Get closer to Guy Fieri in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Food Network is inviting you to go one step beyond the television box with Smell-o-Vision.

Launching just in time for Easter, we’re giving you the chance to feel like you’re getting up close and personal with your favourite Food Network chefs.

Be prepared to restrain yourself from licking the TV, as you experience the sights and smells of a traditional American diner with Guy Fieri in Diner’s, Drive-Ins and Dives, enjoy the aromas of home baking on Cupcake Wars and feel like you’re in the Hampton home kitchen of Ina Garten, as she bakes her signature dishes.

All you need to do to receive Smell-o-vision is to re-tune your TV ahead of the digital switchover on 4^th April and go to the Food Network UK TV channel – channel 49 on Freeview, 405/406 freesat, or 262/263 on Sky.

Nick Thorogood, Managing Director of Food Network UK is very excited to be bringing this innovation to the British public. ‘It is one thing to get viewers mouths watering seeing all the delicious foods our chefs make on the channel, but we wanted to bring viewers an even better experience by giving them the opportunity to enjoy the fantastic smells created in our kitchens so have been working hard since we launched almost 2 years ago to get Smell-o-vision off the ground.’

Nick added, ‘We’re sure that by experiencing all the different smells of the food on our channel, viewers will be even more likely to go to the kitchen and try and make the recipes for themselves.’

The technology used is a far cry from the crude attempts of the 1960s. Experts working under Ralph Loopi, who helped pioneer technology such as the mini-disc, Segway and no-touch taps, mapped around 70 key smells from the 1,600 that the human nose can detect.

By developing technology to digitally capture and transmit the aromas in exact proportions, around 98% of culinary aromas can be reproduced. The most difficult smells to capture are almond and spinach, but most strong food smells are indistinguishable from the real thing.

The innovative Smell-o-Vision technology is initially being trialled in the UK by Food Network UK, before hopefully being rolled out throughout Europe by the end of the year.

Are you a fan of Guy Fieri?

Always wanted to hang out at Guy Fieri’s place and eat like a rock star? Is your family addicted to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? We’re giving a family of Guy fans, the chance to have their living room transformed into an all-American diner – Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives style. So if you think you’ve got that whizz, bang, wow factor, we want to hear from you!

Simply leave a comment telling us why you love Guy and why we should drive the bus to flavour-town in your home.

By Sanjana Modha

Now, the cynical amongst us will greet this latest twist in the chocolate debate with a pinch of salt, given that we are just a week away from Easter.

Raspberry Chocolate Brownies courtesy of Edd Kimber

Yet, the clever bods at the University of California, San Diego, insist that the effect chocolate has in speeding up your metabolism, burns off fat which might otherwise have stayed in your body.

Leader of the study, Dr. Beatrice Golomb said, ‘Our findings appear to add to a body of information suggesting that the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining their ultimate impact on weight.

‘In the case of chocolate, this is good news, both for those who have a regular chocolate habit, and those who wish to start one.’

And in even more good news for those who are not fans of dark chocolate, the type chocolate, or a minimum cocoa content was not specified in the study – pass the Dairy Milk!

Now I can dip into the secret chocolate store in my desk guilt-free and drool over Edd Kimber’s new Raspberry Chocolate Brownies with a clear conscience.

Get your fix in our Ultimate Chocolate Collection >>

By Hannah Harman

Men, when it comes to picking whether your mum’s or your partner’s cooking is more delicious, is it better to take sides or just keep quiet?

After conducting some research around the sensitive subject of who’s the better cook, we found out that more than half of British men admit they relish their mum’s cooking over their partner’s. So what is it that makes a mother’s meals special?

Maybe it’s the nostalgic aspect; memories of sitting around the dinner table with the family, digging in to a bubbling stew made by mum. Or perhaps it’s the fact that returning home to see mum after time spent apart with your other half, sparks an onset of hunger that only a mother’s cooking can satisfy.

Three things you didn’t know about a man’s appetite and his mum

• Men find comfort in their mum’s cooking. They love their “meat and two veg”.

• 30% of men we asked believe their partners are more likely than their mum to dish up pre-prepared meals from the freezer or a shop.

• Some men admit to sneaking back to their mum’s every so often for a home-cooked dinner without their partners knowing.

Forget nipping to the petrol station for flowers and a card the morning you’re due at mum’s house for your Mother’s Day lunch; we couldn’t believe that just 15% of the men we spoke to would cook a meal for their mums on this special day – are you one of them?

