Latest news with #localproduce
Free Malaysia Today
10 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
No more imported food at official events, Anwar tells civil service
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged civil servants and officials to be more mindful of the need to support homegrown produce. PUTRAJAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has directed all government departments to cease using imported goods, particularly food, at official events, in a bid to promote local products. Speaking at the finance ministry's monthly assembly, Anwar said that using local produce would not only bolster the local economy but would also open wider opportunities for local farmers to market their goods. 'If every government department follows this directive, it will create more opportunities for our farmers to supply local food ingredients,' he said. The prime minister also cited the example of neighbouring countries whom he said were committed to using local food products at all official functions. 'In Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, I've never been served imported food at any government-hosted official event. It's automatic for them to ensure that only local food is served,' he said. Anwar also criticised the preference by some parties for imported food products despite the government's clear stance. Calling the practice inconsistent with efforts to empower the local economy, he urged civil servants and officials to be more mindful of the need to support homegrown produce.
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
‘Create opportunities for local farmers': Anwar orders govt to stop using imported food at official events
PUTRAJAYA, June 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today directed all government departments to cease using imported goods, particularly food, at official events, in a bid to promote local products. Speaking at the Finance Ministry's monthly assembly, Anwar emphasised that using local produce will not only bolster the local economy but will also open wider opportunities for local farmers to market their goods. 'If every government department follows this directive, it will create more opportunities for our farmers to supply local food ingredients,' he said. The Prime Minister cited neighbouring countries as examples, noting their firm commitment to using local food products at all official functions. 'In Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, I've never been served imported food at any government-hosted official event. It's automatic for them to ensure only local food is served,' he remarked. Anwar also criticised the continued preference by some parties for imported food despite the government's clear stance. Calling the practice inconsistent with efforts to empower the local economy, he urged civil servants and officials to be more mindful of the need to support homegrown produce. — Bernama
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pub named one of Britain's best opens outdoor garden with new menu
A village pub that is among the best in Britain is expanding to offer outdoor dining. The Greyhound Garden will be opening at the Greyhound Inn in Pettistree on weekends, starting from Saturday, June 21. The pub, which is owned by husband and wife Will Orrock and Cassidy Hughes, opened in the village three years ago and was recently named one of the county's best gastropubs by Estrella Damm. It uses locally sourced produce to create dishes on the weekly changing menu under head chef Adam Spicer. READ MORE: Owners Will Orrock and Cassidy Hughes (Image: Charlotte Bond) Alongside the launch of the new outdoor space, the pub will be offering a garden menu, which will also vary to reflect seasonal and local produce. Customers can expect platters of smoked Sutton Hoo chicken from the wood grill as well as plates of grand aioli served with a variety of fresh vegetables. An outside bar will also be opening later in summer, offering wines, seasonal spritz' and draught beers from local producers. READ MORE: The garden menu will be made with locally sourced produce (Image: The Greyhound Inn) "We are really excited about it as it is something we have always wanted to do," said Mr Orrock. "You have got to put yourself out there, and it is nice to be offering something slightly different. "The garden menu will keep to our ethos of making everything fresh each day and using what is local to us. The quality of produce available here in Suffolk is just so great. "We hope the space will be about a group of friends or family coming together and enjoying a leisurely afternoon with good food and drinks."
ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Tomato processor pivots to cosmetics as industry squeezed by cheap imports
Canned tomatoes, tomato paste and pasta sauce are staples in kitchen pantries across the country. But the processed tomato industry in Australia is struggling to compete against cheaper imports. Industry development manager with the Australian Processing Tomato Research Council, Matthew Stewart, said only 20 to 30 per cent of products sold in Australia were made locally. "Maybe 20 years ago it was closer to 50 [per cent]," he said. "We'd like to see Australian supermarkets stocking locally-made products, and consumers supporting that too." Mr Stewart said grower numbers were also in decline. "In the last 10 years we've gone from about 12 active growing enterprises down to seven across northern Victoria and southern New South Wales," Mr Stewart said. Tomatoes used for processing are different from the fresh produce found on supermarket shelves. These tomatoes are grown in open fields for the sole purpose of being processed. Based in Echuca in northern Victoria, Kagome Australia is the largest tomato processor in the country, processing more than 200,000 tonnes each season. Chief executive Brad Free said it had moved into a surprising area, beauty products, to keep the business prosperous. "We're cold pressing the oil from the tomato seed and it's going to the cosmetic industry," he said. The tomato seed oil is used in products like moisturisers, facial scrubs and sunscreen. "We've got a [tomato] skin and seed by-product that we weren't processing and we've wanted to do something with it instead of feeding it to livestock," Mr Free said. Kagome introduced a powder drying process in the factory with the goal of recovering all by-product by 2027. A tomato skin powder is also being used as an ingredient for pet foods. "We're doing this to help growers so we're not just playing in a commodity market," Mr Free said. Mr Free said Kagome needed to change in order to continue to grow. "Tomato is a volatile industry and is completely hitched to the commodity market — global trends determine your future. "China produced 11.5 million tones in 2024 and it's really flooded the market, so it decreased prices significantly." Mr Stewart has observed how innovation is key to keep the industry going. "Over the last three years growers experienced climatic instability," Mr Stewart said. Despite the challenges, Mr Free said this season's production has been positive. "In my 20 years of processing the current raw material is probably the best I've seen to date," Mr Free said.
Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Osip hotel review: a cool restaurant with rooms in bucolic Somerset
The field-to-plate restaurant Osip was one of the star attractions of super-trendy Bruton until last August when it decamped to the nearby low-key village of South Brewham so that the chef and owner Merlin Labron-Johnson could reinvent a traditional 17th-century coaching inn as a minimalist temple to ethical gastronomy. Labron-Johnson's imaginative and thoughtful cooking has won him numerous awards, including a Michelin star, a green Michelin star and The Good Food Guide's Restaurant of the Year for 2025, as well as legions of high-profile fans, so dinner might come with a side order of celebrity, with anyone from former chancellor George Osborne to the fashion designer Stella McCartney at the next table. Like us civilians, they're here for the culinary love letter to the local landscape, with 90 per cent of the produce grown organically on the restaurant's farm or sourced from within a five-mile radius. Now Labron-Johnson has added the ultimate petits fours to his inventive menu: a quartet of small but perfectly formed bedrooms for those who don't want their evening to end. Score 8/10In its former incarnation as the Bull, there were seven bedrooms above the pub, all low-ceilinged and poky. Labron-Johnson has knocked them through, creating four larger rooms that are airy and light-filled. Their style is minimalism at its most beguiling, all milky tones and full of natural goodness. There are exposed beams, beds with eye-catching live-edge English oak headboards (that follow the shape of the tree's natural contours) and chunky bedside tables, made from stumps of trees felled within a ten-mile radius. Handmade jute rugs, wicker baskets, vases with sprays of wildflowers and botanical artworks add texture. Avon and Brue have freestanding bathtubs, Somer and Pitt have only smart showers and all have sweet-smelling Maison Osip toiletries that use British plants and herbs with formulations that change with the seasons. There are no TVs or minibars and, as Labron-Johnson expects guests to stay only one night, storage space is as minimal as the decor. You do get freshly baked canelé pastries though, with a wondrous caramelised crust and gooey custard centre, rosy apples and homemade cider to whet your appetite for the gastronomic treat to come. • Somerset's most luxurious hotels Score 9/10Evenings start with snacks beside the inglenook fireplace in the stripped-back sitting room where the squishy sofas add cosiness to the white and wood moodboard. Ask for a table in the main dining room, which now has a spectacular glass-box kitchen bolted on to it. From here, Labron-Johnson calmly directs his team of young chefs, watched by diners on one side and on the other by curious cows in the field beyond Osip's wildflower garden. The ten-course tasting menu is obligatory, with enthusiastic waiters delivering a story with each course. Standout dishes included the lovage broth, a heavenly blast of summer sunshine, accompanied by a moreish fermented potato brioche and cultured butter topped with a dehydrated nettle. Meat tends to play second fiddle to vegetables but when it does put in an appearance it's wickedly good, such as the satisfyingly rich pork, deftly countered by the grassiness of yet more nettles (grilled this time) and asparagus. The rocket sorbet manages the same clever balancing act, being both bitter and sweet while the chocolate and apricot macaron is a full-on fudgy sugar high. • More great restaurants with rooms In contrast to the incredible dinners, breakfasts are more pared-back affairs. Forget any thoughts of a fry-up — there's homemade granola, fruit and yoghurt, ham, cheese, butter and sourdough bread (but no toast), with boiled eggs the only cooked option. It's a bit too minimalist. There are complimentary transfers for guests who travel by train to Bruton or Castle Cary and you can take a tour of Dreamers Farm, a short drive from the restaurant, to check out the produce that will be on your plate later. • UK's best pubs with rooms Score 9/10South Brewham is a roses-round-the-door rustic idyll, sitting at the foot of a pine forest and surrounded by rolling hills. The romantic Palladian mansion and parklands of the Stourhead estate is a few minutes up the road, while Bruton is ten minutes in a car. It is home to a Hauser & Wirth art gallery, independent shops including Smouk, which sells stylish homeware, and several pubs and places to eat, including the Old Pharmacy, Labron-Johnson's more affordable bistro where you can get octopus with Jersey royal potatoes and aïoli for £15. Price B&B doubles from £240Restaurant tasting menu £125Accessible NDog-friendly NFamily-friendly N Susan d'Arcy was a guest of Osip (
