The Q Guild of Butchers is celebrating the success of its members for their recognition as makers of the best sausages in the UK, following the results of the UK Sausage Week 2018 Awards.

Particular recognition has been given to Supreme Sausage Champion and member of the Q Guild of Butchers, Frank Parker Butchers of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, who was awarded the title for his Free Range Pork Breakfast Sausage. The clutch of accolades achieved by Q Guild Butchers affirms the membership organisation’s status as representing some of the very best butchers in the country.

The awards recognised excellence for traditional and innovative sausages in ten regional categories. Independent Q Guild butchers won across five of these categories with Frank Parker Butchers awarded the coveted overall prize. There was additional recognition for Best Foodservice Sausage; Best Manufacturer of Own Brand Sausages; and Best Supermarket/Multiple Retailer Sausage.

The awards are organised by Meat Management magazine and were announced at a celebratory lunch at Plaisterers’ Hall, London on 29th October.

The winning Q Guild butchers comprise:

• Best Independent Butcher: South East:
  Traditional – Patrick Strainge Butchers – Old Traditional (Bampton, Oxfordshire)
• Best Independent Butcher: West Midlands:
  Traditional – Frank Parker Butchers – Free Range Pork Breakfast Sausage (Nuneaton, Warwickshire)
• Best Independent Butcher: East Midlands:
  Traditional – Ginger Butchers – Prime Pork Sausage (Bakewell, Derbyshire)
• Best Independent Butcher: North East:
  Traditional – Elite Meat Ltd – Traditional Pork Sausage (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)
• Best Independent Butcher: North West:
  Traditional – G Callaghan & Son – Thin Pork Sausages (Liverpool, Merseyside)
• UK Supreme Sausage Champion: Frank Parker Butchers – Free Range Pork Breakfast Sausage (Nuneaton, Warwickshire)

The Q Guild is a seal of excellence marking Britain’s best butchers. The Q Guild represents an elite group of the finest quality independent meat retailers in Britain and is synonymous with skills, craftsmanship and above all, quality.

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For further information please contact Martha Bryce at Sound Bite PR on 07905 761 525 or email martha@soundbitepr.co.uk

Raberta Hall-McCarron from The Little Chartroom, takes home Young British Foodies Chef Award 2018

 September 28^th 2018: The coveted Young British Foodies Chef of 2018 was awarded to Roberta Hall-McCarron, head chef at The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh, at an awards ceremony last night. The restaurant is a neighbourhood-style bistro which opened its doors earlier this summer with Roberta in the kitchen and Shaun, her husband, managing front of house. Named The Little Chartroom after Roberta’s love of sailing, the bijou 16 cover dining room delights customers with its laid-back atmosphere and delicious, simple and seasonal food.

Roberta spent three years working at Michelin starred The Kitchin before assisting mentor Dominic Jack in the opening of Castle Terrace, where she worked for six years and where she went onto become head chef. Prior to The Kitchin, Roberta trained at a number of restaurants in Edinburgh before spending a year and a half working at The Burj al Arab in Dubai.  She was the only Scot to make the final list of winners.

The judging for the YBF’s, which took place at Leith’s School of cookery earlier this year, had the following industry heavyweights on the panel; Nuno Mendes, James Lowe, James Knapett, Lisa Markwell and Camilla Schneideman.

Founded by Amy Thorne (founder of TASTE PR), journalist Chloe Scott-Moncrieff and Lily Jones (AKA Lily Vanilli), the YBFs – now in its seventh year – was set up to fill a gap in the food and drink awards arena; seeking out and celebrating the grassroots talent of the industry – the unsung heroes who deserve to be championed.

Roberta speaks of her award win:

“I was over the moon to find out that I’d won the award last night, I wasn’t expecting it in the slightest, especially with the competition so high this year. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team at the restaurant, and of course my amazing husband Shaun who has supported me every step of the way. The last few months have been a whirlwind with the restaurant opening and we are delighted that it’s been such a success – I’m looking forward to getting back in the kitchen today and doing what I love.”

www.thelittlechartroom.com

The Little Chartroom, 30/31 Albert Place, Edinburgh, EH7 5HN

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For further press information and images please contact:

jessica@soundbitepr.co.uk  / 0131 283 8275

Real life ethical Wonka company, Cox & Co, is a brand new range of chocolate bars, blended with superfoods to bring you fantastic taste and natural health benefits to make you feel ferocious! The family owned company has undertaken a mission to create feel-good, responsibly produced chocolate which is as good for you as it tastes in distinct bars: Coconut & chia  seed,  Bee  pollen & honey, Raw cacao  nibs and Single origin pure cacao.

Each bar is made using single origin cacao sourced directly from farmers at the CasaLuker Estate in Colombia and blended with complementary superfood flavours to create a truly unique chocolate with taste and sustainability at its heart.

