Archive for Food

Photo diary: Lobster fishing – and eating – in North Berwick

Lobsters caught and eaten off North Berwick. Sorry, but I didn't share it with the seagull...

Lobsters caught and eaten off North Berwick. Sorry, but I didn’t share it with the seagull…

In North Berwick it is now possible to see baby lobsters in a hatchery, take a boat trip out to haul creels from the sea and finally enjoy the catch safe in the knowledge it is sustainable. Here is my photo diary of the best lobster I have ever tasted. Read more

Want to meet the farmer? Come to a dinner party in a field

Enroot: A dinner party in a field with local ingredients. What's not to like?

Enroot: A dinner party in a field with local ingredients. What’s not to like?

I was lucky enough to take part in a project recently helping to connect people with where their food comes from. Enroot, a farm-to-table pop-up restaurant, is very much in keeping with my book and was an opportunity to experience the joy of preparing and eating food sourced locally.     Read more

Photos of butchers – because we probably don’t appreciate them enough

Julian butchers a lamb at Devon County Show.

Julian butchers a lamb at Devon County Show.

The number of butchers shops in Britain has fallen from 30,000 to under 6,000 in the last 20 years. It’s a shame because butchers should be the point of contact between you and the farmer who raised the meat on your behalf. Read more

Photos of farmers – because we probably don’t appreciate them enough

Producers supplying Farmdrop, a kind of online farmers' market that provides Londoners with fresh produce.

Producers supplying Farmdrop, an online farmers’ market that provides Londoners with fresh produce.

Pork, chicken, lamb, beef, eggs, dairy – it all came from a farmer getting up early and working on your behalf – as these Farmdrop producers did. Here are some other farmers that I have met during research for my book The Ethical Carnivore. I will try and update it as I go along… Read more

Photos of fishermen – because we probably don’t appreciate them enough

Scott Jago has just started fishing. His real love is his band The Lost Boyz.

Scott Jago has just started fishing. His real love is his band The Lost Boyz.

 

Most of the research for my book is meeting the people who catch and kill the meat and fish we eat on our behalf. I’m learning a lot from these people and since I can’t include them all in the book, here is a rolling blog (that will hopefully be updated) of just some of the characters I have met. Read more

Hitting the target – but not how you think – with the BBC & Scottish Field

My rifle skills are improving but does that mean I'll make a clean shot?

My rifle skills are improving but does that mean I’ll make a clean shot?

My year spent only eating animals I have killed myself has featured on the BBC and in Scottish Field, leading to some expected ribbing about ‘glamorous’ photos with guns and some unexpected conclusions about the nature of shooting. Read more

The Easter Bunny: Overcoming Watership Down

Rabbit features in much of our childhood literature but it will also feature in the kill to eat diet.

Rabbit features in much of our childhood literature but it will also feature in the kill to eat diet.

I am often asked why I have not eaten more rabbit on this journey. The simple answer is that it takes time to learn to shoot a rabbit properly. There is also the Watership Down problem. Read more

Plenty of fish in the sea?

Cod caught off the east coast of Scotland

Cod caught off the east coast of Scotland

During the winter months it was difficult to find something to eat, but there is plenty of life in the sea – or there was. Read more

My first shooting season

I spent the winter learning about shooting

I spent the winter learning how to shoot

I grew up in the countryside, so it may seem strange to call this my first shooting season. But this is the first time I’ve actually held a gun. Read more

Gregg Wallace didn’t like my vegan shepherd’s pie, so I made a real lamb roast

 

Wild soay sheep

Wild soay sheep

This blog is about to get bloody. Sorry, but I did say I was writing a book about only eating animals I have killed myself. This means at some point I will have to kill something. The point is to do it in as humane a way as possible and to educate people about where meat comes from.  Read more