Prior to the official start of the project, I wanted to connect to the project fully and whole heartedly so I went into Central London with my camera and partner (who had never had the opportunity to see London as a tourist).
This was just a fun part of the project that had no purpose or reason. It was creative, spontaneous and adventurous. However, it was an educational trip for me with a learning outcome that would hopefully help me throughout my project.
Our journey started at Piccadilly Circus where we walked and made any pit stops at as many monumental and historic places I could think of.. In between that we also stopped off for some lunch and snacks. The purpose of this walk was for me to tell a story. The title of the story we agreed would be called ‘A tourists guide to London’ and my objective was to walk her through the streets of London talking about the places we were visiting and even went as far as having to tell a story about the food, snacks and deserts that we were eating.
This was also a perfect opportunity for me to work on my photography techniques.
“Buckingham Palace Garden”
Buckingham Palace Royal Calvary- Queens Guards:“You must admit they are cool bunch of individuals”
“I guess london does have some architecture worth taking pictures of Central London”
Central London - Piccadilly Circus: “British pub that sold traditional british dishes”
Waffle House - Piccadilly Circus. Central London: “yuuummmmmy waffles and ice cream.”
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This officially brought my food experience on the project to a close. By now my understanding of my expectations in doing the documentaries had become so fluid that it had become second nature to know what to do and how I wanted things to turn out without referring to the documentary structure sheet.
This documentary was a fun experience full of laughter and experiments. One thing that I have loved throughout this project is that each documentary has told its own story different from each other, but can be related to the audience reading which is what I was aiming to achieve.
The process of going to university is a time of finding ones self and students from different borough’s and towns afar embark on this journey, some excited to get away from home, some not so excited but there is one thing they all have in common and this being the longing for some good old home cooking.
Shamaiza Haider is a student studying at Aston University in Birmingham majoring in Management and Strategy. Away from her university for the year on a placement program all the way down in Feltham, London. She is currently working for IBM
Her role is of a sales analyst. After her placement is over she is to continue her studies at Aston University in hopes of graduating in 2011
Being on her placement/university means that she is away from her family home in Luton where her parents live.
Shamaiza is from a traditional Pakistani background and the dishes she has made for this experience are a reminder of the home cooking she has at home, this being because the particular dish she made is a reminder of what her mum likes or the special type of traditional dishes that her mum would make for her when she came home to visit either from university or from her work placement in London. The dish she made today is a desert and a starter-like dish that her mother used to make as part of a full course meal for the family.
As she lives by her self in her placement flat in Feltham, London which means being away from the family, her story focuses on her longing for some good old home cooking made by her mum, therefore making two of her favourite home cooked dishes for us to experience here today.
Now that she lives alone she beings to miss all the things she took for granted while at home as a result has had to be independent. Her food experience is a mixture of homesickness and a personal connection towards a dish full of flavour, colour and tradition that remind her of her mother. The dishes that she has chosen to share with us are two Pakistani dishes called Chaat (otherwise known as chick pea salad) and Semiya (otherwise known as sweet vermicelli).
FIRST DISH - CHAAT (CHICKPEA SALAD)
NORMALLY SERVED AS A STARTER BUT ALSO BE EATEN AS A MAIN DISH
Chaat (Chick pea salad) - Considered a starter dish that is usually found served at traditional Pakistani weddings to keep guest filled. According to shamaiza these dishes come in very handy at they are easy to make and work very well as a starter as it is a light dish and full of flavour. and where as it may not be recognized as a traditional dish it is still known as a common dish within the Pakistani community.
Her history with food takes her back to high school which started by her taking on food tech subjects where she learn how to cook various types of dishes that she was not accustomed to such as simples dishes such as soup and pasta compared to the traditional Pakistani dishes she was always used to eating growing up in an Asian household such as chicken, meat, Chapatti, rice e.t.c.
Progressing from high school onto university her food patterns changed dramatically. She found her self being in a situation where there was no one to make food for her as compared to being in a Traditional Asian household where there always food made in the house. Her university and placement experience has been all about finding her independence and being able to do things her self such as preparing all her food dishes her self.
Working long hours at IBM means that at times Shamaiza is in a position where she comes home to her placement flat in Feltham and is not in a position where she would like to cook as she normally would so as a result of this, she reverts back to her university lifestyle and relies on fast food and cereal to keep her going, although as much as she can she does make an effort to maintain a good balanced home cooked meal in the weekly schedule.
The fact that she cooks as an independent student who is on her placement away from home and is able to look after her self and she is sure that this an experience her mum will be proud of.
