The London Foodie News

GEFILTEFEST JEWISH FOOD FESTIVAL - Sunday May 20th at London's Ivy House

2012-02-18T17:26:00.001Z

The third annual Gefiltefest Jewish Food Festival will be held on Sunday May 20th 2012 at London's Ivy House (appropriately the former home of the dancer Anna Pavlova).

The festival is a full day of more than fifty food demonstrations, lectures and workshops.

Claudia Roden will be interviewed at the festival and there will be plenty of food to taste. More information at www.gefiltefest.org. All profits from the event are donated to food-related charities.

CELEBRITY CHEF LEVI ROOTS COOKS UP A RECIPE FOR CHANGE TO LAUNCH WORLD FOOD NIGHT

2012-01-22T13:00:00.000Z

Celebrity chef Levi Roots is urging people everywhere to cook up a recipe for change and take part in the first ever World Food Night.

The food-lovers’ celebration will take place on February 24th and will see people across the UK cooking up delicious food from around the world in support of refugees.

A pack full of recipe ideas from countries like Eritrea and Bolivia, tips and giveaways will be sent to participants as part of the initiative, which is in support of the charity Refugee Action.

There will be top prizes for people who raise the most money, including the chance to enjoy a meal from Levi’s London eatery Papine.

Levi, who has voiced a film in support of World Food Night, said: “World Food Night is a great opportunity to share a meal with friends while raising awareness and funds for a great cause. Food can cross boundaries of culture and nationality, but it can also help people retain their culture. Many refugees have fled war and persecution but give a lot back to the UK. I would encourage anyone to hold a dinner party, learn more about refugee issues and cook up a recipe for change!”

Levi wanted to get behind the World Food Night initiative after he came to the UK as a young man from Jamaica and experienced how difficult it can be to adapt to a new culture.

He said: “For me, food has always been a key part of maintaining my own culture and it is a great way to break down barriers while having some fun!”

The fundraiser comes hot on the heels of the British Future State of the Nation Report 2012 entitled ‘Hopes and Fears’ which revealed that 68 per cent of people think immigration has been good for British food, with people from the West Midlands the most enthusiastic about the diverse food which is now available.

Dave Garratt, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said: “We are delighted to have the support of Levi Roots and already have lots of people signing up to support refugees through World Food Night. We work with people who have fled war and persecution and need protection. But refugees also have an enormous amount to give back to the UK, including through food and culture. Most of us love to try new foods and World Food Night is a chance to do just that, while raising awareness and cooking up a recipe for change!”

To get your fundraising pack and watch Levi’s film you can visit www.refugee-action.org.uk/wfn. To find out what other people are planning you can follow Refugee Action on Twitter at http://twitter.com/refugeeaction and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RefugeeAction.

Share a Whole Lamb at A La Cruz Winter Supper Club on 1 February 2012

2012-01-12T23:38:00.000Z

A whole lamb – cordero entero – is the celebration feast of feasts in Argentina. For the first time, A La Cruz in Farringdon, London EC1, will host its lamb supper club on Wednesday 1 February 7.30pm – and you are welcome to come by yourself or with a couple of guests. Slow cooked on the asador, the lamb is supported on metal crosses, a la cruz. Some four hours later, the lamb is crisp and meltingly succulent, and is ceremoniously carved by the host to share with the party. Until now, only guests of the owners and bigger groups have enjoyed the privilege of this spectacular dinner.

Tickets at £40 are available from A La Cruz, 42 Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 0HU. Tube: Farringdon, Angel, 10 minutes walk.
Telephone 020 7837 1999
eat@alacruz.com

Cordero Entero Menu

1 February 2012

Plate of 3 starters

Empanada: Argentine style filled pastries beef, spinach & ricotta

Provoleta: Grilled provolone cheese and crusty toasted bread

Mollejas: Grilled beef sweetbreads with lemon juice

Taster of beef fillet from the charcoal grill

Cordero Entero a la cruz: Whole lamb on the asador

Sauces: Chimichurri, and yoghurt & mint

Espinacas a la crema: Creamy spinach

Asadas a la sal: Rock salt baked baby potatoes

Salads with palm hearts, beetroot, beans, tomatoes, free-range egg

Panqueques: Traditional Argentine pancakes filled with dulce de leche

Septima wines will be specially selected to match and available to buy by the glass or bottle.

Along with other landmark restaurants in the vicinity - Smith’s of Smithfield and St John – A La Cruz is an essential destination in the meat trail which has established itself near Smithfield Market. Meat at A La Cruz is sourced from some of the premium farms in Argentina, and meat fans will take great delight in enjoying tender, flavoursome Ribeye, Sirloin and Rump steak, perfectly pink lamb, chorizo and chistorra sausages, morcilla grilled pork black pudding and mollejas beef sweetbreads. Starters include many dishes which will please vegetarians.

Whilst it is hard to take your eyes off the spectacular open Grill area, you will not miss the bold artwork of Turner shortlisted artist David Tremlett. His wall drawings adorn the large, bright dining room. Regular fans of A La Cruz feasting include The Meat Club and the Saracens Rugby team.

Tastecard - Is it all it's cracked up to be???

2012-01-03T14:45:00.000Z

Last Christmas, I gave you a tastecard. The very next day, we dined out at Brasserie Gérard.

By David Mentiply (@davidmentiply)

For the uninitiated, the tastecard gives you 50% off the bill or 2 for 1 meals at a range of restaurants in London. It’s not cheap, but for those who like dining out it saves money in the long-term. And according to the tastecard website, ‘there are no catches’.

At least, that is what customers are led to believe. I’m beginning to wonder if this ‘dining revolution’ is all it’s cracked up to be.

After proudly showing our new tastecard to the waitress at ‘Red Café’ one Saturday evening, we were told that it wasn’t accepted at weekends. Despite arguing our case, the manager pointed us towards the tastecard website. They were right, it can’t be used in ‘Red Café’ or for that matter, a host of other restaurants at weekends. In a flash, our bill was doubled and we wished we hadn’t ordered the side salads to accompany our Croque Madame.

A couple of weeks later, we decided to make a pre-cinema stop at another well-known chain restaurant. The staff at ‘Quick Pizza’ were attentive and the food OK. It being a Thursday evening, we were sure there would not be a repeat of the incident at ‘Red Café’. However, when it was time to settle the bill, we were met with fierce resistance. This time, we were told we should have booked a table, by phone, 24 hours previously and informed staff we intended to use our tastecard.

Now, call me overly suspicious but this doesn’t sit well with me. 24 hours in advance? That gives them just enough time to… hmm. What concoction can they conjure up in 24 hours? I dread to think. One wonders whether or not they use the same ingredients for us tastecarders as they do the norms? Or are we fed the scraps and leftovers from the night before?

And another thing, rarely do we know where we will be, at what time and what we will want to eat 24 hours in advance. I had envisaged being able to stroll around London, browsing the windows and outside menus of restaurants before deciding where to eat. In fact, as we’ve learnt, the tastecard sticker that so many proprietors are ‘proud’ to display doesn’t necessarily mean that they will take yours. There are so many exceptions to the tastecard premise – 50% off or 2 for 1 – that one begins to resent what is essentially a good idea.

We realised the card was pretty much useless during the recent festive season. Almost every restaurant or café we wanted to visit, didn’t accept the tastecard in the month of December.

The tastecard was meant to give us freedom, instead it’s severely restricted our eating habits and made us less adventurous. Soon we’ll only eat out on Wednesdays, between the hours of 7 – 8 pm in the months of August – November. Anything for a half-price meal!

Cafédirect is giving away a £500 gourmet experience - Ethical hot drinks brand is searching for the perfect pairing of coffee and dessert

2011-11-20T13:00:00.001Z

For everyone addicted to the Great British Bake Off or who fancies their chances on Come Dine with Me, Cafédirect could have the perfect foodie competition.

The ethical hot drinks brand is challenging Britain to create the perfect dessert recipe to pair with a cup of coffee for the chance to win £500 worth of vouchers for gourmet London cooking school L’atelier des Chefs. The winning recipe will also star in Cafédirect’s limited edition Coffee and Dessert Matching Cookbook.

Just as different wines have distinctive regional characteristics depending on elements such as the soil, climate and altitude, so the same is true for coffee grown in different locations across the world. Wine is often matched with food by sommeliers to enhance the flavours of both – and Cafédirect is encouraging the public to explore coffee in the same way.

It is pioneering a unique coffee matching experiment, asking coffee lovers everywhere to pair their award-winning single origin coffees with desserts to create a whole new after-dinner experience.

All people need to do to win is to submit an original dessert recipe to match with one of Cafédirect’s single origin coffees*.

Theirry Akroman, Cafédirect’s own coffee connoisseur, notes: “Choose from the citrusy notes of Kilimanjaro or the vanilla hints of Mayan Palenque, the rich chocolate undertones of Machu Picchu or the sweet spiciness of Cloud Forest – or enter one for each! Whether it’s a simple lemon tart or a sumptuous chocolate roulade we’re looking for the best flavour match with their chosen Cafédirect coffee.”

The winner will receive £500 to spend at the famous London cookery school L’atelier des Chefs, which has a host of courses to inspire any foodie, from the novice who’s never picked up a rolling pin to the seasoned pastry chef. The winner’s recipe will also become part of a limited edition Coffee and Dessert Matching Cookbook, which will also feature the top 16 desserts and coffee combinations as picked by the discerning panel of judges.

Plus the winner will also get travel and a night’s accommodation in London for two.

Visit www.facebook.com/cafedirect <http://www.facebook.com/cafedirect> for tasting notes and tips from Thierry on what flavours match each coffee and to enter your recipe.

