Cookery

Saturday, March 12, 2011

“Stars arrive for big film festival”

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 02:59 AM PST

STARS of the silver screen, a renowned folk singer and an afternoon with a famous cookery writer are some of the treats at the Anthony Minghella film festival.
The event opens this evening (Friday) with a screening of Roman epic The Eagle at Cineworld, Newport, as well as a launch party.
Highlights of the three-day festival, set up to commemorate the Island's Oscar-winning film director, include an appearance by actor Ralph Fiennes.
Mr Fiennes ,who starred in Mr Minghella's nine Oscar winning classic The English Patient, will be in conversation at The Apollo Theatre, Newport, tomorrow.
Other events include an appearance by singer June Tabor, who will be performing at Freshwater Memorial Hall on Sunday, and a big Italian brunch, also on Sunday, which will be hosted by Mr Minghella's parents, Gloria and Edward, and will feature famous Italian cookery writer, Anna Del Conte.
The weekend will also feature screenings of films produced by Mr Minghella, film-maker workshops and a family fun day.
• For full details, visit www.minghellafilmfestival.com

Reporter: davidn@iwcpmail.co.uk

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Friday, March 11, 2011

“Charlie Sheen continues media blitz, hosts spoof cookery show”

Charlie Sheen continues media blitz, hosts spoof cookery show

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 10:29 PM PST

London, Mar 11 (ANI): Had enough of Charlie Sheen's disturbing antics? Well, now watch him 'cook'.

The actor, sacked from CBS sitcom 'Two and Half Men' last week, has taken his media blitz one step further, hosting a spoof cookery show for FunnyorDie.com, reports the Daily Mail.

Playing up to his new 'winning' catchphrase, the father-of-five wears a tiger-patterned chef's hat as he presents 'Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes'.

He also wields a knife and his quips include: 'I don't cook food. I will it'.

He also suggests serving steak with 'tears of a jaguar'.

Despite his erratic behaviour in recent weeks, the 45-year-old was praised for being 'very professional' during the filming at his Beverly Hills home.

Mike Farah, president of production for FunnyOrDie.com, said the company had approached the actor on Sunday with ideas for collaboration and he had been very forthcoming.

Farah told TMZ.com that Sheen was full of ideas and even suggested the tiger-patterned hat - playing up to his recent claim to drinking 'tiger blood'. (ANI)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

“Middle schoolers reveal cookery know-how”

Middle schoolers reveal cookery know-how

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 03:27 PM PST

'I just love cooking'

By BRENDA SCHORY - bschory@kcchronicle.com

ST. CHARLES – Twelve-year-old Marissa Creviston speedily spooned her green enchilada chicken into tasting cups while Matthew Bailey, 13, busily chopped his cheese-stuffed chicken tenderloins into similar cups.

All around them, 19 other St. Charles students put their foods forward for the judging in the Third Annual Middle School Culinary Cooking Competition Saturday at St. Charles East High School.

"It's my mom's recipe," said Marissa, a seventh grader at Thompson. "It's chicken and jalapeña salsa, cilantro, Monterey Jack cheese. I'm a little nervous, but I just had fun doing it."

Matthew said he found his recipe online. It calls for boneless chicken tenderloins stuffed with feta cheese and served with a tomato and green chili sauce.

"I just love cooking," Matthew said. "I did this last year and I wanted to do it again last year."

Recipes ran the gamut from desserts like lemon-scented mini-cheesecakes by Katie Downing and overflowing taco dip by Jessica Glas, both from Thompson to Mediterranean quinoa salad by Jack Sweeny from Wredling.

Students were recognized in various categories, but Emma Zimmer from Haines, was named best overall winner for her Wisconsin Baked Mac & Cheese. Her prize includes a day of cooking with Chef Paul Bringas, executive chef at the Royal Fox Country Club in St. Charles

"I got the recipe from the Martha Stewart 101 Catalog," Emma said. "I like that it has sharp white cheddar cheese in it. That gives it good flavor."

Chef Rebecca Stobierski, owner of the Rx Café in St. Charles, was one of the judges.

"What I'm looking for quality, I'm looking for neatness," Stobierski said. "Does it make sense? Do they understand what they have created? When you choose a recipe for a competition, are you choosing this recipe because it's easy and quick and you think you can win with it? Or are you choosing it because there is something in that recipe that you want to show the world that you can make?"

She surveyed the students as they served their culinary creations for the judging.

