I just returned from 4 days in London, having gone to a trade show in Cologne Germany and Birmingham England and I was bombarded with preparation for the coronation. London was looking very regal, charmed and I dare say delicious. I have been to London at least 50 times, lived there in college for a year and even met Prince Charles but it does still get to you. The city is beautiful, whether the posh neighborhood of Notting Hill where I chose to stay to get to know another neighborhood. Also, Piccadilly and Marylbone where I spent a bit of time wandering, mainly within food stores, and in addition the very polite local people you meet.
The coronation is very curious to me, on one hand, it does seem out of touch with modern times yet England is old and changes more slowly than other places. With Brexit, the low value of sterling, and the world problems, the coronation is a much-needed great distraction. It will boost a culture, economy partly thanks to the still almighty dollar, not to mention a few Yen and interest from Asia. Trade with Europe has significantly declined based on Brexit and similar to the USA, London does thrive, as NYC but the countryside is a different story. King Charles has challenges and is in an awkward position, but curiously he is not dissimilar to his younger son, who has chosen to take up at times unpopular causes. I am hopeful that he can do his job in maybe an untraditional way, in the shadow of his mother, who mastered it well, and stabilize a country and its people and preserve the goodness of Britain.
As an importer of British Specialty Food, the times seem ripe for great English Strawberries not to mention scones and clotted cream. While spending time in a Waitrose ( the upscale supermarket group in England) hunting specifically for new Belazu products, I was taken with great English local products, including butter, cheese, lamb, strawberries, bakery, and produce and at prices that made them even more appetizing. I do maintain that local is good but I also maintain that products that can transcend geographic boundaries and compete based on quality are also very good in our shrinking and evermore interdependent world and now is a good time to look at what is English, Scottish and I might also add Irish.
Chelsea Market Baskets was started to pursue foods that taste good, and although we primarily sell gifts online and have an urban general store in Chelsea Market, we’re always looking for great-tasting products to share by offering them in our store and to our online customers. This is my seasonal review of what is cooking so to speak for this summer. Here are several products and brands that stand out for summer 2021.
Pickled Pink and especially their Spiced Watermelon Pickles
This very southern company was started by two old friends in the south based on a family recipe for spiced watermelon pickles. It is labor-intensive to cut watermelon rind, hence it is a hard-to-find product in modern times. All their pickles, and this one, in particular, have the right amount of savory and sweet seasoning and make for a perfect addition to a picnic and an outstanding complement to cold fried chicken. Their bread and butter pickles along with their pickled peaches, all taste like good comfort food from the old American South. View Pickled For A Purpose- Pickled Pink Gift.
American Spoon Foods & their BBQ Sauces
Strangely, the search for good BBQ sauce takes us to Michigan, the home of American Spoon Foods started by Marc Fagione’s father, Larry Fagione. He was the chef behind the trendsetting restaurant An American Place in NYC, a good generation ago. This iconic American Michigan company makes all its products in-house. We have carried their jams in the store for decades, including the Michigan Sour Cherry Jam and their Rhubarb Jam. Most jams that use rhubarb as a flavoring use it with other fruits, but theirs use only rhubarb. We offer their BBQ sauces online, including the Smokey, the Cherry, and the Maple Grilling Sauce. Each has a distinctive angle for this tasty and necessary summertime sauce. Whether you use them to marinade, as a finishing sauce before the food comes off the grill, or as a dipping sauce, you can’t go wrong with any of them. I can’t decide which one I like best; it depends on what kind of food I’m grilling and what I’m in the mood for.
Queen’s Majesty Hot Sauces
We sell lots of hot sauces in the store, but one that especially stands out and we offer online in a gift pack is NYC’s own Queen Majesty Hot Sauce. This business is based in Brooklyn and was started in 2013 by Erica aka Queen Majesty. The favorite flavor is the Jalapeno, Tequila & Lime, which smells like a spicy summer breeze and is a condiment that is not too spicy hot and can lift almost anything to make a great summer fair. Try mixing it with butter and grilling corn on the cob.
