Milk on the Doorstep: Why UK Milk Delivery Services Still Matter

Milk delivery may feel like a throwback, but it never truly disappeared, and today, it’s enjoying renewed interest across the UK. 

As shoppers become more conscious of sustainability, freshness and supporting British producers, the humble milk round is proving its relevance once again.

Why Milk Delivery Still Works

Fresher, Better-Tasting Milk

Doorstep milk is often bottled within 24 hours, with fewer steps between farm and fridge. That shorter supply chain can mean noticeably fresher milk compared with supermarket alternatives.

Less Plastic, Less Waste

Most services use reusable glass bottles that are collected and returned for reuse. For households trying to reduce single-use plastic, this is a simple, practical switch.

Everyday Convenience

Regular deliveries remove the need for last-minute shop trips when milk runs out. You get what you need, when you need it — without impulse buys.

Supporting UK Dairies

Milk delivery often supports British farms and independent dairies, helping smaller producers survive in a competitive market.

Who’s Delivering Milk in the UK?

Milk delivery now combines tradition with modern systems:

Milk & More – A national service delivering milk and everyday essentials via online ordering.

https://www.milkandmore.co.uk

McQueens Dairies – A long-established family business serving large parts of the UK.

https://www.mcqueensdairies.co.uk

Freshways – Best known for wholesale, but also running doorstep rounds in some areas.

https://www.freshways.co.uk

The Modern Miulkman

Delivers dairy and non-dairy milks and mor

https://themodernmilkman.co.uk

Independent local dairies – Many communities are still served by regional milk rounds offering milk, eggs, juice and more.

A Modern Take on a Classic Service

Today’s milk delivery is fully updated, with online accounts, flexible delivery schedules, easy order changes and digital payments — all without losing the personal service people value.

Is It Worth the Cost?

Milk delivery can cost slightly more than supermarket milk, but many customers feel the benefits outweigh the difference. Better freshness, reduced waste, fewer shop trips and the environmental gains all add up.

Final Milky Thoughts

Milk delivery in the UK isn’t about nostalgia — it’s about practicality. With reusable bottles, reliable delivery and support for British producers, it offers a refreshingly sensible way to buy a daily staple.

Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the ones that still work best.

Finalists and Semifinalists for $1 Million Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge announced

The Seed Grant Finalists and Growth Grant and Seeding the Future Grand Prize Semifinalists of the 5th annual Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge (GFSC) have been announced, marking a key milestone in the $1 million global Challenge supporting impactful and innovative solutions to transform food systems.

Created and funded by Seeding The Future Foundation and, for the first time, hosted by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), the Challenge attracted a record 1,600+ applications from innovator teams in 112 countries, underscoring growing global momentum for food systems transformation.

Following a multi-stage, rigorous international review process, 36 teams advanced across three award levels. These include 16 Seed Grant Finalists (competing for 8 awards of USD 25,000), 12 Growth Grant Semifinalists (competing for 3 awards of USD 100,000), and 8 Seeding The Future Grand Prize Semifinalists (competing for 2 awards of USD 250,000).

“Hosting the GFSC reflects Welthungerhilfe’s commitment to accelerating bold, scalable innovations where they are needed most. This year’s diversity of solutions underscores the complexity of food system challenges and the creativity of innovators worldwide.” Jan Kever, Head of Innovation at Welthungerhilfe told That's Food and Drink.

The submitted innovations span diverse themes and approaches, including climate-smart production, nutrient-dense foods, food loss reduction, and inclusive market models, reflecting the complexity and interconnected nature of today’s food systems challenges.

“The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge exists to catalyze impactful, bold, and scalable innovations that advance food systems transformation. We are excited to work alongside Welthungerhilfe as a trusted partner and host of the Challenge and are encouraged by the quality and diversity of innovations emerging from this first year of collaboration.” said Bernhard van Lengerich, Founder and CEO of Seeding The Future Foundation

While the number of awards is limited, all semifinalists and finalist applicants plus all applicants with any prior recognition of other innovation competitions can join the STF Global Food System Innovation Database and Network—currently in beta testing with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—vastly expanding their visibility and reach across a global audience.