"Look at them," Stobierski said. "This food is very professional, high quality, very clean and they have their chef coats on. Even though they're just in middle school, they are very serious about what they do. They have a passion for food at a very early age – and I think it's fantastic. We should encourage that passion."

Kathy Litts of Sodexo, the district's food service and co-sponsors of the event with the middle school family consumer science teachers, said the students brought their food and ingredients to the school 90 minutes ahead of time to cook their recipes, clean up and get their tables ready to display their food.

"One young lady actually made her own pasta," Litts said, referring to Karyssa D'Agostino, 13, a seventh grader at Thompson, who made pasta Alfredo.

"She was told she could bring in pasta that already made because it's so time consuming – but she made her own from scratch here. My hat's off to her," Litts said. "What these kids have done is wonderful, just a phenomenal job. They have taken time to practice before hand. They got their recipes together. We had culinary students from the high school to give them tips, but they did everything on their own."

Karyssa said she enjoyed making her own pasta and Alfredo sauce.

"I made it because I thought it would too easy to just buy some pasta off a shelf and put it in a pot and let it boil," Karyssa said. "It's fun for me."

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Saturday, March 5, 2011

“It's a rap for Vanilla Ice wrap”

It's a rap for Vanilla Ice wrap

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 06:50 AM PST

But VANILLA ICE - real name Robert Van Winkle - will grab any opportunity going to remind people he was once a big name in the music industry.

Albeit 21 years ago.

Following his exit from TV show Dancing On Ice at the weekend, the rapper has surfaced on a cookery website - teaching visitors how to make a mozzarella, tomato, basil and pesto wrap.

Video: Vanilla's back with a new wrap

STAR makes favourite snack for website while rapping about ingredients

Naturally, the star accompanies his tutorial on eatthechef.com with a rendition of his hit Ice Ice Baby - adapting the lyrics to incorporate the ingredients of his favourite lunchtime snack.

The words 'slightly' and 'tragic' spring to mind.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

“TV cookery duo’s delight at new programme deal”

TV cookery duo’s delight at new programme deal

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 05:32 AM PST

Published at 13:31, Wednesday, 02 March 2011

BARROW-BORN television star Dave Myers and his comedy sidekick Si King have landed a fresh deal with the BBC.

POPULAR: Hairy Bikers Dave Myers and Si King have signed an exclusive two-year deal this week with the BBC LINDSEY DICKINGS REF: 0510753

The culinary duo, known as the Hairy Bikers, signed an exclusive two-year deal this week, following the success of their recent programmes The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off and Mums Know Best.

The broadcaster said the double act would be a 'key part' of BBC2's cookery output and would make two new shows as part of the deal.

The first of the two new commissions, Hairy Meals On Wheels, promises a chance to see a distinctive new side to the pair as they turn their unique approach to the provision of meals on wheels.

The series will see the Hairy Bikers get to grips with a community determined to carry on providing daily, home-delivered hot meals for their elderly population.

The second programme, Bakeation, will see Mr King and Mr Myers hit the road on a 2,000-mile gastronomic road trip across Europe seeking out the best baking on offer.

Janice Hadlow, controller of BBC2, said: "It's been brilliant to see the Hairy Bikers evolve on the channel over the last few years to the point where I can't imagine our cookery offer without them. They are a knowledgeable, fun and warm duo – families welcome them into their homes and viewers into their hearts. It will be great to see them take on new challenges for BBC2."

Alison Kirkham, commissioning editor for factual features and formats on BBC2, said: "The Hairies are such distinctive and well-loved faces on BBC2; we are looking forward to developing new programmes with them over the next two years.

"The new commissions, as part of this deal, really build on their strengths; delivering original educational and entertaining content.

"From exploring consumer social issues for the first time in Hairy Meals On Wheels, to sharing family food history through a beautiful travelogue in The Hairy Bikes: Bakeation, BBC2 is a natural home for Si and Dave and we are delighted to be working with them again."

Mr Myers, who recently got married at Barrow Town Hall and still lives in the town between filming commitments, said: "We're chuffed to bits to be working with the BBC again in this amazing two-year deal. We can't wait to get on the road making some brilliant shows we hope everyone will enjoy."

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

“How to be … a cookery show judge”

How to be … a cookery show judge

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 06:34 PM PST

Gregg Wallace can expertly critique a dish on sight ... if it's a pudding cooked by a pretty girl. Photograph: Katherine Rose for the Observer

So you want to be a TV cookery show judge. That makes sense; few things are as fun as trying a mouthful of food and then breaking the heart of whoever cooked it. The good news is that you're already perfectly qualified for the job – television has been secretly teaching you the necessary skills all along. Here's a quick refresher course.

