Latest news with #CharlieBigham
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Charlie Bigham under fire for ‘greenwashing'
Retailers are duping eco-conscious shoppers by exaggerating their products' green credentials, an investigation has found. Consumer group, Which? found that three in five products advertised as environmentally friendly fell short of requirements set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Brands flagged by the investigation included posh ready meal retailer Charlie Bigham, and Italian vegan food company Mr Organic. Lasagne meals made by Charlie Bigham advertised on Ocado boast that they use 30pc less cardboard. However, Which? found no meaningful comparison to support the claim. Which? similarly accused Mr Organic of providing no proof of its claim that its canned chickpeas had 'zero air miles'. Mr Organic said it was in the process of removing the claim from its packaging as part of a wider rebrand, but that rolling out new labelling had 'taken time due to not wanting to throw away any old packaging for environmental reasons'. The advertising watchdog requires brands to be 'clear and unambiguous' when making eco-friendly claims, and that any comparisons made must be fair and meaningful. However, Which? claimed 86pc of products reviewed failed to meet at least one of the CMA's green principles. This was largely driven by brands boasting that their products were 'eco', 'sustainable' or 'environmentally friendly' in product descriptions, Which? said. Consumer law expert, Lisa Webb, of Which?, said ' shoppers were being let down by vague or unsubstantiated claims'. She added: 'Misleading green claims don't just waste people's money – they also erode trust and give an unfair advantage to businesses that cut corners. 'We want to see stricter enforcement so brands can't get away with having vague claims about sustainability on products, and eco-conscious shoppers can be confident in what they're buying.' Argos was singled out by the investigation over its Hey Duggee bean bag, which is advertised as 'environmentally friendly' without providing evidence for the claim. Which? also accused the retailer of misleading shoppers with its Chad Valley wooden puzzle set, which is advertised as 'kinder to the environment' without being clear what environmental aspects were being compared. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is billed by Argos as using 'more recycled materials', but Which? said the description failed to clarify whether this was in relation to previous iPhones or other smartphones on the market. An Argos spokesman said: 'We take our role as a responsible retailer very seriously and it's important to us that customers are able to make informed choices when they shop with us. 'We offer thousands of products, from hundreds of suppliers and are working to review all product descriptions.' The CMA requires that brands consider 'the full lifecycle of the product or service'; however, Which? said its investigation found that clothes retailers downplayed the environmental impact of using polyester – even if the material was recycled. The report gave the example of a pair of Adidas leggings advertised as being made of '85pc polyester', without making it clear to shoppers that even recycled polyester is not biodegradable. An Adidas spokesman said the 85pc composition was factually correct, and that recycled polyester contained lower carbon and could help to reduce emissions. Which? added: 'The description does not mention other significant issues that may be relevant to the product's lifecycle, such as the release of microplastics from recycled polyester, and that the source of recycled polyester is often from recycled plastic bottles, disrupting the bottle-to-bottle recycling loop.' A Charlie Bigham spokesman said the 30pc reduction in materials came from removing an additional cardboard flap. The company added: 'We believe great food deserves thoughtful packaging. That's why, 18 years ago, we introduced wooden trays, sourced from PEFC-certified poplar and designed to be oven-friendly, compostable, and reusable. 'Since then, we've continued to improve, from switching to energy-saving red clay ceramic pots to using plastic film made with 30pc recycled content and cutting plastic waste by 24 tonnes a year.' A spokesman for Ocado said: 'We work closely with our suppliers to ensure all the information they provide for our website is accurate. We also have a training programme and toolkits for our colleagues to make sure we're compliant and up to date with the evolving regulatory landscape.' An Adidas spokesman said: 'The example mentioned is on a third party website that is not operated by Adidas and the wording is not in line with our current marketing communication. 'However, it is factually correct and offers full information about the composition of the product material with 85pc recycled polyester and 15pc elastane. 'Recycled polyester has an environmental benefit since it is not made from virgin material, but from recycled plastic waste. Recycled polyester has a lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester and helps to reduce emissions.'
Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
UK supermarket own brands beating big labels with Heinz and Lurpak snubbed
In different surveys conducted by Which?, a group of blindfolded tasters ranked the supermarket-own labels and branded products based on four factors, with the final results shocking shoppers. Swapping popular big-brand products for cheaper supermarket own-label products can not only save you a lot of money over time, but sometimes, these products taste better than the pricey ones. In a few blind-taste surveys conducted by Which?, products like butter to ketchup got ranked by a group of tasters based on appearance (20%), aroma (15%), texture (15%), and, most importantly, the flavour (50%). Each product was given in a random order, so the panel didn't know what brand they were trying until the end. If you're looking to save some pennies whilst still getting the most unbeatable flavours, we've gathered a list of some grocery essentials that have been highly rated for their taste but cost less money. Supermarket labels vs Branded labels Butter When it comes to butter, you'd be surprised to find out that it's not Lurpak, Danpak or the iconic Président. After a total of 67 people blind-tasted which butter was the best out of all of them, it was revealed that Nordpark's Slightly Salted butter was the best product when it came to price and taste. Found in Aldi, the best thing about it is that it costs less than half of Lurpak. Shoppers can get their hands on the product for £2.18 for a 500g can. Baked beans Baked beans are a staple in British culture and a must-have in dishes such as the iconic English Breakfast. After 66 blindfolded tasters compared the big brands to the smaller brands, the results revealed that Heinz's famous Baked Beans were beaten by Aldi's Bramwells Baked Beans in a Rich Tomato Sauce. At 41p for a 410g can, Aldi's baked beans are top in quality and price. If you purchase two tins a week, switching from Heinz's brand to Aldi's baked beans can save you over £100 a year. Tea Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the UK, with the average Brit drinking two to three cups of tea a day. After comparing a total of 12 brands, supermarket-label and branded ones, Asda 's Everyday Tea Bags took the lead, beating the well-known PG Tips. Scoring high points for smell, appearance, and colour, Asda's Everyday Tea Bags cost £1.20 for 80 bags. Cottage pie Cottage pie is also a very popular dish, especially as a classic family comfort food. In the search of wanting to find the best cottage pie, the final results concluded that Aldi's Specially Selected Gastro Cottage Pie was the top contestant, tasting better and costing less than Charlie Bigham's Cottage Pie. Although it does seem to cost quite a lot of money, priced at £3.59 for 400g, the quantity and quality of the product make it so worth it. Sweet chilli crisps Looking for a quick snack? The go-to sweet chilli crisps seem to be Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli Crisps, however, you'd be surprised to know that there's a better and much cheaper option. Tesco 's Finest Thai Inspired Sweet Chilli Crisps impressed with both flavour and texture, and the best thing is that they cost less than half the price. Shoppers can fulfil their cravings for £1.15 for a 150g bag. Roast potatoes Roast potatoes are a must-have for a Sunday Roast and also work well as a side dish. Instead of making them from scratch, it's good to have some frozen ones for whenever you're in a rush. Brands like McCain's Frozen Triple Cooked Roast Potatoes are the most popular. However, Aldi's Specially Selected Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes took the lead by far, scoring high points for flavour and crispy texture. They also cost £2.59 for 1kg, which is a bargain! Veggie burgers If you're looking to stock up on some veggie burgers, there's no need to spend money on bigger brands like Birds Eye. Aldi's Plant Menu Vegetable Burgers and Sainsbury's Plant Pioneer Vegetable Quarter Pounders taste just as good (and even better), and they're way cheaper. Both cost £1.69 for 454g, making them a good choice for shoppers looking for a flavoursome plant-based burger that isn't necessarily expensive. Ice cream cones The warm weather is making us all crave some ice cream! Cornetto's are a go-to and freezer favourite, but it was found that a supermarket-own brand beat the flavour and, of course, the price. Lidl 's Bon Gelati Ice Cream Cones, costing £1.99 for six 120ml ice creams—which is 33p per cone—became the top favourite ice cream for its sweetness and creaminess. Shockingly, Cornetto became the least favourite brand during the blindfolded taste test.
