WHO IS ON THE PANEL?

With a symposium of talks chaired by food writer Xanthe Clay, and Roger Saul

FŌDA aims to shed light on some of the big issues around food today - from health to regenerative farming.

Expert speakers in the symposium line-up including Margot Henderson, The Newt, Our Farm by Simon Rogan, Gurdeep Loyal, Tom Herbert, Kalpna Woolf, Yeo Valley and Cornish Sea Salt.

 

Discussing the effect of salt in our cooking and in our bodies. Cornish Salt (salt company), Ash Ranpura (Neuroscientist) will also be discussing the effects of salt on the brain and Gurdeep Loyal (Food Writer) and Josh Eggleton (Chef) will discuss how salt flavours food.

Debating and debunking different types of fat, including animal, seed, and dairy with Margot Henderson (Three Horseshoes), Tom Calver (Westcombe Dairy), Dr. Lucy Williamson (Nutritionist) and Tomos Parry (Chef and Owner of Brat), this panel will be chaired by Xanthe Clay.

FAT

Farming without chemicals - Regenerative and organic farming. Discussing the various methods are: Alice Power (The Black Swan), Dr Alice Mayor (Yeo Valley), William Mayor (Yeo Valley), Liam Fitzpatrick (Head Chef from Simon Rogan’s Our Farm), David Rowley, (Head Grower at The Newt) will be on the panel and it will be chaired by Roger Saul (Sharpham Park).

Showcasing food community action groups to discuss their work are Emma Hopkins (Mother’s Manifesto), Eleni Morus (Bristol North West Food Bank), Kalpna Woolf (91 Ways) and Natalia Middleton (Food Behind Bars). Chaired by Josh Eggleton.

SALT

  • Male chef smiling outdoors in a garden or farm setting, wearing a white chef's coat and navy apron.

    Josh Eggleton (Chef and Owner, The Pony Chew Valley)

    Josh Eggleton is a celebrated Bristol chef who rose to fame running a Michelin-starred pub with his sister Holly. Inspired by family, he champions sustainable, locally sourced British cuisine. With multiple acclaimed restaurants, including The Pony Chew Valley and Root, he’s also active in community projects and ethical food initiatives.

  • A man standing on rocks near the water's edge with green hills and houses in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

    Philip Tanswell (Cornish Salt)

    Philip Tanswell, "the original Salt Geek," is a leading expert at Cornish Sea Salt with unrivalled knowledge of sea salt production and culinary applications. Cornish Sea Salt hand-harvests premium sea salt from Cornwall's Celtic Sea waters, creating salt that's 30% lower in sodium with up to 82 trace minerals. Available across major UK retailers and 35+ countries internationally, their products are trusted by Michelin-starred chefs and home cooks alike.

  • A man with dark, wavy hair, glasses, and a beard, wearing a gray button-up shirt, is sitting indoors with his hand resting on his chin, looking thoughtful.

    Ash Ranpura (Neuroscientist)

    Dr. Ash Ranpura is a neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist with over 25 years in brain research. He holds degrees from Yale University and completed Ph.D. research at Queen Square, London. A prominent science communicator, he's hosted radio programmes for BBC Radio 4 and NPR, co-founded Café Scientifique in London, and co-authored How to be Human: The Manual with Ruby Wax and Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten, exploring meditation's effects on the brain.

  • A man with short hair and tattoos on his arms, wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt, sitting on a chair and smiling against a neutral background.

    Gurdeep Loyal (Food Writer)

    Gurdeep Loyal is an award-winning food and travel writer with over 20 years' industry experience at Innocent Drinks, Harrods Food Halls, and M&S Food, where he was Head of Future Food Trends. He's author of 'Flavour Heroes' and winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award for his debut cookbook 'Mother Tongue'. A monthly trends columnist for Olive Magazine and regular on BBC's Saturday Kitchen, he's written for Delicious Magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, and The Independent.

FAT

  • Dr Lucy Williamson (Nutritionist)

    Dr Lucy Williamson is a Registered Nutritionist and former Vet with over 30 years’ experience across health, food, and farming. She founded The Gut Project to reconnect nutrition with its roots—through soil, nutrient-rich food, and the gut microbiome. A passionate advocate for climate-positive farming, Lucy trains health professionals, runs community workshops, and shares practical, science-backed advice through her Gut Health platform and regular media appearances.

  • A woman with wavy blonde hair wearing a white chef coat and dark blue apron, standing in a kitchen with a beige wall in the background, smiling and leaning on a wooden table.

