Our Judges

Aaron is the Executive Chef at The Vox and leads a talented team with a vast experience in managing large-scale hospitality, for private functions and corporate events. He also worked within a London-based Michelin Star restaurant, where he developed key skills for private fine dining and exceptional eye for quality and detail. Whilst working at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, He was selected for opportunities to work on globally renowned events such as the London 2012 Olympics, Hampton Court Flower Show and Tatton Park Flower Show. He also led the mobilisation of two new large market leading business units ahead of their launch; the Waterfront Conference and Exhibition Centre (Belfast), and the Vox Conference Centre. He is an innovator in his own right pushing the boundaries in the conferring marketplace for veganism, seasonality and sustainability. A passionate leader across is diverse team continually striving to develop the future talent within the industry.

A chef by training, Adrian has had a long and varied career in hospitality, retail, airlines and technology (within the hospitality sector) at all levels. Now co-founder of technology company Quincely Ltd, he is focussed on delivering solutions to food manufacturing and food service to ease the burden of regulatory food safety control. Always passionate about food and service, Adrian continues to support development and improvement in all sectors of the food industry and continues to herald innovation in food and quality.

Adrian Whitefoord graduated with 1st Class Honours Degree from Maidstone College of Art in 1983 then proceeded to complete a Post Graduate Degree at The Royal College of Art. His agency experience includes; Conran Associates, The Partners and Lewis Moberly.

In 1987 he co-founded Pemberton & Whitefoord Design Consultants (P&W). 

Over the last three decades, Adrian has dedicated his creative expertise, strategic principles and tactical thinking in building P&W’s global reputation.

Adrian has worked with clients over 5 continents including: Tesco, The Coca-Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company, Starbucks, Kroger and Seicomart. P&W has won 100+ international design and marketing awards.

A trained Home Economist, my career within the Retail Food Industry spans over 33 years. Working for Co-op as a Product Development Manager, has given me the opportunity to explore my foodie passion, being part of a wide team bringing NPD to market. Personal interests are also food related as I enjoy experimenting and being creative with food in my own kitchen. I very much enjoy being outdoors, trying to keep on top our garden and (though not so much currently) long distance footpath and hill walking.

Andrew Skinner 

Andrew has spent no less that four decades’ in the food industry. His extensive experience in food safety, quality and hygiene spans many areas of the food industry, encompassing raw materials, food processing and manufacture including import/export and distribution.

Andrew’s has worked with a diverse cross-section of the food industry, from small private firms to multi-nationals and with two of the UK’s largest food retailers.

Today, his company, TQS Food Consulting, primarily advises and assists UK and overseas food businesses in meeting the food safety, hygiene and quality assurance expectations of local, legislative and customer requirements and in particular the SALSA and BRC Global Standards for Food as well as the standards of major UK Food retailers. 

Andrew’s personal experience encompasses cooked and continental meats, sausages, Uk & territorial cheeses, continental cheeses,  chocolate and sugar confectionery as well as other ambient stable grocery product categories, chilled and frozen foods.

Andrew is a Fellow of The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT), and is also involved with a number of food safety related committees and working groups in the UK. 

Seafish is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) set up to support the £10 billion UK seafood industry. We know that seafood is the way forward for business, for our communities, our environment and for our health and personal well-being. Our vision is for a thriving UK seafood industry and we offer a unique, industry-wide outlook working in partnership with all parts of the seafood industry across the UK to unite the industry in our vision. This includes everyone involved in the seafood journey - from when it’s caught to when it’s bought – fishermen, processors, wholesales, food service, retailers and the end consumers. We also actively work beyond our traditional stakeholder base with universities, research institutes, public bodies and other food industries to leverage additional value for the seafood sector. Our funding comes from a levy on the first sale of seafood products in the UK and we work at arm's length from our joint sponsors, the four Fisheries Administrations.

Angus is an experienced International Business Development Manager, specialising in the Food & Drink sector. He has been advising and mentoring companies on developing business overseas for over twelve years. Prior to joining DIT (formerly UKTI), Angus spent 10 years managing the export business of various multinational manufacturing companies in the Consumer Goods, Food & Drink and Creative Industries sectors. His key territories included The Americas and EMEA regions.

I am proud to have spent over twenty years in the bar, hotel and restaurant industry and continue to seek excellence and fresh modern ideas that advance the dining experience beyond expectations. Making an impact in a variety of sectors, from value brands to casual/ family restaurants and fine dining enterprises. Woking with major brands and national chains such as Whitbread, Mitchells & Butlers, Marriott, Dobbies & Tesco as well as more recently smaller independents- The Bon Vivant Group. 

After starting out in life working in military electronics, Austen landed in the Hospitality space in 2001 running the procurement organisation for Accor in the UK. In 2007, he turned his hand to the gaming industry and spent five successful years with the Rank group, soon followed by almost four years with Radisson Hotels in a similar role.

