Plenty of good news around at the moment: It’s our twenty-fifth birthday, the sun has got his hat on and Andymonium is in full swing as the super Scot reaches the semi-finals at SW19.

And here’s some more good news – it’s competition time!

The Great Belvoir Buffet

So let’s suppose we were inviting thousands of you to our big birthday bash. We’d take care of the soft drinks, obviously. But we’d like you all to bring a plate of Belvoir-related nosh. Or a jug of your best cordial-infused cocktail.

What would you bring?

Perhaps a tasty cheesecake that makes splendid use of our elderflower cordial? Or maybe some lime & lemongrass muffins? You might have your own twist on the Dragon’s Breath cocktail that you’d like the world to sample.

You don’t to need to be the world’s best chef. We’re just looking for ideas – or even novel ways of presenting them.

Feel free to include recipes with your suggestions, or – since it’s become a theme here at Belvoir On For Britain – deliver them using verse and rhyme.

To be in with a chance of winning, just pop your suggestion into the comment box below.

Five lucky winners will each receive a limited edition Belvoir Fruit Farms cordial jug, a box of Belvoir tumblers and we’ll throw in a bottle of cordial to fill them, too.

Good luck!

(Not very interesting terms and conditions can be found here.)

A big week for Blighty!

Today is Her Majesty’s birthday (her actual birthday, not the official one with all that colour trooping). Perhaps one shouldn’t mention how old dear Elizabeth is, but if you’re baking her a cake we suggest you pop down the shops and pick up about 83 candles.

Here on the farm, we’ll be raising a glass to Her Majesty. And what better way than with a glass of something from the beloved Belvoir Fruit Farms recipe book – the Dragon’s Breath cocktail.

Let’s be clear: we are not implying HRH has a bad spot of halitosis. Not at all. The Dragon’s Breath cocktail is in celebration of St George, dragon-slaying patron saint of England (and Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal and Russia, according to Wikipedia).

The cocktail makes use of Belvoir’s delicious Raspberry & Rose Cordial – available, of course, from our online store.

Here’s the recipe in full:

Method: lightly crush the chilli and raspberries in a shaker. Add all remaining ingredients and shake for 8-10 seconds (if you’re feeling brave, throw in a few tricks to make you feel like a Las Vegas bartender). Double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a long red Thai chilli.

Toasting the Queen with a Belvoir Fruit Farms cocktail on St George’s Day. Could anything be more quintessentially English? (Perhaps watching the London Marathon with a slice of victoria sponge while moaning about the weather.)

Best of luck if you’re running the aforementioned marathon on Sunday. Remember to refresh yourself with plenty of water (or delicious cordial from you-know-who) during and after the race!

And if you do decide to make the Dragon’s Breath cocktail – or any of the Belvoir Fruit Farms recipes – please send us your pics. We’d love to post them on this blog.