Latest news with #RichardTurner
Times
29-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Millennials turn their backs on veganism and take up butchery
Just when we thought the future was vegan, the young have bored of the meat-free life and are picking up the knife to learn butchery at meat masterclasses around the UK. At Turner & George in London, Richard Turner, an executive chef who has worked with restaurants including Hawksmoor, runs four-person classes for £180 a head and said 75 per cent of sign-ups were under 40. 'Most millennials are very hands-on and want to learn the skills of butchery,' he said. 'For Gen Z, the emphasis is more about going out for the night and doing something different, to watch our butchers working with the meat and having a glass of something, then at nine o'clock when it finishes, moving on to the next stop.' He said the vast majority were young male foodies with a barbecue obsession. 'They like to entertain at home and adding butchery skills becomes an extension of that but, that said, it's not always about kudos. Others simply like the idea of an alternative night out and many who join up are totally wide-eyed beginners.' High-end meat, particularly Japanese-style wagyu beef, is rising in popularity. At Waitrose, sales of wagyu burgers and meatballs have been up 20 per cent since May and Tesco said that searches for wagyu were up 87 per cent year on year. • How fabulous is your steak? The rise of the posh butcher Gordon Ramsay's new London restaurant, Lucky Cat, reported that sales of its wagyu range were particularly high among younger customers. At the chef's cooking academies in Londonmore than 600 people have signed up for beef wellington and steak masterclasses. 'There's definitely more curiosity about high-end cuts like wagyu but we want to introduce people to lesser-known, locally sourced options,' Andrew Roberts, the head tutor, said. 'What tends to be a surprise cut for a lot of people is the 'onglet' or 'hanger steak'. It's technically offal but rich in flavour and surprisingly tender.' Flora Phillips, 27, is one of a new breed of butchers taking the interest a step further. She credits growing up in the Dorset countryside and a love of animals for turning her on to butchery. 'I tried liver for the first time aged 11 and it was a straight shot in the veins: the taste, the smell, what it felt like to the touch,' she said. 'I couldn't believe it was possible to see and eat an organ of an animal when we were animals too. It blew my mind.' • Why is there so much raw meat in my feed? She left her job as an art dealer three years ago, started her own company Floffal and retrained as a butcher. 'I realised there used to only be two types of butchery shop: very rough and ready or very twee Daylesford-sort, both of which were intimidating. What's happening now is a lot of new places opening up in the middle. We don't just cut meat, we work with it. It's a weird thing to say but I find butchery so enlivening. The counter is a vortex. It's a very over-stimulating environment on all levels. It overwhelms every sense and my muscles itch when I'm not doing it, I miss it.' Floffal has become a series of pop-ups and supper clubs that have won collaborations with Fortnum and Mason and Taste of London, and she is not alone in her interest in going back to basics. Jack Homan, 34, a Channel 4 producer based near Leeds, said it was a family connection to butchery that had driven his own interest. 'I've always stalked, or gone on 'rough' shoots, not on pheasant drives, with my grandad and dad and it was always a one-for-the-pot outing. We ate everything after gutting and butchered it,' he said. 'When my own family and I left London for Yorkshire a few years ago I decided I wanted to try to eat only the meat I'd shot myself for a year. ' • How to cook steak like a chef at home In many areas of the UK deer are classed as pests because they cause damage to the rural environment. Keeping their numbers down is legal and necessary, countryside managers say. 'Most important to me when stalking for my own consumption was understanding where meat came from and using the whole animal. I actually eat less meat as a result because butchering is a long, messy process,' Homan said. 'In the end I did six months of living only on the meat I caught. I would've carried on for a year if my wife hadn't become pregnant and told me she didn't want to see butchered venison for a while.'
