Adrian is often described as the Vegan Willi Wonka, creating on the 31^st January 2022 the first World Vegan Chocolate Day. A lifelong vegan with over forty years experience in the plant based and chocolate industry.  Adrian is the CEO of Europe’s original vegan company Plamil Foods, driving the company from a table top producer into UK’s largest dedicated vegan chocolate factory, supplying to manufacturers and brands around the world.

Experienced NPD Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the food production industry. Strong professional skilled in Research and Development (R&D), Product R&D, Product Management, Product Innovation, and Product Development.

AJ Sharp is a broadcaster, entrepreneur, food awards judge and inspirational public speaker. AJ has founded several businesses, most notably the multi-award-winning food and drink PR & Communications agency, Sharp Relations. The agency has made a name for itself by delivering incredible results to its clients. As a broadcaster, AJ is the host of the popular podcast and radio show, Food Rebels, a show that champions interesting food and drink brand founders. AJ Sharp is passionate about great tasting, sustainable food and drink. Her mission is to help ‘good’ food and drink businesses to grow.

I am an experienced regulatory affairs professional in the food & drink industry, currently working at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). I lead on food information to consumers (labelling) and food hypersensitivity (allergy/intolerance) policy.

Alex is a writer specialising in allergies, hypersensitivities and gut disorders, and the author of ten books. He acts as a consultant to the Free From Food Awards, and is a Director of the Free From Skincare Awards.

Alexa is a journalist and parent to a 13 year old son with multiple food allergies. She is author of the book ‘My Family and Food Allergies: The All You Need to Know Guide’ (Hachette) and founder of the Twitter help forum #allergyhour She was proud recipient of the Free From Hero Award in 2022

Amy is the Co-Founder of Grow with Iris, the revolutionary, plant-based, free from growing up drink, that's nutritious, delicious and toddler approved. A former Art teacher, and Mum to Iris who lives with numerous allergies. Amy created Grow with Iris to support families like hers, to lighten the load and offer a safe and much needed choice.

Barbara is a Consultant in the Food Safety and Quality team at RSSL. She has worked in this team since 2014 and previously, she was the Laboratory Manager of the RSSL department of DNA and Protein which is responsible for the analytical testing for allergens. During this time, she also supported manufacturing sites to advise on sampling and testing options and interpretation of results.

Barbara has a B.Sc. in Genetics and has been working in the field of Molecular Biology since she graduated.  She has worked at RSSL since 1998 and was responsible for growing the analytical testing service in the area of allergens as well as more recently working to grow the consultancy offering. Barbara now has extensive experience in partnering with clients to understand the issues they have with allergen control, and in providing them with targeted support through factory visits and training, as well as making recommendations around analytical testing.

Barbara has worked with many different food manufacturing and catering companies. She brings a practical and pragmatic approach to allergen management. She has advised many companies on their codes of practices for allergens and supported companies through allergen issues, as well as providing proactive consultancy and training in this area.

Becky Excell is a #1 Sunday Times best-selling author of 4 gluten free cook books and has a following of over 950,000 across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. She recently announced her 5th book, which comes out in August 2023 and went straight to number 1 in all books on Amazon 4 months ahead of release.

In September 2022 she was awarded Food Creator of the Year and the Blogosphere Awards and in October 2022 it was announced that she won Best Food Personality 2022 at the Observer Food Monthly Awards (the previous winners of the award being most recently, Jamie Oliver as well as Nigella Lawson, Tom Kerridge, Rick Stein and Nigel Slater).

Having started her food blog in 2013 as a place to share her recipes with friends and family, they quickly started to be exchanged amongst the online gluten-free community with high praise. Since then, she has dedicated her blog to sharing recipes that reunite gluten-free eaters with the foods they miss and crave the most, now with over 1 million readers visiting each month. 

Becky's debut cookbook How to Make Anything Gluten Free was published in 2021 and became a Sunday Times best seller on release, featuring over 100+ recipes for everything from homemade pasta, fresh bread, authentic fakeaways, classic bakes and mouthwatering desserts.

She followed this up with her second Sunday Times best-selling cookbook, How to Bake Anything Gluten Free, which delivered on the promise of turning the reader's kitchen into their own personal gluten-free bakery. Her third recipe book, How to Plan Anything Gluten Free, came out in early 2022 and instantly became her third Sunday Times best-selling cookbook. 

Quick + Easy Gluten Free was released in August 2022 and became as instant #1 Sunday Times Best Seller and  focuses on quick, easy and budget friendly meals for those who need to follow a gluten free diet.

