Prestat, chocolatier to Her Majesty The Queen, has just launched its new Finest Selection Chocolate Bean Bars. Each of the four bars is a masterpiece created from cocoa beans sourced from Sao Tome, Ghana and Tanzania – ranging from fabulously creamy white chocolate with Madagascan vanilla to an outrageously intense 80% dark bar.

The bars launch Prestat’s ‘Committed to Trading Fairly initiative’. Every cocoa bean in every bar is grown by farmers who benefit from ESOKO – an alternative initiative to the Fair Trade scheme – which Prestat has helped to pioneer. It directly benefits each farmer by helping them get the best possible price for their crops via a subsidised SMS information system.

Nothing less than the ultimate expression of Prestat’s expertise and passion for chocolate would do – so tracking down the finest cocoa beans from Africa was followed by weeks of perfecting each couverture in Prestat’s artisan kitchen. The extravagant packaging, designed by the renowned artist and illustrator Kitty Arden, has already passed muster at the ‘Palace’ and provides a glorious prelude to what lies inside…

Tasting notes:

• Fabulously Creamy White Chocolate – The smoothest creamy, white chocolate with real Madagascan vanilla
• Velvety Smooth Milk Chocolate – A bold milk chocolate bursting with the fragrance of hazelnuts and a note of caramel
• Dark & Rich Chocolate 71% – Dark but not bitter with hints of coffee and hazelnuts
• Intensely Dark Chocolate 80% – Hints of forest fruits, ginseng and angelica

All bars are 75g/2.65oz

Prices: White, Milk and Dark – RRP £1.80: Intensely Dark – RRP £2.00

Unlike the Fair Trade scheme, the ESOKO initiative guarantees provenance and is very streamlined and unbureaucratic. Having trialled the ESOKO system with 200 farmers in Ghana, the initial feedback suggests that it typically raises a family’s income by around 25% – significantly more than the benefit they get from the Fair Trade scheme.
Prestat subsidises regular SMS texts which are sent to farmers through ESOKO, providing them with local and international commodity prices for the crops they grow. The farmers are then able to negotiate with local traders much more effectively and sell their crops when prices are relatively high. Given the volatility of prices, that can make a very significant difference. ESOKO also gathers information from farmers on likely crop yields, the quality of produce and problems with disease and pests for example, all of which can benefit the whole industry – from farmers to manufacturers.

Although Esoko does not directly address the problems of child labour, many people who are familiar with West Africa feel that the exploitation of children and other social issues are caused and fuelled by widespread poverty. There is a powerful argument that significantly boosting the local farmers’ real income over a sustained period is therefore the best way to curb social problems.

Author and River Cottage foraging guru John Wright explores the culinary delights of the British hedgerows, moors, meadows and woods in the latest River Cottage Handbook, Hedgerow.

In John’s hugely informative Hedgerow – his third after Mushrooms and Edible Seashore – he reveals how to spot the free and delicious ingredients to be found in the British countryside, and then how to prepare and cook them.

The hedgerow is perhaps the most accessible and least daunting type of wild food environment. Few of us are very far from some kind of woodland, field edge, heath land, allotment, or, indeed, garden, and these habitats are all included in John’s Hedgerow bracket.

John’s book will tell you all you need to know to turn any little walk or ramble into a foraging expedition, and it will inspire and entertain you at the same time.

Amazon.co.uk is listing Hedgerow (River Cottage Handbook) at £8.99.

A foodie revolution is blowing through the Barbican Centre. Two dramatic new dining spaces will open in September completely upgrading the in-house eating experience for performance goers, residents and anyone in or around the City.

The Barbican Foodhall will offer an amazing selection of foods to buy or consume at the counter-top bars and the deli-tables. Guests can buy anything from an Italian ham and parmesan sandwich to shrimp pad thai with grilled coconut relish. Upstairs the Barbican Lounge will feature small plate menus based on dairy, meat, fish, fowl, vegetarian or pudding as well as gourmet bar snacks such as steamed endamame or pepperabica peppers stuffed with feta and Greek country cheeses.

General Manager Nikki Woods (ex-Maze), describes the venture as: “A haven for foodies. The concept is to create a destination for people who have a genuine love of food. Our menu is filled with moreish small plates, so guests no longer have to suffer food envy or make any difficult decisions. You can try a little bit of everything…and then just order a little bit more if you fancy!”

“We’re really excited about the transformation of our food offering” commented MD of Barbican Centre, Sir Nicholas Kenyon. “The spaces are being stripped right back to the original wall textures and fittings, so it really feels like a natural and organic development of our iconic centre. We’re confident regular visitors to the centre will enjoy the new experience and that this transformation will also help to introduce new people to the area.”

The gastronomic experience will be located on the lively waterside and begins on Level G with the Barbican Foodhall.

Barbican Foodhall
Eat your way around the world in a spectacular street food market (open seven days a week) overflowing with stimulating and surprising ingredients, deli-tables, counter-top service, a restaurant and book bank!

Walk in past floor to ceiling displays of the finest produce – including succulent and juicy olives courtesy of Olives Et Al, organic oils from the world’s premiere producers, award winning cheeses, chutneys, relishes and pastas, plus smoked salmon from one of the most prestigious producers in the UK, Severn & Wye Smokery and luxury confectionery from ‘best of British’ sweetie inventors, Hope & Green.

