13 Nov

Garden Centre Catering Awards 2023

Tipiak was delighted to sponsor the Afternoon Tea of the Year Award in the Garden Centre Catering Awards 2023.

Congratulations to St Peter’s Garden Centre near Worcester which took top slot for their afternoon tea.

Other winners were Thetford Garden Centre in Norfolk, which was named Independent Garden Centre Caterer of the Year, Bosworth Garden Centre Company in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, which was Group Garden Centre Caterer of the Year, and Tong Garden Centre Catering in Bradford, which was the winner of the Sustainability Award.

“All award competitions are interesting, but few are as enjoyable as this one, which has offered endless opportunities to spend sunny (and some rainy) days examining – and sampling – the truly imaginative fare that is now the hallmark of so many garden centres,” said Val Hirst, editor of Garden Centre Catering magazine.

“With entries arriving from every size of centre, including the larger chains and the more modestly sized independents and from companies with multiple outlets to those with just two or three, the judges were faced with a plethora of choice at every stage and in every category. 

Award criteria

“Ultimately, we were looking to reward cafés and restaurants where everything came together as part of a cohesive whole.  In the first instance, ambience was important. This meant attractive décor, comfortable seating, pleasing views and good facilities in the way of parking, toilets, highchairs and outdoor eating opportunities. 

“And obviously, the food had to pass muster too.  Extra points were awarded for more adventurous menu options, together with the provision of plant-based and gluten free dishes, perfect presentation and excellent cooking skills. And, needless to say, the warmth of the welcome and the overall efficiency of the catering service were regarded as other vital attributes.

“However, there’s no point in having the perfect venue if no one knows about it, so promotional efforts were also taken into consideration, as was the provision of extra events and services.”

The Garden Centre Catering Awards will return next year, with more details available in Spring 2024.

Tipiak offers a wide range of sweet and savoury pâtisserie for garden centre cafés and restaurants. Take a look at the range here.

Check out more information about the Garden Centre Catering Awards here.

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07 Aug

Team up with Tipiak for Afternoon Tea Week

It’s Afternoon Tea Week in the UK …and the chance for caterers to promote this great British tradition.

Who doesn’t love an afternoon tea? It’s the perfect way for people to celebrate in style, catch up with friends and family, or just treat themselves.

Whether you operate in a hotel, bar, garden centre, café or some other venue, afternoon tea is sure to attract customers. And of course it’s the perfect way to bring residents of care homes together for some valuable social interaction.

Tipiak has just the products to make life easy for food service professionals who serve afternoon tea. Our exquisitely French thaw and serve sweet and savoury pâtisserie includes bite-sized canapés, pop éclairs and gluten-free macarons.

Our pâtisserie range

This Afternoon Tea Week, check out our range of authentic pâtisserie.

When it comes to savoury items, canapés will really complement tiny triangle sandwiches. Our Tipiak thaw and serve range includes the Vegan Cocktail Selection and the Provençal Bistro Canapés, which are suitable for vegetarians. This means your customers with dietary requirements don’t miss out.

Other canapés selections available include the Traditional Chicago Canapés and Luxury Temptation Canapés.

Macarons are a key ingredient of any afternoon tea this Afternoon Tea Week. Our Tipiak macarons and pop macarons are as authentic as they come. Available in different colours and flavours, they suit all tastes. Plus, our Tipiak macarons are gluten-free, making them ideal for your coeliac guests and others who avoid gluten.

As well as serving them on their own, they make a great topping for cup cakes or other sweet treats.

Our delightful, award-winning pop éclairs bring a super splash of colour to any afternoon tea display. As with all our pre-prepared frozen pâtisserie, they simply need thawing before serving.

You’ll find our frozen pâtisserie is available for foodservice professionals from key UK wholesalers via frozen food distributor Central Foods.

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01 Nov

In Veganuary, make catering easier with Tipiak

This year’s Veganuary was the biggest yet. And we’re expecting Veganuary 2023 to be even more extensive.

It’s the perfect opportunity to highlight new vegan products and to showcase tasty vegan menu items.

We have created a stunning selection of vegan bite-sized canapés for the Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection. It’s so delicious it will appeal to all diners, not just those looking for plant-based options. And it’s available frozen, for maximum convenience.

