Burn's Night

2015 is the year of Scottish Food and Drink which means that it’s a great year to be Scottish, contrary to Ewan McGregor’s belief in Trainspotting.

It’s also nearing Burn’s night so that means lots of food, drink and poetry, and so we’ve brought it upon ourselves to provide you with our favourite recipes for the perfect Burn’s night supper to give you an idea of what you can make.

Don’t worry about trying to find all of these ingredients because we stock them all at Mitchells!

What you’ll need
- 900g haggis (vegetarian or otherwise)
- 1kg Turnips
- 1 large carrot
- 1kg potatoes
- 100ml milk, warmed in the microwave
- 80g butter
- salt and pepper to taste

How to make it
1. Heat the haggis following the instructions, meanwhile peel the potatoes and turnips, then dice the turnips and carrot into 1cm cubes and cut the potatoes into quarters.
2. Gently boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water and the carrot and turnip in a separate pan of salted water for 20-25 minutes until soft.
3. Drain each pan separately and allow all the steam and moisture to evaporate. This will ensure creamy potatoes and turnips that are not watery.
4. To the potatoes, add 40g butter, the hot milk, salt and pepper to taste and mash well until creamy. To the turnips and carrots, add 40g butter, salt and pepper to taste and mash, retaining some texture.
5. Serve altogether with the hot haggis.

This recipe, using Macsween’s, Presly’s or Scotts’ haggis, will pay true homage to the “chieftain o the puddin’-race”, and you can purchase all of these ingredients in store for your Burns’ celebrations.

The most Scottish way to wash all of this food down is with a dram of malt whisky. We have an extensive range in stock at very keen prices including locally distilled Glen Garioch Founders Reserve (currently at £32.99) and their 12 Year old (on a special price of £37.99). If you are looking for something in particular, please just ask as we can order in individual bottles by special request.

Next there should be a spot of dessert because what meal is complete without a wee sweet addition? Keep with the scottish theme and indulge in Mitchells crannachan ice cream made especially for us by Rizza’s of Huntly. Or you could make your own traditional crannachan pudding. Here’s our twist on it using our delicious oatcakes in as an ingredient.

What you’ll need
- 750ml double cream
- 4 tablespoons of runny honey
- A handful of crushed Mitchells oatcakes
- A splash of whisky (optional)
- A handful of raspberries (frozen are ideal)

How to make it
1. Whip the cream carefully to ribbon stage and chill for a while.
2. Add a splash of whisky (or your chosen liquor) to the raspberries and allow to soften for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the cream from the fridge and add the honey, retaining a little for garnish. Then fold in the crushed oatcakes and boozy berries to the cream.
4. To serve, either spoon into a glass and decorate with a drizzle of honey, or place in one large serving bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour or two until your guests arrive.

If you try any of our recipes, why not share any photos or any stories with us we would to hear how it went!

Get in touch on Facebook or Twitter, or upload your photo to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #LoveMitchells and we will share our favourites online.

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Inverurie’s Golden Girls!

DON’T WORRY! Moorial hasn’t been vandalised, she’s just had a golden makeover in honour of Hannah Miley’s Commonwealth Gold medal success.

Hannah, from Inverurie won the first gold medal of the Glasgow 2014 Games breaking her own Commonwealth Games record in the 400m Individual Medley and went on to further success with a bronze medal, breaking Scottish records and achieving new personal bests.

Judy Whyte of Mitchells “The Dairy” Grocery and Tearoom in Inverurie said “Hannah is an inspiration to so many and we wanted to acknowledge her Commonwealth achievements.

                        

As members of Inverurie4u which represents the retailers in Inverurie we saw the tremendous response to Hannah’s wins on social media and thought why not turn our much photographed local landmark cow Mooorial golden for Hannah!

We hope Hannah will pop by and visit Mooorial on her return to Inverurie.”

Fellow Inverurie4u members Cheryl Rogerson of Vanity and Ashley Wilson of Interiors by Ashley commented “We love that in interviews Hannah always mentions the support of her family and gives a shout out to her home town of Inverurie.

Hannah is well known locally as she trains with Garioch Amateur Swimming Club in Inverurie swimming pool and at Garioch Sports Trust which is also an Inverurie4u member.

The town is bursting with pride for Hannah and we look forward to welcoming her home after the Games.”

