For real Indian foods, You need the Spice Kitchen

My wife especially admires the Spice Kitchen as it reflects how she was brought up. Her father would travel 30 to 40 miles back in the day to obtain the traditional herbs and spices that he needed to cook his family's traditional Indian meals. 

He called them his tiffin tins, which he got filled in the parts of Wolverhampton and Birmingham which had a relatively high number of shops selling traditional Indian foods, spices, etc.

The fact that the Spice Kitchen spices and herbs come in a real Masala Dabba, wrapped in some nice sari fabric really thrills my wife.

When it arrived my wife said: "There'll be a really nice curry, tonight!" 

She took some vegan chicken style slices from our freezer, prepared a marinade for them and cooked them to perfection. 

The result was an absolutely delicious meal which my wife was proud to say she cooked, as the spices and herbs were the kinds she has in her spice racks. Which, if you knew my wife, you'd know was a pretty big deal.

The tin we enjoyed was the Indian Spice Tin. Other tins that are available are the Middle Eastern and African Spice Tin, World Spice Blends and Rubs, Moroccan Spice Tin, International Chilli Collection, Flavoured Sea Salts Collection, a Baby Spice Collection (for the younger members of your family) and a Gin Botanicals Collection. All costing from £30.00 a tin.

https://www.spicekitchenuk.com

Check out their website for some real traditional recipes.

Also, there's also good news! They have written their very own cook book, which will be published at £22.00 on May 25th. https://www.spicekitchenuk.com/products/spice-kitchen-cookbook

We would like to offer our sincere thanks to Sanjay & Shashi Aggarwal (Mamma and Baby Spice!) for their fantastic help in putting this feature together.

Cheshire Chef Demonstrates Skills at International Hospitality Show

Invited by the Craft Guild of Chefs, the leading Professional Chefs body in the country, Brian Mellor delivered a culinary master class at this year's Hotelympia, the UK's largest exhibition for the Hospitality business.

"I used to compete against other Chefs at the show in something we call the Salon Culinaire, working for hours to create pristine plates of food but this time it was different. There were over 20 hand-picked national and international demonstrators over the five days in The Skillery and only one from the North - me!

"The bi-annual show attracts Hospitality professionals and acclaimed Chefs from across the globe who converge in London to discuss trends, look at new products and catch up with colleagues at grand dinners." - says Brian

Having just opened his cookery school in Cheshire, Brian is well known in the industry for his passion for training, developing programmes and enthusiastically passing on skills.

"Hotelympia gave us the perfect platform to launch our latest project which is The Chefs Academy designed for professional Chefs who want to develop, enhance and share skills. Harthill is a stunning location where we are surrounded by farms, cheese makers, game and clever artisan producers. Coupled with our excellent facilities at the school and access to experts, it's the perfect environment for Chefs to be inspired and learn from them."

The cookery school has already a successful programme of leisure courses enjoyed by novices and foodies from around the country.

Due to his high profile at hospitality trade events and to the success of the workshops he runs for his fellow colleagues, Brian has been invited to run 4 master classes at the University Caterers Annual Conference at the end of March in Blackpool. All sessions will showcase North-West produce and they have already received over 200 registrations.

Winners of the Cook Vegetarian Veggie Awards Announced!

Cook Vegetarian magazine is delighted to announce the winners of The Veggie Awards 2012, celebrating flavour, versatility and innovation in the world of meat-free foods.

Editor Rachel Callen said: “If you needed any sort of proof that vegetarian food is thriving in the mainstream, this is it. Over 350 products were entered in this year's awards, and nearly 1,700 readers voted on their favourites at www.cookveg.co.uk. There's no doubt that Britain's vegetarians and meat reducers are a shopping force to be reckoned with... and they know what they like, too!”


The Cook Vegetarian team invited entries from the biggest supermarket to the smallest producer, and 16 outstanding products were shortlisted in each category. After reader voting, the top three products received a Gold, Silver and Bronze Veggie Award respectively, while three runners up in each category were awarded a Highly Commended accolade.


This year's winners of a ‘Veggie’ are as follows:

