What On Earth and Barclays Bank go Back to Business

Last week we at What On Earth were very privileged to have two of the biggest names at Barclays Bank working with us for the day. Not only did it give us an excuse to dress up all smart, the day also gave us the opportunity to show the gentlemen around our premises, give them an insight into the daily goings on at What On Earth and also pick their business focused brains.  We tried to get them to give us some pocket money for penny sweets too but sadly we couldn't get any money out of them ;-)

We were joined by Chris Head and Peter Simon – two of Barclays’ big bosses. They spent the day working with us in aid of the bank’s ‘Back to Business’ scheme, which gives bankers the opportunity to spend time working for their customers. This experience allows Barclays to gain insight into their customers’ worlds and gives them a clearer understanding of how they can support their customers. The scheme followed the creation of Barclays Business, which launched in early 2010. The bank had a vision to become the ‘Go-To’ business bank by collectively and continuously making its customers’ lives easier. They decided that this meant they needed to get into the minds and lives of the customers; they needed to think boldly and be unique so that their customers wouldn’t want to go elsewhere, hence the invention of Back to Business.

What On Earth was chosen as a business to work with because it offers a completely different environment to what both Chris and Peter are used to. We’d also like to think that they chose us because we are prize customers!  What On Earth were able to provide Chris and Peter with a whole new working experience – the complete opposite of their usual day to day office based roles. One of their most exciting tasks was to get into the kitchen and make some of our renowned organic pizzas. Sadly we didn’t get to taste the fruits of their labour but they seemed to be doing a pretty good job and they certainly looked the part…they were set up with hair nets, white coats and everything!

Chris and Peter hard at work

Chris, Peter and our head chef, Sergei

Not only could they see what it’s like to be a What On Earth chef they also got to check out our products, they joined us in the board room for various meetings and they even got treated to lunch at Villandry – one of our biggest customers. In return they offered us some sound advice and opinions.  We just need to put it all into action now!

We want to take this opportunity to thank Chris, Peter and of course Barclays as a whole for giving us a very useful, insightful and enjoyable day. THANKS GUYS.

Peace, love and Barclays Bank pizza.

What On Earth.

One month until Christmas - let the festivities begin

25^th November – one month until Christmas.  What is the best way to start the countdown and celebrate this date? By bringing Christmas forward of course, so that’s what we did.

On 25 November we thought we would get (and also give…because we all know Christmas is about giving as well as receiving!) an early taste of Christmas by making an appearance at Abel & Cole’s Festive Foodie Do.  We took along all our brand new Christmas desserts, which have been made especially for Abel Cole, set up camp on one of their tables and waited for the public to come through the doors and pounce on our tantalising treats.

The Festive Foodie Do is an annual event run by Abel & Cole that allows customers and the general public to mingle with the marvels that make Christmas food so tasty.  From cheese farmers and chocolate makers to salmon smokers and mince pie bakers, they all made an appearance at the show.  

We were also there – the delicious dessert crafters that we are.  Plus, it was a chance to show off our guardian.co.uk recommended Chocolate Yule Log, which received four stars by the well known food writer, Marina McLoughlin (see the blog post below for more information on this little baby).  It went down extremely well with the party dwellers, as did the rest of our festive cakes.  Well, with the likes of Raspberry and White Chocolate Macaroon, Fudge Brownie Cheesecake and Sherry Trifle on our table, why wouldn’t they be snapped up within seconds?

The whole evening was a great success and the more mulled wine that was swigged, the louder the laughter and the greater the hunger/enthusiasm for the food.  Not only that, there was also live cooking demonstrations and even a treasure hunt to amuse the punters.

The Foodie Do was held in the Grand Hall at Battersea Arts Centre, which is a great venue.  The festive decorations helped make the event and the jolly atmosphere was contagious.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all and we cannot wait for another fabulously foodie event to attend.  Come on Abel & Cole – get on to it now please.

Peace, love and festive pizza.

What On Earth

Yule not believe it...or maybe you will

Our Chocolate Yule Log is a joint winner of a yule log Christmas taste test carried out by The Guardian.  HURRAH!

Our delicious festive treat got awarded four stars by the well known food writer Marina McLoughlin.  She used lines such as “This looks great”, “It tastes like real cake!” and “the icing is gorgeously thick and buttery” to describe it.  The word excellent was also used so we are ecstatic.  Not only are we greatly appreciative and proud of this accolade, we are also extremely flattered.  We’re so happy that our cakes our being recognised and enjoyed.  I think we should say a great big THANK YOU to Marina for loving our product.

