Latest news with #Ragù
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ragù, Bristol B3: ‘I recommend it wholly, effusively and slightly enviously' – restaurant review
Ragù is a cool, minimal, romantic ode to Italian cooking that's housed in a repurposed shipping container on Wapping Wharf in waterside Bristol. No, come back, please – don't be scared. There are tables, chairs, napkins, reservations and all the other accoutrements of a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, even if this metal box may at some point in its existence once have been used to ship things to China and back. To my mind, Wapping Wharf has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and no longer feels at all like one of those novelty 'box parks' that have about them a heavy whiff of the edgy temporary fixture. Today's Wapping Wharf is a true independent food destination in its own right, and with a bird's-eye view from one of Ragù's window seats, while eating venison rump with gorgonzola dolce and sipping a booze-free vermouth, you can watch the crowds head for the likes of the modern French Lapin, Tokyo diner Seven Lucky Gods, modern British Box-E, Gurt Wings and many more; by day, there's also a bakery, a butcher, a fromagerie and so on. Of course, anyone who calls their sophisticated modern Italian restaurant Ragù clearly didn't live in the UK through the 1980s. For me, as for many others, ragu will always be sold in a glass jar and advertised via caterwauling operatic ditties during the breaks on ITV's London's Burning: 'Ragu, it brings out the Italian in you,' etc. This was back in a time when Britain's attitude to Italian cuisine stretched, broadly speaking, as far as spag bol, though many of us were at a loss to tackle the 'bol' part of that equation without Unilever's industrially squished sieved tomatoes at 79p a jar. Those days are long gone, however, and the evidence is clear to see at Ragù, with its crisp, lightly battered artichoke fritters with a punchy aïoli, its Hereford onglet with cipollotti onion, and its cannoli with rhubarb curd and pistachio. Ragù caters to a young-ish, knowing audience who are well aware that Britain's current Italian dining culture was shaped by the River Cafe, Angela Hartnett and Giorgio Locatelli. Owners Mark and Karen Chapman opened Cor on North Street, Bedminster, in 2022, where they serve clever, fancy yet erring-on-the-hearty Mediterranean plates – think Catalan sausage with clams and fino butter sauce followed by tonka bean creme caramel. At Ragù, meanwhile, their focus is wholly Italian and, to my mind, this could be some of the most skilful cooking anywhere in Britain right now. I recommend the place wholly, effusively and slightly enviously of anyone who gets to taste the heavenly tiramisu made with sumptuously soggy slices of panettone before I get the chance to return. After the artichoke fritti, we moved on to a bowl of humble-sounding 'crespelle in tomato brodo, spinach and sheep's ricotta'. That's cheese pancakes in tomato sauce, right? Wrong. Very wrong. This was the greatest, richest, most drinkable-by-the-bucket tomato brodo I've ever tasted. Juicy, sweet, sharp and rich in all the right dimensions. What are they doing to tomatoes back there in that tiny kitchen? Next up, slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, pulled off the bone, shaped into a loose patty, placed on top of a fresh pea stew and dotted with a sharp salsa verde and earthy pecorino. The star of the show, however, was the Ashton Court venison, cooked rare but as soft as butter, then given plenty of colour in a hot pan and served on pungent gorgonzola with bone marrow butter. This is not a dish for the faint-hearted or slender of appetite. Those wanting something lighter might opt for the skate wing with salmoriglio and courgette and fennel salad, or even the tagliolini with Devon crab, but this is cooking that lends itself to excess. Service was fantastically prompt throughout, as the young team coped with the Saturday night chaos with calm aplomb. Desserts are another highlight, with three types of Italian cheese (robiola la tur, ubriaco rosso and taleggio) and a gelato, which on that day was a pink grapefruit and Campari sorbet, but please leave room, if possible, for the chocolate budino with sour cherries – a thick, almost-too-much truffle-type cake with huge, boozy cherries and crumbed amaretti biscuits. It's like an Italian take on the St Emilion au chocolat, or perhaps the French stole it from the Italians in the first place? I'm not sure who makes it better, but it's a fight I'd happily referee. Either way, Ragù might very well be my favourite new restaurant of 2025, and we've barely reached summer yet. All hail the Bristol riviera. Ragù Unit 25, Cargo 2, Museum Street, Wapping Wharf, Bristol BS3, 01179 110218. Open lunch Tues-Thurs, lunch noon-3.30pm, dinner 5-10pm; Fri & Sat all day, noon-10pm. From about £40 a head à la carte; set lunch Tues-Fri, £30 for three courses, all plus drinks and service.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Honey Smacks Recall That Shook Cereal Fans Across The US
