16 inspiring foodie New Year's resolutions to improve your life
Most New Year resolutions are boring: 'go on a diet', or 'join the gym'. So why not do something different? Here are 16 food and drink things you can do to improve your cooking skills, your food knowledge, and your life.
1. Go on a butchery course
The Ginger Pig butchery courses have been running at their central London shop for years. Expert butchers Perry and Borat guide you through removing all the prime cuts and then show how to use them. You then sit down to dinner featuring meat you’ve just prepared and get to take your efforts home. See website for details.
2. Learn to be a smallerholder
Fancy keeping your own chickens, pigs or even sheep? Well spend a day with TV’s Kate Humble learning how to care for animals. Kate runs a number of other rural and food courses on her farm too.
3. Rent a cherry tree
Michael Dallaway lets people rent a cherry tree on his farm in Kent. You can visit in spring and picnic under the falling blossom which is lovely, but even better you get to keep all the juicy cherries it produces in summer.
4. Host a safari supper
News editor Simon joined his neighbours for a safari supper. The idea is that each person does a course, and you move round different houses. Benefits include meeting new people, and not having so much washing up in your own house!
5. Learn to make real bread
Richard Bertinet is the don of baking. I’ve seen his super ‘slapping’ dough-working technique first hand and it’s amazing. His baking courses in Bath are great fun, and the skills you’ll learn with have you producing beautiful fresh bread in no time.
6. Visit Birmingham’s Balti triangle
The balti: Birmingham’s gift to Britain. Andy Munro is something of a balti expert, and runs tours around the area that get you behind the pass and into the kitchen. You can also sample the delicious cooking, all mopped up with fluffy naans. Mmmm.
7. Learn to cook dishes from around the world
Fancy learning to make sushi, or perhaps you’d like to experience real Chinese or Indian food? Well, there’s a cookery course for you. Learning from an expert is not only easier, you also get to meet new people.
8. Volunteer at a food bank
Why not spend a little of your free time giving something back to society and helping others. The rise of food banks is something we’ve covered a lot on lovefood.com this year, and they need all the help and support they can get. It’ll make you feel good on the inside.
9. Be a fisher(wo)man for the day
Ahar me hearties! If you fancy a taste of life at sea, as well as some expert advice on smoking fish, then Suffolk based Food Safari’s ‘seafood in a day’ course is what you need. There’s loads more courses on their website, from butchery to brewing.
10. Have afternoon tea
We love afternoon teas here at lovefood.com. Choose one of our favourites, and you and a loved one or friend can have a proper natter over tea and cakes. What’s not to like?
11. Learn to bake a cake at Bettys
Bettys of Yorkshire know a thing or two about baking proper cakes, including ‘fat rascals’. A trip to God’s own country isn’t complete without a cuppa and cake at Bettys. But did you know they also have a cookery school? Well you do now.
12. Get an allotment
Earlier this year we looked at how to grow your own and life on an allotment. If you fancy taking on the local fauna in a battle to keep them off your veg, then getting an allotment is for you. First thing you need to do is contact your local authority and get on the waiting list.
13 Buy an interesting case of wine
I asked Sean, the proprietor at my local independent vintners, to put me together a case, the only stipulation being it must have a theme. He responded with a range of bottles all from vineyards he’d personally visited, as well as extensive notes. The result was that each bottle had a little story.
14. Start your own restaurant
Philip Dundas started his ‘pop-up’ restaurant in an old garage - you can read all about it here. If you’re up for a challenge, find a space, get your whites on, and launch your own fledgling restaurant empire.
15. Live on a £1 a day for a week
Charlotte’s ‘below the line’ experience was one of the most commented on and popular features of 2012. Why don’t you experience first-hand how most of the world shop and eat. It’ll certainly make you value the food you do have.
16. Take the lovefood pledge
Finally, take the lovefood pledge! “Dear lovefood, I pledge to learn a new recipe from the database every month.” You get to expand your cooking skills in your own home, and friends and family get to taste your efforts. Did you know you can save recipes you like to your own binder? Just sign in and click ‘My recipes’. Get cooking!
What are your New Year’s resolutions? Have any of the above inspired you? Let us know in the comments box below.
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