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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
MasterChef's Grace Dent says 'I grew up eating sludge' as she's tipped to replace Gregg Wallace
Former I'm A Celeb star and restaurant critic Grace Dent was announced as Gregg Wallace's replacement on MasterChef last year. Grace has recorded the new series with co judge John Torode who has now been sacked too. She may have grown up eating Angel Delight and Findus fast food, but her palette is now finely tuned for TV stardom, as Grace Dent is hailed the firm favourite to present MasterChef. The food critic - a former Daily Mirror journalist - is the bookies' 15/8 favourite to take over, after a string of controversies saw current presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode sacked from the BBC1 show. Given a taste of MasterChef glory, as co-presenter of the celebrity version alongside Torode since the end of last year, Grace, 51 - who talks proudly of her working class roots in Carlisle - is keen to become the new ' Queen of Cooking.' She says: "I have been on telly for a long time. I love being on telly. I've been on MasterChef since 2013 as a 'turn'. But I have been watching it since I was a little girl, when we had Loyd Grossman. "I used to sit on the sofa with my dad, and the restaurant critics would walk in and we would laugh our socks off at them coming in and going, 'Well, this is the worst foie gras in the world '. We would just be laughing, going, 'Look at this person'.' Chuckling as she remembers people running through their dishes, she impersonates them, going: ''I've got a ballotine of lamb, and a port reduction, and a fondant potato,' and all of these things". 'We didn't have them in Carlisle. "But the show is this incredible rollercoaster that makes people happy all over Britain.' Grace is keen to follow in the footsteps of cooking shows' great women presenters, like Mary Berry and Prue Leith. She says: 'Food is the biggest love of my life. I want to do more. Prue and Mary Berry, I mean, they go on forever. So, yeah, that's what I want to do.' The BBC has yet to confirm who will be MasterChef's new hosts, but Grace leads an eminent line-up of contenders, including chefs Tom Kerridge and James Martin, former Radio 1 star Chris Stark and rapper-turned cook Big Zuu. If she does land the coveted role Grace, who shares warm memories of growing-up in a 'Coronation Street- style' house, says her one regret will be that her parents are no longer around to see it. "It is jarring to me this has happened in 2025 when my parents have gone,' she says. 'Because to present MasterChef is the first that I would have had that they would have fully understood. "My mother would have bored people to tears. ' Her parents were married to other people when they met and ran away together. Grace recalls: 'My mother looked like Diana Doors. She was booby and blonde and glam and wore trouser suits and my father was a squaddie, a soldier and had been stationed up in Carlisle for a while.' Of their affair, she continues: 'They had me very, very quickly. It was quite a big deal in the 70s. I think that my parents met and ran away in haste and then lamented their decision over the next 50 years.' Grace, who was speaking to James O'Brien for his Full Disclosure podcast before Wallace and Torode were sacked, credits her parents with cultivating her love of food. And she has no time for food snobbery, adding: "This is the problem that we have with the ultra-processed food debate, going back to the 70s when I was a child. 'The fact is, a Findus crispy pancake in 1970 filled with minced beef was delicious, as well as oven chips dipped in salad cream. "I didn't eat the rainbow when I was a child. We ate the sludge. I want to tell the truth about the 70s. These were exciting times, like if you had butternut scotch flavoured Angel Delight. "I had no idea what posh really was.' Admitting she was "nothing special" at school, Grace says she became focussed on TV fame after seeing people like Paula Yates, the late flamboyant peroxide hostess of Channel 4's pop culture show The Tube, on the box . She says: "There was no one in my family that was in academia, I was brought up by pop culture. "From the earliest part of my life, I looked at the television and looked at Kenny Everett, Top of the Pops and bands like The Human League and ABC. I remember looking and thinking, 'there is a world out there and I want to go there'. "I had a very northern working class childhood, so I was never told I was beautiful, I was never told I was special, but I remember going, 'But I'm going to be famous.' "I wanted to go to university, because I knew that if I went and read English literature then it would be handy as some sort of arts degree that I could then take to London for my glorious plan to become Paula Yates. "I remember by the time I was 14, Paula was raging on The Tube, bringing her sparkle, glamour, the dresses, hanging out with popstars. And then she was also writing a newspaper column with her big hair at the top of the page, firing out the old paperback fiction. "I wanted to be