Ceramic kitchen knife?

Just after your attempt to impress us by how much you'd spent on them, you posted

"they have a watered silk pattern on the steel showing that they were made using the same technique as a sword"

Reply to
Andy Dingley
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I didn't make any such attempt, you really should get your head out of your arse. I don't care what you "think".

Note the absence of the word "Japanese".

Reply to
Steve Firth

yes, but they can double up for use as a method of dispatching oneself following a loss of face. One would want quality for that.

They are lovely though.. Did you buy all four?

Reply to
Andy Hall

Yes. We were at the show for Mrs F's business, we were at F30 and this guy was at F27 opposite us. We arranged to watch each other's pitch for meal/bog breaks and chatted a bit in the quiet times.

He had a terrible show with most punters whinging about the price and then walking away. I was impressed by how hard he worked and I didn't want him to go away without a sale, and we needed a set of knives for our commercial kitchen so I bought those. I don't regret it, they take a decent edge and keep it for a long time. I'm not into making sushi but I do like to cut my own steak and they look good when we do cooking demonstrations.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Is this the olive oil business or am I thinking of something/somebody else?

I understand completely. Somebody once said that there is nobody more easily sold to than a sales person, and I think that there is some truth in that.

Nothing wrong with using the marketing budget ;-)

Reply to
Andy Hall

Axminster don't do Ice Bear any more. Shame, I have one Ice Bear & would like another.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

So which sword making tradition _does_ leave visible laminations like this?

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Yes, although it's expanding with "typical regional products". We try to sell stuff from immediately around our farm which has caused some problems with UK punters who "know" what Italian food is. I get tired of trying to explain that Modena is over 500 miles away so no we don't do balsamic vinegar. In fact we gave up entirely on that so we do sell balsamic vinegar sourcing it through a friend in the business so at least it's good quality. We now have quite a range of oils from other farms along the same ridge of hills, we also have typical farmhouse produce, pasta and biscuits/cakes all unique to our area.

Oh absolutely. When you know how hard it is to sell you can appreciate someone elses efforts. OTOH I can also spot a s**te salesman a mile away and they really put me off.

Heh, if only.

Reply to
Steve Firth

I think you want the stupid argument over there -->

I'm not interested in a pissing contest at the moment, thanks for asking.

Reply to
Steve Firth

... but who have been to Venice once.....

I've been there a couple of times. It was quite an education to be shown how many different types and vintages that there are - a real eye opener.

If there's an opportunity for a sale, it seems silly to turn it away but I do take your point.

In a local area like that, is there a considerable variation from farm to farm? If so, is it the immediate climate, production details or other factors?

Very good. Are these things sold at trade shows, web or ?? What are the normal routes to market?

Indeed. A good one earns every penny.

these are usually the lazy and incompetent ones.

Nothing wrong with dreaming.....

Reply to
Andy Hall

Yes, it's very noticeable and it has several sources of variation. Olive oil is as complicated as wine, so the variety of olive has an effect, and the terrain, oietation of the fields, rainfall and the method chosen for pressing the olives. There are two main types of press, open and closed. The open presses produce a mild oil but there are always issues with oxidation and the loss of flavour. A closed press conserves flavour and reduces oxidation but needs carful control because it can overheat the oil.

We're unusual in growing a very old variety of olive, tortiglione. Most growers don't like the fact that it's an enormous tree. Left unchecked it would develop into something the size of an oak. Our neighbours go for more modern varieties such as pendolino and leccino and we all use varieties noted for their sweetness to balance the strong bitter flavours of tortiglione.

We regularly get awards for our oils, I think at present we are running at two gold, one silver, one bronze.

We sell via delicatessens and have a website at

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where (slowly) we're putting together a catalogue and hopefully in the near future on-line sales.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Mmm.. Easily the same level of complexity as wine regions.

Do you find that the oils with additions such as lemon, chili etc. sell as well as the unflavoured extra virgin oils? I tend to go for the unflavoured ones normally, but that's a personal preference.

It's a pity that you don't have the Ecommerce working - there are some appealing things on the site and I think prices reasonable for what you have.

