What's new?

Summer on a plate

A new dessert with a timely summer feel is Redcurrant Fruit Slice, a frozen dessert that can be eaten hot or cold. It has a biscuit base, fruit filling and a topping of soured cream. Slices will defrost at room temperature in three hours, or thaw in a microwave in 20 minutes. Shelf life while frozen is 12 months, reducing after defrosting to three days in a fridge. The dessert comes pre-portioned into 21 slices, packed two to a box.

Price: 64p per slice

Available from: Pathfinder Foods 01732 847483

www.pathfinderfoods.co.uk

New options in mashed potato

Belfield Farms has introduced two new frozen mashed potato products. Standard mashed potato, produced in Belgium, is available as a dry pellet for normal regeneration, while potato lids for topping off individual entrées such as cottage pie or fisherman's pie are available frozen.

Acknowledging the fact that restaurants like to offer mashed potato in a variety of flavours, the two products are available in garlic and herb, cheese, colcannon, horseradish and Parmesan with red onion flavours.

Price: varies according to market price

Available from: Belfield Farms 01706 694600

Stocks for smaller kitchens

Following the launch of Pritchitt Foods' liquid stock concentrates in one-litre Tetra-bricks, the same stocks are now available in smaller 250ml packs, which will each make 2.5 litres of stock and are said to be much more versatile in smaller kitchens. The smaller pack size is available for all three of the stocks in the larger bricks - beef, vegetable and chicken - and once made up will safely last as long as three weeks in the fridge.

Price: £1.26 each

Available from: Pritchitt Foods 020 8290 7020

www.pritchitt.com

Hot dogs get cheesy

An unusual hot-dog sausage with an added filling of Monterey Jack cheese has been launched by Canterbury Foods. Intended to offer an added-value, premium-priced option to the hot-dog selection, the cheese dogs weigh just over 2oz each and are precooked and frozen. Support point of sale merchandising is available.

Price: 25p each

Available from: Canterbury Foods 01732 228700

Marble-effect tiles for serveries

Serveries where the heated wells have become tired-looking can be transformed using gastronorm-compatible glass tiles which fit snugly on the rim of the well and provide an attractive hot top for keeping dishes of food hot during service.

The tiles have a marble-like appearance, are resistant to thermal shock and impact, and come with a stainless-steel lip around the edges.

There is a range of colours and effects and five gastronorm size options, including one with a spike platter for holding a joint of meat on a carvery.

Price: from £120 each

Available from: Primeware 020 8995 1542

www.primeware-ceramics.ltd.uk

Traditional tea goes organic

Twinings Foodservice has launched a certified organic Traditional English individual portion tagged teabag. Both the envelope containing the teabag and the string tag bear the organic message, and the product is intended to provide a further choice alongside traditionally farmed teas. Each box contains 50 teabags and the box provides point of sale merchandising when its lid is folded back.

Price: 5p each

Available from: Twinings Foodservice 01264 334477

Smoothie base from Colombo

Taste Trends, the UK licensee for the US-owned Colombo frozen yogurt range, has launched a frozen yogurt smoothie base to build on the interest in this style of chilled fruit drink. The smoothie base comes in four-litre, easy-scoop tubs and can be combined with fruit and juices to form a finished drink made to order. Also available is a premixed smoothie for machine vending, which comes in two-litre polyjugs.

Price: smoothie base, £11.20 per tub

Available from: Taste Trends 020 8785 3703

Handy pager for waiters

Call-Sytems Technology has introduced a new version of JTech Communications' vibrating pager, Serv-Alert, which tells restaurant table staff that an order is ready for collection in the kitchen.

The enhanced system has a touch-pad screen in the kitchen with numbers corresponding to staff members who have that pager during the shift.

The system can work with as many as 32 individual pagers. When chefs press the relevant number on the keypad, it alerts the waiting staff that an order is ready for collection.

The quicker communication this offers is intended to lead to faster customer service and food being served hotter.

Price: from £1,000 per system

Available from: Call-Systems Technology 020 8381 1338