LIVINGLIVING
OF CHOCOLATES
AND CHEESE
Seasonal treats for the festive period. Check
labels for carb-counts on the chocs though!
D
ivine Chocolate, the
farmer-owned chocolate
company has gone into
partnership with the
RSPB to create an advent
calendar. Featuring an illustration of a
snowy woodland scene, there's a Divine
smooth milk chocolate animal or bird
behind each door. RRP of £4.00. The
new advent calendar adds to Divine's
successful Christmas range which
this year includes seven new products
including milk and white chocolate lollies,
milk and dark chocolate collections
and limited edition 100g bars as well as
Divine festive favourites -- after dinner
thins, chocolate coins and milk chocolate
shapes. Divine has two new limited
edition 100g bars for the season, Dark
Chocolate with Toffee & Sea Salt, and Milk
Chocolate with Caramel & Espresso Nibs.
All Divine's Christmas products are
certified Fairtrade and are free from artificial
flavourings, colourings and preservatives,
and suitable for vegetarians. They are
also all palm oil free.
Quicke thinking
The Quicke family has been farming
in rural Devon for over 450 years and
making award-winning cheese for two
generations. The company has recently
undergone a rebrand - updating their
logo and packaging, reflecting the
family's farming heritage as well as how
and where the cheese is produced. The
new packaging depicts the Devonshire
landscape around Home Farm, where
the cheese is made, and features the
local flora and fauna that inhabit the
region including a herd of cows, goats,
and ewes that provide the milk for
cheesemaking.
There are 11 cheese varieties, each
in its own distinct colour, for ease of
identification on the shelf. The on-pack
labels display the number of months that
each cheese has been matured for. Mary
Quicke (opposite) comments, "Cheese
is commonly perceived as a commodity
item - but there is nothing FMCG about
a handmade cheese that's been aged
for two years! I am inextricably linked to
the land and our herd; my family have
farmed this beautiful patch of Devon
for 15 generations, so it is satisfying to
see these aspects borne out in the new
designs."
Gold medalists
Colston Bassett Stilton was announced
as Reserve Champion UK and Best
Stilton at the International Cheese
Awards, held in Nantwich, Cheshire
earlier this year. Reserve Champion UK
is just one of the outstanding accolades
Colston Bassett Dairy achieved for their
Champion cheese at this year's awards.
FOOD
NEWS