Table Talk

The history of sugar is inextricably linked to the horrors of the slave trade. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by evolutionary biologist and food historian, Neil Buttery, to reflect on that history. Sugarcane originated as a crop in New Guinea around 8,000 BC, but quickly spread through Asia. It played a role in the economy of the Persian Empire and was eventually cultivated by Europeans during the Crusades. This is when the story takes a dark turn, with plantations spreading across the continent, and the first African slaves used in sugar production on Madeira and the Canary Islands. When Europeans moved into the Americas, the sugar trade grew, and so too did the slave trade. Listen to the full episode to hear discussion on how much modern Britain benefits from the sugar and slave trades of the past. Neil also talks about why humans have evolved to crave sugar, and the impact the cultivation of sugarcane has had on the environment. Neil Buttery, Evol

"The food industry is a fantastic place to work. It can be challenging, but it can be so much fun. You will always be learning." So says Rachel Auty, New Product Development Controller at Greencore. Greencore make all sorts of food products that end up being sold in supermarkets, from soups, to sushi, and salads to sauces. Rachel works in the prepared meals sector and in this episode of the Career Conversations series, she reveals all about the process of getting a new product to market - from brief to shelf. It could all have been very different though. Rachel says a chance meeting on a bus when she was a teenager set her on her career path. She says that day "when the stars aligned" is the reason she is so passionate about sharing information with young people at the start of their food careers: "So they don't have to meet a certain person, on a certain bus, on a certain day to find out what they want to do." Rachel went on to study Food Marketing Management at Sheffield Hallam University

Quick Commerce, online services that deliver products to your door in minutes, appear to be booming at the moment. Boosted by a huge shift in consumer habits during the pandemic, new companies have been sprouting up all over the place. In some parts of the UK, it's possible to get groceries delivered to your home in just 10 minutes. But is a model where pickers, drivers and processing staff have to rush orders to customers in the time it takes to make a decent cup of tea financially sustainable? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, made in partnership with Accenture, we delve into the world of Quick Commerce and look at where the evidence suggests the sector might be heading. Who is the target customer? Which markets are proving most fruitful? And is anyone making a profit? Promotional pricing and super-fast delivery times might attract new customers, but how long can they be sustained? Will the gig economy continue to be the staffing model of choice, or, as in some parts of China, wil

Easter is an important time of year for the food industry, and is one of the pillars of the calendar for any company working in the sector. But the role of food goes way beyond planning stock or staffing restaurants, it has always played a key role in how Easter is celebrated. Easter symbolism is laced with food at almost every turn, from Shrove Tuesday, to Lent, Easter Eggs and the Holy Communion. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, we explore the food-related traditions that go hand-in-hand with Easter. Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? Why is lamb the meat of choice on Easter Sunday? And when did chocolate Easter Eggs come to prominence? We also learn how the hot cross bun rose in popularity in the UK, was banned, and then returned. And we look further afield at the traditional Easter dishes being served up around the world. Emma Wells, Historian and Archaeologist, University of York Dr Emma J. Wells is an historian and archaeologist of the medieval Church based at t

The history of gin has seen the drink rise and fall in popularity, and rise and fall in social status. Initially developed in the Netherlands as a medicine, it was drunk by soldiers there, giving birth to the phrase "Dutch courage". It quickly became popular in the UK, and a quirk of the tax system meant it was soon a hugely popular, very alcoholic, extremely cheap drink. At one point it would cost more to buy a pint of beer than it would to buy a pint of gin. But that all soon changed and, having once been so abundant that some people received their wages in gin rations, it was eventually taxed so heavily that it was forced underground and a black market for the drink emerged. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, we look at the turbulent history of gin and gaze into the future to see what might be in store for the, once again, en vogue tipple. Find out what defines a gin, how tonic water ended up being so closely associated with it, and why, to this day, you still see images of cats o

"When I knew I was dyslexic.. and I read about it, everything made sense. Every condition that we have makes us unique and special." Rocio Egio, food illustrator and artist, has an infectious energy and attitude to life. She signs off all her emails "delightfully dyslexic" and tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations series: "All the capacity that I have now is because I have dyslexia. It's not something negative." Rocio's career started out on a very different path. She describes herself as "a super nerd" at school. Although she always wanted to be an artist, she says "everyone was telling me I had to study for a proper career, so I did architecture." Those years were happy ones, and she says, training to be an architect has had an effect on the work she produces today: "It was a different path to arrive at the same place." After a stint as a graphic designer, she moved into food illustration and has won big commissions with the likes of the New York Times and the Washi

The Coronavirus pandemic caused a shock to the grocery retail sector like none we've seen before. But with great challenges, often come great innovations. Technology now plays a bigger role in the average consumer's shopping experience than ever before and the changes we were all forced to make have opened the doors to even more innovation in the future. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts to look at how technology has altered the grocery shopping landscape, and how it could shape its future too. They look at the biggest technological successes in the sector, as well as the biggest failures - the big winners and losers of the past few years. Will QR codes still play a key role a decade from now? How can mobile apps transform the shopping experience? Will automation become the norm? And what could all of the above mean for employment, data protection, and the price of food? Will blockchain develop to become the backbone of the grocery retail sector

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, AKA, The Black Farmer, is a force to be reckoned with. A child of the Windrush generation, he left Jamaica and moved to Birmingham where he lived with 10 family members in a two-up two-down. Nobody would have believed then that he would go on to become a wildly successful farmer and entrepreneur – nobody except him, perhaps. Key to his success has been his attitude, “you have to be audacious”, he tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series. Even as a young boy, growing up in an area he describes as “the pits”, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones was driven to do better for himself. Roped in to help his dad on his allotment, bought to supplement the family’s income, he soon found his calling: “I absolutely loved being on our allotment as a child because it was an oasis away from the misery I was surrounded by. “At the age of 11, I made myself a promise, that one day I would like to own my own farm.” But before he could achieve his dream, he had a

How much do labels and packaging affect what we taste when we eat food? It's a question that Christopher T Simons, Associate Professor in Sensory Science at The Ohio State University, has given a lot of thought to. In his latest study, he presented people with three plates of identical biscuits, one labelled "customer complaint", one labelled "factory typical", and another labelled "new and improved". "People perceived them totally differently" he tells Stefan Gates in this episode of the Table Talk podcast. But why is that? And how can the food industry use studies like this to make their products more attractive to consumers? Professor Simons says there are important lessons to be learned, and many ways the findings can be applied, not least in new product development and marketing. And if labels and packaging, descriptions and pre-conceived ideas are so important, could they be used to help people switch to a healthier, more sustainable diet? Christopher T Simons, Associate Professor

"I've learned to welcome (people saying) no. Each 'no' brings you a little closer to the next yes." It takes a lot to launch a successful food brand, but Sophie Baron, founder of Mamamade, says she couldn't have done it alone. She says she was lucky to have mentorship from women within the business world, particularly as she admits to being scared it wasn't all going to work out when she first started. In this episode of the Career Conversations podcast series, Sophie Baron reveals all about what she calls her "non-linear" path to launching an organic baby food brand. Things could have been very different for Sophie. She started out studying Russian and French at university in New York, before working as an editorial assistant at Vogue. It was when she had her first child that she found her true calling: "My inspiration was wanting better food than I could find on the shelf." She launched Mamamade from the spare room of her home and the business has gone from success to success. Listen to

How do you go about making a sustainable food system that is net positive when it comes to carbon emissions? How much comes down to changing consumer behaviour versus manufacturing practices? And if you are to change the entire food system, how do you go about getting all stakeholders onboard? None of these are easy questions to answer, but that's where a project in the Netherlands comes in. The Dutch Research Agenda is looking at these issues and trying to come up with solutions to some of the biggest environmental problems the food system faces. Their work in the Netherlands is important, as the country has a long history of trying to tackle sustainability issues, whilst also being known as "the tiny country that feeds the world." It has the highest density of livestock in Europe - more than four times that of the UK or France - with more than 100 million cattle, chickens and pigs. Having a wildly successful agricultural sector comes with it’s own unique set of problems. In this epis

"The early part of my career was in food marketing roles, which I absolutely loved. But I really felt like I wanted to work for myself." And so began a hugely successful career as a vegan food blogger, author and podcast host for Niki Webster. Perhaps just as well known as the woman behind Rebel Recipes, Niki's rise to fame would have been difficult to predict when she was a student. "I did a degree in Sociology and Criminology," she tells Elisa Roche in the latest episode of Career Conversations. Her move into the world of food was something of a happy accident: "I just started applying for all sorts of graduate roles." Niki ended up working at a breakfast cereal manufacturer, then moved into marketing and social media, where she learned many of the skills that would stand her in good stead in the future. In this episode, Niki reveals all when it comes to what goes into writing a cook book, and offers some top tips on how to get the most of your Instagram food photos. Join our Smartphon

In the battle against food waste, increasing the shelf-life of products is one weapon we have at our disposal. The latest figures suggest we still produce around 143kg of waste per person per year in the UK.  But many traditional methods of increasing shelf-life don’t fit with consumer concerns about healthy eating – additives, salt, sugar and fat just aren’t on trend. And those manufacturers keen to have as clean a label as possible aren’t generally shouting from the rooftops about the presence of Nisin or Trisodium Phosphate. Join the Millbo Masterclass: How to deliver product longevity in the clean label way In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, made in partnership with Millbo, we look at one potential solution to the conundrum. Millbo says X-tra Guard can increase shelf-life by around six days and, crucially, it is made entirely from Rowan berries. That means it ticks the box when it comes to having a clean label. Find out how the company found the solution, how they negotiat

