A spoonful of olive oil in your coffee? –
Starbucks has launched an ‘innovative’ range of coffee beverages infused with extra virgin olive oil across its Italian stores. Interim CEO Howard Schultz said the Oleato – meaning ‘with oil’ – range of beverages represents the ‘next revolution in coffee’ that brings together an ‘alchemy of nature’s finest ingredients’. Starbucks cited an Italian family tradition of consuming a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil each day as an uplifting ritual as the inspiration for the concept and has partnered with premium Sicily-based olive oil brand Partanna for the product launch. Three products — Oleato Caffè Latte, Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso…
McPlant nuggets premiere in Germany –
The world’s first plant-based nuggets at a McDonald’s restaurant will be available in Germany’s 1450 outlets today, replacing the vegan burger. Also new on the menu is the McPlant Burger. It replaces the vegan burger and the Fresh Vegan TS, and McDonald’s has emphasized the plant-based characteristic of the nuggets and patties, avoiding the vegan designation. This makes Germany the first country market with plant-based nuggets on the menu boards. According to the company, this is also the first time a plant-based alternative has been available in a Happy Meal. McDonald’s and Beyond Meat worked together to create the new…
Food experts meet to judge New Zealand’s finest produce –
Michelin-star chef Pim Techamuanvivit is joining internationally renowned New Zealand chef Peter Gordon and 25 local food experts to judge the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards in Auckland this week. More than 290 locally harvested, grown and made food and drink products will be assessed on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 February at Gordon’s restaurant, Homeland, known as The Food Embassy for Aotearoa and the Pacific Islands. Born and raised in Bangkok, Pim (pictured above right), took a circuitous route through the world of food from blogging (her blog Chez Pim attracted more than 250,000 views a month), to make…
The Sicilian Hotel Where ‘White Lotus’ Was Filmed Is Currently Offering a 25% Off Deal
Head to the dreamy location for a bit of a discount — drama not included. Looking to experience The White Lotus IRL? Well, it just got a bit cheaper. The San Domenico Palace, A Four Seasons Hotel, which was the hotel used as the setting for season 2 of the hit HBO show, in Sicily, Italy, is running a promotion offering 25 percent off of certain rates and packages. Located in Sicily, on a hillside overlooking the Ionian Sea, the building was once a convent back in the 14th century, and has been welcoming guests as a hotel since 1896.…
Cordis Auckland joins EarthCheck Master class –
The saying ‘many hands make light work’ couldn’t be more relevant for Cordis Auckland on its sustainability journey, as they recently received EarthCheck Master status, one of just 15 hotels globally to do so. The Managing Director of Cordis Auckland, Franz Mascarenhas said the hotel has been on a continuous journey to become more sustainable. It’s all about consistency and the small actions from the team in the hotel daily, from recycling to effective waste management to water usage. “Fifteen years ago we made a commitment to be a sustainable business and we have been working in incremental steps to…
Hawaii leads vegan charge in USA –
Hawaii, Oregon, and New York are the most vegan-obsessed states in America. Research conducted by health and fitness experts at Total Shape used Google search data to examine the search volume of vegan-related search terms per 100K residents in each state in America over the past 12 months. The study also analyzed each state’s favorite source of vegan protein. The research revealed that Hawaii is the state most interested in a plant-based diet. Over the past 12 months, over 1.7K vegan-related searches were made per 100K Hawaiian residents. The most popular search term among Hawaii’s population was “Vegan,” followed by…
Ed Sheeran chocolate block up for grabs to support flood victims –
Whittaker’s has announced there are five special ‘Ed-ition’ prize packs up for grabs to raise funds for Auckland flood recovery thanks to support from Ed Sheeran. Whittaker’s created the ‘Ed Block’ for him last week after he posted to Instagram about New Zealand chocolate. The ‘Ed Block’ is Whittaker’s classic Five Roll Refined Creamy Milk chocolate with a special edition label. He has now supplied a selfie which features on the blocks, and collaborated with Whittaker’s on the prize packs. Each prize pack contains a signed Special Ed-ition Ed Block, a signed one-of-a-kind Ed Block t-shirt each with a unique…