http://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub.aspxFood journalist Helenka Bednar discusses all things foodie, whether it's how tipping works in restaurants, why eel is so underrated or how to stop a soufflé sinking.http://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=e37cac14-a9e2-47df-8950-55c1988fd2eeIf you want to get to grips with a kitchen knife, you may as well ask a professional chef Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:53:06 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acce37cac14-a9e2-47df-8950-55c1988fd2eeBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C312012-05-08T09:27:51.773If you want to get to grips with a kitchen knife, you may as well ask a professional chef They do say that a cut from a blunt knife is worse than a cut from a sharp knife. Thankfully, I wouldn't know as so far I haven't managed to do myself any harm with the less-than-perfect knives I use in my kitchen. I have however, managed to leave a series of scars on my fingernails recently, with a brand new, sharp edition to my set of knives. An indication if nothing else, of how terrible my chopping technique is. So, I set off to Harrods with the news that Mark Sargeant was hosting a cookery demo, and throwing in a few knife skills tips too. Mark was Gordon Ramsay's right-hand man for many years as a chef and worked at Aubergine and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay before becoming Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. He now has his own restaurant, Rocksalt in Folkestone. If anyone knows how to use knives in the kitchen, it'll be him. Mark Sargeant's tips Knifes can be expensive, but you should buy a knife that will last you forever. Use knives that are well-made, and well-balanced. A sharp knife is a safe knife. The worst thing is when you see people try to hack through stuff with a blunt knife. That's when accidents happen. Use the right knife for the right job. So often you see people chopping carrots with a paring knife. Get a nice big knife that gives you confidence. Practice, and take a little bit of time. It takes you ages to learn how to write properly, but once you can write, your pen feels like second nature. Once you know how to use a knife, you don't forget and it becomes an extension of your arm really. You are going to cut yourself at some point – there's no two ways about that. Just be careful! Other considerations: Sharpen your knives after each use. Domestic knife sharpeners are great for maintaining the sharpness of a knife blade, but once the blade is blunt it will need re-sharpening professionally. Good knife brands often offer lifetime guarantees. Whilst the initial financial outlay can be expensive, with a lifetime guarantee, you're covered if your knives break so you don't have to spend any additional cash. Mark Sargeant's recipe book My Kind of Cooking is out now, published by Quercus, RRP £20. Mark used a selection of knives from Zwilling and Miyabi during his cookery demonstration at Harrods. Do you have a great set of kitchen knives? Or are you slicing tomatoes with a blunt knife? Are your knife skills any good, or do you frequently chop off your fingernails? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.i have my kitchen knives in a tool type roll a knife to each pocket i have collected my wide range of knives over many years. the oldest is a bone handled carving knife [embossed with JAMES WALKER and it keeps a great edge. i also have m.o.d kitchen knives [exelent quality] all kept edged with a diamond chip steel [pricey but worthwhile] by the way the golden rule [only i use my knives]BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=02e11c9b-d545-4696-9fe7-8e570ef1706eDid the judges get it right this year?Tue, 01 May 2012 07:51:42 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc02e11c9b-d545-4696-9fe7-8e570ef1706eBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-05-01T15:08:38.37Did the judges get it right this year?The excitement at last night’s award ceremony was palpable, as chefs from around the globe turned up for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2012. Noma’s René Redzepi admitted to feeling the pressure when MSN Food spoke to him, whilst Raymond Blanc was quick to point out that plenty of fantastic restaurants worthy of being in the top 50 are nowhere to be seen in the list.   So how did the world’s best restaurants do? The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2012: top 20 Watch MSN Food's video coverage of the awards See how the results were unveiled on our Live Blog One country that stood out this year was the USA. With no less than eight restaurants in the world’s top 50, there was a distinctively American presence at this year’s awards. Meanwhile, Spain weren’t far behind with five restaurants in the top 50, and both the US and the Spain appearing three times respectively in the top 10.     Whilst England only had three restaurants in the top 50 this year, the biggest surprise of the evening had to be The Fat Duck falling down eight places from number five last year to number 13. Unlucky you might say, but the drop was probably tempered by the fact that Heston Blumenthal’s latest restaurant project Dinner made it into the top 10, bagging the number nine slot. Dinner’s playful offerings like its mandarin-tinged, chicken liver parfait, Sauternes-soaked tipsy cake and famed meat fruit clearly succeeded in wooing the judges palates this year. Heston Blumenthal didn’t make an appearance at this year’s awards but a swathe of British chefs including Marcus Wareing, Thomasina Miers and Fergus Henderson turned up in force to find out which restaurant scooped the number one slot.   Who came in at first place this year?   As usual shortly after the awards have been announced, the debate about the fairness of The World’s 50 Best ensues. At least one upside of the restaurants that didn’t make it into the top 50, that should have done, is the fact that booking a reservation is still possible. As for the restaurants that did make it into that exclusive top 50, just you try booking a table at one of them. Perhaps next, there should be an award ceremony for members of the dining public that manage to get a table at Noma…   What do you think of this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants? Do you think the judges got it right? Or do you just not care? Have you ever tried to get a table at a restaurant in the top 10, and did you have any luck? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.The excitement at last night’s award ceremony was palpable, as chefs from around the globe turned up for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2012. Noma’s René Redzepi admitted to feeling the pressure when MSN Food spoke to him, whilst Raymond Blanc was quick to point out that plenty of fantastic restaurants worthy of being in the top 50 are nowhere to be seen in the list.   So how did the world’s best restaurants do? The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2012: top 20 Watch MSN Food's video coverage of the awards See how the results were unveiled on our Live Blog One country that stood out this year was the USA. With no less than eight restaurants in the world’s top 50, there was a distinctively American presence at this year’s awards. Meanwhile, Spain weren’t far behind with five restaurants in the top 50, and both the US and the Spain appearing three times respectively in the top 10.     Whilst England only had three restaurants in the top 50 this year, the biggest surprise of the evening had to be The Fat Duck falling down eight places from number five last year to number 13. Unlucky you might say, but the drop was probably tempered by the fact that Heston Blumenthal’s latest restaurant project Dinner made it into the top 10, bagging the number nine slot. Dinner’s playful offerings like its mandarin-tinged, chicken liver parfait, Sauternes-soaked tipsy cake and famed meat fruit clearly succeeded in wooing the judges palates this year. Heston Blumenthal didn’t make an appearance at this year’s awards but a swathe of British chefs including Marcus Wareing, Thomasina Miers and Fergus Henderson turned up in force to find out which restaurant scooped the number one slot.   Who came in at first place this year?   As usual shortly after the awards have been announced, the debate about the fairness of The World’s 50 Best ensues. At least one upside of the restaurants that didn’t make it into the top 50, that should have done, is the fact that booking a reservation is still possible. As for the restaurants that did make it into that exclusive top 50, just you try booking a table at one of them. Perhaps next, there should be an award ceremony for members of the dining public that manage to get a table at Noma…   What do you think of this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants? Do you think the judges got it right? Or do you just not care? Have you ever tried to get a table at a restaurant in the top 10, and did you have any luck? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=c548d9da-50eb-48fc-85f6-5e100158abf3With news that a champagne has been created specifically to be matched with food, I went to find out just how you go about matching bubbly with bisque.Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:15:55 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289accc548d9da-50eb-48fc-85f6-5e100158abf3BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-04-18T16:59:52.477With news that a champagne has been created specifically to be matched with food, I went to find out just how you go about matching bubbly with bisque.It would be fair to say that I love champagne. It expertly manages to turn everyday situations into occasions, just with its bubbly presence. Another big love of mine (as you might have guessed), is food. On hearing that one champagne house has created a champagne specifically to be matched with food, I had to find out more. So, off to The Boundary in Shoreditch to try out Besserat de Bellefon's range of champagnes, paired with a four-course dinner. Besserat's champagnes are closer in constitution to wine than other champagnes. Produced with a lower pressure than usual, there's less fizz, a very smooth finish and a wider spectrum of flavours across the range, which makes it great for matching with food. Matching tips If you want to serve up champagne as an aperitif before dinner, something light and classy with a fine, smooth froth of bubbles is ideal. I tried Besserat's Cuvee de Moines Brut, and I have to say this was my favourite across the company's whole range. If you're serving up rich, robust or spicy foods, you'll need a champagne that can stand up to it, and vintage champagnes work really well here. The mineral notes of a champagne made with 100% chardonnay, make it a great match for seafood and fish dishes. Besserat's Cuvee des Moines, Blanc de Blancs goes brilliantly with langoustines, oysters and mussels. Younger champagnes and rosés work really well with fruit and lighter dishes. Try pairing them with summer desserts like berry jellies, mousses, red fruit and brioche. Demi sec, sweeter Champagnes are great with desserts too. If you're serving up a cheese board, don't fret too much about which champagne to pair with it. Hard cheeses like Comte and Gruyère go really well with any champagne. If in doubt, experiment! You may be surprised at how much champagne can enhance the flavour of different foods, so it's worth playing around with things to see what suits your palate. Champagne tip:   I sometimes get instant headaches when I drink champagne. I've noticed that the cheaper the champagne, the worse the headache (how financially inconvenient). I quizzed one of Besserat's champagne experts about this. He pointed out that younger champagnes contains more sulphites, so one way of avoiding headaches as you drink champagne is to drink older or vintage champagne. I think I love this man.   