Food and Drink

Wednesday 5 June, 2024

La Bibliothèque is thrilled to announce that they have hired Thomas Lemercier as their new Head Chef.

Born and raised in Strasbourg, Thomas made most of his culinary journey in France before moving to London where he perfected his style and skills at Hide and the Waterhouse Project. His culinary style is a mix of influences, memories and travels. He loves to show his french roots influenced by the creative and international energies in London.

“Cooking is the ultimate expression of love, as I share feelings and emotions on a plate”, says Thomas.

A culinary destination with a difference, La Bibliothèque is not just a place to eat, but an experience.

Where luxury meets East London charm, the restaurant and sake bar offers guests an unforgettable experience.

Conveniently located in East London, between Shoreditch, Dalston and Islington.

As a cherished member of the MAP Family, they stand alongside two remarkable sister venues: MAP Maison in London and MAP Petite Maison in Stockholm.

Infused with an unwavering passion for hospitality, the ethos revolves around creating excellent customer service. The team take immense pride in curating moments of comfort, elegance, and genuine warmth for guests.

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Monday 3 June, 2024

Kingston-upon-Thames, 3 June 2024

BRITE Box Big Cook 2024 aims for record breaking mass participation cooking event

To celebrate its 4th anniversary and to mark the start of Healthy Eating Week, Kingston-upon-Thames based charity Voices of Hope is launching the BRITE Box Big Cook 2024!

The event which will take place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th
June, is aiming to be the largest mass participation cooking event in the UK.

The organisers want to encourage as many people as possible to join the existing 700 BRITE Box families in preparing and cooking the newly released ‘Rainbow Pasta’ recipe, which is based on the Healthy Eating Week initiative to encourage us all to enjoy eating more fruit and vegetables.

The aim of the event is not only to raise awareness of the BRITE Box project, but to also create a record by getting over 3000 households cooking the same meal at the same time!

To be part of this record breaking event, download the recipe from the website at www.voh.org.uk/britebox/bigcook2024 , get your ingredients ready and enjoy preparing, cooking and eating your tasty 'Rainbow Pasta' at home.

For those living close to the Kingston Hub, there will be 100 extra special edition BRITE Boxes available for purchase and delivery to central Kingston residents and businesses. Order here by 5th June.

Kicking off healthy eating week with this easy to prepare, tasty healthy meal will support the BRITE Box project to provide a BRITE Box recipe meal kit for a local family.

To help more children and families have access to healthy, nutritious food and the opportunity to build cooking skills and resilience for the future, donations can also be made at www.voh.org.uk/appeal/brite-box-donate
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British Nutrition Foundation’s Healthy Eating Week

To celebrate the https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthy-eating-week (10-14th June), BRITE Box will also be visiting two of local Kingston primary schools on Monday 10th and Thursday 13th June with a host of fun and hands-on health and food related activities for the children to get involved in.You may also spot some very colourfully dressed children out and about! As local schools will be bringing our eating the rainbow theme to life and raising money for BRITE Box by organising ‘non uniform’ days, with the children swapping their school uniforms for the colours of the rainbow.

About BRITE Box

The BRITE Box (Building Resilience In Today's Environment) project was founded and is run by the Voices of Hope Charity who manage three BRITE Box hubs themselves in SW London (Kingston, Richmond and Elmbridge) and also work with partners in Southwark and N. Ireland, operating within a social franchise model.

Launched in 2020 and designed to address increasing levels of food insecurity in local communities, BRITE Box stands for Building Resilience In Today’s Environment. We aim to reach as many families as possible through the joy of cooking and in doing so build resilience for generations to eat and live well together.

BRITE Box provides weekly recipe meal kits, with all the ingredients and a child friendly illustrated recipe card to enable children and their families to enjoy cooking and eating a healthy meal together.

BRITE Box builds engagement through a fun, hands on, family activity, lead by children.

BRITE Box helps tackle food insecurity and health inequalities. BRITE Box helps with the family food budget each week AND builds lasting behaviour change which has a positive impact on both physical and mental health.

BRITE Box provides so much more than ingredients for a meal, it really is the ‘box which keeps on giving’ – building confidence and skills in the kitchen, bringing children and their families together around food in the home, giving no cost opportunities to try new foods, flavours and budget friendly recipes and creating lasting skills, habits and a love of food for life.