The Cox & Co bars comes in 35g and 70g bars, from milky 37% cacao content up to 100% dark chocolate.

• Coconut  and  chia  seed  – 37% cacao, suitable for vegetarians
• First  eaten  by  the  Aztecs,  the  ancient  grain  chia  has  a  myriad  of  health  benefits  that  include  being  an  excellent  source  of  omega-3,  as  well  as  being  naturally  high  in  protein  and  calcium.  Paired  with  the  nuttiest  coconut,  the  balanced  flavours  make  for  a  truly  unique  and  indulgent  bar  of  chocolate.
• Bee  pollen  and  honey  – 61% cacao, suitable for vegetarians
• The  benefits  of  bee  pollen  are  certainly  causing  a  buzz,  as  it’s  naturally  nutritionally  dense  and  packed  with  eighteen  vitamins  including  a  B  complex,  amino  acids,  fatty  acids,  enzymes,  and  is  at  least  25%  protein.  Combined  with  the  natural  sweetness  of  honey,  this  bar  is  packed  with  golden  nuggets  of  goodness.
• Raw cacao  nibs  – 85% cacao, suitable for vegans
• Raw  cacao  is  the  superhero  of  chocolate,  and  has  bundles  of  health  benefits.  Raw  cacao  and  flavonoid-rich  chocolate  have  3  times  the  anti-oxidant  levels  than  blueberries,  and  we  all  know  that  chocolate  makes  both  head  and  heart  feel  better…  If  there  were  ever  a  need  to  love  chocolate  even  more.
• Single origin pure cacao – 100% cacao, suitable for vegans
• This bar simply lets the world’s finest cacao do the talking…

Cox & Co founder  Gavin Cox, spent much of his youth in South America, and was naturally drawn back when it came to sourcing cacao for his new range of superfood chocolate. Gavin knew that to create the best tasting chocolate, above all else he had to use the best cacao in the world, and it had to be produced as ethically and sustainably as possible, which led him to the CasaLuker estate in Colombia.

CasaLuker is a large Colombia-based family owned business that has now been an established chocolate manufacturer for 110 years. Invests in its farmers and communities and has developed environmental farming methods, meaning that Cox & Co could ensure all of its cacao was traceable and tasted incredible. Cox & Co not only tastes delicious, with fantastic natural flavour combinations, but it’s a bar of chocolate that you can feel good about.

Cox & Co come as 35g and 70g bars, and are available on coxandcocacao.com for £2 and £4.

For more information connect with the team on Instagram  @coxcacao

www.coxandcocacao.com

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For press enquiries please contact Hannah Bradley or  Jessica Sneddon at Sound Bite PR 

E: hannah@soundbitepr.co.uk /  Jessica@soundbitepr.co.uk or call 0131 283 8275

Michelin-starred The Cellar launches new nine course menu

Billy Boyter, chef patron at Fife’s Michelin-starred The Cellar in Anstruther is changing things up at the restaurant this October by moving to just one nine course menu. From 4 October guests will be served a set menu designed to showcase the very best seasonal produce sourced close to the East Neuk restaurant celebrating, in particular, the fish and seafood brought into the village harbour.

The restaurant, which has been on the site, a former smokehouse and cooperage, for over 30 years, was formerly run by legendary Scottish chef Peter Jukes. Following his death in 2013, Billy, who was head chef at Michelin starred Number One in Edinburgh, but who grew up 10 minutes away in neighbouring Cellardyke saw the opportunity to carry on The Cellar’s outstanding culinary heritage. He re-opened it in 2014, retaining the name and achieved a Michelin star the following year.

Since then Billy has made The Cellar his own and retained the accolade from Michelin through his “delicious, deftly prepared dishes”.  His new menu offers seasonal Scottish produce and locally foraged ingredients from the local coastline and countryside that are thoughtfully brought together on the plate with a modern touch.

Billy says:

“It’s a bold move to a nine course menu, but one I am excited by and  am confident it will enable us to deliver an even better dining experience to our customers. By refining the menu and the dishes down it allows us more time to research, create and design great tasting plates of food.”

