LAST YEAR at the request of a friend, Robert Corrigan was asked to produce a vegetable pie for sampling at the Crail Food Festival.  The pies went down a storm and this year he’s keen to showcase his full range of award-winning pies.

Robert owns and runs the Fife-based Mr C’s Hand Crafted Pies and was keen to tell me how he got involved with this year’s festival:

‘Last year my good friend Christopher Trotter, Food Writer and Consultant (Fife Food Ambassador) phoned me and explained he was doing a platter at the festival but everything contained meat. He asked if I would I be able to make a vegetable pie for sampling, and of course, I said “yes”.’

Although the vegetable pie was a resounding success, Robert currently has no plans to add it to Mr. C’s range but is looking forward to giving visitors a proper taste of his products this year:

‘I would rather have people taste pies that they can actually buy, rather than one with my name on that they can’t and I really want to let the people of Fife try them; this year I’m delighted Mr. C’s will be at the festival.’

In 2006 Robert was looking for a new catering project and while representing the UK for Slow Food at Terra Madre in Turin, he attended a workshop where he learned of farmers’ frustration with chefs neglecting so called lesser cuts of meat in favour of prime cuts and not utilising the whole animal.

On his return to the UK, Robert came up with the idea of a high quality, hand-made pie similar to a Melton Mowbray one.

He spent time with some of the best pie producers in Britain, honing his skills by studying their techniques. Combining that knowledge with a trusty pork stuffing recipe, Robert now had a finished product.

Pies from Mr C

Robert tells me about the recipe for his Savoury Pork Pie:

‘The recipe is one I’ve used for about 27 years; in various hotels I worked in I instructed the chefs to use my recipe for the stuffing for Christmas. I just took out the breadcrumbs, egg and chestnuts and that became the Savoury Pork Pie mix.’

Robert’s pork, leek and pancetta pie gained the company award-winning status very early on in the life of the business and Mr C explained how that mix came to life:

‘The pork, leek and pancetta mix was actually a sausage mix from Crombie’s (of Edinburgh) that I using to make pies and selling back to them. I did not know Crombie’s had a UK producer’s number so I could not use this mix for other customers.

‘I knew Lord Hopetoun was a fan of these pies I made with that mix and decided to make up a mix of my own for a presentation pie to celebrate the opening of the Hopetoun Farm Shop.  I made the first batch myself and the rest went in the freezer for another day.’

‘The mix for Lord Hopetoun was the very first pork, leek and pancetta mix I had ever made and he was happy with it. I froze the other pies from that same batch the week before and sent one to the British Pie Awards where it won me gold! I hadn’t even tasted it!’

This is an incredible honour, especially for a business in its infancy; I wondered how Robert reacted when he found out:

‘I was actually making pies with a friend and an email came in (this was around three weeks after the awards) saying I could now order the gold sticker and I said to my friend, “What are they on about?”

‘So I phoned up the Melton Mowbray Pie Association and asked about the email and she replied “Oh, you won gold!” and that was how I found out I had won! So did I expect it? No, I didn’t even check the results; I was too busy making pies!’

The Piggy Black pie from Mr C’s

Despite stacking up a host of awards since and being championed by food broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli, Robert decided to rebrand the company. Originally known as Acanthus pies, he wanted to give the company a more personal touch and told me how this came about:

‘I wanted something personal to me but that’s also not hard to pronounce, as many people couldn’t pronounce Acanthus and didn’t know what it meant.

‘My surname is Corrigan which I didn’t want to use because in Glasgow there’s Bernard Corrigan’s, the fishmonger.’

‘You then have Richard Corrigan the chef, which was another potential mix up.  Then I remembered many of the staff in the numerous hotels I’ve worked in called me Mr. C.  At the end of February, we changed from Acanthus and launched Mr. C’s.’

Using the best produce is very important for any artisan producer and Robert is no different. He sources his produce from suppliers such as Ramsay’s of Carluke, who supply him with outdoor reared Scottish pork, Smoked Streaky bacon and black pudding, Shipton Mill for organic flour and Highland Game venison.

Asked if he was keen to add to his impressive tally of medals this year, Robert responded modestly:

‘Eh, who knows?  I’d rather say nothing and if I win something you’ll hear about it!’ (As we prepared this article Mr C found he’d won the Richard III award –  A Pie fit for a King – at the British Pie Awards).

