Daily news update: our selection of food and chef news from the worlds press

Lidl and Aldi pose biggest supermarket threat ever

The boss of Morrisons has declared the competition from discount grocers Lidl and Aldi have thrown the supermarkets industry into its biggest crisis since its birth in the 1950s.  The chief executive Dalton Philips was speaking as he admitted to a £176m pretax loss for the past year and vowed to throw £1bn into cutting prices, sending shares in Tesco and Sainsbury plunging.

Read more from The Independent

 

Organic food and drink sale rises after years of decline

Sales of organic food and drink rose by 2.8% last year after successive years of decline, fuelled by strong growth among independent retailers and healthy online sales.

Read more from The Guardian

 

Chef in Belgium Gives Back His Michelin Star

Following the announcement of Michelin's 2014 stars for Belgium and the Main Cities of Europe, one Flemish chef has decided to give his star back.Frederick Dhooge of 't Huis van Lede in East Flanders revealed on the restaurant's Facebook page that he did not want his Michelin star or his points in the Gault-Millau restaurant guide.

Read more from Eater

 

The most expensive hotel room in the world – that MELTS: 
Ice Hotel allows guests to design their own suite… for £140,000

It takes two weeks to create, costs £140,000 and lasts for only a few months – but guests who can afford it now have the chance to design their very own suite in Sweden’s Ice Hotel.  Famous for its individually crafted rooms and works of art, which are carved out of ice and snow, the resort is offering the ‘haute couture travel experience’ for stays between December and March, 2015.  Working with the Ice Hotel’s talented designers, guests can create a room that ‘suits their taste and expresses their individual style’ out of natural ice from the river Torne.

Read more from Mail Online