List of All Articles with Tag 'food'

Last week the firm was ordered to withdraw all imported frozen food of animal origin.

A celebrity chef has “banned” vegans from his restaurant after reportedly receiving a negative review from a customer who criticised the lack of plant-based options. On Tuesday, Chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant Fyre that the eatery would no longer be catering to vegan diners. According to Mountain, the decision to ban vegans from the Perth, Australia, restaurant was due to “mental health reasons”. “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook reads. “We thank you for your understanding. Xx.” The post also included the caption: “Yep. I’m done.” and the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans. The decision allegedly stemmed from a bad review posted by a vegan customer, with Chef Mountain telling PerthNow that a customer had reached out to him to ask if there were any vegan options at the restaurant, and that he’d promised he would accommodate her. “A young girl reached out to me and said she was coming to the restaurant… and asked if there were vegan options,” he said. “It was my only shortfall… I said I would accommodate her, I said we had gnocchi, vegetables… and that was that.” However, according to Mountain, who previously starred on the BBC show Great British Menu, he’d forgotten about the woman’s request when she came to dine on Saturday, as he’d been busy catering a private party. “Saturday came around and sadly I’d forgotten… I had a private party I had to cater for,” he told the outlet, adding that his sous chef had reportedly reprimanded him for “not telling them about the vegan customer”. According to the UK-born chef, the woman wrote a complaint to the restaurant on Facebook the following day, in which she’d criticised the $32 vegetable dish that had been her “only option”. The woman’s message also reportedly read: “I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef. “I hope to see some improvements in your menu as I have lived in Connolly for quite some time and have seen many restaurants come and go from that building and none of them last. If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does.” The restaurant reportedly addressed the woman’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone” before encouraging the customer to “feel free to share your sh**ty experience”. “Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y experience and I look forward to not seeing you again. How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue, you are now banned,” the restaurant’s response read, according to PerthNow. Although Chef Mountain admitted he’d said he would accommodate the woman and then “didn’t,” she’d made the complaint “personal”. The chef also claimed that, as a result of the woman’s complaint, his restaurant was flooded with negative one-star reviews on Google, which he said “really hurts the business”. “F*** vegans seriously… I’m done. At the end of the day, it’s not what I want to do, they can f*** off,” he added. Mountain reiterated the sentiment while speaking to 7News, with the chef telling the outlet: “F*** vegans, I’m done with them.” Mountain also claimed that customers should “know what they’re getting from me,” as he has previously written a cookbook titled Pig. “I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me,” he said. “I understand where vegans are coming from but my job is to make food taste as good as I can and I can’t always cater to everybody’s dietary requirements.” On social media, the chef’s ban on vegans has sparked an intense debate among customers, with some praising Mountain and Fyre, while others have condemned the decision. “Bravo! Good on you mate, great stance. It’s nowhere near where I live but I will definitely come to your restaurant now,” one comment under the Facebook post reads, while another person wrote: “Can’t wait to try this place, just booked a table! Looking forward to a nice piece of rare steak.” The restaurant has also received a flood of positive reviews on its Facebook, where many have praised both the food and the staff, while others have applauded the restaurant’s “principles” and “ethics”. “Outstanding chef. Great rules and ethics,” one review reads, while another recent review states: “Great staff, great food and a chef with principles.” However, the restaurant has also continued to face criticism over Mountain’s “ban” on vegans, with one recent review reading: “You can’t call yourself a chef if you can’t even cook veggies. Owner is very arrogant and can’t take criticism.” “Discriminating and refusing vegans into his venue, all for a complaint for not following an agreed vegan option. How disgusting,” someone else wrote. The restaurant’s alleged ban on vegans comes after a vegan landlord in New York City recently went viral after requesting that only tenants who follow a plant-based diet live in the building. The Independent has contacted Chef Mountain for comment. Read More Vegan landlord seeks tenants for $5,750 New York apartment with period features. Meat eaters need not apply Vegan family asks neighbours to close their windows when cooking meat Former vegan says meat ‘saved her life’ after diet ‘made hair fall out’ Missing Glastonbury? Here’s how to have a festival feast at home Four berry sweet recipes that go beyond strawberries and cream Can you whip up the perfect burger in just five minutes?