Smoked Salt from Greece
Mediterranean and Greek foods, to me, taste like Summer. I tasted a beechwood smoked salt from Greece a few years ago at a London Food Show and have finally found it here in the USA through a Greek Importer, and we now sell the salt in the store and component of our Trip To Greece gift. The gift is the perfect accompaniment to an outdoor grilling dinner. Just thinking about it reminds me of warm summer nights in Mykonos, eating freshly grilled fish with olive oil, oregano, and a sprinkle of this smoky salt. It is especially challenging now to get there but let this salt or gift help you or your fortunate friends set sail!. Our Trip to Greece Gift Hamper includes an assortment of Greek specialties that your friends can savor in different courses of a Greek dinner.
Isle of Mull Cheddar Biscuits from Island Bakery
We sell lots of great cookies or biscuits, and they are good all year long, but in the summer, something savory can help make a cocktail or beer more enjoyable. The new Island Bakery Cheese Biscuits hit the spot for casual summer entertaining. These biscuits are baked by a small bakery on the Isle of Mull off the coast of Scotland. These cheese biscuits come in 3 flavors, Chili & Cumin Cheese, Onion & Thyme Cheese Biscuits, and Traditional Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese. And all are made with the award-winning Isle of Mull Cheddar Cheese, which happens to be made from cow’s milk that graze just outside the bakery. These biscuits are truly a family affair, as Joe runs the bakery and his brother Brendan runs the Isle of Mull Dairy Farm. View all Island Bakery Organic Products
Ohza Sparkling Champagne Cocktails (as in Mimosa)
Speaking of drinks, we have lots of options, and I enjoy finding out what is new in the way of beers, ciders, and seltzers, and we have a fresh and great assortment in our store. A new line is the Ohza line of sparkling beverages. The idea for these fruity drinks appeared when 4 friends attempted to mix mimosas on a boat off the coast of Cape Cod. Besides a mess, they got the inspiration for this fruity summer drink. We are selling an assorted pack online that includes the Orange Mimosa, Cranberry Mimosa, Mango Mimosa, and the Bellini. All have 20% or more fruit juice, with less sugar and 5% alcohol. I liked the Mango, and others in the office are crazy for the Peach or Bellini. For a mere $30, you can send or stock your summer bar with refreshing summer drinks. Order online, and you can easily add the Ohza 8-Pack to our Snacker Gifts so that you can send your friends or family an instant party!
We are always looking for new and unique tastes and incorporating them into what we sell in our store, online, or as components in our gifts. On Fridays in our warehouse, we often have a staff lunch in which we try and test products we are considering. A new pastime on Fridays is to have a 5:00 pm afternoon libation and check out our bar section, Aundra in the office takes charge as captain or bartender. We often sell what we like to eat and drink, and we enjoy being busy testing and tasting products to inspire your shopping and tasting journey.
Beth visiting Darts Farm Farm Shop in Devon, England.
Intro by David
Beth Newbery is a team member who has worked in our store for almost two years, she also works as an NYC tour guide, and in theater, and sometimes she combines it all on our selling floor. In speaking with her during the age of COVID, she mentioned how she was visiting her local Farm Shop in Devon, England, which is in the Southwest of the country. Her visit to the Farm Shop reminded her about Chelsea Market Baskets. I encouraged her to write up something so we can all share in her visit. An English Farm Shop, as she describes, offers local and specialty foods, lifestyle products, a place to have Tea. They are often attached to a Garden Centre and are generally a good place to soak in some retail therapy. I have enjoyed visiting many over the past 20 plus years and they have been an inspiration for Chelsea Market Baskets.
