Making Mum’s Day

With Easter being so early this year, it has meant other dates are also moved forward – from Pancake Day to Mother’s Day – potentially catching people unaware!

Make sure you’re prepared for Mother’s Day Sunday 6th March, by stocking up nice and early with gift ideas for your mum. With its roots dating back as far as the 16th century you don’t want to make this the year you forget this special day!

Whether she lives near or far, a hamper is a great idea, and one that’s bound to be appreciated. We can deliver across the UK, so mum can get an extra special treat delivered straight to her doorstep. Why not try the Yorkshire Lass Hamper (link to image)? Jam packed with errr...jam, cheese, biscuits, chutney, chocolates (Whitakers Rose & Violet Cremes are one of our favourites), wine and even some delicious SloeMotion sloe gin, this will definitely be one you’ll hope she shares!

If she has a savoury tooth, you can go for our special Cheese Lovers Hamper (link to image) – with three different types of local cheese, and lots of fantastic accompaniments, including the Fine Cheese Co’s Apricot and Pistachio Toast and Oliver Branch’s Sweet Olive, Fig and Almond Paste.  If she likes things hot and spicy the Chilli Lovers Hamper (link to image) packs a punch! From chilli chocolate and explosive chilli sauce, to Chipotle Chilli Mayonnaise and the wonderful Syms Chilli Bacon Jam, it’s an absolute taste sensation.

All of our hampers can be found here.

If your mum has a sweet tooth, she would love the Butlers Pink & Cream Ballotin Chocolate box, which retails at just £6.65, and comes complete with an assortment of truffles, caramels and pralines. Or our gorgeous Lauden chocolates always go down well – pick your own assortment of her favourite flavours, from Fresh Mint and Marc de Champagne to Raspberry & Rose and Sour Cherry.

The perfect way to show mum how much you care!

Chinese New Year and Pancake Day – foodie heaven!

It’s an exciting week for food, with both Chinese New Year and Pancake Day falling within a day of each other.

Chinese New Year is on 8th February this year and marks the start of the Year of the Monkey. Festivities will have started on 7th and will continue for at least a fortnight – so plenty of time to knock up a couple of Chinese dinners to enjoy (much better than any takeaway, and won’t leave you waking up dehydrated in the middle of the night because of an over-enthusiastic hand with the MSG). One of our favourites we stock is the Hoisin sauce.

There are all kinds of traditions associated with Chinese New Year – including the fact that on the first day of the new year you shouldn’t eat porridge for breakfast. Or wash your clothes. Or do any sweeping. (Actually, those last two sound quite good, less jobs all round!). People born in the Year of the Monkey (which includes 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) tend to be quick-witted, clever and curious but also have a mischievous side – as you’d expect from our primate friends!

And as if Chinese New Year wasn’t enough of a reason to celebrate, there’s also Pancake Day on 9th February. This year, why not try an alternative flour to make your pancakes? We have lots of different kinds including coconut, buckwheat, rice and tapioca – ideal for those with allergies too. To top them we have to admit to being partial to indulging our sweet tooth with fruit or chocolate sauces, or a spot of syrup – whether that’s date, agave or maple. Yum!

Now, to go away and think of a way to combine the two. Black Bean Pancakes anyone?

The Food Trends to Watch Out For in 2016

Food, like fashion, goes in and out of trends. Of course, there’s that jam you love so much you buy it each month, and you’d never think of switching from your favourite cheese, but few of us are immune to the foodie fads which come and go. Some just last longer than others.

For example, up until a few months ago no one had ever asked us for pomegranate molasses or za'atar - and although they may not be on every shopping list, we do get a fair number of people asking for them now! You can’t go into many British restaurants nowadays without seeing pulled pork on the menu in one form or another - which a couple of years ago was a rarity. In a year or two it will disappear again (at least for a while). And who had heard of charcoal cheese up until recently? Now it flies out of our chiller cabinet!

So what are the food trends for 2016 we should be keeping our eyes open for? Here’s some we’ve heard about...

