This isn’t just another chocolate bar – it’s a versatile, single-serve snack designed to boost sales and delight customers across multiple occasions:

• Grab & Go: Perfect for on-the-move snacking, offering convenience without compromising on taste.

• Work & Study: A sweet pick-me-up for busy professionals or students – ideal between meetings, with lunch, or during study breaks.

• Social Moments: A modern upgrade to traditional treats, great with a hot drink, shared with friends, or savoured solo.

• Drive Footfall & Sales: Already a retail success, Club Layers Orange is gaining momentum in out-of-home channels, increasing spend per head through incremental sales.

The post Introducing McVitie’s Club Layers Orange – A Bold New Treat! appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

Published this month, Prove It: The Trends Driving Sandwich Consumption in 2026 highlights the key components of this rising consumption as expanding dayparts and evolving expectations around quality and format propel the UK sandwich market into a period of renewed growth.

Stéphanie Brillouet, Marketing Director for Délifrance, says:

“This is a clear sign that the simple, versatile sandwich is keeping pace with changing lifestyles. Far from being limited to lunch, sandwiches are now appearing across multiple dayparts, from breakfast to dinner, and increasingly serving as a convenient, satisfying option for busy households, young professionals and on-the-go consumers.”

This shift is strongly linked to consumer perception that the quality of sandwiches available on the market has improved, with 46% of consumers saying better quality is the main reason they are eating more of them.

Fresh, Fast and Flavourful

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers associate freshly made sandwiches with great taste and 39% say the dough of the carrier influences how tasty a sandwich is. As operators experiment with bread formats and fillings, this has given rise to inventive hybrids that tap into the demand for unexpected global flavours and over-filled, indulgent variants that play into the Gen Z trend for treating.

Convenience is also key, with 47% of consumers citing ease and accessibility as the main factors that influence them to purchase sandwiches. Here, technology, pre-ordering, and elevated grab-and-go offerings enhance convenience for those with busy lifestyles without compromising quality. 

According to food and drink insights innovation consultants Harris and Hayes, who contributed to the report: “Convenience is evolving far beyond speed, and the sandwich category is adapting quickly to meet the needs of increasingly time-pressed consumers. It’s now about smarter systems, elevated experiences and delivering quality wherever the consumer happens to be.”

Find out more

Researchers surveyed 1,000 UK adults who regularly eat sandwiches to gain insights for Prove It: The Trends Driving Sandwich Consumption in 2026. For a deep dive into these trends and more, download the full sandwich trends report.

The post Délifrance report reveals 50% of Brits are eating more sandwiches than they were a year ago appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

Inside a Charming Village Pub

A beautiful, traditional English public house in the truest sense, the picturesque pub is small with seating for just 40 people but oozes warmth and charm. With pubs across the UK and Ireland beset on all sides by a tornado of challenges and desperate for a successful summer, Andrew and Deborah have been proactive by investing in a new glass roof for their courtyard seating area.

“People are definitely drinking and visiting the pub less, especially the younger generations,” says Deborah. “We used to be busy from 5pm until last orders but people seem to head home earlier. Lunchtime drinking is a thing of the past as well, so you have to adapt.”  

“Being a small pub with just 40 seats, we have always been a bit restricted in what we could do. The courtyard has always been a great place to eat and drink but the English weather can make it difficult. The new glass roof cover is fully retractable but more importantly fully wind, rain and cold proof so guests can eat and drink outside in confidence and comfort. We’re excited about what it can offer us this spring and summer.”

A Classic Menu with a Modern Outlook

The menu is a small and simple yet sumptuous selection of British pub classics and Deborah has run the kitchen since the couple took over. “When we first took the pub on, we were definitely more wet-led but that has changed, especially over the last 20 years where food has become more important,” she notes.

“Our menu offers a concise selection of home cooked traditional pub grub. It includes a freshly made soup each day, a homemade fish pie and punters just looking for a snack can enjoy a pint or a half of sausages. The Country Range brand is a regular in our pantry, especially the seasonings, bouillons and sauces.”