With Glastonbury kicking off today, it’s safe to say that festival season is officially in full swing. Didn’t manage to get tickets this year? Not to worry! From food to tunes, here’s everything you need to recreate the ultimate Glasto experience at home… Dress to impress It’s time to whip out the flower crowns and get decked out in your best festival gear – just because you’re at home, doesn’t mean you can’t dress to impress. Think fancy dress, glitter, fringing… anything goes! If you’re looking for inspo, try searching “Glastonbury festival fashion” on Pinterest and scroll until your heart’s content. Crank the tunes up What’s a festival without music? If you have a projector, you could get out in the garden and stream the official Glasto set, or simply pop the Spotify Glastonbury 2023 playlist on and have a boogie. Even better, if you have musically gifted friends in your group, get them to get their instruments out and put on a headline show of their own. Enjoy a festival feast Of course, music is important, but food is also an essential part of the festival vibe. Get inspired by Glastonbury’s food stalls with these recipes… Halloumi, chip and tzatziki pitta with salad Serves: 2 Ingredients: 1 garlic clove 1 tsp dried oregano 2 wholemeal pittas 1 midi cucumber 50g baby leaf salad 200g halloumi 2 white potatoes 80g natural yoghurt 15ml white wine vinegar 5g mint 1 red onion Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C (fan)/gas 7. Boil half a kettle. Peel and finely slice the red onion. Add the sliced red onion to a bowl, cover with boiled water and set aside for later. 2. Cut the potatoes (skins on) into thin chips, then add them to a baking tray with the dried oregano, a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Give everything a good mix up and put the tray in the oven for 25-30 min or until crisp. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic. 3. Strip the mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, discard the stems. Grate half the cucumber and slice the rest into batons. Add the chopped garlic, chopped mint and grated cucumber to a bowl with the natural yoghurt and mix it all together – this is your tzatziki. 4. Drain the sliced red onion in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Return to the bowl and add the white wine vinegar with a generous pinch of sugar. Stir to combine and set aside to pickle – these are your quick-pickled onions. 5. Slice the halloumi widthways into 4 equal-sized strips. Then slice each strip in half so you are left with 8 halloumi sticks. Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the halloumi sticks and cook for 2-3 min on each side or until golden. 6. Once the chips are almost done, add the pittas to the tray. Return the tray to the oven and cook for 2-3 min or until warmed through. 7. Wash the baby leaf salad, then pat it dry with kitchen paper. Fill the warmed pittas with the chips, golden halloumi sticks, cucumber batons and a handful of baby leaf salad. Top with the tzatziki and quick-pickled onions then wrap in the tin foil to hold it all together – these are your halloumi, chip and tzatziki pittas. Serve the halloumi, chip & tzatziki pittas with any remaining tzatziki and baby leaf salad to the side. Fluffy bao buns Makes: 12 Ingredients: 7g fast-action yeast 2 tbsp caster sugar 340g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda Bamboo steamer or bain-marie Method: 1. Combine the yeast and sugar in a bowl with 150ml of warm water. Mix and set aside for 10-15 mins. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarb and a pinch of salt, then combine to form a dough ball. 2. Knead onto a floured surface for 5 minutes, until the dough is perfectly smooth. Place it in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 3. Place twelve 1-cm squares of baking paper on a large baking tray. Roll your dough until it’s ½cm thick and cut out twelve circles with a 7cm round cookie cutter. 4. Place each circle on a square of paper and brush with veg oil (so they don’t stick when folded). Fold each one in half, cover the tray with cling film and leave in a warm place for another hour to puff up. 5. Once risen, steam in batches for 9-11 minutes until cooked through. Add your chosen filling and serve warm. DIY double cheeseburger Serves: 2 Ingredients: 2 sesame seed buns 400g minced beef 1 tsp vegetable oil 4 slices of cheese ¼ iceberg lettuce (finely shredded) 2 gherkins (sliced) ½ white onion (finely diced) For the burger sauce: 2 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tbsp ketchup 2 tsp yellow Mustard 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp pickle juice ½ tsp cayenne pepper Method: 1. Generously season your beef mince with salt and pepper in a bowl and mix until sticky to the touch. