Chaahat Thakker and John Guest couldn’t come from more diverse backgrounds but a joint desire to produce and use food responsibly brought them together, as Marie Staunton discovers
Farmer John
John Guest, aka Farmer John, traded in a high-flying career for muddy boots and early mornings. Once a sales director in healthcare recruitment, enjoying four Caribbean holidays a year, John quietly saved for years to chase a schoolboy dream—“living off the fat of the land,” inspired by the final scene of the John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men. Though farming wasn’t in his blood – his father served as a Sergeant Major in the Blues and Royals – John settled in Kent with his partner Carlie, growing vegetables on a smallholding. When COVID hit, and veg box demand soared, he stepped away from the office for good, expanding to 7.5 acres at Lenham Heath. Now he supplies London markets, chefs, and local veg boxes, a demand that rarely allows for days off: “The worst part is you can’t leave anything half-done—if I don’t cover the lettuce with mesh before bed, the rabbits will eat the lot by morning—but the best part is, your to-do list actually gets finished.” John practices regenerative farming inspired by French Canadian grower Jean-Martin Fortier, whose model shows how diversified, small-scale farms can produce more nutritious food and be more profitable than conventional agriculture. “We don’t plough,” he says. “We stir the soil with a power harrow to protect the microorganisms.” His crops grow in carefully measured, narrow beds that allow for hand harvesting and low-impact weeding. Fertilisers include horse and chicken manure from nearby farms, plus organic bone meal—no synthetic sprays in sight The farm is a patchwork of produce, poultry, and even ornamental shrubs, tended by a rotating crew of neighbours Brad and Becks, horticulturalist Anita, his parents and sons Cobi 15 and six-year-old Arthur who collects eggs and snacks straight from the bush. John met Chaahat at Camberwell market and they bonded over issues like changing tastes and climate change’s impact on crops. Urban customers are increasingly conscious, returning brown paper bags and asking for niche produce. “Italian shoppers wanted radicchio and rucola—so we’re growing them.” He even streams live CCTV from his chicken run to reassure customers about welfare. In Kent, curiosity about farming is slower to catch on. “Kids think food only comes wrapped in plastic,” he laughs, recalling his mum once baking a ‘chard crumble’ mistaking it for rhubarb. But Arthur knows better—he’s learning the rhythms of the land firsthand. John was at last year’s Camberwell Food Festival and can’t wait to return. “It was a wonderful day,” he says. “It feels like people in Camberwell really understand what we’re trying to do.
Chaahat Thakker
At this year’s Eat Around the World in Camberwell Food Festival, the vibrant flavours won’t just be on plates – they’ll be in stories, hands-on workshops, and conversations about our deep connections with food and the land. Leading one such workshop is Chaahat Thakkar, an Indian Ghanaian designer, community volunteer, and passionate advocate for reconnecting with nature through food. Chaahat’s life has taken her across continents—from her birthplace in Mumbai to her childhood in Ghana, then to the United States where she studied Fine Arts and worked in fashion design, and finally to UAL here in Camberwell. But throughout that journey, one thread remained constant: food as a powerful connector. “Food is something we all have a relationship with. It’s a way into thinking about our separation from nature, and how we might reimagine that relationship,” she explains. Now pursuing a Master’s in Global Collaborative Design Practice, Chaahat is passionate about empathy-led, community-rooted design. Her studies focus on social and environmental justice, a direction that emerged from her own reflections on the limits of the fashion industry she once worked in. Her upcoming workshop at the Camberwell Food Festival will explore these themes in a child-friendly, imaginative way. Aimed at ages eight to 15, the session invites children to take on the roles of soil, fungi, earthworms, and plants in a storytelling exercise that blends play, environmental education, and empathy. “Kids are natural radical thinkers,” she says. “They can imagine themselves as something totally different”. The idea of exploring food systems through storytelling isn’t new to Chaahat—she’s already hosted sessions in Ruskin Park community garden. Her workshops often include clay modelling to engage participants’ hands while they think, talk, and reflect. “There’s something grounding about touching soil or clay. It helps people connect—to nature, to each other, and to themselves.” Despite her global journey, Camberwell feels like home. “It’s so diverse and vibrant. Farmer John and I come from different worlds, but we’re connected by our shared relationship with food and how it’s grown,” she says At the Eat Around The World in Camberwell Festival , she hopes her workshop will plant a seed. “If kids walk away having thought about food differently—even just a little— that’s a win. Eat around the world in Camberwell, London is on Camberwell Green Saturday 17 May from 11am to 7pm.
