On Tuesday 5th of July 22, BIH founder Lorraine Copes curated and hosted an important conversation at Imbibe Live. On the ‘Industry Matters’ stage, Lorraine and four drinks business founders discussed the emergence of black-owned drinks brands within the UK market and beyond.
Priya Narain is Event Sales Manager at KERB events. She is also Co-Founders of two separate industry initiatives- Event First Steps, and Diverse Speaker Bureau, which platforms industry experts from diverse backgrounds, helping panels be more representative of society. We spoke to Priya about working across the sector.
On the 27th of June, we held our second event in the Club Thrive series, Thrive in Wine. At WSET School London in London Bridge, we were joined by an incredible panel of wine experts and educators who shared their insights into the industry.
Aushi and Eroshan Meewella are co-owners of Sri Lankan restaurant Kolamba, delivering astonishing Sri Lankan food both at their Soho location and across the nation with their home kits. We spoke to Aushi about working in the industry, challenges and achievements.
This year we supported the Taste of London team to spotlight some phenomenal black-owned restaurants based in London. We travelled from West Africa to the Caribbean to bring some new flavours to the nation’s favourite food festival. Taste attracts 46,500 visitors over a five day period.
Cameron Bownes is Hotel Manager at The Zetter Hotel and Townhouse at The Zetter Group. He started his career with the intention of working in the kitchen. However, he soon found his love for interacting with people and embracing the excitement of a fast paced and unpredictable industry.
On the 23rd of May, we launched Club Thrive with a ‘Thrive In Food’ event at Bloomsyard, Liverpool Street. We were joined by an incredible panel of industry leaders, and over 70 attendees from a variety of careers within the hospitality and food sectors.
Sarit and Itamar opened their first restaurant in 2012, after working in kitchens in London and Israel. Honey & Co focuses on serving up the kind of delicious food found in the home, in an intimate and cosy space.
Kerran Kaur, or ‘Cook with Keke’ is a chef from London and has worked in restaurants for five years. Currently head chef at plant based cafe The Fields Beneath, Kerran also runs a private consultancy that helps restaurants and cafes reach their plant-based potential. With a focus on local, sustainable produce, Kerran creates recipes that taste great, nourish the body and respect historical context. Kerran works with companies to understand where food comes from, taking inspiration from the many cultures in and around London.
With the arrival of spring, we spoke to some of our chef community Roxii Knight, Adebola Adeshina, Rashida Spyriades and Chloe Bailey-Williams about the season’s produce that they are excited to be using, and dishes that they are planning to make with them.
