Food Matters Live Podcast

Blair Bowman thinks there is something magic about whisky, and when you look into its history, it's hard to argue with him."A single cask, single malt whisky, is totally unique," he tells Stefan Gates in this episode of the Table Talk podcast."The fact that a cask is organic, means every cask is different. If you try one that you like and there's only going to be 200 bottles from that cask, once they're drunk it's extinct. "You can't recreat that. That's the magic of whisky."There's no doubting that Blair knows his stuff. He is the founder of World Whisky Day, author of the bestselling "Pocket Guide to Whisky: featuring the WhiskyTubeMap", and he holds the world record for the most distilleries visited in one day.Whisky is booming at the moment, with production surging into new territories including Japan, India, and even the Arctic Circle!But how did we get to this point? What were the key events that shaped the drink we have today? And where might the whisky market be heading?Blair takes us on an historical tour from the very earliest distilleries on record (and those before proper records began), through illicit trade, and changes in technology.We also ask if the Scottish whisky industry is helped or hindered by the strict regulations that it's governed by.Listen to the full episode to find out why whiskies made with the same ingredients and the same process can taste so wildly different, how problems in France led to whisky taking off as a globally popular drink, and how the escapades of two Scottish brothers brought the industry to its knees it the 19th Century.We also get some tips on how to get the most out of tasting different whiskies. And Stefan gets a treat, taking part in a taste test. Blair Bowman, Founder, World Whisky DayBlair loves introducing whisky to the world. He’s the founder of World Whisky Day and has hosted hundreds of private and public events and tastings around the world (complete with his own innovative twists). He shares his expertise and passion as a whisky industry commentator for TV and radio, on screen in documentary films and TEDx talks, and in print, with a monthly column in Scottish Field Magazine and as the author of the bestselling Pocket Guide to Whisky: featuring the WhiskyTubeMap.Blair is also a whisky consultant and broker - and a Scotland Food and Drink, Food Tourism Ambassador.He is a proud Scotsman living in Edinburgh. He has visited countless distilleries and holds the world record for the most visited in one day (a whopping sixty!), served drams to thousands of people all over the world, including Ambassadors and Royals, and sourced rare casks for private clients, high net worth individuals, family estates, and even Academy Award winners. Wherever he goes, he loves to show people that there’s more to whisky than they might think!

"I really love to see a client that's satisfied," says Tessa Anderson. "That they're in a much better position than when I first met them."Tessa is a qualified food technologist and is Managing Director of Pack Copy Sent Consultancy.She knows just about everything there is to know about food regulations and labelling, and helps companies get their consumable products safely approved for sale.Tessa says relationships are critical to the work she does, and says networking is a big part of her job."I love helping people and I love meeting people," she tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series.Reading up on the latest legislation also takes up a lot of her time.It's crucial that she stays on top of any new rules around food packaging, wherever in the world they might be introduced.But it's not all "reaching out" and reading up, Tessa says there's no such thing as a typical day for her.Her journey began at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she studied Food Technology, a course she says set her up "really well" for work, so well that she still refers back to her lecture notes.She says she has always been interested in the forensic side of food "possibly linked to watching CSI: Miami and Poirot" growing up.After years of working in-house, she decided to make the jump to consultancy work, something she describes as a "steep learning curve", but one she doesn't regret.The first decade saw her working with companies such as Morrisons, Greencore, and Kerry.Now she has an even bigger mix and does just as much work with small businesses as larger ones.Listen to the full episode to get some top tips for where to find food technologist jobs, how she keeps on top of all the latest law changes, and why she places so much store in being an ethical businesswoman. Tessa Anderson, Managing Director, Pack Copy SentTessa is a qualified Food Technologist, co- founder and Managing Director of Pack Copy Sent Consultancy.Over the past 20 years, Tessa has worked with Food Manufacturers, Retailers and Technical Service Providers helping businesses manage their food product information in the form of data migration projects, training, specification management and artwork checks.Tessa also provides training for individuals and teams.Tessa loves making and eating vegan and plant-based food, the outdoors, walking in nature, meeting new people and exploring new cultures.

