Nominate someone for the Plymouth Food Awards!

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Nominations for the Plymouth Food Awards have opened! The awards recognise organisations in Plymouth, and across Devon and Cornwall, who have benefitted individuals and organisations across the city, assessed against how they meet the aims of the Plymouth Food Charter.

While most of the awards are for organisations, schools, and eateries in Plymouth, there are two awards that we’re very interested in. Best Producer and Best Local Food Product are open to any farmer, grower or food producer based in Devon or Cornwall who supply their products into Plymouth.

This means that all of our wonderful suppliers are eligible for a nomination! If you’ve ordered a Cornish hamper recently and loved the products inside, why not nominate your favourite for one or maybe both awards? It’s really simple to do, just follow the link below for all of the information.

Maybe you ordered a Cornish Cider Hamper and loved Healey’s scrumpy or Cornish Rattler, or you went for a Cream Tea Hamper and thought that Roddas’ clotted cream was the best you’ve ever tasted? Each nomination only needs around 30 words as to why you think a supplier should win, so you don’t need to plan an essay!

You have until the 15th of June to get your nomination in, so you have plenty of time. You could even order a Cornish food hamper to remind yourself of just how wonderful our suppliers’ products are! The nominations then go to a public vote, from the 16th June to the 31st July. Finally, a judging panel will decide on the winners of each award which will be announced at the Plymouth Flavour Fest on the 17th – 19th August.

Many of our suppliers are award winners already, but I’m sure that they’d be more than happy to add another to their collection! Have a read of the details at the link below, and be sure to nominate your favourite Cornish food producer!

Enter the Plymouth Food Awards here – Cornwall Food & Drink

Congratulations to Cornish Orchards!

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Camra’s (Campaign for Real Ale) National Cider & Perry Championships took place recently, and the fantastic Cornish Orchards took the gold for their gorgeous cider.

We’ve been supplying Cornish Orchard’s wassail and pressed drinks in our hampers for a while now, and we can safely say that they more than deserve the award. Formed from the Cornish Orchards Project of the 1990’s, they have slowly been building up their orchard ever since.

1999 was their first bumper crop of apples, and it was then that they decided to start making cider and apple juice as a way to use up the surplus fruit. Their farm is now spread over a whopping 15 acres of land with over 1,300 trees producing many different varieties of apple. However, that is just at Westnorth Manor Farm, where Cornish Orchards are based. As the project planted trees across the county, apples are sent to Westnorth from all over Cornwall.

It is fantastic to see such a great maker of Cornish cider recognised for their work. Of course, it isn’t their first award. Cornish Orchards have been winning awards for years, such as a number of Taste of the West awards and a Great Taste award.

If you’d like to send a loved a Cornish cider hamper, our Cider Selection Mix Box has a bottle of Cornish Orchard’s wassail as well as other varieties of cider and scrumpy. It’s a real taste of Cornwall and is the perfect accompaniment to a hot summer’s day.

If you’d rather make something a little more personal, you can find all of Cornish Orchards’ products here. That way, you can build your own Cornish hamper and pack it full of your friend or relative’s favourite food and treats.

We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone and Cornish Orchards, and here’s to next year!

Join in with St. Austell’s Olympic Torch relay celebrations

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The Olympic Torch is due to pass through the Cornish town of St Austell next Saturday, and the whole town has planned a fantastic day of celebrations to welcome it. As well as a baking competition and a Cream Tea World Record attempt (We wonder if they’ll be as tasty as the ones in our Cream Tea Hampers!), there’s also going to be dancing and performances from a circus troupe, fairground games, a barbeque and a kids’ obstacle course.

What we’re most excited about, however, are the Cornish themed events. There will be folk musicians and Cornish dancing, and we’re hoping plenty of Cornish food, too! The whole day looks like it’s going to be a fantastic celebration of both the Olympics and everything Cornish, so we can’t wait!