Further information:

Voices of Hope / BRITE Box

CONTACTS
Nick Dawson, UK Franchise & Development Lead, BRITE Box – nick.dawson@voh.org.uk 07827893060
Ruth Dawson BRITE Box Managed Hubs and Programme Development Lead ruth.dawson@voh.org.uk 07792011913

https://www.voh.org.uk/brite-box/

brite.box@voh.org.uk

Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and X @briteboxproject to keep up to date with all things BRITE Box or email us at brite.box@voh.org.uk.

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Tuesday 28 May, 2024

As the nation prepares to honour those who took part in the D-Day landings in Normandy, a former Royal Navy Engineer has taken his fish and chip van to the historic Sword beach, where visitors from around the world come to pay their respects to the fallen and see for themselves the site of one of the major battles of WWII.

Calum, aged 51, was born in Aberdeen and has lived in Stonehaven all his life; he joined the Royal Navy three weeks after his 16th birthday and has always maintained very strong connections with the armed forces and because of that he was passionate about being involved in this collaboration and to be part of an event to honour all those involved in the D-Day landings.

Because of the exceptional links between fish and chips and WWII and D-Day in particular, National Fish and Chip Day is honouring all those involved in the D-Day landings, the largest naval, land and air operation in history, and moving their day from its traditional Friday slot in 2024 and will be celebrating the nation’s favourite dish on Thursday 6th June to coincide with the D-Day anniversary.

Fish and chips were called ‘Good Companions’ by Winston Churchill; his Government safeguarded the supply of fish and potatoes to ensure the dish remained unrationed as it was felt it would be detrimental to the morale of the nation. Fish and chips are often considered to be the British national dish and this humble meal was a vital ingredient of the war effort in both the First and Second World Wars.

But even more incredible is that during the D-Day landings, soldiers who found themselves behind enemy lines at night, on Sword Beach and the other landing sites, and needed a way of telling whether someone nearby was a friend or foe – they devised a two-word code…one would call ‘fish’ and the other replied ‘chips’!

Sword Beach was one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase of the Operation Overlord campaign; the beach saw the landing of thousands of British, French and Allied troops from across the world as the first phase of the liberation of France, and visitors to the beach were treated to traditional fish and chips, which were of huge importance not just during WWII but on D-Day in particular.

Echoing the alliance of WWII – the British fish and chip van worked with local French suppliers and cooked fish from a nearby French fish market and used Normandy potatoes to create the chips.

Making the visit possible were the Normandy Tourist Board and their colleagues at Ouistreham Town Council who kindly granted permission for the van to be on the beach. Speaking of the event, Normandy Tourism said, “We are truly delighted to welcome a traditional fish & chips truck to Normandy for the National Fish and Chip day. Normandy and the UK share strong historical, cultural and friendship ties, and it is particularly important for us to welcome the team on this beach in Ouistreham, where history unfolded on 6thJune 1944, and which is a reminder of the values we share. The Brits will always receive a very warm welcome here in Normandy, and you may be surprised to hear that the fish & chips dish itself is increasingly popular in France!”

DFDS and Brittany Ferries were also involved in transporting the van and personnel to France and The Bay Fish and Chips for bringing their award-winning van to the beach and cooking the fish and chips. Owner of the van, Calum Richardson, is an ex-Navy sailor and was passionate about being involved.

Gary Lewis, President of the National Edible Oil Distributors Association (NEODA), founders of National Fish and Chip Day, said “National Fish and Chip Day has always brought the nation together to celebrate this iconic dish, and because of the intrinsic links it has always had with the world wars and D-Day we knew we wanted to be as involved as possible so we moved the date to show our support and were delighted to work with our French colleagues to get a fish and chip van over to Sword Beach.”

National Fish and Chip Day recognises and thanks everyone involved in bringing fish and chips to the centre of every community; from the fishers who go out in all weathers to catch the delicious fish, and the farmers who grow and harvest the perfect potatoes and peas, to the fish and chip shops and restaurants who take those fresh ingredients and create our family favourite.

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Wednesday 22 May, 2024

‌Award-winning Isle of Man artisan spirits producer The Fynoderee Distillery has launched Glashtyn Cask-Aged Rum, its first cask-aged rum expression.

