Food news, restaurant news, offers and promotions and general musings
This news article is from September last year, so forgive me if it's old news, but I've just stumbled on it (via the Innocent Smoothies newsletter) and we enjoy a food curio on the 5pm blog. A farmer in China has developed moulds that force pears to grow into a baby Buddha shape. Apparantly they've already been massively popular where they've been for sale in China, although they're so cute it seems a shame to eat them.
We're very excited at 5pm Towers because we have a tv campaign launching in STV's Edinburgh region today! The television advert mentions all the great benefits of booking through 5pm and it's going to be aired during some of STV's most popular shows, so we hope both established, loyal 5pm fans and people who are new to the site will enjoy it and have a look at our hundreds of fantastic dining deals.
The ad's going to be shown on loads of different shows over the next week, but if you want a sneak preview you can also see it right here.
At 5pm Towers we're always thinking of ways to bring you extra treats so we're delighted to once again offer you a complimentary dram of Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky after your meal, when you book at participating restaurants in Glasgow and Edinburgh during May. Find out more and see the full list of participating restaurants here.
We love doing these promotions because we get such good feedback on them, especially from diners who don't generally drink whisky and are surprised by how much they like it when they give it a try. Bunnahabhain describes the malt as having a nose that 'offers a fresh and aromatic experience with a subtle whiff of smoke floating through the air' and a taste that 'starts with a light fruit and nut appeal that leads to a spectacular malty sweetness, finishing into a beautifully rich full-bodied, lingering experience'. I'm not going to take their word for it though, I've been wanting to visit Biadh for a while now, so I'm going to get my dram there.
Our last Bunnahabhain promotion, was a huge success and this one is already massively popular so you'd better get booking!
Find out more about the Bunnahabhain Distillery and whiskies here.
Wee bit late but wanted to share with you the gorgeous cake (although not literally, obviously, we weren't giving any of this baby away) delivered to us last week by afternoon tea emporium and best Twitter friends Loopy Lorna's in Edinburgh. We were delighted to help them out with something and were totally thrilled when they brought us a giant Victoria sponge (my all time favourite cake) to say thanks.
It was a big eat, but somehow we managed to get through it .. thanks Loopy!
The February issue of the free Foodies Magazine was distributed this weekend so get it while it's hot (and there are still copies left). This month it includes features about Gordon Ramsey and Alicia Silverstone as well as tons of recipes and food news.
You can get Foodies Magazine in over 300 restaurants, cafes and delis in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, including Peckhams, Di Maggio's, Tinderbox, La Tasca, Pizza Express and loads more.
If you're one of the thousands of parents who are fans of children's food guru Annabel Karmel then you'll definitely want to get along to Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery on the 22nd of April, where she will be the guest speaker at a charity lunch to raise funds with Noah's Ark. Guests will enjoy a reception and gorgeous lunch and then listen to Annabel give advice on baby and children's food and nutrition. All proceeds from the event will go to Noah's Ark, a group which raises money for the Sands charity, funding research into stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Tickets can be booked online here.
If you've not already picked it up don't forget to look out for the latest free Foodies Magazine and enter our competition to win an overnight stay in Channings in Edinburgh.
As well as this the magazine is also full of food news and recipes, so it's definitely worth a look - find it in restaurants, cafes and eateries in Glasgow and Edinburgh
When you're into food Christmas and birthdays become somewhat predictable as your friends and loved ones immediately have a massive pool of easy gift ideas, and in general this is works out great for me. At the very least I'm guaranteed at one cookery book on every gift giving occasion, which I love because as well as actually cooking the new recipes I can happily spend many hours just browsing through cookery books. I've been given a few lovely homemade hampers (including a particularly impressive Italian spectacular featuring piccante and dolce provolone, scamorza and no less than 6 different Italian meats), and one birthday some friends even gave me a live lobster (dear Pinchey, he was very tasty).
This post and gallery on the Guardian's Word of Mouth blog did make me chuckle though, because I've also had my share of flavoured salt and ramen noodle kits. Even the people who should know you well can stumble when trying to pick a foodie present if they have no real interest in food themselves - last year my boyfriend, who is usually excellent, gave me an absurdly massive spice rack that needed space to stand on its own and burled around to help you find the very spice you're looking for. There was literally no surface space in the kitchen that would accommodate it, and although it had 18 different spices it still didn't have all the ones I use so the spice shelf in the cupboard couldn't be retired.
Although in fairness, my foodie tendencies have been known to cause problems in my own gift buying. I assume (quite naturally I think) that everyone likes food as much as I do. Who wouldn't enjoy a scotch egg gift box? Or a duck and venison pie? Astonishingly though I've learned that some people have a strange 'food as fuel' attitude and will not thank you for a lovely box of meat.
Have any other foodies out there received an unusually rubbish present? Or given one that was not well received?
Pinchey's final salute
If your place of work provides an eatery in a comfortable breakaway space for staff with healthy food to help recharge and fuel the batteries during your break then nominate it for the Healthy Workplace Restaurant of the Year before midnight tonight and you'll be entered in our competition to win an iPod Touch!
All you have to do to enter is send an email to competitions@5pm.co.uk with the subject line 'Healthy Workplace Restaurant of the Year' and tell us the name of the eating place, the name of your workplace, the reason you think it deserves to be nominated and your own name and best contact telephone number (so we can get in touch if you're the winner). Remember though - the eatery needs to be for staff, and it needs to be within your own place of work!
Good luck!
