Season's Greetings!

This Post was written by Leigh from www.goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com

Happy Christmas and New Year, Guys!

2007 has been a pleasure and hopefully 2008 will be just as sweet! Keep blogging!

Forums

Hi everyone,

The UKFBA discussion forums haven't really got off the ground, so I'm going to close them. However, you are all very welcome to join the forums over at 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' http://asliceofcherrypie.forumotion.com/index.htm. Hope to chat to you all soon!

This Post was written by Julia from 'A Slice of Cherry Pie'

Menu For Hope

This Post was written by Wendy from A Wee Bit Of Cooking.

I’m sure you have all heard of the wonderful Menu for Hope event that is the brainchild of Pim and takes place once a year around Christmas. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the campaign involves food bloggers (and others) from around the world each donating something to be raffled off on-line for charity.

Last year over $60,000 was raised for the UN World Food Programme (WFP). This year the WFP has allowed the event to earmark the funds to a specific program and all money raised will be going to a school feeding program in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho - which is situated bang in the middle of South Africa!

In aid of this very worthwhile cause I am donating this bottle of 15 year old, single malt whisky.

Located in the windswept central Highlands, the Dalwhinnie distillery has been producing spirits since the late 1800s. This traditional Scottish whisky has been matured for 15 years and is renowned for its mellow smokiness and heather honeyed sweetness.

Lot Number - UK07

And here’s how to bid for this or one of MANY other prizes:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at

http://thepassionatecook.typepad.com/thepassionatecook/2007/12/menu-for-hope-4.html (UK ONLY)

http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2007/12/menu-for-hope-4.html (INTERNATIONAL)

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope4 and make a donation.

3. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday Jaunary 9 for the results of the raffle.

Menu for Hope - win a custom designed wedding cake

To find out about Menu for Hope, when Food Bloggers have 2 weeks to raise money for the UN World Food Programme, please visit Vanielje Kitchen

I am thrilled to be able to participate by donating a prize for this great cause. All the prizes are foodie related and donated by food bloggers and people in the food industry. Check out the list at the prize hub.

My prize donation will be…

…a one off, custom designed handmade and

handpainted Wedding Cake

( or any other celebration cake) by Cakes Etc.

• The Cake is valued at £500 - £600. Yes,that much, so imagine how much you will be saving on your wedding, or what a great gift it would make to a happy couple.

• All my cakes use organic ingredients wherever possible and the design will be unique and tailored to the winner.
• The prize is valid between January and September 2008, providing my services are available on the date required.
• The cake can be fruit cake, chocolate cake, or any other sponge flavour, or a mixture with different layers having different flavours.
• The cake will have up to three tiers.
• I will consult with the winners via phone/email or in person, depending on location.
• I will then go away and come up with three designs.
• The winner can choose which design they would like me to make (I may even do some minor tweaking if required)
• I will make and deliver the cake in the Bristol or Bath area, or in London. If the winner is from any other area the cake can be collected from me (just outside Bath).
• My cakes are complete originals and I do not copy other people’s designs. What you get is a one-off!
• The cake does not have to be a wedding cake. It can be for any sort of celebration you wish.
• The prize code for this cake is UK08

If you would like to participate by placing a bid, donating a prize, or just spreading the word please check in at Vanielje Kitchen for all the details. Last year Menu for Hope raised over $60, 000. So please do what you can to get behind the event this year as we could be making a huge difference to many people's lives again this year.

thanks to you all

This post was posted by African Vanielje of Vanielje Kitchen

Another Hotel Chocolat Competition

This Post was written by Alex from Eating Leeds

Sophie mentioned a couple of days ago that she's one of the bloggers hosting a Hotel Chocolat competition. Eating Leeds is hosting one too!

There's one winner from every site, and you win chocolates, so there's no excuse not to crack out your best chocolate recipe and have a go!

For Eating Leeds, your entries need to be in by midnight tomorrow (Monday 10 Dec) night ... and you can find out more here!

This Post was written by Joshua from Cooking The Books

1. Where are you based?

I'm currently living in Islington, London.

2. How long have you been blogging?

Not long, getting on for 2 months I guess.

3. What's the best thing about food blogging?

The best thing for me is forcing myself to cook recipes from the mass of cook books I have. It's also great to have a central location for all my food writing and photography rather than just forcing it down people's throats on public forums.

4. What's the worst thing about food blogging?

Having a TV show with the same name and idea as my blog appear on TV about a month after I started blogging.

The second worse thing is the current lack of natural light after about 3 in the afternoon, not ideal for the food photography.

5. What inspires you to cook and write?

At the start I just wanted somewhere to stick my views and snaps but now I'm starting to get hits and comments from folk that's pretty inspiring too.

6. Where do you like to blog?

At work (don't tell anyone) or at home. As my PC is not a laptop I don't really have a lot of choice outside of at the desk.

7. What's your signature dish?

Pizza probably, either that or some form of noodle soup.