Jerusalem

A couple of months ago I had a delicious dinner at an exciting Israeli restaurant in London’s Soho called The Palomar. The amazing vibe transported me right into the Jerusalem party scene. The intriguing Yiddish, Yemini and Meknes style dishes whetted my appetite to learn more about this kind of food. Our friends, Yotam and Sami at Ottolenghi and Itamar and Sarit from Honey and Co in London have also been spreading the word about Israeli and Middle Eastern food for decades.

As ever, I decided to make a trip to the source. I arrived into Jerusalem on a Thursday evening and headed straight for the famous Mahane Yehuda Market, known as the ‘Shuk’.

A huge colourful, partially covered, bustling market with over 250 stall holders, selling an irresistible melange of seasonal vegetables, fruit, fresh herbs…there are butchers, fish mongers, innumerable bakeries piled high with challah, babka and a tantalizing range of filo and kunefe pastries. 

Others crammed with a wide range of za'atar, tahini, sumac, fresh spices, nuts and dried fruits, dates, olives, barberries… Some just sell many variations of halva. Of course there are also little shops selling wines, housewares, clothes, sandals and a huge variety of Judaica.

In and around the edges of the market, there are street stalls and cafes offering irresistible street foods – shawarma, falafel, kebabs, kibbah, shasklik, konafe, baklava…… 

Juice stalls, press and squeeze the freshest juice as you wait, mango, orange, pomegranate, pink grapefruit, carrot, lime…..

The vendors vie with each other calling out their prices to passersby. On Thursdays and Friday morning, there’s an extra frenzy of activity as the Jewish community stock up with produce for the Sabbath meal. The bugle is sounded by a couple of Haredi men on Friday afternoon, the market closes and doesn’t reopen until Saturday afternoon.

But, what I hadn’t realised was that for the past few years, at night when the stalls close and the graffiti covered shutters are secured. The market reinvents itself into the centre of Jerusalem’s hip night life scene where local foodies, hipsters and tourists hang out. Table and chairs are set up, suddenly there’s live music, dance, cocktails and great food… The energy is off the scale.

Thursday and Saturday are the liveliest nights but every night, the area is a swinging scene. How about that for an idea for the English Market in Cork City…

It was very tempting to eat in the midst of all the excitement but we’d managed to get a 10.30pm booking at Machneyuda restaurant on the outskirts of the market. It’s the inspiration for, and the mother of, The Palomar restaurant in London which had inspired my trip. It’s the hottest restaurant in Jerusalem right now and has been for quite some time. Exuberant head chef, Asaf Granet and two friends chop, dice and sauté to the beat of loud zippy music while banging on pots and pans in the open kitchen. Conversation is virtually impossible but the cacophony of sounds and the lively party scene is enough to keep all the guests wildly entertained as they enjoy Asaf’s eclectic take on Jerusalem dishes. I particularly loved the silky polenta with mushrooms, crisp asparagus, slivers of parmesan and truffle oil and of course the shikshukit and hummus with lamb and many toppings.

Dessert can be homemade twix and tonka icecream, pistachio hash cake, cheese cake in a jar – old school style. Alternatively, a table of friends could opt for the raucous splashed dessert to be hurled onto their tin foil covered table top by three exuberant chefs – a delicious spectacle – not for everyone…

LitFest is This Weekend!

It’s crazily busy at Litfest HQ – the fifth Ballymaloe Litfest is on this weekend – 19th-21st May. 

This year we’ve changed the emphasis somewhat so the proper title is A Food and Drinks Literacy Festival at Ballymaloe. We’ve continued to build on the previous years events which have by now been written about from New York to Sydney, Los Angeles to Capetown with well over 35 nationalities attending.  They return to their own countries to spread the word of what’s happening on the Irish food scene and the fun and thought provoking events they attended at the Litfest. 

Sommelier Colm McCan has managed to assemble yet another world class line up in the Drinks Theatre. Isabelle Legeron M W, a London based wine writer and global crusader for the natural wine movement is coming along as well as many other luminaries from the spirit, craft beer and cider world. Garrett Fitzgerald and James Boland will discuss their book The Brother Hubbard Cookbook.  David Puttnam will be in conversation with John McKenna ‘Living, Working and Eating in West Cork’, Trish Deseine, Irish food writer and cookbook author will give her perspective on Irish food culture - also unmissable.