Intimidate

To be a respected cookery show judge, it's important to be feared. How you make this happen is down to you. One method could be to build up decades of expertise and become one of the most authoritative voices in your field, such as The Great British Menu's Prue Leith. Another would be to just tie a manky old scarf around your head, eyeball people furiously, eat everything from the end of a needlessly large knife and speak in a series of faux-profound Yodaesque riddles that only succeed in making you sound like a badly concussed Jimmy Savile impersonator. It never did Marco Pierre White any harm, anyway.

Remember The Wizard Of Oz

A surprising number of cookery show judges have achieved greatness by pretending that there's an even harsher judge just around the corner. MasterChef's Monica Galetti is perfectly capable of terrifying contestants on her own, what with her constant air of barely contained outrage, but her secret weapon is her boss. Galetti constantly implies that Michel Roux Jr is a furious, fire-breathing monster with a palette so uniquely perfect that even one errant grain of salt would kill him. And then, when the contestants finally meet him and discover that he's actually quite a nice chap, Roux repeats exactly the same trick by using restaurant critics and other chefs as the unseen Big Bad. The moral here is to exploit the fear of the unknown whenever possible. And also that people are quite stupid.

Exaggerate wildly

A good cookery show judge never thinks that a dish is simply OK - it's either so amazing that they want to impregnate it behind their wife's back, or it's literally inedible. There's no inbetween. If one of Gordon Ramsay's American contestants serves up something slightly less than perfect, Ramsay spits it out in front of them like an awful wrinkly toddler. So why not invent a similar insulting reaction of your own? Perhaps nondescript food could make you burst into tears, or cause you to throw down your cutlery in disgust. Maybe you could even wish violent death upon the contestant's entire family. It's up to you.

Use all of your senses

Remember: eating isn't just restricted to the tastebuds. You can judge a dish just as well by looking at it, smelling it and touching it. Give Paul Hollywood from The Great British Bake Off a loaf of bread and he can run a full diagnostic on it – how much salt it contains, how long the dough was left to prove, the temperature of the water used – before it goes anywhere near his mouth. He's not alone, of course: Gregg Wallace can also expertly critique a dish on sight: a dish has what it takes if it's a) a pudding of some sort and b) has been cooked by a pretty girl in a low-cut top.

Enjoy your work

In theory, being a cookery show judge should be hellish. You spend all day shut in a room, being fed a never-ending stream of soggy dross served up by a procession of idiots who are there only to be on telly. In fact the judges are actually having a ball. When I dropped in on a Great British Bake Off audition in London last week, Hollywood seemed honestly overjoyed by the quality of food on offer, and Mary Berry kept insisting that she always wakes up in a good mood on audition day. Perhaps that's the most important quality when it comes to being a cookery show judge: you must love eating as much cake as you possibly can. Who knew? Life sometimes is really tough.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

“New Dereham cookery school has a touch of spice”

New Dereham cookery school has a touch of spice

Posted: 28 Feb 2011 12:59 PM PST

The launch party for Madhu Choudhry's Ethnic Fusion School of Indian Cookery near Dereham. With her family.

By VICTORIA LEGGETT Monday, February 28, 2011
5:00 PM

A new Indian cookery school launched in a converted Norfolk barn this weekend already has at least 50 people signed for classes.

Hidden down a country lane in the middle of Norfolk, the barns at Mowles Manor are not the obvious setting for an Indian cookery school.

But on Saturday a newly transformed building at Etling Green, near Dereham, was filled with the smell of authentic Eastern cuisine and hosts in stunning traditional dress.

And the launch of the Ethnic Fusion School of Indian Cookery proved food-lovers were willing to travel across the county for the lessons with at least 50 people already signed up for courses.

Madhu Choudhry has transformed one of the units at Mowles Manor Enterprise Park into a demonstration and teaching room.

The former barn now houses four cooking areas complete with hob, equipment and their own jars of spices lined up in front of the work spaces.

A further demonstration area with its own hob and sink is surrounded by chairs for pupils to watch as the trained chef shows how to make a lamb rogan josh or onion bhaji.

Following Saturday's launch, which was attended by Dereham mayor Robert Hambidge, Mrs Choudhry has just two weeks until her first beginners' workshop on March 12.

But the businesswoman, who continues to run her catering company Ethnic Fusion from another one of the barns, said she was not too worried.

