WeekendFREE Issue 649 | 25May 2023 HARRY Stuart Maconie lauds the former X Factor hopeful-turned global superstar as he embarks on another sell-out tour, p40 OF FOR THE LOVE MAKING A DIFFERENCE How Foster Care Fortnight can help transform lives of children p2 SURANNE JONES The actor on dealing with grief, double lives and packed lunches p10 FUTURE FOOD STARS The winning semi-final recipe in Gordon Ramsay’s hit TV show p31 OFFERS Great savings on selected products fromWaitrose p48
2 25 MAY 2023 News&Views Michael Ewins was 10 when he was put into care. He’d lost his muma few years earlier and lived with several foster families and in residential care before, aged 14, being placed with the couple that would change his life. “They are, for all intents and purposes, my family,” saysMichael, a Partner and brand assurancemanager atWaitrose. “They are brilliant. They’re grandparents tomy two boys now and they’ve always been there for me, even as an adult. “Residential care has its place, but for me it felt alien. I missed the family environment where you talk about your day and watch TV together,” he adds. “To get that back was important for me and I’ll always be grateful.” More than 98,000 children are in care on any one day in the UK. Of these, nearly 70,000 live with almost 55,000 foster families – but more are always urgently needed. That’s why Foster Care Fortnight, which runs until Sunday (28May), was founded by charity The Fostering Network in 1997. It aims to raise awareness and show how o ering a safe and loving home can transform the life of a vulnerable child. Fostering was the focus of the 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert, which featured a couple welcoming foster child Ellie into their home. It alsomarked the launch of the Partnership’s Building Happier Futures employment scheme, o ering training and jobs to young people from care backgrounds. “Seeing the ad was emotional,” recalls Michael. “But what was meaningful was seeing the Partnership taking that step and “Our current foster child has been with us for threemonths and it’s been amassive rollercoaster of emotions, but we’re just starting to see the incredible person that she can really be, because she’s now starting to feel safe. She trusts us and knows it doesn’t matter what she’s doing, we’re still going to give her the care that she needs.” Michael echoes how important this emotional back-up is. “A foster family has the chance to change someone’s entire life,” he says. “The care, support and understanding you get during childhood is vital, because it helps you to process your emotions when you’re older. “I’m41 now andmy foster family has helpedme shape how I want to be as a dad, how I want to livemy life, my values, my career – that’s all come from them. They’ve made amassive di erence, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.” For more information on fostering, visit thefosteringnetwork.org.uk FORMING BONDS Sarah Radley and her family (left); the John Lewis ad that launched the Building Happier Futures scheme (below); Michael Ewins with his son (bottom) GIVING THE GIFT OF LOVE AND SAFETY It’s Foster Care Fortnight and a leading charity is calling on us all to consider opening our homes to a vulnerable child, writes Emma Higginbotham going: ‘So, how can wemake a real di erence to this group of people in the long term?’ It’s brilliant to see that work taking place.” The Partnership, which is the largest organisation to be awarded Fostering Friendly accreditation by The Fostering Network, has announced that it will o er an extra week’s paid leave to all new foster carers within the business. Sarah Radley, Partner and storemanager at London’sMill Hill store, says this will be widely welcomed. “There are a lot of meetings and ongoing training,” she explains. “That extra weekwill also give Partners the opportunity to take a day o for the young person’s birthday, or attend their school events. It gives flexibility.” Sarah and her husband began fostering nearly three years ago. “We had the space in our home and our hearts to support those that hadn’t had the opportunities that our own daughters, who are 16 and 17, have had,” she says. “It’s hard work and challenging, but there are good times as well. ‘A foster family can change someone’s life. The care, support and understanding you get in childhood is vital’ Picture posed by models Cover Photograph: Anthony Pham / Getty Images
3 25 MAY 2023 G O O D N E W S I N B R I E F This week’s uplifting stories fromAnna-Marie Julyan Time capsule tree A 28-metre tall Patagonian cypress in Chile could be named the world’s oldest tree, after scientists investigating its age said they believe it could be more than 5,000 years old. This would make The Great Grandfather (above) older than Methuselah – a 4,850-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine in California. The rings inside these ancient trees record Earth’s history, from earthquakes to climate changes. Medical marvels The Hunterian Museum, whose collections trace the art and science of surgery from the 17th century to the present day, reopened in London this month after six years and a £4.6 million redevelopment. Based at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in central London, entry is free to see its 2,000 anatomical specimens, paintings and archival material – one of the world’s most important medical collections. Dinosaur fish The sturgeon’s ancestors predate dinosaurs, but these armoured sh were extinct in the UK by the 80s. Now conservationists have launched a 10-year plan to bring them back. “Growing up to ve metres in length, with long barbels and diamond-shaped plates along their backs, sturgeons look like they’ve swum straight out of a palaeontologist’s textbook,” says Hannah McCormick of the Zoological Society of London. Super suppers Chefs including Melissa Hemsley and Atul Kochhar have shared their favourite sustainable suppers free online, with recipes including parsnip dal with pink pickled onions and Bengali cauli ower and potatoes panch phoron gobi. They’re supporting the World Hunger Day campaign to host a sustainable supper on Sunday (28 May) to raise funds for projects around the world. worldhungerday.org Greek grandmothers share cooking secrets If you thought the food of Greece was all about moussaka, tzatziki