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Category Archives: Eating & Drinking

Win a luxury two night stay at The Chocolate Boutique Hotel!

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Posted by admin on October 22, 2011 – 2:19 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Eating & Drinking

Fancy two nights of sweet dreams at Bournemouth’s utterly chic, family owned Chocolate Boutique Hotel?  30 days has teamed up with the hotel and is giving you the chance to win a stay for two people in its luxury Chocolate Truffle Suite, with breakfast included. The prize also includes the hotel’s special romantic package, so as well as a chocolate fountain in your room, you’ll get a bottle of Cava, two chocolate cocktails in the Chocolate Bar and a half kilo slab of chocolate with a personal hand written message (in chocolate) for your loved one. And if that doesn’t have you feeling like you’ve had too much chocolate, there’s also two places on a Chocolate Truffle Making Workshop thrown in, too!  Simply enter your details here to enter.

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The top 10 incredible UK curry houses for those who like it hot

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Posted by admin on October 14, 2011 – 3:42 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking

Tripadivsor has released its top 10 curry houses around the UK, based on its user ratings.  Perhaps interestingly, there’s not a Birmingham balti house in site. Instead, two Indian restaurants both in Southampton occupy the top 2 places. Making the list are the following restaurants:

1. Kali Mirchi, Southampton
2. Indian Melody, Southampton
3. Asia Restaurant, Llandudno
4. The Spice Enterprise, Carlisle
5. Mumbai Lounge, York
6. The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
7. Chettinad Restaurant, London
8. Anokaa Restaurant, Salisbury
9. Tayyabs, London
10. Akbars, York

Which UK curry house gets YOUR vote and why?

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UKeatingout.com

Northumbria Food & Wine Festival

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Posted by admin on September 30, 2011 – 12:46 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

The weekend of the 7th to 9th October 2011 sees a celebration of the best of quality Northumbrian food and drink at the Northumbria Food & Wine Festival near the beautiful market town of Corbridge. Taste the finest wines and enjoy fabulous dining experiences with pop up kitchens from some of Northumberland’s best kitchens including The Feather’s Inn, winner of the best Gastro Pub in Yorkshire and the North East 2011. Also enjoy food demonstrations and tastings and great live music.

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Tennerfest

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Posted by admin on September 11, 2011 – 9:28 am
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

Tennerfest creates a hive of excitement on both Jersey and Guernsey.
The Tennerfest festival begins on the 1st October 2011 and continues on into November. Now in its 14th consecutive year the Tennerfest food promotion enables diners to visit many restaurants around the islands offering a variety of cuisine and all at a fixed price. Menus often feature local delicacies such as lobster, oysters and fresh langoustines and prices start from just £10!

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Exmoor Food Festival

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Posted by admin on September 7, 2011 – 12:34 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

The 2011 Exmoor Food Festival, which will run over nine days from Saturday 1st to Sunday 9th October, provides a showcase for local produce from a variety of independent food and drink producers based in the scenic Exmoor area. Visitors will be able to experience a taste of the very best in local produce from this beautiful part of the West Country, which straddles North Devon and West Somerset.

A tasty programme of around 35 events will include food fairs, farmers’ markets, foraging courses, tasting platters, themed evenings, cookery courses, farm visits and indulgent cream teas. Some events will take place every day throughout the festival, while others will be on specific days. Local inns and eateries will also be offering special Exmoor breakfasts and themed food festival menus over the ten days.

Since the festival dates coincide with the North Devon & Exmoor Walking Festival (30th September – 3rd October) there will also be several food themed walks.

Highlights include courses at Streamcombe Farm Cookery School; food foraging with Roger the Forager; chocolate-making sessions with Nutcombe Chocolates and discovering how to make an earth oven. Among the dining offers are a steak night and bubbly event and the popular ‘Breakfast in the Heart of Exmoor’ at Exmoor House, Wheddon Cross.

There will also be two weekend ‘meet the producer’ events, one either side of the moor; the Lyn Food and Fete takes place Sunday, 2nd October on the Manor Green, Lynmouth while the Exmoor Food Fayre is at Porlock on Sunday, 9th October.

Special foodie breaks are available at Hindon Organic Farm, which is offering luxury two-night stays for two people sharing a double/twin room in the 18th Century farmhouse priced at £160 B&B and £250 with a home-cooked supper, both breakfast and the evening meal will be made from their own organic and free range produce.  The Yarn Market Hotel, in the heart of the medieval village of Dunster, is also offering a two-night dinner B&B package on Friday 30th September and Saturday 1st October for two sharing at £160.

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York Food and Drink Festival

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Posted by admin on September 3, 2011 – 2:55 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

Get yourself along to York Food and Drink Festival later this month and you’ll be in for a real treat. Like all good food festivals, there’s been an increasing emphasis on food quality. Forget your burgers and chips; at this year’s festival – which runs from 16th to 25th September 2011 – you’ll be able to enjoy food and wine matching classes, chefs’ demonstrations, and the taste of fine Yorkshire fare – all of course against the fantastic backdrop that is the city of York.

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A feast of food festivals in southern Wales

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Posted by Beth Cummings on September 1, 2011 – 8:29 am
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

I hope you’re feeling hungry as September is Food Month in Southern Wales. Four fantastic festivals of food are lined up to tantalise your taste buds and make sure you enjoy the very best in Welsh food and drink.

