One of the better UK-based food blogs – Eating Leeds – is running a fine looking competition in conjunction with Hotel Chocolat, where the prize is a mouth-watering selection of their very finest chocolates and a recipe book. The winner then competes for even more fine prizes.

“Do you have the best Christmas chocolate-chip cookies in town? Is your Christmas chocolate log simply to die for? Then why not put your recipe to the test against the rest of the country.

All you have to do is submit your recipe – the more original the better – and you could win a Christmas chocolate selection box (pictured) AND a copy of Hotel Chocolat’s 101 Best Loved Chocolate Recipes. The lucky winner of the Eating Leeds and Hotel Chocolat Christmas competition will also be entered automatically into the Hotel Chocolat Grand Prize recipe competition and could win even more seasonal chocolate goodies!

Do you think you’re the finest chocolate chef in the land? Well there really is only one way to find out … and that’s to head over to Hotel Chocolat and submit your recipe!”

Full details of the competition at Eating Leeds

You know you want one… ok, maybe not but for an avid Star Wars fan this sauce bottle maybe just the thing for Christmas.

It is a novelty sauce dispenser made in Japan, in the shape of good old R2 D2. It’s limited edition and available now for pre-order to anywhere in the world, shipping in mid-December.

“Ever dreamed to go space journy with your R2?? Unfortunately, such a dream can’t be true at the moment. But now this tiny R2D2 can serve you Soy Sauce by your one-hand little move, leaning the R2 body a little to put appropriate Soy Sauce on Chinese or Japanese fried rice.”

It is priced at US$19.49 or Y2079 from the Strapya World website.

[Found via Retro To Go]

The Co-operative is lending extra support to The Children’s Society this Christmas as part of its aim to raise more than £1 million for the children’s charity and its partners by the end of this year.

You can help by giving your lunch break a festive or seasonal twist over the next few weeks by buying one of three extra special ‘sarnies’ from The Co-operative.

If you fancy something smooth and creamy try the brie, grape and cranberry sandwich (suitable for vegetarians). French brie, black grapes, cranberry chutney, mayonnaise, Cos lettuce and spinach on malted bread, £2.40.

Try something meaty with The Co-operative spiced gammon and chutney sandwich. Spiced gammon with apple and raisin chutney, Cos lettuce and mayonnaise on malted bread, £2.60.

For something truly traditional go for the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich. Cooked breast of turkey with butter, pork and onion stuffing, cranberry chutney on sage and onion bread, £2.50.

Three new cracking sandwiches with 10p from each sale going to The Children’s Society.

The Food Standard Agency has changed its guidance for cereal producers – they can now differentiate between the different types of sugars used.

The modifications are part of the second edition of the technical guidance on traffic light labelling.

These changes come after consumers questioned the difference between products high in added or artificial sugar and those that occur naturally as in fruit. Fructose, from fruit, is generally lower in calories than added sugar.

“The sugars contained in dried fruit are assumed to be intrinsic and are not included as added sugars,” the guide now says.

Manufacturers should therefore provide separate text if sugars from fruit or milk have been used in the product, separate from the red, amber or green sugar symbol, the guide says.

The Sunday Times announced yesterday, with little fanfare, their Cookbook of the Year – Persia in Peckham by Sally Butcher.

In addition to this fine tome they list 10 other highly recommended food books for Christmas as detailed in the display below. This includes the excellent 1080 Recipes reviewed earlier on The Foodie List.