On Friday 30th October the Gonalston Farm Shop team were pround to dress up in all things pink in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness day.  Georgina Mason joint director of Gonalston said “our fantastic team will go to any lengths to help raise money for others.  I was really impressed by the effort everyone made”.  Customers dug really deeply and final total for the day was £157.00.

Thank you to everyone for their efforts

Pictured from left to right Gemma Bainbridge, Barry Andersen, Clare Coleman, Lesley Yates, Kath Smith and in the back row Georgina Mason

Six years of trading at Gonalston Farm Shop was celebrated with the now regular Summer Food Festival on 29^th and 30^th August. Over 2500 people attended the two day tasting, cooking and foodie event. £580.00 was raised for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire air Ambulance from a raffle. Southwell Rugby Club kindly assisted with a number of boys from the junior team packing bags at the tills and carrying shopping to cars, they had buckets at the tills and raised £337.00 for their new strip.
Eighteen of Gonalston’s regular supplier s took part with local food s on show from Chocolate to Cheese. Teresa Bovey the local home economist demonstrated a number of cooking demonstrations over the two days using some of the foods on show to create simple meals in minutes. Two meat cutting demonstrations on Saturday from WR Wrights were well supported; customers were treated to samples of the created dishes. Ian Sauve one of the GFS fishmongers did a quick demonstration using mackerel to show how easy fish is to prepare and cook.
The farmyard was filled with a selection of animals including the star of the show Peggy (The GFS Pet cow) and her two day old twins Peter and Katy. Twiggy the Donkey and her foal Harry and some rabbits from Ferry Farm Park, chickens from Kate Cressy, Texel sheep from Peter Barlow  (Gonalston Lamb supplier) Georgie’s horse Rusty who was part of one of the competitions’ to guess his weight.
Three Vintage tractors from David Yates agricultural engineers and one from Bill Swindells, were really popular for all the visitor’s. The Gonalston BBQ was busy all day long with Gonalston own home made burgers, sausages and bacon, Azorie Blue fantastic coffee kept everyone going.

Š

Gonalston Farm Shop Food Festivals are always very popular; the 6^th summer event will be much bigger and better with many top quality local producers and suppliers attending the event to show off their great products. Tasting of fantastic local food in the countryside on a nice summers day, what could be better?

Teresa Bovey Home economist and local foodie will demonstrate a number of simple summer dishes over the two days with George from GFS.  Using where possible the ingredients from the event.

Teresa will show you how to create a great meal from very little. She will be demonstrating on Saturday at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Sunday at 12noon and 3pm. A special covered seating area will be available to watch in comfort.

The main shop car park will be closed off to traffic, plenty of extra space will be provided in the field to the side of the shop, Local Rugby club boys will be carrying shopping back to cars for the less able.

There will be a pick nick area, a GFS all day BBQ, a meat cutting demonstration, vintage tractors, a selection of farm animals, a number of free competitions, An amazing raffle of hampers, all proceeds for the Lincs and Notts air ambulance.

 Double Gonalston Farm Shop Loyalty Points on selected lines all weekend. (Each point earned is worth 1penny)

Bring the whole family to this fun event on the farm.

Saturday tastings start at 10.30am till 5pm

Sunday tastings 10am till 4pm.

7th March - Gruyere tasting on the deli.  Whether you love your cheese in a sandwich, melted on a baked potato or in a delicious fondue to dip hunks of bread and salami into gruyere is the cheese for you!

16th-21st Enjoy some of the special offers and tastings all week at our award-winning butchery during National Butcher’s Week.

17th St Patrick’s Day is the perfect opportunity to try out some Irish cheeses such as Cashel Blue, Boille and 5 Mile Town Creamery cheeses.

22nd Treat your Mum to fresh flowers and cook her a delicious meal or perhaps treat her to a hamper brimming with her favourite delights, either way GFS can play it’s part in helping your Mum to feel super special.

• Double loyalty card points - on everything in store every Thursday between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.
• Save up to 30% off the “Fish of the Week”, available Thursday through to Saturday.
• Save 10% off selected Butchery lines every Thursday.
• Save 50p & get double loyalty card points on Holdsworth Classic Assorted Handmade Chocolates 240g (offer ends 28th Feb).
• Save 10% & get double loyalty card points on Spoff Muesli and Porridge (offer ends 28th Feb).

* All offers are subject to availability and can be withdrawn at any time unless specified otherwise.  See in-store for details of these and other great value offers.

