Food

London diners tuck into Gefiltefest

Zoe Winograd — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:23:03 +0100

Jewish food festival Gefiltefest served up a special day for more than 600 foodies, from six months old to 93, who gathered at the London Jewish Cultural Centre in Golders Green to eat, drink, learn and enjoy a cornucopia of Jewish heritage and gastronomic delight. (Photo credits: Steven Ingram, Anna Sheinman and Zoe Winograd)

Your child needs exercise

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:54:09 +0100

W e all know that having an active childhood is generally a good thing for our children, but there are genuine health benefits associated with getting into exercise at a young age. Enjoying an active childhood pays dividends both in a child’s current health and in their long-term attitude to exercise.

Obviously, keeping youngsters moving allows them to maintain a normal body weight, even if they’re eating some of the more sugary options children tend to go for. Statistics from the most recent survey in the UK show that as many as 25 per cent of boys and 33 per cent of girls are overweight or obese. Experts now believe parents are so accustomed to seeing overweight children, they don’t recognise obesity in their own offspring. But exercise has other physical health benefits for children: it contributes to the development of healthy muscles, bones and joints as well as a healthy heart and lungs. It is also good for children to help develop co-ordination and movement control.

Exercise for any age group releases hormones linked to an improvement in mood. But even in the long term, studies have shown that in those young people suffering with any anxiety or mood problems, exercise can help with symptoms. For all children, exercise and sports encourages self confidence, self expression and integration with others: these are important tools for social development in children.

According to the World Health Organisation, school age children should get an hour of activity a day. That includes “sport”, but also running around at school, walking home or anything that would be moderate intensity activity. A good activity will make them huff and puff! This doesn’t have to be in one go but can be built up through the day. In young children in primary school this is relatively easy to achieve, as their default play position is to run around. We know from the recent BMA report that more than a quarter of children are sadly not doing enough exercise.

Psychological studies show that attitudes to sport and exercise are determined by family and childhood experience: if a child is in the habit of being active, this stays with them long term with all the health benefits that confers.

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Gaza tunnels used to smuggle KFC

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:43 +0100

Palestinians have started smuggling Kentucky Fried Chicken into Gaza, Haaretz has reported.

Yamama, a Gaza-based delivery service, employs motorcycle couriers to pick the chicken up from the border tunnels and deliver it to customers. The meals are made at KFC outlets in cities around the Sinai Peninsula.

Miliband smells a winner as he joins Gefiltefest crowd

Zoe Winograd — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:06 +0100

It must have been the sweet smells emanating from the London Jewish Cultural Centre in Golders Green that persuaded David Miliband to change his plans for his family’s Sunday.

The LJCC was hosting the annual Gefiltefest and, unable to resist the aromas from the various stalls, the Milibands opted to join the other 650 food lovers.

Standing beside Gefiltefest patron and cookery writer Claudia Roden, Mr Miliband said his mother had been a fan of Ms Roden’s recipes.

“It wasn’t so much the cheesecake, it was the chicken, couscous and chickpeas,” he recalled. But in terms of traditional Jewish food, chicken soup got the former Foreign Secretary’s vote every time.

The all-day programme included cooking demonstrations, hands-on sessions, children’s activities and food-related stalls run by volunteers from across the community.

“Everyone can connect with food on some level,” said Gefiltefest founder and director Michael Leventhal.

“We have always been determined to make the festival accessible to the whole community.”

Winners of Gefiltefest 2013 Food Awards, presented by JC chief executive Tracy Abraham and Israel embassy cultural affairs councillor Iris Ambor, included Kaifeng (best kosher restaurant), Kosher Kingdom (best kosher deli) and the Kosher Deli Group (best butcher).

An Ashkenazi versus Sephardi cook-off proved a big attraction with the Israeli head chef at Made in Camden, Eran Tibi, winning over the judges with his Moroccan doughnuts and filo pastry.

“Sephardic cooking is popular because it is all about taking a traditional dish and interpreting it to what’s in season and what your loved ones like,” Mr Tibi explained.

Judge and food critic Daniel Young mused that “Jewish food has to have a connection, a soul. The cook-off was not about which food is better, but what can be done with the food to bring out the flavours.” Other highlights of the festival included challah baking, pickling, a talk by Rabbi Harvey Belovski on kosher locusts, a conversation on kosher food in literature between author Francesca Segal and lecturer Ariel Kahn and cookery demonstrations by chefs Fabienne Viner-Luzzato and Silvia Nacamulli.

Among the challah bakers was Benji Levine, 26, from West Hampstead, who hoped “to use the skills I learn in my own kitchen. I like Jewish food so this seemed like the perfect event.”

Daniel Susser, 23, from Finchley was on a tasting voyage of discovery. “Food is something everyone has in common. No matter what branch of Judaism you belong to, there’s always food.”

There was also a social action element to the day with food co-ordinator Tarryn Klotnick — “queen of the kitchen” in Mr Leventhal’s words — endeavoured to ensure minimal wastage.

Proceeds from the festival will be distributed to food charities at home and in Israel.

