Food and Drink

With the UK & Ireland regional competition taking place next month, S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 is well under way. Set across 21 global regions, 210 semi-finalists having selected, chosen by ALMA – the International School of Italian Cuisine. Taking place at Aveqia in London next month, the UK & Ireland semi-finals will see ten semi-finalists face off against one another, preparing their ‘signature dishes’ for a panel of acclaimed chefs. This year’s chef judging panel includes Angela Hartnett MBE, Alyn Williams,...

Ahead of London’s first Nordic food festival, we spoke to renowned Moro restaurant chef, Sam Clark, about the growing popularity of Nordic cuisine. The Great Nordic Feast will visit London’s Southbank for the first time this weekend to showcase signature dishes, ingredients and flavours from a range of Nordic countries. As part of the year-long cultural Nordic Matters festival at the Southbank Centre, from Friday 20th until Sunday 22nd October, eight cooks from Nordic countries team up with some of...

An amalgamation of one of Britain’s best loved dishes and best loved alcoholic drinks, Manchester House chef Aiden Byrne has created ‘Gin Fish and Chips’. Celebrating the best of British gins and showcasing their versatility, this recipe uses super premium Liverpool Gin, which is mixed into the fish’s batter, alongside a splash of tonic water and some extra botanicals. Not merely a tired, unpalatable gimmick - this recipe is also ideal for International Gin & Tonic Day taking place this...

Animal rights activists in chicken masks cage themselves in supermarket trolleys Animal rights activists donned chicken masks and caged themselves in ASDA supermarket trolleys today to protest Noble Foods’ use of cages for hens. Oxford-based Noble Foods, the UK’s biggest egg company, produces over 60 million eggs a week and owns well-known brands such as The Happy Egg Co. and Big and Fresh. Drawing attention to the plight of these sensitive, intelligent animals, The Humane League UK staff and volunteers...

Until recently, Leicester Square’s only redeeming assets were the Heliot at The Hippodrome Casino’s reasonably-priced steaks, or Burger King’s magical soft drinks dispenser – spilling various drinks we know and love but in outlandish, unfamiliar flavours. The rest of the square remained a toxic wasteland of woefully bad restaurants, the dreaded M&M shop and what’s perhaps London’s most overpriced cinema. On the edge of the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel, Leicester Square Kitchen is the third restaurant from the group...

A sign in a Lloyds Bar has left customers baffled this week. The notice warned locals that the bar would not be accepting the old £1 coin but would give them out as change. The old "round pound" will stop being legal tender on Sunday October 15, which means legally the Wetherspoons chain has to accept them. But that wasn't an option for customers at one chain after a notice warned that they wouldn't be allowed to use them as...

Launched at the beginning of 2013, Weird Beard Brew Co. operates from a site near Ealing and produces a number of hop-driven beers alongside classic styles. With the aim to “satisfy, enthuse and be enjoyed by whoever the drinker,” Weird Beard offer a number of core beers as well as some occasional specials and one-off brews that push creative boundaries. Brewed with the second runnings from their fierce imperial stout – Sadako – Weird Beard Brewing Co. Dark Hopfler is...

Peruvian food is big business in London, with so many Latin American restaurants and ceviche bars constantly launching within the capital. Since opening Ceviche in Soho, in 2012, Peruvian DJ-turned-restaurateur Martin Morales now has a four-strong portfolio of restaurants with strong Peruvian leanings. Morales is also the author of two cookbooks, with a brand new Andina recipe book published this month. On the corner of fashionable Redchurch Street and Shoreditch High Street, Andina (Morales’ second restaurant) opened at the end...

Protein found in Quorn meat-free foods may be just as good for muscles as animal proteins, new research suggests. Food labelling usually lists protein as a simple number, but some proteins have better “bioavailability” than others – meaning more can be used by the body. Animal proteins like milk are known to have high bioavailability, making them an excellent source of building blocks for muscles. Researchers from the University of Exeter compared milk protein with Mycoprotein – the fungi-based protein source...