A subsequent stint as Head of Business Development at Bunzl Catering Supplies, as well as establishing the hotel cosmetics business ‘Amenity Warehouse’, has also given him a 'suppliers-eye' view. Now a much sought-after consultant to the industry, he supports companies seeking to grow their hotel sales categories.

No-one understands hotel and customer requirements better, whether budget or super-premium.

Barbara Ross s a creative, innovative award-winning food specialist with substantial experience in retail new product development, food manufacturing and project management. Being in love with food her whole life Barbara is passionate about delivering new products that delight customers. She has a specialism in Italian food for a cuisine that is deep-rooted in simplicity and seasonality. Outside odf the office or kitchen she is committed to continuous professional development and in November 2018 completed a Masters in Gastronomy: Food in the World at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Piemonte, Italy. She is pretty fluent in Italian and is always looking to brush up on her language skills over coffee or drinks.

Biff Bloom-Burrows is the co-founder of Biff's Kitchen, a food business dedicated to creating vegan food without compromise, and most known for its signature burgers and wingz made entirely out of Crispy Fried Jackfruit. 

After creating the product, Biff founded the company with his wife Christa in mid-2017 under the Biff's Jack Shack name. After causing a huge buzz on London's street food scene, Biff moved into the restaurant world, most recently partnering to create the world's first all-vegan BrewDog in Dalston, London. In late 2019 Biff's Kitchen launched its on-trade products nationwide, supplying one of the UK's largest pub chains. 

Prior to going vegan, Biff's career included 8 years as a senior marketer at a range of tech, music and e-commerce start ups, and 6 years of leadership in the hospitality industry, where he honed his passion for food.

I’m a marketer with over 25 years brand, category, and commercial leadership experience, working with many top brands across numerous categories including bakery, cooking sauces, dairy, tea, soup, condiments, pies, snacks, biscuits, frozen foods, soft drinks, sausages, chocolate and confectionery. A marketing consultant for the last 15 years, I help companies with Brand Portfolio Management, Communications, and Innovations (from concept and product development through to in-market launch). I love travelling, and trying the local cuisine - and have enjoyed several bespoke food & wine tasting holidays on several continents.

Charles is a Co Founder, a fourth generation foodie, an expert in food futures and a ‘champion of change’. Cooking at his mother's side in the kitchen is where Charles' obsession for food began! 
 
He and his business thefoodpeople are known for shifting the future of food and drink by harnessing the power of trends. Charles has spent the past 25 years in the food industry working across all sectors including food service, fine dining, hotels, food brands and food retailing.
 
thefoodpeople, established for over 15 years, are a global trends business, specialising in future foresight in the food and beverage sector. A united group of trend spotters and innovators, we’re a team of psychologists, chefs, marketeers, product developers, academics, flavourists, historians and anthropologists. But more than that TFP are ‘champions of change’ that bring their inherent experience, as well as an obsession for food and drink, natural curiosity, intuition and tenacity. This is underpinned by our vision ‘to shift the future of food and drink’. What drives us is our desire to shape a better future across society by harnessing the power of trends.
 
Charles adds “The reason that “thefoodpeople” exists is because we’ve been in your shoes. We know what it’s like; we know it’s not easy identifying and activating trends. It’s a fact that consumers are moving faster than industry, so decoding your businesses place on the future horizon and designing brilliant but nimble business models, strategies, and developing deep, value-based connections with consumers are essential traits of innovators both today and tomorrow. So do the most powerful thing a business can do – champion & harness change, don’t let it harness you.”

With 19 years of commercial sales & procurement behind me and having worked with a range of food businesses from large manufacturers to SME start-ups, I am now currently the Group Sales Manager for The Food Solution Group as well as working as a contractor supporting food & drink businesses on projects targeting; Wholesale, Foodservice, Retail & Convenience sectors.

With over 20 years of experience within the drinks industry, I have worked with many top brands in the country, which has provided me with an impressive level of insight into the complex and competitive environment of this industry. I am a passionate ambassador of products and ideas as well as a people person.

I'm a former food entrepreneur who now works as a Career & Business Coach, helping people discover careers or build businesses they love. I have a particular interest in foods that are high in nutrition as well as ethically produced, which is reflected in the product I launched in 2015 – Crobar, UK’s first cricket flour energy bar. I love to support other food entrepreneurs in their brand-building journey, especially if their product has the potential to shake up the market.

Cressida is Director of the FreeFrom Food Awards, started in 2008 to encourage innovation and celebrate excellence in the freefrom food industry; runs the awards social media sites; co-hosts the recently-launched networking ‘Zoominars’; keeps the company books; and attends any other business such as conferences, seminars or food fairs.

Cressida also produces the Future of Retail Trends Theatre at Food Matters Live, a fast-paced series of panel discussions and insight spotlights into some of the key retail trends driving consumer demand across the food, nutrition, better-for-you and health and wellbeing categories, including freefrom, gut health, plantbased, vegan & meatfree retail trends.