Having been dubbed by Nigella Lawson as 'the Queen of gluten-free', she continues to help restore a sense of normality that, for so many, a gluten-free diet often takes away - one recipe at a time.

Becky is also an official ambassador of Coeliac UK and has appeared multiple times on Live TV cooking and talking all things gluten free. She is also regularly featured in national magazines, newspapers and has her own gluten free baking column.

You can find Becky across all social media platforms @beckyexcell, her books in all good bookshops and her award winning food blog at www.glutenfreecuppatea.co.uk.

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Carole is a Technical Specialist working in the Product and Ingredient Innovation Team at Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) and has degrees in Food Science and Nutritional Medicine.

Carole has 30 years of food industry experience and, during her time with RSSL, she has undertaken both ingredient evaluation and product development projects for food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers across a wide range of food categories.  Projects include many nutritionally modified, fortified and plant-based developments, including products for specific dietary needs.

We develop solutions to give businesses the tools, knowledge and expertise to not only manage the regulations, but go the extra mile to the next level and offer a positive customer journey to the FreeFrom diner.  We offer bespoke auditing services which assist with compliance for your company policies and raising your standards.

Caroline and colleague Sally Trice developed the resources for the RSPH level 2 Food Allergen Management Training, and they also develop bespoke inhouse workshops for clients appropriate to their operation. In addition, we also offer food safety & health and nutritional training. In both areas we offer consultancy and auditing services.  Recently we have developed PPDS webinars  for the IOH & Mastering Allergen Management training for SOFHT.

Caroline has produced articles for many industry publications including Garden Centre Forum, Public Sector Catering and The Caterer, she has also spoken at events on the topics of Food Allergy Awareness with the food service industry.

Monthly newsletter to receive FREE training resources https://foodallergyaware.co.uk/services

Contact: consultancy@fatc.co.uk

Having come from an Irish family that always had cake at home, baking with Mum on a Saturday afternoon was an enjoyable past-time. Many years later, Caroline found herself with a life choice when the recession hit having spent time in the corporate world. Needing a distraction from relentless job-hunting and a different life, she started creating confectionary and cakes for sale on market stalls. Positive feedback gave her inspiration to try something new and The Free From Bakehouse was born. She contributes the success of her business to ‘being at the right place, at the right time’ developing creative flavours, along with heaps of tenacity to build a baking business that now has a number of award-winning baked goods being supplied to a wide range of wholesale customers – from top end food halls and health food outlets to delis, coffee houses and independent shops. As well as supplying wholesale, the business has a stall at London’s Borough Market every week selling an extensive range of ‘free-from’ bakes.  

Facebook & Instagram:   @freefrombakehse

Award-winning chef, sensory expert, and product developer with strong skills in the free-from, luxury, fresh, confectionary & health food market. Advocate for Mental Health support in the workplace.

Catrin Burr launched Aurosó Chocolate in 2020. Through her journey to a healthier lifestyle, Catrin felt frustrated at the lack of options for filled chocolates that were reduced sugar and preservative free. She set out to make a product that was delicious and pure, and that had sustainability credentials to match. Since then Aurosó has been featured in The Observer, Delicious Magazine, Stylist, Consommé, Baking Heaven, chocolatier, The Oxford Magazine and Living Oxfordshire.

UK and European Account Manager for Artisan Biscuits, with a  long and varied career spanning across hospitality, food service and food manufacturing.

Acutely aware of the day to day challenges of a Coeliac having been diagnosed in 2013, in that time I have experienced all the emotions,  the challenges, disappointments, and Food Envy of having to follow a Free From diet. In this time is has been a great to see (and enjoy) how Gluten Free products have evolved, and improved in that time and how simple things, for others, such as dining out has become easier (with caution).

Really excited to be part of the "Free From" judging process and seeing how manufacturers are becoming ever more innovative for those that not only choose to, but also those that have to, live a restricted diet.

Founder of Wilfred's Non-Alcoholic Aperitif, the Gold winner of the 2021 Free From Food Awards in the Drinks Category.

Author of over 14 recipe and health books including My Kids’ Can’t Eat That, The Brain Boost Diet, The Gut Health Book, Supercharged Green Juice & Smoothie Diet, The Functional Nutritional Cookbook, Eat to Get Younger, Nourish: Cancer Care Cookbook. The Raw Food Diet. 

