Daily news round up: our selection of food and chef news from the world's press

Chef Nick Nairn rejects invitation to Downing Street St Andrew's Day reception to celebrate the Union

NICK Nairn has snubbed an invitation to a St Andrew’s Day celebration at Downing Street celebrating the Union.  The reception, hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron, is being held to mark “the contribution Scotland makes to the United Kingdom” on November 28.  It will be staged two days after the SNP’s White Paper on independence is published.

Read more from The Daily Record

 

Royal Botanic Garden chef finds knotweed tasty

ITS reputation as a feared pest capable of tunnelling through walls and roads has long ­preceded it.  But Japanese knotweed could appear on dinner plates across the country after a green-fingered chef at ­Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden turned it into a daring dessert . . . and is now in the running to be named Britain’s best contract cook.  Ben Harrison, head chef at RBGE’s Gateway Restaurant and Terrace Café, said he was “thrilled” to be short-listed after his coconut panna cotta and candied Japanese ­knotweed caught the eye of industry judges at ­prestigious trade publication FSM.

Read more from Edinburgh News

 

Prince Charles: Supermarkets give squeezed farmers a raw deal

Prince Charles has accused the big supermarkets and their shareholders of profiting from Britain’s farmers while taking on “none of the risk” of dealing with the roller-coaster economics of food production.

Read more from The Independent

 

Top 10 budget restaurants and cafes in central London

Eating out in London doesn't have to leave your wallet empty. Updating his last guide, Tony Naylor finds the capital, particularly in and around Soho, is home to a thriving casual-dining scene

Read more from The Guardian