Inspired by outdoor adventures and handmade in Dorset, FIREPOT by Outdoorfood has been revealed as The Seed Fund's 2017 winner and will now benefit from a full year of business support, branding and mentoring from the philanthropic organisation's network of food and drink industry experts.

Owner, John Fisher, collected his prize at the Great Taste Golden Fork Award Dinner on Monday 4 September, marking the climactic end to the first year of partnership between The Seed Fund and the world's most coveted food awards. Hailed as "a game changing product that can make a huge difference to eating outdoors”, Outdoorfood has created a selection of backpack-friendly meals including Chilli con Carne, Dal and Risotto with a two-year shelf life, which are free from preservatives and just require hot water to prepare.

Having spent the summer working alongside the future stars of food and drink, as part of this year's Seed Fund Academy, Outdoorfood consistently impressed with the quality of its product and the boundless ambition of John, who first began developing FIREPOT for his own nutritional needs while traveling around the world. Frustrated by the lack of natural foods available to adventurists, John designed his own range of healthy and satisfying slow-cooked meals, ensuring they were lightweight enough to be enjoyed from the heights of the Himalayas to the fjords of Chile.

Jayne Noblet, owner of The Collaborators and founder of The Seed Fund, commented: “We had a very special group of start-ups in this year's Seed Fund Academy, but Outdoorfood really did blow us away with the sheer originality and quality of the product, as well as the team's determination to grow and develop the business. From polar explorers and serious sailors to weekend ramblers and happy campers, this is real food and proper nutrition for when you need it the most. John and his right-hand man, Luke Pollard, have contributed so much to this year's Academy and we know they will make fantastic ambassadors for The Seed Fund in future years, as they continue on their new adventure. In their first six months, FIREPOT meals are already being eaten across the globe, so we can't wait to see how far they can travel in a year with The Seed Fund's support!”

John Fisher, managing director of Outdoorfood, adds: “We entered The Seed Fund Academy with high expectations – an amazing chance to learn from individuals with years of industry experience – but at the time we had no idea of the sheer scale of the impact it would have on our business. The three months of workshops and mentoring sessions have exposed us to invaluable advice and case studies on how to launch and grow a food business. We have also loved working with the other start-ups in the Academy and sharing experiences and solutions with people facing similar challenges. It has been an incredibly energising experience and one I would recommend to any food company in the UK. The Seed Fund has been amazingly generous with their time over the summer and now we have the privilege of continuing to work with them over the next year. We will take this opportunity to pick through every aspect of our brand – not just the public face of our packaging and website, but also our business processes and our approach – and with their help develop Outdoorfood into an international brand worthy of The Seed Fund.”

Red Tractor Week 2017 (11^th – 17^th September) will celebrate great food, great farming and quality food you can trust. Supported by BBC Countryfile presenter and Red Tractor farmer Adam Henson, the week will encourage people to cook their own recipes using Red Tractor products and post them online using #Trustthetractor.

Red Tractor is creating an online recipe book of real people’s favourite Red Tractor meals. Each day will focus on a different key British ingredient and will be supported by a daily competition, and real life stories and videos from the Red Tractor farmers who bring us our food.

People can take part via social media (on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #Trustthetractor) and on the Red Tractor website (www.redtractor.org.uk);

• Monday 11^th – Poultry (chicken, duck, turkey)
• Tuesday 12^th  – Dairy (milk, cheese, butter)
• Wednesday 13^th - Pork
• Thursday 14^th – Fruit
• Friday 15^th – Beef & Lamb
• Saturday 16^th – Vegetables (including sugar and potatoes)
• Sunday 17^th - Crops (incl. wheat, barley and oats)

Red Tractor Farmer and BBC Countryfile presenter, Adam Henson said; “What a fabulous week to get out cooking and supporting our wonderful British Red Tractor farmers.  As a Red Tractor farmer myself this is one of my favourite times of year, when the harvest is safely gathered and we can really enjoy the fruits of our labour with so much great food in season.

