Not quite Willy Wonka but still a dream ticket for us!

Can there be any greater declaration of playground love than ‘Be Mine’ or ‘Forever Yours’? For 60 years Love Hearts, made in Derbyshire by Swizzels Matlow, have been bringing young hearts together… and we feel that this needs to be celebrated.

Today, this truly British delicacy is exported across the globe while also being translated into other languages including French and German. Over the years they have also kept up with changing trends and technology, ‘Fax Me’ or ‘Page Me’ anyone?

If you want to tell your loved one, in 3 words or less, how you feel now is your chance. The good people of Swizzels Matlow are giving you an opportunity to enter their competition to design your own Love Heart. 

You can design your own Love Heart here

Anything made by Swizzels Matlow is a firm favourite in our house and not just Lucan. James is particularly fond of Parma Violets.

– Emily

While the basic raw ingredients are not British there are some fantastic chocolatiers manufacturing Easter eggs  in the UK. Before you buy your chocolate treats this spring take a look at some of the best of British we have found. Here is our ultimate guide to British Easter eggs for 2014.

The Classic

High street chocolatier  Thornton’s has been a mainstay of the British Easter for over 100 years. I remember getting these every year with my name hand piped on the front. they still offer this service in most stores.

£6.99

The Organic One

Made in West Sussex this egg is a fantastic blend of very dark organic chocolate. Montazuma supply the supermarkets too so you might be able to grab one on your usual shop.

£7.99

The Extravagant one

Bettys use Swiss chocolate but are all hand made in the UK. There output is to often be found at the top of polls for the best choccy.

£35.00

The best for Kids

Chococo are another well know name that is available in supermarkets. This Crackletastic Egg features popping candy and filled with chocolate beans.

£12.95

 The’ it doesn’t need to be Easter’ Easter egg

Cadburys has tragically been sold off to the Americans and much of the production moved abroad but you can still get a British made Creme Egg.

60p-ish

The Something different Easter Egg

Despite the name Hotel Chocolat are very British and even grow and import their own cocoa to make their choccy treats. This Egg & chips is an innovative twist on the Easter egg theme.

£14.00

The shareable Easter egg

The Hope & Greenwood Keepsake egg (available from John Lewis) is a funky polka-dot tin filled with your favourite Spring animals

£7.00

The more money than sense Easter Egg

Exclusive to Fortnum & Mason this Jewellery Easter egg features not just the fine chocolate you would expect but also a only a gold plated necklace from London designer Alex Monroe.

£200

The Wow Factor Easter Egg

This Linden Lady egg is available in Waitrose and looks truly impressive with its marbled contrasting chocolate.

£15.00

Happy Easter and don’t eat too much British choccy!

There is a bit of controversy on Twitter at the moment surrounding high street fashion label Joules and their use of the tagline ‘boldly British’. There seems to be general anger that this statement misleads the consumer into believing that the garment is made in UK. I would have to say that this could be true. Joules, I am sure, would say that they are aligning this statement with the design origin and not the place of manufacture. They might also likely be quick to point out that in the same picture it does state that the item is ‘Made in China’, like the vast majority of Joules clothing.

However, I feel that the size and style difference of the two typefaces used in both the ‘boldly British’ statement and the ‘made in China’ tag are likely to confuse the average consumer. Then couple this with phases like ‘fresh from the fields of Market Harborough’ (as opposed to the fields of Beijing) and the brands general overuse of the British flag, and associated themes, and you begin to see what people are not happy about. Jack Will is another brand which markets heavily based on shallow British provenance.

It has to be said that Joules make some great clothes that are well designed and in a style that Mrs B and I both appreciate, but it just isn’t British made and not confusion to the contrary should exist. Legally Joules are untouchable in the matter, but morally??

What do you think?

As you may know I am on the board of the Made in GB campaign that has launched a logo that guarantees British manufacture when shown on a product.  This logo is set to become the recognised standard for British origin goods across the globe and will remove any instances of doubt for consumers. See more about this campaign here: www. madeingb.org

–          James

It is with some trepidation that we announce our featuring on the BBC One program Rip off Britain Food tomorrow at 11am. I say trepidation because, having watched a couple of the previous episodes in the run, I have some concerns that it is that it quite sensationalist program. I tend to come away thinking that some of their arguments are a little laboured in an effort rile the viewer.

