Where to Buy Game, Rabbit and Poultry
The local farmers market has very intermittent supplies of such delights as rabbit, hare and woodpigeon – a more reliable source might just be ‘Alternative Meats’ an online retailer based in Shropshire.
While researching for a rabbit recipe the other day I stumbled upon a recipe for crocodile and absently wondered where on earth you can buy crocodile form in the UK. And guess what – Alternative meats list it. While not cheap at £6.50 for a 150g single serving at least you know they have it!
In fact the list of products is impressive – venison, caribou, kobe beef, kangaroo, ostrich meat and eggs, Hardwick Mutton, Langdale pikes, 21 day matured beef the list goes on.
Bringing delicious, different & exciting meats to the plates of thousands, both in their homes & in restaurants is what Alternative Meats is all about. The company started from the passion of a dynamic duo, Rachel & Jeanette, who run & manage the company today. Their experience was in the British Ostrich Industry and this interest in an unusual meat has extended to a comprehensive range of Alternative Meats for you to enjoy.
Where possible, products are sourced from within the British Isles, but due to repeated requests for even more exotic products, Alternative Meats such as Crocodile, Buffalo, Kangaroo, Kudu, Springbok, Blesbok and Zebra have now been sourced from overseas. Any other alternative requests can also be looked into, please feel free to make an enquiry.”
Renowned foodie, Olly Smith, offers helping hand to Christmas shoppers
Stuck for ideas on Christmas gifts? Travelling soon? Wine expert, Presenter and all round foodie Olly Smith, has revealed to BAA as part of their new Christmas gift wish list activity the must-have items he will be hankering after this festive season - so prepare to loosen your belt and enjoy!
Six lists have been compiled for BAA’s online gift wish list service - www.airportgiftlist.co.uk - covering everyone from him and her to foodies and luxury lovers to kids and gadget fans and they are sure to help as each one has around 30 great gift ideas. Additionally, anyone who feels their loved ones need a little help when it comes to selecting just the right present can create a wish list of their own which can be accessed by or emailed to whoever they choose. Gift givers then have the comfort of not only knowing they have got it just right but also that they can pick up the items at airport prices as they travel through.
A regular on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and Richard & Judy’s Wine Club, Olly has sliced and diced his way through both the ‘For Foodies’ and wider lists to whisk up his trademark enthusiasm for some of the finest gifts available from the departure lounge this Christmas.
Free to set up, users can create up to six personal lists and every list created enters the user into a free prize draw to win their list up to the value of £2,000. To start building your gift list visit www.airportgiftlist.co.uk
How To Cook With Your Children
There’s a real concern among today’s mums and dads that the essential life skills they were taught as children aren’t being passed on to their own kids. It’s especially justified when it comes to cooking. With home economics no longer a compulsory part of the school curriculum, it’s up to parents to teach their kids to cook and bake. With this in mind, kid’s food expert Annabel Karmel is hosting an exclusive webchat, packed with simple recipe ideas and tasty tips designed to encourage parents to get creative with their kids in the kitchen and have loads of fun while they’re at it.
“Teaching children to cook both encourages them to eat well and equips them with one of the key skills they’ll need when they grow up. Seeing the fruits of their labours emerging from the oven gives kids a real sense of achievement, and it hardly needs saying that that the messier the ingredients that go into their culinary masterpieces are, the more they like it. Baking is especially good fun, and that’s why Annabel’s chosen to share scrumptious baking recipes with you that are a piece of cake for kids to make. She’ll also be telling you about The Kellogg’s Big Bake, a new campaign that aims to get children cooking up a storm all over the country with the ultimate prize of appearing in a Kellogg’s TV advert in May. Log on to the chat and get ready to join in the yumminess with your young ‘uns.”
Annabel Karmel is live online at http://www.webchats.tv/chat/bake_up_a_feast_of_family_fun on Wednesday 3rd December from 3pm to 3.30pm to discuss how to get your kids baking.
Pudz Amateur Pudding Chef 2008 Is Found!
Sam Greaves (19) from Bishopston, Bristol has been crowned PUDZ Amateur Pudding Chef 2008 (which was announced on The Foodie List back in August)
PUDZ has been searching all year for the best amateur pudding chefs in the UK. Heats took place across the country and the top chefs from each area were chosen to compete for the overall title, judged by arguably one of the UK’s best dessert chefs, Mich Turner.
The five fantastic regional finalists came from all walks of life and baked, chopped, piped & drizzled their way through the heats, beating off stiff competition from their region to the final in London. Each prepared their dessert one final time for Mich Turner and a judging panel of food journalists.
Sam, a student at Plymouth University, prepared Autumn Fruit Eve’s pudding in the Bristol heat and beat off tough competition to win the chance to bake his dessert in the final for the esteemed judging panel. They described his dessert as ‘interesting, seasonal and different, packed full to the brim with flavour’.
Mich Turner is the author of best-selling title, Spectacular Cakes
Mich has a new book on sale in January called ‘Couture Wedding Cakes
Mich Turner said: “I was amazed by the overall standard of the competition – it was extremely high and demonstrated how many talented dessert chefs there are in this country. I hope it encourages other people to get baking. Sam’s dessert was prepared to such a high standard that although it was a tough competition to judge, the overall decision was a unanimous one with the panel.”
As well as taking the title of PUDZ Amateur Pudding Chef 2008, Sam Greaves wins a fantastic weekend away for two at The Pudding Club, a sought after place on Mich Turner’s Christmas cookery course, a signed copy of ‘Spectacular Cakes’ and a year’s supply of PUDZ.
PUDZ spokesperson, Kelly Eastwood comments: “The competition has shown that there are a great number of very talented pudding chefs across the whole country. It has been a very tough competition and Sam has done amazingly well.
“We were looking for a ‘masterchef’ of the pudding world and I think that we have truly found one..”
Three Bears Soft Licorice
Historically speaking, licorice – which comes from the root of a flowering pea plant that originates from countries such as Turkey, Iraq and China – has been eaten for thousands of years.
The Chinese, for instance, believed that licorice made you strong and helped you to live longer. Licorice root was used by Roman soldiers to stave off thirst, and Napoleon also allegedly liked to chew a stick of licorice root before he went into battle to help calm his nerves.
However the licorice sweets we’re familiar with today were developed in the late 18th century by Yorkshire apothecary George Dunhill, who added sugar and flour to licorice extract to make it last longer.
At just £1.69 per 200g bag, Three Bears Traditional Soft Licorice isn’t going to cause a personal financial meltdown. Nor will it benefit the boom in January-based dieting and gym membership sign-ups: compared to an average of 60 calories in a typical single Christmas box chocolate, there are just 23 cals in each piece of Three Bears Traditional Soft Licorice.
This traditional black licorice, which is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, contains real licorice extract, pineapple juice and natural colours and flavours – in fact, all the ingredients are natural, with no nasty E numbers (even the small amount of vegetable fat it contains is non-hydrogenated).
Three Bears Traditional Soft Licorice is available from health food stores or by mail order (01782 825 323) priced £1.69 for 200g.