Author Archives for Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

About Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

Head of Dairy Diary; I'm passionate about producing high quality products that our customers will cherish. I'm also a mum of three and I enjoy cooking, walking, gardening and painting with my family, as well as printmaking (when I find the time!)

Press Lunch with Alaska Seafood at Nobu

Poached wild Alaska Salmon, Lemon and Tarragon Linguine

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Press Lunch with Alaska Seafood at Nobu

Most of the time my job is pretty ordinary – fun but ordinary. Usually I am desk bound with a very long to do list, the occasional phone call and multiple emails.

Last week, however,
I had a real treat!

Alaska Seafood invited me to Nobu in Mayfair for an amazing lunch and a chance to find out more about their products and their ethics. The food was almost indescribable. The fish was melt in the mouth, with delicate but astonishing flavours. The only thing that let it down was my ability to use chopsticks! We enjoyed five beautiful fish courses with a fantastic apple sorbet and white choc parfait to finish. Divine.

There was a couple of celeb spots, a good natter with food bloggers and journalists and a sample of the lovely soap on the loos!

All in all, a good day out of the office. I even came away with a fabulous Alaska Salmon cookbook.

You can see a few of their delicious recipes in the 2014 Dairy Diary and you can also visit www.alaskaseafood.org.uk.

Poached wild Alaska Salmon, Lemon and Tarragon LinguineHere’s one of my favourites.

Poached wild Alaska Salmon, 
Lemon and Tarragon Linguine

Happy Days in Dairy Diary Land

A sneak preview of the 2014 Dairy Diary

Happy Days in Dairy Diary Land

It’s my favourite time of the year in the office. The phones are quiet and I can plug my headphones in, listen to my favourite music and be inspired.

I’ve been busy planning the 2015 Dairy Diary: writing briefs for the team, researching pretty pictures, choosing recipes, creating the flatplan for the book and generally enjoying my job!

All our recipes are triple-tested and
so I get to sample lots of them.

I am particularly looking forward to testing Bruschetta with Gorgonzola & Figs and Tomato & Artichoke Tart. Yum.

Woohoo, first samples of the 2014 Dairy Diary have just arrived.

It looks fab! I am so so pleased. I can’t wait to share some pics and recipes with you all (sneaky peak coming up). I am sure you will love it too.

This week is cookbook development week. I am literally at square one and so I need lots of thinking time to consider how it will look and how it will develop. Luckily I have a train journey to London on Wednesday for a press lunch at Nobo (woooo, posh eh?) thanks to Alaska Seafood, and so I will have lots of time to ponder the cookbook.

So, a fun month in the Dairy Diary office!

Suasage and Cider CasseroleAs a special treat, I’ll share one
of my favourite recipes from the
2014 diary with you.

Sausage & Cider Casserole.
Enjoy, it’s delicious.

The Joy of the Deli Counter

The joy of the deli counter

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The Joy of the Deli Counter

As the breadwinner (not a nice word, a.k.a. the one who escapes to the office rather than the one who has the much harder job of looking after the children) in a family of five, I am always looking for ways to economise whilst still eating well.

I have recently discovered the joys of the deli counter.

For those who have been shopping like this for years I apologise, but it’s like a revolution for me! Despite my rigorous approach to fridge management – I despise throwing away food – we often find ourselves wasting a couple of slices of cold meat when they are out of date. Unlike cheese or fruit and veg I always stick to the use-by dates on meat. It’s particularly aggrieving as it’s not cheap to buy! A good-quality packet of meat can cost several pounds.

I considered stopping buying cold meat altogether but it is so useful for our family for quick and tasty meals: Combined with a scrummy chutney for a speedy sandwich. On the side of a baked potato with lots of salad and some pickle. Children’s tea served with de-frosted mash (we always cook a huge batch and then freeze children’s-sized portions), peas and a splash of gravy – instant ‘ready meal’.

