Blog Forman and Field

Our next exhibition at Formans Smokehouse Gallery opens on Thursday the 1st April. The show is CONDUIT, curated by Frank Creber, Creative Director of the Bromley By Bow Centre. Watch this space for further details, in the meantime here’s a peak at some work from artists exhibiting.

Invitation

Frank Creber - Bromley by Bow

Sheenagh McKinlay

Maria Alvarez

Caroline Holden

Eva Bachmann

Frank Creber

Nick Creber

 To register for the Opening Reception from 6-9pm please email smokehousegallery@formans.co.uk.

If you’ve left that romantic Valentine’s surprise until the last minute (again!), why not book a tete a tete at Forman’s Restaurant this weekend. We’re now fully booked for lunch on Sunday but have a little availability on Saturday night for those who want to start the amorous celebrations a little early.

Call 0208 5252 365 during office hours, or email info@formans.co.uk for reservations.

p.s. for those who want to start the love-fest even earlier, or simply those who enjoy a delicious breakfast there’s always Saturday brunch, too.

NEW FEBRUARY SPECIALS

Colchester Native Oysters from the River Blackwater off Mersea Island are to our mind the best in the world.

Cornish Brill with Sprout Bubble and Squeak and Mustard Cream Sauce makes a cracking fish supper for two. Our chefs lightly sear two fillets and prepare a peppery, buttery bubble and a creamy Dijon mustard sauce to serve with it.

We love parsnips and our new Honey Roast Parsnip Soup shows them off to their best in a jolly fine creamy soup made on the premises here with fresh chicken stock.

Apple pie is hard to beat as a heartwarming winter pud. Lloyd Hardwick, our chef, makes his Chef’s Apple Pie with sweet shortcrust pastry and thickly sliced, roasted Bramley apple so you bite into proper slices of apple rather than puree. Serve with our luscious Brandy Sauce .

Wow, what a cake! New discovery Claudia Camhi bakes on a very small scale for friends and clients in south west London. Her exceptionally moist Almond & Orange Cake . with orange zest and flaked almonds is infused with a Cointreau syrup poured into it as it cools. Corr!

VALENTINE’S DAY

Whether you’re planning a hopelessly romantic tête á tête, a dangerous liaison in a motel off the M40 or simply eating yourself silly to get over a lost love, we have plenty in our special Valentine’s Day Section section to inspire your appetite and sate your libido.

Paul Wayne Gregory’s Valentine’s Truffles Collection includes Bailey’s, raspberry and passion fruit flavours in a heart-melting gift box. It’s exclusive to Forman & Field and absolutely irresistible.

SHROVE TUESDAY

We suggest you spare the whisk on Shrove Tuesday and enjoy Forman & Field Chef Lloyd’s Handmade Pancakes , of course we have an array of sweet and savoury fillings to go with them.

We’re pleased to say that all orders due for delivery today were dispatched on time and are with our couriers Parcelforce.

If you are expecting an order from us today and have not received it already it may be that there it has been delayed due to the recent weather conditions. Some parcels were late reaching the national sorting hub and there are some ongoing localised problems following the recent snowfalls.

Please see following an update from Parcelforce:

Service Update Wednesday 23rd December

The very heavy snowfall across much of Scotland overnight has severely impacted our vehicles in and out of Scotland during the night.  As a result, we will only be able to undertake minimal deliveries today of parcels collected in Scotland yesterday for delivery across the UK and of parcels due for delivery in Scotland today.

Also, the continuing freezing conditions in many other parts of the UK is still making deliveries and collections very difficult.  This is particularly the case in outlying rural areas and many residential areas where the roads remain untreated.  There are particular problems in some areas of Kent, areas around Oxford, Reading and Aldershot, the North West around Preston and Carlisle and areas around Welwyn Garden City and Luton to the north of London.

We are obviously working very hard to make as many deliveries as we safely can, but it is expected that there will still be some disruption to deliveries today.

The best way to check the status of your delivery is to track it online and to speak to your local depot if necessary.

You can track your parcel online using the tracking number that you should have received via email from us when it was collected. Click here to track the parcel, enter the number, then select ‘tracking details’. That should show you if it is out for delivery.

If you do not have your tracking number or have any further questions the most direct way of getting information will be direct from your local depot. To find your depot click here and enter your postcode. When you call through you should choose option ‘4′ and from either your postcode or tracking number.

Parcelforce will be making every effort to deliver all outstanding parcels later today or tomorrow in time for Christmas. We are also working to do everything possible to keep you informed of delays and to ensure that affected parcels are delivered.

We will update via this blog whenever we have more information and do apologise for the inconveniece caused to affected customers.

Forman & Field

It’s National Sausage Week (we admit, we didn’t actually have it at the top of our calendar so do please forgive us jumping on the bandwagon so late) this week which seems reason enough to draw attention to our humble and not so humble selection of snorkers.

Channel4Food chose our Simply Sausages range on their site as one of their Top 10 Guy Fawke’s Night bangers. You’ll be in good company since these are served at The Ivy and Gavroche no less.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL

But what of our other snags? Musk’s of Newmarket have held no fewer than four royal warrants over the years, most recently to the late Queen Mother. All the pork used is from fully traceable, free range British pigs so you can be assured that your banger has nothing to hide. The key difference in Musk’s recipe is that the pork is blended with fresh bread rather than rusk which gives a softer texture and succulence that sees queues outside their butchers on Newmarket race days. There’s room in our lives for many types of sausage from a humble chipolata to a punchy toulouse but for breakfast these are the only choice.

