Eco-chef Tom Hunt Hosts Climate Cuisine Demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu London

Eco-chef Tom Hunt visited Le Cordon Bleu London to host a climate cuisine demonstration and discussion around sustainability in the food & beverage industry.

During his formative years, Tom worked with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as a course leader, cook and food stylist at River Cottage and on the River Cottage TV series. During this time, he learned a lot about using seasonal ingredients – discovering that there was a wealth of variety available when he stopped relying on out of season imports. Tom founded his festival café, Poco, in Bristol in 2004, which has now grown into a tapas restaurant. Poco is 100% seasonal, 95% waste free and follows Tom’s Root to Fruit Eating philosophy.

Tom demonstrated a selection of three sustainable recipes, starting with traditional Soda Bread Farls. He used freshly ground emmer wheat flour - milled there and then using a countertop flour mill. This was combined with freshly blended oat milk, cider vinegar and dulce. The result was a flavoursome, rich bread, with a delicious umami flavour from the dulce. This was served with a drizzle of smoked organic rapeseed oil.

Next, Chef Tom created a Cider Vinegar, made using windfall apples gathered near his home. Tom placed cut apples into a large glass container, adding sugar and water followed by raw apple cider vinegar to acidify the water and kick start the fermentation process, which takes two to three weeks. Tom also prepared a lemon and rose shrub – a type of sweetened vinegar which can be served like a cordial.

To finish, Tom prepared Water Ganache Chocolate Truffles. This beautifully simple recipe consisted of just four ingredients – water, sea salt, high quality single origin chocolate and cocoa. The water and salt are simmered, then removed from the heat. Chocolate is then added directly into the water and gently stirred until dissolved. The mixture is chilled on a tray until set and finally portioned and dusted with cocoa. The resulting truffles had a deep and intense chocolate flavour.

Following the end of the demonstration, Tom encouraged guests to ask questions and open a discussion about sustainable eating. The audience took full advantage of the opportunity to find out more about the fascinating topic.

To read more about the event to see more upcoming events like this please visit our culinary conferences and demonstrations page. Or to learn skills like those demonstrated by Tom Hunt, why not browse our programmes and courses?