This first release of cask-aged Manx, scratch-made rum was fermented and distilled from organic Colombian panela. It has matured in premium first-fill Bourbon Quarter-Casks for between 13 & 16 months at their distillery in the north of the Isle of Man, an island which is an entire UNESCO Biosphere nation with a deep Celtic heritage and which is surrounded by the Gulf Stream warmed-climes of the Irish Sea.

Paul Kerruish, co-founder, The Fynoderee Distillery said:

‘In line with our Biosphere-inspired ethos of creating planet and people friendly artisan spirits we have sourced our raw ingredient, panela, direct from the farmer in South America. This not only gives the rum a superior richness and complexity but also provides a ‘cane to cask’ backstory and traceability.

‘We couldn’t be happier with the flavour profiles that our unique island location, the premium ex-Heaven Hill Distillery casks, and high quality natural ingredients have imparted to our aged rum and look forward to further releases of unique and interesting bottlings – each featuring the tantalising tale of the “Glashtyn” a mysterious Manx sea-creature from Celtic mythology.’

The Fynoderee team will also shortly be announcing details of the launch of a new exclusive rum to mark this year’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) bicentenary – Refuge Manx Rum. This very special, limited-edition organic rum will be the second spirit to be launched as part of Fynoderee’s Coastal Collection of Spirits range, the distillery’s fundraising partnership with the RNLI, which also aims to shine a light on the Manx origins of the charity.

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Wednesday 22 May, 2024

Stirling Highland Games proudly announces the remarkable economic impact of its annual event on the local area and stakeholders since 2014. Through the annual visitor survey, it has been revealed that the Stirling Highland Games consistently injects a significant sum into the regional economy, underscoring its pivotal role in driving growth and prosperity.

The Stirling Highland Games, steeped in tradition and cultural significance, serves as a vibrant celebration of Scottish heritage, attracting visitors from near and far to revel in the spirit of camaraderie and competition. Beyond its cultural significance, the event plays a pivotal role in stimulating economic activity across various sectors, benefitting local businesses, vendors, and residents alike.

According to the latest findings, the Stirling Highland Games event contributed an impressive £644,000 to the local economy last year. This substantial economic infusion is attributed to several key factors, including increased tourism, heightened consumer spending, and enhanced visibility for the region on a national and international scale.

The event serves as a catalyst for economic growth, drawing in thousands of attendees who patronize local establishments, hotels, and eateries throughout the weekend. From quaint family-owned shops to bustling restaurants, businesses across Stirling would experience a surge in foot traffic and sales during the event, bolstering their bottom line and helping them foster long-term sustainability.

Furthermore, the Stirling Highland Games creates invaluable opportunities for local and national artisans, crafters, and vendors to showcase their talents and products to a diverse audience. The event's Traders Village serves as a bustling hub of commerce, offering a platform for Scottish traders to connect with event visitors and generate revenue, thus contributing to the economic vibrancy of the local community.

Beyond its direct economic impact, the Stirling Highland Games also yields numerous indirect benefits for stakeholders, including providing a practical learning experience for up to 20 young people each year who are part of Ceangail’s Skills Connect training programmes. The event serves as a focal point for cultural exchange and interaction, showcasing Stirling's rich cultural heritage globally.

As Ceangail looks towards the future, the Stirling Highland Games remains committed to fostering economic growth, supporting trading businesses, and enriching the fabric of our community. Through continued collaboration and innovation, it aims to continue to serve as Stirling’s leading annual outdoor cultural sporting event.

This year's event takes place on Saturday 17th August at Stirling Sports Village between 10:00 and 17:00. Further details about Stirling Highland Games can be found at www.stirlinghighlandgames.com. Further details about Ceangail’s vocational training programmes for young people can be found at www.ceangail.org.

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Tuesday 21 May, 2024
E3 is the first Vegan fine dining Supper Club in the UK, operating every Friday evening. Welcoming and relaxed space in which to experiment with some of the most exciting and radical culinary choices on offer in London. 357 Roman Road, London, E3 5QRhttps://www.e3vegan.com

E3 Vegan is home to the UK’s first vegan fine dining supper club. Opening every Friday night, E3 Vegan serve plant-based excellence to its supper club diners.

E3 Vegan boasts a welcoming and relaxed space in which its chefs, headed up by Marc Joseph, experiment with some of the most exciting and radical culinary choices on offer in London, creating a uniquely special experience for attendees.

