That's Education: Furze Platt and Misbourne schools renew Innovate c...

That's Education: Furze Platt and Misbourne schools renew Innovate c...: Takes Innovate’s contract renewal tally up to ten consecutive renewals since the start of 2012 - Furze Platt Senior School in Maidenhead a...

Bargain Restaurant Deals for Spring Available on DiscountVouchers.co.uk

Discounts available at Toby Carvery, La Tasca and Pizza Express on a budget this April and May

Saving money on dining out is always popular with UK consumers - and voucher codes website DiscountVouchers.co.uk has introduced new deals to help UK consumers do just that this spring. Among the deals redeemable at more than 800 stores are deals for money off at La Tasca, Pizza Express and Toby Carvery.

Great Italian meals can be enjoyed on a budget thanks to the new round of deals available on the DiscountVouchers.co.uk website. Pizza Express has branches throughout the country and can be enjoyed for less via DiscountVouchers.co.uk right now - the site is carrying Pizza Express voucher choices offering 3 courses for £12.95 and 25% Off Your Food Bill.

Great Spanish food is available on a budget this spring too through the DiscountVouchers.co.uk website - with a choice of deals available for use at La Tasca. Consumers can log on right now and use new La Tasca vouchers to enjoy Buy 1 Get 1 FREE on Tapas to share.

Dining out on quality roast dinners can be done on a budget this spring thanks to the latest offers sourced and offered on the DiscountVouchers.co.uk site. By logging onto the website UK diners can get hold of new Toby Carvery vouchers which they can exchange for 2 Daytime Carveries for £10 and Free Dairy Ice Cream with any Carvery Meal.

Doug Scott, managing director of DiscountVouchers.co.uk, commented, “Dining out at top UK restaurants can be expensive as every Brit knows, so we're pleased to offer a helping hand this spring. New vouchers available on our site can help people eat out on a budget at places like Toby Carvery, Pizza Express and La Tasca."

DiscountVouchers.co.uk offers consumers money saving deals at major high street brands and specialist retailers, including stores like Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Travelodge, First Choice, lastminute.com and Boden.

For more information visit www.discountvouchers.co.uk

Are we more selfish? Fudges says "yes"

We may be in the middle of a recession, but a new survey has revealed we Brits are as self-serving as ever, with one in ten admitting to becoming more selfish since the downturn first bit five years ago.

The study found that almost one in five Brits are more concerned with looking after number one when it comes to their eating habits in particular. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed confessed to never sharing food with friends or family members, with more than a third blaming this on ever-soaring food prices.

Those aged 18-24 were found to be the worst culprits when it comes to putting themselves first – one in ten admitted to always nabbing the larger piece when sharing food, with a small percentage even going to extreme lengths such as eating in private to avoid sharing in the first place.

Nevertheless, Fudges, who commissioned the research exposing the selfish traits of modern Britain, is backing the camp of Brits who remain steadfast in their generosity, and claim to still share food at least once a week despite the tightening grip of the recession. The Dorset-based biscuit makers is launching a campaign designed to encourage even the most miserable amongst us to spend more time with friends and family by breaking a biccie. This is kicking off with the launch of a limited-edition biscuit ‘sharing tin’ later this year.

“I always think of Britain as a nation of sharers so it’s surprising to think that the reality is we’re just getting more selfish. The tradition of ‘breaking bread’ goes back thousands of years and is a way of expressing how the simple act of sharing food brings people together. Our campaign is designed to remind Britain to do just that… but, of course, with a biscuit,” said Steve Fudge, Managing Director of Fudges.

Pitting the nation against one another, the survey found that people in Wales are the least generous with their food, with one in three revealing that they never share a meal with friends or family either in or out of the home. Conversely, those in London and Northern Ireland are the nation’s biggest sharers, with more than two thirds sharing food at least once a week.

Meanwhile, while women did emerge as the more generous of the sexes, one in four confessed to feeling angry when people assume they can take things off their plate, compared to just one in three men.

FACTFILE:
• Fudges was founded by Percy Fudge in 1926 and the family has worked hard to preserve his legacy, adapting his award-winning savoury and sweet biscuits, delicious luxury cakes and indulgent treats to suit today’s discerning tastes.
• Fudges’ range of sweet and savoury biscuits, cakes and flatbreads is available from most major supermarkets, delis and farm shops.

