Latest news with #freshfood
Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Why an upper-class diet is better for your health
Simple fresh food cooked from scratch is as posh as it gets. You won't find Quavers or any ultra-processed rubbish in an upper crust pantry – and forget takeaways, or any kind of snack. The aristo diet would get full marks from the likes of gut health rock star Tim Spector or the van Tulleken anti-UPF evangelists. Just look at the Countess of Carnarvon, chatelaine of Highclere Castle in Hampshire, who did not think twice about including a recipe for shepherd's pie in a forthcoming book. The greatest misconception about food served in the great houses of Britain, she says, 'is that it's fussy and complicated when it is in fact based on straightforward home cooking'. While the vulgar rich and the credit-card wannabes that mimic them might eat caviar and post it on Instagram, at Highclere the 8th Earl's greatest comfort is roast chicken, and Monday night suppers are 'risotto made with whatever's in the fridge'. While it's some time since anyone in my family had a cook, my nouveau pauvre family were very strict about retaining some of the old food mores. No tomatoes in the fridge, don't hold your knife like a pen, never use a silver spoon for eggs, margarine is evil, no snacking, no gluttony, no excess weight, never use a knife to break a bread roll. The rules around food and its consumption were considerable, and I never forgot them. I still feel crippling shame if I eat in the street. The start of the asparagus season was greeted like the birth of a child – and the end like a death in the family. In all honesty, I'm not sure my Granny ever really found any joy in cooking her own food and lived on cheese and biscuits. When I spoke to other middle-class girls with posh grannies, we discovered we had much in common. One former private chef to a member of the Royal family described knowing when the late Queen was joining his client for lunch as he would receive instructions to make a single serving of 'goujons of plaice, which are basically posh fish fingers, because no matter what everyone else was having she really did prefer plain food'. And aside from a few crusty old dukes, you don't get much posher than the Queen, do you? So what are the signs of a truly posh diet and how can it benefit your health? You never snack A weekend guest at Lisnavagh, the seat of Lord Rathdonnell, describes their host's visceral disgust at snacking: 'He considered it a punishable offence, completely gross and abject gluttony.' Admittedly, snacking was not common to any class until more recent generations were brainwashed by food companies. As a child, whining that one was hungry was either ignored or met with a brisk: 'You can have a piece of fruit.' And while we all chew away all day like cattle at the cud today, it remains strictly not done in the grandest echelons of society for its simple lack of restraint and self-control. And there is nothing to eat anyway. One regular visitor to the nice country houses says upper-class fridges are singularly uninspiring. Fresh ingredients are kept in the larder to be prepared from scratch and 'snacky bits' are what Nancy Mitford would call 'non-U' (not upper class). 'It's just dried up ends of cheese, sad, worryingly bloody chicken carcasses and Tracklements mustard.' In short, if you open your fridge and a cornucopia of exotic foodstuffs sheathed in brightly coloured plastic tumble out, you're dead common. Nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner Rosemary Ferguson is a favourite of the smart set in London and the Cotswolds. She says: 'Not snacking is a good thing. The body benefits from short fasts of around five hours between meals. So snacking is a really big issue because insulin levels are elevated all the time and the body never takes a break from digestion.' You love high-protein game As a rule, to shoot things with faces, fur and feathers legally you need to either own a lot of land, have a friend who owns a lot of land or be prepared to give someone with a lot of land a lot of your money. Otherwise it's poaching. Having a taste for the gamier meats is a sign you are quite grand. Arrivistes just shoot the things and go off to Annabel's to get drunk. Ferguson says: 'Game is very healthy meat: high in protein, low in fat, rich in B vitamins, vital minerals like iron and omega-3s. It lives wild and is probably not living a stressed life on lots of weird foods and medications like farmed meat.' You avoid UPFs like Bisto gravy or (horror) a Big Mac While there are rumours the Beckhams enjoy Bisto with their very finest quality beef, the act of roasting a few ribs of