A staggering 20 million tons of food is wasted every year in the UK! - it's equivalent to filling Wembley Stadium with food waste 8 times over.  In terms of environmental impact - producing, storing and getting the food to our homes uses a lot of energy.

If we stopped wasting all this food, it would save the equivalent of at least 18 million tones of carbon dioxide.  That's like taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads. 

Most of this food reaches landfill sites where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. High economic cost - at least £10 billion worth of food that could have been eaten is thrown out every year. UK householders are throwing out on average more than £400/year.

Statistics show we throw food out for two main reasons: (1) we cook or prepare too much, costing us around £4 billion per year;  (2) we let food go off, either completely untouched, or opened/ started but not finished, costing £6 billion per year. But is that really true? do we really let food go off all by itself or does our fridge and freezer play a large part a part in this?

What if you could fit a natural filter in your fridge that would keep your fresh food absolutely perfect 2 or 3 times longer depending on the food? learn more about humidity control filters

The British Embassy in Paris in one of the largest UK Embassies in the world and has a history of employing chefs who have gone on to make a great reputation for themselves. Amongst the former famous names is Michael Roux arguably one of the greatest names ever to grace the kitchen who spent part of his apprentiship in the kitchens of the embassy. Another great chef who served a stint in the Kitchens of the British Embassy is Ireland's own 2 Michilin starred  Chef Patrick Guilbaud.
Naturally we are delighted that our sister company Humico France is working with the existing Chef James Viaene to help cut the running costs of the the kitchen fridges, to cut down on any food wastage and protect the fridges from bacteria build up. Naturally we are very proud to be of service to an overseas Government Kitchen after installing our biosmart filters in the House of Lords recently.  

Chef Bernard Vaussion is a vetern member of the most elite Chef's club in the world-"The Club de Chefs des Chefs (Club of Leaders' Chefs) this club includes the heads of kitchens from the White House and Buckingham Palace to the United Nations and the Élysée Palace. Bernard Vaussion has been cooking for world leaders for more than 30 years. After serving five French presidents, including  François Mitterrand, Georges Pompidou and Jacques Chirac he now cooks for the current French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Chef Bernard is delighted with our filters and he says his fridges are colder and fresher, there is no cross contamination of odours. The humidity in his fridges is perfect and his fresh produce is lasting longer. Chef Bernard has now joined the ranks of thousands of other chefs who have endorsed our biosmart filters as being a truly great addition to any fridge and is now saving huge mounts of energy both in food wastage and running costs of the fridge.

We are naturally delighted to welcome the House of lords to our-ever growing list of clients who truly care about the environment and who want the safest and best possible food storage conditions. Humitech biosmart filters are installed in some of the most prestigious hotel and restaurant kitchens around the world and are saving energy not just directly in the running of the fridges but an additional vast amount of energy by reducing food wastage through food spoilage.

Fridges play such a crucial role in the average working kitchen for the safe storage of all fresh food produce. Humitech biosmart filters are 100% natural and are probably one of the most environmentally smart solutions for reducing bacterial risks from cross contamination of airborne bacteria and waterborne bacteria in the fridge. In addition they are the smartest way to save energy by controlling aand regulating the atmosphere inside the fridge.

Aubrey Allen is a family business established over 70 years ago by Mr Aubrey Allen. The business originally began as a small butcher's shop in Coventry, and the company has evolved over the years to what it is today - one of the best known catering butchers in the Midlands and throughout the UK. The business has grown through commitment to making the best quality meat available to their customers. The Company philosophy is to provide their customers with top quality products together with an efficient and personal service. Their service includes, of course, boning and trimming to the Meat Buyers' Guide specifications as well as a unique range of fresh meat products prepared to bespoke chef specifications. They have been carrying out this work, using continental techniques, for over fifteen years and are market leaders in this area. Their purchasing strategy is based on a promise to clients to serve them with the highest quality; to this end the highest proportion of their product is purchased in carcass form, endorsed by quality assurance schemes. Among the many famous and celebrity chefs they serve are, the famous "Roux Brother" indeed Michael Roux is quoted as saying Aubrey Allen helps us to maintain our reputation as one of the best restaurants in the UK . Now is it any wonder HUmitech are proud to be of service to Aubrey Allen. Saving meat weight loss, keeping bacteria free fridges, saving money on Fridge maintenance and most of all helping them preserve the finest quality meats.

Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb is the supplier of choice to the top London Restaurants and celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein and many more. Elwy Valley Welsh lamb supplies mouth watering lamb from family run hill farms in the heart of North Wales, bred to give you a most wonderful eating experience. Reared at altitudes up to 1000ft, in the shadows of the Snowdonia mountain range they are nurtured by clean westerly winds, rain and sun. Lambs are raised to both animal welfare and environmentally friendly standards. This is a premium product, specially selected to go straight from the farm gate to your dinner plate. The lambs are specially bred for a unique texture and quality of meat.

