A Magical Festive Feast

St Marks URC Church in Balham festooned with vine leaves, fairy lights and candles, offered the perfect backdrop for a magical festive evening at TTT’s Christmas Dinner last night. The invite to “Norah’s Magical Feast” promised a festive culinary celebration and what a feast it proved to be!  Norah won the overall Top Tooting Cook competition at Tooting Foodival in September scoring not only for the taste and look of all her entries to three categories, but also for her exceptional use of locally sourced ingredients including fruit, vegetables, eggs and honey.

In true MasterChef style, Norah delighted the guests with a sumptuous three course meal starting with a platter of sharing plates of courgette and haloumi fritters and three different kinds of homemade vegetable dips. Generous mains of roast salmon, lamb shank or a winter vegetable tagine followed. Dessert was a splendid affair of sticky fig pudding with salted caramel & coconut topping, roasted fruits with black cherry sorbet or a selection of artisan sheep & goats cheeses served with a variety of chutneys and oatcakes.

Aided by her assistants Dani and Chris, Norah gave us a Christmas dinner to remember for years to come. If you want to sample the delights of Norah’s Kitchen please get in touch with her here. 
Thanks to Bryony Williams #findmeintooting for her photos.

Video: A Walk Through The Crowd

Thanks to Belinda for this smartphone video of her walk through this year's Foodival crowd. Can you spot yourself? Anyone else take some video?

You can also seek out some great memories of the event from our volunteer photographers.  Click these links to see their fabulous work. 

Bryony Williams   Franco Ruarte   Riccardo Sai

We would love to do an exhibition of all our many years of Foodival photographs some time, so if you might be interested in helping make that happen or in offering your photographic handywork please do get in touch with us at TTT.

Thank You Everyone at Foodival 2018

It takes many people to make Tooting Foodival happen.  Here is a short thanks to (hopefully) most of you!

GROWERS

Without your generous contributions of locally grown produce we would not have been feasting!

• Charles & Lesley, Foulser Rd - tarragon & bay leaves 
• Elisabetta, Dahomey Rd - Tuscan kale, cima di rapa, marrow, leeks, chard, pumpkin
• Jane, Furzedown - rhubarb, squash
• Unnamed Tamworth Farm Allotment growers - marrows, squashes, cucumbers, peppers
• David & Mal, Ramsden Rd - radishes, grapes, tomatoes, runner beans, kohl rabi
• Kath, Khartoum Rd - beetroot, carrots, courgette
• Susan, Cornford Grove - grapes
• Michael, Ullathorne Rd - grapes, courgettes
• Hilary, Tooting - plums
• Tooting Community Garden - blackberries, greengages, garlic, Picasso & Maris Piper potatoes, pumpkins
• Rachel, Tooting Bec Rd - courgettes, cucumbers, tomatoes, mini aubergines, chillis, peppers
• Richard, Upper Tooting Park - mint, rosemary, beetroot, courgettes, tomatoes, curly kale
• Charles, Cornford Grove - sprouting microgreens
• Debbie, Furzedown - pumpkin, runnerbeans, cucamelons, squash, courgettes, apples
• Egle, Derinton Rd - pea shoots, mustard sprouts
• Susie, Earlsfield - carrots, yellow courgette, potatoes, tomatoes, runner beans, rosemary, sage
• Belinda, Beechcroft Rd - flowers, marrows
• Poppy & Teo, Streatham - patty pan & butternut squash
• Al, Tamworth Farm - snake gourds, squashes & marrows
• Sue, Furzedown - butternut squash, pumpkin, courgette, green leaves 
• Ollie, Clapham Junction - squash

CHEFS
Volker Nissen of Essential Ingredient for co-ordinating the cooking on Saturday with three notable local chefs: Manisha from Pooja Sweets, Rick Gibbs of Rick’s Tooting & Elisabetta Costantini from Minestra Supper Club.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS 
Mushkil Aasaan - A special thank you to Project Director Naseem Aboobaker who has been a rock-solid friend and partner to us throughout the last 10 years. Letting us use their space and land for free which has allowed us to run projects such as the Tooting Community Garden, Foodivals and countless meetings at Mushkil Aasaan Hall over many years. 

