Unicorn Vegan Natural Hot Chocolate Recipe!

I like natural food, natural healthy food, without food colouring. Food that you can see what it's made from, cakes that are easy to make, no icing, or marzipan, or layers of rainbows, or thick dollops of cream, I like my drinks the same, uncomplicated gorgeousness. I am completely against those hot chocolates that other people seem to love, those ones made with powder, topped with spray cream, sprinkled with sweets and stuff. Yuck! It all seems a bit too elaborate and a bit too over the top and it just looks very, very bad for you it seems tacky and unhealthy. So, when the Unicorn food fashion for rainbowed items came along, I thought I'd just hold my breath, continue making my black bean brownies and simple hot chocolates and wait for it to go away. I was pleased to see in one of the Sunday Times magazines their barometer pointed to the Unicorn trend going down! Yippee!

What happened then and why was I inspired to create my Vegan, Unicorn Hot Chocolate?

What happened was the weather! After several sunny days, we woke up to a dull overcast day, with rain on and off through the day. One of the first things that I thought this morning was, 'This is a hot chocolate kind of day'. I am still continuing my plant based diet, since Veganuary and this hot chocolate had to be Vegan, mostly healthy and taste deliciously comforting and it had to be sparkly too. First of all, I created a spirulina based hot chocolate with cashew nut butter and although I enjoyed it and so did my children and even Miranda, of Ido-Vintage, a very cute Vintage shop down the road from us, had one and thought it was delicious and I have to say she was instrumental in inspiring me to experiment with colourful Unicorn stuff in the first place! Today, however some new ingredients came in from a new supplier and now instead of using spirulina to create a mint green colour, I'm using beetroot powder to create the deeply pink topping and edible flowers! So, if you want to make one of these as a treat for yourself at home, here's how you do it!

Mini Unicorn Vegan Hot Chocolate

1/ Into a small cup place the following:

1 teaspoon of melted Cacao Butter
1 teaspoon of Agave Nectar

2/ Mix together well.

3/ Warm and froth up around 100ml of almond milk.

4/ Pour the almond milk into the mug and make sure it is foamy on top.

5/ Top with a little Beetroot Powder and  Golden Chocolate Powder.

6/ Of course, if you want to you can treat yourself to some vegan sprinkles and really go to town but I would prefer to sprinkle some edible flowers on top.

Take lots of pictures and post them everywhere.

Then sit back and enjoy.

Oh and I have to tell you, that my two boys loved this hot chocolate! Absolutely loved it and so do I, which is a first in a long time, for us all to enjoy the same thing! I might not have mentioned that the deep pink stuff on top is beetroot powder!

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 141
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 7 g	11 %
Saturated Fat 3 g	14 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 136 mg	6 %
Potassium 198 mg	6 %
Total Carbohydrate 19 g	6 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	5 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 2 g	3 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	26 %
Iron	0 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

10 Good Reasons To #SupermarketSwap Now!

Nigel: Serious about #SupermarketSwap

I am right in the middle of reading a very informative book about Supermarkets and the amount of power they have over the food industry and how the more we spend in them, the more power they have and the less choice we have.

The book is called Shopped. The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets and is written by Joanna Blythman, a leading investigative food journalist. The book was written in 2004 and things have disintegrated a lot further since then! Take for example two pieces of news this week,

The first being that Sainsbury's have announced in a meeting with Fairtrade Farmers, that they are going to create their very own brand of Fairtrade, their own Fairtrade label and they will put in force their own regulations and monitor themselves. The Fairtrade Farmers are extremely concerned that there will be no Fairtrade premium and that there will be no minimum guarantee and that the public will be confused about what Fairtrade is really about. Supermarkets take the Fairtrade Logo and use it on some of their products and yet happily screw their British suppliers into the ground by negotiating lower prices retrospectively and other massive companies like Nestle, will put a Fairtrade logo on some of their products and yet insist that access to clean water is not a human right and tempt African Mums to bottle feed instead of breast feed!  So, from taking small steps to support the ethos of Fairtrade, the supermarkets are now beginning to do what they usually do, take someone else's great idea, let that someone else pay for all the development that goes into it and then just do it themselves, where the only way they measure their success is profit and the bottom-line, rather than any ethical aim, or the long-term viability of a community, or of the world.