Pub Pie Wins Supreme At Pie Awards 2012

A  Pub Pie created by Dunkleys has been crowned the Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards held at St Mary's Church in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire today (25th April 2012).  The winning Pie competed in the contest of a record number of 900 Pies created by professional bakers and butchers at this year's event organised and hosted by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association.  Dunkley's winning pub pie contains chicken, ham, mushroom and buttered leeks encased in a suet pastry.

The Pies, submitted in 18 Classes, underwent a stringent judging process by 93 food experts and celebrity chefs led by Andrew Chisholm. The panel, which included top food critic Charles Campion and food writer Xanthe Clay, TV chefs Rachel Green and Phil Vickery, scored the Pies on a range of criteria including appearance, and texture and  taste of both pastry and filling

The producer of the winning Pie, Mark Beeston who is Dunkleys pie ambassador, received a trophy and £1,000 prize commented: "We are absolutely thrilled that our Pub Pie has been crowned the Supreme Champion at these highly prestigious and creditable Awards. We don't compromise on the quality of the Pies which we have been making with care and passion for sixty years and to win against so many excellent bakers is an absolute joy!"

Matthew O'Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, added: "Pies are one of our nation's favourite traditional foods and we organise this event to celebrate the quality and heritage of these iconic products. This year's event was a resounding success and yet again we were impressed with the high quality of the Pies entered by passionate Pie makers. Our Judges, who faced the difficult task of choosing the winning Pie out of 900 entries, did a superb job. It is fantastic to see that the value of these Awards is recognised not only by large Pie makers but also by small producers who submitted over 70% of entries."

For more details please visit www.britishpieawards.co.uk   or @britishpies

Here are the winners:-

Class 1 - Melton Mowbray Pork Pie (cold) Winner: Walker & Son with their Large Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

Class 2 - Pork Pie (cold) Winner: Walker & Son with their Large Pork Pie

Class 3 - Steak & Kidney Pie (hot) Winner: Pieminister

Class 4 - Beef & any flavour combination (hot) Winner: Rose Cottages Pies with their Beef & Mushroom Pie

Class 5 - Beef & Ale Pie (hot) Winner: Brocklebys

Class 6 - Lamb Pie (Hot) Winner: lamb, Mint & Rosemary Pie Winner: Robert Bowning Farmer & Butchers

Class 7 - Chicken & any flavour (hot) Winner: Chicken & Bacon from Pieminister

Class 8 - Other meat pie (hot) Winner: Pork, Apple & Cider Pie from Morecambe FC

Class 9 - Savoury pie (cold) Winner: chicken & Ham hock pie from Stuart Smith & Sons Butchers

Class 10 - Fish pie (hot) Winner: smoked fish, salmon & prawn pie Great Walshingham Barns Cafe

Class 11 - Vegetarian Pie (hot) Winner: Butter Pie from Morecambe FC

Class 12 - Cornish Pasty (cold) Winner: Chough Bakery

Class 13 - Other pasty (cold) Winner: chicken & smoked bacon pasty from Chough Bakery

Class 14 - Dessert Pie (cold) Winner: Cherry Pie from Kensey Foods

Class 15 - Pub Pie (hot) Winner: chicken ham mushroom buttered leeks suet pastry pie from Dunkleys

Class 16 - Football Pie (hot) Winner: Beef steak & ale pie from Morecambe FC

Class 17 - Celebration Pie (hot/cold) Winner: Trio of mini pies (venison pie, chicken & mushroom pie & steak pasty from Dunkleys

Class 18 - Bramley Apple Pie (cold) Winner: Kensy Foods

Supreme Champion 2012: Class 15 - Pub Pie (hot) Winner: chicken, ham, mushroom, buttered leeks & suet pastry pie from Dunkleys

Small Producer Award: Morecambe FC

A full list of judges at the British Pie Awards can be found at www.britishpieawards.co.uk

That's Entertainment News: Recession? Let's fix it with a laugh!

That's Entertainment News: Recession? Let's fix it with a laugh!: Michael McIntyre tops the poll as the UK’s most popular lunch guest. As news headlines continue to be dominated by doom and gloom recessio...

