Orton
Penrith
Cumbria
CA10 3SB

Tel: 015396 24511

Web: www.westmorland.com/farm-shops

VEGAN CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP

Posted by Unknown Thursday, April 24, 2014 0 comments

Look who's Vegan all of a sudden! Can't say when it began, but slowly over the long Winter, I have had less and less interest in eating meat for protein. Before you start to worry about my nutritional needs, let me just say I have never felt better. I am excited to share this creamy, delicious cauliflower soup for a few reasons. 1.) It is Vegan. 2.) No one in your family will ever suspect it is Vegan. 3.) It is delicious.
Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 2 cloves - I used 4 cloves)

2 cups (200g) chopped leeks (white parts only, from 2 or 3 leeks)

Kosher or Sea salt

1 head cauliflower, chopped

7 cups vegetable broth (or water with a bit of added Kosher or Sea Salt)

1/4 cup (35g) raw unsalted cashews (available at Bulk Barn)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the garlic, leeks, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the cauliflower and saute for another minute. Add the vegetable broth (or water), increase the heat to high, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is completely tender. Stir the mix periodically and mash the cauliflower with a wooden spoon.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly; stir in the nuts. Pour the soup into your blender in batches and puree on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. (Remember to remove the plastic cap in the blender top and cover the opening with a kitchen towel so steam can escape while you blend.) Return the soup to the saucepan and warm it over low heat. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Enjoy.

Bolton Le Sands - Archers Cafe

Posted by Unknown Sunday, April 20, 2014 0 comments

I've started this post with some of Alan and Mark Archer's delicious salt marsh lamb. The French would travel miles for such a delicacy, whereas many British people have never even tasted it:

Red Bank Farm is right on the coast, at Bolton Le Sands, with wonderful views across Morecambe Bay:

The lambs graze the salt marsh:

and graze the salt tolerant grasses and herbs, such as samphire, sparta grass, sorrel, sea lavender and thrift. It's no wonder it tastes so good!

The farm has also has a camping and caravan site, and a café where you can enjoy homemade cakes (baked with their own eggs) and their own salt marsh lamb.

You can also buy their lamb (it must be pre-ordered). Besides the lamb Henrys (pictured at the top of this post), we also had some of their lamb burgers.