The other way to avoid the headaches you get after drinking champagne, is er... not to drink so much. I don't think I've mastered the latter yet, but I will endeavour to drink more vintage champagne from now on. You know, for the sake of my head...   Do you bother matching wine or champagne with food, or do you just drink whatever's going when you're eating? Are there some foods you only drink certain things with like curry and beer, or fish and white wine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.It would be fair to say that I love champagne. It expertly manages to turn everyday situations into occasions, just with its bubbly presence. Another big love of mine (as you might have guessed), is food. On hearing that one champagne house has created a champagne specifically to be matched with food, I had to find out more. So, off to The Boundary in Shoreditch to try out Besserat de Bellefon's range of champagnes, paired with a four-course dinner. Besserat's champagnes are closer in constitution to wine than other champagnes. Produced with a lower pressure than usual, there's less fizz, a very smooth finish and a wider spectrum of flavours across the range, which makes it great for matching with food. Matching tips If you want to serve up champagne as an aperitif before dinner, something light and classy with a fine, smooth froth of bubbles is ideal. I tried Besserat's Cuvee de Moines Brut, and I have to say this was my favourite across the company's whole range. If you're serving up rich, robust or spicy foods, you'll need a champagne that can stand up to it, and vintage champagnes work really well here. The mineral notes of a champagne made with 100% chardonnay, make it a great match for seafood and fish dishes. Besserat's Cuvee des Moines, Blanc de Blancs goes brilliantly with langoustines, oysters and mussels. Younger champagnes and rosés work really well with fruit and lighter dishes. Try pairing them with summer desserts like berry jellies, mousses, red fruit and brioche. Demi sec, sweeter Champagnes are great with desserts too. If you're serving up a cheese board, don't fret too much about which champagne to pair with it. Hard cheeses like Comte and Gruyère go really well with any champagne. If in doubt, experiment! You may be surprised at how much champagne can enhance the flavour of different foods, so it's worth playing around with things to see what suits your palate. Champagne tip:   I sometimes get instant headaches when I drink champagne. I've noticed that the cheaper the champagne, the worse the headache (how financially inconvenient). I quizzed one of Besserat's champagne experts about this. He pointed out that younger champagnes contains more sulphites, so one way of avoiding headaches as you drink champagne is to drink older or vintage champagne. I think I love this man.   The other way to avoid the headaches you get after drinking champagne, is er... not to drink so much. I don't think I've mastered the latter yet, but I will endeavour to drink more vintage champagne from now on. You know, for the sake of my head...   Do you bother matching wine or champagne with food, or do you just drink whatever's going when you're eating? Are there some foods you only drink certain things with like curry and beer, or fish and white wine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=77565075-55b3-48c7-9f79-fd3d59711f8cOkay, I know babies cry, but I think my latte's got tinnitus...Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:06:36 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc77565075-55b3-48c7-9f79-fd3d59711f8cBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C1222012-04-12T10:34:59.55Okay, I know babies cry, but I think my latte's got tinnitus...Here's my dilemma: I love sitting in a coffee shop, but lately the screaming kids are spoiling it. I don't mean to sound heartless, but crying babies and toddler tantrums are not a backdrop I would choose for sipping my latte. I'm after a relaxed environment – somewhere where I can enjoy my coffee in relative peace without junior meltdowns occurring left, right and centre. Which seems to happen a LOT in the places I frequent lately. The solution to this problem? I think it's largely to do with my choice of coffee shop. I can't expect mums not to go to coffee shops – they're after a strong black coffee and a place to catch up, which is fair enough. But there must be coffee shops where they don't go. You know, somewhere... quieter. And before I get branded as a child-hater, do consider this: who actually wants to hear screaming babies and toddler tantrums when they go for a coffee? No one, not even the mums. How often have you willingly asked for a side-order of screaming, when the barista asks if you want chocolate sprinkles? There's a huge expectation to be fine with the situation, and smile sympathetically at the mother and the screaming baby, whilst your eardrums split with the shrill impact of 110 decibels that only a crying child can produce. It's probably the caffeine withdrawal, but I'm losing my patience. And I know I'm not alone in this. A recent coffee shop experience included a very decent latte, complete with crying babies in stereo. After the guy next to me stood up, packed up, downed his coffee and left in a visible strop, I got to thinking: "I need to go somewhere else." So what's the solution? I should get off the mainstream path, I think. Go niche if you like. Ditch the Costas and the Starbucks. I need to find a place which doesn't attract mums and their broods. No offence. It's just my ears can't take it anymore. Should I go more local-level and shirk the chains? Or find a cafe on top of a hill, where buggies just don't go? Who knows, but it's my next mission. And when I've found this place, this oasis of calm, infused with the heady scent of just-brewed, freshly ground coffee, on no account am I telling anyone where it is. Not even for money. Do screaming kids spoil things when you're eating or drinking out? Or is it really not an issue? Have you found a coffee shop where you can quietly sip a latte, and if so, where on earth is it?! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.I don't like children much... I would hate it if a child was in danger or anything like that, but I personally don't like them. Specially with my coffee...BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=b8990b21-6c7b-45a2-876b-b426f1d75e39With The Tea Guild announcing the UK's top hotel for afternoon tea, what is it that makes an afternoon tea exceptional?Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:18:45 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289accb8990b21-6c7b-45a2-876b-b426f1d75e39BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C122012-04-10T10:30:16.62With The Tea Guild announcing the UK's top hotel for afternoon tea, what is it that makes an afternoon tea exceptional?There are awards flying around for afternoon tea at the moment. The Athenaeum Hotel recently won The Tea Guild's Top London Afternoon Tea 2012. Meanwhile, Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, won The Tea Guild’s Top City and Country Hotel Tea Award 2012. The Traditional Afternoon Tea at Pennyhill Park (£28.00) includes a selection of teas and coffee, freshly made sandwiches, assorted pastries and homemade scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Sounds delicious enough, but what made it the winning choice? Well, according to the judges, the beautiful surroundings, exceptional service and impressive knowledge from the staff that served them, helped to bag them the top slot. There are quite literally thousands of afternoon teas popping up all over the UK. Themed teas, traditional teas, slightly odd teas – you name it, they've pretty much though of it. But with an influx in afternoon teas, comes an influx in mediocrity. So what makes an afternoon tea exceptional? For me, an afternoon tea that stands out has to be made up of the following five things: Excellent quality of food. A decent range of teas, tipples and bubbles. Relaxed and stylish surroundings & atmosphere. No snooty or pretentious staff. Excellent service & staff knowledge. I haven't tried out the afternoon tea at Pennyhill Park, but my favourite experience so far has to be afternoon tea at The Ritz. Granted the clientele definitely fit a senior demographic, but the afternoon tea was superb. It was made better still by our waiter, who had just the right amount of cheeky humour, and an extensive knowledge of the tea list at The Ritz. Afternoon tea isn't standard weekly behaviour let's face it. It's a chance to spoil yourself and whoever you have with you. If you get served up dry sandwiches, rock hard scones and warm Champagne, it's going to leave you feeling short-changed and ripped-off. And there's nothing worse than eating your way through an afternoon tea, with a side serving of disgruntlement. But, if you come away from the experience feeling utterly spoilt rotten, it's going to get my vote. What makes the perfect afternoon tea in your book? Have you had a delicious afternoon tea somewhere, or a really awful one? We'd love to hear about your experiences of it, and where you'd recommend/avoid when it comes to this great British institution. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.The worse afternoon tea I had was at the Dial House Hotel in Bourton on the Water, It consisted of 4 small sandwiches and 2 scones with jam and cream for the two of us, We werent asked if we wanted tea or coffee and the waitress was very sarcastic when i asked for coffee.   The best was at Middelthorpe Hotel , York,,,a wonderful sumptious selection.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=6883dc8a-df9d-4a1c-b6be-c3e4aadd3608With some clever tactics under your belt, you can get your food shop done super-quickly.Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:23:39 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc6883dc8a-df9d-4a1c-b6be-c3e4aadd3608BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C642012-04-10T10:26:16.287With some clever tactics under your belt, you can get your food shop done super-quickly.I'm an impatient kind of person, which intensifies when I'm in a busy supermarket. If a supermarket is quiet I'll happily take my time, staring at gooey cheeses, and drooling over the deli counter. But, if it's mayhem in there, I basically want to get out as quickly as possible before I experience supermarket rage. Too many cooks and all that. So, here are my tips for express food shopping: Don't even go there - just shop for everything online at home. Someone even lugs it all to your door for you. Job done. If you do set foot in a supermarket, embrace the shortcuts that they lay on for you. Self-checkout and scan-as-you-go zappers are excellent ways of cutting down your shopping time. The added advantage of using the zapper gizmo, is that you can point it at someone and pretend to taser them when they get in your way. (They will look at you funny, but you will be laughing inside like a five-year-old). Who's winning? YOU, definitely. Get some stealth tactics and move lightening fast, like a panther. When you spot a gap in the throng of shoppers, make your move and sprint towards the milk section. Have a list. Don't be waylaid by an attack of indecisiveness. With a list you have a plan of action. Lists equal less time wandering aimlessly around a strobe-lit supermarket, and more time eating back in the comfort of your own home. Put a treat on your list for yours truly, and yours truly alone. You've done the food shop, and you deserve a badge. A badge of food. It might be a slab of chocolate, or a some cheeky scotch eggs, but make whatever it is, it should be reserved solely for you. Eating it in the car/on the bus/train/walk home is best, so you don't have to share. If you have kids in tow, they will need a treat too (primarily, so you don't have to give them any of yours). Are you a whizz at getting around the supermarket quickly, and if so, what tactics do you employ? Do you shop for everything online, or are you happy to take your time with the supermarket shop, even when the supermarket aisles are packed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.So basically, to sum it up.....COMMON SENSE?BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=882d6ed9-07a2-4f70-9c70-eb7281ea49bcI'm celebrating Bacon Connoisseurs' Week with er, chocolate.Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:52:22 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc882d6ed9-07a2-4f70-9c70-eb7281ea49bcBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C212012-03-26T16:32:22.437I'm celebrating Bacon Connoisseurs' Week with er, chocolate.Seeing Nigella Lawson's bacon brownies hitting the headlines this week, reminded me of something I tried a while ago: chocolate-covered bacon. Yep, chocolate plus bacon. It sounded a little odd, and had sparked a similar craze with food fans, as the initially odd-sounding salted caramel concept. You might raise an eyebrow at the growing popularity of the salty-sweet phenomenon, but don't knock it till you've tried it people. There's something about salty sweetness that our taste buds love. Our brains don't quite know what to do with it, with their sobering application of logic, but when it's well executed, salty sweet combinations can make your mouth as happy as Larry. For it to work however, the balance of salty and sweet has to be expertly nailed. Too much salt, and the sugar gets lost in the picture. Too little salt, and the result ends up tasting sickly sweet with some misplaced salt for bad measure. Take my first attempt at chocolate-covered bacon. I used streaky smoked bacon (suitably salty with a mellow fattiness to it), slathered in dark chocolate. Much as I dislike dismissive dark chocolate haters, dark chocolate alone has no place in the kitchen when it comes to chocolate-covered bacon. It's sweetness that your streaky is calling out for, so instead of slapping on some brown sauce or tomato ketchup, give some milk chocolate a go. Really?! Yes, really. Your brain will question your judgement, but the proof is always in the pudding, and this little number makes my taste buds do somersaults. And then some star jumps. If anything, what I love about chocolate-covered bacon more than its taste, is that it grabs the straightlaced side of my brain, and shakes it into admitting that this logically unsound combination actually works incredibly well. Sprinkle some toasted nuts onto the chocolate-covered bacon before it sets, and there you have it: a taste sensation. So as this week is all about the bacon, why not push the ketchup aside and reach for the chocolate? Any takers?! Have you ever used bacon as an ingredient in desserts? Do recipes like bacon brownies and chocolate-covered bacon make you feel sick? Or do you like the idea of something a little unusual? Is slathering bacon in chocolate basically sacrilege? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.Bacon and strawberry jam on toast is just like sweet and sour breakfast, its yummyBlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=a1c4aec6-e802-4b9d-aa11-950f383032fdThese days, restaurants are serving up 'concepts' as well as food, but has great cooking slipped off the menu?Mon, 07 May 2012 17:04:33 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acca1c4aec6-e802-4b9d-aa11-950f383032fdBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-03-22T12:02:56.343These days, restaurants are serving up 'concepts' as well as food, but has great cooking slipped off the menu?Restaurants will go to serious lengths to get us through their doors these days. Offers, discounts, nostalgic menus and famous names have all been used to lure in the treasured customer. Add to that list, the concept restaurant and you have firsthand proof that it's not always the menu that gets bums on seats. Well, initially anyway. With the likes of Dans le Noir (where diners eat in the dark), Inamo (where customers choose their food electronically from a menu projected onto their table) and Circus (where acrobatic stunts and cabaret are also served up), food is definitely not the only thing on the menu. Sketch has collaborated with artist Martin Creed for the latest re-design of its Gallery restaurant (pictured above). Art is just as much on the menu as food is at Sketch, and even the toilets are a work of weird and wonderful design. Creed (who won the Turner Prize for that installation - y'know, the one where lots of lights switched on and off), has redesigned Sketch's Gallery restaurant so that nothing matches. Bright? Yes. Subtle? Er....no. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't think it really matters. So long as the food backs it up, Sketch is onto a winner. The danger starts when a restaurant is no longer a restaurant. And when is a restaurant not a restaurant? When the food gets sidelined in favour of something else, that's when. Tempting diners with a quirky concept is a great idea, but if the food that arrives falls short of your expectations, the novelty of a new restaurant concept quickly starts to wear off. Customers aren't daft. Themes and concepts can propel a restaurant into the spotlight, but if the food doesn't deliver, people are going to vote with their wallets. If you're not judging a restaurant with your taste buds, you probably weren’t there to eat in the first place. When a restaurant manages to match good food with a creative concept, it can really work. Yo! Sushi paved the way for conveyor-belt sushi in the UK. The concept wouldn't have lasted long, if the food had been rubbish. Let's face it, the Gallery restaurant at Sketch might be visual overkill for some people, but the design concept goes further than the colour of the carpet. Sketch’s co-founder and three Michelin-starred chef, Pierre Gagnaire has designed the menu in collaboration with Martin Creed, to reflect the global influences the artist has drawn on. Ingredients from around the world are featured on his menu, with a wine list to mirror it with choices from countries as far-flung as Japan and Uruguay. Restaurant concepts need to balance style with substance as far as I'm concerned. Just as model looks but no personality are a real disappointment, so is a meal where more attention has been paid to the colour of the walls, than the food on the plate. Get them both right, and you're winning. But first and foremost, a restaurant's got to be about the food, right? Have you eaten in a concept restaurant? How was the food? And what was the experience like in general? Did the concept add to your dining experience, or get in the way of it? Do you get excited about new restaurant concepts, or do you tend to pick restaurants based on the menu more than anything else? Let us know in the comments section below.Restaurants will go to serious lengths to get us through their doors these days. Offers, discounts, nostalgic menus and famous names have all been used to lure in the treasured customer. Add to that list, the concept restaurant and you have firsthand proof that it's not always the menu that gets bums on seats. Well, initially anyway. With the likes of Dans le Noir (where diners eat in the dark), Inamo (where customers choose their food electronically from a menu projected onto their table) and Circus (where acrobatic stunts and cabaret are also served up), food is definitely not the only thing on the menu. Sketch has collaborated with artist Martin Creed for the latest re-design of its Gallery restaurant (pictured above). Art is just as much on the menu as food is at Sketch, and even the toilets are a work of weird and wonderful design. Creed (who won the Turner Prize for that installation - y'know, the one where lots of lights switched on and off), has redesigned Sketch's Gallery restaurant so that nothing matches. Bright? Yes. Subtle? Er....no. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't think it really matters. So long as the food backs it up, Sketch is onto a winner. The danger starts when a restaurant is no longer a restaurant. And when is a restaurant not a restaurant? When the food gets sidelined in favour of something else, that's when. Tempting diners with a quirky concept is a great idea, but if the food that arrives falls short of your expectations, the novelty of a new restaurant concept quickly starts to wear off. Customers aren't daft. Themes and concepts can propel a restaurant into the spotlight, but if the food doesn't deliver, people are going to vote with their wallets. If you're not judging a restaurant with your taste buds, you probably weren’t there to eat in the first place. When a restaurant manages to match good food with a creative concept, it can really work. Yo! Sushi paved the way for conveyor-belt sushi in the UK. The concept wouldn't have lasted long, if the food had been rubbish. Let's face it, the Gallery restaurant at Sketch might be visual overkill for some people, but the design concept goes further than the colour of the carpet. Sketch’s co-founder and three Michelin-starred chef, Pierre Gagnaire has designed the menu in collaboration with Martin Creed, to reflect the global influences the artist has drawn on. Ingredients from around the world are featured on his menu, with a wine list to mirror it with choices from countries as far-flung as Japan and Uruguay. Restaurant concepts need to balance style with substance as far as I'm concerned. Just as model looks but no personality are a real disappointment, so is a meal where more attention has been paid to the colour of the walls, than the food on the plate. Get them both right, and you're winning. But first and foremost, a restaurant's got to be about the food, right? Have you eaten in a concept restaurant? How was the food? And what was the experience like in general? Did the concept add to your dining experience, or get in the way of it? Do you get excited about new restaurant concepts, or do you tend to pick restaurants based on the menu more than anything else? Let us know in the comments section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=b6acba68-c89c-42ff-97f7-f4b18134aec5Is it a serious attempt to promote British food - or just pie in the sky?Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:29:20 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289accb6acba68-c89c-42ff-97f7-f4b18134aec5BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-03-15T12:23:48.157Is it a serious attempt to promote British food - or just pie in the sky?The start of the 2012 Olympics might seem months away, kicking off on 27 July, but athletes have been in preparation for months. And they're not the only ones. British Airways has just announced its Olympic menu, which has been created by Simon Hulstone (having been mentored by Heston Blumenthal for the last year).   On MSN Food: The chef serving a million meals Hulstone's British Airway's Olympic menu includes the likes of rillette of mackerel dressed on a pickled cucumber carpaccio, fish pie using sustainable sourced hake, and chilled chocolate fondant with a salted caramel liquid centre, caramel sauce and spun sugar topped with hazelnuts. And as a nod to our culinary heritage, the 2012 menu features ingredients that appeared on the airline's menu when Britain hosted the Olympics in 1948.   On MSN Food: The best of English food and drink On MSN Food: Buying British: why we should and how to do it But is Olympic-themed food just an excuse for more hype? If it means a celebration of British food, that's always a good thing in my opinion. Why shouldn't we showcase our gastronomic heritage? Around three million British Airways customers will tuck into the menu throughout the London 2012 Games, so it's a prime opportunity to demonstrate what Britain can put on a plate. The Olympics is a chance for Britain to show the world what it's made of (gravy, Marmite and crumble, obviously). Inevitably though, this also means the potential for food haunts to do two things: Place an Olympic-sized mark-up on food. Wax lyrical about how great British food is, and then serve up cheap imitations. As long as Olympic-inspired menus avoid these two things, they get my vote. But no mark-ups please, especially when we're peckish. What do you think about Olympic-themed menus and food? Will you be curious to see what restaurants rustle up, or do you think its just an excuse to hype things up? Have you eaten any Olympic-inspired food yet, and what was your verdict? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.The start of the 2012 Olympics might seem months away, kicking off on 27 July, but athletes have been in preparation for months. And they're not the only ones. British Airways has just announced its Olympic menu, which has been created by Simon Hulstone (having been mentored by Heston Blumenthal for the last year).   On MSN Food: The chef serving a million meals Hulstone's British Airway's Olympic menu includes the likes of rillette of mackerel dressed on a pickled cucumber carpaccio, fish pie using sustainable sourced hake, and chilled chocolate fondant with a salted caramel liquid centre, caramel sauce and spun sugar topped with hazelnuts. And as a nod to our culinary heritage, the 2012 menu features ingredients that appeared on the airline's menu when Britain hosted the Olympics in 1948.   On MSN Food: The best of English food and drink On MSN Food: Buying British: why we should and how to do it But is Olympic-themed food just an excuse for more hype? If it means a celebration of British food, that's always a good thing in my opinion. Why shouldn't we showcase our gastronomic heritage? Around three million British Airways customers will tuck into the menu throughout the London 2012 Games, so it's a prime opportunity to demonstrate what Britain can put on a plate. The Olympics is a chance for Britain to show the world what it's made of (gravy, Marmite and crumble, obviously). Inevitably though, this also means the potential for food haunts to do two things: Place an Olympic-sized mark-up on food. Wax lyrical about how great British food is, and then serve up cheap imitations. As long as Olympic-inspired menus avoid these two things, they get my vote. But no mark-ups please, especially when we're peckish. What do you think about Olympic-themed menus and food? Will you be curious to see what restaurants rustle up, or do you think its just an excuse to hype things up? Have you eaten any Olympic-inspired food yet, and what was your verdict? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=add1ce38-0b73-40c8-a047-e49fe5eaf9b6You may be entitled to an hour's break for lunch at work, but just you try taking it...Wed, 30 May 2012 07:15:36 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289accadd1ce38-0b73-40c8-a047-e49fe5eaf9b6BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C232012-03-13T16:36:18.68You may be entitled to an hour's break for lunch at work, but just you try taking it...I've worked for companies that have offered the absolute basics in terms of sick pay, breaks and holidays, but what annoys me more than a short lunch break, is a work culture where it's frowned upon to even take one. You may be entitled to an hour's break for lunch in such situations, but just you try taking it. The first step in an organisation that sidelines the lunch break, is taking the plunge and not following the crowd. Because if you do as everyone else does, you'll never leave your desk. You'll just sit there, nibbling away at the sandwich you grabbed in a hurry, while you continue to work through your lunch break. The taste of the sandwich will become increasingly laced with mild resentment. People come and ask you questions at the exact moment you have a mouth full of wet ham and soggy bread which you bought five hours ago on your way into work. Feel revitalised? Er, no. Do I want to do the martyr act and work throughout the entire day, only pausing to tut at people that scarper off for lunch, while I wonder where my badge for diligence is? No thanks, I'd rather have some freshly prepared food, and an hour away from my flickering computer screen. You can bet your last pastrami on rye that I'll work better in the afternoon than the martyr. There are always going to be days where you don't have time for your lunch break, but it makes me mad when the company undertone suggests that breaking for lunch equals slacking. I'd rather work with a group of people who have been well-fed at lunch, instead of a mix of malnourished zombies and irritable martyrs. Who wants to see the office martyr having a sugar low meltdown at 3pm? It's not a pretty thing, especially if no-one's given them a badge for diligence. Since when Britain, did it become unreasonable to break for lunch? Do you take your lunch break, or grab a sandwich and work through? Are you under pressure at work not to take your lunch break, or do you make a point of leaving the office for 30 minutes or an hour? Let us know in the comments section below.I always take an hour, if anyone even looked at me funny or gave the slightest mention of being bothered I'd say it's in my contract ? has that changed ? no then f**kin do oneBlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=9012f9b5-ab58-4e49-b3af-64964a689e81Who makes the best Cornish pasty in the world then, and what's their secret?Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:38:42 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc9012f9b5-ab58-4e49-b3af-64964a689e81BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C112012-03-06T14:15:27.5Who makes the best Cornish pasty in the world then, and what's their secret?Something very exciting has just happened in the world of food. The Eden Project in Cornwall has seen in the first-ever World Pasty Championships! Last year the humble Cornish pasty was given protected status by the European commission, so pasties can now only be described as Cornish if they're prepared in Cornwall, following a traditional recipe. Any cheeky little variants on those criteria, result in the mere tag of 'pasty'. With the Cornish pasty now sporting PGI status (Protected Geohraphical Indication, don't you know), it seems only fitting that the World Pasty Championships should follow it. So, who won? The winning pasty of the World Pasty Championships was created by (you're not going to believe his name) - Graham Cornish of Ginsters. Cornish (no, really) won first place in two categories: Cornish Pasty Professional and Open Savoury Professional. A double pasty whammy if you will. His Cornish Pasty followed a traditional recipe of skirt beef and vegetables whilst rustling up his Open Savoury pasty with a mixture of smoked Cornish fish, parsley, saffron and Cornish clotted cream. Is it daft to make such a fuss about the Cornish pasty? Definitely not. British food may have been the laughing stock of many a French chef back in the 80s, but we'd swapped our culinary heritage for instant coffee and Findus crispy pancakes, so who can blame them? Right now, British food is enjoying a real renaissance. We should be celebrating regional delicacies like Stilton, pork pies and the Cornish pasty, because they make up our culinary heritage. When you think of British heritage, you might think of double decker buses, the royals and really long queues, but forget those. You can't sink your teeth into a bus can you? Much better to celebrate British heritage by biting into a Cornish pasty I think. Speaking of which, here are the winners from the four categories at the World Pasty Championships 2012. There were more than 100 entries from all over the world, with winners decided by a panel of 21 judges who awarded marks for taste, texture, appearance, pastry crimp and technical expertise: Cornish Pasty Professional Winner: Graham Cornish of Ginsters in Callington, Cornwall Cornish Pasty Amateur Winner: Billy Deakin of Mount Hawke, Cornwall Open Savoury Professional Winner: Graham Cornish of Ginsters in Callington, Cornwall Open Savoury Amateur Winner: Suzanne Manson of Bristol "I'm humbled to win this award," said Graham Cornish on Saturday. “From the age of five years old I was making pasties. The secret of a great pasty is using the freshest local ingredients.” Where was the best pasty you've ever tasted from? Do you think giving Cornish pasties protected status is a good thing for our British food heritage? Or do you think it's all a bit over the top, and it should be possible for Cornish pasties to be made anywhere in the world?I've never had a pasty that was half way decent in Cornwall. Any other place in the U.K. has better tasting ones.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=59ccd08a-3f47-41e1-bf89-cd50eaca0f38Whether you're the guest or the host, a lot of us feel the same way about dinner parties.Thu, 03 May 2012 02:47:23 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc59ccd08a-3f47-41e1-bf89-cd50eaca0f38BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C112012-03-05T10:06:05.033Whether you're the guest or the host, a lot of us feel the same way about dinner parties.It doesn't matter whether you're being asked to a dinner party, or you're hosting one – most of us feel the same way about either version. And that feeling is dread. According to a recent survey by Weight Watchers, 81% of people in the UK worry when they're asked to attend a dinner party and 85% of us worry about hosting a dinner party. The trouble with dinner parties, is they often feel like everyone involved is trying too hard. If you're a dinner party guest, you're basically expected to sing for your supper. In exchange for the host plying you with wine and (hopefully) good food, they expect you to share highly entertaining snippets of your life that will make the table roar with laughter. Which would be fine, if it was just you, some wine and a bunch of mates, but it's the contrived nature of dinner parties can make them feel like the social equivalent of a job interview. Organised fun eh? Hmmmm, where do I sign? If you're the host, you're expected to hold a scintillating conversation with everyone you've invited, whilst you flip a fillet steak with one hand, and stuff a pepper with the other. Then, when everyone has heaped endless praise onto you about how excellent the cinnamon souffle was (which collapsed when it came out of the oven), you have to expertly get people to leave, without it looking like you want them to leave. Tempting as it is to walk out the door yourself, you can't because you live there and you have loads of washing-up to do. Ugh. Having mates round for dinner on the other hand, is one of my all-time favourite things. Pair good company (as in people you actually choose to hang out with), with good food and wine, and I'm not left wanting for much more. Dinner parties just remind me of away days at work, where everyone would rather be in the office, instead of pretending that a mud-covered assault course in freezing February conditions, is right where they want to be. Do you cringe and make excuses when someone asks you to a dinner party? Or do you love them? Are you a reluctant dinner party host, or does cooking for eight make you break into a sweat just thinking about it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.I prefer rustic dinner parties - where people just drop in, so to speak,  to share their lives, and eat what's coming out of the oven - usually a slow roast of something or other, with bread and salad or roast vegetables - and a glass of wine.  If they want dessert - well, there's always ice cream in the freezer, or fruit yoghurt, or a bought apple pie with cream.  Why exhaust oneself preparing fancy food that tastes nothing like it looks?BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=33ce0c49-9650-4ab8-8188-081f0df83714Is a restaurant created by public voting a recipe for disaster?Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:58:30 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc33ce0c49-9650-4ab8-8188-081f0df83714BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C212012-03-01T10:28:44.86Is a restaurant created by public voting a recipe for disaster?Yes, you heard right – there really are plans to develop a restaurant created by the public. Chefs John Burton-Race and Jonathan Davies (winner of ITV's Britain's Best Dish in 2010) are going with the notion that the customer is always right. The duo have unveiled plans for a restaurant that will be created by the voting public. Once members of the public have voted on the restaurant's location, next up is deciding how to run the thing. That means they'll choose the chefs, décor and vote on the general running of the place. We're all great at offering our opinion on a meal out, but is Joe Public really going to be any good at creating a restaurant you'd actually want to eat in? “With the popularity of social media and online gaming soaring, we realised that there is a strong appetite to experience control of a restaurant, so a real-life version has a lot of potential,” says chef Jonathan Davies, who is behind the project.   He's teamed up with Michelin-starred Chef John Burton-Race to create this interactive restaurant, which will feature 24-hour live streaming, a dedicated online cooking channel and an app. “There has never been an eating experience like this created before, where a restaurant with all its soul is chosen by the people for the people,” says John Burton-Race. Okay it's certainly a new concept, but will it actually create something that the public really wants? “What a restaurant needs is the public's feedback to carry on,” says Jonathan Davies when I asked him about this. “Restaurants require our feedback to keep on top of trends and keep up with what people are expecting.” It costs £60 to become a member of the project, with the idea being that voters get reward points, prizes and vouchers for the restaurant if their casting vote is one of the winning majority. Getting paying punters involved in shaping a restaurant doesn't sound like a bad idea, but in the middle of a recession, I'd be reluctant to part with £60 for a meal I'm not immediately going to consume. Ten locations have already been chosen (including London), based upon areas in the UK with the highest density of food bloggers. These locations will then be split into five sub-locations, on which members of the public get to vote. But if the public are voting on location, isn't the restaurant just going to end up in the area with the highest density of voters? I have a hunch that the restaurant will end up being a burger bar. Whenever I ask people what their top five meals are, they almost always include burgers, so my money's on that one. Last time I checked, there were already quite a few of those. If this concept does take off maybe it will be the best burger bar in the world. But part of me wonders if it will just end up being as middle-of-the-road as the restaurant chains we already have. As of 1 March, you can get involved in creating the world's first interactive restaurant by visiting the-restaurant-exper ​ ience.com and registering your interest in becoming a member of the project. Is this a good idea, or a recipe for disaster? Do we restaurant punters really know what we're doing when it comes to designing a restaurant? Or are we just better at eating in restaurants, and praising it or moaning about it afterwards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.What a brilliant idea. Good luck John and Jonathan.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=3dd6649d-924e-4bf1-b8df-d2c872e82e42If you want to cook like the French, there's one guaranteed way to get inspired...Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:06:52 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc3dd6649d-924e-4bf1-b8df-d2c872e82e42BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-02-22T17:56:14.627If you want to cook like the French, there's one guaranteed way to get inspired...What's the best way to get a little French inspiration in the kitchen? Well head to France, surely. So that's exactly what I did on Monday. I hopped on a plane to Nice for an afternoon's cookery course and got fully immersed in whipping up a three-course meal, French-style. After catching a morning flight to Nice, I landed in time to root around the flea market and fill up on butter-laden patisserie, before heading off for an afternoon's cooking with chef Aude, whose cookery school is based in Nice. It's difficult not to get inspired by a good cookery class. All six of us started salivating over the ingredients when we arrived (which intensified when we got to the chocolate dessert stage). Aude (pictured above) got us cutting, chopping and sculpting rose-shaped tomatoes (pictured), whilst she fried, whisked and whipped our three-course meal into shape. Collectively, we rustled up the following French show-stopper of a dinner, which we got to tuck into with a bottle of wine once all our hard work was complete: Starter: Pumpkin cappuccino with a Parmesan tuile Main course: Crispy fish with saffron leek sauce Pudding: Light chocolate mousse cake If there's one thing I love about French cooking, it's the amount of cream you get to consume. Incidentally, our chef Aude added cream to most of the courses that we cooked, without so much as flinching. ”But you're so slim!” said one of the girls in the class incredulously. Aude's reply? A simple French shrug. As if to say “but the cream, it is good for you, non?”   