SECOND DISH - SEMIYA (SWEET VERMICELLI)
THIS IS SERVED AS A DESERT
Semiya (Sweet Vermicelli) on the other is a very traditional Pakistani dish. This is a very sweet dish favoured by her mother. This is a dish that is not found at weddings like the Chaat but more a selected desert that is served would be served to guest visiting their home. Like the Chaat dish, it is also a fairly quick dish to make. This is a dish that held close to Shamaiza’s heart as she explains how every time she makes this dish it makes her feel close to home but more importantly reminds her of her mother.
Growing up in a traditional Pakistani house, she talks about how you are groomed in the culture of hospitality and respect. So prior to the arrival of a guest coming to visit her family in the family home at Luton, these are the kind of dishes accompanied with a soothing beverage that her along side her sisters and mum would prepare as a gesture of their kind hospitality and good upbringing.
This documentary was not as tense as the others as I had become quite at easing at filming these documentaries that I was feeling both confident and comfortable whilst on the set at Shelly’s.
After watching a documentary that Helen featured in which sought to find out if there was such a thing as a British dish, I was determined to try to answer this question my self and to get that answer I turned to Shelly Adams.
Shelley Adams is a long-standing family friend so when approached to be a part of the documentary she showed a real interest and was keen to make the project a reality.
We are invited into the home of the Adams Family to share what I consider to be a fulfilling experience.
Shelley is a mother of one. Her son Joe is a scholar who will be attending ‘Manchester University’ this summer to study engineering. He is also an aspiring and highly skilled basketball player who is looking to make his mark in basketball.
Shelley is a vegetarian and has always been since her childhood. She has never been that much of a fan of meat because of the way it is produced. Through her life she has made her self aware of the various processes that meats go through which is smoke-screened behind the big co-orporations that is the factory and the food industry. As a result from this is very keen on growing her own home produce, and as much as she can uses natural ingredients as to those which are bought from the store and contain artificial preservatives.
She loves to cook in her spare time, especially when it comes to this particular dish and not just because her family love it (which they do) but more because her dish has a very unique story that has a personal connection attached that makes the dish very filling even after digesting. I was privileged to share a part of her history, her heritage with her.
For this experience Shelley adds a little twist to the traditional dish that has remained in her family for years to come.
The dish that was made for this experience is called Rhubarb Crembrules.
I was brought up to scratch on the different forms of Rhubarb. The name of the Rhubarb in the image above is called ‘GREEN TOP RHUBARB’ (this is a freshly uprooted Rhubarb from the soil) and as you can see it speaks for itself.
On the other hand the pink looking figure in the image below is known as a ‘FORCED RHUBARB’ (at this stage the Rhubarb is no longer fresh as it has been processed in a batch production line to be sold in different supermarkets and retail stores).
Prior to this experience, I came across a post on Helen Grave’s (www.helengraves.co.uk) blog where she had been invited to feature in a short interview/film trying to find out once and for all of there was such a thing as a ‘British dish?’.
This question drew up debatable arguments between groups of people in the interview giving evidence in support of and against this topic, and although interesting left me joining the debate of what dish if any could really be given the honour of being labelled a traditional british dish.
My experience with Shelley set the record straight in my opinion as to what can be considered a traditional British meal.
The Rhubarb as once grown before her by those in the family is also grown in her own home, following tradition and keeping the family recipe alive.
She shares a story of how the Rhubarb dish has been passed down three generations, with each generation adding their own little twist & additions to the Rhubarb dish creating their own personalised dish.
As a child she was surrounded by a lot of food as she spent a lot of time on her uncle’s farm. He was a market gardener, so he and the team on his farm grew a lot of vegetables and fruit. Her uncle also being into wholesaling meant that she was exposed to a world of farmers that worked together, growing various types of produce which would then be sent off to the market to be sold.
She also had an aunt who married a dairy farmer which meant that she was able to visit the farm on frequent occasions to see how the cows were milked. All in all Shelley has been nurtured into understanding the important of good healthy food but more importantly appreciating the importance and benefits of using natural produce in her cooking instead of its substitution, that being factory and manufactured ingredients.
This is where culture meets history meets tradition and in my opinion awards her Rhubarb dish the right in being able to be called a British dish.
Rhubarb Mix:
Recipe: ‘Green top Rhubarb’, Apples, Dry dates, Apricot, Ginger (fresh), Grated orange peel, Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
To fully classify as a certified british dish as explained by Shelley, the meal would have to be a Rhubarb Crumble but as it is a Rhubarb Crembrules (which simply means glazing of sugar) dish the praise for its fruity flavour and colourful sight has to be shared with our overseas friends FRANCE.
This is her twist to the traditional dish that has remained in her family for years.
The sugar that is used in the crembrules mix can preferably caster sugar as an alternative to original sugar.
