50 years ago I opened a little restaurant and macrobiotic study centre in Notting Hill. People filled in their own bills, based on what they ate and paid on an honour system. Then Graham Bond brought his Hammond organ down for a party one evening and played until 2 a.m. The neighbourhood erupted in rage and I was chucked out. I found ideal new premises: two big rooms in a hotel basement between Paddington and Notting Hill. I got it ready to open. Then a complication about my right to stay in the U.K led me to have to leave the country. That's when my brother Gregory, who had been a wheelchair user since an accident 8 months earlier at University of California Berkeley, rose to the occasion. He completed the restaurant project, supported by our mother Margaret and my girl friend Ann. Seed Restaurant opened in early 1968. It was an instant success, with great macrobiotic food and a loyal customer base that included John and Yoko, Terence Stamp and everyone else who understood that organic wholesome food was the way of the future. Gregory published a magazine called 'Harmony' that neatly set out the basics of the macrobiotic philosophy. He then opened the first ever natural foods store called Ceres Grain Shop. It had all the grains, beans, seeds and organic vegetables. There were no products containing sugar, honey, refined cereals and no supplements. Ceres was the model for the new natural food stores, distinctly different from health food shops.
I rejoined him in 1969 and we went on to create Harmony Foods, with an offering of hitherto unknown foods like organic brown rice, miso, tamari, aduki beans, seaweeds and (because of our customer base) patchouli oil. Ceres Grain Shop moved to Portobello Road where the manager in 1971 was Pamela Donaldson. Pam represented us in setting up the first Glastonbury Fayre. She became ill so I took over running the shop, working with Gregory at Harmony Foods. We did the food at that legendary Glastonbury. In 1972 the premises next door became available and we opened Ceres Bakery, pioneering sourdough and wholemeal sugar-free baking. There was little or no competition in those days. Most people were still wondering how long this natural organic food fad would last.
Gregory liaised with committed organic farmers who grew cereals and bought their wheat, oats, rye and barley, milled it at Harmony Foods and supplied it to Ceres bakery. He organised flaking of cereals that led to British cereal flakes being the mainstay of German organic mueslis. He sat on the Soil Association committee that drafted the first organic standards: 2 pages, would you believe? When the Soil Association expressed a lack of interest in 'trade' he and David Stickland set up Organic Farmers and Growers to certify and market homegrown organic cereals. Harmony Foods went from strength to strength and we moved to a huge warehouse/factory in Willesden. We had a big cash 'n' carry area and manufactured our Whole Earth branded jams, peanut butter, packed cereals and macrobiotic specialties. We grew too fast and in 1982 found ourselves overstocked and with cash flow problems. Gregory had just created the world's first 'Vegeburger' and trademarked it because nobody had used the word before. Yes, true. His Realeat food company marketed the VegeBurger. and I concentrated on downsizing Harmony Foods and focussing on peanut butter and jam. He instigated the Gallup polls that highlighted the trend to vegetarianism. The Vegeburger was a massive success, Gregory cashed out and retired. For a few months. Then in 1989 he created the world's first fractal art shop and created stunning posters based on the Mandelbrot set and Chaos Theory. Since then he has written two ground-breaking books: The State is out of Date and Sun of God, two books that will change your perspective on everything.
I am honoured to have known this remarkable guy for 68 years and to acknowledge his seminal contribution over 50 years to this wonderful world of natural and organic food we take for granted nowadays.
