That's Health: I am diabetic

That's Health: I am diabetic: Yes, the test results confirm that I am diabetic. Next week I have my first appointment with the diabetes nurse to discuss what type of di...

Hotel Chocolat To Give Away 190,000 Prizes This Easter!

Luxury British chocolatier and cocoa grower, Hotel Chocolat, is launching its biggest and most exciting promotion yet with 190,000 prizes to be given away in stores across the UK, from 12th March to Easter Sunday.

Customers will be given an exclusive Room Key inviting them to check-in and collect their prize from the nearest Hotel Chocolat store. Every Room Key will win a prize, which also allows customers to enter the Prize Draw – to win an all-expenses-paid, dream holiday to The Hotel Chocolat on the stunning Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.

Prizes on offer range from irresistibly cute, bite-sized Egglets, through to Hotel Chocolat’s signature Extra Thick Eggs and the magnificently large Ostrich Eggs – the company’s flagship Easter egg that regularly stuns people into silence!

What’s more, 70 chocolate lovers will win what could be their ultimate dream come true, a year’s supply of chocolates. Customers can also enter the exciting giveaway online at Hotel Chocolat’s Facebook page facebook.com/hotelchocolat and find their nearest store online at www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/stores

Shaken Udder Celebrates The Best Of British

This summer the country will be swept along on a wave of patriotism, thanks to the Jubilee, the Olympics, the European Football Championships and of course Wimbledon. To show its true colours Shaken Udder has re-designed its milk churn bottles to feature the Union Jack, bunting and its funky cow has even been crowned!

Shaken Udder’s Strawberry Stash milkshake is made with all natural ingredients including creamy, whole, British milk and real strawberries – what sums up Britain in summer better than strawberries and cream?

Co-founder of Shaken Udder Jodie Farran explains: “With all the excitement this summer we thought we should celebrate being a British milkshake. All our shakes use only the best-quality, fresh, British milk and only the very finest natural ingredients, like real strawberries, Belgian chocolate pieces, and the real vanilla beans that you can see in the shake”

Now available in Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury's nationwide.

How it all began…
Jodie and Howie met at agricultural university in 2003, both sharing a passion for fab food, groovy tunes and the great outdoors. With buoyant post-grad enthusiasm, the pair made plans to start their own business, but weren't quite sure what that might be. Then, whilst dancing away at V festival, Howie had a sudden craving for a fabulous, thick, fresh chocolate and banana milkshake.

He closed his eyes visualised a rather funky cow, loads of fresh fruit, great chunks of chocolate and lashing of fresh milk. So in 2004, Shaken udder milkshakes was born as a top-notch event based brand, bringing fresh, tasty and healthy milkshakes to festival goers across the country.

The pair travelled far and wide to all the major music events (what a hardship) and served up 1000s of fresh creamy thick shakes. On tour, Shaken Udder's loyal fan base grew. Seeking them out at each event, people started asking where they could get there milkshake fix 365 days of the year.

In search of a place for their funky cow brand, Howie and Jodie took a long, hard look at the retail shelves and were thoroughly disappointed with what they found. Marvellous milk was being ruined with ingredients like modified maize starch, butter milk powders, e-numbers, artificial flavours and, what's more, they tasted like plastic fruit glue! So that was it, the pair decided to give milk what it deserved and create Britain’s best milkshake….

Gorenje Introduces Built-In Coffee Machine

Gorenje, the Slovenian manufacturer famed for its creative and inspirational appliances, presents the latest addition to its product portfolio; the CFA9100E built-in coffee machine.

As our focus becomes ever more centred on the home, and we strive to create our dream property, many of us are on the lookout for special products to help us achieve this. For this reason additional appliances, such as a built-in coffee machine, are of real interest.

Gorenje's new built-in coffee machine is the perfect choice for those who want restaurant quality coffee and hot drinks in the comfort of their own home. Its sleek and glamorous stainless steel design provides a true feeling of luxury, while it also boasts a selection of practical features that prioritise ease of use and produce excellent results.

The Gorenje coffee machine lets the consumer create coffee in a variety of strengths and sizes, to ensure they can have their perfect cup! These settings can then be stored in the coffee machine's memory for future use. Furthermore, the Autocappuccino function creates a delicious cappuccino with just one touch of a button, while allowing the consumer to set the level of milk according to their personal preferences.

Cleaning the coffee machine is also a breeze - one press of the 'clean' button starts an antibacterial programme which will treat the milk dispenser and inner suction tubes. The appliance also performs a self-clean of the dispensing nozzles every time it is turned on or off, removing coffee residue and preventing clogging.

Bill Miller, Gorenje's Sales and Marketing Director, says: "Gorenje is expanding its product range with the inclusion of a very stylish built-in coffee machine, which would look at home in even the most lavish kitchens. Appliances such as these provide a feeling of attainable luxury and make an everyday task seem much more exciting - they are also ideal for using when you have visitors or guests to your home."

