Cake depicts Swift wearing a sweatshirt of the Kansas City Chiefs – her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team
A baker who has created a lifesize Taylor Swift cake for Sunday’s Super Bowl said it was the “perfect opportunity” to finally get around to making it.
The cake sculpture by Lara Mason, from Walsall in the West Midlands, has racked up more than 3m views on TikTok.
Continue reading...US firm expects rising costs to hit profits and sales as consumers cut spending on treats
The US chocolatier Hershey has warned on profits and sales after a sharp increase in the cost of cocoa to record levels pushed up the price of chocolate, hitting cash-strapped consumers in the pocket.
Global cocoa prices hit a new peak of $5,874 (£4,655) a ton on Thursday in New York as dry weather continued to affect crops in west Africa, with poor harvests driving up prices in the region, which produces the majority of global supply.
Continue reading...Notting Hill restaurant is sixth in the capital to get the ultimate accolade, while two Indian eateries get two stars for the first time
The London restaurant the Ledbury has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland.
The Notting Hill restaurant is the sixth in the capital to hold the guide’s most prestigious accolade, while Gymkhana is one of the first two Indian restaurants in the UK to receive two stars, alongside Birmingham’s Opheem.
Continue reading...Fiona McArthur’s vegan sweets began as an experiment – and now they’re food for the Hollywood stars
It’s a long way from the windswept waterfront of Campbeltown to Hollywood: but for next month’s Oscar nominees a taste of this remote corner of Scotland awaits, after the owner of the town’s chocolate shop was chosen to produce the sweet treats for the famed $125,000 award ceremony goodie bags.
Fiona McArthur, who started creating her chocolates in her mother’s kitchen four-and-a-half years ago, says she’s still pinching herself at the coup. “It’s blowing my mind that my chocolates are going to be eaten by people like Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie,” she says.
Continue reading...Nutrinsect defies Italian food purists with cricket flour that can be incorporated into range of foods
A company that produces flour made from crickets has become the first in Italy to be given the green light to sell food made from insects for human consumption, defying Italian food purists and even a government attempt to curb its use.
Josè Francesco Cianni, the chief executive of Nutrinsect, said: “a new page in the history of food has been opened” now that his nutrient-packed flour can be incorporated into an array of food items.
Continue reading...Open letter calls for Soil Association certification to be removed from industry, amid concerns of negative environmental impact
The British body that certifies food in the UK as organic has been accused of misleading consumers over its labelling of Scottish farmed salmon.
Thirty charities, conservation and community organisations, including WildFish, the Pesticide Action Network and Blue Marine Foundation, say the negative environmental impacts of the industry in Scotland “run completely counter” to the principles of the Soil Association’s promotion of healthy, humane and sustainable food.
Continue reading...Two Delhi restaurants both claim to have the right to call themselves the home of the original butter chicken recipe
It’s one of India’s most beloved dishes and can be found bubbling on kitchen stoves or served on silver in restaurants across the country.
But exactly who came up with the recipe for rich and creamy butter chicken has long been a matter of dispute – one that has now reached India’s courts.
Continue reading...Traces of DNA found on lumps of tree resin suggest trout and hazelnuts were popular 10,000 years ago
DNA from a type of “chewing gum” used by teenagers in Sweden 10,000 years ago is shedding new light on the stone age diet and oral health, according to research.
The wads of gum are made from pieces of birch bark pitch, a tar-like black resin, and carry clearly visible teethmarks.
Continue reading...Higher costs as a result of Ukraine war, supply chain issues and effects of Covid force lunching office workers to tighten belts
Even in a city of tens of thousands of restaurants, including a large number with Michelin stars, is it really possible in Tokyo to spend as little as ¥500 (£2.60) a day on lunch without eating the same modest meal day in, day out?
The answer, according to increasingly cash-strapped office workers in the Japanese capital, is a resounding yes.
Continue reading...Failatu Abdul-Razak is being cheered on and widely celebrated in west African country
A chef in Ghana has been preparing regional dishes on live TV since New Year’s Day in an attempt to break a world record for marathon cooking.
Failatu Abdul-Razak had cooked for more than 110 hours as of Friday afternoon at a hotel in the northern city of Tamale where she is aiming to break the Guinness world record for a cookathon of 119 hours and 57 minutes held by the Irish chef Alan Fisher.
