Food & Drink – The Review Studio

Nonni Premium Electrolytes

Drinks and Mixers, Fitness, Food & Drink, health, National Walking Month, Sport, Summer

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

Electrolytes have traditionally lived in the world of sports bottles with many of these drinks created for people who spend their weekends running marathons, cycling up mountains or knowing exactly how many grams of protein they consumed before breakfast. Nonni takes a rather different approach, with the focus being on everyday hydration rather than sport. It’s the UK’s first lower-salt sparkling electrolyte drink, designed for the bits of life that happen in between the gym sessions and heroic athletic achievements – the afternoon slump, a day at the beach, sitting in the garden, an evening when you fancy something grown-up but don’t want alcohol. Basically, those moments when you want to feel a little better without turning hydration into a full-time hobby.

Nonni isn’t a medical product and it isn’t trying to be a sports drink. It’s a premium sparkling drink with electrolytes, created for busy, ordinary lives and busy brains. And perhaps that’s what makes it so appealing. It takes something as simple as keeping hydrated and makes it feel enjoyable rather than clinical or worthy. There are no grand promises and no requirement to put on Lycra. Just a chilled can, some fizz and a rather more sophisticated way to keep the fluids topped up.

There’s two different flavours available, Sicilian Lemon with Garden Mint and Green Lime and Pomelo Grapefruit with Green Lime and Pink Himalayan Salt. These are not your standard fizzy drinks, they feel considerably more grown-up, with proper grown-up flavours rather than the usual sugar-and-artificial-fruit assault on your taste buds.

The Sicilian Lemon is particularly good on a hot day. It has a sharp citrus zing that wakes you up, while the garden mint comes through with a fresh finish that stops it becoming too tart. Serve it straight from the fridge if you’re impatient, or pour it over ice with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint if you want to pretend you’re at a very expensive spa rather than sitting in the garden

The Pomelo Grapefruit is a little more adventurous, bringing together the tartness of grapefruit with the citrusy sharpness of lime. It’s the sort of flavour combination that makes you stop after the first sip and think, ‘that’s a bit different,’ before immediately going back for another.

With 670mg of electrolytes, under 50 calories, low sugar and no artificial sweeteners, it’s made for summer. Take it to a picnic, stick a few in the cool box for the beach, crack one open at a barbecue or pour it over ice in the garden. And if you’re avoiding alcohol, it makes a much more grown-up alternative to the usual soft drinks, while the flavours are good enough to double up as a mixer if you fancy adding a little something stronger.

The beauty of Nonni is that it makes hydration feel less like a chore and more like a treat. There’s no Lycra required, no need to own a smartwatch and absolutely no obligation to go anywhere near a treadmill. Just open the can, sit in the sun and congratulate yourself on making an excellent lifestyle choice without actually having to do very much at all.

RRP £9.99 for a box of 4 cans

GRUBBY Plant-Based Meal Kits

Family Life, Food & Drink, Home, Subscription Boxes, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There are loads of meal box ideas out on the market now, many of which are aggressively advertised. I’ve tried a few of them but I don’t have a subscription myself, so I was happy to try out Grubby. As a plant-based meal box, it is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans and can be used by anyone. We were sent a selection of 3 meals, each for 2 people. The meals were; Risi E Bisi with Crispy Tempeh Lardons & Basil, Fiery Jerk Tempeh Tacos with Pineapple Salsa and Roasted Radish, Tenderstem, Orange and Avocado Poke Bowl with Spicy Mayo.

The hot weather meant it was a perfect time to prepare and cook vegan food!

The box came with each meal wrapped in a different, labelled brown bag, complete with recipe cards for each meal. The meals contain all the main ingredients plus the dressings and wet ingredients like vegetable stock, mayonnaise and paprika. The only items you need are standard staples such as vegetable oil. Unfortunately, one of my portions was damaged in transit, but I had spare in the kitchen cupboard. It explains why the recipe cards aren’t very clean in the photos though!

The recipe cards are easy enough to follow. I did find that their estimation of how long it takes to prepare and then cook each meal was underestimated. There was plenty of food there though for each of the meals, even though they were suppose to be for just 2 people, I actually found I was able to make 3 or even 4 portions out of the ingredients given, and still had spare veggies left over for the rest of the week.

Each of the recipes was yummy though! They may be vegan, but there’s a lot of taste there thanks to the expert addition of tamari, siracha sauce and other flavours. Even if you’re not vegetarian, you can make the meals and add your own protein, they really are that flavoursome though, that they can be a whole meal on their own. I think my favourite was the poke bowl, which was so easy to arrange and contained a whole range of flavours.

https://grubby.co.uk

GNAW Handcrafted Chocolate

Birthday Gifts, Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Chocolate has always been a popular treat, and gift, but nowadays it’s taken on a life of it’s own with the new phenomenon of handcrafted chocolate. Combine that with the new novelty flavours and higher quality ingredients which are available, and you have a completely new genre of food connoisseur, similar to wine or coffee experts. GNAW Handcrafted Chocolate sent us a box of chocolates to review, and by box, I don’t mean your supermarket box for Granny on a Sunday, but a box that can be delivered through your door and contains 6 slabs of chocolates, each of them weighing 80 grams and of all different flavours, we couldn’t resist!

The GNAW chocolates arrived in a letterbox sized box and contained 6 bars; Dark Chocolate 70%, Dark Chocolate with Raspberry, Milk Chocolate New York Cheesecake, Milk Chocolate Honeycomb & Caramel, Milk Chocolate Popcorn & Peanuts and Milk Chocolate Lemon Drizzle. The bars are wrapped in paper labels with a ‘foil’ inside cover in an old-fashioned style, but all the packaging is actually recyclable. The chocolates don’t contain any palm oil and the packaging tells you if they are single origin ingredients too, which in the case of the Lemon Drizzle, the single origin is Colombia.

You might be thinking that these are unusual flavours for a chocolate? Well, they are! They represent a small selection of all the flavours that are available online in their shop; https://www.gnawchocolate.co.uk/collections/milk-chocolate-bars which has a lot more dessert-inspired flavours as well as everyday milk chocolate and dark chocolate bars. They are especially good if you like something slightly different to just chocolate, or if like me, you skip dessert and instead have a piece of chocolate instead.

How do they taste? Well, of course, I had to taste a piece of every chocolate bar we were sent, purely for research purposes… the dark chocolates are 70% so they are darker in colour and taste but still sweet enough to eat as a snack. The added raspberry is a treat because it sweetens the dark chocolate a little bit. The milk chocolate bars are a little less traditional but all have a theme of being slightly sweeter than the chocolate itself. The Lemon Drizzle has a hint of lemon but the added texture of tiny biscuit pieces. New York Cheesecake also has subtle biscuit pieces but you can taste the cheesecake filling as the flavour develops. Honeycomb & Caramel reminds me of a famous triangular brand of chocolate, so it’s a more familiar taste but I love having the chewy texture in a chocolate bar. Finally, the Popcorn & Peanut is a strange combination which is more about the consistency than the taste, until it evolves after a few moments.

