Christmas shoppers in the UK are set to rein back on their spending. A recent poll of British adults reveals that growing concerns about the credit crunch this Christmas will force people to cut back the amount spent on gifts and food and drink.

The poll estimates that a total of £2.7 billion* will be slashed from spending and reveals that 9% of those interviewed will cancel having friends and family over for the festive period in order to save money.

When it comes to food, many people are unsure about how to produce good quality meals on a reasonable budget. According to James McIntosh, the UK’s leading home economist, it is possible to cook delicious meals this Christmas without following elaborate recipes and overspending. ‘There are many cookbooks on the UK market for Christmas this year,’ says James, ‘but very few that teach you the basics of a wholesome British diet, giving variations on the recipes as well as hints and tips on saving food and fuel when cooking.’

...is the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas kitchen this year. It is a comprehensive guide to basic proportions in cookery, giving the quantities needed for simple, everyday recipes that can be used in Christmas cooking. It contains over 170 recipes - from how to make gravy to how to get the stuffing for your turkey just right, and how to make the perfect trifle or a Christmas soufflé. Priced at just £4.99, it is an ideal stocking filler.

Anthony Worrall-Thompson says that mix. is “A fantastic concise book explaining everyday recipes and giving every cook a helping hand with ‘successful cookery’ getting the basics right first!”

‘Mix’ is the first in a series of four books by James McIntosh. The next title, ‘Dinner’, will be published on 28 November and will include wholesome dinnertime recipes for under £5. The following two books are veg. (to be published in December) and cake. (to be published in March).

It’s not just fruit and vegetables growing at one of Mendip’s most prestigious hotels – home-grown loofahs are keeping the bathrooms well stocked. These are among the more unusual items growing on vines at Ston Easton Park on the Mendips, which is supporting this year’s Mendip Food and Drink Festival.



In fact, Ston Easton prides itself so much on its food and drink that more than 75 per cent of the vegetables, salads and herbs used in its meals are grown in the hotel’s Victorian kitchen garden during the summer months. As well as the traditional carrots and potatoes, the park, which includes 30 acres of land, also grows chillies, peppers, oriental vegetables and a range of weird and wacky tomatoes. All of them make up the delicious menus on offer at the hotel in Ston Easton, near Wells, many of which are cooked by a team of chefs under the direction of head chef Michael Parke.

... of the Palladian mansion is its impressive original Edwardian kitchen, which would have once seen staff coming and going as families and guests banqueted in the large dining rooms above. Hidden beneath the house, the temperatures and smoke would have been unbearable as several courses of food were prepared on the large wooden table in the middle of the room.

This year, Ston Easton Park is a key supporter of the Mendip Food and Drink Festival which takes place between Friday, October 24 and Sunday, November 2. The festival, now in its fifth year, celebrates the array of food and drink grown, produced and served in the Mendip area. This year it has received an added boost by the involvement of awarding-winning celebrity TV chef Martin Blunos.

It is the ethos of it being a local event and celebrating local produce that has attracted Bath-based Mr Blunos to get involved. To help mark this 10-day celebration, Ston Easton is offering guests a free glass of house wine by mentioning the Mendip Food and Drink Festival during the event. It is also hosting an apple day cookery demonstration, two-course apple inspired lunch with cider from the Gaymer Cider Company followed by a talk by Bob Chaplin and Bob Cork from Gaymer starting at 10.30am on Tuesday, October 28.

Ian Jupp, manager of Ston Easton Park, said: “We are extremely fortunate to be situated in a part of the country with such an abundance of outstanding local produce and even more fortunate to have our own kitchen garden producing fresh organic vegetables for the restaurant.

“The festival features events to cater for all tastes at numerous locations throughout Mendip. Whether you are seeking a sophisticated gourmet dining experience, an organic afternoon tea at a farm shop or ways to entertain and educate the children about great British food, the festival is sure to satisfy your requirements.

“We have planned some great ways to celebrate the festival and hope to see you here at Ston Easton Park.”

