Papadeli catering & hampers

Papadeli catering & hampers
Papadeli - delicious food in Bristol

Thursday 13 December 2012

Papa interviewed for www.countrycalling.co.uk

Simon MacDonnell aka Papa, chef and owner of Papadeli in Bristol, (the uber-foodie Papadeli Cafe is housed in the RWA).
I love neighbourhood restaurants – and one of my favourites is Green’s Dining Room on Zetland Road.  2 brothers and their wives run this cosy bistro – food is consistently good and there’s always a warm welcome.
On a summer’s day, the Lido in Clifton is just the place – eat brilliant food while basking the water’s reflections. This is also a superb place for a massage – the masseuse here always get it right and listening to the water lap against the pool sides just perfects the whole experience.  Finish off with a cup of Lahloo rosebud tea – just wonderful.
For a perfect for a lazy day picnic it’s got to be Tyntesfield – just on the outskirts of Bristol – a beautiful National Trust owned property, with stunning kitchen garden & grounds.
My two boys, Tomos and Sam never seem to tire of @Bristol Science Centre.  They spend hours there experimenting on the equipment, watching planetarium shows and getting excited by  scientific explosions.
Bristol’s a thriving place for innovative ideas & speakers – I always love going to the Festival of Ideas to hear interesting and inspirational speakers at St George’s – most recently I went to see Harry Belafonte – a legendary figure that I’ll never forget.
Bristol is an amazing place for theatre – we are absolutely spoilt for choice.  The Old Vic shows are great – favourite are the productions by the Knee High Theatre Company for their hilarious and thought provoking shows.  The Tobacco Factory always has something worth seeing from the sublime to the controversial.  Their children’s shows are not to be missed!
I love walking up to the University of Bristol’s Botanical Gardens near the Downs.  They moved all the plants there some 6 years ago and it’s just a beautiful place to wander around.  I particularly love the Triffid- like pitcher plants that digest whole mice! I’ve never had much time to get into gardening, but walking around here makes me want to start!
Sitting on a balcony, sipping a cold beer makes me feel like I’m abroad – the Royal Academy on The Triangle has a brilliant balcony – having a cafĂ© there, I don’t get much time to sit up on the balcony – but I always send friends there as it’s the best balcony in Bristol.
I’m not a great one for shopping – my treat is to buy food, and having a deli, I’m lucky enough to be able to do that on a daily basis!  If I do need to shop I love Park Street or Gloucester Road – lots of interesting things to look at interspersed with many opportunities for a coffee break.
On a sunny day (not so numerous at the moment) we’ll drive up to the Quantocks and have a picnic.  I spent my teenage years in Churchill, North Somerset, walking the hills, so love going back there to my favourite haunts.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Panettone? Sometimes gets a bad press - lots of people have eaten the dry, tasteless, bit like shredded hay variety and been put off for life. What a shame!! Actually, artisan, hand made panettone is just delicious.  How to describe... well, it's fluffy, but moist at the same time.  Vanilla scented, moscatel soaked raisin filled, delicious, melt in the mouth.... Tempted?

We have made it our job to taste lots of different panettone, and we have selected the most lovely, pleasurable, delicious ones for the deli. 

How to eat? Tear off a hunk with a cup of tea, a glass of sweet wine (maybe vin santo?).  Turn up at a friend's house this Christmas with this lovely, original gift that you can all share. For a bit of history, we've put some on our website here.

Here's a few of the ones we have in stock - see what you think. If you're not sure about buying a whole one, come to the cafe and taste a slice.
Happy Christmas and Buon Natale!!
Papadeli panettone Dolci di Efren
Dolci di Efren -  Panettone tradizionale.
Beautiful packaging, paper covered box, tied up with a string. What better way than to turn up at a Christmas lunch with this in hand.
Dolci de Efren make small batches of handmade sweets and pastries.
750g £19.95

Panettone artisanale tradizionaleTraditional panettone from Fiasconaro  – made with fresh orange peel and Marsala soaked raisins.  Tree generations of this Sicilian family have been involved in the making of high quality cakes and pastries. They have an excellent reputation throughout Italy and beyond.
Gorgeous festive packaging with a big Christmas ribbon.
750g £15.95

panettone artisan quality from papadeliMakers of artisan panettone in Milan, Vergani was established in 1944.  Like all the panettone we sell, it is thrice risen over 7-8 hours which produces this light fluffiness of this lovely Italian Christmas cake. It takes 3 or 4 days from beginning to end and we think the care and attention is clear when you take your first bite!
750g £15.95


Papadeli panettone - gorgeous Italian Christmas cakeFor quality and a contemporary look, these panettone are absolutely unique – wrapped in red tissue and finished with a large Festive pom pom.
These panettone from Vallebona, come in traditional and chocolate -both absolutely gorgeous.
500g £13.50 Chocolate   £12.50 Traditional

Please call in to the shop to purchase your panettone. For more information, please phone us on 0117 973 6569 or email info@papadeli.co.uk
We include panettone in some of our Christmas hampers – please take a look here.