A gentle trade in edible gifts binds communities together
A guest at our restaurant recently told me about her mother’s seasonal side hustle, though no one would have dared call it that out loud: in the weeks before Christmas, she became a quiet merchant of puddings.The proper kind of pudding, too: all dense but not leaden, heavy with prunes and warm with careful spicing.As December crept in, forgotten cousins and semi-estranged uncles seemed to find reasons to drop by her place.She never advertised the fact, of course, but everyone knew that if you came bearing even a modest offering, you might just leave with a pudding wrapped in waxed paper and still warm with possibility.The exchanges were subtle.
One neighbour would “pop by for coffee” and just happen to bring two dozen mince pies; a friend would promise to collect the Christmas turkey from the butcher and bring it round, saving this lady the schlep across town.Nothing was said, no ledger kept, but the pudding always travelled in the right direction.I love this kind of seasonal bartering, not least because these edible interactions manage to bypass the digital world entirely.In an age where every conversation seems to take place on a screen and every relationship is fodder for some Silicon Valley metric, these small, delicious acts feel almost rebellious.We know we can count on the huge annual box of savoury nibbles from our nut suppliers, the one that keeps us and our guests going long after the last table has staggered home.
And every year our neighbour’s daughter leaves a carefully wrapped block of Christmas cake by our door, shyly anonymous except for the neat handwriting on the label.Another treat we look forward to every year is Fuchsia Dunlop’s Christmas email – yes, it’s technically digital, but it feels edible.Each year she bakes something extraordinary and sends out a picture, along with a quiet, thoughtful story and her wishes for the season.Even though we can’t exactly eat it, the flavour is all there.We try to do our part, too.
Every December, we offer the subscribers on our mailing list something different,Usually, that means some gingerbread tiles or chocolate from Ocelot, both of which are very letterbox-friendly,One year, after service, we made a gingery quince chutney from whatever happened to be lurking in the kitchen, jarred it in a sleepy haze and sent it out into the world,We got more requests for the recipe for that than anything else we’ve ever done, but we couldn’t share it because none of us could remember what we’d put in it,In much the same festive spirit, last weekend our friends at the Fine Cider Company came to our Christmas makers’ market with some seriously delicious things to drink – so delicious, in fact, that this year we may well give champagne a miss and take up sparkling cider as our celebratory tipple; we may also take ice cider over the annual obligatory port.
For more cider-centric inspiration, check out Thomasina Miers’ feature on cocktails in Feast, free with the Guardian this Saturday and on the Feast app,It’s comforting to think that this kind of tiny ecosystem – this gentle, edible economy of gifts and favours – still exists,A community, I think it’s called: look after yours, and it’ll look after you,To feed your community with edible gifts, here are a few of our tried-and-tested favourites, and some we would absolutely love to receive,A winter fruit to savour | Persimmon season is always very exciting for us, but we seem to be almost alone in appreciating this glorious fruit.
The question people always ask is: “But what do you do with it?” The simple answer is: just eat it and enjoy its sweet glory! And if you really need something more elaborate, try a simple salad.Mix slices of good winter tomatoes, chopped celery and sliced persimmons with as much chilli as you can take and as much coriander as you have in the house.Season with salt, orange juice and olive oil, and enjoy the best, most joyous winter salad.You can also experiment with Nigel Slater’s persimmon and papaya salad or try Rachel Roddy’s warming apple, pear and persimmon crumble.Next time you see them in the shops (they also go under the name of kaki fruit), put some in your cart.
Sign up to FeastRecipes from all our star cooks, seasonal eating ideas and restaurant reviews,Get our best food writing every weekafter newsletter promotionSunday lunch … better! | Moro on Exmouth Market in central London has long been one of mine and Sarit’s favourite places to eat out – and it has just got that bit more wonderful,Somewhat secretly, in September they started a Sunday lunch club that offers a set menu with a Sunday roast vibe, but done the Moro way,And it looks as if the secret is well and truly out, because when we went recently, the room was buzzing with very happy diners,Look sharp | We absolutely cannot justify the purchase of yet another luxury, artisan-made knife for our kitchen at home, but we know ourselves, and we are weak, so I fully expect that, before the end of the month, we will surrender and succumb to one of the stunning blades made by Two Sticks Forge.