We have received a bit of attention for this, which is great! Especially from the likes of the BBC which is a great reception and we think oor Moorial is loving all the attention!

However, she would like a bit more attention (she’s quite vain in that way), so if you are taking a photo of yourself with Moorial, then could you please post it to our Facebook page, or upload it to Twitter using the hashtag #LoveMooorial (with THREE o’s)! :)

Well done Hannah, we wait to welcome you back to Inverurie, triumphant.

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Mitchells Competition T&C’s

Competition Time!

We’re offering our fantastic community the chance to win a fantastic summer relaxation kit consisting of a pair of flipflops, a Château Gassier towel and fold out beach chair as well as a nice bottle of Château Gassier rosé/red/white - but that’s not all.

We are also giving away one of our Mitchells bags so that you can keep your wine and your towel in it while you unfold your chair at the beach, or wherever, and get ready to relax.

All you have to do is ‘Like the Mitchells Dairy Facebook page and tell us who you would share the bottle of wine with, and tag them in your comment.

The competition starts on Monday 23rd June and will finish on Monday the 7th July at 12pm.

The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Facebook.

If the winner fails to respond within three days of being informed of their win, their prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected.

The prize will be posted out to the winner.

The prize includes a a Château Gassier towel and fold out beach chair as well as a nice bottle of Château Gassier rosé/red/white and a Mitchells bag.

This competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook and entrants agree to release Facebook from any and all liabilities in connection to the competition.

All our decisions relating to the competition are final. No discussions or correspondence with entrants or any other person will be entered into. Management’s decision is final.

By entering this competition you confirm you have read and accepted the terms above.

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New Grampian Food Forum Chairman ‘Moooves’ In

We have great news in the Mitchells family, Keith has been appointed as Steering Group Chairman of the Grampian Food Forum.

The Grampian Food Forum is a partnership comprising senior members of the food and drink industry in the North East of Scotland and the main development agencies in the area, and provides an opportunity for companies from different sectors to learn from each other and to exchange ideas.

Keith said: “I am delighted to take on the position as I see the food and drink industry as a valuable contributor to the local economy. The Grampian Food Forum, which was established in 1993, has a great story to tell and I am keen to encourage food and drink businesses to get involved and benefit from the well established network of contacts that has been built up”. 

His right hand lady will not be his wife Judy, however, it will be Claire Rennie, founder of Berry Scrumptious, an innovative local business producing berry flavoured confectionery using their own fruit from the farm near Fraserburgh and now a new range of Summerhouse Drinks. 

According to the “North-east Food and Drink Sector Survey 2014” the industry continues to deliver premium products and services and supports around 22,000 jobs in the area.

This will only increase as 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink and the Grampian Food Forum is preparing for a busy year including VisitScotland Expo and Roots Europe Conference 

Bringing many visitors both from abroad and in the UK to the area who will sample the quality produce that is readily available, so Keith and Claire will have their hands full. 

The GFF runs many different events such as the Innovation Awards, the Dining Club, and is also a partner in the Taste of Grampian one-day food and drink festival, which takes place on Saturday, 7 June. 

This is where we were approached by one of Paul Hollywood’s staff which led to our oatcakes and Judy being on national television, so this event holds a great place in our hearts and Keith is very proud to be a part of it. 

We are proud of Keith, and Keith is proud of this honour and can’t wait to get to work as the new Grampian Food Forum Chairman!

If you want to find out more about Keith’s involvement in the GFF and how Mitchells encourages healthy eating and sustainability, and helps contribute to the local community in Inverurie, please feel free to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

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With Love from Australia

As you all know by now, we recently won two awards at the Scottish Grocer Awards, and since then, we have received many congratulatory messages from close neighbours, and distant friends.

None, incidentally, were more distant than the lovely email we received from Elma Black, a lady with family connections in Aberdeenshire who lives in Australia.

Elma watches the Inverurie webcam in the early evening in Australia, and often sees our Mooorial moooving out of the shop into her space on the pavement.

As a treat during her holiday in Scotland last year, her family arranged for her to be here early one morning to mooove Mooorial out.

Afterwards, Elma and her husband enjoyed breakfast in The Dairy Tearoom and a spot of shopping for foodie presents to take home to Australia.

However, it isn’t just Mooorial who is milking all Elma’s attention - Daisy, Moorials cousin from downunder, stands happily outside the local supermarket in Berry, the next village to Elma’s.

