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Florists and farmers call on patriotic shoppers to buy British blooms. When you’re searching for the perfect bunch of flowers at your local supermarket or florist, how many of those blooms do you think are grown in Britain?

Florists and farmers call on patriotic shoppers to buy British blooms

The perhaps surprising answer is typically just 10% to 12% – a percentage that has been shrinking rapidly over the last 30 years. Must-See New York Gardens and Flower Events This Spring – New York Makers. Plant yourself in a “blooming” state of mind this month by touring a public garden or visiting one of New York State’s many flower festivals.

Must-See New York Gardens and Flower Events This Spring – New York Makers

Connect with nature, relax in the aromatic air and feast your eyes on all the floral beauty New York has to offer. Here’s a list of our favorite flower events and gardens to mark on your calendar — because spring just isn’t complete without flowers! If you want to know why Canadian restaurants aren’t recognized internationally, look in the reflection of your spoon. Only two Canadian restaurants have ever placed on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List: 1) Michael Stadtländer’s Eigensinn Farm, which ranked ninth in 2002 and dropped to 28th in 2003; and 2) Susur Lee’s now closed Susur, which came in 49th place in 2002.

If you want to know why Canadian restaurants aren’t recognized internationally, look in the reflection of your spoon

The list is produced by British magazine Restaurant, and features votes from nearly 1,000 anonymous international restaurant industry experts. It turns chefs into rock stars and makes world class destinations out of previously unknown restaurants. Leap — secret supper. Is there such a thing as Canadian cuisine? One woman went on a five-year quest to find out.

Life ~ Balance ~ Bread. We held our first workshop this past weekend and the topic was baking bread in your own home.

Life ~ Balance ~ Bread

While I love cooking and consider myself pretty adventurous with it, I have never baked my own bread besides quick breads like banana, zucchini, pumpkin and the likes. The whole patience thing with letting it rise, maybe even twice, from what I read, and the time that it takes to do so… never struck a chord. I do LOVE a homemade loaf of bread though, so when my sons’ guitar teacher told us that he bakes bread and we could buy it from him, we were sold and have been hooked ever since.

One of our goals for this year here in the barn, is to bring to you workshops on topics that you would like to learn more about, more how to’s, more sharing of how we do some of the projects that we tackle here at Life’s Patina. Thus we invited Jared Alvare from Alvare Artisanal Breads and the boys’ guitar teacher to give our first workshop here in the barn.

Parts of the workshop consisted of listening… Forbes Welcome. Daylesford Foundation Daylesford Foundation Home - Daylesford Foundation. Successful Hospitality : Growing sales from your garden. As the public become increasingly engaged with the benefits of choosing locally-sourced, seasonal food, hospitality operators have been taking innovative steps to meet this demand.

Successful Hospitality : Growing sales from your garden

Although local suppliers have proved popular with a significant number of independent restaurants and small brands keen to keep up with the trend, some businesses have decided to go one step further and source their ingredients from even closer to home. Over the past few years, kitchen gardens have been undergoing a resurgence, and an increasing number of pubs, restaurants and hotels are growing their own produce to run a more sustainable organisation and give themselves an appealing selling point amongst their guests.

On a large scale, for example, Daylesford Farm's sustainable and organic farming efforts have seen them transformed into a business encompassing shops, restaurants, and even a cookery school. Likewise, The Pig Hotel group all feature extensive kitchen gardens. Organic Cold Press. The juice v’s smoothie debate has been running for some time now as to who reigns supreme on the healthy stakes.

Organic Cold Press

But to be honest, these two drinks are more different than you might think, so we prefer not to compare them but instead choose to celebrate them for their unique benefits. Contrary to what many believe, did you know that there is still fibre in your juice? There are two types of fibre; soluble and insoluble, and as the name suggests, soluble fibre is liquid and passes through the juicing process. This is one of the reasons that cold pressed juices can be so filling. The second difference between the two comes down to the quantity of plant-based nutrients found in both juices and smoothies. Ways With Cheaper Cuts. This recipe requires a little preparation the day before, brining the chicken in buttermilk which results in beautifully tender meat.

Ways With Cheaper Cuts

Served with this elegant slaw, it’s a real crowd pleaser. 4 organic chicken thighs (with skin) 400ml buttermilk 2 tbsp salt 1 fennel 1 beetroot ½ red onion 2tbsp mayonnaise 2tbsp crème frâiche ½ tbsp fennel seeds Squeeze of lemon juice Handful of chopped herbs Begin the day before your barbecue by brining the chicken. To make the slaw, trim the fennel and peel the beetroot and onion, discarding the roots and ends. The following day remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry.

Rest for a few minutes and serve with the slaw. SPICED LAMB KOFta WITH BEETROOT DIP. Ways With Cheaper Cuts. Nourishment is so Much More Than Just the Food We Eat. Introducing 'Daylesford to Go' - Real Food Fast. We are thrilled to announce that our new ‘Daylesford To Go’ range is now available in all of our farmshops.

Introducing 'Daylesford to Go' - Real Food Fast

It is all about healthy food for busy people. Our love for food drives everything we do at Daylesford – from our sustainable farming practices to the items we sell in our farmshops and the dishes we serve in our organic cafes; it even inspired the title of our first cookbook. The food we love most of all is what we call real food – simple, good food, grown slowly, with nothing added. For us, real food is organic food and with this comes our belief that organic food is better for the soil, better for farming, better for animal welfare, better for our future – and we believe it tastes better too. This is why you will see “This is Real Food” throughout our farmshops this autumn, a reminder of our commitment to producing the best real, organic food that is a product of nature rather than industry. Highlights from our Harvest Festival. Last weekend at Daylesford we celebrated our Harvest Festival.

Highlights from our Harvest Festival

That time when we reap, share and celebrate the ample produce that the British growing season has brought us. It is always such a special event and this year the farm was truly buzzing with a feeling of community and great joy. Based in our Cotswolds Market Garden, there were activities for all ages to enjoy, and plenty of delicious food on offer celebrating the bounty and abundance from the farm.