With over 20 years experience working in high calibre, demanding agency world with many successes working with big blue chip brands, businesses and entrepreneurial start ups, Claire has a highly sought after mix of instinct, skills and down to earth approaches to innovation. Inspiring, fresh and challenging in her thinking, she adds that bit of a difference when you need it most or you have hit a block that seems impossible to break through. Her approach is entrepreneurial, identifying insights that will make a difference is a speciality, diagnosing where barriers or opportunities lie is another, then identifying, prescribing and implementing effective innovation, commercial strategies and creative / marketing solutions which help clients to accelerate growth and profitability of their business. 

He has worked in the drinks industry for over twenty years, in a variety of commercial and marketing roles, both in the UK and also globally. He holds a Diploma from the WSET wines, and judges competitions across both alcoholic and non alcoholic categories.

I have been working at Just Love Food Company as a Marketing Manager for just over 5 years now. My brother & I have grown up with severe anaphylactic allergies so my experience with Free From has been both professional and personal. Just Love Food Company is a family business, founded by my dad Mike Woods. Understanding the importance of inclusive food is something that runs through the foundations of the work we do. 

Daria Liutcerina is MIFST (Member of Institute of Food Science and Technology) with over 15 years of unwavering passion for Food Safety. She transitioned from a corporate career to become an independent consultant. Her mission is to foster Continuous Improvement and the sharing of Best Practices across various companies and food and drink products. Having worked extensively as a technical professional, she understands the complexities of this industry and strive to provide a more balanced and structured approach to optimise your operations and deliver added value to your business.

Daria works with Food and Drink manufacturers, Food service providers, Hospitality and Retail businesses of all sizes in accelerating their journey towards continuous improvement in Food Safety. The goal is to safeguard the brand’s reputation by ensuring the highest standards in Quality, Food Safety, Authenticity, and Legal compliance.

The services encompass a wide range of offerings, including Gap Assessments for specific standards, certification preparation, HACCP development, supplier audits, traceability enhancements, incident management trials, and resolution of real issues. Through the consultancy, we adopt a coaching and mentoring approach, guiding you towards identifying and implementing the most optimal solutions. Consultancy holds the network of experts to bring relevant knowledge to your door.

Founder & Editor of Low No Drinker Magazine - The UK's first publication for the sober curious. A bi-monthly publication (available online and in print) featuring news, reviews & interviews from the brands, people and places leading the low & no alcohol revolution.

Emma has spent her 25 year marketing career working in food and drink.  Graduating with a first class honours degree in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde (and almost joining the Royal Navy!), Emma started out at Leith, one of Scotland's best known ad agencies before a move client-side to work at Scottish & Newcastle on a portfolio of lager brands.  Fifteen enjoyable years in the world of premium spirits followed with Scotch Whisky a particular love of Emma's, before a move from booze to biscuits.  For the last 6 years, she's headed up the Marketing, NPD and Category team at Nairn's - the UK's biggest producer of oatcakes and one of the leaders in gluten free.   In her spare time, Emma is a foodie with a passion for all types of home baking, usually with her 10 year old in tow!

Emma is an award winning non alcoholic drinks mixologist who is passionate about helping others discover the joys of hangover free living.

Emma has easily sampled over 100 different non alcoholic drinks and spirits.

Emma shares her sober journey and love of alcohol free drinks via her Instagram account emma_sobersonic

Additionally, Emma runs an affordable monthly miniature discovery box with the online retailer WiseBartender which introduces sober curious individuals to the exciting and delicious world of alcohol free drinks.

Marketing professional with over 10 years experience and 5 years working in food and drink. Passionate about all things food, understanding consumer needs, innovative NPD and creating compelling consumer messaging. Brand manager at Nairn’s the UK's biggest producer of oatcakes and one of the leaders in gluten free.

Experienced international leader; expert in the beverage industry, from the perspectives of retailers, distributors and brand owners.

Food has always been my passion, I was never one of those children who 'didn't know' or didn't care' what they had for dinner, I'd of been thinking about it all day. My passion continued into my teens and I choose to study my degree discipline in Food, Nutrition and Well-being. Since then, I have worked on both the food manufacturing side of the food industry in a commercial & NPD function, as well as the retail side. Having joined Lidl GB on the graduate scheme back in 2015, I have rotated around the business to experience several business functions. I am an ambitious, passionate and dedicated marketing professional, currently working for the UK’s favourite retailer, Marks & Spencer. Known for high endurance, I’m proud to be a doer, a driver and a safe pair of hands in any role. Always friendly, but certainly never shy in voicing my opinion, I am a confident individual with a successful history in the food industry, and a passion for health and wellbeing.

