Amarula and Future Plate to launch first Afro-Caribbean UK forum

South African cream liqueur brand Amarula has partnered with black culinary collective the Future Plate to launch the UK’s first African and Caribbean cuisine and culture forum.

The forum will feature panel discussions, live demonstrations, and food and drink masterclasses led by some of the country’s leading Black chefs, including Amarula taste ambassador and MasterChef semi-finalist William Chilila, and Mike Reid, culinary director at Gaucho and judge on Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef.

The Future Plate is a consortium of Black chefs aiming to promote African and Caribbean cuisine. The event with Amarula is to be held on 11 and 12 July and will be presented by British TV presenter Ayo Akinwolere.

Amarula global marketing director Gillian Skinner said the brand had worked with the Future Plate since it launched its gin in October last year. “To support this new dynamic venture made perfect sense," she said.

Skinner added: “We are so excited to be able to learn from the participating experts – African and Caribbean food and drink are very much on the ascendancy. We are also collaborating with superb talent to share and hopefully inspire attendees on the special flavours and versatility of our products, anchored in the brand’s homeland of South Africa.”

Director and founder of Future Plate, Julian George, said the Afro-Caribbean culinary community had “waited patiently for our moment in the culinary world” and the launch of the forum made it feel “like it is all coming together”.

The cream liqueur brand was founded in 1983 with its main ingredient deriving from marula trees in southern Africa.