and Greek salad, then think again. Inspired by her own grandmother – or yiayia – AnastasiaMiari toured the country in 2022, visiting yiayiades’ homes to capture the regional recipes in danger of being lost for her new book, Yiayia. “This is the last generation of women that aren’t recording everything like we do now,” says Anastasia, who shares their oftenmoving anecdotes alongside the recipes. “They crossed continents, lived through wars and had a lot of crazy experiences. It was a real eyeopener for me, building up the history of Greece through their stories.” The dishes, organised into chapters on sharing, comforting, feasting and treating, include lentil soup fromCorfu, wild greens and feta pie fromPontus, baked butter beans fromThessaloniki, and roast leg of lamb with oranges and potatoes fromCrete. “Loads of the recipes are really easy – these women were raising families,” explains Anastasia, whose own yiayia – also called Anastasia – looked after her as a child while her parents worked. “There’s a big emphasis on sitting down with the family, eating ameal together and stopping everything to enjoy what these women put on the table. We are being raised in a ‘want it now’, ‘shove a sandwich down at the desk’ world – it feels quite pertinent to look back at how these women cook and consume food, and how they viewwhat it is to sustain yourself.” As founder of theMatriarch Eats brand, Anastasia has been interviewing the world’s grandmothers for six years. She also cowrote Grand Dishes, a book of stories and recipes from grandmothers of the globe, in 2021. Anna-Marie Julyan WORDS OF WISDOM Anastasia with her yiayia (below); roast leg of lamb with oranges and potatoes from Crete (bottom) UK HOMES GO SOLAR Installing solar panels is a growing trend, as homeowners look to reduce their energy bills and do their bit for the environment. According to government gures, there are more than 13,000 new domestic installations every month, with 19,465 this March alone – the highest number since 2015. Overall, there’s been a 5.3% increase in solar capacity since March 2022, which suggests a sunny outlook for the UK’s net zero future. Comedian, presenter and dumpling lover Nish Kumar (above) is this week’s guest onWaitrose podcast Dish. He tells Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshawabout sampling brain curry inMumbai, collecting an ‘astonishing’ range of hot sauces, and having his Wiki page edited to include a fictitious TV chat show called Nude With Nish. Angela gives amasterclass in gnocchi making. waitrose.com/dish Naked truth fromNish Photographs: Getty Images, Chris Blacklay, Marco Arguello
5 25 MAY 2023 News&Views Photographs: Getty Images 1 BAG A NATIONAL TRUST BARGAIN For a rustic approach, there are bothies and bunkhouses available to hire at nationaltrust.org.uk. “Staying in a bothy is often called ‘camping with walls’ as there is no electricity or running water,” says Guardian travel writer Rachel Dixon. A bunkhouse is a step up, and perfect for a group, with water, showers, electricity and heating. Up to 17 people can stay at the Penrose bunkhouse on the SouthWest Coast Path in Devon, with prices starting at £608 per night. Nearby Foreland bothy costs from£30 a night for four people. 2 SWAP OR HOUSESIT Home swappingmeans you can visit places for aminimum to no accommodation fee. Leading the field 5 WAYS TO BOOK A BARGAIN BREAK Travel association Abta says 22% of us hope to save on holiday accommodation this year. Anna Shepard offers some tips is homeexchange.comand homestay.com, operating inmore than 150 countries, and overseeing agreements between the two parties. If you don’t fancy having strangers in your home, and are happy to care for pets, try housesittersuk.co.uk (£29 for annual membership). 3 STAY IN STUDENT DIGS A night in a hotel in a historic city such as Oxford or Cambridge can be expensive, but if you’re happy with a no-frills approach, check out universityrooms.com, which o ers student accommodation. “Oxbridge colleges book up quickly, but there is still good availability at themoment,” says Rachel. “It’s a unique chance to sleep amid the dreaming spires.” An ensuite single room in Christ Church College, Oxford, starts at £76. 4 HEAD TO A HOSTEL The YouthHostel Association (YHA) has more than 150 hostels in England andWales, from camping barns to glamping cabins and private rooms to cheaper dorm-style accommodation. Some have ensuite rooms from£30 per night, although youmust bring a towel. “You can exclusively hire a hostel, with prices starting at around £200 a night,” says Rachel. YHAHelmsley, inNorth Yorkshire, costs £349 for hire and sleeps 40. 5 TRY A MONASTERY “There are 36monasteries and religious centres in Britain that host guests at monasteries. com, andmanymore across Europe, fromaround £35 per night,” says Rachel. Meals are often included, but you could be expected to eat with themonks. The Friars, in Kent, is a 80-bedroommedieval Priory house and a single room costs £60 a night. Whether hot and bubbling on toast or partnered with pickle in a sandwich, Cheddar answers the need for last-minutemeals. Now the kitchen staple has trounced its rivals to be named Supreme Champion at the Virtual Cheese Awards two years in a row. This year’s winner, crowned after a live eight-hour final, isMontgomery’sMature Traditional Cheddar, whichwowed judges with its sweet, nutty caramel flavour, depth and crumbly texture. Made by the third generation of theMontgomery family, whose cows graze the Cadbury, Somerset pastures, it nowhas the chance to pitch for aWaitrose listing. Last year’s winner, Keen’s Cheddar, is already available in stores, along with around 250 other British cheeses. It’s not been an easy time for the nation’s cheesemakers, with energy and price rises hitting hard on the back of Covid-19, says Sarah deWit, who cofounded the awards in 2020 to help support the industry. “We’ve had 250 cheeses entered in our 2023 awards from85 British dairies, which even in a tough economic environment, shows that cheesemakers want to celebrate and showcase their expertise,” she says. Waitrose Partner and cheese buyer Sarah Miness joined 10 other cheese experts on the judging panel, sharing thoughts on 41 shortlisted cheeses live with an online audience on 17May. “The online format is great,” says Sarah. “It brings the judging