Thanks to Sarah and Deborah at Share Nurseries who have supplied plants to for our pop-up raised beds and to Beate and family who ran the Think Outside stall showcasing their outdoor learning workshops in schools.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Thank you so much to photographers Bryony Williams - findmeintooting, Franco Ruarte and Riccardo Sai.  Click the links to see their amazing work.

LOGISTICS

• Brian Joseph for his generous gift of electricity, water and lending us his forecourt. 
• St Anselms for gazebos
• Gatton School for tables. 
• Work & Play Scrapstore for various making materials
• Volker Nissen for all the catering equipment 
• Miss U stationers for giving us top rates on all our printing
• Al Mirage Restaurant for letting us use their ovens 
• The Phantom Knitter of Old Tooting Town for knitting the Foodival banner

MUSIC
Dermot Jones for curating a splendid "Meltdown" ably helped by Mark on the mixing desk.  All our brilliant artists:
Vincent Burke, Tai Li Ling, Babar Luck, Slim Estrada & Ingrid, The Troubadours de l'Avenue Verte, Emma And The Hot Tub Men and the Unconfirmed. & Ranjit for the dhol!

MEDIA
Rachel Husband for taking Foodival onto Instagram and Tooting PRS for giving us publicity throughout the year.  Everyone who have tweeted/liked and mentioned us in various posts.

TOP TOOTING COOK
TTC local Prize donors: Abel & Cole, Al- Mirage, Deelicious Nazish’s Kitchen,Meat & Shake, Nando's, Unwined, Walker Wyatt Cafe, Bring Your Own Zero Waste Shop.

TTC Judges: Brian Albuquerque, Lillie Langford, Nazish Omar and Rick Gibbs
All cooks taking part in the TTC

STALLHOLDERS
Field and Flower,  Richard Glassborow and 15,000 honey bees, Debbie Morey – Good sorts, Jane Haskings, LSx - Abshir Weli and Charlotte Hawthorne 

VOLUNTEERS

• Ben and Sharon – sustainability games and fun 
• Eleanor and Richard – waste management 
• Barbara and Emily – choppers (and furniture-moving, Emily) 
• Esther and Hilary – manning tables 
• Jenny and Caty for taking your money! 
• Christine for wool-spinning 
• Rosalind & Resina for hard work at the welcome table, and selling plants 
• Leon for fetching and carrying at the clear up 
• Eleanor for looking after cash donation buckets 
• Millie & Lewis for helping out with the food.
• Ranjit & Mita for helping clear up. 

All the Foodival visitors who helped create an enjoyable atmosphere on the day and many of you who helped us tidy up after and take rubbish away. Everyone who very kindly put money into the donation buckets – we need this to make the next Foodival happen so thank you to you all. The residents of Hereward Road – thank you for putting up with us again. 
Tim and the rest of the Metropolitan police team who joined us.

With big love from the Organisers:
Chuck, Volker, Belinda, David and Mal

Tooting Foodival 2018: Congratulations to this year’s Top Tooting Cook competition winners!

Thank you so much to the competition entrants, the judges and to the local enterprises who donated prizes for each class in the 'Top Tooting Cook' competition.

We had fabulous entries made with love and delicious fresh local ingredients...all adding up to good tasting and decision-making challenges for our panel of judges. The panel judged several classes as well as the overall 'Top Tooting Cook'.
Thanks loads to Bryony Williams for her beautiful photographs in this post.
 

Overall 'Top Tooting Cook' Winner: 

Norah Jane Brasington - not only for taste and look of all her entries to three categories, but also for her exceptional use of locally sourced fruit and veg, eggs and honey. 

Her choices symbolised the fundamental reasons of this festival which are encouraging the community to consider sustainable living by Growing Local and reducing the air miles our food travels -  thereby reducing carbon emissions.

A fabulous example of a community action response to addressing climate change!

Winner in the Savoury Class:

Farhana Wahab who made delicious Spinach and potato burgers from locally grown vegetables. The judges commented that 'they are amazing and have great texture'.