Of course, if you can’t make it to St Austell on the 19th May, you could take one of our Cornish picnic hampers along to watch the torch head through your own town. They’re the perfect accompaniment for any of the Olympic events this summer. In fact, why not make your own Olympic hamper to enter our fantastic competition with?

Whatever your plans to celebrate the Olympics or the Torch relay let us know! You can leave us a comment below, or chat to us on Facebook or Twitter. Let’s get a conversation going and see if we can give some other Cornish hamper fans some inspiration for their summer!

Win a Cornish hamper!

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Have you entered our fantastic competition yet? What’s that? You haven’t? Well, why on earth not?!

It’s so, so simple to do, and you could even win a hamper straight from us! All you need to do is follow this link, and add whatever you choose to your hamper. There are no restrictions on the number of items or the price, so go nuts! Then, on the right hand side of the page, simply name your hamper, enter your details and hit Submit. It’s as easy as that!

But, I suppose you’re wondering what you’ll win! Well, the competition ends on the 1st June 2012, and we’ll then choose our favourite hamper. If yours is picked, you’ll be sent it, and the hamper will be added to the site for everyone to send to a loved one or enjoy at home.

Whether you want to put together a funny joke hamper, or carefully select your items to perfectly complement each other, the choice is up to you! Every hamper is even given its own link, so you can show your friends and family through Twitter or on Facebook.

Remember, you only have until the 1st of June, so get those thinking caps on and let’s see some fantastic Cornish hampers!

Cornish barbeque essentials!

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Despite the supposed cold snap that’s meant to hit the UK this weekend, I’m staying positive and thinking ahead to the best thing about summer: barbecues! I love them, mostly because it gives me a way to show off some of the best Cornish food around to my friends and family. I’ve decided on three things that any barbeque cannot be without, and that you should definitely be putting in your next Cornish hamper.

Image of Berrio Mill Cornish Mustards by Berrio Mill

While a lot of people like the American-style deli mustard on their burgers and sausages, I prefer Berrio Mill’s Cornish mustards. Available in four flavours, they vary from full-bodied to mild so there’s something for all tastes.

Image of Sisley's Chilli Sauce by Sisley's

Are you guessing that I like a bit of spice in my food? This great chili sauce has so many different uses and is available in Mild, Medium or Hot. It’s great on any meat and can also be used as a marinade, not to mention that it’s gorgeous with cheese too.

Image of Cornish Rattler Cider - Choice of 3 Flavours by Healey's Cider Farm

To accompany all of this great Cornish food, you need the perfect Cornish drink! And for me, that is a nice, cold bottle of Cornish Rattler poured over ice. A sparkling, cloudy cider, it’s available in apple, pear or berry varieties.

Head over to our Create Your Own Hamper page to pop all of these barbeque essentials into your own Cornish hamper, that can be sent anywhere in the UK. If this blog has got you thinking about the perfect barbeque, why not enter our competition? Simply make and name your own hamper, and the best one will be sent to its creator and made available for you all to buy. Just check out this link for all the details!

Visit the beaches with a Cornish Hamper.

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I was really happy to see that nearly 70 of Cornwall’s beaches have been rated “excellent” for water quality. This means that not only do we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the UK, but also some of the cleanest, too!  All of these beaches will be featured in this year’s Good Beach Guide, published by the Marine Conservation Society. It includes beaches such as Sennen Cove, Kennack Sands and Harlyn Bay.

This summer, why not make the most of these gorgeous beaches by visiting them with a delicious Cornish hamper? This way, not only will you be celebrating Cornwall’s wonderful scenery, but also its amazing food.

For example, our Cornish Picnic For Two Hamper has everything a couple needs to spend a romantic day together on the beach; such as a full cream tea, cheese, pickle, biscuits and pasties. Why not get to the beach for the late afternoon, after the crowds have gone, and enjoy your Cornish treats as the sun goes down? Good food and a beautiful location always make for the perfect romantic evening!