Closing date is midnight, 25th November 2011. All entrants must be 18 or over. For more details, to submit your recipe and for terms and conditions please visit: www.facebook.com/cafedirect

The Long Table Launching on 25th November 2011 - Outdoor Night Food Market in Dalston

2011-11-19T10:17:00.003Z

The Long Table, a collaboration between The Bootstrap Company, who brought you the Dalston Roof Park, and The Loft Project launches on 25th November 2011.

They have joined forces with some of London's most innovative street food vendors and restaurants to bring you London's first outdoor night food market in a disused space in Dalston.

Hawksmoor, Moro, Big Apple Hot Dogs, Fin and Flounder Oyster Bar are all on board, as well as a host of other street vendors including Yum Buns, Yam The Cassava, Donut Girl, The Rotisserie Company. Last but not least, The Loft Project stall will be showcasing one of Nuno's signature dishes with a street food twist.

With British weather conditions taken into consideration, the night market is covered and there is a central banquet-style table, The Long Table, where eaters are invited to collectively feast on their market finds.

Launching on the 25th November, The Long Table will be open from 6pm until 12am every Friday night up until Christmas.

Follow the sound of live music, sensational smelling food and animated conversation and you'll find The Long Table in the heart of Dalston next Friday night.

The Long Table, Abbot Street, Dalston, E8 2DL.

London Cocktail Week – 7th to 16th October 2011

2011-10-04T15:36:00.000+01:00

A unique celebration of the capital's unrivalled cocktail culture

Like no other place, London's drinking scene articulates our modern golden age of cocktails - and throughout the week, over one hundred of the city's best bars will be throwing open their doors for our brilliant Cocktail Tours. Each bar involved will serve their own bespoke London Cocktail Week drink available at a reduced-price for those wearing a London Cocktail Week wristband.

Free transportation around the city will also be provided with dedicated London buses running every night of the week - plus master classes, tastings and parties are happening all over town - time to Drink Up London!

For more information, visit their website on www.diffordsguide.com/london-cocktail-week.

Oktoberfest at The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen - FREE TASTING SESSIONS

2011-09-30T16:30:00.000+01:00

Each Thursday throughout October, The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen's master brewer Mark Wainwright will be hosting tasting sessions in their micro-brewery and talking about how he produces a unique range of craft beers and ales in-house.

Tastings will be on offer between 5.00pm and 8.00pm on October 6th October 13th October 20th and October 27th providing the opportunity to discover some original styles and twists on traditional seasonal, bespoke brews.

The sessions are free of charge however numbers are limited. Please call 020 8948 4838, email enquiries@botanistbreweryandkitchen.com or speak to a member of staff to book your place.

The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen

3-5 Kew Green, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AA

Website: http://thebotanistkew.com/

Twitter: @_thebotanist

London Restaurant Festival - 3rd to 17th October 2011

2011-09-28T17:05:00.000+01:00

The London Restaurant Festival is a citywide celebration of eating out, designed to raise the profile of restaurants involved and increase covers. The Festival, created by restaurant critic Fay Maschler and her business partner Simon Davis, was launched in 2009. With the help of key partners, in its first year the Festival saw some 400 restaurants from across the capital running special, fixed-price Festival Menus, with about 10,000 meals being enjoyed by Londoners and visitors. Building on the awareness generated by a very successful inaugural Festival, 2010 saw nearly 600 restaurants serve up 30,000 covers as well as the likes of Alain Roux and Raymond Blanc joining culinary forces with Claude Bosi and Bruno Loubet respectively in unique, specially created events. During this time, the city’s restaurateurs work together to offer food lovers the chance to explore some of the capital’s finest cooking – from its high-profile Michelin-starred restaurants to coveted neighbourhood bistros.

The London Restaurant Festival comprises two main elements: Festival Menus and Festival Events. Attractively priced Festival Menus, designed to showcase a restaurant’s individuality and cooking style, are the bedrock of the annual celebration and the means to increase revenue for the participating establishments.

Unlike other Festivals, the London Restaurant Festival is not a singular, one-location event for which a single ticket can be purchased. It is an umbrella festival under which a host of activity and individual events take place.

For more information, visit the website on www.londonrestaurantfestival.com.

New Channel 4 TV show wants to hear your funniest Christmas dinner disasters!

2011-09-26T20:15:00.000+01:00

In a seasonal food special, Jamie Oliver will tackle the nation’s most common yuletide blunders to guarantee a stress-free Christmas.

Christmas dinner can often be a recipe for disaster. Botched Brussels, dropped desserts, scorched birds, food poisoned in-laws... most of us have had our share of kitchen calamities at Christmas!

Whatever the mishap, from the funny to the tragic, and the stressful to the very familiar – we want to hear your stories. And Jamie will help guide us through the worst of it, plying us with tips and tricks and lots of laughs along the way.

Tell us all about your funny festive flops for the chance to star in the show…

Email your story and contact details to: christmas2011@freshone.tv

Call on: 020 3375 5127 / 5099

Real Food Harvest Festival - 23rd to 25th September 2011 at the South Bank (FREE Event)

2011-09-23T11:00:00.001+01:00

London’s The Real Food Festival, held each May in Earls Court, introduces The Real Food Harvest Festival, an all-new FREE event celebrating British autumnal produce.

The Southbank Centre will play host to the first Real Food Harvest Festival from 23rd – 25th September 2011. Bringing around 120 producers, a top line-up of chefs, livestock and entertainment to an expected 50,000 people. The Real Food Harvest Festival offers a great opportunity to taste and buy the best the UK has to offer, at this exceptional time of the year.

Founder of Real Food Festivals Philip Lowery commented, “Autumn is an exciting time to be staging a food festival and to be able to bring the best of what we do in Earls Court to such a wonderful outdoor setting is a real bonus. Harvest Festivals are celebrated throughout the British countryside and we really want to bring that energy and celebration to the capital and continue our goal of reconnecting people back to where their food comes from. We are also delighted that we can create a free Festival for Londoners”

Since Pagan times in Britain harvest festivals have taken place at the end of September when the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox falls – the harvest moon. It is a festival of feasting, merriment and romance. With this in mind The Real Food Harvest Festival will be much more than just a food market. There will be livestock, taste workshops and loads of interactive activities for kids (and their parents too…) including butter-making, bread kneading and even butchery classes.

With plenty to eat and drink while you are there and all sorts of music and street theatre, the Real Food Harvest Festival offers a great day out for all the family.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/home

A SWEDISH CHRISTMAS COMES TO HARRODS

2011-09-22T13:00:00.001+01:00

The innovative and unusual flavours of Sweden arrive in London on 3 October 2011

This winter, Harrods is launching an exclusive range of Swedish products, many of which will be completely new to the UK. The array of Swedish treats will be available from 3 October 2011 up until Christmas, with limited edition Swedish dishes also on the menu at the Sea Grill restaurant.

One of Europe’s up and coming food destinations, Sweden is known for its unique and diverse set of pure natural ingredients, including berries, seafood and game. The delicious range available in the Food Halls includes Almnäs Tegel, a delicious mature cheese, Kalix Löjrom, caviar from the tiny whitefish living in the Gulf of Bothnia and an organic lingonberry jam.

For those who want to try some of the ingredients in action, the Sea Grill will also be serving two dishes created by Alexander Meier, the head chef at Swedish Lapland’s renowned ICEHOTEL between 3 and 19 October 2011. An innovative take on traditional Swedish food, the dishes will be Arctic char with dill butter, asparagus and morel cassolette, fried cherry tomatoes and assorted crayfish and King crab mousseline with candied tomatoes, clams, lingonberry vinaigrette and autumn salad.

To taste these gorgeous ingredients and recipes in their native environment, fly direct to the ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland this winter with the experts Discover the World (www.discover-the-world.co.uk/icehotel), three night trips from £1,093 per person.

Patara Restaurants Celebrates The Oyster Festival

2011-09-21T21:48:00.000+01:00

Fine-dining Thai restaurant Patara has collaborated with Maldon Oysters to celebrate the Oyster Festival with two new oyster dishes on its menu, which will be available at all four Patara restaurants in London throughout October and November 2011.

Patara’s chefs have created two new oyster dishes, combining traditional Thai cuisine with excellent seasonal produce from Maldon Oysters. The Rock Oysters (Three: £5.50; Six: £9.50) will be presented in two ways – raw and cooked, in the following styles:

Maldon Rock Oysters with mint, coriander, lemongrass, Thai vinaigrette, lemon and crisp shallots.

Maldon Rock Oysters deep-fried in soda batter served in its shell with bean-sprout and chilli sauce.

Champagnes by the bottle available to enjoy with the oysters include Moutard Brut Reserve (£35.80); Laurent Perrier Brut (£56.20); Veuve Cliquot Rosé (£66.40); Moet et Chandon (£148.10).

About Maldon Oysters

The Maldon Oyster and Seafood Company, established in 1960, is now one of the largest producers of Pacific oysters in the UK, with 3,500 acres of the River Blackwater under its management. All Maldon oysters are cleansed in water that passes through an ultraviolet filter system to kill any bacteria that may have been present at time of harvest. This process is monitored by the local health authority and DEFRA. www.maldonoyster.com

About Patara

The Patara restaurant group has been creating contemporary fine Thai cuisine for over twenty years and has four branches in London and a further five worldwide in Singapore, Vienna, Geneva, Beijing and Bangkok. Patara’s London venues are run by Saipin Lee, recently named alongside Nigella Lawson, Ruth Rogers and Angela Hartnett in the ‘Women 1st Top 100 Most Influential Women’ listing for 2011.

www.patarathailand.com/london

NEW TV FOOD SHOW NEEDS YOU!

2011-09-18T13:00:00.001+01:00

Are you a passionate amateur cook?

Do you want to make money from your culinary skills?

Would you like the opportunity to put your food product or recipe on the market?

NEW TV FOOD SHOW NEEDS YOU!

Splash Media is currently looking for competitive cooking couples (friends/partners/colleagues/relatives) to take part in a primetime food show.

If you love to cook and fancy making some money out of your skill then now is the time. Whether you make the best cupcakes or your family can’t get enough of your homemade stew, this really could be the opportunity of a lifetime to turn your homemade cooking into a profitable business.

Splash Media has experience of working with major British Broadcasters (BBC, ITV, CH4) and have developed and broadcast successful shows in the past such as ITV1’s Piers Morgan On… series, cookery shows with celebrity chef James Martin and BBC’s A Farmer’s Life for Me.

We’re looking for people with a flair for cooking who’ve also got a business brain.

To find out more or apply please call 0207 255 5432

or e-mail us on poonamodedra@splashmediatv.co.uk.

Application deadline 30th September

(Applicants must be over 18 and available for 2 days filming in mid October)

Japan Matsuri 2011 - A Celebration of Japan's Culture, Food and Arts - Sunday 18th September at London's County Hall

2011-09-17T11:00:00.001+01:00

Japan Matsuri returns on Sunday 18th September and this year it’s at County Hall in the heart of the capital next to the London Eye.

This annual event brings the Japanese community and Londoners together to enjoy Japanese food, lively music, dance and more. The new Matsuri venue of County Hall will have more space, offering a fantastic chance to experience the vibrancy of Japan in the heart of London.

Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Hayashi will formally open the day at 11am.

Find out more about the Japan Matsuri via the festival’s website japanmatsuri.com.

The Botanist Opens Pop-Up Oyster Bar on Sloane Square - 16th to 18th September 2011

2011-09-16T11:17:00.001+01:00

The Botanist gastropub will be opening an oyster and crustacea pop-up bar on Sloane Square from today (11am to 7:30pm), Saturday (noon to 7:30pm) and Sunday (noon to 5pm) with plenty of half shell natives, Scottish langoustines and Dorset crabs on offer as well as Kentish Chapel Down sparkling wine too.

No bookings are taken, just turn up.

For more information, visit the website here.

The Botanist Chapel Down and Oyster Bar Pop Up

7 Sloane Square, SW1 8EE (020 7730 0077).

LONDON RESTAURANT OPENING - Hawksmoor Guildhall and 50% Off Food During Soft Opening

2011-09-15T16:12:00.000+01:00

Reservations lines for new Hawksmoor Guildhall restaurant will open at the end of the month.

There will be a 'soft launch' period with 50% off food in return for feedback. Details of the soft launch will be released on Monday 26th September via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and email. Reservations for the official opening date of October 31st and beyond will open on Monday 3rd of October.

For more information visit the Hawksmoor Restaurant website here.

Tutored Wine Tastings and French Bistro Cooking Masterclass at Le Pont de la Tour

2011-09-12T13:00:00.006+01:00

TUTORED WINE TASTINGS

Each month Le Pont de La Tour welcomes a distinguished wine producer into the Cellar to talk guests through a selection of their vintages. Tastings are from 6:30pm-8pm and cost £10 per person, which is redeemable against purchases made in the shop or a dinner reservation in the restaurant on the night.

Wednesday 28th September- Marques de Riscal, Rioja, Spain

Wednesday 5th October - Crittenden Estate, Victoria, Australia

Wednesday 26th October -Julian Chivite, Navarra, Spain

To reserve your place please email (lepontres@danddlondon.com) or call the Wine Merchant on 020 7940 1840. For more information, click here.

FRENCH BISTRO MASTERCLASS

Saturday 24th September, £45 per person including lunch.

Learn how to cook the perfect French feast yourself with a cookery masterclass from Le Pont de la Tour's Executive Chef. This half day experience has been designed to share knowledge, passion and experience French cooking by using a range of accessible seasonal produce and ingredients.

The demonstrations will give you the confidence and skills needed to prepare exceptional soups, fish and meat dishes and mouth-watering desserts.

Classes start at 10am with a lunch at 12.30pm and take place the last Saturday of every month.

View the full list | Make a booking | Call 020 7940 1850

Re-Inventing Your Take-Away with Housebites.com

2011-09-11T13:00:00.001+01:00

housebites.com is set to shake up the proverbial takeaway.

Imagine being able to order a takeaway from a local chef who has worked at The Ivy or Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, from a MasterChef finalist or even from an amazing cook in your neighbourhood, delivered straight to your door, for the same price as a well known pizza chain. housebites promises just that.

Launching in London on 12th September 2011 and rolling out across the UK, housebites is a marketplace where customers can find and order from local chefs preparing freshly cooked takeaway food, in their own homes, using high quality ingredients. The menu is ever-changing, based on which chefs are on duty and what meals they are cooking that day.

How housebites.com works:

(1) Enter your postcode

(2) Search chefs in your local area and contemplate their delicious menus

(3) Place your order and wait for it to be delivered to your front door (as the food is delivered on a hyper-local scale your food is always hot, fresh and never late!)

MasterChef finalist Andy Oliver is part of the housebites team and is helping handpick the best local culinary talent. Since appearing on MasterChef in 2009 Oliver has spent 2 years working at the prestigious Nahm restaurant and is just one of the chefs customers will be able to order from.

Feedback through social media is a key part of the housebites experience allowing you to rate your food, tweet your local chefs, add comments to the facebook page and interact in forums.

housebites is the brainchild of entrepreneur Simon Prockter together with Paul Birch who famously co-founded and sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million. Prockter is no new kid on the block, having successfully founded SpeedDater in 2002 which fast became Europe’s largest dating Events Company, operating in seven countries - it also became a highly successful online dating service.

Said Prockter about housebites: ‘I’ve been exploring ideas within the food sector for the last 18 months. So many traditional industries are being disrupted by the internet but I couldn’t see anything great happening in food. It’s all over TV; we all eat and read about it so I knew it was a huge space. Our idea is simple; we facilitate people to be able to order home-cooked food made using high quality ingredients from a local chef, delivered to their front door.’

housebites is helping to create jobs for chefs, allowing them to earn good money working from home.

For more information, visit www.housebites.com.

LONDON RESTAURANT OPENING - Chipotle Mexican Grill at 101 - 103 Baker Street, London

2011-09-10T13:00:00.000+01:00

LONDON, 10th September 2011 – Chipotle Mexican Grill has this week launched its second London restaurant located at 101-103 Baker Street. The company operates over 1,100 restaurants in the United States.

The new opening follows the successful debut of Chipotle in London last year at 114-116 Charing Cross Road.

Chipotle has been instrumental in establishing a new kind of thinking about fast food in the U.S., what it calls ‘Food with Integrity’, and it brings the same food philosophy to London, bundled together with freshly made, delicious and healthy foil-wrapped burritos stuffed to bursting point with quality flavoursome ingredients.

Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle comments, "We continue to think the prospects are very good for Chipotle in London. The food culture there is based on local, sustainable and artisanal foods, which are all core values of Chipotle, and we have been instrumental in bringing this kind of thinking to fast food in the United States – it is one of the ways we are changing the way people think about and eat fast food."

Chipotle uses premium quality ingredients from local sources, including chicken that is reared to a higher welfare specification, pork - that is butchered in-house - comes from free-range pigs reared on farms that offer large acre paddocks where the animals can roam freely and display natural behaviours, and beef from Farm Assured British Farms where cattle are reared in humane and compassionate conditions. Chipotle also uses premium quality vegetables and herbs from local farms when seasonally available.

Chipotle in London features a distinctly focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without a tortilla) and salads. The Chipotle service format allows customers to decide exactly what goes into their individual order; there are more than 60,000 possible combinations.

Customers choose their own vehicle (burrito, bowl, tacos or salad) and fill it with home-made ingredients, including coriander-lime rice, pinto beans or vegetarian black beans, grilled chicken or steak that is marinated in Chipotle’s signature adobo rub, or slowly braised pork carnitas or beef barbacoa. Then add a choice of four salsas, fresh guacamole that is made daily with Hass avocados sourced from Fresh Direct that are all hand-tested for ripeness and quality, cheese from a cooperative of Scottish farms, sour creams and romaine lettuce. The format allows Chipotle to meet virtually any set of dietary restrictions or preferences.

Chipotle in the U.S.

In the U.S. Chipotle is the only national restaurant chain that is committed to serving food made with ingredients from sustainable sources, including naturally raised meat (from animals that are humanely raised, never given antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet), local and organic produce, and milk from cows that are not treated with synthetic hormones.

www.chipotle.co.uk

So Just How Many Calories Are There in a McDonald's Meal?

2011-09-09T13:00:00.001+01:00

McDonald’s are among the 37 fast-food firms who have signed up to a voluntary agreement, which came into force on 7th September 2011, to display the calorific content of their meals.

Nutritionists and health professionals have grudgingly accepted the Governments ‘Responsibility Deal’ on public health issues.

The Government is hoping that the ‘Responsibility Deal’ will help to counter health problems like Britain’s obesity epidemic. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said that it would help consumers ‘spot those hidden calories in their favourite foods and keep an eye on their waistlines’.

37 fast-food companies, including McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut, have signed up to the voluntary agreement.

Alison Wetton, founder of Britain’s fastest growing weight loss organisation, All About Weight and the lady who branded Ronald McDonald as an ‘evil influence’ accepts the agreement as a step in the right direction.

“The more information that is available to the consumer the better as far as we are concerned,” said Mrs Wetton, who attacked McDonald’s earlier this year for using their fast-food mascot to tempt youngsters away from a healthy diet.

“Improvements in food labeling can lead to better food choices being made by consumers but it should be stressed that this is a voluntary scheme and fast-food chains such as Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Nando’s and Pizza Express have refused to take part.”

All About Weight nutritionist Holly Finnegan said, “When McDonald’s introduced their ‘chicken Caesar salad’ they rightly received a lot of criticism because the salad contained more calories and fat than a hamburger with chips.

