Piglets for sale!

We've got 11 lovely Saddleback piglets for sale from our prize winning sow 'Scoops' a mix of female and male - already chubby and 10 weeks old - Saddlebacks are great porkers and make excellent meat. If you're new to rearing pigs we can help with lots of advice too...

Piglets can be sold with or without Pedigree papers - we can arrange delivery for a small fee too.

Give Andre a call on 07958 655962 to discuss...

Hope all your Chrissie preparations are going well - Don't forget to order your Christmas hams soon! (Not many left now)

Jane and Andre x

Bee Update... 2012 Season

We've had an interesting year with the bees - well that is a slight understatement! As was widely reported amongst bee circles all over the UK it was the worst Summer for over 100 years. Some would argue it wasn't really a Summer at all - and I think the bees would agree!

Because of all the rain it made it nigh on impossible for our bees to forage as they normally would - they ended up being stuck in their hives alot of the time - The little honey they did bring in they had to use for food, we had to keep a very close eye on them to make sure they had enough food and didn't end up starving. One week I would check up and see some full frames of honey, then the next it would be all gone! It was certainly up and down like this all Summer.

We managed two harvests from all the hives during the season regardless, but the yeild was much, much lower than usual. Funnily enough it seems like over the last month the bees have brought more honey into their hives than during the whole Summer put together!

I was still busy collecting swarms (some even out of chimneys!) - but they didn't tend to fare so well once I'd settled them into their new hives - either losing the Queen (lost on her mating flight) or she wasn't able to mate for one reason or another. That was really disappointing as I really try my hardest to look after all the girls.

Now is the time to settle the bees in for the Winter - They've all been fed with sugar fondant to keep their stores up, I've put mouse guards on and reduced the size of the entrance to stop any little creatures robbing the hives. I've also added weights to the rooves to stop the Winter wind blowing them over. I'll be checking them once a month during the Winter to make sure they're OK - fingers crossed they'll all be safe and sound and we'll have a better season next year!

Venison, Apples and Pie!

Some more of what we've been up to recently.... 

We were very lucky to be given some venison - which begged the question 'What to cook?' Well, sausages of course! We made a mixture of Pork and Venison - one batch with a little white wine and paprika and the other batch plain - so we could get a good meaty taste. Both were delicious!

 Here's our Venison - all ready for mincing...

 Venison, Pork and some fat minced ready for the sausage mix...

 These were the paprika ones which had a lovely dark reddish colour

 And finally, separating into sausages... Still haven't mastered the art of stringing them together to hang.. Need some lessons on that front.

We're also lucky enough to live opposite some very old orchards which are part of Fairfield Park - There are so many trees which are always laden with fruit. The boys headed over with the wheelbarrow to collect some. Most of these were juiced and made into cider for Christmas - but we kept some aside so I could try out a simple Apple Pie recipe I saw on the telly recently...

 This was the finished product and they didn't last long! Apples were chopped up and stewed with some cinnamon and brown sugar - recipe says to add lemon zest and ground ginger too. Then left to cool before adding to squares of puff pastry and baked in an oven for 20 mins. They were crunchy and buttery and smelt amazing - I highly recommend it, so easy :-)

Hitchin Food + Drink Festival!

We'll be at the Hitchin Food and Drink Festival this Saturday and Sunday (8th and 9th September) selling our lovely sausages - to take home AND gobble up straight away! Come by and say hello!

Andre + Jane x

Baking, Jam and Honey!

Its inevitable that the rain will arrive over a long weekend - luckily we had some delicious home grown goodies to keep us going. Some people like to DIY but I prefer to bake :-) and the boys appreciated it... Our bees have been busy too, Andre found a frame packed with honey, it weighed over 2 kilograms!

So we had a batch of sausage rolls made with our own sweet chilli and pork and leek sausages - they were amazing and so easy to make. I did cheat with packet puff pastry - Its a Lorraine Pascale recipe - And finally, some home grown jam made with fruit from the garden - Greengage and Victoria plum. Theres lots more fruit on the trees so I think we'll make up a huge pot of chutney - my favourite!

Hope you all had a fantastic long weekend despite the soggy weather!

Jane x

Bee Testimonial... (and sausages too!)

I contacted several people to solve my ‘bee in the chimney’ problem, and only Andre stepped up to the challenge. Whilst others told me it wouldn’t be possible to get rid of them without killing them, Andre told me confidently that he’d be able to smoke them out, then rehouse them. Due to his patient approach over the course of an afternoon and evening, this is exactly what happened, and my family and I watched in amazement as he worked.

Perhaps even better than his bee skills, though, are his talents as a pig breeder. There can’t be many beekeepers who can offer you pork and ribs after they finish, but Andre assured me that his sweet chilli rare breed sausages would be amongst the best I’ve ever tasted. Once again, he was as good as his word, and when these came off the barbeque, they caused a virtual riot as everyone fought over who’d get the last one.

So gracias for dealing with the bees, Andre, and hasta la proxima delivery of meat!

Michael Dunn, Cambridge

Thanks Michael! 

Chilli Fiesta Shenanigans....