The second piece of news is that Tesco would like to buy out Booker Wholesale. Booker Wholesale actually supply independent shops across the UK! It doesn't take a genius to work out that this is going to make it virtually impossible for any independent using Booker Wholesale to be able to fairly compete with Tesco. Tesco has this week asked the Monopolies Commission if they could possibly speed up the investigation into whether they can go ahead with the transaction or not. Some board members have resigned over this idea and not one shareholder has been heard to show any enthusiasm over the idea, from reports online.

10 Good Reasons To #SupermarketSwap Now!

1/ You'll spend money on local traders who will pay tax, if they earn enough and then in turn will spend their money on other local businesses in the community, thus contributing far more to the local economy per pound than any supermarket.

2/ You'll enjoy a more personal service, where the number one aim is not necessarily to make a profit but to create a long term relationship that is a win/win situation for everyone, the supplier, the business and the consumer.

3/ No long queues. Mainly because everyone is standing in the supermarket queue and not in the independent shop's queue!

4/ You'll buy little and often, which is much better as there is less food waste and buying in an independent means you are less likely to over buy and over spend on stuff that you didn't want anyway. Read more about the waste generated by supermarkets, in an article by Joanna Blythmann, the Journalist who has written the book I am reading at the moment!

5/ It's good to support a local family that you know personally and you know they are getting your money, rather than a few directors at the top of a chain, that already have lots of money.

6/ You can ask an independent trader to get an item in that you specifically require and they will do their utmost to get it in, or point you in the right direction to another independent business.

7/ Each independent shop has it's own unique atmosphere that lends a unique character to our high streets across the UK. A local shop has its own individual brand of personality that stems out from the proprietors running them. A supermarket is a clinical practical place, there is no joy in Supermarket shopping,for most people. Going into an independent shop is a whole experience in itself, you connect with the shopkeeper at least and even with the other customers. Which leads onto my next point...

8/ Community! A good high street filled with independent shops, like the one we have in Shepton Mallet is an easy way for individuals to access the community, without actually knowing anyone in the first place.

9/ To promote choice. If the supermarkets have a monopoly, they can then charge as high as they like prices to the consumer and pay as low as they like prices to their suppliers. Every time you make a concerted effort to divert your spending into a local business, you are helping to shape the high street.

10/ Supermarkets want you to see them as the answer to your shortage of time and sell you pre-made meals at a premium but it really only takes a few minutes to create a dish from scratch with fresh ingredients bought from your local market, or shop. If you buy smaller amounts less often but better quality and containing better nutrition, those cheap rows of custard creams and fizzy pop look less and less attractive, especially when we take into account the unaccounted for costs to our environment, our health and our communities.

In Shepton Mallet high street, we have the Friday Market every Friday and independent shops up and down the high street, as well as some great charity shops too. Now is the time, more than ever to make one small change to your shopping habits. I am not saying that you should completely drop your supermarket shop, I am just saying try to challenge yourself and make a small change. When you are in a supermarket or chain, put just one thing down and come and get it on the high street instead.

When you find yourself in my shop, ask yourself what you can get from us that you would normally get from the supermarket and get it from us instead.

If you don't find what you want, order it in, talk to us about it! If you don't have the time to come in, tell us what you want and we will bring it round to you.

We can all decide that it's not worth taking up the challenge, we can all decide to keep shopping in the supermarkets and we can let our high streets slip away but we have to do something to challenge the way things are, the cost of your food is not just the price you see on the label, it's the price you pay with your health, your children's health, the well-being of our community and of our world!

You have the power of the pound in your pocket, please use it wisely.

A Simply Nourishing Avocado Chocolate Smoothie Recipe!

This is just an easy peasy recipe, that can be thrown together and ready to drink within 5 minutes, as long as you don't get distracted! I get distracted sometimes, but usually, when we are selling this in our shop, I manage to concentrate long enough to get to the end!

