European Court Of Justice Rules That Only Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Can Be Called ‘Parmesan’. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) published today a very clear ruling: only cheeses bearing the protected denomination of origin (PDO) ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ can be sold under the denomination ‘Parmesan’.

“This judgement is a clear victory for the producers of ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ and the entire sector which includes 20 000 operators and represents a turnover of €1.5 billion. This ruling will put an end to the activities of counterfeiters whose use of the name ‘Parmesan’ during the last years has had a very negative impact on both the economy of the sector and the image of our unique cheese. This is also a victory for consumers to which we offer strong guarantees of traceability and who will not be facing anymore misleading denominations on the market”, stressed Giuseppe Alai, the President of the Consorzio of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The publication of the judgement of the Court of Justice comes nearly three years after the launch of the infringement proceeding by the European Commission against Germany (21st March 2005). “We are very grateful to all the people who gave their support to us on this case, in particularly to the European Commission which strongly defended the protection of the Parmigiano-Reggiano during all these years. It is an important precedent, not only for the producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano, but also for all the producers of products with geographical indication (PDO and PGI) protected in the European Union who often face abuses on the worldwide markets”, declared Leo Bertozzi, the Director of the Consorzio.

The judgment draws on the main arguments of the opinion given in June 2007 by the Advocate General of the Court of Justice. The ECJ dismisses the action for noncompliance against Germany because the Commission did not establish that the German law does not protect sufficiently the PGO ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’. By doing so, the Court questions one of the milestones of the European protection system of Geographical Indications (GIs), the fact that Member states must intervene to stop the abusive use of protected GIs (the so-called ex officio protection).

“We take note of the Court’s interpretation on the effects of the protection granted at the EU level. The Consorzio challenged German producers before German courts which were waiting for this interpretation of the European Court of Justice to rule on the dispute. Now that things are clear, the Consorzio will obtain the protection of “parmesan” in Germany. However, the ex officio protection is a fundamental element of the GI system, in particular for small producers that do not usually have the means to defend their rights. This aspect must be part of the current reflection on the future of European system on Geographical indications” concluded G. Alai. source Food4Media

The Three Horseshoes Inn, near Radnage, High Wycombe, is celebrating its maiden entry in the prestigious 2008 Michelin Guide with a Bib Gourmand award.

The Three Horseshoes Inn, is the only new Bib Gourmand entry for the county of Buckinghamshire and one of only ten pubs newly awarded with the accolade this year. The Bib Gourmand, which has now been awarded to just 133 establishments in the UK, recognizes “good food at moderate prices.”

The Michelin Guide says of the Three Horseshoes Inn, “Attractive red brick pub with tiny front bar, rear restaurant and telephone box in the duck pond. Good value, precisely cooked British dishes; well presented and locally sourced. Comfortable bedrooms have character beds and modern bathrooms. The room called] Molieres is best.”

Patron chef, Simon Crawshaw, took control of The Three Horseshoes in November 2005 and is currently overseeing a million pound refurbishment renovating the kitchens, bar and restaurant area and the six ensuite luxury bedrooms.

The 18th century, country inn has already featured in a number of publications for a variety of features; from its bird watching potential and team of Aylesbury ducks to the unusual position of its telephone box.

Simon is no stranger to food awards having worked at numerous Michelin-starred establishments including Le Gavroche, the Connaught, Chez Nico and J Sheekeys. With the Three Horseshoes Inn Simon is realizing his ambition to create beautiful food but within the relaxed environment of a typical, English inn.

The Bib Gourmand recommendation from Michelin is testament to his vision and skill. Simon comments, “The Bib Gourmand award is about serving excellent food for a good price, that is what we were striving for. Whether we push on now for a star is hard to determine, we have a good customer base who know that they can have a good meal without a huge bill at the end.”

source Food4Media

Marketing Birmingham is working with the city’s top restaurants and Birmingham City Council on a new Europe-wide culinary network called Delice, the Good Food Cities of the World.

20 European cities, including Barcelona, Milan and Lyon, are part of the Delice network, and Birmingham is the only city in the UK to have been invited to join.

The aim of the Delice network is to promote city to city sharing of cuisine and good practice within the catering industry. Delice also encourages and develops young culinary talent across the network cities.

Marketing Birmingham is working with Birmingham City Council and key city partners on an exchange event as part of Delice. Birmingham has teamed up with its twin city Lyon and invited four Michelin-starred chefs from the prestigious “Toques Blanches Lyonnaises” organisation to visit Birmingham to experience the city’s food offering. During the visit from 2 – 5 March 2008, there will be exclusive dinners at both Opus and Simpsons restaurants.

The visit will conclude with the “Lyon and Birmingham Chefs Delice Celebration Dinner” on Tuesday 4th March. The chefs from Lyon, along with local Birmingham chefs, will prepare a special dinner at the University College Birmingham for invited guests.

Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council says:
“It is an honour that Birmingham is the only city in the UK to become a founder member of the Delice network and this is testimony to our excellent chefs and first-class cuisine. I very much look forward to welcoming the chefs from Lyon in March and showing them what our wonderful city has to offer.”

Neil Rami, chief executive at Marketing Birmingham, says:
“Birmingham is the first of the cities in the Delice network to take part in the exchange and it is a great opportunity for Birmingham to showcase its wide culinary offering and position itself as a leading gourmet city in Europe.”

