MELISSA THOMPSON

Recipes by Melissa Thompson

The third chef in our first series of City Harvest Cooking is cook, food writer and author Melissa Thompson. In 2014 Melissa started a sell-out supper club that grew into a pop-up serving across London. In 2022 her debut cookbook, Motherland, was published celebrating the food and history of Jamaica. For us, Melissa’s role in advocacy and her resourceful and no-waste approach to cookery meant it was a no-brainer to involve her in City Harvest Cooking!

Whilst out on a City Harvest delivery van, Melissa was most taken aback by the variety and quality of fresh produce on offer for our community partners. 40% of the food City Harvest distributes to London community partners is fresh fruit and veg, so Melissa chose surplus recipes that made this produce sing. Her peanut stew, inspired by West African flavours, is jam-packed with vegetables and can be adapted to whatever you’ve got in your fridge. Her spiced beef wraps are filled with fresh herbs and accompanied with a zingy salad, transporting us to the Middle East.

Melissa Thompson

TV Chef

“City Harvest is my favourite charity, everyone here is amazing. [They’re] redistributing food all over London, so that it can be cooked and given to people who are really struggling to feed themselves, and it’s shocking that the need for what they’re doing is increasing.”