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Let’s Party Kids

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:38:32 +0000

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Splat Cooking, the UK’s leading children’s cooking party company have a
created a new range of parties to incorporate cooking and science to make
food even more fun.

Splat Cooking have been running their highly successful classic Cooking
Parties and Cupcake Decorating Parties for the past decade and have taught
1,000s of children and adults to cook through their network of cookery
schools and cooking parties. With the interest in molecular gastronomy
generated through Heston Blumental and Ferran Adria of El Bulli, the Splat
Cooking team, lead by children’s food guru, Beverley Glock, have developed
a new range of cooking parties to introduce molecular gastronomy to
children. There are three new party themes all complete with mad scientist
lab coats and protective goggles.

Splatsploding Party – aimed at 5 year olds upwards. A mixture of science
and cooking and themed around dinosaurs, space, fashion or fairytales, the
children learn to cook as well as taking part in cool, food science
experiments such as making edible slime, an exploding volcano and see if the
birthday child can ‘walk on custard’.

Splattastic Party – aimed at 8 year olds upwards. Pizza, jelly and ice
cream with a molecular gastronomy twist. How do you make ice cream in 5
minutes without a freezer? Can you make jelly set in 3 minutes? How do you
make fruit flavoured caviar pearls?

Mocktails and Canapes Party – aimed at the over 12s. Non-alcoholic
cocktails with suspended caviar pearls and a jelly with liquid centre made
by reverse spherification, canapés, deconstructed chocolates and homemade
chocolates.

The parties launch in October and will be available through Splat
Cooking’s Franchise network and their team in London, Home Counties, South
West and the Midlands and rolling out with new franchises coming on board
throughout the UK.

Learning is also linked to different areas of the school curriculum –
history, geography and science – with teaching about food growing,
origins, food culture and food science and an emphasis on the use of
seasonal produce.

“ This is a new and exciting field of cookery we don’t think it
should be kept just for adults, it engages children who are interested in
science to learn how much fun food and cooking can be” said Beverley
Glock, Creative Director for Splat Cooking.

Splat Cooking runs a range of different seasonal workshops to encourage
families back into the kitchen. Creative Director Beverley Glock was one of
the first to recognise the importance of family mealtimes and accessible
cookery skills to promote good health and wellbeing. Her story makes an
excellent business case study.

For further information about Splat Cooking Ltd, the new party themes and
the franchise opportunity, please contact:

Victoria Whittard, Head of Franchise and Business Development
Email: victoria.whittard@splatcooking.com , Tel: 0870 766 8290 or mobile
07528 551382

For all press enquiries please contact: Victoria Whittard or Beverley Glock,
Splat Cooking Ltd,
Email: pressoffice@splatcooking.com, Tel: 0870 766 8290 or mobile 0797 438
6212

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Take a Walk on the Local Side

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:30:43 +0000

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PART TWO in a contribution from Upasana Bhaumk, on local food and why it is a mystery that people do not visit local produce makers more often.

There are some things which
remain constant in your life, and certain foods are one of them. Regardless of
how old you are, or what changes to the country your generation makes, there
will always be utmost reverence for ice cream and hamburgers and curries
(Persian, German and South Asian in origin).

There are countless things which I have a feeling
will always feature in my food intake, with many memories associated with them.
There will always be the fact that my first memory of having fish and chips
(amongst the nation’s favourite food, no doubt), involves me throwing up and
vowing never to touch a piece of fried fish again (4 year olds are very sure
about what they want when it comes to food it seems). Another one of my food
memories involves tasting hotdogs for the first time – of course being England,
they weren’t what I classify as being proper hotdogs, but instead a ever so
slightly charred sausage, covered in more ketchup than a child should be allowed
to handle wearing white clothes, in a long bread.

It surprises me that even though I prefer savoury
food, many of my food memories are associated with sweet food. For example,
jelly, a must at every childhood birthday party till a certain age, wibbling and
wobbling like a fat drunk Santa Clause, tasting fairly bland most of the time,
and yet still loving every mouthful. And let’s not forget how I insisted on
strawberry ice cream once a day for a whole year as a toddler – it seems I had
my babysitter wrapped round my finger. There’s something about the colour and
taste that works for every girl, regardless of the age.

Food I’ve recently discovered also makes my list.
Pad Thai, the illegitimate child of the best of Indian and Chinese cuisine, is
now one thing I could perhaps eat forever, regardless of how much the restaurant
messes it up. It’ll never compare to my first favourite cuisine (made at a
suitably mature age) though, Chinese. With it being my favourite through the
years, I’ve picked up a number of bad habits – regardless of where I go, I will
go for the sweet and sour chicken and the chowmein – it seems I can’t betray
them for food they are oh so closely linked with!

It seems slightly sad that none of the food for
which I have a soft spot for is food local to me. This needs to change if
farmers are to keep on being a part of our society, and we need to get more
involved with them as consumers. Flavrbox aims to do exactly this, by providing
a more direct relationship between farmers and consumers – who knows, maybe
soon, something from my local farm ( a 5 minute walk away) will be part of my
favourite foods.

