All posts filed under: Food & Drink

Pact – Mail Order Coffee at its Finest

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Name Pact What The best coffee, roasted in small batches, fresher & better tasting, ground to order, shipped to you everyday. Experience I don’t know about you, but I find it really hard to find good cafetiere coffee in the supermarkets. There is so much choice that at times it can be daunting. I know my favourite brands, but I like to explore and quite often end up buying something new and being disappointed with it. A few months ago, my coffee mate at work introduced me to Pact coffee – good quality mail order coffee, which arrived at his desk in a small but perfectly formed envelope. I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee, but after my friend switched to money saving mode, the morning coffee break sadly came to an end and I was back off spending my money in the local coffee shop. But I never forgot Pact, and it was great to have a reminder recently when I was sent a 250g pack of El Retiro, a coarsely ground batch with a strong …

Emozioni – Italian Style and Substance

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A few weeks back I received a delivery of Emozioni products at work. I knew what was inside but as I pulled the boxes out of the package, I asked my colleagues to guess what was inside. They had their suspicions that it was a trick question but nearly all of them guessed that I would be pulling fancy cosmetics out of the boxes. Even when the bottle of truffle oil was produced, they still didn’t guess that it was edible. I was intrigued by the products; mainly because I have always associated good quality Italian products with classic packaging and the most delicious Italian food I have eaten has always been traditional. Emozioni, however, well and truly bucks the trend with a range of luxury Italian food products with contemporary and distinctive packaging. After seeing the beautiful packaging in the flesh, I was left asking whether it was a case of style over substance. So off I went to try them out. I tried paccheri pasta (£5.90), porchini dried mushrooms (£16.50 for 30g) and …

The Perfect Foodie Gift this Christmas

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The best way to start a meal is by breaking off a slab of crusty bread and dipping it into a bowl of good quality olive oil. So imagine my excitement with a present from Filippo Berio, one of Italy’s most respected olive oil brands, arrived on my desk. Just 250 bottles of the ‘Founder’s Favourite’ Olio di Lucca have been produced globally. The oil has been created using handpicked, specially selected Moraiolo, Leccino and Frantoio olives from Tenuta Maria Teresa in the hills above Lucca, home of Filippo Berio. The first thought that ran through my head was that it will be perfect for Christmas dinner when my mum and step dad come to visit. It will no doubt be a lovely surprise by the fellow olive oil loving foodies. Available online from http://www.filippoberio.co.uk and http://www.justsoitalian.co.uk, each limited edition 500ml bottle (RRP£100) is individually numbered and presented in a distinctive glass bottle with an ornate pendant showing the founder’s image and a gift box bearing his signature.

Healthy Snacks from itsu

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I used to have a salmon sashimi addiction. Every day I would walk past itsu and every day I would have to go in and purchase a packet to satisfy my craving. itsu has been a firm lunchtime favourite of mine for years and I was recently sent a few of the snack goodies to try and I thought I’d share my favourites with you. Honey Cashews What’s not to like? Cashews. Honey. Itsu is onto a winner with these. I wouldn’t count them as a low calorie treat but still, they have to be better than chocolate, no? Miso soup With only 42 calories per pouch, this miso soup is the perfect mid morning or afternoon snack for the calorie counters out there. It’s really easy to make, too. Simply add hot water and you’re away! Istu sells a whole range of healthy snacks including chocolate covered rice cakes, chocolate edamame, wasabi peas and wasabi seaweed thins.

Quick and Easy Dinner? Belazu has the Answer

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I wish there were more hours in the day. I really do. I find that there isn’t time to do everything I want to do in life. I like cooking but I also like eating out and playing sport during the week. But I can’t do it all. Or can I? I really don’t think quick, easy and cheap meals have to come in ready meal format. There are loads of solutions that are healthy, will tickle those tastebuds and be kind on your pocket. I play netball on Mondays and Wednesdays and find it really hard to find the time to cook on those evenings. So I was really pleased to see that Belazu has just launched sauce jars, which heated up are perfect poured over cous cous. I made this a couple of evenings before netball. I tried the Tomato and Smoked Paprika and the Red Pepper and Rose Harissa sauces and it took literally 10 minutes to prepare. I served with a fresh side salad and it was the perfect dinner – …