Hello 2015!

Published in the Jan/Dec edition of Vale Life Magazine

With the festive season full of overindulgence, New Year is a natural time for those all too familiar health-related resolutions – stop smoking, start dieting, drink less, hit the treadmill – you know, the ones that last all of a month or two. This year though, I’ve decided not to bother lying to myself that I’ll make use of that annual gym membership.

Though generally not one for resolutions, this year it's about time I set one or two I might actually stand a chance of keeping. So, what of my resolutions for 2015? Well, in order to look forward, we first have to look back.

Having launched a street food collective, Bitten Street, 2014 involved an awful lot of - you guessed it - street food. I've tasted my way through everything from pulled pork, to gourmet burgers, pimped-up hot dogs, numerous varieties of dumpling, American and British bbq, curries from Tibet, Japan, India and Thailand, churros and pizza. I can't even say I'm bored of it yet, street food just keeps on getting better and better.

Pho - Vietnamese noodle soup

But there are some foods in particular that left me wishing I could cook it at home. Vietnamese street food in particular has enthralled my taste buds, with its potent balance of herbs and spices, so this year I’m challenging myself to learn some Vietnamese recipes. Resolution number one sorted!

While resolution number one is all about food pleasure, resolution number two is more about food conscience. Having spent an awful lot of the last two years focussed on food, and given I write about it regularly, it dawned on me that there is still a lot more I need to learn about its ethics.

Great local groups like Good Food Oxford and Cultivate Oxford have been springing up around me, focussed on building local and sustainable food networks and knowledge, whilst finding better solutions for ongoing food issues. 

Good Food Oxford website

This has been making me question things a lot more. Where does my food come from? Is it sustainable? How does it affect our planet? Our community? So my next challenge is to learn about these topics. Think of it an idiot’s guide to food ethics, starting right at the beginning.

So with food for the belly, food for the brain and food for the soul all covered, I think I’ll leave it at that. Whatever your own plans for New Year resolutions, I hope you had a wonderfully delicious Christmas and have a fabulous foodie year ahead. 

Love Foodie x