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The organic dinner party of all dinner parties, the Feast of Albion, is coming up this Thursday at The Guildhall in London, with guests including Jemima Khan, Sophie Dahl, Tom Parker Bowles and lots of other celebrities. Famous sustainable and ethical chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Mark Hix will cook up the feast with all seasonal, local, organic and uber-sustainable ingredients. The vast majority of them will be sourced from no more than 50 miles outside London.
So, can you join the festivities? Well, if you have £1,000 to spare you might be lucky to get your hands on one of the last tickets. The profits are going to the Soil Association's Farm School Project, which aims to connect kids with organic farming and the countryside, so not only would you be rubbing shoulders with celebs and eating quality organic grub, you would also be supporting a good cause.
But don't despair if you, like us, don't have the readies. We'll give you a few tips on how you can create your own Feast of Albion: donate what you can to the Soil Association and put up a photograph of Sophie Dahl or Jemima Khan on the wall to add a bit of glamour to the affair. And then go get the food.
It's been reported that the five-course Feast of Albion menu will include venison from Windsor Great Park, mutton from Prince Charles' Highgrove, herrings from Thames Bay, beetroots from Romney Marsh and nettles (for a soup) picked in London by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall himself. We've heard vegetables will come from the extremely low-carbon Tolhurst Organic Produce, which have been transported to London by fit cyclists.
Like any other DIY, it will be difficult to replicate the exact original, but here are a few great alternatives to go by:
Venison
Get in touch with Fergus Drennan, the so-called Roadkill Chef, to see if he's got some venison in stock that you can buy, or join one of his courses to see if you can learn where it's best to go to find it yourself.
Royal mutton
This is the easy, but very authentic option -- get Prince Charles' Mutton Pie with Madeira from Duchy Originals.
Fish
If you don't fancy going fishing yourself at the nearest pond, which would obviously be the most eco-friendly way of getting your fish, you could contact Thames Herring Fisheries (01206 282 480) and ask what fishmongers in your area they supply their Marine Stewardship Council certified fish to.
Beetroots
If you're planning your dinner on this side of the summer, it'll obviously be too late to grow your own. The alternative is to get the real deal Romney Marsh beetroots from Abel & Cole's delivery service.
Nettles
Get your basket and go out and pick your own. London's parks and green areas are bursting with them at the moment. We know, we've seen it.
Vegetables
Well, get on your bike and get to reading to pick them up. Or, if you for some reason don't fancy the ride and don't mind being a little less green, sign up for the farm's delivery service.
If this just seems like too much hard work, why not just book a table at Acorn House or Konstam restaurants? They know a thing about local and seasonal sourcing, too. And who knows, you might bump into a green celebrity there as well.
12 March 2008 05:23pm
Thanks for mentioning the Marine Stewardship Council! I just wanted to add that you can also find out where to buy MSC-labelled certified sustainable seafood at http://eng.msc.org/html/content_531.htm.
Kylle, MSC communications team
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