Take a moment to think about your favourite foods. I’m sure that some of them are the dishes you loved when you were young, and may have been made by parents, grandparents or other caregivers. The sights, sounds and smells can fill us with memories and eating them now often takes us right back.
With the Generations Swap Cookbook we are offering people of all ages a way to make a collective record of the dishes they love to share with future generations. In partnership with Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group and the #iwill Fund, a £50 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities, we’ll be supporting groups of young people across the country to connect with their older neighbours and get swapping!
We welcome all types of recipes - from an elaborately decorated cake to a favourite staple dinner, or even a simple basket of fresh fruit! The important thing is that they are recipes that hold a special place in people’s hearts.
We know that swapping food can bring people together and we’re encouraging everyone taking part to have conversations about the food they love - on the phone, via video or by post asking all sorts of questions. How has food changed over the decades? What are the new and future foods that people are eating now? Does this food bring back any memories? Maybe even a sample of your favourite recipe could be sent in the post.
We’ll pull all the recipes together into a cookbook that will be printed and sent to everyone who has contributed. The cookbook will contain recipes from people of all ages across the UK, creating an eclectic mix of food, stories and memories which reflect on the past and look forward to the future when hopefully we can sit around the same table and share food in person once again.
Want to take part? We’d love to hear from you!
If you have a favourite recipe that you’d like to add to the cookbook then you can download our recipe card here and send us a photo at hello@incommon.org.uk. Then get swapping with an older or younger friend!
