In 2011, I created a feast for 200 people using food that otherwise would have gone to waste. We have been inundated with gifts of beautiful, fresh, organic vegetables of all kinds: Kentish apples, rescued from an orchard; deformed cauliflowers, gleaned from local fields; even perfectly ripe avocados, intercepted on their way to a trash can in New Covent Garden Market. I was amazed to learn that food of this quality was wasted.
This event, however, did not turn out to be about waste: it was a celebration of abundance. We were celebrating the wonderful food grown by farmers on our land, in all its ugly and, of course, beautiful shapes and sizes. We called it the “forgotten party”.
In recent years, the scale of global food waste has been revealed by individuals and organizations. This has led to an international movement fighting the problem at all levels, from grassroots events like the one I created, to the UN working with charities on systematic change. The scale of the problem is starting to motivate people, businesses and businesses around the world to improve our food system.
Even as individuals, we have the power to help our environment to thrive, simply by the way we eat. It helped me see the real value of food; its link with nature, people and the environment.
I developed the recipes in this book to be affordable and easy to prepare at home, using readily available products. I also showcased lesser-known heirlooms, ingredients from the world and wild products to encourage biodiversity while still offering an alternative.
Like the Forgotten Feast, this book is a celebration of abundance: a celebration of taste, nutrition and the Earth; a guide to affordable and ethical cuisine, citizenship and well-being that reconnects us with good food and nature.
Tom Hunt’s Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet is published by Kyle Books (£ 26). Order your copy at books.telegraph.co.uk
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-22 10:19:37
