We’re now quicker to respond than ever before

We may be slow on occasions but we still like to keep up with the times. We like to be down with the ‘kids’; we like to be hip to the hop. Mmm, ok so maybe the street talk doesn’t suit us but we feel being modern does. That’s why we’ve decided to embrace technology and enter the world of QR codes. We’ve magically plucked our very own QR code straight out of the technological air and we’re going to put it on all our retail products. That includes our organic pizzas, cheesecakes, berry pouches and ambient goods.

For those who are unsure as to what a QR code, here’s a short lowdown. QR stands for Quick Response. A QR code is a 2 dimensional bar code used to transfer information through mobile phone barcode readers. Those with a smart phone can scan the code to access company information. I’ll even give you a little history now – QR codes were created in Japan by Tokyo-based Toyota. Yep, that is the car company, although to be precise the codes were created by a subsidiary of Toyota. The technology was originally created to identify car engines. Right, that’s the lesson over now.

Stacks of our QR codes printed and ready to go

If you guys scan our QR code you’ll be taken to our website where you can find out more about us and our products. You can also read our blog and find out where our shops are. You’ll even be able to read this blog post about QR codes when you’ve scanned the QR code that we’re talking about in this blog. Ha! You follow?

We feel that in an age where packaging should be kept to a minimum, QR codes are perfect for providing lots of detail in a tiny amount of space. Our pizza boxes already contain fun information about us but the QR codes will just allow you to find out that little bit extra. We have become a lot more active in the social media world over the past few months so trying out the QR codes seems a natural progression in terms of our now technological minds.

Our QR code. When scanned this will take people to our website

What’s more it seems we’re a little ahead of the game in our mission to add QR codes to our products. A large article was published in Food Manufacture magazine on the benefits of QR codes – after we’d got our codes printed. The piece also predicted that more and more food producers and supermarkets will use QR code labels. Well I never, maybe we’re more ahead of the times than we first thought!

Keep your eyes peeled for our newly coded packaging and please do give the codes a scan when you see them. We’d love to know where and when you see them so do let us know via Facebook or Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Peace, love and QR coded pizza,

What On Earth

It's like Piccadilly Circus down there...oh yeah, that's because it is

As a proud supplier of Whole Foods market we were lucky enough to have a sneak preview of their brand new store that opens in Piccadilly tomorrow. We were even allowed to lunch on some of the delicious food that will be on offer in the store. It was amazing and we were like children in a sweet shop. We wanted to sample everything but we were restrained in what we picked. Well, most of us were anyway. Jeremy and I got a regular sized plate of food each. Rolf got two plates… No surprise there then. He’ll take anything that’s going that one!

Based in the heart of Piccadilly, the new Whole Foods Market is in a prime location and is housed in a large building on its own pedestrianised area. It looks very grand and is bound to be popular with tourists and city workers alike, as well as London residents who may be taking a stroll in the area after shopping on nearby Regent Street and Carnaby Street. It’s ideal. If I worked near there I’d be in every day. And I tell you what, I wouldn’t only just buy What On Earth food either!

Talking of which, the What On Earth food that will be in store will include both retail products and ingredients. Obviously you won’t get to see the ingredients as such (y’know, because they’re in things!) but you will see our lovely retail items on the shelves. Keep your eyes peeled for our organic pizzas, organic cheesecakes and our organic ambient items. This is what they look like, just in case you’d forgotten.

As well as branded food products, the store also has fresh self-service food bars, smoothie and coffee bars, home wares and even a macaroon tower. It’s great! They have included lots of places to sit as well, so customers like you can enjoy your food inside the store rather than take it away. But you can take it away too, y’know if you want to. They don’t make you stay inside.

 

The store opens tomorrow – Tuesday 22 May. But, if you are unable to make it down there and can’t wait any longer to see what the place looks like then check out the following photos. They’re our way of giving you a sneak preview of our sneak preview. Clever huh?

So there we have it. That was your sneak preview of our sneak preview. The place is looking pretty good huh? If you like what you see you should certainly get down to Piccadilly Circus as soon as you can so you can see the new store in all its glory.

I’ll see you down there!

Peace, love and brand new Whole Foods Market Piccadilly Circus pizza.

What On Earth



What On Earth needs you - and not just one of you but two of you

We’re growing and we need your help to do so successfully.  In fact, we’re expanding so much that we have not only one but two new job vacancies.  Check us out!

