Britain’s Best Brigades
The team at Jellybean Creative have been working on an exciting project for our lovely client Essential Cuisine (aka the stock people) and we are really delighted with how it has resonated with chefs in our industry and the amazing response we have had to the idea.
Back in January, we launched an initiative for Essential called Britain’s Best Brigades, a competition designed to recognise and celebrate the fantastic chef teams we house in this great nation.
The first phase of the competition required chefs to take 10 mins from their hectic schedules to tell us in an inspiring way, and in less than 100 words why their brigade is one of Britain’s best! We had a fantastic response to the integrated PR and Marcomms campaign (something which we pride ourselves on here at Jellybean) targeting the foodservice market working in close partnership with the great team at Essential Cuisine!
The next phase involved whittling the entries down to a shortlist of just one per region, eight in total, and then each finalist brigade was required to bring their original submissions to life with a short snappy video that would then be put to the public vote to find the overall winner.
We’re pleased to say that the chefs have done us proud.
It was great getting the videos in from the finalist teams last week – there was genuine excitement and anticipation in the office. The campaign has clearly captured their imaginations and it’s clear to see how proud and engaged the brigades are with the idea of team recognition and how much creative effort the chefs have put into the video submissions.
We’re looking forward to crowning the winner on the 1st July!
Voting is open to everyone so go check them out and vote for your favourite brigade at www.bestbrigades.co.uk
Also, if you’re feeling social be sure to get involved in the action on Facebook and Twitter using #BestBrigades
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
We're officially Elite
We have always been very proud of our independent agency status. We are masters of our own fate and lords of all we survey (sort of). We’re a speed boat rather than a tanker and with our twenty four strong team we have been speeding along rather well for the last 28 years. Over this time we have built a reputation to be proud of and a much envied client list, so perhaps we shouldn’t really be surprised that we made it into The Drum Independent Agencies Elite table!
It’s only the second year we have entered and having done very respectably last year we were over the moon to find out we had managed to make it into the Elite Independent agencies list this year! It’s quite an achievement as only agencies that have featured highly on all three league tables (client feedback, peer votes and financials) make it into this esteemed list so we are very honoured. This year (for agencies with between 1 and 25 staff) we came 7th for the peer table, top 20 in the financial table and top 100 in the client table and thereby made it into the Elite Agencies (1-25 staff) table at no. 3.
Of course we wouldn’t be anywhere, let alone an ‘Elite Agency’ without our clients and the great comments they have posted on RAR and indeed all those who kindly voted for us in the peer poll. So we’d like to say a big thank you to all of you. Now it’s off to add an extension onto our trophy cabinet and open a bottle of fizz!
Read more on The Drum’s blog here.
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Hospitality Action’s Great British Quiz raises a whopping £60k!
Last Friday evening a group of us Beans visited the lovely Park Plaza Westminster Bridge for Hospitality Action’s annual Great British Quiz. Hospitality Action are experts at hosting some very grand events – we often feel unworthy coming from our humble little foodservice design agency to the ballroom of another grand London hotel such as this, but we’re a long-term supporter of HA and are always on hand to do our bit.
This is an event that I personally really look forward to as I love a dose of healthy competition (I blame my Dad) and despite not being to up on our quiz game, we all had a whale of a time. We had a great group of people on our table including the lovely Contino family, the geniuses behind Sapori d’Italia, who were pretty hot on their sports – rather handy for us as sport isn’t our strong point. Food on the other hand…
The evening’s proceedings were led by the big man himself, Mark Labbett from the ITV game show The Chase. At 6ft 7, Mark managed to hold court in a room full of hospitality industry veterans that were buzzing with competition and rivalry!
The food and drink, served by the great front of house team at the Park Plaza, was truly delicious (big up to the back of house brigade). We had a lovely fillet of pork for main and, my favourite, caramel cheesecake for dessert (featured in the photo) which was divine!
We left the night with a new found bank of stats and facts to impress our mates, full bellies and a stuffed goodie bag – all signs of a great night! I was also rather chuffed the next day to discover the Mackie’s of Scotland honeycomb chocolate which was pretty mind blowing – thanks Mackie’s! Getting the sense that I have a bit of a sweet tooth!
The event itself raised a phenomenal £60,000 for HA, a fantastic achievement and a great cause. I was honoured to have been a part of it and I’m already looking forward to next year!