A proud family endeavour, the couple’s son Adam is also now a key part of business and is crucial in ensuring the pub moves with the times, while retaining its character. “Adam does a fantastic job running the accounting and buying side of things, which is good because eating and drinking habits have changed and he probably understands the younger generation and trends better. For example, we now have a great selection of non-alcoholic drinks, which is becoming increasingly important.”

While thankful of the Labour U-turn on business rates for pubs in January, Deborah feels more was needed and is far from convinced it will be enough for many pubs. “The U-turn was just a sticking plaster. The industry has been on its knees since Covid and for many pubs, the support package announced by the Chancellor in January was just a stay of execution.”

The post Raising a Glass to 43 years appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

For operators, it’s one of the most practical ways to grow without reinventing your business. Social media trends and a desire to build itineraries around “only here” experiences have pushed food and drink to the forefront of visitor activities, so whether you run a café, pub kitchen, bakery, or restaurant, the opportunity to put your business on the tourist-trail is yours for the taking.

There are two main routes into food tourism:

• You become the destination – tourists choose you because your menu, setting, story, or signature dish feels inseparable from the place.
• You become part of an experience – tourists encounter you through a structured product like a food tour, a tasting trail, producer visit, or cookery class.

Both routes reward the same fundamentals: strong storytelling, smooth service at pace, and clear information for guests who don’t know the local food vocabulary yet.

Understanding food tours

Food tours solve a choice-overload problem for tourists. In an unfamiliar city, a guided route turns “Where do we even start?” into a paid plan with built-in local knowledge. For operators, they can be a steady midweek revenue stream, a way to reach travellers early in their trip, and promotion when a guide tells your story for you. Whether you’re one of the stops, or you’re building a tour in your own area, the “food + history + local character” format is what travellers book.

Flexible and adaptable, food tours are not just for cities. The Burren Food Trail in County Clare connects visitors with local food and the producers behind it. Ireland has promoted
this concept nationally through Taste the Island, which highlights food and drink experiences across the country and encourages operators to participate.

At Spirit and Spice in the Highlands, food and drink experiences are centred around the landscape and a sense of “off-the-beaten-track” adventure. It started with accommodation and evolved into cookery classes and hosted experiences in a home kitchen. The common thread is that visitors aren’t only buying lunch. They’re buying access, insight, and a feeling of place.

Getting started

Whether you are looking to define your business as the destination, or want to create your own food tour, start with one clear promise such as “seafood and stories from the local harbour” rather than “a culinary journey” to give tourists something specific to be attracted to. It is also important to design your service for visitors, not regulars. Visitors often want earlier dining times, clearer directions, and a sense of what’s local without feeling embarrassed to ask, so make sure you put the basics on your website and booking pages.

The next step is to design the experience from start to finish and practice it before you go-live. Think of producing a run-list, such as a welcome drink, followed by a story, then some food and some recommendations of where to visit. You can also partner with local producers to create a comprehensive package. “Build your cuisine around local knowledge, seasonality, and strong relationships with producers. Having these authentic connections will really shine through to your guests,” recommends Petar Bebek, Chef, Maslina Resort.

Dietary requirements and allergens must also be thought about. Tourists are more likely to ask “Can you do…” because they can’t risk being unwell away from home.

Once you have a concept ready, partner with tourism bodies. VisitBritain, VisitScotland, Fáilte Ireland and local destination management organisations actively promote food-led experiences, but they need ready-to-sell products or concepts.

Taking a global view

Food tourism isn’t a new invention. Some worldwide destinations have been refining it for decades, building structured experiences around markets, street food, wine regions, and family kitchens, so there’s plenty to borrow and adapt.

In Italy, Bologna markets itself as La Grassa, the fat one. Visitors arrive expecting pasta, ragù, mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano. The city leans into that identity with cookery schools that offer hands-on pasta making classes.

