Labyrinth Amsterdam: soul food en cocktails at Amstelsveenseweg

Do you like cocktails and are you looking for just that little bit more than only drinks! Labyrinth Amsterdam, a new concept bar, opened their doors at the Amstelveenseweg in Old South. Cocktails and soul food is what you'll find there. The dishes on the menu are a melting pot of global soul food and are like dishes moms over the entire world used to make at home. This new cafe and restaurant is open till late and they serve good cocktails. But that's not all!

Once in a while you can listen to poetry readings at Labyrinth and they also host spoken words and story telling events. A nice addition to the evening when you're eating dinner there! Do you want to go to one of these poetry nights? Every few weeks there will be a new event so keep an eye on the Facebook of Labyrinth and book a table.

Want to visit Labyrinth Amsterdam during the day? They're open for lunch, coffee and tea. You can find Labyrinth Amsterdam at Amstelveense weg 53, near Vondelpark. Nice to walk you after dinner dip off. Enjoy!

PS: Get your dessert at the neighbors Sticky Fingers at Amstelveenseweg 3. YUM!

Source: Labyrinth Amsterdam: soul food en cocktails at Amstelsveenseweg

Cargill, food companies keep close eye on U.S. travel ban

See more of the story

Cargill Inc. is monitoring the travel ban imposed by President Trump as it could affect many of the company's employees.

"Cargill is working with its travel and security partners to determine what the action means for our employees," the Wayzata-based company said in an e-mail Sunday night. "We will continue to monitor the situation since it is evolving rapidly. Cargill is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive global workforce."

The agribusiness giant declined to offer specific problems its workers may be facing, citing "employee privacy" concerns.

Cargill employs more than 150,000 people in 70 countries. The company openly supports legal immigration. Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends refugees awaiting resettlement in the U.S. for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely. It also bars people from seven majority-Muslim nations, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, from entering the country for 90 days.

But confusion remains on how to carry out the order with certain groups, like legal permanent U.S. residents. Cargill's U.S. operations rely on highly-skilled foreign workers, like scientists and engineers, and some immigrants at its agricultural facilities and manufacturing plants.

U.S. officials initially said the ban would apply to green-card holders — those who live and work in the U.S. legally — but backpedaled on this issue Sunday. The White House said green-card holders who are traveling abroad would just be subject to further questioning upon re-entry and handled on a case-by-case basis.

The technology industry also relies heavily on skilled foreign workers to fill the demand for software engineers. Many Silicon Valley companies, including Facebook, Google and Apple, publicly criticized the ban over the weekend.

The North American Meat Institute, which includes member companies like Austin-based Hormel Foods Corp. and Cargill Meat Solutions, expressed concern over the potential changes to the workforce.

"As the administration pursues changes to the nation's refugee policies, we hope it will give careful consideration to the ramifications policy changes like these can have on our businesses and on foreign born workers who are eager to build new lives in America through the jobs our companies can offer," Barry Carpenter, the organization's chief executive, said in a statement.

The organization did not have data on the number of refugees employed by the meat industry, but Carpenter said, "Historically, our industry has been an excellent starting point for new Americans. Immigrants and refugees can be an important component of some companies' labor forces."

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767

Source: Cargill, food companies keep close eye on U.S. travel ban

What it's like in the 7 countries on Trump's travel ban list

But what's life like for people in those seven nations? For many, conflict, human rights abuses and long-term unemployment are the norm, and are reasons to flee or try to immigrate.

The brutal conflict has triggered an exodus of refugees from Syria, most of them heading for Europe. The Obama administration had set a goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees last year, which it had done by August.

A wounded Syrian boy cries after Russian airstrikes on an Aleppo neighborhood in October 2016.

The Syrian conflict broke out in 2011 with the Arab Spring uprising, but rebel groups' attempts to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's regime have been fruitless. The conflict has allowed ISIS to flourish, with the militant group taking control of Syria's city of Raqqa as its capital, taking control of a belt across the country and into Iraq.

A US-led international coalition has carried out airstrikes in the country against ISIS, but the Syrian regime and its most powerful ally, Russia, have also pounded parts of the nation from the air, reducing areas like eastern Aleppo to rubble. Civilians there have lived under bombardment for years.

A boy sits with his belongings where his house once stood in Aleppo on December 17, 2016.

Life is also grim for many living under ISIS rule. Women complain they are forced to wear burqas. People are forbidden from smoking, and men are forced to grow their facial hair, while access to the rest of the world through television, the internet and mobile phones are largely cut off.

Now as a ceasefire deal is being hammered out, Syrians are nervously watching to see what will come next for their country.

Iraq

Iraq has struggled to achieve political stability since the US invasion in 2003. American forces captured then-dictator Saddam Hussein that year, and he was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court and hanged in 2006.

US forces remained in Iraq until 2011, during which time they worked with the Iraqi military under a new government to build the country's defense capability.

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces patrol a street in Tikrit.

But the country's forces were unable to stave off the spread of ISIS, made most horrifically clear in 2014 when as many as 1,700 cadet soldiers were killed in mass executions near a former US military base.

US forces have returned in recent years, in smaller numbers, to help strengthen the military, currently aiding in the operation to retake the city of Mosul after more than two years of ISIS rule.

Last week, the eastern portion of Mosul was liberated from the militant group. But that doesn't mean everything is back to normal.

The human toll in Mosul has been significant. More than 114,000 people have been displaced from their homes, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"As many as one million people are estimated to remain out of reach of humanitarian assistance in Mosul city. Of particular concern are reports of food and water shortages," the UN said recently.

More than 200 people were killed last year when a suicide truck bomb ripped through Baghdad. It was the deadliest single attack in Iraq's war-weary capital in years. ISIS claimed responsibility for the carnage.

Many of the men and women who helped American forces in the ongoing conflict as translators and contractors have applied for asylum in the US. Facing persecution at home for helping what ISIS deems the enemy, their fate is now unknown.

Pro-government forces drive military vehicles toward the city of Mosul.

Iran

Iran's oil-reliant economy had been hit hard by decades of economic sanctions, contributing to the country's high levels of unemployment.

Sanctions were first imposed by the United States in 1979 following the Iranian revolution and the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran. But more sanctions, including by the US and the UN, were later imposed over the country's nuclear program.

Iranian women walk past the former US embassy in Tehran in November 2016 during a demonstration marking the anniversary of the 1979 hostage crisis.

Iran was considered a pariah state by many Western powers, but that changed when Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in a deal crafted by the Obama administration. The deal has seen most of the sanctions lifted, loosening the noose on the country's economy and allowing foreign investment to pour in.

While Iran appears to be getting back on its feet economically and politically, rights groups say the country is still autocratic in many ways and life is difficult for minority groups, women and the political opposition.

Iran is an Islamic theocracy, where the people vote in their representatives and president, but Shia Islam is constitutionally the official religion, which guides the nation's political decisions.

Amnesty International said in its 2015-16 country report for Iran that authorities had severely curtailed the rights to freedom of expression, arresting and imprisoning journalists, human rights defenders, trade unionists and others who voiced dissent.

