(Don’t tell the kids: It’s educational too!)
Farm to Foodhall, The Magic Ingredient is the first ever children’s book to be sold at M&S Food and was co-created and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, with words by Linda Chapman and illustrations by Sarah Jennings. Aimed at children aged 4-9 years old, this 64-page storybook is just £5 and includes 10 different activities for families to do together during the summer holidays. A wonderful story, and hours of hands-on recipe and crafting fun sprinkled in too!
The book is an entertaining and educational story aimed at helping children to understand the importance of where their food comes from, how it can be produced with the environment in mind and of course, delicious recipes and meals that can be created too! Taking the reader on a captivating journey through the British countryside, the book explores the world of sustainable farming and is designed to provoke conversations about more ethical eating.
M&S Food is passionate about excellent quality, British grown and produced foods, and wants to ensure the next generation understand more about food and farming. A recent study by Arla* suggested 1 in 5 primary school children don’t know where milk comes from, as well as confusion about the origin of other basic foods like bread. M&S wants to do its part to help change these statistics and ensure the next generation has the tools to make informed choices and understand more about the food they consume.
Farm to Foodhall brings to life different and varied types of farming, including dairy, cherries and chicken to name just a few. We join main character Amalia, as she looks to create the perfect birthday feast for her grandad by journeying around amazing M&S Select Farms. At each stage of the journey, she discovers fun facts, recipes and activities, including building a bug hotel for the garden and creating a herb garden. There’s also a beautifully illustrated pull out map of all the amazing produce sourced by M&S from across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Juliet Matthews, Colour Publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books said: ‘We are delighted to have worked with Marks & Spencer on a truly collaborative project, creating a book that will not only entertain children but also deliver important learnings on sustainability and the journey of food from farm to foodhall.’
Lauren O’Kelly, Farm to Foodhall production team at Marks and Spencer, said: “We wanted to create a fun and engaging story for families, whilst also wrapping in recipes and activities that could keep them entertained during the summer holidays, and we couldn’t be happier with the result. Each page springs to life with the beautiful illustrations, and we hope readers enjoy Amalia’s journey as much as we did helping to create it.”
To create these delicious recipes, including cherry pie, chicken korma, salmon parcels and more, mini chefs will need some stylish kitchenware! To complement the book, M&S has created just the thing, with a limited edition set of Farm to Foodhall merchandise, including mixing bowls (£3), cookie cutters (£3), utensils (£5) and a tote bag (£3) to carry home all those ingredients too!
The book and merchandise will be in stores from July 27th, with the book priced at just £5.