To help overcome current challenges in the foodservice sector, some venues are choosing to serve entirely vegan items for individual meal courses. This helps both kitchen staff and serving staff.

The Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection is an ideal vegan option for hors d’oeuvres, starters or tapas. Simply thaw and serve on a platter of choice. So tasty, it’s sure to be loved by all.

The range features delicious canapés such as cucumber hummus on courgette shortbread and guacamole and almond on walnut crackers. From the falafel style bites to the piquillo and sweet pepper mini tomato tarts, there’s something for everyone.

Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection

“There’s no doubt about it, the demand for vegan and vegetarian options continues to rise,” says Marie-Emmanuelle Chessé, international development project manager at Tipiak, which supplies frozen, authentic French sweet and savoury pâtisserie to the hospitality sector. “Some of this is due to people cutting out meat and dairy from their diet but a large part of the demand is coming from people who are reducing their meat and dairy intake. So-called flexitarians.

“Many people are now also more ‘open-minded’ about vegetarian and vegan food, having tried it. This is particularly true of the younger generations who are mindful of sustainability and understand that very often vegan and vegetarian food has a lower carbon footprint than meat.”

This Veganuary, taking place as always in January, is the perfect time to introduce customers to delicious vegan products like The Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection.

Frozen canapés are the perfect partner in any professional kitchen. Like all of Tipiak’s range, the frozen canapés are made with the finest ingredients. Prepared by expert bakers and cooks, they are hand-finished – giving them a ‘homemade’ look.

The Tipiak range is available frozen exclusively via distributor Central Foods.

Take a look at the Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection here.

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15 Mar

Have a cracking Easter with Tipiak

With hospitality restrictions likely to be in place at Easter, venues can still make the most of the occasion by offering takeout afternoon tea or meal kits.

Tipiak offers an exquisitely French range of thaw and serve authentic pâtisserie which is guaranteed to brighten up any Easter afternoon tea or picnic.

Options include superb eye-catching pop éclairs and delicious gluten-free macarons and pop macarons. All bring delightful flavours to the table.

Tipiak also offers an excellent selection of savoury canapés. They’re ideal for starters, accompaniments to drinks, or afternoon tea.

Thaw and serve

Just like all the frozen, pre-prepared pâtisserie from Tipiak, simply thaw and serve for an authentic taste of France.

Takeaway options offer friends and families the chance to get together outside – sharing some much-needed companionship and fun.

Choose Tipiak thaw and serve pre-prepared pâtisserie to ensure your customers enjoy some treats this Easter.

Take a look at the Tipiak range here.

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11 Jan

Spotlight in Veganuary shines on Tipiak’s new Vegan Cocktail Selection for food service

Veganuary is the perfect time to showcase our new Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection. It’s a superb collection of delicious bite-sized pieces that are just bursting with stunning plant-based flavours.

The exquisitely French, thaw and serve assortment features 36 individual morsels across seven different varieties.

Offering an attractive selection that’s ideal to serve for a range of food service occasions from tapas and sharing platters to bar snacks and afternoon tea, the Vegan Cocktail Selection complements Tipiak’s existing range of savoury canapés already available in the UK.

“Veganuary is more popular this year than it has ever been before. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to shine the spotlight on Tipiak’s new Vegan Cocktail Selection, which we have launched exclusively in the UK for foodservice customers,” explained Marie-Emmanuelle Chessé, international development project manager at Tipiak, which supplies frozen, authentic French sweet and savoury pâtisserie to the hospitality sector in the UK.

“The demand for vegan and plant-based options continues to rise. We are excited to be able to offer our first vegan savoury selection via our distributor Central Foods.”

Stunning selection

The unique assortment includes almond cream and edamame bean on pea and mint muffins, carrot, lemon and ginger mousseline mini tarts, sesame hummus and courgette tagliatelle on courgette and pine nut shortbread, sun-dried cherry tomato and olive tapenade on curry polenta cubes, guacamole and almond on walnut crackers, piquillo and sweet pepper tomato tarts, and falafel bites topped with sesame seeds.

Each item is an exquisite explosion of plant-based flavour and colour. The range is perfect to brighten up an afternoon tea, enhance a tapas/sharing platter menu or add some French chic to bar snacks.

The Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection is now available nationwide through frozen food wholesalers.

Discover more about the Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection and the full range of frozen, thaw and serve canapés available to the foodservice sector in the UK here.

