Sunday 27 November 2011

When you are doing your Christmas baking, shouldn't you reach for the Renshaws?

Smart home bakers know that the best help they can have in their kitchen are items from the Renshaw range.

Making a Christmas cake? Then reach for the Renshaws' edible icing ribbon, to give your cake that glamorous finish that will taste every bit as good as it looks.

And you'll find them in six very exciting and extremely Christmasy colours. Black, pink, blue, yellow, red or green.

And whilst you are at it, why not give your cake a bit of Chirstmas magic by adding some other items from the new Consumer Range from Renshaw's?

There's even something to keep the children happy and baking (under your careful supervision, of course!) with Magic Melting Icing, and Cool Coloured and the Funky Flavoured Sugardough!

For inspiration and full access to the range visit www.mybakes.co.uk and learn how Renshaw can help you be the baking expert that you really always knew you could be.

(EDITOR: But DO make sure some human helpers don't help themselves to too many of the icing products before you get to bake with them! But they are very tempting!)

Saturday 26 November 2011

That's Books: Love Music, Love Food - The Rock Star Cookbook

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Thursday 24 November 2011

Get The Festivities Started With Byron Bay Cookies


The new Limited Edition Byron Bay Cookie has been developed to marry the classic flavours of indulgent dark European chocolate with the citrus punch of orange zest providing the perfect cookie treat for winter shoppers.

Each cookie is packed with over 30% premium European dark chocolate chunks and a hint of orange zest, to give a deliciously festive flavour that is sure to follow in the foot-steps of previous seasonal Limited Edition Byron Bay Cookies and be a big seller this winter.

"It has taken months of development to get a cookie that delivers the perfect winter taste as well as being on course with under-lying consumer food trends," commented Paul Maxwell, European Marketing Manager for Byron Bay Cookie Company.

"With extensive taste testing we are confident that we have the perfect winter accompaniment for any tea, coffee or hot chocolate. With the success of previous Limited Edition cookies such as Strawberries & Clotted Cream, Plum Pudding and White Chocolate Chunk and Cranberry we are confident that the Dark Chocolate Orange Cookie will be well received."

Since its launch in Australia during the mid 1990's, Byron Bay Cookie Company has become synonymous with impeccable quality, resulting in numerous awards from all over the globe. In 2008, to allay concerns over food miles, production of the world famous Australian cookie brand started in the UK. These UK-baked Byron Bay Cookies use locally sourced ingredients, free range eggs and premium European chocolate. They are fully approved by the Vegetarian Society and the gluten free range is certified by Coeliac UK. The UK baked product has already won the Vegetarian Societies Award for 'Best Approved Snack Product 2009' for the Triple Choc Fudge Cookie and nominated for the same category in 2010 for the 'Dotty' Cookie.

The new Byron Bay Limited Edition Dark Chocolate Orange Cookie is available from Cafes and Coffee Shops nation-wide. For more information about the full range of Byron Bay Cookies (including the new Limited Edition Dark Choc Orange Cookie) please visit www.byronbaycookies.co.uk

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Muddy Boots And Fine Burger Company Team Up to make this a very good Christmas, indeed!

Muddy Boots Real Foods Limited ("Muddy Boots") and Fine Burger Company are joining forces this Christmas to bring the Muddy Boots Camembert and Cranberry Christmas burger to the St Pancras and the O2 Fine Burger Company restaurants.

Robert Tame, founder Fine Burger Company, said, "This is a fantastic tasting Christmas burger. It's a limited edition offer and the taste is unique. Muddy Boots guarantee the same distinction and provenance that we look for in our own burgers and their Camembert and Cranberry Christmas flavour is really special. We're excited about working together and making burgers taste so good."

The Camembert and Cranberry burger will be on the menu from Monday 28 November until Christmas and Roland and Miranda will be handing out free samples on Wed 30 November and Friday 9 December too.

