delicious UK – April 2018

in the know.

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 11

PSCan’twaittogetstarted?

The School of Artisan Food is launching a new Artisan Business Start-Up Certificate,

taught by enterprise expert and The Seed Fund mentor Yvonne O’Donovan. Based between

Sheffield and Nottingham, the course covers core areas of small business knowledge. The

certificaterequiresthecompletionoffivemodules,whichincludefinance,operationsand

writing and pitching a business plan. Need to clue up on a certain area? Modulescan be

mixed and matched too, to suit your needs.From £595 per module; schoolofartisanfood.org

NEED A HAND GROWINGYOURSMALLBUSINESS?

InpartnershipwithGreatTastefoodawards,The Seed

Fundis offering 12 fledgling food and drink

businessesaplaceontheirsummerSeedAcademy

programme,withmentoringbyPlanetOrganic

founder Renée Elliott and John Farrand, head of the

GuildofFineFood.Aftertheworkshops/seminars

thebusinesswiththebestpitchwillwinayearof

support worth £100,000. The 2017 champion, Firepot

byOutdoorfood,hasbeenexpandingsinceitswin,

while2016winnerAdam’sChocolateisnowstocked

in stores including Wholefoods. It’s a chance to turn

your seedling venture into a fruitful business.

Entrants must have been trading for less than three

yearswithaturnoveroflessthan£1millionperyear.

Entriesclose30AprilandtheSeedAcademyclass

of 2018 will be announced in May.theseedfund.co.uk

Adam’s

Chocolate,

the 2016

winner

RestaurateurJames
Ramsden goes
trawling for the
capital’s tastiest
piscine nibbles
Witheating habits trending away
from all-out, red-in-tooth-and-claw
carnivorousness, those who nonetheless prefer
animal-based protein might be pleased to see
howfreshthenewLondonfishsceneis.
Ifyou’reoneoftheseflexi-pescyfolk–or
indeedyoujustlovefish–thenI’dfirstheadto
Parsons(parsonslondon.co.uk) in Covent
Garden.Startwithbrownshrimpcroquettesand
crab pissaladière, then get elbow-deep in the
fish pie. Drink weissburgunder. Thank me later.
Nearby isThe Oystermen(oystermen.co.uk), a
havenforseafoodloverswithitsdaily-changing
oystersanddishesthatincludegrilledoctopus
with harissa and lemon, and skate wing with
hazelnuts and lardo. Head north to Highbury for

Prawn on the Lawn’s (prawnonthelawn.com; see

p113)charmingrusticsensibilitiesandeclectic

menu that may include crab som tam, sichuan

prawnsandmackerelwith‘nduja.

More intrepid diners might want to take a run

atLondon Shell Co(londonshellco.com), a barge

restaurant on Regent’s Canal. The set menu is

simple – devilled crab, mackerel with sprouting

broccoli, chilli and almonds – but the sourcing

and cooking are top drawer. The esotericGilly’s

Fry Bar(gillysfrybar.com) in Finsbury Park is an

Anglo-Japanese chip shop serving battered

sausage, curry sauce chip butties, fish tempura

and fried prawn heads. Weird and wonderful.

TRENDWATCH

Modern seafood

Snappy

platter

at The

Oystermen

DATES FOR

YOUR DIARY

APRIL & MAY

12-15APRIL

LondonCoffee Festival

London’s Old Truman

BreweryishosttoEurope’s

largest celebration of the

dark stuff with more than

250 exhibitors. Watch beans

being roasted, create your

own latte art, taste blends

andlearntobrewtheperfect

cup. Don’t miss baristas

competingtobeCoffee

Master 2018 (awarded on

Sunday).From £14.50;

londoncoffeefestival.com

21-22APRIL

BishopAuckland Food

Festival, County Durham

Regional produce, tempting

street food and stars such

as Phil Vickery and GBBO

winner Candice Brown are

on the menu here. From

17-20Aprilthefestivalwill

visit schools and leisure

centresintheareato

demonstrate healthy recipes

and promote food knowledge.

Entry free, cookery theatre

tickets £5; bishopauckland

foodfestival.co.uk

28-29APRIL

LiverpoolSpring Festival

Enjoyfoodforeverypalate

andpocketatthisseasonal

celebrationatSeftonPark,

fromveganjunkfoodtofresh

oysters, plus lots of local

producetotry.There’llbe

lifestyle workshops too,

including yoga, gardening,

knitting and meditation, to

help you enjoy spring to the

full.From £7; springliverpool

foodanddrinkfestival.co.uk

5-7MAY

ExeterFestival of South

West Food & Drink

More than 100 producers

will fill Exeter’s castle

courtyard and Northernhay

Gardensfortheweekend.

Exeter-born chef Michael

Caines will head up demos

andthere’llbestory-telling

and cookery classes for the

kids. Music each evening

will feature more local

talent, plus street food.

From £8; exeterfoodand

drinkfestival.co.uk