Amazing opportunity to become a mentor and inspire young people

Make a lasting impact on a young person’s career and the future of food and hospitality 

Applications are now open to apply to become a mentor on Square Food Foundation (SFF)’s How To Be A Chef (HTBAC) programme, supporting budding chefs from post-graduation to enter the food and hospitality industry.  

Thanks to funding from The Linbury Trust, Square Food Foundation is excited to offer a formalised mentorship scheme for all students in our BTEC programme. This evidence based* scheme aims to provide ongoing mentorship throughout the HTBAC course and beyond, enhancing students' career opportunities and supporting long-term employment success.

Research indicates that one-to-one mentorship can be transformative to a young person’s career prospects, supporting social mobility, increasing confidence, self-esteem, relationship building and securing a prosperous and sustained future; SFF is thrilled to be expanding this potentially life changing intervention to our students.  

How To Be A Chef (HTBAC) is Square Food Foundation's vocational programme in food and cooking. The programme provides young people (aged 16-25) with skills for employability and opportunities for progression to further catering-related learning or employment.  

We are seeking dedicated people to support our exceptional students throughout their course and, crucially, to provide continued guidance and support after they graduate from the programme.  

"Having been fortunate enough to receive mentoring support throughout my career, I know firsthand how transformative it can be. I'm thrilled that Square Food Foundation is integrating this scheme into one of our flagship programmes. I eagerly anticipate seeing our students thrive under the guidance of dedicated mentors and wholeheartedly encourage people to apply.”  
Sophie Jerrold, Managing Director, Square Food Foundation.  

Expectations of Mentors 

Expectations of Mentors are as follows: 

• Commitment to engage with the How To Be A Chef (HTBAC) programme and attend mentoring meetings with your SFF student  

• To feedback to SFF based on your experiences for evaluation purposes 

If this sounds like an opportunity you would love to be a part of please take a look at our become a mentor page, where you can learn more and apply. We’d be grateful if you can share this opportunity with others in your network who you think this would appeal to.

*The 2020 Learning & Work Institute’s Evidence review: What works to support 15 to 24-year olds at risk of becoming NEET?” sought to identify effective programmes that could attribute improvements in attainment and employment, progress and engagement. This major review looked at evidence from 58 studies produced from 2010 to 2020 that aim to improve attainment and employment, progression and engagement. Square Food Foundation’s mentoring scheme has been designed factoring in key findings from this review.  

Thinking about your Christmas party? We've got you covered

We're hiring!

New role: Managing Director (Fixed Term Maternity Cover, Part time)

Our Managing Director goes on maternity leave in early December and we need an interim Managing Director to help guide Square Food Foundation as it continues its growth. Some day-to-day operational tasks will be taken on by existing team members, leaving the role holder to focus on leadership and strategic responsibilities in close collaboration with our Founding Director, Barny Haughton MBE.

Please click here to download the full job description and for details on how to apply

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: MONDAY 4th SEPTEMBER

Bristol charities collaborate to deliver groundbreaking new food and cooking course to improve health for people with disabilities.

Square Food Foundation, Brandon Trust and Milestones Trust have joined forces to deliver the first in a series of innovative new food and cookery courses that aim to improve diet and health of people with disabilities by instilling the principles of healthy eating, providing simple food preparation skills and supporting learners to make the connection between what they eat and their physical and mental health.

Supported by NHS Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG), this new ‘Healthy Me’ course stands out from others that have gone before by working with people with disabilities and the people responsible for their care to ensure that everyone involved in daily meal planning, shopping and cooking has the same understanding of what is a healthy diet and has learned the same skills in order to achieve it.

Poor diet is associated with negative health outcomes and this is especially evident among people with disabilities. 60% of people with learning disabilities (LD) are constipated compared to 10% of people without LD, and 80 of 100 people with learning disabilities had constipation as a factor in their death.

Rosi Shepherd, Director of Nursing at BNSSG CCG said:

“Maintaining a balanced diet may seem straightforward for many of us, but a lack of knowledge on how to cook and eat healthily for people with learning disabilities does have a negative impact on the risk of long-term health conditions and shortens life expectancy.

“This new initiative provides hands-on, simple steps to make healthy eating more enjoyable and part of an every-day routine for people with learning disabilities and their carers. We’re really excited to see this innovative new programme develop and benefit the lives of local people.”

Delivered by Square Food Foundation cookery school from its teaching kitchen in Knowle West, the Healthy Me course starts 6th May and runs once a week for 12 weeks. Each programme will have space for 12 learners - six supported people and their support workers.

Learners will work together to cook a range of healthy dishes with a focus on fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and fibre. Along the way, they’ll gain practical and planning skills and key nutritional knowledge about maintaining a healthy diet. Session topics will include knife skills, healthier baking, cooking with spices and breakfast ideas, among others. At the end of every session, learners will take home a DIY recipe kit - with all the ingredients and instructions they need to cook a dish from scratch at home.