The amount of salt, or specifically sodium, we consume is a global health problem. The World Health Organization says most people around the world consume double the recommended amount every day - and it's leading to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart attacks. But, we seem to be addicted to the stuff and, despite high-profile health campaigns, we're not really seeing much in the way of salt reduction in our overall diets. This episode of the Table Talk podcast is made in partnership with Saltwell, a company that may have found a solution. Saltwell has found a type of salt mineral in the South American desert that contains both sodium and potassium. Potassium can counteract the negative effects of sodium, so this salt contains less of the bad stuff - 35 per cent less. Crucially, Saltwell says the natural product behaves exactly like standard salt and tastes exactly the same. Listen to the full podcast to discover why humans crave salt, why salt is so prevalent in proce

Does being an entrepreneur in the food sector mean doing everything yourself? Not according to Ayesah Grover, CEO and founder of strp'd, a company that makes flour, milk and flakes out of tigernuts. In the episode of the Career Conversations series, Ayesha tells Elisa Roche that collaboration and outsourcing are hugely important: "I don't think anyone can do absolutely everything." She says, although she is a one-woman team, she outsources some of her social media content, product development and package design. That doesn't mean being hands-off though: "I'm very involved in every process." In this episode, Ayesha reveals what tigernuts actually are, and how she came to find them and turn them into a number of successful products. She also tells us how she benefited from joining the Amazon Launchpad programme, and how disaster turned to success when the first Covid lockdown hit just as she was about to launch her brand new product. Ayesha Grover, CEO and Founder, strp'd After a number

The ketogenic diet is everywhere you look, promoted as a quick way to lose weight. It seems to tap into something within many of us and comes with the added attraction of appearing to be based in some scientific theory. There is also the fact that there is evidence that, under proper medical supervision, the low-carb diet can be effective for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. But is it all it's cracked up to be when it comes to weight loss and could there be some damaging effects? Keto certainly has a number of high-profile supporters, but there are just as many people warning of the dangers. In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by the London Chair of the British Dietetic Association, Sophie Medlin, to explore the science and bust the myths. She sets out what a typical keto diet meal plan might look like, how ketosis works, and why the diet is proving so popular. She also discusses potential risks to gut health, the impact the diet can have on our relatio

Rising inflation is hanging over every household and business in the country. In January 2022, overall prices were rising at around 5 per cent, with food a key contributor. So how will rising prices affect the food industry? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts in this field. Tim Lloyd is Professor of Economics at Bournemouth University, Fraser McKevitt, is Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Kantar. They look at how today's rate of inflation compares to recent - and not so recent - history, the factors that are driving prices up around the world, and they discuss who is likely to be worst-affected. Will supermarkets keep prices down to protect their market share? Will that lead to even more pressure on suppliers? And what can companies and individuals do to mitigate against the worst effects? Tim Lloyd, Professor of Economics, Bournemouth University Tim Lloyd is Professor of Economics in the Business School. He was appointed in July 2015 ha

When Mark Whalley was doing his degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, he had no idea that he would end up happily working as Consumer Insights Controller for a major food company. "I didn't know what consumer insights was," he tells Elisa Roche in the latest Career Conversations episode. "I thought I would be a primary school teacher." But it was when he saw a job advertised that he thought it was worth a shot. He says he didn't apply because he had a particular interest in the sector, he just thought he would be good at it. And, it turns out, he was. He now works for Greencore, a major food manufacturer, supplying lots of different types of convenience foods. Greencore make just about everything, from ready meals, to soups, sushi, and quiche. Mark describes it as "the biggest company you've never heard of". He says that after a couple of years working in the sector, he discovered a real passion for working out what shoppers want. Although he studied English, he says anyone w

Benjamina Ebuehi says for a long time, she never saw baking as a career. "I didn't want to work in a restaurant kitchen or run a bakery," she says. "And I didn't really know what else I could do with it." So she carried on with her degree in Economics at the University of Leicester, and kept baking for friends at the weekends. But that all changed, when she appeared on The Great British Bake Off in 2016. In this episode of the Career Conversations series, Benjamina tells us all about her time on the show: "As a watcher, it does look like a lot of fun.. but being in the show is definitely more intense than I was expecting. "You're practicing at home all the time, every single day... it was tough but really enjoyable." And being on Bake Off wasn't her only career-defining moment. Benjamina says one day she was making a cake for a food video, when she met a food stylist - and that sparked something in her. Sign up for our Food Photography Masterclass with world-renownd food photographer Georgi

The market for plant-based food and drink is undoubtedly growing, but what does that mean for the types of products we might see on the shelves in 2022? This year's Veganuary was the biggest ever, and Marks and Spencer alone has added 175 new plant-based products to its range this year. But with a seemingly every-expanding customer base, how do producers understand what it is they want? How do you target what used to be niche products, when your customers have so many varied needs and desires? And if more and more people are looking to buy plant-based, what does that do to the types of products that are being produced? Join one of our plant-based Masterclasses March 9th 2022 - Latest retail and consumer trends in a growth category: plant-based foods March 30th 2022 - Launching a Plant-Based Brand: from niche to opportunity In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts in the market to discuss who will be buying plant-based food and drink in 2022. Roh