Our winning yule log in all its glory

The Chocolate Yule Log, which is being sold through Abel & Cole, beat other yule logs from the likes of Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Asda.  We are therefore thrilled to be able to compete against the big dogs...and ultimately win, on this occasion.  We came joint first with Waitrose too - another big dog in the food industry.

Our winning dessert can be purchased from www.abelandcole.co.uk  and is available from 12 December 2011.  Be quick though, these babies fly off the shelf every year so get your order in pronto. 

Peace, love and pizza (and four star desserts).

What On Earth

Quality Food Awards were, well, quality

Last night Jeremy wore a suit.

That content alone is enough for a single blog post I reckon! But I won’t just write that…I’ll give you a little more to chuckle at on this grey Friday – I’ll provide you with a photo too. Here is the evidence to prove that Jeremy Jaffe does in fact own (and can pull off) a suit. Fair enough, there was no bow tie but we can’t have everything, right?

You may be wondering why Jeremy was wearing this suit. Despite what you may think, it wasn’t just for fun. He put it on for a reason. We got all glammed up so we could attend the Quality Food Awards. This exciting event is seen as the most prestigious awards ceremony for the food and drink products on sale in UK grocery outlets. It was therefore a big deal and it seemed a good night was had by all.

There were lots of shortlisted products/companies in the awards (we didn’t enter – just so you know) but a lot of the winners were the main supermarkets. It was a constant battle between shops such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Lidl, therefore making the evening reminiscent of a ceremony such as the Soap Awards. The outfits were similar too – lots of elegant cocktail dresses mixed with some that left less to the imagination. I will say no more on that.

The awards were held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge and the room they took place in was laden with well dressed tables. Apparently there were around 750 guests at the event, which would mean there were around 75 tables. What table number were we?? Number one. Oh yes, we were at the head of the awards. We must be important after all.  At the table we were served four courses of delicious food (Jeremy had more because he ate the spare food that sat at the vacant seat at our table!) Shhh, don’t tell him I told you that though.

As well as enjoying delicious food and the buzzing atmosphere, Jeremy and I giggled at the special guests – Jay Rayner and Dominic Holland. Jay Rayner is a journalist, writer, food critic and broadcaster. Dominic is a comedian and author who you may have seen on shows such as Have I got News For You. Both of them livened the night and kept us amused…almost as much as Simon Wright’s white scarf did. Simon, if you’re reading this, sorry.

They weren’t the only famous people at the event though, oh no. I was the other. My name was in the Quality Food Awards Programme and Guest List because I was a judge on the panel a few months ago. I was pretty chuffed by that, especially as it said that the judges were experts. An expert, that’s me :-) You read it here.

Peace, love and awards ceremony pizza.

What On Earth

A slice of inspiration for your Christmas dinner leftovers

Cold turkey sandwiches, dry vegetable stew and tasteless Bubble and Squeak – the prospect of using the remnants of Christmas dinner in such predictable ways can provoke shudders and disapproving groans in everyone.  It did us anyway!  Year on year, bowlfuls of leftover food are either thrown away or turned into unappetising meals that go untouched. This not only adds to the high amount of food waste that occurs each year but also ups the seasonal expense and standard Christmas overspend that we all experience.

We are therefore declaring that this year can be different. Oh yes, we propose that you can keep food waste and overspend at a low by using up Christmas leftovers in a fun and innovative way – by making Christmas pizza of course!

Here's one our head chef, Sergei, made from other leftovers

You may turn your nose up at the idea but think about it – it’s not rare to see Christmas dinner leftovers stuffed between two slices of bread or added to a curry. If I remember rightly, this is the sort of food that used to be the basis of our Boxing Day lunch after all. But with so many more exciting Christmas food items around nowadays, people get bored of the leftovers and throw them away. We’ve therefore thought of a more ecological and economical way to enjoy the leftovers – why not bundle them on top of a pizza? The joy of pizza is that it’s a personal preference – you can opt for the toppings of your choice. You can now do the same with your favourite Christmas items. Rather than waste the food, you can use your leftover slices of turkey and sausage or the unfinished broccoli and salmon to create a homemade pizza of your choice.

Courtesy of piyato / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What’s more (yes, of course there is more!) you can use What On Earth’s Organic Pizza Bases and Organic Pizza Sauce, to make the process even easier. These products are available from a variety of outlets across the UK, including Whole Foods Market and online organic retailer, Abel & Cole.

So there you go then.  You know exactly what to do with all those leftovers now don't you?  If you do go ahead and make the Christmas leftover pizza (something we think you should do) please let us know how you got on.  We'd love to see some photos too.  Send them to laura@whatonearth.co.uk or even upload them on our Facebook page:
 
Peace, love and Christmas leftovers pizza.
 
