Borough Talks

Last year brought about huge changes in how we get and consume our food. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, join our panel to consider the possible enduring impact of those changes and what – for better or worse – they mean for our food future. We’ll be considering it all: where and how we get our food shopping; the role of supermarkets and local markets; the impact on both home cooking and dining out culture; and what it all means for the planet, our pockets and our wellbeing.

Mark Riddaway, author of the Borough Market: Edible Histories, joins Ed Smith, the man behind The Borough Market Cookbook, to explore the fascinating history of some of the everyday ingredients found on the Market’s stalls. They discuss how a Persian rhubarb trader came to predict a bright future for tea, the centrality of Italy to the history of food, and why the British were once so suspicious of the tomato.

Chef Olia Hercules and pioneering food writer Elisabeth Luard will be sharing the joys of looking to the seasons when shopping for food and cooking and talking about late-summer cooking ideas, favourite seasonal recipes and insights into the best of summer produce. They will also look more broadly at why seasonality matters – for the land, for producers, and for anyone who cooks.

Three top restaurateurs – Ravinder Bhogal of Jikoni, Elizabeth Haigh of Borough Market's Mei Mei and Bā, and Jack Stein of Rick Stein Group – will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing restaurants in the next phase of the Covid world. The trio will talk about the pivot that many restaurants have done to adapt to lockdown, including collections, deliveries and delis; what their thoughts are on re-opening; and the future for dining out.

The last few months have seen a surge in popularity of comfort foods – from old-school classics that come with a hit of nostalgia to mood-boosting indulgent treats. Best-selling food writer Sabrina Ghayour and John Whaite, food writer and winner of The Great British Bake-Off, will be talking about what comfort foods mean to them and considering why we reach for them in uncertain times.

Britain’s food and farming future in the post-Brexit era are set to be defined by the Agriculture Bill which is currently making its way through parliament. Its system of subsidies designed to reward sustainability rather than scale may have a positive impact on farmers, retailers, the environment and the wider public, but many in the food world are hugely concerned about the Bill’s damaging impact in other areas. We invited a panel of experts from across the food industry to discuss positive aspects of the Bill alongside concerns that the legislation lack. The panel includes: Tom Parker Bowles, Food Critic; Minette_Batters, President of the NFU; Darren Henaghan, MD of Borough Market; and Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London's Centre for Food Policy.

Kimberley Wilson: Food and mental health

Sami Tammy and Tara Wigley: Falastin, the food and stories of Palestine

Yasmin Fahr, Rachel Roddy and Regula Ysewjin: a global city view on lockdown, food and community

Melissa Hemsley: global impact of food and sustainability in light of COVID-19