Paula Yates or Janet Street-Porter. Janet was controlling youth TV on BBC2, hanging out with the Pet Shop Boys. She was running TV channels. I was like 'I want that''. And Grace was inspired to move to London after watching her late Cumbrian aunt "jump the working class fence," shocking her family by marrying a Lord. She says: 'One of my aunties, who was every bit as common as me, was called Grace and married a Lord. She was a force of nature. "I was fascinated by her and this idea that one day, you can just suddenly go, 'no. This is who I am'. She would go to London and play Bridge. "I remember at the end of our street in Carlisle, there was a railway track and I knew that London was 235 miles away. It took seven hours by train back then in the 70s, and I wanted to go. "So, as soon as I could, I was coming down on that train and getting that taste for London, and that was what inspired me. 'I love Carlisle. Now I'm in my 50s, I love that place. But when you're 14, all you want to do is be in Soho, potentially snogging John Taylor from Duran Duran." Her move to the smoke paid off. She bagged an editorial assistant's job at women's magazine Marie Claire after she graduated from Stirling University. Other magazine and newspaper jobs followed, she went on to publish more than 20 books and has appeared on countless TV shows, such as The Great British Menu, Very British Problems, Have I Got News For You and had a stint hosting the Radio 4 series The Untold. Now with the big MasterChef job in her sights, she reflects on her mum's cautionary words about her success. "My mother said this until the day that she died about my life. She would look at it all and go, 'You don't half make life hard for yourself, don't you?' 'Because my life would have been probably kind of lovely if I'd stayed in Carlisle. "Her dream was that I would have made a good marriage with somebody from Carlisle. I could even tell you the guys that I should have married, whose dads had building firms, and we could have had a nice house and done it up and had a breakfast bar. "Me and my mother fought like cat and dog from when I was a child. We loved each other fiercely and I nursed her right up until the last, her last dying breath. "But yeah, proper northern, northern working class women, with massive aspirations to leave and do fantastic things." Laughing about her success, so far this year, she quips: "I don't think that I'm a role model or a massively great example for anybody. I do think that I am in a lot of ways a terrible warning, and if anything, just winging it. "I always knew that I'm not the most beautiful girl and I'm not the cleverest girl and I'm not the richest girl. But when I go into a room, I can sometimes raise the frequency…a little bit."
Euronews
28-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Europeans are buying frozen food to reduce waste, survey shows
Sustainability is playing a bigger role in how people shop, but does that influence what they buy in the frozen food aisle? A new survey from Europe's largest frozen food company suggests yes. Nearly half of European consumers (47 per cent) are opting for frozen food products to reduce food wastage, according to Nomad Foods, owner of Birds Eye, Findus and other household brands. Almost 59 million tonnes of food waste are generated annually in the EU, according to the European Consumer Organisation. So, in the words of one UK supermarket giant, every little helps. But what difference does buying frozen make exactly, and which countries are embracing it? How does frozen food help reduce waste? It's obvious, really - that freezing food preserves it for longer, meaning less needs to be thrown away and bought. When food goes to waste, it is not only the food itself that is lost, but also the resources used in production and transportation, including fuel, water, land, labour, fertilisers, and packaging. And as food breaks down in landfills, it produces methane - a potent greenhouse gas. 'In 2021 and 2022 combined, food waste accounted for around 18m tonnes of GHG emissions in the UK,' says Ben Ashmore, head of external affairs at FareShare, a charity which works across the food industry to help identify and redistribute surplus food. 'By redistributing surplus food to people, and making it longer-lasting through freezing, we can help reduce food waste and the associated emissions, while helping people in need." There are many reasons why people are leaning more heavily on the freezers, but Nomad Foods' inaugural 'Frozen in Focus' report indicates that sustainability is a prominent factor. 'The freezer is no longer just a place to store food; it's becoming the cornerstone of a more efficient, sustainable, and nutritious lifestyle,' claims Stéfan Descheemaeker, CEO at the UK-headquartered company. The UK leads the way on the food waste front, according to the new multi-market study of 7,500 adults. Nearly 60 per cent of Brits prefer to buy frozen food as it reduces food waste. That figure is followed by 50 per cent in Italy, 49 per cent in France, 43 per cent in Sweden, and 44 per cent in Germany. A smaller, but still significant portion of consumers recognise the potential of frozen food to contribute to more sustainable food chains. 