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Small blessings…. $$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
Small Blessings…Just one of the conversations that you may have been a part of in 2020 was the possibility that Covid may well have encouraged many of us to slow down and re-evaluate. Perhaps we are all beginning to appreciate the things that previously were glossed over in the haste of the working week, not least doing our food shopping! The positives that the Kingfisher team have very much appreciated and drawn strength from are friendships and our community; our fabulous colleagues, the amazing small business community that we are part of and our wonderful local customer community who support us. Finally the beautiful Surrey Hills landscape that we are all lucky enough to share. Our prized small blessings definitely reiterate that small is very beautiful! If you’d like to recap on any of our Monthly Postings then please take look at our new NEWS page on our website. Finally, let’s stop looking back and start looking forward… Welcome January!
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You Guessed It….
January is all about fabulous fruit and those bringing sunshine to your plate are:
These citrus flavours beautifully compliment the bitter leaves of the seasonal: Endive (Chicory) Raddichio
Despite the cold, dark days of January, take a look around you and you will start seeing the beginnings of Spring in the undergrowth! Of course our growers get their blooms slightly earlier than your average gardener, so in the Flower Shop in January we will have: English Tulips Daffodils Narcissi
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The Flower Girls are Here!
A little note just to remind you that although we cannot have customer’s in the Flower Shop due to lockdown restrictions, the Flower Girls will still be here making up bouquets to order and posies for the Farm Shop.
If you would like to order flowers for your yourself or as a gift please use one of the following: Call us on 01306 730 703 (Option 2) Email us at: flowergirls@kingfisherfarmshop.com Take a look at our selection of bouquets and hand tie’s on our Online Shop Order through our selection on Floom.com
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Do you need a reminder of your loved ones Birthday or Anniversary? The Flower Shop offers a fantastic and FREE ‘Dates To Remember’ service to those of you who may need a gentle reminder to buy flowers for a loved one on a certain date! You simply give us your name and the important date and we will email or call you a week before to see if you would like to send your loved one flowers. Of course, there is no problem if you don’t wish to… it’s just a reminder.
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Do you need a reminder of your loved ones Birthday or Anniversary? The Flower Shop offers a fantastic and FREE ‘Dates To Remember’ service to those of you who may need a gentle reminder to buy flowers for a loved one on a certain date! You simply give us your name and the important date and we will email or call you a week before to see if you would like to send your loved one flowers. Of course, there is no problem if you don’t wish to… it’s just a reminder. |
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We’d like to encourage you to order your Valentines bouquets in advance this year as it is very likely that the shop will not be open on V day itself due to Covid restrictions. We can deliver locally or you can collect. Please call, email or order online to give your special someone a HUGE smile!
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We’d like to encourage you to order your Valentines bouquets in advance this year as it is very likely that the shop will not be open on V day itself due to Covid restrictions. We can deliver locally or you can collect. Please call, email or order online to give your special someone a HUGE smile! |
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Feisty Rhubarb Relish with Grilled Mackerel Fillets
The seasonal delight for January is of course rhubarb. There are so many tasty recipe possibilities using rhubarb but given that we (or at least most of us) have probably over indulged during the festive period we have refrained from giving you the obvious dessert choice that might be considered when using this delicious fruit.
Diets and De-tox feature heavily at this time of year and so this dish should score you a few brownie points with the inclusion of those all important fish oils. The rich flesh of mackerel begs a sharp, fruity accompaniment and rhubarb works perfectly!
Let us not forget Rrhubarb’s own health benefits! It is a great source of vitamin K1, which is important for blood clotting and bone health. Rhubarb is also rich in antioxidants which have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, which help protect you from many health-related issues such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
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Fanny’s Marmalade Competition
We won’t let Covid stop this beautiful tradition!
We are excited to announce that Fanny's Marmalade Competition will be on Wednesday 24th February here at Kingfisher Farm Shop. This is our sixth year of hosting this prestigious event . It is named after Fanny Maiklem, who loved marmalade and created the competition along with her daughter, Nellie at their farm shop. Sadly Fanny passed away 6 years ago. There was such a strong following for the marmalade competition that we thought it would be sad to let it go. Nellie put her full support behind our holding of the event and will hopefully be one of the judges, even if only judging the expressions on our faces! This year we will be donating £1 per entry to Phyliss Tuckwell Hospice Care in memory of both Fanny Maiklem and our dear Margaret Arminson. Pick your class; Lady's Seville, Lady's mixed fruit, Gentleman's Seville, Gentleman's mixed fruit, Children's Seville, Children's mixed fruit and Previous Winner open class. The closing date is Tuesday 23rd February. Judging will take place on Wednesday 24th February, from 10.30 am. Winners will be on display at the farm shop from the 25th - 27th Feb and entries may be collected from Monday 1st March. Entry forms are available from the farm shop or download and print one HERE There’s no longer any excuse… we even have all the ingredients, even jam jars!
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‘S’ is for… SustainabilityA few months ago flower girls Martha and Hazel shared with you their early morning experience of visiting new Covent Garden Flower Market. We thought it would be interesting to carry on sharing slices of Kingfisher life with you, through the eyes of our wonderful team. This month we hear from Vicky, about something very close to her heart…our sustainability credentials! As somebody who tries hard to reduce my impact on our planet in my personal life, it is really important to me that my place of work should also follow suit… I’m super happy to say that thanks mostly to Marion’s own personal ethics, Kingfisher’s own eco credentials are something to be proud of…
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Significant reduction in single-use plastic…
One of the major differences in buying from any farm shop over a supermarket is the significant reduction in single use plastic! Almost all the vegetables arrive fresh from market in cardboard boxes and most never touches the stuff! We only supply paper bags or second hand veg boxes for customers to put their shopping in. In fact all plastic bags disappeared from our shop more than 15 years ago. We are actively trying to reduce the number of products that we sell that use single-use plastic in their packaging. It’s already low but we’d like it lower!