“Salad is something which people associate as a healthy choice and the public needed the nutritional information to be able to make an informed dietary decision.”

Dr Paul Gately, a professor of exercise and obesity at Leeds Metropolitan University and adviser to McDonald's, said: "These sorts of nudge methods won't tackle real obesity."

All About Weight is committed to instilling a culture of ‘ lifestyle nutrition’ into Britain. Alison Wetton said that it targeted McDonalds because of its popularity with children and food education must begin with children.

“The ‘Responsibility Deal’ is no more than a step in the right direction,” she said. “Overweight parents can start on the right path by switching to a healthy diet themselves – improving their health, losing weight, gaining fitness and, most importantly, setting a good example for their children.”

LONDON RESTAURANT OPENING - 10 Cases Bistrot à Vin

2011-09-08T13:00:00.003+01:00

The 10 Cases is a new restaurant by Ian Campbell and Will Palmer who are keen to bring a neighbourhood feel to the centre of Covent Garden.

Ex Cop d’Argent chef Juette Shallow will deliver a menu consisting of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 tarts for dessert that change every day, along with a salad and a “signature dish” that don’t.

The food will be complemented by Ian and Will’s central concept – that the predominantly old-world wine list will have 10 whites, 10 reds and 10 cases of each. When the “10 Cases” run out, the wine will be changed so as to ensure that there will always be something new to try. Wines are served by the bottle, carafe and glass.

The 10 Cases also has: NO service charge, ONLY a small mark-up on wines and NO minimum spend and NO deposit for the private dining room.

Menu for Tuesday 6th September 2011

Starters

Prawns & Aioli £6

Foie Gras Terrine £9

Cold Beef Salad £5

Mains

Whole Seabass £16

Pork Belly £14

Grilled Poussin £14

Sides (Included)

New Potatoes

Sugar Snaps

Green Salad

Desserts

Chocolate Tart £4

Apple & Pear Tart £4

Monday to Saturday: 12.00 - 15.00 and 18.00 - 23.30

16 Endell St. London WC2H 9BD

Contact: 0207 836 6801

camilla@the10cases.co.uk
www.the10cases.com

Sud de France Festival - 9th to 26th September – London and 318 Participating Outlets Throughout the Country

2011-09-07T13:00:00.002+01:00

To make the summer last a little longer the Sud de France Festival, running from 9 to 26 September, will offer a chance to experience the tastes and aromas of the sunny Languedoc-Roussillon region through various events and venues.

Events around London

Now in its 3rd year the UK event promises to be bolder and bigger. The event side of the festival, centred on London, will kick off on a high note with a consumer tasting and party held on Dutch Barge PRINS in West India Dock (Canary Wharf) on Friday 9 September. A night full of contrast, vibes and passion as Electro-Rock music, performed by the Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival team, will echo Natural Wines championed by wine expert Isabelle Legeron MW.

The festival will unwind in a stream of activities spanning two weeks; consumer events will include an exclusive tasting of high end wines from Languedoc-Roussillon, a series of tutored tasting seminars presented by leading experts, a food and wine Sud de France dedicated zone at the first Three Wine Men consumer fair, a giant “Gardianne” dish in Borough market, a pop-up Languedoc-Roussillon space for the duration of the festival at Vinopolis, Sud de France cheese and wine matching with La Cave à Fromage, daily cooking courses as well as numerous sampling opportunities. For full details of the Sud de France Festival, please refer to the complete programme below.

Nationwide Events

The festival encompasses a full programme of nationwide promotional activities both in the on and off-trade, with in-store features, consumer competitions and sampling in participating delis and wine retailers. Côte restaurants, Hibiscus, Antidote, Kensington and Fulham Wine Rooms, The Wright Brothers, Cork & Bottle, L’Atelier des chefs, La Cave à Fromage, Waitrose, Laithwaites, Majestic, Roberson, Marché du Quartier and Partridges will all be taking part and are gearing up for a series of bespoke Sud de France activities and events.

Sud de France Wine and Food Specialities

Languedoc-Roussillon stretches from the Spanish border to the Rhône Valley and takes in around half of France’s Mediterranean coastline. Wine is an integral part of the lifestyle, and Languedoc-Roussillon is the world’s largest wine producing region. Languedoc-Roussillon can proudly offer incredible diversity: it is home to a vast array of still wines, produces some of France’s greatest Vins Doux Naturels, while Limoux can claim to be the oldest sparkling wine area of the world.

Languedoc-Roussillon food specialities include, not surprisingly, seafaring products such as the renowned Collioure anchovies, Bouzigues oysters or the delicious Brandade de morue from Nîmes (a traditional salt cod and olive oil puree), as well as a breadth of olive derivate products from extra virgin oil, tapenade or speciality olives such as Lucques or Picholines. Inland you will find all the cured meat associated with France, the local Pelardons (goat cheeses), the famous cassoulet dish from Castelnaudary, and a delicious array of biscuits, honey and chestnuts. The range is extensive and we could not do it justice by trying to be exhaustive.

The festival is a worldwide event with Festivals in New York, Shanghai, Brazil, Mexico and Germany, where over the course of two weeks, the towns will sway to the rhythm of Sud de France.

• New York: 6 - 30 June

• London : 9 - 26 September (food and wine)

• Germany (Düsseldorf and Cologne): 12 September -12 October (food & wine)

• China (Shanghai and Hangzhou): 19 September - 31 October

• Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo): 15 October – 15 November

• Mexico (Mexico city) : 15 October – 1 November

Full programme and information: http://www.festival-suddefrance.com

IF YOU LOVE FOOD, SHOW IT BY SHARING

2011-09-06T13:00:00.000+01:00

Turning Passion Into Action: Action Against Hunger Launches ‘Love Food Give Food’ Appeal

1st September 2011 | London - Love Food Give Food, Action Against Hunger’s appeal to end malnutrition launches today supported by the nation’s top chefs, restaurant groups and foodies. The appeal invites restaurant lovers to help save lives by simply doing what they love best – eating out.

Hundreds of restaurants have signed up to lend their support – support which could not be more timely given the ongoing food crisis in East Africa.

Supported by a multitude of culinary luminaries including Raymond Blanc, Giorgio Locatelli, Valentine Warner and Marcus Wareing, Love Food Give Food unites food lovers who are turning their passion for food into action to help malnourished children and their families worldwide.

As Fergus Henderson, the founder of St John restaurant, said: "Eat out and help malnourished children…sounds crazy but it works!"

Emma Cullingford, Campaign Manager at Action Against Hunger, said: “In 2010, food lovers, chefs, restaurants and cafes helped raise over £170,000 in aid of our life-saving programmes worldwide. With the devastating humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, we’re encouraging all food lovers across the nation to help make this year’s Love Food Give Food appeal the biggest ever and raise crucial funds for our worldwide programmes.”

With a roster of participating restaurants from high street chains to glamorous Michelin-starred restaurants, it isn’t hard to get involved. Customers can simply choose to add a small donation to their bill or they can order a special Love Food Give Food dish (a percentage of the cost of which goes to the charity). In addition, those collecting four stickers on their Love Food Give Food Loyalty Cards (available from participating restaurants and with September’s issue of Delicious Magazine) stand a unique chance of winning one of 26 meals for two in top restaurants across the country.

Food lovers and restaurants across the UK can also help raise funds by taking part in toptable and OpenTable’s bespoke Love Food Give Food festival, including special offers and an exciting celebrity chef auction.

For a list of participating restaurants and to find out more, please visit www.lovefoodgivefood.org

Autumn Meals at The School of Life

2011-09-05T16:27:00.000+01:00

Announcement from The School of Life:

"We think that knowing how to have entertaining and meaningful conversations is a skill worth practising this autumn, so we provide diners with a specially-designed conversation menu inspired by the ideas of history's movers and shakers that ensures you don't end up talking about the congestion charge or nervously reaching for the diminishing bread basket.

Come alone or with a friend, and expect the sort of stimulating and heart-warming conversations we have all dreamt of having, but so rarely do"

Dine with Ruskin

12 September 2011, 19.30 - 22.30

John Ruskin could be viewed as the Jay Jopling of his time. He tirelessly promoted the YBAs of his era - Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites. He was also thoroughly committed to the need for individual creative expression.

This evening’s meal takes place at the Saatchi Gallery.

Tickets cost £55.00, for more information and to book please click here.

Dinner with Virginia Woolf

11 October 2011, 19.30 - 22.30

Woolf tells us, there are no insignificant lives, only inadequate ways of looking at them. So there’ll be no excuse for contenting yourself with the ordinary or prosaic as we are kept in check over dinner by literature’s greatest observer of human nature.

This evening's meal takes place at Bea's of Bloomsbury.

Tickets cost £60.00, for more information and to book please click here.

Curry with Gandhi

25 October 2011, 19.30 - 22.30

A modern prophet of the simple life, we’ll explore how scaling down and paring away can be internally enriching and intellectually stimulating.

This evening's meal takes place at Rasa Restaurant.

Tickets cost £38.00, for more information and to book please click here.

A Fry-up With Jack Kerouac

30 October 2011, 11.30-13.30

Bacon and eggs served with a side of magic mushrooms? Perhaps not. But we can offer a legal way to enhance your senses, jolt your perspective, and undergo what Kerouac celebrated as “satori”, “a sudden awakening” or more simply, “a kick in the eye”.

Come and join us in London’s most authentic 1950’s coffee house, The Troubadour Cafe.

Tickets cost £30.00, for more information and to book please click here.

Dinner With Michel De Montaigne

23 November 2011, 19.30 – 22.30

The Renaissance was a golden era of conversation, and none loved it more than the sixteenth-century French writer Michel de Montaigne: wine-grower, nobleman, diplomat and the inventor of the art of the essay.