15 per cent in Sweden, 7 per cent in Italy, 9 per cent in the UK, 8 per cent in Germany, and 7 per cent in France agreed with this statement. 'European consumers are increasingly aware of the link between food waste and sustainability,' says David Pettet, head of sustainability at Nomad Foods. 'Freezing food isn't just about convenience; it's a powerful tool for preserving freshness, maximizing resources, and building a more sustainable food system.' Reducing the energy consumption of freezers Research is also going into making the freezer itself a more eco-friendly space, given the significant energy usage and associated emissions of the always-on appliances. Launched in 2023 at COP28, the Move to -15°C Coalition aims to make a difference in food supply chains by "resetting frozen food temperature standards". Featuring big names, like shipping giant Maersk and supermarkets Iceland and Morrisons, the coalition challenges the received wisdom that -18°C is the correct freezer temperature. Studies have shown that -15°C works too, and can deliver significant energy savings. One recent study from Campden BRI, a food and drink research centre, and Nomad Foods found that a 3°C increase in frozen food storage temperatures could reduce freezer energy consumption by 10 per cent, with no significant change in most products.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aldi's 8 Biggest Scandals Of All Time
Despite winning over consumers all over the world with its affordable products and hidden gem snacks, Aldi has made some not-so-popular choices, like its infamously controversial grocery cart system, and the company is also no stranger to scandal. Whether you're a loyal shopper or just here for the tea, you may want to check out the wild reasons Aldi has made headlines that have nothing to do with its deals and low prices. The company has faced a number of lawsuits, ranging from wage disputes with former employees to food safety concerns for undisclosed ingredients in its products; in 2023, it found itself in the middle of a $10 million class action lawsuit for mislabeling its products. Not to mention, it found itself at the center of a drug smuggling operation more than once. Who knew a grocery store that boasts such a scaled-back shopping experience could be involved in so much drama? From contaminated food to exploding turkey burgers, here are some of the most fascinating scandals that Aldi has been involved in over the years. Read more: 11 Foods You Might Want To Avoid Buying At Aldi One of Aldi's most viral scandals occurred in early 2013 when it was revealed that some of its beef products actually contained undisclosed horse meat. The grocer discovered as much as 100% horse meat in some of its frozen beef products during routine random testing. The impacted products were frozen lasagna and frozen spaghetti bolognese from the brand Today's Special, and the company quickly pulled them from the shelves as a food safety precaution. Aldi traced the supply chain and connected the contamination issue to French supplier Comigel, a large French food processing company that also supplied contaminated beef products to other popular brands like Findus. The horse meat products were delivered to grocery stores in France, Britain, and Sweden. A spokesperson for Aldi explained that they were equally as disappointed in the contamination from the French supplier as their consumers. Unfortunately, it was unclear whether the "meat mixup" was purposeful or negligent on the part of the supplier. In 2019, Aldi faced another shocking food scandal when hundreds of kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in banana crates delivered to 6 Aldi store locations in Germany, as well as a warehouse. Aldi employees discovered the haul and notified local officials, who separated and secured the crates for a full investigation. State police indicated that the stash was likely from Latin America and amounted to a value of about $28 million, making it potentially the largest haul of cocaine ever found in northern Germany. However, this was not the first time, or even the second time that cocaine had been smuggled into Aldi grocery stores. There were actually two other incidents in which millions of dollars worth of drugs had been stashed in fruit and other products. In one case in 2015, about $12.5 million worth of cocaine was found in banana crates that had been shipped to Berlin as well. Police speculated that these shipments arrived at Aldi grocery stores by mistake. In 2019, the discount grocery store was accused of not paying California employees their earned wages. Former Aldi grocery store employees Jeree Gant and Jennifer Lacey-Salas each filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging that they (along with other employees) were not granted full payment for all the hours they worked during their employment. Specifically, the company did not pay the employees overtime or compensate for business-related expenses, despite them having been earned. The California class action suit also alleged that the company broke several other laws based on the California labor code, including not giving sufficient meal and rest breaks. Jeree Gant and Jennifer Lacey-Salas filed the suits on behalf of more than 2,000 Aldi employees who worked across various California store locations. Aldi quickly offered a $2 million settlement in response to the lawsuit. In a tragic incident just before Christmas in 2017, an Aldi employee was fatally stabbed in a revenge act during her shift at the grocery store. 