Being passionate about cooking, She wants to make sure that the family legacy continues and hopes that her son who is becoming quite the cook himself (one of his many talents) may carry on this particular dish through his generation to the next.
Crembrules Mix
Recipe: Milk, Creme mix, Whole eggs, Eggs yolk, Corn flour, Vanilla pod, Sugar
A DELICIOUS DISH THAT IS FILLED WITH HISTORY - RHUBARB CREMBRULES
Shopping in Morrisons a while ago with my mother, I came across a part where they were making fresh pies with fresh produce and ingredients.
The unique thing about this counter where they were making these pies was that it was all done in front of you so you could see what exactly was going into the pie with a range of meats and vegetables on display and you chose whatever you wanted to put in.
This led me to think about how supermarkets were trying very hard to try and touch base on all areas of food and cooking. For example fresh meat and separate sections for meat that cater to people of religious backgrounds such as Halal meat, freshly made pizzas which are to your taste and wants, bringing in worldly continental foods and now making food which is what usually someone would make at home, now being found in the supermarket.
Now I know that this was not actually prepared/cooked at home but there are people out there (who’s definition of home cooked food is the microwave, so this is they’re prayers answered) who due to the nature of their hectic schedules do not have the time or patience to make home cooked meals so introduction of fresh meals made for you in supermarkets could be the new healthy and alternative to fast food.
This led me to think about how supermarkets were trying very hard to try and touch base on all areas of food and cooking. For example fresh meat and separate sections for meat that cater to people of religious backgrounds such as Halal meat, freshly made pizzas which are to your taste and wants, bringing in worldly continental foods and now making food which is what usually someone would make at home, now being found in the supermarket.
Now I know that this was not actually prepared/cooked at home but there are people out there (who’s definition of home cooked food is the microwave, so this is they’re prayers answered) who due to the nature of their hectic schedules do not have the time or patience to make home cooked meals so introduction of fresh meals made for you in supermarkets could be the new healthy and alternative to fast food.
In this case my mother and I had been through a long day and literally dragged our selves to morrisons to shop for our dinner. We really could not be bothered to cook so conveniently we stumbled upon this counter where we had our dinner made freshly for us. We came home adding our own selection of french dressing to the meal and enjoyed a lovely freshly baked pie made specially for the home.
FRESHLY BAKED PIE. MADE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
“It seems that some supermarkets are also making an attempt to address the issue of healthy eating.”
Being really passionate about this project saw me go the extra mile to cover all areas.
Just recently creating a blog for the first time I thought it would be best to research into people who before me had established blogs. I paid special attention to their writing style and use of images to tell their story. I also noticed that with majority of these food blogs, they had a writing style (one I’m sure has taken time to perfect) that was humorous, simple, light yet interesting to read, so I made sure I focused on these elements in hopes of incorporating this idea and vibe into my own blog.
While browsing through these different food blogs, I stumbled onto Helen Graves’s food blog called Food Stories (www.helengraves.com).
Reading through her blog I could see her passion for food and wanting to share her food journey and experiences with the world through her blog.
Vaisakhi is the most important date in the Sikh calendar as it celebrates the birth of the Khalsa. This day also celebrates the Sikh’s official new year.
On this day hundreds to thousands of people come to gather in one location (Southall) to celebrate this day with fellow sikhs from the community and out of the community.
On this particular festival all Sikhs follow the traditions of the farmers once before them. It is a time for Sikhs all over to reap the fruits of their labour. The whole of Southall high street is shut down for one day. Nothing goes in or comes out of that road for the day. The atmosphere is filled with a lot of singing, chanting, free music and goodies to fill your stomach and quench your thirst.
This amongst other sikh celebrations is the biggest one in one location that has been held for years, and by far is one of the largest celebration that brings one community, culture and ethnic group together.
Both men and women who have normal daily 9-5 jobs join hands in performing public random acts of kindness within the community to commemorate the new year. This includes doing things like making and preparing traditional home cooked food which are then distributed to the public by other volunteers, others offer their services by giving out goods from their businesses (such as free music, free drinks and snacks) to the public, while some who can let out their equipment (such as cooking utensils for big and major events or canapé stalls for fellow sikhs to set up and distribute goods and vans for loading) do so.
In the Sikh way of life, women have equal rights with men. There is absolutely no discrimination against women. The women on this day play a part by preparing different kinds of traditional home cooked dishes while others take to the streets to offer these different food dishes to the public as part of their service and act of kindness.
Speaking to a representative from Panjab Radio on the day, Sikhism I was told was one of the last religions to be formed. The Sikh religion is all about promoting equality and care for one another.
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