Wine Tasting 7th December

hello! we have got a rather exciting evening ahead! Joel is running a wine tasting evening on wednesday the 7th December, the tickets are £15 and this includes an evening of expert wine advice, lots of tasters and canapes designed specifically with each separate wine in mind in time to order for christmas!

Late Night Shop

Well, what a lovely evening! It was our first of the year late night shopping event tonight and it went very well. Whilst it was chilly outside in Beckington it was toasty in the shop and we provided plenty of mulled wine and mince pie treats for our lovely customers! Everyone who visited left with a bargain as we took 10% off all stock. Hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as we did!

The pumpkins are coming....

Well, pumpkin season is in Beckington, hoorah! Last week we had some rather lovely pumpkin pies topped with caramalised red onions; we created a pumpkin, green bean and toasted almond salad and had many thoughts about this weeks pumpkin and chilli soup. We promise to stop at pumpkin sandwiches but today I ate a beautiful pumpkin and cinnamon cupcake which might inspire us in the sweet-pumpkin area.

In non-pumpkin news we have a very exciting winter calendar which Martha mentioned in our last post so here's those details!

• Wednesday 8th November. Late Night Shopping Night! With 10% off our beautiful stock (excepting wine and sale items!) there'll be mulled wine, hot spiced berry cordial and delicious canapes to get everybody in a festive mood! 
• Saturday 12th November. Beckington Pig Night at Mes Amis. A wonderful local lady has started rearing Gloucester Old Spots and we'll be hosting a tasting menu (tickets only- please get in touch if you're interested!) to show off how different local thoughtfully reared pork can taste. Accompanying the exciting menu will be some local cider, orchard pig apple juice and the best of our English wines!
• Wednesday 7th December. A very exciting Wine-Tasting Evening (again,tickets only so give us a call! 01373830723) with our resident wine expert to give you advice and showcase all of our fabulous wines which are available for Christmas and the new year. 
• Wednesday 14th December. The Last Late Night Shop at Mes Amis! Last chance to pick up all those Christmas pressies, Boxing Day treats and New Years Eve champagne!

We'll also be posting our new winter take away menu including some classic favourites like confit duck with a red wine herb butter and different additions such as the pork tenderloin with a cumin and roasted red pepper sauce so keep checking! 

dates for your diary

mes amis late night shopping events are 8th november and 7th december 2011 6-9pm we will have some yummy gifts on display and will be doing some special offers we will keep you posted............

weather hot hot hot!!!

well what a week of lovely weather but as we would guess it has come to an end!!!!! and realilty has set in and it is really autumn out there!!!!


At Mes Amis this week we have been discussing Christmas!!! sorry to mention...but we will have some new and exciting new food to offer both for the shop and with our outside catering menus and with new retail stock arriving our shelves will be packed with lots of yummy new things to buy!!!

we will have a date soon for our late night shopping events...a lovely chocolate evening to tempt your taste buds...so please keep checking our blog to find our more.....

September Thursday

Well, autumn is truly here! There's a cool wind blowing through Beckington bringing us inspiration for the coming season!
We'll have our french favourites like coq au vin and beef bourguignon but also some spicy tagines and other delights from far-flung places we've been to on or travels! We're also starting to think about Christmas (don't worry though no trees up yet, just starting to prepare some spiced chutneys and preserved fruits!) and welcoming hot chocolate weather once again!

bank holiday birthdays

hi there

Well i hope you all are enjoying your sunny bank holiday!!

Mes Amis would like to wish two of our girlies a very happy magical birthday 
Marilyn and Louise.........hope all your wishes come true and have a lovely day........

Joyeux Anniversaire Mes Amis! Or, Happy 5th Birthday Mes Amis! 
Cheers to all of our wonderful customers, past, present and future and cheers to the lovely ladies that make working here an absolute joy and delight!

Really looking forward to the next 5 years of Mes Amis! xxx

well our main course tomorrow is a beautiful lamb tagine with chickpeas, apricots and dates! we've also got some rather lovely dolcelatte and mushroom tarts!

thai chicken soup

Well, the thai chicken soup is really rather spicy but everybody seems to be enjoying it! there's quite a few chillis in there so we started serving it with a cooling yoghurt accompaniment! we also have a creamy mushroom and tarragon soup on the menu.