The report said torture and other ill-treatment of detainees remained common, as were blinding, amputation and floggings as punishment. And women and members of ethnic and religious minorities faced pervasive discrimination in law and in practice.

But Trump's temporary travel ban on Iranians is likely to rock the country's relationship, which has only just begun to recover after decades in the doldrums.

Yemen

Yemen's civil war broke out more than two years ago, yet it is very much a "forgotten war" as the world focuses on Syria, where conflict rages on a larger scale.

But the two wars bear some resemblance -- dozens of schools and hospitals have been bombed, foreign powers have carried out deadly airstrikes, political chaos has created a vacuum for militant groups like ISIS to flourish and sieges have cut off rebel-held areas from desperately needed aid.

A malnourished boy lies on a bed at a hospital in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen, in September 2016.

Harrowing photographs of children wasting away from starvation have emerged, painting a grim picture of life in a conflict much ignored.

UNICEF reports that 1.5 million children are currently malnourished in the country, 370,000 of them severely.

The conflict began in early 2015, when Houthi rebels -- a minority Shia group from the north of the country -- drove out the US-backed government, led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and took over the capital, Sanaa. The crisis quickly escalated into a multi-sided war, which allowed al Qaeda and ISIS -- other enemies of the Houthis -- to grow stronger amid the chaos.

A man walks past a building hit by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in February 2016, in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Yemen has perhaps received less attention from the West than Syria because its people struggle to flee -- many Yemenis are too poor to pay the people smugglers who can get them out, and they do not have the proximity to Europe that the Syrians have.

Yemen is by many measures a failed state -- its economy is failing, making it easier to recruit fighters, the World Bank reports, showing an economic contraction of more than 28% in 2015.

"Prior to 2014, Yemen was facing challenges on several fronts that have been exacerbated by the conflict -- high population growth, severe urban-rural imbalances, food and water scarcity, female illiteracy, widespread poverty, and economic stagnation," the World Bank said.

Libya

Five short years ago, Libya was one of the wealthiest and most stable nations in Africa. The country had been led by Colonel Moammar Gadhafi for more than 40 years after he seized power in a 1969 coup, and its 6 million citizens enjoyed the benefits of the country's vast oil wealth.

As the Arab Spring took hold in 2011, Gadhafi was eventually toppled and summarily executed. But his removal only created a political vacuum, and no stable government has taken his place since.

Forces hold position in clashes with ISIS in the city of Sirte.

Years of political uncertainty allowed ISIS militants to gain a foothold in the country, drawing the US into another conflict.

ISIS found a stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte -- Gadhafi's hometown -- where Al Qaeda had failed to do so several years earlier. The group was finally swept out of the city in December, but the US continues to strike ISIS targets in the country. Earlier this month, US B-2 bombers struck and destroyed two ISIS camps in Libya, with initial estimates that over 80 militants were killed, US officials told CNN.

Helping Libya's recovering oil sector was also a likely factor in the US decision to target the training camps, according to Geoff Porter, president of North Africa Risk Consulting.

"Targeting Islamic State training camps in the Sirte Basin consolidates the oil production gains made in the last two months and reduces the risk that they will be targeted by the Islamic State again in the future," Porter told CNN.

Now, three self-styled "governments" are vying for power, as multiple tribes compete for influence and a slice of the country's dwindling oil wealth.

Forces gather in the Sirte in an operation to clear ISIS from the coastal city.

Somalia

One of the world's poorest countries, Somalia descended into civil war after dictator Siad Barre's ouster in 1991.

Now, after two-and-a-half decades of conflict, much of the country's governance structure, economic infrastructure, and institutions have been destroyed, the World Bank reports.

In 2012, a new government emerged, but warring tribes and extremist groups, such as Al-Shabaab, were able to flourish during the more unstable years. Al-Shabaab grew in size and strength over the subsequent years, carrying out attacks against government and military targets, recruiting child soldiers for its cause.

Young fighters talk about taking part in Al-Shabab attacks.

While Al-Shabaab has seen its power wane in recent years -- thanks in part to an African Union coalition dedicated to peacekeeping in the country -- Mogadishu is still subject to frequent attacks.

On Wednesday, 21 people died in twin blasts in the country's capital Mogadishu. Somalia's gross domestic product is only around $6 billion. Per capital, GDP was at $450 in 2016, while 51.6 percent pf people live in poverty.

Human Rights Watch reports that displaced populations remain vulnerable to sexual violence and forced evictions in government-controlled areas.

Government security forces, African Union troops and allied militias have been responsible for indiscriminate attacks, sexual violence, and arbitrary arrests and detention, the group said, adding that restrictions on access to aid organizations have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis there.

Sudan

Sudan's development has been beset by ongoing conflicts, most notably the Darfur conflict, which began around 2003 when several rebel groups took up arms against the government in Khartoum. They fought over land and historical marginalization, which still continue today.

In response, the government's counterinsurgency strategy targeted the opposition groups but reportedly expanded to target tribes associated with the insurgents.

People displaced from Darfur's conflict arrive at Shangel Tubaya in 2010.

The violence escalated into a war, and in 2008, the UN estimated that 300,000 people may have died in the Darfur conflict, although experts say that figure has likely risen since then.

Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, including genocide, related to the Darfur conflict in 2010.

But the conflict is not entirely over -- the Sudanese government was accused last year of using chemical weapons against the people of Darfur, according to a report released by Amnesty International, which said the attacks may constitute a war crime.

The government dismissed the allegations as "rumors."

Children scavenge food and clothing from the Juba Municipal Garbage Dump.

Sudan has also faced pressure from conflict in South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011.

More than 100,000 people have sought safety in Sudan since mid-October 2014, the World Bank reports, and an additional 7,000 people fled across the border after fighting broke out in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, in July 2016. More continue to arrive on daily basis.

"The unequal allocation of public resources and access to natural resources are main drivers of conflict, feeding into a potent mix of ideology, ethnicity and socio-economic marginalization that threatens to pull the country further apart," the World Bank reports.

CNN's Emily Smith wrote from Atlanta, while Angela Dewan wrote from London.

Source: What it's like in the 7 countries on Trump's travel ban list

Food safety dept issues notice to IIT-R

Summary: Roorkee: The food safety department, after lifting two food samples from a hostel mess of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R), has issued notice to the institute on Friday. We have sent the food samples for testing at a Rudrapur-based lab," Santosh Kumar Singh, food safety officer, told TOI.This was the second incident of food poisoning at the institute in the past three years when the food safety department issued notice to the management. In August 2013, over 250 students of Rajendra Bhawan (hostel) complained of food poisoning after having breakfast from the hostel canteen."The food safety department had also imposed a fine on the institute for not following food safety norms," said Santosh Kumar Singh. We will probe the matter," said dean (students' welfare) D K Nauriyal.Taking cognizance of the incident, which was reported on social media, the food safety department inspected the mess and lifted two food samples and issued a notice to the institu te under different sub-clauses of section 31 of the Food Safety & Standard Act 2006."The hostel mess is being run without food safety licence. We have given one month's time to the institute to respond to the notice.

