Table Talk

In this new series we get personal with the people behind the brands, with the debut episode focusing on Beau’s Gelato. We join Co-Founder and CEO Joseph Eyre to find out how two partners with no previous experience in the food industry, one with a background in nursing the other in finance, came to start an award winning plant-based gelato brand. We discuss what made them take the plunge and start a business in an industry that was so alien to them, what fuels their passion and what comes next as they scale their brand. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About Beau’s Gelato Beau’s Gelato was born out of our shared passion for travel, discovery and – most importantly – great food. Prior to setting up Beau’s we travelled extensively, searching high and low for vegan dishes that were good enough to write home about. Along the way, we were lucky enough to meet many incredible artisans doing amazing things with vegan ingredients. Inspired, we decided we would go back and craft our own contribution to t

Healthy soil is full of living organisms that help to generate the nutrients crops need to grow. But many conventional farming practices inadvertently degrade soil health over time, which in turn can reduce crop yields. Regenerative Agriculture aims to capture carbon in soil and aboveground biomass, reversing current global trends of atmospheric accumulation. At the same time, it offers increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health and vitality for farming and ranching communities. To explore regenerative agriculture and to find out the impact it could have on our environment, we once again, in partnership with Anglo American, join experts in the field to share their insight and experience. We speak to Ross Mitchell, Head of Agronomy and Technical Services, Anglo American Crop Nutrients and Paul Davey, seventh generation farmer and conservation agriculture contractor. Find out how we can regenerate our agriculture to improve sustainability in the future. About our panel Ross Mitche

Intermittent fasting has been accepted for many years as a fast and effective way to lose weight, in fact Michael Moseley has published a number of best sellers on the 5:2 diet. However, a new and recently published study looks at the effects of fasting and lower energy intake in lean people. This podcast will explore the results of the study and what this means for our understanding of the success of intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool. "Ultimately, fasting did result in weight loss in our experiment, so it is true to say that it was an effective approach in that regard," said James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom and senior author of the new study. "However, we can confidently say it was not better than standard dieting in achieving that outcome and there were no other benefits specific to fasting within the context of our study." In this episode of Table Talk we speak to Professor James Betts to find out about the study, and what it means fo

The UN has described our degradation of soil being 'as important as climate change' yet soil is often overlooked when we talk about the threats to future generations. It's easy to degrade soil quickly, but not easy to repair the damage that is caused so what can be done to protect our precious resource for agriculture in the future? To find out we've assembled a panel of experts including Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF, Carl Edwards, Director of Education and Public Engagement, LEAF, and Dr Felicity Crotty, Lecturer in Soil Science, Royal Agricultural University. We'll discuss the scale of the challenge we face, what is happening now to raise awareness of the issues we're facing, and what we can do to fix our agriculture system. Join us for a fascinating and lively debate on Table Talk. About our panel Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF Caroline Drummond has been Chief Executive of LEAF since it started in 1991. After graduating in Agriculture she worked on farms in the UK and overseas before joining LEAF. She w

The UK Government has committed to going 'net zero' by 2050. In practice this means getting rid of as many emissions as we produce. This can be achieved through removing harmful emissions as much as possible and in the instances where we still rely on fossil fuels, offsetting the emissions we produce. In the second of a series of podcasts focused on net zero, we rejoin the Food and Drink Federation to hear about the roadmap they've published that shows the food and drink industry could hit net zero by 2050, and find out how this will impact manufacturers. Joining host Stefan Gates once again is Emma Piercy, Head of Climate Change & Energy Policy - FDF, and this time we also speak to Matt Loose, Chief Executive & Founder, Canopy Consulting. Join us to hear the scope of the challenge ahead, how it creates opportunities for food brands, and what the government needs to do to help support food and drink brands on their journey to net zero. About our guests Emma Piercy, Head of Climate Change & Ene

