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.

For two days every summer, thousands of farmers, growers, chefs, scientists and food system thinkers descend on Manor Farm in Hitchin, Hertfordshire at Groundswell to debate the future of farming and food. The conversations are rarely straightforward, which is exactly why I love it. This year there was plenty of optimism, but also healthy disagreement - from whether regenerative farming belongs in ultra-processed foods (kitkats, we’re looking at you) to how we pay farmers for building resilience. These are the discussions that stay with me long after I leave the field - and will shape my work over the coming year. Below I’m sharing with you the conversations I can’t stop thinking about from Groundswell.

Before you tuck in…

Bites

Tasty bites from the corners of the internet this week.

• Salad Party (yes - you read right!) times at RHS Wisley on the 23rd July are 11.30am and 2pm in the world food garden, where I’ll be making salad canapes and talking about why we should be putting more leaves on our plates.

• If you’re in London this summer, why not visit Hearth Bakery, grab some bites made with heritage flour and seasonal magic, then take a stroll down the river lea? One of my favourite bakeries that champions great produce.

• I’ve already got my hands on Soil to Gut - Dr Lucy Williamson’s new book. Certainly worth a pre-order IMO!

Main Menu

Stories and insights from experts and yours truly

5 conversations from Groundswell I can’t stop thinking about

And wanted to share with you.

I've written about Groundswell before - the farming festival that focuses on regenerative agriculture. Honestly, it's one of my favourite events of the year and one I mark in my calendar months in advance. Farmers, food system bods, chefs, growers, agronomists - if you're involved in our soil’s health, you're probably here.

Soil is becoming sexy. In just 10 years the event has grown from 50 people to more than 10,000. Pretty impressive. Here are the food focussed conversations that stayed with me.