>> Get classic Mother’s Day videos and recipes from our brand new show, I Love My Mum.

>> Read the full survey results

Read About It On:

The Telegraph
Mail Online
Express

You can also catch more of the story this weekend in The Sun’s TV Buzz, Daily Mail Weekend, Mail on Sunday Live magazine and The Times Playlist.

The saying goes something like “any port in a storm.” Well, he re-wrote that to be “any bakery in a place.” As we work our way north, west, south and back east to Houston, we will be eating our way through Amarillo, El Paso, Alpine, Laredo and Austin.  Not to mention who knows how many places in between. With a little luck, no liquid or crumbs will jam the keyboard and we can keep you entertained.  Our goal is to find the best Texas has to offer. You’ll have to keep reading to find out how it went.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment, Part 5: Two (Outsider) Tarts in Texas: The Southern Landing…

Working the market stall

Initially we started at the farmer’s market where we lived in West London. Having navigated the odd politics involved, we first pitched a stall in March 2007.  We focused on the things we knew, primarily home-baked American treats, and were armed with all the positive feedback from family and colleagues on either side of the pond.  While we investigated requests for classic British items such as Victoria Sponge or Battenburg Cake, we opted to stay our course.  We had tasted far too many mediocre UK versions of US recipes such as Red Velvet Cake that we decided we had no place in pretending to know how to bake a Christmas cake or other uniquely British puds (American and/or other readers insert dessert here).  To our surprise, our taste testers had steered us in the right direction and momentum started to build.

From his other business endeavours, OD knew the value of good publicity versus advertising so he enlisted the help of a publicist, one Susann Jerry, who has worked her magic and got us noticed in numerous ways far and wide.  Without that, we never would have expanded to other farmer’s markets around town, which in turn, generated enough means and confidence to begin thinking about opening a bricks-and-mortar shop.  As is our way, we had only begun to think about it when we happened to notice a “To Let” sign go up on a corner shop near where we lived.  We had talked several times about how unique its location was, if a bit off the beaten path, but it stood at the entrance into our neck of the woods and everyone had to pass it regardless of chosen transport.  We called the agent, looked at it and agreed on the spot to take it.  That was January 2009, not even two years after getting started.

Baked in America By Outsider Tart

As we culled together the resources to finish out the space, we caught the attention of Imogen Fortes, who went on to become our book editor at Ebury Press, a Random House imprint. Soon after opening our shop in July 2009, Imogen walked in the door and asked if we had any plans on writing a book.  We had dreamt about it and, in a rational sort of way, realized it would be a great feather in our cap, but we had little idea how to make it happen.  Well, Imogen showed us and Baked in America, our first cookbook, hit the shelves in August 2011.  Our agent, at here in London has also managed to negotiate selling the book to an Italian publisher as well as to one in the US.  At the moment, the title of the US edition is being bandied about with publication set for September 2012.  We’re not sure just yet, but it appears the Italian version will simply be translated.

Come back Friday for the next instalment, Part 4: Two (Outsider) Tarts in Texas: Planning the Big Trip…

The Outsider Tart Shop

While we were in New York it seemed a new bakery opened on a weekly basis and, for kicks (or so we thought), we toyed with the idea of opening a bakeshop ourselves.  We both had a passion for it and OD, a quick study, was gaining confidence in all things butter and sugar.  For the most part that idea fell into the same file as the let’s-run-a-marathon idea. Once the dogs were ready to go, we opted to set sail for the UK in October 2005.  Otis was born with a heart condition that precludes his being sedated for flight and we also thought sailing was a poetic way to embark on a new chapter.  FYI, cruising the Atlantic is boring. (It was nice, but yes very boring, OD)  As we settled into London, we stumbled upon the rather extensive collection of farmer’s markets throughout the city. We could think of no better way to orient ourselves to our new surroundings than to eat our way across town. And back. Alas it wasn’t the most palatable of journeys for us in part because we weren’t finding our new local cuisine to our taste not to mention some of it was just bloody (← also very British) awful.  It was also amazing to learn how much we craved something familiar when living in a new environment.