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01 Sep

French pâtissier Tipiak launches Vegan Cocktail Selection for UK food service

French pâtissier Tipiak has unveiled a luxury Vegan Cocktail Selection for food service customers in the UK.

Launching exclusively in the UK in response to increasing consumer demand for plant-based products, the Vegan Cocktail Selection features an exquisite range of attractive bite-sized vegan-friendly pieces.

The unique finger food assortment includes almond cream and edamame bean on pea and mint muffins, carrot, lemon and ginger mousseline mini tarts, sesame hummus and courgette tagliatelle on courgette and pine nut shortbread, sun-dried cherry tomato and olive tapenade on curry polenta cubes, guacamole and almond on walnut crackers, piquillo and sweet pepper tomato tarts, and falafel bites topped with sesame seeds.

Produced and hand-finished in France, the Tipiak ‘thaw and serve’ Vegan Cocktail Selection is available frozen exclusively via distributor Central Foods and complements Tipiak’s existing range of savoury canapés already available in the UK.

It brings together a superb range of top-quality flavours to create a selection that is perfect for bars, clubs, hotels and other outlets to serve as accompaniments to drinks any time of day, during Happy Hour, with aperitifs or as hors d’oeuvres at functions and events, or even as canapés at weddings, banquets, graduations and other occasions when these resume.

Each morsel teams together a stunning array of tastes, textures and colours in a range that’s sure to go down well with all customers, not just those who are looking for plant-based options. Simply defrost before serving for maximum convenience.

“The new Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection is a world first for us, bringing something unique to the table,” said Marie-Emmanuelle Chessé, international development project manager at Tipiak, which supplies frozen, authentic French sweet and savoury pâtisserie to the hospitality sector in the UK.

“The demand for vegan-friendly products in the food service sector and interest in plant-based items generally has grown enormously in the UK in recent times and we are delighted to be unveiling the Vegan Cocktail Selection to the UK food service sector. The selection has been especially developed by our chefs, bringing together the finest ingredients and flavours to create a truly exquisite explosion of plant-based colour and flavour that has to be eaten to be believed!”

The Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection is now available nationwide through frozen food wholesalers.

Tipiak has been supplying its authentic ‘thaw and serve’ canapés in the UK since 2009, building up an outstanding reputation amongst chefs for their stunning, hand-finished presentation and superb flavours.

The Vegan Cocktail Selection is packed on new gold-coloured cardboard trays, which are 100% recyclable. Composed of more than 50% cellulosic fibres, which come from plant cell walls and are biodegradable, the packaging is regarded as ‘paper-carton’ – meaning it is made of paper but not lined with plastic or aluminium, like traditional cartons.

Each Vegan Cocktail Selection box contains 36 individual pieces across seven different varieties. For maximum convenience, whilst still frozen, remove the canapés from their box and arrange on a platter, stand or serving tray. Leave for four hours in the refrigerator to defrost, plus 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

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02 Dec

Pretty in pink! Tipiak’s exquisite Pop Macaron Fruits are the ideal take-home gifts for guests attending your festive events

Tipiak’s exquisite Pop Macarons Fruits will make ideal gifts for guests to take away with them this Christmas.

Perfect with coffee, afternoon tea or with a cheeky cocktail, the stunning macarons are also ideal for caterers looking to give their guests something to take away.

Each mixed pack contains six bold fruit flavours in pastel shades, attractively decorated with contrasting fruit-flavoured lacing.

The selection features the superb fruity flavours of blackcurrant, lemon-yuzu, morello cherry, coconut, passionfruit and apricot. Perfect for hotels, conference centres and large-scale caterers.

All Tipiak’s macarons are currently the only gluten-free authentic French macarons widely available to the UK food service sector.

Pop Macarons Fruits join an existing range of Tipiak pâtisserie, macarons and canapés supplied frozen to the UK food service sector via distributor Central Foods.

Tipiak macarons have a significantly higher almond content than most other macarons in the marketplace, giving them a superb flavour, and making them less brittle and fragile, and less sweet.

Each box of Tipiak’s “thaw and serve” pâtisserie, canapés and macarons has defrost times clearly displayed, which chefs tell us helps them to plan and prepare so that the products are served at their very best.

Take a look at our ranges to see how Tipiak could become your perfect partner for catering.

