Cambridge Edition May 2021 - Web

FOOD & DR INK

RECIPES Lunch with

The Modern Table LOCAL CATERER LIZ YOUNG DESCRIBES HER ”FRESH FAST FOOD” PHILOSOPHY, SHARING THE PERFECT RECIPES FOR A SPRING FEAST

“I think people are going to start staying home and having friends over a lot more than previously,” she muses. “Lots of people have done up their houses, so having people over might become more normal than going out for dinner all the time. I’m looking to focus on cooking for private events – anything from family celebrations to weddings – and perhaps offering takeaways as a drop-off service for parties. That’s one idea!” For a taster of the kind of dishes that will be on the menu, look no further than Liz’s recipes overleaf, which include spring radishes with salty anchovy butter, a fancy tuna fish sandwich and a lip-smacking crispy chicken dish. Turn the page and get inspired for that alfresco lunch you and your friends have been talking about for months... themoderntable.co.uk

moment! That’s how it really started,” explains Liz. “I wanted to do something that I loved and I was proud of, and have control over it.” With events off the table, Liz focused on ‘ready meals’ – vibrant, nutritious food parcels ranging from grain salad boxes to tofu pad Thai. “It’s fresh and ‘sort of healthy’ – definitely not your average takeaway. It’s food that could be made at home, but it’s easier to get someone else to cook for you – and you still feel good about yourself after eating it.” The menu changes weekly, and you can pick up orders from Burwash Larder and Meadows in Newnham, or opt for home delivery. Moving out of lockdown, Liz is set to refocus on the events side of The Modern Table, serving her signature style of food at intimate weddings, birthdays and dinner parties.

aised in New Zealand, Liz Young’s upbringing was filled with social eating. Whether barbecues on the beach in

summer or hearty stews in winter, food and drink was centre stage and dining with loved ones a daily part of life. Her grandparents, keen classic cooks, instilled in her a love of feeding people which she turned into career, cooking first in fine dining restaurants and then aboard luxury yachts around the world, before settling here in Cambridge where she helped expand a successful local cookery school and cafe. Just over a year ago, Liz decided that the time was right to cast out on her own, setting up The Modern Table as a catering company for boutique events. “And then the pandemic hit, and like everybody else, I had to try and diversify – to ‘pivot’, as everybody is saying at the

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