Square Food Foundation Founder and cookery teacher, Barny Haughton said:

“We know that people with disabilities are more at risk from poor health outcomes linked to diet, and that they often depend on other people for their shopping and cooking. By equipping people with LD and those that support them in their everyday lives with exactly the same skills and knowledge, we’re removing a barrier to better health.”

Lisa Bayley, Head of Learning at Milestones Trust said:

“We know from our own work that the food people eat impacts both their physical and mental health. So, we’re excited to continue our journey with Square Food Foundation, supporting people with learning disabilities with healthy choices. Not only are the recipes nutritious, accessible and affordable, but the classes are also about having fun. Now the pandemic is easing, it’s important that the people we support feel able to get back out into the community again, connecting with other people.”

James Densley, Area Manager for Brandon Trust said:

“People with a learning disability face significant health inequalities throughout their lives, leading to serious consequences for their mental and physical wellbeing. Food and nutrition is a key factor, with research showing that less than 10% of adults living in supported accommodation eat a balanced diet. We’re delighted to be working with the Square Food Foundation on this brilliant initiative to equip people we support with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to cook and eat well. We think the course is going to be incredibly valuable for everyone taking part and can’t wait to see the positive impact it has.”

For more information on Healthy Me, visit www.squarefoodfoundation.co.uk/healthy-me

The course starts on Friday 6th May and runs weekly for 12 weeks.

www.squarefoodfoundation.co.uk

www.brandontrust.org

www.milestonestrust.org.uk

https://bnssgccg.nhs.uk/

Between the Mountains and the Sea: Support Square Food Foundation when you book a place on this unique and wonderful trip.

This May, head to Italy’s Abruzzo for a week-long immersion in all things food and cooking.

Organised and hosted by the team at the magical Casa del Colle, Between the Mountains and the Sea is a unique way to experience an Italian food tradition and the landscape which has shaped it. All profits from the trip will fund Square Food Foundation’s food education projects in Bristol’s schools and community.

This culinary and cultural adventure will involve cooking, markets, wonderful restaurants, walking in the hills with a shepherd, a little foraging, an Abruzzese BBQ, beautiful churches, wine, olive oil, cheese…. All in the company of your host Stephen - and two professional and passionate chefs who have only just recently fallen in love with this amazing and very different part of Italy.

Dates

Week 1: May 4 - 11, 2022 - Fully booked!

Week 2: May 13 – 20, 2022. Fully booked!

A bit about what the trip involves

This is your time, to spend as you like. Choose to take part in every activity or simply sit by the pool or walk in the hills. Below is an idea of the kind of thing you can expect:

• Tasting traditional Abruzzese dishes and wines in local restaurants

• Visiting markets, including Pescara fish market to buy wonderful ingredients to cook with

• Taking a trip up into the Gran Sasso mountains and a place of ancient pasturelands near the summit

• Visiting Danielle D’Agostini’s farm to see how their legendary sheep’s milk cheese is produced

• A visit to a medieval mountain village and a 10th century fortress, the highest in the Apennines

• Relaxed and entertaining cookery sessions with Barny and Rosie

• Time to do nothing or sleep or swim or go for a solitary walk in the hills

Costs

• £1475 per person

• Flights, transfers and all transport during your stay

• Full board

• Lovely accommodation based on shared occupancy of double room

• Two dedicated chefs with you for the week

• All profits support Square Food Foundation’ s food education programmes

What’s not included

• Single room supplement

• Insurance

• Items of personal nature such as telephone calls or gifts to bring back

Where you’ll stay

Accommodation is at Casa del Colle, a large, comfortable and newly renovated, architect-designed villa with incredible panoramic views that encompass both the massive Gran Sasso mountains, that loom 10,000 feet up over the villa, and the sea. Casa del Colle is set in its own grounds of 2.5 acres with space to relax either inside or outside by the large salt water pool.

A bit about your hosts

Stephen Hughes owns and manages Casa del Colle. He splits his time between Bristol and Italy (usually to coincide with the olive harvest).

“I love what this part of Italy means for me and want to share it. I have a passion for how rural Italy has retained a connection with the land and local food (and food traditions) that I feel we have lost; a connection that isn’t simply a nostalgic backward look at a way of life that most of the western world is losing, but an approach to food that we need to rediscover. In hosting these tours I want to share that passion and give something back to a local economy with traditions that I cherish and the families and farmers who have made such an impact on my life”

As well as Steven, You’ll spend the week shopping, cooking and learning from Square Food Founder, Barny Haughton and professional chef and food writer, Rosie Sykes.

“Nearly four years ago, Stephen and I made a plan to host a culinary adventure at Steve’s villa near the town of Penne in Abruzzo, a region of Italy on the east side of the country wedged between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic sea. The trip was planned for May 2020. And then it was postponed to September 2020. Then to May 2021. Or possibly late September …. And like so many plans so many of us made over the past two years, this trip began to seem as if it might never really happen.

But Storm Eunice (and Franklin) has just been and gone , the snowdrops and wild garlic are out and the May editions of this unique culinary experience are firmly in place.