The 58-year-old former research scientist said: "You are always nervous about new things but I'm not one who keeps practising and practising - it just needs to come on the day. If you know what you are saying, it should come out alright."

Between now and the end of May, Mrs Choudhry has 17 workshops - a mixture of beginners, experienced, vegetarian and Indian snacks - two four-week demonstration courses, and eight demonstration-and-dine evenings scheduled.

Her husband Rup, who is actively involved in the business, said his wife had worked incredibly hard since first applying for planning permission last September.

And he believed it was already paying off with 50 signed up for courses before the school was even launched.

He added: "A lot of existing customers have been saying 'when is it happening?' They have been pushing us."

Mr Choudhry said he hoped the cookery school would introduce people from across Norfolk and Suffolk to Indian food.

He added: "My wife is extremely passionate about cooking and from there she wanted to teach people. She's done very well."

With the expansion of her business, Mrs Choudhry, who moved to England from Indian in 1973, has taken on additional staff and now employs three part-time workers. She also plans to take on another two people to help her prepare for the courses and share some of the workload of her catering company.

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Friday, February 25, 2011

“Guide to special interest holidays in Britain: holiday planner 2011:”

Guide to special interest holidays in Britain: holiday planner 2011:

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 05:58 AM PST

Conservation holidays

The National Trust (www.nationaltrust.org.uk) and National Trust for Scotland (www.nts.org.uk) offer a variety of working conservation holidays, usually including accommodation and food.

Cultural tours

Our selection

Ace Cultural Tours (01223 835055; www.aceculturaltours.co.uk) Good choice of short breaks, including trips to stately homes, Roman sites and religious centres. A two-night tour in May of "Ancient Wessex" including Stonehenge costs £490 with lecturing, accommodation and most meals.

Andante Travels (01722 713800; www.andantetravels.co.uk) Has a new eight-day Cornish tour for 2011, "Ancient Kernow", led by a county archaeologist. It is based in Falmouth and Port Gaverne and takes in prehistoric and ritual funerary monuments, hill forts and cliff castles, including Tintagel. Departing from Exeter on June 8, it cost £1,645 including most meals, travel and services of a tour manager.

Ciceroni Travel (01869 811167; www.ciceroni.co.uk) Six-day summertime tours to North Shropshire (from £1,295) and to Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire (£1,395).

The Traveller (020 7269 2770; www.the-traveller.co.uk) Has a new four-day guided tour in July inspired by the pottery of Josiah Wedgwood, taking in museums, mills and Chatsworth, with lectures by Hilary Williams, former curator in the British Museum's department of prints and drawings (four days at £795 per person).

Other options

Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2284; www.kirkerholidays.com) Additions for 2011 are a September music festival in Bolton Abbey and the Buxton Opera Festival in July. Other musical events take place in Suffolk, Cornwall, North Norfolk and East Sussex.

Inscape Fine Art Tours (020 7839 3988; www.inscapetours.co.uk) Small-group, cultural tours with expert tutors, plus study days and courses. New for 2011 is a three-night breakin late May, "Shifting Shingle, Restless Land: Dorset", exploring the county's history. From £495 with lunches, tuition and visits; accommodation costs extra.

Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; www.martinrandall.com) A choice of new tours for 2011, including itineraries in Cornwall, Wales, the Cotswolds and around Stonehenge. "Great Houses of England: The East", departing in early May, is a week-long tour of country houses in East Anglia and the East Midlands, costing from £2,750 per person, including most meals, admission, transport and services of an expert lecturer.

Kudu Travel (01722 716 167; www.kudutravel.com) Offers short trips to festivals, including Buxton in July, where a three-night stay costs £1,090 per person, including all meals and wine, private transport, entrance fees and top-category tickets.

Milestones Tours (0845 678 5656; www.milestonestours.com) Four tours including an eight-day "Country Roads of Scotland" (£1,075) and a six-day "Best of Devon and Cornwall" (£725), including Bideford, Tintagel, Plymouth and St Ives.

Garden tours

Brightwater Holidays (01334 657155 www.brightwaterholidays.com) Selection of group tours to Britain's best gardens, including a three-night "Private Gardens of Norfolk" tour in July – from £435, half board, with admissions.

Rail tours

Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980; www.greatrail.com) An expanded programme for 2011 totals 17 tours, including Yorkshire, Northumberland and the Lake District. A nine-day "Edinburgh, Highlands & Islands" trip, operated between April and October and costing £875, is one of the most scenic. GRJ's sister company, Treyn (01904 734925 www.railholidays.com), offers slightly cheaper tours for railway enthusiasts, including "Yorkshire By Steam", the New Forest, railways of Wales and the Highlands. A new five-day break to a "Railway at War" event in October costs from £298, half board, with excursions.

