Foodies In The News

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Anywhere near you EM?

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/a ... ant-review

OMG. I love Jeremy Lee.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/a ... jeremy-lee

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Not really, PP but looks worth a drive!

Nice pud .

[Stokey Sue Profile]

The chef proprietor at this vegan Chinese restaurant was my next door neighbour until Christmas, Time Out seem to approve (with a few reservations) - despite his N European name, he is of Chinese heritage

https://www.timeout.com/london/restaura ... how%20mein.

[mistakened Profile]

Too much chili for me, not that I will ever get there

Moira

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Calories on menus.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... restaurant

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I’m not in favour, though I was astonished by the calories on some of the takeaway drinks, in some cases over 700 kcal per serving, which is more than a modest helping of pasta, and it might be worth reminding people of that

[Earthmaiden Profile]

I am in favour though do have concerns from the eating disorder point of view and think why not go the whole hog and include carb, sugar and fat? Many count some aspect of those rather than calories. Yes, drinks need watching. Those coffee shop frothy coffees with a muffin especially!

[miss mouse Profile]

I am against. It is a silly idea.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I am in favour though do have concerns from the eating disorder point of view and think why not go the whole hog and include carb, sugar and fat? Many count some aspect of those rather than calories. Yes, drinks need watching. Those coffee shop frothy coffees with a muffin especially!

I would boycott all restaurants on principle if they went for nutritional labels
Apart from anything else, how could they do it? Are we to prevent chefs from cheffing, because some people don't understand food? Are all menus to be restricted to a unchanging MacDonald's/Wetherspoons list of dull foods that never change because the kitchen can't respond to seasonal gluts and changes in the market as they can't do the number crunching? Would making use of what's available become illegal?

Most of the figures won't be accurate as it is, because calorie counts are intrinsically inaccurate, and I don't suppose every nut of butter and pinch of sugar is weighed (I hope not, that's not what I pay a chef for) at the moment it is only for the bigger operations, I know but the whole concept is ridiculous, and if it becomes established it will be expected to trickle down.

It's just dumbing down without any real point

[Earthmaiden Profile]

My understanding was that it was limited to restaurants of a certain size which applied mainly to chains where a lot of the food is cooked to exactly the same specifications each time in bulk and arrives bagged in portions from a central preparation kitchen ready to heat. Chef skills are required but possibly at the lower end of the scale. I don't object to asking for a breakdown from such places as they have the wherewithal to be able to do so.

I don't see how it would ever be possible to do it in a smaller concern where the chef is creating a work of art hugely dependent on what is available on the day etc. Of course, these days they often have to account for every pinch of everything that goes in because of allergies and intolerances but a nutritional breakdown is very different. Places like this usually serve sensibly sized portions too.

Last night I had supper at a pub which I don't think belongs to a big chain but offered an extensive menu which could only have been offered with the sort of pre prepared food mentioned above. A large number of people eat at such places regularly. The food was delicious. Portions were very large, the calories for many must have been astronomical but few ate every crumb so food was wasted too. That is where I would like to see change. If such places offered large or smaller portions it would cut food waste and advertised calories and stop people doing things like picking at the chips they'd intended to leave at the end.

Of course, takeaways are a problem too. So many factors to weigh up, including affordability. If only such big money and politics wasn't tied up in the least nourishing processed foods there might be some hope that eating habits could reach a finer balance. Sigh.

[Pampy Profile]

As I understand it, all companies with more than 250 staff have to do this - so could encompass better dining establishments than just the McDonald's type (think of Jamie Oliver's 15).
I completely agree with Miss Mouse - I am totally against it - it's a silly idea.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I think this is a measure typical of this government, it looks good because they can claim they are tackling obesity (which is of course about whole life style, not the occasional meal out) and giving people the information to make informed choices - most people already have the information they need, that it's a good idea to stop eating when you have had enough and super-sizing is nearly always a bad idea; what we need to do is to find out why people don't act on those 2 key pieces of information, not guess and bluster

The only peopel who will benefit from this are Brake Brothers who will sell pre0counted foods to pubs and small restaurants

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Thought I'd said enough on this but this clip from a newspaper I don't usually read popped up on FB on the same subject so I guess the 'revelation' about highly calorific food in popular eateries has gone viral. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p ... UugQQ8ezec

Quite honestly, an adequate dinner of sausage and mash or pork belly shouldn't offer as many calories as these dishes do. Much of it, as said in my last post is that portions are large and the rest of it may be because of additional calorific ingredients to improve the appearance and taste of poor basic ingredients. Maybe people will choose them less often and the eatery chains (and Brake Bros etc) will be forced to consider these factors ... that wouldn't be a bad thing all in all.

Obviously the obesity situation is another much wider subject with many social and economic factors involved.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/a ... ity-cloake

https://www.theguardian.com/food/ng-int ... odiversity

[Pepper Pig Profile]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... zing-meals

I'm with Julie!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

This seems to be in the air - Deborah Robertson in the Telegraph attacked batch cooking this week. So much nicer to swan about the kitchen pretending you are a style icon!

Assuming nobody cooks different dinners 365 days a year I can’t see why batch cooking would lead to more boredom or repetition if you use the freezer wisely. I made 6 portions of chilli last week, I ate 2 unfrozen, the remaining 4 will probably be eaten over a couple of months or even more, with different sides every time.

Anyone who finds that too repetitive probably needs to get over themself

[liketocook Profile]

I'm a huge fan of batch cooking providing it doesn't mean eating the same thing every day for a week. I'm also a huge fan of meal planning. Like Sue I cook a big batch of something then portion and freeze. Usually at least one main meal a week involves a previously batch cooked element.
However, it sounded to me it was the lack of variety and cooking so much in advance to linger in the fridge was her main issue.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

That was how I read it ltc.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes exactly, that was what I meant about doing it wisely, planning can be used to avoid repetition rather than create it but that wasn’t happening

[miss mouse Profile]

Did you vote? I voted for Julie.
From the article;

"He works as a gym instructor and is very health-conscious. "

does the writer mean body conscious?