Included in our list of the biggest food recalls of 2018, Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal was once the subject of a massive recall that affected approximately 135 consumers spread out over 36 states. The recalled cereal also made its way outside the contiguous U.S. and was circulated in limited amounts to Guatemala, the Caribbean, Guam, Mexico, Tahiti, Costa Rica, and the Northern Mariana Islands. According to the FDA, reports of consumer illness linked to the cereal spurred on an investigation, which turned up Salmonella bacteria at the third-party manufacturing plant where Honey Smacks were made. Salmonellosis frequently results from the consumption of contaminated raw food (like cookie dough, for example), but the bacterial infection can also be caused by surface contamination and improper food handling. In healthy people, symptoms of salmonellosis are often similar to the common stomach flu. However, older adults, young children, pregnant people, and anyone with a compromised immune system face a chance of more serious, potentially life-threatening complications. Of those affected by the Honey Smacks Salmonella outbreak, 34 required hospitalization, but fortunately, no loss of life was reported. Read more: 17 Hotel Breakfast Buffets Ranked From Worst To Best The issues that lead to food recalls often involve errors and oversights that aren't immediately caught by manufacturing staff. For example, a recall of Ragù pasta sauce in 2019 occurred after the product was discovered to contain plastic pieces, which likely resulted from a manufacturing defect or error. The Kellogg Honey Smacks recall is unique in that Kerry, the manufacturing company producing the cereal on behalf of Kellogg, was aware of positive Salmonella tests but took no action to address the issue. Instead, Ravi Kumar Chermala, Kerry's director of quality assurance at the time, worked to keep Kellogg in the dark regarding the contamination and even changed the internal monitoring process to prevent more positive test results. Because of these actions, Kerry received a misdemeanor charge of distributing adulterated cereal and was fined $19.228 million. Chermala was charged with three misdemeanor counts for the same crime, to which he pled guilty. However, it's not clear whether or not Chermala was sentenced, and if so, what kind of sentence he received. Carelessness in the food manufacturing industry can easily lead to major problems, but thanks to the quick actions of companies like Kellogg and overseeing federal agencies, consumers can rest assured that their food should be safe. Read the original article on Mashed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Name Brand That Had To Recall More Than 216,000 Pounds Of Sauce Off Store Shelves
In a battle of store-bought pasta sauces, we found that Ragù brand sauce handily bested Prego, thanks to the former's savory taste, pleasing texture, and variety of flavors. Ragù, which was developed from an Italian family recipe and kicked off commercial production in 1946, is a grocery store staple that can save home chefs lots of time in the kitchen. Despite its long history of success, the brand has run into some issues the along the way. This includes a recall that took place in 2019 over concerns about plastic fragments found in select jars of Ragù. While many food recalls are initiated by customer complaints, a representative for Mizkan America (the parent company of Ragù as well as other brands like Bertolli and Nakano) told Consumer Reports awareness of the issue resulted from "[the company's] normal course of operations and quality checks." Three sauce varieties were affected by the recall, including Old World Style Meat, Old World Style Traditional, and Chunky Tomato Garlic & Onion. Overall, 216,202 pounds of sauce (for a total of 9,130 cases) were involved in the recall. Thankfully, the incident was contained, as all affected products were manufactured between June 4 and June 8, 2019. No injuries were reported. Read more: 14 Canned Tomato Brands, Ranked Worst To Best As illustrated by the 15 most deadly recalled foods in U.S. history, bacteria like Listeria (responsible for the Boar's Head recall of 2024) and Salmonella (impacting multiple cantaloupe brands in 2023) are often a factor when it comes to consumer risks. However, the presence of foreign objects like glass, metal, or in the case of the 2019 Ragù recall, plastic, can also be highly problematic. Mizkan America never explained how the foreign object contamination happened, and it's not clear whether the company has ever specified the source. It is worth noting that the National Institutes of Health cites plastic contamination as a common cause of food recalls, as the material is estimated to be a factor in one of ten recalls occurring since 2003. As for the dangers of plastic in food, larger fragments can pose a choking risk or potentially cause internal injuries. While significantly less serious, plastic pieces can also cause dental issues and injuries if a person bites down on them. Plastic contamination doesn't typically rise to the level of a Class I FDA recall, the most serious classification and most likely to cause substantial health effects, but that doesn't mean these issues shouldn't be taken seriously. Fortunately for Ragù and its parent company, the 2019 recall was relatively minor. Read the original article on Mashed.