The sun finally came out to shine on us at the annual Chilli Fiesta organised by Edible Ornamentals at Mansion House... We were serving up our tasty Sweet Chilli sausages all day long - They went down a treat! Lots of families out and about celebrating Father's Day in the sun, sampling lots of chilli delights - our personal favourite was the Hot Headz Smoky Chilli Ketchup.... Mmmmm...

Big thanks to Ben and Cheryl who came to help out on the day - We couldn't have done it without you! Not forgetting Ben handing over his rather 'bright' sunnies for the day - Thanks!

Was great to meet some new friends and we look forward to coming along again next year...

Andre and Jane

We're making a book!

Here are some sample images taken during a photo shoot at The Radcliffe Arms recently - we're putting together a book of fantastic dishes (Yes, we did try some of them...) The pork was especially delicious, however, we may be slightly biased there! 

We'll be publishing before the end of the Summer - so watch this space! 

And for those who can't wait to see the book - pop in to the Radcliffe Arms in Hitchin to sample some tasty fare - make sure you tell them we sent you :-) 

Andre and Jane

Mid Summer Revels love our sausages!

Last year they sold out on the BBQ (for the first time ever...) so delicious were our sausages... So this year they're back with an even bigger order! Make sure you make your way over to St Nicholas' in Norton (Letchworth) for a fantastic family day out on Saturday 23rd June - as well as a chance to get some great grub :-)

We keep the fat content low and the meat content high in our sausages making them a great choice for kids - we can tone down the herbs and spices too for those who are a little fussy - great to have a local school supporting local business, we'd welcome any other schools interested to get in touch!

Andre and Jane

Thinking of getting into beekeeping?

The recent warm weather has really brought out the bees - We've been flat out collecting swarms from all over the local area - some enormous, some little - mostly honeybees but not always... One of the swarms we collected was from a street in Royston - a young family had called us to have it removed. It turned out that the chap concerned's Mum used to keep bees and he was quite interested in taking it up now himself. 

So, last Friday we did our first official one to one training - We organised everything from the hives, bees, suits and equipment and gave an introduction to beekeeping - some great hands on experience and put our customer in touch with his local beekeepers association. We'll also give follow up support when he needs extra advice and help. 

The smell of beeswax brought back lots of memories of his Mum and he was delighted to be well on his way to a satisfying future in being a beekeeper. 

So if anyone out there is interested in getting into beekeeping and would like our help to set everything up please get in touch - We love talking about bees! 

Andre and Jane

Chris Parsons 

Bee in Chimney Testimonial

Dear Andre,

Thank so much for coming and removing the bees nest in our lounge chimney. When the man from the North Herts Council told us there was nothing he could do as they were honey bees we were very worried, As you saw they were entering a hole in the side of the stack about 10 feet from the ground but in the late afternoon when they were queueing up to get back in they must have enlarged their entry hole and cut through into an ensuite bathroom, several dozen came in les than half an hour with some getting into the bedroom itself.

That night my son had to sleep elsewhere. Luckily you arrived the next morning and soon had the situation under control erecting a ladder with a temporary hive next to the entry hole.You smoked a lot out and they moved to the temporary hive. You went off from 12 till near sunset when you returned but bees being bees they had decided that a step from the path up to the lawn was a better spot than the hive you had left.They had swarmed here 

and even started to lay down wax to make a new nest.


I was most impressed when you got down the hive from the ladder top and ever so patiently smoked and coaxed them into the hive with a large soft feather! It must have taken best part of an hour but you were most successful and in the following five days we have only seen two or three on the stack side near the entry hole. Once again Andre a very big thank 

you and I would not hesitate to recomend you to anyone with a similar BEE !!! problem.

Very kind regards,

Robert Greenwood, Lilley, Hertfordshire.

Saturday19 & Sunday 20 May 10am - 4pm

www.letchworthfoodfestival.co.uk

Come and join us at the Letchworth Food and Garden Festival 

Lots of lovely, local Letchworth sausages and honey on the menu, we look forward to meeting you! 

Andre, Jane and Santi x

This weekend

Happy pigs

Images for the Comet

Feeding bees fondant.

Copyright Keith Dobney

Picnic in the Park Stotfold - Jubilee Celebration!

 

Come and visit us at Picnic in the Park! We'll be serving up lots of tasty local produce including British rare breed pork and local honey - from 12 noon at Hitchin Road Recreation Ground in Stofold...  We look forward to seeing you all soon :-)

Andre and Jane

P.S. We were really sorry not to be able to make it to the above event... We had all our fingers and toes crossed for no rain but unfortunately for all involved in poured down the entire day! We're only a little business so we really couldn't afford to attend if it looked like numbers would be down. We really can't wait to do an event in Stotfold - it is our hometown after all! Look forward to meeting you at some point in the very near future we hope! 

Andre and Jane

Plan Bee at the Co-Op.... Free Seeds!

Wildflowers are an important source of nutrition for pollinators, yet 97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s. That’s why Plan Bee has given away 1.2 million packets of wildflower seeds since 2009. 

Request your free packet of seeds from the Co-Op via the link below and get involved!

http://www.co-operative.coop/Plan-Bee/Ways-to-get-involved/Request-a-free-packet-of-seeds/

Andre.

