Real Food Festival

Giuseppe & I had a great time at the Real Food Festival, Earls Court, earlier last month. We met lots of other foodies, both producers and consumers and were delighted to introduce Veru to so many new people. For all the people we met from London, we can now announce our first London stockist - Bayley & Sage, Wimbledon Village, definitely worth a trip to stock up on semolina flour etc and all of the other wonderful goodies stocked by this fabulous food shop. And for discerning food shoppers in the Cotswolds, Veru can now be found at Le Petit Croissant in Chipping Campden.

Exhausted by our London adventure, we swept the children off to Sicily for some rest and relaxation - not to mention some of Nonna Rosanna's home cooking! I made some fresh pasta with semolina flour straight from the mill, which Giuseppe filled with ricotta (straight from the sheep, literally!) and delicious young broad beans. We took Sofia & Dante to see the shepherd, Giuseppe (another one), make 'primo sale' cheese followed by piping hot ricotta, it was quite magical seeing the ricotta rise to the top of the whey before being scooped into baskets ready for delivery. In fact, we delivered a basket to Nonna Pipina and Zia Pina to save the shepherd a trip up the steep cobbles of Via d'Azeglio. All the good food was accompanied by hot sunshine and plenty of village gossip, so all in all a perfect Sicilian holiday - next time we'll be hard at work picking the olives, can't wait!

Semolina Flour

Our semolina flour is finally here! If you've never made pizza or pasta with it before, you will be delighted by the beautiful golden colour and delicious fresh taste. Finely milled by the Santalucia brothers in Siculiana, it is ideal for baking too. My mother-in-law, Rosanna, buys it in 10kg bags and uses it for her bread, cakes and pasta (my father-in-laws' waistline is a testament as to just how good they are!). Giuseppe just couldn't find semolina like it here in the UK, which is why it had to be part of the Veru range. Free from preservatives, it is a fresh product which needs to be stored in cool, dry conditions and consumed within 9 months - ENJOY!

Long Crichel Bakery

A visit to Long Crichel Bakery was a real treat - Jenny opened a jar of crushed lemon marmellata and spread it thickly on a newly baked campagne, the result was just heavenly. The scent of fresh bread entices you into a warm and inviting shop, nestled just in front of the bread oven. If you haven't visited before, make a point of driving down the winding country road to find this foodie gem nestled in the Dorset countryside. Giuseppe and I are delighted and honoured that Veru will be available in the bakery shop at Long Crichel and at the tea rooms in Wimborne (opposite the minster). It was a pleasure to meet Jamie, Rose and Jenny at Long Crichel - make sure you do the same soon! www.longcrichelbakery.co.uk

Little Sighs!

It's here! Our first delivery of 'Veru' stock arrived just two weeks ago. Selling well through West Street Deli, Salisbury (Iain, thank you for the delicious tarts which kept Giuseppe & I going on our way back to the Purbecks), Home Sweet Home, Sherborne (Liz has created the most beautiful homeware & foodie haven) & Deli on the Quay, Poole (Toby & Leslie are doing a fabulous job, their filled sandwiches are fantastic). We're really proud of all of our artisan producers who create the most delicious, quality, edible delights and storecupboard essentials every time. I'm especially delighted with our 'Sospiri', Little Sighs - I've been offering tastings at various Christmas fairs and they really do make people sigh with pleasure!

Giuseppe's Caponata Melanzane was featured in the Saturday Times a couple of weeks ago and I'm just so happy to always have a jar in the cupboard for those left over roast chicken sandwich moments!

With an 'Italian Edible Treats' course at the cookery school tomorrow, Giuseppe has been adjusting his recipes for ricciarelli, blackberry & fig marmellata and rosolio, much to my delight - I always welcome a tasting session!

A Truly Sicilian Olive Harvest

Sofia, Dante, Giuseppe & I have just returned from our annual olive harvest in Sicily (Giuseppe & Sofia pictured left). The olives in Gerbino were a little thin on the trees this year, but still produced the most delicious extra virgin olive oil. It's always good to get away and stand in the midst of the olive grove with the sun on our backs and beautiful biancolilla olives at our finger tips. We also took the opportunity to visit our fantastic producers - Mamma Andrea, the Scalia family and our great team of beekeepers in Cattolica Eraclea - all as inspiring as ever. In fact we can't wait for our first consignment of stock arriving next week. Tastings in Sicily are always a delight and this time was no exception - from panettone made with Sicilian almonds, oranges and lemons to the most amazing nero d'avola jelly made to accompany cheese or add to a fruit salad. We'll be looking at adding these and others to the veru range over the next six months.

Giuseppe & I have launched 'Veru Truly Sicilian', a range of Sicilian food products which we believes brings a little bit of what we love about Sicily back to Dorset. Illustrated with photographs of Sicily (as it was this Easter when we visited) - it offers an insight into the beauty and richness of this island at the southern tip of Italy, without overlooking the reality of daily life in Sicily. Inside each jar/tin/bag is a carefully prepared product reflecting the seasons and their fantastic produce - intense lemon marmellata, fragrant orange-blossom honey, hand-filleted anchovies, the best quality pistachios from Bronte, spiced hot chocolate, handmade almond paste sweets and finely milled semolina flour. Log on to www.verutrulysicilian.com to find out more and to try some great recipes Giuseppe has created to inspire you to get cooking.