Food & Drink notes

Winter solstice; liquid assets; here comes the sun; share the love

Winter solstice

The chef Philip Britten set up Solstice in 1997, to supply professionals with ingredients he couldn't always find. Now Solstice-Home delivers top-quality food, in environmentally friendly packaging, to us amateur cooks. They've got French poultry, Poilâne bread (£7 for a whole loaf), Scottish beef hung for a month, Neal's Yard cheeses, langoustines, scallops and rare veg such as calcots - the Spanish onions Mark Hix mentions this week. Visit www.solstice.co.uk or call 0800 328 7701 or 020-7498 7700.

Liquid assets

Jordanians have olive oil on bread for breakfast, with a bit of zaatar, a thyme and spice mix to dip it in. Terra Rossa is the first company to export olive oil from Jordan to the UK. £5.06 for a 250ml bottle of extra virgin Sinolea, or £14.95 for this terracotta flask gift pack, including bowls and zaatar for that authentic Jordanian start to the day (or to rub on chicken or vegetables). Stockists include Rosslyn Deli in London NW3 (020-7794 9210). To buy direct visit www.terra-rossa.com or call 020-8661 9695

Here comes the sun

If your culinary spirits are flagging at the fag end of February, get hold of a copy of 'Eat Caribbean' by Virginia Burke (Simon & Schuster, £18.99). Recipes extend beyond the clichés - here you have Cuban black bean dip, beef stew with pimento and rum, and an easy-peasy mango tart. A whole chapter is devoted to jerk seasoning. If you don't want to make your own, the author recommends Jamaica's worker-owned Walkerswood brand. But then she is the company's marketing director.

Share the love

After five rocking years as Manchester's best independent deli and wine store, the Northern Quarter's delectable Love Saves the Day has doubled in size and moved to 46-50 Oldham Street, Manchester (0161 832 0777/www.lovesavestheday.co.uk). Opened by Chris and Beckie Joyce (he's Simply Red's drummer, she's a city planner) as the kind of urban food shop they wanted on their doorstep, LStD has become a magnet for the city's gastrocenti, with a Wine Club, events, hamper service, coffee that's the cream of Manchester and the finest local and hard-to-find-elsewhere continental produce. Where else can you get bottarga? The café - for soups, salads and antipasti platters - is bigger and any of 200 wines can be uncorked to drink there for an extra £4.