Last year Bel Foodservice UK ran a national competition challenging school children to write a story about ‘The Cow who Laughed’.   The winners were Jona Demiri of Montem Primary School in Islington and Chloe Brenton of Baguley Hall County Primary School in Manchester.
 

Both girls scooped a £100 book token and a party for their class with The Laughing Cow and James Campbell.   


The Laughing Cow herself attended both parties, together with her friends from the farm, Kung Fu Kev, Big Baz and Sybil Stirrer.  


Campbell entertained the children, before the winners and classmates put their culinary skills to the test in a Ready Steady Cook style competition with Bel chefs. Charlotte Leventis visited Montem Primary School and Paul Robinson visited Baguley Hall County Primary School.

Each team was challenged to create a tasty wrap using The Laughing Cow cheese and a selection of ingredients.


The competition was judged by the Bel Chefs and James Campbell who tasted each wrap, giving comments on presentation, flavours and use of ingredients.  


The winning team at Montem, who named themselves “Fat Cows”, consisted of six boys:  Exauce Mombale, Faisal Mohamoud Naleye, Sacki Warsami, Zakariya Hassain, Leonis Shala, Janel Small.


The winning wrap at Baguley Hall, was named The Zinger and the team was made up of Alex Jordon-Pennington, Reece Murray, Leah Miller and Lauren Girdlestoe


Adéle Bird, channel marketing manager, Bel Foodservice UK said: “The events were a great success – the children really enjoyed themselves. Congratulations to Jona and Chloe for winning our competition with their great stories.”

 

After winning the Bolton heat in October, Russell’s smoked salmon, spinach and Boursin Garlic & Herb pizza impressed the judges once more in the final. Camilla Deane from Bel Foodservice UK, one of the judges, presented Russell with his prize at the Awards Dinner held on 24 November 2011 at London’s Lancaster Hotel.

Competitors had to incorporate Boursin Garlic & Herb into their recipes. Its crumbly texture and delicious taste is ideal for giving a twist to your pizza toppings and can also be used instead of a tomato sauce when creating a pizza bianca.

The survey revealed that provenance is important with a staggering 85% of consumers expecting to see French produce on a cheeseboard. It also showed how important cheeseboards are to consumers at this time of year, with nearly 60% of consumers treating themselves to a cheeseboard when dining out for a special occasion, like Christmas.

Findings also showed that consumers expect to pay 10% more for a cheeseboard than they do for dessert and are willing to spend an average of £5.14. With bookings for seasonal parties already well underway it seems that pubs, restaurants and hotels should make sure that their menu is ready to capitalise on this opportunity at Christmas and throughout the rest of the year.

Since they’re happy to pay a premium, consumers expect good value for their money with 80% agreeing that it’s important to have a good selection of cheese and 85% expecting to see between three and six pieces of cheese on a cheeseboard. 

While cheese is central to the offer, it’s also important to include extras on a cheeseboard. With nearly 85% of consumers expecting to partner their cheese with biscuits, over 70% with grapes and nearly 50% with chutney, there’s more to consider than the range of cheese.

Adéle Bird, channel marketing manager, Bel Foodservice UK said: “The findings of this survey reveal how important cheeseboards are to consumers.  They expect to see cheeseboards on menus this Christmas and operators need to ensure they offer consumers a cheese offer that meets their high expectations. Offer brands of cheese they recognise such as Port Salut or Boursin and get your customers sharing and enjoying your festive cheese board.

Camilla Deane, foodservice controller, Bel Foodservice UK was one of the judges: “Pizza is one of the UK’s most popular foods and research has shown that artisan pizzas, regionally led and produced in open kitchens, will increase in popularity[1]. Pizza chefs can offer this by thinking outside the box and being unafraid to experiment. As we’ve seen at the heats, playing with different flavours, textures and combinations can create some incredible dishes - it makes our job as judges very difficult!”

