My thanks go to Sailesh Mehta of accountants HW Fisher, who very kindly invited me to their event at the Victoria & Albert Museum this evening dedicated to sustainability and the future of food.
In addition to a private viewing of V&A’s FOOD: Bigger than the Plate exhibition, the central part of the event was a panel discussion on the future of food featuring:
- Mark Broadbent (Great British Menu Northern Champion, Food Vendor at Facebook and CEO of Bread and Honey Events);
- Rebecca Mascarenhas (renowned Michelin star restauranteur and industry doyenne);
- Andy Salter (Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Nottingham and leader of the Future Protein Research Platform);
- Jack Astbury (Co-founder of Urban Organic, who turn rooftop urban spaces into year-round food-producing gardens);
- Charlie Mash (CEO of Mash Purveyors, a link between food producers and the capital’s restaurants from Pret to Michelin Star establishments);
- Chair: Lisa Markwell (Former editor of the Independent on Sunday and currently editor at Code and food editor at The Sunday Times).
The panel debated their ideas for the food we will eat in the future and how this will be produced, prepared and the resulting waste disposal.
I asked the final question during the Q&A that followed, in which I highlighted the distribution and transportation of food and the part plastic may play in its delivery.
The whole evening was very interesting and I was able to discuss with Lisa the idea of including a feature in the next edition of The Musician magazine focusing on the issue of working musicians and their diet, especially when touring abroad.