Dinner will be served in the extraordinary Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Tickets cost £75.00, for more informationand to book please click here.

Dinner With Georges Perec

7 December 2011, 19.30 – 22.30

The French novelist Georges Perec was fascinated by the everyday and defined an ambition to write books that would record what he termed the "infraordinary": the humdrum, the non-event, the everyday, "what happens," as he put it, "when nothing happens."

This evening’s event takes its inspiration from Perec's interest in the everyday at Drink, Shop & Do.

Tickets cost £35.00, for more information and to book please click here.

The School of Life

70 Marchmont Street

London WC1N 1AB

T: 020 7833 1010

E: info@theschooloflife.com

www.theschooloflife.com

Top Chefs Team-up with Eden Project in Cornwall for Harvest Festival, October 1-9

2011-09-04T10:11:00.000+01:00

The Eden Project is cooking up a nine-day festival of food, drink, dance and merriment this autumn as it continues its exciting new culinary adventure.

The project has radically reinvented its approach to food with the recent introduction of the Eden Bakery serving up delicious hand-made breads and pastries and a new café area in the Mediterranean Biome offering Tuscan stews and wine.

From October 1 to 9 it is launching its first Harvest Festival, featuring cooking demonstrations from top chefs, stunning displays of harvest produce, live music and traditional crafts demonstrations.

Among those sharing their culinary secrets will be Michael Smith from the award-winning Porthminster Beach Café in St Ives, Sanjay Kumar, chair of Slow Food Cornwall, and top Malaysian chef Norman Musa from Manchester’s Ning Restaurant and Cookery School.

The festival will include a special appearance from the one of the country’s leading bakers and food writers Dan Lepard who will officially open the Eden Bakery on Monday, October 3.

Throughout the week visitors can taste the juice from Eden’s apple presses, pick up tips on pickling and preserving, discover the stories behind bread, wine and cider and see the processes that take the natural ingredients from the ground to the plate - or glass!

There’ll also be workshops on allotment growing, grape crushing, corn crafts, what to do with fruit and veg gluts, and edible plants of the rainforest.

Exotic fruit and veg will be on the menu on the evening of Thursday, October 6, when James Wong, plant expert and presenter of BBC Two’s Grow Your Own Drugs, demonstrates how to grow rare, unusual and luxury foods.

From Himalayan goji berries and cocktail-sized kiwi fruit, to fragrant saffron and fiery wasabi, James will be offering a light-hearted, dynamic and innovative alternative to conventional gardening at this ticketed event that starts at 7pm.

For live music fans there’s the Big Autumn Bash on the evening of Friday, October 7, when Bristol folk-jazz band, Sheelanagig, and Cornish act Dalla, perform a gig in aid of People and Gardens, a project that gives those with physical and emotional impairments the opportunity to learn about growing and selling produce.

This Arts Café concert takes place from 7pm in Eden’s education centre, the Core, and the ticket price includes a seasonal supper.

Emma Hogg, Eden’s programme producer, said: “Eden is now in its tenth year and it has long been our ambition to make freshly-prepared food as much a reason for people to come and visit us as seeing the plants.

“Everyone is invited to our inaugural Harvest Festival which will celebrate food and drink and link plants and produce together to create a theatre of food.”

Harvest Festival daytime activities are included in the price of admission though there may be a small charge for some events. Tickets for the James Wong talk and Big Autumn Bash are £15 each and can be booked in advance.

For full details, go to www.edenproject.com/harvest or ring the box office on 01726 811972.

Brazilian Film Festival Coming to London - 6th to 10th September 2011

2011-08-24T12:19:00.001+01:00

The Brazilian Film Festival of London will be returning to the capital for a third edition, starting on Tuesday 6th September with an Opening Night Screening at BAFTA before relocating to Odeon Covent Garden for four more days of new Brazilian films until the closing film – also at Odeon Covent Garden – on Saturday 10th September.

There will be 10 feature-length and 9 short films during the festival, including Henrique Dantas’ documentary Sons of João – The Admirable New Baiano World (released in Brazil in July), Claudio Torres’ Man from the Future (set to open in September) and Eduardo Vaisman’s 180 °, among other films selected by names such as Fernando Meirelles and Bianca de Felippe. The program also includes the Crystal Lens Award Ceremony, for Best Feature Film chosen by the audience, and a WFTV tribute (Women in Film and Television) to producer Paula Barreto.

Here’s the full line-up for the festival. Details of where to buy tickets are at the bottom.

Tuesday 6th September, 8.30pm

Opening Night @ BAFTA

Man From The Future (Dir: Claudio Torres)

Zero (Wagner Moura) is a brilliant and lonely scientist who believes he is unhappy because twenty years ago he was humiliated by the love of his life. When he tries to create a revolutionary source of energy, he accidentally goes back to the past and sees himself in the opportunity to meet his 20-years-younger self and “correct” the mistakes in his own life. Trying to manipulate the path of time is much harder

and confusing than what it seems.

followed by Q&A with producer Leonardo Monteiro de Barros

Wednesday 7th September, 6.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short Film: The True Story Of The Ballerina In Red (Alessandra Colasanti and Samir Abujamra)

Beyond The Road (Dir: Charly Braun)

Santiago, an Argentine in his late twenties, sets out to Uruguay to claim a land inherited from his parents, killed tragically some years earlier. As he arrives, he meets Juliette, a young Belgian girl in search of a past love and a new life. What seemed to be just a simple ride turned into a brief but intense journey. Together, they visit places and meet people lost in time, sharing experiences that bring them closer in a relationship of growing affection and tenderness.

Wednesday 7th September, 8.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: Cake (Dir: Robert Guimarães)

Head Over Heels (Dir: Roberto Santucci)

Head over Heels is a romantic comedy that examines the joys and hardships of contemporary love life: its limits, joys, fantasies and grievances. Alice, 35, is married with one son. Workaholic, her professional career steals most of her time… And virtually all her libido! In a twist of fate, she looses her husband and her job at the same time. Stunned, she decides to change radically and embrace a unique opportunity: to become a sex shop executive! In this new erotic world, she transforms herself and rediscovers pleasure and the ability to love.

Thursday 8th September, 4.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: Beard Boy (Dir: Christopher Faust)

Sons of Joao – The Admirable New Baiano World (Dir: Henrique Dantas)

The film richly portrays the Brazilian Popular Music (MPB) scene during 60s and 70s, through the path of the innovative and revolutionary music group Os Novos Baianos. It particularly reveals the influence that Joao Gilberto had in their musical lives and his valuable contribution to the improvement of the songs composed and sung by the group. The film also illustrates a time when the members led a communitarian style of life and its impact on their final work. The film features unique and rare archival materials of the best MPB music and cameos from Tom Zé, Rogério Duarte, Orlando Senna, Moraes Moreira, Pepeu Gomes, among others.

Thursday 6th September, 6.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: Little Ball Satellite (Dir: Bruno Vianna)

So Hard To Forget (Dir: Malu de Martino)

Julia is trying to get her life back after an intense love affair with Antonia. In this process she will find new

friends who are also experiencing loss of important things in their lives. They share the experience of pain, a feeling of solitude and, above all, a desire for better times.

Thursday 6th September, 8.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: The Bizarre Friends of Ricardinho (Dir: Augusto Canani)

180 º (Dir: Eduardo Vaisman)

180 º tells the story of Anna, Russel and Bernardo, three members of the urban intellectual middle class in Rio de Janeiro. They risk it all in a game of passion involving the authorship of a book. The non-linear narrative invites the spectator to piece together an elaborate puzzle, the solution of which can be found in the

characters’ past as well as their present.

Friday 9th September, 4.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: One Night (Dir: Daniela Santos)

Boca (Dir: Flavio Frederico)

Adapted from the autobiography of Hirohito Joanides de Moraes, the film portrays the atmosphere and life of the King of Boca do Lixo, a region of prostitution in downtown São Paulo in the 50s. Born into a family of upper-middle class, Hirohito went to Boca just as a bohemian in search of sexual adventure, until a personal

tragedy causes a change in your life. His father is viciously murdered and Hirohito is charged with the crime. Shortly thereafter, Hirohito buy two guns and moved to Boca, quickly becoming one of the most wanted criminals by the police.

Friday 9th September, 6.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

Short film: Storm (Dir: Cesar Cabral)

Elza (Dir: Izabel and Ernesto Jaguaribe Baldan)

Elza Soares is renowned as one of Brazil’s original samba superstars whose career has spanned 50 years. A remarkable singer and show woman, Soares was known for the uniting traditional samba sounds with modern touches that leant her songs a multigenerational appeal. Directos Izabel Jaguaribe and Ernesto Baldan’s documentary Elza explores her repertoire’s diversity and presents a series of encounters with renowned Brazilian artists such as Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben Jor, Paulinho da Viola and Maria Bethania.

Friday 9th September, 8.30pm

Odeon Covent Garden

The Hour’s Home (Dir: Heraldo Cavalcanti)

VIPs (Dir: Toniko Melo)

Since childhood, Marcelo da Rocha (Wagner Moura) has found it difficult to come to terms with his own identity. His greatest pleasure is to imitate people and pretend to be someone else. Feeding the dream of learning to fly and become a pilot like his father, Marcelo runs away from his mother’s house and begins the adventure of his life. He starts to impersonate a series of different characters, until he manages to perform his highest scam. At a big party in Recife, he poses as the businessman Henrique Constantino, whose father owns airline Gol.

Saturday 10th September, 4pm

Odeon Covent Garden

3×4 (Dir: Caue Nunes)

The Supreme Happiness (Dir: Arnaldo Jabor)

The Supreme Happiness is the story of a middle class family in their quest for happiness. Set in the enchanted and marvelous Rio de Janeiro of the late 50s, the plot follows Paulo, from 10 until 18 years old of age, while he discovers the wonders of love and sex, backed up by the strong friendship he has with his

grandfather.