Best Meat Replacement

Gold

Quorn Fillets

Silver

Linda McCartney Vegemince

Bronze

Cauldron Marinated Tofu Pieces

Highly Commended

Asda Meat Free Meat Balls

Fry's Chicken Style Strips

Redwood Vegetarian Streaky Rashers

Best Ready Meal

Gold

Linda McCartney Deep Country Pies

Silver

M&S Roasted Butternut Squash and Chargrilled Halloumi

Bronze

Innocent Piri Piri Veg Pot

Highly Commended

Aunt Bessie's Vegetarian Toad in the Hole

The Co-operative Moroccan Tagine

Asda Extra Special Four Cheese Macaroni

Best Burger, Banger or Grill

Gold

Cauldron Cumberland Sausages

Silver

Dalepak Cauliflower Cheese Grill

Bronze

Goodlife Spicy Bean Quarterpounders

Highly Commended

Linda McCartney Cheese and Red Onion Escalopes

Quorn Breaded Goujons

Waitrose Mushroom and Chestnut Grills

Best Cheese

Gold

Aldi Specially Selected Farmhouse Red Leicester

Silver

Delamere Dairy Honey Goat's Cheese Log

Bronze

Ilchester Applewood Smoke Flavoured Cheddar

Highly Commended

Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses Blacksticks Blue

Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar

Calon Wen Organic Extra Mature Cheddar

Best Dairy Substitute

Gold

Alpro Soya Custard

Silver

Swedish Glace Smooth Vanilla

Bronze

Pure Spread Soya

Highly Commended

Rice Dream Original

Booja Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate Ice Cream

Provamel Vanilla Soya Yoghurt

Best Vegan

Gold

Jus-Rol Shortcrust Pastry

Silver

Granose Falafel Mix

Bronze

Goodlife Spinach & Lentil Grills

Highly Commended

Tesco Meat Free 2 Curry Bakes

WeightWatchers Moroccan Tagine

Plamil Organic Mayonnaise

Best Veggie Snack

Gold

Tyrrells Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

Silver

Quorn Mini Savoury Eggs

Bronze

Dorset Cereals Chocolate & Macadamia Bars

Highly Commended

Crips Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar

Nakd Berry Delight Bar

Crazy Jack Ready-to-eat Apricots

Best Sweet

Gold

Ben & Jerry's Phish Food

Silver

Gü After Dark Hot Chocolate Soufflés

Bronze

Booja Booja Organic Raspberry Truffles

Highly Commended

Tesco Finest Passion Fruit, Mango & Scottish Raspberry Cheesecake

Waitrose Key Lime Pie

McVities Lyle's Golden Syrup Cake

Best Veggie Wine

Gold

M&S Chablis 2008

Silver

Tesco Finest Barossa Valley Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

Bronze

The Co-op Leyda Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Highly Commended

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Pouilly Fumé

Asda Louis Bernard Champagne Brut Rosé

Laurent Perrier Vintage 2002

Reader Choice Award

Gold

Sainsbury's Cheese & Spring Onion Crispbakes

Silver

Munchy Seeds Omega Mix

Bronze

Cockburns Vintage Port

Highly Commended

Cropwell Bishop Classic Blue Stilton

Waitrose Nut Roast Wellingtons

M&S Veggie Percy

FACTFILE:
Cook Vegetarian is the UK’s leading monthly vegetarian cookery magazine, available nationwide in supermarkets, WHSmith stores and independents.

The Cook Vegetarian website is: www.cookveg.co.uk Follow Cook Veg on twitter at www.twitter.com/cookveg or on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/cookvegetarian

Cookery School Urges British cooks To 'Be Proud of Pastry'

The Lake District cookery school, LucyCooks, is issuing a rallying cry of 'Be Proud of Pastry', urging British cooks to cherish the pastry dishes that we take for granted, but which foreign diners relish when they visit our shores.

The cookery school is inviting keen cooks across the country to send in their favourite pastry recipes. The best will be rewarded with a prize of a cookery course for two at its state-of-the-art premises in Staveley, on the outskirts of the market town of Kendal.

The prize relates to two places on one of the school's own pastry or baking courses, such as its Pies, Puds and Perfect Pastry courses, which regularly run to show the cooks who lack confidence with their pastry exactly how versatile it can be as a topping or encasing for a variety of fabulous dishes.

The closing date for the competition is November 30 and the winning recipe will then be posted on the LucyCooks website at www.lucycooks.co.uk with all due credit to its ingenious deviser.

LucyCooks general manager, Magnus Mumby, says: "I have worked all over the world and can honestly say that British pastry dishes are a unique part of this nation's heritage and something of which we should be proud. We are inviting British cooks to share their own pastry dishes with us, whether these are based on traditional recipes, or are modern dishes offering an innovative twist on pastry and our message to everyone, regardless of whether they can cook or not is to 'Be Proud of Pastry', enjoy dining on our pies and puds and if you don't yet know how to create your own pastry dishes, come along and learn how to do so!"

To enter the competition, cooks can send their recipe to: Be Proud of Pastry Contest, LucyCooks, 1 Mill Yard, Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 9LR, along with their name, address, telephone number and email address. All entries received by November 30 will be judged by the LucyCooks chefs and the winner advised by December 14, 2011.

Tabasco® Chipotle Pepper Sauce

Since I first found a bottle of the extremely tasty and extremely versatile Tabasco® in a local delicatessen shop in the 1970s, I have made it a practice to always kept some Tabasco® sauces at home.

And now, Tabasco® has added something else to their already fine range of sauces. Tabasco® Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

What, you might be wondering, is Chipotle? I am glad you asked me that! Since the time of the Aztecs, the Chipotle pepper (pronounced chee-POHT-lay) has been prized for its dark and smoky flavour. Vine-ripened and slow-smoked to perfection over a slow fire, this pepper produces a thick-bodied sauce ideally balanced in heat and flavour.

It is made from select smoked red jalapeño peppers and has a smooth, rich smoky flavour. It's Tabasco®’s first pepper sauce that you can sprinkle on like a condiment, or really pour on like a steak sauce or marinade!

You can dash it on drop-by-drop, but you can also use a generous amount to marinate chicken, steak, pork and more - because it's not just about adding heat, it's more about adding great a great smoky flavour. It's not too hot, but also, it is not too mild, so the result is a smoky, flavourful sauce that's the perfect sauce for marinating and barbecuing to your heart's content.

But do be aware that with Tabasco® Chipotle Pepper Sauce, buying one bottle probably will not be enough and you do not want to let your barbecue guests down, do you? So my suggestion? Get at least a couple of bottles in.

Get the taste for Barbecuing this National Barbecue Week!

Yes, National Barbecue Week is coming! And to celebrate, That's Food and Drink is telling you what's available to cook, what you can cook it on, what you can serve it with and what you can drink with it.

Firstly, here are a few safety tips:

Make sure your food is cooked properly. If you need to defrost food, ensure it is properly defrosted and then make certain it is cooked thoroughly

Make sure pets and children are well away from the barbecue

Be sober when you cook

Do not use accelerants to start the barbecue.

Follow those rules and you should be safe and have a good barbecue!