Fun For The Good | Blog #7

Cooking for causes

I made recipes from three charity cookbooks – here’s how it went…

Regular readers of Fun For The Good will know I enjoy activities that give something back or focus on community.

So, when I remembered there was a charity recipe book published to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee, it got me thinking about other cookbooks that support charities.

This led me down a Google rabbit hole, where I learned that many charity cookbooks exist – some printed, some ebooks.

Feeling inspired, I thought: why not find a few to cook from? I could try some new recipes and learn more about what good causes each book supports. Then I could share the results with all of you!

So, one Thursday morning, three recipe books in hand, and feeling somewhat like a food influencer, I took over the kitchen. I committed to cooking three things I’d never made before and learning about the author and the charity linked to each.

The results? Read all about them below…

The Platinum Jubilee Cookbook | Chipa Guaza

Summary: Recipes and stories from Her Majesty’s representatives around the world.

About the author: Ameer Kotecha is the British Consul General in Russia.

Publication year: 2022

RRP: £30

About the charities it supports: The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) supports youth led initiatives in the Commonwealth. The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) – now King Charles III Charitable Fund – is a grant-making organisation.

Rating as a recipe book: 6/10. There are lots of recipes and it’s really interesting to learn about dishes from other countries.

However, I’d say most are ones you’d make for a special occasion (makes sense, considering why they’ve been included). The layout is also not the most conducive for easy-reading, as there’s a mix of fonts and recipe steps aren’t numbered. I’d think of it as a history book, with recipes from around the world.

Recipe I made: Chipa Guazau (cornbread) from page 237

Servings: 6

Approx. cost per serving (based on Tesco prices): £1.14pp

Now, I will confess, when I got this book, I mistakenly thought it was going to be full of cake recipes. This is because I’d confused it with The Platinum Pudding competition, run by Fortnum and Mason. The competition was, in fairness, run off the back of an idea from the book’s author, Ameer Kotecha, so I think the mix-up is understandable!

What this book actually is, is a blend of 70 recipes (food and drink) submitted by Her Majesty’s Ambassadors and High Commissioners around the Commonwealth. Each item has been served to members of the Royal Family and throughout the book you’ll find little behind the scenes revelations about hosting royalty.

Making Chipa Guaza: the Steph Martin Creative experience…

Chipa Guaza is a Parguayan dish and is made using sweetcorn, butter, onions, eggs, whole milk, cheese and oil.

As a vegetarian, I like all of the ingredients in this recipe, so I thought it would be a good one to make. A food processor is essential, though, because you have to blend down the sweetcorn, so that does make it a little less accessible.

It was an easy recipe to follow but my goodness, does it contain a lot of fat! I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I think there’s 50g fat per serving…

My rating: 6/10. It’s nice but the texture’s not really to my taste (like a mix between souffle and porridge). Just looking at the amount of fat it contains makes my arteries hurt.

Husband’s rating: 6/10. Said it’s nice, but there’s so much fat, he couldn’t eat much.

Would I make it again?: No. A nice one to try.

Ultimate Diabetes Cookbook | Roasted butternut squash, feta & hazelnut salad with chickpeas

Summary: Delicious recipes to help you achieve a healthy balanced diet.

About the author: Phil Vickery is a celebrity chef, best known for his role on ITV’s This Morning. Bea Harling is a food scientist.

Publication year: 2017

RRP: £19.99

About the charity it’s supported by: Diabetes UK campaigns for better care, gives support and funds research.

Rating as a recipe book: 8/10. It’s very clear, both in how the recipes are set out and the pictures it includes.

Recipe I made: Roasted butternut squash, feta & hazelnut salad with chickpeas, page 62.

Servings: 2

Approx. cost per serving (based on Tesco prices): £2.30pp

Making Roasted butternut squash, feta & hazelnut salad with chickpeas: the Steph Martin Creative experience…

The book’s recipes are designed to be well-balanced, with a good nutritional mix – each recipe has details on things like fat and sugar content. This one was very easy to make and was tasty and filling.

I followed some of the suggested substitutions (for example, you could use sweet potato instead of squash) and I replaced hazelnuts with almonds because it was cheaper.

Some ingredients did seem surplus to requirement – a teaspoon of garam masala for the sweet potatoes seemed pointless (unless it had health benefits) because you definitely couldn’t taste it.

My rating: 9/10. It made a really nice lunch.

Husband’s rating: 9/10. Said it was filling and tasted good.

Would I make it again?: Yes, definitely.

National Trust Book Of Baking | Olive and
onion scones

Summary: Recipes, ingredients, techniques.

About the author: Sybil Kapoor is a multi-award winning food and travel writer.

Publication year: 2021

RRP: £16.99

About the charity it supports: National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity.

Rating as a recipe book: 8/10. The book’s designed to be educational on how to apply different baking techniques, so if that’s something you like learning about, you’re sorted.

Recipe-wise, there’s a lovely mix. My only real criticism is that there aren’t pictures of every recipe (even a sketch would do) so if you’ve never heard of a particular bake (leek and bacon froise, anyone?), you may not feel confident making it.

Recipe I made: Olive and onion scones, page 83

Servings: 8

Approx. cost per serving (based on Tesco prices): 23p

Making Olive and onion scones: the Steph Martin Creative experience…

This was the final recipe I made for the day.

I have a new-found respect for YouTubers that do bulk cooking videos and make it look effortless; I was about ready to drop and my kitchen looked like a bombsite.

I’ve tried a few times to make scones and they’ve always been flat, so I was excited to try this recipe.

Sadly, flatness struck again. While there were no pictures with this recipe to confirm exactly what they should look like, I’m pretty sure having barely risen scones wasn’t the goal.

However, I think this result was probably because the dough got warm and instead of making eight large scones, I made many small ones. User error, rather than recipe error.

But despite this… they were delicious. I wasn’t sure how olive and onion would be as a combination but the flavour was subtle, both savoury and sweet, and the scones made great elevenses. They were also really easy to make and inexpensive. A win-win!

My rating: 8/10 – if they’d actually risen, I’d have gone 10/10.

Husband’s rating: 8/10 – said they were nice.

Would I make it again?: Definitely!

The overall experience

I really enjoyed looking through the books and learning more about each charity. I feel there are two reasons to use a charity cookbook:

1. If you buy it and the royalties go to the charity, you’re helping do good,

2. Even if you borrow it, instead of buying it, it still increases your awareness of what the charity does, which may lead to you supporting it in the future.

Have you ever used a charity cookbook? Let me know on LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Let’s connect

If you think Steph Martin Creative (that’s me!) can help your business, charity or community-focused organisation with their communications, please drop an email to hello@stephmartincreative.com.

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