Secretive venue Almost Famous Burgers (AFB) launched in the Northern Quarter in Manchester city centre in March, impressing the public and critics alike, including Manchester Confidential editor-in-chief Jonathan Schofield – but has now shut its doors.

The temporary restaurant launched in March and was open on Friday and Saturday nights. However, Schofield noted how “carefully planned” the operation was – suggesting it may well open in a more permanent setting. Its style is strictly no-frills, but Schofield awards a food score of 8/10 – a rating usually reserved for top Manchester restaurants.

The most expensive items on the standard menu are the Famous Burger, the Triple Nom Burger, the Rib Roll and the Chilli Dog, all at £6.50, while the Crack Wings are only £3.25. The Double Burger is £5.50, while the Animal Burger is £6. The Triple Nom is constructed using a burger of 100 per cent pink ground steak, slow-cooked rib meat, cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and a “secret sauce” – all inside a semi-brioche bun. Owner and manager Beau Myers is also involved with one of the most notorious Manchester bars in the Northern Quarter, cocktail venue Socio Rehab, which is known for its creative recipes and lack of branding. This approach was also applied to AFB, which was awkward to access – with an unmarked door and a “spooky staircase”, in Schofield’s words – and appeared to shy away from traditional publicity upon launch, which is uncommon among Manchester restaurants. A statement on its website said: “No press, no photography, no bloggers, no blaggers, no ketchup. Everything else goes.”

Myers’s aim was to make and sell burgers with a genuine American appeal, partly in tribute to his Californian parentage. Schofield has praised his efforts, saying: “The Triple Nom was the best burger I’ve had in ages, makes GBK’s [Gourmet Burger Kitchen's] versions look boring and last year’s news. There is nothing as good in any chain or independent in the city I know of.”

He added: “The whole AFB experience was excellent, the clever novelty thrilling. From the anonymous entry, to the location in the rafters of an Edwardian market building with exposed brick and cheeky airbrushed posters of naked girls riding cigars, to the glorious burgers, this is a winner.”

Almost Famous Burgers closed its doors on 21 April 2012 – with no word yet as to when or where it will return.

Gourmet coffee is one of the most admired beverages that is preferred by many. It has created a rage among coffee lovers.

April 4, 2012: Antioxidant café deals with gourmet coffee, which is one of the healthiest drinks consumed by several people across the globe. It is beneficial for one’s health and provides numerous health-related benefits. It is rich in antioxidants that helps in diminishing and puts a stop to oxidative damage to the human body. It improves the healing process that occurs in the body and also prevents one from coming in contact with a deadly disease such as cancer. It does this by improving the human body immune system. Those who are concerned with their fitness or are fitness enthusiasts prefer drinking coffee. There can be several reasons to it. It gets one in the mood and makes them feel fresh the entire day. It really excites the taste buds of coffee lovers when they take a sip of lip-smacking coffee. People prefer drinking coffee than tea as it keeps them healthy and provides several benefits against various ailments. Gourmet beans prove to be advantageous to people as they fight off the heart diseases, stroke and also stops diabetes to occur in human body. Antioxidant coffee deals with gourmet coffee that supplies antioxidants that keep one away from coming in contact with Parkinson’s disease. It has been attaining its huge popularity among coffee drinkers for a long time as it leaves them energetic for the day. This type of coffee is relished by people for its soothing aroma that leaves them coming back for more. Coffee is one of the most commendable drinks on the planet that contains those ingredients that affect the human body. One of the ingredients is the caffeine. Drinking coffee laced with caffeine provides benefits as it helps them to overcome their fatigue that they may feel due to excessive work. It provides the energy in people and proves to be helpful in various other ways.

Antioxidant Café is a leading name in antioxidant coffee, which is supplemented with 6 times more than antioxidants. It deals with finest gourmet coffee around the world.

MyDish.co.uk is currently holding a competition called the “52 Menu Challenge”, which provides foodies with the unique chance to not only have their menus featured in a cookbook but also to win an exciting cooking holiday for two to Italy.