This is why you've got to love the French. If a mere slip of a woman can eat cream that regularly and stay slim, it's got to be worth cooking from scratch. I can't help thinking after Aude emphasised the importance of cooking each ingredient to retain its nutritional value and goodness, that proper home cooking allows you a little more leeway with your cream quota. That's my rationale anyway. How to cook with French flair: If you're cooking up a French-inspired menu, it would be rude not to up the cream intake. You want to be authentic after all. If you're using whipped cream in a recipe (entirely possible with French cuisine), make sure your whipping utensils (eg whisk, bowl etc) have been chilled in the fridge to prevent your whipped cream from turning into butter. Aude's respect for each ingredient really came through in the cookery class. One of her biggest tips was not to overcook vegetables, or season them too early on. She suggested lightly coating vegetables in oil, to provide a protective coating from the salt which can cause water, vitamins and flavour to leach out of your veggies. When you're cooking vegetables, don't move them around the pan. Get all laid-back and French about it and resist the urge to constantly poke your softening veggies with a wooden spoon. This intensifies their flavour and actually stops them from catching on the bottom of the pan. Enjoy your food, and savour it with some very good wine. Bon appétit! My one-day cookery course in France is available to book from £74 per person with GoLearnTo. For more information visit golearnto.com. British Midland International fly directly between London Heathrow and Nice. Economy fares are available from £94 return, business class fares available from £159 return including all taxes and charges. Business class fares include complimentary access to the BMI lounge at London Heathrow, up to 30kg of luggage, a guaranteed aisle or window seat, a three-course meal and a choice of drinks. For more information visit flybmi.com.   Do you love French cooking? If so, do you have a signature French dish up your sleeve? Tarte tatin? Moules marinière? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.What's the best way to get a little French inspiration in the kitchen? Well head to France, surely. So that's exactly what I did on Monday. I hopped on a plane to Nice for an afternoon's cookery course and got fully immersed in whipping up a three-course meal, French-style. After catching a morning flight to Nice, I landed in time to root around the flea market and fill up on butter-laden patisserie, before heading off for an afternoon's cooking with chef Aude, whose cookery school is based in Nice. It's difficult not to get inspired by a good cookery class. All six of us started salivating over the ingredients when we arrived (which intensified when we got to the chocolate dessert stage). Aude (pictured above) got us cutting, chopping and sculpting rose-shaped tomatoes (pictured), whilst she fried, whisked and whipped our three-course meal into shape. Collectively, we rustled up the following French show-stopper of a dinner, which we got to tuck into with a bottle of wine once all our hard work was complete: Starter: Pumpkin cappuccino with a Parmesan tuile Main course: Crispy fish with saffron leek sauce Pudding: Light chocolate mousse cake If there's one thing I love about French cooking, it's the amount of cream you get to consume. Incidentally, our chef Aude added cream to most of the courses that we cooked, without so much as flinching. ”But you're so slim!” said one of the girls in the class incredulously. Aude's reply? A simple French shrug. As if to say “but the cream, it is good for you, non?”   This is why you've got to love the French. If a mere slip of a woman can eat cream that regularly and stay slim, it's got to be worth cooking from scratch. I can't help thinking after Aude emphasised the importance of cooking each ingredient to retain its nutritional value and goodness, that proper home cooking allows you a little more leeway with your cream quota. That's my rationale anyway. How to cook with French flair: If you're cooking up a French-inspired menu, it would be rude not to up the cream intake. You want to be authentic after all. If you're using whipped cream in a recipe (entirely possible with French cuisine), make sure your whipping utensils (eg whisk, bowl etc) have been chilled in the fridge to prevent your whipped cream from turning into butter. Aude's respect for each ingredient really came through in the cookery class. One of her biggest tips was not to overcook vegetables, or season them too early on. She suggested lightly coating vegetables in oil, to provide a protective coating from the salt which can cause water, vitamins and flavour to leach out of your veggies. When you're cooking vegetables, don't move them around the pan. Get all laid-back and French about it and resist the urge to constantly poke your softening veggies with a wooden spoon. This intensifies their flavour and actually stops them from catching on the bottom of the pan. Enjoy your food, and savour it with some very good wine. Bon appétit! My one-day cookery course in France is available to book from £74 per person with GoLearnTo. For more information visit golearnto.com. British Midland International fly directly between London Heathrow and Nice. Economy fares are available from £94 return, business class fares available from £159 return including all taxes and charges. Business class fares include complimentary access to the BMI lounge at London Heathrow, up to 30kg of luggage, a guaranteed aisle or window seat, a three-course meal and a choice of drinks. For more information visit flybmi.com.   Do you love French cooking? If so, do you have a signature French dish up your sleeve? Tarte tatin? Moules marinière? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=37273fe3-714b-4238-9011-16c76e942f43It's all very well catching up over drinks, but for goodness sake people, since when did "let's meet for drinks" mean "let's forget about eating"?Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:37:33 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc37273fe3-714b-4238-9011-16c76e942f43BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-02-20T11:53:40.71It's all very well catching up over drinks, but for goodness sake people, since when did "let's meet for drinks" mean "let's forget about eating"?Most of the time when I meet friends straight from work, it's all about the drink. No one seems to be concerned about eating. Apart from me. As someone who can't go more than three hours without food, bypassing solids for a liquid dinner is a recipe for drunken disaster. If I haven't eaten since lunchtime and hit the gin and tonics, it won't be long before I hit the floor.   How to match pizza with beer The UK's best pubs selling the best pub snacks   I've got around this dilemma by covert eating before the drinking begins. A bowl of porridge before evening drinks always lines my stomach brilliantly, but if that's not possible a sandwich will do a similar job. If I don't eat before I go for drinks in the evening, the following things will happen: I will get drunk lightening quick. Without food in my belly, I am a lightweight. I'll drink far more than I would if I'd eaten. I will have the mother of all hangovers the next day and try to berate myself for not eating. About three seconds into berating myself I give up because it hurts my head. A lot. The solution you might say, is just to eat while you're out drinking. But it's not so simple. As no one else seems bothered about eating so I'm usually in the minority. I don't want to uproot everyone because of my need for sustenance, but if we're in a bar where their food offerings stop at peanuts, I know I'm heading for a drunken melting face by 9.30pm. When the main agenda is gossip and wine, friends will offer up gems such as "I'm not even peckish. I had a crisp three days ago and frankly I'm still full," and "Have a pint of wine. That will fill you up." Gah.   The UK's weirdest pubs The UK's best brewpubs   I personally think I'm drinking in the wrong country. At a work do a while ago, there I was being typically British and trying to refill a French guy's glass of wine. He'd had one glass and he didn't want another, stating that "It would spoil mon appetite". Now that is a priority I can relate to. You've got to love the French for their attitude towards an evening out. The French mentality towards drinking is largely about pleasure and seems much more enjoyable. It's not about keeping up with everyone else, benchmarking the brilliance of your night out by how hammered you got, or coming home wasted with sick on your shoe. Instead, it's more about sipping away at some really decent wine, whilst you catch up with friends over plates of good food. The moral of this blog post: I want to be French? Okay it's not that. It's this: don't forget the food people, especially when you're drinking. Give me three courses instead of three shots, any day of the week.   What's next for your local pub? The UK's top ten pubs for grub  Do you regularly head out for drinks in the evening, and forget about dinner? Or do line your belly with something edible before you crack open a bottle of wine or get in the beers? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.Most of the time when I meet friends straight from work, it's all about the drink. No one seems to be concerned about eating. Apart from me. As someone who can't go more than three hours without food, bypassing solids for a liquid dinner is a recipe for drunken disaster. If I haven't eaten since lunchtime and hit the gin and tonics, it won't be long before I hit the floor.   How to match pizza with beer The UK's best pubs selling the best pub snacks   I've got around this dilemma by covert eating before the drinking begins. A bowl of porridge before evening drinks always lines my stomach brilliantly, but if that's not possible a sandwich will do a similar job. If I don't eat before I go for drinks in the evening, the following things will happen: I will get drunk lightening quick. Without food in my belly, I am a lightweight. I'll drink far more than I would if I'd eaten. I will have the mother of all hangovers the next day and try to berate myself for not eating. About three seconds into berating myself I give up because it hurts my head. A lot. The solution you might say, is just to eat while you're out drinking. But it's not so simple. As no one else seems bothered about eating so I'm usually in the minority. I don't want to uproot everyone because of my need for sustenance, but if we're in a bar where their food offerings stop at peanuts, I know I'm heading for a drunken melting face by 9.30pm. When the main agenda is gossip and wine, friends will offer up gems such as "I'm not even peckish. I had a crisp three days ago and frankly I'm still full," and "Have a pint of wine. That will fill you up." Gah.   