There is a direct correlation
between the rise of supermarkets, processed food and the increase in obesity
and other nutrition related illnesses such as diabetes. That is not to say food
in the "old days" was free from adulteration but it is true that most
food was made from whole, fresh ingredients a style of meal that now has some
cache attached to it as if to cook with fresh ingredients was the preserve of
the wealthy.
The latest concern, spurred
on no doubt by the TV programme that highlighted it, is the atrocious
conditions under which chicken, and by association eggs, are produced for the
retail market. Drawn into a conversation I recently sounded off about Tesco's
(not for the first time it has to be said) offering fresh chickens at £1.99.
There is obviously no way these poor birds could have been produced in what
most of us would consider a "humane" way. It is more likely with the
supermarket shopper switching to
Most of the battery
chicken produced ends up in processed meals where perhaps they will be consumed
unnoticed. These foods cannot be considered value-for-money but people I meet
on tight budgets assure me they buy a lot of ready meals as, in their view,
they save not only time but money. Here is an experiment: make a cottage pie at
home from fresh ingredients and cost it out, then visit a store that produces
them in packets and compare the price. I have done it and the homemade one
works out cheaper and I would hazard a guess more nutritious.
So imagine my horror
when I switched on the TV the other evening and found Delia staring back at me
from within her local church. At first I thought I had mistuned to an
evangelical station but on watching further I discovered that all her time
cavorting with Sister Wendy left her precious little time to cook from scratch
here was the guru of British TV cooking opening tins of processed mince. What's
going down, Delia?
Years of hard work by
people who care about the food we eat and serve was in danger of being negated
as a visit to the "Institute of nutrition" had an "expert"
tell us that "E Numbers just means passed for food use." E numbers may
designate chemicals that are acceptable for human consumption but that doesn't
mean we should be actively seeking them out on a daily basis. Sulphides,
dioxins, Monosodium glutamate, chemical colourings and flavourings all carry E
numbers but as if to make light of this the remark "even salt has an E
number," was thrown in with a laugh. "Tinned mince is just as
nutritious as fresh," the expert concluded. You can fill in your own
comment here.
Apparently, according
to Delia, Pecorino cheese is like Parmesan "but stronger." In fact
Pecorino is made from Ewe's milk and Parmesan is made from the milk of a cow.
And, oh yes, I can assure you that the taste varies even amongst Parmesans.
I understand that in
future the BBC will issue an advisory warning before the start of Delia's shows
but at least one of my questions was answered: "What do you buy the cook
who has everything?" A tin opener!
Optimism is high in
January and that is how it should be. I am optimistic that in 2008 more people
will shop locally for food that can be produced locally and buy it from
independent shops and markets. Last year’s food issue was school dinners,
to most of us involved in food matters this was nothing new and we have been
trying to encourage children (and parents!) to eat more healthily for years. I
wonder what will become fashionable in 2008.
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Just before Christmas 2006, I was invited on to the Jamie Owen Show on BBC Wales to cook a three-course Christmas dinner. The difference being it had to be suitable for vegetarians. It always presents chefs with a challenge to come up with vegetarian dishes that are tasty, nutritious and exciting. My efforts were a chestnut soup followed by a filo pie in Xmas tricolours and double chocolate mousse. Those in the studio who tried it declared it a success and it all disappeared very quickly! On Boxing Day I was invited to suggest ways to make Christmas leftovers more appealing and I offered advice on how to make an appetizing bubble and squeak for St Stephen's morning breakfast. I hope you all tried it at home. The new year has brought a new batch of classes for me to teach and one of them is Seasonal Food something, in case you hadn't guessed, close to my heart. If any of you are interested in finding out more about my food classes or the recipes mentioned just email me chef@christopherchallener.co.uk
I was back on the Jamie Owen programme this time I was just speaking not cooking. The subject was how little children knew about healthy eating or to put it another way how little they were being taught about nutrition and its place in a healthy future. The National Curriculum (NC) leaves no space in a school day for this most important subject and teachers are left to devise ways of circumventing the NC to bring food facts to the attention of the students in their charge.
I was invited to Brackla School near Bridgend in early October to show a group of around 60 children some healthy, tasty and easy to prepare dishes. The enthusiasm of the children and teachers was amazing as we worked our way through Tzaziki, tomato soup, potato and mushroom paprika and chocolate biscuits. We only stopped as it was time to close school for the day.
The first “Growing the Future” conference was held at the National Botanic Garden of Wales at the end of September. Ways of securing the future of healthy, safe food grown locally to the consumers and where possible using organic methods were discussed by professionals from various sections of the food and farming community. I was involved in a workshop that looked at ways of breaking down resistance to healthy, nutritionally well-balanced food. Those interested in learning more about the results of the conference should contact me by email.
At the same venue I was one of two chefs leading teams of primary school children who had grown vegetables at the NBGW in a “Ready, Steady, Cook-style” contest that received TV coverage on BBC, ITV and S4C. It really is wonderful to get kids at primary school interested in food as most have no barriers and are keen to get involved and will try most things.