The Start of the new year is an exciting time for setting new goals, a chance to break bad habits and start as you mean to go on and what better way to start your day than with a healthy breakfast?

Farmhouse Breakfast Week, 25th - 31st January is an annual campaign that emphasises the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every day.  ‘Think Breakfast’ is the theme of this year’s celebration to encourage everyone to wake up to breakfast as part of a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle.

Breakfast, it has been said many times, is the most important meal of the day.  So why exactly is this?

Think brain power - a healthy breakfast can boost concentration and mental performance as well as reduce stress levels.

Think nutrition - breakfast  an be an important source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Think weight management - breakfast kick-starts the metabolism and helps with weight control as it reduces cravings for mid-morning snacks.

Think variety - such is the choice of healthy breakfast foods from around the regions, that there is always a breakfast dish to suit everyone.

And on the subject of variety, here at Gonaslton Farm Shop we have a whole host of delicious breakfast favourites including gorgeous Spoff porridge oats and cereals, our own award-winning sausages and farm fresh meat, our own delicious home cured bacon, hand crafted breads and pastries, with locally produced marmalades and jams.

To support Farmhouse Breakfast week and to celebrate the wealth of high quality regional produce available across the UK, GFS will have tastings all week from the 25th - 31st January and as a special treat there will be double loyalty card points on selected breakfast favourites.

So remember, start your new year with the most important meal of the day, make it your new goal.

Gonalston Farm Shop in Nottinghamshire, UK, offers a wide selection of locally produced food. Visit our website to view our farmhouse cheese or our delicatessen at www.gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk
By Georgina Mason

In November, Gonalston Farm Shop (GFS) in Gonalston, Nottinghamshire were voted national UK finalists in two prestigious butchery awards namely, the categories of “Best On-Farm Butchery 2009″ announced by the National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA) and “Butcher’s Plus 2009″, announced by the Meat Trade Journal (MTD).

At GFS the pride of the farm shop is the full over-the-counter butchery service, which features the farm’s own beef, cherry picked from the herd, plus quality meat from other local farms. This is complimented by a grocery section, fresh fruit and veg area, delicatessen and fresh fish counter.

The team of trained butchers offer expert advice on everything from cuts to cooking tips and also produce an impressive array of award-winning sausages, burgers, kebabs and stuffed and rolled joints, incorporating local ingredients such as Southwell grown Bramley apples.

Georgina Mason, farm shop joint owner, commented, “We are incredibly proud to have been placed national finalists in these national awards. We are delighted that the team’s efforts have been recognised.”

The FARMA panel of judges commended GFS for their impressive butchery display, featuring some excellent meat from GFS’s own farm and the surrounding area. They also felt the friendly and professional service offered by the team of expert butchers and other staff was truly top class, making shopping there an enjoyable and rewarding experience. While the editor of the MTD, Ed Bedington commented: “GFS impressed our judges with its superb high class operation. Judges described the shop as oozing quality and choice, and were particularly impressed with its meat, fish and cheese counters.”

Gonalston Farm Shop offers the finest quality local and British farmhouse cheese and farm fresh meat plus a selection of delicacies from further afield in our delicatessen in Nottingham, UK. Visit our webiste for more details at www.gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk.

You can now pick up seasonal vegetable boxes from Gonalston Farm Shop.  Prepared freshly every day, made up from local vegetables and giving you a massive saving of 30%. 

The boxes cost £4.99 and consist of (seasonal variations may apply):

2kg Potatoes
1kg Carrots
400g Leeks
300g Onions
1 Cauliflower
1 Savoy Cabbage

Serves 4 as a veggie meal or 8 as an accompaniment to Turkey
 

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped
15g butter
2 tsp Rapeseed oil
1 tbsp sherry
225g shelled mixed unsalted nuts, chopped
125g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 eggs, beaten
75g Stilton Cheese
75g cranberries, fresh or frozen
salt and black pepper  

Try this as an alternative to Christmas Pudding – quick and easy to make and lighter in texture then a traditional Christmas  pudding.

Serves 6-8

225g Pannetone, thinly sliced
250mls milk
50g sultanas
50g fresh or frozen cranberries
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
25g golden caster sugar
142mls double cream
½ tsp nutmeg
To serve – Double cream or Custard flavoured with Brandy, Cointreau or Baileys Cream Liquer and icing sugar for dusting