Talks 2025 - Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival

The Symposium

All talks will be held in the Britten Studio, within the Hoffmann Building

Saturday 27th September

Fifteen Years of Craft Chocolate

Pump Street

Fifteen Years of Craft Chocolate in Suffolk: What It Means for the whole supply chain and where do we go next?

Chaired by Joanna Brennan from Pump Street with guest speakers: Deanna and Jonathan Tilston, Tosier, Genevieve Lazar, Cocoarunners. We’re gathering a small group of people whose insights and experience have shaped—and continue to shape—the craft chocolate landscape in Suffolk and beyond. The conversation will reflect on the past decade and a half of progress in the understanding of real chocolate, where it comes from and how it’s made, and open up discussion about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for everyone along the supply chain: from growers to makers, retailers, and customers.

11:00am / 60mins

Nights Out At Home

Jay Rayner

Join the ever-tasteful, often hilarious, always readable writer and broadcaster as he celebrates 25 years as The Observer’s award-winning restaurant critic with the publication of Nights Out At Home, a memoir-in-recipes.

Throughout his quarter of a century eating professionally in some of the world’s best (and frankly worst) restaurants, Jay has always reverse-engineered his favourite dishes; now he’s ready to share with you those brilliant recipes and his memories of the restaurants that served them.

£25

3:00pm / 90mins

Sunday 28th September

Fifteen Years Artisan Sourdough

Pump Street

Fifteen Years of Artisan Sourdough in Suffolk: How has it changed? Where will it go next?

Chaired by David Wright from Pump Street with guest speakers: Joanna Brennan from Pump Street, Will Wooster, Wooster’s Bakery, Lindsay Wright and Nicola Horden from Silva Bakery, Ben Mackinnon from E5 Bakehouse and Alexander Aitchison from Acre Farm and Bakery.

Bread is over 6,000 years old but the last 150 years have seen huge changes in the way we consume our favorite processed food. After a century of moving towards more industrially made bread we have seen a shift in the last 15 towards traditionally made sourdough bread. We are discussing how this has come about with some of the best in Suffolk, the problems and barriers we face and what lies in store for bread and baking for the rest of the 21st century. Our guest panel includes farmers, millers, bakers and a couple who do all three!