Marc Joseph, vegetarian since he was a teenager and vegan for the last 10 years, was previously Head Chef at Vanilla Black, London’s first Vegetarian and Vegan fine dining restaurant in Holborn. Marc is committed to developing plant-based dishes that excite the senses and feed the imagination with items such as a Roasted Cauliflower Cannoli, Fennel Granita and Mahalabi with Burnt Strawberry and White Balsamic Gel on the sample Supper Club menu.

At E3 Vegan, dishes are sourced from seasonal produce, with Marc and his team always harnessing ingredients that are readily available such as smashed pea and edamame rather than flown in avocado. Furthermore, whenever possible E3 Vegan sources produce locally, supporting other small businesses and further cutting down on transport emissions.

The Supper Club is hosted indoors through the winter and set within the glorious garden in the summer, with the menu reflecting the atmosphere.

The Supper Club takes a traditional route in luxury presentation, beginning with a welcome drink and amuse-bouche followed by a starter, two mains and pre-dessert palette cleanser before concluding with dessert.

Wednesday to Sunday 12pm-5pm will see E3Vegan Supper Club transform to the Café and Deli welcoming guests to its East London location.

The Café serves lunches & brunches, kombucha & cocktails, salads & sandwiches; rounded off with a great selection of Vegan wines, beers and made-to-order smoothies and iced coffees. The menu changes daily, helping keep waste to a minimum and continually appealing to guests.

On Sunday E3 Vegan do a showstopping roast, serving the choice of its famous Nut Roast en croute or its Celeriac Schnitzel, all of which work well with its wines, beers, and soft drinks.

E3 Vegan engage in private events and oversee anything from light touch drinks and canapes to curated seven course dinners for 20 guests in its East London location. For larger groups, E3 Vegan happily cater off-site, and pride themselves on creating events as individual and unique as their guests.

E3 Vegan take reservations and are always happy to accommodate special requests and dietary requirements.

ENDS

CONTACT E3 VEGAN

For more information on E3 Vegan visit https://www.e3vegan.com

For further information on reservations contact e3vegan@gmail.com or call 020 3859 9798

For press interviews and images contact laura@chaptercommunications.co.uk

Instagram Handle: @e3.vegan

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Thursday 16 May, 2024

An assistant café bar manager is taking the plunge in a swimming challenge covering the equivalent distance of swimming the English Channel in a pool at his local gym in Altrincham.

Nick Jamieson-Jones works at Oppio Lounge and will be swimming 45 laps of the 25 metre pool every day throughout the month of June at Total Fitness to cover 21 miles – the narrowest point of the English channel – to raise funds for Francis House Children’s Hospice.

The initiative is part of 'LoungeAid' an annual fundraising event organised by Lounge all-day café bar sites across the UK and Nick wanted to do something big with the aim of raising £1,000.

Nick, 36, a former professional dancer became a regular at the gym after hanging up his dance shoes in 2019. Nick chose the gym for its pool but had never used it. It was only after spotting the Swim 21 challenge on the noticeboard that he decided it was the perfect fundraising activity and one he could combine with working full-time.

In preparation for his 30 day challenge Nick has been swimming two or three times a week before or after work.

Nick said: “I swam when I was very young, but I stopped in my early teens and never really got back to it. It is taking me just over an hour to swim 45 lengths.
“I’m not in any rush. I’m just in the slow lane doing the breaststroke swimming along nice and chilled listening to a playlist of more than 800 songs with my waterproof headphones on.
“I get into work after a swim, and I feel wide awake. My colleagues have noticed it and it’s already proving beneficial. I wasn’t expecting that, I genuinely thought I’d be more tired but at the same time it’s for such a good cause.”

From its base in Didsbury, Francis House Children’s Hospice supports more than 600 families from across Greater Manchester, providing a range of services including respite care, homecare, sibling support, end of life care and bereavement support to children and young adults with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

A visit to the hospice on an open day further inspired Nick to raise as much money as possible.

