Hop to it! Can you find our missing Easter bunnies?

Helmsley detectives-in-the-making we need your help!

We’ve had an invasion…. somebunny’s stolen something!

You see, we had an Easter window display and in it were some Easter-related words. Well, 12 letters have disappeared – and we think we know who the culprits are.

We’ve spotted 12 Easter bunnies hiding around our store. They’ve taken a letter each and got it all jumbled up, so we can’t even remember what it’s supposed to say any more!

So, we’re asking visitors if they can give us a helping hand to find the rabbits and unscramble the word. If you manage to do it, you’ll get as Easter treat – as well as being entered into a prize draw to win a Lindt Easter goody bag. And believe us – that would be something eggstra special to unwrap!

The bunny hunt will take place from Monday 26th March to Monday 2^nd April.

We’re grateful for any assistance you can provide, and there’s no pressure to contribute, but running alongside our bunny hunt, we’re doing a voluntary donation of 50p for charity. The charity we’ve chosen is the Helmsley Open Air Swimming Pool, which offers affordable outdoor swimming for the local community, and is so important to local families. It needs to raise funds for essential maintenance and renovations, so every penny helps.

As an aside for mums and dads - hopefully the missing bunnies will keep youngsters entertained for a little while, leaving you to shop in peace – hoppy Easter all round!

A most eggcellent Easter

Sorry – it’s that time of year when we get over eggcited and the Easter puns come out in force. We try and resist, but then we crack. We’re not even yolk-ing.

Easter, like Christmas, is a time of good food and the coming together of family and friends. Perfect. And for those people who gave something up for lent – it’s the chance to enjoy whatever it is they’ve been missing. The most popular thing to give up is chocolate apparently – so what luck that Easter Sunday is one of only two (possibly three) days a year when it’s acceptable to eat chocolate for breakfast.

Here at Hunters we love looking for unusual Easter Eggs and treats – if you’ve done 40 days without, you want your first taste to be something eggstra special. We’ve searched the globe for the very best sweet treats to make your Easter.

All the way from Australia, we have a stunning box of nine chocolates from Xocolatl – master chocolatiers and fine artists. With a combination of six different colourful speckled eggs, and three chocolate Easter chicks, they are as beautiful as they are delicious.

Montezuma’s are one of the best British chocolatiers and they have some really lovely products this year.  The Eco Egg range comes in innovative eco friendly packaging – after all, those Easter eggs boxes and plastic shells can really mount up. The Eco Egg packaging is made of a sturdy biodegradable paper outer shell and a foil wrapping - no plastic in sight! Try the organic white chocolate with raspberry variety for a taste sensation.

Also from Montezuma, there is the Absolute Black Egg. Ideal for those who avoid dairy, sugar, gluten or soya, or who are just trying to make healthier food choices. It definitely has a dramatic cocoa hit – you have been warned!

Looking for something a bit sweeter? The Nutty Filled Chocolate Hen’s Eggs are lovely - three Hen-sized chocolate eggs filled with richest, decadent Praline - milk chocolate with orange and hazelnut, dark chocolate with almond and white chocolate with peanut butter.

If you’re not bothered about it being egg shaped, how about Peters Pecare Cassis Marc de Champagne, from Germany? Coming in a lovely tin, the slender, creamy white chocolate shell combines wonderfully with the zesty cassis and champagne centre. It’s making my mouth water!

Made in Cornwall, the handmade Buttermilk Artisan Confectionary eggs are delicious. The Caramel Sea Salt Egg is a Belgian chocolate egg, decorated with indulgent butterscotch chips and filled with a bag of buttery Caramel Sea Salt fudge which melts in the mouth.

So whatever Easter treat takes your fancy – we’re pretty sure we’ll be able to rustle something up to keep you happy! After all, we wouldn’t want any hot cross bunnies.

Get a pie-ce of the action this British Pie Week

It’s British Pie Week and we couldn’t be happier!

We know there seems to be loads of these awareness weeks – celebrating everything from clam chowder to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We think anyway, we haven’t checked those two specifically…

But PIE WEEK! Everyone loves a pie, surely? A dish that dates back to the Ancient Egyptians and the Romans. A family dinner that everyone can agree on. A dinner party pleaser. A midweek lunch eaten cold on the run, or eaten warm and savoured! However you eat them, there’s nothing quite like them for Britishness. Probably most of us have fond memories of our grandparents and parents making pies – sweet or savoury.

So, this being Pie Week and all, it’s the ideal time to get your fix. And we’re not bragging or anything (ok, well maybe a little bit) but we have some truly amazing flavours to tickle your tastebuds…

From the wonderful Yorkshire Baker at Malton, how about traditional and ever popular steak and ale or chicken, bacon and mushroom? Or for something a little bit different, we are the exclusive stockist of the amazing Slow roast pork in cream and cider sauce, with cider provided by the fantastic monks at Ampleforth Abbey. Perfect for a treat for you, or we can also offer its family size frozen pies which you can order at any time.

Johnsons of Thirsk provide us with amazing pork pies of all shapes and sizes. There’s the traditional pork pie sold as it comes, then how about pork with apple, or red onion marmalade and wensleydale? Or maybe you’re partial to a bit of piccalilli? There’s also the lattice pie sold by the slice or whole – pork, black pudding and apple. Mouth watering yet?

We also have game pie and a family steak plate from Johnsons – ideal for a winter warmer dinner idea, or a Sunday lunch.

If any of these pies take your fancy, once you’ve had a little try we can also take orders for them in a larger size. Up to 4lbs of loaf pie – plenty to feed your extended family and more! Although given the World Record for munching a 10cm by 3cm meat and potato pie is just 32 seconds, being as tasty as it is, maybe it won’t take that long to get through it…