While we waited for our stuff to arrive from the States, I had come to the decision not to pursue an architectural career in the UK.  Learning metric just wasn’t going to cut it in terms of a challenge. (Read OD’s buttermilk biscuits recipe in our book, Baked in America, to see how metric and I got on OD.) After several months, everything arrived and, while unpacking boxes and organizing, we dusted off the let’s-open-a-bakery file having decided to give it a go (the marathon file still sits on the shelf, though).  Both of us tend to be impatient doers rather than strategic thinkers but I tend to be more pragmatic coming from a planning background. OD falls on the impulsive scale (off is more like it). (Bite me, OD.)

For most of 2006, I Googled just about any American ingredient I could think of in the hopes of finding it on British soil. I contacted suppliers to learn local vernacular, procedure, applying for accounts and whatever might be needed to establish a pipeline of ingredients and equipment. OD, on the other hand, decided to seize an opportunity to turn a San Francisco business trip into a food trek. If he didn’t spend evenings researching British business practices, he sussed out bakeries throughout the Pacific Northwest to visit for inspiration.

So yes, as it happened, we got to fly to San Francisco, transfer to a Seattle-bound flight and, upon arrival there, rent a car and drive several hours into the mountains to visit a bakery that OD thought would be interesting. Of course that required a stop or two or three along the drive to investigate diners and bakeries that also caught his fancy. Timing was critical since we needed to drive back to San Francisco (remember, it was a business trip) via Portland, Oregon and points in between to taste as much as we possibly could.  In all I think we were there and back to London in seven days.

About a week later OD’s mother arrived for a visit from New Orleans.  OD picked her up at the airport and I met them at a restaurant in Borough Market, the be-all and end-all of London’s farmer’s markets. It was a Saturday so it was at its most bustling. As we sat down, I was still jet/car-lagged from our trip, was in a bit of a haze, and blurted “outsider tart” as opposed to something like “how lovely to see you, thanks for coming.”  Thankfully Abuela, as we refer to OD’s mother, is a game woman if ever there was one, and she responded with something like “what the hell are you talking about?” (She’s all class that one, OD)  In one fell swoop we told her we were planning on starting a business and we decided, then and there, to call it Outsider Tart.

We had struggled with a name for a while and when that sort of thing gets into your brain, it has a way of swirling about the gray matter until it spits back out.  Both of us had collected Outsider Art before we met, and we continued collecting it together when we weren’t stuffing our faces with delicacies. (It is any art done by untrained people often out of passion or inspired by emotion or intellect.)  We’ve always been drawn to its immediacy and sometimes intensity and find it to be alluring if, at times, child-like.  Since we aren’t trained at baking and we do it out of passion and perhaps, need, as well as being strangers in a strange land we thought it was a perfect fit.  At that point it was entirely possible we were as naïve as children, too.  So by late 2006, we had a concept, a name, a menu of sorts and a kitchen at home.

Come back Wednesday for the next instalment, Part 3: Two (Outsider) Tarts in Texas: The London Arrival…

Over the next few weeks we’ll be bringing you updates from their travels as they taste their way around Texas, from Houston to Amarillo, Laredo to Austin. But first find out how it all started from “the two Davids” of Outsider Tart, a bakery in Chiswick…

David Lesniak and David Muniz of Outsider Tart

We’re living the American Dream. Or should we say baking the American Dream. As expats, of course. The we in question is two Davids, one Lesniak, one Muniz, who emigrated to London in 2005. D Muniz had an opportunity to run a radio station and D Lesniak (your typist) managed to fall in love with him prior to departure.

After meeting in 2002 whilst living in New York City, we enjoyed a modicum of success in our chosen professions: DM was a successful serial entrepreneur in gay social media and I fretted over the design details of clients’ homes. Like many, ours was a food-centric courtship especially with all the Big Apple’s culinary delights, be it a local greasy spoon (read diner) to the best of the best, which we were fortunate enough to enjoy. An initial date was at a now-defunct restaurant called Harvest (actually it was called ‘Inside’ at the time, but why quibble. Did he mention I am much younger? – DM), owned and chef-ed by Anne Rosenzweig in the West Village.  The waiter was a bit stunned when we ordered as we couldn’t decide and the only obvious solution was to order what we wanted which, as it happened, was enough for a double date only there was no double.  It made perfect sense then and now: If it appeals, try it.

The famous Elvis sandwich

This particular mantra extended into the shared weekend activity of cooking. DM, henceforth referred to as Other David or OD as friends and family have come to tolerate, was a newbie in the kitchen. My first dinner was some elaborate affair, the result of intensive research, hunting for ingredients, slaving over the stove, sweating in front of the oven and exquisitely plating the dish. His first dinner was a grilled sandwich plopped on a plate. An Elvis, at that. Followed by grilled baloney and peanut butter. (I would like to add here that it was a peanut butter, jelly AND fried baloney sandwich, OD) Wowie, did I hit the jackpot?!? This guy was a keeper.

