Friday 13 February 2009

Is The Food On Your Plate What You Think It Is?

The other day I decided to have a look around to see if I could find a cheaper supplier of the ingredients we use for our cakes and desserts etc. At the moment we use Brakes who are not too bad if you ignore the short deliveries, the fluctuating prices, the often broken packaging and the delivery seemingly timed to coincide with lots of customers. I did wonder if another supplier might have a slightly different way so I had a look on Google for 3663, another famous name in the world of catering.
I never did make it to their site because I was riveted by this piece from The Independent. It showed completely the theory that I have, that too many restaurants are using food that sounds as if it was made by a person using fresh, real ingredients but in actual fact the dish is bought in and is a fraud. The descriptions are worded in such a way as to be very close to dishes that have previously be developed by truly talented people. For instance Sticky Toffee Pudding is a most delicious pudding. Created in The Lake District by John Tovey some time in the 70's it is now copied by most mass producers and comes in a little pot with the sauce included. It is a recipe which is so simple that everyone could make it if they wanted to...if they don't that's fine with me but if they do here is the recipe I use:-

Sticky Toffee Pudding

8oz Dates
4oz Butter
6oz Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
8oz Self Raising Flour
8 fl. oz Boiling Water
1 tsp. Vanilla Essence
1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda
3 tsp. Strong Coffee
Gas 4 / 180 - 25 minutes

Chop the dates and put into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, vanilla, coffee and boiling water. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and the sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour and then the bowl of dates, water etc.
'Plop' into a lined tin and bake.

1 comment:

Juliet said...

Oh, this is very cruel . . . I'm on the countdown to giving up ALL cakes and puds for Lent! (The impulse being more to do with vanity than piety, I'm afraid!) How am I going to resist making this (and eating some) now?????