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Britain's Poshest Ready Meal? review: how the middle classes fell for Charlie Bigham
I don't consider myself remotely posh but I am partial to a Charlie Bigham fish pie when time is tight and I haven't got time to whip up braised octopus with sour cherries and rosemary smoke from scratch. So I was looking forward to a poke around the Bigham Somerset HQ to see how the one-time exec turned camper van traveller has spun an enquiring palate into a big-money ready-meal business. But 10 minutes into Charlie Bigham: Britain's Poshest Ready Meal? (Channel 5) I was checking the ingredients on the tin: this documentary title was click-bite with a heavy dollop of sauce on the side. For once food critic Jimmy Famurewa had declared, via a blind tasting, that Bigham's Chicken Tikka Masala was, despite its £6 price tag, worth shelling out for compared to its more budget-conscious competition, the Bigham element of this lightweight nibble of a look at Britain's ready-meal habit all but disappeared. What you got instead was a taster menu of hastily assembled titbits on the ready-meal theme with very little in the way of solid facts to sink your teeth into. Having a woman from Wigan cooking her own macaroni cheese from scratch to prove you can do it cheaper – getaway – was about as penetrating as the research got. Admittedly the endless shots of food prep as we were treated to product-placement tours of Cook and Gousto kitchens couldn't help but make me feel peckish and there was the odd slice of info, however reheated, to mull over. High-end ready meals, it turns out, are not the nutritious choice, given their contents. The salt and other naughty stuff is what makes them taste better. But overall this documentary felt like an idea that had been pitched in a pressure-cooker TV meeting, hooking the commissioning editor with a juicy title, which then went up in smoke in the making. As for the big question: is Charlie Bigham Britain's poshest ready meal? After this indigestible heap of thrown together leftovers I still have no idea.
Telegraph
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Bottomless lasagne? London's latest foodie trend fills me with dread
There are some culinary artefacts among the marvels in the British Museum's Silk Roads exhibition. A platter for a flatbread that found its way from Central Asia to China; a wine jug repurposed as a funeral urn; countless ornate goblets and bowls that wound up thousands of miles from their place of origin. Astonishingly, there are even some 1,500-year-old baked goods, found at Astana Cemetery in the Gobi Desert. Insert your own joke about your local bakery. Gazing on these items, imagining the intrepid travellers who conveyed them across unknown or hostile land, I wondered what archaeologists from the future might learn from our food and drink curiosities. Would they marvel at Huel and its ilk, forerunners of the meal replacements they inject into themselves? Or gaze on air fryers with awe, as we do with Stonehenge? Will they revere Charlie Bigham as a deity? It was with these thoughts swirling that I checked my phone after the exhibition and saw an email about a new east London concept: 'bottomless lasagne'. Senza Fondo, which translates as 'without bottom', will open on February 20 offering unlimited lasagne for £20 a head. 'Lasagne lends itself to bulk production,' says the founder, Joe Worthington, who calls himself the 'chief bechamel officer'. 'You sit down, have a big, chunky piece of lasagne and – if you want – you can order it again.' 'Bottomless.' Of all the ominous terms in food – deconstructed, gooey, ultra-processed, nutritionally complete – none inspires as much dread. The word reassures the diner that they will not be judged, no matter how base their urges. The implication is not only that there is no bottom to your bowl, plate, trough or whatever else you are eating from, but possibly no bottom to you, either. As with Casper the Friendly Ghost, food and drink will simply plummet through you. This is not to denigrate 'lavish' or 'indulgent', which are ancient and admirable qualities in a meal. Nor is it to dismiss buffets, which at their best have a democratic sense of generosity and acknowledge that you want to add ham to stuff. No, bottomless is really a 21st-century curiosity. It started with unlimited soft drinks, fries and Pizza Hut pizza at lunchtime. But it achieved its zenith with the 'bottomless brunch' where, for a fixed fee, diners are given as much cheap booze as they can glug within their allotted time. Bottomless brunch not only normalises drinking in the morning, but specifically normalises drinking many low-quality drinks. Hopped up on lowest-common-denominator plonk, the bottomless mob make themselves vulnerable to sides, pudding and other cunning upselling. The bottomless promise also uses the diner's essential stinginess against them. To a certain cast of mind, hearing the word will get the cogs whirring. 'I will beat the system,' they think. 'I will be the outlier.' They crave a bargain, rather than endless layers of bechamel, ragu and pasta. Nobody has ever had a serving of lasagne and still felt hungry. That's the point of lasagne. One might as well offer bottomless mashed potato or risotto or bread and butter pudding. When archaeologists unearth the 'Senza Fondo' menu buried in the mud by Old Street, they will wonder about our priorities.