It always strikes me when visiting Italy, and especially as one goes further south, that food is mainly about excellent ingredients but essentially quite simple preparation - I'm comparing with the sophisticated productions of France.

Then I look at what is generally available in the UK and it's depressing. People seem to want cheapness and availability and will generally buy any old sh*t. Having said that, it is not as depressing as Germany.

It's a pity that you can't transport the fresh pastas, vegetables and so on from italy. I am sure that there would be a market for that.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Do you sell from site? If so, can you give me a post code to find you? Just tried auto route, but my eyes are cream crackered from driving (see below)

Our daughter lives, but a few miles a away quite close to South Sea and I will be down that end of the country on the next few days. In fact, I have been down there 4 times in the last two weeks :-(

3 out of four were day trips :-(

I must add, that I live in Preston Lancs. 266 bloody miles away, but I do like good foods.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

I thought that that was mushy pea territory ;-)

Mind you, I did have good fish and chips at a place in Blackpool once. These days, I find it too indigestible.

Reply to
Andy Hall

They sell better TBH. Sadly british consumers don't "get" olive oil at the level of individual varietals or artisan blends as the Italians do. So whereas an Italian would probably buy our basic oil by three litre tins for everyday use and then buy some of the varietals for dressing, the brits buy a bottle now and again for presents or for the sake of interest.

Our flavoured oils are created from the same olives as the basic oil, a particularly neutral olive called Gentile di Chieti, and the flavours are introduced by adding fresh fruit to the olives before pressing. Very few places do it this way, it costs a bomb and you need to have a local source of olives and citrus fruit. We're lucky to have citrus groves close to the land where the olives are grown.

The end result is stunning IMO. It sells well because there's no doubt that the oil tastes like the fruit and (for example) all you need to dress a salad is the lemon agrumato oil and that's it.

[Ecommerce]

If you're really interested call, email or fax we can do credit cards over the phone.

Yes, Italian cooking is all about simplicity. Although to get the simplicity often takes hours of preparation. My favourite two local restaurants make simple food an artform, one of them grills meat over olive coals in the dining room. The taste is excellent, and it depends on first class meat and years of experience in cooking over ashes.

Fresh pasta really needs to be made at home. We do the next best thing, artisan dried pasta which is as different from UK supermarket pasta as basmati rice is from pudding rice. It's dried slowly and ferments as it dries to give a really pleasant taste. It's also very difficult to overcook it. It's made by our friend Lucia in the village and she supplies us with flavoured pasta made with real ingredients. My favourite is the chilli pasta, but saffron is also excellent.

Also the preserved vegetables are extraordinary. The oil is spiced to match the flavour of the ingredients, and then the food is cooked in the jar at different times/temperatures for every type to get the optimum flavour.

Hmm sorry, going into salesman mode there. But it's all good stuff.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Yes, we do, but call in advance to make sure that someone is on-site. The contact details are on the web, on the "contact us" link, the post code is SO24 0LQ. We're in the grounds of Brockwood House, or rather of Brockwood Manor Farm which is next door.

Reply to
Steve Firth

One of the adverts on our site is for Chilli Lime Deli in Blackburn, that's the closest Deli that takes our stuff to you at present. If you have a favourite deli in Preston, either mention us to them or them to us and we'll try to convince them to stock some of our range.

Another possibility if you like the personal touch is that from time to time I work in Newton-Le-Willows and I don't mind bringing food with me and doing evening deliveries for customers.

Reply to
Steve Firth

.. and don't know the difference between extra virgin and others.

At a very ordinary restaurant I went to in Milan not long ago, four or five flasks appeared with the salad in a very matter of fact way.

OK. I was wondering how this was done, but didn't like to ask.

OK, thanks for that.

Doing a small number of things really well.....

That's perfectly OK....

Reply to
Andy Hall

No need to go to all that trouble Andy, you can get olive oil in Aldi & Lidl.

:-)

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

For more sharpening information than you can shake a stick at

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particular I like
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for some expensive kit...
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Rick... (The other Rick)

Reply to
Rick... (The other Rick)

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