By having a natural risk reward mentality, Damien Lee has always had an interest in running his own businesses. After miraculously winning with stage 4 cancer, he decided to create a new business - Mr Lee's Pure Foods. The winner of Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2019 - Small Business of the Year, the 2018 The Sunday Times Maserati 100 innovators list, and finalist for Amazon & The Confederation of British Industry Growing Business Awards 2016 - UK Entrepreneur of the Year. Damien has also worked on Charity & UN related causes for many years which continues today with Mr Lee’s and the charities the company supports along with the setting up of the Mr Lee’s Foundation which will help fund worthy causes in different parts of the world

I have worked in the food industry for 26 years in technical, QA and food safety management roles in manufacturing and retail, prior to becoming a self-employed food safety consultant in 2007. As a qualified Food Technologist and Chartered Scientist, my experience includes supplier auditing, retailer specification writing, food labelling advice, HACCP and general food safety support. I’ve worked with chilled foods, fresh produce, meat, bakery, ice cream, and in food storage and distribution. I support many smaller businesses with their food safety requirements and have helped clients achieve successful certification to BRCGS and SALSA standards since 2007.

With over 16 years of global experience, I can say one thing: I just love it! Having worked under the leadership of talented chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi in Moscow, and trained in chocolate at the Valrhona Academy in France, I settled in London 14 years ago. My experience in diverse environments includes hotels, retail, catering, product development and fast-growing restaurant chains, with global names such as The Square, the Savoy, ZUMA, ROKA and Cocomaya.

Friendly, approachable and commercially minded, I work well at all levels, whether training and motivating teams or engaging with customers to understand their needs, and I always thrive on developing products and creating something new.

Debbie manages Walnut Unlimited Sensory panels used in the profiling and reformulation of consumer goods and foods. A sensory scientist for over 20 years, Debbie uses her knowledge to generate and deliver high quality value added sensory and has worked with many global companies. With a Doctorate in Brewing Science, a Post Graduate Certificate in Sensory Science and as an IFST Approved Trainer, Debbie is also one of the few women accredited Beer Academy sommeliers. Debbie ‘e expertise has featured on several BBC television news and consumer interest programmes, including Chanel 4’s Food Unwrapped.

An agile category and insight expert, who works across a wide-range of product sectors.

My company, Contigo Management, was founded out of a passion to deliver relevant insights and strategies in the food industry, blending the needs and wants of consumers and those of retailers and food outlets. With a proven track record of adding value, we unlock business potential by working with you to bring consumer insight to the heart of your thinking. Our client base includes major UK grocery multiples, their suppliers as well as established FMCG food brands.

As a seasoned foodie, I enjoy being part of the Q Awards, as they enable me to combine my knowledge of the industry with judging the array of product entries from a consumer viewpoint.

Denise Spencer-Walker has worked as Food Communications Manager for Agriculture, Horticulture and Development Board, a levy body that represents farmers, growers and others in the supply chain for 16 years and with her background in Home Economics has worked in the food and drink industry for over 25 years. She is also a member of the Guild of Food Writers and has a Masters in Culinary Arts.

I have worked in the Hospitality and Catering industry for over 34 years training and developing my skills and knowledge of food and ingredients, my passion is trying new food and products to continue developing my palate for exotic and interesting ingredients. I love to travel to different countries, where I also make it my mission to go and try the local cuisine and national dishes made by the local people. I have been involved in training and developing people into the Hospitality Industry for over 20 years, this is a very rewarding way to give back what I have learnt over the years.

Dina Begum is a cookbook author and writer who is passionate about championing the recipes and food traditions of Bangladesh. She is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and her debut cookbook ‘The Brick Lane Cookbook,’ (Kitchen Press, 2018) celebrates the diverse food of London’s Brick Lane. Dina is a leading voice in Bangladeshi food and her recipes/writing have been featured in Great British Chefs, The Independent, Culture Trip, Delicious Magazine, among others. Dina has been featured in a micro documentary by Great Big Story and presented a programme at The Museum of Food and Drink in New York.

Dominic is originally from Montreal, Canada, and has been living in the UK since 2013. After working in various tech startups, in 2015 he successfully managed a crowdfunding campaign to open a tech-based restaurant in Central London. This outlet was the first in the UK to use bespoke food lockers and connected systems to implement a completely automated and contactless customer journey. Since then, he has been actively involved in the food industry, including providing his food outlet technology to other companies under "LunchBoxx".

Ekta is a veteran QFA judge having joined the panel 8 years ago. The Mumbai native took a leap a decade ago to pursue her passion for the food industry and moved to London. She holds an MSc in Food Science from London Metropolitan University. Since graduating she has worked as a Food Technologist at corporate giants, retailers and small businesses alike; specialising in specifications and regulations. Her expertise covers most product categories from ready meals to bakery. She currently works as a freelance consultant.

Ella is a specialist in B2B communications and leads Hanover’s Trade team across accounts including Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Mondelēz International and Camelot Lotteries. She has established herself as an influencing figure in the industry; she was named one of PRWeek’s 30 under 30 in 2019, and led the Trade team to win Marketing & Communications Agency of The Year in 2018. With experience across a range of sectors including FMCG, technology, travel, beauty, education and sport, Ella is adept at offering strategic guidance, implementing brand and business campaigns and designing local, tactical activity.

