‘Beer Gate’ and ‘Party Gate’ venues shortlisted in Asian Restaurant Awards

Two curry houses thought to have provided the takeaways for controversial political party meetings, have both been shortlisted for this year’s Asian Restaurant Awards, being held in Manchester on 27th June, which is today.

The Spice Lounge in Durham, which is believed to have provided the food for Labour leader Keir Starmer and other party members during the evening of the so called ‘Beer Gate’ meeting, has been nominated for Best Indian in the North East.

Dishoom, whose takeaway box is evident in a photo of Boris Johnson at a leaving event inside 10 Downing Street, is shortlisted in the Best Restaurant Group category. The Irani-café style restaurants have branches in Manchester, Edinburgh and London.

The shortlist was determined by over 100,000 votes from members of the public.  A panel of judges for the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which hosts the awards, are currently touring the country to determine the eventual victors.  Winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony, sponsored by Just East and Booker Wholesale, being held at the Manchester Hilton on Monday 27th June.

The prestigious Fine Dining Category will be contested by Benares, Cinnamon Club, Grand Trunk Road, Heritage Dulwich, Indian Essence in Orpington, and Quilon in London, Ambrette in Canterbury, Indian Essence in Orpington, Mint Room in Bath Navadhanya in Cambridge and Prithvi in Cheltenham.

The full list is online at www.asianrestaurantawards.org

Winner at the year’s event will be included in the ACF’s new ‘One Hundred Top Curry Restaurants’ guide, which is being published currently, region–by–region, at www.Top100curryRestaurants.co.uk, with a printed version being available next year.

Later this year the ACF will also be hosting the 6th Asian Restaurant Awards (Scotland) in Edinburgh at the Sheraton Grand on 19th September and the 12th Asian Curry Awards at the Grosvenor House in London, on 20th November 2022. 

Incidentally, these are the UK’s only restaurant awards open to all Asian cuisines, including: Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.

ACF’s chairman Yawar Khan says that many curry restaurants are facing an existential crisis: “Soaring food, energy and salary costs, combined with rising National Insurance and VAT rates, plus severe staff shortages, compounded by customers having less money to spend on restaurant visits and takeaways, is seeing record numbers closures,” he said.

Khan urged customers to support their favourite restaurants by nominating them for this year’s awards via www.asianrestaurantawards.org/scotland-nomination-form and www.asiancurryawards.com

The Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the nation’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants organises the only awards open to all Asian cuisines: Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.

The Awards’ main sponsor is Just Eat, the market-leading online food ordering and delivery platform.  The awards are also supported by Booker Wholesale.

The ACF strives to deliver real returns for its members within the Asian catering industry, helping them to find financial success, achieve excellence, and build customer loyalty. It aims to unite Asian caterers on one platform; campaign for greater recognition; achieve members’ common goals through partnerships with government and other organisations; provide help with training and create rewarding careers in Asian catering.

The sector employs over 100,000 people and contributes more than £5 billion to the UK economy.

 (Illustration courtesy of  Pete Linforth and Pixabay)

Quorn, pioneer of meat substitutes, joins Plant-based Food Alliance UK

Quorn, which is the pioneer of plant-based meat substitutes, has joined the UK Plant-based Food Alliance (PBFA) as a full member. It's believed this will strengthen the Alliance’s clout in Westminster. 

“It’s fantastic to have such a strong player in the market such as Quorn join us in our push for policies that promote plant-based eating in the UK,” Marisa Heath, PBFA CEO, said. 

“There's so much the Government can do to encourage climate-friendly diets, in the form of trade, public procurement, research, marketing, plus regulation. And it's vital for us to have the big plant-based companies by our side as we negotiate our way there,” Heath added.

Quorn joins the Alliance, which includes industry heavyweights such as Alpro, Oatly and Upfield, at a time when the labelling of plant-based foods is under threat of restrictions. New guidance, aimed at trading standards officials but, as yet, unpublished, looks to restrict dairy descriptor terms used by plant-based products, such as “m*lk” or “alternative to X” or “yoghurt-style”. 

“We've been fighting the proposed guidance to restrict plant-based labelling for over a year now and we will continue to do this because we believe the Government should be doing all it can to promote the sector rather than hindering it,” she pointed out.

She went on to explain: “The sector very much represents the future of food, producing far less greenhouse gas emissions than the meat and dairy sector, and maturing to provide a huge range of alternatives to conventional meat and dairy products." 

Plant-based diets are also a key to global food security: researchers have found growing food exclusively for direct human consumption, rather than as animal feed and for biofuel production, could potentially increase available food calories by up to 70%, which could feed an additional 4 billion people, worldwide. 

