Posted on

Carluccio’s has closed

Carluccio's

Walking around Bristol the other day I noticed that Carluccio’s in Quakers Friar had closed.

Doing a Google search I found out that according to one news article, it was said The Quakers Friars branch will close on Sunday, January 6.

I have walked around there before, but hadn’t noticed.

Though I have eaten at Carluccio’s before, it wasn’t a place I frequented. As I said in a recent blog post after a visit to a branch in London earlier this year.

It has been nearly ten years since I visited a branch of Carluccio’s. I do like Italian food, but I’ve not really had the inclination to visit Carluccio’s in that time. Their menu always looks interesting, but for quick lunches it was always on the pricey side.

You can probably guess that I had never been to the Quakers Friar branch in Bristol. I wonder how long it will remain empty for?

Posted on

“Earl Grey, hot!”

It was on Star Trek that Captain Picard would speak to the replicator and say “Earl Grey, hot!” and get a cup of tea.

"Earl Grey, hot"

Science Fiction, yes, but according to The Verge, NASA are building a 3D food printer. Sounds like a replicator to me.

3D food printer

They’ve started with printing chocolate, but are going to move onto pizza. I suspect that tea is much easier!

Posted on

Blue Honey

Intriguing story from France and the mystery of the blue honey.

I really don’t like the sound of blue honey, it may be peculiar to the British about this dislike of blue food, older people may recall the “missing” blue smarties that could be found in tubes of European smarties, but were not to be found in the tubes sold in the UK. Eventually blue smarties did find their way to the UK.

Posted on

Jamie’s 30 minutes, now fastest selling

BBC News is reporting that Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, has become the fastest selling non-fiction title of all time.

Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals has sold 735,000 copies in 10 weeks, beating the previous record held by comedian Peter Kay’s memoir, The Sound of Laughter. Delia Smith’s How To Cook (Book 1) is the bestselling cookbook of all time, with more than a million copies sold. Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, which contains recipes for 50 quick three-course dinners, was made into a television series for Channel 4.

I quite enjoyed the series, but I also enjoyed the Guardian’s attempts to cook his recipes in 30 minutes.

In his new book, Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, Jamie proves that, by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you’d normally spend making one dish! The 50 brand-new meal ideas in this book are exciting, varied and seasonal. They include main course recipes with side dishes as well as puddings and drinks, and are all meals you’ll be proud to serve your family and friends. Jamie has written the recipes in a way that will help you make the most of every single minute in the kitchen. This book is as practical as it is beautiful, showing that with a bit of preparation, the right equipment and some organization, hearty, delicious, quick meals are less than half an hour away. You’ll be amazed by what you’re able to achieve.

Regardless of how you feel about Jamie Oliver, if it makes people think more about what they eat and how they cook, that has to be better them then relying on microwaved freezer meals.

Buy Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals.

Posted on

Turn Back Time – The High Street

Really clever trailer from the BBC, very Back to the Future.

I have enjoyed the first two episodes about historical high streets, shows how “lucky” we are today in some respects and how much we have lost too. True no food adulteration these days (well some probably), but we have lost a lot of the personal touch we had in the past.

Series still available on BBC iPlayer until December 14th 2010.

Posted on

Has the calorie had its day?

From BBC News

Counting calories is an addictive pastime for many a dedicated slimmer. Croissant or toast? Curry or pizza? Sandwich or salad?

Food labels help millions of people decide what to buy and what to eat. So it’s important that they are accurate but, according to some experts, the system on which they are based is flawed and misleading.

Read more.

Posted on

Why does airline food taste bland?

BBC News reports on the theory that the blandness of airline food is down to noise.

The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods, researchers have found.

It may go some way to explaining why airline food is notoriously bland – a phenomenon that drives airline catering companies to heavily season their foods.

See the full research report.

Posted on

£110 for a cheese sandwich…

Nope, not a typo…

A cheese show in Somerset is hoping to set the record for the world’s most expensive cheese sandwich.

The Frome Cheese Show claims to be the oldest in the country. And organisers hope its cheese sandwich, costing £110.59, is the world’s most expensive.

It was created by Bath-based chef Martin Blunos and is made with cheddar blended with white truffles and sprinkled with gold dust.

Via BBC News