Cllr Philip Ham, Mendip District Council’s representatives on the food and drink committee and also a local organic food producer, said: “The Mendip Food and Drink Festival is a brilliant fun-filled event for the whole family, and I encourage parents to take their children along to some of the many events taking place during the October half-term week. It is important that children understand where their food comes from to appreciate the hard work of local producers but also help them understand the importance of healthy eating.

“This year’s festival is extra special because we have the backing of celebrity chef Martin Blunos who is keen to get involved with events right across the district. We’re also very grateful to the sponsors who are helping to make this event such a success each year.”

For more details about Ston Easton Park, its loofah harvest, apple day or its food festival lunch offers please call 01761 241631 or visit www.stoneaston.co.uk Mendip Food and Drink Festival programmes are available free of charge from local Tourist Information Centres, or visit the website www.mendipfoodfestival.co.uk for full details.

The Cook Islands may traditionally be seen as a destination you visit to soak up the sun, relax on the beach, explore the islands and enjoy the traditional culture, however a local popular saying of ‘We live to eat, not eat to live’ proves that food is particularly important in this part of the world.

There are over 50 restaurants and cafes scattered all over Rarotonga alone. Well known restaurants are Tamarind House, Vaima Restaurant, Windjammer Restaurant, Pawpaw Patch and Café Salsa. For great seafood dining by the water’s edge try Whatever Bar and Grill and the legendary Trader Jacks with superb freshly caught seafood. Both venues offer stunning locations overlooking Avarua harbour.

The traditional Polynesian feast is known as the ‘Umukai’ which involves cooking food in an underground earth oven. Popular food includes local produce such as taro (root vegetable), kuru (breadfruit), kumara (sweet potato), rukau (taro leaves and local meats such as pork, beef, chicken and fish. This is usually served with local side dishes such as chop suey, mayonnaise (local potato salad) ika mata (marinated raw fish in coconut cream and lemon) and green bananas, often washed down with the natural juices of the “nu” from the coconut. The flesh of the nu can also be eaten.

Research done by World Travel Market has shown that more than half British holidaymakers ranked eating traditional dishes as a ‘very important’ or ‘important’ part of their holiday. They want a hands-on experience and food is a manifestation of a destination’s culture.

An increasing number of travellers are choosing where they visit by what gastronomic experience they will have, with the food we have on holiday becoming more of a treasured memory. The Cook Islands offers a unique gastronomic experience for visitors, the most memorable being on offer at an island night feast and cultural show which takes place at most of the major hotels.

The fare on offer at the island night feasts is a tantalising mixture of local meats, seafood and vegetables followed by fantastic entertainment. Traditional island songs and dance, pulsating drums, swaying hips and colourful costumes are all part of the dazzling array that is Cook Islands culture. The night is wrapped up with an Ura Piani (invitation dance) where visitors are then given the chance to dance to traditional music.

Local food can also be tried at the local Punanga Nui marketplace, located in the Avarua township from 7am to midday on Saturdays. As well as food stalls you can pick up local handcrafts, produce and even get and authentic Polynesian tattoo! Local food to try here includes ''ika mata'' - marinated raw fish in coconut cream and lemon juice or ''poke'' - banana or pawpaw mixed with arrowroot/cassava flour and served with coconut cream.

The Cook Islands is certainly a destination where visitors can experience every part of the local culture and provides a gastronomic delight of levels you cannot experience at home.

For further information on the Cook Islands go to www.cook-islands.com

 

Medal Winners 2008

The British Cheese Awards, the annual celebration of the very best of the British Cheese industry, has announced the winners of this year’s hard fought competition, with quality being recognised across the board, in both artisan and commercial sectors.

Of the record breaking 910 cheeses entered into this year’s Awards, the Supreme Champion, as decided by a panel of top industry experts including cheese buyers, journalists, chefs and food critics, was judged as Barkham Blue from the Two Hoots creamery based in Barkham, Berkshire. The cheese described as having a sweet, spicy butter like taste with an aromatic peppery bite also scooped a hat-trick with the winning of the title ‘Best English Cheese’ and ‘Best Blue Cheese’.