The stock is produced by breeding from the foundation Beulah Hill ewes to retain flavour and hardiness to Blue Faced Leicesters to improve length, prolificacy and lactation. The resulting Muels are bred to Texels and Beltex to give the end product of high lean meat to one and fat ratio that makes our high quality product.The lamb is usually hung for maturation for 10 - 15 days to ensure that extra succulent flavour that makes for the very best eating experience. Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb's quality is recognised for its tenderness and exceptional sweetness. Welsh Lamb offers the consumer the succulence of a naturally produced meat which is easy to prepare.  Some great comments from the customers of "Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb" Their product came out on top in comparative tastings, "because it had a lovely robust flavour, wasn't too intense, and was tender with a really good texture" (Jamie Oliver, BBC Good Food Magazine, October 2004, Page 77-84).  Humitech Biosmart filters come highly recommended by Elwy Welsh Valley Lamb and Daphne Tilly had the following very kind words to say

"Since we began using Humitech Biosmart filters in our refrigeration, we have noticed some major improvements in our storage refrigeration we have found that the evaporators no longer ice up, even when the doors are continually being left open.  Our electricity consumption has dropped as a result of temperatures being maintained at a constant level with no peaking.  As we can hang are beef for up to 38 days, it has also been noted that weight loss has been considerably reduced.We have also fitted Humitech Biosmart filters in our refrigerated vans, which can be on the road for up to 8 hours at a time.  The filters maintain the temperature superbly and we are using less fuel in doing so.The bottom line is that we are saving money all rounds.  I would have no hesitancy in recommending this product to anyone with refrigerators and indeed I have already done so too many of my customers. 

Dairyland Cuisine is an Irish wholesale distribution company for milk, dairy products and fresh juices. They provide extensive national coverage with main depots in Dublin, Carlow and Waterford. They provide a comprehensive range of Irish dairy products, offering quality and delivery excellence together with the highest food safety and quality controls. Their monitoring system of grading and hygiene is strictly controlled ensuring all products meet the most stringent of standards. We at Humitech are very proud to work with Michael Purcell whose expertise in implementing the HACCP standards and regulatory practices is in part responsible for the winning of this catering award. Humitech biosmart filters are the most environmentally friendly way in which to keep your fridge bacteria free and energy efficient at the same time. Fresh foods are always at risk if the storage conditions are not ideal and food suppliers reputations are made and lost on the quality of the food they supply but in the case of Dairyland cuisine we are delighted to say their fridge storage conditions will always be superb with Humitech biosmart filters protecting them.

We publish with grateful thanks the acknowledgement by Michael to ourselves!

Dear David

Dairyland Cuisine, Carlow Ireland, are suppliers the catering and public sector of all dairy products and are the first company in Ireland to achieve I.S. 341:2007 award in January 2009.

I would like to let you know that your Humitech Bio filters played a big part in achieving the I.S.award, by keeping the hygienic status of the cold room and our transportation to such a high standard.

Thanking you

Michael Purcell.

Chefs, for the most part, wear their uniforms almost every day of their working lives, replete with toque, checked pants and double-breasted jacket. Though these uniforms are ubiquitous in the foodservice industry worldwide, they are often taken for granted and worn without much thought. However, many may find that the origin and reasons behind traditional chef's attire are as interesting as it looks.

Much of the chef's uniform has developed out of necessity. The jacket, for example, is double-breasted so it can easily be reversed to hide stains that may accumulate throughout the day; the double layer of cotton is also designed to insulate our bodies against the intense heat of the stove or an accidental splattering of hot liquid. Even the knotted cloth buttons were fashioned for a reason-cloth will withstand the frequent washings and abuse buttons often take from contact with pots, pans and other heavy equipment. Though executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs and cooks usually don pants with black-and-white checks-the dizzying pattern of hound's tooth camouflages minor spills and soiling. Today neckerchiefs are primarily worn for aesthetic purposes, to give our uniforms a more finished look, but originally cotton cloths were draped around ones neck to soak body sweat while working in the inferno-like kitchens of yesteryear.

The traditional chef's hat, or toque blanche, is what is most distinguishing and recognizable of the uniform, and also the component which often causes the most debate. Chefs as far back as the 16th century are said to have worn toques. During that period artisans of all types (including chefs) were often imprisoned, or even executed, because of their freethinking. To alleviate persecution, some chefs sought refuge in the Orthodox Church and hid amongst the priests of the monasteries. There they wore the same clothes as the priests-including their tall hats and long robes-with the exception of one deviating trait: the chef's clothes were gray and the priest's were black.

