Raise a glass to Red Nose Day 2009! Wine Relief is back with a twist – for the first time ever you can enjoy your very own limited edition Red Nose Red or Red Nose White available across the UK from the 29th January 2009. Critically acclaimed artist Damien Hirst has kindly given the bottles his own very special ‘Red Nose’ making them instantly collectable and a welcome addition to any dinner party.

The two exceptional wines have been produced by SAAM Mountain Vineyards in Paarl, South Africa (RRSP £4.99 each) and carefully selected in partnership with Bibendum Wine Limited. At least £1 from the sale of each bottle of wine will be spent by Comic Relief to give disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa a helping hand to turn their lives around.

Wine Relief is the brainchild of internationally respected Master of Wine Jancis Robinson and her husband, restaurant critic, Nick Lander. They put their heads together to devise Wine Relief in 1999 which has fast become a key fundraiser for every Red Nose Day campaign since.

A great way to help raise much needed cash is to hold your own Red Nose Day dinner party or wine tasting with friends, no spit buckets required! Alternatively try Red Nose Red or Red Nose White instead of your usual bottle.

Confirmed retailers of Red Nose Wines include Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco, Somerfield, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and Booths. In addition Sainsbury’s, Co-op, and Majestic Wine will run the traditional Wine Relief promotion in their stores, whereby 10% of the price of selected wines goes to Comic Relief. Other wine retailers will be supporting Wine Relief in a wide variety of other ways.

Jamie Oliver hits the Channel 4 airwaves tomorrow night. His latest campaign is promoting pig welfare and British bacon with the programme following the life of a pig ‘from piglet to plate’.

The story sounds depressingly familiar – foreign bacon may well be cheaper but the Europeans are allowed to use ‘sow stalls’ (tiny cages that restrict the pregnant sow).

In conjunction with the programme Channel 4 have constructed an interactive pig.

“Enter the world of the pig, via butchery and lipsmackingly tasty recipes, with our new interactive guide to pork cuts. Discover how endlessly versatile our piggy friends really are and learn how to make the most of any pork cut.”

Click on a portion of the animated pig and follow to discover a range of recipes – the loin for example offers Jerk Pork Steaks with Fruity Salsa, Roast Pork steak with Vine Tomatoes and Pine Nuts and One-Pot Pork, Tomato and Courgette Rice for example. No mention though of the vegetarians temptation, the humble bacon sandwich!

The page also includes reviews of the UK’s Top Ten Butchers.

If you are as captivated and intrigued as I was over Heston Blumenthal endeavours with Little Chef then this ‘interview’ adds further insight –

1. What made you join the Great British Food Fight?
I’ve joined Channel 4’s team – Hugh, and Jamie and Gordon – and the thing that I found really exciting with that is that Channel 4 recognises that the four of us are really different. I think it’s great that we’ve each got our own and different approach. I knew how successful the British Food Fight was last year and the campaign trails were all very funny and they had some really diverse cooking programmes. So obviously to become part of that team was fantastic. We don’t get to see each other that often, but all the chefs entered into the spirit of things for the campaign and it was so much fun filming the marketing trail. I’ve seen it so many times and it still makes me laugh.

2. Why did you get involved with Little Chef in particular and what did Little Chef mean for you?
I was approached to do this and on the face of it, it could seem like a bit of a strange match in terms my food ideas and Little Chef. But I’m a seventies kid, I was born in London and grew up in London and Little Chef in the seventies was in its hey day. This was an opportunity to maybe, maybe make a difference to an iconic British brand. What I found fascinating is that the Little Chef brand is really strong and iconic in terms of nostalgia. But that brand is not iconic today, in reality, it’s in the past. So you’ve still got fond memories of people who would have gone there when they were kids but wouldn’t set foot in a Little Chef now. It’s not what it was.

Farmhouse Breakfast Week has just kicked off!

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual campaign that emphasises the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every day. ‘Think Breakfast’ is the theme of this year’s celebration to encourage everyone to wake up to breakfast as part of a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle. Nutritionists agree that a healthy breakfast is essential for starting the day.

All stages of the food chain from farmers to food producers and retailers to consumers are being encouraged to hold events across the country to promote the importance of starting the day with breakfast and to celebrate the wealth of high quality regional produce available across the UK.

Plenty of events listed up and down the country and a clutch of rather tempting breakfast dishes. If, like me the weekday breakfast is often little more than a slug of coffee and a slice of toast, then these recipes might just have to wait until the weekend! How does Staffordshire Oatcakes and Scrambled Eggs sound? Or Wholemeal Cottage Loaf. Perhaps they should have called on the food blogs to provide a few more Breakfast Recipes!

A new BBC food programe is soon to start filiming: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is

Every week two celebrity chefs face each other in five different showdowns. Each day they’ll be cooking in a different environment.

When they find out the restaurant they’ll both be cooking in, they have to decide on their three course menu and then buy the ingredients. Each day they’ll have a set maximum of cash that they can spend up to. Once they’ve got their ingredients they’ll be heading back to the kitchen to show their sous chefs and waiters (who they’ve never met before) what they’ll be cooking.

When the doors open, a restaurant full of paying customers will be choosing one starter, one main course and one dessert from a choice of two. The aim for each chef is to sell the most and make the most profit from their dishes for charity.

Like the sound of it? How about appearing in the audience?

Filming is taking place at Kettners restaurant in London’s Soho on Tuesday 27th January 2009. You will need to arrive at 6.15pm prompt with filming finishing around 10pm. All food bills will need to be paid in cash but drinks can be paid on cards. If you’d like to take part please email christina.schultz@reeftv.com with your name and contact details.