    Margot Henderson (Chef and Owner of The Three Horseshoes)

    The lauded Kiwi-born chef and cookery writer Margot Henderson brings her culinary chops (Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch, The Eagle in Farringdon, The French House in Soho) to Somerset, with the newly launched The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe (just outside Bruton), a 17th century pub with rooms and an unpretentious field-to-fork, nose-to-tail menu.

  • A man with short brown hair, blue eyes, and a beard smiling while holding a large, rusty metal pipe on his shoulder. He is wearing a navy blue T-shirt with white text.

    Tom Calver (Westcombe Dairy)

    Tom Calver is a passionate cheese-maker from a Somerset family with cheese-making heritage dating back to the 1890s. Combining traditional methods with innovation, he has invested in a spring water-cooled cellar and commissioned the UK's first cheese brushing robot, "Tina the Turner," to ensure quality and consistency. Tom is committed to sustainability and reducing the dairy's carbon footprint while preserving traditional cheese-making artistry. His expertise and dedication to using the finest ingredients have earned him a respected position in the cheese-making community.

  • Tomos Parry (Chef and Owner, Brat)

    Tomos Parry is a Welsh chef renowned for his wood-fired cooking and bold, ingredient-led cuisine. Originally from Anglesey, he rose to prominence at Kitty Fisher’s before opening Brat in Shoreditch, which earned a Michelin star for its Basque-inspired dishes and focus on seasonal British produce. In 2023, he launched Mountain in Soho, expanding his signature style with house-made cheeses, breads, and charcuterie. Both restaurants reflect Parry’s deep respect for tradition, fire, and flavour

ACID

  • Alice Mayor (Yeo Valley)

    Dr Alice Power is a nutritionist and former NHS doctor, now part of the Yeo Valley Organic team. As the granddaughter of Yeo’s founders, she brings both personal connection and professional insight—exploring how regenerative farming and nutrition can shape healthier communities.

  • Alice Power (The Black Swan)

    Alice Power leads the kitchen at The Black Swan, Oldstead — the Michelin-starred restaurant by Tommy Banks. Since joining in 2021, Alice has risen to Head Chef, shaping a menu rooted entirely in the Banks family farm and surrounding landscape. Her elegant, sustainable cooking has helped the restaurant retain its Michelin and Green Stars, along with top marks in the 360°Eat Guide. A former civil servant turned chef, Alice is now one of Britain’s most exciting culinary voices.

  • A man wearing a straw hat with a chinstrap, smiling and holding a small stalk of grass in his mouth, outdoors in a rural setting.

    David Rowley (Head Grower at The Newt)

    David Rowley serves as Head Grower at The Newt in Somerset, where he oversees the cultivation and management of the estate's magnificent gardens and productive growing areas. The Newt is a luxury country estate with magnificent gardens and spa hotel in Somerset, known for its innovative design and garden-fresh produce. The estate's Somerset gardens have been shaped by successive enthusiasts over the last 200 years and are described as "beautiful and useful," serving as both a feast for the eyes and stomach. The Newt goes beyond traditional horticulture, creating products deeply rooted in regional heritage and craftsmanship, including award-winning ciders made from traditional apple varieties grown on the estate.

  • Debbie Warner (Wild Wine)

    Debbie Warner is a wine expert, environmentalist, and founder of Wild Wine School. With a background in Marine Biology and Oceanography, she brings a unique perspective to wine, specialising in sustainability, and organic, biodynamic and regenerative viticulture. Debbie holds the WSET Diploma and is a certified educator, teaching WSET courses as well as delivering her own specialist courses on sustainability in wine. Alongside her work in education, she consults on sustainable projects including wine by sail, and regularly speaks at conferences and events on the future of wine, food, and farming systems.

  • Close-up of a male chef wearing a white chef's coat outdoors with a blurred natural background.

    Liam Fitzpatrick (Head Chef, Our Farm)

    Liam Fitzpatrick is Head Chef of Our Farm with nearly a decade's experience working for the Simon Rogan Group, defining his culinary style through utilising the wide range of naturally occurring herbs and produce synonymous with the UK. At Our Farm, Liam specialises in preserving surplus produce for Simon Rogan's restaurants and leads informative tours alongside alfresco feasting lunches, demonstrating preservation techniques and cooking signature dishes metres from where ingredients are grown. Our Farm was established by Simon Rogan in 2011 to ensure access to quality seasonal ingredients and has since tripled in size, supplying his acclaimed Lake District restaurants including three Michelin-starred L'Enclume, Rogan & Co, Henrock and Aulis Cartmel, cementing Rogan as a pioneer of the farm-to-fork movement in the UK.