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, shape them into patties, and pop them into the fridge on a parchment-lined tray. 2. Whip up your burger sauce by combining all your ingredients in a bowl and giving it a good mix. 3. Slice the burger buns into 3 and toast them in a dry frying pan until golden brown. 4. Heat a frying pan on medium heat with a splash of vegetable oil and fry your patties for 5-7 minutes. Top tip: use a spatula or burger weight to keep your patties flat while cooking. 5. Add a slice of cheese to each patty and turn off the heat when the cheese starts to melt. 6. Build your Gousto Burgers with shredded lettuce, a cheesy patty and a layer of sliced gherkin, diced onions and burger sauce. Pop in the middle of your burger bun and repeat. Don’t forget the bar Enjoy some delicious summery cocktails with these recipes. Mojito Ingredients: Juice of 1 lime 1 tsp sugar Small handful of mint leaves, plus more to serve 60ml white rum Soda water, to taste Method: 1. Slap your mint leaves between your palms once, then add them to a small jug. 2. Gently muddle the lime juice, sugar and mint leaves in a small jug, crushing the mint as you go. The end of a rolling pin works well for this. 3. Pour into a tall glass and add a handful of ice. 4. Pour in your rum and give it another stir with a spoon. 5. Top up with soda water, garnish with mint and serve. Bellini Ingredients: 500 ml peach purée or peach nectar 1 bottle of prosecco Method: 1. Fill your glasses with 1/3 peach purée. 2. Top them off prosecco, and serve. Gousto offers over 250 recipes from expert chefs to choose from each month, from £2.99 per portion. Visit gousto.co.uk for more information.

Nothing says summer like a juicy, flavour-packed burger straight off the grill, but what if you’re short on time? According to Sorted Food’s Kush Bhasin, all you need is five minutes. In the Sub-10 Minute Burger Challenge on their YouTube channel, Bhasin topped the leaderboard with an impressive 1 minute 58 seconds cooking time. Luckily for us, he later refined the recipe so we can achieve the same greatness in just five minutes. Five-minute burger Makes: 1 Takes: 5 mins Ingredients: 250g beef mince 50g gherkins, sliced ½ gem lettuce 1 tbsp American mustard 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tbsp ketchup 1 burger bun, sliced 4 American-style cheese slices Method: Preheat the grill/broiler to high. Place a large frying pan over a high heat. Form the beef mince into 2 very thin burger-shaped patties, and then place them into the large frying pan, smashing them down as you go. Cook for 45 seconds and then flip the patties – repeat on the 2nd side until well browned all over. Finely chop the gherkins and shred the lettuce. Place the mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, gherkins, and lettuce into a medium mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Toast the burger buns under the grill for 1 minute until golden brown. Once the burger patties are coloured on both sides, season lightly with salt and pepper. Add 2 slices of cheese to each. Add 1 tbsp of water to the pan and cover with a lid to steam and melt the cheese for 20 seconds. Layer the burger sauce and burger patties onto the burger bun base and top with the bun lid. Serve. Read More These are the viral TikTok recipes you have to make this Father’s Day Eddie Huang: ‘I’ll never eat at BAO London – I know mine’s better’ BBQ salad recipes without a soggy lettuce leaf in sight Grace Dent’s quick and easy recipes that only require the microwave How to shop for and cook Japanese food at home like a pro Crystelle Pereira: ‘This is controversial but... French food isn’t that great’

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Father’s Day (18 June) is just around the corner, which is a great opportunity to get together as a family and show the dad figures in your life some love, and if the saying “the way to a man's heart is through his stomach” is true, there’s no better way to celebrate than by cooking up a seriously scrumptious meal. Luckily, we’ve sat down with professional chef and host of foodie favourite the Desert Island Dishes podcast Margie Nomura, who has shared her ultimate Father’s Day Menu, including a seriously delicious cauliflower starter, TikTok favourite burrata pasta and oozy double chocolate muffins. All these recipes are family-friendly and simple to make. Whole roasted cauliflower with tahini and chimichurri This dish is a perfect substantial starter to kick off any Father’s Day feast. It’s a great substitute for a cut of meat and is easy to make when you’re feeling lazy. When you roast a cauliflower whole it takes on this buttery, sweet but salty crust in the oven so make sure you roast it until it is soft enough for a knife to cut