HFW & what's next

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is the MAN! I've been catching up on his various Channel 4 series over the last few weeks and have found his approach to food commendable and generally awesome. Hugh conveys the principles of producing and eating local meat and veg in a very effective, non-preachy way. Perhaps it's his motivations (taste, and at least some of the time, profit) that separates him from the usual image of commune/hippie/treehugger local food advocates, but he really pulls it off. Hugh's empire now includes a wide array of books, which are also presented in a very consistently strong fashion, with amazing pics throughout.

Various capitalistic notions are presented through all of his content, with the idea of Adding Value being a primary one. In his case, you can sell a nicely seasoned and cooked, say, chicken, for far more than you can a raw one, so why not take the extra step? As someone considering a fairly drastic move into a more tactile profession (though I'm looking less at leather, and more of a rawer, tastier form of the stuff), it's encouraging to know that all that education I took some time ago won't be going to waste. I tried to articulate as much in an interview with a food writer from the Globe today, so hopefully that comes through!