Tag Archives: Duncan Bannatyne

BBC Dragons’ Den star Kirsty Henshaw takes on the UKs top selling ready meals

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BBC Dragons’ Den star Kirsty Henshaw takes on the UKs top selling ready meals with a new range launching in Sainsbury’s, July 2012

Working mum Kirsty Henshaw, 26, shot to fame when her allergen-free dessert range – inspired by her food intolerant son, Jake – won over Dragons’ Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne in 2010.

Today, Kirsty is taking on the UKs top selling ready meals, introducing her range of healthier, irresistibly delicious and naturally nutritious chilled everyday meals.

The new range is super-charged with goodness; each meal is lovingly made up of nutrient-rich ingredients such as quinoa, aduki beans, brown rice and lentils to help you live life to the full.

Kirsty has created natural food swaps to provide healthier alternatives, and uses brown rice instead of white and sweet potato instead of white potato mash. Sugar has been replaced with natural Agave syrup for fewer calories. The meals are also free from wheat, dairy, lactose and nuts so they are suitable for everyone.

Kirsty adds: “A lot of ready meals on the market appear healthy however they are often packed with high levels of saturated fat, sugar or artificial flavours.”

“This new range is about providing people with something that is genuinely healthy as an alternative, and most importantly the meals taste fabulous!”

The meals have a low ‘green light’ for saturated fat and sugar content and have been designed to give a happy balance between salt levels and taste, they use natural sea salt and will at most register an ‘amber light’. At least one portion of your five day is provided for and the meals are low in calories (ranging from 276 to 420 for a Chicken Tikka Masala).

Kirsty’s chilled everyday meals will be available to purchase at Sainsbury’s nationwide from July 2012; the range includes:

ü Moroccan Vegetables with Brown Rice and Quinoa

ü Sausage with Onion Gravy and Carrot, Sweet Potato & Potato Mash

ü Chicken Tikka Masala with Brown Rice

ü Cottage Pie with British Beef mince and topped with Sweet Potato, Carrot & Potato Mash

The kirstys.co.uk website, which Kirsty has designed with her father, Darren a nutritionist and homeopath who runs health shop Aphrodite in Penwortham Lancs.

VEUVE CLICQUOT BUSINESS WOMAN AWARD 2012 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

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Veuve Clicquot announces the shortlist for its Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award at the WIE (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise) 50 Power Breakfast at The London Stock Exchange chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, bringing together shining examples of female entrepreneurship and business success across sectors ranging from fund management to fashion and hospitality. The finalists are, in alphabetical order:

· Anya Hindmarch: Founder, Anya Hindmarch

· Helena Morrissey: CEO, Newton Investment Management

· Ruth Rogers: Chef & Owner, The River Café

Regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of female entrepreneurs and business leaders, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award, now in its 40th year, celebrates entrepreneurial women who have made a significant contribution to business life in the UK. The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award nomination criteria are those ideals epitomised by Madame Clicquot: Entrepreneurship, financial success, Corporate Social Responsibility and acting as a role model.

All Finalists selected by the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award judging panel demonstrated the strongest evidence of all nomination criteria. Notable achievements included Helena Morrissey’s groundbreaking 30% Club, which helps champion the issue of women on boards, Anya Hindmarch’s entrepreneurial story and global pioneering of her ‘I am not a plastic bag’ initiative which raised the issue of plastic bag usage amongst the public’s consciousness as well as the government’s agenda, and Ruth Rogers’ steady growing business, changing how we perceive, as well as cook, Italian cuisine.

Carolyn McCall, previous winner of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award and current Panel member, noted: “The nominees for this year’s award are all great role models and have all the attributes that Veuve Clicquot looks for in its Business Woman Award. This award has played a vital role in recognising and celebrating women in business.”

Sian Westerman, MD of Rothschild and member of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award Panel commented: “This strong shortlist, drawn from an excellent long list, exemplifies what women can achieve in business: strong entrepreneurship and leadership, combined with a desire and ability to deliver real change in society. Spanning areas key to the UK economy of fashion, finance and hospitality, they are great role models for all who aspire to succeed in business.”

The winner of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award will be announced at a high-profile Champagne reception at The Ballroom at Claridge’s, London on the 18th of April 2012 at 6.30pm.

The Award’s 20-strong judging panel is comprised of business leaders, including Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive, easyJet, Jasmine Whitbread, CEO Save the Children, Duncan Bannatyne, Entrepreneur and Dragon, Caroline Michel, CEO, Peters, Frasers and Dunlop as well as Sian Westerman, MD, Rothschild and other key industry experts.

Christina Jesaitis, Senior Brand Manager, Veuve Clicquot said: “As we reach our 40th year of the award, social and environmental responsibility are still a key focus for our judges and this year’s finalists all represent business women that have embedded these important attributes into their organisations. The award also looks for those women that are able to act as more than just an example of a successful business woman, but rather an inspiration and mentor for future female entrepreneurs; we believe that all of our three finalists have demonstrated this quality.”

Created in 1972 as a tribute to Madame Clicquot and now operating in 27 countries, the annual Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award champions the success of business women worldwide who share the same qualities as Madame Clicquot; her enterprising spirit, her courage and the determination necessary to accomplish her aims.

