The best food comes with a story to savour. Selfridges, famous for bringing the world’s flavours to its Foodhall, is now showcasing deliciously creative talent at Meet the Makers, the summer food event launched so successfully last year. About a dozen new artisan producers from across the UK have been invited to share their products with some of London’s most discerning shoppers in a season of tastings, demonstrations and events in the Foodhall and Corner Restaurant & Champagne Bar this August and September. A public vote will decide which of the producers wins a six-month mentoring programme with the Selfridges team.
National treasures
As part of the celebrations, the National Trust will announce the winners of its Fine Farm Produce Awards – highlighting the very best food and drink from the Trust’s tenant farmers and estate producers – at Selfridges on 1 September.
It’s the 10th anniversary of the awards this year and standards are fabulously high. Stop by the Foodhall or the Corner Restaurant & Champagne Bar and you’ll find an artisan-affirming selection of obsessively crafted products, whether it’s Gower Salt Marsh Lamb, reared on the National Trust’s Llanrhidian Marsh or Ashclyst Farm Dairy produce, made from the milk of Meuse Rhine Issel cows.
It’s enough to captivate any cook – and upstairs, in the Corner Restaurant & Champagne Bar, chefs including James Lowe of Lyle’s and the Typing Room’s Lee Westcott will be cooking menus featuring foraged produce. Q&As with chefs Clare Smyth, Phil Howard and Alyn Williams are also scheduled, so it’s likely to be an extremely proud, if slightly nerve-wracking, few weeks for everyone involved.
One man who knows what it’s like to supply high-end chefs with good natural food is professional forager Mike de Stroumillo of fruit and veg specialist Mash Purveyors, which supplies the Foodhall with all its foraged ingredients. “I love coastal foraging, particularly at the beginning of spring when the days are warming up, the produce is succulent and tender, the wind’s blowing in your face and the sun’s on your back,” he says. “There’s nothing better than a basketful of perfect-looking girolles.”
As well as nurturing sustainable farming, the National Trust is working with government adviser Natural England to draw up a code of conduct for foragers to ensure the safety of species and habitats. “How we leave nature is our legacy for the next generation,” says De Stroumillo. Thanks to Selfridges and the National Trust, we’re closer to understanding what the combination of well-cared-for land and talented people can produce.
Visit Selfridges Oxford Street’s Corner Restaurant & Champagne Bar throughout September to sample menus – inspired by ingredients foraged by Mash Purveyors – by celebrated chefs including James Lowe, Steven Ellis and Russell Bateman. Find out more and book your exclusive table at selfridges.com/meetthemakers
