Cafédirect is giving away a £500 gourmet experience - Ethical hot drinks brand is searching for the perfect pairing of coffee and dessert

For everyone addicted to the Great British Bake Off or who fancies their chances on Come Dine with Me, Cafédirect could have the perfect foodie competition.

The ethical hot drinks brand is challenging Britain to create the perfect dessert recipe to pair with a cup of coffee for the chance to win £500 worth of vouchers for gourmet London cooking school L’atelier des Chefs.  The winning recipe will also star in Cafédirect’s limited edition Coffee and Dessert Matching Cookbook.

Just as different wines have distinctive regional characteristics depending on elements such as the soil, climate and altitude, so the same is true for coffee grown in different locations across the world.  Wine is often matched with food by sommeliers to enhance the flavours of both – and Cafédirect is encouraging the public to explore coffee in the same way.

It is pioneering a unique coffee matching experiment, asking coffee lovers everywhere to pair their award-winning single origin coffees with desserts to create a whole new after-dinner experience.

All people need to do to win is to submit an original dessert recipe to match with one of Cafédirect’s single origin coffees*.

Theirry Akroman, Cafédirect’s own coffee connoisseur, notes: “Choose from the citrusy notes of Kilimanjaro or the vanilla hints of Mayan Palenque, the rich chocolate undertones of Machu Picchu or the sweet spiciness of Cloud Forest – or enter one for each! Whether it’s a simple lemon tart or a sumptuous chocolate roulade we’re looking for the best flavour match with their chosen Cafédirect coffee.”

The winner will receive £500 to spend at the famous London cookery school L’atelier des Chefs, which has a host of courses to inspire any foodie, from the novice who’s never picked up a rolling pin to the seasoned pastry chef. The winner’s recipe will also become part of a limited edition Coffee and Dessert Matching Cookbook, which will also feature the top 16 desserts and coffee combinations as picked by the discerning panel of judges.

Plus the winner will also get travel and a night’s accommodation in London for two.

Visit www.facebook.com/cafedirect <http://www.facebook.com/cafedirect> for tasting notes and tips from Thierry on what flavours match each coffee and to enter your recipe.

Closing date is midnight, 25th November 2011.  All entrants must be 18 or over.  For more details, to submit your recipe and for terms and conditions please visit: www.facebook.com/cafedirect

The Long Table Launching on 25th November 2011 - Outdoor Night Food Market in Dalston

The Long Table, a collaboration between The Bootstrap Company, who brought you the Dalston Roof Park, and The Loft Project launches on 25th November 2011.

They have joined forces with some of London's most innovative street food vendors and restaurants to bring you London's first outdoor night food market in a disused space in Dalston.

Hawksmoor, Moro, Big Apple Hot Dogs, Fin and Flounder Oyster Bar are all on board, as well as a host of other street vendors including Yum Buns, Yam The Cassava, Donut Girl, The Rotisserie Company. Last but not least, The Loft Project stall will be showcasing one of Nuno's signature dishes with a street food twist.

With British weather conditions taken into consideration, the night market is covered and there is a central banquet-style table, The Long Table, where eaters are invited to collectively feast on their market finds.

Launching on the 25th November, The Long Table will be open from 6pm until 12am every Friday night up until Christmas.

Follow the sound of live music, sensational smelling food and animated conversation and you'll find The Long Table in the heart of Dalston next Friday night.

The Long Table, Abbot Street, Dalston, E8 2DL.

London Cocktail Week – 7th to 16th October 2011

A unique celebration of the capital's unrivalled cocktail culture

Like no other place, London's drinking scene articulates our modern golden age of cocktails - and throughout the week, over one hundred of the city's best bars will be throwing open their doors for our brilliant Cocktail Tours. Each bar involved will serve their own bespoke London Cocktail Week drink available at a reduced-price for those wearing a London Cocktail Week wristband.

Free transportation around the city will also be provided with dedicated London buses running every night of the week - plus master classes, tastings and parties are happening all over town - time to Drink Up London!

For more information, visit their website on www.diffordsguide.com/london-cocktail-week.

Oktoberfest at The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen - FREE TASTING SESSIONS

Each Thursday throughout October, The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen's master brewer Mark Wainwright will be hosting tasting sessions in their micro-brewery and talking about how he produces a unique range of craft beers and ales in-house.

