Sharing The Story Of Food With The Food Museum
In this interview, we spoke with Ellen Harling, the Digital Officer
at the Food Museum situated in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
A: Who are you and what do you do?
E: The Food Museum is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the story of food: how it’s grown, made and eaten. Starting as the Museum of East Anglian Life in 1967 and becoming the Food Museum in 2022, it’s set across 84 acres of beautiful Suffolk countryside. The museum houses over 40,000 objects and 17 unique historic buildings, including a working 18th century watermill, medieval barn and Queen Anne hall. The museum is filled with growing areas and home to rare breed animals telling the story of farming in East Anglia, from Suffolk Punch horses and Suffolk sheep to Red Poll cattle and Norfolk turkeys. Demonstrations, tasters and workshops for visitors to get involved in take place in the Museum’s stunning contemporary exhibition space and demo kitchen, as well as at the outdoor wood-fired oven.
What is something you’d love people to know about the Food Museum?
No matter when you visit the Food Museum, there’s something to get involved in! We run up to five sessions a day, allowing you to get a hands-on experience of the heritage of food and farming. Meet our rare-breed foal and have a go at traditional farming techniques or tour our 18th century dairy and watch how charcoal is made by hand. There’s something for everyone! There’s also always a delicious selection of food to try in our taster kitchen, inspired by our annual exhibition. Currently, our tasters are inspired by our exhibition, Forty Farms exploring the lives of Cumbrian farmers, with seasonal treats including quince membrillo and apple juice pressed on-site. Our next exhibition, opening in March 2025, will explore the history of school dinners, so watch out for nostalgic tasters from chocolate crunch to tuck-shop treats!
What is your main purpose at the Food Museum?
We’re passionate about connecting people with where
their food comes from and the impact of our choices on the environment, society, health and wellbeing: past, present and future. The Museum is structured around the ideas of Grow/Make/Eat – telling the story of food from farm to fork. We believe that museums should provide hands-on learning experiences and have a programme of workshops, courses and events running alongside our daily offer. From family workshops making pizza or scones in our outdoor oven, to expert-led courses on everything from traditional butchery to heritage preserves, we want people to get stuck in with food education! We also run school visits and community projects throughout the year. We’re passionate about the sustainability of food and farming, supporting sustainable agriculture, educating visitors through our changing exhibitions and using produce grown on-site or by local producers in our brilliant café.
Where is your favourite place to visit in Norfolk and why?
From Jenny Cousins, our Director:
So many beautiful places, but I love the Burston Strike School Museum. It tells the fascinating story of the longest strike in British history held between 1914 and 1939 in protest at the dismissal of two progressive teachers and the wranglings between farmers, families, and churchmen. Many people including the Labour MP George Lansbury and the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst visited. There’s a plaque on the outside of the building commemorating some of the support the Burston strikers received and their cause was even taken up internationally – including by Tolstoy’s son!
Food Museum in the heart of Stowmarket, Suffolk – only a 30-minute train ride from Norwich.
@foodmuseumuk / foodmuseum.org.uk
This interview was published as part of a paid collaboration within our printed newspaper.