Feast of Fun

Last night, I ate a lot of unbelievable food. I went along to the Forgotten Feast, a collaboration between Foodcycle and eco-chef Tom Hunt aimed at raising awareness of the excessive amount of food wasting that goes on in this country, and to raise money for the former, so they can carry on cooking nutritious meals for those most in need. I was there under the guise of work, but because I'd like even more people to go along and feast on the deliciousness I experienced, I thought I'd write about it too. So here it is.

Everything you see here is either donated surplus food, foraged wild food, or strange and unpopular cuts of meat that are usually discarded. They are being put to very good use! 

We began with beetroot houmous and 'misfit' crudités - made from the funny shaped and knobbly veggies we're not usually allowed to see; and prosecco with strawberry purée, plus an inspiring intro from Foodcycle founder Kelvin (left) and Tom (right). A pair of people with more passion for food and for helping others, you're not likely to find. Then downstairs for more nibbles - fresh salsa and flat bread. I ate too much.

The starter was mackerel escabeche and pickled carrots on a bed of foraged, wild, sea vegetables and wild garlic flowers. I died and went to heaven! Then the veg started coming out - fresh tomatoes with pesto and basic, roasted carrots...

Salted pollock with wild samphire, courgettes with crispy garlic, sesame seeds, and greek yoghurt... roasted peppers with capers, mushrooms with croutons and Tom's piece-de-resistance, rolled pig’s head porchetta, which took me right back to my Tuscany trip. I ate too much, again.

I sat with some awesome strangers at the communal table, Cecilia, Eliza, Lily and Kirsty - from Italy, Brighton, London and Australia (hi guys, if you're reading this!). They made it even more of a pleasure. Not that even they could match the awesomeness of the chocolate torte with poached fruit and whipped ricotta. I ate too much and I nearly popped.

The Forgotten Feast is on today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday lunch. Please go if you love food and want to feel altruistic about doing something good for charity - it's worth absolutely every penny. And, if you heard Tom talking about staying up all night tweaking the temperature controls on the rolled pork head, you'd have to go try it too! Both the Feast and Foodcycle itself are real labours of love - for food and for helping people in need.

Tickets (and full menu, though it varies slightly every night due to what they've been given) are on Eventbrite now. Go go go (and wear something stretchy at the waist)!

Fleur xx
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