Seven Days Of Chocolate Heaven With Divine (12 – 18 October) August 17, 2009

Chocolate Week 2009
12 – 18 October

Seven days of chocolate heaven

Divine Chocolate has hooked up with top chefs, hip hotels and leading restaurants, to make this the best Chocolate Week yet.

Chocolate Week (12-18 October) is going from strength to strength, and Divine Chocolate, the company co-owned by cocoa farmers, is once again delighted to be co-sponsoring this nationwide celebration of fine chocolate. Top chocolatiers and chocolate companies are creating a programme of total chocolate indulgence, and Divine, along with a host of lovely partners, has some really special experiences lined up and exclusive new recipes to share. For news of Divine’s new products out this autumn, and a continually updated list of Chocolate Week events and promotions visit www.divinechocolate.com.

Divine Chocolate has sponsored national Chocolate Week since it began six years ago when it was launched in collaboration with the Academy of Chocolate. For the full Chocolate Week programme visit www.chocolate-week.co.uk.

This year Divine has asked celebrities, top chefs and restaurateurs to come up with their perfect Divine chocolate pudding recipe exclusively for Chocolate Week. The list so far includes two-Michelin star chef Michael Caines; TV chef Alan Coxon who recently presented the BBC2 series Ever Wondered About Food; Ireland’s best known chef and food writer Clodagh McKenna; renowned baking & chocolate expert Linda Collister; young chef Sam Stern who’s fifth cookery book for students is due out early next year; Michelin-starred chef Rob Rees MBE; and bestselling children’s author Anne Fine.

With cupcakes being the hippest treat this year, we’re planning a bit of a chocolate cupcake fest. Couture cake-maker to the stars (everyone from Madonna to David Beckham to the Queen) Mich Turner, of Little Venice Cake Company, will be among the experts creating their tribute to this little baked chocolate icon.

Divine is joining forces with longstanding partner The Pudding Club in the Cotswolds. Made famous through Rick Stein’s BBC series Food Heroes, The Pudding Club at Three Ways House Hotel was set up to celebrate traditional British puddings like Spotted Dick and Jam Roly Poly!

• Divine’s resident chocolatier will be heading down to Gloucestershire to host Divine chocolate masterclasses for the Pudding Club’s Chocoholics Weekend on 17-18th October.
• An exclusive Divine Chocolate à la carte and set menu will be on offer to guests staying at the hotel throughout Chocolate Week, with chocolate featuring in every course. With lasts years menu featuring Pan seared scallops with white chocolate risotto; Partridge with bok choi, roasted walnuts & dark chocolate sauce; and White chocolate & vanilla cheesecake, guests are in store for some seriously decadent spoiling.
• Guests and non-guests alike can also visit the hotel each day during Chocolate Week for a Divine Guilty Pleasure Afternoon Tea featuring delights such as Chocolate & banana cake and Luxurious hot chocolate with cream & chocolate flakes.
• Free Divine chocolate bars will also be supplied in the hotel’s 48 rooms and guests will receive a free jute bag with chocolate shortbread, a bar of Divine chocolate and a chocolate pudding made on site making their stay a trip to remember.
• Please visit www.thepuddingclub.com or contact Jill at The Pudding Club on 01386 438429 for further information.

Restaurants across the country are teaming up with Divine to offer Divine-themed Chocolate Week menus – these include winner of the Observer Food Award’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant 2008 Terre à Terre in Brighton, Urban Angel in Edinburgh, and Fusion Brasserie in Worcester. Divine tasting sessions will be taking place at cafés, bookshops and stores across the country, including London’s most prestigious department store Liberty; the Eden Project in Cornwall, and at the launch of the John Lewis Foodhall at Bluewater in Kent with opportunities to sample
Divine’s two brand new flavours: Dark Chocolate with Raspberries and Butterscotch Milk Chocolate. Divine will be hosting a tasting workshop for families at Eco Age, the chic ethical shop owned by Colin Firth’s wife in London, on Saturday 17th October. The exclusive Divniitini cocktail inspired by and using Divine will be on offer at the chic Sanderson Hotel in London’s West End.

A full list of partners and programme of events will be available soon on www.divinechocolate.com.