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
National Jellybean Day
Each year we throw on our party hats and gather round a table of food and sweets to celebrate National Jellybean Day. This year, as the leading Foodservice Marketing, Foodservice Trends and PR agency, we wanted to do something bigger and better that involved more than just the ‘Jellybeans’.
We looked to industry leaders in research and statistics – Horizons and Allegra Foodservice as well as our own independent consumer research (Toluna panel 300 sample size) to pull together a thought-provoking and fun campaign.
So we had the facts, the numbers, the trends and predictions…then what?
Well, Junior Designer, Luca swapped his party hat for his creative one and produced what we like to call ‘Infobites’.
Infobites are bite-sized infographics that allow you to share individual snippets of information with a corresponding visual as opposed to essentially a full poster with multiple stats, facts and images.
As you may well know, infographics are playing an integral role in more and more digital marketing strategies. However if you’re late to the party and have yet to realise the infographic’s full potential, here are some facts for you:
- 90% of the information that comes to the brain is visual*
- 65% of your digital audience are visual learners**
- Visual data is processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than text**
- The words “infographic” and “infographics” are searched an average of 547,000 times per month in Google+
So, each day we tweeted and posted two infobites to our followers on both Twitter and Linkedin. Our jellybean themed infobites focused around stats on the out of home/foodservice market and consumers’ habits and mind-set out of home. See image on the right for examples. Can you spot the beans? 😉
To help spread the jellybean love, our creative-beans in the studio also produced ‘Happy National Jellybean Day’ jellybean bag toppers which were sent out as gifts to journalists, clients and prospects alike. Everyone loves a sweet treat after all!
And so, our social media campaign continued…
On the Wednesday, the official day of National Jellybean Day, we launched a promoted twitter account campaign targeting accounts with an interest in marketing, foodservice, hospitality and the like inviting them to follow us to win a personalised jellybean machine. The results over the three days were more than fruitful with Rebel Brewing Co. proud winners of their shiny new Jellybean machine!
“It all sounds very nice, but where’s the business benefits?” I hear you ask… Well our week long campaign made a total of 4,831,858 impressions!!
So, if you’d like to know how infographics, infobites or even the moving infographic – ‘scroller’ – could work for your marketing campaign, get in touch today. We’d love to hear from you!
T: +44 (0)1372 227950
E: info@jellybeancreative.co.uk
Twitter: @jellybeanagency
LinkedIn: Jellybean Creative Solutions
**https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-awesome-infographics-to-inform-your-marketing-plan-for-2014
+http://ansonalex.com/infographics/infographic-effectiveness-statistics-infographic/
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice trends, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Bucket List
If it’s not already on your list and you haven’t already ticked it off, make sure you add ‘Run the London Marathon’ to the list of things to do before you die…having just completed my fourth London Marathon in ten years, I’m a big advocate in taking part in something amazing at least once in your life.
Nothing compares to running the streets of our beautiful capital on a spring day to the shouts and screams of the great London public, cheering you on every step of the way. It’s the nicest day in London by far – even as a spectator – London becomes a hive of friendliness with a sense of camaraderie, usually reserved for Cup Finals or the folk up North.
Unexpectedly, this year was my most successful marathon. I only had 10 proper weeks training after my arm came out of plaster, so I invested in a running coach, who introduced me to the merits of the run-walk strategy…basically I ran the whole marathon and did all my long training runs running 5 minutes and then speed-walking 1 minute and it worked a treat, I didn’t hit the wall and I didn’t stop once. The last five miles my 1 minute speed-walk got less speedy, but I kept smiling and finished in just over 5 hours. I enjoyed every minute and would encourage everyone to give it a go.
I was running to raise vital funds for DEBRA, a charity which helps EB sufferers and their families – If you’ve never heard of DEBRA, please take a look at the very good work they do here: http://www.debra.org.uk/real-life-stories/intro and if you’d like to donate some money for this worthy cause, you can still sponsor me https://www.justgiving.com/Sam-RookeVLM.
Running for a charity helps you cross that finish line, it gives you the determination to get up in the morning in the wind and the rain and run 15 miles while everyone else is tucked up in bed and it certainly puts a smile on your face when you collapse into bed on race day. So, run yourself a memory that will last a lifetime and help others less fortunate in the process.