through. For the chimichurri, you won’t use all of this for the cauliflower but it keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and is amazing served as a salad dressing or on vegetable kebabs. Serves: 4 as a starter and 2 as a main Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 60 minutes Ingredients: 1 medium-sized cauliflower (remove thick ugly outer leaves but leave any smaller more delicate ones) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp Maldon sea salt For the chimichurri, mix together: 1 finely diced shallot 1 diced red chilli pepper 3-4 diced garlic cloves ½ cup red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp red pepper flakes ½ cup finely chopped coriander 2 cups finely parsley 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (more oil as needed to get the right consistency – it should be runnier than a pesto, more like a heavily flavoured chunky oil) For the garlic yoghurt: 4 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt 1 clove garlic crushed Juice of ¼ lemon 2 tbsp tahini to serve Method: Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Fill a large pot of water and season well with salt and bring to a boil. Place the cauliflower in, cover and let cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size. Check to see if ready by poking the stem with a knife, and then remove the cauliflower and place it on a sheet tray to steam dry for around 10 minutes. Cover with extra virgin olive oil and season well with sea salt. Return to the oven and let roast for 45 minutes until charred and golden all over. Remove from the oven Spoon some garlicky yoghurt onto a serving plate and pop the cauliflower on top. Drizzle with tahini and chimichurri. Cut into wedges and enjoy! Spaghetti with garlic tomatoes and burrata This pasta dish is one of my favourite go-to recipes, especially in the summer when you want something light and no fuss but still seriously delicious. This is a recipe that anyone at home can make, which means it’s a perfect dish for Father’s Day as everyone can pitch in and present a beautiful dish be proud of. Serves: 2 Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 300g cherry tomatoes ½ tsp caster sugar Maldon salt and pepper 250g spaghetti or linguine Handful of chopped fresh basil, plus more for sprinkling 1 large ball of burrata cheese, torn Parmesan cheese, for topping Method: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add in the garlic, and red pepper flakes, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes with a big pinch of salt and pepper and toss them in the oil. Let the tomatoes cook until they begin to burst. Add the sugar. Smoosh the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon gently to encourage them to burst. While the tomatoes do their thing, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain it (save a cup of cooking water) and add it directly to the tomatoes. Toss the mixture a few times so all the pasta is coated. Add a splash of pasta water as needed. Turn off the heat and toss in the fresh basil. Taste and check for seasoning. Top with burrata cheese. Serve immediately, top with parmesan cheese, more fresh basil and red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil. Double chocolate muffins These muffins are soft, pillowy and rich. Complete with chopped dark chocolate, they are the best sweet treat to end a Father’s Day feast. Plus, if you eat them whilst warm you can expect melty chocolate in the middle. This recipe has only 4 steps, and can be made earlier in the day so they work well when you’re doing a three course meal. If your dad has a sweet tooth, I would recommend serving with some vanilla ice cream on the side! Makes: 6 muffins Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 250ml buttermilk 120ml vegetable oil 2 eggs splash of vanilla 300g plain flour 180g sugar 65g cocoa powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp instant coffee (even if you don’t like coffee, you should add it as you can’t taste the coffee taste but it enhances everything else!) Pinch of salt 200g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks Method: In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt And then in a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients together Pour the two together and then add the chopped chocolate Scoop into a lined muffin tray and bake at 180 c for 20 mins. Enjoy! Read More Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat Eddie Huang: ‘I’ll never eat at BAO London – I know mine’s better’ BBQ salad recipes without a soggy lettuce leaf in sight Grace Dent’s quick and easy recipes that only require the microwave

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has directed the withdrawal of frozen foods of an animal nature.