Brian McGinn Ex producer of Netflix and series Chef's Table will be in conversation with David Prior International Editor of Conde Nast Traveller, they’ll both be keeping their eyes open for stories.

The festival takes place at Ballymaloe House, Ballymaloe Cookery School, The Grain Store and the Big Shed. This year the humming Big Shed at the heart of the festival will once again be brimming with good things to eat and drink from some of Ireland’s finest artisan producers. There will be the sound of music ranging from the gentle during daylight hours to the more energetic when the sun goes down. Some of the weekend’s many free Fringe events will take place here and the Family Corner will ensure that festival goers of all ages will be kept happy and amused.

So what am I looking forward to at the Ballymaloe Cookery School? At last we’ve managed to tempt Clare Lattin and Tom Hill over from their restaurants in London’s Soho and Shoreditch to share some of their recipes. Readers of this column will know that Raw Duck and Duck Soup as two of my favourite London restaurants. Monika Linton from Brindisa who wrote the book I’ve been waiting for on Spanish food will teach a class on Saturday morning.

Then there’s Jacob Kennedy from Bocca di Lupo, back by ‘popular demand’ as is the beautiful and gracious Claudia Roden who will speak on both Saturdayand Sunday.

Generous as always, Sunil Ghai from Pickle in Dublin will share the secret to many of the dishes that have made Pickle award winning new restaurant so renowned.

But you may not yet have heard of Sumayya Usmani who’s really making waves with her Pakastani food. This is award winning author’s first appearance in Ireland – don’t miss it….

Charlotte Pike (former Ballymaloe Cookery School student) has already built up quite a following with her Fermented book but this time she will focus on her recently published book, Smoked and show us how to have fun at home, hot and cold smoking all manner of delicious foods.

Christian Puglisi of Relae, Manfred’s and Baest in Copenhagen can’t stay away. After his last trip to Ballymaloe he was so inspired by the farm, gardens and ethos that Mrs Allen had created that he is setting up the Farm of Ideas Project – he’ll tell us all about it on Sunday afternoon in The Carrigaun Room.

The Grain Store will host the symposium – a series of short talks and presentations on the theme - Our Responsibility. The BBC Radio 4 food program, Sheila Dillon and Dan Saladino are coming over from London to 

record from the Litfest.

Want to go foraging on the seashore with Alys Fowler, garden correspondent of the Guardian?  Or watch another of my food heroes, Margot Henderson of Rochelle Canteen will talk on the Joy of Cooking in the Grain Store on Saturday afternoon. 

The pretty Garden Tent nestled alongside the scented rosemary bed is now an established and exciting venue over the weekend and will have a full programme of free events to which all are welcome. John Bowman from RTE will be back with his Questions and Answers as will Jim Carroll with his banter series.

There simply isn’t nearly enough space to mention all of the 64 speakers or events so go and check it out on litfest.ie.

Some events are already booked out but there are still lots of opportunities, so come along it’s still not too late to book.  Maybe our biggest coup of all is Vytenis Andriukaitis who will speak in the Grain Store on Sunday ‘To Eat is a Political Statement’ and then there’s the Great Grocers and Joanna Blythman speaking on Nutrition – Really? and our own Professor Ted Dinan on Diet, Stress and Mental Health and even a session on Food from Space by astrophysicist Niall Smith – sure where would you get it!

And believe me all of the above is just a taste. Check it out, see you there and speaking of taste here’s what to come.

Why We Should Eat Less Meat

Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, really put the ‘cat among the pigeons’ recently when she called on people from developed nations to consider eating “less meat or no meat at all”, due to the toll its production takes on the environment.  Her address to 1,300 current and future young world leaders from 196 nations at the One Young World Summit in Ottawa caused quite a stir around the world but particularly here in Ireland.

Mary Robinson's address at One Young Word (Image credit: One Young World)

The remarks drew a tirade of condemnation from several farming organisations and rural TDs, who seemed to assume this statement was aimed directly at them.

Irish beef farmers are understandably particularly sensitive having been directly affected by the fall in the value of sterling as a result of Brexit.

Because of the quantity of methane and slurry produced by animals, livestock rearing is seen as a major contribution to greenhouse gases. However, here in Ireland our dairy and beef animals are primarily, though not completely, grass fed so consequently they produce much less gas than grain fed animals reared in intensive feed lot systems. A fact that needs to be repeated loud and clear… We are not comparing like with like, it’s simply not the same thing.