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12 Aug

Celebrate Afternoon Tea Week with Tipiak

Hooray! It’s Afternoon Tea Week…the chance for us all to celebrate and enjoy this popular British tradition.

Afternoon tea has been one of the success stories of the hospitality sector in recent times.

According to OpenTable, bookings for afternoon tea increased by 54% from 2016 to 2018. One of the reasons is that afternoon tea is such a delightful and unique way to mark a number of occasions, whether that’s a birthday, anniversary, baby shower, hen party or some other celebration. And who doesn’t enjoy a celebration?

Exquisite to look at and delightful to eat, great-tasting, authentic French pâtisserie really hits the spot when it comes to afternoon tea. Try serving Tipiak’s petits fours, mini fruit tarts, pop macarons and pop éclairs as part of your afternoon tea offer during Afternoon Tea Week.

Macarons really are a must-serve ingredient on any afternoon tea menu now. With their pretty pastel or vibrant shades and their super selection of flavours, they suit most afternoon tea themes and sit perfectly on any afternoon tea display. Macarons are also the darlings of social media, with more than 5 million macaron images posted on Instagram alone. Serving macarons are sure to help with those all-important insta-hits.

When it comes to the savoury elements of an afternoon tea during Afternoon Tea Week, why not include Tipiak’s canapés on the menu? There’s a delightful array of different flavours, colours and types, which simply need thawing before serving, and make tasty, bite-sized alternatives to traditional sandwiches.

Making authentic pâtisserie from scratch can be difficult and time consuming, so consider buying Tipiak’s top quality, ready-made frozen pâtisserie for your afternoon tea menu. Defrost instructions are clearly printed on the box, which chefs tell us is super convenient as it helps them to serve the products in tip top condition.

Simply thaw and serve Tipiak’s exquisitely French products for foodservice for any Afternoon Tea Week celebration.

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29 Jul

Christmas catering wrapped up with Tipiak

It may be the middle of summer, but now is the perfect time to plan and organise Christmas menus.

Tipiak has a superb range of ‘thaw and serve’ canapés and pâtisserie for the busy foodservice professional.

Choose from a delicious savoury selection which includes products that are ideal for buffets, events and other functions.

Our Tipiak sweet selection features mouth-watering macarons, pop éclairs, mini tarts and delightful petits fours.

Authentic French pâtisserie can be time consuming and difficult to prepare from scratch – and consistency can be a problem.

Take advantage of our Tipiak pre-prepared frozen canapés and pâtisserie for foodservice at this hectic time of year and it will leave chefs free to prepare and cook other items on the Christmas menu.

Serving our canapés and pâtisserie couldn’t be more simple….. just open the box, remove the protective film and slide the products from their tray straight on to the serving platter – et voilà!

Tipiak products have defrost times prominently displayed on the box, and usually take between two and four hours. Feedback from chefs tells us that this is really helpful guidance, as it ensures that they time it so that canapés and pâtisserie are looking and tasting their very best for serving time.

Our products are made in France and hand-finished, giving an authentic, exquisitely French look to our canapés and pâtisserie.

Browse our range and make Christmas catering easier by choosing our delicious pre-prepared frozen products.

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24 Jun

Winners announced for the Afternoon Tea of the Year awards 2019 – sponsored by Tipiak

Congratulations to all the winners of the Afternoon Tea of the Year awards 2019 sponsored by Tipiak.

The winners were the London Hilton Park Lane for best tasting, best presented was the Polurrian On The Lizard based in Cornwall, and the prestigious Afternoon Tea of the Year title was awarded to Pennyhill Park, Surrey.

Sixteen hotels were shortlisted for the final. Presentations of signature afternoon teas for judging took place on Friday 14th June. Tipiak’s Laurent Albert was part of the judging panel. Laurent is an experienced pastry chef and chocolatier who has worked for several prestigious establishments across the world including Albert Roux in the UK and Christian Constant in Paris.

The standard of the finalists was incredible, and it was amazing to showcase Tipiak’s range of mouth-watering macarons, pop éclairs and canapés at the awards which were held at the Westminster Boating Base in London and run by Hotel F&B magazine, part of H2O Publishing.

For more information and for UK sales of Tipiak’s pâtisserie for foodservice customers, please visit www.centralfoods.co.uk

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