Nutrition Archives - Page 3 of 5

Farrington’s Mellow Yellow’s commitment to environmentally sustainable farming has been recognised in The Grocer Gold Awards 2015, the most prestigious awards in the food and drinks industry. The company were shortlisted as finalists in The Green Initiative of the Year category. The awards focus on key business areas including innovation and customer satisfaction and this is a new category for 2015 recognising ‘specific and material achievements’.

Farrington’s Mellow Yellow launched in 2005 but it was two years before its launch in 2003 that farmer Duncan Farrington decided to become a LEAF Demonstration Farm and planted his rapeseed crops under the LEAF Marque standard. This decision to grow and produce his brand of cold pressed rapeseed oil to the highest environmental standards, raised the bar of British produced culinary oils as he led the growth of the sector within the UK.

Duncan has taken a long term approach to environmentally sustainable farming, changing the ethos of his family farm and making a commitment to continual trial, learning and development. Duncan joined LEAF in 1993 and has played a vital role in the wider organisation as a dedicated LEAF farmer.

One of the unique aspects of being a LEAF Demonstration Farm is the accessibility people have to the farm. From the nationwide Open Farm Sunday event to visits from local schools or Woman’s Institutes for example; Duncan regularly hosts farm walks. It is on these walks that you learn how agriculture and the environment go hand in hand and Farrington’s, like many other farmers, create the produce on your local supermarket shelf. Duncan’s personal passion is how he looks after his soils, using the very latest technologies, combined with traditional practices learned over centuries. Indeed, Duncan’s mantra is ‘From healthy soils, we produce healthy oils’.

Cold pressed rapeseed oil continues to grow in popularity and is much loved by chefs and home cooks alike who appreciate its culinary and health properties. Duncan Farrington said ‘Farrington’s Mellow Yellow is the only LEAF Marque branded cold pressed rapeseed oil, and highlights our unique approach to quality production that is at the core of our trusted brand. We are delighted to be recognised in The Grocer Gold Awards 2015’. The Grocer Gold 2015 Awards were announced at a prestigious event at Guildhall London on 9th June 2015. Duncan and Eli Farrington were joined by Caroline Drummond, Chief Executive LEAF, and Kelly Castelete, Marketing Manager for Farrington’s Mellow Yellow. Despite not winning the category, the company were thrilled to be shortlisted and enjoyed the chance to celebrate the success with customers including Booths, Ocado, Hello Fresh, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

With the weather getting warmer, people are starting to flock around the barbecue with friends and family enjoying wonderful food, it is the start of BBQ Season. Check out our recipe for barbecued asparagus to kick start your summer season: Barbecued Asparagus

Whilst not a dairy farmer I have plenty of friends around the country who are; sadly the numbers are decreasing, at around 10 leaving the industry every week. The UK currently has around 14,000 dairy farmers producing 80% of Britain’s milk and dairy products.

As with decreasing oil prices, one can’t help but notice milk prices are also in free fall on supermarket shelves; at around 43p per litre it is cheaper than bottled water and less than half the price of cola. The unsustainable prices are hitting the headlines with all sorts of people being blamed, not least the supermarkets for forcing farmers out of business. However, while I have genuine sympathy for farmers having to sell their milk for less than the cost of production, it is too simplistic just to blame supermarket price wars.

As with many industries in a free market, global society, the trend of less UK dairy farmers will continue, whilst the size of those remaining will increase. Where a few years ago the average dairy herd was around 80 cows, they are now two or three times that size, becoming more efficient and producing more milk. Long term there is a huge growing demand for milk and dairy products globally, however at the moment this has dropped off. The slowing Chinese economy means they are consuming less milk, including British produced milk powder; the situation being so bad that Chinese dairy farmers are pouring milk down the drains and culling cattle. Secondly due to economic sanctions against Russia, the Russians are currently not buying any French cheeses.

Additionally, because of warm wet weather in the UK and Ireland over the last few months, grass has grown well and the cows have produced plenty of milk, all at a time when there simply isn’t the demand. Basically the situation for dairy farmers around the world is going to get worse before it improves.

Everyone from farmers, processors, retailers and politicians are trying to workout a way forward. Unlike the price of oil going down (and let’s face it, I like paying £10 less every time I fill the car up), in an industry controlled by multinational companies who can manipulate the price and politics. Dairy farmers are small businesses, at the mercy of the market and therefore a balance has to be struck between nurturing an efficient British dairy sector, whilst ensuring the industry doesn’t disappear completely, which would be catastrophic on all levels, especially when demand for milk increases if we can’t produce it here in our own country.

We should relish quality milk produced in Britain. Milk is packed full of goodness with dozens of proteins; vitamins; minerals; carbohydrates and healthy fats. Full fat milk (3.5%) has less than a third of the fat content of a ‘low fat’ chicken diner (11%). Also at less than half the price of cola and full of calcium rather than sugar, it is better for your teeth too. Go and buy an extra pint today, great value for a fantastic product!