Make sure you pop by and taste the Mr. C’s delicious pies at the Crail Food Festival – we should be proud of the artisan producers we have here in Fife!

Along with the celebrated Pork, Leek and Pancetta pie and Savoury Pork variety, you can also enjoy fillings such as Savoury Pork, Chicken and Ham (Bronze award, 2012) and the bronze award-winning Piggy Black (pork, leek and pancetta with black pudding) from various stockists.

The pies are available at Donald Russell of Inverurie, Crombie’s of Edinburgh, Hopetoun Farm Shop, Peelham Farm, Cornerstone Deli , Loch Leven’s Larder, and the Wee Pie Company, Campbells Prime Meats, Fortnum and Mason London, Forman and Field London, Inverawe Smokehouses, East Coast Deli – Ullapool, The Spey Larder Aberlour, Gloagburn Farm Shop, Lochbyre Rare Bread Meat – Newton Mearns and The Scottish Cafe, The Mound, Edinburgh.

Find out more:

Robert Corrigan of Mr C’s Pies on Twitter @AcanthusPies and Rachel Gillon’s Blog about Mr C’s Pies - Acanthus Handmade Award-Winning Pies

This article was submitted by Phil Cook, who writes his food blog Philly’s Food World, and can be contacted on Twitter @PhilsFoodWorld.

I still remember vividly the tsunami of chocolate envy that engulfed me when I first read Joanne Harris’ evocative description of Vianne Rocher’s “Grand Festival du Chocolat”. Her graphic description of sensuous encounters of the cocoa kind was almost too much for any chocolate-loving girl to endure. And so it was with a definite frisson of anticipation that I arrived in Pittenweem on Easter Monday to take part in a promisingly entitled “Chocolate Making Workshop” – just one of the events in Pittenweem’s Grand Festival of Chocolate.

Chocolate making enthusiasts at the Pittenweem Chocolate Company workshop

The festival was the brainchild of Sophie Latinis, founder and chocolatier at The Pittenweem Chocolate Company and proprietor of the town’s Cocoa Tree Café. Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone so well versed in chocolate etiquette, Sophie is Belgian by extraction. However, to lead the workshop, she had invited a fellow chocolatier, Charlotte Flower from Acharn near Aberfeldy. Charlotte is a weel kent face in Scottish chocolate circles, and her fascination with foraging means the flavour of her unique chocolates varies according to what is in season at any time, which could be rosemary, lavender, Scots Pine, wild mint or soft fruits, among others.

Perhaps ironically, one of the first things I discovered when I reported to Pittenweem Church Hall on Monday afternoon, resplendent in my favourite Snoopy apron, was that neither Sophie nor Charlotte is particularly fond of the term “chocolatier”, which they feel tends to conjure up connotations of – in their words – “men with extremely tall hats and egos to match.”

Job titles duly dispensed with, it was quickly evident to the four apprentice chocolatiers for the afternoon that our two mentors were knowledgeable and passionate about every conceivable aspect of chocolate, from pod to final product. Both spoke animatedly about the difficulties and benefits of encouraging larger chocolate companies to source their beans from Fair Trade producers. They also talked in reverent tones about their occasional sorties to the Salon de Chocolat in Paris, where the top chocolatiers (resplendent in their tall hats, bien sûr) battle it out in the various disciplines of the chocolate championships.  To the four of us, sitting mesmerised by their ready flow of information, it all sounded like another world: a world with a chocolate centre…

Multifarious white, milk and dark chocolate concoctions were dotted around the kitchen in a cornucopia of pots, pans and other heating devices, so the temptation to dip one’s finger into the beckoning mixtures was at times excruciating. However, we all dutifully managed to retain our self-control for the first 10 minutes, as Charlotte and Sophie had stressed the importance of making sure that the chocolate was adequately “tempered” before we began working with it.

Charlotte explained: “Chocolate is an amazing substance, and cooking with it is like being in a scientific laboratory. If you look at chocolate under a microscope, you’ll see an emulsion comprised of a medium of cocoa butter in which are suspended small particles of cocoa solids and tiny particles of sugar.

“When cocoa butter crystallises,” she continued, “it can form into any one of 6–7 different structures, which makes it a rather fickle product to work with.  If chocolate callets (like thick chocolate buttons to you and me) aren’t melted and cooled correctly, the chocolate won’t form the correct crystal structure.” Apparently, that means it won’t snap and – quelle horreur! – that it may well develop a bloom (the familiar unattractive grey residue that we sometimes see on chocolate).

