Colors: Green Color
Colors: Green Color

It's set to be one of THE big food trends of 2018 and today Tesco will launch its first ever range of 'wicked' plant based dishes, unleashing the mighty flavour of plants.

Tesco has partnered with pioneering chef, Derek Sarno, to create 'Wicked Kitchen' – a new range of irresistible meals that celebrate everything that's 'wicked' and tasty about plants.

Recently demand for vegetarian and vegan food has soared as a result of lifestyle choices such as Meat Free Mondays and flexitarian diets.

In the last year alone Tesco has directly seen the effect of those lifestyle choices with demand for chilled vegetarian ready meals and meat substitutes soaring by 25 per cent.

Prepared exclusively for Tesco, the new range will launch on 8 January in 600 stores nationwide.

From crispy carrot 'pastrami' to wicked-meated barbecued 'shrooms and Sourdough Pizza, the vibrant wraps, meals and salads have all the zing, punch and crunch to encourage Brits to eat more veg – and they're available at a great price too.

Chef Derek said:

“When I first arrived in Britain from America I was hugely surprised at how little choice there was for vegans and those considering a lifestyle change.

“For too long, vegans have been overlooked, with many offerings that are available seemingly created to appease rather than truly please.

“Wicked Kitchen plans to change all that and I'm proud to work with Tesco and offer all its customers delicious meals to get them on board with this growing foodie revolution.”

The exclusive range includes 11 ready meals and nine food to go options, perfect for lunch or dinner.

As a third of the UK population now identifies themselves as “flexitarian”, the number of those cutting back on animal products and following a plant-based diet is set to increase by 10 per cent this year*.

With a keynote talk from food critic, writer and broadcaster, Jay Rayner, The Jolly Tasty pop-up pub sampling Great Taste award-winning beers & ciders, retail clinics with the School of Fine Food and Shopper's Anonymous all on the line up, the new look Fine Food Show North (formerly Harrogate Find Food Show) is set to be bigger and better than ever before.

Extended to three days and moved from June to February in response to popular demand, this trade-only event from the Guild of Fine Food will showcase more than 180 food and drink exhibitors and will take place at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate on Sunday 11 February from 11am – 4pm, Monday 12 February from 10am – 6pm and Tuesday 13 February from 10am – 4pm.

Registration is now open for deli, farm shop, café and garden centre owners, along with chefs, publicans, hoteliers, bar owners and restaurateurs, to visit this jam-packed three-day event and discover emerging food and drink trends, along with buyers from Selfridges, Harrods and Fenwicks.

Visitors to Fine Food Show North 2018 can also expect to learn how to tap into tourism during a Gastro Tourism Business Builder workshop with Sir Gary Verity, CEO at Welcome to Yorkshire, explore 'off the wall' accompaniments for cheese and watch producers pitch new products to the experts on the Feed the Dragon panel.

Tourism is eating, eating, eating. Gala dinners at conferences, constant eating on cruise ships, multinational buffets – food is big business in the travel and tourism industry.

Building on the success of the UN’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (IY2017) initiative and in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), PATA, along with our project partner, Scholars of Sustenance (Thai-SOS) and knowledge partner Futouris, is launching the BUFFET Campaign to raise awareness of food waste in our industry to drive positive change.

The BUFFET (Building an Understanding For Food Excess in Tourism) Initiative is about bringing together a coalition of industry partners and PATA members to create and implement a campaign that challenges our industry, particularly the hospitality sector, to reduce food waste to landfill.

PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy said, “With significant growth expected in the industry and especially the Asia Pacific region in the near future, greater waste can be expected. Our aim is to curb that waste by bringing the tourism and hospitality sectors together to reduce our impact on the planet by reducing our industry’s food waste to landfill. Reducing food waste will reduce the cost for operators in the industry while benefiting the environment at the same time.”

The main activities in this initiative include the raising awareness of food waste in our industry and the creation of Asia-Pacific focused resources for hoteliers and other hospitality and tourism professionals to drive positive change and ultimately reduce their food waste to landfill. While this initiative aims to impact our industry at large, will be focusing additional efforts on hotels and food and beverage providers in Asia, and specific hotel properties in Bangkok in our Bangkok Hotels Project, with the expertise of Thai-SOS.

PATA is seeking to engage further with hotels who would like to reduce their food waste to landfill, hotels already implementing food waste solutions, potential partners and sponsors, as well as those who would like to help us in raising awareness and building a better understanding for food excess in tourism.

With increasing concern of the world for climate change, food waste has come increasingly under attention in recent years and for good reason:

  • Food waste is the third biggest contributor to climate change
  • One third of all foods produced in the world is wasted
  • Additional pressures arise from GHG emissions caused by food production and transportation
  • Right now 842 million people do not have enough to eat and with an estimated world population of 9.8 billion people in 2050 resources will be limited and more people will be hungry

As millions of people embark on New Year resolutions to eat healthier, a new One Poll survey* has found that a third of shoppers find it difficult to know which foods to choose for a healthy diet.

The survey results come as Waitrose launches a new label which will be featured on hundreds of nutritious food and drink products to make it easier for customers to make healthier choices.

The new 'Good Health' label now shows on many of the supermarket's own-brand products, from fresh produce, juices and smoothies to store cupboard essentials including pulses and grains. A number of new healthier products will also be launching at Waitrose, many of which incorporate vegetables in innovative ways in response to the growing demand for plant-based protein.

Every product carrying the Good Health label has been assessed by a team of nutritionists and meet strict criteria based on government guidelines for fat, saturated fat, added sugar and salt, and so won't appear on products with red traffic lights, apart from where the fats and sugars are naturally occurring. The nutritional benefits of the products will be clearly signposted on packaging, including claims such as whether they're high in, or a source of, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients - as well as information on how this in turn benefits health.

