Saturday 28 February 2009

Gluten free fish & chips

The following are a list of gluten free fish and chip eateries across the country.
Visit each link and plan your next UK holiday...
Let us know your recommendations for gluten free fish and chip eateries and we will update our blog.

Land & Sea, Scotland.
The first Saturday of every month, 12:00pm until 2:30pm.

The Traditional English Fish & Chip Company, 10 Willow Street, Congleton, in Cheshire.

Merchant Fish Bar, Wocestershire (they do a monthly gf fish & chip day).
78-79 Load Street, Bewdley, DY12 2AW (T: 01299 402787)
As recommended by The Timesonline Food & Drink section.

The Frying Machine, Bradley Stoke, just outside of Bristol.

Thursday 12 February 2009

This week....

Welcome to our first blog e-newsletter edition. We designed the blog alongside our new look web site to give you the chance to experience snippets of foodie news and events that you could read at your leisure. The Blog is constantly updated with information about The Alasia, our menus, our events, and other foodie news both locally and across the globe. With updates on ingredients, books, recipes, tv chefs and even other restaurants that we want to share with you.

This week ended up being a piggy theme with Bacon Connoisseur's Week kicking the whole theme off. However my mention of Mother's Day has absolutely no connection with pigs and bacon - be assured.

Enjoy the read...Michȃela x0


Bacon Connoisseur's Week 2009
Monday 16 March - Sunday 22 March 2009
If you fancy yourself as a bacon connoisseur, then why not seek out a different cut or cure to the usual back or streaky rashers? Try Wiltshire - matured for two weeks or a maple cure for a smoky intense flavour. Don't forget bacon collar is great for braising.
(Source - Love Bacon web site).

Try The Alasia breakfast bap with a rasher of bacon, sausage and egg, or our brunch, or a simple bacon buttie (ask for a gf bap). Or come for dinner and try our slow roasted belly of pork
served on an apple and raisin compote and finished in Somerset Cider.


To learn more about cuts of pork and easy to follow recipes, click on the logo above which will take you to Jamie Oliver's web page. In January, Channel 4 ran a series called "Jamie Saves Our Bacon" where he encouraged viewers to buy British pork and support British pig farming.

Mother's Day
Sunday 22nd March, 2009 at The Alasia
We are still taking bookings for Mother's Day lunch from 12pm through until 3pm. The last food order will be taken at 2:30pm. From our signature Duck Liver Pate, to our roast sirloin of beef and slow roasted belly of pork...you must leave room for one of our gorgeous hand made desserts. See our web site for the full Mother's Day menu. To make your booking, please telephone The Alasia on 01934 621 471.

Bimbadgen Estate, Hunter Valley
The Alasia are delighted to have the following permanent additions to our wine list – Bimbadgen Estate Winery Botrytis Semillon and their Bell Tower Red . We are continually finding unique and interesting wines and Bimbadgen Estate will not disappoint.
Read more about how we discovered Bimbadgen...

Teapiggies at The Alasia
We are slowly working our way through the fabulous tea menu provided by Teapigs. Jasmin Pearls has arrived. Inside this packet are little pearls of hand-rolled green tea tips which have been infused with pure jasmine flowers. This is done in the most delicate of ways - the leaves are just allowed to rest amongst the flowers to pick up their floral scent - jasmine tea doesn't get any purer. (Source: The Teapigs web site).

These particular pearls are frequently called dragon phoenix pearls. Dragon Phoenix Pearl gets its name from the visual characteristics of the tea bushes "climbing" the hillsides like a dragon coming out of the water and this is why the packaging bears the dragon logo.

Time for Tea - Afternoon tea at The Alasia
We feature in the March edition of the Food Mag's Time for Tea address book.
Why don't you arrange an afternoon tea for a group of your friends, or for a book club, or stitch and bitch. We serve our home made cakes, tiered cake plates of open sandwiches, seasonal canapes, strawberries and champagne. Read more...

Book of the week...
"The Whole Beast. Nose to Tail Eating" by Fergus Henderson.
Published by HarperCollins.

A collection of simple and traditional British dishes with a strong carnivorous bent. It aims to enable adventurous cooks to recreate unusual dishes such as Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad, Pea and Pigs Ear Soup, and Ham in Hay as well as the more familiar Tripe and Onions and Fish Pie. (Source: St John Restaurant web site).

Fergus Henderson caused quite a stir in the food world with the opening of his restaurant St John in 1994 in London. Set in a former smokehouse near Smithfield meat market, its striking, high-ceilinged white interior provides a dramatic setting for food of dazzling boldness and simplicity.

Recipe of the week...
Try my chickpea chocolate cake. This sounds totally bizarre but makes a chocolate cake that is everything a chocolate cake should be.