Best of Shops Awards

We have entered 'The Gastronomy Shop' in the Daily Telegraph Little Shop awards!!!!

The point of the competition is to celebrate the small independants like us. The winner is offered access to a Mary Queen of Shops skills course which would be fantastic, moreover the publicity it would afford would be invaluable, not just for us but our suppliers and fellow traders in the village.

Mary Portas explains in the launch of the competition that the life blood of the High Street is in the independent traders, who struggle daily to compete with the large supermarket chains but whose unique propositions and extra special touches are actually what make us a nation of Shopkeepers!

So power to the people of Gnosall and surround - we would really value your support ...

Vote for The Gastronomy Shop here

Elderflower Cordial

As Peter and I went for a walk the other evening we realised that there was an abundance of elderflower bushes that had not been raided for their blooms but the season was fast coming to an end with many of the heads starting to turn.
We had not been offered any cordial this year by the lady in the village who makes it so the light bulb moment occurred and I decided to have ago at making my own.
So armed with a bag full of lovely creamy flower heads and a bag of oranges and lemons I spent last Sunday mixing up the infusion and on Wednesday we spent the evening sterilising bottles and straining the liquid.
I have to admit to being rather pleased with the result and having tried a glass over ice last night found the end product to be refreshing and full of the taste of the Staffordshire lanes!!!!
I have just finished labelling them up so some nice shiny bottles of Gastronomy Elderflower Cordial will be on the shelves tomorrow!


Enjoy

Evening Dress Please Gentlemen!

So a couple of weeks ago we catered for the Adams Grammar School's Rugby Tour fund raising Dinner. Normally at events we don't have the opportunity to take photos of the team in action but the committee kindly gave us permission on this occasion.

So a four course meal for 190 odd chaps all in fine spirits and followed by a very bawdy comedian, Rugby star Jason Leonard and a charity auction resulted in a nice healthy pot of funds for the towns finest rugby team to go to South Africa in the Summer.

One of the requests was that the lads themselves volunteered for waiting on duty. Happy to oblige we agreed to finding them some work, so I was a bit surprised (Not following sport I had no idea how many lads would be involved in a team!) to find at least 30 eager faces when I turned up at the school prior to the event to train the guys on basic waiting skills.Still we managed to find most of them a job - some layed up the room in the morning alongside our own team and some worked in the kitchen as porters and 10 worked as waiters on the night with 10 of our trusted team members. I have to say I was very impressed by their diligence and professionalism and all credit to the lads they were Stirling ambassadors for the school and also for us. So Thank you Lads - maybe some of them will come back and actually get paid next time!



For more photos visit our face book page

We want your Bras!

So what has a deli in sleepy Gnosall got to do with creating the longest bra chain in the world. Well only that Sarah met a truly inspirational woman Karen Tomalin who has abusiness 2nd Skin Lingerie before Christmas. Karen has developed a campaign to help women in the most unbearable situation and to raise money for Breast Cancer Care UK... and we want to help out.

Unless you have been there, you cant imagine what it must be like to have to run away from your own home, all your possessions and everything material that you hold dear in order to save the life of your children and yourself. But every year despite the fact we live in 'modern' times women are still faced with that decision .Thankfully help is on offer through a network of womens shelters and projects which offer safety and a place to recover before looking at ways to start again.

We have to admitt that despite the fact we have had our bra recycling box for 3 months now Peter was a little shy to ask you for your surplus underwear! So we have decided to stage this event to encourage you to bring in those unwanted bras - you know the ones that your husband bought you, it doesnt fit but you have never had the heart to tell him, or the one you bought to slim into, or indeed the one you hoped you might grow into! Also the old ones that you may feel you could'nt give to another person but which could go for recycling and raise money for such a valuable charity -Breast Cancer Care; probably most of us know someone who may have been helped by this fantastic organisation...

So go on If Chris and Tina can model their redundant scaffolding for a good cause cant we persuade you to clear out the back of the lingerie drawer...

Karen herself will also be joining us and you could even treat yourself to some lovely new lingerie to replace that, you are passing on...

...As well as some great soap made by a really enterprising group of lads from King Eddies school and Amy ... but thats another blog; Oh! and Vie products including slimming assistance and jewellery and lipstick etc etc - what more could a girl want? - Perhaps some cheese, a great low fat sandwich or a fat piece of chocolate cake????

Hope to see you in the shop on the 6th Feb. Any time between 10 and 5 - we'll have the kettle on!