I didn’t think the highlight of Valentine’s Day would be eating a heart but today was set to confound my expectations in many ways. On arrival at Fareshare’s headquarters in east London we were ushered into the warehouse for drinks and canapes, where it was ubundantly clear by the stacks of unwanted foods and industrial fridges surrounding us that eco-chef Tom Hunt would be spoilt for choice of ingredients. Amongst the crates I spotted supermarket own brand goods from Tesco Value pasta to Sainsburys Taste the Difference Olive Oil Crostini, brand name goods including Nestle and Green Giant, and independent producers such as Propercorn gourmet popcorn. As I surreptiously checked out the clientele, we were served a warming aperitif of mulled cider with star anise and delicious canapés of confit rabbit offal, cod-head cakes and pork liver pate with onion marmalade. While there were certainly lots of couples out for an alternative take on the Valentine’s meal, groups of friends were also there for a social evening, so the atmosphere felt convivial if somewhat apprehensive. The mood quickly changed as we were all led into a large room lavishly decorated by Secret Garden Party designer Alex Geldenhuys and we all tucked into a hearty shared meal of Poachers Stew of pheasant, hare, squirrel and pigs cheeks with saffron and pine nut picada, served with celeriac puree, savoy cabbage with lemon and carrots roasted with Douglas fir poached pears and apples. The real fingers up to Valentine’s came when a surprise side dish of pig’s heart turned up and I took real pleasure in getting stick in! In the UK it is estimated between a third and a half of an animal killed for meat is wasted. In the last 30 years consumption of offal has roughly halved. I’ve been put off eating offal in the past but the offal offerings were certainly the highlight for me. With the global meat industry contributing roughly 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, Forgotten Feast rightly believe that people should eat the whole animal. Other meat items on the menu such as rabbit are shot because they cause massive damage to crops and farmland. The grey squirrels (an invasive species in the UK) in the stew were donated by the Squirrel Conservation Society and the game came from a shoot. The meal was finished off nicely by a velvety chocolate and beetroot truffle cake served with vanilla cream and rhubarb. The Forgotten Feast set out to prove that they could serve a delicious feast sourced from surplus food and I left wholeheartedly agreeing!
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