Bread trends revealed by Luke Evans Bakery during National Bread Week

A snapshot survey by one of the oldest family bakers in the East Midlands, Luke Evans Bakery, has revealed a growing appetite for seeded and wholemeal loaves.

Figures released by the Derbyshire bakery during National Bread Week, which runs from April 16th to 22nd, show a rising popularity for these types of bread.

The bakery, which was founded in 1804, sells 36 different lines of unwrapped and unsliced bread. Some 15 of these are seeded and wholemeal.

“Five years ago, sales of our seeded and wholemeal loaves represented about 26% of our loaf sales,” said David Yates, managing director at Riddings-based Luke Evans Bakery. “That’s now gone up to 29%, showing that they are continuing to rise in popularity.

“It’s all down to an increasing awareness about healthy eating. Multi-seeded bread has low GI (Glycaemic Index), which is a measure of the effect foods have on blood sugar levels. Those with a low GI ranking make you feel full for longer because they cause a slow, steady rise in blood sugar levels.”

Luke Evans Bakery supplies around 300 trade and wholesale customers across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, including shops, schools, delis and Pride Park - the home of Derby County Football Club.

It also has a shop at Greenhill Lane, Riddings.

“Bread has been part of our staple diet for thousands of years,” said David Yates. “Over the last 20 years there has been a big shift in the type of bread being eaten, and our latest figures, which we’ve compiled for National Bread Week, show that interest in the seeded and wholemeal types is still rising.”

Luke Evans Bakery was founded more than 200 years ago by Henry Evans, who named the business after his son. Today it is a modern company with a team of fully trained craft bakers operating 24 hours a day turning out breads, cakes and savoury products.

www.lukeevans.co.uk

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Two special food and drink markets lined up for Nottingham

The next two Regional and Speciality Food and Drink Markets in Nottingham are something special – with April’s event coinciding with St George’s Day celebrations and the May event marking five years since the markets launched.

Held on the third Friday and Saturday of every month in Nottingham’s Old Market Square area since Spring 2007, the market offers the chance for customers to buy directly from producers in the East Midlands.

It features stalls selling a wide range of produce from cheese and chutney to meat and cakes.

The April market, held on Friday April 20th and Saturday April 21st, coincides with St George’s Day celebrations in the city. A host of activities is planned for Saturday April 21st including a parade of scouts and military, have-a-go archery, story telling, arts activities, Morris dancing, Victorian games, maypole dancing, and costumed characters including Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

The May event, which is marking the fifth anniversary of the launch of the market, will be taking a Spring-time theme, with guest traders and exhibitors expected to support the market with activities for families. Among them will be Stonebridge City Farm, who will be selling plants and produce, providing information about the St Ann’s farm and will be running growing activities for children.

It will be held on Friday May 18th and Saturday May 19th.

Run by East Midlands Fine Foods, in conjunction with Nottingham City Council, the market provides a regular opportunity for food and drink producers from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire to sell directly to the public.

It also offers the chance for customers to find out more about the provenance of their food.

“Nottingham Regional and Speciality Food and Drink Market helps to boost the regional economy and reduce food miles, which is good for the environment, as shoppers are buying direct from producers,” said East Midlands Fine Foods events manager Toni Jarvis.

“It’s been five years since we held the first market, and we have built up a loyal band of customers who look forward to buying their food and drink at the market. We hope as many as possible will be joining us for these two forth-coming special markets.”

As well as the regular stallholders, April’s event has attracted at least three new producers - Classy Cupcakes, selling a range of cakes and European-inspired patisserie including small and large cakes, tarts, cookies and sweet bread products, The Little Round Cake Company, selling handmade little round cakes, mini layer cakes, tarts, giant meringues and indulgent brownies, and Lymn Bank Farm, selling cheese.