I love this region of Italy more than any other. I am pretty sure you will love it too.

Meanwhile for those of you who like wild garlic – it’s out now in woodlands everywhere. Pick a bunch, wash it, discard the bigger stalks, chop up the leaves, cook it gently in a generous mixture of cream and butter until it is soft, add some finely chopped walnuts and lots of parmesan and toss through some just cooked egg tagliatelle.”

— Barny

A bit about Abruzzo

Arriving in the Abruzzo region for the first time, you might think you were somewhere other than Italy. Separated from the rest of the country by the Apennine mountains, it was not until the 1960s and the building of tunnels connecting the region with Rome and Bologna, that people began to travel there at all. Its economy remains almost entirely agricultural and self-sufficient, geographically defined by the borders of the Gran Sasso, the highest part of the Apennines on one side and the Adriatic sea on the other. Small wonder that Abruzzese food traditions are a reflection of its landscape as well as its people and that, more than any other part of Italy, it has retained its links to traditional produce and cultures.

Abruzzo is home to a rich diversity of products and ingredients, unique to the region and all with a story. Some 17 of them, from cheese and apples to lentils and olive oil, are part of the Slow Food Ark of Taste (link) – a measure of their global significance in the world of food traditions .

Abruzzo is also recognised as the greenest region in Europe as almost half of its territory, the largest in Europe, is set aside as national parks and protected nature reserves. These ensure the survival of 75% of Europe's living species, including rare species such as the small wading dotterel, the golden eagle, the Abruzzese chamois, the Apennine wolf and the Marsican brown bear.

Peach Cobbler - a recipe for Summer

This is a baked fruit pudding with a dough topping. It is a perfect summertime dessert.

Ingredients
500g peaches
Juice 1 lemon
4tbsp caster sugar
1tbsp plain flour

For the cobbler topping
150g plain flour
Pinch salt
2tsp baking powder
1 gently heaped tbsp caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
80g butter - cold
142ml soured cream

What to do:

1. Heat oven to 180C oven/160C fan/gas 4.

2. For the cobbler topping, chop the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour and baking powder with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs then add in the sugar. It is much easier if the butter is cold when you do this. Put to one side.

3. Cut the peaches in half and remove the stone. Place the fruit into the ovenproof dish. Pour over the lemon juice and then the sugar and flour and mix. It will look a bit messy.

4. Mix the soured cream into the cobbler topping mixture. This will make a soft dough. Break off walnut/golf ball-sized pieces and flatten them lightly. Lay them on top of the fruit. Dust with sugar.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 25minutes, until the cobbler is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with custard or cream.

6. Enjoy 😊

From today, all donations will be DOUBLED!

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View this email in your browser DONATE TO SQUARE FOOD FOUNDATION BUY A GIFT VOUCHER From today, all donations will be DOUBLED   Make your money go twice as far  Today, we've launched a campaign to raise £20,000. With your support, we can continue our #SquareMeals service into 2021, supporting local families with healthy, home-cooked meals and DIY cooking kits. We'll reach out to older people who are isolated and we'll provide a healthy, independent future for young people who have been left behind by mainstream education or training.  Thanks to match-funding from our friends at LocalGiving, you can make TWICE the impact. Give now!  Match-funding is split into two stages. Here's how it works:  1) From 10am, today 27th October until 9.59am, 3rd November, all donations of up to £75 will be doubled.  2)  Between 10am, 3rd November 2020 and 12pm, 9th November 2020 all donations of up to £5000 will be doubled.  Donate today and double your impact.   Donate today and make your money go twice as far Healthy half-terms at Square Food Foundation   This half-term at Square Food  This week has seen the SFF kitchen operating at full (socially distanced) capacity. Not only have we re-started our daily #SquareMeals service, delivering healthy, home-cooked meals to local families, but we've launched our newest Food Ambassadors programme with a group of children from our partner school, Oasis Academy Connaught. Plus, we've joined forces with the Childrens Kitchen and Bristol Sport Foundation for the first Active, Healthy, Happy programme. Oh, and there's the small matter of cooking dinner for 60 hungry guests at Bristol's amazing pop-up space, Breaking Bread (tickets are sold out we're sorry to say but watch this space for more events)  Follow us on Instagram to see how it all pans out...  Get daily Square Food news Join the Square Food team!  We're hiring!      Our kitchen angel, Seb, is leaving Square Food Foundation to take on a new challenge. From early November, he'll be working at the brilliant St Katharine's School in Pylle. These are big shoes to fill, but we're confident that the right person is out there - and we want to hear from you! If you love food, love cooking and love people, head to our website to check out the full job description. Join the Square Food Team A recipe for October Make the most of windfall apples with our delicious recipe for Spiced Baked Apples with Custard. Made for our friends at Oasis Academy Connaught, our step by step video will help you achieve a perfect Autumn pud.  Square Food in the press Square Food has been hitting the headlines this month. Our SquareMeals service was mentioned by both BBC Olive Magazine  and included in an article by Newsweek  Barny gets an MBE! After 30 years of working in food education, Barny was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. We couldn't be prouder. Watch this space for what comes next... Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

The #SquareMeals Service comes to an end...

