We're 1 in 100!

Some of the Mitchells "quines" Judy, Angela, Kathleen and Mooorial the coo

(photo credit S Price, FSB)

We at Mitchells are delighted to have been selected as one of the 100 small businesses to be featured in the national 2016 Small Business Saturday campaign.  

Small Business Saturday is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to highlight the importance of small businesses and the contributions they make to their local communities. 

In the run up to Small Business Saturday on 3 December, each of the lucky 100 selected businesses will get a day of fame and publicity on social media and we are thrilled to be one of them!

More information and and list of the other businesses selected can be found in this recent press article   and you can follow SmallBizSatUK on Twitter here and Facebook here 

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Summertime News from Mitchells

Summer of Fun Hamper competition

Thank you to everyone who entered into our recent Summer of Fun hamper draw. We are delighted to announce the lucky winner of this hamper full of fun and tasty summer treats is Bethan. Congratulations to you Bethan and we hope the suns shines for you to enjoy your prize!

Whether it's picnic weather or not, Mitchells hampers brimming with fabulous produce make an ideal gift all year round.  Please click here to find out more..

It's Time for Ice Cream!

.......or more to the point it's time for a Mitchells ice cream!

Mitchells ice cream is available in 3 delicious flavours – Luxury Dairy, Crannachan and Blueberries & Cream. A great example of local family businesses working together to produce fantastic tasting products, Mitchells ice cream is made using Aberdeenshire grown ingredients from Barra Berries and Castleton Farm in partnership with Rizzas of Huntly who produce and distribute our own-recipes.
Suitable for vegetarians and gluten free, Mitchells ice cream is available from our own shop in Inverurie and selected outlets in a range of container sizes from individual 120ml spoon-in-lid to 5litre catering,

Good Luck to Inverurie's "Golden Girl" Hannah Miley in Rio

As excitement is builds for the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio we are remembering the day the people of Inverurie got together in the town centre to celebrate the success of our local 2012 Commonwealth Games medal winners Hannah Miley and Vio Etko.  In a fun twist to the tradition of postboxes in the home towns of Olympic medal winner being painted gold, we at Mitchells honoured Hannah's Commonwealth gold medal win in swimming by turning Mooorial, our life size mascot cow, gold.

So from one Inverurie golden girl to another, Mooorial and the rest of the team at Mitchells wish Hannah and all Team GB athletes the very best of luck in Rio.

 Like Hannah, Mooorial has become quite a local celebrity and often has her photo taken by fans.  We love seeing your photos so be sure to share with us using the hashtag #LoveMooorial

Bon Accord Drinks are Back!

Do you remember Scottish family favourite Bon Accord Drinks which disappeared from the market 16 years ago?  Well, good news!  Thanks to Karen Knowles (pictured here with our Mooorial), great grand-daughter of the original brand's founder, Bon Accord Drinks are back!  Karen has created an innovative range of three sugar free soft drinks for the modern day market.  Choose from Cloudy Lemonade, Sparking Rhubarb and Scottish Tonic Water all available in our shop now.

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Tattie Holidays

"Tattie Holidays"

The Tattie Holidays, as the October mid-term break is known locally, are so called because in the "olden days" (as all children seem to refer to their parent's youth!) pupils were given leave of absence from school to go to the fields and gather in the potato crop by hand.
Nowadays tatties are generally lifted from the dreels by harvesting machines and children can enjoy a welcome break from school without the back breaking work.
If you are out and about in Inverurie these "Tattie Holidays" do pop in and visit us at The Dairy We look forward to welcoming you.

Tattie Soup

While we are on the subject of tatties we thought we'd share our recipe with you. Of course, all ingredients are available in our shop!

