The FoodTalk Show

Going nuts about South America

Tom Spillane of Andean Sol talks chia and Hiromi Stone discusses Kinomi Nuts

 

In a week where the big department stores started to release their much-hyped Christmas adverts, we had another podcast which was perfect to get people excited for the weekend – with two products that you may not have discovered just yet.

Sue Nelson and Guy Routledge snuck away almost instantly from the studio, and seemed to be booking flight tickets for South America. That’ll be because they enjoyed learning all about the continent thanks to Tom Spillane at Andean Sol – they’ve recently made the decision to sell their chia seeds and Royal Quinoa to consumers rather than business. Find out all about the journey.

From quinoa to nuts (what a healthy show this week), we revisited one of our favourite guests from the past. We’ve heard from Hiromi Stone in the past, but it was good to have a proper catch-up and learn about Kinomi Nuts’ progress.

***Reminder – Entries for The FoodTalk Awards are open. The application doesn’t take too long, so what are you waiting for?***

 

FoodTalk hits the road

This week we were delighted to be invited to the home of Pinky Lilani & the wonderful sparkling wine estate of Squerryes 

 

Just like interest rates aren’t fixed, The FoodTalk Show isn’t restricted to just the four walls of our Euston Tower studio. Our presenters are frequent travellers and this week you get to hear what they get up to.

Sue Nelson met two fantastic individuals – both from different backgrounds and both with a different story to tell.

First up, in leafy Surrey, Sue arrived at the door of Pinky Lilani. She’s an author, motivational speaker, food expert, women’s advocate and even holds an OBE. This very influential individual gave us the lowdown of her journey in the food industry, which includes visits to Wimpy and interesting ploys to sell her cookbook.

From Surrey to the Garden of England, Sue then met Henry Warde. Henry is the man in charge of Squerryes – they have been making sparkling wine for over 300 years from their estate and are one of the success stories behind a resurgent wine scene in the UK. Sue was delighted to be given a tour of their vineyard and then escaped the windy conditions to have a nice tasting.

Guy Routledge of The Food Rush and Ollie Lloyd of Great British Chefs were both gutted to miss this one.

Chocolate & cheese perfection

Patricia Michelson from La Fromagerie and the 5D Chocolatiers hold an on-air tasting

 

If you were to poll the nation on their favourite foods we’re pretty sure that chocolate and cheese would both feature somewhere – probably quite highly – in the top 10. As a result, we were wonderfully lucky to have two businesses at the top of their trade in cheese and chocolate.

Guy Routledge from The Food Rush chose the right date to return from a lengthy holiday, while there was nowhere else that Sue Nelson would rather be. 

Now, if you’re a cheese fan, you need to visit La Fromagerie – Sue is a regular in the famous London shops and it’s easy to see why. Armed with an array of various heavenly treats, Patricia Michelson told us the story behind her success and how a skiing disaster started the journey.

So, from the very best of cheese around the world, we went for the most brilliant and bizarre chocolate that we’d ever tasted. 

We already knew about Russell Pullan and Albert Chau from Fifth Dimension Chocolates, but even they surprised us with their offerings in the studio this time. Sticking with a cheesy theme, we tasted their new Brie flavour, as well Banana & Cardamom and Blackcurrant & Pernot. These guys are crazy, brilliantly crazy.

 

 

Willie wonders for a happy tummy

Although we didn’t know it before going on-air, we celebrated International Gin & Tonic Day (the best day, ever) with a show full of amazing goodies. Sue Nelson and Ollie Lloyd love this job.

First up, we had one of our favourite chocolate producers. If you saw his Channel 4 documentary on his story, you will have seen that Willie Harcourt-Cooze knows his chocolate inside out. This is demonstrated perfectly through his Willie’s Cacao range. Great stuff.

The chocolate put us in a bit of a cocoa coma, but luckily, we had a shot of energy from one of the companies that we interviewed at the Speciality Show. Mina Price has developed a hugely uplifting Naturshot which is definitely worth trying.

Our last guest is on a mission to rid the world of IBS. Karen O’Donoghue has created some marvellous Chia Teff Loaves which taste beautiful – the perfect treat for anyone but sespecially for those who suffer poor gut health.

Capsicana from Copacabana

Foraging For a Food Fix

As part of the nation geared up to get their chops around a new gut-busting KFC burger, Sue Nelson and Ollie Lloyd were far more excited with the guests in front of them in the new FoodTalk studio. 