Divine will also be hosting a chocolate debate on 15th October which will see some of the industry’s leading experts discuss the history, sociology and politics of the chocolate trade.

In association with Chocolate Week, Divine and other chocolate companies will again also be exhibiting at the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Kensington Olympia in London. Running from 4-8 November, the show is held in association with House & Garden Magazine and attracts in excess of 33,000 visitors.

Feast on St George’s Day with Alan Coxon’s Historic Recipes! April 5, 2009

 

St George’s Day has been celebrated across the world for many centuries and Alan Coxon, TV chef and Food Archaeologist, thinks that we should celebrate this day whole-heartedly!

Alan tells us “St George was a brave Roman soldier that lived in the 3rd century and who protested against the Romans’ torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. In 1222, the Council of Oxford declared 23rd April to be St George’s Day and he replaced Edward the Confessor as England’s patron saint in the 14th century. In 1415, 23rd April was made a national feast day”.

To help people celebrate this national day, Alan has cooked up some fabulous recipes for the perfect English feast!

Shin Beef in Ale, Stout and Honey

Servings: 4
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 8-12 hours marinating
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients
• 200g shin beef, trimmed, but left in one piece on the bone
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 300ml light ale
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 100g clear honey

For the marinade
• 4 onions, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
• 100ml stout
• 50ml Alan Coxon’s Mediaeval Ale-Gar
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 3 sprigs of oregano
• 3 parsley sprigs
• 2 bay Leaves
• 6 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 1tsp ground mace
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1tsp sea salt
• 1tsp English mustard
• 1tsp black peppercorns, crushed

To serve
• Crushed herb new potatoes
• Baby carrots

Method:
1. First, prepare the marinade. In a large bowl, place the onions, stout, Mediaeval Ale-Gar, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, bay leaves, garlic, mace, cloves, turmeric, sea salt, mustard and peppercorns, mixing well.

2. Add the shin of beef to the marinade, making sure that it is completely covered by the marinade.

3. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, turning occasionally.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

5. Remove the beef from the bowl, reserving the marinade for later.

6. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based roasting tray on the hob until very hot. Add in the beef and cook until golden on all sides.

7. Pour the reserved marinade into the hot pan, add the tomato puree and the light ale and cover with kitchen foil.

8. Place in the oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes, basting occasionally.

9. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, uncover the beef, drizzle over the honey and return to oven to continue cooking uncovered.

10. Remove from the over and allow to rest before carving.

11. Serve with crushed, herb potatoes and baby carrots.

Medieval Lamb and Pear Pie

Servings: 4
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 40 minutes, plus 3-4 hours soaking
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
• 90g currants
• 60g unsalted butter
• 240g leek, or onion sliced
• ½ tsp thyme, chopped
• ½ tsp rosemary, chopped
• 450g minced lamb
• 50ml Alan Coxon’s Mediaeval Ale-Gar
• 30g brown sugar, or 30g candied or dried pears, finely chopped
• 25g flour
• 2 pears, cored and chopped
• 1tsp tomato purée
• 350g puff pastry
• 1 egg wash, made up of 1 egg yolk with 1tbsp milk
• 1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method
1. Soak the currants in the red wine and Ale-Gar for 3-4 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

3. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan.

4. Add the sliced leeks then cover the pan and cook gently for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add the thyme, rosemary, minced lamb and sugar then stir well.

6. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes.

7. Add the flour and stir well, cooking for 2 minutes.

8. Add the soaked currants, with the wine and the chopped pears, then the tomato puree. Mix well, turn off the heat and leave to cool.

9. Meanwhile, roll out the pastry, and use around two-thirds of it to line a lightly greased 30cm flan ring.

10. Roll out the pastry lid from the remaining pastry and set aside.

11. Brush the rim of the pastry case with a little egg wash.

12. Fill the lined flan ring with the mincemeat mixture, level and cover with the pastry lid, sticking the sides and lid together.

13. Crimp the sides, brush with egg wash and make a decorative pattern on the lid.

14. Bake the pie for 22-25 minutes until golden.

15. Remove, then leave to cool slightly before cutting and serving. Serve with cooked vegetables and mustard mash.

For more information on Alan and his fantastic products visit www.alancoxon.com