After all, when something is so beautiful and so useful, there is no risk of buyer’s remorseA night of eastern promise | It has been way too long since our formative trip to Japan, and we’ve been aching to go back ever since, but in the meantime we are definitely down for Tokyo Nights, an immersive Japanese night of sumo, sake and sushi, next June,Not a cheap night out by any means, but cheaper than the cost of the air fare – plus we’ll be home by 10pm, which in our book is always a good night,If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive Feast in your inbox every Thursday,
Reform UK revokes membership of council leader accused of racism
Nigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.Ian Cooper, the leader of Staffordshire county council, allegedly called the London mayor a “narcissistic Pakistani” and said migrants were “intent on colonising the UK, destroying all that has gone before”.In a post this year attacking Lammy, the justice secretary, Cooper allegedly wrote: “No foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in parliament.”He also allegedly abused the British-born lawyer and women’s rights activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, calling her “Dr Shaga Bing-Bong” and saying it was “time she F’d off back to Nigeria. She’d feel more at home there
Former Dulwich pupil says Farage told him: ‘That’s the way back to Africa’
A former Dulwich college pupil who claims a teenage Nigel Farage told him “that’s the way back to Africa” has said he felt compelled to speak out after the Reform leader’s attempt at “denying or dismissing” the hurt of his alleged targets.Yinka Bankole, who claims he had just started at the school when a 17-year-old Farage singled him out for abuse, said he had decided to tell his story in full after watching the Reform leader’s press conference on Thursday.Farage told reporters that he had never been racist or antisemitic with “malice”. Instead, he launched a tirade aimed at the BBC and ITV for questioning him about an ongoing Guardian investigation into allegations of past antisemitism and racism.Citing television shows including Are You Being Served? and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Farage accused the BBC, which he suggested he would boycott, of “double standards and hypocrisy”, and claimed ITV had a case to answer for airing the comedian Bernard Manning in the 1970s
How Farage’s response to racism claims is straight out of Trump’s populist playbook
When Nigel Farage angrily denounced the BBC and insulted one of its presenters for raising questions about his alleged schoolboy racism, those who have been studying the tactics of the right noted that his behaviour felt familiar.“Is it out of the Trump playbook? I think that’s exactly what’s going on,” said Steven Barnett, a professor of communications at the University of Westminster. “This is becoming his new modus operandi, turning defence into attack. It’s exactly the tactics White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, uses. There are a lot of journalists in this country who just aren’t used to it
Labour announces plans to lift 550,000 children out of poverty – as it happened
We’ll end our live coverage now. Keir Starmer’s government has launched its full child poverty action plan – the heart of which is the lifting of the two-child benefits cap announced in the budget last week.Under Labour, families will be able to access welfare payments for more than two children from April. The previous policy, brought in by the Tories in 2017 to teach low-income parents that “children cost money”, had plunged more than 1.7 million children under the poverty line – affecting nearly one in nine
Nigel Farage’s shifting answers on school-days racism claims – a timeline
Nigel Farage’s response to allegations of teenage racism during his time at Dulwich college have ranged from vehement at times and rather more nuanced at others.Here is what he has said:After the Channel 4 reporter Michael Crick revealed a June 1981 letter written by a teacher about Farage during his time in Dulwich referring to him as “racist” and “fascist” or “neo-fascist”, Crick tracked down Farage.Farage said: “Of course I said some ridiculous things that upset them.” Crick asked him if these were “racist things”. Farage replied: “Not necessarily racist things
UK-EU youth mobility scheme could let tens of thousands live and work abroad
Tens of thousands of young British and European citizens would be given the right to live and work in each other’s countries under plans for a scheme that ministers are aiming to finalise within the next year.Ministers want to secure a youth mobility scheme with the EU by the end of 2026, as part of a broader reset of Britain’s relationship with Europe six years after leaving the bloc.Labour strategists believe there is a growing political benefit to ministers stepping up their criticism of Brexit and arguing more openly for a closer relationship with Europe.In a speech on Monday, Keir Starmer attacked the “wild promises” made by Brexit campaigners and said the UK was “still dealing with the consequences today, in our economy, and in trust”.“The idea that leaving the EU was the answer to all our cares and concerns has clearly been proved wrong,” he said, though he stressed that he would “always respect” the outcome of the referendum
BP to scrap paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses for forecourt staff
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New York Times sues AI startup for ‘illegal’ copying of millions of articles
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