Good Food. Great Day

For years, breakfast has been praised by nutritionists, romanticized by cereal commercials, and endlessly crowned “the most important meal of the day.”

After a night of fasting, your body wakes up running on fumes, your brain negotiates like a toddler, and your stomach starts filing formal complaints to the kitchen.

Breakfast isn’t just about eating early; it’s about giving your day a competent opening act instead of stumbling straight into chaos.Too many of us live life on the run, so one of these from the car park van is often the daily start, eaten in haste at the wheel or the desk. Pretty good though!!!

THE BIG QUESTION…

Red of Brown Sauce with that?

Real Tomato Ketchup – thick and full of natural flavour, our award-winning ketchup is packed with plump, sweet tomatoes that have ripened beneath the Mediterranean sunshine where a longer growing season maintains the continuity of quality and taste we uncompromisingly need.

OR

Real Brown Sauce – a lush sauce, rich with extra date purée, sweet with black treacle and heady with a unique blend of Persian spices.

Try adding a dollop or three to your gravy or a casserole that needs a little maturity from dates and Persian spices – it really works.Crushed avocado with Stokes Real Mayonnaise mixed into the ‘crushing’, spread on toast with an egg on top – it’s not only quick and tasty, but it’s healthy too.

Try adding our Chilli Jam to the avocado to put a little fire in the belly.

Lunch has a reputation problem. Too often, it’s either a sad desk sandwich eaten over emails or a three-course affair that leaves you ready for a nap instead of the afternoon.

But a light lunch hits the sweet spot. It’s enough to revive you, not so much as to derail you. Think of it as the midday pit-stop that keeps the engine humming.

Stokes’ range of sauces, condiments and relishes is bound to lift any simple lunch … just by being there.Take a ciabatta sandwich up to a continental deli variety, using rocket leaves, Italian ham, Gouda-style cheese, tomatoes and our Beetroot Relish – packed with crispy refreshing shards of earthy beetroot, steeped in a deliciously syrupy red wine sauce.

Let the sensations play.Coronation Chicken is a great sandwich filler and perfect in a jacket potato. But, don’t spend hours over the sauce, just spoon our Coronation Sauce over left-over chicken with a few  fresh coriander leaves and enjoy!Brighten shop-bought fishcakes with the sunshine of Sicily, released as you unscrew the cap from our refreshing Sicilian Lemon & Dill Mayonnaise.No, we haven’t gone mad, these are beans – our unique recipe for yuumy Chilli Beans.

You’ll find the recipe – HERE.

The combination of Stokes Real Tomato Ketchup and our Chilli Ketchup leaves a naturally deep, fresh tomato flavour with a gentle chilli finish.Baked Eggs or Shakshuka.

Shakshuka is a dish of baked eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, believed to have originated in North Africa. Peppers, tomatoes, spices and chilli create an intense sauce on which eggs are cracked to finish off baking in the oven.

Chef, Andy has a wonderful recipe for his Bakes Eggs, which you can enjoy – HERE.

I like it a little hotter than Andy, so add Habanero HOT Sauce to the Bloody Mary Ketchup – the perfect brunch.

Afternoon tea is not merely a meal but a performance of civility, a deliciously polite excuse to indulge in cake and scones before supper while pretending it is tradition, not greed.

Wars have been weathered, scandals endured, and weather complained about, all fortified by finger sandwiches, warm scones spread with jam and cream (in an order capable of starting regional disputes), and tea poured with near-sacred precision.

In a country where understatement is an art form, afternoon tea may be Britain’s most charmingly extravagant contradiction.

This is Anna (Mrs Stokes) and pals in her kitchen, preparing a feast of fruity joy for a Staff Tea Party. Chaos – but delicious.We don’t intend to try to teach you how to bake, but do hope to inspire you to try.Classic Scones.

Clotted Cream, or Jam first?

Our late Queen (Elizabeth II) insisted on having it served ‘the Cornish way’ – jam first, with clotted cream on top. The Devon method is cream then jam.

Personally, I’m with the the Cornish way – how about you?Chocolate & Raspberry Jam Brownies.

CHEF’S TIP:

‘For a squidgy brownie, bake so that the centre of the brownies still “wobbles” a bit. Don’t worry, it will set as it cools.‘

Thanks Andy. squidgy indeed, but still with a crunch as you bite into it.

See Andy’s ‘best brownie’ recipe – HERE.Blackcurrant & Vanilla Cheesecake.

I know I’m bias but, our Blackcurrant EXTRA Jam has got to be the best in the business, packed to the gunwales with big juicy blackcurrants – magic.

CHEAT’S TIP:

Buy a plain vanilla cheesecake, spoon plenty of Stokes Blackcurrant Jam over it, and serve it with a nice cuppa … another tough day in the kitchen!

OR:

Follow Andy’s personal magic in his recipe – HERE.

SUPPER

Again, take a look at the Recipe Pages where there’s lots to offer. These are a few of our own favourites below:Spicy Pork Mazemen

It looks like a real feast but is so simple, it ticks the mid-week box of evening go-to’s – with flavourful with ease.

RECIPE: HERE.

The mixture of our rich ketchup. pineapple juice, brown sugar and vinegar tartness, combine to create a true taste-bud adventure.Chicken w. French-style Peas.

Chef’s recipe delivers a succulent moist chicken with outstanding flavours and sauce to accompany it, from the French-style peas.

RECIPE: HERE.

Using the Wholegrain Cider & Horseradish Mustard in  the sauce offers exciting bursts of flavour from the whole grains, and a gentle lingering taste of sweet horseradish.Confit Duck Cassoulet

While the evenings remain cooler or uncertain, this is a family meal or supper for four to please everyone. So tasty and so healthy. So why not give it a go.

RECIPE: HERE.

Keep following guys – this foodie party never ends … enjoy!