Focusing on what your region does best, often taps into the reason why tourists visit. “Our cuisine highlights seasonal island ingredients, such as fresh Adriatic fish and seafood caught by local fisheries, Hvar olive oil, aromatic herbs, and local vegetables,” says Peter. “We also have a 7,000 sqm Organic Garden where we grow a vast amount of our own produce and where our guests can partake in foraging and learn more about local ingredients”

Alternatively, in Napa Valley, wine tastings have been transformed into full-day, bookable experiences. Visitors don’t just drink wine, they meet winemakers, walk vineyards, and learn about terroir. Tastings are tiered, often paired with food, and priced accordingly.

Food tours don’t have to be about traditional cuisine, in Melbourne, the city positions itself as a multicultural food capital. Food tours explore Greek precincts, Vietnamese bakeries, Italian delis and speciality coffee roasters within a compact area.

Many cities already have strong multicultural food identities. Birmingham’s Balti Triangle, Bradford’s South Asian cuisine, or Liverpool’s historic links to global trade. These aren’t side notes – they can be framed as cultural narratives that attract visitors. We are fortunate to already have great raw ingredients, the opportunity lies in shaping them into experiences that travellers can recognise, book and remember.

Considerations for signing up to an existing food tour

Treat it like a trade relationship and agree on:

• A reliable time window and the ability to serve quickly
• A defined tasting that won’t change every day
• A price that works for both sides, with clear terms on commission or net rates
• A short, accurate story the guide can tell consistently

Make the tasting work for your kitchen with one or two items unique to you:

• Build the portion to be eaten standing or moving if needed
• Batch prep where possible, but don’t compromise quality
• Agree dietary and allergen processes in writing
• Decide how photos and social tags will be used because tours can be strong content engines

The post Local Flavor Global Appeal appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

This month, we look to the chefs, street vendors, and food businesses who keep these traditions alive and push them forward. How do they balance authenticity with innovation? What inspires them to reinterpret classic rice dishes for modern diners? Their insight reveals how Indian food continues to evolve while staying rooted in heritage.

Abhishek Kumar, Executive Chef, Tanishq Restaurant & Bar

Our menu draws inspiration from regional Indian traditions, from the depth of Northern curries to the vibrancy of coastal and street food classics such as Calcutta Samosa Chaat. We adapt these influences by refining structure rather than altering flavour, using precise spice layering, controlled heat, and slow reduction to create balance and clarity within each dish. Authenticity comes from freshly roasted spices and disciplined technique. Our Delhi-6 Butter Chicken exemplifies this philosophy: corn-fed chicken in a silky tomato and butter sauce, elevated with elegant presentation and thoughtful texture, preserving heritage while delivering a sophisticated, modern fine-dining experience.

Izzy Cohen, Development Chef, Henley Bridge

Indian flavours can be woven into different fusion foods to create some really interesting street food dishes. I use Karamix’s brilliant product range to make Indian-inspired pizzas by spreading aubergine pickle onto naan bread then topping with cheese, red onion and Tandoori chicken or paneer. Garnish with fresh coriander and a drizzle of mango chutney. Alternatively, spice up your dessert menu with a cardamon biscuit-based cheesecake with a mango and white chocolate filling.

Michelle Younger Marketing Director, Aimia Foods for Professionals

Taking inspiration from the bustling streets of India, Tea India puts a twist on traditional chai, fusing this with other native ingredients, including vanilla, cardamom and ginger. This allows the brand to stay loyal to its roots whilst still delivering a truly unique selection of teas. It is not just ingredients and flavours that delivers an authentic experience. By fostering partnerships with charities, such as Rainforest Alliance, Action Village India and the Harris Freeman Foundation, Tea India strengthens this relationship and gives back to the country that inspired its delicious and warming range.

Sanjay Aggarwal, Chief Spice Officer, Spice Kitchen and author

Bombay Aloo is one of those dishes that takes me straight back to my mum’s kitchen. She’s been vegetarian her whole life, so I grew up eating simple, flavour-packed dishes like this. It’s proof that humble ingredients can become something truly special.

Potatoes, a few spices, a spoonful of yoghurt, that’s it. I love that it’s naturally vegetarian and works for anyone trying to eat more meat-free meals. Using tinned potatoes makes it even easier and more affordable. And if you finish it with a little cream or butter? Suddenly it feels like a proper treat.

