The Fabulous Farm Shops review panel have a bit of history with those excellent people at Filbert’s Fine Foods and every now and then they ship us a little trio of new snacks for us to crack open and review. It’s always a good day when we open a box to find Mr Filbert peeking out and this time was no exception.
Like a lucky dip (but without the annoying sawdust), I plunged my hand into the box to see what goodies we were going to try this time.
Salt and Pepper Cashews (pocket size)
First out the box was a cute little packet of Mr Filbert’s Salt and Pepper cashews, “oven roasted to perfection then tumbled with sea salt and black pepper for a perfect savoury snack”.
Gosh, I love a cashew! I think of it as the perfect nut. To start with, the shape is ergonomically pleasing, as if the creator was really beginning to loosen up and let his imagination run a little riot. And the flavour – never quite what you’re expecting when you pop it in your mouth. The texture? Slightly oily but solid and reassuring.
Anyway, I love them just the way they are. So, when I realised that the good folk at Mr Filbert’s have dared to play with perfection, I was slightly concerned. I needn’t have worried. Of course, Mr Filbert, in his dashing black apron with his shock of carroty hair and winning smile, can be trusted to enhance any snack he turns his wooden spoon to.
This time, he has rifled though his condiments and chosen two beautifully complementary flavours, as old as the hills: salt and pepper. What could go wrong? Nothing! Quite simply a brilliant enhancement. And it wasn’t just me that thought so. Listen to the joy from the panel of Fabulous Farm Shops reviewers:
“Delicious! Salty and extremely tasty. Ideal with drinkies!”
“Oh yes! That little peppery addition. A bit of heat…a bit of vavavoom”
“Salt and pepper…the winning combo, the perfect pairing. Just enough flavour to make you sit up and notice.”
The cashews retain their creamy, satisfying bite. They still sit in your hand like little magic beans, tempting you to put them one by one into your mouth but now they pack a tantalising punch, urging you to have another as soon as the first one is chewed up and swallowed. I didn’t think a cashew needed anything to take it closer to heaven, but Mr Filbert has done just that.
And the snack-pack size must also be mentioned – 40g of nut-tastic joy in an attractive little pouch. Pop one of these in your pocket if you’re hiking up a mountain, kayaking down a river or just taking the dog for a walk. There is enough in there to give you a fabulous, savoury boost of energy, whatever activity you’re undertaking – and you don’t need to share it with anyone.
Salted Caramel Chocolate & Nut Mix
Next up, this little packet of joy announces that it “combines salted honeyed nuts with chocolate and Cornish caramel fudge to produce a scrumptious sweet and salty snack”. Now on paper that really doesn’t sound like it should work. Where in the world would you put chocolate covered raisins, salted nuts and nuggets of fudge together?
I want to know how they came up with this one! I like to imagine that two busy executives at Mr Filbert’s were both snacking en route to the boardroom, hurrying down the corridor when they crashed into each other. Executive A spilt his bag of nuts on the floor whilst executive B dropped her fudge and chocolate. In a scramble to pick up all the bits, and get to their meeting in time, the snacks got muddled and EUREKA! the mix to end all mixes was born.
However it happened, it’s genius. Everyone who tasted it on our panel of snackers, loved it.
“So moreish!
A perfect combination of sweet and salty.”
“I love the surprise of flavour in each bite, not knowing exactly what you are going to get. I try them with my eyes closed and sneak up on my taste buds.”
Mr Filbert describes them as “deliciously indulgent” and he’s not wrong. There is also a really generous serving in each pouch. Pop a packet of these in your picnic basket or backpack and your snack time will reach new heights or put a bowl of these out for nibbles at your next drinks party to get the conversation going. Better than charades!
Mr Filbert’s Artisanal Salami
Last, but not least, our tasting session ended with a snack-sized packet containing two little sticks of chorizo/salami or “premium tender pork with paprika and spices”. The packet also informs us that “the traditional salami is carefully handcrafted and naturally cured to produce an authentic Iberian snack that is high in protein, low in sugar and totally gluten free.”
There is also a rather welcome suggestion that they are best enjoyed with a glass of IPA beer or Rioja wine. Well, it would be rude not to follow such a piece of advice, so we cracked open a bottle of red and got down to the nitty gritty.
The packet contains two sticks of salami each about the size of a Sharpie and considered just the right size for a hit of flavour and substance. My son is a salami snack oficionado, having craved serious, strong flavours from a young age, and when he saw these on my table he fluttered around like a moth to a flame.
His eyes lit up when I suggested he gave them a go and one disappeared into his mouth before anyone could shout “what’s for tea?”. He tore into it like Zorro and declared:
“great texture – dense and satisfying”
He chewed for a while and murmured:
“Nice little hit of spice. Who’s the other one for”?
Well, that went down well! Other reviewers were similarly pleased with these little sticks of Spanish sausage. One wrote:
“Fab flavour! Brilliant with a pint”
“Reckon I could bull fight after a couple of these”
wrote another, who had obviously picked up on the tapas theme (and perhaps enjoyed more than a snifter of Rioja!)
“I would put these in my lunch box or my pocket when going fishing”
suggested another -rather specifically, but equally helpful!
I have to add that it was the smell that pleased me the most. I have a nose like a bloodhound and sometimes a really meaty salami can put me off, but this snack has the heavenly scent of paprika, warm and enticing.
So, it was a resounding “Olé” from the Fabulous Farm Shops panel for these savoury delights.
All in all, another fabulously successful trio of snacks from Filberts Fine Foods. We have yet to try a bad one from these makers and can recommend, hand on heart, stocking a selection of these well-packaged snacks in your farm shop.
To read previous reviews click here
If you would like to stock these fabulous little snacks in your 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
0 Comments