We were shown how to test for correct tempering by pouring a sample of molten chocolate onto a strip of plastic to see how well it set – if the chocolate is correctly tempered, when it hardens it should be shiny and make a distinctive “snap” when broken in two.  As it transpired, the melting chocolate wasn’t quite ready for our ministrations at that point, so instead we turned our eager attentions to the equally fascinating art of truffle making.

From pod to chocolate delights – the stages in the chocolate making process

Charlotte produced several bowls of gorgeous ganache (a mixture of chocolate and cream) in a variety of flavours including plain dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate ginger, and chocolate flavoured with lavender. She then demonstrated how to make a white chocolate ganache flavoured with real lemon zest. It looked utterly amazing, its rich, golden yellow colour being surpassed only by its tantalising lemon taste which transported one’s taste buds straight to Sicily.

As instructed, we each rolled ourselves a selection of “ganache balls” and once they had set firm, we dipped our truffles tentatively into bowls of different types of molten chocolate. Fortunately, we had been equipped with the requisite “dipping forks” for this precarious process and were able to remove all our mini-masterpieces safely without having to dive into the bowls of molten chocolate after them (although admittedly, that prospect was not an unpleasant one…).

Myriad sprinklings (ranging from crunchy strawberry balls to cocoa tips to slivers of caramel) were provided for decorative purposes, and we were also given tiny piping bags so we could add ornamentation in contrasting colours of chocolate.  Truffles duly completed, we turned our attentions to making – and decorating – a bar of chocolate.  This process began with the rather unlikely task of “polishing” the inside of the moulds with wads of cotton wool, as Charlotte warned us that any greasy fingerprint or other imperfection on the inside of the mould would spoil the shiny appearance of our finished bar.

Next we ran the moulds under the inviting fountain of milky brown chocolate emanating from the magic chocolate melting machine, and scraped off any excess before knocking the mould firmly (but carefully) on the table surface several times, to bring to the surface and burst any lurking air bubbles.  Last but not least, there was another flurry of sprinkling as we “personalised” our bars with our choice of tempting toppings.

While the chocolate and truffles were setting,  Sophie talked us through the many and complex processes involved in chocolate production, starting by showing us a genuine cocoa pod containing still damp cocoa beans (each pod contains around 30), which looked a far cry from the dried and roasted beans which she showed us next.

Deluxe chocolate from Pittenweem Chocolate Company for Tasting

She explained that the beans are removed from the pod and then fermented (for anything from three to ten days, depending on the producers’ patience and schedule) before being dried, roasted and ground to create a cocoa paste. It was certainly mind-boggling to learn how many processes the humble cocoa bean undergoes before ending up as the melt-in-the-mouth chocolate we know and love. All of which brought us neatly to the culmination of the workshop: a chocolate tasting session featuring three different types of pure dark chocolate. Sophie forbade us to bite the chocolate samples, instructing us instead to allow each piece of chocolate to melt gradually on our tongue, so that we could pick out the characteristic flavours.

Square Sparrow’s masterpieces made at the Chocolate Workshop

It goes without saying that I was in my element: talking about, working with and learning how to “taste” chocolate properly. There really was no better way for a self-confessed chocoholic to spend the afternoon of Easter Monday. However, sadly all good things must come to an end and before we knew it, it was time to pack our truffles proudly into smart golden boxes and slip our customised bars of chocolate into see-through cellophane sleeves. It had been a truly wonderful afternoon characterised by laughter, creativity and, above all, a shared passion for chocolate – Vianne Rocher would most certainly have approved.

Find out more about the Pittenweem Chocolate Company:
Website: The Pittenweem Chocolate Company
Facebook page: The Cocoa Tree Cafe
Twitter page: @PittenweemChoco

Find out more about Charlotte Flower Chocolates:
Website: Charlotte Flower Chocolates and Blog
Facebook page: Charlotte Flower Chocolates on Facebook
Twitter page: @cocoaflower

This article has been submitted to Crail Food Festival by food, family and lifestyle blogger SquareSparrow.  You can read more by visiting http://square-sparrow.blogspot.co.uk/ or join me on http://www.facebook.com/square.sparrow  or send me a Tweet @SquareSparrow.