A huge foodie with 6 years comprehensive cross-category experience across branded and retailer own label innovation launches. I am obsessed with creating new things that consumers love and all the market research that goes into product development. One of my favourite products ever launched is the M&S Percy Pig!

o Fiona Cramp is a highly experienced product and business development professional who has spent the last 25 years building a successful career within large FMCG businesses, SME’s and privately owned businesses. She has a unique blend of creative and commercial skills which has helped to deliver significant sales and profit growth within those companies. She now runs her own consultancy; supporting businesses in end to end NPD with a special focus on product strategy and development, agile NPD process and in an advisory capacity as mentor, coach and NED. She was pivotal in growing The Collective – a global yoghurt challenger business into the multi-million pound brand it is today.

I started my career as a chef working in hotels whist doing my BTEC and Degree in hotel management. I have then been fortunate enough to work in most areas of the hospitality sector including hotels, event, contract, retail and patient catering where I have been able to develop offers from scratch as well as delivering existing concepts. Whilst I now work as a consultant and use my experience to help organsiations create high performance teams, I always get drawn back to my original passion for food and beverage!

Highly experienced and trained Food Technologist/EHO. Experienced in food manufacturing and retailing throughout the world, covering all food products and processes in over 50 countries. With a wealth of production, technical and quality knowledge, strategic viewpoint and eye for detail can execute audits, identify issues and give constructive and pragmatic advise and assist suppliers to develop their sites.

Hannah has eight years’ FMCG comms experience, with in-depth knowledge of the trade media landscape. She joined Hanover in 2017 and now manages the Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Mondelēz International and Camelot Lotteries accounts, where she helps clients solve their business challenges using trade media engagement through her media contacts and industry experience.

Harriet is a Leiths trained chef who has spent the last six years exploring the many facets of the food industry. Fueled by a passion for food, an insatiable appetite and an eagerness to digest as much knowledge as possible, Harriet has turned her hand to teaching, food styling & recipe development. She considers herself incredibly lucky to have been able to work with some of the most talented chefs in the UK. Most recently she has taken on the role of Head of Food & NPD.

I am Ilias, 33 years old, originally from Greece and in particular a town called Pylos in the Messinia region. My family has cultivated the Koroneiki olive variety in the area for almost two centuries now. I have been an olive oil producer and distributor for the last 10 years. A few years ago, I founded the brand allio olive oil, dedicated to producing and bottling premium extra virgin olive oil. Currently, our brand can be found in several countries, including the UK. I am a huge food lover and appreciate high-quality food

Jackie Marshall has a wealth of experience in the food industry over two decades including blue-chip multinational organisations to providing strategic marketing support for SMEs. In her role at The Fairtrade Foundation, Jackie is responsible for working with business partners to improve the livelihoods of farmers and workers across the world and working towards global food supply chains that are sustainable and fair for all those involved.

After 15 years in the food industry working for a variety of manufacturer and retailers I am passionate about the 'Perfect Product'. With a love of food and travel I have helped brands develop and bring to market some amazing new products in the UK, Canada, UEA and India. At Ocado we are passionate about helping our customers choose from a huge range of amazing products. From big brand favourites through to artisan products from some of the UK's best small producers, passion for product is at the heart of everything we do

Having worked for over 20 years in Food & Beverage procurement within the UK & EMEA,SEAC & Australia in a diverse number of multi-site business, ranging from Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, Airline Catering & National Garden Centres, I have an extensive knowledge of each sector & there specific requirements, whether that be innovation, cost reduction or consolidation.

Over the years I have also built strong strategic relationships with key Hospitality suppliers & Manufacturers across the world & spent a significant time working on NPD & Innovation for each sector to offer improvements. My preferred statement is: start with the customer & work backwards. 

Contributor My Weekly regular feature writer (health, kitchen garden) cookery features. Write and edit six page food and cookery section; contribute diet, health and nutrition features to the main body of the magazine. 2013-2020

Editor Your Week, Weight Watcher’s magazine received by all UK members of Weight Watchers at their weekly meeting. Commission and edit content about diet, health, nutrition and cookery features. 2011-2013

Editor, BBC Head Room Editor from initial concept through development to launch of BBC Head Room, mental health web site as part of a two year Multiplatform Pan BBC campaign. Approaching leading mental health charities, psychiatrists and psychologists and inviting them to form an Editorial Steering Committee. Organising bi-monthly meetings of the committee to agree and approve editorial content. 2007-08

Editor Healthy, UK's best selling health title during editor's maternity leave. 2006-2007

Editor BBC A Child Against All Odds, health website fertility BBC education, BBCi/press red. The bbc.co.uk/childagainstallodds was a reproductive (IVF/fertility) health web site created to accompany the BBC1 series A Child Against All Odds, presented by Professor Robert Winston. 2006

Editor Slimming Magazine during the resident editor's sabbatical. Commissioning content from feature writers and liaising with nationwide branches to produce slimming success stories about Slimming World members and current science on slimming and weight control. 2005

Health Editor Eve magazine Wrote and commissioned health and fitness features for this mould-breaking and original women's magazine 2002-2003

Editor Tesco Healthy Living Editor of the title from pitch to production through first couple of years of the magazine's existence. 2000-2002

Jason spent 4 decades in food industry & is enjoying starting his 5th...

