{"id":2046,"date":"2010-12-30T12:20:31","date_gmt":"2010-12-30T12:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jamesramsden.com\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:20:31","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T12:20:31","slug":"food-news-awards-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jamesramsden.com\/2010\/12\/30\/food-news-awards-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Food News & Awards 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

THIS YEAR’S BIG STORIES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Food inflation
\n<\/span><\/strong>\"\"<\/a>Food inflation was an all too regular topic on this blog, with the doom-mongers telling us almost weekly how a carrot was soon going to cost the same as a small dog. It was revealed that food prices had risen at twice the rate<\/a> in the UK as in the rest of Europe. Then in October inflation hit a 15-month high<\/a> after rises in the cost of wheat and oil.<\/p>\n

Gordon implodes
\n<\/span><\/strong>\"\"<\/a>It was a bad year for Gordon Ramsay. Pub after pub after restaurant<\/a> closed down. He re-opened Petrus only to have it almost<\/a> universally<\/a> panned<\/a>. Then he was done for employing illegal immigrants<\/a>. He acrimoniously split with his business partner and father-in-law Chris Hutcheson, before sending what can only be described as a batshit mental open letter to his mother-in-law<\/a>. Then he was sued<\/a> for pulling out of a speaking tour in New Zealand. And this week it was revealed that he’d had a hair transplant<\/a>. Let’s hope he regains some semblance of dignity in 2011.<\/p>\n

Cloned meat given the go-ahead
\n<\/span><\/strong>\"\"<\/a>It was the year in which scientists OK’d the production and sale of cloned meat and milk<\/a>. Campaigners were, predictably, horrified<\/a> by this, claiming insufficient research had been done in the field. The palaver began in the summer, when it was revealed that cloned meat had been sold to consumers<\/a>. In November scientists suggested the meat was ‘unlikely<\/a>‘ to pose any problems. Sounds like sufficient research to me.<\/p>\n

We need to look after our fish
\n<\/span><\/strong>\"\"<\/a>With news in May that the decline of UK fish stocks is worse than previously thought<\/a>, it is clearer than ever that we ought to be more concerned about our fish. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched his Fish Fight<\/a> campaign to curb the cuckoo practice of ‘discards’, and we found out that even species as ‘plentiful’ as mackerel are being overfished<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*******<\/p>\n

GOOD NEWS<\/span><\/strong>
\n* Cider tax is scrapped<\/a>.
\n* English sparkling wine beats champagne<\/a>.
\n* And Cornish Blue wins at World Cheese Awards<\/a>.
\n* Tourists come to Britain for its food<\/a>.
\n* Jamie Oliver breaks publishing records<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

BAD NEWS<\/strong><\/span>
\n* Kraft takeover of Cadbury mired in controversy<\/a>.
\n* Health benefits of organic food questioned<\/a>.
\n* Junk food kills 40,000 people a year<\/a>.
\n* Take caution<\/a> over promises of ‘local’ and ‘fresh’.
\n* Processed food is destroying our taste buds<\/a>.
\n* Village life dying out as country pubs close<\/a>.
\n* Biodegradable crisp packets abandoned for being too noisy<\/a>.
\n* Water from glacier goes on sale. At \u00a36 a bottle<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BONKERS BOX
\n<\/strong><\/span>* Pizzas in Naples fired with wood made from coffins<\/a>.
\n* A sandwich in a can. A candwich<\/a>.
\n* Pea plant grows inside man’s lung<\/a>.
\n* Deep-fried beer invented in Texas<\/a>.
\n* The Berlin ‘cannibal’ restaurant that was exposed as a fake<\/a>.
\n* Woman fends off bear attack with a courgette<\/a>.
\n* A mouse is found baked into a loaf of bread<\/a>.
\n* Fat people can sniff out food<\/a> better.
\n* A man ate nothing but potatoes for 2 months<\/a>.
\n* A wild boar attacked a butcher in Germany. Bad move<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*************************<\/p>\n

BEST BITS OF THE YEAR<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Best restaurant<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Polpetto<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Best dish<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cassoulet at Les Deux Salons<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Best drink<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Basil Grande at Casita<\/a><\/p>\n

Best cookbook<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Balthazar Cookbook<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Best website<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hot Dinners<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

0<\/span>0<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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