THE LONDON-BASED CATERING COMPANY AND CAFE HAVE BEEN SOURCING RESPONSIBLY FOR EIGHT YEARS

Alex had an air of familiarity and ease about her. June was one of her busiest months of the year, and considering later that night her team would be catering for over one thousand covers all over London, she appeared relaxed and excited about the evening ahead.

Alex started Social Pantry in 2011. She explained how she had never loved school, having been expelled for generally misbehaving, so when she started cooking she knew this was what she was meant to be doing. Alex opened her first café in Battersea whilst running a successful event catering arm of the business, and has since opened bricks and mortar in Peckham and Sir John Soane’s Pitzhanger Manor, Ealing.

What stands out about Social Pantry is how forward thinking they are. They’ve been waving the sustainable and socially responsible flag since day one, being especially proud of working with ex-offenders in rehabilitation programmes by offering full and part time positions as well as three-day work placements. Not only this, but they use local suppliers, serving the best sustainably sourced fresh food to their customers.

Alex’s passion for food is evident as she talked to us about how she created the menu for our Falcon Feast. The brief was simple; we wanted delicious, fresh and seasonal food that was fit for a feast and could be served in large sharing bowls. The evening saw an array of salads with jewel-like colours popping out against white enamel plates. The dishes were served on our Serving Trays and Salad Bowls, meaning guests would help themselves and serve each other, encouraging a friendly and informal atmosphere. organic roast chicken was served to compliment the various salads available, and roasted Broccoli steak was on offer for those who preferred a vegan option.

A PERFECT VEGAN RECIPE FOR FEASTING WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

PREPERATION TIME:
15-20 MINUTES
—
COOKING TIME:
10 MINUTES
—

SERVES: 8-10

INGREDIENTS

•​​ 2 heads of broccoli
•​​ 1 banana shallot, finely diced
•​​ 2 green chilli, finely diced
•​​ 1 bunch parsley, chopped
•​​ 1 tsp red wine vinegar
•​​ 3 tsp olive oil for the dressing, plus extra to cook the broccoli
•​​ Maldon salt
•​​ 25g toasted sunflower seeds, roughly chopped
•​​ 50g fresh spinach leaves

1
Cut each broccoli in half directly through the stalk. Then cut down the side to trim off excess florets so that the steak sits flat as a piece. Keep the trimmings and set aside.

2
Mix together the shallot, green chilli, parsley and sunflower seeds. Season with lemon zest, juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt. Set aside.

3
Preheat the oven to 160C fan and heat up a griddle pan until it is really hot.

4
Cook the broccoli trimmings in a little veg stock until soft, drain (reserving the liquid) and blend with the spinach to keep it a bright green. Season and place in a bowl over ice to cool down as quickly as possible.

5
Once the grill is hot, drizzle the broccoli with a little oil and salt and chargrill the broccoli steaks until they have deep black lines on either side. Place on a baking tray on baking paper and cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

6
To serve the broccoli steaks, spoon on some broccoli puree and chimichurri and garnish. View our video below to see Alex putting the final elements of the dish together for serving.

As an old British brand which has been sensitively revived for the twenty-first century, it felt fitting to host the first Falcon Feast in the newly renovated and quintessentially British Pitzhanger Manor.

Plant based chef and recipe developer, Sophie Gordon, is an ambassador for buying local and seasonal; a fantastic pledge for shopping this September. Seasonal produce not only means we are...