Hi there,

Welcome to The Life Larder! This newsletter serves up a bite-sized menu of stories and ideas about making food that’s not only delicious but also healthy and sustainable.

Each issue is packed with inspiring articles, flavourful ideas, and voices from across the vibrant food world. Think of me as your friendly guide, helping you create meals that nourish your body, delight your taste buds, and care for our planet. Treat this newsletter like a personal larder - always stocked with something you’ll love.

To celebrate Earth Day today, I had a beautiful conversation about how spices can be affected by our soil with Prerna from Food of Gods. The direct impact of the ecosystem around one of the farms she sources from left visible marks on one of the harvests; yet the flavour wasn’t affected. I think this is a great example of how we need to rethink food - it’s not all about the aesthetic, but about how the farmers work with the land, and how that drives flavour.

Before you tuck in…

Bites

Tasty bites from the corners of the internet this week.

• Eat dirt at Somerset House till the 26th April

• 15 million oysters are helping rewild UK seas

• Have you noticed spring flowers putting on a show right now? Here’s the reason.

Main Menu

Stories and insights from experts and yours truly

Can soil impact our spice cupboard?

How the world around our food leaves its mark.

As we mark Earth Day, I wanted to dive deeper into a set of ingredients I think the majority of us take for granted. Something used every day, often thrown into dishes without much thought, but constantly driving the flavour in our meals.

Spices carry stories of land, ecology, culture and care, yet how often do we think about this when we throw that turmeric in our pot? I spoke with Prerna, founder of Food of Gods, a boutique spice brand working directly with farmers to put the freshest, nature friendly spices on our shelves, about her journey into the spice world, what quality really means, and the challenges of working with nature rather than against it.

At the heart of our conversation is a beautiful story: a cardamom harvest that nature took control of, helping us re-think what beauty and flavour in our produce means.