1/ You need to throw the following ingredients into a strong blender:

1/2 an avocado scooped out
250 ml Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 x Frozen Banana (If you don't have to hand use an unfrozen one and throw more ice in)
1 x Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract by Taylor and Coleridge
1 x Tablespoon Agave Sweetener Chantico Original
1 and a half x tablespoon  Raw Cacao Powder by The Raw Chocolate Company (Substitute Cocoa powder, if you wish)
A handful of ice.

2/ Blend.

3/ Pour into a big glass. We serve ours in mason jar!

This is delicious! Smooth, nutritious and delicious.

Easy Chocolate Brownies, Vegan and Gluten Free!

This is a nice simple recipe, you'll need to have a small baking dish, as it just makes a small batch but being a small size, it doesn't take too long to whip these up for some friends coming round to tea and maybe you can cut them into bite sized pieces, for a tasty, sugary but not too over-indulgent treat. Balancing out the guilt of raw cane sugar is the secret ingredient of half a mashed up avocado, which has to be adding something good and beneficial to the overall mix.

I might also add that being a small size, these don't stay around for too long either.

1/ Preheat the oven to 180°

2/ Line a small baking dish, (mine is a 9" x 7")  with grease proof paper and then grease well with vegetable oil.

3/ Put the following ingredients into a large jug and stir well:
1/2 a cup of Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour
1/2 a cup of raw cane sugar
2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder.
A pinch of salt
1/4 a teaspoon of Baking Powder
4/ After mixing the dry ingredients together, in another jug mash up half a ripe avocado, then add 1/2 a cup of Almond Milk and a 1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract and mix well.

5/ Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.

6/ Add 50g of smashed up dark chocolate into the mix.

6/ Scrape the batter out into the greased and lined baking tray and pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

7/ Take the cake out of the oven and cover with foil, then bake for another 10 minutes, or until a knife stuck into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

8/ Leave the cake to cool, with the foil taken off.

I have been experimenting a bit with these brownies and have decided they are even better, if they are thicker. So, if you don't need them quickly baked, you can go for this recipe instead, which will take a bit longer to bake, uses twice the amount of ingredients but produces a deliciously thick and indulgent brownie.

Thick Brownies:

1/ Preheat the oven to 180°

2/ Line a small baking dish, (mine is a 9" x 7")  with grease proof paper.

3/ Put the following ingredients into a large jug and stir well:
1 cup of Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour
1  cup of raw cane sugar
4  tablespoons of cocoa powder.
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
4/ After mixing the dry ingredients together, in another jug mash up a ripe avocado, then add 1 cup of Almond Milk.

5/ Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.

6/ Add 100g of smashed up dark chocolate into the mix.

6/ Scrape the batter out into the greased and lined baking tray and pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

7/ Take the cake out of the oven and cover with foil, then bake for another 25 minutes, or until a knife stuck into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

8/ Leave the cake to cool, with the foil taken off.

Veganuary

Oh! I have just spontaneously signed up to this: VEGANUARY I am a pescatarian but I really admire the Vegan friends that I have made through our shop. They seem to me to be the most ethical of all the people that I know. When we first opened My Coffee Stop, nearly 8 years ago now, we made a commitment for everything to be 100% suitable for vegetarians. The reasoning behind it was inclusive eating and drinking, so that people could meet with their friends and all enjoy the same things without having to worry. A vegetarian diet leaps over many boundaries to eating communally that religious food laws may set up and we want people from all sorts of backgrounds and beliefs to enjoy coming together and we want to embrace people from all different backgrounds into our coffee shop community. We also had it in our minds that we wanted our business to make a positive contribution to our local and global community, so this meant being as green as we possibly could and eating meat and using animal products is just not good for the earth on any level.
Over the years, I have devised my own recipes for Vegan Cakes, Vegan Pizza and have a whole range of delicious Vegan hot drinks for people to enjoy and I am proud that just recently, we made the decision NOT to charge extra for using a plant milk, instead of cows' milk in a drink. That is a massive step forward for veganism, as logically why should we charge people extra for making an ethical choice, even when almond milk and the such like are more expensive to provide? Well, yes, looking at it on a business level, it's obvious we should charge more but taking a more holistic and worldly view, we shouldn't charge more for a decision that is a much better choice for the planet and for everyone. In fact, maybe we should be charging more for cows' milk maybe and putting people off it?

