Monday, 2 January 2012

That's Food and Drink to be "more proactive" in 2012

The food and drink website, That's Food and Drink will be "more proactive during 2012."

This means That's Food and Drink will be providing its readers with more news and features about special foodie events that will be occurring throughout the year.

That's Food and Drink will be helping readers celebrate and enjoy sausage weeks, barbecue months, wine and beer festivals, events, tea and coffee weeks, harvest festivals, etc., etc., etc.

If YOU have a special event that you would like to see featured, then please send us an email to afj_uk@yahoo.com using the subject line: "Special Event"  and we will do the rest.

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Barracuda Pub Group Crown 2012 as the year of the beer

Pint of low strength ale
The Barracuda Pub Group, a national pub operator who run over 160 Smith & Jones pubs across the UK, are looking to extend Christmas cheer by making 2012 the year of the beer.

Throughout January, Barracuda will be offering Greene King’s Tolly English Ale, a lower strength beer which, at 2.8% (abv), qualifies for a 50% reduction in the rate of duty payable to the Treasury, for £1.29 in the majority of its pubs. Pubs based in Scotland will be offering Caledonian’s Deuchars IPA and those in Wales will be offering Brains Bitter.

Richard Stringer from the Barracuda Pub Group said; “2012 is the perfect time to showcase all that is good and great about the British pub, with the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and all the visitors that these events will attract.

The pub is the only place to truly enjoy a pint of excellent ale and we want to encourage all those visiting the country to sample Britain’s national drink. We’ll be starting our commitment to cask ale with our January offer and throughout the year we will be creating activity to positively promote cask ale in our business. We will also be delivering further training to our managers to ensure that every pint of cask ale served in our business is in perfect condition and leaves our customers with nothing but good things to say about cask ale.”

To find your nearest Smith & Jones pub, please visit: www.smithandjonespubs.com

(EDITOR: I know where my nearest Smith and Jones pub is! I think I'll be paying it a visit, this week!)

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Alcohol Pricing: Better England Free than England Sober

The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties institute, today has issued a strong and trenchant condemnation of proposals to make it harder for poor people to buy alcohol. The proposals include higher taxes, compulsory minimum prices for drink, further controls on advertising, and power to close down retailers. The only disagreement between the three main parties is how far they wish to go.

Speaking today in London, Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, commented: “These measures, if adopted, amount to an attack on the poor. The ruling class politicians who continually whine about alcohol will not be affected by minimum pricing or the abolition of special offers. I might add that none of them can be affected by such laws. Income aside, anyone who lies his way into Parliament can look forward to round the clock drinking in the Palace of Westminster of untaxed alcohol.

“But the measures will hurt poor people, for whom alcohol will become cripplingly expensive and hard to find. They have the same right to drink as the rest of us. Bearing in mind the problems willed on them by our exploitative ruling class, they often have a greater need to drink.

“The claim that drinking ’causes’ public disorder is nonsense. Alcohol does not run about the streets. People do. If people are making nuisances of themselves, the police should be instructed to stop behaving like some equivalent of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and to start protecting life and property again.

“The claim that drinking makes people unhealthy is irrelevant, where not a lie. People must be regarded as responsible for their own mistakes. Anyone who bleats about increased cost to the National Health Service should consider that drinkers already pay more in taxes than the alleged cost of treating their specific illnesses.

“We oppose all controls on the availability of alcohol to adults. Better England free than England sober.”

The Libertarian Alliance believes:

* That all the licensing laws should be repealed;
* That all controls on the marketing of alcohol should be repealed;
* That alcohol taxes should be reduced to the same level as the lowest in the European Union, and that there should be no increase in other taxes;
* That not a penny of the taxpayers’ money should be given to any organisation arguing against the above.

Thursday, 29 December 2011

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Monday, 26 December 2011

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Saturday, 24 December 2011

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Friday, 23 December 2011

Festive Flavoured Ice Cream Sales Jump As Consumers Search For Alternative Christmas Sweet

Christmas flavoured ice cream is proving a hit for Huddersfield ice cream maker Yummy Yorkshire, which has already sold double the amount it did this time last year.

The award-winning artisan ice cream producer has to date churned out nearly 500 litres of its limited edition Christmas ices - twice as much as during the same period last December.

The Christmas flavours include Christmas Cake, Chocolate Orange, Irish Cream and White Chocolate & Cranberries.

The Christmas Cake flavour is loaded with fruit and is made using a special blend of spices. According to Yummy Yorkshire the ice cream is rich in taste and popular with traditionalists who are looking for an alternative to brandy butter on Christmas Day. The flavour first launched in 2007, the year that Yummy Yorkshire started trading, and has gained a loyal fan base since then. It also scooped an award with the Ice Cream Alliance in 2008.

The White Chocolate with Cranberries is a smoother, more indulgent flavour as is the Chocolate Orange, which has a malty taste with a hint of orange. Customers say it reminds them of hot chocolate and chocolate oranges. The Irish Cream flavour is made with a generous helping of everyone's favourite Irish whiskey and cream liqueur.