For years, the Netherlands has had a particularly important role to play in the global food system - but how is that role changing as sustainability becomes an ever more pressing issue? The Dutch food production system has historically been the envy of the world, a small country but a big exporter. That has usually meant some pretty intensive farming practices, but now the Netherlands is becoming a global exporter of sustainable ideas. It's in no small part down to some of the work being done at Foodvalley, an independent international organisation, working to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by Foodvalley Managing Director, Marjolein Brasz. She explains what the organisation does, why it exists, and some of the challenges it hopes to overcome. The crux of it, is that Foodvalley identifies problems in the food system that can only be solved by bringing people together from across different sectors. The organisation focusses on innovation around sustainability and supports start-ups, corporates, and investors - anyone who falls under its umbrella term "game changers". But it's not just about the health of the planet, Foodvalley also wants to transform our diets to be healthier too. Listen to the full episode to find out more about the projects Foodvalley is supporting, why the Netherlands was the perfect environment for the organisation to flourish in, and how it is trying to overcome what Marjolein says is one the biggest blocks to change - vested interests. Marjolein Brasz, Managing Director at Foodvalley Marjolein Brasz has been active in the field of ecosystem innovation since 2015. The transition from a linear to a circular economy was central when she was involved with the Economic Board Amsterdam from 2015 to 2019.  Since 2020, she has been directing  Foodvalley. Breakthrough innovations are essential for the food system transition. But the current system often fails to offer the right conditions and incentives necessary to cultivate and scale necessary innovations. Therefore the challenges facing the food system are too complex to be tackled alone. Foodvalley helps partners in and beyond the food chain to break the barriers and accelerate the transition together. Foodvalley is the independent party that steers organisations on direction, process, content and speed. “Shaping the future of food, together. 

Whenever there's a conversation taking place about the cutting edge of the food industry, the name of one country keeps cropping up - Israel.Whether it's discussing plant-based innovations, start-ups and investment, or lab-grown meat, we’re always drawn back to Israel.For a long time, home to a sparkling array of hi-tech industry, and now a global centre of food and agri-tech.    But why is Israel so central in helping to shape the future of our global food system, and how did it obtain this position?In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, we try to answer that question with the help of the Israel Innovation Authority.The Israel Innovation Authority is a government agency designed to foster the development of industrial R&D.Listen to the full episode to find out how they go about it, why it has been so successful to date, and what others countries might be able to learn.And take a peak at what's on the horizon, the projects that are getting people really excited about the future. Dr Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Board of Israel Innovation AuthorityDr Appelbaum has more than 36 years experience in research, development and senior level management in the field of the Semiconductor. Prior to the current job as Chief Scientist, Dr Appelbaum served for 22 years at numerous executive positions at KLA Tencor, $15.6B Market Cap and world leader in the business of capital equipment for the semiconductor industry based in the Silicon Valley, CA. His most recent job was Corporate Senior Vice President and president of KLA Tencor Israel.Dr Appelbaum holds a Doctorate and Master degrees from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and an Engineering degree from Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheba, all in the field of materials engineering. Dr Appelbaum is the author and co-author of more than 50 scientific and technical publications, and holds seven patents in the field of semiconductor equipment and processing. 

