Is small beautiful? Is local best? Meet three entrepreneurs who are going about change a different way. They believe in working on the inside; supplying supermarkets; building brands; and altering consumer perceptions, at scale.
Chair – Martin Orbach, Festival Programme Director
Charlie Bigham, the King of Comfort Food, is the founder of the eponymous brand of ready meals. Starting in 1996 in his home kitchen, today he has built a multi-million pound business, a bespoke manufacturing premises in Somerset , and his products are stocked by all the major retailers. And not a microwave in sight. In 2023 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year at The Grocer Gold Awards. He tells his story in Supper with Charlie Bigham: Favourite food for family & friends.
Amelia Christie-Miller founded Bold Bean Co in 2021 to change the way we think about beans. Today her expertly sourced, slow cooked jarred beans are a firm favourite of many well known chefs and listed by Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Ocado, as well as many independent stores. She is the author of bestselling book Bold Beans: Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing, and has become a familiar face on national TV, with recent appearances on BBC Dragons Den and ITV This Morning.
Franco Fubini’s mission has been to source the most flavourful fresh produce direct from the best growers. He founded Natoora in London in 2004 initially as an online produce market for consumers. In 2008 he began sourcing produce for the The River Cafe which led to working with more than 2,000 restaurants today around the world, before expanding the network to supply some supermarkets, home-delivery services, and independent stores. He has now replicated the model creating supply networks in New York, Miami, Paris, Malmö, Copenhagen and Melbourne. His philosophy is set out in his new book: In Search of the Perfect Peach: Why flavour holds the answer to fixing our food system.
There will be author book-signing session at the Book-ish stand just outside the Dome after the event. Book-ish is the Festival’s award-winning book partner.
