Auntie’s, which makes handmade snacks, treats and original sauces created with the help of Auntie Pannum, has joined forces with the hospitality experts to bring its mouthwatering wares to The Abbey Artisan Market, located in the recently reimagined Avenue at Coombe.
Pannum’s granddaughter Shireen Dhaliwal-Davies and her husband Gregory Davies founded the business with Auntie in 2018. After initial success selling its sauces to farm shops and delis, the wholesaler, based on Red Lane Industrial Estate in Coventry, branched out into making Indian snack boxes, including samosas, to sell to the public.
And now, its most popular products including its Indian ketchup, chilli mango sauce and handmade apple crumble samosas, will be available to pick up at the farm-style shop located in The Avenue at Coombe.
Its recipes, which feature an everchanging selection of sweet and savoury samosas, are inspired by the 90-year-old’s cooking and classic Indian cuisine, with Shireen and Gregory bringing new ideas to the table, and Auntie’s daughter Helen Dhaliwal in charge of sweet creations.
As well as via The Abbey Artisan Market, Auntie’s products will be available to buy at The Abbey’s coffee hatch, which allows visitors to pick up drinks and snacks while their children explore the play area at Coombe Abbey.
Customer favourites including aloo tikki – which are crispy potato-based snacks – as well as gourmet vegetable samosas and onion bhajis will all be available individually, or as part of a snack box complete with a choice of one of Auntie’s signature sauces.
While helping to run Shimla Pinks well into her seventies, Auntie, who moved to Coventry in the 1950s, would commute more than 200 miles every day from Coventry to Manchester to help perfect the restaurant’s vegetarian recipes and supervise staff, not finishing until the early hours of the morning.
She also ran a pair of clothes shops on Stoney Stanton Road and Walsgrave Road, and several restaurants in Birmingham.
Gregory, who is originally from Lichfield, said the partnership with NOHM is part of a long-term growth plan for Auntie’s, and that Mrs Pannum was fully responsible for quality control of all dishes.
He said: “Auntie has been guiding us all the way on this journey and we are thrilled to be sharing her recipes with even more people now thanks to our partnership with No Ordinary Hospitality.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to reach more members of the public and grow our brand, and hopefully for lots more people to try some of our creations. I know Auntie is really excited about this next step for the business, and it’s another chapter to her brilliant culinary legacy.”
The Abbey Artisan Market stocks a range of artisan products including preserves, meal kits, pies, and other items from local suppliers – including Honey Coombe, which is made from bees that harvest pollen and nectar from within Coombe Abbey’s grounds.
Ron Terry, Operations Director at NOHM, said: “Gregory, Shireen, Auntie and the team have developed a really strong brand with some great options for foodies to enjoy on a trip to Coombe Abbey or to take home, and we’re delighted to be working with them.
“This is part of our ongoing push to establish more connections with high quality local suppliers, which has yielded some terrific results so far, and we are expecting Auntie’s to be another big hit with visitors.”
To find out more about Auntie’s visit eatwithaunties.com. For more information about The Abbey Artisan Market visit www.theavenueatcoombe.co.uk/artisan-market
