Melanie Rimmer appears a rather passionate sort. She writes at Bean Sprouts covering a combination of her experiences in self-sufficiency with recipes and going-green tips.

She recently featured in BlogStandard a section of Delicious magazine that covers the varied world of food related blogs – no mention yet of any wine blogs (which is about as big a hint as anyone could wish for).

Melanie is apparently a ‘chicken-evangelist’ and roots that everyone should keep some. An ideal I would love to embrace if it wasn’t for the fact I don’t actually have any garden to speak of.

A great initiative operating in London. The Wedge Card is a loyalty scheme that aims to support local businesses.

Buy your card on-line for £10 – of which £5 goes to charity – and receive discounts when shopping in any of the 450 stores so far affiliated.

For the foodie the card will give you 10% all purchases over £20 at Brindisa and 10% off Rococco Chocolates for example. La Fromargerie in Marylebone, Daisy Cakes Bake Shop in Greenwich (12 cupcakes for £16, usually £18, plus 5% off purchases over £10 excluding ordered cakes) and famed Luna Stores in Lime Street have also signed up as have Swedish specialist Scandelicious. Despite the large number of independent wine merchants in London only two are listed – Wine of Course who give 10% off purchases over £50 and Fernandez and Wells who give 10% off sales of 6 or more bottles of wine.

To mark the start of Organic Fortnight Lesley Waters has created the guide ‘One Trolley, One week – a family guide to going organic’. It’s packed with tips and advice, and of course Lesley’s unmistakable flair for flavour.

Many people want to introduce organic food into their family’s diet but perceive it to be prohibitively expensive. Not all organic products cost a huge amount more that their non-organic equivalents. For example a family of four can make the switch to organic milk for less than a £1 a week, so it’s really worth it. Studies have also found that organic milk has much higher levels of omega-3 than non-organic milk. Switching to organic for less is simply a matter of being a little savvier about where we shop and the way we cook. Tips include shopping online, opting for an organic vegetable box and buying directly from suppliers which can often be cheaper than going through a supermarket, and you know that you are supporting local farmers.

The benefits of buying organic are plentiful. Produced according to certain standards crops are grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers and animals are reared without the routine use of antibiotics. In basic terms it’s simply a less intensive and more natural approach to food production. And many of us swear that organic produce actually tastes better.

One Trolley, One Week – a Family Guide to Going Organic, is downloadable at www.omsco.co.uk It includes a shopping list of essentials, meal ideas and handy hints on cost-friendly ways to introduce organic produce to the family diet. I should say ‘should be downloadable’ from the site; I can’t actually find it!

OMSCo is a cooperative of around 300 British farmers. It is the largest and longest established supplier of organic milk in the UK.

Not sure if this is forming part of the British Food Fortnight but Cornwall is hosting its own Food and Drink Festival at Lemon Quay, Truro from 28 – 30 September.

the Festival will showcase a sumptuous feast of over 60 Cornish producers and hundreds of local products for visitors to savour and enjoy.

Now in its fourth year, and set to attract 25,000 visitors, the Festival brings together local chefs, restaurants and producers for a celebration of Cornish food and drink. Over 15 renowned Cornish chefs will feature daily in the Rangemaster sponsored cookery demonstration theatre offering superb menus and culinary tips. The Cornish Food Trail will offer special menus to food lovers at their favourite local restaurants, serving regionally sourced dishes to tantalise the taste buds! The Festival Park ‘n’ Ride offers visitors easy access and parking for the event.

Cornwall Food & Drink Festival
Festival Marquee
Lemon Quay
Truro
Cornwall