out frombehind closed doors, allowing cheesemakers to see and hear how their cheese fares.” Highland cheese Connage Aged Gouda came second, while third place was awared toMrs Kirkham’s Tasty Lancashire, the last remaining rawmilk producer in the county. It is stocked byWaitrose along withWelsh regional winner Rock Star, from the Snowdonia Cheese Company. Anna-Marie Julyan Cheddar claims top honour at cheese awards JUST CHAMPION Montgomery’s Mature Traditional Cheddar RIGHT PRICE Cheap places to stay can be found, like this bothy in Scotland From cherry to plum and vine to heirloom, more than 25 types of tomatoes can be found at Waitrose throughout the year. With the homegrown season in full swing and British Tomato Fortnight (29 May-11 June) on the horizon, why not experiment? Try Jack Hawkins beef tomatoes, as big as your hand and ripened on the Isle of Wight; plump San Marzano from Yorkshire in sandwiches; Humberside simmered into a sauce or sweet UK-grown cherry varieties baked into focaccia. See waitrose.com/recipes for more inspiration. 25
6 25 MAY 2023 News&Views “Fun,” says Ben Aitken, “is a funny thing.” And he should know – in late 2021, the “increasingly flat and decreasingly zen” writer decided to spend the next year dedicating himself to the pursuit of fun in all its forms, fromfishing to flying, lawn bowls to line dancing, and all points in between. “A couple of things happened,” explains Ben, of the inspiration behind his quest. “I did one of those ridiculous online health and personality tests that’s supposed tomeasure how you’re doing at life. And I got 2.7 out of 10. Then I got on amachine at the gym that gaveme a biological age of 54. I’m37! So then I thought I’d pursue fun, and see what happened…” What followed was a year of extremes that took the Londoner into the sky, flying loops in a biplane, and out to sea, on a Baltic cruise – but also to afternoon bingo and his local community garden. Key to his mission, says Ben, was the theory that fun is amore attainable goal than happiness. “My MY YEAR OF FUN Author Ben Aitken devoted 12months of his life to having as good a time as possible. But did it make himhappier? Paul Kirkley finds out o his cares at an ‘ecstatic dancing’ session, and found an unlikely new vocation as a cheerleader. He also found fun in simple pleasures – like sitting on his favourite bench on Primrose Hill, north London (“it’s great for watching the world go by, like a sort of verymellowNetflix drama”) – and in doing voluntary work at a community library. “What’s fun about volunteering? The pseudoscientific answer is that it releases a chemical called oxytocin – aka the cuddle hormone – that rewards us for doing nice things. It makes us feel good about ourselves.” ‘Fun is vague – it’s slippery, fickle and fragile. But it creates space that helps to relieve stress’ JOYFUL JAPES Ben tries rollerblading in Hyde Park (above); and snowboarding in the Alps with his cousins (above right) In focus hunch was that fun is easier to target. Fun is still vague – it’s slippery and fickle and fragile. But it’s something you can go after – you can learn Swedish or bakemu ns. It feels easier to pursue, and obtain. And it creates a space that helps to relieve stress.” Not everything in Ben’s ‘funathon’ – now chronicled in a funny, uplifting new book, Here Comes the Fun – lived up to the billing. He “still has nightmares” about his flying experience, and remains ba ed by the craze for cold water swimming. “I gave it a good go,” he insists. “But I just don’t see what people are getting out of it. “One of the things I’ve learned about fun is that it’s important to knowwhen to stop. If it’s not working after the second or third time, get out of that pond. There’s also a relationship between fun and competence,” he adds – hence his failure to find the joy in everything from cryptic crosswords to downhill skiing. But there were plenty of activities that did deliver fun. He loved cookery classes, shook
7 25 MAY 2023 FI GLOVER The journalist and broadcaster has her say Inmy opinion HAPPIER DAYS Britain is starting to get a bit happier again, according to the latest data In the O ce for National Statistics’ 2022 personal wellbeing survey, Brits gave themselves an average happiness rating of 7.54 out of 10. That’s up 0.15 – but below levels prior to the pandemic, when people reported a reduction in happiness and increased anxiety. The 2023 World Happiness Report saw Finland topping the table of happiest countries for the sixth year running, with the UK dropping two places to 19th (out of 137). A Rightmove poll named St Ives in Cornwall (below) as the happiest place in Britain, while a survey by Lindt found the top ve activities that make us happy are: 1) A good night’s sleep; 2) a sunny morning walk; 3) a hug; 4) sunny mornings; 5) time spent with friends and family. The 2021 census revealed an interesting new fact – that more than half of 20- to 24-year-olds still live with their parents. I think we knowwhy – rent rises, the goal of owning a home, overcrowded cities and the cramped employment landscape. There will be other factors for many young people, of course – anxiety from the pandemic years, the obvious appeal of someone else’s larder and laundry facilities, plus the possibility that they actually like their parents. I’mhoping those last three will keepmy two withme for years to come. They are approaching exactly that census age category. I could not have been happier to see these results, because I have ostrich syndrome, the little known but equally powerful precursor to empty nest syndrome. Ostrich syndrome is where you, the parent, put your head in the sand so you cannot see the horizon which you’re creeping towards. It enables you to ignore the fact that the amazing creatures who have been constantly by your side will no longer be just a hug away. It allows you to carry on in the face of the biggest change in your life since it changed when they arrived. And it’s clever, because it enables you to function on two levels. Ostrich syndrome allows you to showwild enthusiasm for university choices and the big wide world, while refusing to accept that soon there will be no damp towels on the floor, sections of the fridge won’t disappear overnight, windows won’t be left wide open and there’ll be no shaving foam to scrape o basins. All things that I amgoing tomiss hu ng and pu ng about. Genuinely. Ostrich syndrome is a life jacket in a stormy sea. If I didn’t have it on right now I’d be weeping intomy cup of tea – although I’d have to find one first by looking under my son’s bed. And that might break the spell. But if I had to face the fact that in 12months’ time I won’t be welcomed home from work by two voices shouting frombehind bedroomdoors, I’d be emotional toast. Howwill I function without someone to download apps and explainHDMI cables? That’s before we get to the importance of pronouns and why AndrewTate became so famous. And that’s before we get to those hugs – I had no idea about the sheer joy of the hugs. If you have ostrich syndrome, it’s important to turn these census results on their head. What they actually tell us is that half of parents still live with their children. At least that’s the way we’re going to see it, right?What a comforting result. Fi Glover and Jane Garvey’s show runs on Times Radio from3-5pm, Monday to Thursday. @fifiglover ‘Ostrich syndrome enables you to ignore the fact that the amazing creatures who have been by your side will no longer just be a hug away’ “I did feel better for the experience. I’m still prone to periods of inertia and self-pity. And when I got back on that machine at the gym, I’d actually put on 18months,” he laughs. “But I do feel I’ve got a sharper, slightlymore refined sense of fun. When I’m out and about, I’m looking for silliness, looking to engagemore with people.” And is he – very big word, this – happier? “I’m happier more often,” he says. “As I understand it, happiness comes in bursts, and I feel those bursts more frequently. I’mmore open to them. So I’m in a better head space, generally.” Ultimately, says Ben, he’s learned that fun is a subjective experience in the eye of the beholder. One piece of advice for those looking to increase fun in their lives? “There’s amillion things you can do,” he says, “and just one thing you can’t – and that’s do nothing. If you just make some small e ort, then you’ll collide with fun.” Don’t knowwhere to start? “Pick a bench and sit on it,” says Ben. “And leave your phone at home.” Here Comes the Fun: A Year of MakingMerry (Icon) by Ben Aitken is out now. @benaitken85 For Ben – whose previous books include The Marmalade Diaries, about his time house sharing with an 85-year-old widow – an important part of having fun is the people youmeet along the way. “They say hell is other people, but I’d argue fun is other people,” he says. “Research shows that, if you do something fun, it will elicit a bunch of happy hormones and chemicals. But if you do the same fun thing with other people, the result can double.” Fun is also “as much about taking things out as putting them in,” says Ben – who’s swapped his timestealing smartphone for a very basic handset. This mental decluttering is part of what Ben describes as the ‘back door’ approach to fun – the theory that, themore open you are to having fun, the easier you’ll hear it when it comes knocking. It’s also about “protecting and cherishing our inner child,” he says. “Children are full of wonder – they’re less self-conscious, more gung ho, andmore innocent. Experience is the enemy of fun.” Sixmonths on from the end of his experiment, is Ben still havingmore fun? “Yeah, I am,” he says. “I’m still playing football – and the ukulele. I’m cooking more, and I’m still cheerleading, believe it or not. BE MERRY (Top, left to right): Ben cools o after ecstatic dancing in Hackney Wick; telling a goat his woes; hitting the skies in a 1938 biplane; making jam at Tiptree farm, Essex Photographs: Alamy Stock Photo
9 25 MAY 2023 News&Views THE LAST HURRAH It’s August 1981 at the Gloucestershire home of the Dutch ambassador Robbert Fack. And the Monty Python-esque character hurtling down the hill is Crispin Balfour, of the Dangerous Sports Club, who were holding a tea party there. The image, along with others from the time, appears in a new book, England: The Last Hurrah (ACC Art Books), by photographer Dafydd Jones, who has worked for The Times, The Daily Telegraph and Tatler in a career that started in the 80s. “As I started choosing images for the book, I realised they really do capture a time and place that’s disappeared,” he said. Faith Eckersall The big picture Photographs: Dafydd Jones
1 0 25 MAY 2023 News&Views After an intense few years, on screen and off, Suranne Jones is enjoying being captain of her own ship. “Some people have a podcast – I share through drama,” she tells Paul Kirkley COMING UP FOR AIR Photographs: Oliver Mayhall/BAFTA/Contour by Getty Images
1 1 25 MAY 2023 It’s nearly two years since DCI Amy Silva narrowly escaped a watery grave aboardHMS Vigil. But when Weekend catches up with Suranne Jones at home in north London, she’s back in the belly of the beast (metaphorically speaking), submerged beneath scripts for the hit conspiracy thriller’s second series. “I’m trying to get through them, andmy attention is all over the place,” she admits, cheerfully. “I find it really hard, just before I’mabout to do a job, and I’ve a lot of episodes to get intomy head. But it’s all good.” With an audience of more than 13million, Vigil – which saw the troubled inspector Silva conducting amurder investigation in the claustrophobic confines of a nuclear submarine running deep o the Scottish coast – was the UK’s most-watched new drama launch for three years. “I loved the way people were invested in it,” Suranne says. “I think, after lockdown, people just needed that sort of heightened drama. And the fact it was weekly – it wasn’t all there for us, so it became a real talking point as each episode went out.” That said, it was such a – literally – self-contained story, even its biggest fans (of which I’d count myself one) could be forgiven for being sceptical about how a second series might possibly work. And they’re not the only ones. “I needed convincing, for sure,” says Suranne. “Because Vigil was the submarine, and… it’s not on a submarine, is the short answer.” Are they putting you on a space shuttle or something this time? “Er, that would be interesting. But no.” In fact, the BBC has revealed that the next series will see Amy and her colleague-lover, Rose Leslie’s DI Kirsten Longacre, investigating “the hostile and closed ranks of the