We are delighted to announce that Aine Morris joins the Festival as our new CEO.
Wales’ best loved food festival has appointed a new CEO in the form of Aine Morris. Aine joins the Festival with 12 years of experience in the food and event industry, most recently as CEO of Bristol Food Connections. Aine has also held positions at the Sustainable Food Trust, the Soil Association and worked on both the Organic Food Festival and Slow Food’s Terra Madre conference in Italy.
Since its inception in 1999, the Abergavenny Food Festival has grown its audience from 3,000 visitors to become the largest food festival in Wales with more than 30,000 attendees every year, attracting big name brands and showcasing the very best food and drink from Wales and across the world.
Originally from Sheffield, Aine holds a Doctorate in Gastronomic Sciences from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy where she also spent four years working with Slow Food International.
Aine said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to take up the reigns at Abergavenny Food Festival. As one of the longest running food events in the UK, I’m excited to work with a fantastic festival team and look forward to building on their strong existing reputation for bringing people and good food together.
“I’m particularly keen to consider how food festivals can continue to grow and innovate over time. Throughout my career my focus has been on promoting food producers and production methods that are good for people and good for the planet. I know the Food Festival already has a strong commitment to sustainability and showcasing local and artisan producers alongside wider world producers and I’m keen to strengthen this further.”
Kim Waters, Acting Chair of the Food Festival, said: “The Food Festival continues to grow year on year and it’s becomingly increasingly important for us to tell the story of food. Aine has the most wonderful credentials and a huge passion for driving the food movement forward across the UK, we believe with this appointment we are moving into a new phase for the food festival and the future is looking bright.”