Seen this amazingly good advert for Cadbury Spots V Stripes? All part of the marketing push for a new bar of chocolate. You may scoff but it’s a fun idea!

The advert is great; so is the chocolate incidentally!

We think games are great. They get people playing, they bring people together and sometimes they even reveal an undiscovered talent. That’s why, with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games around the corner, we’re launching Spots v Stripes.

We’re asking the nation to choose sides and split into Spots or Stripes in order to play, what’s quite possibly, the biggest, longest game ever.

Footy, cricket, bike races, online games, games you’ve made up like full-contact tiddlywinks or even a simple game of ‘tag’. You can play pretty much any game you can imagine.

So how do you take part? First, pick the side you want to play for – Spots or Stripes. Then whenever you play a game against someone from the opposing side, the winner scores a point for his/her side. All the points will be logged right here and updated live on our Score’o’tron. Score enough points and you could even become one of your side’s all-star heroes.

Plus we’ll be laying down weird and wonderful challenges to the nation with big prizes up for grabs. We’ll be stopping the traffic with big city takeovers and we’re bringing Spots v Stripes to local events everywhere.

The Spots v Stripes website allows you to record the scores, there is a running update on the two teams, and plenty of ideas to boot.

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Summer’s well and truly underway and British strawberries in the sunshine always spring to mind as the perfect way to enjoy it. If you’re looking for inspirational yummy desserts, this month celebrity chef and Carnation ambassador Phil Vickery shows you how to make a more sophisticated summer treat – an Iced Strawberry and Lemon Meringue Layer.

Bake alongside Phil with this simple step-by-step ‘pudcast’ and say with pride “I Made It”, just like Phil.

Phil’s Tip: Once made, the meringue needs to set for four hours before serving – why not make up a batch the day before your event and leave overnight to set instead!

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Infinite Vision are developing a new television series for a major broadcaster about the delights of home baking. They are on the hunt for clubs set up by keen bakers or more informal groups of friends who like to meet up to share the joys of cooking yummy cakes and desserts. Selected baking clubs will get the opportunity to take part in a filmed masterclass with a renowned master patissier!

It’s a chance to spread the joys of baking with others and learn new skills at the same time!

They are looking for all ages and abilities so why not get in touch to find out more. Email:- baking@infinitevision.tv you need to tell them about your group: where you’re based, how often you meet and what you like to bake.

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This year perhaps chef Rowley Leigh via this video can entice to try out other dishes…

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Steam cooking is recognised as a highly effective and convenient way for busy parents to prepare their children’s food. The versatility of steam cooking means that you can prepare every type of food –vegetables, fruit, cereals, milk, meat and fish – to offer a more varied and balanced diet. For extra convenience, Miele recommends making large batches of baby food which can be frozen into portions, for easy defrosting and reheating at a later date.

Chef Silvana Franco is a food writer and mother of two small children and in the following video she shows you how to create easy capsule style cooking for your whole family.

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Some of us have become so wine obsessed that it even takes precedence over the food menu when we’re at a restaurant (that’ll be me then…).

But even if you know your claret from your Beaujolais and your wine knowledge is the envy of all your friends, you still may not be getting the most out of your bottle, and surprisingly it could all be down to what you are drinking alongside your wine.

How many times have you carefully picked out water when out for dinner? None? Well you wouldn’t be alone. But the practice of ‘water and wine harmonisation’ is growing around the world, with even one of the world’s top sommeliers Andreas Larsson now advising wine lovers on the best water and wine matches to bring out the flavour of your food.

And just as picking the perfect wine can make or break a dish, Andreas believes sipping the right water can enhance even further the food we are eating.

Andreas, who was crowned ‘Best Sommelier of the World’ in 2007, will be conducting water and wine harmonisation sessions on behalf of S. Pellegrino at the Taste of London Festival, which takes place in Regents Park from 17th to the 20th of June.

Now in its seventh year, Taste of London brings together the capital’s finest chefs and restaurants with an extraordinary range of quality food and drink from Britain and around the world.

In the following video (click the link to run directly in the browser) Andreas runs through some of his top tips for making sure you’re getting the most out of your wine by selecting the perfect water accompaniment.

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New research by Kellogg’s Fibre Plus shows just over 2 million women eat chocolate more than 3 times a day and a quarter of British ladies would rather give up a gossip or glass of wine than turn their backs on chocolate. A further fifth would even say goodbye to sex for a satisfying bite!

So what makes it such a good friend? It seems a bad day at work is the main reason us women look to chocolate for comfort, but despite this great love, we also feel terribly guilty when we indulge in a bar.

70 % of women said they felt the wrong kind of pangs eating chocolate, with health, weight and dirty looks from their partner the top reasons for guilt.

This long lasting love/ hate relationship with chocolate seems to be born out of the fact that eating the sweet stuff doesn’t give any benefit other than pleasure, but after all this time perhaps there is, at last, another option.

In this feature Angela speaks to chocolate expert Elise Thomassin and a selection of women to uncover more about this powerful relationship.

Click here to see why women have such a one track find when it comes to chocolate:

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I’ve tracked down some videos showing the mixologists in action whipping up some coffee treats, they are all on facebook:

• The Dolce Gusto mixologists show you how to make an Espresso Express cocktail
• The Dolce Gusto mixologists show you how to make a Chococcino Treat cocktail
• The Dolce Gusto mixologists show you how to make a Caribbean Machiato Magic cocktail

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Fortunately for you there is a healthy, nutritious and filling alternative to make breakfast more enjoyable – wholemeal bread. High in fibre, it helps you keep fuller for longer and it’s also great for the heart. Low in fat and sugar, two slices also provide you with 100% of your recommended daily intake of wholegrain.

In this video there are five tasty recipes you can make for the week so say goodbye to the jam as nutritionist Lindsey Ormond shows you how to enjoy such delights as eggs and mushrooms on toast to a fruity sandwich. And there are so many options you can add that are both healthy and will take you all the way through to lunch without snacking. Try the Hovis wholemeal Breakfast Week and see what a difference it makes!

Click here to the video to view some healthy and filling breakfast ideas:

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For more information visit www.hovisbakery.co.uk

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This is a short clip of Crazy Bear Mixologist Anthony Peart making a ‘Smoked Bacon Vodka cocktail’ that actually smokes in the glass! Available to order at the Crazy Bear Beaconsfield, www.crazybeargroup.co.uk.

Anthony uses Chase Vodka from Herefordshire (just voted ‘the World’s Best Vodka) and their Limited Edition Smoked Vodka… along with some Gloucester Old Spot Crazy Bear reared Bacon, some maple syrup and a smoking gun.

This is just a short clip but if you want to see a longer version where you can meet the men behind the Vodka and the Gloucester Old Spot pig then please visit the www.Dwink.com website for the full length (10 min) feature.

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