The village of Anstruther in Fife’s East Neuk has a history of French connections, not least the fact that it is twinned with the French town of Bapaume. Maybe it is no surprise then that this is where Frenchman Julien Poix decided to open his French deli, La Petite Epicerie (“The little Deli”) in 2009. Julien, who has over 15 years’ experience in the restaurant and catering industry, moved from France to Scotland over 10 years ago. Why Anstruther? He was drawn to the wealth of local produce and beautiful, peaceful surroundings and hoped that the steadier hours of a deli would be a better balance between his passion for food and his family than the long hours of working in a restaurant.

From France to Anstruther

I think France and Scotland both share a passion for food but was interested in Julien’s take on the culinary differences between the two countries. He said that in France people tended to eat later in the evening, giving them more time to prepare food and there is a big focus on quality ingredients. I wish I spent a bit more time cooking with better ingredients rather than rushing home from work and chucking another dubious ready meal into the microwave! Fortunately, I discovered that La Petite Epicerie’s treasure trove of the best of local and continental food could help me. How? By providing the key ingredients to better everyday meals which are good value and easy to make.

Clockwise from top: Exterior of La Petite Epicerie, Julien standing behind the counter, French pink garlic and onion, the deli’s magnificent fromage counter

I bought a hamper and a steak pie from La Petite Epicerie last week. Armed with these goodies I was able to whip up four delicious dishes tout de suite:-

1. STEAK PIE HEAVEN - La Petite Epicerie quite simply sells the best steak pies I’ve ever tasted. Julien makes them in the shop using steak from local East Neuk butcher extraordinaire, J.B. Penman of Crail. I first discovered their hearty, moreish charms one New Year’s Day, when one large La Petite Epicerie steak pie disappeared very quickly into six hungry mouths! This time round I cooked the pie with simple parmentier potatoes (local new potatoes par boiled, cubed and roasted in the oven with a bit of Very Lazy’s garlic, chopped onion, rosemary and oil or butter) and some local carrots and leeks (chopped and fried with a little olive oil and a splash of Calvados). A simple but oh so génial evening meal!

2. CLASSIC GAULISH STARTER – La Petite Epicerie’s incredible selection of imported terrines and pâtés make for a simple, superfast but delicious starter or snack, paired with biscuits or just toast. There are lots of duck and other meaty terrines as well as tempting seafood ones – I went for the Wild Boar Terrine for my hamper because it was a bit different and French, the sort of thing which Asterix might have eaten in ancient Gaul. I selected some Italian Bruschette Maretti mixed cheese flavour biscuits to go with it.

Seafood terrines at La Petite Epicerie

3. FIFE FARFALLE - I made a simple weeknight supper with two fantastic fresh, seasonal local ingredients from the deli – Wild Garlic Pesto from Fife’s Trotters’ Independent Condiments (the colour and smell of which is wonderfully intense) and Anster cheese with chives from the St Andrews Cheese Company, near Anstruther. I simply boiled some dried pasta, roasted chopped peppers, cherry tomatoes and onion in the oven and put it all together with the Pesto, some olive oil and the Anster cheese grated on the top, Quick, fresh and garlicky – fantastique!

4. MOROCCAN MID-WEEK MARVEL - Finally I used the Gustosecco Tangier Couscous (which has apricots, almonds and vine fruits in it) and homemade Mint Infused Olive Oil from La Petite Epicerie to make another quick but superbly tasty mid-week meal. I chopped chicken breast, coated it with some Harissa paste and seasoning and pan fried it. Meanwhile I made the couscous – which couldn’t be simpler – and mixed in pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs, seasoning and some of the olive oil. I served the chicken and couscous with some supermarket-bought tzatziki on the side and a cheeky wee glass of vin rouge.

Hamper from La Petite Epicerie – priced by ingredients

By the end of the week it was clear that I’d been eating better, more exotic, fresher meals, without the pain of spending huge amounts of time cooking, stressing or looking for recipes. Magnifique!

Julien is always on the lookout for great new local and continental products for his customers but La Petite Epicerie is not just about quality products. It’s clear that Julien is genuinely passionate about providing great service to help his customers. He recently introduced some recipe cards into the shop to help customers who are having trouble deciding what to buy. I think this is an excellent idea which more shops should be doing. The deli also offers a free home delivery service within a 10 mile radius, a service Julien started to help out elderly customers who were stuck at home, unable to travel to the shop in bad weather. In a nutshell, as one customer said, the deli “brings back the France-Scotland Auld Alliance to our community and treats us to wonderful service and foods.”

