Food

Noodles: Li Enhai, a chef from Peking, is claiming to be the world's best noodle-stretcher after he stretched one kilogram of dough into 65,536 noodles that would stretch over 63 miles if joined end-to-end.

Nuts: Turkish producers have donated 7.5 tons of hazelnut shells to be ground and spread on the floor of London's Globe Theatre as part of efforts to stay faithful to the original building.

Brussels sprouts: Julie Wight was the favourite at the British sprout- peeling championships last week. Ms Wight, who skins sprouts for Tesco, can peel 331/2 pounds an hour.

Curry: A new study by Datamonitor reveals that sales of tinned curry- based ready meals have increased by more than 15 per cent since 1992. Chilled Indian meals have overtaken Chinese and Italian and are worth pounds 37m a year. Frozen curries fetch pounds 72m.

Mushroom: Last month, a wild mushroom bought from Harvey Nichols for pounds 36.33 was found to be infested with rodent droppings, hair and a centipede and larvae.