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
A Hidden Gem in Surrey Hills
Described as ‘Surrey Hill’s best kept dining secret’ I was excited last weekend to be visiting Haywards at Hurtwood for dinner with a few friends.
Nestled in the charming village of Ewhurst on the Sussex/Surrey border, Haywards restaurant is situated on the beautiful grounds of Hurtwood Park Polo Club, which as an equestrian lover, I was particularly excited about!
With everything on the menu sounding delicious, it was hard to pick just one dish. I ended up opting for the ‘Pork Saltimbocca’ – and I was not disappointed. Tender pork medallions topped with sage, Parma ham and chorizo served on a haricot bean cassoulet, not to mention a generous portion of creamy dauphinoise potatoes and fresh vegetables, it was a culinary delight – my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
There was something to suit every taste, with other dishes including ‘Venison Bourguignon’, ‘Magret Duck Breast’ and ‘Fillet of Halibut’ as well as starters, light bites, vegetarian and children’s options and of course (and most importantly) desserts!
Not only was the food fantastic, but the service was superb and the lovely staff made our dining experience at Haywards thoroughly enjoyable.
If you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy delicious gourmet food combined with stunning surroundings, I would recommend a visit to Haywards.
I’m already looking forward to returning in the summer to sample more of the menu and to watch the polo with a glass of Pimms (or two)!
Website: www.haywards-restaurant.co.uk
Address: Hurtwood Park, Ewhurst, Surrey, GU6 7SW
Contact number: 01483 267321
Twitter: @HaywardsatPolo
Facebook: Haywards at Hurtwood
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Beans take a Break
Last week fellow bean Jess and I decided to take a well deserved break to Grayshott Health Spa. Having browsed through numerous spa options online, we finally made up our minds and booked this sanctuary for three days…and what a delight it was!
After a mere one hour drive, we arrived at this haven in the Surrey countryside. Having never been away in England before it was a pleasant surprise not having to wake up at 4am to catch a plane! Luckily it was time for lunch when we arrived and we wasted no time getting stuck into the extensive buffet. The food was delicious, varied and all very healthy, although we couldn’t resist a glass of wine (we were on holiday after all!).
We managed to sunbathe the rest of the day, enjoying the unseasonably hot English weather and the beautiful grounds peppered with Spring flowers and shrubs until it was time for our exhilarating evening salt scrub before dinner. The treatment left us feeling revitalised and cleansed ready for our 3 course extravaganza of a duck starter, a wholemeal penne pasta in a sundried tomato sauce and a warm fruit crumble to end. Although the portions were small, we certainly left feeling full!
The following day, we decided to explore the local area, Grayshott is a beautiful town and make the most of the facilities in the spa and even had time for a spot of croquet in the evening…well making up our own version as we’d never played!
The dinner that evening, again was delectable and consisted of: quinoa with beetroot & prunes to start, aubergine melanzane for main (my favourite) and a raspberry parfait with a nut crumble.
On our last morning, we relished our final pampering session – a full body massage (couldn’t resist!). It was incredible. But, being the foodies we are we decided that we needed to eat something substantial to sustain us on the journey home (it was an hour after all) and so took a detour to the local pub, The Fox and Pelican. This was a real find and we must have left there a stone heavier than on arrival! The temptation of a burger and fries was definitely too much after eating like an athlete the previous two days.
We both left with a different outlook and better understanding of the foods we eat and a determination to think more about a healthy balance, I even purchased a book called Gut Gastronomy which was developed by Grayshott Spa, combining a health regime and recipe book, I can highly recommend it!
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice public relations agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Cocoa Adventures in Ghana
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” Charles Dickens
I’m not alone in being a chocoholic – the worldwide consumption is predicted to hit 8.5 million tonnes in 2020* – but how many of us actually know how the sweet treat is produced?
As part of Callebaut’s For The Love of Chocolate campaign, two chefs won the trip-of-a-lifetime to visit cocoa plantations in Ghana, learning about the origins of chocolate, along with Lisa Jenkins from The Caterer. And I was lucky enough to be invited along with them!
Stepping off the plane we were hit with the vibrancy and colourfulness of Ghana, but also the heat! Although not the climate we in the UK are used to, it certainly works for cocoa – in fact, 70% of the world’s total number of cocoa beans originate in West Africa, with Ghana second only to the Ivory Coast in terms of crop numbers.
