We are all spending so much time at home right now, and cooking three meals a day - especially if you have a family - can feel a bit overwhelming.
But spending time in the kitchen can also be a source of joy in lockdown, a way of finding calm, space and creating something nourishing.
There are a lot of cookbooks out there, but the Lewisham Cookbook is new one written by Londoners, about Londoners, for Londoners.
The illustrated recipe book celebrates the people and cultures that make Lewisham one of the most diverse, thriving and exciting boroughs in the capital. It is designed to help every reader learn more about the people with whom we share this part of south east London, and their lives.
Written to coincide with what would have been Lewisham’s Borough of Culture year, recipes range from jazzed up new versions of old favourites - they have a Gin and Tonic Lemon Drizzle Cake - to incredible recipes acknowledging the Syrian refugees making a home in the borough, national dishes from Nigeria, and recipes shared by the borough’s Romani community.
Produced by hyper-local, online department store House of Lewisham, the team made sure each recipe featured was chosen after speaking with local people about the meals they create and their cultural significance.
The Lewisham Cookbook also acts as a guide to the borough’s incredible local businesses - from Deptford to Downham where readers can head to find the dishes they’re learning to cook.
Food is a language without barriers. It connects past and present, allows us to dive into another culture with nothing but excitement, and leave heartened and a little wiser.
The book will be released on 15th March, you can pre-order the book from House of Lewisham here.
A percentage of sales will be split Lewisham Food Bank, an organisation which has been providing invaluable help throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and The Refugee Cafe who work with refugees to break down barriers and create opportunity, employability and community for those granted asylum in London.