The peanut butter and baloney sandwich

To be fair, the Elvis (peanut butter, honey, bacon and banana grilled in a pan with butter) was delicious. The baloney thing, not so much.  But OD admitted being a bit baffled by the more loosey-goosey side of cooking and having grown up in Mississippi, he knew a thing or two about sweets. I suggested he try baking since I thought it would appeal to his somewhat compulsive side not to mention his taste buds and I knew it would appeal to, how shall I say, me. Soon enough we were weekend warriors in the kitchen, baking and frosting and eating enough for a small army.

Mabel and Otis

OD’s radio career started before our two dogs, Mabel and Otis, were finished with UK quarantine protocol so for six months we busied ourselves independently baking on both sides of the Atlantic.  At that time it was even possible to ship cakes abroad so, of course, we tried that, too.  Our work colleagues quickly became taste testers and their thumbs up added fuel to our oven fire.

Come back Monday for the next instalment: Two (Outsider) Tarts in Texas: The Big Move…

We’re so chuffed that just last week our very own show, Andy Bates Street Feasts starring the pie-maker extraordinaire himself, was nominated at the Royal Television Society Awards (South).

The original UK series that debuted last September followed Andy Bates up and down the country and saw him visiting the Britain’s most vibrant street food destinations to find out the stories behind the trend.

Named as one of the top three shows in the factual entertainment category, the judges noted that, ‘Andy Bates Street Feasts gave a fresh and vibrant take on cooking and culture from a strong new passionate presenter.’

Quite frankly, we couldn’t be happier for the cheeky chap.

If you haven’t had a chance to feast your eyes on the show, watch it online now.

Our giant red velvet whoopie pie

I can think of no better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by making whoopie. After all, nothing beats two layers of soft, perky red sponge, sandwiched together by a thick smothering of cream cheese frosting. That’s right; I’m talking about whoopie pies (what were you thinking!).

When it comes to making whoopie, there was only one place I had in mind, our friends at Outsider Tart.

I asked them to create us a special Valentine’s whoopie and they agreed. It’s big, red and heart shaped. In fact, it’s so good we’re giving you the recipe so you can try it out yourself.

I’ll let the experts from Outsider Tart explain what makes the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie so special.

“Red Velvet Cake is a unique creation from the American South. Deep red inside, the outside is frosted with white cream cheese frosting to conceal the goodness stacked within. Not much to look at, it’s always a crowd pleaser once the slicing begins. It has taken everywhere by storm.”

“Everyone wants red velvet this, that and the other (this recipe, in fact). Years of trying and researching only revealed recipes that seemed complicated, though, to be honest, they weren’t; they just had more steps than seemed necessary. Some had you make a paste with the cocoa powder; some had you mixing vinegar with the bicarb either before or after the batter was mixed. Some had you mixing in boiling water at the last second and rushing to the oven. Some had you doing it all.

“One day we decided to turn things upside down and combine the ingredients like we would any other cake. Dry here, wet there. We also ditched the vinegar and hot water. This is our one conceit when it comes to food colour, since it’s the only way to achieve the desired results. People always ask if we use beets, but if we did you’d know it in one bite. Not pleasant. Natural or organic colouring will yield a brown mahogany while old-fashioned colouring gives you the classic red mahogany we prefer. We’ve introduced orange zest to mask the aftertaste that any type of food colour imparts. While the quantities of bicarbonate of soda and salt might seem alarming, they are the reason the crumb is so soft and why it’s called velvet in the first place.”

But what about the shape, why a heart and not a classic round whoopie?

“When I was little, the best thing about Valentine’s Day was the heart shaped boxes of chocolates at the local drug store.  Why you ask? Well, mostly for the assortment of cheap chocolates inside but also the box.  Now that box was absolutely useless once the chocolates were gone, but when you got one you knew you were loved and you knew how much based on the size of the box.  So, when Food Network asked for a Valentine’s whoopie, red velvet was the obvious choice not just for the colour, but the soft velvety texture is the perfect seduction for this day of love.”

Get the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie recipe from our friends at Outsider Tart >>

Are you a whoopie pie fan? What’s your favourite flavour and will you be baking one for your valentine?

By Jo Cotterell