We spent the week travelling around the cocoa growing regions, visiting large plantations and small farms, discovering how the trees’ small white flowers grow to pods containing an average of 40 seeds/beans. As the pods don’t ripen at the same time, the trees must be constantly monitored before harvesting with machetes and then fermenting for around six days, often by covering with banana leaves – the smell is powerful! The final work of the plantation is to dry the beans for ten days before they are sold to purchasing agents and the licensed buying company.
Once away from the plantation the beans are taken through various quality control inspections before shipment. At this point we were struck by just how rigorous a process this is – each single bag of beans will be checked at least three times, labelled and sealed to ensure quality and traceability. The government strives to only export high-quality cocoa so the checks are done by hand, with the final tests evaluating samples of 100 beans per bag. All being well, these will then be shipped off around the world to continue the bean-to-bar journey.
Aside from cocoa, Ghana has so much to offer and history to share – we visited Kakum National Park for a walk above the rainforest canopy, as well as Elmina Slave Castle where we heard the horrific stories of slaves being held before they were sent to Europe.
It was also touching to visit the schools that Barry Callebaut Ghana support by building sanitary systems – only around 5% of schools in Ghana have these facilities – accommodation for teachers, I.T suites and libraries.
Working for a leading integrated foodservice agency, we’re often enjoying the finished product so to be able to travel to Ghana and learn where it all began was truly a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
To see some of my pictures and videos from the trip, check out @lflew and @Jellybeanagency on Twitter.
*http://www.statista.com/statistics/238849/global-chocolate-consumption/
Jellybean Serves up Charity April Fool
A seven day ‘pop-up’ restaurant in East London, serving ‘pimped-up, Victorian-formula gruel’ was the recent subject of a charity April Fools’ Day prank by creative agency, Jellybean.
Borrowing heavily from the current trend for themed pop-up restaurants in the news, ‘Gruel Dudes’ and its fictional creator, Denton Fisk, took in elements of social media, digital and PR to fool readers, with £50 donated to industry charity, Hospitality Action, for every time a media outlet ran with the story.
In the end, two outlets – The Caterer and the Publican’s Morning Advertiser – printed the story in their ‘best of’ rundowns, with Jellybean placed in a top five alongside efforts from big names including Greene King, Domino’s, Costa and The Fat Duck.
Jellybean Managing Director, Fiona Rickard, commented: “Getting involved with April Fools’ Day is not just fun, it also provides a fantastic showcase for our capacity to compel and create. Tapping into the trend for leftfield ‘pop-ups’ seemed like fair game from our end, and we’re delighted it was met in the same spirit as intended, with many of our journalist friends loving the premise and the way in which it was delivered. Introducing a charity element seemed the right thing to do and we’ll continue to support Hospitality Action whenever we can.”
For the ruse, a faux twitter account was established and populated in the lead up to the day, alongside a stylish landing page and standalone press release – the overriding conceit of which was to entice diners to a disused factory space in London’s Hackney Wick to feast on gruel with expensive ‘add-on’ toppings including chia seeds, kale shavings, quinoa, local honey and foraged berries.
The twitter site can be viewed at: www.twitter.com/coolgruel
The full press release can be found here.
Jellybean is a diverse collection of minds and talents from across the industry. The RAR (Recommended Agency Register) and MAA (Marketing Agencies Association) accredited agency was recently shortlisted for both B2B Marketing and Communications Agency of the Year as well as the 2014 B2B Awards and offers unrivalled services in integrated marketing, PR, consultancy, insight, digital, creative and social media. Those looking to find out more about how Jellybean can help your brand for real can call Susan Bolam on: 01372 227950.
Jellybean Creative is a leading food and drink pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
‘Culinary Pirate’ to Launch London’s First-ever Gruel Pop-up, ‘Gruel Dudes’
A seven day ‘pop-up’ restaurant serving pimped-up, Victorian-formula gruel is to open at the very beginning of April at a disused factory space in Hackney, East London.
Gruel Dudes is the brainchild of an experiential collective of so-called ‘culinary pirates’, headed by newcomer Denton Fisk, and will feature a menu of basic gruel, made using a mix of hot water, oats and millet sourced from nearby Dalston, ‘pimped up’ with a variety of toppings including chia seeds, kale shavings, quinoa, local honey and foraged berries.
