Category: Local Producers

The Wright family just can’t stop having ideas!  It was son David who had the initial idea for their business, Wrights Culinary Delights, sparked by an interest in food and his travels to places like Morocco and Brittany.  Here he found markets with piles of jewel-like spices, and interesting mixtures of herbs and spices to rub on to meat, or flavour sauces.  Weary of life in front of a computer, David decided to take the plunge last November and, aided and abetted by his parents, Ian and Kate, he started selling their spices and salts at local markets.

What lured me into buying some of their products was the taste of the dip they were offering at the Malvern Farmers Market (tip for food sellers, greedy people like me cannot resist tasting your produce!) I tasted their Mexican Fiesta Dip, a nicely spicy combination mixed with natural yoghurt or cottage cheese – easy and delicious.  Then I noticed that they had a variety of salts, including sea salt with seaweed, something I had been looking for.  But on the way I saw a lime sea salt which smelt absolutely divine, perfect for fish, I thought, and an interesting one labelled “Bonfire”.  This turned out to be a smoked salt with charcoal added, similar to the Hawaiian black lava salt that you see in expensive delis.  These are ‘finishing salts’ that aim to add an extra taste dimension to your food. But what really grabbed my attention was a wild garlic salt that they have just started marketing, unlike many herb products it smelt fresh and vibrant – the next best thing to wild garlic itself!

The ingredients for all of these are sourced from around the world, but the family do buy their fresh herbs from a grower in Pershore, and dry them themselves – which probably accounts for their freshness and vibrancy.  They also buy whole spices, not ground ones, and grind these as they use them – so none of that dustiness that you so often get with spices that have been hanging around for ages.  Ian Wright has also created his own smokery in the garden so that they can smoke their own ingredients to just how they want them.  Apparently the smoked black peppercorns are the perfect addition to fresh asparagus and butter!

But the ideas keep coming.  When I visited them at  their ‘spicery’ in Colwall I saw yet more new products, including a oak smoked salt that looked like demerara sugar and had a sweet, almost molasses aroma – watch out for that one!  Inspired by trips to the USA the Wrights have developed some rubs which would complement the great meat we have around here: Smoked Hereford Apple and Worcester Spicy Cherry.  And, hot off the press, they are now thinking about some barbecue chips with spices such as cinnamon or star anise in them that, when you cook over them, impart a subtle flavour to whatever you are cooking. Perfect for when summer finally arrives.

David is currently selling the products at a variety of farmers markets, see the list below, but you can also buy them at Handleys in Ledbury. Selling like this means they get to talk directly with their customers, allowing them to get a handle on which products people are coming back for and making it easier to judge their next step.They have recently started speaking to local chefs, so expect to see their products on restaurant & café tables or menus soon!   Stepping up production and deciding on packaging and branding could be the next move, but they are not in a hurry, preferring to allow the business to grow organically and not to over-reach itself.  Whatever their next step is, it seems that this family team will never run out of ideas and that many of them are likely to be delicious!

See Wrights Culinary Delights at:

  Changes are afoot at Roots, the cafe and farm shop on the Hereford Road just outside Ledbury. Their kitchen has recently been moved and modernised, but more importantly so has their menu! Some old favourites have stayed, but alongside the jacket potatoes and sandwiches are some interesting seasonal soups and specials. I particularly liked the sound of beetroot & orange soup, although cauliflower & gorgonzola served with a pickled pear relish also got the taste buds going. Both are served with their own Orchard Loaf – a light wholemeal made from locally ground organic flour with just a splash of their own apple juice……. Starting to feel hungry?!

