You’re Invited to the Farm with EXKi’s Sustainable Countryside Project

18 September 2017 by Margaret Kemp    457  
You’re Invited to the Farm with EXKi’s Sustainable Countryside Project
Margaret Kemp
By Margaret Kemp
According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), nearly 30% of world food production is wasted annually. Founded in 2001 by Nicolas Steisel, Frederic Rouvez and Arnaud de Meeüs, EXKi— the chain of chic organic eateries with a “fresh and ready” mission statement– has sustainable development at the heart of their concept. Last year they decided to revive le glanage– gleaning – dating back to biblical times. You are invited to glean with EXKi (Nature’s Kitchen) and their potato producers on a bucolic farm in Melun, a southeastern suburb 30 minutes from Paris, near Brie. Gleaners (children welcome) can get down and dirty picking potatoes not harvested by the machines. They can take their harvest home or donate some – or all – of their crop to “La Mie de Pain” association helping the needy. Gleaning permits the collection of fruits and vegetables left in the fields and orchards post harvest between sunrise and sunset – without using any mechanized tools. Last year, the operation carried out in Paris and the Brussels region resulted in 1.2 tons of potatoes offered to the associations La Mie de Pain and Operation Thermos. Beyond the pleasure of enjoying the first mellow days of autumn in the countryside, why not share a friendly moment with family or friends and the passionate EXKi teams as well as the farm’s agriculturalists? See you there ! Ferme d’Eprunes, Réau, Sunday, 24th September – 3pm. Website: www.glanageetpartage.fr
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Lead photo credit : Photo: Benajmin Brolet

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By Margaret Kemp

Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !