Eat Local & Fairtrade
February 23rd, 2010 | 
Author: Members of the Guernsey fairtrade Steering Group have volunteered to go through Fairtrade Fortnight eating only local and fairtrade food. Follow their progress here as they post what they’ve eaten and recipes used, as well as finding out where to obtain the finest local and fairtrade foods on the Island!
Posted in
From Lydia:-
Will try to get to town for Coffee Morning.
So far, so good…despite the disappointing start at Les Cotils on Monday morning! Wonderful dinner with friends last night. Starter:
Mushrooms, onions and garlic in a crusty roll. Main: Local Pork and Roquette cider sausages (Forest Stores) Roasted Root Vegetables; and Brussel Sprouts: Local Cheeses: Dessert: Banana Split with Guernsey Banana and Chocolate Icecream, Guernsey Cream and Fairtrade Chocolate. Then FT Earl Grey tea. Super!!
Just been to the Licensing of Mark Charmley at St Saviour. The food afterwards looked wonderful, but Annabel and I doubted if any of it was fairly traded. We dared to have an egg sandwich each, hoping that the eggs and the bread were local; the wine and the orange juice were NOT Fairtrade,so it was water again!!
Introduction:
Reading the Minutes of our last meeting (which I couldn’t make), I noticed the suggestion from several of the girls that they “Live on Fairtrade and Local Food for the [Fairtrade] Fortnight. Sounds like a good idea I thought…………and I [perhaps] rashly said I’d do it too!
As an ancient, stubborn Guernseyman, I can fend for myself and have been known to cook, but, in a rather unique and basic way. I love my food and don’t dare deprive me of it. I want quantity – I’m not to concerned about conventional tastes. As my wife Carole says – “you’re a bit weird”. If food is a passion for me, then, like my colleagues, so is Fairtrade, so, this shouldn’t be too hard a challenge! So, here goes………
Monday 22 February 2010
Joined Lydia and Annabel at a function to kick-off the Fortnight. Stop for breakfast at the venue they said. A great bunch of people on our table tucking into a “full English”. Says Lydia and Annabel to the head waitress – “We only want to eat and drink Fairtrade”. I nod in agreement. After an illuminating conversation, involving everyone sat at the table, we find out that this establishment, much to our surprise, offers no Fairtrade choices! And, the only local item is Guernsey milk. Not even Guernsey butter says the gentleman to my right! So, for us three it was unfortunately only a glass of Guernsey milk to start the day! I must say I left very envious of John’s mega feast and full of admiration for the stance taken by Lydia and Annabel and their determination to………”Live on Fairtrade and Local Food ……………”
The day could only get better…..and it did…..
Snack: Coffee and dried apricots
Lunch: Sandwich, milk, muesli, dried apricots and dates. Coffee.
Diner: Pasta, mushrooms, onion, sprouts, banana.
Fruit salad, banana, Clementine, apricot, dates. Tea
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Breakfast: Filter coffee, milk, bread and banana.
Snack: Suki tea
Lunch: Sandwiches, egg, cheese, tea, banana.
Afternoon cup of tea at the super supportive Duke of Richmond Hotel
Dinner: A bit of a “fry-up”! New potatoes, sprouts, onion, olive oil, pepper, banana, onion.
Banana, apricot, Satsuma, pineapple, sprinkling of nuts. Tea.
Hi guys. Sounds like you’re doing very well!! I got started on monday and am very lucky as my other half went to the farmers market on saturday and has been cooking for me since!
Meals so far : Potato and celeriac mash with mackerel and leeks. Local mince bolognaise with fairtrade pasta (had to use tin of chopped toms though! oops.)
Leek and potato soup.
Guernsey scrambled eggs and toast.
This morning traidcraft muesli with ft bananas.
All topped up with ft rooiboos and chai etc.
Oh and some divine chocolate of course!!!
So far so good but I think eating out may be a problem.
Ps Wow Lydia the meal you had sounds amazing!
Had my usual FT fortnight breakfast of a banana and some grapes, with a fruit tea. Problem is I finished all my excellent, home made Guernsey vegetable soup yesterday! So lunch is a few leftover vegetables…but they taste good! Must make more soup! Missed the Fairtrade event at the Town Church by minutes. A pity, because it wasn’t well supported! Took FT coffee, tea, and Guernsey butter into our breakfast place today. Anyone who wants FT coffee and tea can now know it is there and ask for it!
Just had a very yummy lunch. A big roll filled with peanut butter and a banana, followed by some dried apricots and a cup of jasmine green tea. Not sure about tonight yet as we’ve run out of food from the farmers market…I’m thinking maybe some forest stores sausages with mash which I’m really looking forward to!
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Breakfast: Jacksons Tea, Senner’s bread (what would I do without it!), banana, milk, orange juice.
Drinks at work. Why won’t they allow us to choose Fairtrade?! I’ve suggested brining in my own teabags…….but they still don’t understand. So, it’s going to have to be “people [pester] power”!!
Lunch: Senner’s bread toasted with Traidcraft Wild Blossom honey……yummy!
Cafedirect instant deaf coffee, milk and Traidcraft Geo museli.
Dinner: Casserole of potatoes, sprouts, onions, carrots. Followed by a lovely milk pudding made with Fairtrade rice, sugar and good old Guernsey milk. (Not sure about the ground nutmeg. Have to get Fairtrade Phil to look into that for me!)
Thursday 25 February 2010
Breakfast: A bit of a rushed one today, but still time for “the usual” Fairtrade feast!
During the morning the usual refreshing mugs of filter coffee – thanks Phil and Kath.
Lunch: Sandwiches again, but so good with the lovely Senner’s bread. Fairtrade bananas galore!
Afternoon snack: Doves bar and coffee. Thanks again Kath.
Dinner: Working late, so a late one. Senner’s bread. (Must have shares in the place!)
Chocolate spread, honey, banana, Satsuma and a Geobar. Washed down with Tea Direct and milk.
Well, in the last day or two I’ve eaten very well! Fruit breakfasts with fruit teas; Lunches of lovely local roasted butternut squash, or jacket potato filled with my own local, organic, bean chutney.
Thursday night a friend over from England invited me out for dinner. I rang Grange Lodge and asked ‘Is the Fish locally caught, and are the vegetables local’. Yes, came the reply, all local! So I had an excellent dinner of poached turbot, new potatoes, carrot mash,parsnip,and peas…..with two mussels for garnish. Then a banana split with Guernsey icecream. Delicious! Now its Friday. We have been to Les Cotils for breakfast. They now have a fairtrade cereal, and Annabel took her own eggs! So with FT tea and coffee there is a great deal of improvement. Now we must make sure it STAYS for our fairtrade visitors next week, for ourselves, and for all those interested in these matters who come to stay. Its a battle worth fighting! Now I’m off to my Lent lunch. Someone else cooked today, but I’ve given instructions! We’ll see what happens. Lots of FT fruit and local cheese and of course, FT tea and coffee.
Thursday 25 February 2010
Breakfast: A bit of a rushed one today, but still time for “the usual” Fairtrade feast!
During the morning the usual refreshing mugs of filter coffee – thanks Phil and Kath.
Lunch: Sandwiches again, but so good with the lovely Senner’s bread. Fairtrade bananas galore!
Afternoon snack: Doves bar and coffee. Thanks again Kath.
Dinner: Working late, so a late one. Senner’s bread. (Must have shares in the place!)
Chocolate spread, honey, banana, Satsuma and a Geobar. Washed down with Tea Direct and milk.
Friday 26 February 2010
Breakfast: A big bowl of Traidcraft Geo Muesli and Guernsey milk. My favourite is the new Mixed Berries one, but all are really nice, Banana, Senner’s bread for toast (yet again), wild blossom honey. All washed down by Café Direct filter coffee – a whole cafetiere to myself!
Teas and coffees at work. Snack – Geobar.