Winner in the Dessert Class:

Rachel Crosby who made a blackberry and mint cake using locally grown fruit and mint. The judges were impressed especially by her beautiful presentation.
 

Winner in the Apples and Pears Class:

Nora Jane Brasington for her “beautifully moist" gluten-free apple and honey cake from locally sourced apples, eggs and honey!
 

Winner in the Jams and Pickles Class:

Debbie Morey of Good Sorts won with her “delicious" Damson Jam with fruit sourced from a local allotment.
 

Special Commendation to ‘Baked Bean Boy’ for his hot kale and tomato salsa with “great heat”, all ingredients sourced from donations to Foodival 2018.

The judges cogitate!

The audience enjoying a taste of the entries

 

Why not enter 'TTC' next year in Foodival 2019!

Yum!

I Grew This 2018

Yesterday was another memorable one in the Foodival annals.  Full reports with myriad pictures will be posted in the coming days but firstly thank you to our fabulous growers who donated home grown fruit and vegetables.  Without you the event is not possible.
We give you I Grew This 2018!

What's On At Foodival 2018

Running Order 2018

Foodival 2018 starts this evening with the produce drop-off at Mushkil Aasaan. Left is the running order for the event including all the food, Top Tooting Cook and music timings.  Click through for the pdf.

Drop off produce this evening between 5.30 and 8.30 at Mushkil Aasaan 220-222 Upper Tooting Road, London. Postcode, SW17 7EW  HERE

If you want to enter Top Tooting Cook please try to come after 7pm to collect produce.

And we look forward to seeing you for the main event tomorrow from 11am until 5pm in Hereward Rd and Mushkil Aasaan HERE

Meanwhile ... anything left in the garden, window box or allotment?  Here are five crops I harvested just now!

 

Who's Playing at This Year's Foodival?

The Dermot Jones Meltdown™ showcases a variety of local musical talent at this year's Foodival, including Dermot himself and some artists so secret we cannot yet name them here!  Here is a taster of some of this year's acts.
 

Dermot Jones

Armed with six steel strings, a larynx, and a love of music stretching back to the 1930's - a little before he was born - Dermot will entertain you with his own original songs mixed in with off-the-wall covers and instrumentals from the worlds of Soul, Pop, Blues, Country, Folk, Jazz, Rock - but not JazzRock, sorry - Spanish, and Ragtime @DermotTJones

The Troubadours de l'Avenue Verte

The Troubadours de l'Avenue Verte, Jawadi Darabuka, Bain Stringy Thing, Longpela Pick and Blow are Lido regulars going out to play with a mix of of Irish, Disco, Rhythm and Blues. Just back from their European tour, where they eschewed a tour bus for three bicycles. 

Tai Li Ling

Tai Li Ling is a ukulele/guitar-playing Scouser specialising in Folk and Blues songs about her experiences living in the Big Smoke.when not in her day job at St George's University.www.taililing.com Soundcloud

Slim Estrada

Slim Estrada, deep south bluesman and Foodival veteran will be making his way out of the alligator-infested swamps (of Ealing) to join us again this year. We don't know if Pablo X and Washboard Bob will be joining him! www.slim-estrada.com

Emma and the Hot Tub Men play an eclectic mixture of original blues and traditional folk songs, with the odd French cover thrown in. Emma has a beautiful, original voice with a wide range and a soulful, yet ethereal tone. https://soundcloud.com/emma-and-the-hot-tub-men https://www.facebook.com/emmaandthehottubmen 

Vincent Burke

Vincent Burke recently discovered the fresh air and long walks of Summer Festivals playing Latitude Festival; some of the set went out on BBC6 Music and BBC Radio 3. He is well behaved, pet-friendly and occasionally entertaining. His music is melodic and not stupid, and now contains the added ingredients of double-bass and percussion.  http://www.vincentburke.co.uk

There will also be acoustic songs and edutainment from a mystery special guest. 100% British culture from a world citizen... expect everything from kawalee to punk via country ballad and beatbox. 