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View this email in your browser DONATE TO SQUARE FOOD FOUNDATION BUY A GIFT VOUCHER Square Food Foundation, August 2020 The #SquareMeals Service comes to an end...  Today, our #SquareMeals service officially comes to an end. Over the last five months, we've cooked and distributed more than 26,000 meals to local children and families. This project, not to mention, the families themselves and the courage and spirit they've shown has changed the way we think about food poverty and helped us understand how we can better support our community over the next months and years.  So this seems like a good moment to say thank you to each and every person who has been part of the #SquareMeals project and whose generosity and goodwill has helped keep families from going hungry.    You are one of an army of amazing individuals, businesses and organisations who have made this happen. In every single practical and financial - not to mention psychological – sense, this project could not even have been conceived never mind sustained without you. A huge and heartfelt thank you from us all at Square Food Foundation.  Infographic by www.suzieeland.com/  What's next at Square Food...?   After a Spring clean and a week's break to recharge our batteries, we'll be back in the kitchen in time for the beginning of term. We're kicking off Autumn with a programme of activities for our friends at Oasis Academy Connaught, including an after-school club, weekly workshops for parents & kids and whole-class cooking sessions. We're back working with the women at One25's Peony Service and are looking forward to welcoming students from St Mary Redcliffe School (who are joining Belgrave School & Cabot Learning Federation) to start their one-year BTec in Home Cooking Skills. Our longest-running class, Back in the Kitchen, will be...back in the kitchen...from September.  Masterclasses for adults and Saturday morning sessions for parents & children will return in the new year, along with How To Be A Chef, Streets to Kitchen and more...Watch this space for a brand new timetable of classes for 2021. In the meantime, click here to buy a gift voucher for any class!  Over the last few weeks, we've reviewed how we work and put in place measures to ensure our students, staff and volunteers can work safely and confidently. You can find our full risk assessment and safe working statement here. A recipe for August Weekends are made for baking and our simple, delicious recipe for orange and almond cake is just right for a rainy, end of Summer Saturday afternoon. Watch our short video and follow Square Food's baking expert Charlotte step by step guide.  Cook at home with Square Food! Our recipe tutorials are all online now! Throughout lockdown, we've been making weekly cook-along videos to accompany the DIY meal kits we've sent out to local families. You'll find recipes for cheese scones, chocolate brownies, Singapore noodles and easy tomato sauce. Watch, cook, enjoy!        SquareMeals - the full story Over the last five months, we've documented the #SquareMeals project daily. Head to our Instagram account now to see pictures of the meals we cooked, the chefs that gave their time, the food businesses that donated ingredients and the team of staff & volunteers who made it happen!   Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

Covid-19 statement - Making Square Food safe

We want our students, staff and volunteers to feel confident about coming to a class at Square Food Foundation, and safe when they’re here. We’ve spent the last few weeks reviewing our ways of working and putting in place systems and infrastructure to ensure our kitchen is a safe and welcoming space.

Before arriving at Square Food Foundation

Students, volunteers and staff will receive pre-session advice advising them:

• NOT to attend if they are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms or have been in contact with a person who has had Covid-19 symptoms in the last 14 days. If this is the case, we’ll transfer your booking to a new date.

• To limit the number of personal possessions they bring to avoid contact with cupboards/hanging areas

• To bring their own containers for taking food home

• To check in by scanning the QR code displayed on posters around the kitchen.

On Arrival

Learners will be encouraged:

• To sanitise their hands before entering (hand sanitiser will be provided at the door)

• Observe social distancing wherever possible.

• Wear a face covering.

During the class

• Square Food teachers will provide a full briefing to students at the start of every class and information on hygiene will be clearly displayed and embedded in the teaching, including effective handwashing and social distancing reminders.

• Square Food staff form a ‘bubble’ and due to hygiene and social distancing measures will not be required to wear a face covering. Square Food staff will wear visors when social distancing is not possible, to ensure we can support students whenever they need advice or help.

At the end of the class, students will be asked to

• Decant any food into their own containers to take home.

• Wash their hands as they leave the kitchen, one at a time, through the garden door.

Toilets

Students are welcome to use the Park Centre toilets and sanitise their hands on their return to the kitchen.

Refreshments

• If you’d like to drink tea or coffee during the class, please bring a flask with you, to minimise contact.

• Eating together is an enjoyable and valuable way to finish a class and we’ll continue to make this part of every session. Whilst we can’t sit together around the kitchen table, students will eat together at their own workstations.

Staff & Volunteers

Staff and volunteers will be given training and support to ensure all systems and measures are correctly implemented. Staff and volunteers will be made aware that that there will be no repercussions of staying home if they are experiencing symptoms, have come into contact with someone experiencing symptoms or if needing to quarantine following a trip abroad.

What happens if a student, volunteer or staff member at Square Food Foundation tests positive for Covid-19?