The Guardian
10-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
The secret to good coleslaw
What's the trick to great coleslaw?Chris, Paignton, Devon'Coleslaw is such an under-rated salad,' says the Guardian's Felicity Cloake, whose latest book, Peach Street to Lobster Lane, was published last week. 'Familiarity breeds contempt.' (As do those claggy tubs you get in supermarkets.) The whole point of coleslaw is that the veg has to be crisp, which is why Cloake shreds rather than grates the cabbage (a mandoline or food processor is helpful here). 'That will leave it less mushy. And, if you have the patience, shred the carrot, too.' Cloake tosses the two with salt, vinegar and a little sugar, then leaves the mix to sit: 'This both softens and seasons it.' Then, once drained, bring on the mayo: 'Don't go overboard, though – it should be lightly dressed rather than gloopy.' Conveniently, Jessica Prescott, author of Epic Salads: For Every Mood, Craving and Occasion, has been working on an essential coleslaw guide, and her dressing template goes like this: 'Two tablespoons of something creamy [mayo, sour cream, yoghurt], a tablespoon of something acidic [lemon or lime juice, apple cider vinegar], and citrus zest, if you like. A spoonful of mustard, honey or soy sauce can deepen the flavour.' If mayo is your 'something creamy', Richard Turner, chef/partner of Bodean's, advises adding some soured cream or creme fraiche, too, though Jack Croft, chef/co-owner of Fallow, Fowl and Roe, all in London, would ditch the white stuff altogether. He favours dijon mustard, a splash of good-quality vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil and a load of fresh herbs (chives, parsley): 'That'll be rich enough without feeling heavy.' Cloake often adds horseradish or mustard, plus finely chopped spring onion or chives. Another good tip for counteracting coleslaw that cloys comes from the queen of country herself, Dolly Parton. In her book DollyWood Presents Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking, she combines dill pickle brine with mayo, white vinegar and seasoning (and adds a minced pickle to the slaw, too). Whatever your poison, it's then time to prep the veg, Prescott says: 'Thinly slice a quarter of a small green, red, savoy or napa cabbage, soak in cold water, then spin dry for maximum crunch.' You could bolster things with grilled corn ('my absolute favourite'), carrot or cucumber: 'Grated, finely diced or thinly sliced all work, but if you're adding water-heavy veg, sprinkle with salt and let them sit first.' Soft herbs, 'finely chopped so they integrate rather than dominate', are non-negotiable, too, as is setting the lot aside for 15 minutes, so 'the flavours get friendly'. Once dressed, 'taste, taste, taste', Turner says, because 'a slaw's character changes over time'. And if you're not eating it straight away, Croft advises to cover and chill. 'Just before serving, season with salt and a good squeeze of lemon – this keeps the slaw fresh, bright and avoids clagginess.' There is, of course, a whole world of slaws beyond coleslaw. Start by mixing up the veg: Turner combines a shredded savoy, two finely sliced onions, a julienned granny smith, a thinly sliced green pepper, a jalapeño and chopped coriander and mint. 'Mix 100ml yoghurt, the juice and grated zest of two limes, some salt and sugar, and pour over the vegetables,' says Turner, who chills until ready to serve. 'I make one with ribboned mango tossed with sliced red onion, chilli and coriander,' adds Maria Bradford, food writer and chef/owner of Shwen Shwen in Sevenoaks, Kent, who brings that together with a lime and maple dressing. 'It's delicious with grilled meat or a whole baked bass or snapper.' The real takeaway here is that slaws are 'one of the most flexible dishes around', Prescott says, so do your worst: 'They're riffable and always satisfying.' Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
AI breakthrough is ‘revolution' in weather forecasting
Cambridge scientists have made a major breakthrough in weather forecasting after developing a new AI prediction model that is tens of times better than current systems. The new model, called Aardvark Weather, replaces the supercomputers and human experts used by forecasting agencies with a single artificial intelligence model that can run on a standard desktop computer. This turns a multi-stage process that takes hours to generate a forecast into a prediction model that takes just seconds. 'Aardvark reimagines current weather prediction methods, offering the potential to make weather forecasts faster, cheaper, more flexible and more accurate than ever before,' said Richard Turner, a professor of machine learning in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Tests of the Aardvark model revealed that it is able to outperform the United States national GFS forecasting system using just 10 per cent of the input data, leading researchers to say it could offer a 'revolution in forecasting'. The researchers noted that its simple design and ability to run on standard computers means it has the potential to be used to create bespoke forecasts for a huge range of industries – from predicting wind speeds for offshore European wind farms, to rainfall and temperature predictions for farmers in developing countries. 'Aardvark's breakthrough is not just about speed, it's about access,' said Dr Scott Hosking, Director of Science and Innovation for Environment and Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute. 'By shifting weather prediction from supercomputers to desktop computers, we can democratise forecasting, making these powerful technologies available to developing nations and data-sparse regions around the world." Anna Allen from the University of Cambridge, who led the research, added: 'These results are just the beginning of what Aardvark can achieve. This end-to-end learning approach can be easily applied to other weather forecasting problems, for example hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. 'Beyond weather, its applications extend to broader Earth system forecasting, including air quality, ocean dynamics, and sea ice prediction.' The new AI weather model was detailed in a study, titled 'End-to-end data-driven weather prediction', published in the journal Nature. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