Roorkee: The food safety department, after lifting two food samples from a hostel mess of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R), has issued notice to the institute on Friday. About 30 students had fallen ill after having dinner on Wednesday. All students are safe and have been discharged from the institute's hospital after receiving treatment for two nights.

The doctors at the hospital said the students are safe.Reacting to Wednesday's incident of alleged food poisoning of the students, the institute's authorities said that it could be a case of specific food allergy and that there was nothing wrong with the food served to the students.According to reports, 28 students of post-graduate and PhD (research) programmes, who lived in Cautley Bhawan (hostel) of the institute, had dinner in the hostel mess on January 25 but soon started complaining of stomach ache and dehydration. They were rushed to the hospital for treatment."Some students had eaten rice and a sweet co rn dish specially prepared on their demand in the mess. Only 28 students had fallen ill after eating that dish.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/food-safety-dept-issues-notice-to-iit-r/articleshow/56817826.cms

Subscribe to Dehradun News Read Full Story
Source: Food safety dept issues notice to IIT-R

4 Go-To Latin Food Spots in LA That Aren’t Taco Trucks

Latin culture is an integral part of LA; from Spanglish radio stations — my fave is 96.3 La Mega — to the rising Latin dance scene to various delicious food options.

A word of advice — please do not refer to Taco Bell, Del Taco, or even Chipotle as legitimate Mexican food. If you invite an Angelino to any of these places and it's not a 2am-post-club-drunk-food-run or I'm-late-for-my-freshman-college-class-errand, we will politely decline. For a more authentic Angelino Latin food experience, keep reading.

Source: 4 Go-To Latin Food Spots in LA That Aren't Taco Trucks

LUSMO Pet food Automatic Feeder for Dogs or Cats L-AF10O Travel Diet Orange For Sale - New and Used

This item has been shown 3 times.

DescriptionGrade:Hello, I have been selling with from Japanso I can provide you the best service. Appearance of the itemCondition : NEWPlease confirm whether you are available in a country of oneself.If you have any question or concern,please do not hesitate to contact me.Thank you for visiting. If you want anything you want made in Japan, let me know .I will find one for you.  I listen to what you want. Payment We accept PayPal only. Payment is due within 3 days of the sale end.We will ship the item 3 business days after your payment clears.Shipping SAL(with Tracking Number): $free Arrival period(12～24days）E-PAKET(with Tracking Number): $5Arrival period(5～12days）I ship it in Japan post SAL or E-PAKETor DHL.I attach the tracking number.Please offer it without worryingShipping is only available to the address registered in Paypal.Please note that any address not registered in Paypal is not acceptable to ship.Shipping is available from Monday to Friday.Weekends are not available because post office is closed. Returns Unconditional Return Policy Customer service and satisfaction are very important to us.I have an unconditional return policy if notified within 14 of the receipt of the item. All returned items must be the original condition.All return requests must be made within 14 days of the receipt of the item. Please contact me first for return before you ship it back to me.The postage of the returned goods is a buyer burden.

International Buyers Please Note : Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to offerding or buying.

SASA1130

Source: LUSMO Pet food Automatic Feeder for Dogs or Cats L-AF10O Travel Diet Orange For Sale - New and Used

China’s Fake Food Epidemic: A Concern to Everyone

By Ho Yan Wong, 1/25/17

China's fake food problem covers a wide range of food. It is a concern to everyone.

Ranging from tainted baby formulas to plastic rice, from fake eggs to expired meat, from recycled "cooking oil" to industrial "table salt," Chinese fake food problems have been a concern for over a decade.

Recently, state-run newspaper Beijing News released an investigative news article revealing that 50 factories in Tianjin have been making fake condiments and seasonings for decades. As more people are studying, working or traveling in China, it becomes a concern to everyone, not limited to Chinese citizens.

What are the health impacts of fake food?

According to the article published by Beijing News, fake food seasonings contain industrial salts, heavy metals and many other harmful constituents.

"Ingesting any of those foods could have negative health impacts, particularly poisoning from toxins. In particular, heavy metals like lead are dangerous because they can cause brain damage," said Elizabeth Abbey, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Whitworth University.

The Beijing News article quoted Professor Liu Shaowai from East China University of Science and Technology about other negative health impacts of consuming fake seasonings. "Industrial salt contains many impurities and harmful constituents. For instance, nitrites are carcinogenic. Also, heavy metals will damage livers and kidneys," Professor Liu said.

Having lived in Beijing since she was born, Wang Yao has been consuming Chinese food for the past 23 years. "I do feel worried. That's why I have physical examination every half a year," said Wang. "But there is no harmful impact seen on my body so far."

Where to go for "real" food?

In China, there are small grocery stores and trucks on the side of roads selling fruits, vegetables and meat, but Wang does not buy there. "When I cook at home, I will go to large-scale supermarket to buy vegetables and meat with guaranteed food security," Wang said.

When Wang dines out, she usually goes to more formal restaurants. "I feel more secured," Wang said. She said she suggests people traveling to China visit review platforms such as Dianping to look for restaurants with better reviews.

Leo Cheang, a tourist to China in 2016, shared similar thought with Wang. "I usually go to the restaurants that many local residents go. It means they have reputation," Cheang said.

"Now some restaurants will have a label telling consumers the origin of their ingredients," he added.

Chinese seasonings are available to buy in the US as well.

Shall we eat street food?

Beside restaurants, there are a lot of mobile street food vendors on the roadsides, and a number of famous pedestrian streets packed with non-mobile street food stalls. While street food is one of the eating cultures in China, fake food can easily be found at these street food stalls.

"There are a lot of food stalls without licenses," Cheang said. He suggested not to eat too much street food, or to only eat street food at non-mobile food stalls, which are much cleaner.

Having traveled to China a couple of times and having finished a one-semester exchange in Sichuan, Rose McKiernan shared how she chose street food. "There are places that my friends recommended and there is one near our class building that many students go to," McKiernan said.

McKiernan added that usually the street food stalls near university campus are cleaner. "When I go travel to other places in the city, I don't eat the street food," McKiernan said.

Wang said she eats street food, although sometimes she bought fake food in street food stalls. "One time I bought a meat skewer on the street. The meat did not taste right. It was like mixing with powder and additives," Wang said.

Street food is a prominent part of China's food culture, but it is also a hotbed for fake food.

"I will not go to the places selling fake food again. If we can stop buying there and even report them, we can help improve the problem," Wang said.

While public awareness towards fake food and food safety has increased in recent years and the China government has tried to revise its Food Safety Law in 2015, more has to be done to meet citizens and visitors' standard.

"There should be more food regulations," Cheang said.

Source: China's Fake Food Epidemic: A Concern to Everyone

7 On-The-Go Travel Hacks: How To Survive in a Food Desert

A weekend escape does wonders for the soul, but not so much for the diet. Whether we find ourselves in the airport, at a road trip gas station, inside a hotel room or even a friend's home, every healthy eater knows what it feels like to be trapped in a "food desert".

