Dinner’s a winner
Unless you are a) an ostrich, or b) my grandmother, you can’t have failed to notice that this week Heston Blumenthal opened his second (ish) restaurant, Dinner, at the Mandarin Oriental. Little else has been talked about this week, and the ennui is already setting in for many. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty epic opening and a restaurant that doesn’t disappoint.

Scots urged to eat in season
Scotland’s new Eat in Season campaign aims to increase awareness of seasonal food in an attempt to improve the country’s poor health and support the local economy. I’m not quite sure why the Scots are taking the flak here. Buzzwords they may be, but ‘seasonal’ and ‘local’ are still words that are meaningless for many.

Five second rule a ‘myth’
It’s the fallback for any clumsy cook – food dropped on the floor is safe from germs within a five second period of grub grace. Scientists are now saying that dropped food can cause poisoning ‘or worse…unless the floor is surgically clean’. Anyway I always believed it to be the two second rule but there you go.

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Other food news this week:
* PG Tips in animal testing controversy.
* Low-fat ‘cheese’ threatens cheddar’s dominance.
* Dairy Milks shrink. Price stays the same.
* Probe into ‘fake’ Spanish saffron.

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Recipe of the week:

* Some delightful wee Chinese dumplings from Closet Cooking.

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Blog of the week:

* Aglio, Oglio, & Peperoncino is the perfect food blog for italophiles. Gorgeous recipes and photographs, and amusing writing.

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Video of the week:

* The Sarah Palin song. Bonkers.