I think my favourite chocolate was the Dark Chocolate Raspberry because of the juxtaposition of sweet raspberry and the dark chocolate. I don’t think there are any that I wouldn’t buy again, but I am very tempted by the other flavours on their website too!

Available online at: https://www.gnawchocolate.co.uk/collections/chocolate-bars

Sunday Roast at The Crown, Blackheath by Shepherd Neame

alcoholic drinks, ARTICLE, Days Out, Family Life, Food & Drink, Restaurant

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Shepherd Neame, the Kent based brewers owned by a local family, have launched some new dining experiences throughout their establishments in Kent and London. We visited The Crown, in Blackheath to sample their Sunday Roast as part of their new dining experiences.

The Crown is situated on the heath of Blackheath’s triangle, sitting at the top of the hill and overlooking the church. Parking is in the side roads of the triangle or there is parking on the hill itself, with the train station a short walk away and the buses stop nearby. There is frequently a circus or entertainment of some sort on Blackheath too.

The pub is recognisable from the large seating area at the front which is frequently full! Food is served every day, and on this particular sunny Sunday, there was seating outside, downstairs in the large bar area and a very picturesque dining area upstairs. The Sunday menu is presented at the tables but the dessert menu is inscribed on chalk boards above your head, so pudding is never very far from your mind as you eat! We opted for the Stuffed Pork Belly Roast, and the Sirloin Steak Roast. The Crown also does the Shepherd Neame Sunday Roast Sharing Experience, which has enough on a sharing platter for two to be able to enjoy, complete with a table side carving.

You can see from the photos that the Shepherd Neame Sunday Roasts provide ample traditions; generous portions of meat, plenty of roasted vegetables and of course, some smashing roast potatoes! These potatoes were cooked in dripping, with a salt coating to give that extra kick. There is also, of course, lashings of gravy too. We washed down our roasts with a Shepherd Neame Spitfire lager too – they’re most popular lager and one that was being enjoyed throughout the pub.

As for the desserts… there was a selection of locally inspired desserts including Apple, Pear and Pecan Crumble, Morello Cherry Frangipane and there’s a new one on me – Folkestone Pudding. Also known as Kent Tart, it’s a layered tart with a chocolate crust, cream base and chocolate layer on top. It’s similar to a cheesecake but with a rich cream filling that’s similar to custard. It’s the first time I had tried it and it was DELICIOUS! We also had the Warm Chocolate Fondant, which is seen here served with ice cream and crumbles.

I can’t recommend the Shepherd Neame Roasts enough, especially for a lovely Sunday afternoon during the summer. The pork belly was cooked perfectly with a soft, buttery layer of fat and a beautiful stuffing. There was ample beef as well, cooked as requested and tender to the cut. We loved the roast potatoes cooked with a nice thick crust. We did manage to eat all of it, including the desserts but it was all we could manage for the rest of the day!

The Crown Blackheath: https://www.crownblackheath.co.uk/

Shepherd Neame Dining Experiences: https://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/food/shepherd-neame-dining-experience

Pip Organic Fizz

Children, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Food & Drink, Lunchbox Fillers, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Pip Organic are a London based, organic drink and snack company who have just brought out the Pip Organic Fizz range of drinks for children. Well, not only children as adults will love these drinks to! We were sent some of each of the two flavours; Apple Fizz and Apple Cherry Fizz.

What makes the Pip Organic Fizz drinks different? Pip Organic pride themselves on making drinks and snacks that have minimal ingredients, and produce food which they themselves would give to their own children. Founders Patrick and Karen discovered organic juice bars whilst travelling together, not long after they met, and began juicing in Borough Market, London as they built their business. Nowadays, they are on a mission to make better food and drink accessible to everyone.

The 250ml cans come in packs of 4 and we put them straight in the fridge when they arrived so that we could enjoy them on those very hot heatwave days! The Apple Fizz is apple juice but carbonated to give the fizzy texture of a soft drink. It doesn’t have any added sugar is it has a slight sourness about it that’s akin to a home grown apple that comes straight off the tree. It’s also organic, so there’s the potential for the Apple Fizz drinks to be slightly different in taste from one can to another over time. It’s remarkably refreshing, and doesn’t leave a coating on your teeth (there’s no synthetic sweeteners either) and counts towards your 5-a-day.

The Apple Cherry Fizz is similarly refreshing and is slightly sweeter because of the addition of cherry juice. It’s also organic and counts as one in your 5-a-day quota. These drinks are aimed at children, but adults can enjoy them just as much, and over the summer they can be used in cocktails or as mixers as well, so the whole family can enjoy them and makes them easy to add to the shopping cart. Pip Organic Fizz is available in Marks and Spencer and now Waitrose too!

Pip Organic Apple Cherry Fizz 250ml

Honi Poke Find Your Wave Salad Bowl

Food & Drink, health, Lunchbox Fillers, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

What do Moana, poke bowls and surfing all have in common? They’re all from Hawai’i, the tropical islands in the middle of the Pacific and the setting for the new Disney film Moana. Honi Poke, the Hawai’ian poke bowl restaurant, have a new poke bowl called Find Your Wave out now to celebrate the movie’s release. We went along to Honi Poke to try a bowl this week.

When you order the Find Your Wave bowl, you are given the choice of white or brown rice as a base and either chicken or tuna as the protein hit. I chose brown rice and chicken, but the rest of the recipe is the same and includes mango, edamame beans, wood ear mushrooms, smashed avocado, coriander, toasted coconut flakes and a wedge of lime. I hadn’t thought of putting mango and chicken together before but it really works! The toasted coconut flakes really makes a difference to the smoothness of the mushrooms and the mango and made the whole meal feel really tropical.

The Find Your Wave poke bowl is made with all fresh ingredients, right in front of you as soon as you order it so you can choose which components you don’t want. Luckily, I liked all the ingredients included which I think makes for a better experience when you can try all the food combinations together. It was delicious too, with a combination of mango and chicken plus the coconut and mushrooms that you don’t normally get in High Street salad bowls. I’ll be visiting Honi Poke again on my days in the office to see what other salad styles I can try!

Available in Honi Poke stores: https://www.honipoke.com/poke

TrueStart Ground Coffee Cafetière & Coffee Gift Set

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, coffee, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, secret santa

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There are some sacred things in this life, and the first cup of coffee in the morning is probably high up on most people’s wish list! What better gift to buy a caffeine lover than a whole set of coffee and a cafetière too, all in this pretty presentation box, ready to wrap and hand over.

TrueStart have a range of coffees available by both strength (strong, smooth, decaf, half cafe) and type (instant, coffee bags, ground, beans etc). They also have a starter packs, gifts packs and accessories, so a natural progression at Christmas time is to have a Coffee Starter Pack. You can create your own starter pack too, which is what we were sent when we received this cafetière (in grey but blue is available too) and two coffees. I chose the TrueStart Super Blend coffee with a strength of 8, and the TrueStart Energising Colombian ground coffee with a strength of 7. I can’t stress how cute it is to have the box arrive with the handle of the cafetière as the handle to the gift box, making it easier to carry!

