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Guoman Hotels, has announced the Grand Imperial London will be celebrating the London Restaurant Festival for the first time by hosting Oriental Tea & Jazz afternoons in its bar lounge from 3-17 October 2011, bringing authentic Hong Kong Cantonese food at its finest.

Guests will be able to indulge in an Eastern take on Afternoon Tea with a selection of savoury and sweet dim sum.  Surrounded by the splendid Feng Shui setting of the restaurant's bar lounge, accompanied by jazz on the piano. The Oriental Tea & Jazz afternoons are a chance for guests to take their palate on a sumptuous journey to the East.

The Oriental Afternoon tea includes classics such as 'Char Sui Bao', 'Concubine Chicken Wrap' and Grand Imperial's signature 'Chocolate Dim Sum' or a velvety 'Green tea brulee'. To accompany these treats, guests can select their favourite soothing Oriental tea or opt for a glass of Balfour Brut English Rosé and, exclusively for the festival; they can pick any cocktail including the latest popping Boba drink. Throughout the festival guests will also have the opportunity to sample the restaurant's Oriental bar menu offering an extended choice of delicious Cantonese treats.

London Restaurant Festival returns to the capital in 2011 from the 3rd to the 17th of October and is a two-week celebration of London's extraordinarily diverse range of restaurants. Grand Imperial London will also celebrate with a bespoke 2 course menu, available by reservation only and which includes specialities such as 'Crispy duck salad' and 'Black cod with honey pepper sauce'.

Oriental Afternoon Tea & Jazz will be served up every day between 3-6pm and priced per set with the option of an extra glass of champagne or a cocktail.

Located in landmark heritage hotel The Grosvenor, Victoria, Grand Imperial London is headed up by Chef Rand Cheung and is one of Malaysia's leading restaurant groups with a premium reputation in fine dining. Featuring original pieces of artwork and calligraphy excerpts, Grand Imperial London has been designed around the ancient practice of Feng-shui, along with traditional artefacts and a private dining room to entertain up to 24 guests.

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Spicy ice cream? It's time for the Llangollen Food Festival!

SPICY ice cream and beer shampoo are among the more weird and wonderful products making their début at this year's Llangollen Food Festival.

The annual culinary spectacle is in its 14th year and has garnered a reputation for attracting exciting, independent producers from across England and Wales, and provides a great day out for any food lover.

Among those will be Mon ar Lwy, an award-winning ice cream maker from Anglesey trialling Hellish Relish, an ice cream "sizzling" with spices and chilli. And local brewers Llangollen Brewery will be selling soap and hair products with its Welsh Black ale being a key ingredient!

Held over the weekend of October 15 and 16, few food feasts boast a more beautiful location and the tree- and heather-clad hills above the Vale of Llangollen will be ablaze with autumnal colour providing an amazing day out for all the family.

Centred on Llangollen's Pavilion venue, home to the world-famous Musical Eisteddfod, the festival will star Welsh TV chef Dudley Newbery and Graham Tinsley from ITV's "Taste the Nation" as they share simple home cooking through a series of workshops and demonstrations.

This year's festival has a back-to-basics theme. Recognising the household spending squeeze, there will be a greater emphasis on grow-your-own ingredients and smarter shopping - how to buy from small, independent traders and save money.

A real ale trail will feature a courtesy shuttle bus linking the festival site with more than a dozen pubs in and around Llangollen.

Festival entry is £5 (under 16s enter free). For more information visit www.llangollenfoodfestival.com

World Cup Winning Indian Cricket Team Visit Chak 89 for a Meal

Chak89 were recently visited by some of the victorious Indian Cricket World Cup winning team. Virat Kohli, R.P Singh, Pravin Kumar and Munaf Patel enjoyed their meal with the owner Mr. Frank Khalid. A few members of the team joked that they not eaten an Indian meal for 8 days and that they had been eating mainly pasta. They all really enjoyed the food and complimented Mr. Frank Khalid on the exquisite cuisine. They loved the food and said that they would like to come back but next time with the rest of their team mates.