Individual bowls will start at £2.99, with toppings priced between £1 and £2.50.
Diners will also be able to choose from a small range of ethical coffee and tea, alongside an extensive flight of paired craft beer and wine, handpicked by Fisk himself.
On the new venture, Fisk opined: “Now feels like the right time to reimagine gruel for the 21st century. We’ve remembered how to brew our own beer again, we remembered that a beard can be a personal statement and not just a mark of laziness, but we forgot about gruel. It’s lucky that I remembered that we’d forgotten about it, otherwise this would never have happened.”
The 110 square metre factory space, just off Tredegar Road in trendy Hackney Wick, will be open from 9am-7pm for seven days from 1st to 7th April. The strictly-no-bookings site has capacity for 45 diners, including a bar area, and will include a vintage clothing store, tattooist, flea market and a resident DJ.
Fisk concluded: “We’re on a mission to ‘make gruel cool’ and after this, it surely will be. If it proves a success, then who knows, we could roll it out far and wide to places like Stoke Newington and Dalston and maybe next time make it 14 days. I really want to do something interesting with acorns, so who knows, the possibilities are endless!”
Tweet Denton Fisk at: @coolgruel
Jellybean Creative is a leading social media foodservice agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Head over heels for The Dam!
Amsterdam is one of the greatest small cities in the world. This is how the Amsterdam tourist board describes it and I have to agree. Having visited for the first time this month, I have totally fallen in love. From the beautiful architecture, to the winding canals, to the uber friendly people, to the feel-good cycling, to the delicious food, it truly is a city that welcomes you and makes you feel at home almost instantly.
Having planned a three day break it was always going to be a busy couple of days, but within the first afternoon we had more or less explored the city by foot, accidentally coming across landmarks with surprised delight and pride – we almost felt like locals!
I could, and happily would, tell you about every part of my trip, but I would be here for days, so instead I want to tell you about a little gem that I discovered, again accidentally, but which I can highly recommend. This gem is called Trattoria Caprese.
Situated on Spuistraat, this Italian restaurant is a tranquil oasis compared to the hustle and bustle of the city outside. Greeted by the incredibly friendly and attentive waiters and shown to our table, we were presented with a menu that left us spoilt for choice!
Everything sounded mouth-watering, but after much deliberation we decided on tagliatelle con ragu di vitello e peperoni dolci (tagliatelle with veal ragout and sweet pepper) and polpette con salsa di pomodoro e pane di Altamura (meatballs in tomato sauce with Altamura bread) – both were nothing short of a culinary delight!
Of course, it would have been rude to have stopped at just a main, so we requested the dessert menu and the deliberations began yet again. Eventually it was the tortino caldo al cioccolato (warm chocolate pie) that won and it did not disappoint.
As the hours ticked by, there was not the slightest hint that they wanted us to move on to free up the table which made a refreshing change and as the restaurant filled up with a mixture of tourists, some of whom were happily dining on their own, it was the locals that had reserved tables which confirmed that we had in fact stumbled across a little gem.
Having only been back in the UK for a couple of days, I have already made plans to visit Amsterdam again, but this time I have a new to do list and sitting pride of place at the top will be a visit to Trattoria Caprese.
If you’re planning a trip to one of the greatest small cities in the world, then make sure Trattoria Caprese is on your list – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
http://www.restaurantcaprese.nl
https://www.facebook.com/restaurantcaprese?fref=ts
Jellybean Creative is a leading food and drink pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
La Dolce Vita
This Easter I jetted off in style (speedy boarding all the way – I know how to live!) to Naples and then onto Sorrento which served as our base to explore the Amalfi coast and all it had to offer. In a land famed for its fabulous cuisine we felt it our duty as representatives of the leading foodservice agency to sample as much as possible (purely as a fact finding mission you understand). It was a tough job but someone had to do it, and believe me, we did it! Having been to Italy twice before I was looking forward to their foodie delights, but nothing could prepare me for the gigantic lemons which greeted us in Sorrento, not for the amount of Limoncello that was offered free of charge at the end of every meal (thankfully breakfast excluded).
Our trip took in Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Positano (fleetingly), Amalfi and Ravello and we managed to eat our way around the beautiful coastline.
