SAVOUR & SIP
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Thought Food for
MIRIAM BALANESCU SITS DOWN WITH SUSTAINABLE CHEF MELISSA HEMSLEY AT DAVID’S BOOKSHOP TO DISCUSS HER NEW COOKBOOK, FEEL GOOD
Growing up, it was really annoying to have parents who cared about the environment – then I realised how great it was!” she says, describing her ‘magpie’ method of picking up tips and tricks. Her influences are far-reaching, all the way from World War II rationing to Ready Steady Cook . The book is as much concerned with feeling good about your external impact as your health. “You feel a bit smug – I’ve made something out of nothing, I haven’t wasted anything and it tastes good,” Melissa explains. “I would never say buy an ingredient and use it once.” She finds endless ways to make last scraps sing, from transforming dips into sauces, to using the dregs of jars to make gravies. Melissa champions accessibility – thinking through alternative ingredients and ways to mix things up, thereby doing all the hard work for readers. “I don’t have a set way
ustainability is a word on everybody’s lips – in 2021, the government
reported a record high for those facing climate anxiety, with 40% of Brits stating that the environment was a top concern. The sustainability agenda is seeping into nearly every aspect of life, not least what we eat. Melissa Hemsley is a pioneer of eco cooking, from work with The Felix Project – a charity battling food waste – to The Sustainability Sessions. Publishing her third book Eat Green just before the pandemic, it epitomised the mood around food, opting for organic, flexible and easy eating structured around what’s in season. Melissa’s latest, Feel Good , grew out of sessions of the same name held during lockdown, where she interviewed the likes of Anita Rani and Candice Brathwaite on staying positive during a time of struggle. Nourishment
of writing recipe books – it’s just real life, planning my flavours, bound up with what I’ve got in the fridge,” she says. “That idea of swapping, being flexible, not being rigid – that’s what Eat Green was hugely about and what’s woven through all of my books. The idea of making the recipes your own. I drive my publishers mad, as they say the page needs to have some white space. “I am endlessly influenced by my mum’s cooking, and I love to eat Filipino food – I find it so interesting with the Spanish and Chinese influence. I love putting these all together.” In Feel Good , caring for ourselves and the planet combine. “We all want to spend less time in the doing – shopping, planning, cooking – and more time with our feet up, more time savouring.”
that’s essential as emotional scaffolding is the philosophy underpinning these recipes. “We’re protecting and honouring our emotions,” Melissa explains. “It all came back to my mum saying: ‘Food isn’t about just people, flavour, sharing and celebration, the way we look – your skin, hair and teeth. Food is about your brain and your mental health,’” she explains. As part of the sisterly duo Hemsley + Hemsley, Melissa fostered an interest in nutrition and how it impacts our all-round wellbeing. Threaded throughout Feel Good is advice on making environmentally friendly grub, from using whole spring onions to not peeling ginger. “I’m always talking about my army dad and Filipino Catholic mum, and how we didn’t waste anything.
MADE WITH LOVE Feel Good is all about the benefits to the mind, body and soul that our cooking can bring. Along with its green credentials, Melissa wants to encourage you to create food for all moods
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