RAF”. Before that, though, we’ll see Suranne in a very di erent proposition, as the star and cocreator of new ITVX drama Maryland. The series, written by Anne-Marie O’Connor, begins with a woman’s body being discovered on a beach on the Isle of Man, which proves to be a double shock for her daughters – down-to-earthmother of two Becca (Suranne) and her high-flying sister Rosaline (Eve Best) – who had no idea their mother had been leading a secret double life on the island for years. If that sounds like the premise for your standard schlocky ‘psychological thriller’, then the good news is Maryland eschews the usual ‘twisted web of secrets and lies’ clichés in favour of somethingmore real and honest. If Vigil was ‘heightened drama’, this is muchmore grounded, in both senses of the word. “We just felt we wanted tomake a kind of old-fashioned drama that concentrated on a family,” explains Suranne. “We didn’t want any extra bells and whistles that weren’t needed. That’s howwemanaged to get [Line of Duty director] Sue Tully on board. She said: ‘When I read it, I kept expecting it to be something else, and it wasn’t. It’s just about what it’s about.’ We wanted tomake it a sensational story, but froma very ordinary perspective. “When you pull back the curtain onmost families, there are stories like this,” she adds. “It’s a universal thing – the way
12 25 MAY 2023 that families label everybody at a very early age, and howwe sometimes find it hard to get out of that. Especially if you’ve grown away fromeach other.” Becca and Rosaline do not have the best of relationships. “My initial treatment was about the two sisters, finding their mother had this other life,” says Suranne. “That’s what I took to Anne-Marie, and she was very interested in exploring double lives – particularly a double life that’s a woman.” Eve Best filmed Maryland between seasons of HBO fantasy epic House of the Dragon, in which she plays thwarted queen Rhaenys Targaryen. “She came straight from that to us – to this small little cast in Ireland [doubling for the Isle of Man],” says Suranne. “Quite a contrast in scale.” Additional star wattage is provided by Grease and TheWest Wing legend Stockard Channing. “We always wanted her as Kathy, who’s this kind of 70-plus rock and roll-type woman – a woman who’s lived a life,” says Suranne. “Even in the writer’s room, we kept saying: ‘When Stockard agrees to play this…’ So we couldn’t believe it when she said yes.” The sequence in the first episode when the sisters go in to identify their mother’s body is a strikingly visceral portrait of raw grief fromSuranne, who lost her ownmumJenny to vascular dementia in 2016, and her dad Chris to Covid-19 in January 2021 (following threemonths in ICUwhen family were unable to visit him). As an actor, is she inevitably channelling her own experiences in a scene like that? “Obviously I know about loss,” she considers. “I’ve lost bothmy parents. And I know about care –mymumwas cared for by us at home, then in a care home. So that was obviously part of our discussion, when we were developing this story. It’s never a nice experience to do something like that.” Suranne, born in Chadderton, Oldham, has a brother, Gary, but no sister of her own. Did Maryland make her wish she had one? “You never knowwhat you’re going to get, do you?” she smiles. “But I think the sister relationship isn’t one that’s shown enough on TV. That’s one of the reasons people love Happy Valley – for those conversations between Sarah [Lancashire] and Siobhan [Finneran].” It’s the same reason she values her close female friendships – who she considers sisters in all but name. “And after losing amother, I think it’s evenmore important,” she says. “Sally Lindsay, JennieMcAlpine, Jennifer James – Jennifer Boardman now – I met at Corrie. I’ve got lovely relationships with all those women. Anne-Marie is a great friend, as is Fearne Cotton. They’re really important tome.” Coronation Street, of course, was wheremost of us first met the former Sarah Anne Jones, too – as bighearted bruiser KarenMcDonald, she caused chaos on the Corrie cobbles between 2000 and 2004. A graduate of OldhamTheatre Workshop, who’d been acting on stage since the age of eight, Suranne hadmade the final four for the role of Charity Dingle in Emmerdale. But it was as Karen – memorably described by one critic as “a bulldog in hoop earrings” – that she earned her place in Coronation Street’s proud lineage of strong but vulnerable women. Over the years, the soap has proved a consistent hothouse for female talent, in particular – is that something to do with CENTRE STAGE Suranne as Anne Lister with Sophie Rundle (Ann Walker) in Gentleman Jack (left); as DCI Amy Silva in Vigil (below); alongside Eve Best in Maryland (bottom) creator TonyWarren’s vision of the show being about ‘women and their menfolk’ (in that order)? “Yeah, I think so,” says Suranne. “It was the soap that resonated with the women inmy family. So he was obviously doing something right. I didn’t go to drama school, so that showwas part of how I learned everything – by being chucked in the deep end. I had a great time,” she adds. “Corrie is just brilliant.” For a few years after leaving, Suranne worried shemight struggle to escape Karen’s long shadow – until she landed the lead role in former Corrie writer SallyWainwright’s 2009 drama Unforgiven, about a convicted killer being released fromprison. “That was a game changer,” she says. “People started to seeme in a di erent way. And it alsomademe realise: ‘Oh, there are di erent ways you can do this [career]’. It gaveme the confidence I needed to start to say no to jobs.” She began generating her own projects with police drama Scott & Bailey – which she created with Sally Lindsay, and on which SallyWainwright was head writer – and earned every prize going, including a Bafta and a National Television Award, for her role as a wronged wife in watercooler sensation Doctor Foster. More recently, she teamed up withWainwright again to play Anne Lister – the 19th-century Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, diarist, traveller and taboo-shattering lesbian icon – for the highly acclaimed Gentleman Jack. It was a barnstorming performance – all buccaneering swagger and Fleabag-style side-eye – that helped earn the show a devoted audience, especially among gay women. But the BBC andHBO, whomade it, recently announced it wasn’t being renewed for a third series. “I’m really sad for the fans,” says Suranne. “As an actor, you get used to it. Inmy line of work, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. So you go, OK, deep breath… and the jigsaw sort of goes on. But I felt the fans were really heartbroken, and that’s sad.” Some fans even crowdfunded a #SaveGentlemanJack billboard inNewYork’s Times Square. “I mean, what News&Views Photographs: BBC, BBC/World Productions/ Mark Mainz, ITVX, Shutterstock, Getty Images