Food security was the reason Quorn came into existence when Lord Rank recognised in the 1960s that conventional farming wouldn't be able to keep up with food shortages and a rapidly growing population and that a new, sustainable protein source was needed. Quorn was born out of research to find a solution to that problem.

“Quorn is such an excellent example of a company using the power of science to come up with sustainable solutions to global crises. We know policy makers will take notice of what Quorn has to say as a member of the Alliance going forward,” Heath added. 

Tess Kelly, Head of External Engagement, at Quorn Foods, said: “Quorn Foods shares the conviction that making positive change happen on our plates is a vital step to regenerating human and planetary health. We look forward to contributing to the work of the PbFA, and are proud to stand alongside fellow pioneering organisations that are at the forefront of providing the solutions needed to speed the transition to a food future that is healthy, sustainable, equitable, and absolutely delicious.”

Goodrays Reports Growth of 1,491% as Waitrose Expands CBD Range

Waitrose supermarkets are taking four new products this month (June) which Goodrays predicts will contribute to the brand tripling its revenue over this next financial year.

A four flavour mixed pack will be sold exclusively through Waitrose as a permanent SKU, RRP £7.50. It contains 250ml cans of Elderflower & Yuzu, Blood Orange & Grapefruit, Raspberry & Guava and Passionfruit & Pomelo. It is completely plastic-free, vegan and low calorie, and each can contains a market-leading 30mg of CBD.

Waitrose has also taken CBD Zen Drops and CBD Night Drops Oil and 'anytime' CBD Gummies. CBD Oils, as recent research by Goodrays shows, are currently the most popular way for the UK to consume CBD. 

Goodways Head of Marketing Henry Colyer said: “For Waitrose to have taken on our whole range is game-changing for us - it supports our brand mission to educate on the benefits of CBD and provide daily calm and clarity to people all over the UK. We are excited to have launched the mixed four pack of our delicious flavours - just in time for the festival and summer party season in the UK. Our fully recyclable pack allows you to enjoy relaxation without the toxification. 

"Goodrays is the perfect alternative to a four pack of beer or cider when you want to take a break and achieve a bit of balance. Waitrose now offers an option for multiple moments of the customer's daily routine, thanks to our oils designed for day and night, and tasty gummies that can be enjoyed when needed.”

Goodrays recent research of 2000 CBD users showed that the most popular way to consume CBD is:

Oils and Tinctures (54% reported this was their preferred way to consume CBD)

Drinks (40%)

Gummies (32%)

Coffee (26%)

Balm (24%)

Other (6%)

Goodrays now has a team of ten and is based in Shoreditch, London.

Awareness around mental wellbeing has been a huge driving force for Goodrays' founder Eoin Keenan. Keenan has been a vocal advocate of the power of the hemp plant for over a decade.  He launched Goodrays in 2021 to focus on high quality CBD products at an accessible price point, such as oils and RTD canned drinks. Goodrays is now available at Waitrose and Tesco and other major retailers such as WH Smith.

Marks and Spencer latest retailer to lock down prices

M&S Food is investing in the price of over 200 products as part of its promise to deliver trusted value to its 30 million customers.

The investment will see the store reduce the prices of over 70 family staples and extend its price lock on 150 customer favourites, whilst still upholding its market leading quality and welfare standards.

M&S Food is cutting the price on some of its more popular cupboard staples to support its customers, including products like M&S Select Farms DNA traceable Beef Mince, Avocados, Greek style yoghurt and Ciabatta rolls. These are some of M&S’ most popular lines, with in excess of 400,000 Avocado packs and 140,000 Greek Style Yogurt pots sold by M&S in the last four weeks alone.

Also M&S Food is extending its price lock on 150 products which will be in place right through to the autumn, and features a number of essential food items that customers can rely on at M&S for great value right through the summer months.

This includes M&S Select Farms RSPCA Assured outdoor-bred British Pork Sausages (pack of eight - £2.00), Super Sweet Corn on the Cob (pack of two - £1.40), Traditional Coleslaw (225g - £1.25) the price lock bestseller, British Mature Cheddar (10 Slices 250g - £2.80) and Select Farms Season's Gold Potatoes (1kg - £1.65).

This initiative is in tandem with the retailer’s Remarksable Value range of everyday staples, first launched back in 2019, which are continuously benchmarked against key competitors to guarantee the best value for its customers. The range continues to grow in appeal among M&S shoppers, with Remarksable sales up 40%, and in over 20% of customer baskets over the past year.

