A few Thursdays ago we went to Tracy Worcester’s dinner at Petersham nurseries in Richmond (one of our favourite restaurants in London) to celebrate the launch of her ‘Farms Not Factories’ series of films, covering chefs who use only high welfare pork, and the passionate farmers who supply them. Tracy is an absolute hero, working to raise awareness of the horrors of industrial – or ‘factory’ - pig farming, and bringing the fight to this awful industry. This is a campaign we care about very much, and we’re keen to do our bit, including being shot in one of Tracy’s 2 minute videos, along with other chefs including Mark Hix, James Golding and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, cooking a pork recipe of ours, alongside one of our suppliers - Ben Goldsmith, Jemima’s husband. We were filmed with Ben showing us his pig woods in Somerset, where his Tamworth pigs are happily rooting in the cool earth and enjoying the warmth of the sun on their backs. The awful reality though is that significantly more than half of the billions of pigs in the world never experience soil, fresh air, sunshine, or the company of other pigs. Instead they are crammed into barren concrete pens, unable to move forwards or backwards or even turn around. Factory farms deprive these pigs of every possible reason for living, as small piglets, without anaesthetic, they are brutally castrated, their tails cut off, their teeth pulled out. The cruelty of this industry is unprecedented and unimaginable. And that’s not all. Factory farms pollute the ground, air and water for miles around. Their brutal efficiency and cut-throat prices drive fairer, kinder, smaller producers out of business, killing rural economies. And – most frightening of all – factory farming relies on the continuous dosing of pigs with antibiotics, to keep at bay the bacterial diseases that would otherwise run rife in such conditions. Quite simply, this appalling industry is putting people at risk. The fight to end it is one of the most important in the world today. Arriving at Petersham Nurseries takes your breath away, a place that feels fitting for a Jane Austen production. With incredible gardens of wildflowers, handsome Tuscan stone pieces and the most charming greenhouse to house the restaurant. What could be better than heading off to one of the most fabulous restaurants in London whilst simultaneously contributing to a cause that matters so much to us. We were presented with delicious seasonal Bellini’s- followed by a three-course banquet style sharing menu, organic pork from Harry Boglione’s (son of founders) pig farm. This was all deliciously put together by Damian Clisby, head chef of Petersham, James Golding from the Pig Hotel chain and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Farms Not Factories works to inspire consumers to follow the top chefs’ example by refusing factory farmed pork and only buy pork from healthy and humane pig farms. So with that, we hope you enjoy a favourite pulled pork sandwich of ours- an Asian inspired one, with lots of delicious spice, sweetness and crunch. Pork sourced from our local butchers. Certified organic!