What’s NEW?

MARKS & Spencer has doubled the number of organic products it sells in the last 12 months to around 400.

This includes converting all of its children’s chocolate confectionery as well as increasing its range of organic wines. M&S also offers its Organic Food to Go range which includes sandwiches, salads, desserts and drinks.

New organic products in store this month include red and white wines from Chateauneuf du Pape (both pounds 13.99). Also new on the organic front is a Blackcurrant Sponge Pudding (pounds 2.49, 2x130g) and Baked Rice Pudding with Nutmeg (pounds 2.39, 500g), together with flavoured milks (pounds 1.49, 750ml) and four new cheeses: Tallegio (pounds 2.59, 200g), gorgonzola (pounds 2.75, 200g), mild cheddar (pounds 7.49/kg) and mature farmhouse cheddar (pounds 11.99/ kg).

TV chef Gareth Marks has joined the team at Newcastle’s new Persian-influenced eaterie, Flatbread Cafe.

Gareth joins the team fresh from hosting his three month TV show, ‘A Taste of the North’, on Tyne Tees, which saw the 34-year-old travelling the region sourcing the freshest local ingredients. Gareth -formerly of the Malmaison on Newcastle Quayside – says of Flatbread Cafe, which opens for business on High Bridge on September 27: “I’ve spent the last few months discovering the best quality products in the North. Flatbread Cafe brings flavours from all over the world and creates fusion food using fresh, local ingredients.”

Flatbread Cafe – the brainchild of successful North-East entrepreneur Hossain Rezaei, formerly of Pride Valley Foods – will feature nutritionally beneficial meals and cater for those with food intolerances. The cafe will incorporate the concept of flatbread with tasty dishes.

BECKLEBURY’S pink grapefruit sorbet has won the Great Taste Award for Northumbria with Teesdale-based Wildon Grange’s Christopher’s Cosmic Carrot as the runner-up.

Becklebury’s – based in Blaydon-on-Tyne -has won 35 Great Taste Awards in the past six years for its luxury fresh ice creams, real fruit sorbets and hand-made desserts. Most of the North-East entries were introduced to the competition through Northumbria Larder, the regional food group.

Supporters of the Guild of Fine Foods awards – now in their 14th year – include Jamie Oliver and Tom Parker-Bowles, as well as many deli owners, restaurateurs and industry players. Seen as the benchmark for fine food in the UK, from over 4,500 products entered into the scheme this year, the vast majority of winners were from smaller producers that source local ingredients and manufacture in small batches, generally by hand.

(c) 2007 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.