What to do? Functional medicine guru, Dr. Mark Hyman, has a few practical ideas for planning ahead and stocking up while on the go. Here's how to survive outside of your everyday Whole Foods radius…

I've traveled to towns where I've felt forced to make the most of what is available – and the options weren't very impressive. When it comes to healthy eating on the go, sometimes you have to improvise and do the best you can with what you have.

It's not your fault you can't find real food in the average American town. The food industry conspires to keep real food off the shelves because it's simply not as profitable to sell vegetables, fruits and nuts as it is to sell snack cakes, candy bars and chips. Yet even in those situations, there's hope. You can find healthy foods just about anywhere, even if it isn't as abundant as junk food. You don't need access to farmers' markets, gourmet food stores or even health food stores. You can visit your regular grocery store and usually find what you need.

In even the worst situations, I use these seven ways to improvise and make the best possible choices in what seems like the most hopeless food deserts…

Stash healthy food staples. Convenience stores and airport kiosks are invitations to eat junk food. If you're going to be driving, I recommend taking healthy staples from home like almond butter, nut milk, coconut oil, wild-canned fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds and other nonperishable items. If you're flying, make room for some of these items in your bags.

Keep a carry-along cooler in your backseat. My favorite secret weapon while road tripping is to stash my favorite emergency kit snacks. I carry dry goods but also fresh foods like celery, carrots, snap peas and radishes – easy finger foods that tend to hold their fresh crunch, especially in the cooler. Apples, berries, pomegranate seeds, avocados and lemons also fare well on the road. If you want something sweet, carry a 70-percent raw, organic dark chocolate bar to prevent those candy bars from calling your name at the gas station.

Place an order online. Before I travel, I place an order for all of my favorite healthy foods and snacks to bring along. Thrive Market carries all of my favorite guilt-free snacks and staples. If online shopping feels easier (it sure does for me!), sign up for Thrive online. If you can, have your order delivered to your destination as a "hostess gift" – that way you are contributing healthy snacks and thanking your hosts for their hospitality at the same time!

Locate the closest food stores. Seek out grocery and/or health food stores as soon as you arrive at your destination. Make a shopping list before you hit the grocery store to save you from wandering the aisles aimlessly and buying junk food impulsively. Stick to the store's periphery, or more specifically, the produce section, which has most of what you're looking for. After all, whole, fresh foods are stocked on the outside walls, not the inside shelves. If purchasing beef or meat, choose grass fed, hormone-free or organic whenever possible.

Load up on essentials. If you aren't able to travel with these, pick them up once you've arrived at your destination. Mine include extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, nut milks, coconut milk, olives, apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, and any other spices you might need.

Dine out smartly. If your family or friends want to eat out, research local restaurants online and suggest a few options that work for you. Most people are happy when someone else makes the decision, and choosing puts you in the driver's seat to find healthy options. Most places have online menus. Look for those with high-quality foods like grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish and organic produce. Restaurants usually have side dishes like steamed veggies or sweet potatoes. Likewise, almost any restaurant can make a grilled fish or chicken dish with a large plate of vegetables steamed or sautéed in olive oil. Anything glazed, breaded or drowning in a sugary sauce should be a red flag to stay away. If your entrée is served with a gluten grain or starchy carbohydrate, simply ask to substitute with a green vegetable instead. Easy and done!

Connect in the kitchen. Rather than go out, use gatherings as an opportunity for you to connect with your family and friends in the kitchen. Introduce your loves ones to new, healthy recipes you've been enjoying. That way, you can control the ingredients and types of foods you'll be having.

Source: 7 On-The-Go Travel Hacks: How To Survive in a Food Desert

Food producers travel to American trade show as part of delegation

pic of (l-r) Nigel Arnett, managing director at Cartwright & Butler with marketing manager Damian Jaoudat with a selection of the firms products.

16:18 Sunday 22 January 2017

Three specialist food producers from Yorkshire are amongst a 12-strong delegation from the region exhibiting products at Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.

The Wensleydale Creamery, Cartwright & Butler and Shepherd's Purse are looking to boost exports to North America and other overseas markets by joining a Northern Powerhouse trade mission to the food show.

Organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the mission has attracted 21 businesses from the Northern Powerhouse region including 12 from Yorkshire.

Mark Robson, DIT regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "The value of Yorkshire and the Humber businesses meeting existing and potential customers on the DIT's Northern Powerhouse trade missions can never be underestimated and often translates into valuable orders."

The trade event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California started yesterday and will conclude on January 24.

This year's event is the largest in its 42-year history with thousands of food and beverage companies from the US and 30 other nations displaying their wares.

Cartwright & Butler previously attended the Summer Fancy Food Show in June 2016 but is making its debut at the Winter Fancy Food Show.

Managing director Tony Arnett said: "We're excited to be exhibiting at the Winter Fancy Food Show after the success of exhibiting at the Summer Show in New York. The USA is a great fit for the Cartwright and Butler brand. We are already established in stores such as Macy's in Herald Square and look forward to meeting new customers in San Francisco."

Back to the top of the page

{* #userInformationForm *}

{* loginWidget *}

{* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* traditionalSignIn_password *}

{* /userInformationForm *} {* #userInformationForm *}

Email Address {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} Password {* traditionalSignIn_password *}

{* /userInformationForm *} {* #userInformationForm *}

{* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* traditionalSignIn_password *}

{* /userInformationForm *} Please fill in the remaining fields below to complete your registration {* #registrationForm *}

{* traditionalRegistration_firstName *} {* traditionalRegistration_lastName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *}

{* /registrationForm *} {* #socialRegistrationForm *}

{* socialRegistration_firstName *} {* socialRegistration_lastName *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *}

{* socialRegistration_jpCommsOptIn *}

Registering with Yorkshire Post means you're ok with our terms and conditions.

{* socialRegistration_captcha *}

{* /socialRegistrationForm *} {* #socialRegistrationForm *}

{* socialRegistration_firstName *} {* socialRegistration_lastName *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *}

{* socialRegistration_jpCommsOptIn *}

By registering you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of the website.

{* socialRegistration_captcha *} {* /socialRegistrationForm *} Welcome to Yorkshire Post

You're almost there.We've just sent a confirmation email to . Check it out to confirm your registration.

We are unable to send your welcome email at this time.Please try again later by clicking the resend welcome email link from your profile page.

× We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed. Password has been successfully updated. We didn't recognise that password reset code. Enter your email address to get a new one. {* #resetPasswordForm *}

{* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *}

{* forgotPassword_sendButton *}

{* /resetPasswordForm *} We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed. {* mergeAccounts {"custom": true} *} It looks like you're already registered

{| foundExistingAccountText |}. Either connect these accounts, or create new one using a different email address.

{| existing_provider |}

{| existing_displayName |}

{| current_emailAddress |}

{| rendered_existing_provider_photo |}

Created at {| existing_createdDate |}

It looks like you're already registered

Email is already registered with OtherSite. You'll be able to use the same account on current Site. Alternatively, you can create a new account with another email address.