Shezad Aslam Managing Director, Aagrah Foods

Dishes from the Mughal dynasty inspire many of our products – rich flavours which together deliver a culinary experience, not just a meal. Indian street food is also a major influence; simple ingredients combined to create exciting flavours but always with customer convenience front of mind.

In Indian cookery, flavours can be adapted but techniques must remain the same; for example, the traditional tarka method which sees spices tempered on high heat before other ingredients are added, has passed down through generations. Fusion food is trending, but creating flavours using centuries-old techniques helps inspire innovation. A recent twist on a classic is our Chicken & Spinach Hydrabadi Pasta Bake.

Johanna Witchell Marketing Manager, Tilda

Indian street food has a history stretching back centuries, shaped by changing tastes and cultural influences. Rice sits at the centre of this story, folded into crisp dosas, tossed through tangy chaat, cooked into fragrant pulaos, or served steaming hot with chutneys, yoghurt, herbs, and crunch.

Some must-try rice-based street food favourites include Bhel Puri, a classic Mumbai snack made with puffed rice, potatoes, chutneys, and spices; Poha, a light yet comforting dish of flattened rice cooked with onions, peanuts, and lemon; Dosa, a thin, crispy pancake made from fermented rice and lentils; and Tawa Pulao, where rice and vegetables are cooked together on a large iron griddle with aromatic spices.

Saifur Rahman Head Chef, Tower Tandoori

The regions that sing in a tandoor led London restaurant are Punjab, Hyderabad, Goa and Kerala. Punjabi classics like tandoori chicken and butter chicken give us that smoke, char and creamy depth our guests expect, while Hyderabadi lamb dum biryani brings perfumed rice and gentle heat.

We borrow the tang and crunch of chaat to balance tandoor rich plates. A tempered yoghurt, green chutney and a scatter of sev or puffed rice over charred cauliflower or chicken tikka brings lift without rewriting the dish.

For lunch, we run a simple kati roll format using tandoor grilled fillings, pickled onions and herb chutneys in a flaky paratha for portability. On specials, a vada pav inspired spiced potato bun sits alongside grills to offer that comfort hit with proper lasooni chutney. It keeps the menu lively but grounded in flavours people recognise.

Paul Hawkins Development Chef, Nestlé Professional

Regional Indian street food classics continue to inspire our innovation, with Mumbai favourites like Vada Pav guiding how we develop bold yet accessible flavours. We modernise these dishes by using plant forward ingredients and trusted seasonings like MAGGI Masala Magic to deliver authentic spice in formats that suit today’s diners. Street food trends — especially quick, flavour packed vegetarian snacks — heavily influence our approach. Essential techniques such as fresh spice tempering, vibrant chutneys, and finishing touches like MAGGI Hot & Sweet Sauce ensure true depth of flavour. A standout creation is our Saag Vada Pav, a fresh, plant based twist on a beloved classic.

The post A Culinary Trip to India appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

Kenny Atkinson is the Chef Patron of three restaurants. Spreading his time and energy across House of Tides, his first restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne, Solstice, which was awarded its first Michelin star within eight months of opening, and his latest venture, Solaya, which is located on the 25th floor of the art’otel in Hoxton. Managing to find a few minutes in his busy schedule, we caught up with him to learn more about his career and experience.

How long have you been a chef?

I have been a chef for nearly 33 years, it feels like a long time, but it also feels like those 33 years have passed in the blink of an eye. I fell into cooking at a young age of 16 and am still going strong now at 49.
I love every minute of it.

What is your current role and what does it involve?

My current role is that of chef-owner of both House of Tides & Solstice, and concept chef at Solaya in London. My main role is to guide, nurture, and develop my teams across all sites, with the help of my head chefs and restaurant managers. My job is to help drive standards, creativity, and the overall dining experience at each site by providing them with the support and tools to achieve this. 

What was your first job in hospitality?

My first job in hospitality was working for my uncle
at the age of 16 at his hotel in Gateshead as a
kitchen porter.

