Pick up a perfect picnic

We love a good picnic. By “we” we mean the team at Hunters. But, also, us Brits generally. Despite a…. shall we say unreliable climate…. we love nothing more than dining al fresco when the weather permits.

The earliest picnics are said to date back to Medieval times, when hunting feasts would take place outdoors in both England and France. However, the modern term was not in common use until the mid-eighteenth century when the French began to pique-nique. It sounds so much better said in a continental accent. It comes from the word piquer, "to pick at food", and nique, meaning something small of no value.

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, picnics became a lavish affair, pretty much transporting the whole dining room – and full 5-course meal – outdoors. It’s a little bit more laid back now, but still deserves some care and attention!

On average we apparently enjoy three picnics a year each – although probably if we added in all the impromptu buying and enjoying of food out and about it would be a lot higher. Eighty five per cent of us will enjoy at least one picnic over the summer holidays.

Which brings us to this week. It’s National Picnic Week from 15^th to 24^th June (yes for the eagle-eyed of you, that is indeed over a week. Sssshhhh).

According to the organisers, 50 years ago the nation’s favourite picnic food was a cheese sandwich and now it’s crisps. Crisps?! Now we love a crisp, don’t get me wrong. And, of course, they deserve a place in the picnic hamper – but as a side dish to the main affair surely?

Pies are something which have always been popular when it comes to picnics – right back to hundreds of years ago, when they could easily be popped into a pocket as a tasty snack on a day’s hunt. If you’re looking for a great pie for a picnic how about our Slow Roast Pork and Ampleforth Abbey Cider Pie? With a creamy, tangy filling, it’s one of our best sellers. A tasty veggie alternative would be the Curried vegetable  roll

Or perhaps a sausage roll or two – the Yorkshire Baker Hog Roast is delicious, or how about Sweet Chilli

Of course, a sandwich is always a winner on a picnic. Why not grab one of our deep-filled bread buns and split it with a friend? Roast beef and horseradish and the simple ham and salad are still our best sellers. And it’s best you eat them sitting down as they take some getting your mouth round.

For a lighter lunch, visit our deli counter and we can create a fresh, tasty salad for you, including all your favourite things. Or how about some cheeses and a pack of artisan crackers or some fresh bread and your choice of sweet or tangy chutney? Mouth watering yet…? We also have some fantastic own brand pates – bison with fried onions, or ostrich and blueberry – or how about the lobster terrine?

Don’t forget something sweet to finish off the meal. The Hunters of Helmsley range of biscuits includes Rhubarb and Custard flavour shortbread biscuits or lemon cookies  which are both incredibly moreish! Other sweet treats you could pack up without fear of crushing or melting are salted caramel brownies  or frangipanes .

And finally, you’ll need a drink or two – whether it’s the alcoholic or non-alcoholic you’re looking for, we’ve got a wide selection in store to quench your thirst.

Now all you need is the perfect picturesque picnic spot – and luckily Helmsley is full of those too! 

The retail Oscars – Hunters makes the shortlist!

We’re over the moon to have made the shortlist of another prestigious retail food award – way to go Team Hunters! *High Fives*

We’re delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted in The Guild of Fine Food’s annual Shop of the Year awards, which recognises and promotes excellence in independent retail.

Having made it through the first round, we will now undergo two further rounds of judging during the summer, including an announced visit from one of the judges and a mystery shop by Shopper’s Anonymous. Hopefully they’ll enjoy a visit and we’re sure any of our team that they speak to will be their usual friendly, helpful selves!

Previously forming part of the Great Taste accreditation scheme, Shop of the Year is dedicated solely to retail. Celebrating delis, farm shops, cheesemongers and more, Shop of the Year offers independent retailers like ourselves the chance to achieve a stamp of approval with real integrity, much like Great Taste does for food and drink products.

They’ll be judging us on everything from overall shopping experience and financial performance to staff training opportunities and environmental initiatives. The panel of highly experienced judges includes Edward Berry of The Flying Fork, Stuart Gates, who has worked for both Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, award-winning retailer Tracey Colley and Georgina Mason from Gonalston Farm Shop.

The final will be held on Thursday 20 September when the world of fine food gathers at No. 42 Southwark Street, the Guild of Fine Food’s London base, to find out the winners. Fingers crossed!

For almost 30 years, all of our wonderful team at Hunters (past and present) has worked extremely hard to build up a reputation for finding the very best food and produce for our customers and it’s always wonderful to receive recognition of that. We look forward to meeting the judges and talking them through the Hunters’ ethos. Wish us luck!

