Product round-up
Exciting days at IFE
Finding innovative menu ideas shouldn't be difficult for visitors to the International Food and Drink Exhibition (IFE) 2001, as some 1,500 exhibitors will be showing their wares at London Docklands' new exhibition centre, ExCel, from 25 to 28 March.
The exhibition will be arranged into product sectors such as: alcohol and soft drinks; bakery; British specialities; cheese and dairy; confectionery; e-business solutions; food packaging and design; frozen foods; general food and drink; international pavilions; organic food; and seafood. Frozen foods is likely to be the largest sector, with companies such as Bernard Matthews, Van Den Broeke Foods and Tendafrost taking part, and new products such as Riverside Foods' breadcrumbed bacon-and-tomato sauce-filled chicken breast fillet on display.
More new products will be on show in the bakery sector, with a range of Cornish pasties including a chicken tikka slice from Proper Cornish. Bagel Nash Bakery will be showing its full range of 20 flavours of bagel. Joining these will be companies such as Delice de France, Delifrance and Le Pain Croustillant plus, from overseas, Biscuiterie Seghers, Jules Destroper, Pidy and Planete Pain.
British specialities will include Castle Aromatics, which is planning to launch a range of infused fresh herb and spice oils such as basil, coriander, chillies, garlic, cinnamon and lime leaves. Meanwhile, in the German pavilion, Huober-Brezel will launch a pack of German pretzels.
For more information on IFE and to pre-register for tickets, visit www.ife.co.uk or call 0870 7511462.
Compliments of Delvaux
A complimentary chocolate with after-dinner coffee is a friendly touch many restaurants like to offer. But while the quality of some freebie chocolates can send out a mixed message, Delvaux has introduced a complimentary chocolate at the high end of expectation. The Petit Organique is, as the name implies, made with ingredients grown in Soil Association-approved organic farming conditions. It is available in milk or dark chocolate, in a range of sizes and packaging.
Price: 500-piece box, £47.50
Available from: Delvaux 01932 571180
Brake Bros modernises macedoine
There is nothing revolutionary about frozen mixed vegetables, but Brake Bros has modernised the ubiquitous macedoine with Winter Vegetable Medley, a frozen mixed vegetable mix which has some less common ingredients. Joining carrot batons are cauliflower florets, cut baby sweetcorn and the pale green Romanesco cauliflower, with its distinctive knobbly shape. Packaging is in 1.5kg bags.
Price: £3.95 per bag
Available from: Brake Bros 0845 606 9090
www.brake.co.uk
Pick a pew from Primo
Primo Furniture has added the P859 range of chairs for contract use, with a choice of two low-back designs and one high-back. The chairs come in a translucent metacrylate, a toughened acrylic material with an opalescent lustre, and are available in a range of colours.
Prices: from £130
Available from: Primo Furniture 020 8804 3434
www.primofurniture.com
Baby step from IB
An addition to the range of speciality Italian foods imported by IB Foods is Cipolline Aceto Balsamico, which are baby Borretane onions dressed in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh herbs. They are intended to be eaten cold as part of antipasto, or cooked with rich dishes such as salmon or duck. They come in 830g tins, packed six to the case.
Price: £4.45 per tin
Available from: IB Foods 0800 252522
www.ibfood.com
Smooth move from Juice Company
The Juice Company has launched four individually packaged smoothies in a range of sizes for both single-portion sales and bulk service. The Smoothies are ambient stable, but not UHT. The flavours are mango, passion fruit, peach and raspberry, and sizes are 125ml, 250ml and one litre. All the products are virtually fat-free, without additives, and have Vegetarian Society approval. The drinks are packed in TetraBrik, which gives them an ambient shelf life of as long as six months. Distribution is currently through 3663.
Prices: 125ml, 55p; 250ml, 87p
Available from: The Juice Company 020 7226 4888
Lincat offers new for old
Lincat has launched a powerful 1,100W microwave oven, the MW4, with controls designed for easy use. Replacing the existing 1,000W-rated MW2, the latest version has just two controls, a variable power selector and a cooking time dial. An even wave distribution system means that there is no need for a turntable. Despite the improvements, Lincat has pegged the new microwave to the same price as the old one.
Price: £540
Available from: Lincat 01522 875555
