Posts

Posted on

Chocolate bars to shrink!

BBC reports on how the credit crunch and rising food and fuel costs are having an impact the costs for snack firms.

Mars has become the latest snack firm to admit the credit crunch is eating into its business.

The Snickers bar and M&Ms maker said it would be raising the wholesale price of its goods to offset rising raw material, packaging and energy costs.

The news came days after fellow US firm Hershey raised its product prices.

Mars also said it would be cutting the size of some of its goods. In the UK, a number of firms have shrunk snack sizes to stave off price rises.

So we can expect our chocolate bars to get smaller.

Posted on

Jamie Oliver has criticised the UK for its poor cuisine

BBC reports on an interview with Jamie Oliver where Jamie criticises the way in which people in the UK don’t like eating well, but prefer to drink too much…

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has criticised the UK for its alcohol culture and poor cuisine.

In an interview with Paris Match magazine, Oliver suggested people in the UK cared more about getting drunk than they did about eating well.

There is a significant minority in the UK who do eat well, like good food, go out of their way to purchase organic and local produce. Though I agree with Jamie there is a substantial majority who are quite happy cooking from frozen bags of prepared food. This same majority rarely eat together and are more likely to eat in front of the television then around the table.

So is Jamie Oliver correct in his view, or are me and him wrong?

Posted on

Tapas for a Tenner

I have been meaning for ages to visit La Tasca. I really like tapas and I really wanted to try their paella – more often then not I am very disappointed with the paella that is offered at other places.

So today I happened to be in Regent Street and popped into La Tasca for a (very) late lunch.

I decided to do the Tapas for a Tenner deal. This deal allows you to eat as many tapas as you want for just £10! The deal varies across the UK, but here it was available until 5pm, whilst in Bristol it is available from 5pm!

Tapas for a Tenner

I went for six dishes in the end.

Patatas Bravas – Fried potato, topped with a spicy tomato sauce.

A Spanish classic and a tapas favourite. The tomato sauce was spicy, but rather too salty for me. Whilst the potatoes were soft and not crispy, slightly oily. A bit of a disappointment for a dish which should be relatively simple to make. It felt like it had not been freshly cooked and left around for a while. For me tapas should be freshly cooked.

Paella de Pescado – Paella with squid, prawns and mussels, served with lemon.

This was a well flavoured dish, but again like the patatas bravas did not taste fresh, felt like it had been cooked a good hour earlier.

Calamares a la Andaluza – Deep-fried rings of squid, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and lemon.

Now this is a dish which again is simplicity, but oh was so wrong. The rings were overcooked so were rubbery in texture. I got the feeling (and I may have been wrong) that these were not freshly prepared, but came from a packet or even the freezer. Good calamari should be cooked using fresh squid. Alas they covered the calamari in salt – if I wanted salt I would have asked for it.

Chorizo Frito al Vino – The spicy Spanish sausage, sautéed in red wine.

This in my opinion was perfect, great chorizo cooked in red wine, bursting with meaty flavours and with a great depth provided by the red wine. This one I would have had second helpings of.

Selección de Embutidos – A selection of cured Spanish meats.

Can you get this wrong, no, and La Tasca didn’t. Three slices each of three different kinds of cured Spanish meats.

Paella Valenciana – A Valencian-style paella, with mixed seafood and chicken.

A different paella to the first tapas, but a similar story.

Overall I kind of had what I expected. La Tasca is a chain (not a family run restaurant) and probably cooks to a system. I did enjoy the meal (despite the disappointing food) and the ambiance and the atmosphere was pleasant, and you have to remember this was a very busy Regent Street.

Will I go again, possibly if I was stuck and there was nothing else to choose from.

Posted on

Border Biscuits

I originally had these biscuits when I would make business visits to Scotland, so am always pleased when I can find them south of the border.

These are some of my favourite biscuits, they are perfectly cooked, extremely buttery and melt in the mouth like they ought to.

I have decided that though somewhat expensive, I rather have a singler Border biscuit over a whole packet of other (more popular) branded biscuits.

Border Biscuits.

Posted on

Beef Wellington

This is my version of the classic Beef Wellington.

Beef Wellington

I used sirloin steak, which I cooked in a pan until it was cooked medium rare. You can of course cook the steak how you prefer it. Ensure it is cooked to a point before you would call it perfect, as it will cook more in the oven.

I then cut the steak into portions, about two inches square.

The steak was then spread with a mixture of chopped mushrooms and mustard. I used French whole grain mustard.

Using some puff pastry (and I will admit I do buy ready made puff pastry as I have no idea on how to make it).

I cut out some circles, about four inches in diameter. Placed one circle on the baking tray, added the steak. Using beaten egg and a pastry brush I brushed egg around the edges of the circle and placed a second circle of puff pastry on top. This top puff pastry circle was then brushed with beaten egg.

The parcels were then baked in an oven for about ten to fifteen minutes until golden brown.

I served mine with a mix of salads.

Posted on

Bristol Zoo Gardens

Sometimes you wonder why the catering establishments in various tourist attractions act surprised when they get busy…

Today at Bristol Zoo Gardens when buying lunch, the catering team seemed surprised that a lot of people were visiting the zoo.

It’s August!

It’s the school holidays!

It was a sunny day!

What do you expect?

I also think that it is very cheeky to serve okay or ever poor quality food at expensive prices – service stations on the motorway have the same philosophy.

Today I ordered a pizza meal deal and though it was still quite early they had run out of garlic bread! So that I had to wait for.

The pizza was freshly baked, though for my liking too much tomato sauce and not cooked long enough.

Coleslaw was okay, but having made my own I didn’t think too much of it, but it was much much better that coleslaw from other places.

Generally I think it is to be recommended to take a picnic, rather than rely on the catering at the zoo. True you have to contend with the wasps, but the food will probably be nicer.

I do wonder if there are decent places to eat at visitor attractions?

Posted on

John Lewis Espresso Bar

John Lewis, the retail chain, has been at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol for ten years now.

Their restaurant at the top of the store has always been one of the better places to eat at the shopping mall, away from the KFC and Burger Kings.

True their original outside eating area was rather windswept, but at least the majority of the hot food was cooked to order, the salads were fresh, the cakes scrummy and the service was pretty good too (when it wasn’t too busy).

Over the last few months, John Lewis has revamped their eating places, making their top floor restaurant larger and by adding an espresso bar in the basement.

The espresso bar is rather nice and cosy and despite no windows did not feel claustrophobic.

The coffee was good, the tea was good, the scone was good and the service was excellent. It was even reasonably priced as well.

I was very pleased and will go there again.

Posted on

You can’t sell Polish beer in litres…

Polish Beer

BBC reports on the restaurant which is breaking the law by selling Polish beer in litres.

A restaurant owner has described laws which ban him from serving beer by the litre as “barmy” after he was threatened with court action.

Nic Davison was served an infringement notice by trading standards officers for selling beer illegally.

Mr Davison, who owns the Kuchnia Polska restaurant in Doncaster, was told to change his glasses within 28 days or face a court hearing and a £2,000 fine.

The 1988 Weights and Measures Act says draught beer must be sold in pints.

Photo source.