I read this piece in the travel section of the Guardian about fans of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall ("the Hugh Romantics") and realised that Simon Mills, the writer, had well and truly got my number:
To them Hugh was the anti-Harriot (as in Ainsley). The real deal. He was, they explained, everything that is good about meat-eating, welly-wearing libertarianism - an effortlessly affable and unassailably aspirational, hand-reared and organically fed figurehead who, having upped sticks from the grey city, was now pursuing an enviably gluttonous, simple life of big meals and big skies in Thomas Hardy country.
He's right. I do envy HFW's lifestyle: reading his first River Cottage book has made me yearn for some chickens (I was also inspired by the funny Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance); oh yes, and a huge vegetable plot and a cavernous kitchen with an aga and a few sheep and ... well, you know what I mean.
The reality for most of us is that we simply couldn't do our jobs if we lived in a rural idyll like Hugh, although that may change as technology advances. But in the meantime, and unless and until I win the lottery (must start buying some tickets ...) I have enjoyed incorporating small parts of Hugh's approach into my own way of doing things: his glutney recipe is an essential part of making good use of my summer produce, for instance. And one day, when I have a bigger garden, I will have some chickens.
I'm a big Hugh fan, and he's totally changed the way I shop for food. No more supermarket meat - just local stuff from our excellent (and very reasonable) farmers market. I love his insistence on building a relationship with local suppliers - and not because you're convincing yourself you're doing anyone a favour, but because you really are getting better stuff. Everyone wins.
Posted by: james h | December 10, 2004 at 10:52 PM