The FoodScape

Episode 10: The FoodScape so far...

After four months of gathering food stories, sounds and flavours from across our region, it's time to step back and take a look out over our FoodScape.
This episode is a tasting menu celebrating the people and places encountered so far, and the ways in which they are shaping our land and our lives through food. 
And if it's your first time listening to the podcast, perhaps it will whet your appetite to listen back through the episodes so far... 
The podcast will return in September, after a short break to gather more ingredients for future audible feasts. 
In the meantime, stay in touch via social media @FoodScapePodcast or contact Charlotte Maberly directly at foodscapepodcast@gmail.com with any comments or suggestions for the future. 
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
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Thank you to Abundant Borders for their continued support with this podcast.
 

Episode 9: Recommended Reads from the FoodScape

Looking for some holiday reading? 
 
Seeing as it's the Borders Book Festival in the middle of this month, here are a handful of food-writing classics to whet your appetite. These are all fantastic reads into the politics, philosophy, science and culture of food. 
 
Buon apetito!
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The FoodScape Recommended Reads:
'How to Cook a Wolf' - MFK Fisher, 1942. North Point Press.
'Rooted: How Regenerative Farming can Change the World' - Sarah Langford, 2022. Penguin.
'The Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and Think' - Julian Baggini, 2014. Granta.
'First Bite: How We Learn to Eat' - Bee Wilson, 2015. Fourth Estate.
'Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World' - Carolyn Steel, 2020. Vintage.
'The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat' - Tim Spector, 2015. Orion.
'The Hidden Half of Nature' - Montgomery and Bikle, 2016. Norton.
'Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation' - Michael Pollan, 2013. Allen Lane.
'The Art of Fermentatoin' - Sandor Katz, 2012. Chelsea Green.
 
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Presented by Charlotte Maberly

Episode 8: Nature vs. Food - Part 1

How we produce food around the world in the 21st century, is widely accused of being one of the main causes of climate change. Agriculture and nature are now seen as being at odds, and in the UK our government is putting pressure on farmers to change the way they operate and be more nature friendly. In some cases, this means ceasing to produce all together, planting trees or re-wilding previously productive land.
 
Do we have to make a choice between nature or food production?
 
I visited Woodend farm in Berwickshire to speak with regenerative farmers John and Louise Seed who share the ups and downs of their journey into a different farming approach, and their thoughts on the future of farming in the Borders. 
 
Thank you to John and Louise Seed of Woodend Farm, Berwickshire. 
 
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
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Thank you to Abundant Borders for their continued support with this podcast.

Episode 7: To market, to market!

It's loud, it's fast, and when the auctioneer begins his call you've got to have your wits about you! 
I accompanied Mary Howlett of Going Native to the Newtown St Boswell's mart on one of her regular missions to buy native breed cattle. We experience the raw energy of the mart, discuss the importance of traditional breeds and animal welfare, and why these are vital in creating the tastiest steak. 
Thank you to:
Mary Howlett of Going Native, Hawick
The Newtown St Boswells Mart 
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
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This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from Abundant Borders.
 

Episode 6: Eating Our Greens

Why is it so difficult, in an agricultural region, to get a good variety of local vegetables?
Is it just because our soil won't produce them? Because we'd rather produce livestock? Or are we reluctant to grow and sell them?
One way or another, shorter supply chains increases food security, local economic activity, and of course, the freshness of the food. And like many parts of the country, people in the Scottish Borders would like to be able to buy more locally produced vegetables. In this episode, I speak with 6 people who have dedicated their lives to their love of veggies, to find out what the barriers and prospects are for growing and selling a greater variety here in the Borders. 
Thank you to:
Helen Kemp and Paul Grime of Morebattle,
Billy Anderson of Fingerpost Produce,
Grant Terry of the Jed Deli,
and Bill and Irene Miller of Jedburgh.
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
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This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from the Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network.