Any East Midlands producers interested in taking a stall should contact East Midlands Fine Foods on 0115 9758810.

www.eastmidlandsfinefoods.com

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Anchors away for Focus Consultants’ latest museum project which features the Titanic story

East Midlands-based project managers Focus Consultants played a major role in the opening this week of a new £15 million maritime museum featuring the story of the Titanic.

The new SeaCity Museum in Southampton was unveiled exactly 100 years after the ill-fated ship set sail from the city on her maiden voyage. Five days later she sank in the Atlantic Ocean, off Newfoundland, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Focus Consultants, based in Nottingham and with offices in London, Leicester, Lincoln and Boston, has been project manager for the new museum scheme in conjunction with Southampton City Council.

The development involved converting the grade II listed former Magistrates’ Courts adjoining the Civic Centre, Southampton City Art Gallery and the Guildhall, and is the centre piece of a major regeneration of the city’s new Cultural Quarter.

“This has been a tremendously exciting project to be involved in, and we are very proud of the new SeaCity Museum, which represents a real asset to the maritime heritage of Southampton and its tourist attractions,” said Focus Consultants partner Steven Fletcher.

“The team at Focus Consultants has wide experience of both heritage and tourism schemes, and SeaCity Museum is a combination of the two. It’s expected to attract thousands of visitors, and 2012 is a particularly significant year for the museum to open, given that it’s exactly 100 years after the Titanic went down and it’s such a momentous event in Southampton’s history.”

Focus Consultants developed the Heritage Lottery Fund application for stage 1 and stage 2 of the project along with Southampton City Council. The company acted as project manager for the whole scheme, including the building and exhibition works, and also contract administrator for the exhibition works.

The SeaCity Museum features two permanent exhibitions focusing on Southampton’s Titanic story and the city’s role as a gateway to the world, as well as a special exhibition marking the centenary of the Titanic disaster. It has been designed and built to engage visitors of all ages with exciting interactives throughout its three galleries: Gateway to the World, Southampton’s Titanic Story and Titanic the Legend.

The museum, which was opened by British rowing champion and double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, is expected to attract 150,000 visitors every year.

Building constructor was Kier Construction and architect was Wilkinson Eyre Architects, with the exhibitions being designed by Urban Salon and installed by 8Build.

Focus Consultants, which has its head office at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK.

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has secured over £800 million of grant assistance, and delivered more than £1 billion of projects and programmes - including enterprise support, innovation, culture, health, regeneration, affordable homes and energy carbon sustainability projects.

Representatives from Focus attended the official opening of SeaCity Museum, which took place on April 10th.

Focus has offices at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, Endeavour Park, Boston, Princess Road East, Leicester, Aubourn, Lincoln, and Holborn, London.

The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded Southampton City Council £4.9 million towards the attraction. The remainder of the £15 million was raised raised by the council. A Southampton Cultural Development Trust has also been formed to raise funds towards SeaCity Museum and other aspects of the Cultural Quarter.

www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR
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New spicy Indian salsa launched to celebrate 20 year anniversary for Anila’s sauces

Premium curry sauce producer Anila’s Authentic Sauces is launching a new spicy Indian salsa to celebrate 20 years in the business.

It’s 20 years since Anila Vaghela sold her first jar of homemade curry sauce at an Easter fair in Weybridge, Surrey, in 1992.

Now a supplier of award-winning curry sauces, chutneys, pickles and dips to top delis, speciality stores and farm shops across the UK, Anila’s Authentic Sauces is unveiling a new product to mark the occasion, together with a recipe leaflet.

The spicy Indian salsa complements the current range of 16 accompaniments produced by Anila’s which are made with single fruits and vegetables.

Handmade with fresh ingredients, the spicy Indian salsa is gluten free, dairy free and contains no onions or garlic.

A delicious blend of tomatoes, red peppers, green chillies and spices, the salsa is the perfect accompaniment to Anila’s range of eight authentic curry sauces.

