I have seen the future, and it's pork

The Guardian

By Martin Wainwright

We have finally outgrown the traditional sausage. Those sad little tubes of fat have been replaced by 'premium' bangers, crammed to bursting with real meat and fresh herbs. One in three comes from a little-known Yorkshire company, without which this revolution might never have happened.

Read more...

Tutankhamen 's top tipple

The Guardian

By Andrew Catchpole

No one knows if the ancient Egyptians had a problem with binge-drinking revellers in the taverns of the Nile but those old Pharaohs certainly liked their wine. Take the wonderfully named King Scorpion the First. In 3500BC (give or take a few years), his royal cadaver was entombed with 700 amphorae of resin-infused grog to help ease his journey into the afterlife. This hooch probably resembled today's retsina from Greece - all the rage in Scorpion's era -and would have been considered a worthy send-off for a royal.

Read more...

The politics of sausages

BBC News Magazine

By Megan Lane

Just as the Italians and French embrace local dishes as part of their cultural identity, so too is that most British of foods, the sausage, enjoying a renaissance in the UK.
Just five years ago, with the traditional cooked breakfast in decline, it looked as if Britons were falling out of love with the banger. Today, the sizzle is back, with consumption up 17%. Forecasters say the nation will eat 189,000 tonnes this year, the equivalent of 140 sausages each.

Read more…

Forget the bacon stotty, Newcastle is culinary paradise

The Independent

By Cahal Milmo

Geordieland was yesterday proclaimed Britain's new hotspot of emerging culinary talent after it dominated an award for newly-opened restaurants. Newcastle took two of the top places in the Restaurant Remy awards.

Read more…