Food Matters Live Podcast

It's not every day you get a phone call that changes the course of your life, for Ellie Webb it left her "half over the moon, half terrified". Sainsbury's were calling to say they wanted to stock her new non-alcoholic drink, Caleño. At this point, Ellie was working alone, making the drink in her kitchen - Sainsbury's wanted to stock it in each of their 500 stores. "I thought to myself, I either go for this or I don't," Ellie tells Eliśa Roche in this episode of Career Conversations. She did go for it and it worked out really rather well. Caleño is now a huge success, stocked in Sainsbury's, Waitrose and M&S. It all came about when Ellie had a brainwave on a night out. She wasn't drinking alcohol, but she didn't see why that meant she had to drink sugary drinks all night. Find out how she turned her dream of creating an adult-tasting, sophisticated, non-alcoholic drink into a reality. Ellie reveals what she thinks makes the differences between dreamers and doers, how she overcame a certain amount of boardroom sexism to get to where she is today, and how she once ended up with 1,000 ruined bottle labels. Ellie Webb, Founder, Caleño Before starting Caleño, Ellie gained experience working in the drinks industry, which she came to love, and soon she became keen to find her own place within it. The lightbulb moment came when Ellie was doing Dry January and out dancing with friends. She was disappointed by the lack of choice on offer when it came to grown-up non-alcoholic drinks and realised there wasn’t anything accessible, that suited her lifestyle or reflected her sense of adventure when it came to drinks. Born in Kent to a Colombian mother, Ellie has always had an entrepreneurial streak, and even when she was young she would make ‘jugos’, Colombian fruit juices, and sell them to her family.  So it felt natural for Ellie to take matters into her own hands and create something that she wanted to see on the shop shelves. Ellie worked on her idea for a new non-alcoholic spirit for two years before quitting her day job, during which time she explored and experimented with different botanicals in her kitchen and took a trip back to Colombia for more inspiration and research. 

Is the amount of information on food labels helping or hindering us when it comes to making choices about what we purchase?Consumers are said to be demanding transparency regarding the foods they eat – from animal welfare to sustainability and health and nutrition information, they want to know it all. Surely a better-informed consumer can make better choices for their health, right? This may not be the case with some research suggesting labelling could even be contributing to the obesity crisis.So, are the regulations surrounding food labelling a failure? Or are consumers simply ignoring the signs?A product might boast that it is low in fat, but are shoppers interested enough to read beyond the headline and find out that it is high in sugar?In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, in partnership with Ashbury – The Product Information People, Stefan Gates delves into the fascinating world of food labelling.He is joined by Ashbury's Regulatory Affairs Director, Pete Martin, as they look at the psychology, regulations and language that is at play as businesses try to make a profit while following the law and protecting the health of consumers.They investigate labelling’s worst offenders that appear to lead to some consumer confusion and discuss how best to get the most useful information in front of consumers' eyes. We also learn how companies like Ashbury work with brands to ensure they get the most from their labelling and delve into the possible impact Brexit will have on food labels. Pete Martin, Regulatory Affairs Director, AshburyWith a 30-year career working in technical law for grocery and retail providers, Pete Martin brings a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to his role as Regulatory Director at product information specialist, Ashbury. From providing practical support and advice to clients, through to carrying out in-depth audits, delivering compliance information, and ensuring complete due diligence, Pete is not only hugely experienced in working with both food and non-food products, but is passionate about protecting brands and end consumers.At Ashbury, Pete specialises in helping clients innovate within the lines of the food regulation law - ultimately helping them to grow their brand, maximise existing markets, and develop best practice labelling compliance management.

