What does food mean to you? How does it feel to cook for others, and how does it feel to eat and share a meal that someone else has made for us? Can eating together bring us closer together? How can we can make the foods we love more sustainable?

On Thursday July 25^th, we’re inviting visitors to join a free drop-in clay workshop and ideas session with London-based artist Ayesha Weekes, who is designing a communal long table for the Kitchen Garden, due to be finalised this August.

The ‘Harvesting Connection: A Communal Table’ project, generously funded by Arts Council England, will act as a gathering point for Kitchen Garden visitors to spend time together, learn and relax, and exchange food and food stories.

In addition to the planned workshops, we’re also asking people to get involved in the project remotely. If you’re someone with a connection to the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden – whether that’s as a new or regular visitor, a partner in a community programmes, or as a valued volunteer – we’d love it if you could complete a short questionnaire and/or contribute to the below design wall (scroll to see more or click here if on mobile):

 

 

Both are designed to spark conversation and encourage the sharing of food memories and emotions, and will be used by Ayesha as inspiration for the final table design.

Life, family and culture: what does food mean to you?

“To me, the theme of food signifies life, family, and culture. Food has always been central to my family, and my mother found great joy in feeding everyone,” says Ayesha.

“When I had my children eating together was a priority. Having a family meal brings us together no matter how busy our lives get. It gives space for conversation, connection, time to check in, slow down and appreciate each other.

With Ghanaian heritage, our diet has always been a blend of English and Ghanaian cuisine. I used to referred to Ghanaian dishes as ‘home foods.’ These meals evoke memories of heritage, comfort, togetherness, and celebration.”

Participants on the 25th will be encouraged to share their thoughts on how food nourishes and nurtures us, physically, creatively, and emotionally – perhaps via a dish that connects them with their family history and culture, a favourite comfort food, or a vivid memory of tasting something for the first time.

Kids and adults will also get the chance to create individual clay tiles, using the theme of food as an inspiration, and incorporating flowers and leaves from the Kitchen Garden into their artworks.

The final table will be decorated with some of these ceramics, centring the food-inspired designs created by workshop participants.

“I am hoping to see designs that reflect the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden, as well as visitors’ thoughts and feelings about food, and their connection to each other, food and nature,” says Ayesha.

Why clay?

“As an artist working with ceramics, I feel that clay is a precious gift from the earth,” says Ayesha. “It allows me to create something beautiful and meaningful with my bare hands from a simple lump of earth that will last thousands of years. I love the versatility of clay—its malleability lets me draw, paint, print, sculpt, and craft both useful items and objects of beauty, or simply explore my creativity.

“There’s something incredibly special and inspiring about working with an ancient material that has such a rich history of diverse uses, and endless learning opportunities.”

What will the final table look like, and how does it fit with the wider ethos of the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden?

Made from reclaimed materials, including fallen holly and sycamore logs from the Chiswick House woodlands (all gathered by Ayesha and her family!), the table will sit inside the 17^th century walled garden, surrounded by the fruit, grains, flowers and vegetables cultivated by CHGT’s dedicated gardeners and volunteers.

In the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden, we prioritise finding environmentally-friendly, community-focused ways of growing food, working with local volunteers to ensure that half of everything we produce is donated back to local charities.

We’re therefore delighted to be part of a project that embraces values of connection, sharing and sustainability, all of which are central to the work we do here.

Finally, we’re also incredibly grateful to Arts Council London for funding this project as part of our 2024 Creative Programme, and making the creation of Ayesha’s beautiful table possible.

• Harvesting Connection: A Communal Table will be finalised on August 16^th, as part of a family-friendly event combining food-themed activities and kid-friendly workshops with the final construction of the table.
• Harvesting Connection is being launched alongside Flower Feast: A Kitchen Garden Trail, by artist Jaixia Blue. Find out more here.
• The Kitchen Garden is free to enter for all. Opening hours are 10.30am to 3.30pm, Thursday to Sunday, until October 27^th.