Tomorrows main course is a rib of beef marinated overnight in balsamic vinegar,garlic and spices then roasted till rare and sliced carpaccio thin, it's one of our favourites! we've also got some barkham blue cheese and mushroom tarts or some three cheese tarts with mango and ginger.

We've got some lovely new bits in the shop too, today we got a delivery from a company called 'two bad mice' who illustrate beautiful china and greetings cards-we'll try and get some photos up!

Well, i'm really rather embarrassed about the length of time since our last blog! sorry about that and we're now back on schedule!

It's been a really busy few weeks at Mes Amis, Iford Arts are finishing their wonderful music season next week and we've been excited to cater for the patrons and friends of Iford for the second year running!

The lovely weather has bought people out of doors and our take away salads are proving very popular! We just had a really tasty kiln smoked salmon salad with a horseradish dressing on the menu and that went down really well. Tomorrow we're keeping with the salad theme (it's just so hot but bravo to our lovely regulars who love their soup in all weather! Tomorrow is a fresh smoked chicken broth with a hint of chilli and lime, something to evoke the heat of asia as if we need it at the moment!) and serving a grilled chicken with pesto and leaves,sweet potato,pumpkin seeds and some beautiful nasturtiums from the lovely lady up the road with the best walled garden we've seen outside of  the national trust!

Enjoy the sun and hope to see you all soon!

Wednesday

good morning!
today we've got a classic beef lasagne with minty broad bean salad and basil pesto! there's also a pea and basil soup and a rather exciting batch of chocolate brownies!

Hello!

Well, first things first...

Happy Birthday Martha!
Here is a virtual birthday cake for you! Martha is a wonderful Mes Amis lady and it's her birthday today!loads and loads of love from everybody in Beckington! xxx

well, tomorrow we've got some salmon and potato cakes with a fresh salad! also some tart gooseberry meringue pies!

good morning!

Well, sorry it's been a while! It's been hectic (in a good way!) at Mes Amis these last few days, we were preparing for a beautiful wedding on Saturday in Freshford, it all went really well and the bride looked beautiful and the sun stayed shining!
On the menu today is a smoked duck and nectarine salad with a tangy mango and cumin sauce. Or there's a pear, parma ham, blue cheese and walnut focaccia which is delicious with a range of our salads!
We've also got a new coffee grinder which is exciting!

Well, this week has gone so fast! We are gearing up for a big party on Saturday and it requires all hands on deck and loads of preparation, very exciting so far!

On the menu tomorrow is a delicious pea and ham soup, goats cheese and roasted pepper tarts and sweet potato roasted with cumin then tossed with olive oil and puy lentils.

For dessert some chocolate amaretti pots and some lovely fresh fruit!

Friday fun...

Well, the awful weather has led people to shelter in Mes Amis for cakes and coffee all day today which has been lovely.  As well as our lovely regulars we've had some new customers in today, and we just wanted to say congratulations to the couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversary this weekend in Bath and taking a wrong turn on the way ended up having lunch in Mes Amis! Have a lovely weekend!
 Despite the rain we've been preparing hampers for picnics all day- Iford Arts are having their music season where people can sit in the beautiful gardens and watch exciting and accomplished musicians into the evening (whilst eating a Mes Amis picnic of course!) it's the third year we've been involved and it's always great fun creating the menus and dishes!
Market day tomorrow and lots more outside events happening too! Tomorrow's main course is a salmon salad with a zesty olive salsa. There's also a really interesting fennel and chicken broth with a chilli kick!
Also, last but not least we thought we'd mention the amazing jam made by a local lady called 'Ruth'; we sell it at the deli and her jams and chutneys manage to be both traditional and innovative at the same time, quite a feat! heres a link to a review of her jams...http://www.farmshopper.net/features/
See you Monday!

hello!
Today we have a tasty pea and ham soup, tender marinated beef from our local butchers in Trowbridge and some frangipani and nectarine tarts!