Roland Ballard, co-founder of Muddy Boots, said: "We have always really liked Fine Burger Company and their dedicated approach to sourcing quality beef and ingredients. We are so excited they like to have a bit of fun with burgers too and we hope that the affiliation this Christmas will go down well with each of our regulars and help introduce both brands to new customers."

Muddy Boots already has a busy lead up to Christmas with its limited edition Camembert and Cranberry beef burger hitting the shelves of Waitrose and helping to launch two new retail contracts with Midcounties Co-Operative and Budgens this month too. The Christmas burger combines the succulent top cuts of Aberdeen Angus beef, which Muddy Boots always uses in its burgers, with the smooth creaminess of the Camembert and the sweet bite of the cranberries.

FACTFILE:

Muddy Boots: www.muddybootsfoods.co.uk
Fine Burger Company: www.fineburger.co.uk

Muddy Boots Real Foods Ltd is a Worcestershire based beef burger company that was founded in December 2008 by Roland and Miranda Ballard.

They featured in BBC One's High Street Dreams in May 2010 and are now stocked in 41 Waitrose stores, with Ocado, Midcounties Co-Operative, Budgens and with some independent retailers and restaurants. They also sell their burgers through their online Muddy Boots foodhall.

Fine Burger Company was founded by Robert Tame in 2003, when he began his mission to upgrade the burger. Everything on the menu is fresh, locally sourced and completely free from additives, preservatives, colourings and GM nasties. The company now has four sites in London: Islington, O2, St Pancras and ExCel Exhibition Centre.

Have Yourself A Very Godminster Christmas

The cheese came to life after Godminster owner Richard Hollingbery bought Godminster Farm and had the waxed cheese made using milk from the farm as a thank-you gift for friends. The cheeses were a great success, so much so that Richard decided to that he should begin making the cheese commercially and as a result the Godminster brand was born.

These days no cheese board is complete without a Godminster cheddar, its rich wax coating making it especially popular at Christmas.

The cheese, which is available in 2kg, 1kg and 400gm rounds as well as a 400gm heart, is delivered beautifully packaged in distinctive Godminster colours, making it an ideal gift for a foodie friend.

Godminster also produces an oak-smoked Godminster cheddar. "We use the same mature cheddar as in our waxed truckles and cold smoke it over oak chippings sourced from sustainable woodland", said Richard Hollingbery, Godminster's owner. These are then hand-wrapped in muslin, making the perfect addition to the Godminster range.

Richard adds: "Our cheeses have been a great success' so much so that over the years we have developed a number of foodie gifts, which always include the cheese, of course! My personal favourite as a traditional Yorkshireman is the cheese and fruit cake combination. When you eat the cheese we find there is no need to remove the wax before cutting. In fact, we find our cheese keeps its creamy consistency best if you keep it in the wax.

"The cheese can be scooped or sliced. Either score around the top and use it as a lid, scooping the cheese out, or cut through the wax like you would a cake. If there's any left replace the lid, wrap the whole cheese in cling film and refrigerate."

The organic cheddar starts at £14.95 and is available from www.godminster.com

Donald Russell On How To Cook The Perfect Turkey

Donald Russell's free range turkey, sourced from the beautiful Loué region of France. These turkeys are slow grown and traditionally bred to give a wonderful plump, meaty, turkey taste.

The Donald Russell turkey is priced at £56, feeds 6-8 people and is available from www.donaldrussell.com

Please find below tips from Donald Russell on how to cook the perfect turkey:

* Weigh your bird to calculate the cooking time and place in a preheated oven at 230C/450F/Gas7 for 30 minutes.

* After 30 minutes reduce the temperature to 180C/360F/Gas4 and cook for a further 15-18 minutes per 450g.

* Rest for 20-30 minutes. If you need to keep the bird warm for longer, cover with oil and lower the oven to 60C. Your turkey will stay warm for up to an hour.

(EDITOR: Those tips are clear, concise and to the point. Could it be that the long-winded advice from some experts cause more confusion than enlightenment?)