List of 2025 GFSC Seed Grant Finalists, Growth Grant and Seeding The Future Grand Prize Semifinalists

Find details here: welthungerhilfe.org/gfsc-finalists

Seeding The Future Grand Prize Semi-Finalists

CNF Global, Kenya

ZTN Technology PLC, Ethiopia

One Acre Fund, Rwanda

Sanku, Tanzania

Nabahya Food Institute (NFI), Democratic Republic of the Congo

ABALOBI, South Africa

metaBIX Biotech, Uruguay

Nurture Posterity International, Uganda

Growth Grant Semi-Finalists

Baobaby, Togo

Safi International Technologies Inc., Canada

Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT), Mexico

Farmlab Yeranda Agrisolution Producer Company Limited, India

Banco de Alimentos Santa Fe (BASFE), Argentina

Chartered Consilorum (Pty) Ltd, South Africa

American University of Beirut, Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU at AUB), Lebanon

The Source Plus, Kenya

Iviani Farm Limited, Kenya

Rwandese Endogenous Development Association, Rwanda

NatureLEAD, Madagascar

Ndaloh Heritage Organisation, Kenya

Seed Grant Finalists

Inua Damsite CBO, Kenya

World Neighbors, United States

Keloks Technologies Ltd, Nigeria

REBUS Albania, Albania

Tanzania Conservation and Community Empowerment Initiative (TACCEI), Tanzania

Intrasect, Switzerland

VKS AGRITECH, India

Murmushi People's Development Foundation, Nigeria

Levo International, Inc., United States

Effective Altruism Research Services Ltd, Uganda

Taita Taveta University, Kenya

CultivaHub, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Resource Hub for Development (RHD), Kenya

FUTURALGA S.COOP.AND, Spain

West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Ghana, Ghana

Sustainable Solutions Kenya, Kenya

About Seeding The Future Foundation

STF is a private nonprofit dedicated to ensuring equitable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, and trusted food. It supports innovations that transform food systems and benefit both people and planet. More at Seeding the future.

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Pineapple on a Full English? A Surprisingly Historical Argument

Few things spark a British food debate quite like tinkering with the full English breakfast. 

Baked beans are tolerated, hash browns are still contentious in some quarters, and heaven help anyone who mentions avocado. 

Yet one of the more intriguing (and eyebrow-raising) ideas to surface in recent years comes from Guise Bule de Missenden, founder of the English Breakfast Club, who argues that pineapple may have a legitimate place on the plate, not as a modern gimmick, but on historical grounds.

At first glance, pineapple alongside bacon and eggs sounds like pure provocation. But dig a little deeper, and the argument becomes rather more… British than you might expect.

The Victorian Breakfast Was Not a Modest Affair

The idea of a “traditional” full English as a fixed, unchanging list is largely a modern invention. In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, breakfast — particularly among the middle and upper classes — was expansive, indulgent, and often theatrical.

Breakfast tables could include:

Multiple meats (ham, bacon, kidneys, game)

Fish (kedgeree, kippers)

Eggs in several forms

Preserves, fruits, and sweet accompaniments

Crucially, fruit was not seen as out of place. Fresh, preserved, or stewed fruit regularly appeared at breakfast, especially in wealthier households where imported produce was a sign of status.

Pineapple: A Symbol of British Luxury

Pineapple has a long and fascinating relationship with Britain. Far from being a purely tropical novelty, it became an 18th- and 19th-century status symbol, associated with hospitality, wealth, and empire.

In Georgian and Victorian Britain:

Pineapples were grown in heated glasshouses at enormous expense

They were displayed as centrepieces at banquets

They symbolised refinement and worldliness

If pineapple could sit proudly atop a table as a symbol of welcome and abundance, the argument goes, why would it be excluded from a grand breakfast spread?

Sweet Meets Savoury: Not as Alien as It Sounds

British breakfasts have long embraced sweet-and-savoury contrasts:

Marmalade with salty buttered toast

Fried bread paired with ketchup

Bacon alongside sweet chutneys or brown sauce

Pineapple offers:

Acidity to cut through fatty bacon

Natural sweetness to balance salt

A refreshing counterpoint to heavier elements

From this perspective, grilled or lightly warmed pineapple isn’t an outrageous addition — it simply leans into contrasts the breakfast already enjoys.

A Historical Footnote, Not a Mandate

To be clear, this argument isn’t suggesting pineapple should replace anything, nor that cafés must rush to add it to menus nationwide. Instead, it reframes the conversation:

The full English breakfast has always evolved, and its historical roots are far broader and more flexible than many modern purists admit.

Seen through that lens, pineapple isn’t an invasion. It’s a revival of a time when breakfast was about abundance, variety, and a little culinary swagger.

