Orford Food Revolution Day

Can you smell the Food Revolution in the air?  Well you should as it is happening and upon us.  This Saturday 19 May I shall be in Orford, Suffolk for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day.  The Orford Food Revolution Day will be held in the village square which has been pedestrianised for the day and all the regular Orford Country Market stalls will be there as well as some additional ones, including me - Smy Chutney.  This community event will be an opportunity for people who love food to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues.  It's all about making a difference and getting all the elements of community of all ages together and promote better food and education for everyone.  This is also a global event with people all over the world coming together.  From schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers' markets, to date the following are involved:

• 543 CITIES
• 57 COUNTRIES
• 391 PUBLIC EVENTS
• 425 DINNER PARTIES

WOW! I'm so excited by the concept and so excited to be participating in the Orford Food Revolution Day - where I am from!  

Orford Primary School’s Kitchen Garden Project has been running for two years as a pilot project for the Jamie Oliver Foundation, thanks to the combined efforts of the local community, and the educational charity Eastfeast. Using an approach that has been fully integrated into the school’s curriculum, the project teaches children the joys of growing and cooking their own food in the hope of planting a seed for positive eating habits that will last a lifetime.  

My earliest memories are of pulling up potatoes, picking and eating strawberries, the smell of the Oysterage, going to see freshly hatched chicks, cracking open coconuts won at the Flower show and eating fish and chips on the castle green. I feel so lucky and proud to be from Orford and can't wait to be part of this event and its message. Now I'm based in London but get back to the village whenever I can and always bring back a bounty of bootiful fruit and vegetables from my dear Auntie Chrissie's allotment.  I've posted before on Orford, the Orford Country Market and Orford's Fine Food if you're interested.

I'm also thrilled to be involved in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day as I live and work directly across from Fifteen Restaurant in London.  I've always been a fan of his passion for food but for five years I've had a unique insight into just how hard all of his team work.  No matter what time I get up, the kitchen are already hard at work and continue to do so well into the night.  The restaurant team and the team in the offices are also working methodically throughout the day and night.  The deliveries in the morning and the Fifteen shutters retracting each night are sounds that regulate my day as do the flashbulbs and chatter of the patrons excited to see the stunning Fifteen building and eager to enjoy their fabulous meal together.  Most inspiring is to hear and see all the Fifteen apprentices.  I'm not a stalker (promise!) but when I'm not attending to my chutney pots or working at my kitchen desk, I'm at my desk in the window and it's a beautiful view of the cobblestones, Fifteen and Westland Place Studios.  I was loved Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? book when I was little and it's a bit like that:

So I took it as a good sign for the Orford Food Revolution Day when I heard some commotion outside on Monday and when I looked out, this is what I saw:

Jamie Oliver and Richard Branson!  They were at Fifteen where Virgin Unite and the Jamie Oliver Foundation held a special event at Fifteen to announce the winner of the Screw Business As Usual competition.  Richard Branson has also promised to cook a shepherd's pie on Food Revolution Day and share the recipe.

What will you do on Food Revolution Day? Check out their website to see what's going on in your area or come to the Orford Food Revolution Day! Thanks to Joanne of Pump Street Bakery and Roger of Well Associates for inviting me and all their hard work and involvement and obviously the Jamie Oliver Foundation for their hard work, involvement and vision.  I'm donating a percentage of any proceeds that I make on the market stall to the Orford Primary School’s Kitchen Garden Project and am hoping to be inspired and inspire future and existing preserve makers.  I have fond memories of the school and I'm sure the project will have a lasting impact on all those involved.  Can't wait to see what they've been up to and to see everyone there!