The Tasting Sessions are about to launch a new food and drink festival in London on the 05 December 2009.

Called “Towards a Fluid State” and held in an undisclosed warehouse location in Dalston, this festival will be the first of its kind. An immersive and informative food and drink experience profiling flights of Cognac, Whisky, Gin, Sake and Natural & Biodynamic wine matched with delicious morsels of food. Also a platform for some of the UK’s hottest emerging contemporary artists, musicians, set and fashion designers this will be a truly unique experience and one not to miss.

“It’s not a farmers market nor is it anything like Taste London. This is about delivering unusual and compelling experiences around what people eat and drink” says, Angella Newell, one of the founders. “This is a proof of concept for a much larger scale event in summer 2010″.

Hayley Sudbury, the other founder, comments: “We are working with a fantastic range of independent producers, distributors and brands on this event. We are focused on fit and quality and always look for the interesting and unique angles. Every flight always has a “rock your world” element, whether that is a silent whisky distillery, 100 year old cognac or an extraordinary premier cru”.

The festival will run from 3-11pm with timed entry. Tickets start at £16.50 and go on sale soon.

If you follow any of the top London food blogs they should be reporting on a press/blogger briefing in a week or so.

Following the success of the first Wokingham Wine Festival in 2008, the ASDW (Association of Small Direct Wine merchants), in association with the Thames Valley Region of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Wokingham Round Table are pleased to announce the second Wokingham Wine Festival. This exciting wine event is being held in the Main Hall in the old Town Hall in Wokingham marketplace over the weekend of Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th December.

Wine-lovers can come to taste and buy interesting and unusual quality wines supplied by members of the ASDW. There will be 10 wine merchants at the festival, many from the local area, each with a superb range of wines to taste and buy. ASDW members offer between them a huge range of fine wines from around the world, and the festival offers a wonderful opportunity to try many of these and to stock up for the festive season.

Aldeby Wines sells high quality wines from small producers in the South of France
Amordivino is a specialist in Italian wines
Bordeaux & Beyond offers a select range of quality French wines
Decanter Wines is a Spanish specialist with a fine range of Rioja, Albariño and others
Great Wine Online imports and distributes South African wines
Harlequin Wines offers fine French and German wines
Hyde Park Wines offers sweet and sparkling Spanish Wines to drink with spicy food.
Individual Wines offers fine and interesting wines at low prices
Merry Widow Wines offers Austrian Wines, including some small bottle-sizes
Nick Dobson Wines specialises in wines from Austria, Switzerland, and Beaujolais

Pre-purchased tickets for the Wokingham Wine Festival cost just £5 per person per day, and once inside, visitors can taste as many of the available wines as they like for no additional charge. Other refreshments will also be available inside the venue. The Wokingham Wine Festival is in aid of charity, with proceeds from the sale of tickets going to the Thames Valley Region of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, who are organising the event along with the ASDW and the Wokingham Round Table.

For more information about the event, call Nick Dobson (07799 661694), Tony Hill (07860 500112), Rosemary Tocock (0118 9862591), or visit the festival website at www.wokinghamwinefestival.co.uk

This week two couples from London gamely open up their own homes to paying diners for one night only. The couple that make the most money win an amazing gastronomic experience, so the pressure’s on to outdo each other. Sisters Kajal and Amisha opt for a glamourous Bollywood theme complete with dancers, henna tattoos and bindis for the guests, whilst husband and wife Stefan and Bonny think they can win out with their Chinese medicine inspired menu, throwing in a few tongue readings to spice up the night.

Catch the preview trailer below

Become a fan of the facebook page to engage in discussions about the show, let us know your thoughts and favourite bits, and for lots of delectable content, including all the contestant’s recipes from each episode: http://www.facebook.com/restaurantinourlivingroom

Our interactive map is also getting more full by the day so join the ‘pop up’ revolution and register yourself to see what’s happening near you: http://restaurantinourlivingroom.virgin1.co.uk/

Valentina Harris announced the launch of her new website “Valentina’s Masterclass” at a Dinner at Ransome’s Dock. Valentina Harris, author of some 20 plus books on Italian cookery, has teamed-up with www.auswineonline.co.uk to offer a new service a “dinner party with a difference”. You invite up to 8 of your friends to a “Valentina’s Masterclass” in your own home. Valentina provides the expertise and skills to teach you all how to make and enjoy the wonderful experience of home made pasta, risotto and original genuine Italian fish and meat dishes from scratch. Wonderful food accompanied by a selection of superb boutique Australian wines.

“the difference about these masterclasses is that as well as the culinary experience we combine Italian food with a selection of fine Australian boutique wines-a completely new angle on the delights of food and wine matching. You chose the menu with our guidance, matched with our stunning award winning Australian wines. We want to break the mould and get away from the standard fare, and try some different food & wine pairings. For example how about an aperitivo of “bruschetta of broad bean puree and pecorino” with a Flametree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon ’09, with its prominent gooseberry nose, and freshness or an antipasto pitted scallops wrapped in pancetta with a Kalgan River Wines Riesling ’08.

A Flametree Chardonnay ’07 could be matched with a full-on spicy prawn risotto puttanesca (with no pasta!) or a mian course of duck breast glazed with vinsanto, lemon potatoes and spinach matched with a Flametree Cabernet Merlot ’08, or a dessert of Bunet with soft orange and almond cake, and accompanied by a Talijancich 1961 Solero Muscat.

Valentina’s concluded with “I hope we have provided a glimpse of what can be achieved and destroyed some of the stereotypes and prejudices: old world food can work with new world wine”.
Food and wine matching could be heading in a new direction!

Evening events start at 7pm ending at 10.30pm and will cost £300 for a minimum of 6 people participating (only £50 per head). This Includes 6 bottles of Australian wines from Auswineonline and relevant tasting notes. More details at Valentina’s Masterclass

This month, Join Phil in the kitchen to learn how to make a quick and satisfying Sticky Toffee Pudding, one of the nation’s most treasured desserts and a guaranteed winter warmer.

Log on to www.carnation.co.uk where you can look through a variety of Phil’s tasty recipes and download this pudcast and many more. Carnation Caramel makes an incredible sauce for this sweet and sticky pudding – the perfect antidote to those grey, cold winter days.