Nick said: “I was taken on a tour of the hospice by one of the care team. I already had some basic idea of what a hospice does in terms of bereavement but when I walked through the kitchen dining area I was amazed, it was so open and much bigger than I thought it would be.
“Francis House calls itself a home from home, and Lounges calls itself a lounge away from home. Seeing inside Francis House and how it’s not at all like a hospital, all the equipment is hidden away and that it’s a place for all the family to relax really motivated me.
“Of course, I felt quite emotional when I saw the rainbow rooms – the cooled rooms that the child can go after they have died where the family can spend as much time with them as they need – that choked me up a bit. I want to do as much as I possibly can for Francis House.”

The target for LoungeAid is £500 for each Lounge but Nick’s goal at Oppio Lounge in Altrincham is to raise £1,000.

James Ferguson, Fundraising Assistant of Francis House said: “I’d like to thank Nick for his amazing support for Francis House. Swimming the equivalent of the English Channel is no easy feat and will require plenty of motivation and determination to achieve, which I’m sure he has.

“We have worked with Oppio Lounge since their establishment, and their continued desire to help Francis House has been fantastic, strengthening our mission in providing care for children and young adults with life-limiting conditions. Nick’s fundraising during LoungeAid will contribute towards the care and support that we offer at Francis House, ensuring that hundreds of families can continue to rely on us during their times of need.”

As the local community manager, it’s Nick’s job to involve the community in the charity events. To help raise funds there are notice boards on the bar with links to Nick’s JustGiving page and there will be games to play in house.

Oppio Lounge opened in April 2023, at the site of the former Bistrot Pierre on George Street.

Nick said: “We have a tight knit community at the Lounges and regular customers. You can come to a Lounge with your laptop and have a cup of coffee and work or just read a book, meet friends and have cocktails or come with your kids and have breakfast. It’s all about coming here to enjoy yourself and treat it like your home.”

Nick officially begins his swim on June 1 but has already seen donations swell to into the hundreds of pounds.

Nick has no desire to swim the English Channel for real with a lifelong phobia of fishes.

He added: “I’m terrified of the sea. That’s why I’m doing the equivalent miles in a pool. I’m not sure why, fishes freak me out I don’t even eat them. For me, the beach is the worse thing ever. I don’t think I could survive on a cruise ship either!”

To make a donation and support Nick in his challenge visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/nicholas-jamieson-jones-1712618587493

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Monday 13 May, 2024

The new facility will spearhead food and water safety innovation and offer a gateway to Europe's evolving regulatory framework.

Brussels, Belgium (May 13, 2024) – NSF, a leading global public health and safety organization, today inaugurated its new European headquarters in Brussels. The cutting-edge facility in Diegem reflects NSF’s longstanding commitment to the European market and bolsters NSF’s ability to address the evolving needs of Europe’s water and food industries. The opening ceremony was attended by NSF’s board of directors and President and CEO Pedro Sancha.

As NSF celebrates its 80th anniversary of improving human and planet health and nearly four decades of activities in Belgium, establishing a brand-new headquarters allowed the organization to integrate all its Belgian operations and expertise under one roof. “The opening of our new Brussels headquarters is a key milestone in NSF’s 80-year history,” remarked Pedro Sancha, CEO of NSF. “It embodies our resolve to lead from the front in safeguarding public health, leveraging our global insights and local capabilities to anticipate and respond to the specific needs of the European market. Further empowering our talented teams in our European HQ to advance our vision of enabling safe and sustainable food, clean water and health products for consumers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

Designed with sustainability, collaboration and well-being as core principles, the Brussels hub will serve as a nexus for innovation, knowledge exchange, and the cultivation of strategic partnerships, enhancing NSF’s capacity to adapt to the dynamic needs of its clients and the safety and sustainability of their products. The facility includes ergonomic workstations, green areas, and a world-class sensory lab and test kitchen, positioning it as a vital center for food innovation and safety in Europe.

“The establishment of our headquarters in the heart of Europe aligns NSF with the pulse of regulatory evolution and innovation within the water, food, and health sciences sectors,” said Vincent Boks, Managing Director for NSF in Belgium. “Our proximity to key legislative entities and the central European market is crucial for maintaining a finger on the pulse of regulatory shifts, empowering us to deliver compliance and safety with unmatched efficacy. Our talented and multilingual team is ready to engage with our clients to support our mission of improving human and planet health.”

As NSF opens its doors in Brussels, it reaffirms its dedication to European consumers and its partnership with manufacturers, retailers and regulators to nurture a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world for future generations.

For more information on NSF, visit www.nsf.org.

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