Airport freeloading

Air travel is a pain.
Security measures take ages and are conducted by hatchet-faced little Hitlers with an axe to grind against the world.
But airports are a bustling hive of freeloading opportunity.

Nestle Swiss Chocolat Brut

So, once you've taken off your shoes, put your hair gel in a plastic bag (why!?) and had your nether regions probed by security a drone, you can get your snout well and truly in the freebie trough.
And on a recent trip out of Blighty I did just that.
The duty free shop staff with their painted on faces and perma-tans are ever eager to try and sell you some unheard of whisky from Loch Nescafe, or Laphroag-in-your-throat.
Also they use dull old everyday spirits and try to get you to buy them by whizzing up exciting coctktails, which they dole out, gratis.
So, with this in mind, it's a good strategy to hover near the small tables bedecked with little plastic sampling cups until approached, then it looks like it's their idea.

Jameson's Whiskey

I did this and was rewarded with some obscure Nothern Isles Scotch whose name escapes me - let's just call it Islay-on-my-back-while-you-pour-it-into-my-mouth.
I also loitered around the chocolates, needing an early morning sugar rush after lugging my luggage across London to Heathrow Airport.

Paco Rabanne Million

It wasn't long before a helpful chap appeared, as if by magic, proferring a tray of Nestle's Swiss Chocolat Brut... so naturally I tucked in, thanked the kind-hearted cove and marched on in search of more zero deniro quarry (Incidentally if Nestle is reading this, I didn't get a chance to try the milk chocolate ones, so you could send me a box if you like).
It wasn't long before my quest was successful again.
This time more alcohol, thankfully.
The familiar flavour of Jameson's Irish Whiskey, but obviously I had to pretend I was a newcomer to the welcoming aroma and smooth flavour of the Emerald Isle liquor.
Then, just before going to my gate, I partook of a liberal spraying of a free tester Paco Rabanne Million to freshen up before the flight.
All in all a good hour of freeloading.

Ask Italian

First it was Italian sauces and now a free three-course Italian meal for two!

Olives

I could get used to this, capiche?

 

Anyway those nice people at Ask Italian were the latest to provide me with a freebie – and what a treat it was!

To begin we nibbled on a huge bowl of olives – this wasn't your usual three olives and a cocktail stick, but a big bowl of green and black beauties.

Calamari

We also enjoyed a fantastic olive tapenade which served to whet our appetites to ludicrous levels. Then for starters.

King prawn butterfly

Both me and my dining partner opted to plunder the oceans for our entres - me with some delicious and beautifully battered calamari, and my buddy opted for some hardcore prawn – butterfly king prawns at that.

The crunchy gambaretti were still sizzling when they arrived and looked fantastic, as did the squid which was complemented wonderfully with garlic mayo and tangy lemon.

On to mains - we chose a Stromboli pizza, deserving of it's volcanic moniker, a gorgeously spicy beast with pepperoni and chillies.

The thin crust traditional style pizza was a whirling dervish of flavours.

Stromboli pizza

My dining partner opted for a calzone large enough for Italian jockey Frankie Dettori to sit on – Ask Italian certainly don't scrimp on the portions!

Despite feeling almost full there's always room for dessert and the treats weren't finished yet.

Calzone

We had lemon meringue pie and raspberry and mango sorbetti – a perfecto end to a perfecto meal.

Accompanying the food we enjoyed fresh Pinot Grigio and mellow Merlot, which both complimented the assorted dishes perfectly.

Lemon meringue pie

After the food came coffees and reflection on a feast more at home in a Milanese bistro than a UK high street.

Sorbetti

The modern décor and comfy seats added to our dining pleasure to complete a triumph all round.

For top Italian food and a great atmosphere, if you ask me... head to Ask Italian.

• To have your product or service reviewed by The Freeloader email shamelessfreeloader@hotmail.co.uk

Sacla Italian sauces and pastes

Freeloader house was alive with exclamations of 'mamma mia' and 'bellissimo' this week, as a host of tasty pastes and sumptuous sauces winged their way to my lair.

And what a box of delights they turned out to be.

Forget adverts featuring spaghetti-addicted puppets and comically stereotyped Italian accents (even the one you were doing when you read the first sentence of this post).

For real Italiano cuisine sack off the rest and go for Sacla (unless of course any other well-known saucepots want to sent me some of their wares).
Sacla has a fine range of condiments from tomato and parmesan cooking sauces, to tasty risotto sauce and a red wine infused Bolognese sauce featuring the beaming fizzog of erstwhile England rugby star Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio.

And to say I was impressed-o with the pesto would be an understatement(-o).

Not just your whizzed up combo of basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese here... nope, that's as much a cliche as:

"My wife's gone to Italy."

- "Genoa?"

"Of course I do, she's my wife."

No,  Sacla like to keep things a little more unpredictable, with their excellent sun dried tomato pesto.

And why not try pesto cheese on toast?

Feeling adventurous, I whipped up a recipe of my own, with sausages, using Sacla's tomato and basil sauce, and I have to say it was delicious.

The fresh-tasting, rich ingredients were a delight 

I will certainly be reaching for Sacla next time I fancy an Italian.

For recipes and more info, head over to Sacla's website: http://www.sacla.co.uk/

Ciao for now!