“This year has been a patchy harvest with mixed quality in wheat and barley, however overall it has been a positive result.  With quality being key, it is more important than ever that the crop is looked after, which is why good standards are important.”

Every stage of the journey your Red Tractor food makes is checked.  Rigorous independent systems ensure that food holding the Red Tractor logo can be traced right back to original British farms.

The week will draw people’s attention to the great standards that go into food and drink with the Red Tractor label. Red Tractor ensures people can trust the food they eat.  It is the largest food standards scheme in the UK, covering; animal welfare, food safety, traceability and environmental protection.

Red Tractor food and drink has been responsibly produced to some of the most comprehensive and respected standards in the world. All stages are regularly checked by independent experts. All the major UK supermarkets use our standards as the basis for their UK sourced food (and most choose to display our logo to confirm product credentials with their customers).

Champions of Small Business will be supporting ‘Takeaway & Restaurant Innovation Expo,’ Europe’s only event for starting or growing takeaway or restaurant business, on September 26 and 27, at the ExCeL Arena, in London.

The shows runs alongside ‘Restaurant Tech Live’ and ‘Restaurant & Bar Design Show,’ so there will be absolutely everything you need to start, build and grow your food and drink business, with over 500 suppliers, showcasing the most innovative technologies, products, design ideas, marketing strategies and branding, financial services and much more to help your new venture stand out from the crowd.

Additionally, there will be the benefit of expert-led panel debates, interactive features, innovation awards, networking opportunities, workshops and 1-2-1 business advice from some of the most successful start-ups and industry leaders, and it doesn’t stop there!

There will also be the chance to listen to over 250 inspiring seminars, from the likes of John Aizlewood, Market Growth Officer at Pizza Hut; Marcin Korowiecki, Head of Systems at Jamie’s Italian; Abel Campos, Head of Franchising at McDonald’s UK; Pia Fairhurst, Creative Director at Azzurri Group; Lisa Prisk, Head of Design at Tossed and many more!

It's the fruit sensation that's graced millions of Instagram feeds and quickly become a breakfast staple.

Now for a limited time only, customers at Tesco will be able to enjoy small, snack–sized avocados, as well as regular-sized varieties.

This is the latest move by Tesco to work in partnership with suppliers so that no edible food goes to waste. Traditionally these smaller avocados would have been rejected by growers due to their size.  Growers have worked hard so that these diminutive eggs are of the same high quality as their larger counterparts.

The rare, mini avocados or Zilla Eggs are about a third of the size of regular avocados and are 24 times smaller than the giant sized Avozilla avocado, which Tesco has sold in a limited number of stores in recent years.

Tesco avocado buyer James Cantoni said:

“At Tesco we're passionate about working in partnership with our suppliers to tackle food waste from farm to fork.

“These Zilla Eggs are a brilliant way to offer customers great tasting, high quality avocados, which previously would have been rejected by growers because of their size.

“They are perfect for customers who want to snack, without the usual fuss or worry of wasting the other half of the avocado. And it also helps producers who are able to sell even more of their avocado crop.”

In recent years the popularity of avocados has overtaken the demand for more established favourites, with demand soaring by more than 30 per cent last year.

It is hoped the trial by Tesco will help to widen the fruit's appeal even further. The size and delicate skin, which can be peeled away by hand, makes these miniature avocados ideal snacking foods, and a perfect addition to a school lunch box.

Multi-award winning fine dining Indian restaurant, Pushkar Cocktail Bar & Dining added a ‘The Best of Birmingham’ award to its list of accolades at the 7^th annual English Curry Awards on 21^st August 2017.

Many personalities from the hospitality industry gathered at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel to celebrate, reward and highlight the unsung heroes behind the UK’s favourite dish. Attendees enjoyed a glittering ceremony with great food and entertainment while finding out which were the best curry houses of 2017.

With approximately 25 million curries being consumed each week, the English Curry Awards has become a key fixture on the UK social calendar, lauded as a national institution in its own right. The nomination process invited members of the public to nominate their favourite curry restaurants for a deserving accolade.