Confirmed cases will be managed by referral to the South-West local Health Protection Team (SW Centre HPT (Bristol), 2 Rivergate, Temple Quay, BS1 6EH, 03003038162), and their instructions followed

2+ cases may be considered an outbreak: in this case, Square Food Foundation will follow the advice of the Health Protection Team and take any measures they consider necessary.

#SquareMeals passes 20,000 meals, Healthy Holidays with Feeding Bristol & Barny on the BBC

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View this email in your browser DONATE TO SQUARE FOOD FOUNDATION BUY A GIFT VOUCHER Square Food Foundation, July 2020 20,000 meals and counting... Late last week we cooked, packaged and distributed our 20,000th meal - a milestone in more ways than one. When we launched the #SquareMeals appeal, we never imagined we'd raise enough to sustain this emergency meal service into what is now its 20th week. But you surpassed every expectation, donating an INCREDIBLE £43,000 to keep children and families from going hungry.   Add to that the support we've received from grant-making organisations and we've raised enough to extend the #SquareMeals mission AND our Virtual Cooking Club (more on that below) until the end of the Summer holidays.  Any donations we receive from now on will be used to adapt and extend these services across our community. In the pipeline are plans for a community pantry, a family cooking club and training courses that improve life chances for Bristol's young people. Watch this space and THANK YOU for all of your support.   Healthy Holidays with Feeding Bristol We loved playing a small part in Feeding Bristol's Healthy Holidays project. Along with 91 Ways & the Children's Kitchen, we spent a happy Saturday filming ten short videos, each presented by a different family from Bristol. These short videos and costed recipes were created to provide inspiration and support for families over the Summer holidays. Next stop, the cooking roadshow - a series of 50 #healthyholidays sessions that take place across the city. Designed to support families at risk of food insecurity, find out more at The Children's Kitchen & check out all the recipes and videos at Feeding Bristol Cook-along with Barny!    Back in April, we put together a DIY meal kit for a few local families, to give them something fun and productive to do during lockdown. The kits include a bag of pre-weighed ingredients, a recipe sheet and the link to a step-by-step video tutorial featuring one of Square Food's teachers. What started small has now bloomed into the SFF virtual cooking club. Over the last few months, we've sent out 430 kits and, thanks to fabulous volunteer cameraman, Will Lindsay Perez there are now fifteen recipe videos that anyone can cook along to! Choose from pancakes or perfect poached eggs (above) with Barny and Flapjacks or Focaccia with Charlotte.  Happy Cooking!  Square Food does the School Run School's out for the Summer! But that hasn't stopped us continuing to deliver daily #SquareMeals to local families. And with most teachers taking a well-earned break over the summer holidays, the Square Food team has stepped in to help with the deliveries.  A recipe for July Wherever you find yourself this Summer. make your own holiday with Barny's recipe for pasta with fresh pesto.    Square Food in the Telegraph Square Food was given top billing in Jess Carter's feature for the Telegraph in which she wrote about the need to extend the free school meal voucher scheme throughout the Summer holidays.   Square Food on the BBC In response to the government's new strategy for reducing obesity, Barny was interviewed by Emma Britton on BBC Radio Bristol. Click here to listen again (fast forward to around 2h:07)  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

DIY Meal Kits Keep SFF's Teachers Connected with Bristol Families

Last weekend, we extended our daily free school meal replacement deliveries to include weekend DIY meal kits.

These simple kits contain all the ingredients needed to make a meal for a family of five. The inclusion of a fun cook-a-long video link, presented by a Square Food Foundation teacher, gets bored kids helping out in the kitchen and learning about healthy eating. An Easter weekend test run had participant children preparing veg, making fresh pasta ribbons and simmering tomato sauce.

The new DIY meal kit initiative complements our #SquareMeals deliveries. During the Covid-19 school closures, we’ve prepared more than 2500 healthy and delicious meals for some of Bristol’s most vulnerable children and families.

#SquareMeals reaches children and families who rely on Free School Meals to guard their children against food poverty and hunger. The new DIY meal kit scheme provides these same families with an extra meal over the weekend as well as a fun, inclusive activity for children and parents who are stuck indoors.

Watch SFF’s cookalong videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jUtR0ZWnkMOdhbKjBXe9Q

We need to raise £70,000 to continue this service until the end of August. To date, we’ve raised more than £30,000 thanks to donations from you, our friends and supporters as well as corporate gifts and small grants. Now, we’ve secured match-funding to DOUBLE all donations up to £10,000. Thanks to a gift from some generous Square Food supporters (who wish to remain anonymous), every donation made to the appeal (up to the value of £10,000) will be matched.

Give today and help Square Food continue the service for as long as it’s needed.

Keeping Bristol's most vulnerable families from going hungry

How has Square Food been affected by Covid-19?

