Today, Ocado and Beano announce the launch of the iconic comic’s first ever cookbook, created to help families make their food go further, and take children and parents on a fun, food-fuelled journey through the joy of cooking.
Fronted by adventurer Ben Fogle, the cookbook begins with a comic strip showing Beano-fied Ben’s foodie adventure as Bananaman’s sidekick and sees him bump into the likes of Dennis, Gnasher and their Beanotown friends.
Ocado, Ben and Beano have joined forces to put a tasty twist on classic comic characters, through family-friendly recipes including Nearly Gone-offee Pie, Bangers & Gnash and Jammy Dodger French Toast. Each recipe is quick and simple to make and uses some of the most commonly wasted household foods, such as bananas and bread*, in order to help these food shop essentials last longer and stretch further.
The aptly named Nearly Gone-offee Pie features overripe bananas for an indulgent treat, and Soft ‘n’ Squishy Tomato Pasta is a simple dinner staple that’ll use up those ‘past-their-freshest’ tomatoes.
Bangers & Gnash helps families to use up any variety of leftover root veg in addition to potatoes, highlighting to readers that in removing any green or sprouting parts of a potato and giving it a good scrub before use, these less lovely looking ingredients are still perfectly good to eat, and can be fun for kids to cook with too.
Elsewhere, Jammy Dodger French Toast is a great way to breathe new life into not-so-soft bread, and Speedy Spicy Eggs & Mega Mango Splat helps use up leftover mango chutney after a curry night for a protein-packed dish.
The cookbook launches as new research highlights that over half of parents (56%) say they’ve never had a conversation with their children about food waste, and over one third (37%) of children say they’d like to cook more with their family at home** The Ocado x Beano cookbook aims to open up these important discussions, whilst encouraging parents and children to have fun together in the kitchen.
Despite the current knowledge gap, two thirds (66%) of parents say their child is more knowledgeable about environmental issues than they were at that age, providing an optimistic outlook when it comes to transforming our habits. This is echoed by children themselves, as over one third of those surveyed by Beano Brain (36%), said that they want to learn more about the environment and 85% of British families are keen to reduce the amount of food their household doesn’t use up on a weekly basis.
Recent supermarket developments such as the removal of ‘best before’ dates from many fresh products have helped one quarter (25%) of households to make better use of their groceries, according to the new data, although almost 9 in 10 (89%) iterated that it was important the produce they used to cook was as fresh as possible. Despite freshness being a key priority for most, the new cookbook looks to ensure shoppers are clued up when it comes to using up ingredients that are just past their best, from overripe bananas, to squishy veg and not-so-soft bread.
Commenting on the cookbook, Ben Fogle said: ‘As an avid Beano reader as a child, it’s fantastic to now be part of a real Beano comic strip, as well as their first ever cookbook with Ocado. Throughout the process of being Beano-fied and the recipe and comic creation, I’ve had lots of conversations with my own children about how we can make the most of fresh ingredients, so that groceries last longer, and have fun in the kitchen in the process!”
Rachel Cox-Reynolds, director of sustainability at Ocado Retail, added: “Helping families make their food go further is a big priority for us – at Ocado, we offer the freshest produce so customers’ fresh food stays fresher for longer. In launching the cookbook with Beano, Dennis and his friends are on hand to offer loads of playful ideas to help families get the most out of their groceries, as often food has a lot more life left in it than you think. By bringing a burst of fun and imagination, we hope children and parents will get stuck into learning more whilst having lots of fun at mealtimes.”
Mike Stirling, Beano’s director of mischief, said: “Our first-ever cookbook, launched with Ocado, has been inspired by our readers, who care deeply about helping the planet. Dennis, Bananaman and their friends have come up with fresh recipes to encourage less food waste and more great food taste. Beano readers and fans can now enjoy the Jammy Dodger French Toast, the Nearly Gone-offee Pie or the other recipes for the whole family, tried and tested in Beanotown.”
In an ongoing effort to help children feel informed when it comes to their cooking and food consumption at home, Ocado and Beano have also created a series of bespoke Beano for Schools lesson plans for pupils in KS1 and KS2. Teachers nationwide wishing to incorporate the lessons into their PSHE curriculum can download the lesson plans here.
Ocado has been working with social enterprises, charities and food bank partners for many years to effectively redistribute any surplus food. Any edible food that is suitable for human consumption goes to feeding people first and foremost. Where edible food is unfit for human consumption, it is donated to local zoos or animal charities and farms. Inedible food unfit for human or animals is sent to Biogen for anaerobic digestion which currently provides some of the power to Ocado’s customer fulfillment centre in Dordon, Warwickshire.
Thanks to efficient ordering, short supply chains and clever tech, Ocado has the freshest produce in the industry. When food stays fresher for longer, there’s more chance to use it resulting in less waste and better value for money.
Those looking to get their hands on the free cookbook should add October’s edition of Ocado Life to their baskets for a physical copy (available from 27th September), or download a digital version HERE.
