Somerset-based delicatessen meat specialist, Bringing Home the Bacon, has won another four awards this week for its top quality bacon and sausages. These latest additions to the trophy cabinet see free range pig farmer Anna Mogford add two more Gold and two Silver Taste of the West awards to her ever increasing list of honours.

Anna is thrilled about her most recent awards and says it is an important endorsement for her products. “It’s fantastic news! Winning in the Taste of the West Awards is a great measure of quality and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that my pigs and my products are appreciated so much. I have enormous pride in what I do and I always strive for perfection, so it’s very rewarding to get such positive feedback from this prestigious organisation.”

The Bringing Home the Bacon Dry Cured Unsmoked Back Bacon and Dry Cured Traditional Oak Smoked Back Bacon both won Gold awards, whilst the Traditional Old English Breakfast Sausages and Sage & Caramelized Red Onion Sausages both won Silver medals.

This latest news comes hot on the trotters of Bringing Home the Bacon’s recent One Gold Star award for its Unsmoked Back Bacon at this year’s Great Taste Awards, organised by The Guild of Fine Food. Bringing Home the Bacon has also won a number of other awards in recent years, including 2009 Taste of the West Silver Award for its Natural Oak Smoked Back Bacon and Streaky Bacon, and 2009 Taste of the West Bronze Award for its Unsmoked Dry Cured Back Bacon and Streaky Bacon.

Based in Donyatt, near Ilminster, Bringing Home the Bacon produces high quality bacon and sausages from free range, ‘home reared’ pigs, resulting in cured and smoked meats with the finest flavours and tastes. The focus is on quality and provenance, and the range has SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) accreditation.

The prestigious Taste of the West Awards is one of the most highly respected in the food and drink industry, established seventeen years ago. The awards highlight successful and high quality businesses across food and drink production, hospitality and food retail.

Bringing Home the Bacon’s range of bacon and sausages, as well as special combination packs, are available online at www.bringing-home-the-bacon.co.uk and from specialist delis nationwide.

These clever little (no waste) spice kits from Spicentice, give you all the spicy know-how to create an authentic and great tasting dish for four, in no time at all – and as easy as 1,2,3…

Step 1 – choose your recipe from one of 16 Indian spice kits, then check out the handy shopping list on the back of pack which lists everything you need to cook the dish.
Step 2 – at home just follow the simple recipe inside the pack.
Step 3 – serve and enjoy with family and friends.

A selection of SpicenTice spice kits will be on sale at Sainsburys, Asda and many independent stores, as well as Ocado online.

The range features dishes inspired from regions and cultures of India, including Kashmiri, Goan, Bengali and Gujarat.

The kits are made from 100% pure herbs and spices such as Fengugreek Leaves, Cassia Bark, Garam Masala, Cardamom, Coriander and Mustard Seeds which ensure an authentic taste and flavour to your dish – and no additives, preservatives or colourings are used.

In 1994 when Spicentice founder Ketan Varu was a hungry student, Manjula (Ketan’s mum) sent him recipes and spices to make real Indian curries that would remind him of home. Pretty soon all his university friends where hooked on these clever little spice kits and the idea for Spicentice was born.

Of all the recipes that Manjula cooks for her family, her favourites include Lamb Rogan Josh – an aromatic dish, brought to India by the Moghuls, Bombay potatoes and Chickpea Curry – both from the hot, dry climate of the Gujarat and Chicken Jalfrezi a traditional Bengal curry – delicious with SpicenTice Pilau Rice and Mango Chutney. Goan Prawn Curry is a traditional fish curry from Southern India, and just needs some Naan bread to mop up all the lovely curry juices. If you prefer a mild curry try the creamy Chicken Korma which has its roots in the Mughlai cuisine of North India.

On the Spicentice website www.spicentice.com you can see the full range of 16 Indian spice kits (prices are from £1.59 to £2.99) and there’s no minimum order, if all you want is one curry – that’s no problem.

This year’s exquisite Panama Esmeralda Special, widely regarded as the best coffee in the world, is a unique combination of rare Giesha Arabica, immaculate cultivation and processing practices, delivering a coffee of unsurpassed aroma and flavour. It is exclusive to Fortnum & Mason.

Available in a 250g tin of round coffee (£60) as well as a 250g pack of roasted beans (£50) this is the perfect gift for all coffee lover’s out there, or as a decadent self-indulgent treat.

Delight your senses with aromas of mandarin orange, jasmine and redcurrants which excitedly mingle with deliciously sweet, transparently clean and vibrantly citrusy flavours. Indulge yourself with a cup of Esmeralda Special coffee that is elegant, silky, magnificently balanced and finishes dreamily.