Early years saw Jason in chef’s whites with Roux Brothers & other luminaries leading to the helm of some of London’s most prestigious restaurants.

Café Society followed & making premium restaurants accessible driving brands such as Café Rouge, Dome, Chez Gérard, Livebait, Bertorelli’s & others changing face of high street.

Gastro Pub Boom was when Jason joined Spirit Group & SFI putting quality pub food firmly on the map transforming dynamics of industry.

Taking learnings to retail Jason joined M&S heading up 400+ restaurants & coffee shops, launching 50 deli counters, 450 new bakeries & 60+ global operations stealing market share, driving innovation & experiential shopping This followed by earning LFL & profitable ROI in 140 Garden Centres across UK

Jason started Hana Group in UK opening 120 sites in 3 years winning hearts & minds of customers as trend for healthy food & in store theatre explodes revolutionising way we shop.

Jason has over 30 years kitchen experience under his apron and has had the privilege of working in some of the country’s most recognisable venues including the House of Parliament & Lloyds of London to name a couple. The last 12 years have been spent working for Amadeus @ Resorts World Arena, where he heads up the kitchens in this 16,000-capacity venue, managing a brigade of up to 35 chefs providing food for all retail concessions & hospitality dining.

In his spare time Jason enjoys a good Netflix binge, home baking with his daughter and the occasional short bike ride.

Jon commissioned the world-leading list of food tech books for Blackie and Chapman and Hall before going on to run international professional publishing businesses for Blackwell and Wiley. The food list specialised in highly practical titles aimed at helping the food industry to maximise effectiveness, efficiency and innovation and included Simon Wright’s ground breaking Handbook of Organic Food Processing and Production over 25 years ago. Jon now invests in start-up companies with a social element including food businesses like Rubies in the Rubble, Olio and Winnow, and is a university board member and NHS Foundation Trust Lead Governor.

Jonas Aurell, co-founder and owner of Scandinavian Kitchen in London, UK have grown their small central London coffee shop to a multi-channel enterprise comprising on- and offline retail, wholesale and distribution of food products. Scandikitchen.co.uk is currently the biggest independent online provider of Scandinavian goods in the UK. It sells and distributes products through its own web store and its wholesale customers, the online supermarket Ocado.com and e-commerce giant Amazon.co.uk. Aiming to be a window to the best of the Nordics, Jonas has established a strong network of contacts throughout the Nordic region to enable producers of all sizes bring suitable products to the UK market.

Having spent most of my career working with and alongside the hospitality industry, I love trying new food and drink. I work for a tech company that works with a number of the UK’s leading brands to help streamline their menu publishing process and keep them compliant with allergen and nutritional legislation.

Karen Green is a business mentor, speaker and author of the best-selling book “Recipe for Success – the Ingredients of a Profitable food business”. She has a wealth of commercial experience, having worked both as a buyer for UK grocery retailers and commercial director for various food manufacturing businesses from turkeys to sushi! She now runs Food Mentor, specialising in providing business mentoring, consultancy and training with food and beverage brands She is a passionate foodie living in the south of France renowned for its fabulous food and wine!

A qualified food technologist specializing in working with businesses, both retail and manufacturing uniquely helping them to solve their challenges. 

With over 30 years of experience within the food industry working with fmcg companies,startup and retailers offering a number of skills to na gate to successful project delivery.

Karl has successfully developed great food products which have won awards and has also been a proud member of the QFA judging panel for about 10 years.

Kristen Frederickson is a food writer and cook based in London. She is Members Communications Director for the British Guild of Food Writers, and the author of a cookbook, "Tonight at 7.30: One Family's Life at the Table," published in 2015, and is at work on a sequel. Most recently she's become a member of the growing sourdough community which has taken on such noteworthy life since the pandemic of Covid-19

- An experienced product developer turned entrepreneur, I launched a first to market plant based brand, Pudology in 2012 and have recently become co-founder of free from kids brand Little Bandits. I am Food Director at the specialist Plant Based consultancy PB&Co and I also support start ups and established Food Brands at my consultancy business Out to Launch Ltd.