For single travellers

Friendship Travel (0871 200 2035; www.friendshiptravel.com) Sociable two-night walking weekends in Yorkshire and the New Forest, from £265.

Just You (0800 112 3311; www.justyou.co.uk) A selection of three-day "Discovery Weekends" in hotels around England, from £199.

Solo's Holidays (0844 371 8860; www.solosholidays.co.uk) New for 2011 are two-night walking breaks in Suffolk's Constable Country, at £235 half board with guided walks. Walking holidays are offered elsewhere, and there are theatre, music, sports, dance and Sixties weekends.

Wildlife holidays

Limosa Holidays (01692 580623; www.limosaholidays.com) Norfolk birdwatching itineraries include the coast, Breckland and the Broads. Three-night summer breaks cost £495 with accommodation, excursions and meals.

McKinlay Kidd (0844 804 0020; www.seescotlanddifferently.co.uk) An eclectic programme including outdoor experiences such as "Hebridean Wildlife", new for 2011, a whale-watching and otter-spotting tour. Prices start at £895 for seven nights' b&b, with three-day wildlife trip and ferry travel. Also new is the five-night "Escape to the Edge", an island-hopping itinerary in Lewis, Harris and St Kilda, from £659.

Naturetrek (01962 733051; www.naturetrek.co.uk) A big choice of eight new short breaks and holidays in Scotland and the Scilly Isles for 2011, on top of its existing 17 tours. "South Devon in Spring", a new weekend wildlife break, takes in Dartmoor, the Exe estuary and the coast, to watch waders, terns, snipe and pied flycatchers. It departs in mid-May and costs £295 per person, including all meals and transport on the tour.

Oceans Worldwide (01962 737639; www.oceansworldwide.co.uk) Dolphins, whales, porpoises and puffins in Pembrokeshire, the Moray Firth and Shetland.

The Travelling Naturalist (01305 267994; www.naturalist.co.uk) Small-group tours in Dorset, the New Forest, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides and the Highlands. A five-night trip to Islay in March to spot barnacle and white-fronted geese, seals, deer and bottle-nosed dolphins costs £1,045 with return transfers from Glasgow airport, ferry, accommodation, meals and admission.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

“Roux won't believe what we've rustled up in cookery class”

Roux won't believe what we've rustled up in cookery class

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:47 AM PST

MOST rising stars in the culinary world wait half of their career to be a Michelin-starred chef's apprentice.

But a class of lucky pupils from Gullane Primary School have become just that and are undergoing a fast-track course in fine cuisine from one of the world's top chefs.

Albert Roux, who founded Le Gavroche, the UK's first triple Michelin-starred ea

terie, is preparing the primary six class to host a charity dinner in which they will cook and serve their own food for their parents.

The 75-year-old, who owns the Greywalls Hotel in the East Lothian town, will be in the kitchen on the night with his top chefs to help the youngsters prepare the feast for up to 100 guests.

Around 14 of the pupils will run the kitchen while the other half will serve food in the school's main hall.

This week, Mr Roux, whose son Michel Roux jnr now runs Le Gavroche in Mayfair, introduced the class to live lobster and crab, which elicited just a few frightened faces.

He said: "Perhaps they were a little reluctant at first but they quickly warmed to the lobster, the crab, the fresh meats. It's very rewarding to see them embracing this wonderful food that you have in Scotland.

"It's very important to give these pupils enthusiasm for food at a young age. It opens their eyes.

"We are saying to them, 'be aware of the wonderful food we have in Scotland, make use of it'.

"There may be a few young chefs amongst us today but more importantly there are good husbands and good wives who will know how to cook for their children one day."

Mr Roux added: "The tickets will be £20 per head and so we should raise £2000 for a charity of the school's choice."

Headteacher Maureen Tremmel said: "Being primary six they have a certain 'joie de vivre', so they're quite relaxed about the whole thing. They're excited about the possibility of cooking and have embraced it.

"There were a few uncomfortable looks when the live lobster was held aloft, but they realised it was nothing to be scared of.

"The children can't wait for the banquet. They are very excited about the idea.

"I'm sure we'll get very good support from the parents. They won't want to turn down top quality food prepared by their own children."