With Guy Routledge on holiday, Sue and Ollie were quite relieved to find they had an extra portion of beetroot ketchup to try. How sly of them. Being sly is the nature of the game for a Foraging Fox though. Frankie Fox told us all about the story behind her award-winning products.

Taking a break from beetroot, we sampled another product which takes the taste buds by surprise. We heard back from Chirag Karia of Ninas Popcorn – this isn’t any old popcorn brand though…find out what we mean from our Speciality Show interview.

Having tried all of the food offerings in the studio, we were a bit full and decided to go technical instead. Vaiva Kalnikaitė is a bit of an expert when it comes to 3D food printing and her company Nu Food have created an amazing printer.

Getting smart with food

That classic British conversation topic is back: “Aren’t those nights starting to draw in?” Don’t worry though, we had a show that made Sue Nelson and Guy Routledge excited about that cosy winter feeling.  

The first of our winter warmers arrived in the form of some fantastic soup, a soup that you will have heard of. John Stapleton was part of the team that founded the New Covent Garden Soup Company and he turned it into the household name that it is today. He’s now turning his hand to baby food too. Listen back to piece the jigsaw together.

From one product to keep you warm, we had another to keep you sane. The Speciality and Fine Food Fair was full to the brim of fantastic chocolate producers and we spoke to Adam’s Raw Chocolates who made us grin.

Laziness is another core element of the winter vibe. Steven May is part of the team at Smarter Applications – you may have heard about their labour-saving wifi kettle and wifi coffee machine already, but they are getting even more techy with a fridge selfie camera… You’d better find out more.

Holla at the plastic plonkers

After two weeks of superb specials from the Speciality Show, FoodTalk returned to its trusted and tested format in our comfy studio. Sue Nelson and Guy Routledge had been getting withdrawal symptoms, so it was good to be back.

To get us back into the swing of things, we had a topic which certainly got the debate flowing. Staggeringly, by 2050, the weight of plastic in the oceans will outweigh that of fish. Sian Sutherland is determined to turn the tide – she founded the ‘A Plastic Planet’ movement. Their goal? They want supermarkets to offer a plastic-free aisle.

From one sustainability project to another, we attended Disco Soup last week and what an event it was. Steve Griffiths and James Sloan went over to Mercato Metropolitano to find what the craic was; saving wasted vegs, feeding mouths, listening to Ministry of Sound tunes – lovely stuff.

We had enough to shout about for an hour but we simply had to holla at Adam Beveridge. He’s created a fantastic Snapchat-story style app called Hollabox which is whittling down the best places to eat, drink, chill and generally just enjoy existence in London.

Kitsch

There are always a few butterflies when you try something new for the first time. A Rhubarb & Basil soda certainly falls into that category.

We didn’t need to worry when we tried Kitsch’s products – we also enjoyed the cucumber & fennel offering. The drinks were amazingly refreshing and Craig Johnston has every reason to feel proud.

Don’t let these pass you by! Get your hands on these tasty offering by listening to the podcast and visiting the website.

 

 

Ninas Popcorn

We were a bit worried when we saw Ninas – we thought they might be similar to a lot of brands at the Speciality Show, but just one bite proved us wrong.

Chirag Karia came to our pod armed with his naturally nutricious superfood popcorn. It’s all plant-based and they’ve been experimenting with some fantastic flavours – have you ever had a popcorn that left a sizzling taste on the tongue?

If you’re intrigued (you should be), you need to find out more by heading to their website and listening back to the podcast.

 

Kold Group

When you are exhibiting at a trade show for three days, it’s handy to have a tasty alcoholic exhibitor in close proximity.

Luckily, we had exactly that with Kold Group at the Speciality Show. They own two premium alcoholic drink brands; Kold Cocktails and Kalosa Natural Spritz. Both are all-natural drinks that are crafted using only the finest ingredients – they taste pretty damn fine too.

Hear all about the journey that Tori Sotiropoulos has undertaken by listening to the podcast and visiting the website.

Nut Blend

If you’re nuts about staying healthy, we found a company at the Speciality Show that may well be of interest to you.

We met Gabriella Block who’s the woman behind Nut Blend. They have created some deluxe nut butters that look and taste amazing. It’s not just peanuts either; they are creating them with almonds, cashews, macadamia, maca and pecans. More nuts than you could shake a pack of nuts at.