Harrods says ‘I do’ to kosher wedding service

Anna Sheinman — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:00 +0100

Harrods, the department store fit for royals, is now targeting every Jewish princess by advertising kosher weddings.

The store formerly owned by the
Al Fayed brothers, until it was bought by the Qatari royal family in 2010, has previously held several royal warrants.It has now gained another stamp of approval in the form of kosher certification from the Sephardi Kashrut authority.

Couples can expect lavish package offers from its shelves, including dresses, jewellery, honeymoons and even weddings inside Harrods itself.

Kosher caterer Philip Small has been advising the company for two years, training staff, including chefs and senior management, on how to handle simchas.

He said: “The Harrods brand is global and the standards are very high. For the most recognised store in the world to say: ‘Yes, we want to do kosher catering’, is just amazing.”

A Harrods spokesperson said: “The resource is truly unique, pulling together the extensive range of departments and services available at Harrods.

“And, by this token, Harrods wanted to ensure that no stone was left unturned for the services offered to couples, with the same exceptional quality and creativity applied to kosher weddings.”

Two weddings are already in the pipeline.

Reach for the stars: Milky Way Magic Stars now kosher

Anna Sheinman — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:08:06 +0100

Milky Way Magic stars are just one of over 30 products which have received kosher certification from the London Beth Din since the beginning of the year according to an update to the Really Jewish Food Guide 2013. Hubba Bubba bubblegum is now approved parev and two varieties of Duchy original shortbread are approved dairy.

Hotel Chocolat co-founder offers his ten steps towards chocolate heaven

Anna Sheinman — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:19:52 +0100

Peter Harris co-founded the luxury chocolatier in 2004 and has watched it grow from one store in Watford to 74 shops worldwide, a boutique hotel and a cocoa plantation in St Lucia — with a revenue of £63 million last year. Speaking at a Norwood dinner, he told guests:

1. Forget research
“If we had researched I don’t think we would ever have started. We were making corporate mints and one hotelier said: ‘Could you do a little box of four chocolates with our name on it?’ We made a mock-up and went back. He said: ‘That’s exactly what I want, could I have 5,000?’ Suddenly we found ourselves in the chocolate business.”

2. Start right now
“When we started I had just taken on a massive mortgage, my wife had given up work and our son was one. There’s never a good time, you can’t wait until the planets align. ”

3. Never work alone
“A business partner is a way to remotivate. A problem can seem severe but when you start thinking it becomes smaller. When you have someone else there, that process happens quicker.”

4. Test out a partnership
“People share flats and months later they are no longer friends — business is similar. My partner and I spent a year working together in a different business. I respected his ability to sell and he hopefully respected my ability in finance. Working together is like one plus one makes three.”

5. Sell together
“I’d get orders from people like Ford and British Airways and he’d have the Dorchester Hotel, Vauxhall — we competed. Both selling created camaraderie and shared responsibility.”

6. Go without
“We didn’t spend money until we’d earned it. We probably didn’t have the most sparkling clothes or meals-out but weren’t any less happy. We were motivated by what we were doing.”

7. Pay yourself
“When we started, we lent our business £5,000 each and paid it back to ourselves at the rate of £500 a month. It gave us a goal, if you worked for the month you actually got something at the end of it, although it was your own money.”

8. A financial class helps
“When I was in the computer business I raised £250,000 completely unsecured. I don’t know anyone who has raised that. I was a chartered accountant so the bank thought investing in me was worth a try.”

9. Seperate bank figures
“Have two sets of figures: the figures to motivate your staff and more moderate figures for your bank.”

10. Seek out Opportunities
“A member of our chocolate tasting club sent us a book on cocoa production — which we read. We could have left it there. Instead we found an estate in St Lucia and went over. I made appointments with four out of 12 cabinet ministers — I wanted to know the industry wasn’t about to be nationalised. We came back with a signed contract. It was mad but it was our hearts.”

Gefiltefest 2013 in pictures

Anna Sheinman — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:54:05 +0100

The highlights of Gefiltefest 2013 at the London Jewish Cultural Centre on Sunday May 19.

Gefiltefest 2013 - 'biggest yet'

Zoe Winograd — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:00:57 +0100

Gefiltefest, the annual celebration of Jewish food, takes place today, with around 600 people expected to attend.

The event includes cooking demonstrations, learning sessions, hands-on activities and a children’s programme.

It is the fourth time the event has been run and promises to be the “biggest yet", according to founder Michael Leventhal. Highlights are an Ashkenazi versus Sephardi cook-off, hands-on challah baking and the Gefiltefest Food Awards 2013 , which recognise the public's favourite kosher shops and restaurants.

More than 75 volunteers from across the community have been involved in preparing the kosher festival , which takes place at the London Jewish Cultural Centre's Ivy House, in Golders Green.

Mr Leventhal said: “Food is one thing that can unite people . There are very few things that can do that – food can bring people together.”

May 13: Happy Hummus Day!

Anna Sheinman — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:21:35 +0100

Celebrate Hummus Day by eating it and tweeting it using the hashtag #hummusday

Find out more at www.hummusday.com