This week, Hotpoint and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver opened a special pop-up café in East London. With an exclusive kick-off event for international media and influencers, Hotpoint and Jamie unveiled the ‘Fresh Thinking’ Café as part of its “Fresh Thinking for Forgotten Food” campaign, which is encouraging people to think differently about the ‘forgotten food’ in their homes to reduce waste. For two days, the café is open to the public and serving delicious dishes, inspired by the most commonly wasted foods in European households. In true spirit of the initiative, surplus food will be used to cook the dishes, and all proceeds will be donated to FoodCycle, a charity fighting food waste, food poverty and loneliness.
Earlier this year, Hotpoint and Jamie Oliver launched the “Fresh Thinking for Forgotten Food” campaign to empower people to reduce waste through a greater appreciation and care for their food and by improving their cooking skills, offering tips and tricks for making the most of leftovers and reducing food waste. Smarter use of technology can be key to making cooking with leftovers easier and more enjoyable. For Jamie, the campaign addresses an important issue: “Good food is a beautiful thing, it brings people together, it can cheer you up, and it can give you all the goodness you need to fuel your day – which is why me and the guys at Hotpoint don’t think any of it should be wasted! Together with Hotpoint’s waste-savvy appliances, I want to show everyone how easy it is to cut unnecessary waste in the kitchen, and dish up delicious food at the same time.”
Every dish on the Fresh Thinking Café menu is based on suggestions from the public, and uses surplus food from local suppliers, wherever possible. The tasting menu features a variety of imaginative dishes incorporating bread, bagged salad and fresh vegetables – just some of the Europe’s most wasted foods.
“We are on a mission to get the public to think differently and get creative with the leftovers in their fridge and cupboards”, says Matteo Frattino, Senior Brand Manager at Hotpoint. “People from across Europe have submitted brilliant recipes that can help to bring “Fresh Thinking” into our kitchens and we are thrilled to serve a selection of these in our café.” With dishes ranging from bulgur pizza and Moroccan chicken, to desserts such as vegan salted chocolate mousse or bannoffe bread & butter pudding, the café’s menu has something for everyone and offers food for thought on how we can all think differently about forgotten ingredients.
The pop-up café is being run by home appliance expert Hotpoint and was officially opened by brand ambassador Jamie Oliver on Tuesday, October 9th. Operating on a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ basis, all proceeds will be donated to FoodCycle, a UK-based charity fighting food waste, food poverty and loneliness. The pop-up café marks the highlight of Hotpoint’s “Fresh Thinking for Forgotten Food” campaign in 2018, which will continue to encourage people to think differently about ‘forgotten food’ in their kitchens throughout the year.
Visit “Fresh Thinking for Forgotten Food” to find out more about Hotpoint’s initiative.