What On Earth

Logistics Manager wanted at What On Earth

Do you want to join the friendly team here at What On Earth? Do you fancy getting involved in our fun and working in the organic food industry? Well, now you can. Why? Because we have a job vacancy and it could be perfect for you.

What On Earth is a fun-loving organic food manufacturer and supplier and we are currently seeking a confident and experienced Logistics Manager to come and work with us. We have two sites – one in London and one in Somerset – but this role will be based in London.

About the role:

We are looking for someone with plenty of experience driving in London and an excellent grasp of the highway code. The role involves:

• Overseeing the supply chain cycle and organising deliveries
• Overseeing stock takes, stock checks and internal stock audit
• Line managing 11 members of staff across a double shift operation

You will be in charge of:

• Monitoring and maintaining all logistics related KPIs
• Creating and monitoring department staff rotas; task lists; logs
• Department training and setting of benchmarks and standards for staff
• Departmental cost management
• Departmental waste management
• Management of Sage stock aspect

The role attracts a salary of £23K annually, negotiable after completing a three month probation period. It is offered on a full-time basis (40 hours a week) with two days off a week.

To be considered for this role ideally you will have a track record of working within leading warehouse operations. Other essential qualifications & knowledge we are looking for include:

• UK/EU driver’s licence and have the right to work in the UK
• Have at least 12 months' experience as logistics supervisor or similar or suitable experience
• Forklift licence – essential
• Experience in Sage50 will be an advantage
• Good leadership and problem solving skills

If you are interested in this role, please send your CV and covering letter to the HR Administrator, Marta on marta@whatonearth.co.uk.

What on Earth is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from everyone (as long as you hold the minimum experience/requirements).

This is where we have to apologise…. basically, due to the high volume of interest generated, we cannot reply to every application. If you have not heard from us within two weeks please consider your application as unsuccessful – SORRY!

Oh also – we do not deal with agencies so if you are from an agency, please do not contact us.

We look forward to hearing from you job seekers.

Thanks,

What On Earth

Terrifying tales to make your hair stand on end this Halloween

As it’s Halloween, we thought we’d get those spines tingling a little bit more by telling you some spooky stories.  These are only things we’ve heard so we can’t say for sure if they’re definitely true. BUT, people in the office know of these stories so there must be some truth in them, right??  Even those who aren’t English have heard of some of these scary tidbits so perhaps the stories are known around the world.  Wooooo, spooky (yes, that was our impression of a ghost!)

Courtesy of digitalart / freedigitalphotos.net

We’re London based so that’s where the following chilling chronicles are based.  If you’re in London, you may get more scared.  If you’re not in London - why not take a visit and see if they are true.

So, the first story is about the infamous Jack the Ripper.  Known across the world, Jack the Ripper is one of London’s most notorious, mysterious and wicked criminals.  However, it is also known that the identity of Jack the Ripper was never discovered.  History can point its finger at many people but unfortunately nobody will ever know who Jack the Ripper actually was.  This could be because he was imprisoned, left the country or even died.

One of the Jack the Ripper suspects actually killed himself by plunging into the River Thames on New Year’s Eve, 1888.  The ghost of this suspect can allegedly be seen even now.  Apparently, if people stand on Westminster Bridge on 31 December and look eastwards as midnight approaches, they may catch sight of the ghost of this suicide victim.  As Big Ben rings at midnight, the ghostly figure appears and leaps into the water below.

Courtesy of Laura Collins

Another chilling tale we have heard is about a phantom bus near Cambridge Gardens in North Kensington.  This bus is a number 7 double decker and is sometimes spotted in the early hours of the morning.  The story first came about in 1934 as it was written about in a book by J.A.Brooks called ‘Ghosts of London’.  Back then, a motorist swerved when driving along Cambridge Gardens – apparently for no reason.  Sadly the said motorist died when his car hit a wall and caught on fire.  When they carried out an inquest into the death, witnesses told of the so called phantom bus – many of whom claimed to have seen it around the area that the accident happened.  Apparently many of the witnesses said that it normally appeared around 1.15am, which is the time the accident occurred.  The driver of the phantom bus was never visible and there were no lights on the bus, but witnesses told how they were terrified when it raced along the centre of the road towards them.
 

Courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net

The witnesses that came forward had experienced the phantom bus, explaining that they were convinced it was going to collide with them.  They swerved out of the way of it when driving, only to find out that the bus had vanished out of sight straight afterwards.

Arrrggghh!!  Scary huh??  Who knows if these stories are true but if we find ourselves near Westminster Bridge on New Year’s Eve we may well be able to tell you! 

Enjoy your Halloween evening.

Peace, love and spooky Halloween pizza.

What On Earth