Food for Thought Talks

The talk series about what we eat

The Food Museum and EA Sustain present our second series of Food for Thought in conjunction with the ‘Forty Farms‘ exhibition, discussing the sustainability of our food industry. Hear from acclaimed food and sustainability experts, writers and innovators as they share their expertise on food, farming and sustainability. The events will be moderated by Joanne Ooi, founder and director of EA Sustain Festival.

Visitors can also enjoy a delicious locally-sourced dinner at our in-house café as part of the experience, available after the talk. The menu details can be found below the event details.

£10 – talk 

£50 – talk + dinner 

Talks

In Search of the Perfect Peach – a talk with Franco Fubini, fanatical food sleuth

Saturday 25 January, 5pm

Franco Fubini, the CEO of Natoora, the pioneering food company working with small-scale growers to source the finest fruit and veg for restaurants in London, Paris and New York, will tell us about some of the personal food odysseys described in his new book, In Search of the Perfect Peach, and how the flavours of fresh fruits and vegetables provide a natural starting point for investigating – and overhauling — the health and sustainability of food industry supply chains. 

Food First: A Society Built Around Food – Josiah Meldrum in conversation with Carolyn Steel

Thursday 20 March, 6:30pm

Considering that food is really at the centre of everything – our bodies, our minds, our habits, our homes, our cities, our landscapes, our economy, our politics, what does a good life – and a good society – look like, using food as the central prism of analysis and decision making? Hodmedods co-founder Josiah Meldrum talks to architect and author Carolyn Steel about Sitopia, her book that seeks to address this question.

MENU:

Snack 

Pea cracker with pea hummus and pickled radish

Main

Nettle orzotto with wild garlic oil and parmesan with radicchio salad

Pudding

Marmalade frangipane tart with cultured cream

Cheese plate (+£10.50)

St. Helena, Baron Bigod, Binham blue, Wakelyns chutney and crackers

We reserve the right to make small changes to the menu prior to the event, if required.

Helen Browning: Farming Icon & Soil Advocate

Tuesday 29 April, 6:30 pm

The CEO of the Soil Association will share her experiences across the many phases of her storied and multi-faceted career, from taking over the family farm in her mid-twenties to becoming one of the most influential voices in British organic farming and establishing Helen Browning’s Organic, a vertically integrated consumer food and restaurant business on the family farm. She will also tell us about the challenges facing British farming as the nation seeks to meet its Net Zero goals, while transitioning to a healthier food system.

MENU:

Snack

Asparagus in brick pastry with parmesan and lemon crème fraiche

Main

Braised local lentils with Helens sausages with roasted purple sprouting broccoli with fava bean bagna cauda

Pudding

Buckwheat and almond cake with rhubarb fool

Cheese plate (+£10.50)

We reserve the right to make small changes to the menu prior to the event, if required.

About EA Sustain

EA Sustain is a festival about environment, culture and entrepreneurship that takes place at Firstsite, the contemporary art museum in Colchester, every year. The event presents top activists, artists and authors who are stimulating change in policy and society at large. The event’s strapline is “Flourishing localism is key to decarbonisation,” explaining why, in addition to environmentalists, the festival features entrepreneurs who have built successful and influential businesses in East Anglia. Find out more at easustain.com.

Terms and conditions: Tickets are non-refundable.