13/04/05 - Catering hot topic for the election
Catering is a hot topic for the up-coming election. With all parties keen to get Jamie Oliver on their side it has helped bring catering and health to the top of the election menu!
10/04/05 - Food Safety is in Your Hands
Once the busy school year starts, family dinnertime togetherness often takes a back seat to catch-as-catch-can meals, with parents reheating dinner once, twice, sometimes three times in an evening!
That may be modern life, but food still needs to be treated the old-fashioned way, according to the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods. The two organizations have joined together in a consumer education program, Home Food Safety...It's in Your Hands®, to communicate the important role consumers play in preparing foods safely in their own homes.
"If you’re saving leftovers for late-comers, remember that perishable foods should never sit at room temperature for longer than two hours," says registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Bettye Nowlin. "Instead of leaving dinner on the stove between reheatings, store it in the refrigerator until family members are ready to eat."
Safely handling food in your kitchen is easier than most home cooks think. Just follow these four simple key guidelines from ADA and ConAgra Foods:
Wash hands often in warm, soapy water before, during and after meal preparation. Don’t forget to wash hands front and back, up to your wrists and between fingers. Sing two choruses of "Happy Birthday" while you lather up, cleaning your hands for 20 seconds.
Keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate by using two cutting boards: one for raw meat, poultry and seafood and the other for read-to-eat foods like bread and vegetables. Wash boards thoroughly in hot, soapy water after each use.
Cook to proper temperatures. A meat thermometer is the only reliable way to ensure safety and determine the doneness of cooked foods. Favorites like hamburgers should be cooked to at least 160°F, chicken to 170°F and hot dogs reheated to 160°F. And don’t forget to reheat leftovers to 165°F.
Refrigerate promptly below 40°F. Make sure the refrigerator is set below 40°F by using a refrigerator thermometer. Leftover foods from a meal should not stay out of refrigeration longer than two hours. In hot weather (90°F or above), this time is reduced to one hour. This will keep perishable foods out of what’s called the "danger zone" – temperatures between 40°F and 140°F.
Thanks to the American Dietetic Association for this information
30/03/05 - Greene King Brewing Company is launching a new style beer
CONTINUING its crusade to make beer the perfect accompaniment to food, Greene King Brewing Company is launching a new style beer and bottle which significantly moves away from the traditional look and image for beers.
The distinctively shaped, clear 750ml and 330ml size bottle is now available for the on and off-trade throughout the country.
The label features a distinctive fork logo which shouts dining experience beause the bottle and design were balanced to allow beer cues such as the Greene King mark, as well as wine cues in terms of the bottle shape, to be communicated in a stylish way.
The beer is the only one especially brewed to complement food.
It is light in taste and less gassy than other beers and in trials it particularly appealed especially to women.
Trials of the beer have been taking place in pubs and through selected Sainsbury’s stores for 12 months.
In research, consumers were happy to embrace the concept of beer and food, and believed the design was appropriate for the dinner table.
Rooney Anand, managing director of Greene King Brewing Company said: "Our Beer To Dine For Brand has performed incredibly well in trials attracting a new audience and is seen as a real alternative to wine.
"The product is the result of extensive research and sampling. We believe that our campaign truly encourages the notion that beer can be drunk with food."
28/12/04 - Gordon Ramsay at The Conrad Tokyo
UK chef Gordon Ramsay has revealed he is planning to broaden his business overseas, with a new restaurant in Japan.
The celebrity chef will open a restaurant in the new Conrad Tokyo hotel and it will be named Gordon Ramsay at The Conrad Tokyo.
The restaurant will open when the hotel opens in spring and other food establishments are also set to be opened in the hotel.
Ramsey already has a restaurant in Dubai and is said to be looking at Las Vegas as a next potential option for business.
Restaurants owned by the chef in the UK include Petrus, Gordon Ramsey in Chelsea and Gordon Ramsey in Claridges.
06/12/04 - Display the results of food safety inspections for consumers to see
The proposed new system would require the owners of food premises, including restaurants, pubs and takeaways, to post the results of food inspections visibly at their premises, possibly even on the front doors, to inform potential customers of the standards of food hygiene and safety, whether they be good or bad.
Jenny Morris, CIEH policy officer, said, "This type of 'scores on doors' scheme is used widely across the USA and a similar scheme has recently been introduced in Toronto, Canada where it has been warmly welcomed by consumers and regulators.
In the USA, premises have to display a scorecard with capital letters A – E indicating the level of hygiene standards at the premises. A indicates high standards of food safety and hygiene and E poor standards. Closer to the UK, Denmark operates a Smiley scheme whereby food premises that practice good hygiene are given a happy face and those that don't are given a sad face.
Clearly armed with this basic information, UK consumers would be able to exercise choice about where they eat based not only on the menu but also on knowing how conscientious the restaurants they choose to frequent are in maintaining good food hygiene."
26/11/04 - Little Chef to be sold next year.
Little Chef, the roadside restaurant chain that recently withdrew plans to slim down its cartoon logo after a public outcry, is to be put up for sale early next year for up to £50 million,
Permira, the private equity group that took over the chain last year as part of its acquisition of Travelodge, has decided to focus on its hotel business, while intending to retain eateries next door to its lodges.
There are 297 Little Chefs, plus 40 franchised outlets at Moto motorway service stations. Travelodge will retain the 115 eateries located alongside its lodges, and expects to retain the Little Chef brand under a franchise deal with the eventual buyer.
The company, which owns about 250 lodges in the UK, said it was too early to put a price tag on the business. However, analysts expect the chain to fetch between £30 million and £50 million.
Tim Scoble, the chief executive of Little Chef, who in September scrapped his plan to reduce the paunch on "Charlie", has left the company. Grant Hearn, the Travelodge chief executive, will assume responsibility for the restaurants pending their sale in the spring.
The decision by Travelodge to retain the 115 "co-located" Little Chefs represents a change of heart from its earlier move to separate the entire chain from its business with the aim of selling it en bloc. Mr Hearn said: "We want to make sure that Travelodge customers have a decent food offering at each location.
"We didn’t want to end up with a car showroom next door to our Travelodges."
Mr Hearn refuted suggestions that Little Chef was being sold because the brand had lost its appeal. "We still get 20 million customers a year and the outcry over the slimmed-down logo shows its enduring appeal. It was always our intention to separate it out and sell it to focus on our lodge business."
He said that Little Chef would appeal to private equity groups, while Travelodge could eventually be floated on the stock market.
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