Other winners on the night, in which awards in 25 categories were handed out, together with 317 Bronze, Silver and Gold medals included the winner of Best Scottish Cheese ‘Connage Crowdie’ from the Connage Highland Dairy whose cows graze the clover rich pastures along the shores of the Moray Firth.

Other country awards included ‘Laviston’ from Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese which won best Irish and ‘Pont Gar Garlic + Herbs’ from Carmarthenshire Cheese which won best Welsh.

Sales of British cheese abroad continues to go from strength to strength with exports continuing to grow and buck economic trends. Daniel Hammer, representing the market leading American group of Central Market and HEB stores said he had been extremely impressed by the vast array of cheeses at this years awards and that he would be taking several of this years entries back to the US. This year’s Best Export Cheese being a prime example of what Britain does best the ‘Traditional Cheddar (E)’ from J A & E Montgomery Ltd.

Special awards were handed out to Somerset cheesemaker Chris Duckett who was voted Cheese Person of the Year for unswerving dedication to making the highest quality cheeses over a number of decades. Also demonstrating that restaurants are now embracing the choice and quality that British Cheese has to offer the winner of Best British Cheeseboard went to Allium of Fairford, Gloucestershire.

Commenting on this years awards Juliet Harbutt founder and organiser of the British Cheese Awards said ‘It has been another record breaking year with our highest number of entries ever. With record numbers of cheeses reaching medal winning status it’s safe to say that British Cheese Industry is consistently creating World beating cheeses’.

Established in 1994 the British Cheese Awards were created to provide a symbol of excellence for cheese lovers, reward such excellence and highlight the extraordinary diversity and growth in British Cheese.

Award Winners in Detail: SUPREME CHAMPION 2008

Barkham Blue / Two Hoots Cheese

Beneath its sticky barely formed knobbly natural rind this blue cheese has a very buttery yellow interior characteristic of Channel Island milk with chunky blue blotchy veins. It tastes sweet with a spicy butter flavour and an aromatic peppery, rocket like bite. Visually it looks wicked, like a space capsule with a fine dusting of white, pale mould over a pale brown crust. It has lots of well scattered chunky blue streaks which give a spicy metallic ‘teeth tingling’ blue and a dark chocolate cocoa on the finish.

ALSO WINNER OF THE FOLLWING 2008 AWARDS:-

BEST ENGLISH CHEESE 2008 – THE PATRICK RANCE TROPHY

BEST BLUE CHEESE - 2008

BEST IRISH CHEESE – EUGENE BURNS TROPHY

Lavistown / Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese

Created by Olivia Goodwille a forerunner in modern Irish cheese making this secret recipe cheese is now being made by award winning Irish cheesemaker ‘Knockdrinna’ last year. It is a semi-soft white, crumbly, low fat cheese which is made from the milk of the Friesian cow.

BEST WELSH CHEESE – DOUGAL CAMPBELL TROPHY

Pont Gar Garlic & Herbs / Carmarthenshire Cheese

A large deep wheel covered with a thick, firm fitting soft white p candium mould. It has a soft custard texture all the way through and is almost runny under the rind. The fine herbs are barely visible thinly scattered near the rind and there’s a few tiny rice holes throughout. The interior is deliciously smooth and creamy and feels wickedly rich and the garlic and herbs are wonderfully subtle.

BEST SCOTTISH CHEESE

Connage Crowdie / Connage Highland Dairy

This cheese has very light, mouse like texture with a lemon-zest tang to balance the sweet creaminess of the milk - a very honest simple cheese originally made by Scottish crofters.

BEST EXPORT CHEESE

Traditional Cheddar (e) / J A & E Montgomery

A mulit award winner and supreme champion in 2004. One of only seven traditional cheddar makers, Montgomery’s make seven to eight cheddars a day from their own milk producing a ‘fruity’ cheddar with a green grass spicy bite and a lingering savoury tang. This is a raw milk cheese.

BEST GOATS CHEESE

Farleigh Wallop No2 / Evenlode Partnership

A first time entry this soft white cheese has fresh thyme pressed into its soft white velvet crust which imbues a stark white interior. The cheese is dense yet creamy when young with just a hint of mushrooms. It becomes nearly liquid with age and the subtle hint of thyme and a nutty, aromatic character of the milk is unveiled.

CHEESE LOVERS'' TROPHY

Isis /Oxford Cheese Co

Washed in Oxfordshire honey mead it has a sticky orange rind with a pervasive aroma that is both spciy and pungent. The cheese virtually hums when ripe and has a smooth, velvety almost runny interior with a spicy, yeasty tang.

BEST FRESH CHEESE

Full Fat Soft Cheese Plain*/ Dan Dairies (UK) Ltd*

Superbly creamy curd cheese that feels like whipped creamy cheese cake yet has a lemony freshness so doesn’t feel rich but irresistibly smooth and the perfect foil to smoked salmon, herbs or fruit - basically creamy cheese.

BEST SOFT WHITE CHEESE

Wigmore/Village Maid Cheese

Has a stunning texture – the cheese collapsed on cutting revealing its inner strength and character – it has a subtle ewes milk flavour like crème caramel. A washed curd cheese with orange/pink leathery rind and wonderful caramel taste and aromas associated with ewes’ milk ... creamy to soft almost Brie-like at 3 months. This is a raw milk cheese.

BEST SEMI-SOFT CHEESE

Stinking Bishop/Charles Martell & Son

A wash-rind cheese dating back to the Cistercian monks who settled in Dymock where the cheese is made. Washed in fermented pear juice or ‘Perry’ the rind develops a smelly, pungent, orange, sticky rind. Named after an old variety of local pair – Stinking Bishop – this cheese is bound with cloth in a traditional manner.

BEST CHEDDAR

Extra Mature Cheddar/J A & E Montgomery Ltd

One of only seven traditional cheddar makers, Montgomery’s make seven to eight cheddars a day from their own milk producing a ‘fruity cheddar with a green grass spicy bite and lingering savoury tang. After the ravages of two world wars traditional cheese making has been reduced to just a few dedicated and determined producers. Thanks to the encouragement and commitment of the retailers like Neal’s Yard the tide is turning. This is a raw milk cheese.

BEST TERRITORIAL (NON-CHEDDAR)

Red Leicester Aged/Long Clawson Dairy

Beneath the thin, leathery rind with its thick grey, coat is a bright orange cheese with a firm yet mellow texture, well rounded, nutty taste with a hint of orange zest – the extra age gives it a long fruit, slightly sweet finish.

BEST MODERN BRITISH CHEESE

Cornish Crumbly/Whalesborough Farm Foods

This semi-hard cheese is creamy, moist and crumbly. It has a slightly sharp, mildly acidic yet fresh taste with a delightful zing on the finish.

BEST FLAVOUR ADDED CHEESE

Ashdown Foresters Smoked/High Weald Dairy

This cheese is made in an attractive truckle from Guernsey milk giving the cheese a deep sunshine yellow colour and smooth rich texture - slowly smoked over oak-chips it is smooth, dense, rich and creamy with the subtle flavour of the smoke permeating the buttery cheese.

BEST NEW CHEESE

Kid Me Not/Tally Mountain

So new that we have yet to taste it.

BEST CREAMERY CHEESE

Lake District Ex Mature Cheddar/Lake District Cheese Co

An excellent example of the new generation of creamery cheddars with good, hard, strong body and complex flavours – what a star with its sweet, fruity, mouth-watering tang.

BEST BRITISH CHEESEBOARD

Allium – Fairford, Gloucestershire

This multi award winning country restaurant has a fantastic British cheeseboard as a central feature of it’s dining experience. With some 25-30 British cheese featured on their trolley including many of this year’s award winning cheeses. Customers can choose as many or as few cheeses as they’d like with most selecting five to samople and enjoy. Traditional cheese and Artisan cheeses (or both) a featured heavily as are local West Country cheeses.

BEST ORGANIC CHEESE

Organic Somerset Brie /Lubborn Cheese Ltd

Has a wonderfully voluptuous interior that almost runs to meet you – rich yellow in colour, with a taste like warm melted butter, fresh mushrooms

and freshly cut grass. Delicious!

CHEESE PERSON OF THE YEAR

Chris Duckett/Duckett''s Caerphilly

At the Duckett Family Farm in Wedmore, Somerset, Chris Duckett still makes his Caerphilly according to a recipe used by his family over a century ago. While producing one of the finest Caerphilly cheese on the market today Chris won the award for his lifetime commitment to making superb quality, traditional Caerphilly and his contribution to Britain’s cheese heritage. He has always given generously of his time and knowledge to other cheesemakers.

BEST PDO/PGI - DAVID REED TROPHY

Keen''s Trad. Mature Cheddar/Keen''s Cheddar Ltd

One of only three cheddar makers belonging to the Artisan Cheedar Presidium it captured the hearts of the judges with its strong, raw onion bite and spicy, lingering savoury tang. The cheese is made using raw milk.

BEST NEW DELI

Yellowwedge Cheese/Twickenham

This fantastic emporium of cheese and fine food first opened its doors in October 2007. With over 40 British cheeses on sale at any time this deli excited the judges with its range, fresh approach to retailing and frequent, clever promotional activity. Their knowledge of how cheese should be kept, served and packaged complements their often ‘funky’ approach to attracting customers attention.

The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Lower Blood Pressure, Be Healthier & Add Years to Your Life

You’re inclined toward eating vegetarian – you want to eat less meat and more vegetables, fruits, plant-foods and whole grains. Or maybe you’re just more health-conscious than you used to be, but you’re not ready to give up that occasional chicken breast or meatball. You want the health benefits of eating vegetarian, without having to give up meat altogether. That makes you part of a growing health movement which has been coined “Flexitarian.”

According to registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, the creator of The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life (McGraw-Hill, October 2008), you can have the benefits of a vegetarian diet without having to follow all of the strict rules. Being a flexitarian is a more flexible, more realistic way to be a vegetarian.

The reality is that even vegetarians can’t eat tempeh, tofu, soy and veggies 100% of the time. Studies have shown that nearly two out of three vegetarians don’t, or can’t, do it full-time.

But the health benefits of eating flexibly vegetarian are many. You’ll reduce the likelihood of diseases and cancers.Your blood pressure, glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels will plunge. Vegetarians live roughly 3.6 years longer than meat eaters – and you can reap those benefits simply by eating more plant-based meals, and less meat overall.

These changes will also reflect on your waistline. Vegetarians on average weigh 15% less than non-vegetarians. Think of it this way – six to twelve months of simply eating more plant-based, flexitarian meals could have you shed up to 30 pounds! Blatner’s clients have seen these same results without having to follow all the vegetarian rules, but rather following a flexible vegetarian nutrition plan. 

And the best part about Flexitarianism is there’s no sacrificing taste! The book includes 100 delicious and easy recipes like pesto-style Portobello penne and pizza popcorn. Even grilled cheese sandwiches and barbecue Baja burgers are part of the Flex Diet.  As an experienced cooking instructor, Blatner knows what tastes delicious!

All the foodies are in the know about Flexitarianism. Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food – even celebrated cookbook author and New York Times food writer Mark Bittman espouses the “less meat, more plants” philosophy. Flexible eating is ecologically sound (studies show eating less meat can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions), will put more plant-foods and variety into your meals, and help you lose weight, too.

Based on science and grounded in choice, eating Flexitarian will bring you closer to the earth, closer to a healthy weight, closer to fresh, seasonal foods that have variety and flavor, and closer to a long, healthy life.

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, is a registered and licensed dietitian and a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. She is the online nutritionist for Lifetime Television’s MyLifetime.com; writes a food and nutrition blog for USA Today; teaches cooking classes; and appears regularly in print and television outlets such as CNN and RED magazine.

Read more at www.dawnjacksonblatner.comwww.dawnjacksonblatner.com