• If you'd like to send me some freebies in exchange for a preview or review, get in touch by email at shamelessfreeloader@hotmail.co.uk

Skyy Vodka presents Global Flair Challenge Final with Sander Kleinenberg at Electric Brixton‏‏

I've managed to snare another freebie, and this is another good 'un!

Hot on the heels of my epic YAZOO coup, I've grabbed a visit to a cocktail mixing world championship with music supplied by progressive house DJ Sander Kleinenberg.

As someone who likes house music and is sometimes 'tired and emotional' thanks to imbibing a few to many cocktails, my immediate preconception of this event is, 'what's not to like!?' 

The event, - the  2011 SKYY Vodka Global Flair Challenge final - takes place on February 5, and will feature the world’s most skilled bartenders, a range of mouth-watering cocktails and some ice cold glasses.

The Challenge – now in its fifth year - is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world dedicated to recognising the best bartenders who create the ultimate cocktails with real flair.

It has been created through a partnership with SKYY Vodka, and the World Flair Association.

The final will see more than 10 of the world’s most elite flair bartenders competition against each other in the glamorous Electric Brixton club as a result of the culmination of 10 qualifying heats around the world.

This year’s global final is set to be even tougher than previous years as bartenders will be judged on their ability to create amazing cocktails, perform a spectacular seven minute bartending routines and demonstrate skill and knowledge in relation to the art of flair.

In an extra twist for this year, competitors will also be required to make two set cocktails with judges’ deductions made for any incorrect preparation.

The overall winner will scoop the global title as well as €7,000 in prize money.

Arnaud Glenton from SKYY Vodka said: “We are very excited about this year’s global final and expect the competitors from all around the world to really deliver a world class performance in the art of flair. We are looking forward to finding out who really is the world’s best bartender with flair, [the winner] will truly be the champion’s champion.”

Flair bartending has grown in popularity throughout the world, becoming something of an ‘underground’ trend for ‘in the know’ bargoers who want to witness the skills of the best flair bartenders in premium cocktail bars, clubs and restaurants.

It is highly engaging, combining an explosive mix of grace and agility climaxing with the production of an amazing cocktail.

• More information about the challenge is available at http://www.skyyflair.com/ and also fans of flair can join its official Facebook page - SKYY Vodka Global Flair Challenge 2011 to keep up to date on events, news, share pictures and videos, as well as tips on great bars and clubs where flair bartenders are serving the best cocktails.
• Tickets are also available for this event here: http://electricbrixton.com/events_Detail.php?ID=36

Previous winners:

Year	Name	Country
2010	Tomasz Malek	Poland
2009	Danilo Oribe de la Puente	Uruguay
2008	Mitsuhiro Kaneshiro	Japan
2007	Christian Delpech	USA

• You'll be able to read a review of thsi event here too.

• If you have any products, services or events for The Freeloader to review email shamelessfreeloader@hotmail.co.uk and follow on Twitter @thefreeloader1

YAZOO chocolate milk

A parcel marked 'Medical Examination Gloves' arrived at Freeloader House this week.

Was this an errant delivery to a nearby proctologist, or a mistaken dispatch to an over eager customs official who likes to take his work home?

Thankfully, neither.

To my relief and delight the hitherto suspect package was revealed to be what Del Boy would call, a 'job lot', of a popular milk drink, from those nice people at YAZOO.

I had managed to successfully blag some free stuff from them.

The YAZOO milkmeisters are the ones who saw what was emerging from an udder, and thought to themselves 'there's room for improvement'.

And how they've improved the white stuff... it's no longer white for a start.

What I received was a blend of milk and chocolate, a combo I think can be most accurately described as 'chocolate milk', not least to avoid any mix-ups with the already well known 'milk chocolate'. 

Anyway, having always been a fan of such fusion cuisine I was eager to gulp down its calcium rich goodness. 

So good in fact that YAZOO is: "One of the few flavoured milk drinks that meets the tough UK Government regulations for use in England and Wales schools." 

Grasping the satisfyingly sized and funkily designed bottle I almost forgot the most important thing...

Shake. The. Bottle. 

This vital piece of advice was delivered by a YAZOO spokeswoman in such grave terms that it sounded positively sacriligious to miss this stage.

She had told me: "We would ask that you consume the YAZOO after giving it a thoroughly good shake  and ensuring it has been chilled, though, believe us, this will definitely enhance your drinking pleasure!"

As it turned out she was spot-on.

The beverage was milky and chocolatey as you may have guessed.

Thick and wholesome, I'd absolutely recommend YAZOO.

Who ever thought boring old milk could taste this good?

Would you like to have your product reviewed by The Freeloader? Email me: shamelessfreeloader@hotmail.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @thefreeloader1

Welcome!

Hello,

It is the purpose of this blog to review anything I manage to blag for free using all of my wiles as a freeloader, with absolutely no shame.

This is a riposte to those blogs which masquerade as serious journalism, but are in essence shameless freeloading vehicles.

I make no bones about the fact that the purpose of of this blog is to get free stuff in exchange for previews/reviews...

My 300 or so words on your product is in essence me singing for my supper...

If you want to send me any free stuff then email me at shamelessfreeloader@hotmail.co.uk or follow me on Twitter @thefreeloader1

Send me literally anything; tickets for events, products, food... I really am in this for personal gain.