The UK's weirdest pubs The UK's best brewpubs   I personally think I'm drinking in the wrong country. At a work do a while ago, there I was being typically British and trying to refill a French guy's glass of wine. He'd had one glass and he didn't want another, stating that "It would spoil mon appetite". Now that is a priority I can relate to. You've got to love the French for their attitude towards an evening out. The French mentality towards drinking is largely about pleasure and seems much more enjoyable. It's not about keeping up with everyone else, benchmarking the brilliance of your night out by how hammered you got, or coming home wasted with sick on your shoe. Instead, it's more about sipping away at some really decent wine, whilst you catch up with friends over plates of good food. The moral of this blog post: I want to be French? Okay it's not that. It's this: don't forget the food people, especially when you're drinking. Give me three courses instead of three shots, any day of the week.   What's next for your local pub? The UK's top ten pubs for grub  Do you regularly head out for drinks in the evening, and forget about dinner? Or do line your belly with something edible before you crack open a bottle of wine or get in the beers? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=c50c90f6-d842-4ed8-84f4-1e3d5e7b9d39There are particular supermarket shoppers that just make me mad. No make that angry.Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:18:13 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289accc50c90f6-d842-4ed8-84f4-1e3d5e7b9d39BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C13102012-02-20T10:29:07.087There are particular supermarket shoppers that just make me mad. No make that angry.Ah, supermarket rage. It's a bit like the tube, or Waterloo Station at 8am, except with fewer brief cases and more food. The trouble with supermarket rage these days is that everyone seems to have it.   I include myself in this sweeping observation. Almost as soon as I step into a supermarket, I quietly start fuming at the everyone for themselves attitude that a lot of shoppers showcase. By the time I've got to the end of my shop, I'm at the glaring stage, which means I need to leave the supermarket before I run over someone's foot accidentally-on-purp ​ ose with my trolley. Pick a day with some cultural significance e.g. Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas etc and everyone just gets a whole load more dog-eat-dog. My supermarket rage is fuelled by three types of shopper: 1) Unaware types You know who I mean. You come around a corner and there they are with their trolley at full speed and their eyes on the floor or possibly closed. They will not see you until they crash into you, which always completely startles them. They apologise, turn the corner, and crash into someone else. The unaware shopper type also adopts the canny knack of stopping dead in their tracks and holding up an entire aisle while they browse the cheese section at leisure. They will not pull their trolley to one side so others can get past, because that would require an ounce of self-awareness. 2) Bulldozer types This type of shopper may not see you at first, but when they do, they acknowledge your presence by crashing their trolley straight into yours. I mean, how else will they get to the tinned tomatoes first? The well-practiced bulldozer type will speed up on approach and won't even flinch on impact. 3) The opportunist This type of shopper tends to gauge the width of their trolley incorrectly. They see the narrow aisle, the two trolleys flanking either side, and the slip of air in between them and they think “Yes, I'll glide through that gap”. Then they push their trolley into the gap, get stuck between the two trolleys and hold up an entire aisle of tutting, fuming shoppers. It's handy in this scenario if there's a bulldozer type behind the opportunist, so they can crash into them regardless and move things along. It won't last long though, because there'll be an unaware type around the corner, just waiting to mess things up without even realising it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Another observation I've just encountered is that even writing about supermarket rage, is getting me in a rage. See, you don't even have to be in a supermarket for its effect to kick in. There's no denying that it helps though. Do you frequently witness supermarket rage? Do you experience it yourself, or is it just everyone else? What kind of shopper winds you up? And are there other types of rage-inducing shoppers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.IV'E SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF SCREAMING KIDS,IRATE MOTHERS,RUDE PUSHY PEOPLE  " I SHOP ON LINE "BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=66d938d1-c984-410f-b0d3-ca9bbecf8e2cA supermarket survey reveals why most couples won't be dining out this year.Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:35:35 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc66d938d1-c984-410f-b0d3-ca9bbecf8e2cBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C122012-02-13T14:40:30.763A supermarket survey reveals why most couples won't be dining out this year.Ahhh, Valentine's Day. The mother of all rip-offs. The day of the year on which restaurants try their hardest to get your bum on their seats. Well not this year if a survey by Waitrose is anything to go by. According to the supermarket, most couples won't be dining out because 70% of them will be cooking at home on Valentine's Day. I can't stand setting foot in a restaurant on Valentine's Day – all the forced romance, red roses (extra bucks of course) and ridiculous mark-ups. So I'll be steering well clear of them on the 14th February. I love eating out, but in a relaxed atmosphere. If it starts to feel contrived, it negates the whole reason I'm there in the first place. Plus the fact that Valentine's Day unearths lots of tricks restaurants use to get you to spend more: “Champagne for two when you sit down?” will probably be how your waiter greets you. “Would madame like a rose?” is likely to appear at some point in the evening. And...'romantic' sharing platters also pop up on the menu which are over-priced and often craftily priced per person. Ouch.   Tricks restuarants use to get you to spend more The UK's top ten ultimate breakfasts And it doesn't stop there. If you want to take it to extremes, just look at the £100,000 Valentine's Package at 51 Buckingham Gate in London. Amongst other things, the one-night stay includes private butler service, a fully-stocked kitchen with a Fortnum & Mason selection, a romantic meal cooked in the suite by the head chef, Sriram Aylur, of the Michelin Star restaurant Quilon, and a champagne breakfast. Whilst you do also get the use of a Jaguar XK Portfolio Convertible thrown in and a £15,000 Ralph & Russo hand-made bespoke couture gown, it's all just a bit much isn't it?! So, regardless of the fact that I don't have £100,000 in my pocket, this is the one night of the year when I don't head to a restaurant. Instead I'm up for a cheeky takeaway fish and chips with my boyfriend and a decent bottle of wine, without all the cheesy, money-making fuss that goes with Valentine's restaurant dining. Would you head to a restaurant on Valentine's Day? Or avoid it like the plague? Have you had a brilliant restaurant experience on the 14th Feb, or do you think the whole day is just one big money-spinner? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.As 9 out of 10 will be charging the earth avoid like the plague,maybe they might learn something, that we are not all mugs!!!BlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=70e2ffdc-ba12-4e8e-bb0d-985e1fbbbc3bA survey reveals that the thing we love most about being British is our food.Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:55:14 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc70e2ffdc-ba12-4e8e-bb0d-985e1fbbbc3bBlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C452012-02-08T17:32:43.13A survey reveals that the thing we love most about being British is our food.There's something incredibly reassuring about the fact that when 60,000 people were asked what they loved most about Britain recently, bacon trumped the Aston Martin. It's not that I can't appreciate an Aston Martin (gunmetal finish please), but on a Saturday morning I don't wake up and think: "Hmmmmm, I could murder a ride in a fast car now". I do a little arm stretch, a couple of yawns and then, instead of getting dollar bill signs in my eyes like a cartoon character, I get bacon sandwiches. It seems I am not alone. In a recent T-Mobile survey to find the top 50 British loves, bacon sandwiches came top. A close second place was taken by the good old roast dinner, and in third place came a cup of tea (which goes very, very well with bacon sarnies, you can't deny it). In amongst the other things we love about Britain including Buckingham Palace (seventh), black cabs (27th), and cricket (42nd), food and drink was mentioned a staggering 16 times. Fry-ups came in at 11th place and quite randomly cheese-rolling came in 50th. Yes, cheese-rolling. Other shortlisted foodstuffs proved that we have a lot of time for British produce, with strawberries and cream, Cornish pasties, cheese and real ale all being listed. It's pretty heartwarming that we have so much time for our culinary heritage.   