Dr Helen Evans-Howells qualified with honours from Southampton University in 2005 and then trained as a GP, completing this in 2015. Helen became interested in allergy due to her own experiences of managing a child with milk and nut allergies. She undertook the Masters in Allergy at Southampton University and qualified with distinction in 2018.

After working with the allergy team in Southampton Hospital for 4.5years, Helen now runs a private allergy clinic –www.drhelenallergy.co.uk, which provides virtual and face to face allergy consultations. Dr Helen lectures extensively across the UK and internationally. Helen also helps run the peanut immunotherapy clinic at Southampton Hospital

Helen was the previous chair for the primary care group of British Society of Allergy and is now a trustee for the Anaphylaxis UK Charity and Chair of their Clinical and Scientific panel.

Helen has appeared on The Jeremy Vine Extra show on Channel 5,BBC Radio, the Today Program and has written for various newspaper articles, raising awareness about allergies and anaphylaxis.

Helen runs a free private Facebook group to provide further support to patients and families struggling with allergies;

www.facebook.com/groups/allergysupportwithdrhelenallergy/

Ify is a registered nutritional therapist and yoga teacher.

She works with individuals who are experiencing weight, stress, and digestive issues.

Using yoga, nutrition, and lifestyle modifications, she supports them to look and feel great so that they can restore their natural glow.

Jackie Mitchell, freelance journalist in the food, drink and health sectors, has worked on newspapers, magazines and digital media in the UK, Hong Kong, Australia and New York. She specialises in the foodservice, hospitality and “free from” sectors and writes for several UK and European publications and web sites.  She is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

36 years commercial experience in the industry, has provided Jane with a unique perspective on food businesses and given her a strong network globally. She helps businesses identify and capitalise on their assets. She connects people.

Jane is currently working with Swiss, French, Greek, Barbadian and Australian businesses and has is working on projects for an NGO supporting food and drink businesses from areas in the Caribbean and Pacific regions to better understand and access UK opportunities.

Jane works with a number of UK food drink and hospitality businesses, helping them develop and implement strategies for growth and creating teams to supplement their existing skill set and help them grow.

In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Glasgow Caledonian University for services to the food industry and entrepreneurship. Jane regularly represents the food industry on tv and radio.

Jason is an experienced food and drink entrepreneur with a colourful career path – he has been a successful TV producer, a book author, a PhD-qualified biochemist and an olive oil producer. His career in food started when he threw in a 10 year career as a Hollywood TV producer and bought an abandoned olive grove in Le Marche, Italy. He created an olive oil brand called Nudo which was sold around the world and in British stores such as Selfridges, Harrods, John Lewis and Waitrose. After 10 fruitful years Jason successfully exited from the olive oil business and co-founded Bread & Jam, the UK’s first food founders’ festival. This annual conference, taking place in July in London, is a one-stop shop for any food or drink FMCG business looking for start, scale or expand. He also created the FoodHub Forum on Facebook, which is a lively community of over 12,000 food and drink entrepreneurs and is most recently focused on launching Unruly, a plant-based business with that uses his experience of following a plant-based diet for over 40 years. He has lined up some ground-breaking NPD in the pipeline for 2022.

Jen has had a varied career which enables her to bring the skills and experiences of some pretty unusual workplaces to her offering at DigitalJen.  She has a music degree, a Level 5 Diploma in Strategic Sales with Key Account Management, has been an expert witness for telephony in a murder trial and is one of those 'interesting people' who has tried all sorts of things! She's also allergic to citrus and is developing more food intolerances as she gets older. 

When she's not working, she's mum to two teenagers with additional needs, a trustee and official for the London Titans Wheelchair Basketball club, a long standing volunteer for GirlGuiding UK and loves to crochet.

As the world is a very small place, through her work with the FFFA, Jen has reconnected with fellow judge Jenny Tschiesche - they were at school together!

Cookery book author and nutritionist Jenny is a sports fanatic who first discovered a passion for nutrition when she was 14 years old. At a national camp for future England field hockey players when she was given a diet sheet outlining pre-game and post-game nutrition plans. Although this sparked her interest in food and nutrition it took her right up until her mid-20's whilst in a senior role at an IT company and playing hockey at national league level to reignite the sparks. Jenny got injured and rethought her purpose. That's when she decided to study for another degree, this time in nutrition.

Jenny graduated in 2009. It had taken 6 years to complete a 4-year course and that's because she now had 2 children. The food Jenny gave her children was her original inspiration for setting up a business in nutrition education. Added to this are her experiences in the world of business and sport. Now she finds herself focusing on all three areas - corporate wellbeing, sports nutrition and family health.

