"telegraph" news and stories

Today's Telegraph features a transcript of a great discussion about the current state of farming and food in the U.K. The panel is moderated by the BBC's John Humphrys and includes several farmers, businesspeople and environmental experts as well as the U.K.'s Slow Food ambassador Wendy Fogarty, Fergus Henderson of St. John restaurant and Efreda Pownall, the Sunday Telegraph food editor. The discussion covers the rising popularity of organic produce, food safety, childhood obesity and the demand for good looking produce, among other things. There appears to have been a podcast at some point, but the link doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

[Photo: Drew Gardner/Telegraph]

Guo-li-zhuang is unique among the restaurants in Beijing and, most likely, the world. It is the first restaurant in China that specializes in cuisine in which every dish contains one (or more) of the male reproductive organs of some animal. Though superstitions of virility and fertility have long been attached to the consumption of a penis from another animal, this restaurant is the first to base its existence around that belief. The clientele, according to staff, are primarily men eager to experience the promised benefits of the food.

The writer for the Telegraph sampled the Hot Pot containing six types of penis and four types of testicles. Generally speaking, he seemed to find the dishes to be gamey, gristly or stringy. Though he did not sample it, the restaurant boasts a specialty dish of Canadian seal penis. At over $500 per serving, it must be ordered in advance and is considered to be an aphrodisiac. For photos of some of the dishes, including dog and ox, see the full article.

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