On a personal level, attempting to do Veganuary could be hard! I love eggs! I find them a really handy snack and surely, if they are unfertilised and the chickens are running free, then they are ok, aren't they? If you are going to comment on this blog post and correct my way of thinking, please be gentle, I am an animal too. I have just found out that I will be visiting my Mum and Dad next week, something to do with my extra work career, that I have just started recently, after having a break from the world of entertainment for a few years, whilst concentrating on our children and our coffee shop! Now, that is going to be full of pitfalls! I might have to bring along my own meals. What about protein, how do Vegans get their protein? I am scared of being hungry and then eating loads of sugary crap things. How do you prepare for that? On the other hand being Vegan and Gluten Free is easy isn't it? I mean, there's plants and vegetables and most dark chocolate is Vegan and Gluten Free! that should be ok then. Oh no! I have just glimpsed two gold coin wrappers on the side, I have just mindlessly put them into my mouth, whilst chatting to a customer and not even thinking about what I am doing, I have just EATEN MILK CHOCOLATE! NOT VEGAN and NOT GOOD! Ok, I am going to start again.....from NOW. Right NOW! I can see that doing Veganuary is going to be a FULL time occupation and I am going to have to be EXTREMELY mindful of what I am putting into my mouth, even more mindful than usual. I think that I am going to find this HARD! How about you? Will you join me on my journey?

Vegan Chocolate Cake topped with a Ginger and Chocolate Ganache.

Shepton Mallet: Somerset's Festival Town!

Sssh, there's nothing to see here, move along please, there are no festivals here!

Shepton Mallet: Somerset's Festival Town!
Wow! Why would you say that? Why would you want to plaster that on every sign post as you enter our town? Why? Is that even TRUE?

1/ 'Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and a template for all the festivals that have come after it.' (Official Glastonbury Festival Website) and Shepton Mallet is the nearest town to the world's largest greenfield music and performing arts festival! Why should we not bask in that reflected glory and embrace that amazing association? Our town is crammed with people visiting because of Glastonbury Festival, it's only for a few days of the year....but then other towns that capitalise on historical events, for instance, are only referring to something that's history and isn't going to happen again! There are film and TV crews and media companies from all over the world to film this event and it is imperative that we embrace our close association with this phenomenal happening! The link being made clear is long overdue.

2/ The Royal Bath and West Showground is in Shepton Mallet and the NASS Festival, The New Wine Festival, The Soul Survivor Festival, The Somerset Food and Drink Fest and West Fest, are all held there. Plus there are several events and shows, which are festival-like in nature although not in name, such as the Royal Bath and West Show, The Giant Flea, The Motor Home Show and other big events and happenings. The word Festival embraces the feel of all these functions and events.

3/ The Mid-somerset Show, or Shepton Show, held on the ground by Cannards Grave Road, is right in Shepton Mallet itself. It's been running for 163 years and attracts thousands of people! That is a really, really big deal! Let's acknowledge it.

4/ Collett Festival, celebrating our own wonderful park and hopefully the slight name change from Collett PARK Festival, will mean the festival spills out from the park and into our High Street and that individual shop keepers are inspired to put on different events, exhibitions and happenings, alongside the celebrations in the park, to raise the profile of Shepton Mallet even more!

5/ The Lantern Parade, is another fantastic reason to visit Shepton Mallet, as an outsider coming from London, that looks pretty much like a festival event to me!

6/ Then we have the absolutely incredible Shepton Mallet CARNIVAL! Filled with lights and music and dancing and theatrical tableaux on floats! You might not know BUT this does not happen in every town! This is a brilliant event and another festivity that we need to proudly proclaim!

7/ In our day to day life, living in this town, no it doesn't feel like one big festival....but for people that visit us, for people that look for accommodation here, for people passing through, or using hotels, or B & Bs and so on, they see us as a Festival Town because that is mainly the reason that people come to Shepton Mallet! We are in the middle of all the festivities!

The only good reason that I can see for NOT plastering 'Somerset's Festival Town' all over the sign posts on the entry to Shepton Mallet is if you just want to keep it a secret and you DON'T want to share the fun, with anyone else, from anywhere else, you want to keep it under your hat and don't want anyone else to know.