The cows at Ballymaloe Cookery School

Ireland can grow grass like virtually nowhere else in the world so surely it makes sense for our farmers to produce good beef for export to areas that are not so favoured by nature. The quality of Irish beef is highly esteemed. It was served recently at the Breeder’s Cup in California on the invitation of the organisers. Good Food Ireland was partnered by Dawn Meats and Bord Bia to showcase Irish beef at this super high profile event considered to be the ‘richest two days in sport’

However, back to Mary Robinson, we must be careful not to ‘shoot the messenger’. There’s no doubt that many people nowadays eat far more meat than is beneficial for their health.

Much of that meat is produced in extremely intensive units which raise both animal welfare and chemical input concerns.

Our farm shop full of fresh veg from our organic farm

Although I eat mostly plants, copious amounts of vegetables, fresh herbs and wild foods, I’m certainly not a vegetarian. I love good meat but increasingly find myself eating less meat but better quality totally free range and organic. I am happy to pay more to those who are rearing animals and poultry in a more extensive way.

We urgently need a system where food producers can be identified and rewarded for producing a superior product. We also need to create a new paradigm where the contribution of organic and chemical free farmers to the environment is acknowledged in tax breaks.

So Mary Robinson would like us to consider a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle for the sake of the planet and future generations. Scientists have confirmed that a widespread change in our eating habits would cut food related emissions by two thirds. However many are reluctant to forego meat altogether.

Nonetheless, we can’t ignore the validity of the arguments so why not seek out an organic chicken. It will cost you €18-€22 as opposed to €3.50 – Ouch… and that’s if you can even find one.  That is the real price of rearing and feeding a chicken with organic GM free feed for approximately three times the length of the bargain chicken without antibiotics, hormones, growth promoters or anti-depressants. Organic always means free range but free range certainly does not mean organic. Free range is a very ‘elastic term’, so ask some questions…

So back to the days when chicken was a ‘once a week’ or even once a month treat and every single scrap was used, liver for pâté, giblets, carcass and feet for a fine pot of stock soup or broth – there’s nothing more nourishing or restorative particularly if you are feeling slightly poorly – it’s not called ‘Jewish penicillin’ for nothing.

Pork, too needs careful sourcing to find organic or chemical free.  Close to us here in East Cork, we have Woodside Farm where Martin and Noreen Conroy and their family work hard to provide us with beautiful heritage breed Saddleback pork and bacon, only problem they simply can’t keep up with demand – catch up with them in County Cork at Midleton and Douglas on Saturday, Mahon on Thursday and Wilton Farmers Markets on Tuesday. 

In Curraghchase in County Limerick, Caroline Rigney and her husband Joe also produce exceptional pork at Rigney's Farm.

Mary’s right in many ways. We have to change; we simply cannot go on with ‘business as usual’. For the sake of our children, great grandchildren and the planet, we all need to commit to the Paris Agreement. Each and every one of us needs to think about our carbon footprint – we can each make a vital difference.

This is one of the reasons that we have chosen to focus on "Responsibility" as our Symposium theme at LitFest this year. We have gathered a tremendous range of journalists, chefs and food producers to discuss all aspects of the topic from 19th-21st May, see my last post for a round up of some of the exciting speakers we have in store for you. Visit the LitFest website to book.

A Taste of Our Responsibility Symposium at LitFest 2017

Food issues regularly dominate headlines in the mainstream media. What we eat, its impact on our bodies and our environment and the global policies that dictate food production and trade are all hot topics. 

As you may remember, I shared a couple of months ago that we have shifted the focus of our annual Litfest from food literature to food literacy. There are many different definitions for food literacy. We define it as the following:

Food Literacy is about understanding where the food you eat comes from, who produces it and if it is good for you. Essentially it is about understanding the impact of your food choices on your health, the environment, and our economy.

At Litfest we aim to help everyone to have a greater understanding of our food and hope that we can empower people to make more well-informed food choices.

This year's topic for the Litfest symposium is Responsibility. We have spent the past year planning an open, frank discussion about how we can take responsibility for every part of the food cycle - from how we care for the soil, the culture of the kitchens its cooked it and caring for our health.

On 20-21st May, the Grainstore at Ballymaloe will be transformed into an exciting auditorium staging a thought-provoking and inspiring series of short talks and presentations from a dynamic pool of activists, chefs, farmers, experts and authorities from home and abroad.