Red Tractor to pull gold for the Olympics

The Olympic Games is fast approaching, and to celebrate being an integral part of LOCOG’s Food Vision for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Red Tractor is launching Team Red Tractor (‘Team RT’).

Team RT covers Red Tractor farmers, processors and packers, wholesalers and contract caterers that will feed the Olympic athletes, coaches, officials and millions of visitors to the event.

Next week, commencing 30th April, Red Tractor is introducing Team RT’s 7 champion farmers in a 5-day UK tour aimed at school children. The tour will educate local school children on how food is produced and how it makes its way to the 31 Olympic venues providing 14 million meals at the event under the Red Tractor scheme. The farmers cover different sectors including; Dairy, Beef and Lamb, Poultry, Fresh Produce, Crops and Pigs.

[Throughout the 31 competition venues, Red Tractor food will be served to around 23,900 athletes and team officials, 20,600 broadcasters and press and over 9 million visitors. Across the London 2012 Games LOCOG estimate that the athletes and visitors will eat;

• 25,000 loaves of bread, 31 tonnes of poultry items
• More than 100 tonnes of meat
• 75,000 litres of milk, 21 tonnes of cheese
• More than 330 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, and 232 tonnes of potatoes
Richard Cattell, Head of Marketing and Communications at Red Tractor Assurance, the UK’s leading quality food assurance mark, said: “We are extremely proud to be part of the largest peace-time catering operation in the world. We want to increase national awareness of Red Tractor farmers and establish a food legacy which helps to educate children so that they understand where their food comes from.”

Lee Woodger, Head of Food Chain Unit at the NFU said: “The eyes of the world are on our athletes and our farmers. This is an important milestone for Red Tractor and the perfect time to showcase the hard work that UK farmers, growers, food service operators and retailers put into delivering quality food under the Red Tractor scheme all year round. We hope businesses and consumers will support and purchase Red Tractor food as we embrace sustainable catering standards for the future.”

Red Tractor will be launching a Team RT microsite TeamRT.org.uk, and throughout the week will be uploading fun and interesting facts, educational resources for schools and daily activity posts and vox-pops via their social media platforms; Facebook ‘Red Tractor’ and Twitter ‘@RedTractorFood’. Team RT is also showcasing industry experts to advise on various aspects of farming standards and food. (Please see notes to editors for expert details).

For the public attending one of the many events or watching it from the comfort of their home, it’s good to know the Olympic organisers have committed to sourcing quality food with strict standards of production from farm to venue under the Red Tractor Scheme. This means that athletes and visitors alike will be consuming good food that guarantees food safety, quality and traceability.

11bn worth of food is produced under the Red Tractor scheme every year and is available in supermarkets, restaurants, cafes as well as schools, hospitals and defence sites across the UK.
For more information please visit www.redtractor.org.uk.

Ethical Food Firm Redwood Sponsors Europe's Biggest Veggie Event

Award-winning ethical food firm The Redwood Wholefood Company is sponsoring VegfestUK Bristol, Europe’s biggest veggie event. This outdoor eco-friendly festival with admission FREE to the public takes place from 25th-27th May and is expected to attract crowds of up to 15,000 people.

Redwood, the main sponsor of the festival, will be giving away thousands of free tasters of its veggie and vegan foods throughout the event, as well as selling its range at discounted prices. There will also be a Redwood pop-up takeaway, with delicious gourmet meat-free hotdogs, burgers, Cornish-style pasties, sausage rolls and much more on sale.

New lines making an appearance in the South-West for the first time include Redwood’s fabulous new gourmet fish-free ‘fish’ cakes and ‘fish’ steaks, delicious new vegan pizzas, tasty parmesan-style dairy-free ‘cheese’, delectable strawberry ‘Wot No Dairy’ desserts and mini ‘pork’ style sausages.

As well as cookery demos and ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ style competitions with local chefs, VegfestUK Bristol will also feature The Great Veggie Sausage and Burger competitions and kids cookery classes.

There will be a comedy hour each day, crazy golf and an acoustic stage with headline acts from Finley Quaye, Neville Staple of The Specials and Johnny Clarke.

“This is a perfect opportunity for everyone to come along, have a great day out and find out how delicious veggie and vegan food can be,” said Lee Rockingham of Redwood.

