Eco cuisine suppliers – Holtwhites Bakery
- By Sonya Meagor
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- 25 Apr, 2018
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At eco cuisine, we believe a lot of supermarkets and big brand food stores have forgotten what matters when it comes to food. Supply chains have become complex and sometimes untraceable or unclear, packaging for convenience and marketing has become more important than minimising waste and harmful plastics. Food itself is presented as one thing when it turns out to be something completely different! Sustainable and seasonal food is rarely promoted and eco friendly eating is not seen as important. These things are important to us and important to a lot of other people like us too. We believe people have a right to know what their food is, where their food comes from, how it is made and how it is processed. With this in mind we have launched a mini series on our blog all about the suppliers we use here at eco cuisine.
You can read the last post all about one of our favourite butchers here. Next up in our mini-series, we would like to introduce you to one of our favourite local bakeries – Holtwhites Bakery and Deli.
We are proud to use them for organic brioche burger rolls for our BBQs and we also use them for organic cakes like chocolate and Guinness or orange and almond (gluten free with polenta) for buffets or pastries for breakfast meetings. We have also had the pleasure of working together a couple of times to cater for events locally in Enfield.
I personally love the quality olive oils and other little treats they have in the shop too. If you are in North London and venture to Enfield, I highly recommend you visit.
Holtwhites is owner operated by Richard and Kate, a husband and wife team. They actually started out as a micro-bakery run from their own kitchen at home, where they sold the bread they baked from their kitchen door on Saturday mornings. Holtwhites Bakery and Deli as we know it today (a lovely welcoming little shop on Chase Side) opened up in 2011 when the couple took the leap of leaving their jobs to focus on the venture.
Not only do they offer freshly baked loaves, but biscuits, cakes and other sweet delights as well as their famous pizza on Thursdays they have other lovely deli offerings too.
They say: “We use only the best quality ingredients and traditional, “slow” baking methods which means that our products look, smell and taste great naturally.
We aim to delight our customers with great customer service. We want our shop to be a warm and welcoming haven for people who love good food.”
If you’ve visited them before you’ll know that not only do they have the best baked goods, but a warm and welcoming team with excellent customer service.
……Like us they are award winning.
They were joint runner-up in the BBC Good Food’s London’s Best Bakery 2014 and Telegraph Magazine’s Best Small Shops (Food) in 2012, and they have received awards for their breads in the Great Taste Awards 2013 and Tiptree World Bread Awards 2014-2017.
At eco cuisine, we take great pride in our catering and where we use suppliers we hand select them after careful consideration. You can be sure when you do business with eco cuisine, you know what you are eating and where it came from. Plus, that our suppliers have great quality produce and a similar ethos.
The Millfield theatre is home to eco cuisine and the events have been held here too for that reason.
OLIO (the food app) and NLWA (North London Waste Authority) CROPDROP (local Haringey boxed fruit/vegetable scheme) plus our very own Sonya Meagor (eco cuisine) are confirmed as our first speakers and we're For each event, we support a North London based charity related to the event theme - for this event we're delighted to collaborate with The Felix Project .
TICKETS
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainable-food-packaging-tickets-61490383392?aff=website
With less than two weeks until Christmas and the holidays nearly upon us, the shops are stocked with delicious festive treats and people are already stocking up on Christmas food fit for a feast or two.
But, just because it is Christmas doesn’t mean we should not consider what is in season and keeping sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
So, what is in season over December and the winter seasons in Britain? Well, thankfully many of the Christmas time favourites are favourites for a reason – they’re traditionally easily grown and sourced in the U.K. over winter. Cabbage, sprouts, potatoes and onions, celeriac, celery and carrots as well as parsnip and swede are all in season this time of year. Not forgetting chestnuts, beef and venison and even guinea fowl too.
So roast dinners with all the trimmings can be environmentally friendly! Of course clementines, pomegranates and dates are seasonal favourites too and these are obviously not sourced locally.
Whatever you buy and eat over the festive season, remember to consciously consume – making informed and conscious decisions about what you buy and eat.
In the lead-up to the Christmas break we enjoy hearty, warming foods, keeping us warm in the cold weather and suitably fuelled over this busy season.
We enjoy Rumbledethumps – for those who haven’t heard of it, it is the Scottish equivalent of bubble and squeak as it is often made with leftovers, though it isn’t usually fried. It is a lovely filling dish served as a side or when served with a nice piece of fish or chicken breast can even be a substantial main meal.
Rumbledethumps
550g large potatoes,
350g swede
60g unsalted butter
250g kale, finely sliced
1 small onion diced
Sprigs of thyme
25g cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Peel and chop the potatoes and the swede and chop into large chunks. Next, boil in a saucepan tender. Drain and return to the pan.
Heat three quarters of the butter in a pan on medium low heat and cook the kale and the onions for a few minutes, until the kale is tender and onions lightly browned.
Add the kale and onions to the pan with the potatoes and swede then add the remaining butter and mash together. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the mashed medley into an ovenproof dish and top with the cheese. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes, or until piping hot and golden-brown on top. Serve with fresh thyme.
What winter dishes keep you going in the lead-up to the Christmas break? Let us know in the comments.