The symposium is aimed at those who would like to know more - who may be feeling overwhelmed by the amount of contradictory information from so many sources. We want the good news stories to be told, hard questions to be asked and experiences shared... so that we all leave empowered and more well-informed to take responsible action in our lives, businesses and communities.

I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you a little more about some of the speakers we have lined up for this year's symposium.

Our opening session on Saturday morning - Farm of Ideas - is presented by Christian Puglisi and Kim Rossen from Denmark. They are co-owners of the Michelin-starred Relae, which is in the top 50 restaurants in the world and received a Sustainable Restaurant award in 2015 and 2016. Christian was a speaker at LitFest a couple of years back and was blown away by our farm and gardens here at Ballymaloe Cookery School and our farm to fork approach. This inspired him to rethink his restaurants and planted the seed of the Farm of Ideas: a farm where chefs can work, learn and develop new recipes. 

Image: Modern Farmer.com

Next up we have a number of young farmers talking about getting the approach to food production right for all parties. I first met Severine von Tscharner Fleming when she did the 12 week cookery course here about 10 years ago. Since then she has become the executive director of Green Horns, co-founder of National Young Farmers coalition, FarmHack and Agrarian Trust and a part-time farmer. We met her again at the Terra Madre conference in Italy last year and just knew we had to have her come and speak at LitFest - she is so passionate about food and production. 

As is one of her co-speakers, Alice Holden - daughter of Patrick Holden - founder of Soil Association who will share her experience of urban farming, having taken on a plot of land in Dagenham London from which she runs a popular veg box scheme.

They will be joined by Irish farmers who focus on biodiversity and feeding the soil.

Ellie Kisyombe will be talking about her experience as a refugee in Direct Provision and the cultural power of food. She speaks movingly about the importance of the right for displaced people to be able to cook and eat familiar food, both in terms of building strong family and community ties, but also as a way of sustaining links to the culture you have been pulled from. If you didn't get a chance to hear her speak at our recent Slow Food event, now's your chance to be inspired by her.

After lunch, journalist and food activist, Joanna Blythman, author of Swallow This: serving up the food industry's darkest secrets will be exploring how overwhelmed and bombarded we all are with the diversity of food labelling, and how supermarkets have cottoned on to clean eating - using buzz words on the front of the packaging - but packing it full of rubbish. 

Professor Ted Dinan from UCC will be giving a presentation on Diet, Stress and Mental Health. Ted is one of the leading voices and professionals studying the human micro-biome. His talk at last year's LitFest was electric and hugely well received, so we are delighted to welcome him back. 

And they're just some of Saturday's speakers - we also have celebrated cookery writer, Claudia Roden and David Prior international editor of Conde Naste Traveller magazine.

There will be scheduled question and answer sessions throughout the day, as well as short films, happenings and readings which connect into the speakers' presentations. Morning coffee break and afternoon tea are included in the ticket price. 

On Sunday we have Karen Leibowitz - co-owner of Mission Chinese in San Francisco, who after having her first child reassessed the cycle of commercialism and waste that she found herself a part of... and decided to lead by example to do something about it. Along with her partner she opened The Perennial, a completely self-sustaining restaurant, which has since won Best New Restaurant awards from Bon Appetit and GQ. At The Perennial they don't just compost and recycle their waste but use aquaponics for their fish and salad production and grow their own produce, championing Kernza, a new perennial grain far more sustainable than wheat. Karen talks about how restaurateurs should think about their food waste, energy use, and ingredients beyond simply seasonality.

Next are Ben Reade and Sashana Souza Zanella. Ben was previously head of the NOMA research lab, he has recently returned to his native Scotland where he founded the Edinburgh Food Studio, a restaurant and research hub, where he is exploring new ways to use indigenous ingredients. 

Michael Kelly, founder of GIY - Grow it Yourself - is a Litfest regular. You will get a chance to hear him speak about his experience of Building a Growing Food Movement.

After lunch Brian McGinn, executive producer and director of the Netflix hit, Chef's Table, will speak about on how and why he picks his subjects and his responsibility as a member of the media to tell the right stories.

Robin Gill from The Dairy, an Irish chef based in London, will speak about his personal experience of being bullied in professional kitchens, and questions the brutal alpha-male culture which dominates restaurant kitchens. Leading by example he runs his kitchens in a different way and speaks to us about the responsibility of chef, owner and boss to create a healthy emotional climate in which food is produced.