The best Scottish food and drink The best British food and drink Top 10 ultimate winter comfort foods It's true that we like other stuff too like James Bond (32nd) and red buses (37th). But not as much as we like our food. Bacon is basically better than Bond. When the next James Bond film comes out – watch closely people. Daniel Craig may appear to be fighting the criminal underworld, saving the planet and getting girls. But actually it's just a cover. An outlet for his untapped anger at the bacon sandwich. And why wouldn't he be mad? The bacon sarnie barely makes an effort. It needs no Aston Martin, and no Tom Ford suit – just a simple bread wrap, a bit of HP, and it has the number one slot in the bag. Top 10 of the top 50 British loves: 1. Bacon sandwiches 2. Roast dinners 3. Cup of tea 4. British history 5. BBC 6. Big Ben 7. Buckingham Palace 8. Countryside 9. Fish and chips 10. Yorkshire pudding   The UK's top ten pubs for grub The top 10 fish and chip shops in the UK The best places to eat in Scotland Do you agree with this list? Is the bacon sarnie the best thing about Britain? Or would you go for fish & chips and an Aston Martin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.It just has to be Bacon!!! i love Bacon so much i joined,     thebaconclub.co.uk   Just give it a try, its worth every penny. different types of bacon, rare breed pigs, and different types of smoking techniquesBlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=53b073e0-708d-4656-8a3a-d6e707f0a663No cakes, no chocolate, no sweets. It can only mean one thing: the five-day sugar detox.Wed, 13 Jun 2012 03:53:13 -0700Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc53b073e0-708d-4656-8a3a-d6e707f0a663BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C322012-02-02T13:56:25.1No cakes, no chocolate, no sweets. It can only mean one thing: the five-day sugar detox.I have a confession to make: I am a sugar addict. Left to my own devices, I can eat slice after slice of an entire cake until I hear the knife scrape against the empty plate. This is not necessarily a good thing. With a sugar high, comes the inevitable sugar crash. If I eat a whole packet of Peanut M&M's, I go a bit weird. I got to thinking recently, can I handle the white stuff, or does it actually handle me? Which left me wanting to prove to myself, that I could go without sugar for at least five days. FIVE DAYS!!!!   The most desirable chocolate Is it possible to eat too much chocolate? My first attempt (about a year ago) was laced with an almost constant edge of irritability. Ah doesn't that sound like fun. Just the thought of it makes me want to eat er..., sugar. So, anyway – just in case you're thinking of giving it a go, I've kept a handy little micro diary of how I felt during my second attempt at a sugar detox, so you can see what you might be letting yourself in for: The five-day sugar detox Day one: I'm like, totally fine. Nothing to see here. Day two: Still surprisingly fine. No meltdowns. No irritable outbursts (which I was fully expecting). I'm quite tired though and have a great night's sleep.   Day three: Still fine. What is going on? Where are the tantrums? I'm a little smug at how easy this seems to be. At 4.30pm I start craving sugar... I could murder a slice of cake. Or make that a whole cake. And make it with cream cheese frosting. Gah. Can't have any cake. Ugh.   Day four: Tired, tired, sleepy tired. Quite a lot of caffeine required. Get a grump on in the evening, along with more tiredness. It strikes me that the only reason I'm not seriously irritable, is that I just don't have the energy for it.   Day five: Tired but not as tired as yesterday. Hurrah! How else do I feel? Well, quite chilled out and definitely more clear-headed. I suspect if I stay sugar-free for another week, I'll start to see more benefits, but can I hack it?!   Things I have observed: Giving up sugar for five days is actually possible. I feel quite serene, don't you know. I'm sleeping better. I've eaten A LOT of cheese. My tips for a sugar detox: Don't attempt the five-day sugar detox when you're doing anything majorly stressful. If you are putting up shelves or cooking for the in-laws, park the detox for another time. Sugar withdrawal does not mix well with DIY or family politics. If your in laws are helping you with the shelving, run, run towards the candy and grab it with both hands. Have porridge for breakfast. Granted you can't have any sugar in it, but it doesn't half help to take the edge off a sugar detox. Drink lots of water. I ignored this (and eating the porridge) during my first attempt at the sugar detox. I think these two things were quite crucial in making it all run that little bit smoother, second time around. Are you a sugar addict? Have you ever given up sugar? Or attempted to? Was it a breeze or did you throw the towel in and reach for a packet of Haribo?! Okay, make that many packets of Haribos. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. How to eat healthily in 2012 Do you skip breakfast or stuff your face?Replace sugar with honey because I can't give up sweet thingsBlogArticlehttp://food.uk.msn.com/blog/i-love-my-grub-blogpost.aspx?post=4da447f8-e85b-47c2-984e-5b852f872c30When your nose is running and you feel like rubbish, do you reach for some hot chicken soup or a mug of honey and lemon tea?Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:25:33 -0800Helenka Bednard037954c-346e-4c5f-ae19-ed7984289acc4da447f8-e85b-47c2-984e-5b852f872c30BlogArticle28DA0F386B378F9C012012-01-31T14:54:02.45When your nose is running and you feel like rubbish, do you reach for some hot chicken soup or a mug of honey and lemon tea?I don't get ill very often, but the few occasions that I've had a stinking cold have taught me one precious lesson: always have supplies for those lurgy moments. These should include soup of your choosing, paracetamol, honey, lemon, bread and butter. Perhaps your favourite cereal, and for when you start to feel better, chocolate. Do not eat these supplies when you are feeling perfectly fine, because you will undoubtedly regret your actions when you feel like death and the cupboards are bare. If you have a nasty cold, opening the cupboard to find no soup can be devastating. My top comfort foods for a cold:   Chicken soup According to GLORIOUS! Foods which has just launched its New York Chicken Noodle Soup, 55% of us feel better after eating chicken soup. It's not known as ‘penicillin soup’ for nothing it seems. Maybe half the appeal of a bowl of soup when you're ill, is that someone else is likely to have made it. Whether it's your mum's version, your boyfriend's version or a shop-bought variety, consuming it just makes you feel well... better. If you fancy making your own version (probably not when you're not nursing a cold), this recipe for chicken soup (pictured above) from Interprofesional Olive Oil from Spain will warm you through splendidly: Ingredients: 2 skinless chicken breast fillets 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 850ml chicken stock 3 tbsp coconut milk Salt and freshly ground black pepper Whole basil leaves Method: Poach the chicken breast fillet. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the onion, and garlic and cook gently to soften. Add the coriander and cumin and pour over chicken stock. Bring to bubbling, then add the coconut milk. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add to the soup and bring back to bubbling. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the basil leaves and serve immediately. Serves 4 A bowl of cereal Two reasons. Firstly, it takes minimal effort. And secondly, eating cereal when it's not breakfast time feels like a treat. Let's face it, when you're ill, a little treat goes a long way. Hot buttered toast Again, minimal effort required which is always a winner when you're feeling poorly. The toast must be piping hot, and the butter must be butter. None of that plastic margarine rubbish.   Honey and lemon tea Whether you're coughing, spluttering, wheezing or shivering, a cup of honey and lemon tea is like a hug in a mug. The balance must be just right: enough honey to coat a sore throat, and a enough citrus bite to cut through the sweetness. It tastes delicious, comforting and like it's doing you the world of good. Other excellent hot drinks for those sickly moments include hot Ribena (so good!) and hot, spiced apple juice. Which foods make you feel better when you're feeling poorly? Endless cups of tea? A big bowl of chicken noodle soup? Or cereal straight from the packet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.I don't get ill very often, but the few occasions that I've had a stinking cold have taught me one precious lesson: always have supplies for those lurgy moments. These should include soup of your choosing, paracetamol, honey, lemon, bread and butter. Perhaps your favourite cereal, and for when you start to feel better, chocolate. Do not eat these supplies when you are feeling perfectly fine, because you will undoubtedly regret your actions when you feel like death and the cupboards are bare. If you have a nasty cold, opening the cupboard to find no soup can be devastating. My top comfort foods for a cold:   Chicken soup According to GLORIOUS! Foods which has just launched its New York Chicken Noodle Soup, 55% of us feel better after eating chicken soup. It's not known as ‘penicillin soup’ for nothing it seems. Maybe half the appeal of a bowl of soup when you're ill, is that someone else is likely to have made it. Whether it's your mum's version, your boyfriend's version or a shop-bought variety, consuming it just makes you feel well... better. If you fancy making your own version (probably not when you're not nursing a cold), this recipe for chicken soup (pictured above) from Interprofesional Olive Oil from Spain will warm you through splendidly: Ingredients: 2 skinless chicken breast fillets 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 850ml chicken stock 3 tbsp coconut milk Salt and freshly ground black pepper Whole basil leaves Method: Poach the chicken breast fillet. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the onion, and garlic and cook gently to soften. Add the coriander and cumin and pour over chicken stock. Bring to bubbling, then add the coconut milk. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add to the soup and bring back to bubbling. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the basil leaves and serve immediately. Serves 4 A bowl of cereal Two reasons. Firstly, it takes minimal effort. And secondly, eating cereal when it's not breakfast time feels like a treat. Let's face it, when you're ill, a little treat goes a long way. Hot buttered toast Again, minimal effort required which is always a winner when you're feeling poorly. The toast must be piping hot, and the butter must be butter. None of that plastic margarine rubbish.   Honey and lemon tea Whether you're coughing, spluttering, wheezing or shivering, a cup of honey and lemon tea is like a hug in a mug. The balance must be just right: enough honey to coat a sore throat, and a enough citrus bite to cut through the sweetness. It tastes delicious, comforting and like it's doing you the world of good. Other excellent hot drinks for those sickly moments include hot Ribena (so good!) and hot, spiced apple juice. Which foods make you feel better when you're feeling poorly? Endless cups of tea? A big bowl of chicken noodle soup? Or cereal straight from the packet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.BlogArticle