More information will be added to this post as we receive it ... The Meltdown has secrets you know!

Tooting Foodival Food: the Four Wonderful Chefs, and the brilliant local donors of prizes for the Top Tooting Cook competition

All about Tooting Foodival Food:

• Four Wonderful Chefs for the feast on Saturday 15th!
• Brilliant donors of prizes for the Top Tooting Cook competition!

The Four Wonderful Chefs

 
Volker Nissen (top left) of Essential Ingredients is co-ordinating the cooking on Saturday, plus Manisha from Pooja Sweets (top right), Rick Gibbs of Rick’s Tooting (bottom right) & Elisabetta Costantini from Minestra Supper (bottom left).
Thank you all for sharing your time, experience & passion! 

The Top Tooting Cook competition (for details on taking part click here - and please do enter, just for fun of it) has some brilliant prizes for the different entry classes as well as the main TTC award itself.
In the generous style that we so admire in the Tooting community, the competition prizes have been donated by the local enterprises listed below. Thank you so much!

• Abel & Cole (who are celebrating their 30th anniversary)
• Al- Mirage 215 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7TG
• Deelicious Nazish’s Kitchen 12 Tooting Bec Road, SW17 8BD
• Meat & Shake - Tooting 47 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7TR
• Nando's 224-226 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW
• Unwined Tooting Market
• Walker Wyatt Cafe 3 Upper Tooting Road SW17 7TS
• Bring Your Own Zero Waste Shop Tooting Market

So much to look forward to: all welcome to the Tooting Foodival 2018, 11:00 - 5:00 on Sat 15th

at 220 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW!

Join us to celebrate & learn about four of TTT's valued community partners at the Tooting Foodival

We're all looking forward to the FREE 11th Tooting Foodival on Saturday 15th September - for all the details of the Saturday community feast and more, scroll through our recent posts including our invitation to you to donate locally-grown vegetables and fruit, and about entering the Top Tooting Cook competition. 

The Foodival will be at Hereward Road and next door at 220 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW from 11:00 to 5:00 on Saturday 15th.

We want to celebrate four community partners who are helping make the Foodival creative, relevant and anchored in our local community:

• Mushkil Aasaan
• London Sustainability Exchange
• Share Nurseries
• Think Outside

Mushkil Aasaan is a community-based care provider. The Foodival will be in their Hall on Upper Tooting Road and in Hereward Road right outside. Ever since TTT was established ten years ago, Mushkil Aasaan and the Project Director Naseem Aboobaker have been rock-solid friends and partners.
We've lost count of the number of times we have been able to meet or run sessions in their Hall! 
Mushkil Asaan gifts us the yearly use of the land where we run the 'all welcome' Tooting Community Garden, our weekly outdoor learning provision with Gatton School, and our Gardens of Sanctuary family days with refugees & asylum seekers from CARAS.


London Sustainability Exchange has been our partners in past activities on Air Quality and more. Throughout 2017 we worked together as LSx co-ordinated the Pollinator Paths Wandsworth Project which engaged 50+ home growing spaces via 4 local community gardens. LSx will be bringing Pollinator Paths 2018 - come along and learn to love insects!
You can do the pollinator recognition survey and sign up for further exciting involvement whatever your age or growing experience.


Share Nurseries is the social enterprise recently launched as part of Share Community.
Share Nurseries have supplied plants to us in many projects - all grown in Tooting with a tiny carbon footprint and a large amount of love, care and skill by Share's beneficiaries. 
Their plants will form 2 pop-up raised beds in Hereward Road, and the plants will be for sale later in the day on the 15th.



Think Outside is a local enterprise which runs and advises on outdoor learning workshops in schools, assists schools in raising funds for the re-development of outdoor spaces and leads gardening classes and related activities for the wider community.
Come and meet the Think Outside team: they are bringing some great activities from 11:00 until 2:00.
 

 

All welcome to come and learn about these enterprises and enjoy their activities at the Foodival on Saturday.

In another post we'll also celebrate the local people who are taking stands to sell their produce - there's lots to enjoy at the 2018 Foodival!