Spoon HQ

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Sophie Conran's Pie Stockists

Sainsbury's are the first to sign up!

From 29 November Sophie Conran's Pies will be available in the following Sainsbury's stores:

Alperton
Alton
Badger Farm
Bagshot Rd
Balham
Banbury
Beaconsfield
Beckenham
Bromley
Brookwood
Burpham
Bybrook
Calcot
Chesham
Chichester
Chislehurst
Clapham
Cobham
Dartford
Dulwich
East Grinstead
Enfield
Farnham
Finchley Rd
Fulham
Godalming
Greenwich
Haywards Heath
Heyford Hill
High Wycombe
Hitchin
Horsham
Islington
Kidlington
Kiln Lane
Kingston
Ladbroke Grove
Larkfield
Leatherhead
Lewes Rd
Locksbottom
London Colney
Lyons Farm
Milton Keynes
New Barnet
Nine Elms
North Cheam
Pepper Hill
Pinner
Putney
Redhill
Richmond
Selsdon
Sevenoaks
South Woodford
St Clares
Staines
Sury Basin
Taplow
Tonbridge
Tooting
Tunbridge Wells
Walton
Wandsworth
Wantage
Warlingham
Watchmoor Park
Water Lane
West Ealing
Wimbledon
Winchmore Hill
Winnersh
Witney

Sophie Conran seeks time-poor pie lovers





When Sophie launched her gourmet pie company in 2004 her intention was always to sell through the supermarkets, not just the elite food halls.

On 29 November 2006 two delicious Sophie Conran pies will be launched in nationwide in Sainsbury’s top 80 stores.

A number of steps had to be taken to convince the national chains to buy into her dream. Sophie’s small production kitchen in South London was never going to be able to cope with the demand so a new partner had to be selected. After scouring the country, she found a company in the heart of the countryside that worked with the supermarkets but sourced the best possible ingredients, many from local farmers. Over a year in development, these recipes use only products you would find in Sophie’s home kitchen.


In the interest of achieving the keenest possible price the china bowl of the gourmet pies was given the elbow, but not Sophie’s high standards. She insisted that a product bearing her name should meet her ideal of quality.

“Unfortunately, I believe quality comes at a price. Before I embarked on this adventure I did acres of research into pies and was very disappointed in terms of what was available on the market. I personally wouldn’t necessarily trust the ingredients put into other pies. I believe a pie is a beautiful thing and should be made with the best ingredients’
The pies do not contain any artificial colours or flavourings, the puff pastry is made using non-hydrogenated fat, tender pieces of British beef are sourced from specially selected suppliers and the chickens are carefully roasted in-house.

The first two products in the range – a Beef, button mushroom and red wine pie and a Roasted chicken, chermola (Moroccan herb and spice mixture) and preserved lemon pie, both topped with puff pastry – will be launched in Sainsbury’s at an introductory price of £4.99 (after 6 weeks this will increase to £5.99). They will be sold from the chilled cabinet and can be frozen at home.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Skye says "cheese"

Monday 20th November
7.00pm-9.30pm

La Fromagerie
Moxon St, W1

LA FROMAGERIE, which supplies cheeses and other seasonal ingredients to Petersham Nurseries, is hosting a book party at their Marylebone shop on Monday 20th November. The evening will including a tasting of dishes from her book, and of course Skye will be there, hiding in the corner or the kitchen!

Tickets for this special one-off event will be £25.00. Ticket holders will also be entitled to 10% off any purchases made at La Fromagerie on the night, including signed copies of Skye’s book.

To Book: please telephone La Fromagerie directly: 0207 935 0341

www.lafromagerie.co.uk

A Year in My Kitchen Feast

Skye's Winter Feast

Saturday 25th November
at
Petersham Nurseries Cafe

Skye Gyngell will be preparing a gargantuan feast; a tasting menu featuring dishes from her book - A Year in My Kitchen. However Skye being Skye, she's bound not to stop there. The menu will also feature new favourites from the current season.

Wines for the event will be selected by Les Caves de Pyrene, who share Petersham Nurseries commitment to small producers by working with independent wine makers whose wines express the real terroir of their style and origin.

A limited number of places are available for this informal, family-style lunch as we celebrate another year at Petersham with family and friends.

Tickets are £75.00/person inclusive of four courses, wine and coffee.

TO BOOK: Bookings are accepted upon receipt of payment, either by:

• Calling Petersham Nurseries Cafe directly on 0208 605 3627

or

email:
cafe@petershamnurseries.com

www.petershamnurseries.com

Friday, November 03, 2006

Jared Ingersoll of Danks Street Depot in London, Monday 6 November


Not content to have one of the busiest restaurants in Sydney, Jared has put pen to paper and collated some sensational recipes for his first book, The Danks Street Depot Cookbook. A celebration of flavours, it includes Jared’s favourite recipes from the restaurant as well as special, formerly secret, combinations.

One of the coolest, hidden treasures of Sydney (it’s well off the beaten tourist track) Danks Street Depot was established in February 2002 by Melanie Starr & Jared Ingersoll. In preparing his menu, Jared takes the best that the markets have to provide and then offers his customers beautiful, unfussy and approachable dishes. Australian Vogue declared Danks Street Depot a “must”, critics heaped praise upon this urban gem, and Australia’s leading restaurant awards the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Awards declared “the depot”, Sydney’s Best Café just a year after it opened.

Before setting up Danks Street Depot, Jared worked with in London with Philip Howard at the two Michelin starred restaurant The Square. His classical training is frequently concealed from the casual diner as his creations appear to be so simple and spontaneous but his enormous skill is a wonderful trick. Take his salted, spiced & roasted whole duck. A seemingly simple roast is revealed in his book as artfully prepared, using kitchen wisdom and food knowledge. Ingersoll calls it “how to roast a duck and have time for your wife”. It also happens to be, as he writes, “almost impossible to stuff up”.