"I feel privileged to be occupying a role... where you get to be emersed in all the brand love," says Micah Douglas, Content and Community Manager at Tony's Chocolonely.Micah has only be in the role for two-and-a-half years but he can't speak highly enough of the place.In this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series, he reveals all about how he ended up working for at the chocolate company.He says he didn't initially see himself working in the food industry: "It's been a pretty winding path, food never seemed like the obvious choice to me." Tony's Chocolonely is going on tour - find out where and whenIn fact, Micah initially got into events marketing, something he studied at Bournemouth University.But after doing a work placement at Mr Lee's Pure Foods, he realised it was the sector for him.He was eventually drawn to the lights of London and, despite still being relatively inexperienced, he took a huge gamble. He quit his jobs, "probably a bit too prematurely," he says, and he didn't even have another one lined up.Eventually, a recruiter pointed him in the direction of Tony's Chocolonely and the rest is history. Listen to the full episode to find out how he makes sure everything he posts about is accurate and fair, the specific skills you need for a Content and Community Manager role, and get some advice on how to make your CV stand out. Micah Douglas, Content and Community Manager, Tony's ChocolonelyMicah Douglas ‘The Choctopus’ is the UK Content & Community Manager for Tony’s Chocolonely, the chocolate makers on a mission to end slavery in the chocolate industry.Previously at Mr Lee’s Pure Foods, Micah uses his role diversity to share Tony’s social impact, whilst representing a need for POC and disability representation in food marketing.Get to know Micah - 5 quick questions What’s your career highlight so far?"That first day when I joined Tony's. Being flown out to Amsterdam having been part of a team of maybe 10 people, to suddenly being with 120 people, raising our arms in the air with some chocolate bars. It very much felt like all of that hard work building up to this new job had paid off." What would you like to see the industry at large doing more of?"Definitely more social impact. To deliver more impactful things to the world. Being less about just the product and maximising profits, and being more about delivering something really meaningful back to the world." What’s the most useful mistake you’ve made in your career?"Becoming a bit impatient and being a bit too big for my boots when I handed in my notice a bit too early at my first company. I think that was the biggest mistake I've ever made in terms of it being an incredibly useful thing in terms of driving me to my next role. I definitely wouldn't encourage anyone to do it!" What do you wish you could tell your younger self?"Feel less pressure, be more confident about your ability, your natural strengths. Ask lots of questions, don't ever assume and be less judgemental." What’s your favourite meal?"I'm making lots of jerk-spiced lentils, and combinations of rice or something that's mashed with jerk lentils, coriander, all spice. I'm just loving that flavour profile at the moment."

After two years of a pandemic, and the massive behaviour change it forced on all of us, how do companies in the food industry look to the future and identify opportunities for positive innovation?In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, made in partnership with Accenture, we talk to the people behind the influential Fjord Trends report to find out. Fjord Trends 2022 might be the most fascinating to date, coming at a moment when huge sections of society are emerging from a period when we were forced to pause, reflect, and re-evaluate many of our relationships.That has affected the way we think about all sorts of things, self-care and the environment among them. It has also affected the way many of us think about the brands we engage with.So much has changed for so many people, but this episode isn't just about spotting the latest trends, it also looks closely at how the information compiled in Fjord Trends 2022 can be used by companies to make real-world decisions.This year's report has five main headlines, all sitting under the banner "The New Fabric of Life". Come As You Are - Most people don't want to be pigeon-holed into a category - so how do companies cater for different consumer needs? The End of Abundance Thinking - Less waste, more environmental concerns - but what does that mean for new product development and innovation? The Next Frontier - The blurring between digital and physical is going to become more significant - but what are the implications and opportunities for the food industry? This Much Is True - How do you earn and maintain consumer trust in an era of misinformation? Handle With Care - We're more focussed than ever on self-care and caring for others - but how can companies align themselves with that? Tatiana Penaloza, Managing Director, AccentureTatiana has over 15 years consulting experience working at large client organisations, driving value through business transformation programmes for CPG and Retail companies.Bridging business and technology teams to support clients to drive their strategic agendas and maximise enterprise value. Alex Jones, Managing Director in Consumer Goods, Accenture SongExperienced leader of large design, human-centred strategy and innovation teams. Alex leads Fjord London - a specialist service and experience design practice part of Accenture Song.Alex works with ambitious organisations to imagine new customer strategies and experiences, creatively driving business growth and transforming operations and cultures as a result.

