The UK’s biggest food book, writing and media awards took place on 27 June 2019 as the Guild of Food Writers Awards Ceremony and Party celebrated all that was great in food writing and media. Guild president Orlando Murrin and vice-president Felicity Cloake were the presenters and our co-founder Mecca Ibrahim (who has recently become a member of The Guild) was delighted to attend. Here’s her report of the night with a summary of which women did exceptionally well.

Celebrating winning a place in the Estrella National Restaurant Awards Top 100 and being the only woman in the north of England to win, our co-founder, Janie, chatted to Chef Patron, Stosie Madi from The Parkers Arms about what that feels like. Stosie shared her inspirations, style of cooking, passions, what it’s like to run a business and her views on issues facing women in the food industry.

You wait for one list of inspiring people in the food & drink industry and three come along at once. Hot on the heels of CODE’s Hospitality’s Over-50s Power List and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Business Insider have just published their Top 1oo of the Coolest People in Food and Drink. Naturally we were delighted to see a number of women based in the UK in that list. Our co-founder Mecca Ibrahim highlights why she thinks they’re cool.

For the first time ever, on Saturday 29th June, Le Cordon Bleu London will throw open its doors for a very exciting Summer Food & Drink Festival. The world famous cookery school will host a fabulous array of Chef demos including Asma Khan; Olivia Burt and Anna Hansen, to name just a few.

It’s the very first Over 50 Power List, put together by CODE, the leading hospitality magazine and website. Nothing beats experience they say and we agree that each new generation can learn so much from the one before.  CODE founder Adam Hyman and editor Lisa Markwell worked with judges Tracey MacLeod, Loyd Grossman, Tom Kerridge and Dylan Jones.  The list celebrates both the pioneers and unsung heroes that make the hospitality industry richly diverse and inclusive.

Food lovers, there’s a new TV show coming your way which looks a treat.  Extraordinary Places to Eat, coming soon to BBC2, features Fred Sirieix as he travels around Europe with some of Britain’s top chefs including Angela Hartnett and Nisha Katona, visiting some of their favourite places to eat.

Posing in front of the giant letters, selfies with celebrity chefs, checking out chef demos, trying samples of  food from London’s leading restaurants, drinking gin, tasting tea, chomping cheese and eating olives in the rain, that can only be Taste of London.  Love it or hate it, our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, visited what is still London’s biggest food and drink festival and shares her thoughts & highlights of the four day festival which runs from June 19 – June 23 in Regent’s Park. 

We had a wonderful evening on 18th June 2019 chatting, networking and sharing our stories about sustainability. It was great to hear your views and pretty much everyone agreed that education was crucial for change and collaboration to power the message home to government and consumers.

We got the chance to speak to chef Luciana Berry about her experiences championing Brazilian food, cooking for Prince Edward, braving the critics and what happened after MasterChef The Professionals. Our friend James Haywood from OpenKitchen made part of our interview into a short podcast  where you can exclusively hear Luciana’s views on how she has found being a woman in the food industry.

Live experiences and events giant Eventbrite featured the growth of our community in a fabulous feature on their blog – Passion to Project – How Women In the Food  Industry Created a Culinary Community. Their writer Helen Alexander interviewed our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim, about what inspired her and Janie Ash to set up Women In The Food Industry and asked for our top tips on events planning and marketing. 

If you had just graduated from Le Cordon Bleu London do you think you would be able to face the critical eyes of MasterChef The Professionals judges Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing, a week later? Our co-founder, Mecca Ibrahim,  got the chance to speak to Luciana Berry about her experiences championing Brazilian food, cooking for Prince Edward, braving the critics and what happened after MasterChef The Professionals.

Alicia Lawson is one of the co-owners of Rubies in the Rubble, an award-winning, sustainable food brand known for making great-tasting condiments with a conscience. She has been working at Rubies alongside the founder Jenny since 2012, when the brand was based in a tiny portacabin kitchen on London’s Spitalfields market. Alicia will be talking about sustainability on our Sustainable Gastronomy Day Panel & Supper on 18th June 2019