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This creation is heavily inspired by one of my favourite signature bakes in the Bake Off tent,” says Crystelle Pereira, who was a runner-up on the show in 2021. “I had made a focaccia during Bread Week, with roasted grapes, sharp, salty feta, crunchy walnuts and fresh fennel. “It went down a treat, and so I’ve transferred all of the same flavours and textures into crispy crostini – little bites of sweet and salty deliciousness.” Roasted grape, honey and feta crostini Ingredients: For the infused oil: 50ml olive oil 2 garlic cloves, grated ½ tablespoon dried thyme For the crostini: 240g black seedless grapes (about 24 grapes) 200g feta 10 walnuts, skin on 1 small baguette 1½ tablespoons runny honey ¼ fresh fennel bulb, thinly sliced (optional) A bunch of fresh thymea pinch of fine sea salt and ground black pepper Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/400F/gas mark 6. 2. First make the infused oil. Place the olive oil in a small saucepan with the garlic and thyme and heat very gently over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until the oil is sizzling and fragrant. Turn off the heat and set aside. 3. Arrange the grapes in a roasting tray and spoon over 3 teaspoons of the infused oil. Toss the grapes until they are coated, then place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until they are sizzling and the skins have shrivelled slightly. Allow to cool, then slice each grape in half lengthways. 4. Place the feta in a food processor with a splash of feta water (or a splash of milk if your feta does not have water), a good pinch of pepper and a tiny pinch of salt and blend until completely smooth. 5. Place the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast for around 7 minutes until slightly browned and fragrant. Allow to cool slightly, then break into small pieces and set aside. 6. Slice the baguette diagonally into thin crostini slices (about 1.5cm thick) and drizzle a teaspoon of the infused oil over each slice. Place these on a tray and toast in the oven for 7–10 minutes until crispy and golden, or alternatively cook on a griddle pan over a high heat for 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. 7. To assemble, spread 1 heaped teaspoon of whipped feta over each crostini and drizzle with honey. Top with about 4 grape halves and a scatter of fennel, crushed walnuts and fresh thyme leaves, and serve straight away. Recipe from ‘Flavour Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes with Creative Twists’ by Crystelle Pereira (Kyle Books, £22). Read More BBQ salad recipes without a soggy lettuce leaf in sight Grace Dent’s quick and easy recipes that only require the microwave How to shop for and cook Japanese food at home like a pro Crystelle Pereira: ‘This is controversial but... French food isn’t that great’ Forest Side, review: Cumbrian produce elevated to Michelin-starred proportions Showstopping BBQ main dishes for a hot grill summer

Crystelle Pereira can’t believe how time has flown in the two years since she competed in the Great British Bake Off. “Since I hit send on that application, it’s literally felt like I have just hit, like, times 10 in speed of life!” she tells me, wide-eyed, on a video call from the home in North London she shares with her parents and one of her two sisters. The 28-year-old – who finished runner-up to Giuseppe Dell’Anno in the 2021 season – was working in a fast-paced finance job when she took part. Landing a book deal shortly after the series aired (seven publishers were vying for her signature), she waited seven months before handing in her notice to pursue a cookery career. “I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist, but I’m a realist,” the London-born cook says. “It’s very easy to quit your job and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m famous, this is great’. But I thought, ‘I don’t want to quit my job blindly and chase my dreams’. I need to think, ‘Is this viable? Can I actually get work?'” How did she decide to finally take the plunge? “It got to a point where I was like, I’m just working two full-time jobs – I’ve got no more annual leave, I’m about to burn out. “And also I need to grab this opportunity with both hands and just do it [otherwise] I think I’ll always regret it.” She hasn’t looked back since: “Honestly, it’s the best decision I’ve made. [Cooking] is literally my full-time job, it’s no longer a side hobby that I rush to do after I finish a long day of work. “It means I’ve got more time to really put into my job, I’m free to go on