Like every small business, registered charity and social enterprise across the UK, it's been a tough week. As schools prepare to close and social distancing is advised, we can't continue to deliver cookery classes and workshops as normal. 
We've been in touch with those students that attend our weekly workshops as well as those that have booked a masterclass or team-building event over the next few months. We're so grateful to all those who've chosen to reschedule but equally respect that circumstances may require us to refund payment. Please get in touch with any questions or concerns. 

What we're doing now 

The challenge we're facing is huge. But there are thousands of people for whom this could become a matter of survival.
From next week, we are re-purposing our kitchen to produce free, delicious and healthy meals for local children and families, specifically those that rely on Free School Meals. We hope to extend this service to older people and other groups at risk of loneliness, homelessness and poor health.
We must work together to support those that are most in need AND ensure the services that Square Food offers remain available now and in the future.

How are we doing it? 

The Square Food kitchen team including some of our amazing volunteers will work in shifts to produce meals to distribute to families at local primary school, Oasis Academy Connaught. 

We'll work safely and hygienically, in line with public health guidance, limiting the number of people in the kitchen at once. We'll deliver meals in takeaway containers to reheat at home. All food will be labelled with ingredients, allergens and cooking instructions.

How you can help 

We know that many of you - our friends, supporters and  volunteers want to help in whatever way you can. Here are a few things you can do today to support Bristol's most vulnerable families and ensure the survival of Square Food Foundation.

• Make a donation towards the cost of this vital work.

£7 could provide lunch for a family of five

£15 could feed a child one meal a day for two weeks 

£30 could pay for a month of meals for one child

£50 would provide a week's worth of lunches for a family of five

• Get your Christmas shopping done early! Click here to buy a Gift Voucher for one of our masterclasses or adults & kids workshops. 

• Book your Christmas Party at Square Food Foundation. We can accommodate teams of up to 16 adults for a fun, hands-on cookery workshop followed by lunch or dinner. 

• Spread the word. Use social media to let your friends and family what Square Food is doing and encourage them to get involved. Plus, we want to hear your ideas for other ways in which we can support Bristol. 

Your support is more important now than ever before. Thank you! 

 

Middle Eastern roasted root vegetables - a recipe for Veganuary

Middle Eastern style roast root vegetables

Serves 6

For the vegetables

You can use a mixture of the following vegetables, all chopped or broken (in the case of the cauliflower) into bite-sized pieces: cauliflower, carrot, sweet potato, celeriac, swede, parsnip. You should end up with 1.5k weight of the prepared mixture of vegetables.

In a small bowl, mix together the following:

2 tsp toasted and ground cumin seeds

2 tsp ground coriander seeds

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

Toss the vegetables in a little oil until each piece is lightly coated, add the above spices and roast them in a hot oven until brown but still almost crunchy – especially the cauliflower.

Tahini dressing

4 tbs tahini paste

juice 2 lemons

2 cloves garlic ground into a paste

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

cold water

4 tbs olive oil

In a bowl, mix the tahini paste, lemon juice and garlic together until well-combined. Add the cumin, salt and then enough water – perhaps 2 or 3 tablespoons – until you get a creamy but pourable texture. Add the olive oil and mix well.

Drizzle over the warm roasted vegetables and serve!

Winter in Italy - recipes for Christmas

Roast beetroot, ricotta, chicory, orange and hazelnut salad

If you can get hold of candied or yellow beetroot this will make this salad extra pretty. You will need a large platter to lay the chicory leaves out on (see below).

For 4 people

3 small beetroot

1 head chicory

1 tub ricotta

1 orange

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp hazelnuts

Olive oil

1 small bunch chives chopped

Wrap the unpeeled but clean beetroots in foil and bake until still firm but give just a little to pressure. This may take up to 1.5 hours at 180C. So, to make good use of the energy, you can do this stage well in advance and alongside other things you might be using the oven for – a casserole, baked potatoes, more beetroot, a tart… and certainly the hazelnuts which are best toasted in the oven.

Remove the skins from the toasted hazelnuts by rubbing them together in a clean tea towel. Chop or crush them coarsely.

Peel and cut the beetroot into 1 cm dice and put them in a bowl, add salt, pepper and the red wine vinegar, mix well.

Separate the leaves of chicory.

Segment the orange – no pith or pips. Cut the segments up into about 4 pieces each and put them along with the juice into a bowl to one side.

You are now ready to assemble the salad. Add the orange and juice to the beetroot and gently mix together. Into each chicory leaf, put an appropriately sized heap (i.e. not too much) of the beetroot mixture, add a blob of ricotta, a sprinkle of hazel nuts and chives and a drizzle of olive oil.

White bean purée Italian style

I usually make this delicious and simple dip on a large chopping board with a knife rather than in a food processor. It’s lovely watching it come together as you add the different ingredients. If you have all the ingredients ready, you can do the whole thing just before eating and leave it on the board for people to help themselves from. Very rustic, very Italian.