We are seeking two confident and experienced members of kitchen staff – one for a kitchen team member role and the other for a kitchen team supervisor role.  If you’re passionate about producing excellent organic food products and are interested in joining our fun loving team please get in touch.  You can send your CV and covering letter to Tara - tara@whatonearth.co.uk

Kitchen team member – day, evening and night shift

Responsibilities:

• Food preparation and manufacture of products in accordance with general and product HACCP, SALSA food safety practices and health and safety rules and regulations
• Ensure work stations are clean and hygienic at all times
• Adhere to personal hygiene policy
• Ensure all waste is disposed correctly and put in appropriate recycling bins provided
• Adhere to company quality control system and conduct testing prior to release of product
• Ensure appropriate “use by” and “best before” date label is attached to each product according to specification
• Ensure that if applied in the kitchen, an appropriate shelf life date is used
• Produce food up to company spec, ongoing quality control and informing/reacting to any changes to raw ingredients that might affect quality and change of recipes
• Strictly follow deadline for the daily production as specifies by Supervisor/ Manager
• Follow the recipe and method stated on the production card

Kitchen team supervisor – night shift

Responsibilities:

• Supervise food preparation and manufacturing of products in accordance with general and product HACCP, food safety practices and health and safety rules and regulations
• Ensure all staff adheres to personal hygiene policy
• Perform HACCP checks on a daily basis and keeping correct record of such checks
• Ensure all waste is disposed correctly and put in appropriate recycling bins provided
• Adhere to company quality control system and conduct testing prior to release of product
• Ensure appropriate “use by” and “best before” date label is attached to each product according to specification
• Informally train staff on: equipment use, recipes, process notes, basic hygiene rules, all other aspects of production; record such training and keep record of it
• Check the stock levels (weekly) of granola and muesli, reporting shortages to Production Manager
• Ensure all ingredients and WIP is stored appropriately, labelled and rotated
• Ensure that if applied in the kitchen, an appropriateshelf life date is used
• Produce food up to company spec, ongoing quality control and informing production manager of any changes to raw ingredients that might affect quality and change of recipes
• HACCP and QC records keeping
• Ensure all orders are completed, ensure stock checks are made and recorded
• Ensure FIFO system is well maintained and carrying out QA checks

Who we are looking for:

• Quality experience working in busy catering industry-preferred experience of food manufacturing industry
• Good knowledge of industry standards (HACCP) & CIEH Food safety level 3

If you have the necessary experience/qualifications and are interested in either of the roles please apply by sending your CV and covering letter to tara@whatonearth.co.uk for immediate consideration.

What on Earth Ltd is an equal opportunities employer.  Due to the high number of responses we receive, if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks please consider your application as unsuccessful.  Sorry about that guys.  We do try our best but Tara is a busy woman!

We look forward to receiving those applications.  Good luck.

Peace, love and lots of new job pizza,

What On Earth

A weekend with Anissa...and Action Man!

After all that talk of going to the beach last week I’m sad to say I never actually got there. *sob sob*  BUT all is not lost because I still managed to have an amazing weekend with Action Man.  Instead of going to the beach we decided to stay in London and explore the city streets.  We went via Camden Town and Notting Hill and of course took advantage of the sunshine.

At 8am we got a train to Camden Town.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in a subway station, not even at Oxford Circus.  The market, people, houses, everything was beautiful.  My first job was to visit Western Union, which is where Action Man got up to a few tricks.

Next stop was Camden Market.  We looked around the shops and had the chance to eat pancakes and churros, as well as show Action Man the sights.  The French would be jealous!  What can I say about Camden?  It’s really multicultural and the place is a real mix of different cultures and tastes.  There are many restaurants and so many different types of food.  Waitresses at the Chinese eateries and stalls kept trying to grab us by the arm to smuggle us in their restaurant.  After a day of shopping we went for food and then had a walk along the Thames.  We didn’t get home until past 9pm.

On Sunday we went to Buckingham Palace – Queen Elizabeth II here we come!  My aim of the day was to take photos of the Queen’s guards but I wasn’t allowed to approach them.  *More sobbing*…although Action Man comforted me!  I found this place wonderful; beautiful; amazing.  In fact I can’t really find the words to express my thoughts.  Being at Buckingham Palace confirmed that I was in London – it’s such an icon of the city.  There were a lot of people there who were from all over the world, and all of them wanted to see the Queen.

As well as the Palace we visited the parks that surround it, and these were something I really enjoyed.  It was really great to have natural parks in the city centre, especially which have lots of animals and pretty landscapes.

After Buckingham Palace we headed to Westminster Abbey.  We wanted to see it because this is where William and Kate were married. And It was so great ! I’m sure this is where I’m going to marry Prince Harry.  Yes, dreaming is allowed   In the same time of course we saw Big Ben. I was a little disappointed because I imagined it to be slightly more impressive but maybe that’s because foreign people really idealise it.  We also went to the Hardrock Café and it was here that I saluted our friend Jimi Hendrix. The only Hardrock Café we have in France is in Paris, but I never see it because I live in Toulouse.

In summary it was a very good weekend full of memories and lots of pictures.  At first I was afraid to come to London but now I can tell you that I fell in love with this city.  It’s so alive and so beautiful.  It’s great!  I’d love to work here or live here later in life, but only the future will tell where I’ll end up.

