An online guide to cook and grow your way through Covid-19
Words & photography by our sustainability editor Maria Bell
What we want to do is compile a guide of resources available for you to become more self sufficient IF you so want. Need to know how to sow seeds? What grows within the next 2/3 weeks? How to make bread? Below are the experts and resources on hand to help answer all your questions.
Over the last few weeks things have changed rapidly. The food industry as we know it has been rocked. Chefs, kitchen staff & FOH are without work, farmers are left with a huge gap in the workforce necessary to harvest crops and producers growing for restaurants are left with an abundance of food without a route to market. Remarkably, people of the industry - from farmers & growers to chefs - have responded by taking to social media to share their expertise to help keep us healthy, fed and sane.
We’ve seen individuals readjust their businesses at an incredible rate and companies pivoting in ways that were until recently seen as implausibly long winded. We cannot hope to document everything that is going on in real time but if you want to know more about how the industry is adapting, including old & new local veg box schemes, wine deliveries and meat straight from the farm then Eat Like A Girl has compiled a god-send of a list of producers and farmers who are now delivering direct to consumers. Eater London, as always, are on top of restaurant closures and delivery services and Rocket & Squash has written a comprehensive guide to ingredient buying for Covid-19.
So to start at the very beginning, if you can, get your hand on some seeds. Real Seeds, Tamar Organics, Mark Dianco ‘Get Growing Packs’ are all good places to start, just prepare yourselves for a bit of a backlog. If you have the time, see also the importance of picking resilient, non-hybrid seeds in our article on the late, great Esiah Levy and read more on Seed Sovereignty & their work on seed networks across UK, Ireland and the globe from the Gaia Foundation.
Next comes knowing what to do with them.
Growers
Hannah Grows - Horticulturist and blogger Hannah Schlotter has been showcasing growing tips on her blog Hannah Grows for years. However with the onset of Covid-19, she’s now started a series on IGTV to help beginners on their journey towards home grown food & kicking it all off with a video on seed sowing “showing you that growing plants is for everyone, not just experts!”
Skinny Jean Gardener - With schools out you need the helpful, hilarious hand of Skinny Gardener more than ever. Using stuff you have lying around your house, he’s telling you how to garden at home - and most importantly, get your kids excited about it too. He’s holding Instagram live sessions where you can ask him the specifics or just take a look back at his entire career, there’s some amazing stuff in there.
Anna Greenland - Organic grower for Raymond Blanc and Soho House, Anna Greenland is all about growing for flavour and resilience. Her Instagram (& website) covers informal, friendly tutorials on seed sowing, thinning seeds and much, much more. You’ll quickly learn how to start your at-home veg patch as well as what to do with it all once you harvest - her recipes and how-to’s for tonics, sauerkraut and herbal remedies are fantastic.
Claire Ratinon - a Modern House Columnist with an Instagram full of information, organic grower Claire has long been one to watch in the industry. Now she’s opening up her skills once more with a new newsletter covering advice on food, nature and its intrinsic power to connect, heal and nourish as well as lots more!
Omved Gardens - Hub of all things sustainable, community based Omved Gardens is offering tips and tricks from Head-Grower Vicky on their Instagram whilst also building a community of growers and seed savers across London. DM them for more details.
Jack’s Patch - This London permaculture designer is opening up his Instagram even more than before to offer helpful information for first-time growers, including choosing plants that will grow quickly and allow for re-cropping. If you don't know what that means, maybe that’s the encouragement you need to check him out?
Charles Dowding - one of the UK founders of the no dig movement, Charles shares a wealth of knowledge on the foundations of ethical, nature-friendly growing starting with soil and how you tend the land. The thing you'll learn? Soil. Is. Everything.
Soul Fire Farm - With the incomparable Leah Penniman at the helm, American juggernauts Soul Fire Farm have partnered with Northeast Farmers of Colour, Black Farmer Fund, and HEAL Food Alliance to transform their support network into a virtual space for BIPOC farmers and food sovereignty activists across the US to access support and share ideas in the pandemic.
The Sustainable Food Story - Our favourite cheffing and growing duo (two absolute powerhouses) are launching “Backyard Farming, from Seed to Table’, collaborating with farmers, growers and chefs over the next few months for step-by-step guides to gardening in any space no matter the size, shade or social distance - and how to cook & eat the lot.
Hackney Herbal - Nat Mady founded HH, a social enterprise in East London, to educate the community about growing culinary, medicinal & wild herbs for improved health and wellbeing. This evolved into workshops, events and selling herbal tea blends but with the onset of the virus, she’s now recording Instagram tutorials on everything herb-care. FULL of knowledge you’d be a fool to not check her out.
