The Real Junk Food Project

Drawing its inspiration from the Real Junk Food Project which was founded in Leeds in 2013, Donna McArdle and Charlie Hanks have brought an Edinburgh project into being. It had its first outing at Union Of Genius, a couple of weeks back.

The issue of food waste is central to a number of existing local endeavours, not least Zero Waste Scotland and the work of the Cyrenians in Edinburgh. What TRJFP adds is the idea of taking the food and transforming it into dishes for sale through cafe and pop-up outlets. It uses a Pay as You Feel model of charging.

Having gleaned much of the core vegetable selection from a field at Knowes Farm near Dunbar, they have delivered a personally handled field-to-fork experience. This has been augmented by the involvement of a number of local projects, such as Dig-In and Grow Stronger, as well as generous bread support from the folks at Breadshare.

I was joined on this visit by Amy, who is an integral part of the Union of Genius team. She rather enjoyed having other peeps serving her some delicious food in her usual workplace.

I got the opportunity to go and meet the team in the kitchen who were working at a furious pace to meet the considerable demand. Everything looked rather impressive, so we soon joined the queue to sample things.

We had a go at most of the items on offer. I started with deliciously fresh cabbage and tarragon soup. It was hearty and nourishing fare.

I followed with a warmly spiced potato and sprout curry which hit the spot very nicely.

I had a little corner of the mushroom and tomato brushetta which was lovely. Amy wolfed her potato cakes and beetroot, while I perched and chatted to a steady stream of familiar faces.

Amy couldn’t resist sampling the sweet treats with an impressive looking rhubarb crumble being pronounced a winner.

So overall, I was delighted with the excellent fare on offer from Edinburgh’s Real Junk Food Project. They’ll be appearing every second Sunday at Union of Genius, with the next one on 15 March. I’d strongly recommend a visit to support this outstanding initiative that is serving high quality dishes. The project is looking for volunteers to support the highly committed team already in place. If you like the sound of that, check out their Facebook page and get in contact.