Here come the locavores!
by Charlie Peverett in At home on 13.05.08
Gordon Ramsay’s typically media-friendly contribution to the debate on local food stirred up a lot of discussion last week.
For those that missed it, the sweary chef has called for new laws to force British restaurants to serve local, seasonal produce.
Some decided to pick apart Ramsay’s own restaurants’ menus (unsurprisingly, many boasted out-of-season foods). Others highlighted the conflict between going local and supporting some of the world’s poorest farmers in Africa.
But there are (as Ramsay’s populist instincts know) a lot of people who heartily agree that eating asparagus in December or strawberries in March is plain wrong. And these people will be hoping that Ramsay’s intervention will make it easier to eat local.
There’s now a word for someone who sources their food this way: locavore.
It’s kind of a silly word, but it’s quite expressive. And it hints at the proactive nature of sourcing your food locally. Because, as most of us who’ve tried to do so will know, it’s not something you can sit back and let happen to you. You have to go and seek it.
The supermarkets understand the feelgood factor of buying local – there are nods to it in all of the major stores now. But smaller retailers do it rather more wholeheartedly, and the internet is making it easier to find them.
Finding local food
The UK’s ‘No. 1 Local Food Website’. There’s a postcode search to help you find local sources, and the recipe finder may be of help to anyone whose veg box has left them with something admirably seasonal but uninspiring.
During all the free-range chicken campaigning earlier this year, we mentioned this fledgling food community, which is supported by River Cottage.
It’s a great concept, similar to BigBarn but a little friendlier-looking. You can nominate and rate places to eat and shop, with the idea being that people who really care about local food get to recommend what’s good.
All it needs is a few more people to get involved, to improve the range of sites covered and the number of ratings. There’s also a Facebook group – I’ve just joined it. Come on, I’m sure we can bump the numbers up.
The thing about local food is that it’s, er, local. So the closer a website relates to where you live, the more likely it is to be useful. I haven’t been able to find a decent directory of regional sites, but notable examples include Food and Drink from the South East.
Inspiration
Misleading title, great blog. Documents ‘the trials and tribulations of a modern crofter’, and included such fascinating comments as:
We’re unashamedly “lookist” here on the croft – animals that aren’t sufficiently good looking are eaten.
Compelling bloggery.
Slow Food in the United Kingdom
The Slow movement was formed in the 1980s, well before the current trendiness began. And they’re not slow to let us know.
But being ahead of the game, they’ve had some time to think about the wider implications of rethinking our modern approach to food – lots to chew on.
Hugh Fearlessly-Eatsitall was flying the local food flag long before Gordon Ramsay. The site promotes events at his Dorset HQ, but there’s plenty of wider interest too – including a well-used forum which will probably answer the toughest of local food questions thrown at it.
Got any more suggestions? Give us your local food recommendations.
IMAGES by Flickr users *Micky and WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
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