Charity curry: A supper club with a difference!
Last night I cooked 12 bowls of curry for friends and strangers, for the first of what will hopefully be many many fundraising food nights to come!
I’ll blog the recipes later today, but just wanted to say a massive thanks to Jim and Juliet for lending me their house and kitchen, and a huge Thankyou also to everyone who turned up! We raised over £200 between us – and all I had to do was throw a few things in pans, really! Ta dah!
The money will be split in donations between a local food bank, The Storehouse (incidentally the one I was referred to myself many months ago), and the homeless shelter HARP. We’re yet to decide whether it will be sit down the middle as a cash donation, or whether to spend it on food for them – I’m going to ask each organisation directly what they would prefer, but not right now as it’s 1am!
The evening was so successful that we immediately planned another one, for the 3rd of January. There will be 30 places available and must be booked in advance – if you live locally enough to attend then please drop me a line for details.
If you want to organise something similar in your area, please let me know about it, I’d love the “charity supper club” idea to take off…
And for now, good night, as I am absolutely shattered. And full of very delicious curry, if I may say so myself…
Here’s some sneak peeks of most of the dishes, I’ll blog all of the recipes over the next few days, although you might recognise some favourites… From top to bottom: Spinach and lentil daal, Thai style red chicken curry, fish korma, Bombay style potatoes, Saag aloo, potato dhansak, fish and mandarin curry, cauliflower passanda, banana and tea curry, chickpea and apricot curry…
Jack Monroe. Twitter: @MsJackMonroe. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/agirlcalledjack
Categories: Blog
Well done, Jack! Keep up the great work.
They look lush! Can’t wait for the recipes and will organize a charity supper event here on the Costa Blanca, where believe it or not, there are also food banks!
Mmmm – that looks absolutely scrummy, Jack. What a brilliant idea!
Wish I lived close enough to come to the next one. I suppose the next best thing will be being able to use your recipes.
What a brilliant idea. We quite fancy doing one up here in leafy (well not at the moment obviously) Cheshire. We did an amnestea in the summer and that was a great success.
Any chance of a few details about how you went about it please…..who were invited? How? What did you charge?
Thanks.
Jack, this is amazing. There’s nothing better than sitting down to a great meal (and those dishes look delicious) together with a group of like-minded people, and making it a charity event just puts the cherry on top. Thank you for always being an inspiration!
A fabulous idea Jack – and a smashing way to make a difference.
Jack, you’re a star. It all looks utterly delicious.
The food looks delish! Can’t wait for the recipes. Now suffering cooker envy, because your friends’ range cooker is fabulous xx
Isn’t it just? I’m waiting for one of their teens to move out so i can launch operation ‘wouldn’t it be great if you had a live-in cook?’ 😉
Birchy – do you know the food bank in Alfaz del Pi ?
Hi Ju, no I don’t, used to collect for one in Javea.
Well done – a very good effort and it all looks really tasty too. Of course, your food bank will let you know but at ours lots of people give generous donations but some cash is very useful as it means we can stock up where there are shorfalls and not end up with hundreds of tins of soup but no jam, for instance!
Just to say we have ‘an angel’ where we live who has randomly paid for a friend’s groceries in the supermarket … wish there were more people like him x
A lovely idea. Lovely looking food. I did something similar back in the 1970’s together with an Indian friend of mine back in the days when I lived in Jersey. The food was all veggie based curry dishes and included hand made pourri bread (not sure how to spell the word). The meal was used for raise money for some of the Mother Teresa projects in India and followed a showing of the film about Mother Teresa and her Sisters of Charity. Must try and start something here in Salisbury when you publish your recipes. Looking forward to the book next month also.
Awsome Jack look forward to the recipies.
Sounds great, and nice to see a fellow salisbury resident reading your blog too. 😄😄
Hi Jack. I think I can offer quite a LARGE kitchen with lovely dining space in EC1, and myself as dishwasher and general skivvy. I have amassed time in lieu for teaching at a cookery school which needs to get used. Do please get in touch.