They’re free-from all nasties too. You should really check these guys out by listening to the podcast and heading over to the website.

 

NaturShot

Life in the working world can be tough. You stay focused at the office and then you crash out on the sofa when you should be relaxing.

Mina Price had exactly the same trouble – so she decided to fight fatigue with a product that is wowing the food world. It packs a punch – it’s Naturshot. It is a great range of 100% juice blends that are low in calories and boast unique flavours.

Find out how to boost your levels up by listening to the podcast and whizzing over to the website.

Nix & Kix

Speciality & Fine Food Fair is full of grown-up goodies, which is always a good thing. 

We sampled cordials, oysters and chocolate that ticked all the boxes, but amongst all of the choices of soft drinks, we found a really good one in Nix & Kix. The brand, who have got themselves into Waitrose and Selfridges, let us taste some wonderful cans of Peach Vanilla, Mango Ginger and Cucumber Mint.

Find out more about these adult soft drinks by visiting their website and listening to the podcast.

Adams Raw Chocolates

Cold-pressed…we’ve heard of cold-pressed juices but our chat with Adam was our first experience of cold-pressed chocolates. 

More and more people are giving the raw diet a serious chance – it’s supposed to be extremely good for you. Like with every diet though, you need a treat and that’s exactly why Mark Claydon is so excited by the company who were making a splash at the Speciality Show.

Cold-pressed chocolate could be the future. Jump on to the bandwagon by visiting the website and checking out more online.

 

Neats Snacks

We love the Speciality Show, we always find some cracking stuff and Andy Renton’s Neat’s Snacks were just that.

Basically, they’re rice crackers – but they have a big twist. The humdrum flavours were nowhere to be seen, as Neat’s Snacks boasted some flavours to make your nose run. How many times have you had Wasabi, Hot Thai chilli or Smokey Barbeque on a rice cracker?

Broaden your rice cracker horizons by heading over to their website here and listening to the podcast here.

Revolicious

It can be difficult to eat good food on the go. The snack aisle is particularly dangerous with all the tempting (but unhealthy) treats.

We heard from one company who are looking to make that snack aisle seem a lot nicer. Sarah Barac is having a great time with her company Revolicious, they make lovely and healthy bowls which have a manner of goodies inside.

If you want to snack healthy, you should check out the Revolicious website and listen to the podcast.

Speciality and Fine Food 2017 (part 2)

There were too many fantastic companies at the Speciality & Fine Food Show, so much so that one hour just didn’t cover it.

Alas, we’re back with another special episode which covers our highlights from the second day at Olympia. Variety is a key theme again, this time you’ll hear about everything from an anti-ageing Gin to a cheese & cracker flavoured chocolate. We may even be getting a letter from a Premier League footballer’s lawyer too. Fun times.

FoodTalk returns to its normal format next week, but for now enjoy this episode.

Speciality and Fine Food 2017

It had been in our diary for quite some time and we were like children at Christmas when the day finally came to set up our recording pod at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair. 

We had two fantastic days of interviews and the first of two hour-long specials are here for your enjoyment. Sue Nelson and Guy Routledge picked their highlights from day one at the show.

From oysters and eggs to Earl Grey ice lollies, we have quite the mixed bag for you to enjoy. Come back next week to hear more from the show.

Tea world is your oyster

The Great British Bake Off returned to our screens this week, albeit controversially. Sponsors, adverts, a new line-up. Yuk (we’ll all still be watching next week though).

 We don’t have to worry about that nonsense with The FoodTalk Show. Sue Nelson and Guy Routledge won’t be doing a Mary Berry on us anytime soon – they love the goodies too much. 

To kick us off we heard from Sophia Nadur. She is one of the few people to produce a Great Taste Award-winning green tea. The fantastic Tg Green Teas have found a perfect superfruit balance; they have a hot and cold range too.

From green tea to oysters (we love our mixed bags), Sue left the Big Smoke to head for the Kent coast and landed at Wheelers Oyster Bar in Whitstable. Here we heard her chat with Head Chef Mark Stubbs who is a bit of an oyster whizz.

Moving on… For the next fortnight, the show will have a slightly different format – we’ll have two hour-long Speciality and Fine Food Fair special episodes. Why? Well, it’s one of the most popular food trade expos in the country. In preparation, we heard from the Event Organisor Kara Bowen.