30-year-old Jodie Willsher was stabbed by 44-year-old Neville John Hord in front of shoppers and fellow employees at the Aldi store where she worked in the U.K.'s North Yorkshire Hord was a former boyfriend of Willsher's mother, and the murder was an act of revenge, according to prosecutor Peter Moulston QC. Hord was detained by a few shoppers and employees, and was arrested and later sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison for the gruesome act. Police later discovered that Hord had placed a GPS tracking device on Willsher's car as well. Willsher's husband, 4-year-old daughter, colleagues, and the small town of Skipton were left horrified by the public act of violence. According to the manager of the Aldi store, Willsher was a well-liked and popular employee, and her friends and colleagues were devastated by the tragic event. Aldi landed in hot water again when it was accused of spying on employees and customers. A former store detective claimed that he was instructed by his branch manager to install hidden cameras and gather information on employees, including their private financial information. The cameras were installed without the staff's knowledge, leading to further suspicion of bad intent. Some cameras even focused on the cash registers, where card readers with customer's credit card information were displayed. Aldi denied the claims that it was attempting to spy on employees, insisting that any cameras in the store are used strictly to protect customers and staff. It also insisted that no customer PIN numbers or credit card information could be seen from the positioning of the cameras. However, Peter Schaar, the German commissioner for privacy protection, explained that if it is possible for thefts to be prevented in other ways, surveillance may not be used. In addition to its impressive supply of groceries, Aldi also sells home goods and kitchen appliances. One product that was particularly popular in Australia was the Spiral Spring Mixer Tap. Aldi came under fire when the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) performed tests on the water from these kitchen faucets and found unsafe levels of lead. Prolonged exposure to lead can lead to an array of health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and kidney damage. Aldi removed the product so the company could perform a thorough internal investigation, though the spiral tap had already been sold to an estimated 12,000 homes. Aldi's personal testing revealed that the water levels were well within the acceptable range provided by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and the taps were in fact safe for use. Aldi Australia's CEO Tom Daunt explained that the tests completed by the QBCC were not conducted appropriately and Aldi's internal investigation confirmed that the product was perfectly safe for use. Gloria Besley filed a lawsuit against the grocery store in August 2018 after a turkey burger she purchased from her local Aldi exploded and left her with extensive injuries. According to Besley, she cooked the frozen turkey burgers per the "fry" instructions on the box: Preheat the skillet on medium heat, add a small amount of vegetable oil, and cook burgers on each side for 7 to 9 minutes. After placing the burgers in the oil as instructed, one exploded leaving her with second-degree burns on her hands and forearms, as well as permanent scarring. The Pennsylvania woman sought $35,000 in damages from the grocery store due to the burn injuries she endured. She filed the suit in Allegheny County in January 2019 and the case was settled about a year later, although the settlement information was not shared publicly. UC Davis researchers launched an investigation into private-label avocado oils from 19 retailers, including Aldi, and found that about 70% of them that were labeled as "pure" actually contained additional oils and additives. The study landed Aldi in trouble with consumers who were none too happy to discover that the healthier oil alternative they were purchasing was not, in fact, as healthy as advertised. The product in question was the Aldi brand Simply Nature product, which was advertised as being 100% pure avocado oil. Maggie Frost, on behalf of herself and other misled consumers, filed a class action lawsuit against the company for the misrepresentation of the ingredients in the Simply Nature Avocado Oil. While other Simply Nature products, like its veggie-packed broccoli bites, are a hit with customers, the science suggests you might want to skip Aldi's olive oil. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
