Devon woman helps launch nationwide Big Lunch Recipe Search
The Big Lunch is back and has just launched a nationwide search to unearth hidden culinary gems and the stories behind them with the help of celebrity chefs including Ainsley Harriott and Dame Prue Leith. Mandy Harding from Devon is preparing to submit her entry and is encouraging other people to roll up their sleeves and share their favourite recipes!
The Recipe Search is an idea from the people behind the annual celebration for neighbourhoods and communities, which takes place on 7 and 8 June. It’s been launched in response to new YouGov research revealing that Brits love to cook but are in urgent need of inspiration to get themselves out of a cooking rut. The new data reports that almost one in seven of all UK adults (14%) NEVER cook a completely new recipe, with around a quarter of people (24%) admitting that a lack of ideas discourages them from cooking from scratch.
The national survey, conducted by YouGov and revealed today, dives deeper into the nation’s kitchen habits, finding that while four in ten UK adults (40%) report they’re more likely to cook meals from scratch compared to five years ago, many of us hold back from trying new dishes due to a lack of ideas and inspiration.
The Big Lunch Recipe Search is on – aiming to find the nation’s favourite dishes to inspire people to try something new in the kitchen and share their creations at The Big Lunch events this June. Entrants are encouraged to enter their go-to dishes, quirky childhood favourites and top crowd pleasers along with the stories behind them at TheBigLunch.com.
One home cook getting ready to submit her recipe is Mandy Harding from South Molton, who plans to share her signature cottage pie recipe – enjoyed by hundreds of people around the county each year. Mandy is one of the founders of The Benita Project, which hosts free meals open to anyone across nine Devon community venues in a bid to combat food poverty and tackle social isolation. Mandy prides herself on cooking for up to 250 people at a time and specialises in hearty, comforting food that makes people feel at home.
Mandy said: ”When I heard about The Big Lunch Recipe Search, I immediately thought of my special cottage pie. I used to make it with my dad and it’s just one of those dishes that tastes like a warm hug. When we serve it at our friendship meals it always goes down a storm – there’s no better feeling than seeing people get to know each other over something I’ve cooked with love.”
Big Lunch Ambassador, Dame Prue Leith said: “The Big Lunch Recipe Search is more than just a way of finding and rewarding the people behind the UK’s best home recipes. It is an invitation to people everywhere to join in with The Big Lunch and share food and friendship together. It is a chance to celebrate the recipes that we love sharing with others and the special role that food plays in strengthening relationships, celebrating who we are, our passions, culture and traditions and that sense of belonging where we live.”
Long-time Big Lunch supporter, Ainsley Harriott MBE, is also looking forward to seeing what people come up with in their kitchens for the Big Lunch Recipe Search. He said: “It’s all about hunting down hidden culinary gems. Recipes that hold a special place in people's hearts... and stomachs. We want to hear about food that brings people together and is great for sharing. Throughout my life I've been so influenced by my mother’s cooking and I still make some of her recipes today, things like her wonderful red bean stew and fabulous BBQ chicken. Perfect soul food that everyone can dig into. I can’t wait to hear what’s cooking in the nation’s kitchens to tickle our taste buds and bring the whole country together over the Big Lunch weekend.”
Home cooks who submit the recipes that they feel bring people together are in with a chance to have their recipe featured in a Big Lunch online cookbook and shared at thousands of Big Lunch events up and down the UK this June. Submissions will be reviewed by the team behind The Big Lunch alongside chefs and supporters, and five finalists will be able to join a special invite-only Big Lunch event in May, with one home cook in with the chance to take home a bumper hamper of goodies to help with their own Big Lunch event.
Lindsey Brummitt, Programme Director for The Big Lunch, said: “The Big Lunch has always been about sharing food and making new connections - and with this new evidence confirming that people agree food tastes better when we eat it together we have the perfect excuse to get in the kitchen and make a dish to share! This recipe search is about finding new and inspiring dishes to try together, so add your dish to a growing recipe bank of shareable favourites and come together to feed community spirit with The Big Lunch on 7-8 June!”
In the coming months, the Eden Project team behind The Big Lunch will be popping up around the UK to host food sharing moments, with opportunities for people to bring their recipes along to share friendship and good conversation.
The Big Lunch is an idea from the Eden Project made possible with support from the Pears Foundation and partners Co-op and Greene King. It’s the UK’s annual celebration for neighbours and the biggest community-led fundraiser, bringing millions of people together in a nationwide act of friendship in June every year since 2009. Her Majesty The Queen has been patron since 2013.
To find out more and share your favourite recipes go to www.thebiglunch.com
