Blog Forman and Field

We tried some incredible cheeses at Neal’s Yard last night, new season goat and sheep’s milk are outstanding and they’ve made a tweak to the Finn recipe that is a huge improvement on what was already a super little cheese.

Here are our tasting notes, see below for how to order if you’d like to give them a try for yourself.

Dorstone

Stawley

Finn

“Older on the left, younger to the right. Both extremely rich, now made with more cream so extra velvety without a hint of the chalkiness which was occasionally present previously in Finn.

The younger offers a mellow but well rounded flavour, particularly impressive given that it’s just three weeks old. The older is mustier, not so suited for summer but would make a great addition to any autumn cheese board.”

Click on any of the cheeses on the following shopping list if you’d like to try them for yourself…

Finn Cheese

Stawley Goat’s Cheese

Dorstone Goat’s Cheese

We only stock British produced food here so it was something of a surprise to us to receive some really good reviews when the Observer Food Monthly taste tested all things Scandinavian. Rumours of an entry to Eurovision and a forthcoming Forman’s Sauna are, however, greatly exagerated.

Have a read of what Danish Chef Rene Madsen thought of our efforts by clicking the images below

Observer Food Monthly April 2010

Observer Food Monthly April 2010

… and here’s your shopping list…

London Cure Smoked Scottish Salmon – 5 stars

Chef’s Gravadlax – 5 stars

Peter’s Yard Crispbreads – 5 stars

Breads Etc Five Seed Rye Sourdough Bread – 5 stars

We’ve just had our very first delivery of this spring’s asparagus from our friends at the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight. There’s nothing garlicky about it, it just so happens that the two crops flourish in the island’s sandy soil and abundant sunshine (cue torrential downpour). We buy our early season asparagus from the Garlic Farm where it’s grown in poly tunnels for early cropping and then in a week or two we’ll move up to Goodman’s of Worcestershire for the slower grown, proper outdoor stuff.

New Season Asparagus

We have also had the exciting news that our very first fish of the wild Scottish salmon season are on their way down to us from the netsmen this afternoon. Supply is extremely limited at this time of the year but they are the finest, fittest fish of the season so it’s worth putting your name down for one. Give us a call on 0208 5252 352 if you’d like us to keep one back for you. There’s no finer supper than wild salmon and asparagus.

Fresh Wild Scottish Salmon

For more details or to order:

http://www.formanandfield.com/asparagus-p-2011.html

http://www.formanandfield.com/new-season-fresh-wild-scottish-salmon-p-2032.html

Sorry, cheap headline there we know but we are rather excited about the new season’s produce and the launch of our May Specials.

Click on the image to view our full range of May Specials

From today you can order our new 2010 range of complete picnics, classic English dishes to celebrate St George’s day – another slice of Jam Roly Poly anyone? – and a wealth of other seasonal creations from Chef Lloyd and our team of talented small producers around the country.

Click here and have a browse of our May menu

This is the inaugural exhibition of Photography at the new Smokehouse Gallery based inside H. Forman & Son’s salmon smokehouse on Hackney Wick’s Fish Island. This is the centre of the capitals largest and fastest growing artistic community on the edge of the rapidly changing 2012 Olympic site. Opening on Thursday 6th May, and curated by Matthew Booth, this exhibition brings together strands of photography by Artists who are dealing with its elemental nature:- Light, Darkness, Shadows, Details, Focus, and the Illusion of Space – a new movement which is returning to the essence and origins of photography.

OPENING RECEPTION – THURSDAY 6TH MAY 6-9 PM
Exhibition ends 31 May 2010

To attend the opening reception please RSVP to smokehousegallery@formans.co.uk

Louise O'Kelly

Matthew Booth

Emma Critchley

Roy Mehta

Stuart Bailes

Tim Soar

Election Night Hamper 2010 – A coalition of fine foods

Just what you need to get you through a night of political swings and roundabouts – a special General Election hamper of the finest products from Britain’s 659 constituencies. While Dimbleby, Paxman and Marr try to make sense of the political maze Forman & Field suggest you invite some friends over to indulge in gourmet food worthy of a victory banquet at Number 10.

Greet your guests with a sickly grin (Howard, Con, Folkestone and Hythe, maj 11,680) and usher them in for a sound bite or two. Start with H.Forman & Son Wild Smoked Salmon Pate It’s wild, Scottish (Galloway, Respect, Bethnal Green & Bow, maj 823) and the best money can buy. Delicious on Granny’s Five Seed Rye Bread (Foster, Lab, Hastings and Rye, maj 2,026).

It wouldn’t be election night without a few porky pies (Harman, Lab, Camberwell & Peckham, maj 13,483). Our Traditional Pork Pies from Norfolk (Bacon, Con, Norfolk South, maj 8,872) are made by Silent Partners from gloriously tasty pure breed Old Spot porkers (Widdecombe, Con, Maidstone and the Weald, maj 14,856).

It’s certainly within your allowable expenses to enjoy some Pickled Shallots on the side with your pie (Pickles, Con, Brentwood & Ongar, maj 11,612). Ours are made in small batches by chef Kit Bamford of Worcester (Foster, Lab,Worcester, maj 3,144).

Our Venison & Wild Mushroom Terrine, wrapped in pancetta with a port glaze, will delight the Countryside Alliance members of your party and is perfect for a midnight snack. The green welly brigade will also enjoy Montgomery’s Cheddar (Lembit, LD, Montgomeryshire, maj 7,173), a statesmanlike cheese if ever the was one.

By 4am, Peter Snow’s swingometer will be out of control. Mandy, put the kettle on. Our Simply Delicious Fruitcakes (Paisley, DUP, Antrim North, maj 17,965) will happily soak up all that rhetoric. How about one or two Luxury Brownies (Brown, Lab, Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, maj 18,216) or some Macaroons (Cameron, Con, Witney, maj 14,146) for a taste of what may be to come?

Finally, as the tension builds and the exit polls start to take on grim significance, a stiff gin will be in order (Kennedy, Lib, Ross, Skye and Lochaber, maj 14,249). Be liberal, though; this should be a Red Nose Night for everyone. Bramley & Gage Sloe Gin is made by hand by a family firm in Gloucestershire (Dhanda, Lab, Gloucester, maj 4,271). The blend of seasonally picked sloes with finest London (Field, Con, Cities of London & Westminster, maj 8,095) gin makes for the perfect coalition.