Best of all we are currently starting the planning process to expand the space inside the Farm Shop, which means that a Zero Waste area will soon be possible! |
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New Compostable Watercress Packaging
Some of you may have noticed that our wonderful watercress has not had any plastic packaging for some time… It’s time that we moved on and we currently have on order some custom designed and made compostable sleeves for our watercress bunches. The material used is both waterproof and home compostable, so we hope you approve when it arrives! |
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Our Solar Panels!
Who has noticed that our South Westerly facing roof is covered in solar panels? This isn’t a new addition, we have had our solar panels for well over a decade. The one advantage to an industrial style building is that they blend in very well! |
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Sourcing & Supplying Local Produce
Please let us not underestimate the impact that both of these have on both the local economy, the vibrancy of a community and our own health and wellbeing! Our aim at Kingfisher is, wherever possible to source our produce locally. We work with 3 different local flower producers and we are proud to support many local food and drink producers. The majority of our fresh fruit and vegetable are British grown and seasonal, making exceptions for certain items that have become the norm! Remember too that when produce is local, is has travelled less miles, used less fuel and is undoubtedly fresher and hopefully better tasting than any supermarket alternative! |
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Water Kefir by The London FermentaryWater Kefir is a raw, unpasteurized fermented drink. It is a naturally carbonated alternative to those high-sugar, additive-packed fizzy drinks and sodas that are marketed to us so successfully. It comes in a range of fantastic and refreshing flavours such as Honey & Cammomile, Apple, Beet & Ginger, Rose & Acai & the wonderfully seasonal Yorkshire Rhubarb! Of course the London Fermentary also provide us with a fantastic range of probiotic, rich Krauts!
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Water Kefir by The London FermentaryWater Kefir is a raw, unpasteurized fermented drink. It is a naturally carbonated alternative to those high-sugar, additive-packed fizzy drinks and sodas that are marketed to us so successfully. It comes in a range of fantastic and refreshing flavours such as Honey & Cammomile, Apple, Beet & Ginger, Rose & Acai & the wonderfully seasonal Yorkshire Rhubarb! Of course the London Fermentary also provide us with a fantastic range of probiotic, rich Krauts! |
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The Yorkshire Pasta CompanyThe family run team from Malton, Yorkshire took a leap of faith in 2019 to pursue their dreams of producing top quality Yorkshire Pasta! Combining the traditional techniques and methods of the high quality pasta makers of Italy with our locally milled wheat flour ensures that we create the most superb tasting and perfectly textured pasta every time. Along with plastic free packaging, the use of solar panels to provide green energy to the business and beautifully designed packaging, makes TYPC one to watch… and definitely taste!
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The Yorkshire Pasta CompanyThe family run team from Malton, Yorkshire took a leap of faith in 2019 to pursue their dreams of producing top quality Yorkshire Pasta! Combining the traditional techniques and methods of the high quality pasta makers of Italy with our locally milled wheat flour ensures that we create the most superb tasting and perfectly textured pasta every time. Along with plastic free packaging, the use of solar panels to provide green energy to the business and beautifully designed packaging, makes TYPC one to watch… and definitely taste! |
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Buttermilk by AMPERS&NDGrant Harrington created Ampersand with the sole goal of creating the best tasting butter using traditional and refined technique paired with the highest quality ingredients. For their latest twist Grant and his team take Ampers&nd Buttermilk straight from the churn and pop it freshs into these resealable, recyclable pouches. The Buttermilk packaging also features the perfect buttermilk pancake recipe… for a delicious brunch!
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Buttermilk by AMPERS&NDGrant Harrington created Ampersand with the sole goal of creating the best tasting butter using traditional and refined technique paired with the highest quality ingredients. For their latest twist Grant and his team take Ampers&nd Buttermilk straight from the churn and pop it freshs into these resealable, recyclable pouches. The Buttermilk packaging also features the perfect buttermilk pancake recipe… for a delicious brunch! |
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Meet Michelle…
Hello… I’m Michelle, now one of the Kingfisher flower girls… although my story of joining the Kingfisher family begun in 1985 at the tender age of 18 and before the Flower Shop even existed! I was an original watercress buncher! Working bunching this delicious, versatile cress in the mornings and afternoons spent helping tend the watercress beds and making up boxes to pack it in the following day. Barrie’s team back then were as warm, friendly and fun as the team are today. Spring forward to 2012 and I found myself back in the embrace of this wonderful family, this time as one of Marion’s flower girls. I’ve always loved flowers and had just completed a 2 year evening course at ESC. I came to chat with Marion about gaining some experience, which ultimately led to my dream job… working here! I will always be grateful to Marion for giving me this opportunity under her amazing creative guidance. She has, over the years taught me so much about what REAL floristy is… from colour to textures, working with traditional, environmentally friendly materials and the most beautiful seasonal blooms. Our team of creative individuals are encouraged to be as wild and bold as we please. The other aspect of doing what I love, is knowing we have put a smile on many of our lovely customers’ faces on receiving our flowers. Oh and arriving at work with the beautiful view is the best way to start the day, I think you will agree! My favourite seasonal flower is without a doubt the Helebore and the Heritage carrots from the Farm Shop are simply delicious!
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January’s WINNER is…. Eoin Donohue You’ve won our Kingfisher Gift Voucher worth £10 to spend in the Farm Shop or Flower Shop! Throughout January we would love you to ask your friends and relatives to sign up to our Monthly Post with the chance of winning another Kingfisher Gift Voucher worth £10 to spend in the Farm Shop or Flower Shop! |
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