The traditional foods we love often have regional differences that make them unique. For example, the cheddar cheese you buy from your local supermarket may have a completely different flavour profile from the one you’d find in a sandwich in a pub in Ireland. These subtle differences can greatly impact our enjoyment of food, and flavour experts are applying this knowledge to create innovative and delicious plant-based dairy to meet a growing consumer demand. Joining us to explain how are the experts from Edlong, a global flavour house with offices around the world. With over 100 years of experience in the dairy market, and over four decades of plant-based dairy expertise, they’re perfectly positioned to explain how regional nuances and flavours can affect our enjoyment of plant-based dairy products. We’ll discuss all aspects of plant-based cheese, and host Stefan Gates gets the chance to sample some of the products and flavours they’ve developed. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our guests Ju

Some of the largest ingredients companies are leading the way with food and drink innovations that will feed the future. In this special edition of the Table Talk podcast we look back to conversations we've had with Cargill, Gelita, Givaudan and Ÿnsect to find out how they're developing the flavours to support consumer trends. Find out why insect protein could be the future of sports nutrition, how e-sports athletes are gaining an edge through supplements, how umami can be harnessed to improve flavour and what challenges still need to be conquered in order to expand the world of dairy alternatives as host Stefan Gates joins the leading names from the ingredients world. About our guests Antoine Hubert, Chairman & CEO, Ÿnsect Antoine is Ÿnsect’s Chairman and CEO. He also leads the cooperative insect industry association, the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) and is Board Member of Protéine France consortium and LFD. Prior to co-founding Ÿnsect, Antoine worked on scientific p

One year ago Table Talk Podcast host Stefan Gates sat down with members of the food industry and the UK government to hear about the new strategy that was intended to tackle a growing obesity epidemic in the country. One year on, what impact have the measures had, what will be adapted for the future, and is the strategy working? Joining us to dissect the benefits of the UK obesity strategy, and to find out what further changes will be needed if we’re to become a healthier country in the future, are Dr. Jennifer Dixon, CEO, Health Foundation and Anna Tayler, Executive Director, Food Foundation. Join us for a fascinating and lively discussion to see where we’re going wrong in our efforts to improve our health and wellbeing. About our guests Dr Jennifer Dixon, CEO, Health Foundation Dr Jennifer Dixon joined the Health Foundation as Chief Executive in October 2013. Jennifer was Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust from 2008 to 2013. Prior to this, she was Director of Policy at The King’s Fund and was the

Do you understand what the various health claims on food packaging actually mean for your nutrition? If not, you’re not alone. Food health claims can be confusing to shoppers and manufacturers alike, with regulations muddying the waters and consumers in different countries being skeptical around the claims brands make. How can the health claims on food be simplified, in a way that is transparent and understandable for everyone? Joining host Stefan Gates this week is Professor of Sociolinguistics, Rodney Jones from the University of Reading. Funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Rodney is the lead of the Health Claims Unpacked project, which is looking at how language around health claims can be improved to make them more appealing and understandable. Why do Italian consumers prefer to buy products with no health claims, why do some manufacturers in France simply not bother to use them, and how do linguistics affect our impression of the benefits of the food we eat? Join the conversa

The global ice cream market is expected to hit $75bn by 2024 and to maintain growth brands are constantly having to innovate new recipes and flavours, while responding to changing consumer demands prompted by challenges including Covid-19 and climate change. Is changing consumer demand leading to a surge in plant-based, healthier and more sustainable ice cream? To find out we’re joined by the true experts in the field, Tetra Pak and Mintel. Tetra Pak equipment and lines are responsible for the production of as much as 50% of the world’s ice cream, and Mintel are the world’s leading market intelligence agency tracking consumer opinions and trends to develop an understanding of what consumers want and why.  About our guests Torben Vilsgaard, Ice Cream Academy Manager, Tetra Pak Torben Vilsgaard is Ice Cream Academy Manager at Tetra Pak, the leading producer of ice cream equipment. In this role, Torben focuses on performance and quality. His work entails starting up the Academy, where he plans and execut

