Seven weeks up and running, and we’ve certainly had our highs and lows. Definitely time to say thanks for all the feedback (mainly positive we’re pleased to say), comments and support. “A treasure trove”’, “an Aladdin’s Cave of lovely food”, “we’re lucky to have such a lovely shop in the village” are among some of your comments, which brightens our day and makes all the continued hard work very worthwhile.
Some updates and news…
Refining our product range and trying to source the very best, but affordable goods, as locally as possible is an on-going activity. We welcome your feedback as we try out new suppliers and products, which we frequently put out for sampling and tasting. We’ve had some great successes locally – the wholegrain mustard (Mustard Mary) and Cornish Maid pasties from Shepreth, Chocolicious cakes from Barrington, local asparagus, locally published cards and books, decorated horseshoes and reclaimed cheeseboards to name but a few. The food we make on-site is proving to be a great hit, with the sausages rolls (made with sausage meat from Barkers in Shelford and topped with Mustard Mary) heading the list. Our quiches, soups, marmalade and salads are also selling well, as are our cakes and sandwiches.
Next week sees the arrival of the coffee machine, so you can pop in for a cappuccino, espresso, hot chocolate (all made with freshly ground coffee beans) or tea.
Smoked salmon, mackerel and trout – we’re working with someone locally who’ll be picking up fresh fish from Billingsgate Market for us regularly, enabling us to pass on a better price.
National Vegetarian week – in support of this initiative, we’ve had vegetarian nibbles out for tasting, together with our usual quota of vegetarian pies and quiches.
The very popular pizza bases are back! We use locally made organic pizza bases, top them with our home-made passata and grated cheese, so they are all ready for you to add the topping of your choice (available at the shop of course!) for those nights when you really don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen, or you want a family night in with pizza, popcorn (possibly our best value for money product!) and ice-cream, not to mention that all important bottle of wine. Talking of wine, we’re using a local wine merchant who has supplied us with an excellent range of wines, at good prices. We’ve already had so much excellent feedback on the wine, sales are on the increase, and we’ll hope to put together an official tasting session over the summer.
Recipe in a bag – has been put on hold just for the moment while we get everything else up and running, but the intention is to launch that again as soon as we’re ready (you get the recipe and all the ingredients in a bag, ready for you to finish off at home, with a minimum of effort, as we’ll have done all the ‘heavy lifting’ / sauce preparation for you). There will be options for vegetarians and meat eaters, and special deals when combining the meal with a bottle of wine.
Place in the community – since opening, we’ve donated a hamper to the Barrington Ball, provided Greek food for the Haslingfield school’s Greek Experience, and are putting together a hamper for the Barrington School fete. We certainly hope to continue this trend.
Please do come and see us if you’re hosting a party or event, and would like to order cheeses, meats, olives and bread in bulk. We’ll be able to get these in at a good price, and will pass that savings onto yourselves. Our fresh bread is supplied daily from Newnham Bakery – if there are any special loaves or orders, please phone us or pop in and we’ll be happy to order these in for you.
We’ve expanded our range of store cupboard essentials to include products for the summer – now we just need the sunshine….. Salad dressings, drizzle oils, Stokes BBQ sauces and mayonnaises, coulis, lovely fruit juices, squash and cordials are among these products. Do pop in and check them out!
With Father’s Day coming up – we’re hoping to have a few specials, so please watch the board for details.
We’re open on Bank Holiday Monday from 9 – 12
Country Kitchen
Address: 21 Church Street, Haslingfield, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB23 1JE
Tel: 07954 669874
Web: www.ckhaslingfield.com Twitter: #ckhaslingfield
Opening hours: 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday
9am-4pm Saturday
closed Sunday