Good Food
type: channel
link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com
date: 2025-07-03T15:36:24.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: 15 ways to eat out sustainably
items: A guide to green and ethical labels
items: The best restaurants to eat in Stratford-upon-Avon
items: The best restaurants to eat in Cheltenham
items: Your guide to energy-efficient cooking
items: Baking with different flours
items: The best food podcasts and why to listen to them

15 ways to eat out sustainably
type: item
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: Sustainability
subject: Clare Finney
subject: dining out
subject: environment
subject: Green
subject: Restaurants
description: Read our top tips for dining out sustainably, including eating seasonally, considering animal welfare and looking for menus that minimise food waste.
encoded: For the sustainably minded, eating out can feel as much as a minefield as preparing food at home – more so, in fact. Food waste, animal welfare, the treatment of staff and sustainable sources of food and drink are issues chefs and guests alike need to consider. Fortunately, there are some questions you can ask to ensure a meal out doesn’t compromise your conscience as well as your wallet, from where the meat and fish comes from to the restaurant’s tipping policy, to whether or not you can take your leftovers home. Wondering how to eat sustainably ? Think about eating out as a way of incentivising those restaurants who are doing the right thing by these issues, or are at least trying to, advises Will Beckett, founder of the Hawksmoor restaurant group. After all, putting our money where our morals are is one of the best ways to change the world, one dinner at a time. 1. Look for sustainability certifications In ideal world, you would be able to take restaurants at their word when they say they are sustainable. In reality, the word is hard to define and can easily serve as a fig leaf for poor practices. “One of the issues with eating sustainably and ethically is trust. How do you tell the difference between what’s real and exaggerated greenwashing yarn?” says Beckett. “One way is to get to know the restaurant, and the people who work there – but there’s only so many restaurants you can get to know. The other is certification: Food Made Good, Green Restaurant Association and B-Corp, which for us is the pinnacle,” he continues, “because it brings so many facets of sustainability together under one certification.” Hawksmoor is one of a first British restaurants to have achieved B-Corp status; another is Big Mamma restaurant group, which operates globally. Such certifications – which are regularly audited – provides the reassurance that the restaurant really is doing what they say on its website. The Michelin Green Star is not a certification, but it is an highly respected…

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A guide to green and ethical labels
type: item
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: Sustainability
subject: Ethical
subject: Green
subject: intentional-climate
description: Trying to shop sustainably? Read our guide to understand the meanings of green and ethical labels on your food and drink.
encoded: The options are baffling: from well-established certification systems like Fairtrade and Red Tractor, to lesser-known, lesser-spotted signs like the Leaf Marque. Increasingly, independent brands are opting out of these systems – for cost reasons and/or because they find their standards lacking – and choosing to set benchmarks of their own. Check out the BBC Good Food sustainability glossary for expert definitions of buzzwords and common terminology around green products. Chocolate companies like Montezuma’s and The Raw Chocolate Company, and coffee companies like Union, Pact and Monmouth implement their own standards, buying direct from growers, cutting out the middle man, visiting producers and investing in sustainable, regenerative agriculture. Nut suppliers Food and Forest source almonds from Spanish farmers who use agroforesty methods to produce nuts that they argue are significantly more sustainable than the minimal standards set by the European Union. It’s good news for the environment, and for some small-scale producers who have historically been on the sharp end of the supply chain, but makes the world of conscious consumerism more bewildering than it has ever been. ‘Customers have every right to be utterly confused,’ says Christopher Cramer, professor of the Political Economy of Development at SOAS university. ‘There has been an expansion of interest in wanting to do the right thing through the way we shop – but the emergence of voluntary standards (like Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance etc) has corresponded with states to some extent withdrawing from regulating trade and production.’ The result is a set of standards that are inextricably bound up with business objectives like profit and market share. What’s more, he continues, these standards and systems ‘are a subset of a much bigger global problem and that is the audit industry, which itself is poorly regulated. It’s meant to protect standards but it doesn’t do that properly because the relationship betwee…

