Saturday 10th of February, for the second time this year, I catered for the opening of an art exhibition, and let me tell you, I don’t think I could feel any happier about it.
As all curated projects the exhibition matured along many months. Still, it was worth the wait and the endeavour; working alongside talented artist was an authentic pleasure as collaborating and being supported by Milly Coco Hocken who so beautifully curated the exhibition.
While the whole exhibition was developed around a remarkably significant topic, touching on diverse aspects and unfolding through multiple disciplines, what made it particularly memorable to me was the fact that the minds and the hands of six women design and gave birth to it. Six women who are sincerely passionate about the expression of art, curious about the world around them, and concerned about the state of planet earth.
About Regenerative Appetite
The exhibition showcased the work of three talented artists who explore the inefficiencies of our food system through their work.
According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, 6.7 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the UK’s households, the equivalent of 15 billion meals.
Food connects us, nourishes culture, and is deeply embedded within everyone’s identity.
Regenerative Appetite marries the evocative power of artistic expression with the urgency of addressing food waste, creating an experience that engages, informs, and inspires change.
Alongside the wonderful work of Martha Wiles, Freya Gibbs, and Liz Elton, we had the pleasure of hosting earth-conscious chef Esmeralda Mochino, who kept everyone fed with zero waste bites. A backdrop of music from up-and-coming DJ, Will Robinson, and the most special tableware by ceramicist Maisie Goddard.
Special thanks goes to our sponsors Samworth Brothers and Pukka Pies Ltd.
How food and art came together
Throughout the exhibition I felt personally flooded with love and appreciation for the foods I had imagined and prepared, and wishing to spread farther that love I decided to share with you the recipe of the special brownies we served at the event.
Before delving into the magic of making brownies I’d like to talk a bit about the why’s and the how’s behind the exhibition’s menu and its development stages.
When acknowledging the interconnectedness of globalisation, capitalism, ecological collapse, and the food industry it becomes clear that food waste is not an easy subject matter. Food waste is in fact a strikingly broad topic, one that can be approached form a multiplicity of different disciplines and discussed in a variety of different formats.
Following my experience in the hospitality industry within different countries and environments – restaurants, bakeries, catering services, supper clubs, private events – I’d like to share what I’ve seen and learnt and how that influenced the menu I developed for Regenerative Appetite.
When I started to think about the menu I quickly decided about three main points that needed to be incorporated in the foods I wanted to create.
First, the importance of seasonality and locally sourced foods, which directly relate to health and nourishment as well as to the problem of food waste, pollution, and the current non-sustainability of global supply chains. In this regard I strongly believe that the products one chooses to use tell a story, and hence have the power to become a bridge and a way or reconnecting to what food is and where it actually comes from.
Second, I wanted to create a menu that incorporated the idea of de-learning and re—learning about what food actually is, from the use of usually discarded part of vegetables, and other kitchen waste to building knowledge about the abundance of edible plants all around us to understanding how to compost, meaning giving back to the soil in order for it to nourish itself.
Third, something that has always influenced my cooking, namely looking at the plant kingdom to find inspiration, by playing around with different geometries, shapes, colours, and textures in order to transfer the magic of the natural world into dishes that can be exciting and incite curiosity when arriving on the table and being tasted.
It must be noted that it has become a trend to talk about seasonality today. This means that while the topic is discussed it is still not fully explored or understood, with the critical impact that it has on the wellbeing of the human body and the planet being often overlooked.
The earth and nature are perfectly designed living organisms. The foods that grow around us hold all the health benefits that our bodies need in the present moment, needs that shift along with the seasons and the different products that grow during them. That is why we eat watermelon during the hot sweaty summer days, when our bodies need more hydration, or why we should eat roots during winter, specifically all those vegetables that grow underground, absorbing minerals and the heat that penetrated the soil during summer. Thus, following seasonality also means eating fresher products and diminishing our carbon footprint and pollution, as fruit and vegetables needs to be refrigerated, transported, and packaged in order to be available for us outside of their season.
The connection and interrelation between the different elements highlighted above can allow us to understand and appreciate once again the role of the soil in our life. Moreover, it can lead us to de-construct societal ideas and current ways of living that foster overeating and over consuming. We need to remember that cauliflower leaves are for eating, that fruit does not need any extra treatment when picked from the tree, and that even when the expiring date has arrived very often the food still looks, smells and tastes perfectly fine.
NEVER IN HISTORY WE HAVE BEEN SO DISCONNECTED FROM THE FOOD THAT SITS IN FRONT OF US ON OUT PLATES.
That is why I sourced the vegetables for the Regenerative Appetite exhibition from an organic farm just outside of Leicester( Uk) – where the exhibition took place -, why each one of the canapés had a supposedly “waste” element in them, and why all the food prepared was plant-based.
*Regenerative Appetite zero waste bites
Charcoal sourdough discard crackers – farmers vegetables
_ harissa pumpkin pure, pickled shallots, caramelised chilly walnuts, fresh parsley
_mushroom cream, lemon brussel sprouts and yellow beets, parsley oil
_plant based blue cheese, caramelised onions, fresh pear, fresh chives
( Sourdough discard from The Garage Bakehouse, Market Harborough, Uk )
(Farmers vegetables from Picks Organic Farm, Leicester, Uk )
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Rice puffs, plant powder, cultured nut cream, cauliflower leaf kimchi, black sesame gomasio
( Zero waste cauliflower leaf kimchi from The Ferm, London, Uk)
_
Coffee grounds double chocolate hazelnut brownies
( Coffee grounds from – The Coffee Obsessive, Leicester)
TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES WITH GROUND COFFEE AND HAZELNUTS
Ingredients:
80g almond flour
50g corn starch
20g buckwheat flour
60g cacao powder
1tsp BP
1 tsp salt
150g dark chocolate
120g butter
160g boiling water
150 coconut sugar
50g light cane sugar
2 tsp ground coffee ( can use fresh or the discard from making your own coffee at home )
50g toasted hazelnuts
1 bar hazelnut truffle chocolate from Ombar ( 80g)
Method:
In a bowl add almond flour, corn starch, buckwheat flour, cacao powder, roasted hazelnuts, BP, and salt. With a whisk combine all ingredients. Meltdown 150g chocolate on bain-marie along side the butter.
In a third bowl add sugar, ground coffee and boiling water. Mix well so that the sugar starts melting.
Pour the chocolate and butter mix over the dry ingredients. When almost combined, add the water and sugar mixture and whisk with vigor until the batter results completely smooth.
Pour the cake batter in a cake tin, add the ombar chocolate broken in pieces and push them down to make sure they are covered by batter.
Bake at 180C for 33 minutes.
Take the brownie out and let it cool down completely before cutting it into pieces.
Store in the fridge for up to a week
Edited by Isabella Mochino