All Redwood foods are made from natural plant-based ingredients so free from animal products and derivatives as well as cholesterol, artificial colours/preservatives, lactose, hydrogenated fats and GMOs.

This makes them suitable not just for vegetarians and vegans, but also for people suffering from lactose or casein intolerance and anyone looking for a healthier and more ethical lifestyle. Redwood products are also kosher certified and the company itself is halal process certified.

According to The Ethical Company Organisation and The Good Shopping Guide, Redwood is the UK’s most ethical vegetarian foods firm. Find out more at www.redwoodfoods.co.uk. For details of VegFestUK Bristol, which takes place at the Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square, Harbourside, Bristol, visit www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk

Get Creative In The Kitchen With Gluten-Free Grains

Being gluten intolerant need not mean limiting your culinary creativity. Join Leiths this June for an inspiring one-day workshop designed to enhance your kitchen confidence and skills when cooking without wheat.

Adriana Rabinovich, Leiths Diploma graduate and author of 'The Gluten-free Cookbook for Kids', will be leading this informative and hands-on one day class. Drawing on her wealth of knowledge and experience in baking, Adriana has devised a selection of recipes, which make the most of a range of wheat-free flours offering diverse textures and tastes. Adriana will show that sticking to a gluten-free diet can in fact uncover a fulfilling feast of wholesome and tasty possibilities.

Focusing on the wealth of different gluten-free flours and grains available, this workshop will explore how to use these ingredients to maximum effect in your cooking.  With an emphasis on baking, the course will cover the different properties of non-wheat flours like teff, chickpea and sorghum, using them in creative ways to develop healthy and tasty gluten-free goodies, from a moist American corn bread to delicate little amaretti biscuits. This course is ideal for those seeking inspiring ways to enjoy a healthier gluten-free diet.

Sample recipes include: Teff Bread, American Style Corn Bread, Potato Gnocchi, Buckwheat Cheese Straws, Cecina (a savoury chickpea cake), Amaretti Biscuits and a Hazelnut Cake.

Creative Gluten Free Cooking Thursday 14th June 2012 10.00-4.00 Price: £165

FACTFILE:
Leiths School of Food and Wine is a genuinely first-class training school for chefs, attracting students of all ages from all over the world. With its dedicated teaching and friendly atmosphere, Leiths' guiding principle is to impart enthusiasm for the trade and instil a lasting love of good food and wine. This is not restricted to career cooks - many enthusiastic amateurs attend the varied programme of courses and diverse range of special events, from food and wine matching evenings to chocolate workshops and carving demonstrations.

For those with professional ambitions, the Leiths Diploma in Food and Wine is highly respected in the culinary world and can be achieved in three terms, starting in September of each year, or in two terms, starting in January.  Students learn menu planning, budgeting and wine appreciation and attend daily demonstrations and practical classes, as well as lectures by leading gastronomic celebrities, famous retailers and head chefs from leading hotels and restaurants.

Throughout the year, visits are organised and students get the chance to undertake work experience in leading London restaurants.  For those keen to learn the basic skills needed to become a confident, capable, efficient cook in just four weeks, the Leiths Essential Certificate takes place late summer every year, making it especially suitable as a summer course for amateur cooks at the start of a gap year.

Leiths excels on both the theoretical and the practical sides of cookery, benefiting from over 35 years' experience, whilst remaining fully abreast of contemporary techniques, styles and methods.  Leiths is run by Managing Director Camilla Schneideman and is owned by Sir Christopher Bland.

For further information please visit www.leiths.com

Get Barbecue Season Off To A Sizzling Start With Primula's NEW Limited Edition Burger Cheese

Primula, the uniquely squeezy cheese, is firing up for barbecue season and national barbecue week (28 May - 3 June 2012) with the launch of an exciting new burger cheese variety to add a touch of spice to their popular product range.

The new limited edition Primula Burger Cheese is destined to be this summer's taste sensation, with its refreshing combination of hot and tangy flavours.  It kicks up the heat with a hint of red peppers, chillies and dill to help add some zing to well-loved barbecue favourites this summer.

Primula Burger Cheese can be used instead of conventional cheese slices and easily squeezed onto burgers, sausages and steaks or used as a potato topping or for a spicy cheesy sauce, making it a versatile zesty addition to any summer barbecue or picnic treat.