Alex Freudmann, who is the MD at M&S Food: opined: “We know value is everything to our customers especially at the moment and while they’re looking forward to a great summer, they’re also looking for certainty on spending. Our latest price investment across 200 products upholds our trusted value promise and delivers on that certainty.

“Trusted value means offering the best possible quality at the best possible price. I’m proud we're the number one retailer for farm animal welfare, selling the biggest range of RSPCA Assured products, including our Scottish Smoked Salmon fillets and British Pork Sausages, alongside our DNA traceable Beef mince, able to be traced back to the individual farm and animal."

He went on to say: "We’re determined to keep up the pace for our customers. Our value perception is at its highest point in six years because we relentlessly focus on price with no compromise to the magic of M&S Food, our market leading product quality, innovation and sourcing standards.”

In February this year, M&S topped consumer group Which?’s annual supermarket satisfaction survey, achieving the highest overall customer score of 77% and receiving five star ratings for store appearance, customer service and quality of own label and fresh products.

marksandspencer.com

I'm officially joyful! Aldi launched Ballycastle that tastes exactly like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

Fans of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (like me!) will be thrilled with the news Aldi is launching a totally new Ballycastle flavour, the Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cream Liqueur (£7.49, 70cl) which will  be in stores from Thursday 29th June.

It's a luxurious blend of Irish whisky, rich chocolate and salty-sweet peanut butter notes, fans will be certain to notice flavour similarities to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but with a nifty alcoholic twist.

Serve it neat, with ice or why not create your deliciously boozy milkshake?

Ingredients:

100ml Ballycastle Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cream Liqueur

100ml Cowbelle Chocolate Fudge Milk

500ml water

60g The Pantry Cocoa Powder

Moser Roth Milk Chocolate, shaved

Peanuts to garnish

Method:

In a small saucepan, boil 250ml of water then remove from heat and add The Pantry Cocoa Powder 

Stir to dissolve and then add the remaining 250ml cup of water 

Once it's cool, add the Ballycastle Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cream Liqueur to the mixture and leave to infuse

Once successfully infused (this will take ten minutes) shake all the ingredients up in a cocktail shaker with ice. 

Pour into your preferred glasses and top up with whipped cream, grated Moser Roth Milk Chocolate and the peanuts!

The latest addition follows the success of Aldi’s Ballycastle Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Liqueur (£7.49, 70cl), which was noted as a delicious alcoholic twist on the much-loved spread, Nutella.

The supermarket’s Ballycastle range has scooped a series of awards. The Specially Selected Irish Cream (£7.99, 70cl) landed a ‘Great Value’ accolade in the 2022 prestigious Which? ‘Irish Cream Liqueur’ taste test, whilst the Ballycastle White Chocolate Cream (£7.49, 70cl) and the Ballycastle Chocolate, Caramel and Hazelnut Cream (£7.49, 70cl) BOTH won medals at this year’s International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC).

Aldi’s Ballycastle Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cream Liqueur is available in-stores and via Click & Collect nationwide from Thursday 29th June.

Actually, when I make this milkshake, I'm seriously thinking of adding some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into the mix! 

A shopping trip to our nearest Aldi is certainly on the cards for next Thursday!

Free Armed Forces breakfasts at Tesco

Members of the UK Armed Forces will be able to get a free hot breakfast at Tesco cafes across Great Britain to mark the Armed Forces Day celebrations.

As a thank you for their service, on Sunday June 25, all serving Armed Forces personnel, that's around 159,000 regulars and 32,000 reservists, can present their MOD90 identification card at any Tesco café and get a free full cooked breakfast, vegan cooked breakfast, sausage bap or a bacon bap.

All 295 Tesco cafes across England, Scotland and Wales will be offering the promotion, which is limited to one free breakfast per cardholder.

The initiative is part of Tesco's sponsorship of Armed Forces Day for the second year running. The event took place in Falmouth today, Saturday June 24, to recognise the incredible contribution that members of the Armed Forces community make to our lives.

Ashwin Prasad, Chief Product Officer at Tesco and Exec Sponsor of the Armed Forces Network, said: “Once again, we’re proud to be the headline sponsor of Armed Forces Day. Everyone loves a free breakfast and it’s a great way of showing how much we value members of the Armed Forces.”

Rhys Little, Chair of the Tesco Armed Forces Network, said: “We take great pride in our connection with the Armed Forces and we're the number one employer in the UK for veterans when they leave the armed forces."

He went on to say: "We've received the Gold award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme twice now (in 2016 and 2020), and we were also the first retailer to sign the Armed Forces Covenant in 2014.”