trips to Italy to look at Parmesan,” (an excursion she’s embarking on soon) “and obviously doing my book took up so much time.” Flavour Kitchen, her debut cookbook, is a colourful ode to Pereira’s Portuguese-Goan heritage (her parents met in Mumbai before moving to the UK). Split into two halves, the savoury section features brunch bites, curries, pasta, noodles, salads and more, all bursting with international flavours, such as Goan chilli chicken fry, kimcheese toasty, and honey and chipotle baked camembert. The sweet half is all about cakes, cookies, pies and other treats with a twist. Bake Off fans will remember the pistachio, orange and cardamom carrot cake Pereira created for her final Signature Challenge. “Goa is in the south of India, and it was colonised by the Portuguese,” Pereira says, which is why Goan food is so different to the rest of Indian cuisine. Vindaloo curry, for example, has its roots in Europe: “The Portuguese had this dish called carne de vinha d’alhos, a pork and wine dish. The Goans took that and swapped Portuguese wine with Goan vinegar and that became vindaloo.” Many of the savoury recipes in Flavour Kitchen feature a liberal splash of the tangy liquid. “Our food is very vinegar-based, which sounds a bit off-putting but it just works because it’s all balanced really well,” Pereira says. “If something’s got lots of vinegar, then it’s offset with something sweet like jaggery, which is an unrefined sugar, or coconut, because coconuts are in abundance in Goa.” Given the choice, the adventurous cook would much rather tuck into fiery fish curry, egg fried rice with Korean gochujang chilli paste or noodles with “about 10 cloves of garlic” than a plate of pretentious haute cuisine. “I will be honest, this is really controversial…” she begins, pausing before admitting: “I’m not that big on French food.” Conceding that Parisian pastries are unbeatable, she continues: “I’m just more into pan-Asian and Mediterranean food – I just think the flavours are a bit more vibrant. “Like you think about South Korea, you think about gochujang; in Greece you think about fresh mint, coriander, lemon, halloumi; Mexico, you’ve got chipotle; go to the Middle East, you’ve got harissa, ras el hanout [spice mix], all these flavours.” The cook credits her mum and dad’s cooking for helping her develop a taste for the exotic, and her late grandad – to whom she dedicates the book – with overseeing her success. “He sadly he passed away before any of this took off, but I genuinely believe in life after death – I genuinely believe he’s been a big part in guiding me through all of this. “I think he just knew l was going to end up in food. Funnily enough he used to call me MasterChef – we used to watch a lot of cooking shows together.” Having amassed 190,000 Instagram followers and cooked live on Good Morning America, The Today Show and ITV’s Lorraine, Pereira is well on her way to celebrity chef status. There have been many a pinch-me moment during her first year as a fully-fledged foodie, none more surreal than when she met King Charles (at that point still a Prince) at a Queen’s Jubilee lunch event last summer. “[Charles and Camilla] turned up and I thought, ‘I’m sure they won’t come over to speak to us,” Pereira recalls. “All of a sudden he’s walked over and said, ‘Oh, do you mind if I sit there? Because there was a seat next to me.” What did the pair talk about? “I think I was just word-vomiting! I said ‘Do you like baked goods?’ and ‘Do you bake?’ “The general consensus was he doesn’t bake, but he does like to eat. He likes cakes, he likes Italian cuisine. And then I was just talking to him about my style of baking and stuff. We had a merry old chat!” As well as finding herself starstruck by royals, Pereira has had to get used to being recognised by fans: “It literally happened the day after the first episode, which was wild. “I was going to work, I was on the train platform – I had a mask on my face, which is even funnier. This girl comes up to me and goes, ‘Oh my gosh, are you Crystelle from Bake Off?” Though she was recently “so embarassed” to be spotted at the end of spin class while “red and sweaty”, being asked for selfies is a small price to pay for being able to live out her dream. “I will never complain,” she says. “Like, no one’s there like throwing things at me! If I bump into anyone on the train or on holiday or whatever everyone is genuinely so lovely, so it’s actually just really nice to be honest.” ‘Flavour Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes with Creative Twists’ by Crystelle Pereira (Kyle Books, £22).