The new nine course menu:

Aged Luing Beef, Allium, Smoked Yolk

Smoked Argyle Mussel Mousse, Dabberlocks, Dill Pickle

Ox Tongue, 36 Month Parmesan, Wiltshire Truffle

Sharpes Express Potato, Arbroath Smokie, Crowdie, Scots Lovage

North Sea Halibut, Cockles, Onion & Garlic Shoot Broth, Verbena

Gartmorn Farm Duck, Pear, Hearts, Jerusalem Artichoke

(St Andrews Mature Cheddar, Lanark Blue, Honeycomb, Pickled Walnut, Fruit Bread)

(optional £12)

Apple & Hay Custard, Sea Buckthorn

Toasted Spelt Mousse, Chocolate, Bramble, Rosemary

Menu £70

Wine Pairing £55

To book call 01333 310378 or email thecellarrestaurant@outlook.com

Dinner: Wednesday – Sunday 6.30pm – 9pm

Lunch: Friday – Sunday 12.30pm – 1.45pm

www.thecellaranstruther.co.uk

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For press enquiries please contact Sound Bite PR:

jessica@soundbitepr.co.uk / 0131 283 8275

Sound Bite PR celebrates: six months in, 26 clients and a team of six

Just six months after starting Sound Bite PR, the Scotland based agency focusing on food, drink and hospitality, Jessica Sneddon and Martha Bryce are celebrating after a string of client wins.

Specialising in PR and marketing support for businesses across the UK, Sound Bite PR has recently taken on Michelin starred restaurant, The Cellar, Edinburgh’s longest running independent catering firm, Appetite Direct, and The Shilling Group of pubs, bringing their client list up to 26. The agency works with clients from  across Britain ranging from Edinburgh restaurants like Fhior and The Little Chartroom; and AA five gold star  Restaurant with Rooms Pentonbridge Inn in Cumbria; to the Q Guild of Butchers, which represents 120 butchers across the UK; and Midlands-based Montrose Chocolate Ventures.

With offices in Fife and Edinburgh, Jessica and Martha have, between them, over thirty years in hospitality, tourism and food and drink PR and have a strong UK-wide focus.  They’re supported by a team of six other specialists in marketing, social media and PR in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

Martha said:

“There’s been a real appetite from the industry for our services and we’ve seen terrific growth in our first six months. We’re delighted to be working with a range of inspiring businesses across the UK – from butchers in the south west of England to clients in the Highlands.  We want to tell the stories behind these businesses with creativity and integrity.  Food and drink is something we feel passionately about we’re in a strong position communicate this.”

Martha had previously run Martha Bryce PR, while Jessica founded Charlotte & Joseph – both majoring on PR support for food, drink and tourism businesses.

Find out more information at www.soundbitepr.co.uk.

 

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For more information, contact Martha Bryce (martha@soundbitepr.co.uk / 07905 761 525) or Jessica Sneddon (Jessica@soundbitepr.co.uk / 07815 793 207).

New restaurant serving contemporary food with a Chilean flavour and fine wines

 Edinburgh’s thriving restaurant scene has welcomed its newest member, 83 Hanover Street. This is the first dining project from former Gleneagles restaurant manager and owner of acclaimed Edinburgh bar 99 Hanover Street Juan Jose Castillo Castro. Juan, and his partner Vanessa Alfano are set to bring a unique culinary blend of Scottish produce with Chilean flavours to the city.

83 Hanover Street offers a modern menu of small plates showcasing fabulous Scottish ingredients prepared simply and playing tribute to Juan’s multicultural upbringing with influences of Chilean and Swedish cuisine.

The menu, created by chef Ross Clarke, celebrates bold and rich flavours presented across an array of small plates, ideal for sharing. There is a focus on bespoke charcuterie created by East Coast Cured, which hangs on display at the open kitchen and bar, as well as an emphasis on citrus cured seafood and grilled cuts of meat. Other dishes on the menu will include Sopaipillas, a Chilean pumpkin bread, quinoa salads and Juan’s mother’s empanadas which she personally taught the chefs to make. Specials will be added regularly offering the freshest local produce available that week.

The food is accompanied by a selection of wines made using traditional cellar practices, as well as some natural ones, from Europe and South America that have been carefully chosen by Pete Brodie (former restaurant manager at Timberyard) and will be available by the glass and carafe. There are also takes on traditional cocktails with a twist including classic Chilean Pisco drinks.

83 Hanover Street seats 50 with a bar as its focal point, presenting the opportunity for counter top dining. The interiors convey a contemporary, rustic feel; distressed walls complement dark wood detailing and copper lighting, and contrast with burnt orange and yellow leather banquette seating. The bar seat seven where guests can enjoy their meal next to the buzz of the open kitchen and charcuterie counter – a great spot for those stopping for a quick bite and drink, and perfect for the solo diner at the counter top.

A buzzy, vibrant space attracting discerning diners in the heart of the city, 83 Hanover Street is sure to be one of Edinburgh’s hottest openings of 2018.

For more information and to book, please visit www.83hanoverstreet.com or email: info@83hanoverstreet.com

Follow them on social media @83HanoverStreet / https://www.facebook.com/83HanoverStreet/

 

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For press enquiries please contact Sound Bite PR:

jessica@soundbitepr.co.uk / 0131 283 8275