Peace, love and lovely London pizza,

Anissa, Action Man and What On Earth

 

Eggs, asparagus, stories and limericks…and a competition

Every day seems to be dedicated to some cause or another, most of which you have probably never heard of.  For example yesterday (8 May) was apparently “Have a Coke Day” and 7 May was ‘National Roast Leg of Lamb Day’ – obviously.  Why on earth these days exist and who created them I’ll never know, but at least they provide amusement and events the world over.
Not only is it the days that are devoted to causes, though.  There are also months and weeks and possibly even years that have some special dedication.  This month alone is apparently one of six things.  These are:

• Local and Community History Month
• National Egg Monthy
• National Salad Month
• National Chocolate Custard Month
• National Asparagus Month
• National Share a Story Month

Also this week is National Herb Week and next week is National Doughnut Week AND National Sandwich Week.

Now, I can’t imagine that anybody really knows how to celebrate these so called special dates, and even if there should be any celebrations at all.  But we at What On Earth are saying that there should be a celebration occurring.  Please feel free to delve into as much salad, chocolate custard and asparagus as you want all month long – within reason of course.  We don’t want to be held responsible for any problems eating these foods could cause!

There are two dates in particular that we’d like you to celebrate with us.  These are:

1)  National Share a Story Month

and

2)  Limerick Day (12 May 2012)

We want you to do one of two things (or do both if you fancy it).  Firstly we’d love to hear your stories so please do email/tweet/Facebook us with some funny stories.  These can be related to anything you want – as long as they make us laugh.  They shouldn’t be any longer than 200 words.

Secondly, we want you to write a limerick about What On Earth to celebrate Limerick Day on 12 May.  Again you can do it anyway you want but perhaps don’t make it too long!

The people who enter the funniest story and limerick will win some What On Earth goodies.
Get those creative hats on boys and girls.  We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Send the stories to laura@whatonearth.co.uk, tweet them to @whatonearthfood or add them to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/WhatOnEarthOrganicFood.  You can even comment on this blog with them if you fancy it.

Peace, love and creative pizza.

What On Earth

I ate a durian...oh no I didn't, I ate a cempedak

One of our ‘fans’…we like to call you all fans because it makes us feel more special…commented on one of my recent blog posts.  They didn’t comment on it in a negative way.  In fact, the post actually captured their attention and interest.  But, they did point out an error of mine.  That’s right; I’m not as perfect as you may all think ;)

 

The error came in the form of a fruit that I spotted and tasted in Borneo.  There’s me thinking that I’d tried one fruit when in fact, as it turns out, I actually tried another.

So, that durian fruit I went on and on about – the horrible fruit with the smell and taste I really hated and that regrettably stayed with me for a few hours – wasn’t actually a durian fruit.  I thought it was!  It certainly looked like one on the outside but apparently the fleshy fruit on the inside actually proved it to be a cempedak.  “A what?” I hear you say.  A cempedak.  I’d never heard of it either but when I looked it up sure enough it is actually a fruit.  So, I’m now going to give you a little education on what the cempedak is.  Concentrate now.

The cempedak (pronounced chem-pe-dak) is a sausage-shaped fruit that ranges from 22 to 50cm in length and 10-17 cm across.  It is smaller than the jack fruit and is actually seen as an uglier version.  It is green in colour but turns slightly yellow as it ripens.

The fruit has a thin, leathery skin which is patterned with hexaons and either flat or raised protuberances.  Below the skin is a husk which is filled with a bright yellow, orange or green edible pulp which covers large brown seeds.  The flesh is soft, sweet and has a strong aroma – so you can see why I thought it was a durian fruit.  It also has a hint of durian flavour so, in my defence, you can see why I got the two confused.

The cempedak is also known as a chempedak or, more scientifically, artocarpus champeden.  It is native to southeast Asia, occurring from Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula to the island of New Guinea.   It is a very popular fruit in these native areas and there are many varieties, although few are named.

The photo I took is not of a durian.  It is a cempedak.

A durian looks like this:

Courtesy of wiangya / freedigitalphotos.net

So there we have it.  A little lesson in durians and cempedaks.  Never will you be able to get confused again.  This also means that I’ve never actually tried a durian.  I have in fact tried a cempedak.  This is bad because I’ve always wanted to try durian and now that I know I haven’t I will make it my mission to find one.  I didn’t like cempedak at all so if durian tastes similar, which I think it does, I will have to go through another episode of trying a horrible fruit.  But I’m willing to do it for my own piece of mind.

If anybody knows where I can get durian fruit in England let me know for I will be there like a shot.  I think I need to hit all the Asian stores in London to see if I can find one.  Starting now…

Peace, love and cempedak (not durian) pizza.

What On Earth