Louise Holmes co-founder of Yummy Yorkshire says: ""You wouldn't expect ice cream to be popular at this time of year but rich ice cream is a wonderful thing to have as a dessert even in the coldest weather."

"Many of our customers say that they are not keen on traditional Christmas Pudding so see our ice cream as a delicious alternative to indulge in over the festive period. We always have a big queue of customers out of the ice cream parlour on Christmas Eve making some last minute purchases.

"In 2010 the most popular was Christmas cake at 120 litres. So far there is a neck and neck situation between Christmas cake (132 litres) and Chocolate orange (144 litres). It will be interesting to see which flavour will win!"

The festive ices are available to buy from Yummy Yorkshire's Denby Dale ice cream parlour in 500ml and 2 litre tubs and on the cone. They are also available from selected shops across Yorkshire.

The Yummy Yorkshire ice cream parlour is located on the A629 between High Flatts and Ingbirchworth. For further information and directions visit www.yummyyorkshire.co.uk

Brew Up A Healthy New Year With The Tea Experience

Put the festive overindulgence behind you and start the new year feeling good with energising and refreshing teas from The Tea Experience www.teaexperience.co.uk. The online speciality tea company offers a rejuvenating range of gentle everyday loose teas that are high in antioxidants and low in caffeine to give you a health boost and help your overall wellbeing.

Goji berries are known as 'the happy' berry in China and the Chinese believe it has lots of beneficial properties for wellbeing. Goji Tea from The Tea Experience offers a blend with lovely, fruity depth which includes goji berries, strawberry, blackberry and apple pieces, making it a delicious drink for adults and children alike and great hot or cold.

Light, fruity and floral Harmony Tea offers a stunningly pretty tea made with quality ingredients. Blended using Feng Shui principles to promote harmony, the tea includes goji berries, dragon fruit, apple pieces, blackberry, nettle leaves, orange peel and eucalyptus leaves for a gentle, slightly sweet flavour.

Rich in minerals and vitamins, In the Pink provides a truly tasty brew. Cranberries form the basis of this tea and it also includes apple, nettle, verbena, lemon grass, natural flavouring of acai and blackberry leaves. This infusion is slightly tart and suits those who prefer a less fruity or sweet taste.

Kombucha Green is believed to have medicinal qualities and has been drunk in the Far East for hundreds of years with this in mind. A combination of Chinese sencha green tea, kombucha, fruit leaves, herbs and flowers, the tea has a distinct aroma and refreshing taste of sweet plum

Top grade Liquorice Rooibos from South Africa is blended with aniseed and sunflower petals for a deep, rich liquorice taste and a must for those who love the taste of aniseed. Another top grade Rooibos tea is Lemon Myrtle Rooibos, a blend with Australian lemon myrtle, orange pieces and jasmine blossom with a dash of ginger. A very popular blend and flavourful tea.

The Tea Experience also offers a refreshing and rejuvenating range of white and green teas, including Pai Mu Tan from the Fujian province, which provides a delicate and light taste. Young Hyson green tea is made with young leaves plucked in early spring before the rains start to fall. A distinctive, light tea with a pleasant after taste. Japanese Cherry green flavoured tea was named after the blender visited Japan in springtime, seeing the cherry blossom. A subtle blend of Chinese sencha fragranced with cherry.

As part of The Tea Experience's January Offers, customers can by a pack of three of these teas (Pai Mu Tan, Young Hyson and Japanese Cherry) at a special inclusive price of £8. 3 x 50g bags (normal retail price £9.23) can be bought from January 1-31st 2012.

Try drinking wellness, green and white loose teas as part of a New Year, New You regime for a healthier outlook because they re-hydrate, offer beneficial properties and are a refreshing, rejuvenating and tasty alternative the tiresome teabag.

The Tea Experience www.teaexperience.co.uk was set up by former Royal Mail human resources manager, Ann Davis, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, who lifted the lid on a new career by turning a hobby into a growing online speciality tea business. Originally selling traditional China teapots, after being inspired by a gift from her husband, Paul, the business is expanding and now offers a complete tea drinking experience from imported loose tea to tea ware and gifts.

Importing loose tea from the Far East and Europe from specialist tea importers and wholesalers, The Tea Experience ensures consistency of taste and quality for its customers. The husband and wife team have been lucky enough to travel and work in the Far East, mainly in China, over a number a years. Each trip provided the opportunity to try a variety of teas which often made them question the quality of what they were drinking at home. They are now on a mission to encourage tea drinkers to leave the bag and let the tea loose!

The Tea Experience range includes Black, Green, Red and White tea to Wellness teas, as well as Rooibos, Oolong, Chai, Pu-erh and the fascinating flowering teas. Teaware ranges from mugs, pots and tea bowls to Chinese and traditional tea sets.

A new teaware range has also been added. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Lostwithiel in Cornwall is a potter. John Webb has been making teapots and mugs for more than 30 years and has been selling his wares only within the County. Paul and Ann managed to track him down earlier this summer and convinced him to sell a collection to The Tea Experience. Two ranges of beautifully made teapots and mugs are launched and at reasonable prices make a great gift.

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