TRENDS & DEBATES STAGE PROGRAMME
*sessions are subject to change as the programme develops for our evolving festival.
In the wake of Natashas law and the tragic circumstances that lead to it's inception and the inevitable introduction of Owens Law Allergens are a huge topic at present. In this session we will have industry experts discussing what the implications might be to operators who fall short of legal compliance as well as some pointers on how best to implement safe and workable practices. We will also hear from 2 senior operators from large multi site operations on how they manage allergens in their professional kitchens, the very real challenges they face and how they overcome them.
- Patrick Harrington, Product Development Manager, Greene King Pub Co
- Victoria Postle, Senior Company Nutritionist, Greene King Pub Co
- Surendra Yejju, Executive Chef, Wagamama
- Iain Ferris, Lecturer, Food Safety, Standards & Law, University of Birmingham
- Dominic Teague, Executive Chef, One Aldwych
- Caroline Benjamin, Director, Food Allergy Aware
- Paul Carey, Owen's Law
ALLERGIC REACTION
UCFF just wouldn’t be the same without celebrating the host areas food heroes. Kent is undoubtedly one of the country's best food producing areas. Mixing tradition and heritage with innovation leads to the production a wide array of food and drink . Producing top and soft fruit galore, the UK’s longest coastline, pastures, marshland and a thriving wine industry. This year is no exception, and we will be featuring local producers, chefs and people making a difference in our industry from in and around Kent Always a firm favourite in the festival line-up stay tuned to see which gems we manage to uncover.
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- Kate Hofman, Founder, GrowUp Farms
- Will Devlin, Owner & Chef, The Small Holding
- James Smith, Owner, Loddington Farm Ltd
- Jill Sargent, Business Development, Produced in Kent
- Phil Harrison, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Bears ice cream company
- Jane Bowyer, Founder, Cheesemakers of Canterbury
LOCAL HEROES
Rob has been a long term member of the 'ucff family' having been MC'ing for us since the very first festival all those years ago.
In 2012, Rob and his lovely wife Amber upped sticks from his native Kent and headed to Mallorca to fulfil a lifelong dream of opening their own restaurant. but it wasn't without trauma, upset and difficulties with local red tape, the impact of Brexit and a host of other obstacles to negotiate, now Rob and Amber have a critically acclaimed restaurant, Market Kitchen and are getting rave reviews and visits from the great and the good of our industry.
Rob will share his journey with you in his own inimitable style, bringing to life a couple of the restaurants signature dishes and passing on pearls of wisdom for anyone thinking of setting up abroad. and knowing Rob there will be a few laughs along the way.
Welcome home chef, let's catch up to see what he's been up to.
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Rob will be joined by Matt Jaynes, Chef Director at Flying Pig Catering
AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD
Once a laughing stock ‘British Wine’ wasn’t taken seriously by any wine producing country and in the main was pretty un-drinkable. Fast forward 20 years and we are now producing some of the best wines in the world and taking on the established wine houses of France and beyond, beating them in global competitions.
Our panel of experts will explain how it’s happened, what it takes to be a great wine maker and what the future holds for the UK and great wine production.
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- Peter Constable, Owner, Warehorne Vineyard
- Jo Ginn, Brand Manager, Wine Garden of England
- Ryan Jacovides, Founder, POMUS
- Aaron Costen, Head Chef, POMUS
- Clive Barlow MW, Buyer, Corkk, English Wine Specialist
THE ENGLISH WINE REVOLUTION
The production of food comes under a lot of pressure these days from an environmental and sustainable perspective and some reports claiming food production is responsible for circa 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions. In this session we will explore the work that is going on in the industry to address this issue through innovative and sometimes historical methods of farming. From vertical growing to regenerative farming and aquaculture.
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- Craig Jackson, Head of Foodservice, Wildfarmed
- James Smith, Owner, Loddington Farm
- Kate Hofman, Founder, GrowUp Farms
- Jose L Souto, Senior Chef Lecturer in Culinary Arts, Westminster Kingsway College
- Edwin Bark, Senior Vice President, Redefine Meat
GROWN UP FOOD