The glass cafetière has 1 litre capacity, which is enough for 8 cups of coffee and has a stainless steel finish. It needs to be hand washed because the glass is delicate, so not suitable for the dishwasher nor the oven. It’s a lovely, classic design which comes in both grey and dark blue so suits many kitchens. I have a pet peeve with cafetières that they’re either too small and you can’t get enough cups out of them, or they’re too big and therefore just functional and don’t look pretty enough for modern kitchens. This one looks lovely though, and would sit nicely on any worktop.

We tried both coffees (multiple times!) in our house. We chose stronger coffees with more aromatic tastes so the Super Blend and Energising Colombian were perfect for us. They both had a strong, bold taste which lasted throughout the whole cup of coffee, and because you can make up to 8 cups in one cafetière, we were able to drink a second cup quite quickly afterwards and each cup kept it’s integrity. Delicious!

If your’e not used to a cafetière, this is a great starter pack, and they’re really easy to use and keep clean. In fact, I would say it’s the most fun way of making coffee, and you can alter the strength of the coffee easily depending on how much you add to the jug. I loved the coffee, which is carefully selected and curated by the TrueStart coffee company since 2015 who take coffee very seriously. It’s a great size for a gift as well, or for students going off to university and needing the whole kit that’s the right size for their room. The ability to choose which coffee you want also makes it perfect for gifting and I will be looking at these as gifts at Christmas too!

Available from £30.00 at:

https://www.truestartcoffee.com/products/ground-coffee-starter-pack

The Toll House Chelsea Delicatessen, London

ARTICLE, Children, chocolate, coffee, Days Out, Family Life, Food & Drink, snacks, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Nestled on a corner of Cremorne Road in Chelsea, London, is The Toll House Chelsea Delicatessen. Previous incarnation of the original building include a dry cleaners, a garage and before it’s present incarnation, it was empty for many years. The present owners have taken the charge to create The Toll House Delicatessen under the moniker of the building’s original intention; an office which collected the toll for the properties on the private land of Chelsea.

The Toll House Delicatessen is based on a premise of serving the community everything from coffee and pastries in the mornings, home working using their free Wi-Fi and providing treats on the way home from work. The Toll House speciality is their Basque cheesecake. Although she is a doctor by day, Alimah makes the cheesecakes in her spare time. Alimah’s Basque cheesecake recipes include flavours such as Pistachio Luxe, Chocolate Decadence, Lotus Biscoff Crunch and Berry Compote. Of course, there’s also an original Basque cheesecake too! We visited on a very hot Saturday afternoon to find the air-conditioned building very welcoming and Tariq, Allah’s husband, was on hand to talk us through how they had transformed the building and show us the cakes.

It may be a tiny place to visit but it has a big heart! The very Instagramable building has a mural along the outside wall which features three frogs – one to represent each of the families’s young children. Following in the Chelsea tradition, there are flowers everywhere and the branding has a twist on the Chelsea blue colour. The original Toll House Clock still stands on the roof too. Inside the blue theme continues with marble worktops and a high bench for working. The shop is so petite, it needed bespoke marble worktops, chiller cabinets and cabinetry, which give it a certain Chelsea charm. There’s a very grand coffee machine too, which makes fresh specialty coffee.

As for the cakes and pastries, you’ll find not just Basque cheesecakes but other locally sourced pastries and sandwiches and salads which are made on site daily. Anyone visiting for lunch will be able to also purchase drinks, crisps and other snacks.

We were lucky to be able to try some of the cheesecakes. Sitting outside in the sunshine, we shared the ‘Chocolate Decadence’ cheesecake. If you’re not familiar with Basque cheesecakes, they don’t have a biscuit base, they’re just cheesecake filling and then baked. Each Toll House Basque cheesecake is 4 inches wide which is more than enough for two people to share. Eating even half a Basque cheesecake was quite some task!

At first bite, you realise it is incredibly light and not like the heavy cheesecakes you buy in High Street shops. It’s not so sweet either. I am used to Basque cheesecakes being both heavy and sweet with a richness of cream, but I didn’t feel this with the Toll House Basque cheesecake. It’s light and fluffy and has a texture like whipped cream but without the dairy taste. The flavour is more like a light custard with a slight vanilla taste. You can tell that they are not only home made, but they are made that day because the body of the cheesecake is so fresh. We also took home some of the other flavours; Pistachio Luxe, Lotus Biscoffi Crunch and Berry Compote. I think my favourite was the Berry Compote – the sweet berry flavour works really well with the creamy filling.

The Toll House make cakes and Basque cheesecakes to order and for special occasions. We think they’d be great at weddings or even a tiered Basque as a fabulous wedding cake! The property is so cute and so accessible for great photos that I’m surprised it’s not more well known on the London scene. The picturesque corner of Chelsea, with the Georgian houses and enormous London plane trees is an oasis for afternoon treats as well as working from home. Tariq and his staff are so welcoming too, that you could try a different cheesecake every day of the week and never feel like leaving!

https://www.tollhousedeli.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/tollhousedeliuk/

@tollHouseDeliUK

Trapiche Pure Malbec

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Mother's Day, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan, Women

Disclaimer: we received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

If your dad enjoys a glass of red wine, a good bottle is guaranteed to go down well on Father’s Day. Better still, for those last minute shoppers, Trapiche Pure Malbec is readily available from the Co-op so you can pick a bottle up on your way to see him!!

Produced by Argentina’s most awarded winery, this Fairtrade-certified Malbec is packed with juicy fruit flavours and is wonderfully smooth and easy to drink. At just £10 a bottle, it’s also excellent value for money, proving that you don’t have to spend a fortune to give a special gift.

The Trapiche vineyards are in Mendoza, one of Argentina’s most famous wine regions which are nestled at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The winery was founded by Argentine politician and businessman Tiburcio Benega back in 1883 and over the years the business has grown to be one of Argentina’s leading wine producers. The vineyards are planted higher up in the mountains, where the cooler air helps keep the grapes fresh and balanced, despite the intense Argentinian sunshine.

The “Pure” in the name refers to the fact that this is an unoaked Malbec. Rather than being aged in oak barrels, the wine is made in stainless steel and concrete tanks. While I’m no wine expert, I find this style lets the fruit do the talking, bringing out the cassis, blueberry and plum flavours without the vanilla or smoky notes that oak can sometimes add.

The rich purple wine is smooth and easy to drink and it goes really well with both steak and cheese.

By choosing Fairtrade wine, you are supporting farmers and ensuring that they have access to fairer working conditions. Fairtrade also makes sure that producers receive a fairer price for their grapes and provides extra funding that can be invested back into workers and local communities. It also supports growers in adopting more sustainable farming methods and promotes fair treatment and opportunities for everyone working in the vineyards.

