Turnips Borough, one of the oldest traders in Borough Market, has a pioneering approach to reducing food from their stall. So when they were approached by Borough Market and the curators of the V&A’s groundbreaking exhibition FOOD: Bigger than the Plate to collaborate on a sustainability pop-up, it seemed like a fantastic opportunity to showcase their ambitions to tackle food waste.
We worked hand-in-hand with the managers of Borough Market, their PR agency and the PR team from the V&A to create this unique event and engage the press, resulting in coverage on ITV London’s prime evening News at 6pm and 9pm as well as wide coverage in the London print and online media. Not only did the coverage give exposure to the partners involved but it raised the important issue of reducing food waste.
Turnips serve hundreds of portions of wild mushroom and spelt risotto every day using mushrooms which they have not sold and thus meaning that not one single mushroom is wasted. For one day only Turnips used oyster mushrooms grown in the V&A from used coffee grounds as part of the exhibition FOOD: Bigger than the Plate. Social enterprise GroCycle are growing oyster mushrooms in the gallery from bags filled with used coffee grounds, including grounds from the V&A café, usually these mushrooms are then used in catering at the V&A but on August 14th they were all sent to Turnips where they were served to huge crowds of people on an incredibly wet and un-summers day!
15 years ago, before food waste became the hot topic it is today, Turnips began finding new uses for fruit and vegetables which, while perfectly good, could not be sold by making of juices and smoothies with this produce. Today, Turnips Kitchen's team of chefs use a range of seasonal produce to create incredible street food every day, including their rich mushroom risotto made with organic British spelt from Sharpham Park and topped with generous amounts of parmesan – the dish that inspired this collaboration.
Charles Foster Turnips being interviewed for ITV News
10% of the sales were donated to Plan Zheroes, a zero food waste charity that Borough Market has worked with since 2014 to redistribute top quality surplus produce from traders to charities across London.