The township of Berry has very strong Scottish connections, as the Berry brothers (Alexander and David) who pioneered the area in the early 1800s, were born in Cupar Fifeshire and bequeathed £100,000 to St. Andrews University where Alexander had studied medicine.

In fact, Berry’s mayor recently sent a request for William, Kate and baby George to spend some time in the area ahead of their tour of Australia and New Zealand.

She used the fact that without Alexander Berry’s bequest, there would not have been a viable St. Andrews University, so in fact, the Berry brothers were responsible for them meeting each other!

Unfortunately, she didn’t succeed in her request - but we can’t blame her for trying can we?

Does anyone else have any photos with Mooorial, or any stories that they would like to share? Or do you have any of Mooorial’s long lost relatives that you would like us to see?

Get in touch on Facebook or Twitter, or upload your photo to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #MooorialMemories and we will share our favourites online.

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Why We're Sustainable and Health Promoting Retailer of the Year

As we revealed in our previous blog post, Mitchells scooped two awards, the Sustainable Retailer of the Year and Health Promoting Retailer of the Year, at last month’s Scottish Grocer Awards.

But what is it that made Mitchells stand out from the rest of the nominees? In this blog post, we thought we would tell you a little more about the small things that we do to encourage healthy eating and sustainability, and how they go a long way to benefiting the local community.

At Mitchells, we constantly seek to improve our working practices in order to be as sustainable as possible, and the Sustainable Retailer of the Year award, sponsored by Resource Efficient Scotland, paid homage to our increasing awareness of environmental issues.

Our company vans run on biofuel, our waste cardboard is baled and collected for recycling into more cardboard, and by trading with local companies, from bakers to farmers, we cut down on food miles and lower the business’s carbon footprint.

Food waste, meanwhile, is minimised by careful management of date-marked products; some of it goes to feed local pigs and the remainder is collected by a waste management company and turned into compost.

This compost is not only used by local farmers as a nutrient source for their cropping programmes, reducing reliance on artificial fertilisers, but we also use the compost for our hanging baskets and window/roof boxes flower displays helping, enhancing the appearance of not only our business but that of the town itself.

The Health Promoting Retailer of the Year, meanwhile, recognised us for the role we have played in helping to create a healthier Scotland.

Our business philosophy says it all – ‘Naturally we’re Local’. Fresh, locally produced food plays a big part in a balanced, healthy diet, and naturally, we concentrate on providing high quality local produce as well as excellent fruit and veg, and deli produce.

Local suppliers are very important to us, and we are incredibly proud to say that our shop currently stocks almost 70% of locally produced or sourced goods and our tearoom nearly 80%.

Seasonality, provenance, and food miles are important to us and to our customers, and where possible, we source locally and in season direct from the producers, and use Scottish suppliers for as many of the core range of goods as possible.

One of the most satisfying things is too see more and more young customers coming through the door who are thinking more and more about where their food comes from, especially in terms of fruit and vegetables, meat, bread, dairy, and fish.

Fish, in particular, are good sources of many vitamins and minerals, and as most of you now know, we have teamed up with Downies of Whitehills to introduce a Fresh Fish counter into our store.

If you want to find out more about how Mitchells encourages healthy eating and sustainability, and helps contribute to the local community in Inverurie, please feel free to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

 

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Mitchells Dairy are Cream of the Crop

As we’re sure you noticed on Facebook and Twitter, we were delighted to have won two awards at last week’s Scottish Grocer Awards at a glittering black-tie ceremony in Glasgow’s five-star Hilton Hotel.

The Scottish Grocer Awards, which were hosted by sports TV presenter Georgie Thompson, with entertainment from comedian and magician Pete Firman, recognised the best in Scotland’s community retailing scene.

Fortunately for us, the best included Mitchells - as we landed the Sustainable Retailer of the Year and Health Promoting Retailer of the Year!

The Sustainable Retailer of the Year award, sponsored by Resource Efficient Scotland, paid homage to our increasing awareness of environmental issues, while the Health Promoting Retailer of the Year recognised us for the role we have played in helping to create a healthier Scotland.

Thank you to all our friends and customers for your kind wishes and continued support. Our fantastic team always strive to provide the freshest, tastiest and healthiest products to our local community in Inverurie, so we were over the moon to be rewarded for our efforts.

You can see some of the photos from the evening below, and once we receive the official photos, you will be the first to see them!

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