Okay, I’m as much in favour of scientific advances as the next person but come on! Who is paying for these people to create a strawberry that tastes like a pineapple?! I had to double check the date on the front cover of the newspaper this morning and no, it wasn’t April 1st …
Allegedly scientists discovered the ‘pineberry’ somewhere far, far away and it looks like a reversed strawberry when it is ripe: white skin instead of red with little red seeds on the outside. I know that preparing a pineapple can sometimes prove to be a task that even Tom Cruise would find mission impossible but can you imagine what a simple pineapple tart is going to cost you if you used the pineberry? Waitrose is selling them from next week at £2,99 a punnet for five weeks whereafter the price increases to £3,99 … you do the maths. I, for now, will be sticking to my humble pineapple shaped pineapple!!
Good news for chocoholics in today’s Daily Express as it reports that eating just one piece of chocolate everyday could save your life. A study, published in the respected European Heart Journal has revealed that eating dark chocolate could cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke by almost 40 per cent. The catch? The key is moderation, 7.5 grams a day – no more than a small, single piece – is all that is needed to boost health. Any more and the levels of fat and sugar will outweigh the health benefits.
FareShare, the food redistributions charity, has been awarded a £362,000 grant which will allow it to build a new depot.
I have to say that I fall within the ‘many who only associate turkey with Christmas and Easter’ – should I be admitting this?!
I’m not sure Marco Pierre White will convince me otherwise by teaming up with Bernard Matthews Farms, but I’m intrigued as to what the outcome will be… This could well be the turning point and soon I could be making turkey a staple in my shopping basket …
With 72 days, 6 hours and 25 minutes until the World Cup kicks off in South Africa, it’s not just the fans and players that are counting down. The UK’s food and drink brands – including Mars, Carlsberg, Heineken, Kit Kat and Coca-Cola – are getting excited too.
This week’s Grocer, which summarised the tactics of some of the big food and drink brands, was interesting reading. Budweiser will be launching a limited edition pint can and trophy bottle; Kit Kat is launching a ‘cross your fingers’ campaign, and Carlsberg is on tour with a bus which lets fans record a motivational message which may get played at the tournament.
Here’s to a summer of football and fun food-marketing.
Today’s Daily Mail has made me wonder if I am a unfashionable, or b just have friends with good taste in dinner party fare. According to the latest research, Fajitas are apparently the most popular dish served at dinner parties. Dishes that present the host with convenience and informality dictate what they serve to their guests – and fajitas, so say the Mail, tick this box.
I may be missing the point, but aren’t dinner parties an opportunity to show off, try different recipes and eat something you wouldn’t normally just rustle up on a wet Wednesday?
Last week, Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal phoned into Christian O’Connell’s breakfast show on behalf of industry charity Hospitality Action.
Heston, a long-term supporter of the charity, spoke particularly about the Ark Foundation, set up to help combat drug and alcohol addiction in the industry. With sympathy sometimes being difficult to raise for charities that deal in addiction, Heston wanted to highlight the importance of the work of the foundation. In an industry that traditionally can be very hard, with exceptionally long hours and sometimes aggressive working environments employees may end up turning to alcohol and drugs to keep going: “Some chefs will have no where to turn and need mentoring and help. This charity supports that and this is why their work is so incredibly important,” commented Heston. (more…)
This week, Caterer & Hotelkeeper reports on a new 2012 website that is being launched for tourism businesses looking to benefit from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
www.Tourism2012Games.org is a collaboration of VisitBritain, London 2012’s Nations & Regions Group (NRG) and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). Aimed at providing information on how companies working within the tourism industry can benefit from the increased number of visitors to the UK during London 2012, this is a great initiative that should hopefully enable tourism businesses to really maximise the exciting opportunities that are coming their ay. It’s timely too – there’s still plenty of time for planning for this much-anticipated event.
Whilst I actually prefer a glass of Prosecco, I do appreciate a glass of cloudy, unadulterated cider at the Lambeth Show once a year. It’s the perfect drink to sit down and watch live music and rioting – it really makes you feel warm inside which is quite important as it’s usually cold and wet!
So I can certainly empathise with the West Country cider fans and manufacturers who are angry with the Government for hiking up the price on their favourite drink. It’s another example of decent people having to suffer for the bad behaviour of the few. If they really want to curb binge drinking then they should ban price promotions at the local supermarkets – don’t beat up the cider drinkers!
With Anya Hindmarch giving a ‘fashion makeover’ to the pub where the Great Train Robbery was planned – what more could a girl want than looking through the latest collection with a glass of wine in hand – perfect!!! Could the aptly named Bag & Bottle collaboration be the first of potentially many events geared towards capturing the imaginations (and wallets) of the female customer? Count me in!
