Families are spending a bit more time this winter shopping for good deals on groceries and dining at home. To accommodate the new trend, Nicolas Laridan, Le Bouchon Breton Head Chef, has devised some delightful take away selections. And to introduce the new “Emporter Menu”, orders over £50.00 receive a 20 percent discount. Why not invite some friends over and enjoy a luxury meal together without having to spend so much time cooking and cleaning up the pots and pans?

Do you mind if I whisper a secret in your ear very quietly? Three London hotels are giving readers of Foodepedia a surprise gift to help make the rest of your dreary January a bit brighter. If you are hoping to put up some friends and family in a lovely hotel over the next few weeks, you might want to book a room at hotelcard.com where you can make a reservation for stays at Bloomsbury, Chelsea, Brighton. Prices at the luxury hotels have been slashed until February, the month of love, rolls around.

The Hand & Flowers pub and dining room in Marlow, one of the highest rated food pubs in the country, is introducing a fantastic value set lunch menu from January 19th 2009, with 2-courses for just £10 and 3-courses for £13.50. The introduction of the lunch menu, which will change weekly and is available Monday to Saturday, sees a return of some of the classic pub style dishes that helped establish The Hand & Flowers’s reputation

An ultra romantic, contemporary menu is available for Valentine’s Day 2009 at Imli – the unique Indian restaurant in London’s Soho that offers ‘tapas’ style sharing dishes. At £24.00 per person, the menu consists of three courses – including an appetiser, main course, two side dishes and dessert.

If you’re willing to be flexible about the hour and day that you dine out at some of London’s finest eateries, you can enjoy some outrageously generous deals on wine and spirits. But make sure to read the offers thoroughly to be sure you bring the proper voucher with you or do the proper whispering or ad-quoting required to get the deal.

If your bank account is looking a little bare after you’ve spent your hard-earned dough on Christmas, that might not mean you have to quit restaurant eating until spring. Chowki and The National Café have some great deals up their sleeves waiting to help you out!

Scandinavia is all the rage, from bands like Alphabeat to places like Madsen which is, to be specific, predominantly a Danish restaurant and which Danes all rave is the real deal.From 13 to 31 January, enjoy a complimentary bottle of house wine worth £14.50 for a minimum of two people choosing at least two courses from Madsen’s a-la-carte menu*.

If you’ve decided to cut back on expenses by giving up dining out, you might want to reconsider after you read about this special offer. Mela restaurants are offering their award-winning Indian Cuisine at a 50% discount during January. And no coupons are needed. Simply whisper, in a sweet voice, “50 % off” into your server’s ear. Perhaps this could become a January tradition for all London restaurants! And if you visit their website www.melarestaurant.co.uk, and click offers, you will also be able to print out a voucher for a free bottle of wine for a table of four.

To help you recover from holiday spending, many London restaurants have cut their prices so you don’t have to cut dining out from your budget. Carluccio’s new fixed-price menu offers two courses of genuine, regional Italian cuisine for just £8.50

This year’s Burns’ Night is extra special as it marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s favourite poet. And to celebrate, The Ubiquitous Chip, one of Scotland’s most established culinary institutions, is holding a wee swaree (bit of a party). The evening will start with a glass of Kir Royale followed by a five course meal and a dram of twelve year old Glenfiddich to toast the haggis as is traditional when it’s piped into the room. Musical accompaniment will be provided by Kathleen Sheridan who will lead the singing. The ceilidh will be led by Last Tram Tae Auchenshuggle, arguably one of Scotland’s best toe tapping ceilidh bands.