2kg potatoes
4 large carrots (the ones with dubs still on are really tasty, be sure to wash them!)
Half a turnip
1 large onion
8oz boiling beef - rib, skink, plate from our Presly & Co range is ideal
2 stock cubes (beef or vegetable)
1 leek finely chopped
Seasoning

Method: Peel and chop all veg except leek and place in large pan. Add beef and stock. Cover with water and bring to boil. Simmer for 1.5hrs. Remove the beef from pan. Blend the veg/stock mix to consistency of your liking. Chop the beef into pieces then add back into the soup. Add chopped leeks and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes. Season to taste. Delicious served with Mitchells handmade oatcakes.

THRIFTY TIP - Keep some beef back from the soup pot for making a stirfry or stovies next day.

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Christmas is Coming!

It seems far too early to be talking about it but Christmas stock is arriving in the shop and our thoughts are turning to Christmas hampers. So, whether you are looking for ideas for your family, friends, customers or colleagues we'll be more than happy to help you assemble your perfect Christmas gifts . Just give us a call, come in to see us in the shop or browse our website for more inspiration. We'll expand the festive selections as stock arrives so do follow us here as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information and Christmas inspiration!

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Friends of ALi, #OE2015 and more

Aberdeenshire Litter Initiative

We are joining the Aberdeenshire Litter Initiative to help keep our town in tip top shape, and we were told that we were the 555th member!
Here is a "Friend of ALi", George Niblock, presenting Judy with her Hi-Vis ALi waistcoat and her litter picker, and Mooorial who loves getting her photo taken so please share your photos of her with #loveMitchells #loveMooorial

Salmon and Prawn Supper

We're back with another tasty recipe from The Dairy Tearoom, this month's recipe is a Salmon and Prawn Supper. 

Place a salmon fillet per serving with some sliced spring onions, peppers, a few prawns and squeeze of lemon juice into a foil envelope. Put the foil parcel on a tray in a medium heat oven for 20 minutes to poach the salmon. When cooked, stir in some crème fraîche or natural yoghurt, salt and pepper to taste. Delicious served with new potatoes and green beans.
As usual, all of the ingredients are available in our shop including the salmon and prawns from Downies Fish which is available at our deli counter

#OE2015

Over the next few days the Society of Petroleum Engineers' (SPE) Offshore Europe conference is in Aberdeen, which is fantastic because it will bring people from all over Europe to our doorstep.

If you are attending #OE2015, then why not pop into Mitchells for a spot of lunch?

Braw Scotland

An Autumnal display of Braw Scotland goodies. Choose from oven gloves, tea towels, aprons and bags. We especially love the Scottie dog book bags which make a great gift for students, all available in-store.

 

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How far have you taken our products and the Great British Bake Off

Travelling Treats?

How far have you taken our products? We recently received a message with the photo of Todd the Jack Russell from Wiltshire.
So we wanted you to share your photos with us showing us how far you've seen, taken or sent products that you purchased in our store!

Travelling Treats pt.2

Here are our oatcakes on a ferry in Belfast, Ireland, and in the background you can see the Harland and Wolff, "Samson and Goliath", cranes. This is the site on which the unfortunately ill-fated RMS Titanic, amongst other great ocean liners, was built.

Sizzling Sauces for Sale

Angus & Oink have been doing very well recently, and there's no doubt as to why!
Their sauces are a beautiful accompaniment to any dish, especially if you are going for a smoky or barbecue taste. Buyer beware, though, because these sauces can get a little bit spicy.
All of the sauces in the above picture are available in our store, drop by today to release your inner sauce demons.

Zoe’s Easy Hot Pot Recipe inspired by the famous Lancashire Hot Pot

Roughly chop some onion and carrot and fry in a bit of oil.
Add stewing steak (or lamb) to brown it.
Add beef stock and cook until meat is tender. Thicken gravy to taste.
Place the stew in an oven proof dish with sliced potatoes on top.
Brown in oven for approx. 40 minutes.

Serve with pickled onion or sliced red onion in wine vinegar or with a chutney of your choice.
Ingredients are available from our shop and bigger butchery orders (min 24 hours notice) from Presly’s of Oldmeldrum can be placed at the deli counter.