• Fermented vegetables - mark our words, you’ll soon be falling in love with sauerkraut and the Korean delicacy kimchi. In fact, Korean food as a whole will be big news.
• Cauliflower is the new kale - roasted, steamed or riced, the humble British vegetable is making a comeback.
• Melon juice - move over coconut water, there’s a new juice in town...
• Good things come in little packages - taster menus and mini everything are definitely en vogue. Why have just one dessert, when you can have a taste of four?
• Find your perfect Matcha - Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder, which can be added to all kinds of foods and drinks. Gwyneth Paltrow is apparently a fan...
• Everything’s black - from food scorched over charcoal, to squid ink, rice and specially cultivated vegetables, black is the new....er...black.
• Sugar alternatives - with many people trying to cut down their sugar intake, alternatives such as agave, date and maple syrups as well as honey will prove more popular than ever.
• Seaweed - packed full of nutrients, expect to see seaweed popping up in salads, seasonings and snacks.

What new food trends have you spotted on the horizon?

25 years in business is a piece of cake for Hunters of Helmsley

Hunters of Helmsley is this year celebrating 25 years of trading - and is going to be offering all its customers a slice of the action!

To celebrate the fact the renowned deli has been based on Helmsley’s Market Place for two and a half decades, Hunters has commissioned an extra special cake from local company Celebrate Country Cake Design.

Arriving in-store on Thursday 21st May, the cake will be sold by the slice over the bank holiday weekend with all the proceeds going to Ryedale Special Families charity.

The elaborate cake will look like the outside of the iconic Hunters of Helmsley shop, with part of the front opened up to reveal some of the goodies inside the deli. All of the decorations will be made from sugar, including mini jars of jam, hanging baskets, cheese and even one of Hunters’ famous beef sandwiches!

The cake, which will be a moist vanilla sponge with a jam and buttercream filling, will feed at least 100 people.

Christine Garnett, who has owned Hunters since 2008 with husband Chris, said: “It’s a very special year for us and we want to do lots of things throughout the year to celebrate it. As we’re obviously food-lovers, a special cake seemed the perfect thing to start us off. Rhian at Celebrate Country Cake Design has an amazing talent and as a fellow member of Helmsley in Business it was only natural we’d ask her to use her fantastic skills to create something extra special.

The tricky bit is the opening revealing the inside as she needs to blend from the outside of the building to the internal section. Having seen the designs, it’s going to look amazing! We hope everyone pops in to enjoy a slice - and help raise some funds for a very worthwhile local charity at the same time.”

Rhian from Celebrate! Country Cake Design delivers our special cake.

You Are What You Eat?

Press Release:Hunters of Helmsley plans nutritionist-led event to offer advice around food intolerances and healthy eating

 

Hunters of Helmsley will be hosting a special event to help answer customers’ questions about food intolerances and allergies, healthy eating and the well-publicised Paleo Diet.

 

The event has been planned following increasing requests from customers, and will take place in store on Monday 18th May from 10.30am to 3pm. Local nutritionist Andrea Wood will be on hand to offer advice, as well as recipe ideas and samples of easy to make dishes and snacks.

There’s been a well documented rise in the number of people suffering from food intolerances and allergies over recent years, with some sources quoting a ten-fold increase in the 25 years Hunters has been open for business.

Christine Garnett, who runs the Hunters of Helmsley deli with her husband Chris, believes there is a real need to help people better understand what they are eating. She explains: “We have increasing numbers of people coming into the store asking for products to help them with special dietary requirements or food allergies. I myself have several food intolerances so it’s a topic which is very close to my heart. We also have a lot of people coming in who want to eat more healthily but they don’t really know where to start, or they’re worried it will be too difficult. We’ve had dozens of people asking about the Paleo diet, or recently we’re getting a lot of people who have read the ‘Art of Eating Well’ by the Hemsley sisters, and are considering their own diet on the back of it.”

The Paleo Diet is based on what our ancient ancestors may have eaten – more protein, less carbohydrates and no dairy, sugar, salt or processed food. Andrea, who runs the Mind and Body Clinic in Nawton, will be bringing food she has made using ingredients from the shop for people to try, including Cashew ‘Cheese’ and nachos, Nut Butter Choc Chip Cookies, Coconut and Lime Energy Bites and even special Paleo bread.

Christine continued: “Of course for people with allergies or intolerances, you do have to eliminate some foods. But for other people, this doesn’t have to be about a whole lifestyle change - maybe you just want to eat less sugar, or feel like you could do with a healthy energy boost from time to time. It’s all about choices and moderation. We’ll be highlighting ideas which are suitable for everyone, as well as some for people who have intolerances to gluten or dairy or who are perhaps trying to manage a condition such as diabetes by limiting sugar. A lot of people don’t realise that we stock a wide range of ‘free from’ items and many of the Paleo-friendly cookery ingredients, such as tahini, chia seeds, coconut oil, arrowroot and raw cacoa powders and lots of nuts and dried fruit. It should be a really interesting day for everyone and a chance to try something new.”