On Sunday October 2 I was at Beechenhurst in the Forest of Dean, for the sixth year in a row to cook local food. The Forest Showcase has a new, improved venue and a new look all guided by the hand of the new organiser Kate Biggs who ensured the whole thing ran very smoothly. I talked to many producers, some known to me from my days of running a restaurant nearby with my wife, and the general consensus was that it was a great show and should be extended to run the whole weekend. I cooked partridge, pheasant and chicken and many of you asked for the recipes and these will be on the site very soon but if you can’t wait please email me and I will send them to you.
In July I was cooking "live" on the BBC Stand and you can see the pictures by clicking on the appropriate spot on the left and also the recipe is posted on the recipe page. Craig Farm donated some of their wonderful organic pork and it was really good to use Welsh pork, which sadly, is so hard to find on sale in Wales. Why is that I here you ask?
You may have heard me cooking hake on the BBC Radio Wales show hosted by Jason Mohammed. Although I say it myself (others do agree!) IT IS A LOVELY, FAST, EASY, NUTRITIOUS AND TASTY DISH. I have added the recipe to the recipe page on the site.
One of the groups I have been tutoring over the past academic year had their end-of-course lunch at the end of June. I find it so rewarding to see how peoples enthusiasm and imagination are re-kindled and the four course lunch was not only a demonstration of some of the skills and dishes collected during the course but also a wonderful example of how cooks can work together to produce an enjoyable, interesting and nutritious meal.
With the demise of dinner as the family get-together meal of the day, I went on BBC Radio Wales’ Jamie Owen Programme, in early May, to resurrect the almost forgotten "mealette" of tea. If people no longer have the time or opportunity to have dinner together perhaps they can find 15-20 minutes to have tea! This need not be the cucumber sandwich style tea of the idle classes it can instead be Welsh Cakes and home-made biscuits-style tea. It can be taken almost anywhere that the family can find room and, as I demonstrated on Jamie’s show, the important thing is to drink "proper" tea not that tasteless stuff made from dust-filled paper bags. We tried Assam, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong, Earl Gray and Ceylon (should that now be Sri Lanka?) Orange Pekoe. I would seriously like to "Bring Back Tea" SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED DO DROP ME AN EMAIL at chef@christopherchallener.co.uk. The national Broadsheet newspapers must agree as a week after I was on the radio an article appeared along the same theme!
Following a re-run of "Jamie’s School Dinners" there was raised interest in the media. I was again on the Nicola Heywood Thomas ‘phone-in on BBC Radio Wales along with some other interested parties. It was difficult to find anyone to defend the Government’s view on Dinners and, frankly, it is indefensible.
Happily in Wales some counties have more than the 37p per head allowed in London and have quietly been persevering quietly and have fruit tuckshops and milk bars in some schools and have removed access to such stuff as the fizzy drinks that share their name with a well known type of drug.
Wales’ favourite weatherman, Derek Brockway, came to open the food festival at Llanwrtyd Wells (more in my next newsletter), and he had agreed to ensure a sunny, warm day. He delivered. There were 48 exhibitors and I was particularly pleased to see an increase in organic produce. On Saturday two guest "Dinner Ladies" from Builth Wells High School produced some amazing food showing once again the skills and inclination are there. Two students from the same school cooked-off in the final of a Ready, Steady, Cook-style competition the winner taking away a trophy to mark his success. Saturday night brought a fringe event and I was one of three judges (another chef and our local MP were the other two), called upon to select the top three joints of cooked pork from the 10 on offer. Not as easy as it sounds.
On St David's Day I was cooking on the Jamie Owen programme. I decided on a twist on the traditional lunch of roast leg of lamb with roast potatoes and leeks. I roasted a monkfish tail larded with garlic and served with warm mint sauce and olive oil-roasted potato pieces with shredded leeks. The recipe will appear in my next newsletter but if your mouth is watering email and I'll send you an advanced copy.
Sudan 1. You will recall I referred to this last spring. The FSA have been sending out email alerts for some time about contamination by this additive. What really should concern them is that if a substance banned throughout the EU for food use can get into the food chain with comparative ease, how are you ever going to allay people's fears about the safety of food?
Whatever the effects of this colouring agent it is illega in the EU so it shouldn't be in our food.
Kids' Food. Some of you may have caught me on the Nicola Heywood Thomas phone-in being asked to comment on an American nutritionist's contention that a vegan diet could deny children important vitamins and proteins. A spokesman for the Vegan Society in the UK naturally enough claimed this wasn't the case. I asked him on air did he not think that by imposing a vegan regime on young children you robbed them of freedom of choice the very thing vegan's would shout about if anyone tried to remove their choice not to eat any animal products (this includes cheese, yoghurt, eggs etc). He said that at vegan rallies there were second and third generation vegans who upon growing up had chosen to stay with it. He added that when he visits schools to spread the word he is shocked to see the "Four Food Group" posters that encourage children to eat a balanced diet. Apparently in America vegan doctors have successfully lobbied government to remove this poster from schools. As someone who works with children and encourages them to eat balanced, healthy diets this concerns me. It is hard enough to wean kids off junk food and the only way we stand a chance is to offer tasty, nutritious food that they will enjoy and want to eat. Watch this space