We were obviously interviewed about our stance on buying British but we have not seen the edit and know very little about the issues they will present or how we will come across. What is worse it that neither Emily nor I will be around to watch it tomorrow so we will have to wait to watch in on demand in the evening.

However, we had a great day filming with Julia Somerville at our home here in Westerham and can only hope that we come across well. 

– James

The line up for our huge celebration of British manufacturing and farming is already looking fantastic. In fact we already have the same number of exhibitors signed up to join us as last year… and we still have 23 weeks before the big day. Our plan, to double the number of workshops and visitors to the event, is very much on target.

The event will still be not for profit and supporting a charitable cause (an exciting announcement about this will be made soon) but our main aim is to get the whole of the UK to buy British!

We are proud to say that the following companies will be joining us as workshops in 2014.

• MSE – a British manufacturer of centrifuges based in the London area.
• Farrington’s Mellow Yellow – Cold pressed rapeseed oil is grown and produced on a family farm in Northamptonshire
• Granby’s – The freshest new soft drinks brand.
• SockMine – Highly technical socks manufactured in north Nottinghamshire
• The Great British Banjo Company – The UK’s only banjo manufacturer, and creator of the world famous Shackleton Banjo
• Teepol UK –  Produce cleaning materials including general household cleaners, bathroom and kitchen sanitizers and car cleaning products in Kent
• Gopak –  Manufacturing iconic lightweight folding tables for over 50 years
• W Hamond – The original Whitby Jet shop has been creating hand-crafted jewellery in England for over 150 years
• Comins Tea House – An independent tea business
• The Great British Sauce Co. – The raising star of British sauces and ketchups
• King of Shaves – Britain’s favourite shaving brand made in the UK.
• A C Goatham & Son (Zari apples) – Britain’s largest apple and pear grower
• City of Zombies – Battle Zombies in this brilliant cooperative British made board game
• Immink Ltd -Organic children’s clothing company manufacturing exclusively in the UK.
• Lush Cosmetics – High street cosmetics manufacturer and thoroughly British brand.

The workshops are interactive spaces where the businesses let you get hands on with the products and learn about their manufacture. In addition to this we also have 10 market place stalls and 6 food stands. So this years BFF is due to be bigger and better than last year!

We also have a few very big surprises between now and the big day. Stay up to date by completing the simple form online at:

www.britishfamilyfayre.co.uk

P.S. Businesses wanting to get involved in this nationally focused event need to get in touch quickly as we will sell out this year.

The NFU have today criticised leading UK supermarket Tesco for stocking 8% less British beef that 12 months ago in a rather damning article in The Guardian (see here).

With the now growing public desire for British made and British grown this seems to be a peculiar and non-nonsensical move by Tesco. Especially following peoples general miss-trust of foreign meat  in the wake of the horse-meat controversy, in which this supermarket was central. So while Morrisons is a “shining example of commitment to British-produced food” Tesco are still failing to catch the buy-British bug.

Tesco state that all its beef was sourced in either the UK or Ireland and and so by implication it would suggest that they are now sourcing more beef from Ireland. Interestingly they also state that UK consumers do not differentiate between food from the UK and the food from Ireland. I am not sure how I feel about that personally nor am I particular sure that it is true.  So, we thought that this questions was worth a quick poll:

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Our Britipedia site has exactly 330 British manufacturers included so we thought we would bring you some valentines suggestions from a number of the businesses listed.

For her:

1. House of Dorchester – What lady does not like Choccies?

2. Churchtown Farm – British flowers direct to your loved ones door.

3. Greyfriars – English Sparkling Wine to show you care.

4. Petits secrets by CB – Is sexy underwear a gift for her or for him? Either way, you cannot go wrong.

5. Big Green Tree – Natural Skincare products

For Him:
1. Cahoonas – Luxury underwear does not have to be for women.

2. Holdall & Co – Excellent leather accessories.

3. King of Shaves – Shaving to keep him looking smooth.

4. For The Love Of Chocolate – Because men love chocolate too!

5. Albion Racing Club – First ever British Spiced Malt

Please let us know if you do give any products by these proud British businesses for Valentines day. We would love your feedback.