Anyone wishing to attend the event can pop in to the Hunters’ store on Helmsley’s Market Place, at any time between 10.30 and 3pm on 18th May, to find out more.

For more information about Hunters of Helmsley visit www.huntersofhelmsley.com. For more information about Andrea Wood visit www.mindandbodyclinic.net

April to June 2015

As many will already know the last couple of months have been very exciting here at Hunters.  We were named Best Small Shop in Britain, a great honour and total surprise.

Chris and I had a lovely day at the House of Commons where we were presented with our trophy.

The press coverage has been wonderful and the congratulations, cards and flowers received, have been a real boost to us all, thank you to all who expressed their good wishes.  A very enjoyable  evening at the Black Smiths Arms  Westow was enjoyed by all, as a way of celebrating and thanking the team.

New signage has arrived to advertise this new accolade and announce our 25th Anniversary, for which events will be taking place throughout the year.

Chris and I attended The International Food Expo at Excel in London during March, a bi annual food show where producers from the UK, Europe and the Rest of the World launch and exhibit their wonderful products. Key trends for the coming months are the reduction/removal of added sugars in foods and a huge increase in the use of coconut based products for baking, spreading, cooking and desserts. Protein based healthy snacks and free from food is on the increase, with a  emphasis towards local, ethical and sustainable.

A very busy Easter soon followed, when the lovely weather brought the crowds Helmsley, it was great to see the town buzzing again. The 10k run was as usual well attended, as was the dog show at Duncombe Park.

Our 25th Anniversary celebrations commence in earnest with a specially commissioned  cake from Rhian at Celebrate Country Cake Design, this creative masterpiece will be unveiled in May and will be sold by the slice for our chosen charity Ryedale Special Families. Look out for the announcement on Social Media and in the Press.

An Anniversary sandwich is being created full of delicious Yorkshire goodies and is sure to be a winner, 10p from everyone sold will also go to the charity.

We are welcoming two new team members, both from Helmsley, Susanne Smith and Rebecca Martin (her Mum Bridget already works for us). Both ladies I know will be excellent additions to our lovely knowledgable team.

May will no doubt be busy with two bank holidays, a half term and the Tour de Yorkshire passing within 8 miles of Helmsley, good weather once again will be most welcome and we look forward to seeing many visitors both old and new.

The General Election and council elections are hotly debated topics here in Helmsley, as in the rest of the country, not least because our very own John Windress aka Snowy is standing for election as Helmsley Councillor for the Conservative Party.

On the 18th May we are joining forces with a local Nutritionalist Andrea Wood for an information Day 10.30 until 3.00pm, she will be bringing examples of tasty healthy dishes with her and be available to discuss dietary issues from allergies and intolerances to the latest diets and eating plans such as Paleo, which I know is of interest to many.

June brings Fathers Day and the 800th Anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta of which Helmsley is one of the original 25 Baronies  and did have its own copy of the Magna Carta in 1215, when Baron Robert de  Ros owned this area.

If you have any interesting stories, photos and memories of Hunters from the last 25 years, please share them with us.

Don't forget to keep an eye on social media and the press for details of events and celebrations.

Sarah & Andrew of "Johnsons Butchers" in Thirsk

Sarah and Andrew supply the wonderful scrummy pies that you can find in Hunters.

 

1. What three words would you use to describe yourself?Friendly, hard working and loyal (Sarah)
2. What would be your ideal three course meal?Scallops, roast beef & Yorkshires, cheese (Andrew)
3. What is your favourite sandwich?Cheese & pickle (Sarah)
4. What is your favourite place in Yorkshire (after Helmsley)?York (both)
5. Where would be your recommendation of a great place for a picnic?Castle Howard (Sarah)
6. Name three famous people (dead or alive) you’d invite to a dinner partyJohn Lennon, George Best & Chris Evans ( Andrew)
7. What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
   Rum and raisin (Sarah)
8. What’s your favourite sport?Football (Andrew)
9. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?Gardening, reading, concerts (Sarah)
10. Where’s your favourite holiday destination?Italy (both)
11. Where (other than Hunters) should every visitor to Helmsley make sure they go?Walled Garden (both) Link here
12. What’s your favourite film?Ghost (Sarah)
13. What is your favourite product from Hunters?Johnsons pork pies of course! (both)