Our final presentation - To Eat is a Political Statement - is sure to fire you up and leave Litfest buzzing with motivation. It will address the idea that the food choices you make actually tells a lot about where your values lie. 

What an incredible weekend it will be - I do hope you'll join us.

How do tickets work at Litfest?

There's no such thing as a general entry ticket to all Litfest events because of the varying capacities of the multiple venues. Instead we have individually priced all main programme tickets so attendees can build their own festival weekend package. Tickets range from €5 - €97.

The symposium presentations in the Grainstore, at Ballymaloe will be broken into four sessions over the weekend - Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the half-day sessions are €50 each or €90 for a full-day. A two-day weekend ticket is €170. 

Buy tickets now on the Litfest website.

There are dozens of other events including foraging walks with Alys Fowler, readings, panel discussions on all aspects of food and wine, book signings and cooking demonstrations with many renowned chefs. 

In addition to this we host a Fringe Festival with over 60 free events taking place within the grounds of the festival. The Fringe Festival gives you access to the fringe programme of free events that take place in The Big Shed, The Garden Tent, The Cully & Sully and GIY Veg About Area and The Book Shop. The entry fee is €5 each day for adults and children under 12 go free. The fringe programme will be released a little closer to the festival weekend.

Attendees who purchase any main programme event ticket or a symposium ticket will gain automatic access to the The Fringe Festival.

Do join us for the Welcome Party in The Big Shed which begins at 7pm on Friday 19th May. There is a €5 entry fee on arrival for this.

Hot, Hotter, Hottest - Food Trends for 2017

Regular readers of this blog will know that I love to keep to keep an eye on - though certainly not slavishly follow - food trends. So I wanted to take some time at the beginning of the year to share what is hot right now in the world of food... and what will be coming your way in 2017.

Clean Eating 
In response to growing consumer unease, food manufactures are scrambling to produce simpler products with fewer more natural sounding ingredients and greater transparency. The clean food frenzy is running out of puff and credibility... but bone broths are huge and fermented foods will get even bigger.

Less Sugar and Salt
Low fat, carbohydrates and sugar rich foods were the villains of 2016. Consumer demand is forcing companies to remove artificial ingredients and to reduce sugar and salt in their products. What was formerly alternative is moving towards mainstream.

Free From…Everything…
The Free From... trend continues to gain market share even among those who do not have allergies or intolerances – the perception that it is healthier. This epidemic of faddism is dangerous for our health, the more we remove from our diet the less diversity we have in our systems.

Flexitarian
There is a significant rise in the number of part time vegetarians – people who are reducing their meat consumption because of health, sustainability and animal welfare concerns. The rise and rise of vegan diets continues to confound the sceptics...

Plant Proteins
Perhaps the strongest food trend of all, not just vegetables but also expect to see more and more fungi and algae. (low cal, high in nutrients). And yoghurt with vegetables... of course.

Brussels sprouts are having their moment; move over kale. Beets are all the rage – the flavour of 2017. Kaleina, a mini version of kale and swede turnip chips are already with us. Meat and fish substitutes abound. A veggie burger that bleeds launched in 2016 and is only the beginning. The term ‘plant butcher’ has already been coined according to the sustainable food focused media.

Insect Protein
Bugs will be the next big thing in protein. I’ve seen this coming for a number of years now. I’ve eaten ants in Copenhagen, grasshoppers in Mexico and tarantulas in Laos, but despite the convincing nutritional arguments I can’t see it coming ‘mainstream’ in this decade.

Sports Nutrition is moving mainstream with its energy balls, power drinks... The virtuous triangle of great food, exercise and great sleep rings true. Turmeric climbs and climbs in popularity. It contains curcumin, a super healthy compound, and you see it now in health sports drinks as well as food. 

Drink Up
Flavoured waters are exploding. Watermelon water is set to take over from coconut water in 2017, or how about birch water or cactus water! Kombucha, water and milk kefir and raw organic jersey milk and cream are virtually mainstream but there are increasingly bizarre flavours. And we mustn't forget the rise in drinkable meals and regional cocktails.

Rise and Rise of Online Shopping
Traffic chaos in towns and cities is fuelling the phenomenal increase in online shopping and home deliveries.