Helping you free your food from Groundhog Day

We recently spotted a study which said that 90 per cent of Brits felt they were stuck in their very own version of Groundhog Day. (as an aside, got to love that film)

The study by Highland Springs seemed surprised that people left the house at the same time every day, took the same route to work and then got home and watched the same TV programme on an evening. It would seem odd to us if you were leaving home earlier than you needed to do a super long route to work, just to mix things up, but maybe that’s just us. And surely binge watching a series is what Netflix was invented for?

But the bits of the survey which caught our eye were the ones relating to (unsurprisingly) food.

Eight out of 10 people said they never varied from their weekly shopping list and only 16 per cent said they like to go crazy and try new things. A third of people said they ate the same breakfast every day, one in four ordered the same coffee and ate the same lunch and one in five said they cooked the same meals on rotation each week. One in 10 even admitted to always buying the same bottle of wine!

Now, we’re the first to admit that when you find a favourite thing it can be tempting to always keep going back to it. But it’s an instinct we’ve also learnt to resist! It’s part of our job to try new things and enjoy a variety of tastes. There’s so many amazing products out there and every ‘old favourite’ has to be a new thing tried at some point.

But it can take being pointed in the right direction. And that’s where we’re happy to help. Why not come and have a chat with us and we’ll help you figure out what might be the kind of thing you’d enjoy. We’re always getting exciting new products in which we love to shout about! And we’re always happy to help with advice on how to use or serve a product.

Whether you’re an adventurous chef, or someone who prefers to keep things nice and easy, we’ve loads of products in store to inspire you. Customers always say they can’t believe how much of a tardis the shop is – whatever you’re looking for, bet we can help.

So, hopefully see you soon – and we’ll help you break that Groundhog Day loop in the tastiest way possible!

The Invigorator– spreading positivity for British Sandwich Week!

British Sandwich Week starts on 20th May, and here at Hunters we do love a good sandwich! In fact, we sell a crumbworthy 50,000 every year.

We know everyone has their favourite sarnie – and it’s very hard to break the pattern of ordering the same one, every day. (when they’re as good as, say, our deep filled roast beef, you can be forgiven…)

But this British Sandwich Week, we’re urging customers to try something new. We reckon you’ll be happy you did - literally speaking!

To mark the week, we’ve added The Invigorator sandwich to our menu – a mood and energy boosting sandwich! And who doesn’t need a little boost every once in a while?

The Invigorator has been carefully created, with ingredients specially chosen because of their beneficial properties in relation to well-being, mood and energy levels. It’s no secret that certain nutrients, such as Vitamins B and D, zinc, calcium, iron and magnesium, which are found in abundance in lots of tasty fresh foods, can have a profound effect on brain function – so why not give your mind and body a treat?

The Sandwich includes:

* Ajvar – this Macedonian roasted red pepper spread is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, potassium, folate (Vitamin B9), and fibre. Red peppers offer almost 11 times more beta-carotene than the green ones.

* Houmous – houmous is a good source of protein and fibre, with chick peas providing high levels of iron, phosphorus and B vitamins.

* Rocket – this nutrient-packed green wonder contains large amounts of vitamins A, K and C, folate, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, as well as several beneficial phytochemicals.

* Pumpkin seeds – these little seeds pack a punch - they’re said to have more mood-boosting powers than any other food. Jam-packed full of nutrients, they are loaded with omega-3 and zinc which have been shown to improve moods; Magnesium, which helps reduce anxiety; and Tryptophan, the amino acid which helps the body make Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that boosts mood and can help you unwind.

* Served on sliced granary bread - wholewheat grains boost folate levels, and provide slow release energy, avoiding that mid-afternoon energy dip.

It’s healthy, vegetarian/vegan, good for the heart, super colourful and tastes great – which is vital, as it’s not going to boost anyone’s mood if you don’t enjoy eating it!

It is the perfect midday pick-me-up, to get your afternoon off to a great start – no mid-afternoon slumps in sight…

The sandwich is available from 20th May, freshly made to order at a price of £3.60.

So, if everyone in Helmsley suddenly looks a little chirpier and full of beans – you know why!

Pop the champagne – we’ve made the shortlist for the Great British Food Awards!

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been nominated for the Great British Food Awards for the third year running - but we do need to ask all of our fantastic customers a quick favour to help make sure we bring the trophy home to Helmsley later this year!

Hunters is nominated in the Best Independent Retailer category (North) and we’re one of six finalists, alongside some very tough competition. The voting is now open to members of the public, until 24^th August 2018, at the website www.greatbritishfoodmagazine.com/awards. Not only would you be helping us out more than we can say, but there’s an added bonus for you too! Anyone who votes has a chance of winning £7,000 worth of prizes, such as kitchen gadgets and foody holidays. Top of the range ovens, cookware, nights away, kettles, BBQ appliances, hampers, booze, cookbooks – it all sounds pretty good we have to say!