As a dip or starter serves 6 people

200g (net weight) butterbeans or cannelloni beans, cooked or tinned

Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste, freshly squeezed

6 cloves garlic, roasted, peeled and mashed

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp freshly ground cumin seeds

Approx. 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Small bunch mint or parsley leaves, chopped

Drain the butterbeans and, on a large chopping board, chop with a large knife then mash with a fork until evenly textured and smooth. Add the mashed garlic and mix well with the fork. Add the lemon juice, salt and cumin and mix well. Finally bind in the olive oil. It should be soft and creamy with just a bit of the beany texture still there.

Scatter with chopped mint or parsley.

Roast cauliflower, red onion and lemon

1 small cauliflower

2 red onions

1 lemon

½ tsp chilli flakes

Salt

Olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Break the cauliflower up into small fleurettes and cut the tender stalks into 2 cm pieces. Roughly dice the onion.

Cut two thumb sized strips of lemon peel and cut them into a fine dice.

Put the cauliflower, onion, lemon zest, chilli flakes and about ½ tsp salt in a bowl and mix together well. Add a generous slurp of olive oil, toss well and transfer to a roasting tray.

Roast for 25 minutes or until the cauliflower has taken a little colour and the onion is soft and caramelised. Serve warm.

A recipe for November...(or how to use up your pumpkin!)

Spiced pumpkin curry

Serves 6

1 small pumpkin (approx. 1.5kg)

4tbsp olive oil

2 tsp turmeric

2tsp fennel seeds (ground in a pestle and mortar)

2 onions finely sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 red peppers roughly chopped

2 tsp fenugreek

2 tsp coriander seeds (ground in a pestle and mortar)

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp freshly chopped ginger

1 finely chopped red chilli

2 tins tomatoes

2 bay leaves

big handful freshly chopped coriander

Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Peel and chop pumpkin and sprinkle with 2tbsp of the oil, salt, turmeric and fennel seeds and roast for 20-30 minutes until it has softened but still retains its shape. Heat the remaining 2tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and sweat the onions and peppers over a low heat until soft. Add the garlic, ground fenugreek, ground coriander, cumin, ginger and chilli, toast a little, then add the tinned tomatoes and an equal quantity of water to tomatoes. Add the salt and bay leaves. Simmer well for an hour; should be sweet, aromatic, rich. Combine the pumpkin with the base sauce, simmer very gently for 25 minutes, add freshly chopped coriander and serve.

From London to Pescara (via Paris, Milan, Bologna & Dijon...) by train

Earlier this year, Barny travelled by train from London to Pescara in Italy to visit Casa del Colle, the home of our week-long culinary adventure that takes place in May 2020. Along the way, he jotted down a few notes and suggestions (where to eat, where to walk, what to plan for) for others that might want to follow the same route.
NB Timings and costs were correct at the time of writing but are likely to change over time. Itinerary in brief:

Outward
Eurostar London St Pancras - Paris Gare Du Nord Paris Gare de Lyon (GDL) -Milan Centrale - Pescara Centrale

Return
Pescara Centrale – Bologna -Dijon
Dijon - Lille - London St Pancras

And here’s the above journey in more detail with some suggestions for what you might do in Paris and Dijon:

Outward: Depart 9.24 from London St Pancras arrive Paris Gard du Nord 12.05

Go straight to GDL by Metro (10 minutes) and leave your bags in the left luggage (lock-up) at GDL. And then here are three things you could do with 4-5 hours in Paris:

Have lunch. If you want any suggestions – let me know

Walk from GDL to the Musée D’Orsay - which I think is the best art gallery in Paris. It will take about 50 minutes but is worth it; it follows the Seine all the way and for the most part you can walk along the embankment itself.

Or you could just hang out around the Ile de La Cité and see the scaffolding around Notre Dame - which is pretty spectacular somehow - or cross the Pont St Michel and take the first right to the Quartier Latin where there are dozens of wonderful book and art shops and cafes (especially Le Rue St Andre Des Arts).

Also in the LQ, is the 15th Century L’Elise St Severin. Nobody goes there. I can’t imagine why not. It has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen.

If you haven’t had lunch, get back to GDL by 5pm and have an early supper in one of the many brasseries across from the station square. There is one called L’Europeen. And so very Parisienne too. I had oysters and salade composé (with confit de canard) and 2 glasses of Sancerre for €32.00. Brilliant.

Depart 19.15 Gare De Lyon arrive Milan 6am. Coffee and brioche at Milan station. This will be very welcome. Also get a panini or other from for the last leg of the trip - the ones on the train are pretty average.

If you get delayed in Paris as I did, get the 11.15 from Milan to Pescara and spend the wait looking around Milan Centrale station, the largest and arguably most magnificent station in Europe – even if was built by Mussolini.

Depart 7.30 Milan arrive Pescara Centrale 12.39 where you will be picked up.

Return Via Dijon and Lille. Take the sleeper from Pescara to Dijon.

Spend the day and the following night in Dijon, a beautiful city with its legendary cathedral in the heart of Burgundy (so you will also have a lovely dinner in the evening) - and then take the morning train to Lille and connect there with Eurostar to London.

What will it cost?