The truth is, WE ARE SOMERSET'S FESTIVAL TOWN and we ought to enjoy and embrace that title and feel proud and sing it out loud and be thankful that somebody with brains, balls and vision has pointed it out to us! This title is more than a title, it's the key to us recognising our strength and to let other people know about it. It's the key to reviving our economy, to boosting our morale and to at last realising our TRUE identity!

Collett Park, Coffee and Community!

Well, here I am working away on the new website for The Collett Park Festival, that I offered to do for free, as a part of my contribution to the Shepton Mallet community. I did promise, when I resigned, that I would use my social media skills and communication knowledge to help this town regenerate. I've already created a website for Shepton Mallet Shops, which you can look at here. Tonight, all alone in my shop, with the lights on low, I am building a website for Collett Park Festival, which is going to open with a free musical concert at 7pm on Friday June 13th! You can look at the new website here, hope you like it. I am getting so excited about it!

Anyway, the lights are dim and the rain is pouring down and I look up to see a shadowy figure in the doorway who looks almost as if he is going to bed down for the night, he is wearing a mac, has an extremely long beard, like a wizard, a very large black umbrella and a stick and he is looking into a plastic yellow and white carrier bag and rummaging around, hunched over concentrating and rummaging and looking more and more suspicious!

Eventually, I decide that I am carefully going to go up to him and ask him, quietly, 'What are you doing?'. He looks up at me, in a lovely way and shows me some 'Then and Now' postcards of Shepton Mallet. He tells me that he has to visit the places on the postcards as that is what he likes doing. So, even though it's dark and raining, he goes off and matches the pictures in the postcards, to the pictures in real life and I invite him to pop in after he has finished for a hot chocolate and brownie, on the house, even though we are closed, just because.

He's in here now chatting away over his hot chocolate and a brownie, telling me all about his adventures in Glastonbury and Street and how he missed his bus and had to get a lift back to Shepton Mallet in a police car. I asked him if he had absconded from an old people's home but he explained that they actually let him come back quite late and that he would never stay in an old people's home that wouldn't let him stay out late. He asked me how old I thought he was and I guessed 80 years old, then I was really worried I had gone too high but then he said that he's 86! Phew. He's a sprightly thing for that age, walking all around Glastonbury and Street.

I love having a cofffee shop and being in the centre of the community and meeting the people that we do.

Facing Fats!

Since moving to Shepton Mallet in August 2013, I have been rushing around, doing many, many things. Things like, well, moving to Shepton Mallet in the first place! Running backwards and forwards to London, to run The Ideas Station, inspirational social media workshops for women, with +Cathy Underwood , leading us in a yogic introduction and meditating on believing in ourselves and nurturing our businesses and +Eve Tudor, teaching social media secrets. I've been trying sell my London flat, to make our move absolutely complete, prepared and then opened our 2nd My Coffee Stop, got the Children into local schools, got myself elected as Town Councillor, got heavily involved with the Tadley Place campaign, helped to support Danny the Collette Park Gardener's Mum and won extra funding for Ideas Station workshops in the evening, for the Lower Edmonton area of Enfield.

Do you think I ate healthily in that time?

No! I didn't, I didn't have time, I couldn't focus on food, huh, even though our shop is a coffee and health food shop! The irony of selling protein rich bags of quinoa, whilst scoffing high carbohydrate pasta at home, didn't completely pass me by and the pasta and other high carbohydrate goodies that I've been enjoying didn't pass me by either, they have resolutely stuck to my hips, thighs, bum and breasts. Some of the parts that attracted extra weight from the carbs, also attracted extra attention from my partner, Gunter Hollenstein. I'll leave it to your imagination as to which parts he most enjoyed!

Today, my 10 year old son and I were talking about healthy eating and how it relates to weight and in that discussion, he said, 'Mum, you have let yourself go a bit, you still look lovely but you were a bit more streamlined before.' Hmmmm! I looked into his big wide eyes and felt happy that he could tell me what could be taken as quite a hurtful truth. Telling the truth in that way was good, I kind of knew it myself but had hoped it wasn't noticeable! Ah, that hope was finished.