  • William Mayor (Yeo Valley)

    William Mayor grew up on Yeo Valley Farm and has worked across its operations from a young age. With a background in Food Marketing and Agriculture, he returned to the farm during Covid with a passionate focus on regenerative organic practices. William now leads projects that push boundaries—from advanced dairy grazing to 100% homegrown feed—all aimed at producing nutrient-rich food that supports both people and planet.

SWEET

  • A blackboard sign with pink text and decorative felt hearts around the border. The sign reads 'Mother's Hunger Strike' with an arrow pointing to the website MOTHERMANIFESTO.COM. The felt hearts on the border have various names written on them.

    Emma Hopkins (Mother's Manifesto)

    Emma Hopkins is co-founder of Mother's Manifesto, an activist group campaigning against food insecurity and climate crisis. She has led multiple hunger strikes, including a six-day strike on Mother's Day 2023 and another in 2024, to call for action on food poverty in the UK and globally. Her activism has resulted in Parliamentary meetings, widespread media coverage appearing in 22 newspapers in a single day, and government commitments to key demands including a true living wage and ending new oil and gas licences. Through Mother's Manifesto, Emma continues to campaign for social security that guarantees life's essentials and debt cancellation for the world's poorest nations.

  • A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair with pink tips, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, standing in front of a stone wall with some dried and green vine plants.

    Eleni Morus (Community Organiser, Bristol North West Food Bank)

    Eleni is an Organiser working with Bristol’s food banks to mobilise communities to campaign on issues driving food insecurity in the city.

    Her current campaign focuses on influencing decision makers to make sure that Universal Credit supports people to be able to afford life’s essentials.

    She works to platform underrepresented voices in the city through a variety of actions including lobbying decision makers, organising creative campaigning actions, storytelling spaces and community events.

  • Kalpna Woolf (Founder of 91 Ways, Food Writer)

    Kalpna Woolf is an award-winning food writer, entrepreneur and charity campaigner who combines her Indian heritage with expertise gained from managing BBC food programmes with Nigella, Nigel Slater, Rick Stein and the Hairy Bikers. Author of Spice Diet and Eat Share Love, she's a respected festival chef, food writer and seasoned awards judge who has received numerous accolades including The Guild of Food Writers Inspiration Award and BBC's Food and Farming Food Hero Award. In 2015 she launched charity 91 Ways, which uses food to bring diverse communities together, break down barriers and build common ground across cultural divides.

  • Natalia Middleton (Food behind Bars)

    Natalia Middleton is a chef, educator, and changemaker working at the intersection of food and social justice. As Head of Food Education and Development at Food Behind Bars, she leads efforts to transform prison food across the UK—bringing dignity, nutrition, and culinary skills to incarcerated communities. With a background in criminology and professional kitchens, Nat blends deep social insight with hands-on expertise, using food as a tool for rehabilitation and empowerment.

  • Tom Herbert (Founder, The Long Table)

    I’m a baker, social entrepreneur, and advocate for radical hospitality. As co-founder of The Long Table, a pay-as-you-can community restaurant, I champion food as a vector for massive social change, ensuring everyone has access to great food and people to eat it with. With a background in baking and values-driven leadership, I inspire communities to rethink food, generosity, and resilience. My work fosters connection, dignity, and hope, feeding change one bite at a time.

OUR HOSTS

  • A smiling woman with blonde hair resting her chin on her hand outdoors, wearing a blue shirt and a red necklace that says "Lucy."

    Xanthe Clay (Telegraph writer / Guild of Food Writers)

    Xanthe Clay is a food writer, chef, and columnist for The Telegraph. She has over 25 years of experience in the field and has written extensively on various culinary topics. Her work includes restaurant reviews, taste tests, and explorations of topical issues like ultra-processed foods and sustainability. She also has a background as a chef and caterer, and has authored five cookbooks. 

  • A man smiling and holding a wooden tray filled with walnuts in an outdoor garden setting.

    Roger Saul (Sharpham Park)

    Founder of the iconic British fashion brand Mulberry, Roger Saul turned a £500 start-up into a global lifestyle Designer brand before moving into hospitality with the Michelin-starred Charlton House hotel and spa. In 2003, he purchased Sharpham Park, a 300-acre estate near Glastonbury, and transformed it into a pioneering model of organic regenerative, mixed farming. Under his stewardship, it became the UK’s leading producer of the ancient grain spelt, supplied to major retailers and restaurants. Today, Roger champions British-grown organic walnuts – recognised as a Future 50 Food – while continuing to advocate for biodiversity, future food security, and organic regenerative agriculture as essential to our planet’s future.