Julien hopes one day to open a second deli but right now he’s busy expanding his outside catering service (he’s already catered for dinners, birthdays, christenings and even weddings). Any time off is spent with his young family, recently enlarged by the birth of his second son.

The Crail Food Festival is “a fantastic opportunity to showcase local food suppliers and what a community spirit the local area has”, he says. We’ll have to wait and see which local and continental products La Petite Epicerie will be selling at this year’s Festival to help us improve our everyday cuisine (though dressed crab and game terrine are in season so they could be amongst them). Whatever they are I can’t wait to do my bit for the Auld Alliance and try them out!

Find out more:
Website: www.la-petite-epicerie.co.uk
Facebook page: La Petite Epicerie Deli
Twitter page: @EpicerieDeli

This article has been written for the Crail Food Festival by Sara Scott aka The East Neuk Blogger. You can read more by visiting http://rosecottageeastneuk.blogspot.co.uk or send me a Tweet @RoseCottageFife.

The opportunity to chew the fat with a fellow foodie is always welcome – and this certainly proved to be the case last week when I popped in at Seriously Good Venison’s state-of-the-art production premises at Jamesfield organic farm, near Abernethy, for a chat with dynamic company director Vikki Banks as the run-up to Crail Food Festival begins. On reflection, it would be more appropriate to describe our discussion as “chewing the lean”, since Vikki is quick to point out that one of venison’s major attributes is its incredibly low fat content.

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“Venison is high in omega 3 and high in iron – so it’s good for mums-to-be,” she explains, adding enthusiastically, “And it contains less fat than skinless chicken breasts!” This is sweet music to the ears of Yours Truly, who is extremely fond of venison. Confirmation that it is one of the healthiest meats around means that in future I can ladle it on to my plate with a crystal clear conscience.

A fine food aficionado with an impressive track record in mail order, Vikki began her career working at Scotland Direct in 1996. After that she consolidated and widened her retail experience by running her own online speciality food company for several years in partnership with a friend. In September 2009, she joined Fletchers of Auchtermuchty as a manager, initially working alongside owners John and Nichola Fletcher before buying them out completely on 31^st March last year.

Vikki speaks with a genuine passion about deer. She points to her computer screen, where the background photo features a strapping stag called “Rascal”, of whom she is evidently particularly fond. “He’ll never end up on a plate,” she says firmly, although she proceeds to tell me candidly about her state-of-the-art butchery facilities which we can see clearly from her office window. As we talk, Master Butcher Paul Douglas and his QMS apprentice Andrew McKeen are busy preparing and packing meat for a forthcoming local farmers’ market. Most Seriously Good venison (47%) is sold directly to customers at such markets; 28% is sold online, having been cut to order and vacuum packed; and the remainder is sold on a wholesale basis.

When she took over the business from the Fletchers, Vikki was keen to retain the impeccable welfare systems which the company founders had already put in place at their farm at Reediehill, near Auchtermuchty. So the deer are still culled out in the field by a single shot to the head, thus avoiding the stress of them being rounded up and transported in a lorry to the alien environment of an abattoir.

This aspect of Seriously Good Venison’s deer husbandry is not only beneficial from a welfare point of view; it also ensures the meat is exceptionally tender, as there is no rush of toughening, stress-induced adrenalin.

The deer at Reediehill are out at grass all year round, with the calves being weaned from their mothers before winter and kept indoors during the coldest winter months to build up their strength. They are put out to grass again, usually around April, and then live free range on the extensive pastures. They are given no antibiotics, so the meat does not require a withdrawal period. Moreover, it is hung traditionally and is “trimmed within an inch of its life” (to quote Vikki!) to ensure optimal quality and flavour.

The recent press circus surrounding meat contamination held no fears for Vikki, whose products follow a clear provenance path from the field to her FSA-approved butchery facility. “In the past month, we’ve had inspections from the EHO (Environmental Health Officers) and the Food Standards Agency,” she tells me, smiling and relaxed. “But they’re welcome to come whenever they like, as we’re definitely not hiding any horses here!”

