Welcome… to challenges and rewards

If you find yourself in a shop hovering over a juicy looking fore rib of beef this weekend, before noticing the price and opting for a cheaper chicken instead, you’re not alone. A new report says UK shoppers are among the most frugal in the world, which is not great news for the embattled farming industry, who had their say at the NFU conference this week.

Or for retailers, after a week where supply chain interruptions left big gaps in stores and saw the supermarkets introduce rationing. Grim times. So, on second thoughts, perhaps this is exactly the right time to enjoy a giant Sunday roast beef after all, and raise a toast to the good times that will surely follow. 

Or, if fish and chips sounds better, head to the chippy. Then get back home, put your feet up, and enjoy listening to the story of how that fish and chip filled paper parcel ended up in your lap.

Meanwhile, UK sheep could be on their way to a sweeter smelling future, after a project began in Hertfordshire to selectively breed sheep that emit less methane while they go about their business. And elsewhere, Waitrose has ranked the ten most influential women in food, judged by an all-female panel of expert judges working in the industry.

Wishing you a wonderful food-filled weekend,

James