Top chefs share their secrets for a happy Christmas

The Organic Trade Board and Greenhouse challenged five top chefs to create festive recipes with the organic ingredients that make them happy. The result was a joyful pop-up Organic Christmas Feast, celebrating a memorable meal which not only excels on taste but is also produced in a sustainable and organic way.

At international culinary hub Carousel in London, Greenhouse brought the chefs together with some of the UK’s leading organic producers. The event marked the launch of two campaigns: Organic Feed Your Happy Christmas and the Soil Association’s Organic Christmas Marketplace.

Each chef prepared a course that fills them with joy at Christmas, served up to leading food journalists and bloggers:

• Rosie Birkett (Chef and author of A Lot on Her Plate) prepared an organic canapé of dehydrated beetroot crisps topped with raw chopped beetroot salad and fresh Sussex Slipcote cheese from High Weald Dairy.
• John Quilter (Chef and Food Busker) created a traditional Italian Christmas stuffed porchetta, using the finest organic pork belly and loin from Eversfield Organic Meat as his centre piece.
• Anna Jones (Chef and Author of The Modern Cook’s Year) created a sweet garlic pie with a popped bean top, for a delicious vegetarian organic main course, using organic flour from Hodmedod’s.
• Gill Meller (Chef and award winning author of Gather) made three vegetable side dishes with fresh ingredients from organic veg box producer Abel & Cole. Roasted purple sprouting broccoli with garlic, chilli, anchovy and cream; roasted roots and fennel with sage, pumpkin seeds and labneh; warm salad of roast squash and pan-fried mushrooms.
• Chetna Makan (Chef and Bake Off semi-finalist) created a sumptuous organic cardamom and chocolate tart, using organic chocolate from Cocoa Loco.

You can find these recipes and more on the Feed Your Happy website. As we get closer to Christmas, look out for more of our organic recipes, cooking tips and food guides in the press and online.

It has already been featured in the The Scotsman, Reader’s Digest and Foodism magazine

The campaign is drawing attention to organic food at a time when we often indulge with little regard to where it comes from. We want to demonstrate that our emotional attachment to organic food can make us happy, because we know the food is better for us, better for animals and the environment. We also think it tastes better.

We believe Christmas should be about connections, to family, friends, food producers and ultimately the soil that feeds us throughout the year. It’s a time for sharing, socialising and indulging with integrity and kindness. In other words, Christmas is a time to Feed Your Happy.

Tell us your stories and share the organic foods that feed your happy this Christmas on social media with #FeedYourHappy.