Brighten Up Valentine's Day in Aid of UNICEF

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PURPLE RONNIE BRIGHTENS UP VALENTINE’S DAY WITH A SPLASH OF COLOUR

– Retro poet provides uniquely created poems in aid of charity –

Romantic rhyming favourite, Purple Ronnie, is creating a series of one-off poems for loved-ones this Valentine’s Day, to accompany a very special gift – your very own colour.

A world first, men and women will be able to gift their loved-ones an actual colour for them to own, through Facebook.com/OwnAColour, for a minimum donation of £1 – an initiative in aid of UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation.

A number of celebrities have named their own colour, including;

Jemima Khan – CFC Blue, named hers for her Chelsea mad son

· Sir Roger Moore – Swedish Blue, I chose to name this particular shade of blue Swedish Blue as it is the colour of the Swedish flag, the homeland of my very wonderful and very beautiful wife, Kristina, and not far off the cyan blue that represents UNICEFfor his wife

· Matt Dawson – Arcos Olive, Reminds him of his wedding day as it was the theme of my Wedding so will always be associated with good memories

· Duncan Bannatyne – Scottish Saltire Blue, It represents my proud Scottish roots

The gift of colour, accompanied by a unique Purple Ronnie poem, will be available from 8th February – for those who are organised – until Valentine’s Day itself – for those not so organised – and provides a special solution for all those Valentine’s Day gifting dilemmas, whilst also contributing to a great cause.

The limited-edition poem, in Purple Ronnie’s iconic cheeky style, will appear on your loved-ones Facebook wall on the 14th February, along with a link for them to pick and name their colour of choice.

Stewart Longhurst from the Own A Colour team comments:“What’s great about the Own A Colour initiative is that, not only does it allow people to put their name to a never-before-owned colour, but it harnesses the power of colour to have a positive impact on saving lives of children. Colour is such an important and personal method of expression, so what better way to show someone you love them this Valentine’s Day than with a colour of their very own, accompanied by an original love poem?”

PURPLE RONNIE OWNACOLOUR

With Own A Colour, your Valentine will be the exclusive owner of one of the 16.7 million colours that the average computer, smartphone or tablet can display.

Recent celebrity donators include The Saturday’s beauty Frankie Sandford as well as other UNICEF Ambassadors and fans such as Jemima Khan, Matt Dawson and Sir Roger Moore, who have all been inspired by their loved-ones in buying and naming their colours; Jemima Khan named hers CFC Blue for her Chelsea mad son, Sir Roger Moore’s Swedish Blue for his wife and Matt Dawson’s colour reminds him of his wedding day.

To Own A Colour, and for more information, visit: Facebook.com/OwnAColour

David Beckham more likely than Leonardo DiCaprio to make us act on climate change

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According to new research released to mark the launch of the Climate Week Awards, David Beckham is more likely to inspire us to save the planet than green god Leonardo DiCaprio. The Climate Week Awards will celebrate inspiring achievements by the greenest businesses, communities and people in the UK.

Climate Week commissioned Millward Brown to identify which celebrities have most influence in encouraging the public to go green. Bill Gates, Boris Johnson and David Beckham emerged as top influencers on the environment – amongst the most likely to inspire us to become greener. All figured in the top five out of a list of 20, beaten only by Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s most committed eco-hero, Leonardo DiCaprio, languished in 14th place.

The research found a strong correlation between familiarity and green influence, showing that celebs who are not actively ‘green’, like Beckham, still have tremendous potential to wade in on environmental issues. This also explains why, amongst female celebrities, X factor judge Cheryl Cole beat known environmentalist Gwyneth Paltrow to be the woman most likely to make people more eco-friendly.

Supported by Headline Partner, Tesco, and Supporting Partners Aviva, EDF Energy, Kelloggs and RBS, Climate Week runs from 21-27 March. Everyone will have the chance to influence the way society combats climate change by running an event for Climate Week, entering for an award or voting for their own Climate Week Hero at www.climateweek.com/awards

The full list of celebrities ranked (in order of their eco influence) is:

1. Al Gore

2. Bill Gates

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger

4. Boris Johnson

5. David Beckham

6. Ken Livingstone

7. Chris Martin

8. Cheryl Cole

9. Gwyneth Paltrow

10. Duncan Bannatyne

11. Phil Schofield

12. Robbie Williams

13. Fearne Cotton

14. Leonardo DiCaprio

15. Holly Willoughby

16. Colin Firth

17. Graham Norton

18. Sienna Miller

19. Paloma Faith

20. Gary Neville

Kevin Steele, chief executive of Climate Week, said:

“The celebrities in our survey could become award-winning climate heroes, but the survey also showed that everyone can have a big influence with the people they know. The Climate Week Awards give everyone the chance to show what they’re doing to make a difference. From young activists to innovative companies and jaw-dropping technology, these awards will recognise the best ways of combating climate change, and bring them to public attention.”

To enter the Climate Week Awards or to vote for your Climate Week Hero go to www.climateweek.com/awards