Top celebrity Birmingham chef, Glynn Purnell, and award winning chef, David Colcombe from Opus Restaurant, will be joining forces with Birmingham City Council and Visit Birmingham to bring the Love Food Hate Waste campaign to Birmingham Food Fest on July 19.
Glynn Purnell and David Colcombe cookery demonstration
Using fruit and vegetables sourced from the city’s wholesale markets, the duo will be conjuring up delicious dishes with items that would normally be left in fruit bowls or thrown away, creating something quick and easy that you don’t have to be a celebrity chef to make.
The cookery demonstration, being held in the main square at Brindleyplace between 10am and 2pm, is the culmination of the Birmingham Food Fest, a week of gastronomic celebrations and restaurant promotions throughout the city, which runs from July 13-19.
WRAP UK nutritional advisor, Monica Price, will be overseeing the event which will give people an opportunity to learn how to cut down on the food they throw away whilst also sampling dishes created by the two local culinary stars.
Cllr James McKay, Cabinet Member for a Green, Safe and Smart city, said: “The average Birmingham family could save up to £50 a month just by being a bit more aware of what food they are buying and throwing away, yet 65 per cent of people don’t believe they throw any food away.
“Although Birmingham already has one of the lowest rates of landfill in the UK, reducing the amount of food waste that we throw away will help us to further reduce harmful gases from landfill and reduce waste disposal costs.
“The council is a great supporter of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign and we are extremely proud to be working with great Birmingham chefs like Glynn Purnell and David Colcombe to help promote the messages of the campaign.
“It really is amazing what can be done with unwanted food and I am sure this event will give people some real food for thought on this topic.”
David Colcombe from Opus Restaurant added: “Opus is committed to reducing food waste and this is a wonderful opportunity to help households to cook with food that would otherwise go to waste.”
Glynn Purnell from Purnell’s Restaurant said: “I am delighted to be involved with the Love Food Hate Waste campaign and to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste in Birmingham by cooking some simple dishes with food that is often thrown away.”
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing Services for Visit Birmingham, which is managing Birmingham Food Fest, added: “Birmingham Food Fest is all about working with our many talented chefs and partners throughout the city to inspire a new generation of food lovers.
“Events such as the Love Food Hate Waste celebrity ‘cook-off’ are a great way of encouraging people to learn new culinary skills and be more experimental with their cooking – helping households to save food and money.
“The Love Food Hate Waste event will form the finale of Birmingham Food Fest, bringing a fantastic week of restaurant promotions and foodie events to a close.”
The whole event is being professionally filmed and will be used by the council and WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme) for educational and promotional purposes.