AI breakthrough is ‘revolution' in weather forecasting
Cambridge scientists have made a major breakthrough in weather forecasting after developing a new AI prediction model that is tens of times better than current systems. The new model, called Aardvark Weather, replaces the supercomputers and human experts used by forecasting agencies with a single artificial intelligence model that can run on a standard desktop computer. This turns a multi-stage process that takes hours to generate a forecast into a prediction model that takes just seconds. 'Aardvark reimagines current weather prediction methods, offering the potential to make weather forecasts faster, cheaper, more flexible and more accurate than ever before,' said Richard Turner, a professor of machine learning in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Tests of the Aardvark model revealed that it is able to outperform the United States national GFS forecasting system using just 10 per cent of the input data, leading researchers to say it could offer a 'revolution in forecasting'. The researchers noted that its simple design and ability to run on standard computers means it has the potential to be used to create bespoke forecasts for a huge range of industries – from predicting wind speeds for offshore European wind farms, to rainfall and temperature predictions for farmers in developing countries. 'Aardvark's breakthrough is not just about speed, it's about access,' said Dr Scott Hosking, Director of Science and Innovation for Environment and Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute. 'By shifting weather prediction from supercomputers to desktop computers, we can democratise forecasting, making these powerful technologies available to developing nations and data-sparse regions around the world." Anna Allen from the University of Cambridge, who led the research, added: 'These results are just the beginning of what Aardvark can achieve. This end-to-end learning approach can be easily applied to other weather forecasting problems, for example hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. 'Beyond weather, its applications extend to broader Earth system forecasting, including air quality, ocean dynamics, and sea ice prediction.' The new AI weather model was detailed in a study, titled 'End-to-end data-driven weather prediction', published in the journal Nature. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
AI-driven weather prediction breakthrough reported
A single researcher with a desktop computer will be able to deliver accurate weather forecasts using a new AI weather prediction approach that is tens of times faster and uses thousands of times less computing power than conventional systems. Weather forecasts are currently generated through a complex set of stages, each taking several hours to run on bespoke supercomputers, requiring large teams of experts to develop, maintain and deploy them. Aardvark Weather provides a blueprint to replace the entire process by training an AI on raw data from weather stations, satellites, weather balloons, ships and planes from around the world to enable it to make predictions. This offers the potential for vast improvements in forecast speed, accuracy and cost, according to research published on Thursday in Nature from the University of Cambridge, the Alan Turing Institute, Microsoft Research and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Richard Turner, a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge, said the approach could be used to quickly provide bespoke forecasts for specific industries or locations, for example predicting temperatures for African agriculture or wind speeds for a renewable energy company in Europe. This contrasts to traditional weather prediction systems where creating a customised system takes years of work by large teams of researchers, while supercomputers take hours to process measurements from the real world in order to build forecasting models. 'This is a completely different approach to what people have done before. The writing's on the wall that this is going to transform things, it's going to be the new way of doing forecasting,' Turner said. He said the model would eventually be able to produce accurate eight-day forecasts, compared with five-day forecast at present, as well as hyper-localised predictions. Dr Scott Hosking, the director of science and innovation for environment and sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute, said the breakthrough could 'democratise forecasting' by making powerful technologies available to developing nations around the world, as well as assisting policymakers, emergency planners and industries that rely on accurate weather forecasts. Dr Anna Allen, the lead author of the paper, from the University of Cambridge, noted that the findings paved the way for better forecasts of natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes, as well as other climatic issues such as air quality, ocean dynamics and sea ice predictions. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Aardvark builds on recent research by Huawei, Google, and Microsoft demonstrating that one step of the weather prediction process known as the numerical solver, which calculates how weather evolves over time, can be replaced with AI to produce faster and more accurate predictions. This approach is already being deployed by the ECMWF. The researchers said that using just 10% of the input data that existing systems required, Aardvark could already outperform the US national GFS forecasting system in certain respects, and was competitive with United States Weather Service forecasts.
