COVID-19 has hit hospitality businesses particularly hard. Those that were able to adapt have reaped the benefits of a captive audience, keen to alleviate the boredom of lockdowns and social restrictions.
Mint Fig is a delicatessen and gift shop in Musselburgh, which stocks a variety of locally sourced food products, as well as cheese, charcuterie and home baked cakes, flans and quiches. They also offer catering for events.
Realising that people were looking for ways to celebrate special occasions and social gatherings at home, Mhairri at Mint Fig started offering delivery of their wares, as well as afternoon teas and grazing boards, which quickly proved popular.
The company collaborates with local providers IJ Mellis, Clark’s Fine Foods, Company Bakery and MacLean’s Bakery to ensure that all the cheese, fish, baked goods and charcuterie in the deli and provided in the grazing boxes is British or Scottish and, wherever possible, sourced within East Lothian.
We recently tried their fabulously fudgy caramel chocolate brownies and a deli sharing box, which we took to the beach on a sunny Friday night. Everything was delivered in attractive and sustainable packaging with detailed allergen information, so would make a great surprise gift.
At £19.95, the sharing box is very good value, consisting of a variety of deli meats, cheeses and vegetables, plus chutney and oatcakes – perfect if, like me, you always want to try a bit of everything. It is a surprising amount of food – we greedily worked our way through delicious chorizo, salami, olives, pickles, artichokes, smoky Shropshire blue cheese and hot smoked salmon pate, only to discover a whole untapped layer of ham, Morangie Brie, Laganory cheese and smoked salmon! I had never tried a Scottish Brie before, but it was wonderfully smooth and creamy.
Everything was very fresh, excellent quality and it’s always nice to know you are supporting local suppliers. If you were entertaining friends or family at home, the food could easily be laid out onto a platter to make it easier to share.
It was the perfect compact feast for a sunny evening on the beach, my only regret was that we had taken the car and so couldn’t enjoy with a bottle of chilled white wine. Next time though…
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