Lunching: A working one. So, when I called into Guernsey Press in the afternoon to see Michele and her girls, to check how their Fairtrade Cake Bake was going……I just had to buy “one or two” cakes. They were lovely and I think I’ll go for a long run tonight to try to work them off!! Cake sale a great success. Congratulations to Michele and team GP. Great that all proceeds are going to the Haiti Appeal. (Well done too to Alliance for donating all the ingredients)
Diner: Potatoes, carrots, sprouts, parsnips and fish. Mustn’t forget the pepper – it’s Fairtrade too! Milk pudding made with Traidcraft rice (one of my favourites). As it’s Friday night rewarding myself with a glass of Fairtrade wine. Los Almendros Camenere. Looking forweard also to trying Los Troncos Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) and a favourite, Ormer Bay Chemin Blanc; all from Alliance.
Kind regards and very well done to my fellow Fairtrade & Local “eaters”!
annabanana keeps coming up with wonderful foods and terrific that Lydia and Annabel have made progress through their insistence, pestering (and bringing along their own eggs!) Let’s keep it going………….
Have you ever tried roasting butternut squash, adding a few local onions fried in Guernsey butter, putting in a pan with nutmeg and bay leaf, cover with vegetable stock…cooked slowly, it, together with a few Guernsey new potatoes made a very satisfying and delicious lunch. Hardly a soup, it would just need another litre of stock to make one, this was fairly solid..like a very thick stew, but VERY GOOD. Where does Steve get his Satsumas and Clementines from? So far I haven’t found any FT ones here. But the Coop FT grapes are excellent and soon I will look like a banana!!
On Friday evening Annabel and I had large mushrooms, Buttered and then filled with fried onions, a few nuts, topped with Grated Guernsey Cheddar and cooked in a quick oven. Lovely! Then AEG’s own raspberries and blackcurrants, frozen down last summer. I think Annabel added some Guernsey icecream….I added a banana!
Saturday 27 February 2010
Breakfast: Geo Muesli and Guernsey milk with a banana, tea and Senner’s bread, plus a splash of honey for good measure.
All morning on duty in the Capelles Lunch Club team. (Definitely no cooking! Manual labour – putting out tables and chairs and trying to be a waiter!) So, lots of Café Direct to keep us going. Super lunch – as ever at Capelles – Local produce – roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, calibres, sauce; followed by trifle and cheese and biscuits. Washed down with Fairtrade tea and coffee. 51 diner shad a great time and so did the team led by Joy and Cherry.
Afternoon tea at newly Fairtrade registered Fermain Valley Hotel.
A spot of afternoon shopping. Impressed by the wide variety of local produce available at the Co-op Grande Marche, St Martin’s. Stocked up for next week.
Dinner: Still some of that casserole left! Fairtrade fruit salad and some more of that Los Troncos wine.
Sunday 28 February 2010
Breakfast: There’s ample choice – so, banana from Checkers, orange juice from Co-op, bread from Senner’s, honey from Hansa, sugar from Alliance, Muesli from Mondomundi and tea bags from Oxfam.
Lunch: Joined with almost 50 other “swappers” for a superb Fairtrade and Local Sunday Lunch at The Ambassador Hotel, St Martin’s. Host, Rob Steen, had laid on an excellent menu and I think everyone was delighted with great food and drink along with good company.
Surely no need for a snack? Oh well, just a cup of tea at Fairtrade stalwarts, Café Victoria.
Dinner: Finished off a “mature” casserole, followed by a banana and washed down with Los Troncos. Tea.
We did enjoy the lunch at the Ambassador Hotel. Lovely crowd of people and good food. Rob had run out of Plaice so I volunteered to change for a stuffed pepper before I realised that a green pepper is almost 100% certain NOT to be local at this time of year. Oh well, I hope I’ll be forgiven!
In the evening we went out to our Swedish friend who made us one of his country specialities. A little like a Toad in the Hole,(sorry no FT or local flour!) but with local bacon instead of sausages. We had this delight with lingonberry jam which is delicious. When his friend made it in Sweden it was ‘local’. Its travelled a bit since then though!!
