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Poverty, Fortnum and Masons and Christmas

December 4, 2014 12 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

I do feel very lucky. Seven years ago I was a single mum on benefits, struggling to find a job. I couldn’t find one so I started… not only my own business, but a whole new type of business. It was risky and sometimes frightening starting a restaurant in my living room and blogging about it. I haven’t really let people know about the pressure I’ve been under at times, legally and in every other way, to keep going. Hell, the crap I’ve been through. And all I was ever trying to do is earn a living.
So blogging, which was an essential part of my story, changes lives. Another person for whom blogging has changed her life for the better is Jack Monroe who had in some ways a similar story to my own, being a single mum on benefits. I’ve never really blogged about being on welfare. Why? Because I was ashamed of it. I didn’t know how to get out of that situation, I felt trapped, humiliated and helpless. My only difference of opinion with Jack is that, once the terrible bureaucratic nightmare interim period of not getting your benefits has passed (and yes, I was so broke my mum had to come over with a pint of milk so I could give my three year old a drink), the ONLY THING you can do on welfare IS eat. It’s the most economical form of pleasure, a holiday in your mouth. That’s why poor people in Western countries are fat. Carb me up, boost my serotonin, stop the feelings, anaesthetise the pain and the loneliness. Caitlin Moran wisely said in ‘How to be a woman’:

“Overeating is the addiction of choice of carers, and that’s why it’s come to be regarded as the lowest-ranking of all the addictions. It’s a way of fucking yourself up while still remaining fully functional, because you have to. Fat people aren’t indulging in the “luxury” of their addiction making them useless, chaotic, or a burden. Instead, they are slowly self-destructing in a way that doesn’t inconvenience anyone. And that’s why it’s so often a woman’s addiction of choice. All the quietly eating mums. All the KitKats in office drawers. All the unhappy moments, late at night, caught only in the fridge light.”

The borough next to where I live, Brent, has the highest diabetes in the UK – 23,000 people at the last count. This is partly because it has a large Indian sub-continent community where overweight starts at a BMI of 23. It is also because of inner city poverty, of which a large proportion are single parents and their children. It seems counter-intuitive but Diabetes 2 is inextricably linked with poverty.
So in the last six years my life has changed for the better. It’s still tough to be freelance, especially in an economic climate where you have to stand your ground to be paid for your work. You never really relax when you have your own business: no paid holidays, no sickness pay, the lack of security, the feeling that you are only as good as your last blog post, recipe, dinner or book. 
But this is not a whinge fest. I am celebrating. 
Earlier this year I won the award for Best Online Food writer at the Fortnum and Mason awards which, seeing as it’s one of my all time fave London landmarks and food shops, I was pretty damn pleased. They’ve just sent me their little Christmas booklet featuring contributions from la creme de la creme of British food and drink writing: Rose Prince, Diana Henry, Pete Brown on beer, Nina Caplan on wine, Victoria Moore on spirits, Yottam Ottolenghi, the Hairy Bikers, Dan Saladino for Radio 4’s The Food Programme, Claudia Roden, Matthew Fort, Helen McGinn of the Knackered Mothers Wine Club and others. So you can see my work is in unbelievably exalted company. It’s a very pretty turquoise and gold (F and M colours) booklet with fine illustrations (plus they sent me a box of salted caramels to munch on while I read it.)
The book features my classic gingerbread house recipe from my new book MsMarmitelover’s Secret Tea Party. Even if I say it myself, this is a perfect Christmas present, have you ordered yours yet?
Oh go on. 

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Comments

  1. Sarah Moore

    December 4, 2014 at 4:54 pm

    I'm really in awe of you. I've had some tough times myself over the past few years but I didn't have a child to support on top of that. I was on benefits for a bit but had to go off them in order to do internships. The only way I could do them otherwise was to disclose I was on benefits to do an official "job trial"; I feared the stigma would scupper my chances of a job offer. There's no flexibility in the system to arrange your own work experience.

    In January I start my first full-time, permanent job since arriving here over 7 years ago. Previously it was all temporary contracts, 1 week notice (or no notice but what can you do when you have no money or power?).

    The financial crisis was a blessing in disguise though. I've taken risks I might not have otherwise and found a career I really love.

    Thank you for taking about this stuff. It's still hard to but it needs to happen.