Over the weekend of June 24 and 25, Local events are taking place in towns, cities, and villages up and down the country, with Falmouth at the heart of the celebrations. It promises to be a spectacular event, with parades through the town, displays by the Red Arrows, the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team, and a series of thrilling flypasts.

As well as sponsoring the event, Tesco stores will be holding a nationwide collection for Help for Heroes the weekend prior on June 17 and 18 including a round-up at till option so customers can easily donate while shop with us.

For more information on Armed Forces Day please visit https://www.armedforcesday.org.uk

Charity urges supporters to send Eid eCard to raise funds for clean water

Clean water advocacy charity, Hope Spring, has urged its supporters, Muslim and non-Muslims alike, to send Eid Adha electronic greetings cards, to wish people celebrating the Islamic festival a happy Eid. 

The lunar calendar based annual festivity, is expected to be on the 29th or 30th of June 2023. It is the second most important festival in the islamic calendar, after the Eid Kabir, celebrated at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Hope Spring eCards raises a significant part of the donations Hope Spring Water is used to fund their clean water, sanitation and hygiene advocacy projects. Such donations have helped the charity to build five boreholes, they have also run a number of menstrual hygiene workshops. Communities in West Africa with strong clean water and sanitation challenges tend to be Hope Spring beneficiaries.

The charity hopes the Eid Adha fundraising campaign will raise enough money to build a borehole or a well for one of the communities they hope to help with clean water later this year. Significant religion linked celebrations such as Eid Adha and Christmas tend to be the most successful fundraisers for Hope Spring. A significant portion of the funds used to complete their projects this year came from funds raised by their corporate charity ecard campaign last year.

According to Hope Spring eCards platform manager, Seun Olonade her organisation had a great Eid Fitr fundraising campaign, they are looking to top it off with an equally successful Eid Adha campaign. She urged their supporters and visitors to their website to send Eid Adha eCard and make a donation. She added that people may also send an Eid Adha card without making a donation via their free ecards page.

You can find more information about Hope Spring Eid Adha, their projects and other information about the charity on their website and social media page.

hello@hopespring.org.uk

http://www.hopespring.org.uk

Living off the grid? Jackery could help you

Some readers of That's Food and Drink live off the grid, meaning that they aren't connected to power systems or, sometimes, even water or sewerage systems.

This can cause problems because a lack of electrical power can mean that they are limited in storage of food because refrigeration and freezing isn't readily available. 

However, there are options that are available to provide off grid homes with mains quality electricity supplies so that using fridges, freezers and even cooking with electricity is possible.

Jackery, which is a truly global leader in innovative portable power and green outdoor energy solutions, is genuinely pleased and thrilled to announce their Solar Generator 2000 Plus has been awarded the esteemed SEAL Sustainable Product Award for 2023. 

This prestigious accolade brings great emphasis that Jackery's dedication to offering sustainable energy solutions that empower individuals and contribute to a greener future is well-deserved.

The SEAL Sustainable Products Award is a globally recognised honour that celebrates products and services with outstanding sustainability attributes. Annually, the SEAL Awards organisation conducts a rigorous evaluation process to identify and honour companies and products which prioritise sustainability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.

The SG 2000 Plus is a revolutionary solar generator that employs the sun's energy to provide clean and renewable power for a variety of applications. Equipped with high-efficiency IBC solar panels and a durable LiFePO4 battery for storage of electrical energy, this advanced generator offers a reliable and eco-friendly alternative to traditional petrol generators.

"We're truly honoured and pleased to receive the SEAL Sustainable Products Award 2023 for our SG 2000 Plus," said Lara Luo, Head of Branding at Jackery. 

"Here at Jackery, we believe in the power of innovation to drive positive change. This recognition underscores our commitment to developing sustainable, portable power solutions that enable individuals to embrace renewable energy sources and reduce their carbon footprint."

The SG 2000 Plus is excellent for outdoor enthusiasts, home backup, emergency preparedness, and off-grid adventures. Its versatile AC, DC, and USB ports provide ample connectivity options for a wide variety of electronic devices and equipment, making it an all-in-one power solution for any situation. 

It's carefully designed for user convenience and the transportation-friendly generator is easy to use and offers reliable performance in challenging environments.

For more information about Jackery's Solar Generator 2000 Plus and other innovative portable power solutions, please visit uk.jackery.com.

Incidentally, I first became aware of the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus by chance when a YouTuber I follow, Nate Petroski of @Narrowayhomestead, described setting up and using one of these devices.

Food producers. Please DO NOT use pea protein in your products if you can avoid it

Why are we at That's Food and Drink asking food producers to avoid using pea protein in your products?

