We first encountered Rutherford and Meyer Fruit Pastes and wafers at The Speciality and Fine Food Fair in 2009, having stumbled across them while trailing around the many stalls that were promoting all sorts of varied wares, some new and some well established.

The concept of mixing sweet with savoury is, of course not a new one and many of us have adorned our cheese boards with voluptuous bunches of juicy grapes to pluck and nibble along with those tangy, cheeses at the end of our dinner parties. Now you have the opportunity to introduce something rather different to your cheese boards in the future. A range of Fruit Pastes and Gourmet Wafers to accompany our cheeses are now available in this country. These are produced by Rutherford and Meyer, www.rutherfordandmeyer.co.nz a New Zealand Based company and are all free from preservatives, having been made only with natural ingredients.

These Rutherford and Meyer products were recently introduced here by the Original Gourmet Store, who we understand are sole UK importers. At present these products can be found only in a small number of outlets, including: Hemmingway’s Wine Bar, London; Master’s House Restaurant, Hertfordshire; Mi Mis Deli, London; Italian Food Hall Deli, London and The Wine Circle, Virgina Water. However, the Original Gourmet Store people are working to expand the number of outlets that currently sell direct to the public.

We have sampled three of these products, the ‘natural’ Gourmet Wafers, the fig and the Cherry Fruit Pastes – both of which claim to be great with Goat’s cheese – so, quite naturally we sampled them with three different types of goat’s cheese (two hard and one soft) and it has to be said that they did work with all three, complementing them well. The wafers were crisp and light, with a good crunch to them. The pastes have an intensity of flavour and a solid texture (which home jam makers would refer to as a ‘cheese’) that enables them to be sliced or cut and still hold their shape. Whilst working well with cheeses, they could be used more widely and are recommended as an accompaniment to cold meats, or to use to enhance the flavour of sauces, both sweet and savoury. We are sure with a little imagination you will find further ways of using them.

In addition to the Fruit Pastes and Gourmet Wafers, the Original Gourmet Store import Rutherford and Meyer’s Honey Plus, a product combining honey with fruits to make an anytime topping for toast, bagels or any bread product. If you are intrigued by any, or all, of these products that are new to these fair isles and you are keen to sample them, you can be among the first to do so by purchasing them direct from the Original Gourmet Store, or through one of their outlets. For more information about purchasing the products, contact:-

Original Gourmet Store, Fourways House, 4-10 Ware Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 9RS Tel:01992 706510 www.originalgourmetstore.com