Here are my personal highlights…
Ice Cream from an Italian TV chef – Gelateria Primavera offers a huge array of ice creams which even the most dedicated connoisseur would be hard pressed to work their way through during a week (although we had a fair attempt). The gelateria is owned by TV Chef Antonio and the walls are literally plastered with photos of him with everyone from the Pope to famous footballers and movie stars.
Michelin star dining on Capri – We took the ferry over to Capri and whilst wandering the winding lanes and alleyways that crisscross the island we stumbled upon Aurora restaurant. Listed in the Michelin guide it also boasts celebrity patrons including Reece Witherspoon and Pierce Brosnan. A real find; the food was lovely and the service great!
Historic dining – The sister restaurant to our hotel (Grand Hotel La Favorita) was O Parrucchiano and dates back to 1868. Famous for its cannelloni ‘Stracinati’ it serves traditional dishes from the Campania region it seems to stretch back from the street forever and offers a beautiful setting complete with atrium and fairy lights as well as great food.
Pizza in Pompeii – Pompeii is a tourist’s ‘must’ do, but just a stone’s throw away from the ancient preserved city is a very unassuming café which offered a ‘self-serve’ pizza to die for! Not the most salubrious of settings but what a pizza!
Giant steaks – Travelling with a true carnivore meant that no trip would be complete without sampling the best local steak which led us to the cleverly named Meating where we were presented with steaks that rivalled even the ones sampled in New York at Keens. Certainly worth a try but make sure you go hungry!
Calzone at the top of the world – On the recommendation of a client we headed up into Ravello on the Amalfi coast to visit the Hotel Caruso. We timed it well as they had opened for the season just the day before. We had one of the most amazing views all to ourselves and enjoyed stunning Calzone and pizza whilst sipping strawberry & mint infused prosecco and taking in the stunningly tranquil setting.
Cocktails at the Excelsior – As you approach Sorrento by sea the imposing sight of the iconic hotel Excelsior Vittoria greets you from the rocky coastline. This classic hotel has played host to anyone who is anyone over the years, so we took a stroll down its lemon and orange tree lined driveway (leading off from the main square) one evening to sip cocktails in style on their terrace and take in the sea air. All very civilised and certainly something not to be missed if you are in Sorrento.
All in all we had a fabulous time and managed to take in both the sights and the tastes of this amazing part of the world. I would highly recommend a visit should you ever find yourself Italy bound.
Jellybean Creative is a leading food and drink pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
I never knew I liked Blueberries…
Until I visited America late last year and had several amazing breakfasts, that all seemed to include them. Never one to waste anything, it didn’t seem such a hardship to eat some goodness in the Big Apple (one of my five a day) along with the crispy bacon, french toast and maple syrup! What a lovely sweet and savoury start to the day. I now even put them on my porridge and eat them as a snack as I try and lose weight for my daughters wedding in three weeks time!
Perhaps this could be a third breakfast option in this country after the fantastic Full English and the lighter continental, how about a Full US? However, I was told recently by a foodservice consultant, that it has been tried in the UK by major hotel chains, but consistently fails to sell, guests preferring to fill up on the Full English!
While there, my wife Gill and I tried several amazing restaurants, one of the best was The Brooklyn Diner, made from what looked like an old railway carriage. We got there too late for lunch, so booked in for early evening dinner, and went exploring. We immediately came across a popup food market where all manner of street food was displayed… from bruffins to bamboo bites and cheddbread to pigs in blankets. Foodservice trends and outlets that maybe coming our way in the future?
Back to the amazing diner where traditional bar stools and typically american decor enthralled us! Such fantastic food as well. Brilliantly simple but so delicious. Starter of fried beans and griddled corn. Gone in an instant. Then the best burger in the world.?.. probably, but one in a beach restaurant in Portugal also comes close. This was the real thing though, in the right location with all the right ambience. Why is it that food tastes better in the right location? I can still taste it now. If you ever get the chance – it is well worth a visit.
Not quite so good however was Katz Diner, yes the place where that scene from Where Harry Met Sally was filmed. We definitely didn’t get the same thrill, but we did take our Jellybean with us for the experience. Though can someone please explain to me the tipping system in the US… levels unheard of in the UK – our experience certainly didn’t warrant anywhere near these kind of tips!