13 25 MAY 2023 a passion,” says Suranne. “I can only honour themby continuing to be a friend and an ally.” She’s also thankful, she adds, for the way in which the show has helped restore Anne – who’d previously been somewhat erased fromhistory – to prominence, including a festival and a statue (unveiled by Suranne) in her hometown of Halifax. At 44, Suranne is enjoying being captain of her own ship. She has her own production company, TeamAkers, with her husband Laurence Akers (who shemet at Sally Lindsay’s wedding). “In a way, I’ve been doing it for 20 years,” she says. “That’s when Sally and I came up with the idea of Scott & Bailey. So it felt like a natural progression to want to develop my own ideas withmy husband. I’mmore of a creativemind, whereas he puts together… all the bits I can’t do!” She’s also acquired enough industry clout to be able to turn down work if it clashes with her seven-year-old son’s school holidays. “That’s really important,” she says. “As amother who goes away a lot to work, knowing that I can then givemy child the whole of the summer is a gift for both of us.” What’s a famous Oldham delicacy? Everyone from Oldham will know Pizza & Potato Factory [takeaway]. When I was at the Theatre Workshop, me, Antony Cotton, Lisa Riley, Jane Danson and Andrew Whyment would go down there, and it’s what it says on the tin – it’s a pizza or a jacket potato. It was delicious. What are you having for your tea? I’ve bought some pasta and prawns, so I’ll do a prawn pasta (right). I’ll probably put a bit of Philadelphia in as well. F O O D B I T E S Are you a good cook? My husband says I’m an… interesting cook. When we rst met, I used to make sandwiches for him to take to work, and his mates would all be like: ‘What’s she put in it there today?’ I tended to add things that didn’t really go with the rest of the sandwich. But you couldn’t knock my enthusiasm. ‘I didn’t go to drama school, so Corrie was part of how I learned everything – by being chucked in the deep end. I had a great time’ HAPPY TIMES Suranne (above) and with husband Laurence Akers (left), with whom she runs a production company At Christmas, she starred as amodern-day Scrooge in Sky’s family comedy Christmas Carole, partly so her son could actually watch her in something (though he had seen her read the CBeebies Bedtime Story and play the TARDIS – it’s complicated – in DoctorWho). But most of her roles tend to be “intense” – nonemore so than 2021’s Channel 4 drama I AmVictoria, a very personal collaboration with writerdirector Dominic Savage with its roots in what Suranne has called “a small nervous breakdown” she su ered in 2018. Looking back, she’s said it was probably a combination of unprocessed grief fromher mother’s death and her role in the harrowingWest End play Frozen, in which she played themother of amurdered child (and fromwhich she was forced to withdraw before the final few performances). “I wanted to put on screen what I’d been through,” she says. “And I was very lucky to have Dominic guideme in that. Some people have podcasts, but mymedium is drama, so I love to share through that.” It isn’t her only outlet, though – Suranne is a great advocate for therapy, which she first started to help her cope with the attention that came with Corrie. “I’ve been having talking therapy for years and it’s been very important for me,” she says. “It’s important we talk about mental health issues.” Maryland – which has an all-female exec team– is “a di erent way of looking at women’s issues,” she says. “It’s not as focused as something like I AmVictoria, but I think women will identify with issues of caring for someone, or feeling premenopausal or menopausal, or being dissatisfied or aggrieved with issues that haven’t been resolved.” That said, she hopes – to use TonyWarren’s phrase – both ‘women and their menfolk’ will get a lot from it. “It’s a female show that’s predominantly froma female perspective,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean it’s just for girls.” Maryland is streaming on ITVX now
14 25 MAY 2023 No.1 Green Vegetable Medley £3.50/225g A fresh-tasting side dish of petits pois, Tenderstem broccoli and cavolo nero with a lemon zest and roasted garlic purée dressing. No.1 Chicken Cacio e Pepe £9/530g Chicken breasts in a creamy sauce made with parmesan and cracked black pepper, with butter beans, tomatoes and a crisp parsley crumb. O er ends 31 October. Prices correct at time of going to print. Selected stores. Subject to availability. MAIN + SIDE + STARTER OR DESSERT OurVery Best Dine In ForTwo No.1 Antipasti Misto £3.75/65g A selection of Italian cured pork with slices of silky Prosciutto di Parma and aromatic, delicately avoured Salame Brianza. £12
25 MAY 2023 1 5 Food&Drink ALISON OAKERVEE Partner & food and drink editor What’s For Dinner? p16 Short Cuts p20 Too Good ToWaste with Elly Curshen p21 The Best with Martha Collison p24 Weekend Cooking with DianaHenry p27 Future Food Stars with SamandAmy p31 Very Important Producer p32 Wine List with Pierpaolo Petrassi MW p34 Photographs: Con Poulos, Props: Wei Tang SUMMER SENSATION Sam and Amy take on the challenge of directing a photography shoot for strawberries, p31 Cast your mind back to last summer, and that hot spell in July. I remember it well, because I was on the judging panel for the semi- nal of the BBC One series Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars. Contestants were tasked with creating a recipe for Weekend, then preparing and photographing it – not an easy thing to keep a cool head about at the best of times, let alone on two of the hottest days of the year. They rose to the challenge admirably though, and gave us two fantastic dishes. It was tough to judge, but the blue team, aka Sam and Amy, were worthy winners.