Primula Burger Cheese is targeted at younger audiences, with a focus on summer dining, but will also appeal to Primula's existing loyal fans looking to spice up their favourite seasonal recipes.

Craig Brooks, Marketing Director for Primula said: "We're really excited about the launch of our new limited edition Burger Cheese in time for barbecue season, as well as for some of this summer's biggest celebrations, including the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics in London.

"Primula Burger Cheese will help the nation celebrate the 'Best of British' by adding a spicy and versatile twist to any summer dining occasion. We're confident that it will offer a completely new taste sensation to existing Primula fans, as well as to those who simply love barbecues and burgers."

As with all the Primula range, the new Primula Burger Cheese contains more real cheese than any other leading brand and contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

The new Primula Burger Cheese must be kept refrigerated and stays fresh for up to 14 days after opening.  It's gluten free, suitable for vegetarians and is high in protein. A 25g squeeze of Primula Burger Cheese contains 12.5% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium, essential for healthy bones and teeth. Primula Burger Cheese is pasteurised, so is also suitable for mums to be.

Primula Burger Cheese tubes (100g) will be stocked in Sainsbury's and Morrisons stores nationwide from May, priced around £1.

               

For more information on Primula including a huge range of recipe and snack ideas please visit www.primula.co.uk or www.facebook.com/PrimulaCheese

Report: Carbonostics Democratising Product Lifecycle Assessment for Food Sector

Carbonostics is contributing to the growth of the product LCA market in Europe, which independent analyst firm reports will hit $103.3 million by 2015.

Carbonostics, the online product lifecycle assessment (pLCA) application for the food sector, participated in the latest report from independent analyst firm Verdantix, European Product LCA Market Forecast 2011-2015, published in March 2012.

The latest research from Verdantix reviews the barriers and drivers influencing the penetration of pLCA per industry to size, and forecast that the European market is set to reach $40.5 million in 2012 and more than double over the next three years hitting $103.3 million by 2015. The report takes into consideration software, implementation and support budgets while detailing spend in European countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. This research follows on from a previous report Smart Innovators: Product LCA Software that reviewed usage scenarios and solutions available on the market, which also included Carbonostics.

The research found that over the past three years, the choice of LCA tools on the market has increased with new entrants popularizing LCA. Furthermore, the report states that simplified interfaces designed for specific product categories or industries, such as food and beverage industry focused software Carbonostics, are supporting the uptake of LCA in new industries and for new usage scenarios by making LCA accessible to non-experts.

Carbonostics (cost + carbon + nutrition) was launched over three years ago and continues to be a pioneering force in food product sustainability with its triple-bottom-line approach. It delivers product lifecycle assessment, hot-spot screening and product portfolio analysis via an online tool that includes a built-in, comprehensive database with over 2500 emission factors relevant to the food industry.

“Carbonostics is driving the growth of product LCA applications and software in Europe and beyond by delivering a new approach to product sustainability and lifecycle assessment. Carbonostics is the fruit of our vision to build the bridge between science and practical world business needs in order to make LCA accessible to all companies in the food sector, whether big or small. Our goal is to equip all companies with accurate, intelligent, and actionable information with which to make strategic sustainability decisions,” Bluehorse president Sara Pax explains.

“We are proud that our commitment to bringing LCA to the business world is being recognised by the food industry as well as in this report,” she adds.

The Carbonostics tool is used by large and small food manufacturers and foodservice suppliers in order to reduce carbon, cost and waste, identify supply chain efficiencies, improve supplier relationships and support new product design and R&D.

Verdantix industry analyst Emily Beauchamp says, “In this report, we clearly see that the market for pLCA software provides an indication of the uptake of life cycle thinking in product development and supply chain management. This market evolution will lead new firms to adopt pLCA and encourage existing users to expand their use of this type of metric across their teams.”

To enquire about the European Product LCA Market Forecast 2011-2015 research from Verdantix, please visit www.verdantix.com.

To learn more about how Carbonostics is transforming businesses and products in the food sector, visit Carbonostics or reach us at contact@carbonostics.com or by calling +33/01.47.38.22.64 for France or at +1/312-565-9967 for the US.