Saturday 10th September, 7pm

Closing Night @ Odeon Covent Garden

Special Screening of Bruno Barreto’s Romeo and Juliet Get Married as a homage to producer Paula Barreto, who will receive the WFTV Award for her outstanding contribution to Brazilian cinema industry.

Romeo and Juliet Get Married (Dir: Bruno Barreto)

Juliet, a die-hard Palmeiras fan falls in love with Romeo, die-hard fan of rival football team Corinthians. Juliet’s father would never accept such a son-in-law. Not wanting to loose Juliet, Romeo pretends to be a Palmeiras fan. The lie creates a series of hilarious twists and turns, and when the truth is revealed, the couple’s love must rise above their family sports rivalry.

OPENING NIGHT @ BAFTA TICKETS

Standard – £12

Concession – £10

Booking: 08444 771 000

195 Piccadilly London W1J 9LN

ODEON COVENT GARDEN TICKETS

Standard – £10

Standard – £8

Booking: 0781 22 44 007

135, Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8AH

odeon.co.uk/fanatic/film_times/s81/Covent_Garden

brazilianfilmfestival.com/londres/2011/londres2011_en.html

Cornish Ale, Song and Harvest Festival in Cornwall this Autumn

2011-08-23T15:54:00.000+01:00

As the rain pours down here in London it is hard to believe that this is supposedly the heart of the English summertime...so much for nursing icey glasses of Pimms in the sunshine! But down in Cornwall they've come up with a novel way of celebrating the onset of autumn days, when nights start to slowly draw in and the trees turns from green to bronzed oranges and coppers.

Starting on Wednesday 31st Autumn, and then every Saturday in September (10th, 17th and 24th), the team at Bedruthan Steps invite you to celebrate their Cornish Ale, Song and Harvest Festival - which as the name suggests is a fun filled festival involving hops, barley and water! The festival will feature a range of Cornish singers and players to make merry until feet and voices are weary!

The festival will be (weather permitting) open air, and guests can enjoy the bountiful harvest with the newly ripened produce from the fields, accompanying great freshly caught fish and meats from local farmers and producers. Prices are from £164 per person for a two night stay, and includes breakfast and dinner, and entrance to the festival fun.

For more information visit www.bedruthan.com.

ITV Latest Food and Travel Show - The Great British Taste Tour - Is Now Recruiting!

2011-08-19T11:38:00.000+01:00

THE GREAT BRITISH TASTE TOUR

Are you a foodie with an appetite for adventure? Want to win £1000?

You and three strangers will embark on an all expenses paid mini break, to a picturesque location somewhere in the

You will have the opportunity to enjoy the local cuisine, explore amazing locations and get a chance to show off your own culinary skills. All the while competing to win £1000 prize money.

If you or anyone you know is over 18 and would like to take part, then please call on 020 7157 4851 or email tastetourists@itv.com and leave your name, age and phone number.

WORLD'S FIRST GAY ICE CREAM BAR POP UP IN LONDON

2011-08-18T21:25:00.000+01:00

Covent Garden opens its doors to the world’s first gay ice cream bar this Friday 19th August at 3.00pm.

‘Queens of the Dessert’ is a pop-up ice cream parlour with a difference by the brains behind ‘The Icecreamists’. Until Friday 30th September this strictly over 18’s ice cream bar will promise to bring the gay men and women of London ice cream treats galore and more.

If ice cream’s not your thing ‘Queens of the Dessert’ are also offering a range of wines and beers to cool your down. ‘Vice Queen’ and manager Graeme Clarke said: ‘This is ice cream by queens for queens. We wanted to create a fun, adult over 18’s ice cream bar with a twist this summer.’

The Queens of the Dessert, 15 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NG

Web Site: www.theicecreamists.com

Cornwall Hosts a Feast of Food Festivals this Autumn

2011-08-17T16:21:00.000+01:00

Cornwall has one of the finest reputations for food and drink in the

whole of the UK which it celebrates in a feast of food festivals. For

many, our celebrated harvest of the sea is at the heart of the festivals

with Newlyn, Newquay and Falmouth Oyster Festivals showcasing the

freshest fish and shelfish caught from around our coast, with cookery

demonstrations from top local chefs and samples to tempt the taste buds.

Celebrate all things fishy on August Bank Holiday Monday in one of

Cornwall's most distinctive and original fishing ports. Newlyn Fish

Festival is the biggest of its kind in the country where you will find a

huge fish display, six cooking demos from top local chefs, two fish

auctions, a lobster workshop and the Big Fish Filleting Challenge. You

can buy fish fresh, cooked or smoked from the best of Cornish seafood

merchants.

Newquay Fish Festival runs from 9th to 11th September and grows in

popularity each year with more and more to see and sample. Try delicious

fish dishes, watch local chefs rustle up amazing food from local

produce, purchase a range of Cornish food and produce. The Chefs are the

characters of the Festival using their flamboyant demonstrations to show

off their culinary skills - and you get to eat the results!! As well as

live cookery, smoked fish, a pilchard BBQ, on site fish sales, crab

sandwiches, oysters, fish filleting demos and all sorts of other 'fishy'

will be on offer. There will also be Cornish a range of food and craft

stalls as well as family fun and entertainment over the weekend at The

Harbour, Newquay's hidden gem.

The imposing city of Truro is the venue for Cornwall Food & Drink

Festival which draws thousands of visitors to the event which takes

place from 23rd to 25th September. The festival is the biggest

celebration of Cornish food and drink in the county attracting artisan

producers from chocolate to chutney; bakery to butchery; ice cream to

clotted cream; or pasties to paella - whatever your fancy, this festival

has got it licked, with the finest quality produce from all over

Cornwall. If that's not enough, come and see at least a dozen of the

county's top chefs in action and learn new tricks and hot tips from

selected food experts. Kids can get creative in the Funky Food Zone

and, new for this year, the festival fun goes on after sunset with some

special treats for true food lovers.

The first weekend in October sees the Boscastle Food, Arts & Crafts

Festival with eight fabulous Cornish Chefs demonstrating over the

weekend, including high rising stars such as Nathan Outlaw, proud owner

of 2 Michelin Stars from the St Enodoc Hotel, Andy Appleton from

Fifteen Cornwall, winner of this year's desert course for the Great

British Menu, three chefs from outstanding restaurants in Padtow

including Paul Ainsworth from Number 6, Paul Harwood from Rick Stein's

St.Petroc's Bistro and Adrian Oliver from Margot's, also Phil Thomas

from Rosewarne Manor and Aaron Janes from Silks Bistro at Newquay's

Atlantic Hotel. A host of stalls will be selling and sampling Cornish

food and drink and original arts and crafts in the huge marquees in this

picturesque harbour side village.

Special guest Tim Anderson, winner of BBC MasterChef 2011 will open

Falmouth Oyster Festival with a cookery demonstration. The festival is a

Cornish cornucopia of stalls brimming with oysters, seafood, wine and

other delicacies takes place from 13th to 16th October. Timed to

celebrate the start of the oyster season, the event celebrates the

Falmouth Working Boats and oyster punts which trawl the natural oyster

beds of the surrounding area using traditional methods to harvest the

prized local native oysters renowned for their sweet, delicate flavour.

Cookery demonstrations with top local chefs and live music add to your

visit, while you can sit and taste a variety of seafood and other dishes

and take in the unique festival atmosphere.

Malcolm Bell, Head of Tourism at VisitCornwall, the Cornwall Development

Company tourism service adds: "Autumn is a fantastic time to visit

Cornwall and what better excuse can there be than taking in one or more

of our food festivals, which brilliantly showcase the very best of

Cornish produce, chefs and our growing reputation for quality

gastronomic experiences.'

VisitCornwall are offering a two night break with extra treats for two

people at the St Michael's Hotel and Spa in Falmouth during the Oyster

Festival, see the 'win' page on the I Love Cornwall website

www.ilovecornwall.com For a full listing of events in Cornwall and

inspiration for where to stay and things to do and see in Cornwall see

www.visitcornwall.com.

Food Festival websites:

Newlyn Fish Festival

www.newlynfishfestival.org.uk

<http://www.newlynfishfestival.org.uk/>

Newquay Fish Festival

www.newquayfishfestival.co.uk

<http://www.newquayfishfestival.co.uk/>

Cornwall Food & Drink Festival

www.cornwallfoodanddrink.co.uk/festival2011

<http://www.cornwallfoodanddrink.co.uk/festival2011>

Falmouth Oyster Festival

www.falmouthoysterfestival.co.uk

<http://www.falmouthoysterfestival.co.uk/>

Boscastle Food, Arts & Crafts Festival

www.boscastlefestival.co.uk

<http://www.boscastlefestival.co.uk/>

Dream of Sicily With These Delicious Recipes From Onken (Limited Edition Sicilian Lemon Yoghurt)

2011-08-11T23:48:00.000+01:00

Onken has launched a new, limited edition Sicilian Lemon yoghurt, made from the juiciest lemons harvested in the heart of Sicily – the home of citrus fruits. This refreshing and tangy yogurt will delight your taste buds, either its own or as part of a delicious recipe.

To celebrate this delicious new flavour, Onken has created six mouth-watering recipes perfect for any occasion. So why not try them out and enjoy a fresh and luxurious taste, with every bite. From appetisers, side dishes, main courses and desserts, there’s plenty for everyone.

Recipes

Pea and Mint Hummus

A refreshing dip, perfect for alfresco days and made of fresh podded peas, mint, garlic and Onken Sicilian Lemon yogurt. Serve with crackers, pita crisps or vegetable crudités for an easy tasty dip everyone will love.

