FOOD NEWS October 2007
LOCAL FOOD HEROES
Malmaison hotel group has launched its autumn Homegrown & Local menu, which champions local producers. The menu at Leeds’ Malmaison brasserie reads like an A-Z of great suppliers in the Yorkshire region, from Vanessa Roberts of Kilnsey Park trout farm in Upper Wharfedale to ‘high priestess of rhubarb’ Janet Oldroyd Hulme of E Oldroyd & Sons in Carlton, Wakefield, and Mandy Richards of Swaledale Cheese in Richmond.
They’re doing the same for local food in Jet2.com destinations Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle, London and Belfast. It’s refreshing to see a hotel chain making a concerted effort to both cut food miles and support local farms.
WIDEN YOUR NET
We’ve known there’s a global over-fishing crisis for some years now, but unimaginative Brits are unwittingly putting pressure on the stocks of their favourite types of fish by choosing to eat the same dishes time and time again. That’s the conclusion of a recent survey conducted by Seafish Marketing, which shows that the combined sales of just five species – cod, salmon, haddock, prawns and tuna – account for a whopping 70% of all seafood sales in the UK.
The best way to let stocks regenerate is quite simply not to eat them. For those who want to continue to feast on fish, the solution could be to branch out and try more variety, and to eat more fish from sustainable stocks (which currently account for just 25% of sales). This doesn’t have to mean a bleak future of ‘jellyfish and chips’, though. Fish on the sustainable stocks list include whiting from the English Channel, Cornish mackerel and even Atlantic salmon (as long as you buy farmed, organic – not wild). To find out which fish to eat and which to avoid, download the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide at www.fishonline.org
THE GREEN’S GRASS OF HOME
If you hanker after baked beans on the Algarve or can’t seem to find a decent cuppa anywhere in Paris, you’ll be glad to know that Thomas Green’s is expanding its mini-empire. The North Yorkshire-based grocer’s now has franchises in France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, including several on the Costas, one in Ibiza and a new store in Albufeira, up the coast from Faro. What do expats miss most? Green’s best sellers reveal the tastes of a nation: marmalade, biscuits, bacon, curry sauces, Mother’s Pride crumpets, Weight Watchers meals (for after those crumpets, maybe?) and, funnily enough, Irn Bru.
Perhaps you’re shopping around for much more than a packet of Walker’s crisps? Those looking to start a business abroad could take on a whole store. Learn about franchise opportunities and find full store addresses, at www.thomasgreen.com
CHOC FULL OF GOODNESS?
Health claims for chocolate have been well publicised. ‘Good’ high-cocoa chocolate, as opposed to cheap milk chocolate, contains antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and some tests say that it can lower blood pressure because of the presence of cocoa phenols. So it’s a wonder it’s taken so long for someone to market the stuff purely on its nutritional benefits.
Now two new bars on the market are doing just that. Choxi, Prestat’s brand, comes with the claim that its manufacturing process uses lower temperatures than standard dark chocolate to ensure that twice as many cocoa flavanols (antioxidants) survive in the end product. Choxi’s dark chocolate (63% cocoa) is marketed as containing “more flavanol antioxidants than any other food” – 2.2%. Meanwhile, Belgium’s NewTree chocolate (73% cocoa) lists the same nutritional values as any good dark chocolate, with added natural ingredients chosen by nutritionists (lavender and lime blossom for tranquility, ‘sexy’ guarana and ginger to pep up your love life). Sounds a bit New Age but tastes good. Lack of preservatives, colourings or GM ingredients add extra Brownie points.
Unfortunately neither bar comes with a licence to trough loads of chocolate: 10g a day is still the recommended amount.
Choxi (1.99 for 70g) is available from the Prestat shop, 14 Princes Arcade, Piccadilly, London, at Tesco’s or by mail order from www.choxiplus.com
NewTree (£1.99 for 80g) is stocked by Waitrose, selected Sainsbury’s, Fresh & Wild and Whole Foods Market in London or by mail order from www.ocado.com
TAKE TWO… VEGGIE CHRISTMAS DINNERS
TOFURKEY FEAST £19.99, PLANET ORGANIC
TASTE TEST: 10/10
Tofurkey – yep, that’s a tofu alternative to turkey. Drumsticks, stuffing and thick, American-style gravy and are included, and the Tofurkey itself is roasted and carved as you would a turkey. Sounds weird, tastes great. Hearty and satisfying, it’s quite frankly delicious. Feeds four.
CHEATIN’ CELEBRATION ROAST £4.99, THE REDWOOD COMPANY
TASTE TEST: 6/10
Widely available in health food shops, this dinner consists of turkey-style deli slices and rasher-wrapped sausages, both made from soya, plus gravy. It’s very turkey-like in taste and texture, but a little rubbery and for a Christmas dinner it’s underwhelming. Feeds one.
BY ANDREW CATCHPOLE
Our wine expert’s guide to the Veneto region of Italy
Sipping a Bellini at the historic Caffè Florian in glorious Piazza San Marco is hard to resist on a first visit to Venice. Even the exhorbitant prices, pesky pigeons and crush of milling tourists fail to dampen the romance of lingering over this seductive peach and prosecco cocktail, appropriately named after artist Giovanni Bellini and first created at the world renowned Harry’s Bar nearby.
The Bellini sits perfectly with the Renaissance splendour of Venice but it’s worth remembering that both the Veneto and Verona regions that sandwich Treviso also produce some of Italy’s most famous and enjoyably easy-going wines, plus a few outstanding styles.
Look out for soft, jammy-hued Bardolino and cherryish, bitter-sweet Valpolicella, both light reds that are excellent with the cicchetti or tapas-like portions of food sometimes found in local bars. Soave, too, is not all mass-produced plonk, and the best are gently fruity, refreshing whites, great on a shady terrace. And, of course, prosecco, drunk straight, is a crisp, dry, softly sparkling charmer that I’d take any day over cheap champagne. With both Soave and Valpolicella look for the word ‘Classico’ on the label indicating the best wines, while prosecco has a superiore form called Cartizze, which again will cost a spot more money but can be well worth paying for.
A more serious bottle to seek out is Amarone. This dark, brooding powerhouse of a wine is a sort of super-charged Valpolicella, made from the concentrated juice from grapes left to partially air-dry on wooden racks, and the chocolate, licorice and deep purply depths have rightly earned it a reputation as a meditation wine, one to mull over into the night.
One of the most enjoyable wine regions to visit lies north of Treviso, between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, where sparkling prosecco is produced in the beautiful vineyard-clad hills. Details of two wine routes, the Strada dei Vini del Piave (which runs 60km southeast to Oderzo) and the more compact Strada del Prosecco (Italy’s oldest established wine route) are available from the tourist offices in Conegliano and Treviso (+39 (0)438 21 230).
BUYING IN ITALY
Take home the best quality wines such as Valpolicella Classico (Allegrini, Masi, Quintarelli), Soave Classico (Gini, Pieropan, Prà), Prosecco Superiore or Cartizze (some of the best being Adami, Bernandi, Bisol, Zardetti) and a bottle of Amarone (see Valpolicella producers) to enjoy on Christmas Day. Prices in euros will be roughly what you’d pay in pounds sterling at home with reasonable Valpolicella and Soave starting at €5, prosecco at €8 and Amarone at €16 to €20.
BUYING IN THE UK
Soave Classico 2005 Domini Veneti (Majestic, £5.99)
Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Extra Dry (Majestic, £8.99)
Amarone della Valpolicella, Masi (Oddbins, £21.99)
Valpolicella Classico, Masi (Oddbins, £7.99)
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