Tag Archives: Food

Andy Bates Recipe Videos Special.

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Andy Bates is known for his hearty, traditional British street food. Starting work in kitchens at 14 (before getting the chance at 17 to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant), Andy went on to study at a catering college in Canterbury. He then headed to France to hone his skills in French cuisine. Now, his company, Eat My Pies, produces classic Scotch eggs, pies and tarts which are sold on his stand at White Cross street market.

We have some amazing videos from Andy. Happy cooking.

You can watch Andy Bates American Street Feasts on Food Network UK (Freeview 48 and Sky 262/263). You can also find more of his recipes at www.FoodNetwork.co.uk

Cerviche Tacos

 

Philly Steak Pasty

Key Lime Pie

Smoke Roasted Trout

Pork Belly & Waldorf Salad Pretzel

The Food Hospital’s Fibre Challenge Success

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The Food Hospital Fibre Challenge app has had over 60,000 downloads to date following the return of the new series of The Food Hospital on Channel 4 last month. The application available on iPhone and Android devices has got the nation reaching for the fruit bowl and monitoring their toilet habits on a daily basis.

The Fibre Challenge application encourages viewers to record their bowel movements and increase the amount of fibre in their diet for 21 days. Participants are challenged to eat an extra five grams of dietary fibre every day in the first stage, and an extra ten grams per day in the second stage. Each day, they should record how many bowel movements they have had and the stool type using the Bristol Stool Form Scale. At the end of the challenge, participants hope to see a noticeable improvement in bowel health. The anonymous data will be added to the national results, with the overall findings published on The Food Hospital website.

The Food Hospital Fibre Challenge app has been devised by specialist dietitians and is a mass participation initiative to assess the effect of fibre on the nation’s bowel health. Most people don’t eat enough fibre. The recommended minimum daily intake of dietary fibre is 18 grams, but few get anywhere near that. Increasing the amount of fibre in your diet is believed to provide short-term health benefits and help prevent serious disease.

Alongside the app and as part of the new series, each week volunteers who have previously participated in The Fibre Challenge will have their results analysed to help viewers gain a better understanding to whether a high fibre diet significantly improves short-term bowel health. Fifty volunteers took part in The Fibre Challenge earlier this summer and for 21 days, they ate extra dietary fibre and sent information about their bowel movements anonymously to an expert team for analysis.

In a recent study, British Medical Journal reported that dietary fibre can potentially reduce bowel cancer risk by up to 20%. Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer: one person dies every half an hour from the disease, often because of late diagnosis.

The Food Hospital Fibre Challenge app has been devised by betty, the production company behind the series, in consultation with Channel 4 and specialist dietitians. Betty’s executive producer Neil Smith says, “betty has a track record for creating innovative content that captures the imagination. Our challenge was to translate this into a digital form, so we’re thrilled that it’s been so enthusiastically embraced. It’s engaging content with the potential to save lives”.

Deborah Alsina, Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer UK says: ‘We are delighted the Fibre Challenge app has been so popular as it is an important early step to improving bowel health. It is well known that simple changes to your diet and lifestyle, such as increasing your intake of fibre can make you feel better and help stack the odds against bowel cancer. Therefore the makers of The Food Hospital are to be commended for bringing this into the mainstream. We now need to keep momentum and continue to raise awareness and encourage action around this important public health issue.’

Lizzy Keene, Senior Producer for Factual at Channel 4, adds “We are delighted with the success of the app and to have reached over 60,000 downloads already. Our aim was to encourage people to talk openly about their bowel habits and visit their GP with any concerns. Bowel cancer can be successfully treated if it’s caught early enough and we wanted to break down the ‘poo taboo’ in a fun but informative way.”

Celebrity Cookbooks Popular at Christmas, But Remain Unwrapped

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OCADO, has revealed that despite stocking up on the latest celebrity cookbooks ahead of the Christmas season, one in ten Brits admit to never even opening them, with almost half (41%) of us only pulling them off the shelf when they need to make ‘something special’.

Even though half of the population say that they own at least four cookbooks, research from the online grocer reveals that busy lifestyles mean Brits don’t have the time to rustle up a meal from scratch, let alone break the spine on their mountain of cookbooks, with five per cent of those quizzed claiming that they don’t spend any time at all cooking each day.