10 Years & Exclusive Preview

Farmer Duncan Farrington launched Farrington’s Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil in 2005. Produced on the Farrington’s family farm in Northamptonshire, we have since expanded our award-winning range to include dressings and mayonnaise. However, it was two years before its launch in 2003 that Duncan decided to become a LEAF Demonstration Farm and planted rapeseed crops under the LEAF Marque standard. This decision to grow and produce his brand of cold pressed rapeseed oil to the highest environmental standards raised the bar of British produced culinary oils as he led the growth of the sector within the UK and numerous awards followed.

Duncan started selling bottles of Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil to independent retailers from the boot of his car. Since then he has seen sales of Mellow Yellow grow as consumers switch to using the British product over other culinary oils. Duncan Farrington, said, “We are still a small farm producer. Compared to the olive oil and sunflower oil market in the UK we generate only a fraction of sales but we have focused on quality and grown sustainably. We will continue to produce a high-quality product that is accessible to everyone, from home cooks to the leading chefs in the world”.

Leading chefs to discover Farrington’s early on included Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Duncan introduced himself to Jamie at a trade show in 2006, and since then has produced one of Jamie’s brands of rapeseed oil as well as being on the menu at his Union Jacks restaurant. Nigella was an early fan too, naming Farrington’s Mellow Yellow as her rapeseed oil of choice in her book Kitchen. More recently, we were chosen by Michel Roux Jr’s Cookery School to become a partner. The school contacted Farrington’s because their chefs have been using the oil since the school opened in 2013.

We received our first Gold Taste award for the oil in 2006, with the latest Gold Star awarded to our flagship cold pressed rapeseed oil in 2014. Duncan’s wife Eli Farrington shares his passion and with her meticulous approach, has produced our dressings and mayonnaise recipes, again picking up many awards. Continuing to strive for quality, the range is one of the few widely available that is completely free from additives and is Vegetarian Society Accredited and Coeliac UK Approved.

A key part of the rebrand involved customer research. We asked customers what they like about the Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil and what’s important to them when selecting a culinary oil. Based on this research, we have simplified the information on the front, retaining the important elements, particularly the British flag as provenance is one of the most important factors for shoppers.

Earlier this year, Farrington’s Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil was selected as a partner to Michel Roux Jr’s Cookery School, located at Cactus Kitchens in central London, which offers an array of unique and intimate cooking experiences. The cookery school has used Farrington’s Mellow Yellow since it opened its doors in 2013.

Cold pressed rapeseed oil continues to grow in popularity and is much loved by chefs and home cooks alike who appreciate its culinary and health properties. Visitors to Michel Roux Jr’s Cookery School can enjoy using this British produced cooking oil in full-day experiences with Michel, as well as his protégé – senior Sous Chef Monica Galetti, and during technique based classes taught by his Head Chefs.

Anna Ratcliffe, Director at Cactus Kitchens, said “Here at our cookery school we love the quality of Farrington’s cold pressed rapeseed oil and are very proud to be associated with such a fantastic family business and brand. It’s great to be able to showcase such a wonderful product to our customers.”

In November, Eli Farrington was invited to join Michel Roux Jr in a masterclass with the Michel Star chef himself. Eli enjoyed a fantastic day and created a number of dishes under the watchful eye of Michel. Here is a full list of the recipes she created:-

Poached Scallops with Leeks and Smoked Salmon

Bread Charlotte with Confit Duck

Rough Puff Pastry

Chausson Aux Pommes

Once again we will be sponsoring the Carfest South dressings and breadmaking workshops at Laverstoke Park. A fantastic event that sells out year after year, the workshops are run by the team at Laverstoke Park and Carfest. We are also teaming up with Waitrose Cookery School for the bread making workshop. We are supplying 80 liters of oil to keep the workshops going this year as well as having a stall at the event.

Carfest South raises money for Children in Need and is supported by hundreds of volunteers from the Carfest organisers and Laverstoke Park. It’s a mega event for all the family featuring music, food, cars and much more.

We are looking forward to welcoming customers to our stall where you can try our full range.

We are thrilled to receive a Gold Star for Garlic Mayonnaise in the world’s largest food awards scheme. The Great Taste Award for our Garlic Mayonnaise is a huge accolade and over the years our cold pressed rapeseed oil, the full range of dressings and our classic mayonnaise have all received this sought-after marque of approval.

We are delighted to announce that both our new Chilli Oil and Garlic Mayonnaise have been shortlisted as finalists in the ‘New Local Product of the Year’ category in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food Awards & Drink Awards 2013.

The prestigious awards are held every year and Farrington’s Mellow Yellow has won in previous years. The Chilli Oil and Garlic Mayonnaise past the first round of judging to be shortlisted and will now go forward to the final… fingers crossed!

Jamie Oliver Food Tube channel is packed full of great tips and recipes for you to try at home and is well worth a visit.

We were of course very excited when he uploaded the “How to make mayonnaise with Jamie Oliver” website featuring our own Farrington’s Mellow Yellow. If you want to try to make your own mayonnaise, Jamie gives you simple step by step instructions. Alternatively, you can buy our own Mellow Yellow Mayonnaise (it’s completely additive free, using only quality ingredients, just like you would use at home).

We are immensly proud that our entire range of Farrington’s MELLOW YELLOW cold press rapeseed oil, dressings and mayonnaise has been approved by the Vegetarian Society. Sharing an ethos of tracability, quality ingredients and no-nonsense food production makes our range a great choice for customers who wish to make informed choices about the food they eat.