Celebrating Sustainable Gastronomy Day 2025 at MM Mayfair – 16th June 2025

Celebrating Sustainable Gastronomy Day 2025 at Mercato Mayfair

Join us at Women in the Food Industry for two unmissable panel events and a mini food fair with sustainable food producers. From exploring current and future regenerative food systems, to hearing from women where sustainable food is at the heart of their businesses – you will leave with a host of ideas and inspiration to celebrate Sustainable Gastronomy Day. Each panel is two hours allowing us to celebrate seasonal ingredients and producers, discuss how to preserve wildlife and at the same time explore both traditional and new culinary experiences.

AGENDA – CELEBRATING SUSTAINBLE GASTRONOMY DAY  2025 AT MERCATO MAYFAIR

10.00am – Arrival & registration – Please come to the first floor

10.30am-12.30pm – The Future of Regenerative Food Systems Join us for a powerful panel exploring the future of food through the lens of regenerative farming. Featuring voices reshaping our food system – from Flawsome Drinks’ Beth Scott to Georgie Pruden of Shrub Provisions, Riverford’s regenerative farming lead Harriet Bell, and Claire Mackenzie, producer of the acclaimed documentary Six Inches of Soil – this conversation will ignite ideas and inspire action towards a more nourishing, resilient planet. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from those sowing the seeds of real change.

12.30pm – 3pm – LUNCH – Enjoy a long lunch, where you can catch up on emails, sample food & drink from a mini food fair and buy lunch from the wide selection of kitchens from around the world at Mercato Mayfair. All the dishes are created using fresh ingredients that are locally sourced. You can also enjoy sampling snacks, nibbles and sustainable soft drinks from female founded food & beverage businesses. Our producers include delicious condiments made from watermelon rind by Garden of Eva, hydrating natural drinks by Luxwelles, and authentic Malaysian sauce pastes by  Dapur Maraie. Watch this space for more producers!

3pm – 5pm – Putting Sustainability at the Heart of your Food Business What does it really take to build a food business rooted in sustainability? Join an inspiring panel of women leaders transforming the industry from the inside out. Nureen Glaves (Feed Me Good), Christine Bailey (Nutritionist & Chef), Kristal Baker (Luxwells), Meriel Armitage (Club Mexicana) and Mehak Kansal (Bindas Eatery) will share bold insights on making purpose-driven decisions, creating impact through innovation, and leading with sustainability at the core. Whether you’re a founder, foodie, or future changemaker, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

MEET OUR PANELLISTS

10.30am-12.30pm – The Future of Regenerative Food Systems

Claire Mackenzie is a film, impact and content producer. She is the producer of independent environmental documentaries ‘Six Inches of Soil’ and ‘From the Ground Up’, both exploring our current farming system, and the recently launched ‘Six Inches of Soil’ podcast. She has a background in TV production, charity fundraising and event organising. As an environmental campaigner she set up eco community groups both in London and Cambridgeshire – with food and farming at the heart of her campaigning.

Claire is never happier than when she has her hands in the soil. When she can she works at Sweetpea Market Garden (farm featured in Six Inches of Soil)

Harriet Bell is Regenerative Farming Lead, Riverford Organic Farmers. Having started her career with a communications focus on motivating people to action and managing brand reputation, Harriet’s been taking a “learn by doing” approach to agriculture for more than a decade. Working, largely in the organic sector, on farm diversification, innovative estate management and agricultural policy, Harriet has been the Regenerative Farming Lead for Riverford Organic Farmers since December 2021. Agroforestry seems to be a prevalent theme in her work but Harriet’s overriding interest is in building resilience to climate change within agriculture.

Beth Scott is a National Account Manager at Flawsome!, a purpose-driven drinks brand on a mission to tackle food waste by transforming wonky and surplus fruit into delicious drinks. With a background in the food industry and a deep passion for sustainability, Beth is committed to making responsible choices more accessible and raising awareness about the environmental impact of food waste. She leads strategic partnerships across foodservice and retail, working closely with organisations that share Flawsome!’s belief that planet-friendly choices shouldn’t compromise on quality or flavour. A proud advocate for regenerative food systems and certified B Corps, Beth is driven by the belief that business can be a force for good, and that sustainable products should be the norm, not the niche.

