Food People Q&A - Jenny Chandler
Jenny Chandler is a Bristol food educator, author and general good food champion. We first met in 2014 when I persuaded her to come and do a cooking demo with my then chef and good friend Louise Marchionne at The Folk House Café. Jenny was a joy in the kitchen and out of it. Her lust for life is effortlessly transferred to her cooking by osmosis. Her recipes are relatable, delicious and allow for all levels of cooking skills.
As the author of the fabulous Pulse, a recipe book all about, you guessed it, pulses, she became The United Nations FAO European Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses and was asked to speak all around the world. Unspoilt by this international fame Jenny is happy to don her apron for many good causes. Her infectious enthusiasm for simple good food, championing local businesses, and her wonderfully sunny disposition always cheer everyone who meets her. If you’ve ever looked at your store of lentils and odd-looking dried beans and wondered what on earth to do with them, Jenny’s yer woman.
As we slowly emerge, mole-like from lockdown, and as food businesses start to re-open, The Everyday Magazine asked me to get some recommendations of must-visit restaurants from my interviewee - here they are, go flex your eating muscles and enjoy!
Box-E - Our top choice for special celebration meals. An intimate space, Elliot’s food is dreamy whilst Tess gives the most fabulous booze recommendations in an incredibly inspiring and never pretentious way. Box -E always feels really special.
Root - Superb veg’ centric dining with small plates to share. Rob’s dishes would make even the most resolute carnivore look at vegetables in a new light ( there is always a bit of very good sustainable meat and fish on the menu too)
Little French - Buzzy French Bistro feel. Freddy’s food is to die for - the whole turbot is an unforgettable treat. Amazing wine list.
Bar 44 - The Bristol Cathedral to sherry, ever-changing list of creative and delicious tapas and the most fabulous Spanglish Sunday lunch (think sides of Chorizo Yorkshire puds and truffled Manchego cauli cheese)
Bravas - Feels like stepping into a really good tapas bar in Spain - cramped, bustling, insanely good tapas and great service.
(More to come in the next instalment of this series where we look at other areas in town)
Who are you and what have you got to do with food in Bristol?
I’m Jenny Chandler, a local food writer and teacher. I try to champion local, independent shops and businesses and get people, especially kids, cooking from scratch.
Has covid affected your work or business, and if so how?
Covid has essentially removed the teaching half of my work, I have done a few Zoom classes but am much more excited about cooking with people and find the virtual classes much less appealing. I also think that so many of us are Zoomed out -I really just want to escape my screen. So that’s much of my income gone. Still, I was very lucky to have a cookbook commissioned last year, which has kept me pretty busy. Since I have to be in the house with my daughter, who is homeschooling, it’s worked out brilliantly.
Has lockdown had any benefits, to do with food or otherwise for you personally?
We’ve created the most amazing little food community on our street on WhatsApp, where we share orders with bigger companies, chop up 1/2 a Stilton, split a huge bunch of coriander or divide a case of oranges and as a result we check in on each other. If I’m making a lasagne or shepherds pie, I’ll make an extra mini one for a wonderfully up the road. It brought us together.
Lockdown has also made me slow down and commit to working on more local projects, once we’re through it, instead of all the traipsing up and down to London.
Have you done much more cooking at home than usual through lockdown, and if so, what has been your favourite home-cooked dish? If not, what have you been doing?
Lunchtime has really hit me, I usually just grab an apple and some cheese or rummage in the back of the fridge for last night’s leftovers but now, with husband and daughter at home, I feel that I need to whip up another meal. The absolute favourite (well, my favourite to throw together and they do seem to eat it) is a chop-up-salad of seasonal fruit and veg’ (some might call it a slaw) - just what we’ve got really, with added nuts and seeds and a different dressing every day. A miso, sesame, date and ginger dressing can make a humble plate of sliced raw cabbage taste out of this world. Good bread too is essential. The odd seasonal soup, so nothing fancy.
Have you made use of any of the local restaurant’s clever responses to having to close and ordered any special takeaways? If so, from where and what was it?
We’ve had some extraordinarily good takeaways, but my standouts would be from Root, whose Friday “Root at Home” vegetarian feast for 2, feeds the 3 of us quite happily and is always fabulous. The other real threat is Bar 44’s Spanglish Sunday Roast.
Back in the real world, how do you see your work/business flourishing in the years to come within the Bristol or wider food scene?
Back in the real world, I will continue to write and hopefully teach closer to home, I’d really like to get involved in a kid’s or community food project locally once Imi is back at school. So yes, I’ve had time to re-assess.
Do you feel that maybe, just maybe, there has been some good come out of all this, and if so, what do you think it is, and how can we make use of it?
I’m really hoping that we have come to appreciate our local communities more, to look out for our neighbours, and I just can’t wait for The Tobacco Factory Market and Whiteladies Road markets to open again.
I’d love people to remember that when you couldn’t get a supermarket delivery slot, or the pasta and bog rolls were out of stock, that our small independent shops were there for us and will continue to be if we still use them. Hopefully, people are more aware of the inequalities in our society, maybe more likely to donate to food banks or community kitchens, having seen the incredible work that the hospitality industry has done to keep everyone going.
Have you got a recipe you’d like to share with us?
I’d love to share my Celeriac and lentil Gratin from my book Pulse
Celeriac and Lentil Gratin
The nutty celeriac has a wonderful texture and the creamy tomato sauce lends the lentils a real touch of luxury. Serve with a big green salad and some really good bread.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
300 g small lentils such as Puy, Castellucio, Pardina
salt and freshly ground black pepper
220 ml double cream
1 medium celeriac ( about 1 kg) peeled, quartered and finely sliced
zest and juice of a lemon
100 g parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 190 C/ 375 F
Take a large saucepan and fry the onion gently in the oil until soft and beginning to gild. Now add the garlic, stirring until its wonderful smell wafts up from the pan. Tip in the tomatoes and simmer for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile cover the lentils in 5cm of water and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until just soft and creamy rather than too al dente. Drain if necessary and then season well with salt and pepper, stir in the parsley and 3 tablespoons of cream.
Add the sliced celeriac to the tomato sauce, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until tender. There will not appear to be enough tomato sauce but don’t worry as the celeriac will release plenty of moisture as it cooks. Once happy with the celeriac add the remaining cream, the lemon zest and juice and season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
Layer the celeriac and tomato mixture alternately with the lentils in large, shallow dish, finishing with a layer of celeriac and sprinkle with the grated parmesan.
Cook at 190 C/ 375 F for about 30 minutes until nicely browned on the top.
This can be prepared ahead and YES, even frozen too (the eternal question in any cookery demo I give). Just bake in the oven ( fully thawed) for an extra 10-15 minutes, covering with foil if the top begins to get too dark.
Interviewed by Liz Haughton
Bristol resident for twenty five years, Liz ran the Folk House Cafe in Bristol for 13 and half years, adding Spike Island Cafe in along the way, until August 2019. Liz is currently organising a series of Slow Creative Retreats and encouraging nursery school kids to play with their food. Liz is a cook, writer, painter and general dabbler in all things creative.
Recipes
