Apparently over 1000 people have voted in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards since they were launched in March. If you've already voted for us - thank you!There's another local food challenge happening in Brighton. We're talking about the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards, which run until September. You can vote for The Laine Deli in the 'Best Cafe' category - just choose The Laine Deli from the list. There are also categories for Best Restaurant, Best Food Pub and Best Food Shop.
If you’re thinking about ordering business lunches or any other corporate catering in Brighton, please give us a ring at The Laine Deli. Not only are we perfectly placed for picking up last-minute orders, we’re also well-equipped for producing virtually any kind of event catering.
Many of our customers come from local businesses in the North Laine area of Brighton - and many of them will be taking a break between Christmas and the New Year. So we've decided to do the same.
Eagle-eyed customers will notice that we've removed the photographic prints from our walls and have introduced a new (borrowed) artwork. It's called "We Need To Talk" by Hugh McLeod and currently hangs at the back of the deli.
We've almost run out of cards and leaflets for the Sussex Food Awards 2009/2010, so we thought we'd mention it online again. This is the fourth year the competition has run - and as well as voting for your favourite Sussex eating experience (which is the category we're in) you can also vote for your favourite farmer, food producer, drink producer, food shop, young chef, butcher and farmers' market.
It's not entirely altruistic, either - if you vote you'll be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner in January 2010.
We were thinking the other day about the people who'd inspired us to open The Laine Deli. There's family and friends, of course - and then there are other people who don't even know who we are. For example, Peter Jones offered encouragement in a radio interview by saying the current recession was a great time for young people to start their own business. Then there are all the 'big name' chefs we enjoy: Jamie, Nigella, Bill Grainger and Gordon Ramsay, to name a few. But now that we're here, what really keeps us going is the feedback from our customers. We wouldn't be happy if we weren't making you happy as well.
As cars become increasingly complex, so the number of people servicing their own cars has fallen. The same is true of coffee machines, we're sure. Fortunately, ours is a traditional design... which meant we were able to tinker under the bonnet at the weekend. And we resisted the temptation to add go-faster stripes down the side!
There's a lot of talk these days about 'food miles' and carbon footprints. It's not just a question of environmental awareness and supporting local businesses; it's common sense as well. The less travelling your food does, the fresher it arrives. That's why we're doing our best to source fresh fruit and vegetables locally when we can. It's not always practical to do it for everything - some things just won't grow in the UK! - but we're always on the lookout for good local produce whenever it's available. And if you'd like to know more about any of our ingredients, we're always happy to answer your questions.
How time flies!
Although we're often told that the days of cash are numbered, it's still one of the easiest and most-widespread ways of paying for small transactions. But it's not always convenient... and even though we're happy to take cheques, they're rapidly going the way of the dodo, the CD single and the free parking space. That's why we've just taken delivery of a 'chip-and-PIN' credit card and debit card machine. Whether you're buying lunch, ordering a cake or placing an order for your business, you can now keep your money in your wallet.
Our first day running The Laine Deli was 21st April - which means we've now been here for a whole month. A big 'thank you' to every single one of our customers for making it all so enjoyable!