Bees at work in our garden...

Can you spot the pollen this little bee has collected on its back leg? 

During a rare spell from the rain we got a good look at our bees collecting pollen from our pear trees - we brought the bees back to our garden to try and get a higher fruit yeild and fingers crossed its working! 

More fruit AND lovely honey, we really can't complain :-) 

New Arrivals!

A big welcome to Scoops' five little piglets born over Easter - Scoops is doing really well for a first time Mum - and the babies are growing quickly! Scoops is a Pedigree Saddleback Sow - Mum and babes are all settled in and we're looking forward to watching them scoot around the smallholding...

Piglets on the way!

After checking on our Saddleback Sow Scoops this morning we found she was nesting! Dragging sticks and hay into her ark preparing for her new babies. Scoops is a first time Mum so its even more exciting! Nesting means babies are imminent so we're really hoping for some Easter piglets! Will post updates as they happen...

Jane x

Cardona & Son at your next event?

We've got some great events under our belt - most notably The Rotary Club's Food and Wine Festival last November and CAMRA's Beer and Cider Festival earlier this month. Over 900 servings of British rare breed pork dished up to hungry locals just in those two events alone!



We've had a fantastic time meeting and talking to many in the local community and hopefully converting some tastebuds to the wonders of British rare breed pork and the benefits of eating food which is locally produced. We're really passionate about food and supporting the local community - and we're glad that lots of you out there are too!

We've just signed up to The Letchworth Food & Garden Festival on the 19th and 20th May which we're really excited about - Another chance to meet lots of locals and there'll be LOADS of great food to try out :-) We'll definitely be taking some samples home...

So if you're running an event - whether its big or small (we do private parties too!) we'd love to hear about it. Just give us a call or drop us a line and hopefully we'll be adding you to our calendar too!

Jane + Andre Cardona

cardonaandson@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/cardonaandson
07958 655962 or 07971 422734

Cardona & Son at the Hitchin Beer and Cider Fest....

We had a fantastic time at the Hitchin Beer and Cider Festival - Camra put on a fantastic event and the crowds just kept on coming! (Over 2000 vistors in 2 days with over 5000 pints of ale and 1150 pints of cider demolished! )We sold 700+ delicious rare breed sausages sharing a pitch with one of our lovely Hitchin clients The Radcliffe Arms - It was all about pork with scratchings, sausages and pork rolls on the menu showing what a versatile animal the humble pig is! 

We met lots of friendly locals and had some fantastic feedback about our sausages (and Jane's homemade coleslaw :-) we definitely think we've converted some tastebuds. 

A big thankyou to all who helped it happen - Especially though...our great friend Ben, CAMRA, The Radcliffe Arms, Quotidian Bakery (How good are their rolls!), CAMRA volunteers and The Artisan Food Trail for spreading the word... We hope to be invited next year! 

Andre + Jane Cardona

Cardona & Son at the Hitchin Beer and Cider Festival! 9th/10th March

We'll be back at the Hitchin Town Hall for Camra's essential event for beer lovers - Make sure you pop in and visit us this Friday and Saturday, we can't think of anything better to nibble on with a pint than our mouth watering rare breed sausages! Made with local produce sourced from within a 10 mile radius of Hitchin, we'll definitely make it worth a visit. 

We look forward to meeting you there,

Andre & Jane



Fri 9th (Noon-11pm) & Sat 10th March (11am-11pm) 

Entry on the door : £2.50 

Hitchin Town Hall, Brand Street, Hitchin, SG5 1HX 

P R E S S R E L E A S E

CARDONA & SON

HIVE MANAGEMENT SCHEME

HERTFORDSHIRE/BEDFORDSHIRE

Companies and businesses all over the UK are reducing their carbon footprint and looking to find new

ways to be environmentally responsible. Bees are a vital part of our ecosystem – two of every three

mouthfuls we eat is due to pollination by bees. Incredible right? However, British honeybees are in crisis,

their population dwindling at an alarming rate due to virus, pesticide and mite.

As food lovers we should all be concerned about their future.

Support British Bees with Cardona & Son

• The opportunity to host beehives at your location

• Continued maintenance and materials for the hive

• Regular visits to the hive to make sure your bees are happy and healthy

• ‘I support British Bees’ logo for use on your website and marketing material

• Promotion of your involvement via Cardona & Son blog and Twitter

• Press release announcing your involvement in the scheme circulated to local and national press, and

radio

• 100% of all honey harvested for you to sell, use as client gifts or use in your kitchen!

• The opportunity throughout the year to participate in various aspects of bee-keeping and honey

extraction

For more information on timelines, details and costs please contact Andre Cardona

Telephone: 07958 655962

Email: cardonaandson@gmail.com

See what we’re up to at www.thecardonagoodlife.blogspot.com

Or follow us on Twitter @cardonaandson

Happy New Year!

Just a little note to wish all our friends and customers a fantastic 2012 - full of fun, laughter and of course... good food! We've had a brilliant 2011 and we're looking forward to more adventures this year. Warmest wishes Jane, Andre and Santi x