We’re beaming with joy as we’ve survived an examination from Masterchef critic Charles Campion. Last week the Speciality & Fine Food Fair took place. This is a very important event in the fine food calendar as it’s visited by the top fine food shops and restaurants around the country.
The show takes place over 3 days and started on Sunday 3rd September. The Sunday experience is great as it draws in many fantastic independent delicatessen and farm shop owners from around the country, who take advantage of the weekend schedule. We met many of our existing stockists and had great conversations about new recipe’s using our products. Jayne from Black Radish in Hove was particularly excited to learn about how our Florina Peppers & Chilli Tapenade pairs so well with Avocado as this will help them with vegan catering options.
Monday was the busy day as many independent shops are closed so owners take advantage to visit the show. We were busy sampling our Great Taste Awards winners and talking to shops about Christmas hamper options as many of our products fit nice and snug in hamper baskets. In the afternoon, we felt a big shadow casting over our stand and upon looking up, we saw Masterchef critic Charles Campion towering over us, accompanied by his charming wife who apparently keeps Charles organised! Our co-founders Maria and Kamil gave them a tour of our range and were well complemented about the different flavours and creations in our range. They were particularly interested in hearing our brand story, about Maria’s vision to launch Olive Branch by creating a brand from her family’s olive groves and their annual olive oil production.
The show finished on Tuesday and it was time to part from the many other producers we had made friends with. We always swap products with other producers at the end of the show which is one great advantage of the show – this year we left with some amazing roasted coffee beans, French artisan chocolate, black garlic and beautiful handmade filled pasta!