Indicators such as 'high in fibre', 'Source of Vitamin D' and '1 of your 5 a day' will help customers to make healthier choices.

Nathalie Winn, Senior Nutritionist at Waitrose, explains:

“We believe there are few things more important than the food we eat, but we know people sometimes find it difficult to know what's a healthier choice, or to know which foods provide certain nutrients.

“With one third of shoppers getting confused by which foods to eat for a healthy diet, we wanted to make it easier than ever for our customers to know they're selecting food that not only tastes good, but is good for you too.

“Whether or not you have specific dietary requirements, the new labels will make it easier for everyone to make simple, healthy choices every day.”

New healthier products launching this month include meat sausages which are also packed with up to 35% fruit, vegetables or pulses, such as quinoa, cauliflower, kale and lentils.

The new range also includes a sandwich made with omelette in place of bread, Edamame Noodles and Mushroom and Miso Stir Fry Bites, all of which add protein to your diet.

Waitrose has also launched a number of tasty, healthy recipes for customers to pick up in store or online this month, as well as a special edition of its Waitrose Weekend newspaper which will help shoppers keep their health resolutions on track.

Single use cups are well and truly on the political agenda following a call from MPs for a 'Latte Levy' last week.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, is setting his own example (admittedly following criticism last month for using a takeaway cup) by proudly parading his reusable Ecoffee Cup yesterday outside number 10.

Ecoffee Cup founder David McLagan, who has been fighting the coffee cup waste corner since the company's inception in 2014, applauds Gove's example. The company set up its #stopthe100billion campaign precisely to raise awareness of the cause, effect real change in the way we consume coffee and help tackle the ever growing issue of single use packaging waste going to landfill.

Following the news of a possible 'Latte Levy' last week, the coffee cup waste issue is showing no signs of letting up, with hope that the PM is also taking note with her vow yesterday to end the 'throwaway culture'.

David McLagan comments: “Having previously thrown out similar initiatives in the past, the call from MPs for a coffee cup tax is fantastic news. The hope is that this time it actually comes to something…

“With awareness of the single-use coffee cup waste issue growing rapidly, and consumers admitting they would be happy to pay a charge, it is high time for government to sit up and listen. Policy has to be dramatically altered if we are to effectively change the mind-set of the coffee-consuming public.

“Following the huge success of the 5p plastic bag charge, a coffee cup levy is the obvious and necessary next step and will go a long way in changing attitudes and behaviours, by incentivising people to bring their own mugs.

“Recycling is simply not the answer. Reuse is.

“So few facilities are currently available to manage the recycling of disposable cups due to the highly complex task of separating the plastic from the paper, and with 100 billion single-use takeaway cups going to landfill globally each year - that's 273,972,603 coffee cups every single day – the time for action is most definitely now.

“Consumers, coffee chains and governments must all act in unison in order to reduce the volumes of coffee cups going to landfill.”

A sweet-toothed Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Bailey had a very lucky escape this festive season after wolfing down a potentially lethal dose of chocolate. Thankfully, her owners were aware of the dangers and took urgent action, meaning PDSA vets were able to provide life-saving treatment.

The warning comes as new PDSA research reveals one-in-ten pet owners face an emergency trip to the vets over the Christmas period*.

Bailey’s owner Angela (53) from Shard End, Birmingham, said: “I’d popped out to get Bailey some food but got back to find scraps of paper and foil all over the floor. She’d managed to get into a plastic bag and rip open the chocolate bar wrappers!”

Angela was horrified to find Bailey had polished off two huge bars of chocolate – over twice the lethal dose for dogs. But thankfully, Angela knew chocolate was poisonous for our four-legged friends and rushed Bailey straight to Aston PDSA Pet Hospital.

PDSA vets immediately gave Bailey medication to induce vomiting, alongside treatment to help reduce absorption of the deadly chemicals contained in chocolate.

PDSA Vet, Hannah Gritti, said: “Chocolate is incredibly toxic for dogs – especially the amount Bailey had eaten. We knew time was of the essence, so we needed to act fast to make sure she would pull through.

“Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine which, although harmless to people, is poisonous to dogs. Luckily, Angela knew Bailey had eaten chocolate and acted quickly, but others aren’t so lucky. It’s important to be vigilant this Christmas and keep all chocolate, including cakes and advent calendars, completely out of reach. Remember, gifts under the tree could contain chocolate too, so keep wrapped presents out of reach from curious paws.”

Cases of chocolate poisoning are consistently one of the most common enquiries to the Veterinary Poisons Information Services (VPIS), and the number of chocolate poisoning cases during the festive season is around 20%** higher than any other time of year. PDSA is urging owners to be vigilant during the festive season.

Hannah adds: “Signs your pet may have eaten chocolate can include excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhoea, a tender tummy and restlessness. This can then progress to tremors, an abnormal heart rhythm, raised body temperature and rapid breathing. In severe cases, chocolate poisoning in dogs can cause fits, kidney failure and even death.”

Other festive foods, including onions, raisins, some nuts, sage-and-onion stuffing, mince pies and Christmas cake, can be harmful and should be kept out of paws’ reach. You can find out more at pdsa.org.uk/poisons. If you think your dog may have eaten something poisonous, it’s important to contact your vet straight away for advice.

A very relieved Angela wants to share Bailey’s story to highlight the dangers that chocolate can pose to beloved pets this Christmas.

Angela added: “I was terrified she wasn’t going to make it. She’s my little prima donna and rules the house, but she’s my world and I would be distraught if anything happened to her.

“I hope that Bailey’s story helps raise awareness of the life-saving work PDSA do – I’m incredibly grateful for all they have done. They are such an amazing bunch of people – I just don’t have the words to say how thankful I am.”