So, I decided to try the deli counter in our local supermarket. Woohoo! There was so much choice; I could buy apple-roasted ham, free range turkey and many other delights. Of course, I could also purchase as much as we need rather than the number of slices a packet dictates. After choosing carefully I discovered it could cost half the price of my usual purchases. Win, win, win.

I visited our local delicatessen this morning too. It’s hard to avoid temptation in such a culinary Aladdin’s cave. I could have spent a fortune. But I stuck to my list and came away with just three slices of cranberry-roast ham and a pot of home-made coleslaw. It set me back the princely sum of £2.60 and will make several delicious lunches.

So if you’re on a budget or you love good food (or both) pop in to your local deli or deli counter. You can pick up some delicious morsels at great prices – just avoid those delectable stuffed olives than will set you back a fiver for a tiny handful!

Creamed-Corn-&-Ham-Scramble-recipeWhy not try this delicious
lunchtime recipe using ham
from your favourite deli?

Creamed Corn & Ham
Scramble recipe.

Recipe taken from the
Dairy Book of Home Cookery –
available to pre-order online
at the end of this month.

Competition | Win a spending spree at Heathcote & Ivory

Competition | Win a £50 spending spree at Heathcote & Ivory

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Competition | Win a £50 Spending Spree at the Heathcote & Ivory beauty products website

Dairy Diary is giving you the chance to win a £50 spending spree at heathcote-ivory.com

Whether it’s soothing skin cleansing and moisturising products or luxurious home fragrance accessories, Heathcote & Ivory has the answer with fine fragrances, quality ingredients and beautiful gift packaging making perfect presents or ideal treats.

How to enter

Simply complete the form by 6 May and you will be entered into the prize draw.

Good luck.

Say no to 0870

Say no to 0870

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Say no to 0870

The next pocket diary is now finished and has gone off to print (thank goodness!) This is never one of my favourite jobs, as there are no images or fun features but lots of facts and figures to check and edit correctly.

However, it has to be done properly and my challenge this year was to see how it could be improved.

It is sold in the Set with the Dairy Diary, which is usually kept in the home. The pocket diary is usually kept in a handbag so I wanted to ensure that any information it provides would be useful outside of the home.

Therefore, any contact numbers
should be relevant to mobile phones.
This is where my challenge got a bit
more difficult.

The majority of businesses (including us, though this is something we will change) provide 08 contact numbers. These are usually charged at a local rate from a landline, which is great. HOWEVER they cost a lot more from a mobile and are not usually included in any free minute packages.

I found a website saynoto0870.com which is extremely helpful. Using this I have managed to track down the majority of numbers and give their 01 alternative. These 01… numbers can also be useful if your home phone contract does not allow 08 numbers within any free minute packages too, though I think most are changing their policies to allow these now.

0300
One number that is did discover is a 0300 number, this has been set up by Ofcom to try and regulate the industry. Calls to 03 numbers must be included in any inclusive minute packages offered by all landline and mobile providers. Let’s hope that there are more of these in the future.

Celebrate St George’s Day

Celebrate St George's Day with this marvellous bread pudding recipe.

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Celebrate St George’s Day with this

clever Bread Pudding Recipe

When I commission a home economist to write recipes for the Dairy Diary they first supply me with a recipe ideas list. And oh what a treat!

This is one of my favourite elements of my job – choosing a final recipe selection from this list.

It’s never a good idea to read
through it before lunch though,
as it makes me ravenous.

I plan the recipes according to the season and to reflect any special events. That is why St George’s Day Bread Pudding caught my eye. I thought it would be perfect for this week in 2014.

However, I also felt a little baffled by its title. How was a bread pud related to St George’s Day? Obviously bread pudding is a very traditional recipe and it does originate here but that was the only link to St George I could discern. That is until I saw the pic (above).

How clever is that? It looks like lots of little St George’s Cross flags. And you won’t believe just how divine it tastes too. It’s actually ended up more like a bread and butter pudding, but who cares about that…..just enjoy it. I have and I will be enjoying it again this week to celebrate St George’s Day.

St George’s Day Bread Pudding

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