Potty-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay found himself in a large pot of boiling water last week when he launched an attack on restuarants that serve foods out of season.
Ramsay criticized establishments for serving unseasonal fare such as "asparagus in December or Kenyan strawberries in March." But eagle-eyed foodie bloggers soon did their own research into the food on offer at the chef's own restaurants and quickly unearthed such shockers as winter squash served in May and tropical fruit-based desserts served all year round. The 'grilling' comes as the Soil Association praised Ramsay for his comments, stressing the need for more local produce.
In the UK alone, we throw away a shocking 3.6m tonnes of food every year. We're terrible at keeping our food fresh (particularly salads and bread, it seems) so anything that encourages sensible food storage can only be a good thing.
This simple pattern makes a pretty pouch that will keep your sarnies fresh as you travel to work or school. For kids' lunch boxes you may want to vary the choice of fabric depending on those crucial factors like gender, prefered colours, favourite TV show etc. But the basic design is very easy to follow, even for beginners. You'll need some vinyl coated fabric for the inside, too. [Via Crafty Crafty]
How many times have you started preparing an elaborate meal, only to discover you were clean out of herbs? The best solution to this problem is to grow your own: they look lovely, taste and smell fresh and won't go off until you pick them.
These cute, cracked-egg shaped planters called 'Egglings' would make a welcome addition to any kitchen.
This could be the first step to growing your own! Egglings are available to buy for £5.99 at Amazon
Here's some good news for the green chocoholics among you: luxury British chocolatier Montezuma is ensuring that from now on its packaging will be 100% recycled and recyclable.
The new packaging -- which is every bit as bright, funky and gift-able as it always has been -- uses biodegradable materials, where possible and includes FSC certified cardboard, starch based materials for liners and product windows. Montezuma's have also used water-based inks and varnishes in place of traditional UV based products, which ensures the packaging breaks down faster. Great to know another of my personal favourites is embracing some responsible principles.
Fed up with the usual over-priced coffee and croissant that leave your stomach growling for more by mid-morning? A good muesli is a healthy and filling solution that sets you up nicely for the day, and I can attest that Rude Health's Ulitimate muesli ticks all the right boxes.
Unlike many of the mass-produced mueslis you'll find on the supermarket shelf, Rude Health's recipe is free of wheat, sugar and salt but still tastes delicious covered in ice cold organic milk. It's crammed with 24 different healthy ingredients, for a really satisfying, nutritious brekkie. £5.95 for a 500g tub
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Produced in sunny Southwold since 1872, Adnams has long been behind some of Britain's best loved homegrown beers. And now, the company says it's brewed a beer that can be called the UK's first carbon neutral beer.
'East Green' is brewed in Adnams' eco-efficient brewery, which has an Energy Recovery System that recycles 100% of the steam created during the brewing process and uses it to heat 90% of the following brew. The beer is made with locally grown barley to minimise CO2 emissions from transportation, and type of hop that's naturally aphid-resistant is used, cutting the use of pesticides significantly. To ensure their carbon emissions were as low as possible, Adnams worked with The University of East Anglia's carbon reduction CRed team, throughout the project. Let's drink to that!
As an incorrigible foodie, I'm hugely excited about the Real Food Festival at Earl's Court in London, where I'll be heading this weekend.
The event, which kicked off yesterday, is a great opportunity for people who care about where their food comes from to sample the best in simply made and exceptional quality food from not just Britain's, but the world's finest small and independent producers. 500 of them will be in attendance, so you can expect to see (and taste!) an awful lot of veg, posh tea, meat and fish and much more besides. As well as sampling the goods, you can take part in a timely debate: Is cheap food costing the earth?
Potty-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay found himself in a large pot of boiling water last week when he launched an attack on restuarants that serve foods out of season. 
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