"england" news and stories

Launceton, Cornwall. From Flickr user biotron's Flickr.

I'm posting images of sausage counters the world over each weeknight (and occasionally weekend) witching hour until I run out. Please use the comments section to post links to your Flickr or personal site faves, and perhaps you'll see 'em posted here late some evening.

Previously-- Midnight Sausage: Lower East Side, Manhattan

It's an increasingly globalized world out there, with an increasingly global food market. That can lead to a certain amount of homogenization and difficulty for small producers of artisan foods. The idea behind the "Ten things to eat before they die" gala dinner in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England this week is to bring attention to some of the worlds most endangered delicacies.

The spotlighted ingredients in the dinner aren't endangered by over consumption, but from under consumption. Items like the English asparagus that used to be a favorite of ocean liners but that's now grown in only four acres, and the Spanish capers that used to be famous but that now can't get sold outside of the local villages will be highlighted.

The event organizers wanted a thought provoking dinner. Part of the idea is to get some of these great foods known to foodies so that maybe high end retailers will pick them up, thus allowing the small producers to make a living selling their delicacies. I'd love to go, but as the dinner is in England and it costs about $160 (£85) it's a little out of the question. The goals of the planners are working, though: I am very intrigued by some of the items on the menu. Does anything on the menu strike your fancy? What would you try?

[Via Guardian Online]

Ok, imagine you saw an event on Facebook that was so cool you couldn't possibly pass it up. Well apparently that's what happened in East Sussex, England. There was to be a movie style pie fight, in which participants were encouraged to dress up and hit each other with whipped cream filled pie pans. The brains behind the operation were out to break the British record for pie fighting, which is currently at 70 people.

Unfortunately, it was so cool that too many people wanted in on the action. Over 1200 people indicated that they would be there for the pie fight. The local police were worried that they'd be unable to control the crowd if things went wrong, and they wouldn't be able to prevent non-participants from being hit.

The East Sussex police do have a sense of humor though. They told the original planners that a properly organized pie fight would be fine, so it's back to the drawing board for now. I know there's a record for everything, but pie fighting sounds like fun. I know I'd sign up if I saw it on Facebook. What would you do?

[Via Telegraph Online]

Believe it or not, 15-year old Faye Campbell of Great Britain has eaten nothing but french fries ("chips" to the Brits) for the past ten years.

According to an article in the Daily Mail, Campbell suffers from a "bizarre physical condition which made her ill every time she tried anything other than chips."

This "bizarre" condition? Gastrooesophageal reflux...commonly known as heartburn.

For whatever reason, it took the girl's doctors way too long to realize the cause, and in the meantime, pardon me for being slightly insensitive, but she's been milking it for all it's worth.

I don't doubt that salty potatoes are easier to digest than, say, acidic fruits or juices. But how I'm impressed with how long this girl has convinced her parents to let her eat fries at every meal - every kid should be so lucky! And conveniently, french fries go down easier than say, Brussels sprouts or bananas...

The good news? To her parents' delight, Campbell has now moved onto foods other than french fries. Her diet now also consists of burgers, noodles, Chinese takeout, and waffles. (Don't you wish you had this girl's parents when you were 15?)

Source

Earlier today, my mom called me to say she had sent me a link to an article she thought was interesting and might make a good Slashfood post (she's always looking out for me, that mother of mine). When I got home, I checked my email and found a link to this article, published on January 2nd, that discusses a study in which people in 13 countries were asked whether they agreed or not with the statement, "I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up."

Forty-five percent of Britons agreed with the statement, just barely ahead of the 44 percent of Americans who agreed. Canadians are in third place, with 37 percent of them unable to give up their junk food. Only 19 percent of people from France thought that junk food was too tasty to give up (and who can blame them, food in France is amazing).

They also asked questions about how people from the different countries thought it was best to lose weight, how often they weighed themselves and how often they went to the gym.

Source