Christmas Dinner Just Got Potty!
THIS year forget roasting the
Turkey, you can now have it done within minutes. No it is not in the
Microwave! It is hard to think that back in 1977 the snack was
thought of as exotic. If you go by the story of the convenience told
by the original manufactures Golden Wonder, the idea came from
Japan's love of ‘cup noodles’. Now this product has grown into a
massive range of flavours and is now owned by Unilever. Its factory
in the Welsh town of Crumlin in South Wales is thought to produce a
staggering 155 million pots every year! Many of us in the UK have
grown up with Chicken and beef flavour, and many others, including
the newer flavours Asian style, Posh Noodle, the incredibly hot
Bombay Bad Boy and Sizzling Bacon, but the latest has captured the
attention of world wide media! So what is the connection? In a press
release marked:- "The First Noel-Dle”, Pot Noodle
unveiled to the world press its new festive flavour to spread
goodwill to British troops... Yep, on 25 October 2010 the company
launched its new flavour, Pot Noeldle, Christmas Dinner In A Pot.
This Pot Noodle is in honour of the Royal Air Force and as a result
all sales of this new flavour is in will see 2p donated to help give
troops overseas more call time to their loved ones over the
Christmas period, via RAF Association’s Wings Appeal to support
their ‘Miles More Minutes’ project. The snack is now available in
all good supermarkets from at the cost of £1.10p RRP. So what was
the connection with the RAF? The Pot Noeldle was originally
developed and trialled last year for personnel serving on 27
Squadron, RAF Regiment with the help of national radio station
Absolute Radio and it’s breakfast show host Christian O’Connell. Sgt
Ian Hobbs, a member of the RAF Regiment, got in touch with the
Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show and revealed Pot Noodle was a
real home comfort for the troops who were missing home at Christmas.
Head of RAF Licensing, Squadron Leader Stuart Balfour, said:-
“We are all really behind the new Pot Noeldle. The snack is enjoyed
by so many of the troops and it’s great to know that every pot sold
will help them keep in touch with loved ones at what is a really
important time of the year.”
The Christmas dinner flavour contains a festive fusion of turkey and
stuffing with all the trimmings. Not content with a great tasting
Christmas dinner in four minutes the Pot Noeldle also includes a
foil lid that doubles up as a Christmas bauble, six collectable
Christmas jokes, and a mulled wine sachet…!
Brand Manager for Pot Noodle, Tom Denyard says:- “We’re
especially proud of the Pot Noeldle, it’s been 12 months in
development, with several taste tests involving the troops
themselves. It’s the first time we’ve produced a flavour from a
home-grown story.”
Absolute Radio Breakfast Show Host Christian O’Connell said:-
“I’m looking forward to seeing Pot Noeldle in the shops, what
started out as an idea on a radio show is now on the shelves- it
shows the power of the people!” |
NAAFI TURNS BACK THE CLOCK TO CLASSIC RECIPES
AS the nation prepares to turn
back the clock on the night of 30 October and morning of 31 October
2010, NAAFI (Navy, Army & Air Forces Institutes) is encouraging
people to take a ‘NAAFI Break’ during the extra hour
and serve up traditional war time recipes to welcome in the dark
nights.
To coincide with its 90th birthday and the clocks going back, NAAFI
has re-introduced seven reliable recipes which were originally
published in its Imperial Club Magazine in 1940. The dishes proved
to be real winter warmers in wartime Britain and in these
challenging economic times, may help many people to appreciate how
wartime families were able to provide square meals despite
rationing.
The seven dishes – originally introduced to help people get the most
out of meagre meat supplies - were sausage pie, vegetable pie,
cheese pudding, rice and cheese pie, liver a la Francais, kidneys
with mushrooms and sugarless cake.
The recipes, recreated exactly as they were in 1940, are available
online at:-
naafi.co.uk
Reg Curtis, NAAFI Chief Executive Officer, commented:- “With
the dark nights and cold weather now upon us, we’re encouraging
families across Britain to turn back the clock and try one of these
original wartime recipes. These were often used in staff canteens
and military bases as well as in the home and with meat heavily
rationed during the war years it was necessary to introduce a
selection of dishes. We have reintroduced some tasty yet very
traditional recipes from over 70 years ago to coincide with our 90th
anniversary and we hope that these dishes will stir a few memories
for many people, as well as tickling the taste buds of a whole new
generation.”
Since NAAFI’s formation in 1920, the daily NAAFI Break has long been
associated with a period of downtime; a chance to unwind over a cup
of tea and a bun, catch up with friends or take a glance at the
daily newspaper. Today the term is still commonly used and 189,000
British servicemen and women on duty around the globe still take
time out for a NAAFI Break each day, with 300,000 cups of tea brewed
up in Afghanistan alone.
Reg said:- “For Forces personnel serving in theatre, the daily
NAAFI Break is a vital part of their busy working day. In the
context of Force’s life a NAAFI Break is much more than a tea break
– it is a vital link to the familiarity of everything that is
British, providing a real, heart warming, taste of home.”
2010 marks a major milestone in the history of NAAFI, as the not for
profit organisation and British institution celebrates its 90th
anniversary this year. Since its inception, over 550 NAAFI staff
have paid the ultimate price for their loyalty to serving the
Services and the organisation has organised a number of events this
year to commemorate their staff, both past and present.
To find out more about the
official
trading organisation of HM Forces, providing retail and leisure
services to the services go to you can visit their website at:-
www.naafi.co.uk.
If you
served and have any memories of the NAAFI please do email them to us
at:-
news24@southportreporter.com.
Editorial note:-
Mind you despite them being 90
years old we cant see why the idea in The Goon Show, that the NaffI
should became
"The Jet Propelled Guided
NAFFI."
ever court on... Also the drains never got fixed in
Hackney... |