beef requires only the addition of stock to the empty pan to create a fairly thin yet deliciously marmite-y liquid called gravy. A travelling companion of one of the smart Sykes sisters – Plum, Lucy and Alice – describes an unnamed sister preferring to go hungry for 24 hours while waiting for a delayed flight at Goa Airport because the only option was McDonald's and, apparently, she 'just couldn't'. Ferguson says: 'Cooking from scratch and avoiding UPFs and fast food is a very good thing, however, I'm afraid I love Bisto. I remember [a very aristocratic name] being audibly appalled when they discovered I did. The real problem comes when you don't have the choice. Diabetes and metabolic illnesses are a socioeconomic issue because in poorer areas there are food deserts where UPFs and fast food are cheaper than real food. So it's no laughing matter.' While Pol Roger claimed Winston Churchill drank 42,000 bottles of its champagne over 50 years, his menus were far less grand. 'They included a lot of leftovers and beans on toast,' according to dining historian and biographer of Churchill's cook Dr Annie Gray. 'It is the same now as it always has been,' she says of the upper-crust predilection for plain and unexciting food. Ferguson says: 'Keeping it simple means consistent habits; anything too complicated is easily derailed. And if you are eating good quality ingredients, quite often too much fuss really isn't necessary.' You eat strictly seasonal vegetables It would never cross your mind to eat asparagus, artichokes or tomatoes, or indeed, anything, out of the strictly British season for them, and certainly not pre-prepared in a crackly plastic packet. Sliced carrots should never be seen outside the nursery wing. Adults' carrots should be served in batons or peeled and left whole according to both Annabel Bower's Mancroft instructions and etiquette commentator William Hanson. And some vegetables are completely verboten. 'Kale is for cattle' according to my mother. She has never stopped saying this since I developed a fashionable appetite for the toughest of brassicas. No matter how much I gussy it up or massage it to tenderness, she will not touch it. A member of the Mancroft family, apparently, sent a swede dish back to Bower with the words: 'You can't serve that. That's cattle feed.' Ferguson says: ' Seasonal, local and freshly picked or dug is the dream. As soon as they're picked, vegetables start to lose their nutritional value and flavour. And if pulled from organic garden soil, there's added minerals and good bacteria. Carrots cooked whole lose less of their nutrients to the boiling water; not peeling them would increase fibre and preserve nutrients even more. On the matter of kale, I'm clearly very common. I love it. It is nutrient dense and while some controversial and extreme wellness figures have claimed kale is 'trying to kill you', the truth is you'd have to eat a lot before we could pretend the plant's protective toxins, known as oxalates, might be bad for you.' You aren't big on pudding but love fresh fruit from the garden Crumbles with loads of cream brought to the kitchen daily direct from one of the dairy farms on your vast estate are also acceptable. Ferguson says: 'A crumble isn't bad at all, with the fruit, and especially if you add some seeds, nuts and oats. The addition of local and unpasteurised cream (that has been tested for food-borne pathogens) will add high-dose vitamin E, high A2 protein and fat levels to keep you satiated for longer.' You never salt food before you have tasted it One friend describes gasping in horror when she realised the man she loved sprinkled salt all over his food before he'd even had a mouthful. 'I'd been told to salt food was very non-U, and I still like my food bland to this day. I was told salt could sit in a little pile on your plate to be used if necessary but that sprinkling was a giant no-no. Ferguson says: 'Unless you've had an arduous day in the garden, when you might allow yourself a little pinch of salt to restore good electrolyte balance after sweating – sorry, perspiring – we should all be avoiding salt. We all eat way too much and it is a well-known and serious risk factor for cardiovascular, kidney and bone health.' You only drink very weak tea (and never with sugar) Taken with a slice or lemon or a droplet of milk, tea should look like dishwater, not the thick orange colour of a common house brick. Ferguson says: 'This is probably more hydrating, perhaps, than stronger tea but as long as your tea isn't full of sugar, there is nothing wrong with a strong daily cup of builder's. You take it as strong as you like, I'm sure the etiquette police have better things to do.'
The Sun
12-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Sainsbury's to launch new ‘on the go' hubs after axing three counters in store – but here's where you can find the items
SAINSBURY'S has undergone a major change to its supermarkets that will affect stores nationwide. Following the closure of three of its food counters, the popular supermarket has launched new On-the-Go hubs. 3 3 Later this year the brand will launch the hubs with an expanded selection of fresh food options. Launching in autumn, these hubs will be the new go-to for hot food items. In an earlier announcement, Sainsbury's said: "From the Autumn, we will create new On the Go hubs with flexiserve hot food offerings, delivering an improved customer experience." Sainsbury's had announced the plans earlier this year in their financial report. They said the change would help to "drive growth and availability at a reduced cost to serve". While the plans were announced earlier this year, the changes are now underway. It includes closing down its patisserie, hot food and pizza counters. Loyal customers have no need to worry, as Sainsbury's told the Express that the most popular items will still be available in self-service cabinets across the majority of stores. The retailer is instead preparing to launch an expanded section of fresh food options with the freed-up space. It comes after the company closed all of its cafes earlier this year. Sainsbury's scraps in-store changing rooms leaving shoppers furious The decision led to a loss of 3,000 jobs - affecting around two per cent of its 148,000 staff. It was part of a wider plan to "simplify the business" during a "particularly challenging cost environment". They will also be converting their scratch bakeries to bake-off, improving quality, value and availability throughout the day They hope the changes will help reach its goal of £1 billion in cost savings by March 2027. Full list of 61 Sainsbury's cafes that have closed Fosse Park Pontypridd Rustington Scarborough Penzance Denton Wrexham Longwater Ely Pontllanfraith Emersons Green Nantwich Pinhoe Road Pepper Hill - Northfleet Marshall Lake Rhyl Lincoln Bridgemead Larkfield Whitchurch Bargates Sedlescombe Road Barnstaple Dewsbury Kings Lynn Hardwick Truro Warren Heath Godalming Hereford Chichester Bognor Regis Newport Talbot Heath Rugby Cannock Leek Winterstoke Road Hazel Grove Morecambe Darlington Monks Cross Marsh Mills Springfield Durham Bamber Bridge Weedon Road Hempstead Valley Hedge End Bury St Edmunds Thanet Westwood Cross Stanway Castle Point Isle of Wight Keighley Swadlincote Leicester North Wakefield Marsh Way Torquay Waterlooville Macclesfield Harrogate Cheadle Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: "We've transformed our business over the past four years. We have created a winning combination of value, quality and service that customers love, investing £1 billion in lowering our prices. He added: "More people are choosing Sainsbury's for their main grocery shop as a result, delivering our highest market share gains in more than a decade. "We are committed, above all else, to sustaining the strong competitive position we have built - consistently giving customers the great value they have come to expect from Sainsbury's - and we expect to continue to outperform the market." He also said that the brand has added Aldi Price Match to "more products than ever before". They also provide offers on more than 9,000 products with Nectar Prices. Mr Roberts said: "Nectar is taking our ability to create personalised value and loyalty to the next level and our long-term contracts with farmers and suppliers demonstrate our commitment to resilience and sustainability across the UK food system." 3
CNA
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: From finance to indoor farming — Grobrix's Mathew Howe letting your passion find you
Mathew Howe uprooted himself from banking and replanted himself as an entrepreneur when he founded Grobrix in 2021. Today, his indoor farming solutions company is sprouting shoots beyond Singapore's shores. Mathew shares how his journey began with a simple quest to grow fresh basil to provide fresh pesto for his young daughters, and why he believes that his passion found him at the right time.
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Farmacy Marketplace: Traveling grocery store delivers to Delta food deserts
Marquitrice Mangham inherited her family's Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, farm in 2017, a year after the community leader started a nonprofit organization called In Her Shoes to address housing insecurity and food accessibility in the Delta. It was the same farm where she grew up. After she graduated from high school in Webb, Mississippi, she left the state, joined the military and then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she still resides today. In 2017, when Mangham returned to the Mississippi Delta, she explored her small hometown and noticed that it had become a fresh-food desert. 'The community had changed a lot from when I was young—because I used to be able to come up to town to Webb right up the street from where I graduated (high school) and (find) everything I needed as far as meats and food to eat,' Mangham told the Mississippi Free Press on May 14. 'And now, farming, I have to go all the way to, like, Greenwood or Clarkesdale or Charleston just to get a salad or fresh food to eat.' Expanding Farmacy Marketplace Her nonprofit, In Her Shoes, had already been helping Delta farmers improve their businesses and boost their food-production rates. In Her Shoes bought a building in Webb and transformed it into Farmacy Marketplace, a fresh-food store filled with produce, meats and goods from local farmers that opened its doors to the community in 2022. Once Mangham's work became more publicized, she started getting phone calls from people all over the nation commending her work. The Oakland Chamber of Commerce, from Yalobusha County, was one of the first to call her and make a request for Mangham to open a grocery store in the community. In 2024, the community leader said she thought Oakland would be a perfect place for Farmacy Marketplace to open up a second brick-and-mortar store because of its 'proximity to fresh food,' its population demographics, its location and its closeness to nearby communities that needed access to a grocery store. Oakland's Farmacy Marketplace opened on April 26, 2025. 