{* #tradAuthenticateMergeForm *}

{* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* mergePassword *}

{* /tradAuthenticateMergeForm *} Congratulations, you're now registered! Let us know what news and updates you want to hear about and we'll send them straight to your inbox. No thanks, take me straight to the site. Where do you live?

Enter your postcode so we can keep you up-to-date with the latest local news and exciting deals.

Done

It looks like you're already registered.

is already registered with . You will be able to use the same account on . Alternatively, you can create a new account with another email address.

× ×

We have sent a confirmation email to . Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.

We are unable to process your request at this time. Please try again later.

Close

Congratulations, you've just sealed the deal! Sign in to your profile now to get started.

That's it, you're all done! Close this window to start browsing the site now or click here to go to your profile

Unfortunately that verification link has expired. To get a new one, just sign in to your profile now and resend the verification email.

Unfortunately that verification link has expired. To get a new one, just resend the verification email by going to your profile page.

×

Are you sure you want to remove this linked account?

Source: Food producers travel to American trade show as part of delegation

Japanese food delicacies, Izumo soba

The soba noodle is one of the most popular Japanese dishes. It is made of buckwheat flour, sometimes enriched with a small quantity of wheat flour, which makes the soba dough elastic, and good for making thin noodles. Depending on the wheat proportion, the taste of soba varies greatly.

If you travel to the Izumo area in Shimane, you can taste a special soba, because here, in order to enrich the buckwheat flavor, the flour is made from the whole buckwheat grain, including the outer shell. This makes the flour darker, and the soba noodles are more flavorful…

Click on photo for higher resolution:

EXIF Info:

Nikon Df Lens: 24-70mm F/2.8G Focal Length: 34mm Aperture: F/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/60s ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1600 Yesterday's Japan Photo:
Source: Japanese food delicacies, Izumo soba

How to find the real Czech food in Prague

PRAGUE -- There's nothing better than eating your way through history, which is what I did on a recent trip to Prague.

During the years of Soviet occupation, Prague's illustrious culinary traditions all but vanished or were compromised due to the lack of availability of ingredients, according to Martina Pavlícková, the sister of Lenka Pavlícková, who recently founded the local foodie tour company Eat With Locals.

Luckily, those traditions were not forgotten, and Prague's eateries are celebrating a resurgence of this city's finest fare.

Choco Cafe in Prague

Eric Vohr

As the name suggests, Eat With Locals takes guests on a tour of Prague to sample foods that are pure Czech, served in some of the city's most popular local hangouts.

Martina explained that many of the touristy restaurants actually serve dishes from neighboring countries (like schweinebraten from Germany, wiener schnitzel from Austria), which are not necessarily Czech specialties.

One of the highlights of the tour was Dlouhá Gourmet Passage -- a small enclave of traditional food shops and bistros near the Old Town Square that's a favorite lunch stop for Czechs on the go.

Chlebiček at Sisters in Prague 

Eric Vohr

Here, Sisters serves up a mean chlebícek, a traditional open-faced sandwich prepared on oblong slices of veka bread topped with a mayonnaise-based spread and combinations of hard-cooked egg, cheese, ham, salami, smoked fish, tomato, pickled cucumber, lettuce or raw onion.

This simple creation was popular with the fashionable set in the beginning of the 19th century when socialites competed to find and use the most exotic and rare toppings.

Among all Czechs, the chlebícek is common at almost every social event, including birthday parties, wedding receptions and especially New Year's Eve celebrations.

Nase Maso in Prague PRAGUEFOODIE

Eric Vohr

Next door to Sisters is the traditional butcher shop Naše Maso, where we tasted Czech steak tartare and meatloaf. At Naše Maso, they make it a point to provide large windows looking in on the butchers, so you can actually watch them prepare the meat.

Martina explained that fresh food and fresh ingredients are very important to the Czech people, both because they produce the best taste and also because fresh food was hard to find during the Cold War. Back then most butcher shops prepared meat products behind closed doors so clients could not see the substandard quality of the ingredients, she said.

Chlebíceks also must be fresh. Tradition dictates that they should be prepared almost immediately before serving to prevent them from becoming stale.

Steak tartare and meatloaf at Nase Maso in Prague 

Eric Vohr

Another of my favorites stops on the tour was Katr Restaurant, near the Jewish Museum, where we sampled nakládaný hermelín (pickled cheese) and tlacenka (aspic/headcheese), together with Czech trout with seasonal vegetable and potatoes, washed down with a cold Pilsner Urquell -- still considered an excellent Czech beer, in spite of its global popularity.

Czech cuisine also focuses on sweets, especially chocolate. The best place to taste traditional Czech chocolate delicacies, according to Martina, is Choco Cafe. Here our group feasted on traditional Czech Horické trubicky -- paper-thin, delicate rolls filled with fresh whipped cream dipped in a cup of hot chocolate.

While this was just a sampling of the wide variety of traditional delectables in Prague, it was a fantastic introduction to the city and prepared me for a more standard tour of Prague's amazing architecture.

It also gave me an opportunity to "blend in" a little, instead of being just one more of Prague's millions of tourists.

Choco Cafe in Prague 

Eric Vohr

Eat With Locals: eat-with-locals.com/tour/old-town-food-tour.html

Sisters: chlebicky-praha.cz (Czech only)

Choco Cafe: choco-cafe.cz (Czech only)

Katr Restaurant: katrrestaurant.cz/en

Naše Maso: nasemaso.ambi.cz/en/#index

Eric Vohr and Michaela Urban have a travel website at travelintense.com.

Source: How to find the real Czech food in Prague

Solo Travel Destination: Pakistan

We are pleased to present a new Solo Travel Destination Post from Wen Tang, a member of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook. Wen Tang is from Singapore, and submitted the following report about a solo trip to Pakistan. Do you have a solo travel destination that you would like to recommend? Submit your description here, along with a few photos, and share it with fellow travelers!

Solo travel rating: 2 (1 is easiest, 3 is most difficult. Please see chart below)

Languages spoken: Urdu (the national language), English

Baltit Fort, Karimabad, Pakistan

What do you think of when someone talks about Pakistan?

Unfortunately, many people associate it with terrorists. This is something I can understand due to the way the media portrays the country, which is often in a bad light. But this is precisely why I decided to travel there: to challenge the stereotypes.

First, I visited historic Lahore, the capital city of the province of Punjab near the Pakistan-India border and witnessed the beautiful and patriotic flag lowering ceremony held every evening. There are several historic sights to see in Lahore and a walk in the bazaar seems like a step back in time!

Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan is the place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Lahore. It is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is very well organised, clean, and pollution-free and you will meet warm and friendly people wherever you go! Oh yes, you will definitely be invited for chai (tea) and lunch or dinner by the locals in an attempt to understand more about your country and culture.

The highlight of my visit was definitely the time spent in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern frontier of the country. I traveled on the Karakoram Highway which is the world's highest international land border connecting Pakistan and China.

