Hidden gems

25/Jan/2012

Jenny Dawson of Rubies in the Rubble on a creative way of helping to tackle food waste

It is estimated that we throw away a third of the food we buy. Meanwhile, around 4 million people are affected by food poverty in the UK, with malnutrition costing the NHS up to £13 billion a year. In response to depressing statistics like these, Rubies in the Rubble offers a unique new brand of mind-bogglingly good chutneys with a difference – and a conscience.

Led by founder Jenny Dawson, the team aims to tackle the current culture of excessive waste and bring about social change in the local community by making preserves from surplus fruit and vegetables and employing staff who need help getting back on their feet and into a job.

Where did you grow up?
On the southwest coast of Scotland in a close-knit family of keen environmentalists – it was very earthy, home grown country living. We moved up there when I was about two. We've got a little organic beef farm. My mother's a potter and my father is a farmer.

After completing a maths degree, you worked for a hedge fund for two years. Did you always have an eye on other schemes?
I think when we were growing up because we were in the middle of nowhere we used to always think up silly inventions and ideas. I had little passion for finance so I continued trying to think of ideas to start a business with – tinted contact lens for skiing and sailing in the sun, a compactible, reusable cup for coffee shops...I assumed that everyone would soon have 3D TVs, and we'd all be wearing 3D glasses and carrying them in our handbags. So I wanted to develop funky pairs and pretty pairs and themed ones for kids. I was always trying to come up with quirky little ideas.

But eventually you found your path. How did that happen?
I was looking into my food waste. I read somewhere that the CO2 impact from discarded food in the UK adds 10 per cent to our greenhouse gases. I started reading blogs that talked about New Covent Garden Market running throughout the night, and I thought how exciting it sounded. That's what made me jump on my bike and think, 'I want to check this out.'

So what did you discover?
It was November 2010. It must have been about 5am; pitch black, crisp and cold. We were living in Kings Cross so it took about 45 minutes to cycle down to Battersea. It was amazing – the bustle of traders, restaurant owners, people of all nationalities. I found it really exciting with all the lovely bright lights and gleaming fruit and veg. But then at the bottom of the carpark was a pile of discarded fruit and vegetables. The thing that stuck in my head was a really nice box of mange tout still in its wrapping, labelled 'From Kenya'. To my eyes the peas looked absolutely fine – it just seemed so wrong. I began to appreciate the scale of the challenge we face if we are to reduce waste and utilise surpluses more efficiently – it's not just an issue for growers and market traders, but the whole food industry

What happened next?
So I ended up coming back home absolutely laden with my bicycle handlebars and basket and backpack full of mange tout, tomatoes and onions. I found myself unable to leave the rejected fruit and vegetables, and thinking I'd love to do something with them.

And presumably this is where your idea for a business was born?
At home, any excess from glut seasons would just be made into chutneys and jams, so it seemed quite natural to find a way to preserve it. With chutney, you can keep it for about two years after you've made it.

When did you make your first batch?
The weekend after going to the market I really started thinking, I'm going to do chutneys and jams. I was down at a friend's place in the countryside. One of their sheds was full of boxes; there must have been about a ton of apples in each and they were just rotting. I asked what was happening with them, and they said, "'Oh, they were too small. We normally send them to a pie making company, but they were too small for their machines to peel and chop them." So they were just going to waste. That was our first enormous supply of apples and resulted in our first batch of apple and ginger chutney.

What's your production schedule today?
We are using a kitchen in the middle of a lovely little park in Bethnal Green. There are three of us in the kitchen in gloves and aprons. It's all a lot of chopping. We're always having competitions to see who can chop fastest. Every onion, every apple is done by hand. If we get a good batch
we'll probably get 150 jars filled in a day. The kitchen has some huge pots and pans, so we can boil and bubble away till about 7pm. It is on sale at Borough Market now.

How do you find the life of a market trader?
It's really vibrant. I love chatting to people, and I'm so enthusiastic about what we're doing. Especially at Borough Market, so many shoppers  are going through that it's fantastic. I feel like we're just meeting so many different people the whole time. We love it actually! It's a really nice community down there, especially at the end when everybody has a drink together. It's great fun.

How did you come up with the name Rubies in the Rubble?
It started more about people than the fruit in a way. People are amazing and unique and beautiful on the inside. I wanted the whole name to suggest something that's unexpected but a delight. The logo is a thumbprint turned into a jam jar, so it's the idea that everyone is unique and everything is special. With Rubies in the Rubble, we're trying to get people thinking day-to-day that there are often gems in hidden places.