the big booby bake sale

SO THERE JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE MOST AMAZING KIWI CHICK WHO NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT…

A fellow baker and good friend of mine, needs your help folks. She is looking to raise funds for the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Plastics and Burns Unit, So myself and other Aberdeenshire bakers are donating goods for a bake sale on Sunday 5 May at Parx Cafe in Rubislaw Terrace, Aberdeen from 10 until sold out. If you can come along on the day and. buy some treats from some of the best bakers in Aberdeenshire then that’s great! If not, Mechelle has set up a just giving page and you can find the link to this and much more about Mechelle’s story on her insta page at @mechellemelt.

How to order

If you would like to be the first to know each week what I’m baking and where I’m selling from, then please sign up to my mailing list. Just send an email to theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com with your full name asking to be added to the list. Each Monday (sometimes a Sunday, but always before social media posts are put up) you’ll receive an email from me.

This coming Friday 19th April, I’ll be in the Square at Huntly between 11.30 to 1.30 in the little alleyway beside Morrisons Daily/The Post Office. On Saturday I’m back in Aberchirder for the Foggie Neuk Producers’ Market iin the village square. It starts at 10am and it runs through until 1pm. For full details of all the stallholders you can follow the market’s socials - Instagram @thefoggieneuk.

I am taking orders for both the Friday and Saturday market this week. Please note that Insch is pre-order ONLY. To pre-order you just need to message me via Instagram or Facebook, text or call on 07376209072 or email theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com. Please don’t try to place an order as a comment below a social media post.

Friday bread orders close Tuesday at 5pm.
Friday pastry orders close on Wednesday at 5pm.
Saturday Market orders close on Wednesday at 5pm for both breads and pastries.

My sourdoughs are made with predominantly organic Scottish flours from Mungoswells North Berwick and my pastries with the best French pastry flour from Foricher Moulins and organic pastry flour from Shipton Mill, with butter from The Edinburgh Butter Company. My salt comes from Blackthorn Salt over in Ayrshire. Everything is handcrafted by me in my home based micro-bakery. As for other ingredients, I try to keep it as local and as seasonal as possible.

I WORK IN A MICRO-BAKERY WHERE I FREQUENTLY HANDLE NUTS, SOY, DAIRY, EGGS, SESAME AND OTHER ALLERGENS. PLEASE ENSURE THAT WHEN ORDERING OR PURCHASING ANY OF MY GOODIES THAT YOU ADVISE OF ANY FOOD ALLERGIES.
At markets each product basket is labelled with a full ingredient list and all allergens and if you have any questions or concerns over the ingredients, please just ask!

SCOTTISH REAL BREAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2024 Scottish Real Bread Championships was held on Saturday 24th February at Bowhouse, St Monans in Fife and rounded off the 15th annual international Real Break Week. Real Bread is bread that contains no nasty additives, the kind of things that you won’t find in your pantry at home like stabilizers, E-numbers and so on. A record number entries were received this year from bakers all across Scotland and I’m pleased to say that I managed to walk away with 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 14 Bronze Awards.

Like last year, Bere was the star of the show for me this year with my Bere Meal Sourdough Baguette attaining the 3 Golds. Bere if you don’t know is an ancient form of barley that is (and has been for over 300 years) grown and milled for human consumption in the UK by the wonderful folk at Barony Mill in Orkney. My smoked 100% sourdough croissant and my Leinsamenbrot sourdough loaf attained Silver and my Vollkornbrot, Bere Meal Sourdough Boule, Sourdough Baguette and Toasted 3 Grain Brown Sourdough Tin all attained bronze across a range of categories.

For more information on how you can support the push for Real Bread, check out the Real Bread Campaign at https://www.sustain.org/realbread/.

If you’re interested in try Bere Meal for yourself (or even the whole grain, it makes for a fabulous risotto) then check out the Barony Mill wesbite (they ship UK wide) https://www.baronymill.com

In 2023’s competition, my Bere Meal Sourdough Boule was awarded Reserve Champion out of over 120 entries from bakeries across Scotland. My Dark Danish Rye & Spelt sourdough with pumpkin seeds and Copper Fox oat stoat was awarded Bronze.