Conceived by MyDish founder Carol Savage, the idea behind the “52 Menu Challenge” is for users to send in a three course menu, containing a favourite self-created starter, main and dessert. Alternatively a dinner party feast with a number of mains, accompaniments and a dessert can also be entered. Each week on a Friday, the best entry is then chosen to feature on MyDish’s popular blog, with each menu subsequently then published in the new cookbook at the end of the year.

Since its Establishment in 2007, MyDish.co.uk has gone from strength to strength and is now home to a rapidly growing recipe index and community. Often fondly described as the ‘Facebook for foodies’, MyDish’s fanatical user base has been instrumental to the site’s success and MyDish are now keen to give something back. Carol Savage said: “We’re always getting asked for desserts and starters to go with main courses so people can put together whole menus to entertain friends and family. To meet this need and to say thank you to MyDish’s users for all their support, we are publishing a different menu each week and providing the unique opportunity for anyone on MyDish to have their favourite dinner party recipes published in our new official MyDish Cookbook”.

As an added incentive to participate, MyDish are selecting one overall winner from the entrants of the competition to be honoured with a dedicated feature in the book, as well as a cooking holiday for two to Italy with holiday specialists’ golearnto.com, where they will learn how to prepare restaurant-quality dishes by top pro chefs. To enter the 52 Menu Challenge and be in the running to win this amazing opportunity, simply register as a member on the MyDish.co.uk site and then formulate an original menu that involves a starter, main and dessert, and click on the dinner party competition page. Those that are successful in having their menus selected, will be notified via email of their inclusion on the blog and ultimately, in the cookbook. The Menu Challenge continues over the course of the year, so users will have multiple chances to have their menu published if they are not successful the first time around.

To join the MyDish community and enter the 52 Menu Challenge, please visit www.mydish.co.uk.

As the UK looks forwards to Mothering Sunday and Easter, shops are flooded with Mothers Day gift ideas ranging from flowers, mugs, chocolates and cards. However the online store Just Rose Wine also has the perfect selection of boutique rose wines that will also put a smile on your mothers face.

Rose wines are now produced to the highest standards with many brands even rivalling top white Burgundy wines, especially with the efforts of wine makers such as Sacha Lichine of Chateau d’Esclans. One wine of his that has certainly put pink wines on the map is the high end Chateau d’Esclans Garrus at almost £90 a bottle, but something more affordable from his range that is not to be missed is the Chateau d’Esclans Whispering Angel Rose.

The main success of pink wines is the improved production methods and the fact that there is a high demand for rose wines that the wineries just could not ignore leading to real efforts being made to produce quality rosays.

Now you can find great tasting rose wines from around the World and especially those from France (Provence), USA (California), Italy and Australia, the UK consumers have taken a real liking to. These wine are extremely popular as they taste great, are versatile but also at great prices making them affordable wines to give as gifts.

From the Just Rose Wine website and their top 10 rose wines page we have highlighted the following great rose wine from the above regions to be considered this week while shopping online:

- Chateau d’Astros is a lovely French Provence Rose at £9.12 a bottle

- From USA California they have the gorgeous Vendange White Zinfandel at £6.99 a bottle

- They say that Pinot Grigio Rosato del Veneto, Collezione Marchesini from Italy is proving to be extremely popular at only £7.86 a bottle

- If you really want to make Mother’s Day a special occasion then the Australian sparkling rose wine Berri Estates Brut Rose at £10.90 is a real bargain for such an easy to drink classy wine

You can buy rose wine online from www.justrosewine.co.uk where you can find their entire range of specialty pink wines many of which are exclusively sold in top hotels, restaurants and bars. For more information on Just Rose Wine, please send your queries to support@justrosewine.co.uk

Please note all prices include VAT, E&OE apply and prices may change.

A whopping 80% of British workers choose junk food over healthy alternatives as a remedy for stress, a recent survey by office fruit delivery company Fruitdrop reveals. A tiny 7% of Brits eat fruit to raise their spirits on a bad day, instead choosing to reach for unhealthy comfort foods such as chocolate, crisps and biscuits. Fruitdrop’s survey reveals 65% of those choosing unhealthy snacks when stressed reach for sweet treats, with 53% of women favouring chocolate. Many Brits have also adopted the bad habit of routinely skipping lunch, so it seems natural that cravings for high-energy sugary snacks may surface.