Up to St Martins this morning to stock up at the Co-op and at Phil’s wonderful Mondomundi. Planning a dinner next Thursday so bought lots of different dried fruits to make a compote. I think the main course has to be an English (or Guernsey) Toad in the Hole.
Will get local sausages from Forest Stores and also make a veggie one with cheese and stuffing balls. This is an idea of Rabbi Lionel Blue, I hope it works!!
Tuesday 2 March 2010
I guess it was more of the same today. This makes me realise that there is far more Fairtrade out there and I must make more effort to include it in my/our diet and be less boring! I really going to swap with greater determination.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
We were indeed privileged to have 4 Fairtrade guests visiting us today. Comfort Kumeah and Kojo Aduhene-Tano, Fairtrade cocoa farmers from Ghana, also Laura Blake, Marketing Manager & Wendy Rowan, Sales Manager, Divine Chocolate Ltd. It was brilliant for a number of us in the Steering Group to spend time with these brilliant, inspirational people!
Breakfast: Calypso Fairtrade apple juice, wild blossom honey on Senner’s toast. Café Direct filter coffee – lots, and a banana.
Lunch: At Specsavers, La Villiaize, where Comfort, Kojo, Laura and Wendy, along with Phil, Nicky, Ann and me enjoyed a lunchtime in the canteen. Lots of Divine chocolate samples.
Specsavers had also very kindly laid on a special hot meal choice for Comfort and Kojo – a rice and chicken spicy dish. They really enjoyed it, and I was allowed to try it too. Brilliant!
Congratulations to the chef and sincere thanks to Tina and the team at Specsavers for making us all so welcome.
The day consisted of visits to 8 schools, where Comfort and Kojo “melted hearts”. Every student and teacher were given a free bar of Divine chocolate. Thank you Laura and Wendy!
After media interviews and visits to Oxfam shop and Mondomundi, it was off to Pelcian’s @ Kings for a great evening. Presentations by the Divine team followed by an excellent spread of food by Michelle and her team. In particular, a rice, chilli and (Divine) chocolate dish. Many of us had at least 2 servings it was so good. Followed by homemade cheesecakes, all with Divine chocolate. Yummy!! Many thanks to chef Jason and the team. A great day!
Thursday 4 March 2010
Saying goodbye to our 4 guests at the airport this morning was a moving experience. In just a short 24 hours we had got to know a little about life in Ghana for cocoa farmers and their families. We have been challenged and inspired by Comfort and Kojo who expressed their great pleasure at visiting our island, sharing their experiences of Fairtrade, the great benefits it brings and encouraging us to keep working with them.
My menu for the day was – no great surprise – more of the same, as other days. But, my thoughts have been stimulated and strengthened. I want to seek out more Fairtrade foodstuffs to make my contribution stronger. If that means lobbying retailers along with my colleagues, then bring it on!
Climate revolution must be a fair revolution.
At the simplest level, climate change is not fair. The science tells us that climate change is already happening and will continue to happen with increasingly severe impacts.
Those at the heart of the Fairtrade movement, poor farmers and workers in developing countries (who have done least to cause the mess), are at the very frontline of the climate crisis. These communities are reporting that climate change is already having a significant impact on their livelihoods and wellbeing. For example, reduced rainfall in Western Uganda severely affecting pumpkin and cassava growers; heavy rains in short periods and much longer dry seasons, badly affecting coffee farmers in Uganda.
Poor farmers are renowned for their adaptability and resilience in the face of adverse weather and other challenging conditions. However, as climate change creates ever more erratic and less predictable weather patterns, farmers will struggle even more. They may be pushed to lower risk, but less profitable activities. Without the right support they could sink ever deeper into a ‘poverty trap’, forced to concentrate on survival alone.
Fairtrade is one way we in the richer world can help support poor producers as climate change kicks in. The payment of an agreed minimum price and the additional Fairtrade premium in the Fairtrade system has already allowed producers to invest in diversifying and strengthening their business.
But, we also need to develop a debate putting Fairtrade, and more broadly, equity and fairness, at the heart of the concept of sustainability.