For around 5 months, I have eaten what I want, without consideration and now I'm considerably more unfit than I was before. I haven't done a Zumba class since August and I really, really miss it!
So, today I have decided, it's back to good clean healthy eating again! Yippee!

I have signed up to a very special online nutrition programme called New Skinny Me run by the ever knowledgeable and caring Amrit.

I'm looking forward to getting rid of my sugar cravings, of feeling pains in my lungs when I drink milk, of getting rid of stomach pains when I eat gluten and of getting rid of the extra weight I'm carrying around, which is making me feel tired and making my back hurt.#

Yes, I'm looking forward to this.
I'm getting myself ready to Attack that Fat!
The change to my eating habits should be for a lifetime, not just a few months, so I want to do something I can stick to.
I have tried low carb and paleo type eating regimes and I love that way of eating food more closely connected to nature.

Do you stay off gluten, or dairy? What are your favourite recipes?
Do you practice clean eating? What tricks have you got for eating out?
Please share your ideas and comment here!
I hope, maybe if you're feeling a bit unfit, that I can help to inspire you to follow my lead.

Be happy and healthy in 2014,
Love Karen. Xx

#IFE13 Show Highlights for an Independent Coffee and Healthfood shop owner!

My 5 Top Products at The International Food and Drink Event at the Excel Centre, 2013.

The five following products are the ones that interested me the most at the show and I'd be very pleased and proud to stock them in my shop. Discovering the products is only half the journey though, as a small independent company we have to work together with the producer and our wholesalers, to see if we can get the product delivered in the small batches we require, as we have the minimum of display space and we need to keep our cashflow healthy and our business sustainable.

Top 5 Products

1/Quinotto by Urcupac. Stand N3555a
Did you know that 2013 has been declared International Year of Quinoa by the UN? And quite rightly so, quinoa is a fantastic replacement food for those carbohydrate laden foods such as rice, pasta and potatoes. The product is pre-washed, which makes it more convenient than usual and the range of different mixes uses only natural ingredients with out an e-number, flavour enhancer, or yeast additive in sight.
At the stand, I tasted a most delicious mushroom style one and it was so delicious I really did want to grab the whole terracotta bowl and eat it all by myself!
I want to stock this product in the retail/healthfood section of my shop, as I believe it is a convenient, easy way to enjoy a food that is extremely good for celiacs, diabetics and healthy eating addicts.

2/ tingz by Peppersmith. Stand N1465 
An innovative, new product that has won the show's award for Best New Confectionary/Snack.

The Award Winning Peppersmith, N1465

Personally, I don't believe in selling sweets, a bit of licorice is ok but I just cannot bring myself to stock pure sugar confectionary. Perhaps it's because my Dad was a Dentist, perhaps it's because I have a great sense of responsibility for our customers. On a personal level, I think sweets are nasty things that should never be given to children, especially not mine, however, I have just allowed my two children to nosh their way through these. The marketing leaflet tells me, 'Seriously good for teeth.' So that's one concern out of the way. They are actually seriously tasty too and I stood talking at the stand for ages, just so that I could keep popping these Strawberry and Vanilla flavoured delights into my mouth. There's also an Orange and Mandarin flavour too.

The presentation box is eye-catching and the two monster characters, one of which is named Floyd are very endearing. I reckon adults and children will enjoy this product, I'm so confident about this, I took the unusual step of ordering some for the shop, right away.

3/ Dark Chocolate with Clove by Zaabär. Stand N3440c
What a beautifully presented stand, with tastefully wrapped slabs of chocolate in a pearly, grey packet, with a name label wrapped around the middle. The unique thing about this product is an exceptionally long shelf life, due to the special foil wrapping and the amazing range of flavours, in their purest form. In front of each row of wrapped chocolate bars are cute silver tins, with chunks of the chocolate inside and silver tongs by the side, with which to take a sample. Some examples of the unusual combinations were dark chocolate with Lavender, or with Thyme, or even with licorice. What I enjoyed was the simplicity of balancing the taste of one herb with the extraordinary taste of the beautifully made Belgium chocolate.

Dark Chocolate with Clove and lots of tasters to try, Zaabar, Stand N3440c

Going to that stand and being allowed to sample all those delicious chunks of flavours was the stuff dreams are made of, in fact, when I'm an old lady in a rocking chair looking back on my life, that's one of the experiences I shall live and relive again.