A thoroughly enjoyable trip and another yet sweet/savoury combo goes on my ok list, along with sweet and salted popcorn and salted caramel chocolate. I absolutely draw the line at peanuts in chocolate though! Can’t think why people think I’m fussy!
Jellybean Creative is a leading food and drink pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
The Drum Design Agency Census 2015
As a truly integrated agency specialising in the foodservice market we pride ourselves on delivering outstanding creative based on sound insight and excellent strategy. With our six strong creative team we cover both print and digital design in-house, and through this fact and our RAR recommended agency status, thereby qualified for The Drum’s Design Agency Census. This year was the first time we entered and we’re very pleased to make it into the top 25 of all three tables for the 10-19 staff category (which includes account handling and other agency design dependent functions). The Drum Design Agency Census provides a comprehensive review of the design marketing agency landscape in the UK, highlighting the key players, trends and growth in this exciting sector and the full report can be found here.
The research is conducted by The Drum in partnership with the Recommended Agency Register, and ranks UK design marketing agencies across three main categories; financial performance, client satisfaction and peer recognition. We were thrilled to come 20th in the client satisfaction table, 24th in the peer recognition table and 23rd in the financial performance table. All pretty impressive rankings when you consider we are a specialist agency working in a sector not exactly known for its big budgets! The particularly nice thing about this census though is that it is based on client reviews collected through the RAR and ratings from our peer agencies. So well done to our fabulous studio and of course, thank you, to our wonderful clients who appreciate the work we do for them.
Hot on the heels of the Design Agency Census is the Independent Agency Census which comes out later this year which we are also in the running for (you may very well have received a ‘can you do us a little favour’ email requesting you vote for us). Voting is now closed so we await with baited breath our rankings – we will of course keep you posted!
Jellybean Creative is a leading food and drink pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Jellybean Support the Weir Archer Academy
Last Friday found Susan and I guests at a glittering fund-raiser for the Weir Archer Academy, held at the magnificent and mighty Great Fosters in Egham.
Little prepares you for the sight of Great Fosters in Egham, and arriving at night to see the exterior illuminated with flame only makes it more dramatic.
Built in 1550 amidst 50 acres of carefully clipped gardens and lawn, this grand old pile of bricks and in particular its tithe barn was our venue for the evening.
The Weir Archer Academy was set up by now legendary Paralympian David Weir CBE and his trainer Jenny Archer. The Academy provides athlete and coaching support and expertise across all levels and abilities including working with Schools in South London, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire; working with clubs and coaches from the South East and providing access to the Academy for international development for under resourced counties.
After witnessing first hand the paucity of British Paralympic athletes at the Beijing Games when compared with other nations, Weir felt that the sport was fighting for its very survival in Britain. The Weir Archer Academy seeks to nurture the very best athletes and in doing so generate the Paralympians of the future.
As a supporter of the charity, Jellybean donated both design work in the production of much of the printed material on the night, but also in donating an internship to be auctioned off in the silent auction.
And so on the night we were extremely fortunate that both David and Jenny were able to join us, as well as a great number of Academy athletes shortly to race in the marathon.
Festivities kicked off with a champagne reception to the strains of ‘Sweetheart Swing’, a female duo channelling the forces-era close vocal harmonies of The Andrews Sisters.
Suitably refreshed we decamped to the vast tithe barn and to our table for a delicious three course meal of salmon terrine, followed by tender lamb with mint sauce and lastly a trio of chocolate mousse, salted caramel cream and salted caramel ice cream.
Speeches from David followed by a video presentation set out the amazing work the Academy does and what an enormous difference it brings to the lives of children living with disability.
Next came the main business of the evening – raising some much needed money from the guests via the auction – expertly helmed by the effervescent and energetic Joe Gallagher, things got off to a great start. Some amazing lots were generously donated including a ‘money-can’t-buy’ VIP package for Bestival including backstage passes as well as a highly prized Victoria Beckham clutch bag.
Once the final lot had been auctioned, duties fell to the band, Fully Funktional, who kicked off the dancing – right away vocalists, guitarists and even the trombone player were amongst the audience pulling people up onto the dance floor.
As we speak the total raised is already over £20,000.00 – a magnificent sum which will transform the lives of so deserving children and young adults.
