foodies rant, rage & roar

After the success of their foodie Speakers’ Corner at the Abergavenny Food Festival,
Rude Health are back to rant at Real Food. The Rude Health gang will be joined
by celebrated chefs, fearsome food writers and proudly opinionated producers as they too step onto the hay bale and up to the microphone to rant. Come to the Bandstand in the heart of the festival and listen or heckle from 2-3pm on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th May.

Rude Health’ relentless chief ranter Nick Barnard will kick off the rants, followed by the likes of chef and Italian food expert Valentina Harris, award-winning drinks writer Richard Ehrlich and founder of Food Lovers’ Britain, Henrietta Green. Full schedule follows.

Find out what Coffee Fairy Martina Gruppo thinks of Fairtrade whilst baker extraordinaire Richard Bertinet kneads out some of his bugbears. Rare Tea lady Henrietta Lovell, straighttalking Alison Lea-Wilson from Halen Môn, blogger Ms Marmite and Easy Bean founder Christina Baskerville will show that the girls have plenty to rant about too.

After a terrific (if controversial) tirade against Elizabeth David at Real Food in 2009, seasoned ranter and editor of food magazine Fire and Knives, Tim Hayward will be back freshly riled and ready to let off steam. Also chalked up to appear are spicy ranters Priya Lakhani from Masala Masala and Patchwork Pate’s Rufus Carter who will be revealing what really gets them hot under the collar. We can see the sparks flying already.

It’s sure to be a spectacle - as long as Nick relinquishes the hay bale; we’ve got a cattle prong just in case!*

Hecklers welcome. The more vocal the better.

And if you’re not able make it to the Real Food Festival the rants will be recorded and uploaded to the Rude Health website - www.rudehealth.com - where you can currently find all of the Rude Health rants, including those by Mexican-food marvel Thomasina Miers, Reggae-Reggae Sauce man Levi Roots and Cyrus Todiwala OBE.

* Cattle prong or similar poking device will not be used on anyone apart from Nick- he’s used to it.

Friday 7th May
-Useless kitchen gadgets by Danny Kingston, Food Urchin food blogger
-Oats for victory! by Porridge Lady, Anna Louise Batchelor
-Real bread with a crust by Richard Bertinet, chef and baker extraordinaire
-The importance of food culture by Priya Lakhani, from Masala Masala
-The meaning of local food by Henrietta Green, founder of Food Lovers’ Britain
-Snow Leopard Trust conservation by Stephen Sparrow, Snow Leopard Vodka
-It’s not all herrings & meatballs by Signe Johansen, food anthropologist and food blogger
-Creativity - a mug’s game? by Richard Ehrlich, award-winning drinks writer
-Real Juice by Patrick O’Flaherty, from RDA Organic
-Provenance by Neil Gover, from Lahloo Tea
-Sneaky soya in processed food by Jayne Mugridge, from Yarty Valley Provisions (Cordial)
-Food education by Stephanie Wood, from School Food Matters

Saturday 8th May

-Spelt, real bread and using British flour by Andrew Wilkinson, from Gilchesters Organics
-Selling alcohol as a loss leader is immoral by Michael Kain, from Bramley & Gage
-Sea salt is key to a healthy diet by Alison Lea-Wilson, from Anglesey Sea Salt
-Raw milk by Steve Widler, from Hook & Son
-Is fair trade always a good thing? by Martina Gruppo, from The Coffee Fairy
-Sophie Dahl and cookery programmes by Valentina Harris, chef and Italian food expert
-Quality and sustainability go hand in hand by James MacNay, from Rare & Organic
-Perfection by Tim Hayward, editor of Fire & Knives
-Tea dust by Nick Kilby, from Teapigs

Sunday 9th May
-Proper tea by Henrietta Lovell, from Rare Tea Co.
-You don’t have to be vegetarian to love beans by Christina Baskerville, from Easy Bean
-Ranting without stabilisers by Rufus Carter, from Patchwork Pate
-Happy cows by Miranda Ballard, from Muddy Boots Foods
-Waste (and waist) problems by Oliver Dowding, from Shepton Farms
-The UK has no idea what constitutes good value food by James Swift, from Trealy Farm Charcuterie
-Why it’s cruel not to eat veal by Jon Brown, from Bocaddon Farm Veal
-Drink raw milk by Philip Lowery, Director of Real Food Festival & top man
-Real lemonade - drink the cloudy stuff by Claire Martinsen, from Breckland Orchard Drinks
-Allergies by Ms Marmite, underground restaurateur and blogger

Real Food Festival - 7th - 10th May 2010
http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/

Rude Health’s Speakers’ Corner can be found in the Bandstand

http://www.rudehealth.com/

Rude Health lets of steam at Real Food Festival

Friday 7 - Sunday 9 May

REAL FOOD FESTIVAL

Earl's Court, London

2pm at The Bandstand

The gang from Rude Health are back again to rant and rave about their food-related passions. They will be joined by celebrated chefs, food writers and producers as they too step onto the hay bale and up to the microphone.

This year's rants - for they've become an annual affair - are being held in the Bandstand from 2.00 - 3.30pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hear the low down on the latest food issues from those in the know. Hecklers welcome. The more vocal the better!