Recipes such as Garlic prawn and spicy pepper with Boursin and Green Thai chicken were crafted by the South East’s most talented pizza chefs and enjoyed by all.

Adéle Bird, channel marketing manager, Bel Foodservice UK said: “We’re excited to be sponsoring this competition and for people to see how versatile Boursin is as an ingredient. I was lucky enough to try some of the pizzas and they really did taste just as good as they looked, if not better. Cheese is key for pizza designers and we believe that chefs should be able to use the best products possible to impress their customers.”  

Heats in Bolton and Glasgow have already taken place and the fourth and final heat will be held in Bristol on Monday 24 October. The final will be held ahead of the Pizza, Pasta and Italian Food awards evening on Thursday 24 November, when the Pizza Designer of the Year 2011 will be crowned.

Winners

Boursin Garlic & Herb Cheese Category:

Pasquale Spaziano from Pizzeria Rustica

Smoked salmon, crayfish and Boursin pizza

Dell’Ami Kalamata Greek Olive Category:

Neil McCulloch from Solway Foods

Kalamata olive and red pepper pesto pizza

Birra Morretti Beer Category:

Robert Tucker & Cesare Marinaro from Pizzeria Venezia

“Hat Man” pizza

Whitworth’s Pizza Flour Category:

Robert Tucker & Cesare Marinaro from Pizzeria Venezia

Calabria pizza

[1] Allegra Strategies Eating Out in the UK 2011 Report

After four fiercely contested regional heats held across March and April (in Manchester, Glasgow, London and Birmingham) each finalist was ready to prove that they deserved the title.

The contestants had to compete in five different categories, with the overall winner being determined by their performance as a whole. After being dazzled by the quality of entries at the London heat, held at Bel UK in March, Camilla Deane (Foodservice Controller) was excited to see how the finalists would fare at the final stage of the competition. “Each year we see more bold designs than we did in the previous years and it’s an honour to recognise talent in an industry that has a value of over £6 billion.”

Bel UK and The Cheese Cellar sponsor a category each year, with Smoked Port Salut selected as this year’s ingredient. “This is a really interesting cheese,” continues Camilla, “And we’ve had some terrific feedback from contestants who love its gourmet flair and versatility”. Indeed, last year’s winner Robbie Gleave has described it as one of his “favourite cheeses”.

This year’s winner in the Bel UK /Cheese Cellar category was Ben Curtis from Bradgate Bakery, Leicester. His winning combination of Smoked Port Salut, carrot and coriander raita with Brinjal Pickle made for a delicious wrap.

Camilla and the rest of the judges were impressed by the unusual combination of French cheese with Indian ingredients. “It really epitomises the sort of creativity that we’re looking to recognise in sandwich designing. Experimenting with different ingredients can lead to a surprising but ultimately award winning sandwich,” say Camilla. “We’re already looking forward to seeing next year’s entries!”  

“Cheeseboards are fantastically simple to prepare and incredibly versatile. They make an impressive grand finale to any festive feast and are also great sharing options so can be used on lunchtime menus as a tasty alternative to sandwiches. The cheeseboard offers chefs a blank canvas to demonstrate creativity by including seasonal fruits and home made chutneys, jams, pickles and biscuits while front of house can use them to trade up by matching winter-warming ports, whisky and wine,” comments Lacey Bradshaw, brand manager, Bel Foodservice UK.

Bel’s cheeseboard tips

• Include a variety of textures and tastes to create interest for the palate. Try combining Boursin, with its crumbly texture and distinctive, sophisticated taste with smooth and creamy Port Salut and sweet, nutty Leerdammer to create a full flavour experience.
• Allow the cheeses to reach room temperature and their flavours to develop before serving. 
• To create a premium dish, serve on a wooden, marble or slate cheese board decorated with a selection of chutneys, preserves, pickles and fruits such as grapes and figs. Why not try Garry McMeckan’s delicious peach chutney? (recipe below)
• Serve with a selection of crackers, oatcakes or even toasted artisan style bread.
• Try serving with a rich red wine such as Valdivieso Merlot or for those that prefer white, serve with a powerful Sancerre such as Domaine de la Chezatte.

