Jelly (Water) Babies

One post has led to another this morning. Whilst looking at the call for papers for the event next June by the Food Studies group of the British Sociological Association, which I've posted separately about, I came across the following interesting and inspiring talk transcript..  I shall never view a green jelly baby in quite the same way! :-)

National Eating out Week

This week (18th to the 24th November) sees the 3rd National Eating out Week. For more Info click here

It would appear that today has been set aside as 'In Praise of Casserole' day, and tomorrow will be 'In Praise of Spag Bol day' ! This theme continues for the rest of the week

Resource - change of name

Please note that the Datamonitor resource has now changed it's name to Marketline Advantage. You will neeed to scroll a little further down the Athens list to find it

Herman the German

Akin to an edible chain letter, Herman the German friendship cake apparently originates from the 1720's and the Amish people. They would make a type of  sourdough bread which would be passed among the needy and sick. The Amish began to emigrate from Germany to America in the early C18, where they established settlements in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and they took the recipe with them. The basic premise is that you can either start your own 'Herman', or you may get given one. It’ll probably be given to you in a bowl looking something like this:

(This is the starter mix, which is a substitute for baking yeast) Whichever is the case, you ‘nurture’ your  Herman for 10 days, following the instructions, and every few days adding sugar flour and milk. After the 10 days is up, just before baking, the growing mixture is separated into four portions. You bake the one portion (adding any extra ingredients you think would enhance the flavour) and pass the other three to friends to ‘nurture’ and continue the cycle...

With any luck, your baked Herman should end up looking more like this:

Find out much more about the origins of Herman, along with instructions, tips, advice and recipe ideas here

Where did they get that lamp?

A new website launched in March this year, will help hotel guests to recreate the decoration they enjoyed during their stay, in their own homes.

The site www.discover-deliver.com aims to source the accessories, including furniture, crockery and cutlery, for the customers and deliver the exact item or something as similar as possible in terms of style and quality, to them. The site has it’s own shop where items can be purchased which the researchers have already selected from a number of hotels across the country, but if the customer wishes to own something they’ve seen in any hotel they’ve stayed in, they’re asked to simply take a photo of the item and send it in to the site. There is a charge of  £25 for using the service which is then redeemable against any item they eventually purchase.

Hospitality Action Week

Hospitality Action, the Hospitality Industry Benevolent Organisation, has been offering assistance to those who work or have worked within hospitality in the UK, for over 170 years. This week,14th-20th May is Hospitality Action week and will see a host of fundraising activities taking place all over the country and covering the entire hospitality industry. Find out more here

'Oggy' Oscars

Pasty makers and lovers will be descending on the Eden Project in Cornwall this weekend for the first ever world pasty championships.

For a pasty to now be labelled 'Cornish' not only must it be made in Cornwall, it must also contain certain ingredients and can't be crimped on the top; only on the side! This came about as a result of the EU status award of 'Protected geographical indication'. 

There are 4 categories in the championship... 2 for residents of Cornwall only and 2 for amateur outsiders..including 'Open savoury pasty' in which unusual savoury recipes are welcomed! I know what my unusual ingredient would be! Any guesses?? What about yours....?