Our newest addition to our troop of porky wonders are the chef-made sausage rolls that are produced for us by Kerwin Browne and the Yumi Food Company. Kerwin earnt his stripes under the tutelage of Marco and Gordon amongst others, men who are serious about their sausages. These sausage rolls are a world away from cardboard supermarket versions or bland high street efforts. There are four flavours in each pack and all are made with high class meat, perfectly seasoned and rolled in the most buttery pastry.

Thank you to everyone who came along to our Fish Island open day on Saturday.

Over 500 customers and local residents joined us at our HQ to browse stalls from Neal’s Yard Dairy, Montgomery Mutton, Musk’s Sausages, Paul Wayne Gregory, The Country Victualler, Emmett’s of Peasenhall, H Forman & Son and Forman & Field. Talks and demonstrations from Lance Forman, our own speedy slicer Darren Matson, Rob from Neal’s Yard and chocolatier Paul Wayne Gregory were really well received so thanks also to all of them. Our new restaurant catered for more diners than ever before which was fabulous to see, a sign of things to come we hope.

We’re still wading through entries for the ‘guess the weight of the salmon’ competition but will announce the winner very soon and will be in touch with them directly to arrange delivery of their prize. Congratulations of course to artists Lucas and Faith Clarke for their lovely colouring in, worthy winners of that competition indeed.

Hopefully we’ll host lots more similar events in the future. If you attended (or even if not) and you have any comments or suggestions please add them to the comments below. We’d love to hear from you as always.

Our new catalogue is being printed at the moment and will be posted out to customers towards the end of October. If you’re not on our mailing list do please sign up by clicking here.

We’re delighted to be introducing brilliant new producers like Emmett’s of Peasenhall ham, Montgomery Mutton and Simply Delicious Fruitcakes. Our Chef Lloyd has also been hard at work in our kitchens developing new recipes that we are very proud of. Look out for his Salmon Brochettes, Ham Hock Terrine and his own twist on a classic Victoria Sponge.

There are over 400 truly outstanding foods from small British producers included, the very best we could find in 12 months of searching. We’ve also listened to your suggestions and have introduced clear cooking instructions, more options for smaller parties and some of your favourite products from this year’s monthly Specials.

If you don’t receive our mailings do please sign up to receive your free copy of our catalogue by clicking here.

We’ve had a rather special paint job in the toilets at our Forman’s Fish Island events venue. We unveiled two fantastic murals as part of the recent Hackney Wicked arts festival that took place in our local area.

It was reported by the Hackney Citizen as follows:

The murals are the work of a trio of graffiti artists, Mr Laet, Jyst and Bas, who have emblazoned the ladies’ and gents’ with their images.

The works incorporate a variety of motifs that connect with the surrounding space, from the fish produced by the factory to the porthole-style windows that adorn its façade.

Mr Laet was motivated to create the work in part to demonstrate the vitality of the genre. “Graffiti is an art form; people criticise it but we wanted to show that when we paint, we put a lot of effort into what we do and it takes just as long as other types of work’.

Forman’s are glad to have played this somewhat unusual role in the art festival. Amidst the studios and galleries that host the majority of the exhibitions at the event, the fish factory stands out both for its size and its function.

Having been displaced from its former site by the Olympics, the firm has re-asserted itself nearby, constructing a sleek factory-cum-restaurant in the shape of a fish with a stunning view over the Lea Navigation and the Olympic Park.

Its participation in the Hackney Wick festival is testimony to the way it understands what it does. Lance Forman, great-grandson of Harry Forman who started the firm in 1905, says of the graffiti masters, “they consider themselves artisans, as do we, and we like that. We’re really pleased with the work they’ve done.”

Do come and see the toilets… and perhaps enjoy some of our wonderful smoked salmon while your at it!

SPRINT OVER TO FORMAN’S NEXT MONDAY NIGHT TO CELEBRATE 3 YEARS TO THE LONDON OLYMPICS

ONLY 40 PLACES AVAILABLE – FIRST COME FIRST SERVED.

DINE IN STYLE WITH THE 2012 STADIUM “ONLY A CANAPE THROW AWAY”  (The Times)

With building work on schedule London 2012 is planning a few celebrations next Monday, July 27^th to mark the beginning of the three year countdown to the biggest show on earth.

But forget all that; we’re inviting you to Formans Since 1905 Restaurant where the real party begins.

We will be serving a gastronomic three course dinner featuring top quality seasonal produce and of course, our award winning smoked salmon – fresh from the kilns that day.

Here’s the menu…

Forman’s Famous London Cure Smoked Salmon – without the old Forman’s factory there would be no Olympic stadium

Beef Wellington – the best British fillet steak housed in a pastry case, essentially a steak-holder – like all of us – stakeholders.

Gourmet Walnut Whip – Former Mayor Ken Livingstone claimed the Olympics would not cost Londoners more than a walnut whip per week.  We are out to prove him right!!

The price of the menu is £20.12, with an additional £5 for the Gourmet Walnut Whip ! (price includes VAT – service discretionary)

SPECIAL OFFER: We’re also reducing the price of our Award Winning Chapel Down Brut English Shampagne from £32.50 to the fiscally fitting price of £20.12.  There will be no breaking the budget at Formans on Monday.

There are only 40 places available which are available on a first-come-first-served basis, so call 0208 5252 365 NOW or email nicola@formanandfield.com to make a reservation.

I’ll see you there!!

Lance Forman