This month we’ve been dining in restaurants & eating restaurant brands at home, and getting our knife skills sharpened in the kitchen. We also reminded ourselves of why brunch is the best of the bunch! Read on to find out what we’ve been eating this month.
Carluccio’s: Britain’s favourite Italian
With 73%* of supermarket shoppers choosing brands it’s not surprising more & more restaurant brands are finding their way on to supermarket shelves. It’s a clever marketing move enabling shoppers to access the restaurant brands they love more often and with sales skyrocketing. (*Nielsen IQ, Aug 2022)
Head of retail Becks (and loyal fan of Carluccio’s) didn’t need her arm twisting to revisit both Carluccio’s in-restaurant at their Bluewater site and to experience Carluccio’s deli style woodfired pizzas at home. Here’s her verdict.
In restaurant – there’s nothing that quite gets your mouth watering like the thought of Carluccio’s signature dish, the Penne Giardiniera, crispy spinach balls with grated courgette sauteed in garlic and served with giant Pugliese penne. Suffice to say I opted for this classic! Close second or a top choice for pizza fanatics is the Carluccio’s Margherita & Prosciutto and Funghi e Tartufo, cooked to crispy oozy perfection in the wood fired oven. Dining in at Carluccio’s is always enjoyable, a home from home feel with laid back vibes and guaranteed great food and service, plus no washing up is always a bonus of eating out.
At home – Carluccio’s at home, every night of the week, yes please! If like me you don’t have a Carluccio’s on your doorstep or one that is within delivery distance then the benefit of being able to purchase a Carluccio’s experience at home from your local Sainsbury’s is a real treat. The range, which rolled into 300 Sainsbury’s stores as part of the retailer’s Future Brands programme in January 2022, spans fresh pasta, stir-in sauces, a selection of 12-inch pizzas and ready meals, including lasagne and tagliatelle dishes. On this occasion I opted for two of the 12-inch woodfired pizzas, the Pollo Arrabbiata and Prosciutto Crudo and both were oozing with cheesy goodness. The only downside, not having a wood fired oven at home for the ultimate woodfired pizza experience. It’s a 7/10 from me and it certainly made for a much more exciting Monday night dinner in my house.
A taste of Greece at Brighton’s Community Kitchen
This month also saw MD Fiona enjoy an inspiring evening at Brighton & Hove Food Partnership‘s Community Kitchen with the fantastic Alexandros Tzimos, from Nostos Hove.
Alex sharpened her knife skills, shared some beautiful Greek recipes, and gave some great tips for filleting fish.
The night was in aid of raising funds for the city’s community cookery groups. There’s a brilliant programme of events coming up: https://lnkd.in/gcd7-8ji Or you can hire the kitchen for your own private events too.
Brunch time at Josies
A family-run coffee shop (with three establishments on the South Coast) this weekend Account manager, Lizzie took her husband and 5-year-old son to rediscover the delights of a Sunday brunch.
The pursuit of indulgent coffee perfection…. was fulfilled, with an American breakfast that comprised of creamy scrambled egg and streaky bacon paired with tater tots, maple syrup and a ‘stacked’ pancake. Filling was an understatement!