As I visited during the autumn season, the colors in Hunza were spectacular and the cold desert in Skardu was breathtaking as well.

Here, the people are equally hospitable and friendly towards foreigners. Hitchhiking is pretty easy in this region and I usually got a ride within 10 minutes of waiting. I was also offered food and fresh fruit by local farmers and had a great time exploring this region.

Housing some of the most remote mountains ranges in the world, Northern Pakistan is also a trekking and climbing wonderland for intrepid travelers.

Overall, Pakistan is a relatively cheap destination in terms of accommodation and food. Transport is not really a big issue as you can get around on rickshaws, buses, or even hitchhike.

There is so much to do, learn, and experience in this country. I had a great time exploring the country and her cultures. Go with an open mind and I am sure you will rank Pakistan as one of your favorite travel destinations.

It is one of those places I will definitely re-visit in the near future!

Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan

Autumn in Hunza, Pakistan

Solo Travel Destination Rating System

Safety – 2 (1 very safe, 2 safe in most areas, 3 be cautious at all times.)

Language – 2 (1 English is first language, 2 English speakers easy to find, 3 English speakers rare)

Navigation – 1 (1 easy to navigate by transit or car, 2 poor transit, car necessary, 3 not easy to get around)

Culture – 3 (1 Similar to North America or Western Europe, 2 Different from above but relaxed and easy, 3 Challenging)

Average Rating – 2 (1 is easiest, 4 is most difficult)

Last updated: 19th January, 2017

Source: Solo Travel Destination: Pakistan

Gourmet Food at Galeries Lafayette

I loathe shopping. If only someone would pick out all my clothing and send me a very small bill. But we spend far too much money on food and travel to also afford a personal shopper's picks. I wasn't excited about a visit to a Paris department store until I realized there's SO MUCH gourmet food at gourmet food at Galeries Lafayette.

It was a brisk visit but it's worth a trip, especially if you're looking for food souvenirs. Amazingly Galeries Lafayette is still family owned after all these years. This French department store is so popular that they are expanding into new buildings throughout Paris and other cities around the world.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: 24 Hours in Paris – The Eating Edition

The Rooftop Terrace

One of the best kept secrets is the seventh floor Galeries Lafayette rooftop terrace, with a spectacular view of the city and champagne bar.

This Christmas they turned it into an Ice Cube bar complete with heated domes to mimic igloos. As well, There's also a rooftop beehive that you can visit and a garden wall that grows strawberries used in the Galeries Lafayette cafe.

Pro Tip: Sign up for the Galeries Lafayette newsletter. They often promote special offers and freebies for items like champagne and oysters, which are perfect for this view.

Angélina Tearoom

With several locations throughout Paris, Angélina is known for its hot chocolate but you can also eat here. Similar to the most famous location on Rue de Rivoli, it's located on the first floor of the Lafayette Dome luxury department.

Oh hey there wall of mustard.

Galeries Gourmand – Gourmet Food Hall

Across the street from the department store at 35 boulevard Haussmann is Lafayette Gourmet, a four floor gourmet food hall. It's a choose your own adventure shopping experience here as some items are as affordable as the Monoprix supermarket and others range up to a $60,000 bottle of champagne.

The bottom floor is a supermarket and perfect for buying inexpensive souvenirs. I picked up foie gras and a number of confit and canned items.

The main floor includes a number of food counters where you can eat at the bar. Each specializes in something so Spanish tapas or this generic "Asian" bar, which made me laugh.

Interspersed are shops for spices and other ingredients.  You'll also find a number of high end patisserie counters. I bought Dave a sampler of Chef Alain Ducasse's chocolates. This was considerably more expensive than the bottom floor purchases. But I was feeling guilty that I was enjoying Paris without him. And chocolate eases the guilt, right?

If you're feeling like splurging there is a Petrossian caviar tasting counter as well as a a wine cave. You could really spend all day here.

Venture upstairs for beautiful but pricey kitchen and housewares. I made the mistake of falling for a beautiful plate only to turn it over and see the price tag. If you love unique beautiful plates make sure you have lots of room on your credit card.

Pro Tip: There's a concierge desk on the 2nd floor of the department store for Canadians and Americans. Non-European Union residents are entitled to claim back the 12% tax paid on purchases made at Galeries Lafayette over €175 made on the same day. Maybe I should have picked up that plate.

Disclosure: I discovered the gourmet food at Galeries Lafayette on a press trip with Atout France. This trip also included writing about what to eat in Marseille, the best bakeries in Aix en Provence and restaurants in Aix en Provence. Furthermore, they did not request I write about Galeries Lafayette or spend $50 on a box of chocolates and then another $50 on duck and rabbit canned goods. 

Source: Gourmet Food at Galeries Lafayette

America In The Spotlight In Shortlist For Stanford Dolman Travel Book Of The Year

Posted at 7:30PM Tuesday 17 Jan 2017

Wales, the London to Bristol railway line and landscape-inspired recipes from around the world among the subjects tackled by travel writers

London, Tuesday 17th January 2017

Two writers offering different takes on modern America in the dying days of the Obama administration are competing alongside books that take in the Welsh Hills, the London to Bristol rail line, food around the globe and the very concept of why we travel, on the shortlist for the world's most prestigious travel writing Award, announced this evening at an event at the National Liberal Club in London. The winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, in association with the Authors' Club, will be announced at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards ceremony on 2nd February, as part of the Stanfords Travel Writing Festival at Destinations: The Holiday and Travel Show at Olympia.

Paul Theroux, the veteran novelist and travel writer whose journeys have previously taken him to China, India, Africa, South America, Russia and elsewhere, is shortlisted for Deep South, his first travel book to focus on his homeland, the United States of America, and specifically the Southern states. In Interstate, Julian Sayarer hitchhikes from New York to San Francisco, encountering drifters, dropouts and roadside communities that reveal a troubled and divided America.

Closer to home, James Attlee (whose sister Helena was shortlisted for the same prize in 2015 for The Land Where Lemons Grow) travels the London to Bristol line uncovering stories and legends as well as talking to those that keep the line running in Station to Station. In The Hills of Wales, mountaineer and writer Jim Perrin looks closely at the Welsh landscape and its hills, examining their character, resonance and histories. In Squirrel Pie, Elisabeth Luard mixes recipes with reminiscences of her travels around the globe across four themed sections: rivers, islands, deserts and forests. Lastly, novelist Geoff Dyer's collection of essays, White Sands, is an exploration of why we travel, told through a series of interconnected journeys.

Chair of Judges, travel writer Sara Wheeler, said: "Reading is just as much fun as travelling, and my fellow five judges and I have immensely enjoyed perusing more than 80 submissions for this year's Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year award. Notably, many of the titles recorded travels in the UK this time round; the authors, perhaps, were unwittingly getting us into the Brexit mood. We also noted titles in the voguish foodoir category – a place recalled via the author's meal experiences. In the end there was little blood on the NLC carpet as we argued about the shortlist, although robust views were expressed. We think it is a strong one." The full judging panel of the Award includes writers Katie Hickman, Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal, Traveller magazine editor Amy Sohanpaul, and Rukhsana Yasmin of Commonwealth Writers, the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation.