As a 16-year-old, I wanted to become a bar manager, but I was too young to serve alcohol, so my uncle suggested I work for him in his kitchen, helping the chefs wash dishes and then moving on to carry out some kitchen duties. Not long after, I realised that I wanted cooking to be my vocation – and I also decided that if I was going to cook, then it would have to be to a high standard.

What’s been your worst cooking disaster?

My worst cooking disaster was as a young commis working at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. The legendary chef Nico Ladenis was in for lunch, and the executive chef asked me to fetch the langoustine stock from the fridge so that he could make his signature langoustine risotto for him and his guests. I grabbed the wrong container and gave the chef the container that had orange juice in it, which was for the chefs to drink during service rather than the langoustine stock. When I realised, I told the head chef, and he told me to keep quiet till after service. It was still a tasty risotto, but yeah, I got a good rollocking that day.

What do you like to eat?

I’m a huge fan of all types of shellfish; they are without doubt my favourite to cook and to eat as a diner, but my favourite are scallops, raw or cooked, I could eat them all day long.

How do you achieve a work/life balance?

We decided to operate both restaurants over a 4-day week and close for the other 3 days of the week. This gives my team an extra 52 days off a year. I think this is important as we all work so hard and commit long hours to our craft that it’s important that the extra day off allows us to recharge, spend more time with our families or take up out-of-work hobbies.

If you were on a desert island, what five ingredients would you take with you?

Olives, salt and butter so I can catch and cook my own food, also wine & beer, probably more important than the food!

What’s the best dish and drink combo for after a shift?

Cheese and wine for sure. A nice sneaky glass of red along with any leftover cheese from the cheese board is the best combo ever, a proper chef’s treat.

Do you have a favourite pub in the UK?

Tough one, there are so many pubs that I do really like, but the one that probably stands out for me the most has to be the Devonshire in Soho. It’s become a bit of an iconic pub in the UK now and a bit of a destination for chefs. When I go to London, it’s always the place to meet up with friends for a proper pint of Guinness.

What is your favourite cookbook?

Without doubt White Heat by Marco Pierre White. It was the first chef book that I bought; his approach to food really got me engrossed in the fine dining world.

What are your culinary ambitions for 2026 and beyond?

I have achieved so much already, from winning Chef of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards to being the first chef to achieve a Michelin star at two restaurants at the same time on the same street in Newcastle. I do have a few things in the pipeline but if truth be known, future ambitions include achieving a second Michelin star for Solstice, nurturing the next generation of chefs, ensuring the longevity and sustainability of existing restaurants, and continuing to innovate and evolve.

The post Leading Lights: Kenny Atkinson appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

What were the key steps in your development and career?

I began with working in a professional kitchen at age 17. It taught me the basics, and it taught me discipline, responsibility, among other key values. Whilst doing this, I was doing my Level 2 and 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery at Kendal College. This was key in strengthening those values even more and also having fun and meeting people. But the biggest step in my development was joining the Old Stamp House team. I feel like I’m in my element there, and Ryan has taught me a lot!

Who are your food heroes?

From a very young age, I was watching cooking programs on TV; Keith Floyd, Rick Stein, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Ramsay, and Bourdain. I was obsessed! So, these guys would be top of the list!

Who have been your key mentors?

Through college, Richard Axford was one of my tutors; he was very supportive and a great tutor!

But Ryan Blackburn has been the main one. I started my time with him when I was very young, and he’s taught me a lot, not just about food and cooking but also about business and how to run a successful restaurant.

What’s the best thing about the hospitality industry?

There are a lot of great things about our industry! I love making people happy; it brings me so much joy. So, to see customers smiling and enjoying the food is a great feeling.

You meet a lot of very interesting people; lifetime relationships are formed. Also, for me, the thrill of service, it’s hard to explain, but it gives you a buzz, a little adrenaline hit in a busy service, the pride and satisfaction seeing everything you’ve worked towards leave the kitchen and go to the guest.

When you have a great team, it makes everything easy. Service becomes a rhythm, you almost get into a trance, you don’t have to speak, everyone knows what needs to be done.