Enormous thanks go to all involved in the production of the event and the hospitality on the night, but special thanks go to Tania and Joe Gallagher whose idea for the event and organisation in every area was carried out with determination, dedication and above all else a smile.
For more information on the vital work that the Weir Archer Academy carries out, please visit the website here.
Jellybean Creative is a leading social media foodservice agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Brunch at The Aqua Shard
Last weekend, I was surprised with an early birthday present, and a lovely one at that! I was treated by my boyfriend to a three course brunch at The Aqua Shard. Located on level 31 of The Shard in London, this contemporary restaurant not only has incredible views of London, but also serves innovative, delicious British cuisine.
A snapshot of our dishes we enjoyed below…
Starters – I opted for Butternut Squash Soup with chestnut cubes and truffle popcorn, served with warm soda bread and Ash went for Eggs Benedict with Colchester Blue lobster which was amazing (food envy!).
Main – I chose Roasted Cornish lamb’s leg served with a yorkshire pudding, honey-glazed carrots, beef dripping roasties, smoked bacon and red wine jus which was possibly the best meal I have ever had. Ash went for a maple smoked salmon omelette with crème fraiche and Oscietra caviar which was also delicious.
Dessert – Pudding is always my favourite course and this didn’t disappoint. I had a lovely lemon meringue tart and also couldn’t help pinching some of Ash’s chocolate pecan tart with butterscotch ice cream.
The Aqua Shard is the perfect venue if you want to celebrate a special occasion and indulge in some really great food. If you’re okay with heights, I would definitely recommend a visit!
Address: Aqua shard, Level 31 The Shard, 31 St. Thomas Street, London, UK SE1 9RY
Reservations : 020 3011 1256
Twitter: @aquashard
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.
Cheers to Gorgeous Gerties!
Nestled amongst the endless antique shops that occupy the narrow streets of Dorking, Surrey, sits a delightful gem that is Gorgeous Gerties.
A vintage emporium combining cream teas, an olde worlde sweet shop and creative workshops, Gerties is quite simply a treasure chest of loveliness – the perfect place to hold a surprise birthday party!
Arranging a date when friends are all free to meet can be tricky at the best of times, but when the offer of a delicious cream tea and a spot of retail therapy is thrown into the mix, the date seems surprisingly easy to sort out. However, keeping it a secret from the birthday girl, despite her interrogations was another matter!
The staff at Gertie’s are lovely and were incredibly helpful, offering to organise an area suitable for our party of nine, including room for a pram for our honorary boy – at just 18 days old he was more interested in sleeping than listening to all the girlie gossiping! On arrival we were greeted with a table set up with an eclectic mix of china cups and saucers, tea pots with homemade tea cosies (which you can buy) and beautiful flowers – it was a lovely to surprise to all of us, not least the birthday girl who was met with a sea of smiling faces, none of which she was expecting to see.
As the chatter got underway an impressive array of fresh, crustless sandwiches, slices of homemade cake (including lemon drizzle, chocolate, Victoria sponge and coffee and walnut) and homemade scones with cream and jam, were placed on the table, followed by a chorus of ooohs and aaahs – and lots of picture taking!
It’s fair to say that the food was nothing short of a culinary delight, but despite full bellies it was time for some retail therapy. Gerties is basically a 15th century tardis. Seemingly small and compact from the outside, it’s a joy to anyone visiting when they discover that it’s filled from floor to ceiling with an endless array of independent retailers. Selling anything from jewellery, clothes, arts, crafts, furniture and accessories (not to mention the sweet shop), Gerties is a modern day vintage department store!
Although we opted to sit back and relax (in-between cake consuming and shopping), Gerties also offers an array of creative workshops. From sewing, crochet and cake decorating to card making and furniture painting, there’s something for everyone.
This was the first time we had paid a visit to Gerties, but after such a fantastic afternoon we will definitely be going back. Big groups may need to book, but the staff welcome all visitors so there’s no excuse not to pop in, say hello, have a natter, enjoy some delicious cake and have a mooch amongst the gifts.
As my new favourite weekend haunt, I can recommend all to visit Gorgeous Gerties. I can guarantee you will leave smiling… if not a little full!
To find out more about Gorgeous Gerties visit www.gorgeousgerties.co.uk, follow @Gerties1, like www.facebook.com/gorgeousgerties or email info@gorgeousgerties.co.uk
Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.