Farm Shops have Grown Up in the last 50 Years
Just as our current situation began, I left the Big Apple to visit family and friends back in England. As everywhere, things quickly changed there too. When the UK lockdown eased, to help myself feel better I ventured out to visit a couple of nearby farm shops. This gave me a chance to get back to my roots: revisit sights and sounds, familiar smells, and the tastes of childhood. One farm shop, in particular, stood out to me, Darts Farm. Just a humble hut nearly 50 years ago, it has evolved into a lifestyle shopping destination, with a working farm at its heart. As a Brit in NYC, I often yearn to return to be around an actual farm again. It seems a long time since I grew up on one, but it helped me appreciate good food, wholesome cooking, and of course certain beverages to go with it! The friendly staff at Darts Farm were very welcoming. As I entered, I noted an exceptionally large selection of delicious products, and almost immediately I reconnected with the foods and drinks that we sell so well at Chelsea Market Baskets! I noted some favorites and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to ‘make sure’ they still taste as good as I remembered. Quality control, on behalf of the CMB community of NYC you understand!
What Is on the Shelves at Darts Farm?
Willie’s Cacao Chocolate as presented in the Darts Farm Shop
The first local product that I saw just so happened to be chocolate, but not any old chocolate. This was Willie’s Cacao Chocolate.
It was no surprise to find this wonderful range, made locally by Willie Harcourt-Cooze. Before the explosion of choices, we have today, Willie ventured to Venezuela and the forests of the world in search of the finest cacao. The beans come from specific genetics, soil, and climate. More traditional and simpler processing means very fine chocolate capturing richer and deeper flavors. Sea salts, nuts, raisins, orange oil, and more help produce this wonderful range. For anyone who loves rich dark chocolate, with natural, simple ingredients, pleasure awaits! I tried the Vegan Range and it being summer, I opted for the Luscious Orange. Willie states that nothing gets in the way of the flavor of the bean. At Darts Farm the range was too large to sample them all (sigh) but I made sure to try one of the truffles was a new flavor for me. I had to share and eat this quickly before it melted. Yes, we do get mini heatwaves over here!
Luscombe Drinks – in the Summer Heat There’s No Better Way to Quench Your Thirst!
Luscombe, as local beverage at Darts Farm Shop.
It was a hot day so finding plenty of cool drinks from the well-known Luscombe Estate was simply joyful. My favorite is the Sicilian Lemonade. Feeling a little sweaty (I prefer ‘glowing’) the timing couldn’t have been better. Since I began working at Chelsea Market Baskets, we have sold many of these delightful organic drinks in four flavors (being a lover of gin, I also noted their tonic water!). I find the story of Luscombe so interesting with the Estate dating back to 1087. It also has a history of making the famous Devon Cider and was even mentioned in the Doomsday Book. However, with the family leaving the business it later began thriving again in 1975, developing these wonderful drinks, including Rhubarb, Lemonade, Raspberry Crush, and St Clements. Thirst slated, the child in me turned to another nostalgic treat…
Buttermilk Fudge – Soft and Sugary to Melt in Your Mouth
Buttermilk Fudge – a familiar product for Chelsea Market Baskets Shoppers
This company produces 1,500 kg of fudge a day. Image how much that is — I’m obviously not the only one with a sweet tooth! This is made in Bodmin, Cornwall, which is the next county (‘Poldark country!’). Not quite as local, but for a traveler like me, that’s close enough. Both Devon and Cornwall are well known for their rich and thick dairy produce, and I truly recommend the clotted cream flavor. I asked one of the assistants which was the best-seller and just like at Chelsea Market Baskets they mentioned the Seasalt Caramel. I went for the clotted cream flavor. A divine, melt in the mouth experience, I had a sample (or two) with my Luscombe Lemonade and took a walk outside where I sat in the cool shade of a tent, or should I say Wigwam? Yes, they really did have these set up to enjoy the delightful food and drinks found at this large country store. Shop Buttermilk at ChelseamarketBarketBaskets.com
Tents set up at Darts Farm Shop setup to enjoy the local treats outside.
It was good to be reminded of where these popular lines originate and to be reminded of just how good they taste. Nostalgia played its part for me too, I remember eating fudge as a child whilst at school, which, being really close to a beach gave me plenty of opportunities to buy such things but you can rest assured these products taste as good whichever side of the Atlantic they are on!
Thanks to Darts Farm for letting me reminisce about my childhood and my time at Chelsea Market Baskets during the Summer of COVID.
