Irish food symposium launches in London

Dan Mulhall, the Irish Ambassador to the UK, was among the speakers at the international launch of Food On The Edge, the annual food symposium and gathering of chefs from around the world, which takes place in Galway (October 9th-10th).

JP McMahon, symposium director and Irish Times columnist, introduced the line-up of 54 international chefs currently signed up to speak at the event, and chefs Nathan Outlaw, Matt Orlando and Robin Gill spoke about how their attendance at the event in the past had impacted them, both personally and professionally.

Outlaw runs four restaurants in the UK, including the Michelin two-star with his name above the door, in Port Isaac, Cornwall. Orlando was previously sous chef and chef de cuisine at Noma in Copenhagen and Per Se in New York, before opening Amass in the Danish capital.

Gill has four restaurants in London, with an interest in a fifth, at the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, where he will be responsible for the restaurant, tearoom and whiskey bar, when the hotel opens in June of next year.

The London launch took place at Gill's Bethnal Green restaurant, Paradise Garage. Signature snacks for the event were provided by McMahon, Outlaw and Gill, along with Irish woman Anna Haugh, executive chef at Bob Bob Ricard in Soho, and Tom Adams of Pitt Cue.

The line-up of chefs speaking at Food On The Edge is headed by three who have featured in the Netflix series, Chef's Table – Magnus Nilsson of Faviken in Sweden, Ana Ros of Hisa Franko in Slovenia and Niki Nakayama of n/naka in Los Angeles.

Chef’s Table

Brian McGinn, executive producer and director of Chef's Table will be in Ireland next week for the Ballymaloe Litfest and will also be travelling from Belfast to Cork "exploring what's happening in Irish food, and the stories behind some chefs", according to a spokesperson for Litfest.

A recent addition to the Food On The Edge line-up is Daniel Clifford of Midsummer House in Cambridge, who endeared himself to Irish viewers as co-host and judge, along with Gill, of the recent Celebrity MasterChef Ireland series.

The themes for Food On The Edge this year include Caring and sharing our food and culinary heritage; Looking to the past to create the future; Food as a tool for social change and resistance; The importance of mentorship; The role of diversity and travel; Sustainable protein; Organic food and seaweed; The importance of family; Accepting our failings, and Cooking as a call to act.

The event will be a mixture of 15-minute talks, panel discussions and masterclasses and the venue is The Black Box, on Dyke Road in Galway. Tickets are now on sale and cost €350 (early bird price, until August 31st), for the two-day programme, lunches and wrap party, and €225 for one day. See foodontheedge.ie