A tiny 2% of 18-24 year olds say that they eat fruit when their spirits are low, whereas over 55s are much more likely to opt for a fruity snack when stressed, with a much healthier 13% selecting this option. Ben Thompson, managing director of Fruitdrop, believes that offices can support their workers in adopting a healthier routine, “Employers can help their workforce to stay healthy with a weekly fruit box delivery, having fresh fruit to hand in the office means a healthy choice is an easy choice on a busy day.”

Thompson continues, “Fruitdrop fruit boxes start at just £20, containing enough fruit for up to 25 employees for a week, a small investment for a healthy workplace. At Fruitdrop, we believe that a healthy office is a happy office, a weekly fruit delivery is the perfect starting point for this change.”

For more information on fruit delivery London, visit http://www.fruitdrop.co.uk/

ENDS
Notes to editors:
Survey conducted by OnePoll

North west lifestyle publication Manchester Confidential has delivered a positive verdict on popular restaurant Australasia, one of the newest premium Manchester restaurants, despite initial reservations about the lack of hands-on management by its original head chef.

Editor Jonathan Schofield explains that the online magazine sampled the Australasia experience when it opened in May 2011, then again a month later – both times finding the standards of food, service and ambience to be extremely high. However, some concerns arose when Paul Greening, once voted Young Australian Chef Of The Year, turned out to be leaving day-to-day work at the venue after being responsible for the development and launch of the ambitious menu. Schofield recently revisited Australasia for the first time in six months and was pleased to report that his worries were not necessary, as it still holds its own among the top Manchester restaurants. “The venue was as smooth looking as ever, the service as sharp and friendly, the food as lovely and the buzz and atmosphere as entertaining and engaging,” he said. “It was a lush, luxurious and impressive experience.”

A few changes to the menu were noted, but the critic thoroughly enjoyed his choice of dishes: tempura soft shell crab, seasoned with chilli and presented with courgette flowers (£12.50); and ocean trout fillet with pancetta, caramelised onion and Madeira shallots (£18.50). His dining partner, meanwhile, sampled a dish of prawns with red chilli and lime salt (£8.50), followed by roasted barramundi and mitsuba toast with scallops, clams and vegetable noodles (£19.50). Accompaniments included edamame beans fried in chilli, garlic and ginger (£4); and sweet potato and rosemary mash (£4).

Schofield was a little critical of the shared dessert – passion fruit marshmallow, roast pineapple parcels and pineapple sorbet (£7) – which he felt was ‘spoilt by over-complicating the issue’. He also remarked that though Australasia is a very appealing place to visit, a bill of around £100 for a three-course meal for two with wine means that it is not within reach as a regular haunt for many people. Australasia is the brainchild of Living Ventures boss Tim Bacon, who runs several Manchester bars and eateries. Website: http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/.

Local Produce has launched a new site for local producers to showcase and sell their homemade products to new customers and companies in the UK. There is huge demand for local produce.

Local Produce wanted to design a platform for small local producers, who for instance make small batches of Jams or Chutneys from home, where you can showcase your local homemade products, to sell to customers in the UK and get noticed.

The Local Produce site is dedicated to local food producers to showcase their products.
They also have regular mail outs to food magazines, and feature a producer of the month.

The Local Produce Website also acts as a directory for new customers and companies to find you.

Special introductory offer: 2 months free Subscription – Register now to get 14 months subscription for the price of 12. Register now to get your products noticed.

www.local-produce.net

Pepperoni Pizza has been revealed as the nation’s favourite pizza.

The Pizza Diary, an online community for pizza lovers and pizza recipe specialists, have just revealed the findings of a study they completed into the UK’s favourite pizza toppings.

The Pizza Diary, now an established hub of communications for pizza fans looking to share their pizza recipes and pizza stories, had been compiling the results of their study over the past month.