However it seems as though the humble recipe book is not dead, with Ocado predicting that cookbooks are set to be a staple stocking filler this festive season, including the new titles from Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Heston Blumenthal.

Meanwhile, Ocado have also reported that sales of celebrity cookbooks have risen by 250% this year alone. Mouth-watering reads are also beginning to eclipse must-read erotica with the diet cookbook from The Hairy Chefs arousing more interest than 50 Shades of Grey, pushing sensationalist author E.L James off her throne on number one bestsellers lists.

Despite half of Brits showcasing exotic cookbooks on their shelves, findings reveal that the meals most regularly cooked are traditional classics like Spaghetti Bolognaise (60%), meat & two veg style roast dinners (54%) and sausage and mash (48%), with only a handful of Brits regularly taking on more exotic dishes such as Thai curry (16%) or Paella (10%).

Over a quarter of British foodies admit to tuning into at least two food programmes a week, with Masterchef (56%) and Great British Bake Off (34%) being firm favourites in the nation’s homes. However, despite immersing themselves in celebrity cook books and TV shows, when quizzed how long they spend preparing and cooking grub, a staggering 78 per cent said they managed to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Jason Gissing, Ocado co-founder states: “We know that Brits love to buy all of the latest celebrity cookery books and enjoy watching recipes being created on TV, but many of us just don’t have the time to recreate delicious meals for ourselves. At Ocado you can browse recipes from some of the UK’s top chefs, shop for ‘must have’ cookery books and order ingredients for delivery straight to your door. Plus Ocado offers everyday products alongside rarer, hard to find ingredients, making it quick and easy to buy everything you need all in one place, so you can spend your time creating your own delicious masterpiece.

Christmas customers also can make their life even easier by shopping for their family gifts and festive fare in one simple click – forget the queues and the festive rush!”

For further information on Ocado’s own selection of tasty recipes and ingredients, visit www.ocado.com/webshop/recipes/.

The Economics of Happiness | Film Review

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One of my favourite books is Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh, a riveting book by Helena Norberg-Hodge. The Economics of Happiness follows on from this book. It describes how consumerism and globalisation damages the lives of, not only villagers in Ladakh, but also the wider world in general. Making them less happy and affecting their livelihoods.

Helena Norberg-Hodge talks about the happiness index and gives a strong argument for localisation while exploding the myths that surround it. Did you know that most countries export as much food as they import? Critics say that it is not possible to feed the world without importing but this brilliant documentary sets the record straight on many environmental and economical issues. The Economics of Happiness lays waste with the idea that the relocalisation of food production in the West would cause starvation in the developing world.

People are sick of companies putting chemicals in our food. One of the problems of today is how far away we are from the reality of our food. Our food has become big business and it does harm to our health. It is depressing that we live in a world where a meal from McDonalds costs less than some vegetables. No wonder diabetes and other health problems are on the rise.

The Economics of Happiness has important people from six continents asking for economic change, including environmentalist and conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Andrew Simms and Clive Hamilton amongst others. The documentary runs for 65 minutes. It is well paced with high production value.

The documentary goes on to make 8 arguments against globalisation. It makes its point well and makes no apology, Norberg-Hodge thinks globalisation makes us unhappy and less socially connected. The documentary is well researched and it rightly points out that globalisation exists thanks to huge subsidies from governments. This documentary argues it’s case well and gives a strong argument for localisation.

I saw this film shortly after seeing the brilliant, Oscar-nominated, Foods Inc. As customers we have the power to vote with our wallets, even if that vote means we spend nothing at all.

I saw this documentary after Zac Goldsmith MP brought it to Richmond and afterward I met Helena Norberg-Hodge who has graciously said she would give Frost an interview. Something I am very excited about. Watch this space!

To find out more or to contribute; http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/

SUDA Thai Birthday Party

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I love Asian food so I was very happy to receive an invite to SUDA Thai’s first Birthday Party. This brilliant Thai restaurant is in the heart of Convent Garden. The restaurant has two floors and the decor is no expense spared. The food is brilliant as are the cocktails and champagne.

