“Work Hard, Snack Often” could be our office motto here at Fabulous Farm Shops HQ so when a box of goodies arrived from Mr Filbert’s, bearing their wonderful strapline “REALLY INTERESTING SNACKS”, there were some mild palpitations amongst those lucky enough to be on the review panel.
Up for review were three different snack pouches holding an exotic assortment of yummies:
Pitted mixed olives with rosemary & garlic
French rosemary almonds
Traditional beef biltong
And the first thing to mention is the concept. These fabulous little pouches are crying out to be poked into the side of a picnic basket or a lunch box or a cooler bag. Imagine packing a picnic for a day at the beach and all you need to do is chill the wine, make a thermos of coffee and open the cupboard to an array of pouches. Hmmm today I’ll have almonds lightly dusted in rosemary!
Where were these pouches when I was struggling to find interesting snacks for my children’s lunch boxes (is a box of raisins ok for the fifth day in a row, darling?). My son would have been very excited to have a packet of biltong in his lunch box instead of another solid and stinking peperami!
The packaging is lovely too. Fresh and enticing pictures of the product adorn the front of the pouches with a cute little colourful drawing of Mr Filbert in his apron all beautifully coordinated with the title on the packet. I know one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or a snack by its packet, but if the picture on the front sets one’s juices flowing then it needs a mention. Good packet, good expectations and farm shop customers are much more likely to pop one in their basket. Hoorah!
So let’s get down to business and tell you what we thought of the pitted mixed olives with rosemary & garlic!
Well, personally I’m an olive fiend. Having spent the first 25 years of my life doing whatever I could to avoid the little blighters, something flicked a switch in me whilst on my travels, I welcomed olives into my life and have spent the next 25 years trying to make up for lost time. To find a pouch of olives which is RESEALABLE (thank you Mr Filbert for thinking of everything), lightly bathed in rosemary and garlic and created without excessive oil… well Hallelulah!
The packet tells us that this is…
Easy snacking:
No stones, no oil, no mess
And they are right about that. These olives are well-behaved and could accompany you anywhere. Equally at home on a bohemian beach blanket or a starched white table-clothed dinner table… they are deliciously UNmessy. You could stick these in your backpack, nibble on them whilst traversing the Camino de Santiago and still shake hands with the pilgrims on arrival – without making them greasy.
The general consensus from our review panel was that there was just the right amount of flavouring. The garlic and rosemary are present without being overpowering and add a smattering of interest whilst letting the olive be the star of the show.
The only question that divided opinion was of the texture of the olive. Some loved the slightly soft consistency of the pitted olives and couldn’t get enough of them whilst others wished for something a lot harder which requires proper robust nibbling!
Almost all reviewers could imagine themselves on a foreign balcony, with a glass of something cold in one hand, a handful of Mr Filbert’s olives in the other and the warmth of a Mediterranean sun warming their skin. Now THAT is a good snack!
Next to be poured into our little hors d’oeuvres bowls were the French rosemary almonds and they made quite an entrance. These are very pretty nuts! Not a phrase I have written before, but a large proportion of the review panel mentioned the glaze on these almonds and how good they looked before they made it into any mouths.
Words like “enticing” and “gorgeous” and “attractive” were being banded about and they weren’t talking about me! One reviewer went so far as to scribble “tempting little brown nuggets of nuttiness” which makes me happy just to type!
The smell of the almonds was also celebrated. A slight dusting of rosemary had one reviewer turning poetic and imagining themselves “brushing through a herb garden” and another “smelling sunshine”.
But it was the glorious act of snacking on these beautiful nuts which brought the most accolades. The “perfect combination” whispered someone in hushed and reverential tones. “Beautifully moreish – I never want to stop,” said another. “Dangerous” scribbled someone else, as they reached for another. “I would SO buy these”.
The firm crunch is just right, the dusting of herbs is perfect and the sugar/salt ratio is bang on. This little “light aromatic snack” is a unanimous hit with the Fabulous Farm Shops Review Panel and we can see why the packet is the proud bearer of a Great Taste award rosette.
These almonds were always going to be a hard act to follow and the Traditional beef biltong was going to struggle to compete in these conditions. A little palette cleanse was called for, a walk around the block and a taste reset.
The field was divided into biltong eaters and non-eaters which always makes the process slightly trickier. Some were self-proclaimed aficionados whilst others were biltong virgins and the results were equally extreme. For some, the biltong was a bit too “interesting“, a step too far, but then a rallying cry could be heard from the back of the room. “This would be lovely with red wine“ chirped someone….”beautifully moist with a crisp edge” chimed another. “Mouthfuls of aromatic wonder” mused the poet.
“You can’t please all the people all of the time” scribbled the scribe and made a mental note of how successful marmite has become despite half the world being less than supportive!
So there you have it… three of Mr Filbert’s fabulous snacks and our humble opinions. There are other flavours and other products available on their website at mrfilberts.com and some wonderful combination snacking selections from “indulgent” to “vegan” to “tapas” to “for him” collections.
All the snacks are created in Somerset with carefully foraged ingredients with an emphasis on healthier and delicious snacks which are, as their advertising suggests, truly
“beyond expectation”.
If you would like to stock these fabulous little snacks in your farm shop then get in touch with Filbert’s Fine Foods:
by phone 01458 833744
by email sales@filbertsfinefoods.co.uk
or online mrfilberts.com/pages/trade
If you have a product you would like us to review, please contact
theAteam@fabulousfarmshops.co.uk
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