Food 'n' Drink

2010 FreeFrom Food Awards Shortlist

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:01:14 +0000

From sheep’s milk ice cream, gluten-free syrup sponge and free-from fusilli with amaranth to gluten-free fish fingers washed down with a gluten-free glass of beer, nearly 200 freefrom products have made it onto a very long ‘shortlist’ for the FreeFrom Food Awards 2010 – some indication of the spectacular growth seen in this sector of the food industry in recent years.

The FreeFrom Food Awards are the only industry awards that celebrate excellence in this field. Now in their third extremely successful year, the 2010 awards have attracted over 1,000 freefrom entries from every type of supplier from one man/woman bakers to multinational food manufacturers.

The awards were started by www.foodsmatter.com, a website dedicated to covering all aspects of freefrom food.

Says Michelle Berriedale-Johnson: “The response to the launch of the awards has just been fantastic and mirrors the expansion in the whole market. Whereas in year one (2008) we had maybe 30 entries for the bread or the cake section, in year two (2009) we had 60 – this year (2010) we have had over 100!”

The final judging to choose the winners of the 2010 awards will take place at the end of March.

For the full list see below or go to http://www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk/shortlist_10.html

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European Commission gives go-ahead for GM potato

Alan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:38:04 +0000

The European Commission had approved consumption of a few genetically modified (GM) crops that include a potato called Amflora and a various types of maize.

The crop approvals were made on Tuesday and were significant as they marked the end of a deadlock in which lawmakers in Brussels in refused to approve GM foods for a 13 year period.

The Amflora crops will be grown for use as an industrial starch and bred by BASF. Although it is not likely to be produced within the UK, the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC) declared that the decision was monumental as it ended the hiatus of EU approved GM crops.

Chairman of the ABC, Dr. Julian Little, stated that the council welcomes the approval after the last 13 years and hope that the decision made on Tuesday will signify a turning point in the way that the EU recognizes the benefits of GM technologies to the environment and to farmers.

Little added that if the UK is serious about allowing farmers to produce affordable and high quality food for its consumers than the country must be open minded about allowing farmers to choose efficient methods of crop production that include many scientific advances including GM.

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Home Baker of the Year 2010 Competition – Enter Your Recipes

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:45:51 +0000

There is still tiem to enter the Home Baker of the Year compeition. The first 100 recipes will receive a pair of tickets to the Ideal Home Show and the chance to attend a champagne reception on March 25th at the Ideal Home Show.

Furthermore, the best 5 recipes will be decided by our panel of expert judges, and go into a LIVE BAKE OFF FINAL, at the Ideal Home Show, on 30th March.

The winner of the bake-off challenge will also receive a chance to be published in the Ideal Home Show’s official recipe book to be launched at the show in 2011, as well as a cake decorating course with Baketique chef Mychelle in her London based kitchen, a VIP nights stay for two at Hotel Rafayel, London, including dinner for two and a spa treatment in the hotels beauty spa.

Deadline for entry is 10th March 2010.

For further information visit http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/home_baker/

Or email your entries to: homebakeroftheyear@stuart-higgins.com

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Cheap booze a problem in Welsh pubs

Alan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:22:51 +0000

A new report by a charity states that cheap drinks that are marketed in Welsh clubs and pubs may lead to the increase of serious health problems among patrons.

The Alcohol Concern survey took a close look at premises located in Wrexham, Newport, and Swansea and found that about half of all the pubs and clubs offer deals on their alcoholic drinks.

With deals that price spirits around £1 it will cost a woman £3 to drink double the recommended amount of alcohol daily and £4 for a man. In order to combat the problem the charity has asked that bold measures be taken.

Titled ‘Counting the Cost’, the report included a survey of 43 clubs and pubs in three separate locations within Wales on a Friday back in November of 2009. Out of those venues twelve were found to offer spirits for just one pound.

Some of the venues also offered two or three for one deals and/or pints that were prices as low as one pound. In fact, at many the venues alcohol was found to be cheaper than soft drinks with only 12% of the venues offering patrons discounts on non-alcoholic drinks.

The charity noted that while the clubs can bring large benefits to cities and towns, the additional revenues must be balanced alongside the health implications of offering alcohol for such a small amount.

Their recommendation is that venues compete based on their atmosphere, facilities, and entertainment instead of who offers the best prices on drinks.