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

“Win a half day Waitrose Cookery School lesson, worth £105: 20 to give away”

Win a half day Waitrose Cookery School lesson, worth £105: 20 to give away

Posted: 21 Feb 2011 01:41 PM PST

Evening Standard 21 Feb 2011

The Waitrose Cookery School offers a fantastic range of different food and drink courses to suit all cooks, from novice to experienced.

Staffed by a seven-strong professional chef team, four of whom have worked in Michelin-star kitchens, the school delivers expertise and theatre. Not only will the chef teachers show students how to be confident cooks but also how to get the best from local, seasonal and more exotic ingredients.

Whether you want to improve your basic proficiency through a 'Knife Skills' workshop or discover how to deliver an 'Art of Michelin Star' dinner party to impress friends, the school has something to offer everyone from beginners to more accomplished cooks.

The school opens Monday to Friday and offers half and full-day courses, as well as shorter demonstrations. Prices start at £105 for a half day course, including all ingredients, wine and use of equipment.

We have 20 half day courses to be won.

TO ENTER CLICK HERE

Waitrose Cookery School lessons are perfect for developing personal cooking skills. Lessons can also make unique and thoughtful gifts and corporate packages are also available.

For more information on the school call 020 7372 6108 or visit waitrose.com/cookeryschool

Terms & Conditions:
Terms and Conditions: The prize is one half day course at the Waitrose Cookery School, Finchley Road. There are 20 prizes in total to be won. Successful applicants will be chosen at random from all entries received by 23.59 on Sunday 6 March 2011, and will be contacted by email on Monday 7 March 2011. Prizes are valid for 12 months from date of issue. Prizes are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative available. Entrants must be 18 or over. When you respond, Evening Standard Ltd may use your information to contact you with offers/services of interest. For further information, please write to Customer Care, Room 203b, Evening Standard Limited, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT. Usual Promotion Rules apply, see standard.co.uk/rules.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

“Local news: City students make national cookery final”

Local news: City students make national cookery final

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 03:22 AM PST

A TEAM of hospitality and catering students from Jewel and Esk College has made the finals of a national cookery competition.

The students will be competing in the Bisto Future Restaurant competition which forms part of the bi-annual ScotHot hospitality trade show in Glasgow.

They will be required to serve food to some of the best known figures in the industry.

Head o

f the faculty of service industries, Gordon Hodgson, said: "They have chosen a tricky menu but one I am sure they will execute well."

Events in aid of Marie Curie

TWO events will take place in the city to raise money for Marie Curie.

There will be a tombola stall in the Sainsbury's store at Cameron Toll shopping centre on Tuesday between 10am and 4pm.

There will also be a book sale next Saturday, also at Cameron Toll shopping centre, between 10am and 4pm.

Chance to win place at Napier

BUSINESS leaders are being given the chance to win a place on an Edinburgh Napier University course.

The Edinburgh Institute at the university has launched the competition for a place on the MSC in Advanced Leadership Practice programme, which will be starting in April.

Hear Scots and Ukrainian poetry

The national poets of Scotland and Ukraine are being celebrated at an event tonight at the Edinburgh Ukrainian club.

A selection of works by Robbie Burns and Taras Shevchenko will be showcased at the unique celebration, which also includes a special dinner.

Council staff numbers drop by 500 in last year

THE total number of staff employed by the city council has reduced by nearly 500 in the last year.

There were 19,745 people employed in November 2010, which was 446 lower than the same time the year before, according to a new report. However the number of staff has increased since September by 17.

Recent appointments in schools were partially offset by reductions in other services.

The city council last week confirmed £32m of savings that could result from headcount being reduced.

Frequency of number 16 bus set to increase

LOCAL campaigners have welcomed news that Lothian Buses is to increase the frequency of its number 16 service.

The service, which runs between Silverknowes and Colinton, was badly affected by snow during December, according to passengers in the south of the city.

Now the council-owned bus firm has confirmed plans to increase frequency on Redford Road to every ten minutes from April 3.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

“Jamie Oliver's cookery GCSE (well, half of one)”

Jamie Oliver's cookery GCSE (well, half of one)

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 04:24 PM PST

By Kate Loveys
Last updated at 11:59 PM on 18th February 2011

Dream come true: Jamie Oliver will see cooking put back on school's menus after exam board Edexcel offered a course to up to a million pupils

You don't need a GCSE in logic to work it out.

Only one person could be behind a school course in cooking featuring modules entitled Pasta La Vista Baby, Stewpendous and Veg Out.

