Minty Bit Stronger

I came across this info-graphic today and it got me thinking about the the power of these big brands. I was reminded of the scandal surrounding Nestlé breast milk. The boycott that followed was and is ineffective against such a powerhouse company. Nestlé can freely get away with marketing baby formula to sub Sahara Africans where access to clean water is often impossible. Over 1 billion dollars have been spent on formula by African mothers with perfectly good, sterile breast milk. A huge amount of money on something they simply didn't need. But Nestlé had spun a clever marketing strategy first telling mothers the powdered formula was better then giving them free samples. When the babies were on the free sample the mothers would often stop lactating and be forced to start buying the powder. (This is the same tactic used by drug dealers). In areas where sanitary water was an issue the powdered formula would be mixed with what ever water was available and often diluted to make i

How do you make a Chesse Souffle? Or as some more sophisticated readers might ask 'Comment cuisiner un Souffle au Fromage?' in the mother tongue of such a typically French Dish. Well First of all you will need... Butter Bread crumbs 4 eggs Salt Lemon juice Dijon Mustard Cayenne Pepper Nutmeg Plain Flour Whole Milk Gruyère Cheese Crack open three eggs and separate the white's from the yolks, keep both. Now whisk up the yolks with a spoonful of Dijon mustard, a generous spoon of Cayenne pepper, a generous pinch of Nutmeg and a pinch of Salt. On the hob gently boil 250ml of Milk. Go back to your egg yolk mix and add 20 grams of flour and mix like mad. This thick, smooth mix will then be slowly poured into your just off the boil milk. Again you will need to grab your whisk and get going at it like crazy. When the mixture is smooth add 100grams of the Gruyère Cheese and stir some more. Finally, pour it into a dish, cover in cling film (pr

"Moi, overtly sexual? Surely not!" When lusty, busty Nigella Lawson first graced my TV screen I was rapt. Not by her curves, sexuality or pouting but by the fact a TV cookery show could be entertaining rather than instructional. Maybe it was the style of shooting with quick fire cuts, close ups, steady-cam movements and the urgent feel of her making it in real time. Kind of like an NYPD of cookery without the body count. (Although, saying that, Nigella was merciless when it came to high fat, meat, cheese, cream and sugary recipes. I'm sure she has single handedly raised the UK mortality rate with her calorific recipes. Maybe there is a body count!) The new format, the sexed up middle class temtress and the glutonous food made TV cookery appealing for the first time in years. There can be no doubt that the high fat, high sugar, artery clogging cuisine was a huge part of the appeal... The food wasn't healthy, it was decadent, desirable and yet entirely real