Available from the Co op

Dad’s Dram Selection Whisky Tasting Set

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

For any Dad or Grandad who loves whisky, a dram selection is always a good idea on Father’s Day! For anyone who likes whisky and wants to try a selection without having to buy a whole bottle at a time, the Dad’s Dram Selection from Drinks By The Dram is an excellent choice to try yourself. The six drams included in the set are:

Singleton of Dufftown 12 Year Old
Teeling Small Batch
Islay Whisky 8 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
Tobermory 12 Year Old
Talisker Skye
Darkness 8 Year Old

Each of the drams are 3cl and although they come in identical bottles, the logos on their labels is faithful to the companies’ brandings. There’s a mixture of different whiskies too, which all come from Scotland. They arrive in this smart presentation box which can be posted or handed over without even any gift wrap!

The glass-sized samples of whisky are all of excellent quality. Depending on how Dad drinks whisky, they can be kept for special occasions or tried every night for a week. I especially like the idea of this being a birthday present for Dad, so that his birthday can last longer than a week and be able to sample the different whiskies in isolation on different days.

Available from £24.95 at:

https://www.masterofmalt.com/tasting-set/master-of-malt/dads-dram-selection-whisky-black-tasting-set/?sku=143113

Opies BBQ Collection of Gherkins and Pickled Onions for Summer

Food & Drink, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Although this is BBQ season (finally!) this collection of gherkins and pickles from Opies also reminded me of that British tradition – fish and chips. Opies sent us some Mini Gherkins, Mini Silverskin Onions, Cornichons & Onions and a rather lovely jar or Stem Ginger too! If you’re wondering what cornichons are, they’re French gherkins, the same as the usual just smaller!

Each of the medium-sized jars are packed with gherkins and onions and can be decantated into BBQ dishes, or if like in our house, you fish them out with a fork or spoon! With my fish and chips, I like to sprinkle some of the vinegar onto my fish and chips to use up some of the flavour from the pickling. Some people save the vinegar entirely and use it to pickle other foods once the jar is empty but I never have enough vinegar left to do that!

Each of the onions, gherkins and cornichons are crisp, sharp and easy to eat in small mouthfuls between bites of fish and chips. They’re not so bitter though that children wouldn’t enjoy them, and the smaller size makes them easy to eat along with any BBQ item. You can also use the gherkins and cornichons in dressings and sauces too.

The Opies Stem Ginger is a sweet ginger in a syrup which is also great for adding to recipes. I diced up the stem ginger pieces and added them to biscuits, along with some of the syrup to give a sweeter flavour to them – and they turned out delicious!

The Opies BBQ Collection are great for the summer and like all vinegar pickled fruits, will last so much longer than you think if you refrigerate them too!

Available in most leading stores and online at:

Products

Shepherd Neame and Kent Crisps

camping, Family Life, Food & Drink, snacks, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Brewers Shepherd Neame have come together with Kent Crisps to create a tasty flavour for summer; the Shepherd Neame Beef Brisket & Stout flavour crisps. Shepherd Neame’s Iron Wharf Stout was launched last year, taking its name from Faverham’s famous wharf. You can see the historical significance of the stout from Kent with HMS Cavalier on the packet, docked at Chatham Dockyard.

The new Beef Brisket & Stout flavour is the eighth flavour in the hand-cooked range of Kent Crisps. Other flavours include Sea Salt, Ham & Mustard, Smoked Chipotle Chili, Oyster & Vinegar and Ashmore Cheese & Onion. The range of flavours is testament to the quality that Kent Crisps aspires to and the extra flavour this year is no exception. We were sent samples of each of the flavours, and yes I’m sitting here eating the Smoked Chipotle Chilli flavour as I write!

Kent Crisps’ Beef Brisket & Stout flavour really tastes like beef. Not just beef, but beef brisket and the after taste of the crisps is that of the stout. I’ve not enjoyed a glass of Shepherd Neame’s Iron Wharf Stout yet, but this crisp flavour definitely has the stout flavouring as a chaser. My other favourite flavours were Ham & Mustard and the Smoked Chipotle Chilli. If you’re not familiar with chipotle, it’s a Mexican sauce which has become very popular in the last decade, and the chilli flavour is again an after taste on these crisps which leave a slightly ‘hot’ flavour as if you were eating a Mexican burrito.

As for the crisps, Kent Crisps are known for their quality and being hand cooked in Kent, they have a very short distance to go until they get to your favourite pub! All of the crisps are fresh, covered in flavour and easy to eat with the potatoes grown in Kent.

Kent Crisps and the Beef Brisket and Stout flavour from Shepherd Neame are available now in crisps or online at Kent Crisps.

Available from £19.50 for a box of 20 at: https://kentcrisps.com/shop/

Cups Full Coffee Bags

camping, coffee, Food & Drink, hiking, National Walking Month, Sport, Summer, travel, Winter

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It’s National Hiking Month and the perfect opportunity to share some great hiking gear with you. Now this one might surprise you, because it’s not the first thing people shout about when they’re planning a hike… but it’s something lots of us take anyway, usually sloshing around in a flask……….Coffee.

If you’re someone who actually enjoys a decent cup rather than just a caffeine fix, then carrying a pre-made flask can be a bit of a gamble. A few hours in and it starts to become a little tired and can taste bitter and isn’t really what you want when you stop for a well earned drink. Lately I’ve switched to taking a small stove so that I can make a fresh brew when I’m out on the fells, it only takes a few minutes and tastes a lot better and while I’m waiting for it to brew I can sit and enjoy the view. I’d usually pack tea bags, mainly because I’ve never been a fan of instant coffee, but discovering Cups Full coffee bags has definitly changed that. They’re very similar to a tea bag, but filled with ground coffee instead.

Once my water has boiled I can pop the coffee bag into my cup and just like tea, leave it to brew for three to four minutes, or a little longer if I want it stronger. I then give it a quick squeeze before taking it out and I’ve got a freshly brewed cup of coffee which can be enjoyed with very little effort. At home I’d always add milk, but when I’m out walking I just drink it black and once I’m finished, the used bag goes into a small plastic bag to take home, ready for the compost heap later.

I hadn’t heard of Cups Full before but they are a small startup company based in Hackney who offer three different types of coffee in individual 9 gram bags. They are proud that they know the journey from bean to cup and support communities all along their supply chain meaning each time you enjoy a cup of coffee from Cups Full you are supporting early education and local economies.

Their coffee bags are sold in bags of 10 and I found a zip seal pouch with three bags fits perfectly into my stove bag and means I can have a couple of drinks whilst walking and save one for when I get back to the car.

Obviously the taste is what really matters and these coffees are quite smooth, not bitter and very easy to drink. At home I tend to use a filter machine or stove-top espresso maker but at work we’re limited to instant(!) so these are a much better option and I’ve been enjoying having a decent cup of coffee at work as well as when I’ve been out walking.