It wasn't until the middle 1800's that chef Marie-Antoine Carême redesigned the uniforms. Carême thought the color white more appropriate, that it denoted cleanliness in the kitchen; it was also at this time that he and his staff began to wear double-breasted jackets. Carême also thought that the hats should be different sizes, to distinguish the cooks from the chefs. The chefs wore the tall hats and the younger cooks wore shorter hats, more like a cap. Carême himself supposedly wore a hat that was 18 inches tall! The folded pleats of a toque, which later became an established characteristic of the chef's hat, were first said to have been added to indicate the more than 100 ways in which a chef can cook an egg.

Escoffier too, thought the cleanliness of the cook's uniform was very important, and that it promoted professionalism. His staffs was required to maintain clean and complete uniforms while on the job, and were also encouraged to wear coats and ties while not at work. To this day cooks and chefs around the world wear the same attire that has traceable origins back to more than 400 years. Along with the other conveniences the 1950's brought, paper toques were invented to look like cloth but could be disposed of once they were soiled.

The traditional chef's uniform may be the standard for the profession, but it's definitely not the law. Since the mid-1980's a legion of chefs and cooks have begun to wear non-traditional "fun" chef's attire. These nouveau uniforms run the gamut from pinstriped baggy pants and denim jackets to full blown wildly patterned outfits with chili peppers, flowers, and even the CIA logo. While some chefs may nay-say these new-style uniforms as non-professional, others retaliate that they are more comfortable and give chefs an opportunity to express their individuality through their clothes as well as their food.

Actually, the non-traditional uniforms of today may remind some of the late chef-philanthropist Alexis Soyer, author, inventor and one time chef of the Reform Club in London. Chef Soyer was known to have his entire wardrobe-including his work attire-tailor made. Some of his headgear was as eccentric as a red velvet beret; his jackets were often cut on the bias with large lapels and cuffs. He called his individualistic style "à la zoug-zoug," and the more his contemporaries ridiculed him the more outlandish his outfits became. Like the old adage says, "What's old is new again."

As a professional chef myself, I prefer to adhere to traditional chef's attire-the uniform and its history are something to be proud of. On the other hand, I can also understand a chef's desire to want to be expressive. These nouveau style uniforms have their place in certain establishments; restaurants today, after all, are considered a form of theater. As with anything, the chef's uniform continues to evolve, who knows what the future has to hold? One thing is certain though, the image of a chef, in a pristine white jacket and toque, is recognized the world over as a professional, and we have our predecessors to thank for this.

Guy D. Sockrider, C.E.C.

Hygiene in the Kitchen, is it really enforced? Could it be improved if every Chef wore gloves? Hand washing is great until the chef dries his or her hands in their blood stained apron. What about the times when a chef need to scratch or open a fridge door? Who touched that door before them, how often is the chef's hands loaded with bacteria?

Would it not make better sense for all chefs to wear gloves when in contact with food and remove them for all other tasks. Once back at the table they can simply re-glove again and be sure in the knowledge they hands are protected. Having worked in many kitchens over the past 10 years I would have have to say not enough is done to ensure everybody contributes to the highest standards of hygiene

Ferran Adria has been called the world's greatest chef. He is certainly one of the most creative. Gourmet magazine referred to Adria as "the Salvador Dali of the kitchen". His restaurant, El Bulli, was recently named best restaurant in the world by the prestigious Restaurant magazine. Without a doubt, Ferran Adria will hold a prominent place in culinary history.

Imagine this restaurant only opens 6 months of the year and it is very unlikely you can make a reservation and eat there in the same year. Incredibly you have to seek reservations by email and it could take up to 6 weeks to get a reply. Many people await their reservation confirmation before trying to book their flights and accommodation just to eat there.

What is it that makes a chef and his restaurant so special? How is it possible to build the reputation of a restaurant that was relatively unknown and trading in such a remote location? El Bulli is located in the small town of Roses on the coast of Catalonia, about two hours north of Barcelona at the end of a narrow, winding mountain road. It has 3 Michelin stars and has been voted world's best restaurant with the world's most influential chef - Amazing !!!

Trust me on this one cos IT'S SO TRUE!!!!

Taken from the internet recently, would you agree.........

Why is it men are so reluctant to help out in the kitchen at home but are so happy to become chef's in a working kitchen. In nearly every restaurant and hotel kitchen men far outnumber women when it comes to cooking. Why is it that the vast majority of executive chefs and head chefs around the world are men? Is it that men are better cooks than women? Is it that men can better handle the unsociable hours and the pressure of today's kitchen?

When you look at the top Male chefs working in their kitchens, they are generally cooking a dish, supervising other chefs in the kitchen and keeping an eye to the front of the restaurant at the same time. So who said that men could not multi-task like women?