Mr. Frank Khalid said “The food must have helped them because the following day the 4 players almost won the Lords One-Dayer. R.P Singh took 3 wickets, Pravin Kumar 1 wicket and Munaf Patel 1 wicket and 1 run out but unfortunately the rain came down and took away their victory.”

Chak89 are not only one of the best Indian restaurants in London, but they are also a perfect solution for all types of wedding celebrations and great Indian wedding venues, they can accommodate and cater for up to 650 guests in two adjoining banquet halls. They are also the ideal choice for business conferences, or they can bring the CHAK89 experience to you by allowing their Indian caterers to stage your special day at any venue of your choice.

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Reinventing The Takeaway?

Serial entrepreneur Simon Prockter is hoping his latest venture will help change the way we look at takeaway food, for good.

He's about to launch the UK's first gourmet takeaway service – www.housebites.com - starting in London this week.

The site has received six figure backing from a group of private investors, including Bebo co-founder, Paul Birch.

Housebites gives food lovers the opportunity to enjoy individually prepared meals, made by top cooks and delivered straight to their door.

However, whilst the food is of a restaurant quality it won't come with a restaurant price tag, with customers able to pick up a main meal for around the same price as a delivery pizza.

The site has already attracted a wide range of local chefs who have worked at some of the capital's top restaurants including The Ivy, Le Caprice, Barrafina, Fifteen, The Bluebird and The Sanderson Hotel.

In addition seasoned cooks will also be given the opportunity to sell their dishes in their area, regardless of restaurant experience, as long as they pass the taste test.

MasterChef finalist Andy Oliver has also been brought in to advise the site on catering strategy, having previously spent two years working at London's prestigious Nahm restaurant.

Mr Prockter, whose previous ventures include SpeedDater, Europe's largest dating events company and activity holidays firm Adventura, says housebites caters for consumers who demand more from their takeaway.
  

He explains: "'I'd been exploring ideas within the food sector for the last 18 months and whilst so many traditional industries are being disrupted by the internet such as hotels and car-hire, I couldn't see anything great happening in food.

"We believe housebites will change the way people eat, for good. No longer do consumers have to settle for a soggy, cold pizza or a stodgy Chinese takeaway, instead they can eat restaurant quality meals cooked to order by a local chef, for the same price.

"A wide range of dishes will be available including classics such as curry and pizza and we're confident they will be made using superior ingredients and cooking expertise than down the local takeaway."

The site was recently shortlisted for Real Business' Future 50 award, which details Britain's top 50 most exciting start-ups.

Using housebites couldn't be easier with customers entering their post code, browsing the menus of local cooks, placing an order and then waiting a maximum of one hour for the food to arrive. The site promises the highest levels of quality control - just like the Michelin Starred kitchens many of the local chefs have worked in. Cooks will be asked to prove their credentials by cooking a signature dish which will be assessed, before being allowed to expand their menu.

Feedback through social media is a key part of the experience allowing users to rate their food, tweet local cooks, add comments to the Facebook page and interact in forums.

Mr Prockter says not only will the site benefit consumers, it will also offer local chefs a great way to earn a living working from home.

He said: "By working just four days a week local chefs could earn a greater wage than if they were spending the time in a restaurant's kitchen. If they're able to fill orders five days a week they'll make around £65,000 a year, which is a great work from home income.

"We're confident this flexibility and salary will attract more and more top cooks to join the service as time goes on. This will also ensure that the quality of the food on offer will continue to grow as competition for customers increases."

Mr Prockter says he believes his site will make serious inroads into the UK delivered food market which is currently worth £1.6bn and is expected to rise to £2.5bn within three years.

He said: "The market is extremely wide ranging and due to our pricing model we will be competing with a variety of takeaway favourites. The difference is consumers will know exactly what each dish comprises of and also who will be cooking and delivering it, which we believe is a real plus.

"By using the site we think people can eat better and try a wider range of foods, which will cost around the same price as the dishes they've been eating for years."

"The UK market for delivered food is huge and expanding rapidly. We have a quality yet affordable offering and are confident we can capture a significant market share."

Link to the site's Future 50 shortlisting - http://bit.ly/oTweLR

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