Richard Bertinet, master baker and chef, will be ranting at Real Food. As will Cyrus Todiwala CBE, another fantastic ranter. You can listen to their rants from the Abergavenny Food Festival on the Rude Health website: www.rudehealth.com

Ante from the Ethiopian Coffee Co. (one of the producer exhibiting at the show) will be riling about proper coffee whilst Halon Mon, the Welsh salt producers, will be ranting about the importance of sea salt in our diet.

Listen to last year’s rants by the likes of chef and food writer Thomasina Miers, Real Bread campaigner Chris Young and Slow Food UK founder Wendy Fogarty at www.rudehealth.com/why-rude-health/nick-rant

Each ranting session will be followed by SUDI'S RUDIE FOODIE QUIZ .... Let Rude Health take the temperature of your rude food knowledge.

If you'd like to rant too or for more information please contact:

Sarah Canet

Telephone: 020 7610 9821

Email: sarah @ spoon-pr.com

The Granola -new multigrain granola launches this spring

With their award-winning cereals filling breakfast bowls up and down the country,
Rude Health have set their muesli-making expertise to creating the country’s first
multigrain organic granola with spelt, amaranth and barley, and no added salt
or sugar. The Granola launches in Waitrose stores nationwide from May.
Rude Health’s The Granola – so called because it is the ultimate organic granola – is both indulgently delicious and healthy. It is the only organic granola to blend porridge and jumbo oats with wholesome spelt flakes, toothsome barley flakes and puffed amaranth.

Considered a super food by the ancient Aztecs, amaranth is a popular street-side snack in Mexico, which is where Rude Health’s co-founder and fanatical foodie Camilla Barnard discovered this highly nutritious, tasty little seed. High in protein and packed with iron and calcium, the puffed amaranth in The Granola gives it a lovely lightness whilst the spelt, a great alternative to wheat, and barley flakes add a complex, grown-up flavour.

Rude Health blend this unique multigrain combination with freshly roasted hazelnuts and almonds for an irresistible nutty taste. And a cheeky sprinkling of crunchy sunflower seeds adds an extra boost of goodness.

This mix of marvels is drizzled with date syrup and honey, then gently baked to create a crisp granola that softens seductively in the mouth. Rude Health choose their ingredients like they choose their friends: wild not refined. Rude Health never use refined sugars or artificial flavourings; instead they opt for naturally sweet things like honey and date syrup, which are also packed with nutrition. Dates are high in fibre and rich in potassium, whilst honey is a great source of energy and is even said to boost your immune system.

The Granola is mouth-wateringly moreish with cold, creamy milk or a dollop of Greek yoghurt. Listen to Rude Health’s co-founder and chief ranter Nick Barnard voice his utter loathing for skimmed milk - or dirty dishwater as he calls it - on the website
www.rudehealth.com/why-rude-health/nick-rant


editor’s notes
Who are Rude Health?
Cereal revolutionaries Rude Health aren’t afraid of punching above their weight. The crack team of just seven, led by co-founding couple Nick and Camilla Barnard, are on a mission to bring delicious healthy breakfasts to cereal bowls up and down the country. With no added salt or sugar and no junk, Rude Health vehemently reject over-processing and refined ingredients. They rely instead on the highest-quality, sustainably-produced ingredients to make cereals worth waking up for.

For further information on Rude Health and their range of fabulous breakfast foods you can visit the website - www.rudehealth.com

Product Information
The Granola, £4.49 for 500g
Available from Waitrose, Ocado.com and independent health food
stores, organic shops and delis nationwide.
Please contact Holly for details or
photography:
Tel: 0208 877 9821
Email: holly@rudehealth.com
www.rudehealth.com

goldilocks index shows porridge is hot

Whilst the big freeze coupled with the rise in VAT has slowed sales on the high street, shoe shops, leather retailers and porridge makers have got off to a flying start in 2010.

According to the CBI’s latest Distributive Trades Survey, 72% of retailers say that sales had dropped or were largely unchanged.

“The big freeze kept many shoppers away from the January sales and the VAT hike has hit bigger purchases like furniture and electricals,” says Andy Clarke, Chairman of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel.

Only grocers, footwear and leather goods retailers have seen strong sales. Porridge sales in particular have rocketed. In the first 3 weeks of the year, independent cereal company Rude Health saw a 400% increase in sales of their gourmet porridge. To use the Goldilocks Index analogy, Rude Health’s porridge sales have been as hot as Father Bear’s breakfast.

“Porridge has seen a real resurgence in the last few years. But the spike in sales this winter has taken everyone by surprise. People just can’t get enough of it. This January we had to make 5 times the quantity we usually produce,” says Nick Barnard, Managing Director of the independent cereal company.

The porridge market is valued at £53 million, with 3.8% y-o-y growth compared to 2008. Sales of Rude Health porridge grew by 108% between the period Sept-Dec 2008 and Sept-Dec 2009.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago uses the Goldilocks Index as an analogy to describe the level of economic activity. When activity is growing at a steady rate they call it “just right” – like in the Goldilocks story. The Chicago Fed describes activity as hot when a business or economy experiences growth greater than its usual rate.

editor’s notes
Sources

CBI - Distributive Trades Survey January 2010
‘Retailers Disappointed By Weak New Year Sales’ News Release
www.cbi.org.uk
Email: press.office@cbi.org.uk

TNS World Panel
www.tnsglobal.com
Press Office: Laura Chatterton, 020 7656 5054

Rude Health UK Sales 2008 – 2010