Organic, Antibiotic Free, Hormone Free, GM Free...
Demand is steadily rising as consumers become more aware and educated through the internet, media, films and YouTube. Healthy kids' meals are attracting a huge R & D budget as the obesity challenge deepens.

Souping
Is the new juicing…did wonder about that craze, surprise, surprise! It turns out that soup contains the fibre, seeds, rind and pulp that juicing often discards.

The Home Delivery Revolution – Meal Kits
Technology continues to play a greater role in our cooking and eating. Home delivery is well established in most major cities. The trend for ‘dining in’ instead of ‘dining out’ is beginning to cause concern to restaurateurs.

Meal Kits with all the ingredients prepped in a box complete with step by step instructions for how to finish the dish at home ticks all the boxes for busy commuters and parents who want the convenience and feel-good factor without the hassle and waste. What’s not to like about that? Drones may soon be delivering our meal kits and takeaway food… Both Google and Virginia Tech are trialling this in the US.

Restaurants Evolving
Fine dining continues to lose out to casual neighbourhood places doing edgy reasonably priced food.

Chefs are either buying or renting land themselves or partnering with farmers so they can use what is freshest and best in season, as well as having the option to use all parts of the plant or animal. 

We are seeing the rise of Artisan Butchery – with many restaurants proudly serving house-made charcuterie. Chefs are using more unsung cuts of meat and experimenting with grass-fed jerky, seafood jerky, pickles, artisan condiments.

The Sous Vide Craze is waning at last (cooking food in a plastic bag in a temperature-controlled water bath). Have to say, I was never convinced and am so delighted to see this particular practice slipping out of favour in favour of cooking over fire.

Cooking over Fire
We can’t get enough of charred, blackened, torched and smoked food not just fish but meat, vegetables, drinks, even cordials and cocktails...

Food Trucks and Shacks
Street inspired foods are hot! Authentic ethnic both in cafés, restaurants and in food trucks: pierogi, boa buns, multi ethnic dumplings and Japanese crepes – okonomi yaki...

Bowl Food
We love serving food in bowls everything from ramen to noodles, pasta, curries, congee, tagines, rendang… Check out Bowls of Goodness by Nina Olsson published by Kyle Books.

Build Your Own Pizza
Pizzerias are inviting customers to build their own pizza from a range of toppings laid out like a salad bar. I can certainly see the appeal of this….

Hot, Hotter, Hottest…
Our appetite for heat continues. Sri Racha chilli sauce is now virtually looked on as a sauce for wimps! We are loving and having fun with shichimi ogarashi from Japan; sweet and spicy, gochujang from Korea; sambal oelek from Indonesia; harissa from North Africa; tsire, a spice mixture from West Africa; zhoug a Yemeni green chilli sauce and spicy berbere from Ethiopia...

Ancient Grains
Ancient grains, chillies and pulses are taking centre stage after years of being forgotten: kamut, einkorn, teff from Ethopia and amaranth the ancient grain of the Aztec. Sorghum is the new quinoa. Sorghum is an ancient cereal grain and is used for food, animal fodder and the production of alcoholic beverages. It is regarded as the fifth most important cereal crop grown in the world. Some of the health benefits of sorghum include its ability to prevent certain types of cancer, help control diabetes and improve digestive health. 

Porridge
Who knew that porridge would become so cool? In 2017 we’ll see porridge served at breakfast, lunch and any time in between with sweet and savoury toppings.

Sprouting Seeds (I remember that well!) is predicted to be another strong food trend. Not just seeds but nuts, beans and grains. This hugely increases the nutritional value and creates enzymes that make plant proteins, essential fatty acids, starches and vitamins more available to the body.

Quest for Less Familiar Flavours
Expect to see more Eastern European food, Georgian, Middle Eastern, African flavours particularly Ethiopian... Poke (pronounced po-kay) is sweeping across the US - cubed fish or shellfish often yellow fin tuna or octopus with soy sauce, cucumber, spring onions, sesame oil served over rice. The taco craze continues unabated for 2017.

So there you have it, a few of the hot trends for 2017. And my advice for the year, for what it’s worth is Keep it Real. Eat a wide variety of real food and NO, food products are NOT the same as real food. We need lots of bio-diversity to feed and nourish our gut biome – the health of our gut flora has a phenomenal impact on both our mental and physical health.

When I say real, I mean unprocessed, unpasteurised organic, chemical free, vegetables directly from our garden or from a real farmer or gardener in your local Farmers or Country Market.