Battle of the Butties
The search is on to find the Best Pub Sandwich in Britain. Read on to find out how your pub can get involved
Does your pub have an excellent sandwich offering? If so we want to hear about it, and by getting involved in our exciting competition you could win yourself a weekend for two in Paris.
PubChef, the Morning Advertiser's food magazine, has teamed up with Délifrance UK, in a search to find the best pub sandwich.
Pub Sandwich of the Year 2005 aims to celebrate the fantastic range, quality and diversity of sandwiches now available on pub menus and reward those whose offering is a cut above the rest.
Sandwiches are an important part of any pub's menu offering. The total UK sandwich market is worth £3.5bn and is expected to grow to £4.7bn by 2007.
To get involved in the competition simply complete the entry form below, including details of your sandwich menu and the recipe for one of your pub's most successful sandwiches.
Entries will, initially, be paper judged to whittle them down to four finalists.
Those finalists will then be contacted by the PubChef team in April so that visits to their pubs can be arranged for our judging panel to taste the four chef's winning recipes.
Lucy Pickersgill, marketing controller at Délifrance UK and a judge of the PubChef Best Pub Sandwich competition, said: "The UK sandwich market is continually evolving and we see more and more innovation every day.
"The influx of new sandwich carrier concepts by bread makers, together with the creativity we are continually witnessing with fillings, has opened up endless opportunities for the caterer.
"Délifrance is delighted to back the Best Pub Sandwich competition. As the UK now holds the title for the world's best sandwich, it's over to our great British pub chefs to earn a much-deserved and nationally-recognised title of their own."
PubChef editor Jo Bruce said: "The sandwich was invented in Britain and is one of the things we do best. There are some excellent sandwiches on offer on pub menus so don't be shy ."
The closing date for entries is Thursday, 31 March.
Please send your entry to Jo Bruce, Pub Sandwich of the Year Competition, PubChef, William Reed Publishing, Broadfield Park, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9RT
What you can win:
l A weekend for two in Paris including travel on Eurostar, two nights' hotel accommodation and £100 spending money. Dates to be arranged to suit .
l Ten cases of Délifrance products, suitable for your pub's catering needs.
l A plaque to put up outside your pub and a certificate.
A slice of the action
The UK has the highest sandwich consumption per capita 8bn packs in 2002.
The sandwich is a staple of the British diet, exported to and modified in almost every country in the world.
Everyone has their favourite. Tony Blair favours a great British classic a hard-working, no-frills BLT. A combination of avocado, cucumber, tomato, and watercress is comedienne Victoria Wood's favourite.
Terms and conditions
MA|17/2/05 |08 |Kalashnikov falls foul of Portman |by John Harrington
The suppliers of Kalashnikov Vodka have hit out at thedecision of Portman Group's Independent Complaints Panel (ICP) to blacklist the product because of the name's association with violent and dangerous behaviour.
The Kalashnikov Joint Vodka Company accused Portman of inconsistency and favouritism towards larger drinks producers after the ICP ruled the name Kalashnikov breached Portman's Code of Practice.
The ICP ruled the name evoked an image of the AK-47 gun, "which has become a global symbol for terror and violence". It called this "an unacceptable choice of brand name for an alcoholic drink" because it "indirectly suggested an association with violent and dangerous behaviour". Portman is asking pubs not to stock the brandand Kalashnikov Joint Vodka Company is in talks with the group's advisory service about changing the name to comply with its code.
But the company argued that General Kalashnikov is depicted as a civilian and not a soldier on the bottle, and the AK-47 rifle isn't featured anywhere on the packaging.
It said General Kalashnikov was not associated with "terror and violence" and the AK-47 was created for the defence of Russia.
Kalashnikov Joint Vodka Company MD John Florey suggested that the decision was taken to stop smaller brands competing against products from large drinks firms.
But Portman spokesman Jim Minton said the decision was made by a panel that is "completely independent of the industry, and of any of the Portman Group member companies".
Florey also argued it is inconsistent that Kalashnikov Vodka should be blacklisted when other brands that have military associations are not such as Spitfire and Bombardier ales.
But Minton stressed that the ICP had ruled the name evokes an image of a specific gun that has a contemporary relevance. He added that the ICP could only investigate products after a complaint; alcohol campaign group Alcohol Focus Scotland had complained about the drink.
Portman chief executive Jean Coussins said: "The code is there to ensure that no alcoholic drinks product associates itself directly or indirectly with violence and this decision reflects this principle."