St Fagans National History Museum on the outskirts of Cardiff is the venue for the first Food Festival. A tranquil setting and amongst the historic building you’ll find over 50 stalls all eager to entice you a range of temptations. You’ll find cheeses, Welsh whisky and even some home-made pork sausages made with meat from animals reared at the Museum. The St Fagans Food Festival runs from 10th to 11th September 2011.

The following weekend is the big one, The Abergavenny Food Festival (17th & 18th September). One of the biggest, and widely acknowledged as being one of the best Food Festivals in the UK.

All the usual stalls and stands will be there to give you a taste of the local food and drink but there’ll also be the full programme of events and activities throughout the weekend that sets Abergavenny apart from others. Enjoy master classes with top chefs such as Bryn Williams and Angela Hartnett whilst budding chefs can take part in the food academy, which aims to inspire a new generation of cooks to try something new with a mouth-watering series of workshops.

Back in Cardiff, and this time in the heart of the city, Cardiff Castle hosts the Great British Cheese Festival on 24th & 25th September 2011. Visitors will be greeted by the sight (not to mention the smell) of over 400 types of cheese at the UK’s biggest cheese market, sheep, cow, goat and buffalo cheeses will be on offer. There’ll also be plenty of other stalls too, including a range showcasing the best in Welsh drinks including wine, cider, perry and beer.

Finally it’s time for Bridgend’s moment in the foodie spotlight and the return of Feastival, the alternative food festival. Home of the collapsing cauliflower sheep in 2010 (look it up on You Tube).

There promises to be even more thrills and spills this year. Alongside the fun and madness all the usual stalls and demonstrations will be there to tempt you with array of delicious food and drink. Feastival takes place on 30th September and 1st October 2011.

And finally, one last Food Festival to tell you about a little later in October (28th & 29th) is the very first Newport Food Festival. Focused around the Indoor Market and The Riverfront Theatre area alongside the River Usk, the City Centre event will be alive with local producer stalls, chef demonstrations, music and family activities.

A visit to all these food festivals will leave you well and truly stuffed.

Beth Cummings is Marketing Manager at Southern Wales Tourism.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on the UKseries.com UK Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

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The weird and wonderful world of Heston Blumenthal

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Posted by admin on August 30, 2011 – 5:14 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking

Heston Blumenthal, owner of the Fat Duck at Bray and one of several celebrity British chefs, has become known for a number of bizarre concoctions.  We’ve gathered a few of them together here for you to watch at your leisure.

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Don’t believe what they say about British food!

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Posted by admin on August 26, 2011 – 5:13 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking

Britain often gets bad press when it comes to food, but undeservedly so. There’s more to British food than fish & chips and bangers & mash.  Watch the videos below from the Great British Menu and perhaps you’ll get a better insight into some of the fantastic food that can be enjoyed in Britain if you know where to look…

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Best places to watch the world go by in London

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Posted by trev on August 23, 2011 – 12:15 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking

In recent years there has been something of an explosion in the so called rooftop bar within London, but where are the best places to watch the world go by?

According to John O’ Ceallaigh and Natalie Paris of the Telegraph there are a few select locations which fit the most important criteria of style, good drinks & food and of course a view worth gazing over.

 

From these we’ve picked a smaller selection based on a select number of categories:

Best view: Aqua Kyoto bar is probably the best of the bunch if you’re looking for a real London view, which isn’t surprising considering its run by the Aqua Group who are responsible for the rather stunning Aqua Spirit rooftop bar in Hong Kong.

Admittedly the London version isn’t based on the 30th floor of a tower block with magnificant views of the harbour, but give global warming time and perhaps this will be an option one day.

For now however the garden sits atop the Trafalgar Hotel with views over the famous Trafalgar Square and Regent Street. For the first time the public get to see what Nelson has been watching over for years, without needing to worry too much about the pigeons.

 

Use of space: Queen of Hoxton serves up a mean hipster pub grill during the evenings and although perhaps a little out-done by the height of the surrounding evenings, the bar does have a nice feel to it.

The pièce de résistance of the Queen of Hoxton is the evening film shows whereby all the seats are rearranged and the audience get to enjoy some classic films in the open air and above the hussle and bussle of the city.

Don’t worry, these aren’t “arty” films, they do play everything from the timeless Casablanca to more modern day films such as Robocop. Popcorn is of course available, and if you’re worried about the neighbours, you need not be – everyone listens to the film via wireless headphones. You do need to book via the Rooftop Film Club web site.

 

Genuine garden: Coq d’Argent is situated right in the heart of London with views of the Swiss Re Building (aka. the Gerkin), but best of all it contains real grass and the odd box-hedge for good measure.

If you visit during the week, you can see the bankers flooding out around 5pm like an army of ants, although it should be noted quite a few of them do flock to this location so perhaps a weekend is safer. A little tip is not to stand around the edge of the building for reasons we won’t go into here (see article if you really want to know).

The restaurant itself serves a French menu which is popular with “the locals” (if there is such a thing in central London), and offers bargain prices on weekends too, so double good reasons for swapping hoards of bankers for hoards of tourists to watch.

For fuller details on the rooftop gardens of London see this Telegraph article.

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