The international launch of Food On The Edge 2019 took place this evening at Robin Gill’s newly-launched Darby’s restaurant in London. The event saw the announcement of the 2019 venue, the themes and list of speakers to date, as well as the launch of the Food On The Edge Ambassador Programme.
JP McMahon, founder and symposium director of Food On The Edge, said, “We are delighted to launch Food On The Edge 2019 in London this year and to use this event to announce our new Food On The Edge Ambassador Programme. Each year we receive a large number of inspirational applicants hoping to partake and speak at Food On The Edge. These applicants are very often doing wonderful things for Irish food and developing the industry in their own way. While we have limited capacity of speaking slots, we wanted to do something to acknowledge these food champions. I hope this initiative will widen the reach of the Food On The Edge and act as its legacy into the future, eventually expanding onto a global scale.”
Six people who are working to change the landscape of Irish food and are exemplifying the Food On The Edge ethos will be selected to be the Food On The Edge Ambassadors for 2019. The Ambassadors will be invited to speak in a discussion at Food On The Edge 2019 on the work they are doing, as well as receiving a two-day ticket to Food On The Edge and a profile on the Food On The Edge website.
Mark Anderson of Gather & Gather officially launched the Food On The Edge Ambassador Programme and discussed the profound impact Food On The Edge had on him. Mark said, “It has had a massive impact on the food team at Gather & Gather. As a group of chefs it inspired us, motivated us, and changed how we think about the future of food. It helped us to put workplace catering on the same stage as some of the most brilliant forward-thinking people in the food world, which gives us the confidence to challenge the industry today, and inspire where we want to be tomorrow.” Food On The Edge Ambassador applicants are urged to go to the Food On The Edge website for more details.
Signature snacks at the launch celebrated Irish food and were prepared by London-based Irish chefs. Robin Gill prepared Dooncastle Oysters cooked over coal with Connemara Seaweed, Kevin Burke served up St. Tola Goats Cheese and Pepper Barbajuans, Anna Haugh created Black Pudding wrapped in Ballymakenny Spuds with Apple Purée, Aidan McGee prepared Braised Irish Beef Scrumpet, Horseradish and Aged Parmesan, and Shauna Froydenlund made Treacle Cured and Turf Smoked Trout, Dill on Sourdough Crumpets. Speakers at the launch included UK-based chefs and Food On The Edge supporters such as Pierre Koffmann, Skye Gyngell, Tom Brown, Claude Bosi and Doug McMaster.
The venue for this years Food On The Edge event was also announced at the London launch, as being held in NUI Galway, the city’s university, for the second year. JP McMahon said “The feedback from last year’s event was so positive and the facilities and support provided by management and staff of NUI Galway meant it was a very easy decision to make. The University is so close to the city centre and as Food Education is a driving factor behind the Food On The Edge ethos, NUI Galway itself is leading the way internationally in terms of third level education, so the fit is perfect”.
JP McMahon then went on to reveal the full list of confirmed speakers to date to add to the already impressive line-up which includes cult chefs and stars of the Netflix series Chef’s Table, namely Brazil’s most influential chef Alex Atala of D.O.M, and New Zealand-born Ben Shewry of Attica restaurant. Columbian chef and winner of 2017 Best Female Chef in Latin America Leonor Espinosa of Leo Cocina y Cava will be attending as well as trailblazer Daniel Giusti, former head chef of Noma in Copenhagen, who set up Brigaid, a project which puts professional chefs into public schools to transform and rethink school food. Australian chef Mark Best of Bistro and Netflix fame from The Final Table; Prateek Sadhu of Masque, the number five ranked restaurant in Mumbai; British-Indian chef, presenter & food writer, Romy Gill of Romy’s Kitchen in Thornbury; Irish chef Derry Clarke of Michelin Star l’Ecrivain in Dublin; and Dalad Kambhu of Michelin Star Kin Dee in Berlin are just some of the ground-breaking chefs due to speak. Other confirmed speakers are Alan Jenkins, editor of the Observer Food Monthly; Korean-born Danish chef Kristian Baumann of Michelin Star Restaurant 108 in Copenhagen; chef, cookbook writer and activist Sophia Hoffmann of Berlin’s Café Isla Coffee; ‘Contemporary’ pizza chef Denis Lovatel of Pizzeria Ezio in the mountains of Belluno; and Brazilian chef Alberto Landgraf, of Oteque in Rio de Janeiro.
Food On The Edge 2019, the two-day programme of 15-minute talks, panel discussions, masterclasses and networking activity, with an artisan food village showcasing the best of Irish and West of Ireland food produce. The event will take place on the 21st and 22nd of October in Galway. Early Bird Tickets for Food On The Edge are available at a reduced rate of €350 until the end of June which includes admission on both days, lunches, and entertainment on both nights. Instalments plan payments are also available. Gather & Gather will be a principal partner of the event again this year, and the Food On The Edge team are delighted to announce Fáilte Ireland as a principal partner for Food On The Edge 2019. San Pellegrino, who have been on board since day one, are returning as major sponsors along with new major sponsors, Galway Bay Brewery.
For more information see www.foodontheedge.ie. Check out @FoodOnTheEdge on social media and follow the official hashtag #FOTE2019 for regular updates.
