Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall hosts a vegetarian feast at Borough Market
The one-off dinner will raise money for market traders affected by June’s terrorist attack
For a chef known at the beginning of his career as Hugh Fearlessly-Eats It All, because of his fondness for scooping up roadkill and making it into meals, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has made something of a leap over the hedgerow to find himself hosting a vegetarian banquet at London’s Borough Market.
The Vegetarian Feast (£125; September 21, 6.30pm), the finale of the River Cottage’s one-month residency at the market, will be cooked by River Cottage head chef Gelf Alderson using produce donated by Borough Market traders and Riverford Organics, and all profits will go to the Borough Market Trader Relief Fund, which supports those stallholders affected by the 11-day market shut down following June’s terrorist attack.
The evening will begin with a vibrant beetroot and milk vodka Bloody Mary, paired with hearty canapés including raw carrot hummus with rye crackers, as well as a celeriac and parsley soup. Guests will then be seated around a communal trestle table where food will be served sharing style, kicking off with starters such as squash, blackberry and apple salad, and roast spiced brassicas with split-pea purée.
Among the mains will be a roast fennel, new potato and tomato stew, and a combination of kohlrabi, cucumber and sprouted beans with blitzed kale, lemon and garlic, while even the desserts will continue the vegetarian theme, with options including petits fours made of beetroot laces. And Borough Wines will supply organic and biodynamic wines for the evening, which Fearnley-Whittingstall says will be “a wonderful celebration of the world of veg”.