Food

Too many children under the age of five consume foods and drinks with high levels of sugar at least once a day, according to a survey published by charity Action for Children. Over half (59 per cent) of parents in the West Midlands give their children sugary drinks like squash and cordial at least once or twice a day, exceeding the maximum daily allowance of five sugar cubes for children of that age.

Waitrose has become the first supermarket to sell own label products through British Corner Shop, the online store that delivers British food to customers worldwide.  It will enable Waitrose to enter entirely new territories from the 138 countries British Corner Shop regularly ships to, including two of its largest markets, the USA and Germany, neither of which is among the 60 countries the UK retailer already exports to. 

Misconceptions about how to freeze food safely are contributing to food waste in the West Midlands and across the UK, according to new research by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The research – released as part of Food Safety Week – identified a number of freezing ‘myths’ that are preventing people in the West Midlands from using their freezers to make food go further.

Speciality food company Cottage Delight has been producing award-winning handmade fudge in Staffordshire for over 40 years and now the company's best-selling range is even more scrumptious following the addition of a locally produced butter.  Developed with the help of the Staffordshire Cheese Company, Sea Salted Butter is made with rich double cream sourced from a local family farm.

It was a clean sweep for Blackacre Farm Eggs at the Taste of the West Awards this year, with owners Dan and Briony Wood picking up Gold Awards for their entire Free Collection, including their brand new Dabbling Free goose eggs. Judges described the goose eggs as “simply delicious – very mellow with a great depth”, while also commenting on the unique packaging, saying that the “eggs would make a really lovely gift.”

Leiths School of Food and Wine, famous for training top chefs like Florence Knight and Henry Harris, TV cooks including Gizzi Erskine, Lorraine Pascale and Matt Tebbutt, and legendary writers like Diana Henry, revealed which students gained the ultimate accolades in the 2016 Diploma in Food and Wine. The announcement was made at a celebratory lunch at Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House. Mary Harding won I&P Olive Oils Student of the Year and Mark Norris won Louis Latour Wine Student of the Year.

Tesco stores in Wimbledon are gearing up for a fortnight of tennis as 500,000 visitors are expected to visit Wimbledon over the next two weeks. Tesco will be offering strawberry and cream tastings in their Wimbledon Metro store as the fruit has become intrinsically associated with the tournament. Tesco expect to sell 1,500 tonnes of strawberries over the fortnight meaning that nearly 250 punnets are sold every minute.

Summer is one of the liveliest seasons to visit Lisbon, especially in June, as the city plays host to its most popular annual festival, the Festas de Lisboa. Throughout the month, thousands of people take to the streets of Lisbon's oldest neighbourhoods for music, dance, processions and street entertainment, while the smell of grilled sardines fills the air. 

Five of the best Mexican chefs known internationally for their trend setting culinary art will highlight the best of the new trends in Mexican cuisine with the Best of Mexico Riviera Maya. The event will be held at the five AAA Diamond resort (3 Michelin Star equivalent) Grand Velas Riviera Maya from 5-9th October 2016. The exclusive resort invited the prestigious chefs including Zahie Téllez, Carlos Gaytan, Francisco Ruano, and Mikel Alonso to share their creativity, talent and passion for Mexican cuisine through this gastronomic event.

Taste couscous from all over the world at Sicily's annual Couscous Fest in September.  From 16 to 25 September visitors can wander around the streets of San Vito Lo Capo in North West Sicily and try over 30 different recipes, which are served every day from midday to midnight in traditional couscous houses dotted around the town.  The huge variety of couscous recipes ranges from the extravagant to the traditional, meat, fish, seafood and vegetables to gluten free.

Kaspa’s Desserts will hold its grand opening at Wolverhampton’s city centre showpiece i10 building on Friday, June 24, at noon. The dessert house chain has taken over two units to house its first Midlands branch which will employ more than 25 local people at the multi-million pound office and retail development. The i10 building, next to the railway station and bus station, was completed in December and forms part of the city’s £120 million Interchange plans.

Great Western Arcade’s culinary experts have fulfilled every foodie’s fantasy, as Anderson & Hill has become Brum’s first and only stockist of both black and white whole truffles. With Loki Wine’s carefully-curated selection of beverages just opposite the coveted treat, GWA has secured its name as a gourmand’s dream destination, bursting with city-wide exclusives. Anderson & Hill’s latest delicacy is in high demand: known for its pungent scent and unique flavour, truffle products have become a head chef’s best friend.

The chef patron of The Lord Clyde in Kerridge, Macclesfield has launched a new project to swap veggies for pints. The Chehsire gastro pub has recently started its own vegetable and herb garden but is several months away from its first crop, so owner and chef patron Ernst van Zyl is hoping local allotment owners and gardeners will share their surplus in the meantime.  For every half pound of fruit, vegetables or herbs gifted to The Lord Clyde, Ernst will put a pint behind the bar.   

Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism participates in Taste of London which takes place at Regent's Park in London, one of the most popular and the greatest food, drink and summer festival as a destination partner between 15th and 19th June 2016. During the festival, the visitors will have a chance to taste of many different delicious Turkish foods and join in the activities at Turkey Home tent at Regent's Park. Complimentary Turkish dishes and desserts, which are the tastiest speciality of famous Turkish chefs will be offered to the visitors.  

Sip, savor and save at craft breweries throughout The Palm Beaches this summer with Discover The Palm Beaches' new Discover Brew Pass. Sample a glass or pint of beer at five of the destination's nationally-known and up-and-coming breweries – Accomplice Brewery & Ciderworks, Barrel of Monks, Due South Brewing Co., Tequesta Brewing Company and Twisted Trunk Brewing  – from $15 per person.

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%.