NB: For plant and flower lovers, the Telegraph’s Alice Vincent, or Noughticulture as she’s known from her account, is an invaluable source of knowledge of plant care for urban dwellers. Allotment Florist has also offered up a live floristry workshop every day from 3pm.
Chefs
Jack Monroe - The original. Author of Cooking On A Bootstrap & Tin Can Cooks, campaigner and all round absolute legend Jack Monroe is the real deal when it comes to making meals out of ‘nothing’. Now she’s started #JackMonroesLockdownLarder 5pm GMT every day on Twitter. You tweet in the randoms items in your kitchen, Jack will respond with tips and recipes. It’s as simple and brilliant as that.
Malou Herkes - Leftover food? With Malou’s DIY Pantry series you’ll no-longer understand the meaning of the term. Learn how to turn cream into butter, make your own almond milk, turn citrus peels into household cleaner and many more frugal lessons on her Instagram and blog.
Claire Thompson - Author of The Art of The Larder, Claire’s no-fuss, full of flavour cooking is all about making your larder work for you, not the other way around. Over on her Instagram she’s posting recipes for one meal a day that optimises thrifty, everyday ingredients whilst prioritising flavour.
Brickhouse Bakery - South London stalwart Brick House Bakery are teaching everyone how to bake their Self Isolation Sourdough with a comprehensive guide from tools to technique over on their grid.
Leaders of Fun - Chef Olia Hercules and her son Sasha are cooking up a storm in isolation on this new account. For anyone with kids & wondering how to entertain & cook together, this is going to be a treat.
Hot Pots and Chocolate - With legendary Carla Tomasi’s recommendation no less, Ema’s account is here for all your pasta-making needs.
Nena Foster Food - Natural Chef and Master of ferments, Nena Foster is taking people’s cooking questions and turning them into ‘Whats In Your Fridge’ recipe suggestions in videos on her Instagram. Also a one stop shop for all your fermentation needs.
Rosie Birkett - Kicking off her new ‘Pantry Provisions’ with a saffron risotto, Rosie's bringing us frugal luxury with simple pantry staples.
Chefs Manifesto - In partnership with the WHO & Global Citizen, Chefs Manifesto - a community of Chefs all focused on sustainable, responsible cooking - are doing daily lives under the hashtag #TogetherAtHome from their Instagram account.
Nancy Birtwhistle - We wish we could bottle Nancy's vim and send it out to everyone who's struggling right now because one look at her videos and you forget the hellscape we're currently in. From cooking with leftover egg whites to cleaning your oven with DIY natural ingredients she's been on-hand since the start of social distancing to see us all through - with an epic radio playlist blasting in the background.
Anais Vanmanen - Infamous chef of Bao & Xu London was one of the first to give out seriously thorough advice for cooking in quarantine since this ordeal started. Everything from your first attempts at pickles & ferments, the importance of stock taking your freezer, keeping food dry and highlighting support for Asian stores & their ingredients in a time where racism and prejudice has worsened the already horrendous effects of this virus on these businesses. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also posting a load of insanely good recipes.
Other incredible resources:
Jonathan Dunn has launched a new newsletter for food writing to adapt to the current situation. If it’s anything half as good as the work he & team at Eater London has done to change the landscape of food journalism in this country, it’ll be something to worship. Sign up & donate if you can.
Charities and Help
If you can, please help and donate to the charities and initiatives supporting the vulnerable and food scarce. The Trussell Trust, City Harvest, Feedback, Felix Project, Bankuet App, Olio and Too Good To Waste are well established. There’s also the non-profit Cook-19, providing cooked meals and supplies to NHS staff. Plus if you’re a chef or cook, you could join Chefs in Schools, to feed vulnerable children in need.
If you're able, think about joining your local Covid Volunteers to help provide food and rescuers vulnerable in your community.
There’s A LOT going on right now but for future-proofing food, here’s a good piece about food ethics & resisting the urge to retreat back to 'business as usual’ post COVID-19.
Lastly, as much as there’s need for necessity here, food is also for pleasure and joy, for these in abundance we recommend food writer & editor Bre Graham’s newly launched project, Sophie Davidson’s iconic newsletter Women Cook For Me, Letitia Clark’s blog and The Gannet’s archive.
We’d like to keep this as up to date as possible so if you know of anyone in the growing or cheffing community opening up their skills, or if you are one of them, please send us an email with a short blurb to - hello@tablemagazine.co.uk.
Keep safe everyone,
Maria
