Chef Wise

Until 10th May Nicholson’s pubs across the nation will play host to a beer festival, showcasing the very best in cask ales and speciality beers. With an unrivalled selection of 14 Golden Ales to match the increasingly golden days of summer, the Nicholson’s Beer Festival will offer something for everyone – whether you’re an IPA expert or appreciating an adventurous Blonde for the first time. By downloading the Nicholson’s Hop Circle app, the first pint is a welcome £1. Throughout the festival, there will be a unique opportunity to sample ales from Nicholson’s Grain to Glass competition, where a trio of British brewers were tasked with improvising ales from a ‘blind’ selection of ingredients. Varieties of ‘Style’, ‘ABV Range’ and ‘Hop Region’ were all selected at random, with the brewers relying on their creativity, experience and brewing know-how to create three innovative beers that will delight any inquisitive festival guest. Alongside the Grain to Glass beer, cask ale...

For one night only, renowned cookbook writer and former head chef at Riverford Field Kitchen, Jane Baxter will be tantalising taste buds with a pop-up supper to celebrate the launch of this year's The Shops at Dartington Food Fair (24th – 25th May 2015). Set in The Shops at Dartington's enchanting courtyard, Jane will be wowing all with her culinary skills and preparing a delicious feast using locally sourced, seasonal produce. Marking the fifth birthday of the Food Fair, this delightful pop-up restaurant, a first for The Shops at Dartington will take place on Saturday 23rd May at 7pm. Guests will be tempted with divine sharing-platter starters of mixed antipasti including mussel, leek and bacon bruschetta, arancini, cured salmon and charcuterie.  Jane, well-known for her innovative Baxters Movable Feasts, will continue to amaze diners throughout the main and dessert courses using local food and drink, most of which will be sourced from suppliers in 'The Food Sh...

The Channel Island of Guernsey will showcase its unique cuisine, local produce and highly skilled chefs in a ten day food festival from 18th-27th September. A first for the island, the Guernsey International Food Festival will be based in Guernsey's capital St. Peter Port with events ranging from cook offs to live cooking demonstrations and gastronomic island tours. For more details on the festival:  www.visitguernsey.com/food-festival  and to book a preview press trip or visit during the festival please contact Jules Ugo at  jules@lotus-uk.co.uk For the first time Guernsey's island producers and chefs will combine forces to showcase Guernsey's exceptional produce and cuisine. This has developed from its geographical position allowing it to fuse English and French gastronomy whilst harnessing fresh produce from the land and sea. The result is a selection of unique dishes such as the traditional 'bean jar', a one pot meal cooked overnight and made of be...

Starts on the  20th June 2014 to  6th July 2014 This year’s Droitwich Spa Festival features a fantastic programme of local food and drink, music and arts events in our historic salt town. It takes place in the town centre and pubs, clubs and venues around town and offers great entertainment for both local residents and visitors. Highlights of the 2014 Festival include: Celebration of Local Food and Drink Dinner with guest speakers Restaurateur Mark Hix and Food Critic and Masterchef judge, Charles Campion Food and Drink Festival with up to 100 stalls and demonstration kitchen Cheese and Cider Festival History tours and afternoon tea at The Chateau Impney Live music in the town centre Literary Festival Theatre performances Jazz and classical concerts Art displays and activities Foodie competitions Big Picnic in the Park Charles Campion food critic, 5 top local chefs, Sasuages Competition, international music performers Location ...

A milestone has been reached as Screen Bites food and film festival celebrates its 10th birthday this year. In celebration, Screen Bites 10th Anniversary will be marked on 2nd October, in jubilant fashion with an appropriately food-focussed Gala Night to be held in the suitably celebratory setting of St Giles House at Wimborne St Giles by kind permission of Lord Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury. In addition, the party atmosphere will be made complete with exquisite food created especially for the Gala by Lisa Osman of Provisio at All Hallows and award-winning wines from Langham Wines.         In true Screen Bites style, the food served by Lisa Osman will celebrate the very best the county of Dorset has to offer and, as Lisa explains, the menu has been inspired by the 17th century setting and food in the French film Vatel, which will also be screened at the Gala evening; “Every party deserves fabulous food and ...

London Bridge Open Kitchen announces its return with an evening of feasting with chef José Pizarro and top Bermondsey restaurants at White Cube Bermondsey This July the finest fare from Bermondsey Street and London Bridge collide at White Cube Bermondsey to present London Bridge Open Kitchen. Playing host to London's hottest restaurants including Pizarro, Constancia, Brigade, The Garrison, Tanner & Co, Aqua Shard, Hutong and Village East - their Head Chefs will come together to offer diners a selection of their most popular dishes, whilst drinks enthusiasts can check out the ‘Bermondsey Beer Mile’ stand and ‘Bermondsey G&T’ for craft beers and summer gin cocktails to quench their thirst. Soak up the ambience and tantalise your tastebuds,  enjoy the live entertainment and enter the prize draw for the chance to win a selection of locally sourced prizes, including the 'Best of Bermondsey' hamper. Time & Date: 6.30pm to 9pm on the 24th July ...

Love Spice? Hungry? Then get ready for a night of indulgence at The Great Indian Food Feast, a gastro adventure crafted by food writer and pop up guru, Urban Rajah. The Indian chef will be in residence at the Doll's House Hoxton, located in an old textile factory overlooking the historic Hoxton Square. Whilst its exterior may look like any other East London warehouse, inside you are transported to a different era and on the 24th and 25th July a different world, one filled with wondrous spice. Urban Rajah will spin you across the Indian subcontinent dishing up 4 courses inspired by the terrain of God’s own country. From Safalle (chicken dumplings) from the snowy Himalayas, to Lamb Shammi Kebabs fit for Mughal princes from the magical desert kingdoms of Rajasthan, to Chemmeen Prawns which will have you imagining you're paddling up the heavenly Malabar coast but then you'll be thrown into the urban hustle of Mumbai as you indulge in street food in the form of Chann...