Pushkar’s Creative Director, Rai Singh, was delighted with the award: “We’re absolutely over the moon to have won another English Curry Award. Birmingham’s culinary scene is one of the richest in the world when it comes to curry establishments, and so to be awarded ‘The Best of Birmingham’, out of so many great curry greats, is such an honour. We are always proud to represent Birmingham and the Midlands. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us through the years and we could not have done this without the amazing team behind Pushkar.”

The Good Food Guide (GFG) has revealed its top places to dine in the UK, along with its award winners. For the first time in five years, the guide, published by Waitrose, has announced a new 'number one restaurant'. And it's not just grand dining-rooms across the UK being celebrated, more quirky finds include an eatery housed in a former strip-club and a tiny 12 seater restaurant run by the guide's 'Chef to Watch'.

New number one The restaurant awarded the top spot in The Good Food Guide 2018 is Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall. It has also achieved a perfect score of ten for the second year running. The Port Isaac seafood restaurant has been crowned number one in the UK for being 'the whole package', with its relaxed dining room, a menu carefully crafted around the freshest Cornish seafood, along with perfect service which 'just happens in the most discreet and attentive way'.  Outlaw takes the title of Britain's best restaurant from L'Enclume in Cumbria after their four years at the summit. However, Simon Rogan's L'Enclume still retains a perfect ten score for its 'fiercely seasonal ingredients' and 'knockout dishes'.

Speaking about the newly crowned number one restaurant, Waitrose Good Food Guide Editor, Elizabeth Carter said, “Nathan Outlaw's food is characterised by the absolute freshness of ingredients and a clear sense of purpose. He has done an enormous amount to educate and encourage the public appetite for fish, driven by his supply of impeccably fine ingredients, and a special talent for creating unique and thrilling fish dishes. Moreover, nobody seems to leave Nathan Outlaw's staff – they just go and work in another one of his restaurants. They obviously think he's a pretty good boss as well as a fine chef.”

Outlaw says, “We've always been proud to have a place in the listings, but to hear that Restaurant Nathan Outlaw has made it to No 1 is phenomenal.  I'd say the award has come due to the hard work and dedication of our team who have now been working together for a decade. It just goes to show that if you stay true to yourself, get your head down, look after your customers and use the very best ingredients available to you, you'll make it to the top.”

Dining discoveries Alongside the finest dining establishments, the GFG also champions more unusual eateries that you may not find in more traditional restaurant guides.  In addition to anonymous inspections, the GFG's research list is based on the huge volume of feedback received from readers and this helps uncover new foodie finds every year.

This year's edition features four new entries housed under railway arches: Umezushi in Manchester; Hart's Bakery in Bristol; and Bala Baya and El Pastor, both in London.

Also new to the GFG this year is Vice and Virtue, a Leeds' restaurant located in a former strip club.   With its Art Deco style interior, this venue is now poles apart from its previous life - it now serves up three tasting menus, with dishes including 'perfect' lobster ravioli and organic apple strudel.

And in Devon you'll find Ode & Co in a posh holiday park above the sea on the Teign Estuary. Run by husband and wife team Tim and Clare Bouget, this eatery has a real focus on local ingredients, with their pizzas cooked in a recycled oven and made with organic Devon flour, topped with local cheese. The GFG has celebrated fine food in a holiday park before. The Marram Grass Cafe found on a caravan site in Anglesey, was featured two years ago.

Says Elizabeth Carter, Waitrose Good Food Guide Editor, “Once again the readers of theguide have pointed our experts towards some brilliant eating in unexpected places. Whether it's fine-dining in a former strip-club, sushi under a railway arch or a fish supper in a shipping container, we find and celebrate culinary flair in all its forms. With this year's new entries including an 'ecological canteen' constructed from renewables in a holiday park, and a former town library playing host to one of Devon's best new openings, The Good Food Guide continues in its mission to uncover great cooking whatever the venue, wherever the talent. We think that eating out should be fun – and that's something these restaurants deliver in spades.”