Unsurprisingly it was revealed that pepperoni pizza is by far the most popular pizza topping in the UK, with over 70% of participants nominating it as their favourite pizza. In second place was the farmhouse pizza, which usually consist of ham and mushroom, but there was a surprise entrance for the Hawaiian pizza at number three, with fruit on pizza normally dividing opinion.

The Pizza Diary have also developed a brand new pepperoni pizza recipe that was created to celebrate the results of the study. It is said to be a celebration of pepperoni, and a must-try for all pepperoni pizza lovers from around the world.

“When we began conducting this study into the UK’s favourite pizza toppings, we were really unsure about what would be number one, given the diverse range of pizza available in the UK. However, it really came as no surprise that pepperoni pizza was eventually voted as the number one.” said Godwin Askew, founder of The Pizza Diary.

“Perhaps the best thing to come out of this study is our brand new pepperoni pizza recipe. We have developed this recipe especially for people new to pizza baking, and as a result it’s simple, but delicious and great for sharing. We have plans for more recipes in the future, so I hope you’ll visit our website sometime soon.”

For the first time, managers in the catering and hospitality industry can use a specialised website which is dedicated to the needs of hotels, restaurants and other eatery outlets.

www.cateringfirstaid.co.uk launched on 23rd January 2012 as an online service by a team with over 10 years combined experience in the health and safety industry.

www.cateringfirstaid.co.uk offers a huge range of first aid products including first aid kits, blue dressings and plasters, burns kits and signage. The launch of www. Specialised Site for Catering First Aid Launches in the UK

cateringfirstaid.co.uk has been led by Les Limbrick who has worked for several first aid specialists before setting up his own first aid supplies company two years ago. Whilst the hospitality and catering industry are one of the largest users of first aid supplies, Les identified that there was no website devoted to their needs.

“We work with a number of large and small organisations in the catering and hospitality field to support them in meeting health and safety standards relating to first aid. Our clients’ first aid needs are more specialised yet they didn’t have access to an online service which could support these needs.” says Les.

“With other websites, a catering organisation would have to trawl through a maze of product lines to find ones that suited their needs – such as blue plasters or blue tape for example. www.cateringfirstaid.co.uk has changed this with approximately 100 lines for caterers only. In our catering first aid boxes, everything is blue including triangular bandages, dressings, blue plasters, blue tape, etc.”

www.cateringfirstaid.co.uk is an online extension of the service that is currently offered by the Compliance group of companies. The website is focused on value for its customers as well as client satisfaction. The products have been priced competitively and are significantly lower than some of the mainstream first aid suppliers currently operating in the UK. Delivery is normally the next day and guaranteed within 2-3 days.

I had the most amazing chocolate experience of my life last night at the beautiful and enchanting Hotel Chocolat store in Edinburgh.

It’s the first Scottish store to open and boy have we been missing out! The décor is slightly rustic yet with a distinct chocolate and cocoa theme which goes along nicely with the Hotel Chocolat ethos – ethical, natural, authentic, original and the most amazing chocolates ever made! As you walk in it is undeniable that the main attraction is the Valentine’s Chocolate Range displayed tall and proud featuring beautifully ribbon tied heard shaped boxes, classic round boxes and other unique and quirky products oozing luxury and style.

The packaging alone is enough to draw you in but then comes the best bit of all – the actual chocolate! From the creative to the classic the chocolate is divine. Heart shaped caramels, champagne truffles, chilli chocolate, milk chocolate lips- truly the most impressive and inventive selection of Valentine’s chocolates I have ever seen.

Not only are the chocolates and décor amazing, the Hotel Chocolat store is actually the first of its kind to have what is called a ‘Cocoa vs Coffee bar’ where the same old same old ritual of grabbing a cup of coffee in the morning, afternoon or evening has a subtle (and delicious) twist! Instead of having your coffee made out of coffee beans you can have it made out of roasted cocoa beans – the same ones used to make the chocolate. It’s such a different taste and experience and has to be tried to be appreciated!

Overall, my experience was fantastic from the moment I walked in and was greeted by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic shop assistants to the moment I left with the sweet taste of chocolate and dreams of a Valentine’s Day worth savouring this year.