Win an Egg-stra Special Giant Chocolate Egg

If you’ve given up chocolate for lent, we’ve found the ideal way to break the fast come Easter Sunday!

We’re raffling off a giant, handmade milk chocolate egg to raise much needed funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Weighing almost 8.5kg, this is an egg even the Easter bunny would struggle to carry. For just £1 a ticket, the egg, which would retail at £240, will go to one lucky winner, with the prize draw being made on Easter Saturday.

The egg has been specially hand-crafted by the Little Chocolate Shop in Leyburn, and took four days to complete. Due to its size, each half was moulded in Belgian chocolate three times to give it enough strength to retain its shape. It was then joined together with more chocolate, and left to set, before decorating.

There’s enough to keep even a chocoholic happy for weeks, and it’s really delicious, high quality Belgian milk chocolate, handmade in Leyburn. If you can see it without your mouth watering, you’re a stronger person than we are!

Raffle tickets can be bought in store or by calling 01439 771307. The winner must be able to collect the egg from the store, from Easter Sunday onwards.

Good luck!

Let Them Eat Pie!

Who doesn't love a good pie? Did you know March 7th heralds the start of British Pie Week?

To mark the occasion (pies should be celebrated!) we approached two local producers we work with to set them the challenge of coming up with a new pie – which will be available exclusively at Hunters!

The new Slow Roast Pork and Ampleforth Abbey Cider pie will be available in store from March 7th, and has been created by the chefs at Malton-based Yorkshire Baker.

The pie has been produced with outdoor reared, British pork, paired with the award-winning Ampleforth Abbey Cider, which is produced using traditional artisan methods under the guidance of the Benedictine Monks at Ampleforth Abbey.

Now...here’s where your mouth starts watering... the new pie has an all butter shortcrust base enclosing pork shoulder marinated in fennel, thyme, sage and garlic, before being slowly roasted. This is then added to a sauce, created using the stock, sautéed onions and garlic, cream, gherkins, capers, mustard and the all important cider, before the pie is finished with a hand-crimped, light and flaky butter puff pastry lid.

YUM!

The pie can be eaten hot or cold (we would recommend hot if you can manage it), and will retail at £2.60.

We’re very lucky to have some amazing producers and suppliers on our doorstep, and we love working with them to do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

Yorkshire Baker was founded in 2008 by Gill Ridgard, a self-confessed pastry fanatic. Using the very best local ingredients, her artisan pastry business began producing hand-crafted sausage rolls and soon she was supplying independent delicatessens and Farm Shops across North Yorkshire. The firm now brings real Yorkshire pastry to a much wider market, whilst retaining the approach of producing ‘proper food, hand-crafted in Yorkshire’.  As Gill says: “Time is our secret ingredient and we’re proud of this - we never rush or cut corners. We aim to deliver extraordinary taste through flavoursome fillings, and we never add anything artificial.”

And of course we’re long-standing fans of the amazing Ampleforth Abbey Cider, another local business which is passionate about provenance.  The apples are hand-picked, pressed and bottled on site in the Ampleforth valley and, as it is a whole juice cider, the finished product has a refreshing taste and pleasant apple aroma which perfectly complements the pork.

We hope you enjoy the new pies as much as we do – let us know what you think!