Key features and benefits of the Gorenje CFA9100E built-in coffee machine:

Stainless steel built-in automatic coffee machine
Consumer can adjust the fineness of the coffee grind to one of nine different levels
Milk frothing function for creating lattes, hot chocolates and other beverages
Autocappuccino function creates perfect cappuccino at the touch of a button
Self-cleaning function automatically cleans nozzles whenever machine is turned on or off, removing coffee residue and preventing clogging
Clean function gives milk dispenser and suction tubes an antibacterial treatment
Ability to programme personalised coffee setting
LCD display with touch buttons for ease of use
Automatic lighting of spot and drip tray for visibility when machine is in use
Choice of three espresso shot sizes: single, medium and double
Allows two cups to be prepared simultaneously
Removable milk container for storage in the fridge when not in use
Internal bean dispenser
Descaling programme to remove limescale build-up
1.8 litre removable water tank
Hot water only setting
Maximum noise level: 60 dB(A)
15 bar pressure
Free two year parts and labour guarantee
Dimensions: H x W X D: 455 x 595 x 405mm
The CFA9100E retails for approximately £1175

For further information about Gorenje's new CFA9100E built-in coffee machine, please call Gorenje on 0208 247 3980 or visit the website at www.gorenje.co.uk to find your nearest stockist.

Where On Earth Can You Find A Green Cake For Saint Patrick's Day?

Zaza' Gelato, a traditional Italian ice cream boutique, is preparing a fully green Saint Patrick's Day cake. The cake is made with green ice cream, themed to the special day.

The two Zaza shops in London are famous for their colourful ice cream cakes and, on the occasion of Saint Patrick, they will be preparing a special recipe. Zaza' staff will prepare 2 new ice cream flavours: Strong Mint and Green Tea and they will be available together with Kiwi and Pistachio: a fully green ice cream range.

Zaza already counts over 60 flavours but keeps researching and experimenting with new recipes every month. It is a constant effort to find new and interesting combinations and make all the gelato foodies in London very happy.

Ivan Borriello, CEO of the London-based company, says: "Saint Patrick's Day marks the beginning of the spring and it is a very special day. We loved the idea of preparing something special to our fellows Londoners. Foodies Saint Patrick's needs to be a little special!"

Zaza ice cream and ice cream cakes can be found at Zaza' Gelato shops in London, Canary Wharf (Canada Place) and Sheperds Bush (First Floor at Westfield). They can also be ordered online at www.ZazaGelato.com or vial email at London@ZazaGelato.com Prices start from £2.5 for Ice Cream Cones/Cups and £20 for Ice Cream Cakes.

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.

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Entries Open For First Ever Gourmet Dessert Chef Of The Year Competition

Luxury Swiss Ice Cream brand Mövenpick is urging chefs to enter the first ever annual competition to find the best gourmet dessert chef that Britain's hospitality industry has to offer.

Launched in partnership with The Graft Guild of Chefs, The Mövenpick Gourmet Dessert Chef of the Year competition challenges professional chefs to design a unique new dessert using Mövenpick's gourmet flavours - including the newly launched Fior di Latte Ice Cream and Apricot Sorbet.

 Boasting the creamy texture and subtle flavour of pure Swiss milk, Fior di Latte is an ideal dessert base, to which chefs can add their own imaginative touch, while Apricot is a delicious combination of velvety apricot sorbet and sun-ripened Bergeron apricot pieces from France.

Successful finalists will show their skills in a live cook-off in a bid to win a luxury weekend for two to the home of Mövenpick Ice Cream in Switzerland, with two lucky runners up joining a Patisserie & Desserts day course at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons.

Julia Jones, Head of Customer Marketing at Mövenpick Ice Cream said: "We are committed to gastronomic excellence and want to give chefs an opportunity to create an irresistible gourmet dessert. We're really excited to see what they come up with."

To enter, visit www.moevenpick-icecreamcompetition.co.uk.

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British Pie Awards: Calling All Pie Makers

The organisers of the British Pie Awards are reminding all professional pie makers to submit their entries to the fourth annual awards as the deadline fast approaches (13th April 2012). Butchers and bakers can enter their pies in 18 different classes with the chance to win one of the top accolades in the pie making industry.

The awards are organised by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association and take place on Wednesday 25th April 2012 at St. Mary’s Church, Melton Mowbray. The contest is judged by a panel of over 70 pie experts, food writers and celebrity chefs led by Andrew Chisholm. Xanthe Clay, Charles Champion and many more knowledgeable foodies have already confirmed their attendance as judges.

Matthew O’Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association comments: “We organise the British Pie Awards to celebrate one of Britain’s most recognised food products. This event offers a great opportunity for pie makers from across the country to demonstrate their finest produce. The standard of entries is always very high.

“To mark this important year, when the world will be looking in the direction of the UK for the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee, we have introduced new categories including the Celebration Pie class, for which pie makers can stretch their creative skills to design special commemorative products.

“We are also grateful for the support of our sponsors and this year we can confirm that Hospitality and Catering News is sponsoring the ‘Football Pie’ class; Sturgess of Leicester, the approved Jaguar dealer is sponsoring the ‘Beef and Ale Pie’ class; the Bramley Apple Campaign is supporting the ‘Bramley Apple’ category; and Nelsons for Cartons & Packaging are supporting the ‘Chicken and any Flavour’ class.”

To download an application form and for further information please visit www.britishpieawards.co.uk or contact Sarah Clothier on 0116 2344523 or sarah.clothier@mmppa.co.uk