Francesco Mazzei & Robert Ortiz join Natural Food Kitchen chef line-up

Francesco Mazzei, chef patron at Sartoria in London’s Mayfair, and Robert Ortiz, the Michelin-starred head chef at Lima restaurant in London, will be bringing the vibrant colours and natural flavours of Italy and Peru to this year’s Natural Food Kitchen demonstrations at Natural & Organic Products Europe.

Opening at London ExCeL on 17-18 April, the Natural Food Kitchen offers two days of live demos from award-winning chefs and expert nutritionists. The 2016 line-up also features two MasterChef finalists – Angela Langford and Andrew Kojima, ‘Medicinal Chef’ Dale Pinnock (revealing three nutritional secrets to better health and a longer life), and nutritionists Christine Bailey and Nicky Clinch. The returning kitchen host is Jay Morjaria, founder and executive chef at Sutra Kitchen Vegetarian & Vegan Cooking School in London.

Italian chef Mazzei, a regular on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and MasterChef programmes, is a long-time champion of Calabrian specialities; including bergamot and the popular spicy sausage n’duja. He’ll be using his appearance at the show to promote artisan ingredients from across southern Italy – using authentic recipes from his new book Mezzogiorno.

Traditional ingredients are also on the menu in Robert Ortiz’ session – ‘Heavenly gifts from the Andes’. A pioneer of Peruvian cuisine, and the first Peruvian chef to win a coveted Michelin star (in 2013), he’ll be showcasing the culinary versatility of distinctive Peruvian ingredients and rare, ancient edibles from across the country’s mountain regions, coast and rainforest; including Andean grains, such as Quinoa and Kiwicha, Oca roots, and Cherimoya (“or custard apple” as Ortiz calls it).

“My approach to cooking is very simple. I use lots of organic products, mainly from the Andes and the amazons of Peru. Overall my style, or the philosophy behind what I do, is to try to combine the diversity that Peru has to offer – using corn, potatoes, chillies, cereals and seeds – to create a fantastic scene full of colours and textures,” says Ortiz.

His three dishes at the show will include Potato Causa starter, with Andean cereal and purple Rocoto pepper; Salmon Tiradito, with Achiote, chia seeds and yellow chilli; and, for dessert, Avocado & Cherimoya Mousse, made with raw cacao.

Chef Laura Scott, founder of the ‘How to cook good food’ blog, will also be making her show debut. She’ll be demonstrating quick and easy organic breakfasts to launch the 2016 #WakeuptoOrganic campaign – a joint initiative from the Organic Trade Board and Soil Association to drive sales of organic through independent retailers.

For full timings and session details, please visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk/theatre/natural-food-kitchen.

Buyers prepare for biggest ever show

Over 10,000 attendees are expected to visit for 2016. Reflecting the show’s broad appeal, representatives from Whole Foods Market, Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Infinity Foods, Planet Organic, Holland & Barrett, Harrods, Costco, Abel & Cole, Pret A Manger, pod, EAT, Pizza Hut Restaurants, Spirit Pub Company, Metropolitan Pub Group, Glendola Leisure, BaxterStorey, Sodexo, Elior UK, ISS, Harbour & Jones, The Savoy, Hilton Worldwide, Copthorne Hotels, K+K Hotels, Ibis Styles, Wessanen, Carrefour and, hundreds of independent specialist food stores, wholesalers, distributors, importers and exporters, have also pre-registered.

“For over 10 years pod food has kept abreast of the latest trends in health and nutrition translating them into fresh, delicious daily recipes-to-go. Visiting the UK’s biggest showcase for natural and organic food and drink makes it into the diary each year, as it’s a great opportunity to delve into a smorgasbord of exciting new foodie discoveries and meet the masters and makers face to face,” says Meg Ellis, commercial director of pod.

“The Natural Food Show is an exciting event that Pret's food team always looks forward to attending. From the weird to the wonderful – it's always brimming with ideas and inspiration,” says Caroline Cromar, group director of food at Pret A Manger.

"I’m looking forward to this year’s show – it’s a great way to discover innovative new suppliers and catch up with existing ones all in one place. I’d recommend it to anyone in the sector – it’s not to be missed,” says Dominic Jeffery, buyer at Infinity Foods Wholesale.

Natural & Organic Products Europe – Europe’s biggest showcase of natural, organic, Fairtrade, free-from and eco-friendly products – includes four show sections: The Natural Food Show, Natural Health, Natural Living, and Natural Beauty & Spa. The next edition will take place on 17-18 April 2016 at ExCeL London.

For more information and to register for a trade ticket, please visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk (alternatively, use direct link: https://registration.n200.com/survey/1x8mta7p0nbu6?actioncode=NPPR22).

###