Our Ambassadors

ADRIAN BEALE

CO-FOUNDER AND SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR, BUCKLEY & BEALE

Adrian Beale is the Co-Founder and Sales & Marketing Director for Buckley & Beale, an importer, distributor and wholesaler of speciality foods based in South Gloucestershire. He has over 20 years sales and marketing experience, 11 in the automotive industry, 5 in food retail, and the last 6 with Buckley & Beale. Adrian Co-Founded Buckley & Beale in January 2011 and has been actively involved in supporting small speciality food producers ever since, speaking at conferences and events on the importance of packaging, pricing, making the most of exhibiting and what buyers are looking for.

ADRIAN BOSWELL

BUYER, SELFRIDGES

Adrian is the Buyer for Cheese & Deli, Health & Wellbeing and Foods of the World at Selfridges and one of the most influential food buyers in the industry. He has worked for Selfridges for over 8 years, and amongst his many experiences, was a judge for the Guild of Fine Food World Cheese Awards 2017, which perfectly places him as the man to talk to for a top buyer’s perspective helping us to curate the show content appropriately.

JASON GIBB

FOUNDER, BREAD & JAM

Jason has had a varied career from TV producer to marine ecologist. His career in food started when he bought an abandoned olive grove in Italy and created an olive oil brand called Nudo which was sold around the world and in stores such as Selfridges, Harrods and Waitrose. After 10 years Jason exited from the olive oil business and started up Bread & Jam, the UK’s first food founders’ festival. This annual conference is a one-stop shop for any food or drink FMCG business looking to start, scale or expand. He also runs the FoodHub Forum on Facebook which is the UK’s largest community of independent food and drink brands and most recently he has launched Planet Jason, a brand on a mission to bring exciting, convenient vegan food to vegans, vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.

JEREMY BOWEN

OWNER, JB FOODIE SOLUTION

Jeremy has been in retail for 30 years with embracing Fine Food and Artisan Cheese for the last 20! As Corporate Sales Manager for Paxton & Whitfield, Jeremy is well respected for his commercial common sense and good humour. His knowledge of the UK High Street (Ecommerce and Export) in all its glory is without question and he takes pride in playing the ambient and chilled product positioning game.

The customer will always be king, and Jeremy delights in commercial relationships that add value and stand the test of time. Always ahead of the curve, he is not particularly fond of the doing the same old, same old in this fast moving and ever changing retail climate. He is also now working on a new venture - JB Foodie Solution. 

 

JOHN FARRAND

MANAGING DIRECTOR, GUILD OF FINE FOOD

Now well known in the fine food industry, John began his career studying Agriculture & Food Industry Management at Wye College. This oddly named but all-encompassing course covered farming and production as well as sales and marketing, which proved to be the perfect grounding for a career running the Guild of Fine Food.

At the heart of the fine food world since 1995, the Guild supports and promotes speciality food producers and the independent delis, farm shops and food halls that sustain them.

MARCUS CARTER

FOUNDER, ARTISAN FOOD CLUB

Marcus Carter left school at 16 to work on farms in Australia. Then, nearly a decade later returned to Devon to study Agricultural Management at Seale-Hayne college. From there, he went into the dairy-farming sector with Genus Breading and on to my mother’s food business Patchwork Pâté, working on sales nationally and internationally.

He then created his first Carter Food House – wholesale to butchers and fish shop across the UK. His passion for helping independent food companies have a voice has been his driving force for many years and his current business The Artisan Food Club has become the perfect method for this to happen.

PAUL HARGREAVES

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, COTSWOLD FAYRE

Paul Hargreaves is one of the leading voices in the UK encouraging and inspiring businesses to be a Force for Good and has published a book with the same title earlier this year. Twenty years ago, he founded Cotswold Fayre, a speciality food wholesaler and the company found success quickly, growing rapidly to become the leading wholesaler in the sector. The tremendous success of the company is down to creating a great place to work and one that focusses on changing the world for better. Since 2015 Cotswold Fayre has been certified as a B Corporation - a company that meets the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance.

RUPERT PONSONBY

DIRECTOR, R&R TEAMWORK AND CO-FOUNDER, THE BEER ACADEMY

Rupert is the Director of R&R Teamwork, a top, independent food and drink PR agency based in London. He’s a food lover, IPA lover and farmer. He was a founder of The Beer Academy and of Mr Trotter’s Pork Cracklings - and pioneered the ‘beer and pork scratching dinner’. He can commonly be found dismembering thistles in his Oxfordshire fields. He has over 20 years’ experience and success in the food and drink industry. He has a lateral view of marketing and of life – and is, in his own words, “not quite right”.

SOPHIE DAVIES

SENIOR BUYER, PLANET ORGANIC LTD.

Sophie's career started as a Fresh Foods Associate Buyer for London-based health food store Planet Organic where she has quickly risen through the ranks over the last 6 years to reach Senior Buyer for the Fresh Food & Drink department. In this department she oversees Fruit & Veg, Bakery, Chilled Groceries and Grab & Go. As a business Planet Organice pride themselves on being at the forefront of innovation and leading on wellness trends within the natural food and drink industry, so Sophie has seen quite the array of innovations and trends from Vegan to CBD and gut health to more recently the Keto diet. 

STEVE WALPOLE

FREELANCE FOOD DEVELOPER AND CHEF CONSULTANT

Steve Walpole has been passionate about food and cooking since he started a Saturday job in a local restaurant at the age of 15. He went on to gain a whole host of college qualifications, diplomas and awards including Awards of Excellence winner in 2000, Parade de Chefs medals, Roux Scholarship finalist, Advanced Culinary Arts diplomas. Steve is now a freelance food developer and chef consultant with a wealth of experience and knowledge.