Celebrating Black History Month – Women in the Food Industry Panel & Mini Food Fair – 7th October Recap

Women in the Food Industry brought you an insightful panel event, with a showcase of snacks, & soft drinks from black female food founders. Attendees met an inspirational panel of women who are leveraging their food businesses to celebrate the heritage of black people & also discovered some of the challenges they faced as black women in the food industry and how they overcame them.

Black History Month in the UK takes place in October. It is an excellent opportunity for people from all backgrounds to educate themselves on Black Britain’s history and the often-overlooked people who have made a difference to the country. The theme of Black History Month UK 2024 is ‘Celebrating Changemakers.’ Join us in celebrating black women in the food industry who are making a difference & contributing to the economy.

The event was 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.

Our panel included :

Lara Luck is a recipe writer, chef demonstrator, food stylist and the creator of Love & Flavour Supper club who specialise in Caribbean food and family-friendly meals. Lara’s parents are from the West Indies, so Lara enjoys and thrives on getting Caribbean food into the mainstream media. Lara won the Best Caribbean Food category at the 2022 Be Inclusive Spotlight Awards and is also a Member of the Guild of Food Writers and is a Judge for the annual Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards.

Caydie Pierre – Jerk and Lobster was founded in 2018 at Notting Hill Carnival by Caydie Pierre. The idea came about as she wanted to bring something a little different to the carnival and lobster and jerk chicken was the focal point.

The menu is created by home cook Caydie who has travelled around the world, with inspiration drawn from local traditional cuisine, her grannies’ use of seasonal ingredients, and personal experiences. Jerk and Lobster are proud to have worked with high profile celebrities and footballers, but are most proud of giving all of their guests unforgettable memories and amazing food.

Natasha Orumbie, a seasoned entrepreneur, founded “The Vegan Patty Lady” in June 2023. Struggling with asthma and allergies for years, she made a transformative decision in 2019 to fully embrace a vegan lifestyle. As she transitioned to a plant-based diet, her health improved dramatically, with zero asthma attacks and the disappearance of hay fever symptoms, but one thing that was missing was taste!

Many vegan options on the market were tasteless or full of non-nutritional fillers. With a desire to share the benefits of a vegan lifestyle, and introduce pure, natural and tasty to a wide audience, Natasha created “The Vegan Patty Lady” brand. Her mission was to offer delicious, healthy, and sustainable alternatives to the market’s lackluster and unhealthy vegan options. Through her innovative patties, she empowered individuals to take control of their health, proving that vegan food can be both nutritious and flavourful.

Natasha Orumbie’s journey exemplifies her dedication to baking, business, and improving lives through mindful eating. She has recently successfully won a pitching competition securing £20,000 investment in her business, proving the strength of this venture’s mission to transform the vegan culinary landscape one bite at a time!

Tieyan Eweka-Olorunfemi is co-founder of Jollof Mama which was established in 2016 due to the lack of representation at the time in street food.

She and husband Sam also co-founder wanted to see more diversity and inclusion of African food in mainstream locations, festivals and events, with their mission being to make good Nigerian food accessible in high footfall and central locations across London and the UK.

The Jollof Mama brand has become one of the leading African Street food brands in London. They work regularly with industry trailblazers KERB and Black Eats.

They’re portfolio consists of collaborations with brands such as YouTube, Snapchat and Tastemade Uk. They have collaborated on a campaign with Just Eat for Business for BAME businesses and have featured in Time Out London, Buzzfeed the Sunday times and also appeared on ITV’s V Festival and the Lateish show with Mo Gilligan.

Before the panel event, attendees had the unique opportunity to:

Sample food & drinks from black female founded or co-founded businesses – including delicious vegan patties from The Vegan Patty Lady, pickles from Garden of Eva.

They also sampled non-alcoholic drinks from Luxwells,  Carisips, Avoir La Banane and OTC Beverages.

They also enjoyed networking with food industry professionals.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE PHOTOS  FROM THE EVENT.

You may also like to see our upcoming Women In The Food Industry Events.