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Don’t Be in the Doghouse This Valentine’s Day

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:12:40 +0000

: Image by Jesse Draper via Flickr

IN case you hadn’t realised January is flying by, and soon, it will be that time of the year that POYP hates, Valentine’s Day. This is the time of year where Restaurants charge ridiculous prices for sit in meals for two, and don’t even include Champagne in the price. But don’t panic…

IF you have forgotten to buy that tantalising treat for your loved one, or that sexy bit of lingerie, then the least you can do is cook your other half a Gourmet meak that will have her racing to the bedroom quicker than a Squirrell races across the road…Don’t put it off and end up leaving yourself in the Doghouse…

But don’t panic. Simply follow the Flour Advisory Bureau’s guide to hosting the perfect intimate Valentines meal in the comfort of your own home, avoiding the overpriced, overcrowded restaurants in the process. Your other half will think you are being romantic and you’ll save a ton of money!

HOT TIPS TO FOLLOW FOR THE BIG DAY

1. Set the mood. Strategically place scented tea lights around the room – spicy scents such as cinnamon or vanilla will get both men and women in the mood, or you could opt for a more traditional romantic scent such as ylang ylang or jasmine. Then set the table. A small vase with a single red rose will add to the romantic ambiance.

2. Want to really make it a night to remember? Don’t forget to use aphrodisiac ingredients in your cooking – we’ve planned an entire menu below to help get you and your partner in the mood for love. Serve dinner with glasses of pink champagne, or either cava or prosecco if your budget doesn’t stretch that far.

Oh, and one other thing. Don’t forget a fantastic present for your partner!

Starter – Asparagus and gruyere tart

Asparagus is a well-known aphrodisiac and this easy to make tart is guaranteed to get you in the mood.

Servings: two

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1/4 small onion, very finely chopped
two individual ready cooked pastry case (see step by step pastry)
70g of asparagus tips
1 eggs
50ml double cream
50ml milk
40g gruyere cheese, grated

Method

Heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and transparent. Transfer the onions to the pastry case and spread them out evenly on the base. Cook the asparagus in a pan of boiling salted water for about 2-3 minutes then refresh in cold water. Drain well then arrange the spears in the tart case.

In a jug, mix together the eggs, cream and milk and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (You can add a pinch of fresh herbs also if you wish). Sprinkle half the cheese over the asparagus then carefully pour over the mixture (there may be a little over).

Top with the remaining cheese, a pinch of black pepper and put in the oven at gas mark 4/180C (170C in a fan oven) and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden and the mixture is beginning to cook. It may still be a little wobbly, it will continue cooking as it cools down. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes then release from the tin and serve either warm or cold. Delicious with a spoonful of chutney

Main – Cod with a prosciutto crust

The flavours in this dish complement each other wonderfully and it really can be made with any firm white fish such as monkfish. Furthermore both garlic and pine nuts are said to stimulate sexual desire. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

Servings: two

Ingredients

250g cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 large courgette, cut into strips
1 large clove of garlic, cut into pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
1 handfuls of whole basil leaves
2 x 200g (2 x 7oz) pieces cod or other firm white fish
1/4 ciabatta loaf
3 slices prosciutto, about 35g roughly chopped
12g pine nuts

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/ gas 6. Place tomatoes, courgettes, garlic, olive oil and basil leaves in a shallow ovenproof dish. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place into the preheated oven and cook for 20mins. Whilst the vegetables are cooking, make the bread crust. Break the ciabatta into rough crumbs by rubbing between your hands. Mix with the prosciutto, pine kernels and a drizzle of olive oil. When the vegetables are tender, place fish on top and pile on the bread crust. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

Dessert – Banoffee pie

This combination of banana, toffee and cream is always popular and is very simple to make. Bananas are rich in potassium and B vitamins, necessities for sex hormone production in both men and women.

Servings: Two

Ingredients

80g fresh dessert pastry flan case
2 medium bananas
1/4 lemon
150g jar banoffee toffee
50ml double cream
1 chocolate flake

Method

Preheat the oven to gas 6/200C. Line the flan case with greaseproof paper. Cover with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake at gas mark 6/200C for 15 -18 minutes in a hot oven until golden brown. Remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper. Allow to cool. Slice bananas and squeeze lemon juice over them, toss to ensure they are coated. Place in the base of the flan case. Using a spatula spread the banoffi toffee over the bananas. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spread over the toffee. Crumble the flake and spread over cream. Chill until required. Cook’s Tips Banoffee Toffee is sold in most supermarkets – it may be beside the jams or beside baking ingredients. If you can’t find any, place an unopened 400g can of condensed milk in a pot of water, bring to the boil for three hours taking care not to let the pan boil dry. Allow the can to cool completely, open and spread over bananas as described.

And the final tip, HAVE FUN IN THE BEDROOM!!!!!

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