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The best restaurants to eat in Stratford-upon-Avon
type: item
date: 2023-01-24T09:43:21.000Z
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Travel
subject: UK Travel
subject: avon
subject: Clare Finney
subject: paxton and whitfield
subject: Restaurants
subject: shakespeare stratford
subject: Stratford
subject: stratford on avon
subject: stratford restaurants
subject: stratford upon avon
subject: stratford upon avon restaurants
subject: travel
subject: Uk
subject: where to eat
subject: where to eat in stratford
description: Discover BBC Good Food's favourite restaurants in Stratford-upon-Avon. Find where to get the best eats for every budget and check out our top cafés, bars and foodie hotspots.
encoded: All recommendations have been reviewed and approved as of the publish date and will be checked periodically. If you think there is any incorrect or out of date information in this guide please e-mail us at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk Whether you're looking for fabulous fine dining, casual family bites or brilliant brownies to enjoy with your coffee, Stratford has a range of restaurants, bars and cafés to cater to every taste. Indulge in a glass of vino at our favourite local bar or go all out on a showstopping tasting menu. If you're looking for inspiration on where to eat in this Warwickshire market town, take your pick from our tried and tested selection. Find even more foodie city guides and essential tips in our travel hub. Best restaurants in Stratford-upon-Avon at a glance Salt - Special occasion, casual dining N°9 Church Street - Special occasion Box Brownie Coffee - Cheap eats, kid-friendly El Greco - Kid-friendly, casual dining, cheap eats Barry the Butcher The Fourteas - Special occasion, kid-friendly The One Elm - Kid-friendly, casual dining Paxton & Whitfield Salt Special occasion, casual dining In 2011, in the heady wake of winning Observer Food Monthly's young chef of the year award, Paul Foster – then head chef at boutique hotel Tuddenham Mill in Suffolk – nurtured a secret ambition. It wasn’t London. It wasn’t New York. It wasn’t Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons – he’d been there and got those chefs whites. It was to leave Suffolk, return to his home county of Warwickshire and establish his own place: produce-lead, service-driven and dancing to his tune. Salt is this restaurant. It’s a cool, whitewashed affair in the centre of town, where ingredients come first, technique second and, if strictly necessary, technology adds the finishing touches. Try a four-course lunch of, say, cured mackerel with miso butter & brown shrimp, Otterburn Mangalitsa pork with caramelised turnip, and a rhubarb brioche dessert with cardamom custard – all for j…

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The best restaurants to eat in Cheltenham
type: item
date: 2023-01-20T09:00:50.000Z
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Travel
subject: UK Travel
subject: Cheltenham
subject: Clare Finney
subject: Holidays
subject: Restaurants
subject: travel
subject: Uk
description: Discover the best places to eat in Cheltenham, from modern delis to cosy cafés and fine-dining options. There's truly something for everyone in this food-focused city.
encoded: All recommendations have been reviewed and approved as of the publish date and will be checked periodically. If you think there is any incorrect or out of date information in this guide please e-mail us at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk Whether you're looking for a cosy café to grab a quick and comforting meal, a family-friendly eatery or an elegant restaurant for a special occasion, there's a dining option you'll love in Cheltenham. Here's our pick of the best restaurants the city has to offer. For more helpful guides with expert recommendations for the best places to eat, check out our city guides for London, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich. Take your tastebuds on a world tour and find the best foodie hotspots with our travel hub. Best restaurants in Cheltenham at a glance Baker & Graze The Coconut Tree The Royal Oak Cheeseworks Black Gold Sixways Wine Bar Le Champignon Sauvage Well Walk Tea Room WOODKraft Baker & Graze While topped toast is on menus everywhere, a plate of it in all its buttery glory is surprisingly hard to find these days. Baker & Graze, a bakery/deli/café on Suffolk Street, serves toast topped with smashed avocado & smoked streaky bacon as well as more creative options like fennel sausages, cavolo nero & anchovy butter or nduja, labneh & pickled fennel, plus a host of delightful salads, sandwiches and delicate pastries. But, it also elevates its tangy homemade sourdough from sideshow to serious menu option by offering it with a simple smear of homemade jam – a confident move that proves just how good the loaves here are. Need more evidence? There was also a recent appearance by Mary Berry, who dropped in for a loaf and a spot of lunch. Mains start from £3.25. The Coconut Tree The Coconut Tree is the brainchild of five Sri Lankans who grew up together in Colombo, then all wound up in Croydon when they moved to the UK. They soon moved to Cheltenham, and spent every evening for six months converting a knackered boozer into The Coconut Tree, a re…