'It works well because we really focus on fresh, local food, working with my farmers, and helping them build capacity and sustain their food business,' Mangham said. 'We have outlets that they can sell (in), and we encourage them and help them sell to us so we can supply our local stores.' Mississippians living in food deserts called Mangham and asked her to help bring grocery stores to their communities as well. Mangham visited some of those locations but thought that some of the communities might not be able to sustain a brick-and-mortar grocery store. Nevertheless, she still wanted small-town residents to have access to fresh food. Around then, the American Heart Association learned about what she was doing in Mississippi and reached out to help fund some projects she was working on, like the Farmacy Marketplace mobile grocery store. The Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, part of American Heart Association Ventures' Social Impact Funds, gave In Her Shoes a $125,000 grant to purchase the mobile food truck in 2024. Lisa Suennen, managing partner of American Heart Association Ventures, said the association wanted to support Farmacy Marketplace's effort to create 'fresh food access points in the middle of a food desert.' 'When people don't have access to enough food, access to healthy food or the means to pay for it, they must make tough choices. Rely on fast food to keep the family fed and full? Skip meals? Leave work early to take two buses to a grocery store? Overcoming food insecurity gives more people the opportunity to thrive, which is why it's an important area of focus for the Heart Association,' she told the Mississippi Free Press. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Local Food Promotion program also helped fund the mission. Farmacy Mobile is a traveling grocery store with fresh produce and meats, as well as frozen and packaged food. The truck drives food to three underserved communities in the Mississippi Delta weekly: Jonestown on Tuesdays, Coffeeville on Thursdays, and Mound Bayou on Fridays. Times and exact locations are listed on the website. 'We want to focus on those communities that are low-income and low-access. When I say low access, I mean they're driving 10 miles or more to get fresh food,' Mangham said. Focusing on the Future Marquitrice Mangham said the Mound Bayou community heavily supports Farmacy Mobile and could sustain a brick-and-mortar Farmacy Marketplace. Mound Bayou community members helped In Her Shoes find a location for the marketplace. The nonprofit is now looking for funding to help pay to open the new grocery store this year, she said. The USDA also gives In Her Shoes funding to help farmers grow their businesses. Mangham said she hopes the funding will also help provide farmers with processing facilities to house, package and market food before it goes to stores. Since Farmacy Marketplace is a small business with only two physical stores and a food truck, the organization is unable to hold an account with major food wholesalers because Mangham would have to order 'an enormous amount' of groceries. 'A lot of the larger wholesalers and distributors do not cater to our model or do not cater to small, neighborhood stores,' she said. But getting told no did not cause Mangham's determination to waver. She is now thinking about creating a chain of stores and growing the company large enough to hold an account with major wholesalers to increase the quantity of food available to underserved communities, all while still supporting local farmers. 'That's our whole vision: It's to have our own local or regional processing hub that sources to these smaller stores, not just Farmacy Marketplace,' Mangham said. 'Because like I said, there are other small retailers who have, like, convenience stores or some type of corner store market, but they can't get fresh food consistently because they can't meet the requirements of the bigger wholesalers. So we would be able to supply them.' ___ This story was originally published by Mississippi Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
New grocery store brings fresh food and fresh hope to North Minneapolis
Community leaders and residents gathered Friday afternoon at the corner of Lowry and North Penn Avenues to celebrate the grand opening of Colonial Market, a new full-scale grocery store that aims to transform access to fresh food in North Minneapolis. The store opens in an area long considered a food desert, where thousands of residents have struggled with limited access to affordable groceries since the closure of Aldi in 2023. Colonial Market aims to fill that gap. "You got 50,000 residents on the North side, and when a market closes it becomes even more of a food desert," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw and other local leaders joined in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion. "We know for generations that there have been food deserts in the North, this helps to provide the kind of oasis the community needs," said Mayor Frey. Colonial Market is a welcome addition for North Minneapolis resident Nicole Harris and her two daughters. "It's been difficult to travel outside the neighborhood so it's cool to have something in the neighborhood now," said Harris. Store owner Daniel Hernandez, said that the market was years in the making and driven by a vision of community self-determination. "It means everything to me to be able to open a space that serves the community that I now call home," said Hernandez. "We're not just bringing opportunity to this community, we're also bringing hope." The new market will feature a restaurant, a full-service meat deli and a variety of culturally relevant products. Colonial Market is also bringing fresh fruits and vegetables back to the area. Colonial Market will operate seven days a week and has already created 20 local jobs at the market. A festival is planned for June 28th at Colonial Market, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
