Tipiak’s new ‘thaw and serve’ Vegan Cocktail Selection is ideal for any occasion…offering a stunning selection of ‘thaw and serve’ bite-sized canapés that will appeal to all guests, not just those on a plant-based diet.
Head chef at Homerton College at the University of Cambridge Bill Proudfoot has recently used Tipiak’s Vegan Cocktail Selection for a VIP canapé reception and was impressed.
“They were really excellent, and I had great feedback from the clients,” says Bill, who has been using Tipiak’s ‘thaw and serve’ sweet and savoury pâtisserie for many years.
He can’t speak highly enough about the quality and convenience of Tipiak products.
“They are an excellent product. There’s no other product out there that’s as good. Tipiak are the leaders when it comes to canapés,” he says.
He serves the authentic canapés and macarons at graduations, receptions and corporate events – using the macarons as part of afternoon tea or to garnish desserts, and the canapés as hors d’oeuvres or starters.
“Once they thaw, they look stunning. You wouldn’t realise that they were frozen thaw and serve products. They look handmade and homemade,” he adds.
According to Bill, Tipiak’s pâtisserie helps with long-term planning for events – he gets the products ordered nice and early, and pops them in the freezer for on-the-day thawing and serving – which avoids last-minute panicking. It also saves time in the kitchen, offers convenience, and helps with allergen information, as the ingredients for each canapé are constant and are clearly labelled, which can easily be shared with front-of-house staff.
One of the key benefits of using the thaw and serve products is that it frees up staff to prep for other parts of the meal.
“It would take two chefs eight hours to make from scratch canapés for a canapé reception for 250 people, allowing six canapés per person,” adds Bill. “So it saves a lot of time by using Tipiak’s pre-prepared products.
“We have just moved into a purpose-built kitchen and dining hall, so we really are expanding into the conference sector and looking to host more awards and other ceremonies, and these products really help us to cater for large numbers of guests.”
One of Bill’s favourite ranges of Tipiak canapés is the Provençal Bistro Canapés – a 63-piece selection featuring seven delicious flavours, which are all suitable for vegetarians. They take just four hours to thaw in the fridge and include mouth-watering products such as mini brioche with brie, apple, fig and hazelnut, and courgette and cherry tomato on a polenta base.
This selection is particularly convenient as the food served at all graduations at Homerton College is now vegetarian or vegan.
“We are going down the plant-based route at the moment and we are looking to possibly go completely vegetarian and plant-based for our graduations,” explains Bill. “Everyone seems happy. We have had no complaints.”
The Tipiak Vegan Cocktail Selection was launched recently with just this in mind…a range that is so tasty it will impress all guests, not just those on a plant-based diet! It features seven different flavours including mint pea muffins with almond cream and edamame bean, walnut crackers topped with avocado and almond, and courgette shortbread with cucumber and hummus.
For details of Tipiak’s sweet and savoury pâtisserie available to the UK food service sector, visit www.tipiakfoodservice.co.uk