Cranachan cheesecake in Apley Farm Shop

Cranachan cheesecake

Hereford Hop cheese, £1.59 per 100g

As it was Burns Night on Monday, our Head Baker Julie made Crannock (or to some it’s Cranachan !) cheesecake her Cake of the Week (£2.50 each in the Creamery, £1.50 in the farm shop).  Dish of the Week in the Creamery Cafe is Haggis (which sold out very quickly on the butcher counter) & clapshot. Cheese of the Week is Hereford Hop (£1.59 per 100g) & look out for the Highland cheese, bought in especially for this week.

We’ve been tasting Lodge Farm Kitchen‘s frozen meals this week, sold in Apley Farm Shop. Their boeuf bourguignon was delicious on Monday & tonight we tried their roast vegetable lasagne which won a Great Taste Award in 2013. We met them in September at the Speciality Fine Food Fair & bought in some stock as they’re based in neighbouring Herefordshire. Their ready meals certainly make busy lives easier !

This week, amongst other things, I’m busy compiling the Advertising, Marketing & Press plan for the whole year with each Head of Department & of course our online DeliShop. It’ll make 2016 more cohesive than ever, so what happens in one department is reflected & continued in another. It involves planning offers & promotions around our own planned events, what produce is available throughout the seasons, national events such as food weeks & national awareness days, but according to our customer profiles. Plus pushing forward a couple of larger projects – the Apley Archive website & developing a new Apley product ready to launch in the summer hopefully. Many staff are taking their annual leave before the year which reminds me that half term for our children is just round the corner too.