Cantina-style store lets you take your fill of local delicacies
Five years ago, former Black Watch officer Angus Ferguson decided to swap his khaki uniforms for the raspberry fields of Scotland and the orchards of Somerset.
Along with his wife Frances, he was enthused by the many home-grown, small producers who make delicious and remarkable drinks, dressings and liqueurs. So they set up the first liquid deli.
Now their novel idea has arrived in England for the first time, and was opened today in York by the city's Lord Mayor.
The opening is also a fringe event for the York Food and Drink Festival.
Selling predominantly British-made quirky liqueurs, spirits, oils and vinegars, Demijohn is based on a cross between an old- fashioned grocer and an Italian cantina.
Demijohn's customers are encouraged to taste the products before they purchase, making a visit to the shop better than going to your local bar.
Customers choose the size and shape of their re-useable bottle, which is then filled with the liquid of your choice, such as raspberry vodka or elderflower vinegar.
"Increasingly the British consumer is searching for unique handmade British products that not only taste great, but have a known provenance that they can understand and relate to," says Angus.
"We at Demijohn are offering exactly this. From our humble beginnings with one small shop in Edinburgh five years ago, we are now expanding to our third shop with our sales growing at a steady 20 per cent year on year and our online sales rocketing.
"York is the perfect location for our entry into the English market as it is a centre of fine food and drink, as well as a healthy visitor market.
"Visiting Demijohn is like a journey of discovery into a foodie heaven – by tasting the products, customers know what they are buying and are enlightened further by learning more about how to consume them, such as in different cocktail recipes, dressings or sauces. In addition, we can personalise our bottles so they can
make an attractive and unique gift."
Demijohn's products are both quirky and sophisticated and are sourced from small artisan producers from across the UK who, like Demijohn, have a passion for good food and drink produced in an eco-friendly way.
For example, gooseberry gin comes from an allotment in Cheshire, organic elderflower vodka from a farm in Somerset, raspberry vinegar from Perthshire and butterscotch cream liqueur from the heart of Devon.
Demijohn is pioneering the eco-deli, with all its 60 or so products stored in huge glass demijohns, which sit on beech shelves from an ancient fallen beech tree from Fife.
There is minimum packaging, as all the bottles are re-useable and the bags are made from recycled materials. Its passion for its products goes beyond the shop – regularly the team head to the countryside to pick sloes for the sloe gin
or elderflowers for the elderflower vinegar to ensure they have a plentiful supply made from the best the hedgerows offer.
Demijohn is open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12.30am-6pm at 11 Museum Street, York.
www.demijohn.co.uk
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Friday 25 May 2012
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