16 25 MAY 2023 Recipes: Silvana Franco, Photographs: Toby Scott, Food styling: Joss Herd, Styling: Max Robinson, Art direction: Pippa Paine. Price may vary for items sold by weight. Costings based on customers owning store-cupboard ingredients, a full list can be found at www.waitrose.com/supersaverrecipes. Selected stores. Subject to availability. Super saver If you’re in need of easy, affordableweeknightmeals, these brilliant Super Saver dishesmake themost of our great value, great quality Essential range and store-cupboard staples, all at under £2 for delicious on-budget inspiration recipes
17 25 MAY 2023 Serves 4 Prepare 10 minutes Cook 10 minutes 250g pack Essential Cypriot Halloumi 1½ tbsp vegetable oil 2 Essential Red Peppers, deseeded and sliced 1 large Essential Onion, sliced 25g sachet Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix 2 Essential Little Gem Lettuce, shredded 4 Essential Large Tortilla Wraps 1 Essential Lime, cut into wedges 1 Cut the halloumi into 1cm strips, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large frying pan and cook the halloumi over a high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer to a plate. 2 Toss together the peppers, onion, taco seasoning and remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add to the hot pan and stir fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, until lightly browned in places. Return the halloumi to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until heated through. 3 Scatter the lettuce over the centre of each tortilla, then spoon over the fajita mixture. Serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over, then roll up to enjoy. V Per serving 2157kJ/516kcals/27g fat/14g saturated fat/ 46g carbs/13g sugars/6.7g bre/20g protein/3.3g salt Halloumi fajitas COOK’S TIP Brie y warming the wraps in a dry frying pan or microwave will make them softer and easier to roll. You won’t need to season this recipe with salt and pepper, as the taco mix and halloumi are already well avoured. Serves 4 Prepare 10 minutes + 10 minutes resting Cook 15 minutes 300g Cooks’ Ingredients Sushi Rice 2 x 160g cans Essential Tuna Chunks In Spring Water, drained 4 tbsp Essential Mayonnaise 2 tsp soy sauce 1 bunch Essential Salad Onions, nely chopped 5g pack Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins Sweet Soy & Sea Salt, nely shredded 1 Rinse the rice in cold water until it runs clear. Place in a large saucepan with 500ml cold water and bring to the boil, stirring brie y. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed. Leave to stand for 10 minutes o the heat. 2 Meanwhile, mix together the tuna, mayonnaise and soy, then check the seasoning. Gently stir in most of the salad onions. 3 Divide the warm rice between 4 small bowls and pile the tuna mixture on top. Scatter over the remaining salad onions and the seaweed and serve. Per serving 1302kJ/308kcals/5.4g fat/0.8g saturated fat/ 44g carbs/1.5g sugars/2.6g bre/20g protein/0.8g salt Tunamayo sushi rice bowls COOK’S TIP Use kitchen scissors to shred the seaweed. Thinly sliced cucumber, red onion and little gem lettuce all make good additions to this rice bowl. Food&Drink Oil (olive or vegetable) Butter Milk Honey Sugar White wine vinegar or malt vinegar Stock cubes Flour (tbsp) Salt Black pepper Garlic Dried mixed herbs Chilli akes Tomato ketchup Tomato purée Wholegrain mustard Soy sauce Curry powder STORECUPBOARD ESSENTIALS Keep these staples to hand as the base for easy weeknight meals SCAN THI S CODE FOR MORE SUPER SAVER RECI PES You can now add ingredients to your trolley from our recipe pages. Sign in to your account, book a slot and add what you need from the ‘Shop this recipe’ section further down the page.
19 25 MAY 2023 Serves 4 Prepare 10 minutes Cook 20 minutes 1 tbsp Essential Olive Oil 2 cloves garlic, nely chopped 2 red chillies, thinly sliced, deseeded if liked 400g can Essential Chopped Tomatoes In Natural Juice 300g Essential Spaghetti 2 x 200g pack cooked Scottish mussels 25g pack at leaf parsley, leaves nely chopped 1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then cook the garlic and chillies for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened and pulpy. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, lightly salted water for 8-10 minutes until tender. 2 Five minutes before the pasta is done, stir the mussels and their juices into the tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, until the mussels are piping hot. Check the seasoning. 3 Drain the spaghetti and return to the pan. Stir in the chopped parsley and a ladleful of the tomato sauce, then divide between serving bowls. Spoon the mussels (discarding any that remain closed) and remaining sauce over the spaghetti to serve. Per serving 1367kJ/324kcals/5g fat/0.8g saturated fat/ 56g carbs/4.9g sugars/4.1g bre/12g protein/0.6g salt/ 1 of your 5 a day Spaghetti with chilli & parsleymussels Serves 4 Prepare 5 minutes Cook 35-45 minutes 800g British baby potatoes, large ones halved 1kg Essential British Chicken Thighs, trimmed of excess fat 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp dried mixed herbs 1 Essential Lemon, scrubbed, zest and juice 1 tbsp Essential Olive Oil 200ml hot chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube 200g frozen Essential Garden Peas 1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Place the potatoes and chicken thighs in a large roasting tin so they sit snugly in a single layer. Tuck in the garlic cloves. 2 Scatter the herbs and lemon zest over the chicken, then season. Drizzle over the oil and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, the juices run clear, there is no pink meat and the potatoes are golden brown and tender. 3 Meanwhile, squeeze the lemon juice into the hot stock. Tip the peas into the roasting tin, giving it a shake so they settle in among the potatoes. Pour in the lemon stock, then return to the oven for 5 minutes until the peas are piping hot. Per serving 2851kJ/681kcals/33g fat/7.4g saturated fat/ 38g carbs/5.6g sugars/7.4g bre/55g protein/0.5g salt Chicken, pea & potato traybake COOK’S TIP A roast chicken and potato traybake can be adapted to suit many other avours. Try adding curry powder instead of the mixed herbs and swap half the stock for coconut milk. Or make a Spanish-inspired version by adding smoked paprika, with some extra chopped smoked bacon or chorizo. COOK’S TIP Mussels are naturally salty, so don’t season the sauce until after they’ve gone in.
