01-16-2008, 07:18 PM
Award-winning Indian food producer Mignon Johnson is moving her Moorkhana range of meals into specialist delicatessens across the Westcountry.
Moorkhana, which is run from Mignon’s home near Wiveliscombe, on the edge of Exmoor, has been a regular feature in recent years of farmers’ markets in Exeter, Taunton, Wellington, Cotford St Luke, Glastonbury, Crewkerne, and Minehead.
But now demand for the home-cooked Indian meals has grown so much that the only way to keep up is to make them available through selected retail outlets.
Moorkhana, which is a trading name of the well-established business The Saffron Kitchen, is also available through the online specialist food service Somerset Local Food Direct.
Mignon, who is an Indian national, uses authentic recipes handed down through generations of her family, and she spends a great deal of time personally sourcing all of her fresh natural ingredients from local producers in the Westcountry.
She is passionate about dispelling the myths associated with Indian food in the UK and often gives cooking master classes to teach local people how to prepare and enjoy meals just as they would be in the sub-continent.
Mignon said: “Farmers’ markets have worked brilliantly for us and we have built up a large following of people who regularly come to see us whenever we are at one.
“But more and more we are finding people want to be able to buy our food at a time and place to suit themselves, so we have been carefully looking at local delicatessens and putting our dishes into those which offer good quality foods and maintain the highest standards for customers.
“And by also using Somerset Local Food Direct it means people can place an order and pay for our food with the click of a mouse and have it delivered straight to their doorstep.â€
One of the first delicatessens to stock the Moorkhana range is Taste of the West 2007 Gold Award-winning Roots, in Bath Place, Taunton.
Roots was founded 18 months ago by Lisa and Vanessa Snowdon-Carr, who pride themselves in promoting ‘local and fairly produced foods’ to help protect the environment and put money back into the local economy.
Another is The Larder, in West Street, Wiveliscombe, which is run by Malcolm and Annette Borthwick, who took over the store two-and-a-half years ago after moving from Shepperton, Middlesex, where Mr Borthwick ran – an air conditioning company.
Last year, a pork vindalho by Mignon won a UKTV Food competition celebrating home cooking when she appeared on television with celebrity chefs Antony Worrall-Thompson and Paul Rankin. Mignon was also a finalist in an HSBC-sponsored national search for a new generation of business stars. source Food4Media
Moorkhana, which is run from Mignon’s home near Wiveliscombe, on the edge of Exmoor, has been a regular feature in recent years of farmers’ markets in Exeter, Taunton, Wellington, Cotford St Luke, Glastonbury, Crewkerne, and Minehead.
But now demand for the home-cooked Indian meals has grown so much that the only way to keep up is to make them available through selected retail outlets.
Moorkhana, which is a trading name of the well-established business The Saffron Kitchen, is also available through the online specialist food service Somerset Local Food Direct.
Mignon, who is an Indian national, uses authentic recipes handed down through generations of her family, and she spends a great deal of time personally sourcing all of her fresh natural ingredients from local producers in the Westcountry.
She is passionate about dispelling the myths associated with Indian food in the UK and often gives cooking master classes to teach local people how to prepare and enjoy meals just as they would be in the sub-continent.
Mignon said: “Farmers’ markets have worked brilliantly for us and we have built up a large following of people who regularly come to see us whenever we are at one.
“But more and more we are finding people want to be able to buy our food at a time and place to suit themselves, so we have been carefully looking at local delicatessens and putting our dishes into those which offer good quality foods and maintain the highest standards for customers.
“And by also using Somerset Local Food Direct it means people can place an order and pay for our food with the click of a mouse and have it delivered straight to their doorstep.â€
One of the first delicatessens to stock the Moorkhana range is Taste of the West 2007 Gold Award-winning Roots, in Bath Place, Taunton.
Roots was founded 18 months ago by Lisa and Vanessa Snowdon-Carr, who pride themselves in promoting ‘local and fairly produced foods’ to help protect the environment and put money back into the local economy.
Another is The Larder, in West Street, Wiveliscombe, which is run by Malcolm and Annette Borthwick, who took over the store two-and-a-half years ago after moving from Shepperton, Middlesex, where Mr Borthwick ran – an air conditioning company.
Last year, a pork vindalho by Mignon won a UKTV Food competition celebrating home cooking when she appeared on television with celebrity chefs Antony Worrall-Thompson and Paul Rankin. Mignon was also a finalist in an HSBC-sponsored national search for a new generation of business stars. source Food4Media