What a feast! And all from overlooked food!
Creating a splendid feast, the latest Hungerford Food Community Cook-In took place in the lovely new community kitchen facility at St Lawrence’s Church last Saturday. Volunteers whipped up an amazing lunch from perfectly fresh and in-date ingredients that would otherwise have gone to waste – because of things like over-ordering in the supermarket system or produce gluts from local growers and farm shops.
“It all comes together thanks to the creativity and sense of humour of the volunteers” explains organiser Penny Locke.
“We have some very experienced cooks and others who prefer to follow instructions. The balance works well. We start with an outline recipe plan but we never know exactly what ingredients we will have on the day, so we have to busk it! It’s actually a great exercise in reducing food waste in the home by using what you’ve got, not worrying about sticking to an exact recipe or buying ingredients that you’ll never use again.”
Volunteers at St Lawrence’s ranged from 3 to 83 years old and the teamwork was amazing. The final menu included Thai curry, marrow rings stuffed with mushroom and lentil Bolognese with a crunchy topping, mushroom tart, sesame and honey parsnip chips, summer squash and mangetout salad, cherry tomato salad, creamy orzo butter beans, spicy courgette and chickpea fritters, roast kale and sweet potato salad, flatbreads and bulgar wheat.
If you’re put off by the thought of a completely vegetarian meal, think again! Everyone was hugely impressed by just how delicious it all was. Meat wasn’t missed at all. For dessert there was coconut rice pudding and gooseberry tray bake.
The weather was kind, so lunch was enjoyed in the dappled shade of the churchyard. Intrigued passers-by stopped to chat and many left with food to take-away.
The cook-in’s guest chef was Sarah Culpepper from Glass Sponge Coaching in Hungerford. With over 20 years’ experience as a professional chef, Sarah celebrates local, seasonal produce in promoting the best physical and mental well-being.
Penny added that “We would like to thank St Lawrence’s for making us so welcome, Roger Ballard for PAT-testing our equipment, Down to Earth cafe in Wantage for sharing surplus supermarket ingredients from the Food Hub, Shalbourne Community Growers for inviting us pick their surplus courgettes, kale and cucumbers and Cobbs Farmshop for donating produce they had to spare.”
To find out about the next community cooking event, you can email [email protected]. Book to cook and eat or just join for the meal. Tickets are free to book but donations are welcome on the day to help with overheads. Cook-ins can be held at any venue that has a basic kitchen with a sink and an oven.
Photo by kind permission of Penny Locke, Hungerford Food Community