Georgie Pruden is Head of Growth at Shrub. With an insatiable appetite for all things délicieuse, Georgie swapped her marketing career at leading record labels to join the team at regenerative food and farming company Wildfarmed. Here she played a major role in bringing nature-friendly flour to chefs, bakers and conscious consumers across the country, helping to make regenerative agriculture a primary talking point in both kitchens and mainstream culture. Her natural curiosity around food production has sparked a deep appreciation of how and where our food is grown, and the ever-growing importance for sharing the stories of those dedicated to reimagining the supply chain.

Georgie, now Head of Growth at Shrub, shares their mutual passion for educating consumers on the intrinsic link between food, farming and nature, sharing insights into sustainable and transparent sourcing, and celebrating the magnificence of farmers along the way.

3pm – 5pm – Putting Sustainability at the Heart of your Food Business

Christine Bailey is an award-winning Registered Performance Nutritionist, Functional Nutrition Practitioner, and Chef with over 20 years of experience across the catering, nutrition, fitness, and wellbeing industries. With advanced training from the Institute of Functional Medicine and the Institute of Performance Nutrition, she brings science-led, personalised nutrition to the catering sector and her clinical work. Christine also holds a degree in Environmental Sciences and a Master’s in Ecological Sciences, equipping her with a unique ability to integrate nutrition with sustainability and holistic food system strategies. She integrates this expertise to develop sustainable, high-impact wellbeing and nutrition programmes for UK and international clients.

Nureen Glaves is a leading food/health justice expert, award-winning entrepreneur, and the visionary CEO and Founder of Feed Me Good. Her journey began at just nine years old with a deep curiosity about food and food labels—a passion that grew into a dynamic career spanning chef training, food manufacturing, public health, and dietetics.With a track record of partnerships including IKEA, The Eden Project, and numerous community health initiatives, Nureen bridges the gap between industry and impact. Her work is rooted in equity, empowerment, and practical education, empowering communities to take control of their health through food. Armed with over 2.5 decades of cross-sector experience, she continues to champion health and food justice globally—one bite at a time.

Meriel Armitage is the founder of Club Mexicana, the trailblazing plant-based restaurant brand known for its bold flavours, vibrant atmosphere, and rule-breaking attitude. Since launching as a street food stall in 2014, Meriel has grown Club Mexicana into one of the UK’s most exciting vegan food success stories, with multiple locations and a cult following. With roots in creative direction and a deep love for the energy of LA taquerias and 90s London culture, Meriel brings unapologetic fun and flair to everything she builds — challenging perceptions of vegan food and creating spaces where everyone feels welcome, fed, and a little bit cheeky.

Kristal Baker is the Founder & Director of Luxwells, a botanical infused water beverage range created to encourage better hydration. Entering the beverage industry as a complete novice, with a disruptive offering to the plant-based category, many twists and turns were met from the setbacks of the pandemic to a variety of manufacturing challenges. However, after much research and perseverance, Luxwells was launched in the summer of 2022. In less than a year Kristal had secured retail listings with Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Country Living Artisans .

Her brand Luxwells has received a collection of Great Taste awards for all beverage flavours from the Guild of Fine Food, to Taste the Trends and Pitch Live awards from Speciality & Fine Food Fair, as well winning mentorship from Virgin Startup. Luxwells has also been seen in BBC Good Food, Radio Times, The Guardian, National Geographic Traveller, Tatler and Vogue magazine.

Mehak Kansal is a former property developer turned self-taught chef. She grew up in the Wiltshire countryside, learning to grow vegetables there as well as how to cook during her summers spent in her family home in India. A few years ago, after starting a blog to share her recipes, she launched a supper club. She was awarded the 2018 Westfield Food Entrepreneur Award which saw her launch a pop-up eatery in London’s Westfield White City – it was a sell-out success. Mehak is now the proud owner of Bindas sites at Mercato Metropolitan in Mayfair, with plans to expand. Mehak’s debut book, Bindas, is now available to purchase in May 2025.

The panel events will be chaired by :

Mex Ibrahim is co-founder of Women in the Food Industry. After almost 8 years as Head of Social Media & Marketing of the UK’s fastest growing food website, Great British Chefs, Mex has delivered a variety of award-winning digital marketing campaigns & now runs her own freelance social media, content creation & digital strategy business. Passionate about women’s equality & female empowerment, she co-founded Women in the Food Industry in April 2019 which became a Community Interest Company in July 2023.

Book your tickets for Sustainable Gastronomy Day at Mercato Mayfair here!