Tony Maher, Managing Director of Edward Stanford Limited, said: "I have to commend the judges on their selection – there is something here for every travel writing fan. It is also pleasing that five of the six titles come from independent publishers, who consistently bring us exciting and innovative writing that helps expand the boundaries of this genre. Every title is quite unique and the judges' decision in identifying the winner is going to be a very difficult one."

The full shortlist, alphabetically by author, is:

•Station to Station: Searching for Stories on the Great Western Line by James Attlee (Guardian Books)

•White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World by Geoff Dyer (Canongate)

•Squirrel Pie (and other stories): Adventures in Food Across the Globe by Elisabeth Luard (Bloomsbury)

•The Hills of Wales by Jim Perrin (Gomer Press)

•Interstate: Hitchhiking Through the State of a Nation by Julian Sayarer (Arcadia Books)

•Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux (Penguin)

The winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, in association with the Authors' Club will receive £5,000 and an antique globe, to be presented at the Awards ceremony.

For further information, please contact:

Jon Howells: jon@jonhowellspr.com / 07766 396844

Notes for editors

About the shortlist

1.Station to Station: Searching for Stories on the Great Western Line

The line from London to Bristol connects two great cities, but what lies in between? London's western suburbs, the Thames Valley, acres of farmland punctuated by tourist traps and provincial towns; what could possibly be of interest in such a landscape? To his surprise, James Attlee - a regular traveller on the route - finds himself knee-deep in stories, the line awash with ghosts, from Charles I and Oscar Wilde, to T.E. Lawrence, Diana Dors, and the creator of the line himself, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

About the author

James Attlee is an author, journalist and musician, as well as Editor at Large in the UK for the University of Chicago Press. He is the author of Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey and Nocturne: A Journey in Search of Moonlight.

2.White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World

From "one of our most original writers" (Kathryn Schulz, New York magazine) comes an expansive and exacting book—firmly grounded but elegant, often hilarious, and always inquisitive—about travel, unexpected awareness, and the questions we ask when we step outside ourselves.

Geoff Dyer's restless search—for what? is unclear, even to him—continues in this series of fascinating adventures and pilgrimages. Weaving stories about places to which he has recently travelled with images and memories that have persisted since childhood, Dyer tries "to work out what a certain place—a certain way of marking the landscape—means; what it's trying to tell us; what we go to it for."

About the Author

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Geoff Dyer has received the Somerset Maugham Award, the E. M. Forster Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism, and, in 2015, the Windham Campbell Prize for non-fiction. The author of four novels and nine works of non-fiction, Dyer is writer in residence at the University of Southern California and lives in Los Angeles. His books have been translated into twenty-four languages.

3.Squirrel Pie (and other stories): Adventures in Food Across the Globe

Elisabeth Luard, one of the food world's most entertaining and evocative writers, has travelled extensively throughout her life, meeting fascinating people, observing different cultures and uncovering extraordinary ingredients in unusual places. In this enchanting food memoir, she shares tales and dishes gathered from her global ramblings.

Divided into four landscapes – rivers, islands, deserts and forests – Elisabeth's stories are coupled with more than fifty authentic recipes, each one a reflection of its unique place of origin, including Boston bean-pot, Hawaiian poke, Cretan bouboutie, mung-bean roti, roasted buttered coffee beans, Anzac biscuits and Sardinian lemon macaroons.

About the Author

Elisabeth Luard is an award-winning food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Her cookbooks include A Cook's Year in a Welsh Farmhouse, European Peasant Cookery and The Food of Spain and Portugal. She has written three memoirs, Family Life, Still Life and My Life as a Wife. She is currently the Trustee Director of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, has a monthly column in the Oldie and writes regularly in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Country Life and the Daily Mail.

4.The Hills of Wales

The hills of Wales have haunted Jim Perrin for six decades. And they continue to do so still, inexhaustibly, always offering new perspectives, moods and experiences. This book records forays into both famed and forgotten upland taking in Cader Idris and the Carneddau, Corndon Hill and the Berwyn, Pumlumon Fawr and the little hills of Llŷn, and so many others. They are accounts of personal explorations, journeyings and encounters, each fragment and footstep combining to form a peripatetic literary celebration.

About the Author

Jim Perrin is a writer, broadcaster and rock climber. As a writer he has made regular contributions to a number of newspapers and climbing magazines. As a climber he has developed many new routes, and made solo and free ascents of great difficulty. Among his books are River Map and Snowdon: The Story of a Welsh Mountain. He has appeared at many festivals and is the recipient of a number of awards e.g. Boardman Tasker Prize, Wales Tourist Board Wales in Print Award 2002, VisitAmerica Travel Writer of the Year, 2000.

5.About Interstate: Hitchhiking through the State of a Nation

Recruited to work on a documentary project, Julian Sayarer goes to New York convinced he has hit big time at last. Finding the project cancelled, he wanders the city streets and, with nowhere else to go, decides to set out hitchhiking for San Francisco. Revisiting this timeless American journey finds an unseen nation in rough shape. Along the road are homeless people and anarchists who have dropped out of society altogether, and blue-collar Americans who seem to have lost all meaning in forgotten towns and food deserts. Helped along by roadside communities and encounters that somehow keep a sense of optimism alive, Interstate grapples with the fault lines in US society. It tells a tale of Steinbeck and Kerouac, set against the indifference of the vast US landscape and the frustrated energy of American culture and politics at the start of a new century.

About the author

Julian Sayarer is an author, journalist, and is often called an adventurer, although normally by other people. He has cycled six times across Europe, hitchhiked across the United States, and in 2009 broke the 18,000-mile world record for a circumnavigation by bicycle. A politics graduate, Julian's writing has appeared in the London Review of Books, New Statesman, Aeon Magazine, and many others, including a host of cycling publications. He writes slow travel, his writing from the roadside a 12mph view of the world in passing.

6.Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads

Travelling through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, Paul Theroux writes of the stunning landscapes he discovers - the deserts, the mountains, the Mississippi - and above all, the lives of the people he meets.

The South is a place of contradictions. There is the warm, open spirit of the soul food cafes, found in every town, no matter how small. There is the ruined grandeur of numberless ghostly towns, long abandoned by the industries that built them. There are the state gun shows and the close-knit, subtly forlorn tribe of people who attend and run them. Deep in the heart of his native country, Theroux discovers a land more profoundly foreign than anything he has previously experienced.

About the author

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1941. He has written many works of fiction and travel writing, including The Last Train to Zona Verde, Dark Star Safari, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Elephanta Suite, A Dead Hand, The Tao of Travel and The Lower River. The Mosquito Coast and Dr Slaughter have both been made into successful films. Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands.

About the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards

Launched in 2015, the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards seek to celebrate the best travel writing, and travel writers, in the world. In its first year, it consisted of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, in association with The Authors' Club and the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing. The winner of the 2015 Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing was Bill Bryson.

