Who we are - Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival

Tim Rowan-Robinson

Chair and Co-Founder

Tim Rowan-Robinson spent the first half of his career working for the major brewery companies, ending up as MD of Whitbread’s hotel division. The second half, starting in 1996, was spent in co-founding and running what is now The Hotel Folk. This involved acquiring and developing 6 hotels, a pub, country club and golf course all in Suffolk. He retired in 2017.

At the same time as running the hotel business, Tim became very involved in Suffolk tourism, starting and chairing the Suffolk Tourism Partnership and, later, the Suffolk Coast DMO. In support of both roles, he co-founded the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival in 2006 and has chaired it ever since.

Tim lives in Aldeburgh with his wife, Lucy. They have a large family, love living in Suffolk and being involved in the wonderful food and drink community in the County. Tim is also involved in various local charities and is currently President of Aldeburgh Golf Club and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County.

Bella Scarr

Executive Producer

Bella Scarr is responsible for curating, producing and delivering all elements of the Festival each year. She also founded The Food Producers Club, a community group for businesses in the F&B industry, and is owner/director of Relish Projects, a specialist project management company.

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Lady Caroline Cranbrook

President and Co-Founder

Lady Cranbrook is an Honorable Vice President of the Country Land and Business Association and co-founded the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004 for services to the red meat industry and continues to dedicate her time campaigning on food quality issues.

William Kendall

Board Member and Co-Founder

William Kendall is an expert in family business ownership and management, having taken on and grown companies such as Green and Black’s, Covent Garden Soup and Cawston Press, among many others. William is a co-founder of the Festival and sits on a number of family owned business boards.

Piers Sturridge

Board Member

Piers Sturridge was a professional chef and restaurant operator. In 1997 he became a freelance consultant working on diverse projects throughout the countryside and is now a Food, Restaurant & Visitor Perception Consultant at Piers Sturridge Consultancy.

Clare Fairs

Board Member

Clare Fairs is a farmer’s daughter, wife and mother of two, with food production having always been at the forefront of her life. Diversifying into cold pressed rapeseed oil production at Hillfarm Oils has opened up Clare’s approach to Local British Food and offered many exciting opportunities.

Jonny Crickmore

Board Member

Jonny Crickmore is a 3rd generation dairy farmer at Fen Farm Dairy, in the Waveney Valley, working alongside his Father Graham and wife Dulcie. In 2013, following a success in direct raw milk sales, Jonny began his cheesemaking journey which resulted in the creation of Baron Bigod; a cheese which has become a beloved menu staple of top chefs and locals alike. Jonny is also the Chair of both the Raw Milk Producers Association and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.

Harry Young

Board Member

Harry Young is Chief Operating Officer at Britten Pears Arts, the charity that owns Snape Maltings, and is the MD of the company that runs the shops, cafes, galleries and holiday properties. He has worked in live events all his career and has been involved with the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival since 2008, joining the board seven years later.

George Pell

Board Member

George Pell is owner and director of The Suffolk Restaurant and Rooms on Aldeburgh High Street. Having trialled a pop-up a few years ago as an extension of his L’Escargot restaurant in Soho London, he fell in love with Suffolk and the rest is history!