My first job was as a part time washer up in a local, but rather well known fish restaurant for what can only be described as a ferocious Swede. ​ Cooking and hospitality was my thing and I was hooked after that. I was lucky enough to attend Le Cordon Bleu school, following that I applied and was successful to get a place on the Mount Charlotte Thistle Hotels graduate programme - the youngest person ever at that time to be accepted on the BA program. I then worked as a chef, I managed restaurants, both fine-dining and chain (Café Rouge), as well as working as a consultant for a Cambridge-based hospitality consultancy company. Then came Restaurant Associates, running £150m Key account contracts such as LWT and the Willis Group; Unilever Ventures as Operations Director and then with Artizian, first in operations then as Sales Director. ​ I set up my own business, Couture, in 2007, which was a £7m concession catering company operating in the private jet, museum, arts, film and TV sectors throughout the UK. When Couture was sold to CH and CO in 2012, I joined GHA Group as Managing Director, I was then Culinary Director for Alpha LSG Sky Chefs for the UK 2014-2018 and also had the privilege working with LSG Global Futures in Germany. ​ Since 2014 I have written for OnBoard Hospitality Magazine on food insights, trends and free from and the travel sector in general. I have since consulted for several working in the airline and travel sector whilst building Libero Special Meals and Bare Food Travels brands and setting up the Niche Free-from Kitchen with Adrian where we also produce products for retail, airlines and private healthcare. I speak and cook regularly at events on free from cooking, and was featured on this topic on APEX media and APEX insider.

Founder of Wholey Moly cookies, a new healthy vegan cookie. Launched in 2018 in Selfridges, Wholefoods, Daylesford farm and over 200 independents.

I became the Head Chef of the UK's largest vegan restaurant, Erpingham House at the age of twenty. I studied for three years at catering college, and graduated with distinctions every year and won ‘Chef of the Year’ in my final year. I am classically trained, and have six years experience working in fine dining in Norfolks top restaurants. I have been a national finalist in many competitions, judged competitions, worked with Michelin starred chefs, catered for royalty, catered for events, performed cooking demonstrations to the public, featured in magazines, and solely catered for private dining experiences at customers' houses.

Michelle Berriedale-Johnson has been involved with food sensitivity for nearly 30 years, ever since her family were diagnosed with milk intolerance. Since then she has manufactured 'freefrom' food, run a magazine about food sensitivity, written a number of books on food allergy/intolerance, devised over 1,000 'freefrom' recipes and now edits the FreeFromMatters family of websites, a major online resource for food allergy, intolerance and sensitivity.

In 2008 she launched the hugely successful FreeFrom Food Awards, followed in 2011 by the FreeFrom Skincare Awards.

Michelle is an authority on ‘freefrom’ food and is in constant demand as a speaker on the concept of ‘freefrom’ and the wider ‘allergy problem’.

I was brought up in the South West of France and food has always played a huge role in my life. I have been working in the food industry for over 12 years enjoying learning about food history, processes, development and innovations. I always try to link whatever I do to food in some way, whether it is socialising around a nice dinner, trying up-and-coming restaurants, a cooking course when travelling or trying the latest trends off the shelf.

Nathalie Newman founded the award winning ‘Intolerant Gourmand’ in 2014, following the diagnosis of multiple severe allergies for her young son. Having overcome the challenges faced when catering for and living with allergies, Nathalie provides ‘freefrom’ recipes to clients nationwide as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. Nathalie also works as a presenter, consultant and trainer and lectures at various high-profile events including the BSACI, Speciality Fine Food Fair, Allergy Show London, Liverpool & Glasgow, BBC Good Food Shows and more. Nathalie is well known within the allergy community through her work and her blog, detailing with honesty what life is like with allergies.

Having been spawned by generations of Caterers & Retailers & after a management course at Westminster Kingsway College, Nicholas trained in all F&B areas within London Clubland & Hotels in both London & Paris; this helped form his passion for good food, drink & warm, welcoming service.

Now specialising in procurement & supply chain, Nicholas set-up & led teams on Greenfield sites such as The Maybourne Hotel Group & more recently AB Hotels

Hartswood Purchasing Assoc. provides purchasing support to Hospitality, Education & Social Care businesses with their, Tendering, Cost Reduction, P2P set-up & FF&E Procurement projects.

HPA is dedicated to creating more efficient environments through positive supply chain collaborations, thereby transforming the value to all & ultimately costing our clients less!

Nicola Wordsworth is a brand guardian, brand implementation specialist, advisor to SMEs, and has been has been in the industry for over 25 years. Having managed and owned successful agencies she is now a consultant, working on individual projects or longer term contracts. She has worked with household names such as the Kellogg’s, Wedgwood, Waterford, Sony and well known food producers. Nic also has an interest in human behaviours and wayfinding in retail spaces and other areas. Nic is a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Marketors, and works with the London Chapter of the global Society for Experiential Graphic Design.

I learned to cook in my teens and later I trained on a two year City & Guilds in Professional Catering course in 2003-2005. After a short period of work experience at Le Manoir Aux' Quatre Saisons, I started my own business in 2009. I have built a business with corporate and private clients catering for many types of events, developing and teaching cookery courses, regular spots on local radio, and writing. I also founded the Wallingford Food Festival to support local food producers in 2011, winning third tourism awards in five years. I love to share my passion for food!

