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December 04 News
It’s a damn good job Christmas is around the corner; without that to look forward to, the prospect of another four months of leaving the house before dawn and not getting back till after dark would be truly depressing. Thankfully, we at M&B have been buoyed by an extra bit of good news. Hot on the heels of being voted one of Britain's 50 best cheese shops (Independent), their sister paper, the Independent on Sunday, has just named us the nation’s favourite delicatessen. They say: ‘It's a caring, personal shop where both the customer and the artisan producer are king. When he is not in the shop, the owner is scouring Britain and the Continent for special and unusual oils, vinegars, cheeses, charcuterie, chocolate, pastries, and even wild mushrooms in season.’. Which is all we need to send us into the Christmas season with a spring in our step and a whistling a happy tune. And with the launch of our spanking new website, we can spread our warm glow of Christmas cheer over the whole of the UK.
Our Christmas stock is almost all in now, so our shelves are groaning with fabulously light panettone from our favourite Italian bakers, Vergani, Perbellini and Marabissi (can something so light really cause shelves to groan? Never mind). We have a full range of varieties (try our pear and apricot panettone, for example), all beautifully presented, and vastly superior to the factory-produced versions you’ll find in the supermarkets. (Trust us, you will taste the difference.)
Marrons Glaces
The only element our Christmas cornucopia still to come are our famous marrons glaces, which are even now making their slow, steady progress from the chestnut forests of the Ardeche. And the reason for their late arrival? Traditionally made marrons glaces are made by steeping whole chestnuts in increasingly concentrated levels of sugar syrup, through which the sugar eventually permeates the nuts. Over time, the sugar crystals become larger and change the texture of the nut, which means that a well made marron only has a short shelf life, so we leave our order as late as we can to ensure that they are in tip top condition for Christmas. All is well, though. Place your order online now, for either our wooden presentation box of 16, or our box of 12 marrons, and weÂ’ll send them out as soon as they come in. See, you need never miss out with M&B