What do you do about food security if your country is mostly surrounded by desert? It's a growing problem, particularly for the United Arab Emirates. It's estimated that around 120,000 square kilometres of land is lost to the desert each year. Countries like the UAE rely heavily on imported food, but efforts are being made to turn desert land, into fertile land. In fact, it's already happening - there are melons being grown in the desert around Dubai right now. But the challenge is to increase the diversity of crops being grown, as well as the size of the crops themselves. Two companies, recognised as one of the food related Expo Live global innovators at Expo 2020 hosted in Dubai, are working on some solutions. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast we find out how they are going about making the desert fertile and the cost of failing to act. Dr Dionysia Angeliki Lyra, Halophyte Agronomist, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture Dr Dionysia Angeliki Lyra has been working as a Halophyte Agronomist at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai United Arab Emirates since 2013.  She has been evaluating halophytic germplasm like Salicornia in inland and coastal desert areas exploring multiple uses (food, feed, biofuel production, etc.).  After running a successful project funded by USAID in 2016, Dr. Lyra was announced as one of the 29 global innovators for EXPO2020 of the 1st phase of the EXPO Live program in 2017 and received a grant for the project “Inland and coastal modular farms for climate change adaptation in desert environments”.  The successful implementation of the project led to a 2nd granting phase from EXPO LIVE program focusing on the value chain development for innovative halophyte-based food products in collaboration with UAE and international partners.   Atle Idland, Co-founder, GM and Managing Director, Desert Control Atle is the Co-founder, GM and Managing Director at Desert Control ME LLC, co-leading the company’s Climate Smart Agri-technology – first of its kind - Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) growth and advancement here in UAE and MENA region. Desert Control's Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) restores and protects soil, reducing water usage for agriculture, forests, and green landscapes. LNC enables sand and degraded soil to keep water and nutrients.  Atle has in the past, been part of the Oil & Offshore Industry in Norway, where he was pivotal in leading and driving accelerated business growth internationally and globally in ABB Oil & Gas and was awarded Innovator of “Joint Value Creation “business tactic instrument for his partner collaboration and motivation. Atle is also a Blue Ocean Strategy practitioner. 

"I used to struggle at university," Dr James Morehen says. "I really had to put the effort in if I wanted to get a good grade."James says that struggle remained part of his studies through his undergraduate degree, his Masters and his PhD."I had to re-sit a module during my Masters," he tells Elisa Roche in the latest in our Career Conversations series. But he says that was when he knew he had to show some resilience and prove himself.He certainly has done that.As well as completing his PhD, James has worked with some of the world's top athletes, including the England Women's football team and West Ham United.He is currently working as the Performance Nutritionist at the rugby union side, the Bristol Bears.And those early struggles during his studies must seem like a distant memory now, as he has recently released a book "The Performance Nutritionist".In this episode, James sets out the main differences between what he does for a living and what other nutritionists do, as well as giving advice on the best way to follow his career path.Listen on to find out how James set about embarking on his incredible career, the importance he places on a "no d*ckhead" policy, and how something called the Dunning-Kruger effect left him standing in an empty room instead of a sold-out seminar. Dr James Morehen, Performance NutritionistJames currently works with professional, elite-level athletes and global organisations. Alongside this, he is passionate about supporting individual athletes and clients with their own nutrition, exercise and performance goals.James has spent 9 years in higher education obtaining a BSc in Sport Science, MSc in Sports Physiology and PhD in Sports Nutrition all from the very well-respected Research Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences from Liverpool John Moores University.

An innovative company in Malaysia is aiming to transform the lives of refugees in the country, through food delivery. PichaEats, based in Kuala Lumpur, helps refugees who can cook to sell their food and make an income. Suzanne Ling is the company's co-founder and she puts it simply: "They can cook but don't have access to the market. We have access to the market, but we can't cook." And she is clear that this isn't charity work. The chefs are paid more than they spend on ingredients, and PichaEats makes a profit too - after paying marketing and distribution costs - by charging customers even more. "The chefs are partners," says Suzanne. "They're not employed by us." PichaEats is one of the food related Expo Live global innovators at Expo 2020 hosted in Dubai. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Suzanne tells Stefan Gates about how she came up with the idea for the business whilst still a student, why making a profit is seen as an important driver for what they're trying to achieve, and how the pandemic almost completely destroyed the business model. Suzanne Ling, Co-Founder, PichaEats Suzanne is the co-founder for PichaEats, an impact-driven business that aims to serve delicious meals and enable change among communities through food.  Founded in 2016, PichaEats partners with chefs from displaced communities, sharing their delicious cuisines from their home countries, including Palestine, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan to conferences, events, homes and more.

