By Ellie Philpotts – Gone are the days, months and years of school; sixth form has flown by; and before you know it your degreeÔÇÖs rolled around. Universities are homes to the highest forms of education, so youÔÇÖd be right in expecting a whole lot of lectures to be part and parcel with the process leading up to graduation, when your lifetime of lessons comes to an end and off you trot into the world of work. And yes, although we did head to Cardiff for the main goal of career prospects, the old clich├® that uniÔÇÖs where youÔÇÖll learn lessons away from the lecture theatre, is one youÔÇÖll be hearing a lot. ThatÔÇÖs because itÔÇÖs true. In our final issue of Quench (sob), weÔÇÖre reminiscing the foodie lessons weÔÇÖve learned along the wayÔǪ

PS: Thanks to our fellow foodie fans whoÔÇÖve contributed this year! Quench Food love x

 (Image credit: twitter.com/cardiffuni)

ThereÔÇÖs no such thing as a best-before date and itÔÇÖs really hard to give yourself food poisoning – By┬áKate Eagleton-Etheridge

The move to university presents a whole new level of independence and responsibility. Most notably – the responsibility to feed yourself and stay alive. Without the home comforts of Mum or DadÔÇÖs cooking, itÔÇÖs time to discover the extent of our culinary skills and an opportunity to develop them.

It doesnÔÇÖt take too long to realise that best-before dates are plain lies due to health and safety gone mad. Unless itÔÇÖs growing unavoidable mould, the reality is that you can still eat it. Cut off the fur and whack it in a pan. The chances of it killing you are likely to be slim.┬á ItÔÇÖs possible that this way of living might be aided by the lowering of our expectations in conjunction with our level of hunger and the ever-decreasing capacity of our bank accounts. Or it could just be the limited education around cooking. For example, mushrooms are already fungi, so when is it too much fungi? I think we all have the mindset that the heat from cooking it kills off the harmful part of the gone-off food. Maybe weÔÇÖre onto something here, because it seems to have worked.

(Image credit: twitter.com/cardiffuni)

Perhaps an exception to this is meat – you do have to be careful here! Chicken is definitely not a meat that you can have medium-rare. And I think everyone is a bit cautious with cooking meat. Despite this, itÔÇÖs actually quite hard to give yourself food poisoning. I canÔÇÖt say IÔÇÖve tried on purpose, but some things IÔÇÖve consumed at university have definitely been questionable in terms of being edible. Nonetheless, IÔÇÖve survived and havenÔÇÖt been ill. Yet. Touch wood.

Whilst this isnÔÇÖt actually a healthy way to live and this could be the cause of our everlasting colds, desperate times call for desperate measures. Until proven otherwise, weÔÇÖll continue to throw out of date food recklessly into dishes for the sake of laziness and our bank accounts.

Pub Crawl Guide – By Georgia O’Brien

 

As our final year of dedication to the Lash draws to a close (hold back those tears) we simply couldnÔÇÖt write this reflective account without paying credit to the humble pubs of Cathays whoÔÇÖve so kindly assisted us on our way to waviness on Wednesday nights. The days of first year, where Cathays seemed like an impossible maze of streets, takeaways and letting agents, are now behind us and at last weÔÇÖre finally able to reveal the secret to the perfect pub crawl. Freshers take note.

To begin, thereÔÇÖs no other place to start than the Woodville, the convenient middle man for those living on Cathays Terrace and those further towards Salisbury Road. With a relaxed vibe and plenty of room to make yourself at home with a social or large group, itÔÇÖs the perfect place to congregate and enjoy a selection of reasonably priced drinks. From nachos to breaded prawns, you can even line your stomach with one of their delicious sharing planks before heading on your way into the depths of Cathays.

(Image credit: twitter.com/thevulcancdf)

Following this, The Vulcan is a popular second pit stop among pub crawlers. A hotspot for sports clubs, youÔÇÖre bound to find an abundance of young men running riot with ties around their heads. But itÔÇÖs not just the red blooded males that bring some to the Vulcan – the drinks are also really cheap! Make the most of these by topping up your glasses before moving onto our next stop, Gassy Jacks.

With a similar laid back vibe to the Woodville, Gassy Jacks hosts a number of live music evenings. With two floors and large bar area, it provides great space for those wanting a tamer evening to socialise or play a game of pool. For the wilder ones among us however, who can resist two jaegerbombs for ┬ú4? An absolute steal I think youÔÇÖll agree and the best way to brave the cold walk ahead to the motherland (the SU).

Last but not least, we have Kokos. Being the closest the Students Union Рyes you can get in through the back entrance  its the logical ending place to the evenings escapades. With 11pm fast approaching, its time to have a shotor three, before a pre-lash boogie on the unassigned dance floor conveniently next to the bar. By now you should be suitably prepared for the evening ahead. Remember, a Wednesday isnt a Wednesday unless you stay til lights on. See you in Family Fish!