Danni Malone, the Chief Network Officer of the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that supports a network of food banks across the UK, joins Ollie Lloyd and Susie Warran-Smith to explain the challenges they face. The Trussell Trust is campaigning and working towards a vision where we no longer see food banks in communities. Their network of 1,400 food banks, all run by independent charities, provide emergency support and food parcels to people who are left without enough money to afford the essentials. Danni explained how around 75% of people referred to their food banks have some sort of ..read more

Dr Duncan Robertson, from Dogtooth, joins Ollie Lloyd and Susie Warren-Smith, to talk about a new way to address the labour shortages that are impacting seasonal fruit and vegetables, a problem that Susie has seen first hand in her role as Chair and Executive Director, Produced in Kent. Dogtooth, are working on a revolutionary plan, which involves bringing robotics to farming. This isn't a far off dream, it is actually happening and at scale in farms in the UK. Using computer vision and machine learning, they are creating robots that can pick ripe soft fruits. Imagine an army of robots, often ..read more

Freddie Webb, is the founding partner of Father, a creative music and sound design studio. In this episode he explains to Ollie Lloyd why he passionately believes that many brands are missing a trick when it comes to the way they use sound. He thinks that sound should be an integral part of brand design and used strategically. Father have worked with brands like EE, Aston Martin and The Modern House Company to help them create distinctive sonic palettes that helps them stand out. There are a few food and drink brands that are doing this, Magnum Ice Cream being a rare exception.  In crowde ..read more

Scott Davies, the founder of Hill Top Honey has built an incredible business with the combination of tenacity and a £5,000 bank loan. He was a bricklayer who hurt his back and decided to change tact and set up a honey business. He came on the Food Talk Show with Ollie Lloyd and Susie Warran-Smith many years ago, but alot has happened in the last 8 years. Hill Top Honey, based in Newtown Wales, now turns over £43 million and has more than 130 employees. He had to be patient at the beginning, paying himself tiny amounts, exhibiting at trade shows to get close to his consumers and ultimately livi ..read more

Harriet Lamb, the CEO of WRAP (the climate action NGO behind Love Food Hate Waste and Food Waste Action Week), strikes a positive note about tackling food waste and how so many people from different sectors are trying to tackle this seemingly intractable challenge.  In her chat with Ollie Lloyd, she talks about innovative businesses like Dizzie, which is creating reusable packaging for groceries, and Notpla, which is manufacturing single-use compostable sachets from seaweed (that the CEO will eat on stage to show how good they are)!  They discuss the positive benefits of persona ..read more

Ben Branson is a true pioneer in the non-alcoholic drinks space. He created Seedlip, the first of the major brands in this sector, thus sparking an arms race and setting the stage for a new exciting era in the industry. He chats with Ollie Lloyd on the FoodTalk Show about his home experimentation with herbs and how a £50 home distilling kit purchased online led to something bigger. Sometimes, things felt completely out of control, and rarely, for an entrepreneur, does he admit to hating these moments. But he persevered and ultimately sold the business to Diageo but is still involved to this da ..read more

Tom Hunt is an eco-chef who has been championing the right food for years. He is passionate about inspiring people to think creatively about cooking and eating.  He writes a column for the Guardian on Food waste, founded a zero-waste restaurant in Bristol, has lived off-grid with his family and recently created a genuinely Happy Meal with the Soil Association. He catches up with Ollie Lloyd and recounts stories of cooking with the legendary Francis Mallamann, milking goats as a child before school and his plans for a new ice cream brand. Edited by Stella Gent ..read more

Toby Hopkinson co-founded All Things Butter with chef / social media phenomenon Thomas Straker, who went viral on TikTok and Instagram with a series of recipes that incorporated flavoured butter and owns a highly regarded restaurant in Notting Hill. Their business is taking a somewhat different approach to many challenger food brands. It tackles an incredibly old-fashioned category, having been invented in 2000 BCE or maybe earlier, and is trying to modernise it by returning to the basics. They are focused on lovingly creating a product with some truly committed farmers (Brue Valley) that is o ..read more

Robert Thompson MBE is one of the youngest chefs in the UK to receive a Michelin star and has helped put the Isle of Wight on the culinary map. At ten, he became interested in food, designing his own restaurant/club as part of a school project. He has worked at several top rated restaurants, from Winteringham Fields to Cliveden, before establishing Thompson's on the Isle of Wight. He was one of the first chefs to work with us at Great British Chefs and cooked a memorable lamb carpaccio at our press launch event and a smoked eel puff in Old Street (London) the day ..read more

Orlando Murrin has one of those careers in food that makes anyone who loves food jealous. He edited BBC goodfood, helped create Olive magazine and has also run highly successful hotel / restaurants in France and Britain. He has now embarked on another career branch by writing a murder mystery novel about a chef who has an unexpected experience running a cooking school in Belgravia. Edited by Stella Gent ..read more