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Look Again at How you Buy your Wine

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:43:45 +0000

How do you buy wine? Bundled in with the weekly supermarket shop? Plucked from the off-license shelf? Making the vaguest of stabs in the dark as to what wine you are after, without really being sure? The average supermarket wine aisle might boast a huge number of wines, hailing from just about every corner of the globe, but without any context this wealth of options can easily prove to be more bewildering than helpful. Which of the represented regions delivers the finest type of each wine? What are the best wines to be served with specific dishes? Questions that might well be buzzing in your brain as you make your selection, but who is going to help you out with them? The guy filling the wine aisle shelves? Yeah, good luck with that.

For those seeking an interesting, informed alternative to this ritualistic fumble in the dark, then wine buying online or buying wine via mail order can offer some assistance. A website is able to offer supplementary information with each retailed wine, giving additional information about taste and the perfect culinary accompaniment. What is more, a website can be calibrated to your individual tastes. Simply take a few seconds to provide some information about your preferences, and the website can subsequently offer specific recommendations as to which wines might be to your liking. Whether your favourite tipple be the freshness and sweetness of a good white, the richness and intensity of a sublime red, or the rich, complex, yeasty flavour of champagne, the decision to buy wine online or mail order wine can help identify the perfect wine for you.

Wine clubs too can offer help in regard to learning more about how to judge wines, and make sure you get the best possible deal. A great blend of the educational and the social, membership of a wine club can not only help you explore the rich, but sometimes intimidating and complex, world of wine, it can bring social benefits too, as you meet and interact with others who are also keen to develop their passion for wine.

And there is one other very real, very pertinent advantage when you buy wine online or mail order wine – namely, cost. The price of the wine you pay for over the counter has been swollen by a number of elements which have precious little to do with the liquid in the bottle. Yes, the wine itself partly determines how much money you hand over at the till, but there are other assorted factors which help inflate the price-tag; from taxes, to duty, to the cost of marketing. By the time you are picking your chosen wine from the shelf, then it has in all likelihood passed through any number of hands – importers, wholesalers, the shops themselves – each one of which serving to ramp the cost that little bit further skyward.

The choice for winemakers is often between handing over their product for a relatively small sum to a massive retailer, or getting out there and hawking their wares themselves. But buying wine online establishes a new link of sale, retailing the finest independently-produced wines direct to the customer, and ensuring winemakers and consumers alike are given the best possible deal.

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How to eat a Jerusalem artichoke without the side effects

Alan — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:23:06 +0000

It’s commonly understood that the Jerusalem artichoke is not actually a real artichoke and also does not have origins in its name sake.

However, many people believe that it also causes people to produce excess wind, which may be to the fact came from North America and the actual edible part is not found in the artichoke part of the plant.

However, the second part about the wind is true, due to the fact that it has a large amount of insulin in it that is similar to fructose, which humans are not able to digest due to a lack of enzymes. Therefore, when it comes to digesting the fruit often, intestinal bacteria take over, which are able to convert it into store energy, but as a result release carbon dioxide, which is where the wind comes in.

In order to become seriously uncomfortable however you would need to eat a lot of the vegetable although combining it with something such as a potato helps to reduce the gas production.

Thus, if you really want to have a Jerusalem artichoke then you should cook them for 12 hours and at least at a temperature over 90C, which helps reduce the amount of insulin that is produced and thus reducing the amount of gas that is produced.

An interesting fact is that in North America the Jerusalem artichoke is actually referred to as a sunchoke making it a close relative of the actual artichoke.

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Restaurant loses its Michelin star, 3 times

Alan — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:35:07 +0000

Losing one Michelin star can horrifying for a restaurant, losing two can be a straight out disaster, but now the Goose located in the Oxfordshire town of Britwell Salome now has to face how to deal with losing three.

The staff at the former one Michelin star restaurant walked out after a dispute over the business’s direction taking the award status along with them.

At the moment, the restaurant is closed due to what their voice messages says is a set of ‘unforeseen circumstances.’ On the other hand, a notice hanging in the window of the stone building states that the restaurant is closed for refurbishment and will open its doors again under new management on March 16^th.

Chef Ryan Simpson walked out along with his staff last week after a debate with the owner, Paul Castle, who stated that he planned to change the format of the restaurant into a pub.