“I started by using old traditional family recipes and I still use them today as the basis of my products, 20 years on,” said Anila Vaghela. “We continue to make our curry sauces and accompaniments in small batches, and we sell direct to the public via farmers’ markets and other events.

However, production has obviously increased significantly since those early days and my products are now on sale at places like Harrods, John Lewis Oxford Street and Bluewater, Chatsworth Farm Shop, and more recently Booths in Penrith and Manchester.

“The new spicy Indian salsa is also based on a family recipe, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with our customers.”

Recommended retail price for the 200g jar is £3.30. The salsa is currently available via www.anilassauces.com and is expected to be rolled out to stockists across the country.

Growing up as the eldest child and grandchild in the family, Anila learnt to cook alongside her mother, her grandmothers and her great grandmother while they were living in Zimbabwe.

Years later, as a busy mum living in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, Anila would make large batches of curry sauce for convenience. Her cooking had always been popular with friends and family, and in the early 1990s she began selling jars of curry sauce on a very small scale in her local community. She sold all 80 jars at her first fair at Easter in Weybridge in 1992. Phone calls from very satisfied customers followed, and Anila began fulfilling small orders.

In 1997 she was made redundant from her job as a PA and decided to seize the opportunity to form her own company to develop Anila’s Authentic Sauces. Before long Anila’s curry sauces were on the shelves of a range of health stores, delicatessens and independent specialist shops.

Anila outgrew her kitchen at home and moved to a catering kitchen in Surbiton in 2002. A year later the business needed larger premises once more, and Anila’s re-located to a 1400 sq ft unit in Hounslow. In 2006, husband Dan also joined the team as operations manager and is in charge of production, whilst Anila takes care of sales & marketing.

Anila’s now produces eight varieties of curry sauce and 16 types of a mix of pickles, chutneys and dips – plus the spicy Indian salsa. The firm supplies hundreds of outlets that include garden centres, delis, farm shops, gift shops and also health stores. It also sells direct to the public at farmers’ markets and at food shows and festivals as well as online via www.anilassauces.com

“It’s amazing to think that it’s been 20 years since I made my first proper sale,” said Anila, who’s 55. “At the time, Indian food wasn’t anywhere near as popular as it is today, and there were very few small producers like myself, only large manufacturers supplying the supermarkets. I started with four flavours of curry sauce – additional sauces and the chutneys and pickles came later as a result of demand from customers.

“I was 40 when I was made redundant, and having set up my own business, I haven’t looked back. Since I was a child I have had a great love of food and of cooking, and it’s been a dream come true to run Anila’s.”

Anila’s sauces are based on a traditional family recipe, made from the freshest ingredients in small batches. They are free from artificial colours, additives and preservatives, and are sugar, dairy and gluten free, and contain no onion or garlic. Using 23 different spices, the sauces have a homemade quality just like “Mum makes” and there are certainly no imitations.

FoodLovers Approved, Anila’s Authentic Sauces has won 11 Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food for its products. Its Goan Green Curry Sauce was named Best Vegan Product in The Veggie Awards 2011 by Cook Vegetarian! magazine, with the judges saying: “Not only one of the best vegan curry sauces we’ve ever tried but one of the best curry sauces available. Its complexity of flavours makes its taste truly sensational.”

In 2009 Anila’s Spicy Korma Curry Sauce scooped a “Free From” Food Award.
Visit www.anilassauces.com for more information.


Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Nottingham-based Perfect 10 PR wins Pocket Britain tourism app contract

Nottingham-based PR company Perfect 10 PR has won a contract to promote national tourist information app Pocket Britain.

The public relations firm led by Louise Duffield will support awareness of the brand both among consumers and the tourism trade.

Run by Norfolk-based Mark Oakden, Pocket Britain has been short listed in the Race for Apps final to discover world-beating ideas for smartphone apps for visitors attending the London Olympic Games this summer.

“This is a really exciting client win for Perfect 10 PR, and one which we believe has huge potential,” said Louise Duffield. “The app market is growing, and there’s a massive push for British tourism this summer, what with the Olympic Games and the Queen’s diamond jubilee.