What cuisines, flavours, ingredients or techniques are you loving right now?

I’m loving protein done simple: whole fish, whole birds, game, just cooked nicely and served with simple garnishes. I’ve been getting into preserving a bit more, too, smoking/salting/drying.

Tell us about your place and the philosophy behind the food?

The Old Stamphouse is a little basement restaurant in the centre of Ambleside, which once served as an office to the poet William Wordsworth, where he worked as a distributor of stamps (hence the name). Old flagstone floors, low-beamed ceilings, make dining here like stepping into local history. The philosophy behind the food is serving quality local Cumbrian produce. All of our food has a story
behind it, a little bit of history and always links to Cumbria in one way or another. We keep flavours clear and balanced. In a nutshell – local produce, traditional methods, modern precision, approachable.

The post Rising Star: Will Bolsover appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

Why grow tomatoes? 

There are so many reasons to grow our own – cut costs, reduce food miles, be more sustainable, re-connect with nature, for physical and mental health – the list goes on and on. For chefs though, the biggest benefit is flavour. 

As soon as you pick a tomato or any other fruit or vegetable, the sugars inside will start converting into starch. Therefore, the shorter the distance between the plot and the plate, the sweeter and tastier the tomato or produce will be.

When to grow

If you’re growing from seed, you want to start them off in seed trays or small pots in March before planting out after the risk of frost has passed in May. There is still time for this summer though, just skip the germination and buy some young plants from the garden centre this month. Get them in pots or the ground and you will be in tomato paradise by July. 

If you have space in some beds or even a vegetable patch, you will get bigger yields, but tomatoes grow well in pots, grow bags, hanging baskets and even on windowsills. Just make sure they’re in a sunny spot.   

Watering

If they are in pots, you need to be even more vigilant, but the best strategy is to check each day. The soil shouldn’t be wet but moist. I stick my finger in the soil to test as sometimes it looks dry on top but is wet underneath and
vice versa.      

Multi-sensory

As well as the flavour, people underestimate the multi-sensory power of the tomato. For a start, a healthy tomato plant loaded with fruit is a thing of beauty. Then there is the smell of the tomato foliage, which brings on huge waves of nostalgia and bliss for so many.  

Whether a pub, restaurant, school or care home, you could have mini tomato plants on tables that diners can pick and eat from. They could be trailing up walls and in the beds of your outdoor areas and garden. Or you could utilise them in hanging baskets with tomatoes cascading down.

Varieties

Some of my favourites for beginners would be:

Gardener’s Delight – an incredibly reliable variety providing a prolific amount of great tasting, sweet red cherry tomatoes.

Sungold Cherries – providing generous harvest throughout the season, these yellow cherry tomatoes are juicy and sweet. 

Principe Borghese – these are my go-to tomatoes for drying and when making sundried tomatoes. 

Britain’s Breakfast – a delicious red plum tomato with great texture and flavour. Similar to a San Marzano.

Marmande – an heirloom French beefsteak tomato variety with a large, bulbous shape, colour and glorious taste.

If we have a good summer, you could be harvesting tomatoes from June through to September or even October so there is plenty of time to be creative.

Find out more

The Tomato Grower’s Handbook by Holly Farrell was published by Bloomsbury on the 26th February 2026.

The post Into the wild: Tomatoes appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee highlighted the scale of the situation back in 2017, citing 2.5 billion coffee cups used and thrown away each year in the UK, with extremely low recycling rates. A newer industry report referencing WRAP-linked research puts annual cup volumes higher, at around 3.2 billion, which shows how quickly “small” items add up.

Reuse goes from niche to operational

The sharpest reduction of packaging waste can come from packaging that is not thrown away. Reuse systems for cups and containers are now moving beyond pilots into managed logistics, with track-and-trace and centralised washing operations.

Ireland is also pushing in a similar direction. ReCircle Ireland, backed by VOICE, has been trialling reusable food containers to cut single-use packaging without compromising service speed.

