CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

Our New Look

In August we closed for a month and updated all our kitchen equipment, fridges, ovens and tables. Once we started we couldn’t stop and took the opportunity to give the shop itself a totally new identity. Ever since Maison Blanc had closed two years ago we have been urged and cajoled by our customers to serve really good quality coffee and to have a little area where you could sit in the shop and eat the food produced each day. We were helped by Simon Colley of Cooper 8 with the design and he oversaw the project brilliantly. 

Morning Coffee at Finns

We spent a lot time trying out different espresso machines and many different blends of coffee. We eventually settled on a Dark Bourbon Roast coffee and a superb Italian espresso machine and then, under the guidance of the marvellous Francesco, we all learnt the surprisingly complex skill of making a proper cup of coffee. It seems our research paid off and the care with which Milly and the girls prepare each cup and the care in cleaning the machine itself has certainly been worthwhile. We are selling over 150 cups of coffee each day and rising! The beauty of this is that the coffee beans themselves have no time to go stale and this is reflected in the quality of the individual cup of coffee.

We now have a help yourself counter which has proved to be a great success and Katie, Colette, Rosa and Marina are hard pushed to keep up with the pates and pies and all the mousses. We are also now selling fresh bread and pastries baked through the night and delivered to us first thing each morning.

Because the majority of shops do not open until 10.am we have a lot of customers meeting friends for porridge and a cup of coffee before they embark on their days shopping.

Christmas Orders

The orders for dressed and stuffed turkeys are coming in and there is a great feeling of family and festivity . The Finns honey baked slow cooked hams are already being earmarked for Boxing Day lunch and shooting weekends. The diary is filling up with parties large and small and a never ending list of names for Marisa’s mini mince pies. We love receiving your dishes for us to fill and have a wonderful collection stacked up in the back kitchen awaiting pies, cassseroles and crumbles.

view our Seasonal Menu

Christmas Presents

We have increased our range of gifts and have gone to great lengths and travelled great distances trying to find things that are a little bit unusual , stylish and fun. We have tried to stick to the principle of food related gifts but the best selling Ukeleles with tropical fruit on them have stretched the remit a bit! Our wonderful Shagreen photograph fames house pictures of two generations of Finns employees weddings! Many of the bridesmaids now shop here themselves.

view current Finns Gift Range

Thank You & Happy Christmas

For those of you who have been in , a huge thank you for all your encouragement , and for those of you who have not been in since we reopened, we look forward to seeing you and hearing what you think!

To all the patient people waiting for the cookery book, I am so sorry I haven’t finished it. As soon as Christmas is over, I am going to concentrate on it and go to Press!

Julia Bannister