“Pocket Britain is a high quality digital tourist information centre, offering details about what to do and the history of an area – literally at people’s fingers tips on their smartphones.”

Perfect 10 PR, based in West Bridgford, has a range of clients in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and nationally, primarily in the food and drink and constructions sectors.

Mark Oakden said: “We are looking forward to working with Perfect 10 PR to raise awareness about Pocket Britain at what is an exciting time for both British tourism and the development of apps for smartphones.”

The mobile web version of Pocket Britain, which is free to download, is being continually updated and is available from www.pocketbritain.com via the Apple Appstore and the Android Marketplace. Users can either download the app or visit the website using their smartphone.

www.pocketbritain.com

www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Nottingham team act as personal tour guides for mobile phone app Pocket Britain

This Easter, thousands of tourists will be guided around some of Britain’s most popular tourist destinations with help from a Nottingham team.

Voice artists from the city were involved in putting together the audio for Pocket Britain – a free mobile phone app which gives visitors key information about an area, including venues to visit.

The app has recently been announced as a finalist in the Race for Apps final, a competition that aims to discover world-beating ideas for smartphone apps for visitors attending the Olympic Games this summer.

Created by app developer Pocket Places, the commentary, audio and sound effects for Pocket Britain were recorded at Nottingham-based Northbound Studios by musician and recording engineer Mike Giddins.

He used voice artists living in the city, but with different accents, to record the commentary.

And while many of the sound effects were recorded at specific venues across Great Britain, some of the more general sounds were recorded in Nottingham, with the River Trent featuring whenever the sound of water is used.

“The various members of the Nottingham team have played a huge role in the development of Pocket Britain, and in effect they will be guiding tourists and visitors around hundreds of venues across Great Britain this Easter,” said Mark Oakden, CEO of app developer Pocket Places, which is based near Norwich in Norfolk.

Mark, who is originally from Nottingham, went to the former Bilborough Grammar School and worked for many years at computer-aided design software company Pafec Ltd at Strelley. He has worked with tourist boards, heritage sites and other organisations across Great Britain to create the free mobile phone app.

His son Nick Oakden, from Hyson Green, wrote many of the scripts used in the app, which is a national destination guide that’s available literally at your fingertips.

Nottingham musician Mike Giddins, who has written music for TV and radio, worked with five locally based voice artists, including two students from the University of Nottingham and an actor originally from the north of England, to create authentic-sounding commentary.

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I do like attention to detail when it comes to sound effects,” he said. “When you’re involved in a project like this you have to be a people manager, you have to have an artistic angle on it and you have to have a technical angle on it.

“I’m very proud of the quality of the app. It’s great to think that people across Great Britain will be enjoying getting out and about and visiting hundreds of tourist destinations listening to our words.”

The mobile web version of Pocket Britain, which is free to download, is being continually updated and is available from www.pocketbritain.com via the Apple Appstore and the Android Marketplace. Users can either download the app or visit the website using their smartphone.

It features details about the best and most interesting places to visit around Great Britain, and contains more than 500 articles and thousands of photos.

It even allows users to send a free picture postcard to friends and family – sharing their experiences.

“We have worked with a wide range of organisations to put together the content for Pocket Britain,” said Mark Oakden.

“Each Pocket Britain article is in a consistent format, designed for a small smartphone display, and every article contains at least one photo, with many articles featuring further photos and even audio commentary.

“The app uses the location facilities of the smartphone to inform users what’s of interest nearby, including the history of an area and places to visit, and features useful information like opening times, entry prices and contact details.”

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Cracking idea for egg shell recycling gets Food and Drink iNet support

Scientists and food industry experts are hatching a plan this Easter to turn egg shells into plastics that could be used to manufacture anything from food packaging to construction materials.

They also hope to extract material from egg shells that may prove valuable in the pharmaceutical industry.

