Meet Us and Eat Us

Vilma Bharatan had a scientific education and is a classically trained artist, who for the past three decades has been working with people to improve their health through food choices and homeopathy. Liz Kendall studied literature and worked in an art gallery and an independent bookshop while establishing her career in Shiatsu, massage, and Tai Chi Qigong. She is a published poet with work in several anthologies and journals. Appreciating how their different academic backgrounds complement each other led them to work together to explore their shared interest in food and the natural world. Meet Us and Eat Us is the essence, an elixir, of years of research and thought, and of long discussions over many meals together.

"Thisbook really celebrates the joy and wonder of the foods we eat, which isa fundamental part of our food education programmes in schools. We always try to get across the idea to children that food is inherently interesting (where it comes from, how its grown, it's cultural significance), and how much fun we can have if we simply notice this, and the book captures this idea perfectly. Inparticular, when we deliver sensory food education to children in schools we encourage them to let their imaginations run wild when describing what different foods look like to them. The artwork of food in the book really aligns with this childlike lens of creativity and fantasy when perceiving different foods. This is great as it makes everyopportunity to eat an opportunity to discover something new and exciting. We'll bring the book along to our next sensory food education session."Will Holmes, School Gardener/Project Officer at School Food Matters"Iloved sampling this cornucopia of food plants from around the world. The authors have used an ingenious method to explore edible plants by family, presenting botany, stories and legends and food facts alongside charming anthropomorphic photographs. It is a unique idea, and one that lends itself to happy browsing. I enjoyed reading poems and pieces on old favourites, such as ginger, cardamom, and sweetpotatoes, as well as introductions to new plant foods, including chocolate pudding fruit, sacred lotus, and the lipstick tree. There is some beautiful writing here, in both poetry and prose. From the 'garnet-sweet mysteries' of pomegranate seeds, to the various states of dates, from those found in 'near-mummification to soft and oozing with sticky juice'. References to historical uses and food combinations are both accurate and tempting. This is a beautifully produced book that would make an idea gift for foodies, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in plant foods and their rich roles in our lives."Martine Bailey, historical novelist, author of An Appetite for Violets3rd Prize in The International Poetry Book Awards 2025"Within the very narrow confines of its brief, Meet Us and Eat Usachieves something genuinely impressive. Vilma Bharatan and Liz Kendallset out to fuse poetry, prose and fine art photography in celebration of the world’s food plants, and the result is both educational and entertaining. The design and production are exceptional - a stunning, high-budget volume that invites readers to look and learn as they read.Thebook could well be many readers’ first introduction to modern poetry, demonstrating how verse can be used in new ways to inform and captivate.That ability to reach beyond the usual poetry audience is one of its strengths.Whatis perhaps most remarkable is how consistently the authors manage to balance instruction and imagination. The writing never feels mechanical;the poems retain warmth, humour and personality. The marriage of text and image creates a rhythm of its own - at times lyrical, at times playful - reminding us that poetry can speak through many forms."John Evans, judge of The International Poetry Book Awards 2025