On the other hand, if you want to enjoy the beach with your kids, or perhaps a big group of friends, our Deluxe Cornish Picnic Hamper is ideal. Bursting at the seams with cheese, biscuits, sauces and pickles, pasties, scones, jam and clotted cream, I’m sure that everyone will love it.

Of course, if you’re not able to make it to Cornwall this summer, the Good Beach Guide features beaches from across the UK, meaning everyone can find their nearest one. Our Cornish hampers can be sent anywhere in the UK, so wherever you are, you can enjoy a tasty Cornish treat this summer!

Send us a review!

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If you’ve ordered a Cornish hamper from us recently and you or the recipient absolutely loved it, send us a review! We really do love hearing from our customers that are happy with our service, and it’s so easy to do. You can email us at info@simplycornishhampers.com or, with our fancy new Timeline page, you can now send us a message on Facebook.

As much as we love to get good reviews, that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to hear about the bad. If we’ve got your order wrong or you’re unhappy with our service in any way, let us know. We’ll do what we can to fix what went wrong, and we can work on improving it for the future.

You can head over to our Reviews page to see what people have said in the past, so the next time you order a Cornish hamper be sure to let us know what you thought!

The wonderful brands in our hampers!

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As those of you who have ordered from us in the past will know, our hampers are packed full of treats from the best Cornish food manufacturers across the region.  We’re so proud to be working with them, and sending their delicious products out across the UK. Today, I thought I’d have a look at three of our most well-known brands, and what makes them so special.

Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm are the masterminds behind the delicious, crisp and refreshing Cornish Rattler cider. They press around 1,000 tonnes of apples a year and their ciders are stocked across the country. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pub in Newcastle selling it recently! They also provide us with delicious scrumpy, summer fruits wine and a range of preserves.

If you had an Easter egg from us recently, then you’ll know just how gorgeous Kernow Chocolate’s goods are. They’re a small, family run company based on a farm in St Eval. They import the finest ingredients from Belgium, then make all of their bars and chocolate by hand on the farm. Their chocolate is absolutely delicious, and anyone would be glad to receive some in a hamper.

The last brand I want to mention for today is Furniss. Established in 1886, they pride themselves on making the finest Cornish fudge and biscuits, including shortbread and gingerbread. They also make traditional Fairings biscuits, which are a Cornish favourite. All of their biscuits are available in a range of flavours, making them perfect for anyone who loves a biscuit or four!

Our Cornish hampers are a wonderful way to send a taste of Cornwall to a friend or relative and with all of our items stocked from genuine Cornish brands, you can be sure that everything is deliciously authentic!

Make Your Own Hamper Competition @ Simply Cornish Hampers

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To celebrate the launch of our new shop we are running an exciting competition where the prize is the hamper you created!

We are looking for the best hamper, this might be because it makes us laugh, is a unique idea or maybe it’s just a delicious selection of products we take a particular fancy to.

There are no restrictions on price or number of items in your hamper so the only limit is your imagination.

All you need to do is create your own hamper on the website, give it a name and fill in your contact details in case you are a winner!

The fantastic prize for the winner is that their hamper will be added to our website for everyone to buy and more importantly we will send them their hamper completely free of charge.

Please note: We can only post the winning hamper to a UK address. Competition ends 01/06/12.

Click here to enter the competition

 

 

The Pasty Tax Protest March

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I know, I know, you’re probably all well and truly bored of hearing about this Pasty Tax… but I just had to mention what a roaring success the Protest March was!

Over 500 people marched through the town of Falmouth on Sunday, in the pouring rain and heavy winds. Some were dressed in traditional Cornish kilts, others in massive pasty costumes, but all with the aim of sending a message to the Government.

It really is fantastic to see the people of Cornwall rally together in such a way against this issue, and I’m truly disappointed that I couldn’t make it to the march myself. This Is Cornwall has a great write-up of the event, and the Kernow King’s Facebook page has loads of great pictures from the event.

I’d like to say well done to everyone who braved the terrible weather, and let’s hope that those at No. 10 sit up and take notice! However, now it’s time to relax in the warm with a tasty Cornish pasty!