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Your guide to energy-efficient cooking
type: item
date: 2022-10-07T13:48:34.000Z
creator: Clare Finney
subject: How to
subject: Recipes
subject: Sustainability
subject: climate-contributions
description: We’re here to help and support you through the cost of living crisis. Here, we talk to experts about how energy-efficient the appliances in your kitchen are.
encoded: All of us were shocked when our fuel bills doubled in the last few months and ever since, home appliance manufacturers have been scrambling to assure us that their hobs, ovens and microwaves are the most efficient of them all. Comparing appliances isn’t easy: the energy labels aren’t always obvious, and they don’t make much sense even when they are, unless you know what A and G stand for. Understanding energy ratings A+++ is the most efficient in its class, and the letters run through to G, which is the least efficient in its class. Look at the power rating, too, says Brian Horne, senior insight and analytics consultant of the Energy Saving Trust. ‘It's possible to estimate how much energy each appliance will use by multiplying the appliance’s power rating in kW by the time you leave the appliance on for, in hours. This information should be on the label or any manual that came with your appliance. For example: a microwave may have a power rating of 700W and you may run it for three minutes. 0.7 * 3/60 = 0.035kWh.' Of course, when it comes to more specific appliances – slow cookers, pressure cookers, soup makers and so on – comparing energy use is fairly meaningless. ‘Different types of cooker are used for specific purposes, or they produce food that is different to an equivalent meal cooked in a different way. This means you may not want to compare them in terms of the amount of energy they use,’ says Horne. ‘However, you can sometimes make direct comparisons between different appliances doing an equivalent job.’ Buying new kit 1. A good general rule, when shopping for new kit, is to look for the best energy rating for the size of kit you need. A big Bosch oven might have a better rating than a smaller Hotpoint, for example, but if you don’t need a large oven, it will still work out less efficient. 2. Another key point to consider is that rapidly rising energy prices means past calculations as to how much an appliance costs to run are fast becoming outdated. ‘Thoug…

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Baking with different flours
type: item
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: Flour
description: We explore the positive impact our collective baking bug has had on Britain’s artisan flour makers.
encoded: In the last year, baking has been our entertainment and salvation, and we’ve become more adventurous, seeking out lesser-known flours made with heritage grains. Here, we explore the positive impact our collective baking bug has had on Britain’s artisan flour makers. For a long time, my understanding of flour comprised four types: plain, wholemeal, bread and self-raising. Then, lockdown hit. Suddenly, an ingredient I’d taken for granted was the most sought-after staple. ‘People went on a journey,’ says John Lister, founder and CEO of Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire, which saw a phenomenal increase in sales right across its range of flours as we all baked banana bread and sourdough and our confidence grew. Environmental and health benefits Standard wheat is dependent on pesticides and fertilisers, as it’s been bred with a shortened stem that cannot grow tall enough to shade out weeds, and has lost the protective husk for its kernels. The shallow roots also make arable soils more prone to flooding, and the widespread use of chemicals is stripping the soil of organic matter and reducing biodiversity. Research is ongoing into how the widespread use of these chemicals may be increasing wheat allergies and intolerances. This correlation is driving interest in heritage wheat varieties, which have deeper roots and can be grown without chemicals on farms that adopt regenerative natural practices. Many heritage wheats ‘are naturally gluten-free or have a more digestible structure of gluten,’ says our health editor, Tracey Raye. ‘That’s helpful for people following special diets. A flour that’s naturally free from, or lower, in gluten will invariably be higher in nutrients and fibres than one that’s been processed to remove the gluten.’ Additionally, the deeper roots of heritage wheats draw more minerals up into the plant, enriching its nutritional content. How is it processed? The golden rule is the less processing, the better, which is why the renewed interest in heritage gra…

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The best food podcasts and why to listen to them
type: item
date: 2020-09-14T09:12:04.000Z
creator: Clare Finney
subject: Information
subject: Review
subject: the best food podcasts
description: BBC Good Food expert Clare Finney shares her picks of the best food podcasts
encoded: We've picked podcasts we think you'll love. We may earn commission from links to services on this page. They’ve not tasted, smelled, touched or seen it, yet the number of people who have heard comedian Greg Davies describe his mum’s lemon suet pudding runs into the tens of thousands. On comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble’s podcast Off Menu, his interview is the most popular download – and Off Menu is one of the most downloaded podcasts across the UK. Were it about politics, music, history – anything easily confined to the ears – this would hardly be worth mentioning, but it's about food. It’s the most multi-sensory subject going. Yet, far from being the exception, Off Menu is one of a number of food-based podcasts for which the nation has developed a bottomless appetite. 'It started because Ed and I love food – and we love talking about it. It’s a way of enjoying food all day without eating your way into obesity.' They made a podcast, James Acaster continues because they were 'having those conversations anyway'. If people stopped listening, they’d stop recording them. The premise was simple: in a dream restaurant where you can choose anything from anywhere and anytime, guests must choose their dream menu, including a starter, main course, side dish, dessert and drink. Its success –100,000 subscribers and over a million listens at the time of the writing – lies in the stories their choices generate, and in Acaster and Gamble’s reactions. 'Pretty quickly we realised, we can’t keep coming back to food – we have to let the conversation flow,' Acaster muses. 'Step back, and you see that food is a window: onto community, socialising, cultures, and your memory of different times of your life.' Food as a vehicle rather than an end in itself, then, is Off Menu’s formula. Indeed, Jay Rayner argues, it is the only formula if a food podcast is to succeed. Though perhaps best known for his reviews in The Observer, Rayner is equally at home in the recording studio, with two su…

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