It's very unusual to taste a chocolate that successfully combines a winter spice flavour, it always, always sounds better than it tastes, however, the Dark Chocolate with Clove that I discovered on this stand really, really worked. So scrummingly spicy, so much so, that my cheeks blushed, mixed in my mouth with the bitter, earthy notes of the chocolate. My tastebuds couldn't believe the way the flavours interplayed with each other on my tongue, the sweet, the bitter, the texture all intermingling to produce something as close to an orgasm, as you can get standing in an exhibition hall, in public!

I do apologise to the stand owners, if you run out of the Dark Chocolate with Clove, I did sample much more than my fair share.

I believe the only way they could encourage me to go away was to give me my own bar to take home.
I would like to place a small order of this product, I know it's not the massive order of their dreams but I know that where the independents lead, the others will follow.

4/ Coco Mojo by Coco Mojo Ltd. Stand N1606
This is exactly what I mean about functional food. It's actually a drink but it's so full of good stuff that you'd be foolish not to drink it. Between you and I, I absolutely hate the taste and smell of coconuts, so when they offered me a taste of this drink at their stand, I had imaginations of not being able to swallow it and having nowhere to spit it out, I could just imagine the look on my face putting anyone passing by off visiting the stand entirely.

Luckily, they gave me a carton to try at home. It's a combination of coconut milk, coconut water, tropical fruits and botanical herbs and it's the best coconut water based drink I have tried so far. It has a creamy, smooth taste, with a herby zing.

I can see this selling well, standing in my fridge by the coconut water that we already stock. It's a real crossover drink that will appeal to both adults and children, with lots of natural energy, hydration and immune-boosting properties.

It's a brand new product just being launched at the IFE Show now, when it becomes available, we hope to be one of the first stockists.

5/ Dark Chocolate covered Golden Berries by Pacari Chocolate. Stand N3555
Beautifully packaged in a cute box, which protects the product and makes it a great little gift too.
The covering chocolate is dark and hard as you bite into it, cracking open to reveal a sweet and sharp tasting, chewy centre, which is actually the very nutritious, Golden Berry.

A really unusual tasting product, which I feel would fit well on our shelves and I hope to be able to arrange a small order.

Best Stand Display

Honeybuns' beautiful stand N1113

Honeybuns Stand N1113
This stand is so beautifully presented with teapots hanging across and wooden spoons and retro styled packaging and the cutest little string of bunting I've ever seen. The Director works closely with her brother's coffee shop, to see what point of sale is effective and uses that knowledge to develop excellent point of sale support for their customers. Their stand is visual proof that it works, it's absolutely gorgeous and supports their brand of homebaked, gluten-free cakes, with no compromise on taste. We already stock one of their products but having seen the strength of their point of sale material, are thinking of stocking a few more of their lines. Their Brownies are particularly delectable.

Best Stand

Olives Et Al. Stand N1319
I'd love to stock olives in our shop, as a snack but we just don't have the room for a great selection of olives for people to try and then buy. Maybe we need to get an olive shop in the future! But in the meantime, on a personal level, I love this stand.

They are generous with the tastings and allow you to help yourself with no pressure, which is great for building up the product presence at the show and developing a relationship with potential purchasers, even if as a member of the public, rather than a professional stocking up. I was honest with the ladies on the stand and said I wouldn't be able to stock their product but on a personal level, I think they do the best olives ever. I am passionate about olives and can rarely be friends with someone that does not also enjoy the taste of olives. I think people that enjoy olives are often eccentric and just my kind of people. So, this of course was my top, personal favourite stall of the show. Those smooth, shiny olives, so gorgeously good for me and full of protein. My top tastes from this stand were the shiny little black ones from Australia with a sweet raisin taste and fleshy meat, the bright green ones, nutty and buttery flavour and then the little sun blushed cherry tomatoes, sweet, juicy and a slightly sharp, clean after taste.

Olives Et Al at Stand N1319

If you visited The International Food and Drink Event 2013, please let me know your highlights by commenting here. If you're going to the show, or exhibiting at the show, ENJOY! xxx