Serves 4-6

175g fresh podded peas

1 small clove garlic, crushed

Pinch salt

4 tbsp Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

1 tbsp freshly chopped mint leaves

1. Cook peas in lightly salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold water. Tip into a food processor, add garlic, salt and yogurt and whizz until pureed. Add mint and whizz again.

2. Serve with crackers, pita crisps or vegetable crudités

Cooks tip: If using frozen peas, cover with hot water and stand for 2 minutes then drain.

Potato and fresh Pea Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing

A light and fresh accompaniment to all year round dining, this simple and easy to make recipe creates a light dish perfect as a side or even a lunchtime salad.

Serves 4

500g small new potatoes, scrubbed

150g frozen petit pois, thawed

150ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped chives

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 12-15 minutes until tender. Drain, cool and cut in half. Mix with the peas.

2. Whisk the yogurt with the mustard and herbs and fold into the potato salad.

Turkish Grilled Chicken with Cucumber and Cacik

Celebrate the sun with this glorious chicken recipe. Light and fantastic, it is the perfect quick meal on the BBQ (or the grill if it’s raining!).

Serves 4

8 medium chicken thighs or 12 small (preferably boned)

½ tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp cumin seeds

200 ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp cayenne pepper or chilli flakes

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt

Cacik:

½ cucumber

150ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

1 clove garlic crushed (or 1 spring onion finely chopped)

1 tbsp shredded mint leaves

1. Trim off any excess fat and skin from the chicken thighs (as these can burn on the bbq). Place in a glass dish.

2. To make the marinade, put the peppercorns and cumin seeds into a dry frying pan and place over a medium heat until toasted. Turn into a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar and grind until crushed. Tip into a bowl and stir in the yogurt, garlic, remaining spices and lemon juice. Spread on both sides of the chicken thighs, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

3. Meanwhile, to make the cacik, peel the cucumber, halve lengthways and remove the seeds. Either grate or cut into small dice. Tip into a sieve and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir into the yogurt with the garlic or spring onion and add the mint just before serving.

4. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and sprinkle the skin side with a little salt. Cook over a pre-heated barbecue until golden on each side and cooked through.

5. Serve either whole or cut into slices and pile onto warm flatbreads with salad and cacik.

Tagliatelle with Lemon Spinach Sauce

This delicious vegetarian pasta dish successfully fuses Italian and British cuisine, and is a tasty treat for all the family. Ready in less than 15 minutes, this is the ideal dish for busy mums.

Serves 4

400g fresh spinach

400g tagliatelle

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

A little grated nutmeg

40 g pine nuts, lightly toasted

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Put the spinach into a large steamer and cook 3-4 minutes until wilted, remove and press out as much water as possible. Tip onto a board and chop, set aside. Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil and add the tagliatelle. Cook for 8 minutes until just tender

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the red pepper and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook a further minute.

3. Stir in the spinach and lemon yogurt and gently heat through. Season with salt and pepper and add a little freshly grated nutmeg.

4. Drain the pasta. Return to the pan, add the spinach sauce and toss together until the pasta is evenly coated.

5. Serve in warm bowls and scatter over the toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

Cooks tip: Can also use frozen spinach which is a great standby, once thawed, make sure all the excess water is pressed out.

If preferred the wilted spinach can be chopped in a food processor.

Italian Meringue Mess

A favourite for kids and adults alike, prepare yourself for a right ‘mess’ with this mix of meringue and cherry compote. Quick and simple to prepare, it's a real winner.

Serves 4

125ml whipping cream

300ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

4 meringue nests

6 tbsp Cherry compote (drain off excess juice) or

4 tbsp cherry conserve

1. Whip the cream into soft peaks and fold in the lemon yogurt.

2. Break up the meringues and fold into cream mixture

3. Place spoonfuls into glasses alternatively with the cherry compote, take a spoon and gently swirl. Serve.

Cooks tip: you can use fresh fruit if preferred e.g. 150g pitted fresh cherries or 200g strawberries, hulled and chopped.

Sicilian Lemon Yogurt Cake

A rich, lemony cake with a polenta base that tastes as good as it looks. Delicious served with fresh raspberries or as the Italians would do in the summer, fresh peaches soaked in desert wine.

Serves 10

120ml light olive oil

3 large eggs

200ml Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

175g caster sugar

Grated zest from 1 lemon

100g ground almonds

75g semolina or instant polenta

75g plain white flour

2 tsp baking powder

Icing:

Juice from lemon

175g icing sugar

1. Grease and base line a 20cm spring-form cake tin. Heat the oven to 180C/160Cfan/gas 4.

2. Put the oil, eggs, yogurt, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients together then add to the bowl and fold together until smooth. Pour into the prepared cake tin then bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden in colour and springy to touch.

3. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

4. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice for a thick icing and 3 tbsp for a thinner glace icing. Remove the sides from the tin, invert on a rack, remove base and peel away the lining paper. Turn the cake the right way up onto another rack placed over a tray.

5. Spoon the icing evenly over the cake allowing it to drizzle down the sides. The runnier icing will drip onto the tray.

6. Delicious served hot or cold.

Onken Sicilian Lemon Yogurt

The Onken Sicilian Lemon: RSP £1.25 for 450g pot – available in store at most major retailers and online at Ocado

For stockist details and to see Onken’s new, inspiring range of recipes visit www.onken.co.uk

RAMSBOTTOM FESTIVAL (16 – 18 September 2011)

2011-08-11T23:30:00.000+01:00

Local brewers Outstanding Beers will be putting their best ales and lagers on tap for the Ramsbottom Festival, the North West’s newest boutique music event, and have created a bespoke ale to commemorate the festival.

Many musical icons have been immortalized in alcohol history - Mark E. Smith has an IPA beer, the Stone Roses have had ‘Fool’s Gold’ made into a honey flavoured ale, lovers of German electronica can enjoy Kraftwerk Braun Ale and Led Zeppellin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ can be enjoyed in the form of a heady lager.

Joining the ranks of rock and roll beverages, the newest addition to the Outstanding range, the Ramsbottom Festival Ale is a well balanced and delicately brewed pale gold session beer with a distinctive flavour, brought out by specially sourced rare hops from New Zealand.

The Festival, which will take place between Friday 16 – Sunday 18 September 2011 at Ramsbottom Cricket Club features artists including Badly Drawn Boy, Guillemots, Young Knives, Cherry Ghost and The Waterboys.

The festival as a whole will be a celebration of the best handpicked British music, as well as a cornucopia of foodie and other artistic delights. Outstanding Brewery will be putting out their best ales and lagers for festival goers to enjoy alongside the finest in locally produced food.

Bury based Outstanding was created by four friends in 2008, with the objective of producing distinctive high quality beers. Each beer produced under the Outstanding label is carefully crafted to bring out the best in the individual ingredients which are carefully sourced, both locally and from around the world.

Outstanding will also be showcasing a wide range of their carefully brewed cask ales and keg lagers at the festival. There will be a variety of tasty beers to suit all tastes and lovers of lager and ale will be able to choose from Outstanding specialties alongside the Ramsbottom Festival Ale including the brewery’s full flavoured Bavarian Pilsner Lager and unique signature ales, like the hop flavoured Pushing Out and liquorice hinted Oustanding Stout.

Festival organiser and Director of The Met, David Agnew adds:

“We’re really excited about the creation of the bespoke Ramsbottom Festival Ale, Outstanding has created an amazing beer to add as part of what makes the festival unique. We’re thrilled about working alongside a local brewery showcasing what Bury has to offer. With the wonderful range of products they have I think everyone is certain to enjoy the beer just as much as the music.”

Website: ramsbottomfestival.com

Tickets cost: £35 per day, £70 weekend

To book visit: ramsbottomfestival.com or www.skiddle.com

Twitter: @rammyfestival

Facebook: facebook.com/ramsbottomfestival

Experimental Food Society Spectacular 2011

2011-08-10T16:21:00.000+01:00

A culinary arts event, The Experimental Food Society Spectacular 2011 comprises of three parts, an exhibition, followed by a wild themed banquet and talk.

A must-see for any food lover the ticketed daytime exhibition, held at the Truman Brewery on Friday 21 October (1.00pm -6.00pm) and Saturday 22 October (11.00am -6.00pm), is a spectacular and all-new display by Britain’s most talented and pioneering gourmet artists; an awe inspiring assemblage of butter sculptors, sonic food artists, food magicians, cake artists, food futurologists, conceptual food artists and food model-makers to name a few. Consultants to Michelin starred chefs and global food organizations as well as exhibitors at some of the world’s top art houses, they will challenge your perception of food and show you that there is more to life than just swallowing.

Featuring installations, demonstrations, samplings and talks, the Experimental Food Society Spectacular offers an opportunity to meet these pioneering foodies first hand, marvel at their creations, take part in one of the interactive exhibits, sample edible art, watch some of the artists as they create their works on site, listen to a talk, purchase books and foodie items, participate in a menu devising game show and pick up tips on how to get experimental in the kitchen.

Highlights include installations and contributions by: ACMD Productions, A*, Annabel de Vetten, Alchemist Dreams, Bougie Macaron, Blanch & Shock, Carl Warner, Caroline Smith, Christian Ozzati, Cultivate London, Debate Your Plate, FARM:shop, Fire Foods, Gingers Comfort Emporium, John Van der Put, Lily Vanilli, Lady Greys, Love To Cake, Michelle Sugar Art, Paul Wayne Gregory, Pomp de Franc, Sharon Baker, Simon Smith, Stefan Gates, Teatime Production, The Broken Hearts, The Curious Confectioner, Sean O Neill, Dr Morgaine Gaye, Caroline Hobkinson, The Robin Collective, Paul Baker, Pop Bakery, Fergus Drennan, Condiment Junkie, Harry Eastwood, Marawa the Amazing, The Way We See The World, Rambling Restaurant, Lana Citron, Scott O Hara, Yee Kwan and Vipula Saroja to name a few…

Tickets can also be booked for the wild themed banquet at The Folly on Sunday 23 October (7.00pm -11.00pm) at which 160 diners will partake in a unique and surreal multi sensory dining experience, inspired by and created with ingredients from the wild. A five-course menu designed by the Experimental Food Society in collaboration with Andrian Pseneac, Head Chef at The Folly, the banquet will be accompanied by a series of sonic experiences created by Condiment Junkie, as well as a variety of food related performances by Yum Cha Cha, Caroline Smith and the Lady Greys.