The coffee estate is Rainforest Alliance Certified, and under the management and guidance of third generation farmers, the Peterson family, who continue to strive for excellence in coffee, careful maintenance of the land and support of both the workers and their respective families.

Darren Williams, Coffee Buyer for Fortnum & Mason says, “We are extremely passionate about quality coffee and the new Panama Esmeralda Special is a fine example of the best of the best. Importantly, the superior flavour is matched with a commitment to environmental and social sustainability that we are proud to have associated with Fortnum & Mason.”

The new Panama Esmeralda Special will be available online at www.fortnumandmason.com as well as in store from 1st September.

This handsome chunk of meat hails from award winning Pipers Farm. Specifically it is a 4 week hung Red Ruby Entrecote Steak, cut, sealed and frozen in the perfect size for one.

“Our Entrecote Steak is just the eye muscle of the sirloin, so has no layer of visible fat. Tender, juicy and full of flavour. Serve with a simple red wine sauce (with caramelised onions) for a real treat! Our red ruby beef has a wonderful depth of flavour. Why? Because it has been bread on its native Exmoor and then grown slowly to natural maturity on the Somerset Levels. This gives a well-marbled, fine-grained texture which reaches perfection when we hang it on the bone for a month. Boneless Rib is just one of our well-loved roasts, and our perfectly trimmed Mince or our superb Grilling Steaks are just two mouth-watering ideas for everyday eating.”

Five individually packed single portions. (Free flow pack of 5. Take only what you want and freeze the rest for later.) retails for £36.99. Just one item from an impressive range that takes in lamb, chicken, bacon, sausages and even ready made meals.

“We started Pipers Farm 20 years ago, when our sons, Ed and Will, were very young. Our goal was to produce healthy meat that we as a family could enjoy eating with complete confidence. Today Pipers Farm helps to sustain 30 farming families who have natured the countryside for generations. We passionatly believe in offering our customers the best and healthiest meat they can buy, always a pleasure to cook, sensational to eat and excellent value. Peter and Henrieta Greig”

Pipers Farm offer their range via their internet site in addition to operating a shop in Magdalen Road, Exeter.

A new nutritious bar is launching that contains the health and energy giving benefits of virgin coconut oil and oats, without the sugar.

CoCo-Jack No Added Sugar, from the importers of Coconoil, is a natural wholegrain oat flapjack made with coconut oil. Containing no hydrogenated fats and no trans fats, they are high in fibre and give a slow release of energy. They are a convenient way to introduce the healthy properties of oats and Coconoil to the whole family.

CoCo-Jacks are ideal for school packed lunches, as an energy-boosting snack, as part of a healthy lunch or picnic, for commuters, sportspeople, fitness enthusiasts, walkers, cyclists – in fact anyone on the go.

This all natural oat flapjack is low GL, low GI, is suitable for those following a vegetarian or vegan diet, is dairy free, salt free and wheat free. It contains no hydrogenated fats and no trans fats.

CoCo-Jack No Added Sugar are sweetened with Sweet Freedom – a brand new natural sweetener, made from 100% fruit; apples grapes, carob and nothing else. It has won four Gold Stars at the recent Great Taste Awards with customers such as Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir, and according to the Daily Mail it ‘tastes as good as sugar’.

Oats are a natural form of energy and contain soluble fibre, as well as iron and B vitamins.

Coconoil is a pure certified virgin coconut oil from Sri Lanka. It contains no pesticides or GMO ingredients and is not hydrogenated, bleached, refined or deodorised. Certified virgin coconut oil is cholesterol free and the triglicerides it contains are transferred into energy, not fat. Its thermogenic properties increase the body’s metabolism, increasing energy levels and weight loss, and it contains fewer calories than many other oils and fats.

A study of the south pacific islands near New Zealand in the 1960s – before the islands were exposed to refined food – showed that the inhabitants were healthy with ideal weight to height ratios. Digestive problems were rare; constipation almost unknown. The people ate only natural foods – and coconut was a staple food. Compared with those of us in rich Western countries who consume 40% of our calories as fats, the indigenous islanders consumed 60% of their diet as fats – almost entirely from coconuts.

Garry Stiven, Director of Coconoil the company that supplies virgin coconut oil to Premiership rugby and football clubs, as well as sports clubs and gyms around the country, states “As part of an overall healthy lifestyle and diet, it can certainly enhance performance and energy.”

CoCo-Jack No Added Sugar flapjacks are available from healthfood stores, or can be ordered on-line at www.coconoil.co.uk or by telephone on 0161 439 9988 – one box of 12 x 65 gramme bars costs £15.87, which includes free post and packing in the UK.