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 4, 2014 at 5:15 pm

      I'm in awe of all single parents, which is why I dedicated my first book to them. They are the heroes but so often treated as the problem.
      I totally agree on the lack of flexibility in the system. When the newspapers go on about Next employing Polish workers, and why don't British people take those jobs I feel like screaming. BECAUSE they don't want a temporary job which means they will have to go through that terrible delayed period of waiting to get benefits again which is so stressful. The people on question time and any questions have obviously never been on benefits. They don't know what they are talking about. Most people aren't lazy, they are just beaten.
      I'm so glad it's all worked out for you now Sarah and thanks for your comment, it's heartening. xx

      Reply
  2. Bethan Vincent

    December 4, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    I completely agree with your observation that when you are poor, the only thing you can do is eat.

    I have spent the last year trying to build two businesses and my income has been practically non existent (at one point 75% of my take home went on rent.) Cooking and blogging about it, even if everything I used was from the reduced isle, was my singular form of pleasure. I felt it was OK to spend money on food, because you have to eat right?

    I'm glad to hear things have got better, I'm still waiting for it to happen to me, but I live in hope.

    http://www.audacityoffood.co.uk/

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 4, 2014 at 7:24 pm

      Hi Bethan,
      I do believe that courage and hard work are rewarded so I'm sure it will get better for you. The trouble with eating as an addiction is that you are confronted by it at least three times a day, you can't go cold turkey from eating. Thanks for commenting xx

      Reply
    • Margaret@KitchenFrau

      December 4, 2014 at 11:48 pm

      Congratulations! I am so happy for you. Please know that your blog is touching a life here in Canada, too. Your honesty is a balm for others, and even though we are all in different situations, we can relate as women and nurturers, for in that way our lives are very much the same! We get it – the pleasure and the pain of using food as our 'medicine'. Kudos to you for sharing, and a high-five to you for your successes! I love to read your blog!

      Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 5, 2014 at 3:52 am

      Thanks so much Margaret. I'm so glad my post touched you for it is hard to open up in that way in public. Thanks xx

      Reply
  3. Anonymous

    December 5, 2014 at 12:29 am

    So proud of you, Kerstin!! You've come a long, long way from those early days in Paris – I remember our very first meeting with our small girls who are now young women already…Fortnum and Masons no less!!! You are indeed an inspiration. Hugs.

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 5, 2014 at 3:53 am

      Hey Juanita, thank you and I'm still hoping you will visit London one day. xx

      Reply
    • Bridget Blair

      December 5, 2014 at 12:17 pm

      I didn't realise that you had it so tough….and I know that feeling of being a freelancer. I was for quite a few years too.
      I didn't realise that life had been so tough for you but congratulations !For being such a good writer …your blog is one of my " must read immediately it's posted "blogs, for getting yourself where you are today through hard work and brilliant ideas……and for being such a good role model for your daughter.

      Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 5, 2014 at 1:25 pm

      Thanks Bridget. The toughest part of being a single parent is the low self-esteem and the rock bottom esteem in which you are held by the rest of society plus the relentless isolation.Not having any money wasn't the worst bit. Bizarrely I've always felt rich even when I had no money at all. I'm not saying that in a spiritual way but more 'am I a bit delusional?'

      Reply
  4. Aj

    December 6, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    Great stuff K. MsM is in my Fav Toolbar.
    Always in interested in T2 since I was diagnosed. Fortunately not on meds so gone low carb and exercise… and it's odd…. I eat like a horse, never feel close to full after a meal, gone from 95 to 75kg and really look at the food industry and wonder how they get away with all that sugar… reduced fat my arse…
    Your writing and photos are a real tonic, good on you and thank you.

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 7, 2014 at 12:27 am

      Thank you. Poor you but well done for getting it under control.

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, s My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, spinach, cheddar. I used crème fraiche and blind baked puff pastry shells. I was up at 11 last night making these for todays street party, which featured in the mail, telegraph, mirror, metro courtesy of photographer Gavin Rodgers @asproider
Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-ba More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-based version of the original. Beautifully constructed, designed and written by @nikisegnit it’s vegetarian rather than vegan but recommended for both. She widens the sensory vocabulary around plant flavours in this book- encouraging new delicious sounding combinations. Now she includes new categories such as flower & meadow, caramel roasted, zesty roost- just the words make me salivate. #foodbooks #bookstagram #newbooks
Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a seaweed that tastes just like truffle. Just done a little kelp foraging at low tide with @thetempleharris’ Amanda Saurin. Isle of Harris. Turquoise sea, white sand, cloud hovering just above. @camperdays.international @roosterpr
I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @bre Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @brentcouncil Willesden library. I’ve been doing this a few times a year for the last few years. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a kitchen set up permanently. Libraries are community centres and could be used to teach how to cook from scratch.
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