Cooking For a Good Cause

You may recall that Paul Hollywood of Great British Bake Off fame featured Mitchells handmade oatcakes in an episode of his Pies and Puds series.
Following on from that moment of fame, we are now helping local charity Flycup catering with their very own Great Bake Off fundraiser (in September) which will feature local contestants and none other than former GBBO contestant Norman Calder!
We are delighted to be involved in this exciting local fundraiser and throughout today background filming will take place in our shop by local production company Right Here Productions.
Why not pop in and you never know, you may bump into the local "celebrity" contestants! Here's a link to the main event for purchasing tickets: http://on.fb.me/1hp1Tng

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July Mailer - Summer Stock Up

It may not look like it, but it is actually summer! When the sun comes out, what better treat is there than some delicious ice-cream. We have great deals on ice cream that you can sit in and eat, or you can pick up one of the three flavours we have in the grocery store. All of which are made for us by Rizzas of Huntly using local ingredients including Scottish berries which are in season just now.

Diane, one of our cooks, is known as being the Queen of Soups and she makes the most amazing soups using fresh ingredients. Below is a recipe for Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash soup with all of the ingredients available in our shop.

Sweat 2 diced butternut squash & 1 kg sweet potato with 3 cloves garlic & 1 chopped red chilli (optional) in a drop of veg oil. Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika (optional) and cook for a minute, stirring to blend the flavours.

Add water to cover and simmer till the vegetables are soft. Add a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard, 2oz of grated parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of vegetable bullion. Blend till smooth. Stir in a “glug” of cream and serve hot.

Soup is perfectly accompanied by some Mitchells oatcakes!!!

The UK bee population is in decline and it is getting harder to get locally sourced honey these days, but we have our hands on a few jars so grab them before they have disappeared. Local honey has lots of health benefits including prevention of hayfever. Although it isn't scientifically proven, it seems to work for lots of people. And, it goes really well with our handmade oatcakes! Which are made from Aberdeenshire grown oats which also have fantastic health benefits!

Summer salads are in season, and salads are never complete without a bit of dressing expecially when it is made by Little Doone which we have a wide range of in store. They make fabulous dressings for salads - just mix with a little oil. Balsamic vinegar is also great drizzled over strawberries. We also stock Ola and Mackintosh of Glendaveny rapeseed oils and local salad leaves which are all available in our shop.

Get in touch on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #LoveMitchells, we’d love to hear how the gift was received! For more news from Mitchells, Mooorial and Inverurie, subscribe to our mailing list.

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Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father’s Day is coming up in a couple of weeks and it is probably time you start thinking about a wee gift for him, if you haven’t already. We have a great selection of presents that would be perfect for Father’s Day, including a great selection of hampers that can be customised to your needs and liking, and we can courier to mainland UK addresses.

Also, for all you cheese lovers out there, we have a great selection of these cheese kits from The Big Cheese Making Kit. The Queen awarded the owner of this company an MBE, so you know that they must be pretty good! A popular cheese we have in and is a great combination with our home-made Oatcakes is the Black Bomber or Red Devil from Snowdonia Cheeses. As always, if you have a favourite you’d like us to stock please just ask at the deli counter and we can order it in especially for you. We also have a bunch of great local cheeses to choose from so stop in and see which takes your fancy.

Another popular Father’s Day gift is one of our great selection of beers and whiskies. You can see more of our selection here.

We have just stocked up on a range from Glencairn in time for Father’s Day. Choose from whisky glasses (including an engraved “Grandpaw Broon” design), mixer glasses, water jugs and gift sets. These perfectly accompany any of the whiskies available in our shop, or you can order as a bespoke hamper made to order.

And don’t forget, we will be at The Taste Of Grampian food festival and we will be sharing our stall with the fantastic folks over at Cambus O’May Cheese.

Get in touch on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #LoveMitchells, we’d love to hear how the gift was received! For more news from Mitchells, Mooorial and Inverurie, subscribe to our mailing list.

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