Peach Chutney

By Garry McMeckan, agency chef and ambassador to the Bel Cheese Academy

Makes 700g 

• 500g Yellow peaches peeled, stoned, largely diced
• 60g Cox Orange Pippin apples, peeled and grated
• 120g Tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
• 60g Onions, finely chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 150g Castor sugar
• ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp Ground nutmeg
• ½ Ground white pepper
• 10g Fresh ginger
• 150ml White wine vinegar

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a heavy based saucepan except the peaches.
2. Bring to the boil over a low heat cook and for 30 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. 
3. Add the peaches and cook gently for further 30 minutes. 
4. Transfer to a kilner jar and leave until cold. Seal the jar. The chutney will keep for 2-3 weeks in fridge.

Cheese is one of the UK’s most popular sandwich ingredients and the collection showcases a tasty range of innovative and contemporary ideas to tempt your customers, including a recipe from Robbie Gleave, a winner at this year’s Sandwich Designer of the Year Awards, where Bel Foodservice was proud to sponsor of the Cheese Cellar Leerdammer Lightlife category.

Despite the recession, the sandwich market has continued to thrive with the overall number of commercially made sandwiches having risen in the last year by 3.6% to £6 billion*.

Ian Greengrass, marketing director, Bel Foodservice UK says: “The sandwich remains the lunchtime meal of choice and there is a real opportunity for operators to make the most of this flourishing market, but they must ensure that the quality and variety on offer is ahead of its competitors.”

The collection demonstrates how incorporating speciality ingredients such as sun-blushed tomatoes or Portobello mushrooms with branded cheese that consumers associate with superb quality and flavour creates a premium offer that is simple to prepare, adding-value for your customers and acting as a fantastic profit driver for your business.

To download your free copy visit www.cheese-recipes.co.uk

Paul Robinson, chef & Grimsby Institute tutor, Charlotte Leventis head chef at Extravaganza Food, Mark Ord, head chef at state-of-the-art nursing home Sanctuary and Gary McMeckan, chef were all winners of Bel’s 2009 competition to spend a day with Jean Christophe-Novelli at the Bel Cheese Academy.

Daniel Innis-Fitzhugh, Craft Guild Graduate Award Winner, Glen Dumbell, head chef and co-owner Puschka restaurant and Douglas Elgin, co-owner at Puschka have also signed up.

The ambassadors have already been active in their roles, contributing some delicious new sandwich ideas, which will be showcased in Bel’s forthcoming sandwich collection.

January 2009:  Some of Europe’s favourite cheeses and one of its most talented chefs have come together with the launch of the new Bel Foodservice website, incorporating the Bel Cheese Academy, hosted by Michelin and 5AA Rosette award winning French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.

Specially designed for foodservice operators, the Bel Foodservice website features winning recipes and profitable ideas using some of the most famous names in the cheese world – Mini Babybel, Leerdammer, Port Salut and The Laughing Cow.  The site also includes newer cheeses from the Bel UK foodservice family Cantadou, Kiri and Boursin – further examples of just how versatile the Bel range of cheeses can be.

The new site, www.cheese-recipes.co.uk, will inspire chefs and foodservice operators to unleash the full potential of these much-loved brands.  There’s practical, as well as creative advice, with information appropriate to different types of catering establishments and a direct link to the member of the sales team responsible for each sector.

Jean-Christophe Novelli has helped launch the Bel Cheese Academy and will continue to be actively involved, developing recipes and providing step-by-step guidance in online master-classes.  There will also be a recipe competition with a first prize of a day in the company of Jean-Christophe Novelli at the real life Bel Cheese Academy.

To find out more, visit the website or call Holly Nuttall at William Murray Communications on 020 8256 1360.