Gill Watson
Chef, food activist and author Gill Watson will talk about her crusade to eliminate food waste as part of the Nelson Food and Drink Festival on Saturday September 19th.
A larger than life character, Gill has written a fascinating book – “Eating My Words” – about her adventures working as a private chef for super-rich and celebrity clients in London and America. But in stark contrast to that extravagance, she now campaigns to redistribute surplus but perfectly good food so that society’s most vulnerable can still enjoy a healthy diet.
After returning to her Pendle roots, Gill began working with local families suffering from food poverty by delivering free fruit and vegetables from FareShare and surplus products from the foodbank.
In 2014 she launched the Pendle Helping Hands cookery school to help people cook quicker, healthier and cheaper meals. She also campaigned for Lidl to allow charities to take the end-of-day produce from all their stores. With a team of volunteers she now collects and distributes produce from Lidl’s Burnley store six days a week.
Gill’s work around food poverty and food waste was featured on BBC TV’s Inside Out programme earlier this year and she has recently cooked with The Real Junk Food Project Manchester for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new series on waste food.
With environment artist Kerry Morrison, Gill talks on food poverty, waste and sustainability to schools and community groups throughout the area and her recipes and money saving tips can be found on her Facebook page, “Budget Cooking with Gill Watson”.
At the Nelson Food and Drink Festival, taking place in the town centre on Saturday September 19th, Gill will take to the stage at 2-45 pm to talk about her food waste crusade and give tips on cooking simple, healthy and nutritious meals on a budget.
Her talk is part of a free foodie fun-packed day running from 10am to 4pm in Nelson town centre, including live cookery demonstrations by celebrity chef Richard Fox and event partners Nelson and Colne College and the Spice of India restaurant.
A Worldwide Food Market will feature everything from traditional Lancashire favourites to exotic delicacies from far off lands, giving local producers and retailers a chance to showcase their finest fare. Other attractions on the day will include a children’s cake decorating competition, free face painting and henna art, and an exciting dance display by the Punjabi Roots Academy.