Asked if she feels the horsemeat crisis has had a tangible impact on her business, she replies: “Well, we certainly haven’t had to push our product. I think people are understandably becoming more discerning when buying meat, and that’s very much in our favour.”

When I enquire about what the future is likely to hold for Seriously Good Venison, Vikki talks excitedly about her plans to move the herd to a new home near Cupar, Fife, in the coming months. She will also be undertaking a re-branding exercise, which will see Seriously Good Beef and Seriously Good Lamb added to the company’s product portfolio.

Of course, it would have been rude to leave without purchasing a couple of packs of venison – purely for research purposes, of course… Naturally I ask Vikki, being the expert in such matters, for a couple of suggestions and she recommends serving the steaks with either a blue cheese sauce (see recipe below) or a rowan jelly jus. Back at home, a family vote came out in favour of the latter, so that’s what was on the menu chez Sparrow last Friday evening. As a result, I can happily confirm that Seriously Good Venison more than lives up to its name!

Free download: SGV Steak tips for you to Download

Free recipe for you: Haunch Steaks in blue cheese sauce

Venison Fillet in Blue Cheese sauce also works well

Find out more:

Website:  http://www.seriouslygoodvenison.co.uk/

Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/SeriouslyGoodVenison?fref=ts

Twitter page: @SGVenison

This article has been submitted to Crail Food Festival by food, family and lifestyle blogger SquareSparrow.  You can read more by visiting http://square-sparrow.blogspot.co.uk/ or join me on http://www.facebook.com/square.sparrow  or send me a Tweet @SquareSparrow.

One of our aims as a community festival is to help small businesses who work with us to learn from others about how they use some of the tools available to promote their business.  We hope you’ll enjoy this insight into how two of our producers are using Facebook to promote their business.

Founded in 2004 as a way for college students in the USA to keep in touch with one another, Facebook has become part of everyday life and connections between friends for many people world wide.  In the UK, over 50% of the population has a Facebook account, and anyone with a Facebook account can create a page for something they’re passionate about – which could be you, and your business!

Two of the businesses who are returning for the 2013 Crail Food Festival are run by Tanya Muttitt (Days Gone Bye Jams and Home Made Preserves) and Darren Mollan (Chilli Papas). We spoke to them about how they promote their business using Facebook.

Tanya started her business selling Jams and Home Made Preserves back in 2010, selling at car boot sales and progressing to selling at events throughout Fife (and beyond).  Her aim is to reintroduce our clients to the taste of “real ” jams and preserves. Just like your granny would have made – full of fruit and taste.  Tanya’s business is currently in the process of setting up a shop in Newport, Fife where she will sell her preserves, as well as providing a base for other local crafts people and artisans to trade.

How does Days Gone Bye Jams and Homemade Preserves use Facebook?

Tanya’s Tips for using Facebook to promote her home-based business

1. A home-based business may not have the resources for a website in the early days, so a Facebook Page for your business can help to spread the word without the cost of web development.
2. Be true to yourself. Share items which are important to your business and your potential customers.  Don’t participate in artificial ways to inflate your number of followers if you want genuine contacts with people who are real customers.
3. When you are going to be selling at an event, ask the organisers for a digital copy of a poster for the event and use it to make a post on your timeline.  Helps your customers to know where they’ll be able to buy from you.
4. Share the event on your own timeline and ask your helpful friends to share it with their friends.
5. Share information about what you’re making so that your followers get to know about it, and can contact you.  Take pictures when you’re producing your preserves, and post them on your Facebook page.
6. Work to support charities and the publicity gained will help more people find out about your business.  Tanya mentioned her support for animal charities, “Help for Heroes”, and an army wives charity.  She gives prizes for raffles and this leads to more people tasting her products and becoming customers for the future.
7. Be prepared for your business to have to “think global” – Facebook is an international medium and Tanya’s business has had to find out how to package and ship products to different parts of the world after people have sampled her wares and want to re-order.
8. Remember to include details of how your customers can find you on Facebook on your printed materials – business cards and jars were specifically mentioned by Tanya.

Darren Mollan of Chilli Papas also has a home-based business, creating curry mixes and spice and herb blends to help people make delicious low-fat home cooked meals from raw ingredients.  Darren set up his business in 2010, just as we were devising the plan for the first ever Crail Food Festival.  Looking for a low cost way to reach potential customers, Darren set up his Facebook page as a central part of his business strategy, and has made a huge effort to grow the Facebook following for his page.