Firstly, yes we recognise that pea protein is a very important source of protein and is very good for people who are on vegetarian or vegan diets and for ecological reasons, too.

However! This evening I was having a drink of potato-based milk. It was OK, it sort of looked like cow's milk, had a reasonably good mouthfeel but there was something that I was not enjoying. Why? The taste! Because it had an under taste of weak, wishy-washy pea soup.

I took the carton out of the 'fridge and yes, listed right there was pea protein.

But that, dear readers, is the problem with anything that has pea protein in. It always tastes of pea soup, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker.

I like milk on my breakfast cereals. Cow's milk, ewe's milk, oat milk are all tasting reasonably fine on my breakfast cereal. But if I wouldn't put weak pea soup on my breakfast cereal I'm certainly not going to pour pea protein milk on them!

Pea protein belongs in savoury items including pea soup. But please not in milk and not in flour. 

There are alternatives that you could get your development kitchen chefs and food scientists to use, instead, including: Hemp protein, Pumpkin Seed Protein, Brown Rice Protein, Soy Protein, Sunflower Seed Protein, Sacha Inchi Protein, Chia Protein and others, too.

(Image courtesy of StockSnap and Pixabay)

Asda earns 86 product awards in Free From Awards

Asda was awarded a very impressive 86 product awards at this year’s Free From Food Awards including 4 Golds, 27 Silvers, 36 Bronze, 19 Commended as well as the top accolade of the night, Free From Retailer of the Year.

The awards mark a celebration of Asda’s own brand Free From products, which strive to offer great quality and value for all customers. 

Judges were reportedly wowed by Asda’s impressive range, stating: “Between their vegan and their free from ranges Asda now offer a really impressive selection of foods for the allergic community - and at really competitive prices while still maintaining the quality of their products. A massive step towards including those on free from diets in the general community.”

Asda Free From, Chow Mein Stir-Fry Sauce

Free From: Gluten Free, Soya Free

Retail: £0.50

Asda’s Free From, Chow Mein Stir-Fry Sauce, with a hint of garlic and warming ginger is bound to spice up a mid-week dinner. Awarded Gold, this product was described by the judging panel as: “Lovely colour, aroma, consistency & flavour profile. A great balance of flavours with the perfect spice heat at the end. Very impressive to be gluten free, sesame free and soya free. And the price point is equally impressive”.

Asda Free From, Salad Cream

Free From: Egg Free

Retail: £1.10

The perfect condiment to accompany a summer salad in this hot weather, Asda Free From Salad Cream was awarded Gold by the expert panel, described as:

“This tastes just like the real thing. Impressive that this delivers the same flavour and consistency whilst being gluten free, milk free and egg free! Great price. A credible & accessible alternative”.

Asda Free From Extra Special, 8 Sicilian Orange & Belgian Dark Chocolate Cookies

Free From: Gluten

Retail: £2.00

Looking to brighten up your coffee break? made using an all-butter recipe and studded with Belgian chocolate this gold awarded product really is an extra special treat!

Asda Extra Special, 12 Classic Pork Chipolata Sausages

Free From: Gluten Free

Retail: £3.25

The perfect banger on your BBQ, full breakfast or roll to go, Asda’s Extra Special Classic Pork Chipolata sausages are gold awarded by Free From Food Awards panel. As well as great quality, customers can also pick up a bargain, two packs for only £5

Asda Free From, Vanilla Flavoured Ice Cream

Free From: Gluten, Milk and Soya

Retail: £2.20

Everyone can cool down this summer and enjoy Asda Free From Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream.

 OMV! Deliciously Vegan By Asda,  Burger Mayo

Free From: Egg

Retail: £1.50

The perfect accompaniment to BBQ season, this 100% vegan burger mayo with flavours of gherkin, American style mustard and tomato impressed judges and won Silver at the Free From Food Awards. It’s sure to be a winner with all guests at summer gatherings.

OMV! Deliciously Vegan By Asda Saag Masala Cooking Sauce

Retail: £2.00

Everyone can enjoy curry night with OMV! Deliciously Vegan Saag Masala Cooking Sauce. A tomato, spinach and creamed coconut sauce with a blend of spices, guests will be left wanting more!

Asda Free From 4 White Rolls

Free From: Gluten, Milk and Egg

Retail: £1.75

BBQ, picnics or mid-week lunch, enjoy all the flavour without missing out with Silver awarded Free From White Rolls.

Shop in store and online at asda.com.

(That's Food and Drink says: "It's good to know that major retailers are working so hard to provide good quality Free From Foods. My wife needs to avoid gluten and soya, so we are aware of the Free From struggle. Well done, Asda!)