There is an organisation in Japan which is taking a different approach to helping people living in food poverty.Second Harvest's Marugohan initiative doesn't simply deal in handouts, it asks for something back in return.That could be a good deed, or even, paradoxically, a small donation of food.The idea is to give people in need, some agency, a sense that they are not merely the receivers of help, but also the givers.It was started by Charles McJilton, who says he doesn't define what Second Harvest does as "helping" but more like providing a service. He compares it to a public library or hospital.In this edition of the Table Talk podcast, we focus on one of the food related Expo Live global innovators at Expo 2020 hosted in Dubai.Stefan Gates talks to Charles about how cultural factors often prevent people seeking help with food poverty in Japan, how trust of charities is low, and how Covid has affected Second Harvest's work.And they try to answer the question: 'Could this model be copied around the world?' Charles E. McJilton, Founder, Second Harvest JapanCharles first went to Asia in 1984 with the US military, and returned to Japan in 1991 to conduct research at Sophia University. At that time he lived in a religious community in one of the poorest sections of Tokyo (Sanya) where day-laborers and homeless lived. It was this experience that set him on his current trajectory. In 1995 he founded “Let’s Build,” a self-help centre dedicated to providing tools for those living on the streets to either help themselves or die with dignity. While he felt he understood many of the issues of those in his community, he felt something lacking. So from January 1997 to April 1998 he lived in a cardboard house among the homeless along the Sumida River in Tokyo. This experience radically changed his worldview and deeply influences his approach to providing aid and developing organisations. He has founded four organisations in Asia that deal with food security. In 2002 he incorporated the first food bank in Japan (Second Harvest Japan). In 2010 he created a 501(c)3, Second Harvest Asia, to promote food banking in Asia. In 2012 he incorporated the first food bank in the Philippines (Salu-Salo: Food Bank Philippines). And in 2013 he established a public-interest foundation, registered at the Japanese Cabinet Office, Alliance of Japan Foodbanks (formerly Second Harvest Japan Alliance) to develop a national network of food banks in Japan. He has taught NGO Management at Sophia University since 2009. He is married with four children.

Millions of people will be giving and receiving chocolate on Valentine's Day, and even more will be doing so around Easter. But do we really understand the true history of it? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by food historian, Emma Kay, to reveal the often very dark history of chocolate. The slave trade was used to exploit millions of people, who were forced to work on plantations.  It may sound like something that could never happen today, but accusations of slavery in the cocoa industry persist in parts of Africa. Not only that, but land is often destroyed as part of the farming process, and that can lead to the deaths of many. So how did it come to be that such value was put on chocolate? In this episode we venture back more than 4,000 years to the very first communities known to have experimented with cocoa beans. How the Mayans saw it as a powerful aphrodisiac, how it ended up in Europe, and the changes that led to the type of chocolate we eat today - very different from what was being consumed in 2,000 BC. Emma Kay, Food Historian Emma is a food historian, author, and prolific collector of Kitchenalia. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and young son.  Her articles have appeared in publications including BBC History Magazine, The Daily Express, Daily Mail, Times Literary Supplement, and the Victorian Review (Johns Hopkins University) .  She has contributed historic food research for a number of television production companies and featured several times on Talk Radio Europe, and multiple BBC radio stations.