Of course travelling this way is going to be more expensive than flying. You could probably get a flight to Pescara for 30 quid if you were canny. But if you take into account the fact that the sleeper element of the journey involves a bed for the night, the price of the train trip becomes much more attractive.

They don’t have the schedules for May 2020 listed yet but here’s what I found this morning (11/10/19) if you travelled midweek in March:

Outward London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord £39.00

Paris Gare de Lyons to Pescara Centrale via Milan on the sleeper train In a 6 berth cabin: £87

In a 2 berth cabin: £165

Return Pescara – Bologna – Dijon

Day time train approx £67.00. By sleeper: In a 6 berth cabin £103.00. In a 2 berth cabin £188.00

Dijon - Lille – London

Approx £83.00

A recipe for August

Roast Peaches with rosewater & saffron syrup

Serves 6

12 ripe peaches

75ml water

75g caster sugar

juice 1/2 lemon

rosewater

large pinch of saffron

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Wash and dry the peaches then halve and de-stone them. Arrange them, cut-side up, in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile make the syrup. In a small pan gently heat the water, sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and then bring to a boil.

Boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the saffron transfer to a small bowl and leave to cool. Once cooled, add rosewater to taste (it can be very overpowering so go drop-by-drop). Pour over the peaches and serve with yogurt, ice cream or as they are.

A recipe for raspberry jam

You’ll need the same weight of sugar to fruit for this recipe but we think it’s only worth making with 500g or more.

1kg raspberries

1kg granulated sugar

First sterilise your jars. You can either put jars and lids through the dishwasher on a hot cycle or else wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water, rinse well and dry in a pre-heated oven (130C) for around 10 minutes until dry.

Put the raspberries in a large preserving pan (or your largest saucepan) and heat gently, lightly crushing with a spoon until the juice starts to run. Add the sugar and leave to dissolve over a gentle heat. Every so often, dip a wooden spoon into the mixture and check to make sure the sugar crystals have all dissolved. Whilst the sugar is dissolving, put a small clean saucer in the fridge - you’ll need this later on to check whether the jam is set.

Once the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat to high and bubble vigorously for approximately ten minutes. Spoon a teaspoon onto the chilled saucer and return to the fridge for a minute or two. Check to see whether a skin has formed. If you push gently with your finger, it should be sticky and syrupy not runny. If not yet set, boil for a further five minutes and test again - you might need to repeat this process several times until the jam has reached setting point.

Once you’re happy with the set, remove from the heat, carefully ladle into the sterilised jars and fasten the lids tightly.

NB Take extra care with boiling sugar.

Behind the Scenes at Square Food Foundation

What’s it like to volunteer at Square Food?

We asked one of our newest volunteers, Lucy to give us her first impressions of the Square Food Kitchen. Here’s what she said...

As I walk into the Square Foundation Kitchen, for the first time it wasn’t the delicious smell of cooking which hit me first, although that was to come.  The thing that I first saw was an overflowing basket of clean aprons being emptied from the washing machine indicating that this was a serious set-up.  The kitchen is a hive of activity, with dirty dishes piling up in an alarming endless stream. I envisaged a morning up to my arms in soap suds but it was evenly shared between cooks and volunteers ensuring the stack of dirty pans and plates do not induce too much anxiety as they grow.

On arrival you are welcomed by friendly teachers showing you round their domain.  A store cupboard to die for, tubs and jars of herbs and spices, long shelves stacked with pans and spatulas, chopping boards and baking trays – in fact every kitchen implement you have ever come across , well used and cared for. A walk in fridge with a terrifyingly solid bolted door, and a constant flow of deliveries from supermarkets and markets, which I later learnt was often donated unbought food. Barny Haughton who heads up the kitchen is an eco-pioneer and his values are carried throughout the operation.    

I was shown to a scrubbed wooden worktop, and as a volunteer my role was to support the participants in their cooking and preparation.  The group comprised of adults with learning disabilities, and on the menu was Singapore noodles and pineapple upside down cake which they could take home to share with their friends or family. The teaching was clear and the group absorbed every word. The kitchen is a home to a huge variety of teaching from groups of over 70s, to corporate away days, to parents and children from every background, to children expelled from mainstream education. Its variety is its strength and the adaptability of the team to each group its power.

Very soon the bubbling smell of butter and sugar for the caramel could be smelt throughout the kitchen and probably throughout the ground floor of The Park, a former school which houses the organisation. The flour, sugar, eggs and butter were creamed together and placed in the oven which heaved with almost a dozen cakes.  Then to the serious job of chopping, and each participant watched the demonstration with intent, and then added their own take. Smiles grew wider as the vegetables, spices and noodles came together to create a delicious meal and the waft of cake baking could be smelled throughout the room.  The finale was the unveiling of the cakes and  this is where the magic happens - there were broad grins all around.  It was a thoroughly satisfying volunteering opportunity for me. So great to see these young people, some with challenging lives, go home with bags full of food they had created, inspired to cook for family and friends and for themselves. 

If you are interested in volunteering at Square Food Foundation, click here or if you want to find out more about their work, click here