Cups Full make three different blends Pace is a blend of 100% arabica coffee and packs a generous 113mg+ of caffeine per bag, enough to get you moving without fuss or delay. This South American blend with origins in Peru and Honduras is ideal first thing in the morning when you need a caffeine boost to start the day.

Peace has a much lower caffeine level with under 44mgs per 9g bag. Sourced from Brazil and Vietnam it is a coffee for people who enjoy coffee and don’t need the caffeine boost.

Power is the coffee you need when you’re on a long walk to give you a boost. The clue is in the name and with 144mg+ of caffeine per bag this is the one to reach for on night hikes or at work if you’ve not had much sleep the night before.

I have to say that I enjoyed these three coffee blends more than any coffee I have had for a long time and they now have a permanent place in my rucksack (and desk)!

Cups Full coffee bags come in a resealable pouch with 10 bags for £11.95 or you can buy all three as a bundle saving 20%.

Moderato Alcohol-Free French Wine

Christmas, Days Out, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, health, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The French (wine) Revolution is here! Moderato wines are all alcohol-free but are still French beauties with Cuvee, Colombard white wine and the Gros Manseng Merlot. We were sent a bottle of each to try this summer and to sample how good alcohol free wine can be.

We started with the La Cuvée, a light sparkling wine with a slightly acidic taste from the Merlot grapes. It has less than 0.5% of alcohol (they have to give it a slight alcohol rating due to the way it’s fermented) but it doesn’t have the alcohol taste to it. Instead, it’s an effervescent glass which is excellent for summer. I would drink this with a main meal or on its own. It also has fewer calories than wine, so if you’re not drinking it for the low alcohol, it’s perfect for a low calorie diet!

The Colombard is a traditional-tasting white, with citrus flavours and the sharpness that can only be found with white wines. This is also <0.5% alcohol and 7x fewer calories than other white wines and has the white wine fragrance to it too. I would drink this on its own, after work or in the garden in the summer.

The Gros Manseng Merlot is rosé with a softer fruity flavour compared to its Merlot cousin. It’s definitely a summer drink with lots of energy and a beautiful red fruit uplift. This is great with food or on its own but lives in summer thanks to the fruity nature of the wine. It doesn’t taste alcohol free either which is a brilliant achievement, even if it is made by the French experts!

All three of the wines are part of a larger range by Moderato to have alcohol free (or sans alcool in French, as the bottles proclaim) that add to your summer without needing alcohol. Delicious!

Gros Manseng £14: https://le-moderato.com/en/products/alcohol-free-rose-revolutionary-cuvee-merlot-gros-manseng-1

Colombard £14: https://le-moderato.com/en/products/alcohol-free-white-wine-colombard-revolutionary-cuvee

La Cuvée £14.50: https://le-moderato.com/en/products/the-sparkling-revolutionary-cuvee-blanc-de-noir-without-alcohol

Cuvée Révolutionnaire

Father’s Day Gifts at Popcorn Shed

Birthday Gifts, Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Him, Lunchbox Fillers, secret santa, snacks, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Yes, Father’s Day is notoriously difficult to buy gifts for Dad! He has everything, but suddenly there are more items available in the shops but they are all either whiskey flavoured, or have some element remodelled in leather. Don’t get me started on the amount of beers on the shelves at this time too. Popcorn Shed has a massive range of popcorn all year round, so we were sent a selection of popcorn flavours which are available on the website and can be sent as a bundle. We had the Popcorn Shed flavours Pop ‘n’ Choc, Salted Caramel and Say Cheese! Sent to us to try. Before you ask, they didn’t last long…

Each ‘shed’ (ie packet of popcorn) is 80 grams of popcorn. The Salted Caramel and Say Cheese flavours are both bestsellers and winners of the Great Taste award. 80 grams doesn’t sound like a lot but if you remember that popcorn is very light, it makes sense to say that each shed is about big enough for 2 people to share for a movie night, or the equivalent of a small mixing bowl size.

My favourite of the flavours was Pop ‘n’ Choc, and not just because I love chocolate! You can taste the chocolate easily but it isn’t too sweet and the popcorn, although a bit sticky, isn’t too difficult to eat because it’s stuck together or gets stuck in your teeth. The Salted Caramel flavour was probably the easiest to eat out of all three because it had a strong flavour without being overpowering and was still sweet, as you would expect popcorn to be. Finally, the Say Cheese flavour was the last one I tried. I’m not used to savoury popcorn but this is the most popular of savoury flavours after the plain salted variety and I was surprised. It’s not a very strong flavour, thankfully, as although I love cheese I couldn’t imagine it on popcorn. However, as it’s a savoury taste, it goes better with wine or spirits rather than sugary cocktails. It’s a light, delicate cheese flavour rather than the processed type. I also noticed that all of the popcorn is ‘popped’ so there are no un-popped kernels in the bottom of the bag.

Popcorn Shed is a lovely gift for Dad, or Grandad, that they don’t have to pretend to like! With all the flavours available online you will surely be able to find something that’s delicious!

Popcorn Sheds available from £4.75 at: https://www.popcornshed.com/collections/gourmet-popcorn-sheds

Sponge Cake Cards & The Legends Brownie Box from Sponge

beauty, camping, eco friendly, Fashion, Fitness, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Gluten Free, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Cakes for all occasions! Sponge send cakes that are, “Brilliant cake. Bold flavour. A little bit cheeky” and we couldn’t agree more. Why send just a card when a piece of cake and a card will make them feel more special? If you’re anything like me, Father’s Day is an especially difficult day to buy for so Sponge make it easier!

Sponge.co.uk have a selection of cake pieces, whole cakes, brownies and cupcakes that can be delivered to your recipient’s door. All cakes come with a card which in some cases, are a little bit cheeky! You can customize each card to suit the receiver. We were sent The Legends Brownies box and a Sponge Cake Card which are both brilliant for Father’s Day. If you order before 2pm, it can be delivered the next day.

The Sponge Cake Cards are literally cards with pockets that house 2 slices of cake which you can choose from a range including chocolate, carrot, white chocolate & raspberry, Red Velvet and several of the same cakes but in vegan or gluten free versions. You also get to choose the design of the card and if you want to, you can upload a video too which can be viewed online. The card can be personalised with any greeting and then you can choose up to 2 extras, including items like tea bags, face mask, balloons or even a candle.

Once you’ve made your choices, you can choose to have the Sponge Cake Card delivered or you can even pick up from their warehouse in Holt, Norfolk. The same process works whether you’re sending a Cake Card or any of the other cakes and items which the company stocks.

As for the cakes…. The Sponge Cake Card came with a chocolate and a Victoria slice, both of which were obviously freshly made and not processed or frozen. They were light and fluffy with ample amounts of buttercream filling and a light topping, but not enough to make a sticky mess in the cellophane! The brownies were obviously very densely made, with 8 pieces in total and all of them delicious. I haven’t worked my way through all of them yet, but there are 4 flavours in all and again, they were freshly made.

An interesting idea of having cake delivered as well as a card, Sponge.co.uk execute it very well and make it easy to send any type of celebration to a loved one.

