Lisa Faulker has made a name for herself in the cooking world over the last few years and now she’s fronting a new campaign to get us cooking healthier meals.
She’s working with BRITA on their new campaign so we sat her down to talk about the campaign as well as her guilty food pleasures and how she gets her family to eat healthily.
You’re working with BRITA on their Better with BRITA campaign, can you tell us a little more about that?
BRITA, and this campaign, felt like a perfect fit for me because it’s all about the raw ingredients that we cook with and thinking about how we treat those ingredients, something that I’m passionate about. I drink water all the time, it’s one of my things, but this is about thinking about how much we actually use water in our cooking as well. It really made me realise that I spend hours sourcing the best quality, freshest, seasonal ingredients and that I should give the water I use in cooking the same attention. Using a BRITA filters actually reduces the impurities in your water and therefore brings out the best flavor in food. It can also even make the food look more vibrant and delicious!
How can we all use more water in our cooking?
We actually use water more than we realise, it’s the basis of things like soup, casseroles and sorbet. So it’s not really about using water more, but instead thinking about the water that we do use and making sure that it’s filtered to be the best quality it can be. If you think about it we use it when cooking rice, boiling vegetables and of course drinking tea and coffee.
You obviously enjoy cooking, what’s your favourite dish to cook and why?
I’m such a feeder! When my family and friends come over I really enjoy cooking huge meals for them all to devour. I don’t really have a favourite dish, instead I’ll make platters for people to tuck into. Everyone will gather around my kitchen table and we’ll all have a great time eating and talking. Meals are a real family event where you can spend one on one time with those you love
You’re a mother, do you find it hard to get your daughter to eat healthily?
Billie is already a little cook and she’s not even seven yet! She knows so much about cooking that she’ll even tell her nanny what she’d like to eat and how to cook it! It’s really easy to get her to eat healthily because she’s already so interested in food, she loves growing her own herbs and making soup from scratch. She loves fruit and vegetables, in fact peashoots are currently her favourite.
What tips can you give to get the nation cooking healthier meals?
It’s all about eating in moderation and really thinking about everything that you consume. Vegetables should be seasonal so that they’re fresh and taste their best, I always try and eat fresh food and cook from scratch so I know exactly what I am eating.
What’s your guilty food pleasure?
I love to eat like the French do. They indulge in steak, bread, butter and cheese, which are all guilty pleasures of mine. I’m also partial to a glass of red wine.
If it was your last day on earth, what would be your last meal?
It would have to be a typical English Sunday roast dinner – chicken with stuffing. Oh and I’d have to have Yorkshire puddings as well.
Finally, what’s next for you?
I have a new book coming out in September, which is exciting, and I’m currently in the process of writing book number three! I’ll also be at The Big Feastival this August. I’ll be making some of the recipes that I created for BRITA using filtered water, live on the stand.
Lisa Faulkner is launching the 'Better with BRITA' campaign highlighting how she uses BRITA filtered water as an ingredient in cooking for the best tasting food and drink. For details of BRITA products go to www.brita.co.uk.
Tagged in Lisa Faulkner food Food & Drink