The Artisan Cheese Fair takes place in the Cattle Market of the town famous for its Stilton and Pork Pies - Melton Mowbray on 3-4 May 2014 with an entry price of only £1. here is a list of the c heese makers attending. 1. Bath Soft Cheese Co Ltd www.parkfarm.co.uk 2. Belvoir Ridge Creamery - Colwick www.belvoirridge.co.uk Leicestershire 3. Cheesemakers of Canterbury www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk Kent 4. Carlow (Ireland) http://irishcheese.ie/members/carlowcheese.html Co. Carlow 5. Cerney cheese www.cerneycheese.com Gloucestershire 6. Chorlton Cheese www.chorltoncheese.co.uk Cheshire 7. Colston Bassett District Dairy Ltd www.colstonbassettdairy.com Nottinghamshire 8. Cornish Cheese Company Ltd www.cornishcheese.co.uk Cornwall 9. Cote Hill Cheese www.cotehill.com Lincolnshire 10. Cropwell Bishop Creamery Ltd www.cropwellbishopstilton.com Nottingham 11. Curworthy Cheese www.curworthycheese.co....

The Artisan Cheese Fair - which began in the Market Town of Melton Mowbray four years ago - is now the largest gathering of traditional cheese makers in the country. More than 200 regional specialities from over 25 counties across the British Isles and as far reaching as Fife in Scotland, County Carlow in the Republic of Ireland, Cornwall and Cardiganshire - will offer cheese-lovers a feast of flavours. The Artisan Cheese Fair takes place in the Cattle Market of the town famous for its Stilton and Pork Pies - Melton Mowbray on 3-4 May 2014 with an entry price of only £1. The event, which was the brainchild of local food historian Dr Matthew O'Callaghan is designed to support the UK's burgeoning artisan cheese industry - which can now boast a range of heritage and traditional cheeses which rivals France. "The French say they have a different cheese for every day of the year but in the British Isles, we can go one stage further and say that we can now hav...

Over the past year cafes have been creating their own hot chocolate recipes that they will showcase to customers during the 1st Annual Hot Chocolate Festival taking place 24th March - 6 April across the UK. The Festival encompasses everything from the indulgent to the inspired: think Ecuador 70% chocolate infused with chilli rooibos tea and cherry; think a trio of chocolates presented with spheres of flavours that burst in your mouth. The Festival is championing 'real' hot chocolate as the best hot chocolate is made with only pure, cocoa-rich melted chocolate. And that's just the kind prepared by the festival promoters, Kokoa Collection. In case you're worried that the UK Hot Chocolate Festival takes place over Lent, two Popes have actually ruled that hot chocolate is allowed ! The first being Pope Gregory XIII and then in 1662, Pope Alexander VII declared "Liquidum non frangit jejunum" [Liquids (so including hot chocolate) do not break the...

Desert Island Dish... with the fabulous chefs and epicurean experts of BITE Festival If you found yourself stranded on a desert island, and you could only have one dish, what would you choose? We asked the BITE Festival Chefs and epicurean experts from Eric Lanlard and Antony Worrall Thompson to Shelina Permaloo and Cyrus Todiwala and the many more who will be on hand for BITE 2014, to dust off their school day copies of Lord of the Flies, watch an episode of Lost and channel their inner Ranulph Fiennes.  Antony Worrall Thompson chose a ‘Mangalitza Pig with dauphinoise potatoes and luxury greens’ with a request for luxury in the form of both male and female pigs. Elisabeth Luard believes that ‘Happiness is a tin of caviar, a tin opener and a spoon’needing ‘enough caviar for breakfast as well as supper. That’s All!’ Travelling east the ever-philosophical Cyrus Todiwala chose ‘masala fried fresh bombay ducks or pomfret’ with the final thought that ‘once he had...

BITE is back! Over 20 venues across the Cotswolds... with something for everyone who loves to cook, and even more for those who just love to eat. Laugh with Arabella Weir or with the tribute to Fanny and Johnnie Cradock; find out about working with Elizabeth David from Jill Norman; learn to cook with the masters at Daylesford or at the pop up masterclass theatre; have afternoon tea with Claire Clark, Annie Rigg, Eric Lanlard or at the Mad Hatter's Party with John Whaite; meet Cyrus Todiwala, Matthew Fort, winners from Masterchef and The Great British Bake-Off ; shop at the Artisan Food Fair; enjoy a myWaitrose supper; dine with Antony Worrall Thompson or with the best Chefs from the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force, and much more, all in just one week! Click here for the full programme: www.thebite.co/HTML-assets  www.thebite.co www.facebook.com/BITE2014  @BITE2014 Watch the festival im action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3IBbtYyXUY  Fo...

Daylesford and the BITE Food Festival are passionate about real food and are partnering to provide the opportunity from beginners to the most proficient of chefs, to join them for cookery classes from 1st to 9th February. A stay at one of the most beautiful hotels in the Cotswolds, the Cotswold House Hotel & Spa Chipping Campden will turn this quieter time of year into your foodie heaven complete with treats whether in the spa or at the festival. Spend your day at Daylesford Cookery School, refining your skills and techniques, learning about the finest produce and how to perfect seasonal dishes. After all the chopping, learning, tasting and stirring, pop back to the hotel for a relaxing complimentary treatment at the heavenly wellbeing Spa at Cotswold House. In the evening, depending on your chosen dates, support the armed forces at the Combined Services Culinary Arts Team (CSCAT) Dinner on Saturday 1st February, learn all about champagne at a dinner with Piper Heid...