We were even given recipes to take home and shown how to cook See Krong Gae Yang Takrai – lemongrass- marinated rack of lamb with papaya salad.

Happy birthday SUDA, and thanks for the invite.

SUDA, St Martin’s Courtyard, WC2E 9AB. 020 7240 8010.

Oddities on the Southbank

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When I am super busy I love to have snacks in my bag. Especially as I am one of those people who tend to get grumpy when I don’t eat. I am covering both the Raindance Film Festivals and the London Film Festival so there is not much time to eat or even relax at the moment.

So it was quite blissful today when I took some time out today on the Southbank and recharged with some Oddities. The weather might not be brilliant but the view still makes up for it.

Oddities are cool savoury baked snacks that come in odd, fun shapes. Oddities come in Smoky Bacon and Cheese flavour. They are a great alternative to other snack things that you can have on the go. They are also much healthier than crisps and cereal bars and don’t have any artificial flavours or colours, They also come in sharing bags if you are not on the go. To find out more go here: Oddities

Sponsored Post.

WORLD’S FIRST ‘TWEET’ SHOP OPENS IN LONDON

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– Shoppers told to put money away and pay by social currency –

The world’s first high-street shop where customers pay by Tweet instead of money has opened in central London today.

The Tweet Shop is a standalone retail outlet from Special K and is being used to mark the famous cereal maker’s move into the savoury crisps market.

Customers are encouraged to put away their money and pay for a packet of new Special K Cracker Crisps by simply Tweeting a message about the low calorie snack range and sharing the news with the wider Twittersphere.

As well as the company’s first move into crisps, the shop is also Kellogg’s first venture into the retail arena with its very first dedicated physical space in the UK.

The shop is staffed by a number of iconic Special K girls in red dresses who will check each customer’s Tweet before handing over the crisps.

Kim Murray, 28 from London, was the first person to pay for the product with a Tweet.

Sarah Case from Special K comments: “The value of positive endorsements on social media sites is beyond compare so we’re excited to be the first company to literally use social currency instead of financial currency to launch this new product in our bespoke Special K shop.

“This is big news for Special K and we are hoping the brand’s move into crisps and the high street will create a major buzz on and offline.”

The Tweet Shop on Soho’s Meard Street, London is open from 9am to 5pm on Tuesday 25th September to Friday 28th September. It is lined with hundreds of packs of crisps, a ‘try before you buy’ snacking area and a ‘community noticeboard’ that captures social media reaction to the unique retail space.

Mateus Rosé Original | Drink Review

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Forget Diamond – Platinum & Pink are a girl’s best friend

this year with Mateus Rosé Original

 

I am a fan of rosé in general. When I received this wine I loved the design of the bottle. It is a beautiful colour too. The wine itself is delicious, refreshing, a good colour and not too sweet. In fact I think this is one of the best rosé I have ever tasted, and it is inexpensive too. The newly redesigned Mateus is excellent as aperitifs or with food, such as fish, seafood, Chinese and Asian cuisine and light meals

 

Reigning for longer than Her Royal Highness, Mateus celebrates its Platinum Jubilee this year toasting 70 years as the Queen of rosé wines. With the redesign of its iconic bottle, Mateus is refreshed and ready to be the taste of summer 2012.

 

To mark this impressive milestone, Mateus want to know what the nation is celebrating this summer and in return people will receive a free bottle of Mateus Rosé Original to help their special occasion go with a bang. All they have to do is visit mateusrose.net/win and fill in the blank “This Summer, I’m celebrating…”.

 

While this world famous rosé in its distinctively shaped bottled has been revitalised with a new contemporary pink-hued label and easy screw cap, Mateus keeps its same great taste. With its refreshing Mediterranean flavours, from picnics to evening parties, Mateus Rosé Original is the perfect drinking partner during this summer of celebration.

Raise your glass to the celebration of true greats this summer and join in the fun with Mateus at mateusrose.net/win. Mateus Rosé Original is available from all good stores and off licences at RRP £5.49.

 

The Mateus Rosé Original bottle giveaway/competition is for over 18s only