INVITED TO BE LISTED IN THE SCOTTISH FOOD GUIDE…

The Scottish Food Guide is Wendy Barrie’s ethical and award winning guide to the best of Scottish produce and producers. The guide endorses and supports ethical artisan produce and the chefs and bakers whose offerings follow these principles.

What the Guide says about The Culinary Kiwi Bird ….

“…This microbakery punches well above its weight, creating a wonderful range of products to order and for local farmers markets …”

Whether you live in or are planning to travel around Scotland, this online guide is an absolute must and you can find out more by going to https://scottishfoodguide,com

RECIPES

VEGAN WHITE BEAN CASSOULET WITH BERE MEAL SOURDOUGH

Sourdough’s not just for sandwiches you know. It’s great for mopping up all those lovely juices from my white bean cassoulet.

This is a vegan version of that great French classic but if you prefer, you can add in some ham hock, pork and even use a chicken stock or just water, it’s a pretty adaptable recipe. If you’re like me and love your dark leafy greens, throw in some kale for the last 5 minutes.

Use whatever white beans you have in your cupboard and if you decide to use tinned beans, make sure you rinse them before adding.

This shouldn’t be soupy so if you end up with a bit much stock in that pot, don’t tip any out, just smush up some of those beans before you add the roasted tomatoes. But make sure you leave enough liquid for that sourdough to mop up.

Other than seasoning the tomatoes before roasting, don’t be tempted to add more salt or pepper until you’ve tasted the end product …. ever!!!

And just on the sourdough, if you’ve run out of your own homemade sourdough (or mine) then don’t be tempted to buy that “sourfaux” from your local supermarket. Flour, salt and water, that’s all the ingredients that should be in it so either make some more yourself or come and see me for some genuine sourdough.

Enjoy.

new Recipe coming soon

.

new recipe coming soon

.

A little bit about the baker ….

The Culinary Kiwi Bird I hear you muse …. I’m a Kiwi (who’s been based in the UK on and off since the late 80’s), I’m a “bird” and I love all things culinary.

An avid foodie for 25+ years I gave up a career in the subsea industry to follow my passion for food and returning to the UK in 2017 I studied at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Surrey, graduating with a double distinction as a classically trained Chef/Baker. After a brief period at a 1 Michelin Star Restaurant in England, I returned to my home in Aberdeenshire, where I worked in several highly regarded hotels & Inns before establishing my own artisan bakery in Insch.

I have a micro-bakery in the backyard where I produce real bread, genuine sourdoughs and viennoisserie. I sell on Friday’s and Saturday’s and I don’t currently have a permanent shop front.

I absolutely love what I do and my training as a chef only serves to enhance the quality of the goods that I produce. I only use Scottish flours from Mungoswells in North Berwick (organic white & wholewheat, light and dark ryes) and Bere Meal from Barony Mill, Orkney for my sourdoughs. For my viennoisserie, I use the highest quality french flour from Foricher Moulins and small batch cultured Scottish butter from The Edinburgh Butter Company. My salt of choice comes from Blackthorn Sea Salt over in Ayrshire. I am always on the lookout for quality local ingredients that I can incorporate into my bakes and am keen to support other local small enterprises as much as I can.

I am a fully paid up supporter of the Real Bread Campaign whose mission it is to find and share ways to make bread better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. The Real Bread Campaign is calling for a change in law to help people understand that not all loaves are created equal enabling them to make better choices. It is campaigning for improved loaf labelling and marketing laws in the UK. My sourdoughs are made from just flour, salt and water unlike most “sourfaux” loaves you’ll find in the supermarkets. My loaves are handcrafted, they are not partially baked but baked fresh on the day and they don’t contain any nasties! You can find out more information on this campaign at https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/

I am on a personal journey to produce the best quality sourdough and viennoisserie in North East Aberdeenshire and I hope you will join me on that journey.

Contact The Culinary Kiwi Bird to order by calling +44(0)7376 209072, emailing theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com
or messaging via Facebook or Instagram @theculinarykiwibird.