Ocado has teamed up with Beano to launch the comic’s first ever cookbook, designed to help families cut down on food waste.
The online delivery company has joined forces with adventurer Ben Fogle for the launch, which looks to put a twist on classic comic characters through family-friendly recipes, including Nearly Gone-offee Pie, Bangers and Gnash and Jammy Dodger French Toast.
Available in both print and online from 27 September through October’s edition of Ocado Life, each recipe uses some of the most commonly wasted household foods, such as bananas and bread, to help food essentials last longer.
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.
The cookbook comes as new research from Ocado has highlighted 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.
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.
Furthermore, 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.
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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.”
Director of sustainability at Ocado Retail Rachel Cox-Reynolds 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.”
The news comes as groceries delivered by Ocado were found to have the longest average time left before their use-by dates, according to consumer research company Which?.
