Those marvellous tea people, Leaf, have launched a new range of premium hand crafted green teas

“poetically sculpted… choose cherry blossoms, rings, twirls, snow dragons, pearls or even temple spires all presented in a simple wooden box”

From now until the 15th April 2009 you can claim a 10% introductory off offer by entering code MEGV at the checkout.

Cherry Blossoms green tea 50g £15.30
Jade Rings green tea 50g £14.40
Jade Twirls green tea 50g £14.40
Jade Spires green tea 50g £12.60
Snow Dragons green tea 50g £13.50
Jasmine scented Mandarin green tea pearls 50g £15.30

Fortnum & Mason is blossoming this Springtime with fresh delights guaranteed to make this Easter more opulent than ever. From exclusive eggs and beautiful baskets to gorgeous gifts and scrumptious surprises, there’s something to captivate the whole family.

In particular, their range of exclusive Easter Eggs are presented in stunning boxes designed for Fortnum & Mason by illustrator Rob Ryan – they really are something to treasure.

Gifts that keep on giving
 Rose & Violet Handmade Egg – £27.50
 Marc de Champagne Truffle Egg – £27.50 / £37.50
 Children’s Milk Chocolate Handmade Egg – £22.50

Not only do you get to enjoy an egg filled with our finest chocolates, but the box is a charming little keepsake too! Delicate decoupage patterns, filled with wit and wonder, are the trademark of artist Rob Ryan.

To reminisce on Easters past, why not indulge in the Fortnum & Mason Archivist Egg (pictured)? Their newest egg using an ancient recipe dusted off from their archives. Price £37.50.

A joyous few hours spent in Reuben’s restaurant in Franschoek should be on everyone’s itinerary during a trip to South Africa – as I and some fellow writers did a week or so back.

The chef – Reuben Riffle – has a wonderful story.

Born on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, trained in the UK and then returned to South Africa to open Reuben’s. Which has won so many awards it’s impossible to keep up with (and would be a boring list to read anyway).

Sadly his excellent cookbook cum story – Reuben Cooks: Food Is Time Travel is not available in the UK (not from Amazon anyway). But having picked up a copy while at the restaurant I’m duty bound to attempt to recreate some of the dishes (such as this delicious salad), including a couple we enjoyed at the time.

Fear not though because several of his recipes are available as a download from the restaurant website. Enjoy the delights of Sugar-Cured Salmon with Vanilla Mayonnaise or Panko Prawns and Thai Barbeque Sauce with Kimchi Vegetables – just two of several recipes detailed in the download.

International celebrity chefs will be taking centre stage at the Taste Festival in Chester from Easter Saturday to Easter Monday, with further events happening across the City up to April 18.

TV chefs will give festive cookery demonstrations at the Festival, including Andrew Nutter on April 11, Alan Coxon on April 12 and Simon Rimmer on April 13, plus a host of Cheshire’s and the North West’s leading chefs giving demonstrations each hour every day from 11am to 4pm. There will be free all-day parking for visitors to the Festival at Chester Racecourse over the Easter weekend. 2009′s programme builds on the success of last year’s Festival, aiming to deliver £1.5 million of benefits to the City and more than 15,000 visitors.

To bring the tastes and smells of the Festival to the city centre, A Food and Drink Fringe Festival will also take place around Chester throughout April 2008. A series of theme nights, special family offers and accommodation promotions in city centre restaurants and hotels will all help to make Chester the focus of food and drink within the UK.

The Chester Food & Drink Festival Cocktail Competition will also be returning at Cruise nightclub, St. John Street, Chester, where the city’s finest bartenders will reveal their latest creations. While in the week prior to the foodie festival the city hosts a beer festival too.

For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival please visit www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.

Do you want to slash your weekly food bill?

Would you like to know how to feed your friends and family delicious food without breaking the bank?

Top TV chefs Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett are on the look-out for members of the public to appear in an exciting new BBC Two food series Economy Gastronomy.

In each programme Paul and Allegra will challenge a family, couple or a group of flatmates to spend a week following their culinary rules of Economy Gastronomy, which will allow them to eat exciting food for substantially less than they usually spend. Our chefs will teach them a new way of eating, based on careful planning, strategic shopping, seasonal eating and traditional recipes.

If you think that your household could be up to this challenge and would be interested in appearing on the programme, Outline Productions would love to hear from you. Please email food@outlineproductions.co.uk or call 020 7424 7663. Closing date 10 April 2009.