Saturday, October 11, 2025 |
|
|
If you've seen the trailers for Joe Wicks's new Channel 4 documentary, you'll know he's whipped up a "Killer Bar" to make a point about ultra-processed foods. It's designed to shock, and it does. But as Tim Spector argues, a scare story makes catchy TV while telling people very little about how to actually eat better. UPFs aren't one villain so much as a spectrum – some dire, some harmless in context, a few even useful. It's not a memeable message, but it's a truthful one. The public deserves better labelling and cleaner supply chains, but fear-mongering won't fix a broken food system. Spector's counter is refreshingly practical: clearer tools, less finger-pointing and policy that nudges change rather than shames people. If prime time is going to ring the alarm, it should also show viewers the way out.
From manufactured panic to manufactured nostalgia: Marks & Spencer is closing 11 of its in-store cafés, which sounds minor until you realise it marks the end of a very British ritual. Those beige trays and milky teas weren't cool – they were comforting. A toasted teacake after new school shoes, a pot of tea with your nan between hosiery and homeware. Department store cafés were democratic third spaces before we had a name for them. We look back at their quiet charm – from wartime lifelines to postwar modernity – and ask why their disappearance feels oddly personal.
If the department store café stood for modest comfort, Salt Bae stood for the opposite. The £600 steak. The sunglasses. The glittering meat confetti. Now, his London restaurant has posted a £5.5m loss, US branches are closing, and the meme that built him has turned stale. Once, virality equalled value; now diners want craft, provenance and quiet luxury. We haven't lost our appetite for indulgence – we've just changed what it looks like. Less gold leaf, more grass-fed. As the meme economy cools, the salted forearm feels like a relic.
What to eat instead? Our "healthy comfort" recipes find warmth without the wobble: sticky soy and sesame chicken with citrus, a spiced chickpea curry and a smoky aubergine chilli thick with lentils and cocoa. Enough protein, enough fibre, no puritanism – just food that hugs back.
For weekend cooking, Jad Youssef's Lebanese dishes hit the same note of soulful simplicity: freekeh with lamb and sultanas, mloukhieh scented with coriander and lemon, vermicelli rice golden with butter. Comfort with lineage, not gimmickry.
And because food tells us who we are, our feature on chicken tikka masala explores how a dish born of tandoor and reborn in Glasgow became a quiet symbol of belonging. New research links eating global cuisines with more tolerant attitudes – proof that sometimes the softest diplomacy is dinner.
Finally, Czech chef Evie Harbury makes a case for the overlooked: goulash rich with caramelised onions, crisp potato pancakes and sweet strawberry dumplings. Generous, seasonal, quietly clever – food that wastes nothing, feeds everyone, and reminds us what real comfort looks like.
Honesty over hype, ritual over spectacle, a hot plate over a hot take – that's the table this week.
| |
|
Tim Spector: Joe Wicks's 'killer' protein bar is getting attention, but this is what he gets wrong |
|
| As Channel 4 airs Joe Wicks's new documentary claiming to expose the dark side of ultra-processed food, Tim Spector hits back and says he is 'fear-mongering' and oversimplifying complex science around this important issue
|
Joe Wicks's new "Killer Bar" marketing stunt ahead of his Channel 4 show is certainly getting attention, and I can see why. Ultra-processed foods are a hot topic, and so are protein bars, so usually anything that gets people talking about them is a good thing. But I only partly agree in this case.
We certainly need more public awareness that some highly processed foods are dreadful for our health. We also need to highlight how pathetically weak our labelling and regulation still are.
While the Killer Bar might help more people understand that there is a real problem, it doesn't tell them how to stay healthy. Turning nutrition into a horror story isn't the answer. Calling a product "killer" makes for a great headline, yet it feeds the same kind of fear and confusion that's already rife in food culture. People don't just need more fear; they need a better understanding and practical help.
One of the main issues here is that ultra-processed foods are being painted as a single villain. In reality, they exist on a spectrum. The risks depend on what's in them, how often we eat them and what the rest of our diet looks like. Lumping all the many thousands of ultra-processed foods into one bucket is just bad science. And, let's not forget, making and heavily promoting an intentionally "inedible" bar is incredibly wasteful.
If we really want to change how and what people in this country eat, we need more than shock tactics; we need real action. That means working with the government, policy makers and the food industry to create environments where healthier choices are easier and more affordable. Whilst Joe's accomplice, Dr Chris van Tulleken, has tried to make these sorts of changes at a government level, the Killer Bar and TV show aimed at the prime time TV public is likely to miss the mark on giving actionable, health-promoting advice...
Read the full article here
|
|
|
Don't forget to complete your registration |
You haven't completed your registration with The Independent. It's free, quick, and helps support our journalism while tailoring your experience.
Register now to enjoy benefits including access to limited Premium articles, The Independent app, more than 20 newsletters and commenting on independent.co.uk.
Complete your registration today to unlock access.
|
|
|
| More tasty recipes inside |
Enjoy endless inspiration with recipes, interviews and more in your latest Indy/Eats food and drink magazine, one of your Independent Premium subscription benefits |
|
|
| My Bohemian Kitchen by Evie Harbury |
A lovingly curated ode to Czech home cooking, My Bohemian Kitchen weaves seasonal recipes with memory and soil. Evie Harbury revives forest-inspired soups, potato pancakes and strawberry dumplings, pairing rustic technique with a generosity of spirit. It's a book for anyone who wants to cook food that tastes like childhood, hearth and wilding.
|
|
|
Join the conversation and follow us |
|
|
Download the free Independent app |
|
|
Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's IndyEats newsletter. To unsubscribe from The Independent's IndyEats newsletter, or to manage your email preferences please click here. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AH. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345
Read our privacy policy and cookie policy
| |
|
|
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário