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www.celtic-connection.com
JUNE 2009
Sherlock's: What's on the pallet? The plot thickens dear Watson'
BEHIND the counter at the Yorkshire Tea Shoppe: (L-R) Peggy Hendricks, Thomas Messent, owner Claire Turner and Gerard Overvoorde.
B.C. history and high tea in Ft. Langley
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
FORT LANGLEY - The Yorkshire Tea Shoppe opened their doors just over a year ago on Glover Road in the downtown area of historic Fort Langley. It has already gained a reputation as the place to go for an authentic English high tea. Owner, Claire Turner is originally from Hull, Yorkshire, England.
Mother's Day was a beautiful sunny Sunday and Maura and I drove out to Fort Langley to enjoy the special Mother's Day Strawberry High Tea at the Yorkshire Tea Shoppe.
When we arrived the establishment was a hive of activity both inside and outside on the patio area. The cosy tea room can seat 34 and the patio 16, so reservations are required for weekends and special events.
When the three tier platters of home baked scones, fresh strawberries, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, sausage rolls and pastries arrived at our table, we were spoiled for choice and later a pot of freshly made Yorkshire tea was just the right finish to a most delicious high tea.
I later spoke with Claire Turner about the Yorkshire Tea Shoppe and future plans.
"Ever since I was a little girl in England, I've wanted a tea shoppe with books in it," said Claire. "Actually, I wanted a pub with a tea shoppe attached and if the right location presents itself, that's what I would eventually like to open because I feel that concept would go really well here.
"Really with the high tea, it hasn't taken us very long to become established. I pride myself on the fact that it's British. It's got all the British pastries on it and things like that.
"We also serve sandwiches and two items that are very popular are our roast chicken sandwich with homemade stuffing and a roast beef sandwich with red onion and horseradish sauce, which I have named after my dad."
"We also have the bakewell tarts, sticky toffee pudding, victoria
sponge, English trifle and butterfly cakes. These items may not all be on the menu each day, since I bake different ones each day.
"Our cream tea is also very popular and consists of a pot of Yorkshire tea, a scone, clotted cream andjam. It's very popular in the morning or as an afternoon tea.
"Up until now, I have been doing all the baking on my own but the shoppe is getting so busy I'm going to have to hire more help. But I don't want to get away from the home baking since that is what we have become known for."
Speaking about future plans for The Yorkshire Tea Shoppe, Claire said, "I'm in the process of applying for my liquor license and plan to serve British beers, red and white wine, and specialty coffees."
On Father's Day, June 21, Claire will be serving a traditional English breakfast with black pudding, real British sausage and bacon, fried tomatoes and mushrooms. Reservations will definitely be required.
After you have finished your high tea at The Yorkshire Tea Shoppe, you may consider taking a walk around the historic village of Fort Langley, which is what Maura and I did. It's a wonderful way to spend a leisurely afternoon.
Fort Langley has a charming frontier small town feel, which dates back to its roots well before Vancouver and Victoria were built. In the 1830s the Fraser River was the highway and Fort Langley was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post and the only European settlement for miles.
The downtown core has an abundance of small specialty boutiques, antique shops, and art galleries. You can also visit the Fort Langley National Historic Site and explore the actual site where British Columbia became a colony.
The Yorkshire Tea Shoppe is located at 4-9110 Glover Road, Fort Langley, B.C. For reservations or more information, call (604) 513-9876 or visit: www.yorkshireteashoppe.com.
By
CATHOLINE BUTLER
NEW WESTMINSTER, BC -Andy Bradshaw is the owner of Sherlock's British Sweets, Groceries & Soccer shop, a beautiful old heritage building located on busy Columbia Street with steady sidewalk traffic.
Originally from Fulham, England and a huge Chelsea supporter, Bradshaw is a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and the name Sherlock's originated with an antique store that he owned on Front Street in New Westminster. He kept the name when he moved to his new location but is no longer in the antique business.
Always welcoming and with a ready smile, Andy is an instinctive businessman, always planning and keeping his eye on the market. You won't find him with his head in the clouds even though he worked in the airline industry for many years.
The day I visited the shop, Andy was busy unpacking huge pallets of UK groceries and sweets, lucozade drinks and a new tea from Wales called Glengettie. There was also a mountain of boxes of potato crisps that he told me literally fly off the shelves.
Andy Bradshaw will have a large tent at the B.C. Highland Games in Coquitlam on June 27, and he said that several of the pallets of UK products that he had just received would be going to the Games.
One of the heavy dark plastic covered pallets from the UK is being kept under wraps and a surprise for
the games.....as Sherlock Holmes
would say, "the plot thickens my dear Watson." So, keep an eye out for Sherlock's at the Games to find out what's in the pallet.
The first thing that you notice as you enter Sherlock's is the football/
EXTERIOR AND PATIO of Sherlock's British Sweets, Groceries and Soccer.
soccer merchandise - racks of jerseys for all the premier teams, keychains, umbrellas with the team logos, right down to dog dishes with team logos.
All of this is not too surprising since Bradshaw is the wholesale agent across Canada for the crested products.
Sherlock's is a huge shop with 4,500 square feet and the same amount of storage space upstairs. The store has 40 individual showcases around the perimeter of the shop, which belong to individual dealers who rent space from Bradshaw.
The showcases feature everything from beautiful antique jewellery to Dinky Toys. This concept has worked well for Andy and as a result he has more time to concentrate on the British product side of his business.
At the back of the store there is a little deli, where you can purchase sausage rolls, meat pies, British bacon and pastries.
There are also a few tables where you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, a sausage roll, or a meat pie, and a pastry in the store or outside on the patio.
Sherlock's also offers a great variety of UK chocolate bars and individual chocolates, as well as a diabetic sweet section, andbigjars of sweets from England.
ANDY BRADSHAW standing beside a mountain of crisps just arrived from the U.K. and destined forthe annual BC Highland Games.
Give yourself some time to peruse all the showcases and numerous British products when you visit. This is a very unique shop and there are gift items there that you won't find anywhere else.
Sherlock's is located at 659 Columbia Street in New Westminster, B.C. For more information, call (604) 529-1999 or visit: www.britfood.ca.
Gordon Ramsay sells Ferrari to fight credit crunch
LONDON - British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has sold his beloved Ferrari to shore up his restaurant empire. The fiery television chef revealed how his business was threatened with ruin as debts to the taxman soared past £7 million.
In his own Kitchen Nightmare his accountants wanted him to give up control of his firm so they could sell off parts of the business -but Ramsay refused.
Recalling how KPMG gave him the bad news, he said, "It was the worse b*****king ever. They told me I was f*****. It's been an absolute s*** fight. We were told to go into administration. Tana (his wife) and I discussed selling our house."
The dad-of-four, who runs Gordon Ramsay Holdings with his father-in-law, said they kept afloat by spending £5million of their own cash. He added, "There was no way I was going to go under like Tom Aikens or Antony Worrall Thompson. I couldn't let down my staff and suppliers."
In an effort to raise more funds he even sold his sports car. "God, I loved
thatFerrari," he said. BRITISH celebrity chef Gordon
Ramsay (42) told The Sunday Times, "We have got rid of our losses. Ramsay fighting to Save his We've got strong trading. Stop now? No way. The best is yet to come." empire from the taxman.