Baker Butt Foods wins SOHO Coffee Co. listing for sourdough naans

SOHO Coffee Co. Pulled Pork & Red
Pickles Naan- made from Butt Foods sourdough naan

Specialist baker Butt Foods has gained a contract to supply its tasty innovative sourdough naans to independent coffee shop chain SOHO Coffee Co.

The ethical coffee shop company, which has 40 branches, has created a range of delicious applications for the four-inch Baked Earth sourdough naans, which have just been unveiled on the group’s new Autumn menu.

Handmade in SOHO’s own kitchens using the Baked Earth naans, the menu items include chicken fajita naan, chickpea masala and paneer naan, and pulled pork and red pickles naan.

Nottingham-based Butt Foods launched the sourdough naans earlier this year in response to trends for premium and new wave Indian food dining experiences. Following a study of the Indian restaurant sector, the firm highlighted that the sector is moving away from traditional curries into a world of new flavours, snacks and small plates, different presentation and extended meal occasions – and created a special sourdough naan which would be just right for this exciting new trend.

The Baked Earth artisan sourdough recipe naan benefits from a live cultured sourdough with a long fermentation process to improve flavour and texture – creating a naan bread that’s bubbly, soft and suitable for a range of meal applications throughout the day and ideal for both the Indian restaurant world and the foodservice sector in general, with its current demand for street food-style dishes.

The company, which has been baking naan breads for more than 25 years and also produces a range of other breads, commissioned celebrity chef and former BBC Food Personality of the Year Cyrus Todiwala OBE to develop a number of uses for the naans to illustrate the flexibility of the flat breads.

He created a range of innovative dishes for all times of the day – from breakfast and brunch through to tapas small plate dishes - for the sourdough naans.

David Williams, commercial director of family owned Butt Foods, said: “We are thrilled and proud that SOHO Coffee Co., with its tremendous reputation for serving innovative, on-trend delicious food and drink, has selected the Baked Earth sourdough naans for its new menu.

“The dishes that have been created for the menu are exactly the type of applications we had in mind when we developed the sourdough naan – items that would be simple and convenient for chefs to create, and incredibly appealing and tasty for customers of cafés, pubs, bars, restaurants and other foodservice outlets.”

Penny Manuel, Managing Director of SOHO said: “We love it when our suppliers develop innovative products like these – the great pairing of the sourdough texture and flavour with what we all know as traditional naan complements each other perfectly and allows us to develop an exciting range of fillings, offering our customers something deliciously different, whilst being a true reflection of SOHO’s artisan roots.”

The Baked Earth naans, which come in four-inch and six-inch sizes, are available through frozen food distributor Central Foods. Videos of the dishes created by Cyrus Todiwala are available in Chef’s Corner at www.buttfoods.co.uk.

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Gluten-free pizza bases from Central Foods stretch 250 times higher than Tower of Pisa

Gluten free pizza bases supplied by Central Foods

As demand for gluten-free products soars, frozen food distributor Central Foods has revealed that if all the 12-inch gluten-free pizza bases it sold in the last year were laid end-to-end it would measure 250 times the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Northamptonshire-based company, which supplies foodservice outlets across the UK and abroad, reports a growing demand for free-from, vegetarian and vegan items.

And with Coeliac Awareness Week 2017 approaching in May, the firm has been reviewing its most popular gluten-free items.

“Coeliac UK estimates that there are now over 1.3 million Britons or 3% of British adults following a gluten-free diet. In addition, 8.58 million, or 13%, are avoiding gluten in their diet, so it’s hardly surprising that we are seeing an increase in demand for gluten-free items from foodservice operators such as pubs, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and other outlets,” said Gordon Lauder, MD of frozen food distributor Central Foods.

“We are proud to have been supplying the catering industry with frozen, ready-prepared, sweet and savoury gluten-free products since 2009, and to have worked with Coeliac UK to raise awareness about the issue in the industry.

“The gluten-free range that we offer is extensive, including meat products, pizza bases and wraps, cakes, slices and tarts, macarons and desserts. Demand has been growing across the gluten-free range, but it’s noticeable that the gluten-free pizza bases are particularly popular and we’ve sold the equivalent of 250 times the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, if we were to lay them end to end.

“While many foodservice operators already include gluten-free items that are suitable for coeliacs on their menus, Coeliac Awareness Week, from 8^th to 14^th May, is the chance for them to offer additional gluten-free items – perhaps as specials or extra dishes. It’s also the chance for operators to consider joining the Gluten Freevolution – a new campaign being launched by Coeliac UK.”

Central Foods, which is based at Collingtree near Northampton, supplies more than 220 independent wholesalers, as well as larger national and regional wholesalers. It also supplies to foodservice caterers across the entire foodservice industry, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, staff canteens, schools, hospitals, coffee shops, football grounds and universities.

Offering a one-stop shop to the foodservice sector, it sources products from around the world and the UK, supplying more than 400 different lines, ranging from meat, bakery items and canapés through to buffet products, desserts and puddings.

For more information visit www.centralfoods.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Food and Drink Forum to launch new services for the catering and hospitality trade

One of the East Midlands’ key business support organisations, The Food and Drink Forum, has revealed that it is to launch a new service aimed at helping firms in the catering and hospitality trade.

Announcing the move at its flagship AGM and members’ networking supper event, The Forum announced that it hoped to soon unveil a new package of support and a membership offer specifically for the catering and hospitality part of the sector.

Support available will include new training and technical services and supply chain support, which are designed to help businesses to grow and develop. 

“The Food and Drink Forum has supported organisations across the sector since it formed in 1998, particularly those in production or manufacture. Now we will be creating tailored support for those businesses that focus on hospitality, which we believe will be useful and will encourage more catering and hospitality outlets to join our organisation,” said managing director of The Food and Drink Forum, Fiona Anderson.

Around 100 guests attended the AGM and networking supper event, which was held at Kelham Hall, near Newark. The event attracted members and associates from across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland.

This year’s supper was sponsored and supported by Campden BRI, the UK's largest independent membership-based organisation carrying out research and development and providing technical support for the food and drinks industry worldwide, Clegg Food Projects, a market leader in providing practical design, engineering and construction solutions for major food and drink operations, and the Food and Drink iNet, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by a consortium led by The Food and Drink Forum.

“Our AGM and members’ supper is our flagship event of the year, and once again it was greatly enjoyed by those who attended,” added Fiona Anderson.

Speakers at the event included James Pogson, director of Chesterfield-based Northern Tea Merchants, Kamal Dhutia, director at Leicester-based condiments portion control supplier B I (Europe) Limited, and Phil Ellis, from Attimo – an East Midlands online market place project which provides an easy and efficient opportunity for artisan producers and hotels, restaurants and caterers looking for high quality items to do business with each other.

For information about joining The Food and Drink Forum or the new service for the catering and hospitality trade please call 0115 9758810. 

www.foodanddrinkforum.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR firm Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk