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Archive for February, 2012

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National Frozen Foods Month

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

March is national frozen foods month which is a good excuse to try new healthy options that you can find in the freezer.

Frozen foods are a lot more convenient so make sure you plan ahead and have a variety of flavours, textures and colours in your freezer. Also make sure you have a range of food groups so each meal has added nutrients.

To go with these frozen delights you will also need something to eat them with so make sure your cupboards are stocked with staples like, brown rice and spices for seasoning.

Frozen berries are a great way of having seasonal fruits all year round and the best part is, they have the same nutrients from frozen as they do fresh. Another bonus is they are also less expensive from frozen. The same goes for vegetables, however, do make sure that there has been no added fat, sodium and sugar to your produce.

Fish and meat are great frozen, although many companies add sodium, which preserves the produce for longer, so to balance a meal that does have this added sodium, make sure you add vegetables that have no salt added and grains.

Some restaurants already know the benefits of using frozen foods, and although many customers feel this option is not as good as fresh, it is just as nutritious. It is possibly better for the restaurant industry, as saving money on as many areas as possible is vital in the current economic climate. So by switching from fresh to frozen, restaurants could be saving those all important pennies. Other area’s that they can save on are, restaurant insurance, staffing costs and the wastage of food.

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Killer Virus Wiping out Britain’s Lambs

Monday, February 27th, 2012

LambFarms have been hit by a horrible virus called the Schallenberg virus which causes lambs to be born with serious deformities or born dead.

It also effects cattle and has killed thousands of animals after hitting 74 farms in eastern and southern England.

In Europe 1,000 farms were affected by the virus, and some farmers in the country have reported losing 20% of their lambs since it arrived in the country last month.

The lambs that have the virus have horrendous deformities such as misshapen heads, twisted necks and fused limbs, which mean they can’t survive. The others are stillborn.

Scientists are urgently trying to figure out how the disease is spreading to stop it killing the livestock, which is what happened with the foot and mouth disease in 2011, which resulted in millions of animals being slaughtered.

Humans who have been exposed the virus have not experienced any adverse effects and the Food Standards Agency say that the risk is low to people. However, it is still a “potential catastrophe” say the National Farmers’ Union, which like everyone else in the food industry like suppliers, UK restaurant insurance providers and manufacturers, are suffering from the economic downturn.

The disease is understood to have been brought to Britain by midges and is named after the small German town where it was first spotted last summer.

Ewes show no sign of the disease or illness until they give birth to their young, by which it is too late to save them.

The impact of the disaster is likely to be felt in the next coming weeks, as the lambing season has only just begun.

One farmer has said how he had to put down more lambs than any point over the last 20 years and others have described it as being ‘soul-destroying’. Farmers have had to shoot the deformed lambs as they are unable to suckle to save them from a slow and painful death.

Alistair Mackintosh of the National Farmers’ Union said, “For any business to lose 20 per cent of your stock would be a huge blow. For a farmer it is catastrophic. If it was 50 per cent you would be put out of action.

“I know one farmer who says 10 per cent of his 6,000 ewes have become barren, so that is 600 animals producing nothing.”

The counties in the UK which have been worst affected so far are Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex, but the virus has already spread to parts of South Wales and Cornwall.

Farmers are concerned that a vaccine for the disease does not exist and could take nearly 2 years to develop.

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Orange UK Launches Quick Tap freebies for NFC Users

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Samsung galaxyThe mobile network operator Orange says 200,000 customers in the UK have now been equipped with NFC phones to receive special rewards by tapping smart posters.

Orange has partnered up with EAT, food chain, to allow Orange customer with an NFC handset to get a free “Eat treat” each day from the beginning of March.

Customers just need to touch their Quick Tap phone to posters located in EAT restaurants to play a game with a guaranteed treat at the end of it, such as free fruit, coffees and baguettes!

You’ll be able to download the game from the Quick Tap Treats app from Orange World as well as Ovi, BlackBerry and Android stores.

The offer will run until mid 2012 and can be accessed by 200,000 customer swith a Samsung Galaxy S II, Blackberry 9900, Blackberry 9360, Samsung Tocco Lite, Samsung Wave 578, Blackberry 9790, Blackberry 9380 or Acer LiquidExpress NFC phone, which Orange says is set to ‘rapidly grow’.

Everyone with an Orange NFC handset will receive an SMS message to let them know about the rewards service, to help promote the programme. A marketing campaign will also start at the beginning of March.

Chief marketing officer for Orange UK, Pippa Dunn, says, “Last year we started a whole new movement in the way consumers make payments on the high street, and with Quick Tap Treats, we’re continuing this with a new and innovative way for our customers to receive rewards for their loyalty,

“So whether it’s a free coffee on the way into work, or a free baguette at lunchtime, you really do get more with your mobile on Orange.”

At QuoteSearcher, we love new technology and think this is very exciting! The office is divided between these phones and iPhones (which usually wins the debate) so it’s a good push for this side of phone users!

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Food Prices Could Rise Due to Drought

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, has suggested that water could be diverted away from golf courses as farmers warn that food prices may be about to rise due to the drought predicted this summer. This is not good news considering the restaurant and food industries are already struggling with the economic downturn. They have already had to resist the increased cost of restaurant insurance, cost of hiring staff and other factors like the increased cost of supplies.

The President of the National Farmers Union, Peter Kendall has said that with the drought in the South East and Anglia still on going prices, will be forced to make up for the lack of produce. He stated “As sure as night follows day if it doesn’t rain, food prices will go up. I can guarantee you that. If there is less water across bigger areas of northern Europe food will cost more money.” As well as the South, the Midlands have also been warned about being at risk of drought.

In order to avoid a drought we need 120 percent of rain between now and March, however, the Met Office predicts a dry spell.

In the past, according to Peter Kendall, farmers had been ignored during a drought. This was shown when golf courses were still being watered but farmers were told they couldn’t irrigate their crops.
Caroline Spelman also agreed that farming should be top priority in a drought. She said “The most important thing we can do it catch the water when it comes. Water capture and storage is the key to building resilience, not just for agriculture, for everyone in the country.”

One solution to this used to be tax relief to business that built reservoirs, however the Treasury has made the decision reverse this which is not an incentive for farmers to store water, even though this water could mean that their produce will survive over the summer.

The fear is that this lack of water is going to become normal due to the recent history of dry winters caused by climate change. A solution to this could be genetically modified crops.

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Teenager will be Head Chef at his own Restaurant

Monday, February 20th, 2012

Sanctum on the GreenLuke Thomas has worked with top chefs, cooked for the Prince of Wales and now he is to be a head chef – and he’s still a teenager!

The award-winning 18 year old chef will launch Luke’s Dining Room at Sanctum on the Green in Berkshire next month.

Thomas will have a say of running the restaurant such as the hiring of staff, supplies, manufacturers and commercial restaurant insurance providers, as well as being the head chef. He said, “Cooking is not just a passion, it is my life,

“I am fully committed to the hard work and long hours in the months and years to come.  “I know I still have a lot to learn, but this job is both a challenge and a wonderful gift.”

Thomas has won FutureChef 2009 when he was 15 years old, beat 10,000 high school students across the UK to win the Active Kids Get Cooking competition, holds silver and gold medals in Welsh lamb cooking at the Welsh Culinary Olympics and has also previously worked at the five star Chester Grosvenor Hotel. 

The new restaurant will seat 45 people and will be open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, lunch on Sunday and will be open for breakfast 7 days a week. It will be located at Mark Fuller’s nine-bedroom hotel in Cookham Dean, near Marlow.  In 2011, Thomas worked at Noma in Copenhagen, which was rated the World’s Best Restaurant in 2010 and 2011 by Restaurant magazine and he has also worked with Gary Rhodes and Heston Blumenthal.

Thomas previously worked at Vaughan’s Family Butchers in Penyffordd during his summer holidays.

Steve Vaughan, the owner said, “Luke was very good. He had the idea he wanted to be a chef but he wanted to know where the meat came from. “Even when he was here you could tell he was going to go places. “He was very bright and intelligent and knew what he wanted.

“I helped him along as much as I could. I’m pleased he is doing so well.”

He added, “It was a shame he didn’t want to become a butcher.”

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A Woman Contacted by Police after False Restaurant Reviews

Friday, February 17th, 2012

TripAdvisor is feared by many business owners. However, a woman has made a public apology in the Times newspaper’s announcement page to the Good Life, a vegetarian restaurant in Shrewsbury, after admitting to writing and posting fake online reviews on TripAdvisor and other websites.

The apology came after the police contacted Helen Griffiths, who had tracked her IP address down to her work place in Warrington. Griffiths was issued with a caution after it was discovered that she made false complaints that there was hair in her food and the staff were cold and not attentive.

She made the comments and reviews because of a personal grudge, after a legal dispute with the restaurant’s owner, Joanna Langfield, a previous partner of Griffiths’ husband.

Griffiths, who is a marketing manager from Salford, admitted in the Time’s announcement page, “misrepresenting the quality of the food and service of the restaurant which, from other reviews and nominations, does indicate an exemplary track record.”

Langfield, claimed that profits at the Good Life fell by 25% because of the negative reviews, which is a significant amount with the economic downturn and the cost of supplies, staff and other expenses like restaurant insurance is high. Langfield said to The Times, “It started off quite extreme. Someone posted a review calling me ‘arrogant’ and making other nasty references. TripAdvisor actually took one down.

“One of her last reviews was on a local site, and the chap who ran that was really helpful. The IP (internet protocol) was linked by police to Warrington, which is where Ms Griffiths worked.”

The bad reviews have now been taken off the websites, including the ones on TripAdvisor, however Langfield said she had difficulty to get some of the reviews removed. TripAdvisor said in a statement,

“We’re obviously appalled to hear about this incident last year and urge any business who feels they may be a victim of bullying to contact us immediately. We have a zero tolerance approach to this and will investigate every issues fully.

“Since this issue we have made significant steps forward in how businesses can contact us. Previously they haven’t always been able to pick up the phone and speak directly to someone on our team. We agreed we could do better, so we have now expanded our customer care team and in November 2011 set up a dedicated toll-free UK phone line with a UK-based customer service team so that businesses can reach us quickly and easily. This is a major update to TripAdvisor’s customer support program following the appointment our Director of Customer Care in March of last year (2011) and part of a broader effort to make our service more responsive.”

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