So… Should Pineapple Be Allowed?

Whether you personally welcome pineapple onto your plate is another matter entirely. For some, it will remain culinary heresy. For others, it’s a fascinating reminder that British food history is richer — and stranger — than we often give it credit for.

One thing is certain: once you realise that the “traditional” full English has never been entirely fixed, the debate becomes far more interesting than a simple yes or no.

And if nothing else, it proves that breakfast, like history itself, is always up for reinterpretation. 

The Future in the Glass: the spirits business Names the Top Innovators Redefining Spirits and What It Means for 2026

From pizza-distilled vodka to crystal-clear Scotch whisky, cannabis spirits to high-ester rum concentrates, this year’s ranking reflects an industry in full creative acceleration, a world where experimentation is no longer fringe, but fast becoming the new mainstream.

The spirits business, the leading global drinks media, has revealed its final top 10 in the Top 50 Innovative Spirits Launches of 2025, spotlighting the brands that pushed boundaries and offered a clear signal of where the global spirits market is heading next.

Collectively, these 10 liquids represent a shift away from incremental line extensions towards genuine technical, sensory and cultural innovation – a trend that will shape brand strategy, portfolio development and consumer expectations well into 2026.

The Top 10 Shortlist

1: Chivas Regal Crystalgold - A crystal-clear Scottish spirit drink created through bespoke filtration that removes colour without stripping flavour. Designed for long serves, crossover occasions and daytime drinking, the number-one product opens up whisky to new consumption moments.

2: Three Families (Mr Lyan x Rockland x Dilmah Tea) – A range of cocktail seasonings blending bitters tradition with modern distillation and tea extracts. Designed to empower experimentation behind the bar and at home, turning flavour into a modular tool.

3: Never Never Signature Vodka – A texture-driven vodka enriched with olive, coconut and avocado oils to deliver mouthfeel as a primary differentiator. Built for premium Martinis and neat sipping.

4: Planteray Hogo Monsta – An ultra high-ester rum designed as a flavour amplifier rather than a sipping spirit. A technical release that celebrates intensity, funk and bartender creativity.

5: Realizzato Coffee Liqueur – A sustainability-led innovation using upcycled coffee grounds to create alcohol, paired with fully recycled packaging. Circular production meets premium flavour.

6: Archie Rose Wattleseed Smoked Cask Whisky -– An Australian single malt smoked via native wattleseed-treated barrels, creating uniquely regional flavour architecture.

7: 1906 Cannabis Spirit – A neutral, alcohol-free THC and CBG ‘spirit’ engineered for social drinking occasions beyond alcohol.

8: Bruichladdich X4+18 Edition 01 – The world’s first quadruple-distilled 18-year-old single malt Scotch, pushing cost, yield and process boundaries.

9: Aureus Vita Gin – Produced on a Fibonacci-inspired still that applies mathematical ratios to botanical interaction and distillation geometry.

10: Isco Pizza Vodka – A vodka distilled from a full organic pizza – herbs, tomato, cheese and wheat – proving novelty flavour can deliver commercial scale when executed seriously.

Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief of The spirits business, said: “Our top 50 ranking explored the most creative products that came to market in 2025, from production techniques to unusual flavours, and even products reaching new heights with their purpose and marketing initiatives.

What’s clear to see is producers are not afraid to explore new flavour dimensions – and for many, their efforts are paying off. Our top pick, Chivas Regal Crystalgold, was especially exciting to see. This spirit has the potential to open the Scotch whisky category up to new drinkers, particularly loyal fans of white spirits, and it’s great to see a brand like Chivas boldly step forward to deliver something truly different and distinct.”

https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/

Will you be trying pizza flavoured vodka? Please let us know in the comments below!

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SquareMeal announces the UK Top 100 Restaurants for 2026

The UK’s leading independent restaurant guide, SquareMeal, has revealed its UK Top 100 Restaurants for 2026, celebrating the very best dining experiences the country has to offer. 

Unlike any other list of its kind, SquareMeal’s UK Top 100 excludes London restaurants, allowing the wider UK dining scene to take centre stage.

Compiled using a combination of thousands of reader votes and insight from SquareMeal’s expert critics, the UK Top 100 Restaurants list offers a true snapshot of Britain’s diverse and dynamic food culture.