Linzy Outtrim, the manager there, says that the new menu was definitely a team effort. Linzy came into the business three years ago “to water the plants” and just sort of stayed. Like others in the team she got interested and involved, learning new skills along the way. It is obvious talking to her and the others that all the staff there are passionate about fresh, local, seasonal produce and can’t help but get involved in all aspects of the business. They love the challenge of dealing with the occasional glut of fruit or vegetables that come from the organic farm over in Rushwick, keeping the buying in of non-seasonal produce to a minimum. Recognising that for a lot of food outlets the vegetarian option is often an afterthought, Roots has made a deliberate effort to turn that around. While they do offer meat (the menu I saw included a sausage & bean hotpot) vegetables are the stars. And with a choice of cauliflower & chickpea curry, roasted vegetables, homemade hummus and a delicious looking vegetarian quiche and selection of salads on offer, who is arguing?

So, with wonderful bread made by Tony Wetherall, cake classics such as coffee & walnut, lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge, good coffee and tea, local juices and much more, there really is something for everyone. Customers are currently being invited to make suggestions for the children’s menu that is being developed. The team are just brimming with new ideas. A craft group on a Tuesday morning invites people to bring along any project they are working on, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the company while you are being creative. More special events along the lines of the ‘make an Easter bunny finger puppet’ held in March are also planned. Cooking demonstrations – already happening over at Rushwick – are being devised; starting perhaps with some ‘how to’ basic cooking techniques. I liked the sound of their ‘Foodie Nights’ too – three or four course meals with a theme, such as the Apple Evening held last autumn with apples in every course.

And I haven’t even mentioned the shop! A good selection of local produce; fresh fruit and veg, chickens from Rushwick, Just Rachel’s ice cream – I could go on and on! Such a lot happening, and all served with such enthusiasm and passion for what they are doing. Don’t take my word for it, go along and see for yourselves, you will not be disappointed.

Before the popularity of the turkey goose was the Christmas celebration bird of choice. Easy to rear for anyone who had a piece of land or easily purchased from the many butchers that abounded on our high streets. That’s before freezers made their appearance – both commercial and domestic! Now it’s out on our butchers’ shelves again, albeit sparsely. More of a ‘niche’ buy. Probably because people are wary of cooking it and for a one off piece of meat it doesn’t have the versatility of the turkey when it comes to post Christmas dining……

So this is the brief tale of a local farming family who have a history of rearing – alongside the main farming activities – and supplying our local butchers with the Christmas goose – and what that entails….. It all starts around the end of May. At one time the eggs were hatched on the farm but now it is more practical to buy the goslings at around four days old from a supplier. They purchase around one hundred in number. To begin with they are kept under lamps and artificial light and fed on poultry crumb for four weeks. During this time there is a natural wastage of around 10% – survival of the fittest! Once ‘in feather’ they can be released on to the fields and for seven months they are free to roam. Protection is all important. Predators abound. A watchful eye is kept and the birds come in every night…. At the beginning of December the birds are brought into the sheds, corn fed, and on the 20th they are ready for dispatching. Until recently that was a hands on affair but to make life easier a professional gang is now hired to perform the task as well as the plucking.

An interesting note was that now ‘wet’ plucking makes feather removal ‘cleaner’ but when ‘hand done’ the down from the goose could be retrieved and sold for eiderdowns and pillows. A lucrative by product. My friend made me laugh when she said she was educated on those proceeds! Now her ‘by product’ is goose fat. The fat inside the bird once removed, she renders down and ‘jars’. A local friend makes the labels… Our local butchers market it and we get the benefit of making great roast potatoes…!

So the 20th has arrived and this labour intensive season is coming to an end for another year. The geese are individually dressed and made table ready. Giblets included – so important for that meaty gravy…! All that is left to do is the delivery of the birds to butchers – around Ledbury and Bromyard. I say ‘all’ ‘cos it’s an early morning call for the driver…..

So that’s it folks. My first blog ever and, hopefully, if you enjoyed it, not my last. So go on. Order that goose from Wallers or Gurneys – I’ve ordered mine! A merry Christmas and a happy New Year to one and all.

PS As a footnote from my source – always remember to slice the cooked goose thinly. And another great tip – the unused and usually discarded ‘feathered wing’ from the bird is great for sweeping down the back of the aga or getting in those cobwebby corners!…..she’ll have some to spare…. !