Market day

Always exciting on a saturday! We get to see what's great at the market and get stacks of fruit and veg in the kitchen! we're going to take some photos next week as we're always completely gobsmacked and inspired by how beautiful the delivery looks! mountains of glossy aubergines next to terracotta coloured sweet potatoes, pale green fennel and dark purple beetroot, amazing! Hopefully they'll be some tart gooseberries this week too! We've also had a wild strawberry and mint delivery from the lovely lady chef from up the road,so thanks very much for that!

What a busy day! Lunch was brilliant today, really buzzing. Tomorrow we've got slow cooked lamb tagine with dates and apricots or stuffed chicken breasts, yum! It's raining so we're sunnying things up with moroccan ingredients! soup is a rich mushroom or sweet coconut and carrot!

Sunny Tuesday

Hello!
The weather's a bit beautiful today so we'll have loads of lovely salads to celebrate. We had some really tasty smoked chicken delivered this morning and some white nancy goats cheese too. There were some good avocados at the market on Saturday so the window will be full of delights today!

chocolates...

Hello! well, the carrot curry went down a storm and sold out really fast! today we had some beautiful pan-fried chicken breasts with fresh basil pesto and salads and our lovely beef was delivered, so that's marinading and tomorrow the main course is chinese spiced rib of beef, roasted till rare then sliced to carpaccio thin-ness, yum!
We also had a BRILLIANT chocolate tasting tonight (thank-you ms. chocolatier) where we learnt lots about different chocolates,their cocoa percentages, taste receptors and interesting things about brands! We buy most of our chocolates from House of Sarunds which have really good quality chocs and have been going for 25 years!

Veggie lunch!

Today's lunch is inspired by the genius chef Madhur Jaffrey and is a very mild carrot and coconut curry, with a spicy chargrilled chilli and chickpea warm salad, wild rice and raita.
We've also made a classic beef lasagne with bolognaise which simmered for eight hours and a creamy bechamel sauce! This dish goes really well served with our broad bean salad.
We've also got our Jules China delivery and now the shop is stocked with her beautiful heart dishes, each colour batch is unique and no two bowls are the same!

Good news travels far!

Well, Mes Amis has gone international! We had some lovely visitors the other day to whom we had been recommended in....Romania! We were very excited. They were helping out in an orphanage and got chatting to one of the organisers who told them to visit on their return to England, and they did! Fantastic!They shared a pot of tea and tried some of our cakes, we thought we'd pop a link onto the orphanage site so that you can have a look...Robin Hood Ministries and see all the good work they do! Also here is a pic of some teapots-just for fun!
Had an amazing Monday lunch today, really busy. Also ordered some really tasty british beef to arrive tomorrow which we'll marinade in soy sauce and chinese spices then roast till rare and slice wafer thin to serve with balsamic shallots and mushrooms, it's a real favourite!

Monday

Good morning! After a busy weekend we'll be getting ready for the week ahead today!Iford Manor begins its opera season this week so we'll be busy cooking and packing hampers! Here's hoping for the sunshine!

Friday's menu and Float to the Coast...

Hello! Well, tonight the Float to the Coast team get back into Beckington! Everyone's been following their travels and wishing them luck and good weather! Have a look at their brilliant website.

Here at Mes Amis we are getting ready for the return party tonight and also for a big outside birthday event tomorrow, however we've still been cooking up some delights for the shop! There's a lemony broad bean salad with loads of mint through it, some brie, mango and ginger tarts and some really tasty olive bread!

Thursday lunch...

good morning! on the menu today there's a lovely roasted red pepper lasagne and a light pea and basil soup to celebrate the sunshine! also a great chickpea,chilli and coriander salad to eat in the park!

Hello!

We've got some beautiful things planned for the menu tomorrow! Smoked chicken and butterbean soup, stuffed chicken breasts with a roast garlic and tomato sauce, avocado and mozzarella salad and some really tasty goats cheese tarts!We've also got some lovely somerset blue cheese coming in which we're excited about in the kitchen! Cake wise there's a rasberry and dark chocolate roulade with fresh cream and a three tier hummingbird cake!