Across the UK, regional dining scenes continue to thrive. Edinburgh leads the way in 2026 with six restaurants featured, including Lyla, The Little Chartroom, and new entries Ardfern, Cardinal, Dogstar and Moss. Birmingham follows closely with five restaurants making the list, including former Top 100 champion Grace & Savour and two Michelin-starred Opheem.

The highest new entry on the list is Vraic in Guernsey, which makes an impressive debut at number four. Elsewhere, culinary powerhouses such as North Yorkshire, Kent and the West Midlands are all strongly represented with multiple entries in the UK Top 100.

SquareMeal UK Top 100 2026 Winner: Wilsons, Bristol

The number one restaurant in the UK for 2026 is Wilsons.

Wilsons in Bristol epitomises the ideal neighbourhood restaurant, delivering confident modern British cooking crafted almost entirely from produce grown in its own market garden. Intimate and charming, it’s one of only a handful of UK restaurants to hold both a Michelin star and a Green Star. Despite its sustainability credentials and world-class cooking, Wilsons remains remarkably good value.

Wilsons was opened in 2016 by partners Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson. Ostle leads the kitchen, while Mary Wilson’s background in biodynamic agriculture underpins the restaurant’s produce-led ethos. Mary also grew up in her family restaurant, which Wilsons is named in honour of.

Chef and Co-Founder Jan Ostle told That's Food and Drink: "We feel incredibly honoured to have been named SquareMeal’s UK Restaurant of the Year 2026. 

"This recognition is testament to the dedication of our entire team, the Bristol community that supports us, and the incredible farmers and growers whose produce shapes everything we do. 2025 was a landmark year for us at Wilsons, and this feels like the perfect way to begin 2026. We’re so excited for what the year ahead will bring."

SquareMeal’s Restaurants Editor, Pete Dreyer, adds: "Few restaurants in Britain combine creativity, humility and value as convincingly as Wilsons. Achieving this from a tiny kitchen and a two-acre farm, without compromising its sustainable, waste-free ideals, is a phenomenal achievement."

Content Director for SquareMeal Caroline Hendry explains the process behind tSqhe awards: "For 2026, judges placed renewed emphasis not only on exceptional cooking, but also on sustainability and a commitment to positive, people-first working environments. With professional kitchens often recognised as high-pressure spaces, this year’s list highlights restaurants actively prioritising staff welfare alongside culinary excellence.’

The full UK Top 100 Restaurants list can be viewed here:

https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/best/uk-top-100-restaurants_238

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Allotments help UK households save millions on food as cost-of-living pressures continue

The National Allotment Society says allotments continue to play a vital role in helping households cope with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, reinforcing food security at a time when food prices and household bills remain high.

Recent figures show UK inflation has risen again, with food prices a key driver of rising costs. Consumer confidence also remains historically low, underlining the sustained pressure many households are facing.

Against this backdrop, allotment holders across the UK report saving hundreds of pounds a year by growing their own fruit and vegetables, while also gaining access to fresh, seasonal produce that would otherwise be difficult to afford. Research in Brighton & Hove found that allotments in the city produce the equivalent of around £1.12 million in food annually, demonstrating the real financial value they bring to local communities. (Brighton & Hove Food Partnership)

“Allotments have long provided practical support for households, and the current economic climate is reinforcing that role,” John Irwin, interim President for the National Allotment Society told That's Food and Drink.

“For many people, growing food is the difference between coping and struggling. A small plot can produce a significant amount of food for relatively low ongoing costs.”

The Society says demand for allotments remains high, with waiting lists in many areas continuing to stretch for years, as people seek reliable ways to manage food costs and reduce reliance on expensive supermarket produce.

The Bank of England has warned inflationary pressures are likely to persist, meaning household budgets may remain under strain for some time. The National Allotment Society says this makes access to allotment space a vital form of long-term resilience for communities.

Beyond financial savings, allotments also provide wider benefits during periods of economic pressure, including improved mental health, gentle physical activity, and strong community support networks.

“When money is tight, the social value of allotments matters just as much as the food they produce,” John added. “They are places where people share skills, seeds and surplus crops, helping each other through challenging times.”

The National Allotment Society is calling on councils and policymakers to protect existing allotment land and invest in new sites, warning that access to growing space is becoming increasingly unequal despite sustained demand.

“Allotments are a low-cost, high-impact resource that already exists in communities,” said the Society. “Protecting and expanding them should be seen as a practical response to the cost of living crisis, not a luxury.”

For further information please visit www.thenas.org.uk