In this day and age we’ve got apps for everything - travel, making new connections, and of course to help us improve our mental and physical health and well-being. With research showing how important gut health is to mental and physical health, will digital apps to improve your gut health be the next in your download queue? Our guest on this podcast, our second in a series focused on mHealth, certainly thinks so. We’re joined by André Sommer, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Cara Care. Andre will explain why personalised gut health insight is so important, how it can help improve our health, and what the future could look like in the mHealth space. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our guest André Sommer, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Cara Care Cara Care is a Berlin-based HealthTech startup, founded in 2016 by Andre Sommer, Dankrad Feist, Jesaja Brinkmann and Orest Tarasiuk. The business is run by a team of nutritionists, psychologists and other medical experts helping to create a truly holistic, specialist a

The UK Government National Food Strategy, led by Henry Dimbleby the founder of restaurant chain Leon, has submitted a set of recommendations to help the nation become healthier, reduce obesity and become more sustainable. Will the strategy form the foundation of a healthier future? Or do we need to look deeper at key issues that face our dysfunctional food system? The Table Talk Podcast has spoken to the leading voices in the country to find out how we can fix our broken food system, and build a secure future. In this episode we look back to conversations with Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London’s Centre for Food Policy, Jo Churchill MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, Chris Venables, Head of Politics, Green Alliance and Dr Michael Clark, Researcher, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford to discuss the scale of the problems the UK faces, what the government proposes to do to fix them, and whether meat and

This week we once again explore the UK Environment Bill, and how it will impact food brands and manufacturers. Following last weeks look at deforestation, we now turn our attention towards packaging. With the bill placing more responsibility on producers to make changes to their packaging in order for them to be easily recyclable, we look at how food brands will need to adapt to help the environment. Joining us are two experts in packaging and sustainability Martin Hyde, Policy Leader, Comply Direct and Julian Hunt, Vice President Public Affairs & Communications, Coca Cola European Partners. They explain what the new legislation means for the environment and how food brands will need to adapt. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our panel Martin Hyde, Policy Leader, Comply Direct Martin is the dedicated Policy Leader at Comply Direct Ltd, responsible for engaging members in environmental legislation and regulation change, informing both internal and external stakeholders on key policy devel

The UK Environment Bill aims to ensure that UK-based companies are transparent about their supply chains and their impact on deforestation and proposes fines for those who don’t adhere.  What will this new legislation mean for food and drink brands, why is it important, and does it go far enough? Joining Table Talk this week to share their views are Sam Lawson, Founding Director, Earthsight, Alice Lucas, Advocacy and Policy Manager, Fairtrade Foundation and Robert Sheasby, Chief Executive, The Agricultural Industries Confederation. About our panel Sam Lawson, Founding Director, Earthsight Earthsight is a non-profit organisation committed to harnessing the power of primary investigative research and reporting to bring attention to pressing issues of human rights and environmental justice. We aim to get to the core of an issue, using a range of investigative research methods to obtain first-hand, documented evidence of crimes against both people and the planet which is irrefutable and impossible to

With traditional farming using 77% of agricultural land, but only providing 18% of the world's calories, it's clear our food system is fairly dysfunctional. 69% of the EU's protein-rich feed, such as soya, is imported, contributing to a growing climate crisis. With 1kg of insect protein using 99.4% less land than soy, the main ingredient in animal feed, will the insect farming offer a sustainable solution for the future? To find out, we speak to Keiran Whitaker, Founder and Director, Entocycle. Entocycle is a British insect farming startup that directly addresses all of these scary inefficiencies in our current food system. The company takes a ‘circular economy’ approach to production, it takes in pre-consumer food waste such as spent coffee grounds and beer grains and utilises insect’s natural bio-conversion process to convert this waste into natural, protein-rich insects to feed animals. Join us for a fascinating look into the potential for insect farming in the UK, and the positive impact it can have on o