Andreas Antona, owner of Simpsons restaurant is working closely with the chefs to co-ordinate the event. He said:
“It’s an honour to be working with French chefs of such standing and I’m extremely proud to have the opportunity to show them what we can do here in Birmingham. The standard of cuisine and expertise in this city is world-class and the Delice celebrations will enable us to really shout about it.”
source Food4Media

Cape Town-based HBD Venture Capital – the venture capital firm founded by Mark Shuttleworth in 2000 – announced today that it had concluded terms for an investment of R9-million in orderTalk, the creator of highly sophisticated online restaurant ordering software. This latest announcement brings to three the number of investments made by HBD in early stage South African entrepreneurial businesses in the past few months.

orderTalk provides software for internet-based ordering to the restaurant, fast food and hospitality industries. It will use the financing from HBD Venture Capital to improve its infrastructure, introduce new product lines and streamline services and support, all in a bid to meet huge demand in the US and UK.

Eben van Heerden, investment manager at HBD said that after rigorous research and investigation, orderTalk had emerged as an exceptional investment prospect which was highly scaleable and promised rapid growth. “orderTalk’s software is the most sophisticated of its kind internationally. It provides food chains with outlets of 50 or more with a branded online ordering functionality in a very short period of time and takes care of all the technical aspects of the process.”

The orderTalk software allows restaurant patrons to place real-time orders over the Internet, as well as any subsequent changes. For example, one can easily replace anchovies with asparagus on a pizza prior to an order being processed. Regardless of the complexity of a menu, the software can also be integrated with point-of-sale systems, as well as live calls to a customer contact centre.

Originally created by a Dallas-based South African for a mid-sized, US-based fast food firm, the software is now used in about 600 restaurants in both America and the UK, including Jason’s Deli, Bombay Bicycle Club, Yo! Sushi and easyPizza.

“Given that South Africans are sophisticated online consumers who are increasingly integrating the Internet into their daily lives, orderTalk’s software was recently introduced in the country,” said CEO, Patrick Eldon. “Ordering take-aways online is a convenience which we feel sure will grow in popularity and are currently trialing the product with a leading local pizza delivery company.”

Despite its extensive international presence, orderTalk’s back office functions are conducted from Cape Town. “While we continue to host our clients from US soil, SA’s talented workforce and efficient communications infrastructure make it highly feasible to operate back office services from here.”

In the past six months HBD has invested in three early stage businesses. “We invest in entrepreneurs and business owners with the vision and talent to build world-class, sustainable businesses,” added Van Heerden. “Our latest deals – orderTalk, moyo and SACab – are three unique companies which are all headed by highly passionate teams. We are looking forward to working with them and offering them mentorship, strategic guidance, governance support and backing – all with the aim of achieving global success!” source CBN

Jamie Oliver reprimanded by Ofcom for plugging his own product on cookery show. Jamie Oliver was pretty excited when he laid his hands on a gadget that could do the work of a pestle and mortar without all that bashing and grinding.

So enthused, it seems, that the celebrity chef mentioned the Flavour Shaker several times on an episode of his TV series Jamie At Home. And on a separate episode, he demonstrated just how to use it.

But what his audience may not have known is that the product is part of Oliver's kitchen utensil range, on sale at Debenhams from £15.

And after viewers became suspicious, media regulator Ofcom upheld two complaints that the chef was promoting the product while cooking on TV.

There was no specific call to purchase the product, it said, but there had been "insufficient editorial justification" for the way he referred to it on screen.

Oliver's inspiration for the gadget came a few years ago, when he was in his kitchen using his pestle and mortar to pound ingredients, he explains on the Flavour Shaker's website.

"I suddenly thought to myself that even though I love the old pestle, there must be an easier and quicker way of bashing and grinding your herbs and spices together," the chef said.

The site includes a video in which Oliver, 32, demonstrates how to use the Flavour Shaker.

There is a written explanation of how the product works and details of the range of colours in which it is available. The site also includes some suggestions for recipes.

"I'm so excited by what it can do," Oliver adds.

"The Flavour Shaker is sized to give you just the right amount of marinade or dressing so that you can pour the contents straight over your food."

The first complaint about his series came in September, when the chef mentioned his product several times.

He evidently compounded the offence by demonstrating how to use the Flavour Shaker in another episode in October.

Ofcom ruled that Oliver's Channel 4 series broke codes requiring broadcasters to maintain the independence of editorial control over programme content and not to give a product or service "undue prominence".

"The references to the product were unduly prominent and consequently in breach of the rule," it added.

Channel 4 said that it would monitor its programmes more closely in the future. It is not the first time Oliver has courted controversy.

In 2005, on a trip to Italy for Channel 4's Jamie's Great Escape, the celebrity chef was shown on TV slitting a lamb's throat while it was still conscious.

In a separate ruling, the regulator condemned the Virgin Media entertainment channel Living over an episode of Britain's Next Top Model.

Contestants took part in a task involving a Vauxhall Tigra car, even though Vauxhall Tigra was sponsoring the series.

Ofcom upheld complaints from three viewers that the series was in breach of the broadcasting rule that there should be no promotional reference to the sponsor.

The regulator said that the Tigra was featured as a result of a "deliberate, scripted and advance decision" by the programme maker. source News