Fibre-based packs without the plastic lining

Operators still need grease and moisture barriers, especially for burgers, curries, and sauces. Innovation is speeding up in plastic-free coatings and paperboard engineering so packs can go through mainstream recycling or composting routes more reliably. Just Eat were early adopters in 2021, trialling seaweed-coated fibre boxes, expanding on an existing partnership with Notpla, who piloted the use of seaweed-based sauce sachets, preventing over 46,000 plastic sachets from entering our homes.

Deliveroo’s latest move, announced earlier this year, is also a good example of design-led progress. It launched a new takeaway box created through its Sustainable Packaging Challenge in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and BioPak. The winning design features a new locking mechanism to prevent spillages.

The cup problem, tackled head-on

Some of the boldest moves come from independents who choose friction over waste. Boston Tea Party stopped serving takeaway hot drinks in single-use cups in 2018 and says the decision has saved over one million cups from landfill, pushing customers towards reusables and deposits. Customers can either bring in their own reusable cup, or borrow a loan cup for £2, which is refundable when it is returned.

The future of packaging in hospitality

England’s ban on certain single-use plastic items came into force in October 2023, and packaging choices now carry more compliance risk as well as reputational risk. The best operators are treating packaging as part of their overall offering, not an afterthought. They’re choosing designs that stack, seal, return or compost, and they’re building systems around it.

For operators, the direction of travel is clear: fewer materials, fewer components, and more packs designed for real-world sorting, or better still, designed to come back and be used again.

The post Packaging with Purpose appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.

When did you know your career would be in food?

Not until after my mum died. Kimberley and I moved to London with my casino win (I won £28,000 from a £1 bet). Every Sunday we’d cook a dish from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook. That’s when I knew I wanted to work in food.

How did you feel being presented with the British Empire Medal (BEM) by the King in the New Year’s Honours list?

It was wild. Last year was difficult as I was unwell and Life Kitchen was on hold. I was lucky with my incredible father and sister who kept me going, but by the end of last year, I felt beaten down. I received a letter saying the Prime Minister had put me forward for a British Empire Medal and would I like to accept it? Of course I would! It puts my family in the history books. If Mum was here today, she would be blown away by it!

How did Life Kitchen come about?

All from a tweet. I tweeted I wanted to do a cookery class for people living with cancer and could anyone help? It went viral and I ended up on BBC Radio 4 The Today Programme. I’m grateful to the BBC for that, as it changed the trajectory of my entire life. For eight years we’ve helped over 100,000 people worldwide with cookery classes and books. It has been a remarkable journey. It isn’t all about me – I have a great team including Professor Barry Smith, founder of the Centre of Study of the Senses who advises us on how flavour works scientifically and we translate this into delicious recipes.

Can you give some recipe examples?

Pineapple Tacos – a slice of pineapple, folded and stuffed with prawns, chilli and lime. Or there’s Miso White Chocolate Sauce with frozen berries which combines sweet and savoury flavours. The whole idea of Life Kitchen recipes centres around the five tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. The key essential is umami, which is found in foods like soy sauce, mushrooms, miso, fish, seaweed and cheese. When you have more umami in a dish, it stimulates your other tastebuds to work harder. Miso is the one ingredient everyone should have in the store cupboard as it can improve virtually any dish where salt is required, you can add it to standard dishes such as spaghetti bolognese for example. You can also crush fennel seed into the béchamel sauce of a lasagne to make it more aromatic – 80% of our taste is smell. Even if someone can’t experience much taste, you want to give them a sensory experience.

What are your future plans?

We’re offering free Life Kitchen classes throughout the country. I’m writing a new cookbook. I’d like to do more TV. Although we do a lot of publicity, there’s still going to be some people who don’t know about us, so I want to reach them. Life isn’t a structured thing – you just have to run with it and see what happens. That’s where I’m at right now.

There’s so much more to a crumble than the sweet dessert after a Sunday roast (although that’s good, too) – in fact, a savoury crumble feels like pure indulgence. The miso, mushroom and parmesan ramp up the savoury flavours in this recipe, giving it a depth that outstrips its simplicity.

The post It’s an Honour appeared first on Stir it up Magazine.