Going Green
Above: Rachel Green
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. She's appeared at each of the six Derbyshire Food and Drink Fairs at Bolsover Castle, and will demonstrate some of her recipes at the Great Peak District Fair at thePavilion Gardens, Buxton on Sunday October 28.
When I go to Chatsworth, it's a real family affair,'she explained. 'I feel very much at home in Derbyshire; they have the same philosophy as I do, it's very similar to Lincolnshire.
They're the same sort of people, with the same sort of values as my family.'The food-lover in Rachel glories in the produce available at Chatsworth and beyond.That's one of the reasons why writing Rachel Green's Chatsworth Cookery Book (Green Shoots, £9.99), with the approval of the Dowager Duchess, who founded the Farm Shop 30 years ago, seemed like an obvious step. The book, to be published in September and available at Chatsworth and local food outlets, is a beautifully-photographed collection of accessible recipes, many of which have been demonstrated to keen audiences at the Farm Shop
It's no surprise that, when at Chatsworth, wild boar is a favourite. 'I'm a meat person, so it's quite a meaty book,'explained Rachel, who also loves to shoot and was brought up with the realities of putting food on the plate.
'I love gutting animals,'she said. 'We used to have pig kills at Christmas when I was younger, and I remember as a little girl the components of the pig used to be on the kitchen table. We would make sausages and boil the pig's head for brawn. We used to have a lot of sheep, so I used to do a lot of shepherding as well. I can lamb a sheep.'With a childhood so rich in really good food, it's no surprise that she ended up cooking for a living (as a student in Edinburgh, her cash was earned in hotels and restaurants), or that she was guest chef on BBC Three's Kill it, Cook it, Eat it!, filmed at the Mettrick abattoir in Glossop. In the show, audiences watched animals go to slaughter and be butchered, with Rachel cooking the results. 'I know the Mettricks really well, they run a fantastic ship,' she enthused. 'It was a showcase for properly produced British beef and I felt that it would help displace some of the myths about the killing of animals for eating.
John is typical of Derbyshire and high standards of food and food production.'Local produce has also made its way onto the Dovecote menu at Morley Hayes, courtesy of Rachel. The finished dishes won't scream Rachel Green, she says, because her role is as consultant and advisor: 'I work with the chefs because they're the ones in the kitchen. I'm helping influence the use of local food, helping the chefs to make menu choices and use as much seasonal food as possible.'
Although Rachel's passion is for local food, other television projects such as Yorkshire TV's The Flying Cook and World On A Plate, which celebrated ethnic food traditions with help from families in the area, shows that such an outlook is far from insular. 'It was about different communities'influences on cooking, and how they use the food that we have,'she added. She enjoys TV work - 'I don't get fazed by it, the most important thing is to be yourself'- as well as the outside catering aspect of her business, but it's the demonstrating that really gets her going.'I enjoy the demonstrations more than anything because they are so enlightening,'she revealed. 'People often come back and say,"That recipe has become my standard dinner party dish".
There are people who say they never cook, but they have used my recipes.I think I've achieved something, there, haven't I? 'Rachel also demonstrates at the well-regarded Divertimenti cookshop and school in London, where th audience contrasts with that in the Peak: 'Ive got quite a following at Divertimenti, but it's totally different. There are a lot of London foodies there.They're equally interested but don't have access to as much local produce. 'It's quite fascinating when you say 'I come from near a town that has seven butchers' and they look at you in absolute amazement. They find it difficult to get things like rabbit and hare.
It's just disbelief that everything's so available. I don't think we realise sometimes how lucky we are. If you live in the country you have access to fantastic produce.'Meanwhile, Peak District Life readers can enjoy a delicious taste of things to come in the Chatsworth Cookery Book by trying out one of Rachel's favourite recipes.