As Easter approaches, The Food and Drink iNet is revealing that it is funding a research project at the University of Leicester which is looking at eggs and egg shells in a new light.

The project aims to find useful ways of recycling egg shells which are currently regarded as waste by food producers and which they have to pay to dispose of in landfill.

This is why the Food and Drink iNet is supporting the project with the university to discover innovative ways of using egg shells practically in a number of different areas to be seen as income generating by egg producers, rather than a financial drain on their business.

Scientists in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Leicester, specialising in ‘green chemistry’ and sustainable materials are looking at how to extract glycosaminoglycans, proteins which are found in egg shells. GAGs are used in numerous biomedical applications and could prove useful in the pharmaceutical industry.

They are also hoping to identify ways to use the egg shells as fillers which could be used to ‘bulk up’ different grades of plastic, with all sorts of applications from ready meal food trays to shop fittings.

The ultimate goal is to use the egg shells in packaging to protect egg products – giving a second lease of life to the egg shell in the very role it was created for …. a true case of recycling.

“Egg shell is classified as a waste material by the food industry but is in fact a highly sophisticated composite,” said Food and Drink iNet director Richard Worrall. “The scientists at the University of Leicester have identified a number of uses for egg shell waste and the Food and Drink iNet is very pleased to support a ‘Collaborate to Innovate’ research project to examine egg shell recycling solutions.

“This could have potential benefit on many levels, both for food manufacturers and a much wider industry.”

The research team led by Professor Andy Abbott, professor of physical chemistry and head of the Chemistry Department at the University of Leicester, is working in conjunction with Philip Chatfield, director of Ashby de la Zouch project management company Integrated Food Projects. The project plans to involve a number of small and medium-sized egg-related companies in the East Midlands region.

Leicester hard-boiled egg and mayonnaise manufacturer Just Egg uses around 1.3 million eggs every week, creating around 10 tonnes of egg shells. Currently the firm spends approximately £30,000 a year sending about 480 tonnes of shells to landfill for disposal.

Managing director Pankaj Pancholi said the research could bring big benefits to the food and drink sector.

“If I wasn’t spending the £30,000 a year on landfill costs I could employ another worker or two part-time workers, or invest that money in R&D and innovation,” he said. “It would be great if the egg shells could ultimately be recycled to be used in the plastic packaging that we use for egg products, like our new hard boiled eggs in packs. This is a really exciting project.”

Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Food and Drink iNet has awarded almost £20,000 towards the project under its Collaborate to Innovate programme, which will include the sharing of the results with food manufacturers across the East Midlands and beyond. Interested companies are invited to get in touch.

Professor Andy Abbott, from The University of Leicester, said: “We specialise in researching and developing innovative manufacturing solutions around recycling technology. This project is focused on researching novel methodologies for recovering and re using a waste stream into a sustainable financially viable material supply locally. The R&D funding from the Food and Drink iNet is very timely and very gratefully received.”

The iNet-funded project aims to develop and validate the pre-treatment process of the eggshell needed to make it sterile; develop a method for the extraction of glycosaminoglycans from eggshell and analyse the products obtained; develop a post-treatment process to convert the eggshell into a starch-based plastic; test the mechanical properties, including the strength of the new material and make a variety of materials to optimise the eggshell loading and particle size.

The Food and Drink iNet, which is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with a team of advisors across the East Midlands, is managed by a consortium, led by The Food and Drink Forum and including Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham.

It coordinates specialist support to stimulate innovation in the food and drink sector to increase competitiveness, sustainability and growth. The iNet is also a key partner for businesses, universities and individuals working and collaborating in the food and drink industry in the East Midlands and nationally.

Visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk for more information.

Issue by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

The photo shows, from left to right, Food and Drink iNet adviser Stevie Jackson, Pankaj Pancholi, managing director of Just Egg, and Professor Andy Abbott, professor of physical chemistry at the University of Leicester.