The right to food is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but in 2019 in the UK 5m people were living in food poverty.Many of those affected are children, and in this episode of the Table Talk podcast, we meet two extraordinary teenagers who are campaigning to make the food system fairer for everyone.Yumna Hussen and Saffron Stedall are both Young Food Ambassadors for the Food Foundation, campaigning for Children’s Right2Food.They believe that young people are not being heard when it comes to food poverty, and are working to implement real change.Their campaigning has taken them to COP26 and Downing Street. They have also met and worked alongside Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, Henry Dimbleby, and England footballer Marcus Rashford.As part of their work, they have produced The Children's Right2Food Charter, which sets out a roadmap for tackling food poverty.A big part of the charter is a call for the expansion of free school meals, which Yumna and Saffron point out could be the only meal some children are getting each day.Listen to the full episode to find out what motivated both teenagers to get involved with the Food Foundation, what they believe a more equal food system would actually look like, and the role they believe better education could play in making the system fairer.They also call for healthy food options to be made cheaper, and discuss the links between food poverty and obesity. The Food FoundationThe Food Foundation mission is to change food policy and business practice and to ensure everyone across the UK can afford and have access to a healthy and sustainable diet.They aim to use surprising and inventive ideas to catalyse and deliver fundamental change in the food system, synthesising strong evidence, shaping power coalitions, harnessing citizen’s voices and driving progress with impactful communications. They identify new opportunities for action and trial new levers for change. The Children’s Right2Food and Young Food AmbassadorsChildren’s Right2Food is a nationwide initiative to ensure every child in the UK can access and afford good food. Led by a team of Young Food Ambassadors across the UK, the campaign calls for government action to tackle children’s food insecurity and childhood obesity caused by inequalities.It all began when the Young Food Ambassadors came together to launch their own Right2Food Charter, calling on Government to listen to their stories and those of millions of other young people across the UK who were living with increased levels of hunger and food poverty. They undertook a range of impactful activities including panels, media interviews, school assemblies, speaking at the Food Insecurity Summit, meeting MPs, taking part in youth boards as well as short films and podcasts.Listen to the Children's Right2Food podcast

Max Tobias is co-founder of The Dusty Knuckle, a social enterprise bakery in London."It's not for the feint-heart," he tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series.Max says the jobs is "very demanding" and really is a 24/7 endeavour: "People need their daily bread."It's fair to say Max has been slogging his guts out along with his two best friends to set up a community bakery that helps young people with difficult backgrounds to get back their confidence and learn new skills.Max now has a cookbook on sale, but he's very clear about how hard it has been to reach the stage he has.So, with all that hard work, is he a millionaire? "I haven't made any millions yet, and neither have my business partners." Listen to the full episode to find out how the bakery came into being, and why they decided to call it The Dusty Knuckle. Max Tobias, Managing Director, The Dusty Knuckle BakeryMax Tobias is the Managing Director of The Dusty Knuckle Bakery. Prior to co-founding TDK, Max worked for ten years in the field of youth intervention, covering fields such as conflict mediation, youth violence, gang prevention and challenging behaviour management. He holds an MSc in Child Development. The Dusty Knuckle: Seriously Good Bread, Knockout Sandwiches and Everything In Between is his first book, published by Quadrille in April 2022.Dusty Knuckle founders – ran a bakery from a shipping container that they won in a competition(!) through to stocking the likes of Fortnums and Ottolenghi with their bread. Their whole ethos came from wanting to help young people navigating dangerous lifestyles, and the bakery was their solution - The Dusty Knuckle helps young people to find meaningful employment.

There are fewer challenges bigger than trying to transform the global food system to make people and the planet healthier, but for Dr Gunhild Stordalen it's a challenge worth taking on.In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates meets the founder of non-profit organisation EAT to discuss what motivates her, and how she stays driven to achieve her goals in the face of stiff opposition and vested interests.Gunhild started her career with a PhD in pathology/orthopaedic surgery - so what took her from being a doctor to taking such a keen interest in making the global food system sustainable?She says that whilst she was on the board of one of Scandinavia's biggest hotel companies, she tried to change the menu to be good for people and good for the planet.But her research turned up very little in the way of research and, crucially, no forum where all key stakeholders could meet.That led to her forming EAT, the non-profit platform for food system transformation.It held its first forum in 2014, with Bill Clinton taking to the stage, and has continued to grow since.But there have been, and continue to be, great challenges. Not least the war in Ukraine, which Dr Stordalen says has shifted national food policies to self-sufficiency over sustainability - to the detriment of climate change targets.Listen to the full episode to find out the actions Dr Stordalen would like to see governments taking, her ambitions for COP27, and learn more about EAT's Planetary Health Diet. Dr Gunhild Stordalen, Founder and Executive Chair, EATDr Gunhild A Stordalen, a physician who holds a PhD in pathology/orthopaedic surgery, and is the Founder and Executive Chair of EAT, a global, non-profit platform for food system transformation. She sits on several boards and advises on councils including the United Nations Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Stewardship Board on Food Systems, and the UNICEF Advisory Group. In addition, Gunhild is an ambassador for Friends of Ocean Action, a member of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP) for the Blue Economy, and part of the International Leadership Committee for a Net Zero NHS. In 2019 she was the recipient of the UN Foundations’ Global Leadership Award, and was the Chair of the 2021 UN Food System Summit’s Action Track 2: Shifting to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns. 