Saturday lunch...

Hello! Well, market day again today, we can't believe how quickly the week goes at Mes Amis! On the menu tomorrow we've got some beautiful stuffed chicken breasts with cous cous, basil and lemon wrapped in parma ham and roasted in a little white wine. Speaking of wine...tonight we had a very exciting wine tasting for all of the staff where we tried some of our new range of delights! We've got everything from an easy drinking wine like a French Pinard to a classic favourite like Sancerre. All of our wines are hand picked by our resident wine expert and are mainly from small vineyards which he enjoyes visiting! (We are trying to persuade him to take us on a staff trip...) That's the real difference actually, the friendships that exist between the growers and the owners of Mes Amis means that we get really interesting wines from people that we know and trust. We're looking forward to chatting with the lovely people of Beckington about our new range and finding everyones favourites! Anyway, enjoy the bank holiday and see you on Tuesday!

Sunny tuesday

Good morning!

After a lovely weekend and a busy monday we've got some treats on the menu today! For a main course we have a chicken and chorizo cassoulet with mushrooms and butter beans, we've also got a tasty sausage plait with balsamic onion and apples with sage from he back garden. The soup today is a spicy yet creamy sweet potato and carrot and some lovely frangipane and rasberry jam tarts! on the subject of jam i'd like to welcome the amazing strawberry and rose jam back to the shelves with the return of decent strawberries to the market, hurrah!

Had a great day today! Saturday is market day at Mes Amis so we'll get lots of beautiful local vegetables to make lovely dishes with tomorrow, can't wait! We've also got a beautiful goats cheese and roasted red pepper fritatta and some tasty courgette and feta tarts...

Mes Amis also specialises in beautiful things for your home, innovative gifts and classic items, here's an example!

 the 'button jug'

some gorgeous 'avoca' soaps

and a classic candelabra!

Friday lunch and lovely things to take away for your dinner!

Hello! today was a great day to be in the kitchen preparing the menu for tomorrow! We've got sweet potato falafel with babaganoush,tzatziki and pitta bread,we've got pan-fried duck breast with french beans and tangy orange chicory,we've got some barkham blue cheese and mushroom tarts with tarragon and some beautiful cakes for dessert!

We've got two beautiful soups on the menu today; Italian tomato and ham or wild mushroom - including porcini and shitake mushrooms!

Menu for today

We had some lovely fennel from the market this week so our main course today is pork tenderloin on a bed of fennel with a white wine sauce. We also have some fennel and smoked salmon tarts!

Our lovely photos

The beautiful photos up here were taken by a Mr Kevin Mitchell who is based in Frome. we'll get a link to his page sorted!

What a weekend!

Hello! well, we had a great Friday and Saturday at Mes Amis, really busy and with some exciting outside catering - menus included salmon tartare with avocado and lime and chilli salsa, scallops wrapped in parma ham, wood pigeon breast glazed with cassis,tenderloin of pork with a cider cream sauce and saffron dressed greens! the desserts were classic creme brulee with some beautiful lavender shortbreads and a chocolate and amaretto terrine. In house was lots of fun too, with some lovely visits from regular customers and first time visitors too!
Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Some treats...

The lovely lemon and almond cake

and a delicious orange and polenta!

Hello! This is an example of one of our lovely salads...

Wednesday

Mes amis had a fabulous lunch service today - really buzzing . local grown asparagus and smoked salmon tarts flew off the counter in half an hour.

Welcome!

This is a new blog for the lovely deli 'Mes Amis' in a little village called Beckington in the South West of England. We open at 9 a.m. Monday to Saturday and close at 5p.m.
We start the day with coffee,freshly baked bread and pastries, have a beautiful range of salads, tarts, foccacia and daily main courses for lunch, then you can come and pick up dinner to take home! Whether it's just for yourself, a dinner party with friends or a large party we can help, call us on 01373830723 for a chat.
We'll be posting loads of lovely photos, ideas, menus and recipes on here so keep looking!