Tastings will be on offer between 5.00pm and 8.00pm on October 6th  October 13th  October 20th and October 27th providing the opportunity to discover some original styles and twists on traditional seasonal, bespoke brews.

The sessions are free of charge however numbers are limited. Please call 020 8948 4838, email enquiries@botanistbreweryandkitchen.com or speak to a member of staff to book your place.

The Botanist Brewery and Kitchen

3-5 Kew Green, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AA

Website: http://thebotanistkew.com/

Twitter: @_thebotanist

London Restaurant Festival - 3rd to 17th October 2011

The London Restaurant Festival is a citywide celebration of eating out, designed to raise the profile of restaurants involved and increase covers. The Festival, created by restaurant critic Fay Maschler and her business partner Simon Davis, was launched in 2009. With the help of key partners, in its first year the Festival saw some 400 restaurants from across the capital running special, fixed-price Festival Menus, with about 10,000 meals being enjoyed by Londoners and visitors. Building on the awareness generated by a very successful inaugural Festival, 2010 saw nearly 600 restaurants serve up 30,000 covers as well as the likes of Alain Roux and Raymond Blanc joining culinary forces with Claude Bosi and Bruno Loubet respectively in unique, specially created events. During this time, the city’s restaurateurs work together to offer food lovers the chance to explore some of the capital’s finest cooking – from its high-profile Michelin-starred restaurants to coveted neighbourhood bistros.

The London Restaurant Festival comprises two main elements: Festival Menus and Festival Events. Attractively priced Festival Menus, designed to showcase a restaurant’s individuality and cooking style, are the bedrock of the annual celebration and the means to increase revenue for the participating establishments.

Unlike other Festivals, the London Restaurant Festival is not a singular, one-location event for which a single ticket can be purchased. It is an umbrella festival under which a host of activity and individual events take place.

For more information, visit the website on www.londonrestaurantfestival.com.

New Channel 4 TV show wants to hear your funniest Christmas dinner disasters!

In a seasonal food special, Jamie Oliver will tackle the nation’s most common yuletide blunders to guarantee a stress-free Christmas.

Christmas dinner can often be a recipe for disaster. Botched Brussels, dropped desserts, scorched birds, food poisoned in-laws... most of us have had our share of kitchen calamities at Christmas!

Whatever the mishap, from the funny to the tragic, and the stressful to the very familiar – we want to hear your stories. And Jamie will help guide us through the worst of it, plying us with tips and tricks and lots of laughs along the way. 

Tell us all about your funny festive flops for the chance to star in the show…

Email your story and contact details to: christmas2011@freshone.tv

Call on: 020 3375 5127 / 5099

Real Food Harvest Festival - 23rd to 25th September 2011 at the South Bank (FREE Event)

London’s The Real Food Festival, held each May in Earls Court, introduces The Real Food Harvest Festival, an all-new FREE event celebrating British autumnal produce.

The Southbank Centre will play host to the first Real Food Harvest Festival from 23rd – 25th September 2011. Bringing around 120 producers, a top line-up of chefs, livestock and entertainment to an expected 50,000 people. The Real Food Harvest Festival offers a great opportunity to taste and buy the best the UK has to offer, at this exceptional time of the year.

Founder of Real Food Festivals Philip Lowery commented, “Autumn is an exciting time to be staging a food festival and to be able to bring the best of what we do in Earls Court to such a wonderful outdoor setting is a real bonus. Harvest Festivals are celebrated throughout the British countryside and we really want to bring that energy and celebration to the capital and continue our goal of reconnecting people back to where their food comes from. We are also delighted that we can create a free Festival for Londoners”

Since Pagan times in Britain harvest festivals have taken place at the end of September when the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox falls – the harvest moon. It is a festival of feasting, merriment and romance. With this in mind The Real Food Harvest Festival will be much more than just a food market. There will be livestock, taste workshops and loads of interactive activities for kids (and their parents too…) including butter-making, bread kneading and even butchery classes.

With plenty to eat and drink while you are there and all sorts of music and street theatre, the Real Food Harvest Festival offers a great day out for all the family.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/home