Tim Spector, Global, Zyliss, Vacu Vin, Josephs, School of Wok and Demeyere OFFERS!

Preamble

I first came across Tim Spector when watching John Campbell on YouTube, during lockdown. Steven Bartlett was interviewing Tim, this week, which, as I write this, I’m about halfway through watching. He is an epidemiologist, and is a specialist in twin studies, genetics, epigenetics, and microbiome and diet. And it’s his views on diet that have struck me, and that I want to mention this morning.

Many consider him to be the leading expert on gut health and diet, and at the same time, I think it would be fair to say, that he is a controversial figure in many ways.
He claims, for instance, that “exercise doesn’t help weight loss” that “the Ketogenic diet is virtually impossible (long term)”, “that vitamins are a waste of money” arguing instead that with the right diet we don’t need them. But he also says that the food industry wants us to focus on the calorie and fat content, and not on the quality of the food. And it’s food quality that got my attention

And that’s because when Babette was ill, she did quite a lot of research on foods, and one of the things she discovered, 10 or more years ago now, was that we tend to focus on fats and how bad they are for us (wrongly as it turns out), when in fact it is sugars that we should be wary of. And I know that these days we are far more aware of this, but 10 years ago it was certainly news to me.

Anyway, he also makes a strong link between the quality and balance of what we eat, and our mental health. He makes a case for linking depression and anxiety to what we eat! He says its intrinsically linked to the quality of your gut microbes (our Microbiome and that those microbes are there (or not) because of the food we eat). So, if this interests you, then try this podcast. It may not be the most comfortable thing to watch (depending on your current diet), but I found it fascinating and a little challenging. You can see the whole interview here.

I also watched a short 9 min video he made a few months ago, of what he might eat on a typical day, and when broken down like this I thought it made his approach really quite accessible. This is here if you’re really short on time.

And so, I come to product, and this week I’ve found a good mix of product with almost no Le Creuset in it and not a Riedel glass in sight.

Global Offer

At the end of last year my chums at Grunwerg (the Global importer) brought out three knives on offer, namely:

1.      Global Utility knife GS-108/UT Plain edge 12cm long blade. RRP £100, Offer price £60.00. A good small, general purpose knife.

2.      Global Utility knife GS-108/SE Serrated edge 12cm long blade. RRP £100, Offer price £60.00 Good for tomatoes, although if you kept your straight edged knives sharp, you wouldn’t need the serrations!

3.      Global Utility knife GS-108/SC Scalloped (like a bread knife) edge 12cm long blade. RRP £100, Offer price £60.00. not so sure what I’d use this for…? (Bread rolls, grapefruit, lemons, salami..... Andi)

For this weekend We’re reducing them a little further to £50, which, if you’re sharp at maths, will tell you that it’s half price!

Zyliss Storage

Zyliss Twist and Seal storage is a lovely range of high quality plastic storage for the kitchen, that has bombed. Why, we’re not really that sure, because when used correctly is easy to use and to get lids off. If used incorrectly and you are tempted to push the two buttons (to remove the lid) then nothing happens, because what you have actually done is to release the mechanism that allows you to take the lid apart for cleaning, which you will only discover when removing the lid correctly!

So, we are cutting our losses and clearing the stock we have to half price. There’s a 5 piece starter set that normally retails for £52.49 reduced to £26.24. plus individual boxes/canisters all of which create a semi vacuum when sealed. Good product that is a little misunderstood.

Two Pronged Corkscrew

This is a wee gem of a product. In fact, Vacu Vin who make the one we stock call it a “Cork Puller”. And this name sort of describes what it does, because it will remove any cork, although arguably, it’s not the easiest tool in the world to achieve this very desirable out come. Where it scores beautifully though is when you have a cork that resists you and your normal corkscrew. And perhaps in the process it starts to break up, or worse, goes in the wrong direction!

With the two prongs you will be able to gradually insert them, either side of the cork, pushing down gently, first on one side and then the other until the tips of the prongs are below the level of the bottom of the cork. Then, using a turning motion and simultaneously gently pulling upwards, you will find the cork, trapped between the prongs, is now rising out of the bottle. It also works for corks that have just got stuck, as the prongs break the seal as you insert them to then extract it with ease.
I love this corkscrew every time I need to use it, which admittedly is infrequently! Peace of mind for a mere £9.95!

Index Chopping Boards by the Joseph Brothers

I doubt that I really need to write much of an introduction to Joseph and Joseph Index Chopping boards, do I? Sets of 4 colour coded chopping boards, dishwasher safe and won’t blunt your knives. We have a couple of sets on offer at present

A large size set of 4 boards £65 which this weekend were doing for £50.

A Medium Set of 4 Boards £50 which this weekend are £40.

School Of Wok Beech Chopping Board

I’m not a fan of big, heavy, butcher block style chopping boards, preferring instead my lovely Epicurean wood fibre boards, light and dishwasher proof. But I know that there are plenty of people who will want to disagree with me on this and just love the look and feel of a big, heavy, thick chopping board. So, for you misguided souls, here’s treat for you. For a mere sixty quid, I have here a “gorgeous” round chopping block fashioned in Beech wood. Ok, I wouldn’t buy one myself, but it doesn’t stop me admiring the feel, the weight and the quality of beech these are made from. A board for life. And Bryony at Dexam is very kindly throwing in a free School of Wok Chinese chopper to seal the deal. We have only 6 in each shop, and so far as I know the offer has finished, so if it appeals to you then don’t leave it too long.

Chopping Board & Cleaver (with RRP £27.50 FOC) is a bit of a bargain all for £60! Only available in the shops.

Demeyere Apollo Sauteuse 24cm

A couple of years ago my favourite pan maker Demeyere produced an Apollo Sauteuse Pan 24cm, made to achieve a particular price point. Not their normal approach. And, in fact all they did was to supply a glass lid with it, rather than the usual stainless steel one, thus allowing a sub £200 RRP. We have a few of these pans left now, 12 in fact, so I’ve reduced these from £199 to £149 to clear the last of them. Again, only available in the shops.

Le Creuset TNS 24cm & 28cm Frying Pan Set. £179                                           

This set of two frying pans, is something of a bargain as well, but oddly we haven’t sold that many.
Its normal price, sold individually, would be £259.
The Le Creuset offer price is £179 and for this weekend, using code TNSFRYS, you can buy a set for £149 saving £30 on the offer price and £110 on the prices when sold individually!

Yet another bargain!

Ok, that’s the last of them for this week.

No doubt I’ll have more treats for you next week, and so in the meanwhile may I wish you a very pleasant and peaceful weekend.

Kind regards

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan

Director