Sponge Cake Cards from £9.99: https://www.sponge.co.uk/cake-card

The Legends Brownie Box from £18.99: https://www.sponge.co.uk/cakes/brownies/the-legends-brownie-box

Joe & Seph’s Shortbread Biscuits and Neapolitan Chocolate

Children, chocolate, Christmas, snacks

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Joe & Seph, the famous gourmet popcorn makers, are branching out into new gift treats this year, bringing out more goodies for Christmas and beyond. Not just popcorn, but gifts including these shortbread biscuits and Neapolitan chocolates, suitable for a whole range of events, not just when Santa arrives!

Both the biscuits and chocolates arrive in large packets, set for the mass market of party bags, wedding favours and even offices where guests are greeted by the Joe & Seph favourites. Popcorn has been popular as a snack whilst watching TV for years, but it has now found itself in mainstream snacking with weddings using popcorn as favours at the end of the day. Well, the Joe & Seph chocolates work just as well with the gifting opportunities. I was sent some to try, and they reminded me of the chocolates you get in pillows of posh hotels! The shortbreads biscuits are reminiscent of afternoon meetings with clients where you bring out the cups and saucers at work and have a proper cup of tea!

The Neapolitan chocolates come in packets of 100 and are individually wrapped. They’re great for sharing at home or at parties and the milk chocolate is made with cocoa and premium ingredients to give a smooth, silky texture and chocolatey taste! The shortbread biscuits are very light – lighter than some of the biscuits on the market. They’re not gritty either, which some shortbread biscuits are and they break rather than crumble, making them easy to eat.

I’m looking forward to seeing whatever treats Joe & Seph come up with next in time for Christmas!

Shortbread Biscuits (40 packs of 2) £20 at: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/gifts/butter-biscuits-pack-20

Neapolitan chocolate (100 pieces) for £28 at: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/gifts/neapolitan-gift-pack

Sentia Spirits Alcohol Free – GABA Red

Birthday Gifts, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Gluten Free, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There are more and more non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ on the market these days and a new one that I’ve come across is the Sentia Spirits GABA Red. GABA Red works on the body’s gaba receptors, mimicking how alcohol affects us but without the side effects. It has zero alcohol content, so it can be used in mocktails or as a mixer without the trigger of having even a trace of alcohol. It’s also vegan friendly, thanks to the organically sourced products.

You can use it just as you would a botanical spirit – straight, in a glass of ice, or as a mixer. It works well with lemonade or a sparkling drink or to make a new cocktail. Neat, it has an herbal taste to it. I personally found it a bit strong on its own, not because it had the ‘alcohol’ taste to it but because the essences of herbal flavours such as magnolia bark and hawthorn berry are not every day tastes to us.

As an alternative to alcohol, it’s just as versatile and you can mix it and drink as much of it as you like. I wouldn’t suggest children try it though, it’s more of an acquired, grown-up taste, but it still gives you that ‘hit’ as if it’s a refreshing alcoholic drink. It’s more expensive than other drinks though and probably more like an alcoholic spirit in price, which is the only downside.

Available from £32 at: https://sentiaspirits.com/products/sentia-red

Steenbergs Loose Leaf Organic English Breakfast and Organic Double Mint Tea

Birthday Gifts, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Tea is one of the most important ‘meals’ of the day in our house, with the morning pot of tea (yes, we use a pot) to replace breakfast. Lately, I’ve been using loose tea for the first pot of the morning to be able to strengthen the flavour and to reduce the plastic waste that can be found in some commercial teabags. Steenbergs sent us some Organic English Breakfast Loose Leaf Tea and Organic Double Mint Tea.

The Steenbergs Organic English Breakfast looks different. I compared it to the loose leaf tea from the supermarket and the Steenbergs leaves are chunkier, whereas the supermarket brands were like dust. This makes a difference to how they are brewed in the teapot because the leaves swell when absorbing water. With finer grains of tea, they swell but the flavour isn’t as full, and you get those particles of tea that collect at the bottom of your cup like a sediment. Steenbergs sent us a tea filter egg to use too, which is great if you’re only making one cup and also prevents some of the sediment. The flavour of the tea is full-bodied, and you don’t need much to make one cup in a pot. I used 1½ teaspoons of tea to make a pot and brewed for only about 3 minutes, which was enough. You can taste the ‘tea’ without there being a scum on top from additives and preservatives.

We also tried to Steenbergs Organic Double Mint Tea. Brewed in the same way in a pot, these leaves are just as substantial and there’s the lovely aroma from the box as you open them! As the afternoon goes on, I like to switch to herbal teas to reduce my caffeine. Mint tea is great for digestion both in the afternoons and after dinner. I found that I didn’t need as much of the Double Mint Tea per pot as I did of the English Breakfast; one teaspoon was enough as it’s really quite potent! The tea is fresh and strong but not acidic and brews nicely, filling the room with the mint scent.

Both are ideal for at home and either a pot of tea or a cup made individually, and make great gifts for tea lovers too!

Available from £3.45 at: https://steenbergs.co.uk

Tom Parker Creamery – Bedtime Milk and Unhomogenised Whole Milk

Children, cruelty-free, Family Life, Food & Drink

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Most of us don’t have a milkman anymore, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have real milk in real glass bottles any longer, not does it mean milk has to be boring! Tom Parker Creamery has a new range of flavoured milks including the Bedtime Milk with chamomile and lavender. Along with some of the Unhomogenised Whole Milk, Tom Parker Creamery sent us some to try out at home.

If you’re not familiar with Tom Parker Creamery’s milk, which can be found in High Street supermarkets such as Tesco and Ocado, then try their Unhomogenised Free-Range Whole Milk, which is in 750ml bottles. This unhomogenised milk has not been through as many processes which break down the fat in the milk, giving it the creamy texture it’s famous for. If you’re interested in other dairy products, Tom Parker Creamery also does creams and iced coffees which can be found on their website. We used the Unhomogenised Whole Milk for both beverages and in cooking, where the fat content is highly useful.

The Tom Parker Creamery Bedtime Milk, which comes in 500ml glass bottles, is fresh whole milk, infused with lavender and chamomile for their sleep-inducing properties. Also added are magnolia extract and valerian root, both of which also help induce sleep and relaxation. This can be drunk at night before bedtime, or as an afternoon beverage such as to make hot chocolate. I found that it actually tastes quite good in tea at any time of the day, with only a slight lavender taste to it but didn’t detract from the taste of the tea. It also made scones more interesting, especially as I was making flavoured scones. The flavour of the chamomile and lavender was very subtle in the scones, but the rich whole milk really helped the scones to turn out well.

There’s more to discover of the Tom Parker Creamery range, all in the knowledge that you’re using free-range animal products from a Somerset based dairy.

Our Range

JOMO Club

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, health, Subscription Boxes, Winter

Disclaimer: We received this box free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts an opinions are our own.

