On Tuesday evening, Sutton Community Farm hosted a sell-out dinner to raise money for their farm and showcase their commitment to locally produced food, all in conjunction with Urban Food Fortnight.
Diners were treated to a three-course meal from a menu designed by Head Chef Malcolm John of Brasserie Vacherin in Sutton, where the event took place. The meal, named the ‘Less Than 50 Dinner’ was centred around produce sourced from as close to the farm as possible, with everything coming from less than 50 miles from London, including meat from Forty Hall Farm in Enfield, cheese produced in Bermondsey and honeycomb from London-based beekeepers.
Sutton Community Farm’s vegetables made up the majority of the menu, with a white onion veloute and candied beetroot starter, followed by kale and Borlotti beans, which complimented the main course of a South Downs Barnsley chop. Vegetarians enjoyed a twice baked soufflé, made using hard press Bermondsey cheese, alongside an accompanying salad, which comprised of the farm’s nasturtium leaves and salad burnet. Unsurprisingly, pudding was a highlight of the evening, as guests were treated to Barnes and Webb honeycomb ice cream topped with Sutton Community Farm’s wild blackberries – a fitting flavour infusion to end a truly delicious meal.
Gaye Whitwam, a locally based Bread Angel and baker at Sticky Mitts Kitchen kindly donated the evening’s bread. Gaye also bakes for the farm’s VegBox scheme, allowing the farm to offer more than just their fresh, local vegetables to their ever-growing number of loyal customers. Each of the lucky diners was entered into a free prize draw to win one of the farm’s fresh VegBoxes, with their winning number hidden inside their place-name cards. A local resident nabbed the prize and proudly took home a bursting bag of the area’s freshest produce.
Visit our Facebook page for an album full of photos from the event.
The capital’s celebration of the fabulous ultra-local produce being grown, produced and cooked on our doorstep returns on Monday 12 September in the third annual Urban Food Fortnight, featuring over 100 events and special menus.
Cafés, restaurants and retailers have connected with London’s edible gardens and small producers, to showcase the best produce on offer in the city with special menus, one off events and supper clubs. Meanwhile urban growers will celebrate their gardens with harvest feasts, pop up dinners, botanical cocktail nights and foraging walks.
All of the urban food events and activities taking place can be found at www.urbanfoodfortnight.org
Photos by Laura Jean