Food and Drink Network Evening 2015

Miranda York, founder of TOAST magazine and Bermondsey’s Druid Street Market, spoke about the rise of foodie culture and the challenges and opportunities of London’s most popular market destination.

Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip, explained how he creates a distilled non-alcoholic spirit using botanicals, recreating the ritual of drinking for those who don’t necessarily partake in the strong stuff.

Douglas McMaster, chef and founder of Brighton’s Silo restaurant, talked about running a successful zero-waste restaurant as famed for the quality of its menu as for its approach to sustainability.

Andrew MacLeod Smith, co-founder of viral distiller Sweetdram, explained why his company is pulling an ancient French liqueur out of retirement and travelling around Europe as a gypsy distiller.

Alice Hodge, one half of supper club duo The Art of Dining, gave guests the anatomy of a pop-up dining experience and explained how the pop-up is far from dead but only just getting started.

Last, but by no means least, we welcomed Shaun Jones, futures business director at branding agency Pearlfisher, who spoke about innovations in packaging design and explained the difference between his agency’s approach to the mass market with brands such as Cadbury compared to its tactics for niche products such as Seedlip.