Simpson was forced to regain the Michelin star because the previous chef left stating there were financial difficulties. In a statement yesterday Simpson stated that he did not like the way Castle planned to alter the business.

The Goose first won a Michelin star in 2005 but lost it after Chef Mike North moved to another restaurant. It then once again received the Michelin star in 2008 with Chef Matthew Tomkinson but after only six months left because he felt the financial side of the business was in disarray.

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Burger King’s 3 Cheese Angus

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:59:53 +0000

We try to be inclusive on this website, so here’s a trailer which includes information about King Tasty Shirts where you can create your own BK T-Shirt design!

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Looks Good, Tastes Great Jewish Culinary Favourites book launched by Action Duchenne charity

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:35:41 +0000

Action Duchenne, the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy charity launches second cook book after success of ‘Caledonian Kitchen’ with all proceeds to support research.

Action Duchenne has launched its newly published cook book, “Looks Good, Tastes Great – Jewish Culinary Favourites” this month. The cook book features recipes from celebrities and well known personalities in the Jewish community, including Nigella Lawson, Michael Grade, Maureen Lipman, Ed Miliband, Michael Winner and David Pleat. All proceeds from the book will raise money for the charity, which has an introduction by Denise Phillips, professional chef and cookery writer and foreword written by Helena Bonham Carter, patron of the charity.

According to Hollywood actor and Patron of Action Duchenne, Helena Bonham Carter: “So many celebrities from within the Jewish Community have donated recipes for Looks Good, Tastes Great, but the book will appeal to anyone with a love of cooking. Jewish and British cooking are closely linked and a dish celebrating its 150th anniversary this year – fish and chips – is known to have been a Jewish invention from the East End of London. So forget the calories and enjoy the recipes! At the same time, you’ll be supporting Action Duchenne and its vital work in bringing forward treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.”

The official launch of the book is to be held at Let’s Meat restaurant in Boreham Wood on Tuesday 16th February 2010, when guests will enjoy a three course meal with a cookery demonstration by Denise Phillips. They will have the opportunity to have their own copy signed by Denise, who trained with renowned restauranteur Prue Leith and who has written four books, including Modern Jewish cooking with Style and Jewish Mamas Kitchen.

Nick Catlin, CEO of Action Duchenne said; “It is fantastic to see such a worthwhile project come to fruition with this book launch. Not only does the book feature genuinely desirable recipes, it is a great way to raise more funds for our charity. Our previously launched cook book Caledonian Kitchen sold over 8000 copies, which was a tremendous boost to our fund raising efforts. From the funds raised we have been able to support scientific and clinical studies that have a strong chance of therapeutic treatments being developed. We extend thanks to all of those who have helped achieve the successes that we have seen so far in our aim to help improve the quality of life for patients living with Duchenne.”

Copies of the Looks Good, Tastes Great – Jewish Culinary Favourites will be available to order from the Action Duchenne on 020 8556 9955
or emailing mark@actionduchenne.org

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Laithwaites opening new store in the Vinopolis complex

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:33:01 +0000

On Friday February 19th, the new Laithwaites flasghip store in the Vinopolis complex will open near Borough Market. Customers are being invited to join staff from Laithwaites and Vinopolis, as well as stallholders from Borough Market, for a celebratory glass of champagne and an exciting evening wine tasting.

The celebration continues on Saturday February 20th when Laithwaites, the UK’s largest independent wine merchant, is offering customers the unique chance to walk away with a bottle of the finest wine for just £5. From 10am – 10pm, Laithwaites will offer 500 ‘mystery’ bottles for sale, all for £5 each. Highlights include Lafite, Haut-Brion, Mouton and mixed in amongst the bottles, all worth over £5, will be other established classics and New World discoveries. There will only be 500 bottles so with thousands expected to try their luck come early to avoid disappointment.

As well as picking up their mystery bottle, customers will also be able to taste a selection of wines from Laithwaites comprehensive range, at one of the world’s longest wine tasting tables in the 5,000sq ft store.

Opening of the Laithwaites Store – February 19th 4pm onwards

Wine Lucky Dip – February 20th 10am – 10pm

The store is situated at No.1 Bank End, London SE1 9BU.

For further information visit www.laithwaites.co.uk

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