Be tempted by an intriguing choice of food stalls selling Cornish pasties with Branston pickle, marjoram infused mackerel, fennel, glazed damsons and goats cheese pie and New Orleans shrimp étouffée, all of which visitors can buy to eat in or to take away.

The restaurant – which seats 200 – is an ideal place to meet friends in an informal, buzzing atmosphere where resident chefs will conjure up a different menu every day, depending on what makes their taste buds tingle that morning! Prices start from £7 for a main course.

If a good cuppa, spiced apple crumble slice and a flick through the latest novel is more your scene, then pop by the Book Bank to buy, borrow or bring back books.

For those wanting something a little more formal, head upstairs to the Barbican Lounge.

Barbican Lounge
Some of the world’s finest designers have combined to create a funky but comfortable 230-cover space described by Director of Operations Nick Rudlin as having a, “Prisoner meets Mad Men feel. Think mid-century Scandinavian furniture overlooked by unique light installations by Beirut designers PSLab encapsulated within the stripped fossilised concrete walls of the Barbican”.

Both bar and restaurant walk out onto a stylish terrace area featuring seating pods interspersed with seasonal plants designed by three time RHS Chelsea Flower Show winner, Kate Gould. The terrace stretches along the Barbican lakeside, providing wonderful views of the complex itself and beyond to London old and new. The mouthwatering feast continues with small plate dishes from pork pie and Garlic Farm relish and Lochmuir salmon, to Merguez sausages with saffron aioli and pissaladière with anchovies and olives.

For those wanting a quick feast the Barbican Lounge will be offering a Dine & Dash menu where they guarantee you’ll be out of the door in 50 minutes, or your money back.

Diners who have a little longer to spare could spend some quality time at the Barbican Lounge bar which will feature London’s first Macaroon Mixologist, where the legendary French delicacies are twinned with a range of new and traditional cocktails.

The Barbican Food Hall and Barbican Lounge will open their doors on 14 September.

This month Phil is making Iced Berry and Lemon Meringue Layer, a real no-fuss dinner party centre piece. You won’t believe how easy it is to make – and it’s the perfect way to celebrate fruit of the season.

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!

A Yorkshire ice cream maker is hoping to help mark Yorkshire Day with the creation of four unusual ice cream flavours.

Award-winning ice cream maker Yummy Yorkshire has used traditional dishes and foods from the county including Yorkshire pudding to create four different sweet and savoury ice cream flavours.

The ice cream makers which is based on the outskirts of Huddersfield say its four course ice cream meal is ‘a taste of Yorkshire in a lick’.

Unusually, the ‘starter’ ice cream on the menu is Yorkshire Pudding, Gravy and Womersley Raspberry Vinegar ice cream. Yummy Yorkshire created the flavour in support of a campaign by fruit and herb vinegar producer Womersley to see the dish returned to its traditional place at the head of Sunday lunch. The campaign is being supported by several high profile Yorkshire chefs including Michelin- Starred Andrew Pern, Tim Bilton and Stephanie Moon.

Further flavours on Yummy Yorkshire’s menu include Green Pea ice cream, Beef & Horseradish and Old Yorkshire Trifle, based on the recipe of Brenda Batty, a customer who recently entered a competition to create a new flavour for Yummy Yorkshire. The recipe, which is over 70 years old, belonged to her mother-in-law Elsie Maxfield and consists of sponge, custard, raspberry jam, cream and sherry.

Speaking about her four course ice cream menu, Louise Holmes of Yummy Yorkshire says: “To celebrate Yorkshire Day we wanted to show our appreciation of the county in the way we know best – through ice cream. Some of the flavours may sound odd but they are surprisingly tasty – especially the Green pea ice cream which really brings out the sweet taste you get from fresh peas.

“The Yorkshire Pudding flavour has had a very mixed reaction – some love it and some absolutely hate it. It’s a mess with your mind ice cream!

“The Roast beef and horseradish ice cream is a killer combination as you have all the taste of the horseradish without the heat. The beef has been shredded and rippled through the ice cream making it look like a crumbled up flake, which again can confuse your mind a little bit.

“Our dessert flavour, the Old Yorkshire Trifle, is gorgeous and we are confident that this will prove extremely popular. The ice cream leaves you with a lingering taste of sherry and custard just like the real thing!

“We hope that people come and give the flavours a try – who knows, they may become a new staple in the Yorkshire diet!”

It is the first time that Yummy Yorkshire has produced savoury ice cream flavours; the ice cream producer is known for its distinctive flavours such as Lou’s Liquorice but Louise believes the new flavours are some of their most adventurous yet.

The flavours will be launched on Yorkshire Day, Sunday 1 August, at Yummy Yorkshire’s farm and ice cream parlour located on the edge of the Pennines between Huddersfield and Penistone.

In celebration of the event, the ice cream producer is also putting on a free bouncy castle on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for its customers. For directions visit www.yummyyorkshire.co.uk

[Image caption: Louise and Jeremy Holmes of Yummy Yorkshire with their Yorkshire Day Ice cream menu. Jeremy holds Yorkshire Pudding, Gravy & Womersley Raspberry Vinegar Ice cream and Green Pea Ice Cream, Louise holds Beef & Horseradish Ice Cream and Old Yorkshire Trifle Ice cream.]