20 25 MAY 2023 Food&Drink SHORT CUTS Serves 4 Ready in 10 minutes Trim and halve the round beans, then boil in lightly salted water for 4 minutes, or until just tender. Drain. Save 1 tbsp water from the lentils can, then drain the rest away. Toss the lentils, reserved water, cooked round beans, beetroot salad and 1 tbsp mustard until well coated. Pile into wide serving bowls. Remove the skin and any larger bones from the mackerel, then ake on top of the salad. Try with a dollop of Essential Soured Cream or Greek-style yogurt on the side. Lentil, bean&beet salad with smokedmackerel Essential Round Beans Essential Lentils In Water Essential Beetroot Salad Essential Wholegrain Mustard Essential Smoked Mackerel Fillets Photographs: Tim Atkins, Food styling: Troy Willis, Styling: Julie Patmore, Art direction: Corrie Heale OurVery Best Dine In ForTwo MAIN + SIDE + STARTER OR DESSERT 12 SERVES 2 £ No.1 Smoky Chicken Tikka Masala £8.25/500g No.1 Mushroom Rice £3.50/300g No.1 Raspberry Panna Cottas £4.50/2x100g O er ends 31 October. Selected lines only. Subject to availability.
21 25 MAY 2023 Food&Drink Makes 14 Prepare 15 minutes + chilling Cook 20 minutes 2 leftover medium egg whites (or 60g leftover whites from any size eggs) 180g ground almonds 140g caster sugar ¼ tsp vanilla extract ½-1 tsp amaretto or almond extract 50-75g icing sugar, sifted Soft amaretti cookies If you’vemade a custard, glazed a bun or used an egg yolk forMartha’s hollandaise (p24), you’ll find there’s more to egg white options thanmeringues or egg white omelettes. These delicious Italian cookies (known as amaretti morbidi, or soft amaretti) are quick and easy tomake. They are a great way to use up egg whites, and don’t need any flour, butter or oil. The outside is slightly crisp and the inside is soft and chewy. Because of the high fat content of ground almonds, these cookies staymoist for a while and thereforemake excellent gifts. I’vemade themwith and without the final icing sugar coating (which cracks in the oven tomake the distinctive surface decoration). Leave it out if you like, but after getting feedback from friends, I’ve decided the extra step is worth it. @ellypear EGG WHITES Too good towaste withElly Curshen 1 Put the egg whites into a large bowl with a pinch of salt. Use an electric hand mixer to beat them to sti peaks. 2 In a separate bowl, add the almonds and 90g of the caster sugar. Stir with a fork to mix well and break up any lumps. Add about ⅓ of the almond and sugar mixture to the egg whites and fold in gently with a spatula. 3 Fold in the vanilla extract and liqueur or almond extract, then add the remaining almond and sugar mixture gradually, folding gently until fully combined. The dough should have a thick paste-like texture and be quite wet. Chill for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. 4 Pour the remaining 50g caster sugar onto a plate, and the icing sugar into a small bowl. Sit the plate on a set of scales. Dampen your hands then use 2 teaspoons to drop 25g dough onto the plate of sugar. Roll the mixture into a ball between wet palms. Roll lightly into the sugar so it is entirely coated. 5 Drop the ball into the bowl of icing sugar and swill the bowl in a circular motion. MORE LEFTOVER IDEAS 1Easy nutty crumbs When crumbing tofu, sh or chicken, try swapping an egg for a mix of whisked egg white and coconut cream. Pulse a mix of bread and roasted salted peanuts to crumbs, then add sesame seeds. Dust the tofu, sh or chicken in our, then dip into the egg-coconut mixture, then the nut crumbs before cooking. 2Let’s stick together Egg white is a great natural glue for coating breads, mu ns and crackers, encouraging seeds and nuts to stick. You won’t get the golden glaze that comes with egg yolk, but it will work. It also helps to add clumps to granola. 3Freeze ahead Egg whites freeze well for up to 1 month in clean, grease-free containers and can be frozen individually in ice cube trays. If freezing multiple whites, label how many are in each pot. Thaw overnight in the fridge and use in any recipe that calls for egg whites. A medium white weighs about 30g, large about 40g. S C A N T HI S CODE F OR MOR E R E CI P E S Photographs: Ant Duncan, Food styling: Bianca Nice, Styling: Max Robinson, Art direction: Corrie Heale This will coat the ball and encourage it to form into a smooth sphere. Repeat, placing the balls onto the parchment-lined trays as you go. If you don’t have 2 trays, leave the excess balls on a plate of icing sugar until you can bake a second batch. 6 Space the balls out with gaps of at least 2cm, then bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC, gas mark 4, for 20 minutes or until pale golden, risen and cracked. Remove from the tray immediately and leave to cool on a cooling rack. V Per serving 606kJ/145kcals/6.8g fat/0.6g saturated fat/ 16g carbs/16g sugars/1g bre/3.9g protein/trace salt
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