The category list was expanded this year to cover other areas of print and online travel writing. The award categories for 2016 consist of: The Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, in association with The Authors' Club, Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing, Specsavers Fiction (with a Sense of Place), Wanderlust Adventure Travel Book of the Year, National Book Tokens Children's Travel Book of the Year, Lonely Planet Pathfinders Travel Blog of the Year, Destinations Show Illustrated Travel Book of The Year, Food and Travel Magazine Food & Travel Book of the Year, London Book Fair Innovation in Travel Publishing, and Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year.

About the sponsors

1.The Authors' Club

Founded by the novelist and critic Walter Besant in 1891 as a place where writers could meet and talk, the Authors' Club also welcomes publishers, editors, agents, journalists, academics and anyone professionally involved with literature. Early members included Oscar Wilde, George Meredith, Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, JM Barrie, Jerome K Jerome, Ford Madox Ford, HG Wells, Compton Mackenzie, Thornton Wilder and Graham Greene, while guest speakers included Emile Zola, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill, Bram Stoker, TS Eliot and Clement Attlee. (Recent guests have included Deborah Moggach, Miranda Seymour, Robert MacFarlane, Matthew Sweet, Amanda Craig, Blake Morrison, Susie Boyt, Charles Spencer, Lisa Appignanesi and June Whitfield.) The Club celebrated its 125th anniversary in November 2016.

2.Bradt Travel Guides

When Hilary Bradt set out to explore South America in 1973, little did she realise that the journey would lead to the creation of what is now the largest independent travel-guide publisher in the UK. Bradt Travel Guides has a reputation for 'getting there first' – indeed, over half their guides have no direct competition – but, with more than 200 titles in print, they have the mainstream destinations covered too.

Whatever the country, Bradt's expert authors seek out those special spots off the beaten track. It's an approach that makes Bradt the choice of passionate travellers from Kate Humble to Michael Palin, and its books have won a host of awards (including Top Guidebook Series of 2016 in the Wanderlust Travel Awards). After 43 years, Hilary herself is still very much involved, and the company as committed as ever to publishing pioneering guides to exceptional places. www.bradtguides.com

3.Destinations Show

With a 23-year legacy, Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show, in association with The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, has established itself as the World's largest consumer travel event. Over 68,000 passionate travellers flock to our events at Olympia London and Manchester's EventCity to meet with over 640 leading and independent travel brands and tourist boards. The Destinations Show in London also presents the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival; a showcase of the very best travel authors sharing their inspiring stories and experiences over four days of talks, panel sessions and book signings.

4.Food and Travel magazine

Food and Travel magazine is the world's leading gastronomic tourism title and serves an ever-growing number of consumers who want to meet and eat with the locals, explore an area's markets and cultural highlights and use the local services of a destination. Their tourism spending spreads deep into the local economy of each place they visit, creating real tourism wealth. They want to know what local ingredients the chefs are using, to sample the street food and visit local producers.

The concept of gastronomic tourism has taken on increased importance around the world as destinations have realised that one of the unique elements that distinguishes them from their competitors is their culinary offering. Whether it is produce that is unique to the area or the way in which ingredients are combined, a destination's cuisine is often the entry point to its culture.

The award-winning UK edition launched in 1997 and is distributed in 44 countries. Local language editions are published in Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Arabia, Italy and from 2017, Portugal.

5.London Book Fair

The London Book Fair (LBF) is the global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels. Taking place every spring in the world's premier publishing and cultural capital, it is a unique opportunity to explore, understand and capitalise on the innovations shaping the publishing world of the future. LBF brings you direct access to customers, content and emerging markets. LBF 2017, the 46th Fair, will take place from 14 – 16 March 2017, Olympia London. LBF's London Book and Screen Week will run for the third year, with the book fair as the pivotal three-day event within a seven-day programme. London Book and Screen Week will begin on Monday 13 March. For further information, please visit: www.londonbookfair.co.uk

6.Lonely Planet Pathfinders

Lonely Planet live and breathe travel. Inspired by their community's tales from the road, Lonely Planet created Pathfinders to evolve an ever-expanding network of travel experts.

Real stories from real people – people with a passion for exploring the world – are an endless source of inspiration for travellers. Blogs and social media play an increasing role in the travel planning process. Lonely Planet wants to nurture this travel documenting talent and share the best content with the global audience.

7.National Book Tokens

The only gift cards accepted in all major bookselling chains and independents across the UK and Ireland, including: WH Smith, Waterstones, Blackwell, Easons, John Smith, Foyles, Stanfords and all good independent bookshops. They can also be spent online and on eBooks

The perfect gift for any occasion, from birthdays and Christmas to congratulations and Mother's Day; from exam results and Father's Day to back-to-school or perhaps as a simple "thank you". The perfect gift for recipients of all ages, from toddlers excited by the massive range of fantastic children's books in their local bookshop, to life-long booklovers, with time to browse and find something new.

www.nationalbooktokens.com

8.Specsavers

Specsavers is a partnership of almost 2,000 locally-run businesses throughout the world – all committed to delivering high quality, affordable optical and hearing care in the communities they serve.

They have long been a champion of books, having sponsored the Specsavers Book Club on More 4, the Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club and Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3, the National Book Awards and the recently announced Specsavers Bestseller Awards.

Specsavers also supports the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards.

9.Stanfords

Edward Stanford Limited was founded in 1853 by Edward Stanford in Charing Cross Road in London. In 1901 the Company moved to its current flagship location in Long Acre, Covent Garden. Famed throughout the World as a publisher of maps, Stanfords expanded into retail following the move to Covent Garden. To this day Stanfords stocks the largest range of maps in the World as well as travel guides, the World's largest selection of globes and other travel related product. It has a further shop in Bristol, a website and a specialist Business Mapping Service based in Manchester. Edward Stanford Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Edward Stanford Group Limited.

10.Wanderlust

The proudly independent, multi-award winning Wanderlust travel magazine launched 23 years ago. It is the UK's leading magazine for people with a passion for travel combining the right mix of wildlife, activities and cultural insight – not to mention inspirational writing and photography. Travel author Bill Bryson said, "There simply isn't a better magazine for the serious traveller."

Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Lyn Hughes, was lauded by The Times, as one of the "50 Most Influential People in Travel", and it is her passion, specifically for sustainable tourism, that continues to focus the Wanderlust Travel Media business on providing exciting content, about exploring the wonders abound throughout the world.

www.wanderlust.co.uk

About Agile Ideas

Launched in Bath in 2004, Agile Ideas is an independent, project management agency specializing in Book-based Prizes, Awards and Promotions. Since helping to create the commercial platform for the original Richard & Judy Book Club, Agile Ideas has project managed and helped administer many properties including; The Wainwright Golden Beer Literary Prize, The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards, The Specsavers CrimeThriller Awards, The Cross Sports Book Awards.

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/edward-stanford-travel-writing-awards

Source: America In The Spotlight In Shortlist For Stanford Dolman Travel Book Of The Year