Episode 5: The Hungry Gap

Throughout history, people across the Borders would have expected to go hungry at this time of year. The time between March and May was known as the hungry gap, when larders were emptied after the winter, and the garden and farm hadn't yet started producing. This period of scarcity was part of the seasonal cycle, forcing people to rely on an essential and common knowledge of wild foods to keep themselves going. 
Nowadays, the average supermarket creates a convincing illusion of limitless abundance all year round, encouraging us to waste food and imagine that hunger is a thing of the past.
But right now 1 in 6 people across Scotland are experiencing food insecurity, and many more of us may experience food shortages as extreme weather and high fuel costs become more regular. We need to consider how we address hunger, and how we can learn to treat food as the precious resource that it is.
I speak with Reverend Philip Blackledge from the Galashiels Food Bank, and Amy White and Amanda Robinson of Cafe Recharge, which redirects surplus food to feed people from their pay-what-you-can cafe, and hear some hopeful and inspiring stories about how we can learn to feed everyone into the future.
 
Thank you to:
Rev. Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Church in Melrose, who works with the Galashiels Foodbank
Amy White and Amanda Robinson of Cafe Recharge in Galashiels.
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
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This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from the Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network.
 

An Empty Larder

Sadly, episode 5 hit a few hitches, and will be delayed by a few days. In the meantime, have a listen to some of the past FoodScape episodes!

Episode 4 - Resilient Restaurants

They're the places we go to celebrate, to work, to broaden our culinary horizons, or just to escape having to cook. Restaurants and cafes have become part of our everyday, but they're facing unprecedented challenges in the face of energy price hikes, staffing shortages, supply chain issues and more. Last year, hospitality businesses across the UK were closing at a rate of about 3 per day, and times ahead don't look any easier for the industry.
How would the foodscape of a rural region like the Scottish Borders be effected if we saw more hospitality closures? Would we really miss our restaurants and cafes?
This episode hears from 3 business owners who have remained resilient despite difficult times for the industry. They share their experiences, reflections and hopes for the future of their trade. 
 
Thank you to:
Kerry Waddell - Giacopazzi's Ice Cream and Fish and Chips
Anthony Khoury - Salt N Fire
Scott Hunter - Scotts of Kelso
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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
Agricultural advisor, Laura Mitchell
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This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from the Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network.

Episode 3 - Ewe Turn

Sheep are one of the most common sights in the Scottish Borders farming landscape, but with the exception of Easter weekend, we hardly eat their meat at all.
This episode explores our relationship with sheep from field to plate, and includes conversations with farmers, a trader and a local butcher, discussing the joys, challenges, flavours and future of bringing lamb to the table. 
You’ll be hearing from Bairnkine organic farm and the lambing shed at Spital Tower Farm, gaining insight into how lambs get from farm to market with Farmstock, and learning how to prepare the juiciest roast from an enterprising butcher in Jedburgh. 
 
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Thank you to:
Lucy Tile, Bairnkine Farm
Watson Pringle, Spital Tower Farm
Vicky Warcup, Farmstock
Ryan Briggs, Briggsy's Butcher
 
Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly
Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana
Agricultural advisor, Laura Mitchell
 
This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from the Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Borders Climate Action Network.
 

More Than Just a Side Dish

Surprising stories from a giant celebration of the humble tattie: the 2024 Borders Organic Gardeners' Potato Day.
Every year, a thousand or so potato-philes travel to the Kelso Showgrounds to source the varieties they love best. Forget your Maris Pipers, BOG Potato Day has almost 100 varieties - each one with a unique history, flavour and character. 
I learn why it's worth growing your own, tales of the breeders and gardeners who have saved the potato from being lost, and which is best: mash, roast, boiled or chips. 
I discover that there is far more to the potato than meets the eye....
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Find out more at BordersOrganicGardeners.org
Thank you to Keith Knight, John Marshall and Alan Romans, for sharing your passion for potatoes.
 
This podcast was founded by the Borders Good Food Partnership with support from the Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Borders Climate Action Network.