As if 2023 wasn’t hard enough, Americans are now drinking as much alcohol as they did during the Civil War days. A new report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has found that the average American drinks about the same amount of alcohol as people did in 1860. In 2021, Americans consumed 2.51 gallons of ethanol – the alcohol found in wine, beer, and spirits – compared to 2.53 gallons at the brink of the Civil War. That amount, which doesn’t include water or other ingredients found in alcoholic beverages, marks a 60 per cent increase in liquor consumption compared to the mid-1990s. Americans have also changed their taste for alcohol. The amount of beer consumed has dropped nearly 20 per cent since 1995, while wine has steadily become America’s drink of choice. Now, 50 per cent more Americans are drinking wine than they did in the mid-1990s. This isn’t the only time the United States has seen staggering levels of alcohol consumption. In 1934, following the repeal of the Prohibition Act, Americans were drinking one gallon of ethanol per person. At the end of World War II in 1945, Americans reached 2.3 gallons. This, compared to 2.8 gallons in 1980, when alcohol consumption was at its highest. The rise in alcohol consumption may also have to do with a key demographic: women. In March, it was revealed that women in the US are out-drinking men for the first time in history. Dr George Koob, director of the NIAAA, recently told the Washington Examiner that binge drinking among college students are to blame. “In 2021, there has been an uptick, particularly among women. Now it turns out on college campuses women are actually binge drinking more than men, for the first time in history,” he told the conservative media outlet. The Covid-19 pandemic also saw a dramatic shift in alcohol consumption, as most states declared liquor stores were considered “essential businesses”. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, sales of alcohol increased by 2.9 per cent, the biggest annual increase in more than 50 years, according to the NIAAA. Now, with college campuses back in session and local bars open again, Koob attributed the rising trend of women binge drinking to the “alcohol deprivation effect” – in which people “rebound in drinking” after a period of abstaining from alcohol. “A standard drink is 1.5 ounces of vodka, 12 ounces of beer, or five ounces of wine,” he said. “When you go past a standard drink, you really are getting to the point where alcohol ultimately becomes a toxin. You can easily overdose.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it’s safe for women to drink no more than one standard alcoholic beverage a day, and no more than two for men. However, binge drinking usually corresponds to five or more drinks on a single occasion for men, while four or more drinks on a single occasion for women. Read More Moderate alcohol consumption may lower stress, reduce heart disease risk, study finds Man dies after eating raw oysters from Missouri seafood stand Hip surgery policies based on weight ‘worsen health inequality’, study warns TikToker cooks rack of ribs in hotel bathroom using only items from his room BBQ salad recipes without a soggy lettuce leaf in sight How to shop for and cook Japanese food at home like a pro

CHICAGO Tyson Foods will lay off 228 corporate employees in Illinois who declined to relocate to the meatpacker's