Jack, brilliant have thought about doing this, wasn’t brave enough, looking for a table, then…
Jack, you’re brilliant. Might try this at my school – get some kids to cook with me and have it as a Charity Curry Lunch. Love it. x
Ah, now you’re talking!!! I’m a cook myself, not bad either, and I adore curries and cook at times many different types. I really look forward to seeing these recipes and trying them out too.
By the way, I just wanted to tell the folks on here something. A few months ago I wrote to Tesco’s asking them about how they collected food to donate to foodbanks. After a lot of misunderstandings, not unpleasant ones, I eventually made it clear that Tesco’s should make it a regular thing to collect food for foodbanks, allowing their customers to buy a tin of toms or whatever they needed and then donating somewhere in the store when they had finished shopping. I appealed to the them buy saying I and many others would happily shop in a store that regularly collected for foodbanks, and obviously in the end this will increase their profits too! Subtle psychology you see?! I suggest that other people on here write to other supermarket chains and do the same. Regardless of the politics, people need feeding. I am trying to stop moaning at the government and just being positive instead. Anyway, the upshot of this is my local Tesco store just happens to be collecting for foodbanks now. Coincidence? I don’t know. But if more of us email them it can only help can’t it?
Tim – I’ve just spent the day collecting food at Tesco in Ashby, Leicester for the local food bank – also in Ashby. Trussell Trust are working in partnership with Tesco and I understand many other food banks are involved with similar collections throughout the country this weekend. There was a spring collection and now this pre Christmas one. Tesco will donate an additional 30% of the collected weight so, whatever your opinion of the store itself, it is a big opportunity for the food bank to stock up for the months ahead.
Ashby food bank are on face book and twitter (can’t do the link thing but I’m sure you’ll work it out) if you want to see what we’ve been up to. I know there are lots of other ways to donate.
Hope this helps.
From one Tim to another; thanks! I am thinking of volunteering at a foodbank in my area and I will check where there is one nearby or thereabouts. I am tired at railing against the government because it stresses me out and gets me upset. Therefore I am going to do something positive. I will of course still fire off the odd barb but I’ll leave it to other people as well.
Well done Jack x
Ooooh, wish I was nearer too. Curry’s my favourite food – looking at those photos is making me salivate!
What a great idea Jack. The food looks delicious and congratulations on raising all that cash for such worthy causes.xxx
Jack, the food looks fantastic, and what a great idea. I can’t wait for your cookbook.
I give to foodbanks-it can be suprisingly difficult to find out where to do this. Money’s tight here. I have an 8 year old learning disabled son, and am fuming over Boris Johnson’s crack that those with IQs of 85 or less-so, the mild/severe learning disabled-are the “cornflakes” who have not been inspired to rise to the top of the box by the example of the rich and powerful who have. (Last week’s Thatcher lecture)
Under that rationale, my son should either smarten up and become a Hooray Henry with a trust fund-or cease to exist. Think I’ll support him and try to live as long as I can.Your blog helps- for excellent ideas and as a good counter balance .
Thanks!
Great pics
Im now organising my own charity curry night, so looking forward to reading your recipes, as I expect they will be the most frugal and delicious ones I can find! Thankyou x
Oh goodness I really need to get around to blogging them but I appear to have accidentally started a revolution in the meantime!
I noticed! As they say ‘A womans work is never done’ !!
Well done you Ms Monroe, you are the sort of woman we should be holding up as a role model to our young people.
X
Would be interested in doing this in the new year in Brighton email susankotecha@gmail.com
Someone needs to start a revolution ! How can it be possible that so many people are having to rely on food parcels and are struggling to heat their homes IF they haven’t already lost their home because of the bedroom tax. This is the 21st century – what will happen next – will ‘they’ bring back the Workhouses ?
I’m trying! See change.org/foodbanks
Hi Jack. My friend and I have agreed to run our own supper evening in the New year for our local foodbank in Epsom. I’ve also roped my mum in to run her own in the East Midlands. When you get a spare moment from saving the world could you post some information about how the evening ran ( beyond the cooking bit). How much did you charge? Did you provide drinks ( alcoholic/ non) or did people bring their own? I’m not sure I can seat more than 8 around my table but figured people could perch all over the place so hope to invite more!
Thank you.Good luck and hope you and your family has a lovely Christmas