When Ben Christopherson was travelling, shortly after going to catering college, he knew he wanted to work in pastry - but nobody would let him have a go."On the continent they just would not let you in the pastry kitchen if you didn't have experience or a qualification. I didn't have either of those," he tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series, made in association with the University of West London (UWL).But Ben says that experience is what drove him to get some qualifications in patisserie and go on to have a hugely successful career as a Head Pastry Chef.He ended up working at places like the luxury Goring Hotel, Harrods, and eventually launching his own business.All of that experience feeds into the work he does now as a lecturer in Food Studies and Hospitality at UWL.Ben describes the role as being a mix of teaching, competition training, creating new modules, liaising with industry, and of course, some admin.He says the variety is what he loves abut the job: "There aren't two or three days that are the same."Ben is also leading a brand new course at UWL that puts sustainability at the heart of cooking and eating. Future Food and Culinary Management covers all sorts, including how to create plant-based menus, learning how to source food responsibly, and following new eating trends that won’t harm the planet.Ben says one module focusses solely on pastry, but using only plant-based ingredients: "Patisserie and bakery lend themselves really well to using plant-based alternatives."And the course is not just aimed at people who want to become traditional kitchen chefs. Students go on to do all sorts of jobs from teacher to chocolatier, and development chef to entrepreneur. Listen to the full episode to find out more about Ben's varied past, why he ensures his course takes a holistic approach to learning, and how the UWL can help students with work placements. Ben Christopherson, Course Leader and former Pastry Chef, University of West LondonBen is a lecturer in Food Studies and Hospitality, and Course leader in Future Food and Culinary Management at the University of West London. During this period he has co-authored on Practical Cookery, travelled as a guest lecturer to Malaysia, led international culinary competitions to Paris and been invited on a culinary tour of Spain, by the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade. His research investigates customer acceptance of plant-based alternative ingredients, focusing on their chemical and physical properties. Prior to his academic work he had a successful career as an international pastry, chef culminating in running his own company with products being sold in Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and developing items for Cadburys Cocoa House. His current academic focus concentrates on the practical application of sustainability within culinary education.  BSc (Hons) Future Food and Culinary Management at UWL - what you need to know Study Options: Full-time, Full-time with placement, Part-time Duration: 3 years, 4 years, or 4.5 years Location: West London Entry Requirements: 112 UCAS points from level 3 qualifications (can include A-levels, BTEC Extended Diploma, HE Diploma) Mature Students: If you don't have the above qualifications but do have work experience, you can still apply Fees: £9,250 per year for UK students. £13,250 for international students. Start date: September 2022 Find out everything you need to know about the course and apply on the University of West London website.Get to know Ben - 5 Quick Questions What’s your career highlight so far?"Probably when I ran my own business and got my products into Selfridges. I was quite pleased with myself then. It was around the Royal wedding and I made a mini white chocolate wedding cake. It was featured in Vogue magazine as well." What would you like to see the industry at large doing more of?"It would be really nice to see more promotion of the careers of young chefs. We always hear all about the Executive Chef and the Head Chef, you never hear about the young commis chef. It would be really great if we heard more about them, their story, their progress, where they came from, and where they're going. That would be really good." What’s the most useful mistake you’ve made in your career?"I think the most useful mistakes I've made in my career are when I've been on the phone and I've been weighing up, which we do loads of in patisserie, and somehow along the way I've managed to weigh-up things wrong, because I'm not concentrating. And then the product I've made has been slightly different but in a really good way. Sugar is a big one. I've weighed up the wrong amount of sugar and started to realise you never actually need that amount of sugar. That's been a really happy accident." What do you wish you could tell your younger self?"Stop over-complicating everything! Particularly in patisserie dishes. Don't try to make dishes so complicated, just relax a bit, don't try to put everything on a dish." What’s your favourite meal?"Sadly it's probably the same as quite a lot of people. I do love a quality Sunday roast dinner, particularly on a winter day. A nice winter day, a cold winter walk, but the bit that I'll look forward to the most is if they've got sticky toffee pudding with a nice bit of vanilla ice cream. That would be my perfect Sunday."