Table Talk

Looks good enough to eat - so tuck in
A US chef has created a computer that prints paper meals. "You can make an inkjet printer do just about anything," says Homaru Cantu, head chef of Chicago's Moto. The printer cartridges are loaded with fruit and vegetable concoctions instead of ink, and the paper tray contains edible sheets of soya bean and potato starch. Cantu prints out tasty images downloaded from the web. When the artwork rolls out, he dips it in a powder made of soy sauce, sugar, vegetables or dehydrated sour cream, and then fries, freezes or bakes the sheets. The chef has taken to printing his menus this way and is working on getting the flavours just right. Cantu, who has filed for a patent for his invention, told New Scientist magazine: "Imagine an ad for pizza. You wonder what it tastes like, so you rip it out and eat it."

Shropshire smokies are the rail thing Food supplier Organic Smokehouse in Shropshire is using a passenger rail service to transport its fish to a remote hotel in Wales. The fish has its very own ticket (£3.35 - one-way, of course) and travels under the watchful eye of the train's guard.
Michael Levisuer, of Organic Smokehouse, says that as no major road reaches the hotel, rail was the logical choice. "I drive a mile-and-a-half to Broome station," he says, "where I flag down the 9.31 by hand. There are only three services a day, so my salmon can't afford to miss the train. The guard sells me a special parcel ticket. I hand him the package and the train continues on its journey through mid-Wales." The fish travels 48 miles to Llanwrtyd Wells station, which is 200 yards from its destination - the Lasswade Country House hotel.

Of course, "snickers" means "haha, you failed"
Students in Japan have made Kit Kat sales soar by adopting them as lucky charms. The name of the chocolate biscuit bar resembles a Japanese expression, "kitto katsu", used by students to wish each other luck before exams. The phrase translates roughly as: "I hope you will win." Kit Kat has introduced a range of flavours designed for the famously sweet-toothed Japanese market, including green tea flavour. Other variations include passion fruit, white chocolate and lemon cheesecake.