Paul has a BSc in Physics from Southampton University and an MBA from Insead in France. In 2008 he helped a friend acquire 5 coffee bars which subsequently became Caffe Nero. The business floated on the LSE in 2001 and was taken private in 2007. It now has over 800 outlets in 11 countries. For the first ten years of Caffe Nero, Paul was responsible for all food and beverage development as well as purchasing and distribution. He then worked on the international development of the business as well as its renowned music programme helping young musicians develop their careers.

I have worked in the packaging industry for over 35 years mainly concentrating in the food sector. Since joining The Alexir Partnership over 20 years ago our portfolio has widened to include actual food co manufacturing and food co packing which has allowed Alexir to offer a one stop single source for our customers. As a group we now turnover in excess of £35 million pa and my focus has been on the food to go/ travel market where we have seen significant growth due in part to the reduction in single use plastics with a preference to change to board/sustainable packaging. We have a number of patented packs which again have seen significant growth including the gas flushed HALOPACK which has again enjoyed considerable growth in the fresh foods/meats sectors

Seasoned ingredients hunter with experience in formulation and building concepts for on-trend, nutritious and good for you final products. Now self employed after 26 years working in the corporate world of natural ingredients and manufacturing beverages. Looking forward to post-Covid opportunities as we all seek out the next big ingredient to spark consumer interest and fill the shelves with luxurious, tasty nutritious products.

Rebecca is a full-time BBC journalist, editing the news programme for London. In her spare time she eats, cooks and writes about it, for the BBC and her own blog www.holdtheanchoviesplease.com.

Food, drink and travel is such a huge part of my life if I wasn't a journalist I would definitely be running a restaurant or buying for a major supermarket. I absolutely love trends in food and am always on the lookout for new products that will work for me in the kitchen. Don't judge me but I'm a massive gin fan, which often comes in handy after a long week in the newsroom.

I am a huge fan of the Quality Food Awards and this is my fifth year, judging. May there be many more to come.

Ron's professional career started as Creative Director of Design House working with primarily with ASDA Wallmart. In 1994 he founded the through-the-line agency Integrator, and developed successful brand strategies and campaigns for Pfizer, Arm & Hammer, and Harley Davidson. Ron sold Integrator to WPP in 2003. Following a three-year stint at the Cossette agency Identica, working on the Diageo brand portfolio, Universal Studios, NIKE, and the launch of Russian Standard, Ron then worked at Navyblue where his clients included London 2012, UKTI, The R&A, RBS and Lavenoon Plc.. He helped drive the agency towards continued growth, including personally establishing network offices in South Africa, Hungary, and Muscat in Oman. He then spent 3 years running the luxury brand agency Construct, looking after Mulberry, Claridge’s, Porto Montenegro and ESPA among others

Ross is the founder and Managing Director of London Smoke and Cure, south London's premier smokehouse producing award winning cold-smoked Scottish salmon, Rare Breen bacon and British charcuterie. Ross can chart his love of hand-crafted quality back to his early childhood and for 20 years has been championing the benefits of keeping a craft element of manufacture in more mass-produced lines. He says "making by hand is a privilege that trumps any call for greater efficiency" Outside of food Ross lives with his family in Crystal Palace, holds a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering and is a Trustee for Dalston's workspace charity Bootstrap.

Ruth Badley is an experienced freelance writer and PR consultant with a background in journalism and international food culture. Now based in rural Essex, she has worked with chefs, cookbook writers, restaurants, food producers, food photographers and destination food festivals in the UK and Dubai. She is currently writing her second book, Bite Size World, a memoir of eating and travel experiences.

I was a customer for 11 years prior to joining the company in 1993 as a business manager (territory sales manager) when we were known as "Booker Fitch" at the Northampton depot.I moved to the chef team in 1998. My favourite kitchen instrument is a "good sharp knife", hard to do the job without one!! I love to use simple tomato ketchup as an ingredient, this offers a natural colour, sweetness and good consistency to any savoury

As the Lead Social Media Content Creator on @PestoChampion my passion is understanding food! 

www.ofplus.com

I managed to get an apprenticeship when I was 16 years old at the Plough and Harrow Hotel in Birmingham for 4 years ; little did I know at the time just how good this hotel was. the training I got during that time put me on the best route for my catering career, I worked in 4 star hotels and travelled the world working on the cruise ship QE2. I have been with the ICC for 29 years, 7 years of them as the executive chef, Many of my dishes are inspired by my travels around the world, but with a strong desire to purchase British produce where seasons allow. Me and the team at the ICC push the bar very high to deliver large scale dining for up to 1,800 covers.

Simon’s a blue chip trained commercial manager with experience to board room level. He has successfully managed a range of UK multiple retail accounts and national foodservice groups for companies including Premier Brands, Gallo, Pride Valley, Cheviot Foods, Findus and NAQUA of Saudi Arabia. He has experience in international account management across a number of European markets as well as experience of building business across a wide range of categories including frozen, bakery and chilled. He has experience in contract negotiation for both brand and own label. He’s managed NPD project team management and brand development. In his spare time, Simon is a keen cyclist

 I’ve been in the food industry all my career and love building turnover in small and medium sized businesses. Currently I’m working on projects as a consultant. After University I started my career at United Biscuits and then spent 6 exciting years as a director of the New Covent Garden Soup Company. I have since worked for Princes and then went into the food import sector with Leathams , then spent the past 11 years as CEO of ingredient supplier Lupa Foods, where my biggest foodie accomplishment was helping our chef, Arnaud, get to the final of Masterchef The Professionals!

With a career spanning more than 35 years, I have worked for many FMCG companies including – Kimberly Clark, Golden Wonder, Dairy Crest, Arla Foods, Johnson & Johnson & Findus. Working across all temperature regimes Ambient, Chill and Frozen I have gained insight to these unique sectors and what it takes to have a successful product/brand. Since 2012 I have been building my own Import & Distribution business; bringing unique, healthy, Organic & nutritious foods (mostly from Canada) to the UK. We are heavily involved in product selection, product development and pack design.

Steve has had the opportunity during his career to work on projects that have either launched new categories or altered directions of existing ones. Examples include the original Tesco Finest range, Steam Cuisine for M&S, M&S Cook and the first launch of Own label fresh soups. He has had experience of many different parts of the supply chain covering primary, low care and high care production. Eight years ago he founded Fairoak Foods who manufacture “chef led” products for high end retail and foodservice customers including Soup, Sauce, Ragu and Stews. This is Steve’s third year as a Q Awards Judge

I have been passionate about food since the age of 15 where I discovered the delights of cookery through a Saturday job at a local restaurant. After learning the basics of food and cookery I chose to attend the prestigious Westminster Kingsway College to train as a Chef. I decided to train in both Kitchen and patisserie to learn all aspects of the culinary world. One of My first roles was a position in the kitchens at the House of Commons where I worked my way up from Commis to Senior Chef de Partie within different kitchens and area of the palace.  It was during the summer recesses that I used my time to gain valuable experience in a number of high-profile restaurants and hotels in London and surrounding counties. My culinary journey later took me back to Westminster Kingsway College but this time as a Chef Lecturer where I not only had the privilege of teaching aspiring young chefs but also worked closely with The Fifteen Foundation to establish and support their training programme. Subsequent roles I have been head-hunted for to work within airline catering as a Senior Executive Chef for British Airways, Menu development Manager for Supplair and retailer manufacturing as Head of Food for Ugo Food Group. My consultancy Steve Walpole Limited was born in 2013, growing from a demand for the specialist knowledge and expertise that am able to offer.

I have been involved in food development and free from food scene for a number of years across all sectors from food service to retail, as due to suffering with Allergies I understand the importance and need to have safe and quality products for those who suffer with Allergies. This is something I like to champion and used as a platform to share my knowledge at trade shows, exhibitions and media with recipes, demonstrations or talks 

Sue has been involved in Free-From for 10 years. She’s a regular judge at food awards, writes about Free From food and drink, and is a beer consultant and category organiser for the Free From Food Awards.

Tez has worked across the food & drink sector and the health & wellness sector specialising in digital transformation for over ten years. She's worked across family-run businesses, start-ups and global industries. Her passion for food came from a young age growing up in a household of a father and an older brother of chefs. Working with Luhv Drinks she is passionate about exploring new and innovative solutions within the food and drink industry.

Tom is an Event Portfolio Director, with significant experience running large shows in the food and drink sector. Tom started in the events industry in 2004 via Marketing then Director roles at the leading events industry associations, the AEO and AEV. Tom joined F2F Events Ltd in 2010 as UK Portfolio Director. For over 10 years, he has managed F2F’s UK shows, launching and overseeing the growth of The Allergy & Free From Show portfolio, which now runs in three locations; London, Glasgow and Birmingham. Additional events managed include Just V Show (London and Birmingham), Love Natural love You, The Eat Smart Show, The Back Pain Show and APEA Live.

Tom’s experience is gained from many years exploring different types of food and cuisine. Apart from cooking all around the world, Tom takes regular food & cooking trips in the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Malta, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany. Tom has been a long-time member of his local vegan food groups and has been a chef since 2006. Also, he has worked with many English and International chefs and head chefs from gastro, fine dining, and Michelin restaurants. He takes placements in such restaurants until now. Excellent tasting food and generous hospitality are the key ingredients of his success so far.

Tomi Makanjuola is a Nigerian-born chef and blogger based in London. She founded The Vegan Nigerian, a platform dedicated to making Nigerian cuisine and the vegan lifestyle accessible through online resources, catering, workshops and bespoke events.

Will Howe was a chef for 2 years in professional kitchens and has had 10 years involvement within hospitality. Now he runs an ice cream franchise called Magic Organic for events, creating fresh, healthy ice cream alternatives, using organic products and catering to vegans. Will is obsessed with cooking and looking to start his own food business to share his love of food influenced by his French heritage.

Zara brings 11 years of marketing experience across FMCG and QSR. A track record in building and growing brands, developing and implementing portfolio strategies as well as launching successful NPD, across both food and beverage.