JOMO Club was founded by Richard and Gemma after they grew bored of the limited alcohol-free options found in supermarkets. Wanting something more interesting and better tasting, they left the corporate world behind and created JOMO Club with the aim of making high-quality artisan alcohol-free brands easier to discover. Run as a subscription service, there is the choice of monthly, two monthly or quarterly deliveries which can be paused, skipped or the frequency changed at any time. You’re also not tied into a set period, meaning your subscription can be cancelled at any time.

Each box contains a hand-curated selection of alcohol-free treats designed to introduce members to drinks they’re unlikely to stumble across in the supermarket. The focus is on quality and flavour, with artisan brands that feel and taste completely different to all the supermarket alcohol free drinks available. Each box typically includes one full-sized bottle of an alcohol-free spirit, five or more drinks such as mixers or ready-to-drink cocktails, plus snacks, garnishes and a members’ magazine filled with recipes, serving suggestions and the stories behind the brands.

The boxes are all very well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box an the box I received was the one that was sent out to subscribers in January and included the following products –

• Wilfred’s Aperitivo
• Navas Ginger Beer
• MONTY Lightly Sparkling Elderflower with Lion’s Mane, Reishi and Maitake
• LA Brewery Citrus Kombucha
• MATCH Tonic Water
• Naked Life Ready to Drink Margarita
• Popcorn Shed Chocolate Orange Gourmet Popcorn
• Delicious Pig Snacking Pickles
• The Zest Orange, Cinnamon and Star Anise garnish

The main drink in my box was the full-sized bottle of Wilfred’s Aperitivo. Now this is the sort of drink that tries, quite bravely, to capture that lovely bittersweet magic you normally associate with a proper Italian aperitivo. And it’s fair to say it does a very respectable job indeed, first you taste the sharp bitter orange flavour, then a hint of rhubarb comes through, and there’s a touch of rosemary floating about as well. Right at the end there’s a tiny bit of clove which makes it feel a bit more sophisticated than your average fizzy drink. Splash it over ice, add tonic and a wedge of orange, and suddenly you’ve got something that actually feels like a proper drink rather than just something you’re having because you can’t have the real thing. It’s fresh, a bit sharp, and quite refreshing really. So yes, it turns out you can have something that feels a bit fancy… without ending up with a headache the next morning. Which, if you’ve got work to do the next day, is probably for the best.

The Navas Ginger Beer has a proper ginger kick, warming and slightly spicy rather than overly sweet, which made it ideal with the Wilfred’s Aperitivo. The MATCH Tonic Water is wonderfully crisp and clean and doesn’t try to steal the spotlight but instead lets the flavours of the other drinks shine through, which is exactly what a good tonic should do.

One of the more intriguing discoveries in the box was the MONTY lightly sparkling elderflower drink. Now, I’ll admit that when I saw the ingredient list including Lion’s Mane, Reishi and Maitake mushrooms, I did raise an eyebrow. It sounds slightly like something you’d find in a very enthusiastic health food shop. Not being a fan of mushrooms I was unsure about this one but was actually quite surprised at how nice it tasted, it’s light, floral and delicately sweet with that familiar elderflower freshness and a gentle sparkle.

Another one I really enjoyed was the LA Brewery Citrus Kombucha. Now if you’ve ever had kombucha before you’ll know it’s got a tangy kick to it straight away, and this one’s no different. But the citrus in it really lifts the whole thing. It’s sharp, fresh and properly refreshing, without being overly sweet or heavy like a lot of soft drinks can be. It’s the sort of drink that wakes your taste buds up a bit and actually feels like you’re drinking something interesting rather than just fizzy pop.

Now, I’m quite partial to a Margarita, so when I spotted the Naked Life ready-to-drink Margarita in the box I was pretty pleased about that. And I’ve got to say, it does a surprisingly good job. You get that proper limey sharpness straight away, with a bit of that salty citrus edge you expect from a Margarita. Somehow it manages to taste very close to the real thing, which is quite impressive considering there’s no alcohol in it at all. It’s one of those drinks where you take a sip and think, “Right, yeah… that actually works.”

The snacks were delcious too and the perfect accompaniment to the drinks, the Popcorn Shed chocolate orange popcorn was a real grown up treat – rich, crunchy and indulgent, while the Delicious Pig snacking pickles added a sharp, tangy contrast that paired nicely with the drinks.

There are lots of occasions where alcohol-free drinks just make a lot more sense. Pregnancy, medication, being the one driving everyone home, or simply not fancying a fuzzy head the next morning. For me it’s often a practical thing. I’m usually the one behind the wheel or I know I’ve got an early start the next morning, so having something interesting to pour into a glass makes all the difference. You still get the flavour, the little ritual of mixing a drink, and that feeling that you’re having something a bit celebratory… just without regretting it the next day.

Another bonus is that they’re low in calories too. A quick glance at the labels showed most of the drinks sit at around 60 calories per 250ml, which is quite a bit less than your average glass of wine. So you get all the enjoyment without quite so much of the guilt either.

All in all, JOMO Club is a cracking way to explore the growing world of alcohol-free drinks. It takes the guesswork out of finding the good ones and delivers a box full of interesting things to try – proving you don’t need alcohol to raise a proper toast.

The JOMO box costs £46 for a one off box with discouts of up to 20% available for regular subscriptions. Wine drinkers may prefer the Wine Club box at £43 which contains three bottles of wine along with a tasting card.

Le Bab Restaurant, Soho London

Birthday Gifts, Days Out, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Restaurant

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

In the alleyways between Regents Street and Carnaby Street, you’ll find Kingly Court tucked away where you can’t see it. On the top floor sits Le Bab, the World-influenced kebab restaurant that’s part of a chain across London.

The moody, candlelit atmosphere is far from overlooked thanks to being on the highest floor and overlooking a gallery looking down to the restaurants below. There’s a maximum of 40 covers including the bar and window seats and even when half full there was atmosphere. We started with cocktails, including an incredibly strong Negroni as you can see from the photo!

We ordered the mixed mezze for starter, which included hummus with steamed broccoli and two different naan breads including garlic bread. This was delicious, and could have been a meal in itself! The bread was obviously baked on site because it was so fresh and so warm. The broccoli was not something I’d seen before, as it was arranged like a tree on the plate and cooked whole. We cut off pieces of the broccoli tree, tore up the garlic naan bread and devoured the hummus bare handed.

Next were the mains. I had the Dirty Bab; a chargrilled lamb with chips, piled with pickles, chilli, lamb’s lettuce and mayo. My guest tried the Mixed Grill Kebab with chicken and lamb plus red cabbage, chilli and mayo topped with leaves. Both kebabs were sitting on a flat bread, so you could wrap them up if you wanted to, or cutlery is brought to your table. In both meals, the lamb was incredibly tender and the flavour from the chargrilling was fabulous. The chilli can be on the side, which I’m very glad we both chose to do because it was so hot, but it added yet another layer of flavour to the meal if we wanted to. Both of us had to leave some of our kebab because there was so much!

