Tasty Tuesdays at Whole Foods

Five dishes, five wines – all for five pounds. Where do I sign up?

A relatively new supermarket for Cheltenham, opening its doors a little over two years ago, Whole Foods has become a favourite amongst locals. It fits in perfectly within the Cotswold community and offers a ton of fresh new foods that other ‘markets don’t offer – perhaps for a slightly more premium price but don’t let that put you off. These quality products are worthy of the hype.

 Last night’s event reminded me of the selection of dishes that can easily be rustled up at home, inspiring summer salads and BBQ side plates, accompanied by a wide choice of wines, beers and fruity soft drinks. You begin by picking up your food passport and a wine glass before heading to the five stations around the store, strategically set up to promote their products and lure you into making some cheeky purchases.

We strolled along to Station 1, where we sampled a mouth-watering dish of Watermelon & Feta Cheese Salad. Washed down with Ancora, Pinot Grigio Rose, the cucumber complimented the sweet watermelon whilst the black olives and Feta gave it a savoury kick. Ideal for sharing with friends and family during the summer months, it’s my new favourite go-to salad.

Station 2 let us sample some BBQ chicken wing delights. Placed on a bed of rice with peppers, red onion and coriander and paired with a Chardonnay from Burge Wines, Benchmark, we happily sat at the bar devouring the meat in the best lady-like fashion we could manage – no knife and fork in sight.

Station 3 – Tortilla Chips & Dips.

Sprinkled with grated cheese and a cheeky dash of mild (wimp) salsa sauce, this is one of my all-time favourite snacks. Whilst I avoided the jalapenos (again, wimp) I sipped on a glass of Limonate and dived into my boat of corn chips. Usually shared amongst friends, I could have eaten another plate of this all to myself and I’m very tempted to go back and pick up a bottle of that sauce…

Welcome to Station 4 – Cheesecake! 

A small pot of Vanilla & Lemon Cheesecake and a handful of berries on the side, we sat down at the bar and began tucking in to this tasty treat. A light and creamy topping with a caramel biscuit base, which added an extra sweet kick to the pud, this was perfectly paired with the Cuvee Jean-Paul, Cotes de Gascogne Rose – a pale pink wine with berry aromas, fresh and fruity!

Hello Station 5, Cheese glorious cheese. 

I’m no cheese connoisseur but oh boy, this was amazing. Shout out to the lovely Trevor who informed us with his cheese knowledge (on his first day, no less), though I have a memory like a sieve and can’t remember for the life of me what they were called. The middle chunk of cheese was Camembert and the one on the left reminded me of Brie… of course I blame the wine consumption, the Château de l’Aumérade, Cru Classé Cuvée Marie-Christine 2014 (a Rosé with strawberry and spice aromas) complimented the cheeses well and left us feeling satisfied with our five pound feast.

A lovely evening of flavoursome food, girly giggles and a list of summer recipes I’m keen to make!

Check out Whole Foods Tasty Tuesday delights every month – see the website for details.

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