The awards launched in 2014 to recognise the best in British food and drink, including restaurants, producers, chefs, food writers and retailers. There are 20 categories in total, and you can vote in them all or just the one (hint hint, nudge nudge).

We were genuinely stunned to make the shortlist for the third year running. It really does mean so much when we’re recognised for the hard work the team puts in – we love what we do, but of course, we want our customers to enjoy it just as much!

So, if you can spare two minutes, please do take a peek at www.greatbritishfoodmagazine.com/awards – and we’ll keep our fingers tightly crossed for the awards results later in the year!

To brew or not to brew – how do you make yours?

Last week was National Tea Day, and as you know, we conducted our very own in-store tea tastings. We wanted to see if people could spot the Yorkshire Tea at first sip (surely any self respecting Yorkshire man or woman could??). We’re pleased to say the vast majority did, earning themselves a free box of tea and – perhaps more importantly – a Yorkshire sticker to proudly display!

We enjoyed it and had a good giggle with our customers in store, chatting about how we like our brews - which is why a survey caught our eye that came out on the same day.

Apparently, according to Clipper Teas, we will each suffer through 9,828 disappointing cups of tea in our lifetime. How upsetting! We each drink on average 28 cups a week (4 cups a day) but at least three each week will fail to hit the spot.

We all have our own way of enjoying a cuppa and it is often a case of personal preference, but there’s some cardinal rules which should never be broken.

Apparently at least half of us have had to complain to a partner, friend or work colleague about their brew making efforts – or lack of them (we’ve all known that one person who never makes a round…)

But some of us are just too nervous to tell our loved ones (or the ones we share an office with all week) that we feel that way, preferring to just turn down the offer, or gulp back the offending item.

So, what were the top 10 complaints of the 2,000 people surveyed?

1.            Too weak – 36%

2.            Luke-warm – 35%

3.            Too milky – 30%

4.            Teabag not in for long enough – 26%

5.            Mug not been washed properly – 25%

6.            Incorrect amount of milk – 21%

7.            Cup is half empty – 20%

8.            Made with poor quality tea – 19%

9.            The cup is half full – 18% (although think that’s the same as half empty – just from the optimists rather than the pessimists)

10.         Too strong – 18%

But with there being a further 10 reasons why your cuppa might not be good enough – including leaving the teabag in too long, the milk was put in first, tea stains down the cup, chipped mugs, wrong type of milk, not enough or too much sugar, or the wrong brand of tea – you can see why tea making is a minefield!

Maybe I’ll just have a coffee…

We’ve giving you the opportuni-tea to prove your Yorkshire-ness this National Tea Day!

Anyone who knows the team at Hunters knows we’re potty about a good cup of tea. (Geddit? Potty!) In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s part of the DNA of this country to want to put the kettle on in times of strife, or indeed joy. There’s never a bad time to put the kettle on, to be perfectly honest. Did you know, Brits are said to drink a teapot shattering 165 million cups of tea every single day? And, actually, with over 3,000 different varieties, tea is the second most widely consumed drink in the world, after water? Proof, if you need it, that’s it’s totally tea-rrific. So, we were overjoyed to hear National Tea Day was approaching! (It’s this Saturday – 21st April – just in case you hadn’t marked it in your diary. Sure you had though.) We didn’t want to let it pass without a little attention, so we’ve come up with our very own challenge, and we’re putting our customers to the test. Just how Yorkshire are you? (DUM DUM DUMMMMMM – that was dramatic TV gameshow style music, in case you were wondering) Throughout the day we’ll be asking customers in our store if they can spot the difference between a true Yorkshire brew and some imposters, in the form of a blind taste test. Don’t worry, you don’t need to wear a blindfold or anything. Unless you really want to. Yorkshire Tea will be up against two other popular teas – and we’re challenging you to pick out the genuine Yorkshire cuppa by taste and smell alone. Can you iden-tea-fy it? Just you wait – BBC One will have this as a tea-time quiz show before you know it. Those who succeed – as well as being able to walk around Helmsley with their head held high obviously – will also receive a gift box of Yorkshire Tea to take home and enjoy. Brew-tiful! And there’s also a Yorkshire sticker to proudly display on their lapel – telling everyone they’re a CHAMPION when it comes to tea. Of course, we know that everyone has their own personal favourite when it comes to a good cuppa, and there are literally hundreds of delicious teas available to suit everyone’s preferences. Whatever your favourite is – from chai or green to peppermint or good old English Breakfast, we’ve got the best of the best from around the world. We even sell 13 varieties as loose leaf tea from jars, by weight – shopping as it used to be! Must be time to put the kettle on?