Food

Northumbrian Fine Foods Ltd (NFF), the UK's biggest gluten free biscuit manufacturer, is investing £1.2m in new baking production capabilities that will create around 40 new jobs at their Gateshead facility. The investment is the result of soaring demand for their biscuits in the 'free from' sector that has seen turnover increase over the last five years by 80%.

To celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday in June, Friends of Glass, the community that supports glass packaging,  has teamed up with blogger Honest Mum to create a recipe to tickle her Majesty's taste-buds - and one that is kept in a container with an ancestry to rival even that of Queen Elizabeth II. A Raspberry jam penny is reported to be one of the Queen's favourites during afternoon tea. It's a tiny raspberry jam sandwich cut into a circle the size of an old English penny.  

Award-winning master pâtissier and celebrity chef Eric Lanlard has teamed up with Tescofinest* to skilfully craft a 'Cake Fit for a Queen' to help the nation celebrate the 90thbirthday of our longest reigning monarch. Eric has earned himself an international reputation for outstanding baked creations. His impressive list of clientele includes Her Majesty, The Queen Mother, who commissioned Eric to create a cake to celebrate her 101st birthday as well as the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna.

Alzheimer’s Society can reveal the West Midlands’ ultimate cupcake as part of a event to raise funds to defeat dementia. The charity is calling on everyone in the West Midlands to join in celebrating its first ever Cupcake Day on Thursday 16 June, in association with woman&home.

Award winning Indian restaurant, Pushkar Cocktail Bar & Dining, will be one of the venues taking part in the popular annual Birmingham Cocktail Weekend on Friday 15^th, Saturday 16^th and Sunday 17^th July. Birmingham Cocktail Weekend is a weekend of sampling the best of Birmingham’s cocktail scene which allows wristband holders (priced at £6) to purchase signature cocktails at great venues across the city, like Pushkar, throughout the weekend for just £4.

Returning for its second year, the ten day Guernsey International Food Festival will showcase the Bailiwick's delicious local produce and unique dishes in special feasts, tours and interactive events. The festival will be spread over the entire island of Guernsey as well as the sister islands of Herm and Sark from the 23rd of September to 2nd October 2016.

Philadelphia's craft beer scene continues to lure fans of independent breweries and speciality ales from all around the world thanks to its rich history dating back to the mid-19th century. The industry boomed until the US Prohibition in the 1920's and 1930's, which caused the industry to fall into decline.

A new English apple variety that 'matures in taste like a fine wine' is set to transform the UK apple industry and delight shoppers. The Red Prince will offer shoppers the superb taste of a high quality English apple - but in spring instead of autumn thanks to its unique structure and the very latest storage technology. The apple, which is grown in Kent, will go on sale this week at Tesco stores across the UK.

This wonderfully sunny weekend (29th – 30th May) saw The Shops at Dartington's annual Food Fair back for its sixth year, and what a brilliant bank holiday weekend it was.  Attracting a record breaking crowd, over 7,000 visitors flocked to the popular shopping destination near Totnes.  Throughout the two days visitors were treated to the county's fabulous food and drink producers and the opportunity to watch mouth-wateringly good workshops from Devon's food and drink stars.    

BBQ parties are set to become a whole lot more exciting for vegetarians. While veggie burgers and sausages have been around for years Monday will see the launch of the UK's first ever cauliflower and mushroom BBQ steaks. The launch, by Tesco, comes at a time when demand for vegetarian food is on the rise. In the last year the supermarket has seen sales for chilled vegetarian ready meals soar by nearly 20 per cent.

Highly recognisable from her appearances on BBC1's 'Saturday Kitchen', wine expert Susy Atkins will be headlining the exciting line up of The Shops at Dartington's interactive workshops and demonstrations at their free Food Fair on Sunday 29th and Monday 30th May.  Susy will be hosting a lively session showcasing the county's finest producers and sharing her knowledge on the region's best drinks including wines, ciders, ales and soft drinks. 

Leiths is inviting 7-11 year olds to four days of fun cooking and art activities this summer. The West London school is re-launching Kids Kitchen, in partnership with creative oasis Kite Studios. The cookery activities have all been designed by the Leiths chefs (and parents!) to be fun, to teach important life skills, and to sneakily include fruit, vegetables and whole grains wherever possible!

Waitrose will unveil its latest advertising campaign this week to launch its new premium food  range, Waitrose 1. The TV adverts are filmed in a similar style to the retailer's most recent campaign 'Everything we do goes into everything you taste', which used real Waitrose farms to show customers exactly where their food comes from.

The BBC Good Food Show Summer, are excited to welcome the winners of this year’s Producers Bursary Award Scheme to the event taking place from  16-19 June at the NEC, Birmingham. The BBC Good Food Shows, in conjunction with BBC Good Food Magazine, scoured the nation to find the country’s most outstanding artisan food and drink producers, with all entries tasted at the BBC Good Food test kitchens by a team of experts.

It is no secret that beer is the drink of choice for any curry fan and has been associated with Indian cuisine in the UK since first being served at Veeraswamy in Piccadilly in 1927. However, most of the so-called 'Indian' beer sold in the UK is actually being brewed in Europe, so to have a new beer, direct from India, is more than welcome.

Graffiti Spirits, widely regarded in Liverpool as prime innovators behind Liverpool's progressive new cocktail and independent eating out scene, has revealed that Santa Maluco will open at the end of this month. Director Matthew Farrell, one of the partners behind the fiercely independent group who already operate city centre bars Santa Chupitos, El Bandito, Salt Dog Slims, 81 Ltd and their 'smokehouse and cocktails' venue Slim's Pork Chop Express said guests can expect the team to bring a touch of Brazilian Rodizio to their Neapolitan pizza joint.