Jamie Oliver, who lobbied ministers for six years to put cooking back on the curriculum, will see his wish come true in September when the subject becomes compulsory in English secondary schools.

The TV chef has teamed up with exam board Edexcel to create a course which will be available to more than a million pupils.

Pupils following Oliver's Home Cooking Skills BTEC – a vocational qualification which will earn the equivalent of half a GCSE – will learn to cook staple dishes such as chilli con carne and roast chicken as well as how to write a shopping list, read food labels and cook economically.

The colourful curriculum with its smattering of catchphrases reads like an Oliver recipe book.

The father of four launched the course last September and some 5,000 children in 200 schools are already taking it, a number expected to soar when it becomes mandatory to teach cooking for a minimum of one hour a week to 11 to 14-year-olds for at least a term.

Yesterday Oliver said teaching youngsters to cook would combat obesity and save lives. 'Home cooking from fresh is one of the greatest pieces of knowledge anyone can have,' he added.

He is also behind a project for Channel 4 beginning next month called Jamie's Dream School, in which he invites celebrities and academics to try to engage 20 school dropouts in learning subjects such as history, English and drama.

Cookery course: All pupils aged 11-14 will be taught for at least one hour a week for a full term when the subject becomes mandatory later this year

Friday, February 18, 2011

“Tasty results for cookery and kitchen sector mags”

Tasty results for cookery and kitchen sector mags

Posted: 17 Feb 2011 10:21 AM PST

Asda's magazine has taken over Tesco's to become the top-circulating title in the cookery and kitchen sector.

Publicis Blueprint's free Asda Magazine marked a 28% year on year average net distribution increase in 2010, up 22.3% for the six months to December to 2,381,137.

Tesco's free flagship magazine, published by Cedar Communications, reported a yearly distribution decline of 3.5% to 1,983,837, down 0.7% for the six month period.

Its free sister publication Tesco Real Food, which launched in March to complement the flagship magazine, also saw a distribution decrease of 3% for the six month period to 1,212,500, meaning both titles do still outweigh Asda when combined.

The free Morrisons Magazine, published by Result Customer Communications reported a distribution increase of 14.7% for the year to 1,117,712.

John Brown's £1 Waitrose Kitchen, which launched in April saw circulation up 2.3% in the period to 346,761, making it the most-circulated paid-for cookery magazine.

However, Sainsbury's paid-for magazine, published by Seven Squared, is down 10.6% year on year to 300,027.

In the paid-for cookery and kitchen market, BBC Worldwide's Good Food posted a strong period on period circulation increase of 8.6% to 332,198, but is down 5.5% year on year.

BBC Magazines publishing director for food Alfie Lewis says: "The reach of the brand is far higher than it has ever been. We focus on high quality content across all formats, despite the fact that some of these are free, and we think this has helped grow our reach and fame."

Lewis says the Good Food website achieved 3.7 million unique users for December and praises the title's other "world class" digital formats such as the iPad app which launched in January.

BBC Magazines' other food title Olive also grew, with circulation up 9.3% for the period and 2.9% for the year to 96,034. However, its Easy Cook title was down 20.3% year on year to 65,245.

Sainsbury's' brand ambassador, Jamie Oliver, is also the face of a standalone magazine, Jamie, which reported a 13.7% year on year decline to 63,120, but managed to regain 13.7% for the six month period.

Eye to Eye Media's Delicious magazine reported a 1.2% increase for the six month period, but down 1.3% year on year to 102,808.

IPC Media's quarterly Woman & Home Feel Good Food, which launched in 2006, reported a debut ABC figure of 64,638.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

“Pressure Cookers”

Pressure Cookers

Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:08 AM PST

Over the past twenty years Masterchef has proved a real survivor in the world of tv cookery shows and it's all down to two very greedy men. A new series begins tonight on BBC One. Alan Corr previews the latest search for Britain's best amateur cook

In a TV world overfed on cookery shows, could MasterChef be the best of the lovely lot? The series has been on air in various forms since Loyd Grossman first ooooooooohed and ahhhhhed over sautéed onions in his famously elongated vowels but it really came to full fruition five years ago with the arrival of two greedy men who just love food.

They are judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, the mouthy, blue collar double act who have managed to make posh nosh accessible to the masses without forgetting that MasterChef is also a cut throat competition. It is their onerous task to taste the meals served up by aspiring chefs and then pronounce on their relative merits.