How does Chilli Papas use Facebook?

Darren’s top tips for using Facebook to promote his home-based business

1. You have to work at it.  Darren posts on Chilli Papas’ Facebook page every day, either featuring photographs from his business, or asking topical questions of his followers to get people talking.  The more people who engage with your Facebook page, the more their friends are likely to see the comments and join in or become a new follower.
2. Vary the times of day when you post as you will get different people interacting at different times.  Sometimes post the same item of news twice or three times in a day to ensure that you reach as many of your followers as possible.
3. Darren sees his Facebook page as just like having a shop – if you talk to your customers when they pop in, they’re more likely to remain customers and return to buy more.
4. Facebook provides the interaction with customers which allows Chilli Papas to grow.  By using Facebook to offer new products free to existing customers to sample, Darren has grown his spice and herb blends from just 3 products in year one to 5 products in year 2, to the current 9 products, with 3 more in development.  He asks his customers about the balance of ingredients and adjusts the flavour of the mixes to suit customer taste before launching the ‘final’ product.  Big business develops products in a similar way, by testing, sampling and refining the offering until it is deemed acceptable to launch.  Darren has direct contact to create new products in line with his customer demands.  He says “I couldn’t have done it without Facebook.”
5. Facebook fans will help to spread the word about your business by letting you know that they’re cooking with your products, posting photographs and asking for advice about recipes.
6. Sharing personal items helps Chilli Papas’ customers to understand more about the business.  Darren is a house-Dad whose first priority is to make sure his children are looked after.  He works on his business late into the evenings to ensure that orders are met, so if he falls behind occasionally he can keep his customers informed and manage expectations via the Facebook page.
7. Using a Business Page within Facebook is important for Darren as it gives him Facebook Insights which help him to monitor what’s working and what is not.  He can see how many people his posts are reaching and which posts are most popular, which also helps him determine when the best time is to post for maximum impact.
8. Use Facebook applications to display reviews from customers – you can see what people are writing on the ChilliStars page.
9. Use Facebook to sell your products.  Chilli Papas has used an app to set up their on-line Chilli Papas shop within Facebook, which allows customers to shop without leaving Facebook.
10. Feature your favourite customers or stockists regularly. Chilli Papas is running a “stockist of the week” feature, giving extra exposure to other businesses, as well as showing their customers where they can buy Chilli Papas products.
11. Focus on your favourite social media application and it will pay dividends.  Each one has different strengths and weaknesses.  Chilli Papas puts the effort into Facebook and it reaps rewards.  They are also using Twitter, but the interaction there is different and requires a different approach.

Crail has many things. Wonderful seafood, a glorious harbour, a fantastic annual food festival, and …it’s very own beer! What initially started as a one off brew to mark the second year of the Crail Food Festival, has proved to be a hit with the locals across Fife and beyond.

At the Crail Food Festival 2012

Produced by the St. Andrews Brewing Company, the idea for the beer came with a brief – it had to complement one of the festival’s best assets, its fish, whilst still giving enough of a punch to help wash down a curry. The end product was a 4.5% pale ale, with fresh citrus hops, and Munich Malt, which helped to give the beer its unique flavour and a delicious grapefruit finish.

Beyond the Festival, Crail Ale went out to the Brewery’s stockists in July 2012, where rave reviews soon followed – Peter Wood of the St Andrews Wine Company was particularly fond of the beer, giving it 91/100 in his review.

The Ale has now well and truly taken the local beer world by storm, with stockists across Britain, as well as heavy demand for the product online – more than 5,000 bottles have been sold since its launch at the Crail Food Festival in 2012. Each bottle plays homage to its origins, with a label dedicated to the Crail Food Festival.

Crail Ale’s sister product, Strawberry Crail, also proved to be a hit. Lovingly made with local Crail strawberries, this ale will be available during strawberry season at the Fife Farmers Market and the Crail Food Festival 2013. In addition to these fantastic brews, there will also be a Crail Special and Neuk Special on offer at the Festival. A 7.4% IPA and a 6.6% dark Ale, you’ll find something to keep that thirst at bay.

Find out more:
Website - St. Andrews Brewing Company, or St Andrews Brewing Company on Facebook or St Andrews Brewing Company on Twitter

Article by: Chiara Panozzo – read more at: Wine and Olives