Professor Robert Thomas is leading the Phyto-V study to understand the impact of gut health on COVID-19. The purpose of the study is to determine if nutritional interventions could help shorten the severity or duration of illness for those infected with the virus. In this latest Table Talk we sit down to talk to Professor Thomas to find out all about this new study. Whilst it is widely known about the gut health brain axis, the gut health lung pathway is less known. The study explores whether phytochemicals and probiotics have a role to play in aiding faster recovery from Covid. We'll explore the results to date and what this means for our diet, what food we should be eating, and how we it affects severity and duration of COVID-related illness. It's a fascinating look further into the world of gut health, join the conversation on Table Talk. About Professor Robert Thomas Professor Robert Thomas is a full time NHS Consultant Oncologist at Bedford and Addenbrooke's Hospitals, a teacher at Cambridge Universi

Could mobile health apps, known as mHealth, be the answer to managing food allergies for those who live with them? Millions of patients suffering from allergic diseases may benefit from mHealth innovations. The European Academy of Allergy & Clinical Immunology created a task force to assess the development and future potential of ICT in the field of allergy. Food allergy apps could play a significant role for different stakeholders, including patients and patient organisations, GPs and the food industry. Joining Table Talk to explain the opportunities, the potential, and the risks around food-allergy supporting mHealth are James Gardner, Allergy Nurse Consultant, Great North Children’s Hospital and Professor Michael Rudenko MD, PHD, FAAAAI, Allergy Consultant, Specialist in Allergy and Immunology, Medical Director and Founder of London Allergy and Immunology Centre. We explore this expanding sector and take a look at what the future might hold for mHealth and food allergy management. About our guests J

Health and wellbeing has become central to many of our lives with health-conscious consumers demanding natural products made with pure and simple ingredients. Immune health has garnered particular attention owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire for people to choose functional foods that help support their immune system. The Caribbean has historically been a tropical haven for a range of plant-based or natural ingredients. It’s therefore no surprise that the region is seeing a surge in demand for these natural products. With increased demand, the question of sustainability becomes of paramount importance, not only in terms of preserving the quality and potency of the product during production, but also ensuring farmers and local communities are not compromised or marginalised but in fact benefit from the surge in demand. In this podcast we hear from academics, food and drink industry experts and Caribbean exporters on the functional benefits of seamoss, more commonly known as Irish moss, turmeric, mo

The Health Survey for England 2019 estimates that 28% of adults in England are obese, with a further 36% categorised as overweight. For children, 9.9% of 4-5 year olds are obese, growing to 21% by the time they reach 10-11. It's clear that obesity is a major problem in the country, but what are the psychological factors that influence obesity? Can an understanding of psychology help when trying to change the way we interact with food? Joining us to discuss this is Dr Lisa Newson, BSc (Hons), MSc, D Health Psyc. CPsychol. Reader in Applied Health Psychology, Health Psychologist, Liverpool John Moores University. Dr. Newson provides a comprehensive background on the psychological factors that come into play, how they affect the way we make food choices, and what can be done to turn the tide for the future. About Dr. Lisa Newson Dr. Lisa Newson, BSc (Hons), MSc, D Health Psyc. CPsychol. Reader in Applied Health Psychology, Health Psychologist, Liverpool John Moores University. Dr Newson is a Reader in Applie

With a growing climate crisis, and population, food and beverage brands are facing the difficult question of how to produce more while impacting the environment less. The need to utilise our natural resources sustainably has never been greater, and on this podcast we look back at conversations we've had with three well-known brands who are putting sustainability at the heart of their organisations. We speak to David Wilkinson, Senior Director Agriculture, PepsiCo Europe, Anna Pierce, Director of Sustainability, Tate & Lyle, and Katie Leggett, Sustainability Cheerleader, Innocent Drinks to find out how their brands are approaching their sustainability challenges in order to improve their credentials within their organisations and supply chains. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our panel Anna Pierce, Director of Sustainability, Tate & Lyle Anna Pierce is the Director of Sustainability at Tate & Lyle, a 160-year-old business-to-business ingredient supplier. She is working to refocus the