They don't mince their words; they flambé them. 45-year-old Torode is an Australian who came to London in 1985 to work his way up in the food trade and now owns several eateries in the capital where he specialises in Australasian food and Wallace (46) is an ex-Covent Garden fruit and veg stall holder who now runs a multi-million pound supply business. They met fifteen years ago when Wallace's company was working with a restaurant where Torode was chef. The rest, as they say, is pastry.

This week they're back, thicker of waist and sharper of tongue, for their seventh series as judges on the long-running MasterChef. As Wallace and Torode never tire of shouting, "cooking doesn't get much tougher than this." This is a show which takes food very seriously indeed. Just listen to the ominous voiceover as those very nervous amateur chefs prepare to do gladiatorial battle in an arena of stainless steel and high pressure.

This show is an obstacle course of culinary challenges. The heats follow a three-round format: The Invention Test: the contestants must invent a dish from scratch in 50 minutes, The Pressure Test: Working a lunchtime shift at a busy restaurant under the supervision of a professional chef who comments on their performance. The Final Test: Cooking a two-course meal, with the contestants designing their own menus and choosing their own ingredients, in one hour.

There's also a range of other challenges including the self explanatory Ingredients test and the more intriguing Passion test in which (taste) budding chefs have to convince Wallace and Torode of their passion for food in less than one minute and no, gorging manically on fois gras doesn't cut it. It's rigorous stuff all carried out in the hothouse of the MasterChef twenty-oven kitchen under the judges' beady eyes and, let's face it, salivating mouths.

In fact, Wallace and Torode have recently been decrying the impact of all the rich food on their ever-expanding waistlines. While filming the new series, they both consumed more than 4,000 calories each, that's twice as much as an average man needs. "I scoff rather than taste," is Torode's exuberant explanation.

"I've actually lost weight," claims Wallace. "My wife looks after me and sends me to the gym. Before we got married she said to me, I really like you. Do you mind not dying? I've always loved food and you can't diet on MasterChef but I realised I'd given myself over to complete gluttony. It was horrible watching myself getting bigger. The doctor said he'd never seen cholesterol levels like mine."

Torode has also cut back. "There was a stage where Gregg turned to me and said to me are you eating or scoffing? And I was just scoffing," he says. "I also got a bit of a tummy so I started cycling to work. I hate being fat. But I'll just miss dinner of an extra glass of wine - there's no way in the world I'd give up the fantastic good on MasterChef."

As well as a move from a BBC Two evening slot to the even bigger ratings pool of BBC One, producers have tweaked the show's format this year and in the tradition of X Factor we'll see Torode and Wallace from the very start auditioning the hopefuls who have been trimmed down from the 20,000 applicants to decide the on the final twenty who will enter into the fifteen week run.

That meant our brave judges had to taste up to twenty dishes a day. "We taste everything, so we want good cooks from the start rather than strange unpleasant dishes," says Torode. "I once had a mushroom floating in a tomato scum with blue cheese vomit on the top. That was the only time I've ever gagged. There was also a cheesecake made with salt rather than sugar. But mostly it's a case of dishes not setting or being undercooked."

Both Torode and Wallace are now primetime fixtures (eight million viewers an episode) and fame means that Wallace, who calls himself the "far, bald bloke from MasterChef" has become somewhat of a tabloid star. Last year, it was reported that he married for the third time after meeting his new wife through that 21st dating agency, Twitter. The chef was said to have "secretly" wed Heidi Brown, a teacher 17 years his junior, after she wrote a flirty message on his Twitter page asking if he knew he had been labelled a "weird crush" in a magazine. He didn't hang about and replied: "Ever visit London? Give me a call, I'll buy you lunch." They married last year and he sold the pictures in a £60,000 magazine deal.

Back in the kitchen, Torode and Wallace both know that too many cooks can spoil the broth and given how loud and opinionated these lads can get, there have of course been clashes. "I couldn't live with John," says Wallace. "We can both be bloody-minded about what chef we want to go through," says Torode. "When we disagree I'll refuse to speak to Gregg for a day or so and then we'll go for a beer and it's all right. Now we listen to each other more. But if we both truly believe something, we're both big-headed enough to say, you're wrong!"

However, TV's best culinary act know full well that it's the contestants who matter on MasterChef. "Doing this show is the most emotional experience we have ever had because just so much was riding on it for these cooks," says Torode. "And because they were cooking in their own right in front of us it was extremely nerve wracking for them. There were some contestants that we found so heart breaking to send home, you could see in their eyes how much they wanted it but we just knew they could never make the standard and survive what was to come later. It was very difficult telling them that to their face."

Well you know what they say about heat and kitchens . . .