For dessert, there was a choice of only two items. We could have done with something with ice cream as the chilli was so hot and the meal so filling, but we each had the desserts; baklava and sticky toffee pudding. The STP was extremely light, not heavy and dull like most puddings. It was covered with chocolate sauce, giving the sweetness you crave at the end of a meal. The baklava was also sweet, and as one huge piece, it was a meal on its own.

We enjoyed the meal and the restaurant immensely. There was far too much food in three courses for two people, but I’m glad we got to sample the kebabs as well as the mezze. The mezze alone would have been a great meal, but there’s plenty more on the menu which I could happily have ordered – or maybe I’ll come back another time and sample it!

Le Bab Soho, Top Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby St, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW

https://www.eatlebab.com/soho

Macellaio Italian Steak House, Soho London

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Days Out, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Restaurant, travel, Valentine's Day Gifts

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Right between the Guilgud Theatre and Sondheim Theatre in London’s Soho district, the Macellaio Italian Steak House sits proud on Shaftesbury Avenue. From the outside, the gingham curtains cover diners and hide the depth of the restaurant and what’s inside.

The first glimpse as you venture indoors is the huge meat counter. Rows of steaks ready to be cooked in the kitchen are lined up ready to eat. The restaurant is rustic, as if you are in a restaurant in a non-touristy town somewhere in Tuscany and everyone speaks only Italian, and the lights are low. The tables are arranged in a café style and the centre of the ceiling opens up to the second floor of the restaurant, where you can see more people dining and another bar awaits you.

The menu is a mixture of pasta and grill, with everything on the grill from cheeseburger to T-bone, but of course, the Italian version of T-bone! You can also choose spaghetti or ravioli ragu, like I did. The meats aren’t actually from Italy but from the Lake District, and aged 7 weeks to have the perfect tenderness and marbling. The breeds are a mix of Italian Maremmana and Angus beef to give a depth of texture and flavour. We were treated to a beef tallow dipping candle (as the candle melts, it created a fat reservoir to dip bread into). We also chose the Focaccia al Formaggio, which has a thin base and rich Stracchino cheese.

We were seriously impressed with our meals. They were authentically Italian with homemade, al dente pasta and slow cooked beef ragu which is the quintessential Italian pasta dish not ruined by commercialisation. The cheeseburger was too large to finish, along with the skin-on chips! The Marango cheese on the beef patty melted perfectly into the bun and complimented the beef.

No Italian restaurant can be complete without the tiramisu or profiteroles, and in our case, it was both! The tiramisu was extremely light and fluffy, nothing like the Anglicised version we have in pizza houses today. There was a hint of coffee there but no alcohol to overpower the dish. The profiteroles were also homemade, with lashings of chocolate (but not sweet) sauce over them and filled with an incredibly light cream. We topped off the meal with an Italian coffee, just to add to the authenticity of our visit!

The staff were very welcoming and incredibly attentive throughout the meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant is that of a laid-back, rural Italian salon with moody lighting and candles with the meat counter in the middle of the room which bounces light and the sound around so that you can still talk without being drowned out. There are two other Macellaio restaurants in London (South Kensington and Exmouth Market), which have similar menus. As a concept, eating both steak and Italian cuisine in the same evening is a winner for me!

Macellaio, 39-45 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6LA

https://www.macellaiorc.com

Franci Toscano IGP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Birthday Gifts, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Mother's Day, Summer

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Give the chef in your life a treat to cook with in the Franci Toscano Extra Virgin olive oil from the Artisan Olive Oil Company. We were lucky enough to be sent a sample to try this spring just in time for Easter Sunday!

Franci Toscano Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced from the 2024/2025 harvest of Tuscan olives, with the slightly spicy olive oil leaving a bitterness reminiscent of Italy’s ancient olive varieties. The fresh taste of Franci Toscano can be used in cooking or the unique flavours are especially useful in dishes such as salads, pasta or seafood. I used it neat over a salad and it works particularly well in a salad dressing where the full flavour can be enjoyed. You could also use this to dip bread into, combined with the Artisan Olive Oil Company’s selection of balsamic vinegars.

The Franci Toscano IGP Extra Virgin Olive Oil has already won several awards;

Flos Olei 2025: Maximum score of 100 points

Flos Olei 2019: 99 points, named World’s Best Olive Oil Mill
New York International Olive Oil Competition 2020: Gold Medal winner
Selezione Regionale Oli extravergini DOP e IGP 2020: Awarded
Ercole Olivario 2019 National Competition: Finalist

The blend of olive oil comes from a variety of olives including Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino, and Olivastra which are grown and blended on the Frantoio Franci estate near Montalcino by Giorgio Franci, who continues growing and producing olive oil after his father Fernando Franci who started the business.

Taking into account the price of £21.95 for a litre, this is an exceptional oil, grown authentically in Italy and produced to a very high, award winning standard. Serious chefs and lovers of all things Italian will love this olive oil and add it to their collection like a fine wine. I have already added it to my daily salad and seafood cooking and loved using it so far.

Available from £21.95: https://www.artisanoliveoilcompany.co.uk/products/franci-toscano-igp-extra-virgin-olive-oil-500ml?variant=55597487456634

Nutty Pistachio Tiramisu Cake

Birthday Gifts, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Tiramisu, with its layers of sponge laced with coffee and alcohol, is my absolute favourite pudding. Our local Italian does a mean version, but I’ve struggled to find an authentic version in the shops, so I didn’t need asking twice when Cake Box asked if we would like to try their Nutty Pistachio Tiramisu Cake.

This is not your average cake – when you cut into it you find a beautifully light, moist sponge, generously layered with a silky tiramisu spread. The sides are decorated with tiramisu rich chocolate shavings and tiramisu cream, giving it an indulgent allure. The cake can also be personalised with a special message when ordering, making it perfect as a birthday or celebration cake.

The top of the cake is piped with velvety pistachio cream topped with mini flakes, a glossy drizzle of pistachio sauce, nibbed pistachios and extra chocolate shavings. It’s decorative without being over the top and would make a nice centrepiece at a birthday party.

Flavour-wise, it more than delivers – the sponge is perfectly soaked, striking the perfect balance of coffee and booze. The sponge is light, airy and very tasty and it’s the sort of cake where one slice is never enough!!

Although it’s best enjoyed within 24 hours, we kept ours in the fridge for a couple of days and the sponge stayed beautifully soft and light, tasting just as good as it did when first sliced.

We loved the Nutty Pistachio Tiramisu Cake, the addition of pistachio is a clever, indulgent twist on a classic dessert. If you love tiramisu and pistachio as much as I do, this one is well worth a forkful.

With over 250 locations nationwide there’s bound to be one near you and for those who need a cake in a hurry their Click & Collect service lets you order and collect a cake within an hour. Ideal for last-minute birthdays, celebrations, or sudden cake cravings. All of their cakes are completely egg free, reflecting the founders’ strict lacto-vegetarian diet.

RRP from £26.99 for a 6” cake available here