"I was worried at the time. I didn't know what I wanted to do."Kate Halliwell was in her twenties and, despite studying biochemistry at Oxford, she wasn't sure which career path to follow.So she upped sticks and went travelling for two years. "I refer to it as my quarter-life crisis," she tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations series.It wasn't long before Kate was back in academia, gaining a Masters in nutrition, which led to civil servant roles and eventually, to joining the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).In this episode, Kate talks about National Apprenticeship Week, something the FDF is keenly involved in. "The food sector as a whole needs new people to join," Kate says, adding that there's work to be done to educate people about the diversity of roles on offer.She also points out that many of the jobs that exist are high-skilled as food manufacturing is "becoming effectively high technology".Listen on to find out all about what the FDF does, learn more about Kate's role, and be inspired to keep plugging away until you find the career that's right for you. Kate Halliwell, Chief Scientific Officer, Food and Drink FederationKate is accountable for the FDF’s food safety, food law and labelling, and diet and health policy briefs. The role involves extensive liaison with food and drink manufacturing companies to develop cross-industry policy positions and responding to scientific consultations.  Previously Kate led the FDF’s diet and health policy work, and before that worked for the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency on a range of nutrition and legislation policies.  Kate is a member of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and is a registered nutritionist. 

It's clear that the use of CBD in food and drink products in the UK is rising rapidly, but just how big can the market become?In this second Table Talk episode focussing on CBD, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts on how the supplement can be put to use.Lauren Lovatt is Founder of Plant Academy, and Dave Gibson is Founder of Gibsons Goodology.Both have extensive experience in the opportunities and challenges of producing CBD products in western markets.In this episode, they discuss why the UK has become such a big market for CBD products already, why there's still some uncertainty among consumers about how to use the supplement, and how regulation and limits on online advertising are affecting sales.Listen to our previous episode, where we looked in more detail at the facts around the CBD, and asked the question: Is the regulatory system working? Lauren Lovatt, Founder of Plant AcademyLauren is a plant-based chef and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the Plant Academy in London and the woman behind MIND FOOD, a project dedicated to delicious food specifically designed to feed your mind.Lauren has openly shared her journey with mental health over the years, which led her to discover a burning passion to inspire others through food. Early on in her career, Lauren set up an aspirational vegan restaurant – Asparagasm – which led her to host her own plant-based pop-up nights for some years; from these experiences, she has a wealth of experience developing recipes, writing menus and creating events. Dave Gibson, Founder of Gibsons GoodologyDave says he's been on his CBD journey for the last 7 years, having invested in a THC dispensary in Canada years ago, it growing to 28 stores, then setting up another cannabis company in London, before starting up Gibson's Goodology, with the likes of Blair, one of the leads for Start Ups at Google HQ, marketers from the Pharma space, engineers and lawyers who specialise in cannabis.

The use of cannabidiol, or CBD, in food and drink is booming in the UK. CBD-infused drinks, ice cream, functional snack bars - you name it - have helped the sector to astronomical growth in recent years. In 2021, the sector saw sales worth £690m. But with that growth have come some questions. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts who can tackle some of the most pressing issues around CBD. Clinical lecturer, Dr Mikael Sodergren, explains how the supplement works, and addresses some of the "mystique" and "anecdotal claims" that surround it.Lawyer, Sarah Ellson, sets out the dos and don'ts when making claims about products containing CBD, and addresses the surprisingly complicated question of whether or not it's legal to produce it in the UK.Sarah also raises significant questions about whether the regulatory system is working. Dr Mikael Sodergren, Imperial College, LondonMikael Sodergren MBChB, DIC, PhD, FRCS is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London and Consultant Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He leads the Medical Cannabis Research Group - a research programme which evaluates and develops novel therapies targeting the endocannabinoid system through a framework of in vitro, in vivo and clinical translational activities. Sarah Ellson, Partner, Field FisherSarah is a partner at law firm Fieldfisher where she co-leads the firm’s regulatory group and specialises in healthcare and life sciences regulation. She acts for numerous regulators but also for a diverse range of private providers in the cannabis, pharmaceutical, optical, pharmacy and wider healthcare sectors and particularly supports new clients looking to enter or expand in the English/UK market.  She has worked with many businesses involved with cannabis products, on supply chain and transactional due diligence as well as licensing and compliance.