Continue reading...Eco-friendly British produce could become unaffordable luxury if low quality imports still allowed, say farmers
Tightening environmental standards for British farmers while importing food produced to lower standards risks making eco-friendly food an unaffordable luxury item, farmers have said.
At the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, the environment secretary, Steve Barclay, announced that the government would consult on a new labelling scheme that would single out food produced to UK standards, allowing consumers to choose more environmentally friendly food.
Continue reading...Consumers buy more items – including plenty of parsnips and sprouts – to beat last year’s spend by 7%
UK shoppers spent £13.7bn on groceries in the run-up to Christmas – 7% more than a year before – as they sought out bargains and switched to discounters to try to offset price inflation.
The number of items bought rose by 2% in December as prices climbed by 6.7%, according to analysts at Kantar, although that was down from 9.6% in November – making it the biggest monthly drop in inflation the data firm has ever recorded.
Continue reading...Winemakers question plan as government champions Brexit ‘freedom’ to allow old-fashioned size
The poet Robert Burns imagined a man toasting his lover with a “pint o’ wine”, and Winston Churchill was perhaps the most famous proponent of the pint bottle for champagne. Now, Rishi Sunak’s government has spied a “Brexit opportunity” to legalise the sale of wine by the pint once more – if it can persuade anyone to make the bottles.
Still and sparkling wine will be sold in 200ml, 500ml and 568ml (pint) sizes in 2024, alongside existing measures, under new rules, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced on Wednesday. It said the change was made possible by Brexit.
Continue reading...Globally successful restaurateur and food writer known as the ‘godfather of avocado toast’ dies peacefully in London
The Australian cook and restaurateur Bill Granger has died in London aged 54.
Fellow cooks, celebrities and lovers of his restaurants paid tribute after the family of the food writer confirmed on Instagram he had died peacefully in hospital on Christmas Day.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Officially commissioned research lays out effects of shelving anti-obesity pledges
Children in England are at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems because ministers have shelved anti-obesity policies until 2025, according to a damning report commissioned by the government.
The independent report says that ultra-processed foods (UPF) and products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) have become “normalised” in children’s diets, with poorer parents powerless to curb them.
Continue reading...Government has shelved policies that could have helped to change landscape weighted in favour of unhealthy food options
Less than three weeks into her new role as health secretary, Victoria Atkins left health campaigners aghast when she suggested her approach to tackling obesity would largely focus on dietary advice.
Obesity is a devastating public health problem harming millions of people in the UK that will never be resolved by tips on what to eat and what to avoid. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the problem costs £100bn a year.
Continue reading...Many UK cheese makers could face 245% duty from 1 January, making exporting unaffordable
A priceless opportunity to sell “more affordable high-quality cheese to Canada” was one of those many Brexit boons that Boris Johnson championed with his customary blather as prime minister.
A bespoke UK-Canada trade deal was going to open up the Canadian market to cheddar, stilton and wensleydale in a way that had never been possible under a trading agreement struck between the EU and Canada.
Continue reading...Essex-based Bridie West’s edible creation based on setting in Cameron Diaz romcom got more than 1.2m views
An Essex cake baker has gone viral after making a cake version of a cottage that had a starring role in the Christmas movie The Holiday.
The clip of Bridie West meticulously piping butter cream over a cottage-shaped cake has garnered more than 1.2m views on TikTok and almost 50,000 on Instagram.
Continue reading...Food and Drug Administration is investigating facility in Ecuador and working with authorities to inspect cinnamon supplier
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it thinks elevated levels of lead in cinnamon applesauce that has poisoned dozens of American children could be linked to deliberate additives in the food’s cinnamon flavoring, and is inspecting a food facility in Ecuador.
There have been more than 60 reports of children reporting “adverse effects” after eating applesauce and apple puree pouches from the brands WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis. The products have been recalled.
Continue reading...Number rose by almost 60% in a year to 49,691 stores, making China ‘a global coffee industry powerhouse’
The branded coffee chain craze may trace its roots to a single Starbucks in Seattle’s Pike Place market in 1971, but now China has toppled the US as the country with the most branded coffee shops.
The number of branded coffee shops in China increased by 58% over the past 12 months to a record 49,691 outlets, according to research by World Coffee Portal. That was more than 9,000 in excess of the 40,062 in the US, where the market grew by just 4%. The US had held the crown as the world’s biggest coffee shop market for the entire 20-year history of the research.
Continue reading...