The event will culminate with a Talk at the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of the V&A Connects series titled ‘The Wilderness Year’ on Tuesday 25 October (6.30pm -9.30pm) at which the Experimental Food Society will take guests through some of the works of art unveiled at the Spectacular and the processes undertaken to create them. Accompanied by video footage and photography, tickets include cake canapés and two complimentary glasses of wine.

Experimental Food Society Exhibition
Date: Friday 21 October & Saturday 22 October
Time: Friday: 1.00pm – 6.00pm & Saturday 11.00am -6.00pm
Location: Truman Brewery – Dray Walk Gallery, Shop 14 and F Block B4 (one ticket to access
all three areas. All visitors will receive a map and schedule on arrival)
Address: 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
Tickets: £5.00
Purchase Tickets at: www.experimentalfoodsociety.com/society.html

Experimental Food Society Banquet
Date: Sunday 23 October
Time: 7.00pm -11.00pm
Location: The Folly
Address: 41 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BT
Tickets: £60.00
Purchase Tickets at: www.experimentalfoodsociety.com/society.html

Experimental Food Society Talk
Date: Tuesday 25 October
Time: 6.30pm-9.30pm
Location: The Lecture Theatre, The Victoria & Albert Museum
Address: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Tickets: (£8.00/£6.00 concessions)
Purchase Tickets at: www.vam.ac.uk or by phone: 020 7942 2211

Fergus Drennan To Host Wild Night Out Of Foraging

2011-08-08T21:52:00.000+01:00

LucyCooks, the Lake District Cookery School, has its first ever foraging event in its foodie diary as it prepares to stage a wild night out l on Friday September 23, with ‘The Wild Man of Food’, Fergus Drennan, aka The Road Kill Chef.

Fergus will be hosting an evening’s Demo and Dine event based on foraged food, at the state-of-the-art cookery school based in Staveley, near Kendal, showing guests how to prepare the foods he has foraged as a hunter-gatherer, from the local area.

‘Fergus the Forager’, as he is known, was the star of the 2007 BBC series ‘The Roadkill Chef’ and is a rather eccentric road kill connoisseur. He is a passionate forager and will spend a full day combing woods, hedgerows and riverbanks to harvest ingredients for a tantalising four-course meal served at LucyCooks.

Whether he offers up a pigeon breast, wild mushrooms or hare and regardless of whether it be served with a cauliflower fungus, wild garlic bulbs or a nettle puree, the menu will be wholly unique and an amazing insight into the life of a man who has dedicated his life to living on what nature provides.

Once the group has enjoyed a reconnoitre by the banks of the River Kent and downed a LucyCooktail, it will turn its focus to the forage, settling down in the cosy LucyCooks AGA room to listen to Fergus’s tales and watch him prepare his wild food.

When the ‘native’ four courses have been rustled up, diners will be able to treat their taste buds to unique sensations and tuck in to a menu that will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, prepared by an expert in his field, campsite and den!

This unique Demo and Dine experience costs £65 per head, inclusive of demonstration and talk from Fergus Drennan, the four-course meal and welcome LucyCooktail The advice is to book tickets quickly by heading to www.lucycooks.co.uk or calling 015394 32288.

Launch of Two New London Supper Clubs - Ferdiesfoodlab & The De Beauvoir Kitchen

2011-08-07T13:24:00.000+01:00

FERDIESFOODLAB SUPPER CLUB

Simon (Ferdie) from Fernandez and Leluu is setting up a new supper club Ferdiesfoodlab in a beautiful Grade II listed building one minute walk from Aldgate East Underground station in London.

The first publicised date is the Sat 27th August 2011 (Bank Holiday weekend), but a smaller "soft opening" event is taking place on the Saturday 13th of August 2011.

Simon is collaborating with an organisation that contributes to the local community aiming to eliminate poverty while trying to do something a little more creative with their beautiful hall.

If you are unable to attend on the 13th August 2011 event, the following dates are also available:

Sat 27th Aug

Fri 9th Sep

Fri 23rd Sep

If you would like to book, contact Simon on bookings@ferdiesfoodlab.co.uk or visit the website on www.ferdiesfoodlab.co.uk.

THE DE BEAUVOIR KITCHEN SUPPER CLUB

For two nights only 12 & 13^th August 2011, The De Beauvoir Kitchen will be hosting a stunning outdoor salle verte for an evening of Moroccan candlelit feasting nestled under a canopy of green and among scented blooms.

Join Jen and Vanessa for a summery Moroccan inspired menu including an aperitif, four courses, tea and treats. Doors open at 7pm and supper to commence at 7.30pm. Nearest tube, Dalston Junction.

Suggested donation £35, wine and beer BYO.

£5 per person will be donated to the De Beauvoir Underground, a local fundraising body currently raising money for a new community centre, the re-development of St Peter’s Crypt.

Please email vanessa@debeauvoirkitchen.co.uk to reserve a place.

TALISKER® SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY PRESENTS THE WORLD’S FIRST EVER SAIL-IN CINEMA

2011-08-05T17:08:00.000+01:00

What: The world’s first sail-in cinema; moor up your boats and relax to an open-air viewing of Master and Commander

Where: Cowes Esplanade

When: 12th August, 19:00

This August, at the famous sailing event Cowes Week, Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky is hosting the world’s first sail-in cinema. With a 10.5m x 5.5m screen erected off Cowes Esplanade, sailors on boats don’t have to venture far for a unique screening of the fitting picture Master and Commander*. Followed by the annual firework display, the night promises to celebrate the end to a remarkable week of sailing.

An obvious choice for sailors, Talisker is the only single malt Scotch whisky made by the sea on the Isle of Skye. Its powerful peat-smoke, with just a hint of seawater saltiness and a citrus sweetness, leaves you with a long warming finish so you can enjoy a dram or two on a long summer’s evening in the crisp open air.

For one night only on August 12th, sailors at Cowes Week can enjoy a unique open air screening of Master and Commander from the comfort of their own boat. So come down and raise a dram of Talisker, and toast to the silver screen.

WESTFIELD CITY STRATFORD‏ OPENS ON 13TH SEPTEMBER

2011-08-04T19:09:00.000+01:00

With just under 40 days to go before Westfield Stratford City opens on 13th September, the capital’s largest and most exciting new retail, food and leisure destination is delighted to announce an unrivalled F&B offering – no less than 70 places to eat and drink that together will provide a fusion of food styles, flavours and trends.

With the inclusion of an exciting new food market combined with an entertainments package which also boasts a 17 screen Vue cinema, 14-lane All Star Lanes’ bowling alley and an Aspers casino, Westfield Stratford City will offer round the clock dining, leisure and entertainment.

Kirin Ichiban’s “Pop-Up” Yatai Restaurant

2011-08-04T17:59:00.000+01:00

Kirin Ichiban, Japan’s Prime Brew is delighted to announce the launch of their “pop-up” Yatai in conjunction with the head chefs of London’s Japanese restaurant Yashin sushi & bar and their exciting Kushiage style restaurant set to launch in 2012.

The Kirin Ichiban Yatai will “pop up” for one week only, August 3rd - 8^th near Brick Lane and will serve up a selection of quality, traditional KUSHIAGE dishes which are relatively unknown in the UK; delicious Japanese deep -fried skewer delicacies which will be available *with a bottle of crisp Kirin beer for around just £5, bringing affordable quality food and drink to the streets.

Yasuhiro Mineno (ex head chef of Nobu) and Shinya Ikeda, joint owners and Head Chef of Yashin sushi & bar and founders of yet to be opened Kushiage style restaurant in Central London in early 2012 have worked carefully with Kirin Ichiban to create a mouth-watering market style menu offering Londoners some authentic flavours and delights from their Japanese street menu. Diners will also be able to vote for their favourite short film, from four finalists to the Kirin First Cut short film competition, the winner of which will be announced at the 55^th BFI London Short film festival in partnership with American Express (12^th-27^th October).

Customers can choose from selection of three delicious Kushiage deep-fried skewer dishes served on bamboo sticks and a bottle of beer for around five pounds. Food and drink enthusiasts can choose from over ten mouth-watering combinations including; pork with Japanese Worcester sauce, marinated lamb with saikyo miso, asparagus with sea salt and lemon, pickled tomato and slightly hot green pepper with lemon to name a few.

The pop up Kirin Yatai will also be showing finalists work from the Kirin First Cut film competition bringing together the old traditions of Japan with the new creativity and technology of short films.

Japan’s Prime Brew, Kirin Ichiban is not your average beer: it’s made by the unique “Ichiban Shibori Process” which literally translated means “First press”. For Kirin, there is no other way, its beer at its purest.

Kirin Ichiban’s rich history spans over 100 years and is steeped in tradition and culture. From its origins in 1888, through to its arrival in the UK in 1993, the legendary brew has consistently won the favour of those seeking something different and who value quality. Not only does it have the most expensive brewing process in the World but a truly unique approach to creating beer, ‘First Press’.

To make a reservation at the Kirin Yatai pop up restaurant please visit http://www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk/how-to-book.php

Bookings will be confirmed from July 2011. Timings Wednesday – Saturday 12pm – 11pm, Sunday - Monday 12pm – 9.00pm

*free beer included when reservation is made online