Category Archives: Yahoo

Cask finished whiskies that you must try

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Published on Yahoo Lifestyle UK & Ireland on 10th May 2013:

A recent trip to the Isle of Skye revealed a whole new side of whiskies for me – the cask finished whiskies.

By law, all whiskies are aged in oak barrels for a minimum of three years. A select few also go on to be “finished” in special casks, which would impart additional flavours to the whisky. Majority of the casks were from sweet or fortified wines, giving the finished whisky a sweeter and fruitier note. Some, like Auchentoshan Three Wood, are even aged in three different types of casks.

I was in Skye for the unveiling of the Talisker Port Ruighe – the latest and permanent addition to the Talisker portfolio. Port Ruighe is the classic Talisker 10 finished in a port cask, a process which gave it a caramel hue, softened smoke and fruitier notes. Some might say, Talisker for the ladies.

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Celebrity chef pop ups? No thanks, I’d rather spend my money on the real thing

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Published on Yahoo Lifestyle UK & Ireland on 1st May 2013:

Best restaurant in the world

Have you noticed a sudden influx of international chefs to London recently? And that visiting chef pop-ups of the Michelin-starred variety are popping up everywhere?

Well, as you’ll have probably gathered, they are in town for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. The highly regarded award, now in its 11th year, draws some of the world’s best chefs to the city. With their arrival however, came the slew of pop-ups.

Why not showcase their skills? After all, they are already in town.

Indeed many of these chefs are worth seeing in action, not only for their food, the demonstration of skills but also for the local knowledge that they can share. For the average person, it’s a great insight into some of the world’s best chefs, their food and their restaurants.

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Ten food reasons to visit Abruzzo

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Published on Yahoo Lifestyle UK & Ireland on 4th April 2013:

Pescara, Abruzzo

Situated in the middle of the country on the eastern coast of Italy, Abruzzo really defines Southern Italian cuisine despite bordering Northern Italy.

Majority of the region is mountainous and heavily focused on agriculture but it also has a good reputation for seafood coming in from the Adriatic. Olive trees are everywhere as are vineyards but there are also some more unusual produce like chilli, saffron and liquorice.

Here is a short guide to some of the things that you must make time for in Abruzzo:

Ristorante Al Metrò, Abruzzo

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Will you be eating insects instead?

by Qin Xie | 1 Comment

Published on Yahoo Lifestyle UK & Ireland on 12th March 2013:

Also published on Yahoo! US News on 12th March 2013:

grasshopper at Wahaca

They say that on average, we eat around one pound, or just over 450g, of insects a year. Ok, there’s been claims made for anything between one and five pounds, but who’s counting? Either way, it seems like an awful lot of creepy crawlies to be ingesting for something that’s not considered food in the Western world.

The reality of course is that insects have been on the menu for a long time. Grubs and grasshoppers are often considered delicacies in South East Asia while the world’s best restaurant, Noma, boasts live ants on its menu. That dish made it to London during Noma’s pop up at Claridge’s last year. Even big department stores like Selfridges have been stocking insect-laden sweets for years; particularly eye catching have been the scorpion lollipops.

Unsurprisingly, eating insects has been the subject of much debate over the years with the likes of the Wall Street Journal, The Economist’s More Intelligent Life and most recently The Guardian weighing in. The argument is that, with its high protein and low fat content and the fact that it can be cheaply produced, it’s economical, sustainable and even healthier to eat insects.

The latest to join the insect trend is celebrity chef and MasterChef 2005 winner Thomasina Miers’ chain of Mexican restaurants, Wahaca.

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Are women any closer to full gender equality in the UK?

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Published on Yahoo! UK News on 8th March 2013:

It’s International Women’s Day – a celebration of gender equality and women’s rights around the world with more than 100 years of history behind it. In the UK alone, there are hundreds of events around the country marking this day.

With that in mind, there’s no time like the present to examine gender equality in the UK.

Here’s the boring bit: government statistics on gender equality varies but they tend to indicate increasing equality across the board. In education especially, girls are increasingly achieving more than boys. Certainly, legislation has helped increase the number of women in work, at boardroom level and in male dominated industries such as engineering and science.

Of course statistics are always open to interpretation.

From personal experience, in the food and drink industry, the numbers tend to be balanced.

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