Hawksmoor and Kerb leaders to take to the stage at Speciality & Fine Food Fair

Speakers from Hawksmoor, Kerb and the Happy Pear will be discussing hot topics at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair’s 25th anniversary edition on 10-11 September at Olympia London.

Each year the fair’s content programme enables hospitality professionals to keep on top of the latest trends and innovations in the world of speciality food and drink.

The Talking Trends stage, in partnership with the European Union, will cover new ingredients and topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), empowering retail teams and consumer perceptions of ultra-processed foods.

Priya Narain, purpose and culture manager at Kerb, will be a panellist for the ‘Diversity: More than just ticking boxes’, session.

She said: “Joining this important debate is crucial to me because DEI is the backbone of a thriving, innovative industry. It’s more than a tick-box exercise – it’s about fostering an environment where diverse voices lead to richer, more creative outcomes for everyone.”

Author and presenter Jenny Jeffries will be joined onstage by Hawksmoor general manager Tom Foxwell, the Happy Pear founder Stephen Flynn and Claire Mackenzie, producer of the documentary Six Inches of Soil, to discuss the pros and cons of hospitality businesses working with regenerative farms.

Meanwhile, the Drinks Uncovered stage will be playing host to a range of talks and demos centred around the drinks sector. Sarah Stewart, sake wine and cheese educator at West London Wine School, will be discussing pairings of sake and cheese and the power of umami.

A panel moderated by Ruth Dolby, director at Food Science Fusion, will see Richard Enion, director at Enrichd, Darwin Fletcher, founder and creator of Quirky Monkey, and Zain Peer, co-founder of London Nootropics, delving into the world of mushroom-based drinks and the rise of nootropics, adaptogens and functional beverages.

The Talking Trends stage will also host the Pitch Live Final, where food brands will be pitching their products live on stage during the fair for the chance to secure a listing with the online retailer.

The winners of the 2024 Speciality & Fine Food Fair Awards will be unveiled on the evening of 10 September, followed by a celebration of 25 rising stars in the industry to celebrate the fair’s 25th anniversary.

This year the fair has changed the its registration and attendance policy, introducing visitor registration approval with the aim of attracting the event’s intended audience of food and drink buyers and producers.