Tasty treats hit the streets
A series of live cookery demonstrations are taking to Oxfordshire streets over the coming weeks.
Organised by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) these events highlight simple and tasty ways to use up leftovers with the aim of saving the average family around £50 per month on their shopping bill.
Throughout the year council officers across the county have been promoting the Love Food Hate Waste campaign which aims to get the public to do something about the £10 billion worth of food wasted in the UK each year.
Paul Mocroft from OWP has been coordinating the campaign on behalf of the county and district councils. He says: “We wanted to run fun and interactive events to show how easy it is to use up some of those foods that may normally get thrown away. We cook or prepare too much food which costs the UK around £4 billion per year. We hope our events will inspire people with some new recipes: they can come and taste the end results too.”
The events are being held around British Food Fortnight (www.lovebritishfood.co.uk) and will form part of the Beds, Bucks and Oxon Flavours Festival (www.local-flavours.net/). The first event took place on Wednesday (16th September) at Witney Farmers’ Market. At the end of the market a selection of stallholders donated unsold leftovers which will be used alongside other local and seasonal foods in some of the future demonstrations (4).
Professional chef, Ilja Harvey of Pudding Pie Cookery School is on hand to demonstrate simple recipes get people to have a go themselves. She says: “There are so many great ways to use up leftovers to make fantastic new meals. I don’t really see food as leftover but simply as another great ingredient and want to inspire others to think this way too.”
In addition to visiting market places and food festivals, the cookery team will be visiting students’ freshers fairs at Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities.
Chair of OWP Cllr John Tanner says: “When every penny counts, smarter shopping and using up leftovers, is a great way to save money and help the environment. We’ll also be helping students, away from home for the first time, to build up basic kitchen skills and become canny cooks.”
Timetable of the events as follows:
19th September, Abingdon Environmental Awareness Day, Abingdon Market Place, 10am – 2pm
20th September, Chipping Norton Farmers’ market, Chipping Norton, 8:30am – 1pm
22nd and 23rd September, Oxford Brookes Freshers’ Fair
24th September, Henley-on-Thames Farmers’ Market, Market Square, 8:30am – 1:30pm
25th September, Asda, London Road, Wheatley, 10am – 3pm
26th September, Thame Food Festival, outside Thame Town Hall, 9am – 5pm
27th September, Oxford Covered Market, 11am – 3pm
29th September, Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, 10am – 3pm
30th September Wantage Market Place, 10am – 3pm
1st October, Co-operative Supermarket, Carterton, 10am - 3pm
2nd October, Bicester market, Sheep Street, 9am – 4pm
3rd October, Wallingford Producers’ Market, Wallingford, 10am – 1pm
4th October Banbury Canal Day, Outside the Mill, 10:30am – 5pm
7th – 9th October, Oxford University Freshers’ Fair.
Local food donated for the cooking events has come from:
- Baker’s Basket, Aylesbury, 01844 202717
- Bilbury Trout Farm, Cirencester, www.biburytroutfarm.co.uk
- Stylan Family Produce, Evesham, www.vegstall.co.uk
- The Meat Joint, Deddington, www.themeatjoint.co.uk
- Q Gardens Farm Shop, Abingdon, www.qgardensfarmshop.co.uk.
- Palace Cuisine Ltd, Witney, www.palacecuisine.co.uk