Jenny has a genuine passion for what she does which shines through whenever she presents, she is now also a published author of six cookery books, including two designed for the hugely popular Instant Pot, a Sunday Times no.1 Bestseller, 'Air Fryer Cookbook', with another air fryer cookbook due out in September 2023.

I have worked within the food industry for over twenty years, I started at the Co-op after leaving Salford University and did a variety of roles within the Co-op during the 15 years that I was there, which included product sampling, policy work and product development. I left the Co-op to work at Delamere Dairy as a Technical and Development Technologist and to experience life as a supplier rather than a retailer, both experiences have provided me with lots of valuable knowledge and of course fun along the way. 

Jonny Stevens is the founder of Better Without, the world’s first alcohol free discovery app. It was launched in the UK in December 2020 and is now available in 4 countries. 

His vision was to create a space for the millions of people who are sober or curious about changing their drinking habits, whether full-time or part-time. Having realised the number of drink options available and the growing range in both retail an hospitality, Jonny wanted to bring this together into one source. 

Julianne is an allergy advocate fighting for change, making people with allergies lives easier and less stressful, and regularly featuring their stories on her blog. She has spoken at the Houses of Parliament, is a judge for the Free From Food Awards and an ambassador for the Anaphylaxis Campaign. 

 Julianne was recently on the Forbes 30 under 30 List, she was voted by the public as the Guardian's Leader of the Year. Julianne’s company Creative Nature has won Scale Up of the Year in the FSB National Awards and fought off fierce competition of over 2000 businesses Nationally to take the title of the FSB Business of the year and Overall Winner of the night in 2018.

Julie is Founder of Sustainable Kitchen Consultants, a team of Nutrition & Sustainability trained Chefs, who work with food sector businesses to help them create food that caters to everyone, regardless of their dietary needs.  They specialise in free-from, plant-based and nutritionally balanced, as well as low carbon and sustainable.

Julie's unique experience spans the full Farm to Fork supply chain, combining Sustainability consultant, Naturopathic Sustainable Chef, Regenerative Farming experience and strong Business acumen with 25+ years Consulting experience. She works with key actors across the full Food Supply Chain from Farmers to Chefs & Hospitality Operations, and has a deep understanding of the Environmental and Regulatory and Commercial challenges the full food sector businesses face 

Kate's background was originally outside of food, having previously worked in child protection. 

In 2019, after taking redundancy, the Gluten Free Alchemist blog moved from being a hobby to a business. Kate enjoys nothing more than creating and sharing recipes with the Coeliac and Free From Community and reuniting followers not just with food that they miss, but ensuring that her recipes are at least as good as (and preferably better) than the originals. She refuses to accept compromise around either taste or texture.

Gluten Free Alchemist is recognised as one of the Top 50 Gluten Free Blogs worldwide (and top 15 UK Gluten Free Blogs) by FeedSpot and in 2018, as one of the top 10 UK allergy-friendly bloggers by Foodies 100. In 2023, Kate won 'Recipe Developer of the Year' in the YHangry Food Hero Awards.

With experience in many different areas of hospitality, Kate has particular expertise in beer and pubs and the growing category of low alcohol and alcohol-free drinks. Having worked with Regional, National and International brands of all sizes and at all stages of their development she understands current consumer trends and how effective marketing and communication can help establish and grow a range of products.

Kate has qualifications from the Beer & Cider Academy, WSET and BII to support her practical experience and is keen to apply her knowledge as a judge at several award programmes that provide feedback to help entrants grow their business.

22 years retail experience across retail and Own label I’m a highly accomplished, result driven Passionate foodie who is highly passionate about Authentic leadership. Experience of Leading both small and large teams with a proven track record in Retail and leadership. Due to having many transferable skills across NPD and commercial buying I’m able to balance creativity with profitability . Recognised as a creative thinker and strategic planner who has experience in developing new business opportunities across retail, manufacturing and branded offers. Being able to utilise data to making decisions and always having the customer at the heart. Resilient and experienced In leading teams through change to achieve and exceed demanding targets through a clear and focused aligned strategy. Commercial acumen, inspirational communication skills and the ability to translate corporate vision into effective action plans that deliver results. An inspirational leader who is passionate about coaching teams and helping others reach their full potential whilst achieving goals. People and personal development are also a personal passion as someone who’s using her network to always be curious and inspire younger generations to enter into the food industry.

As a diagnose coeliac for 9 years and lucky enough to work for one of the largest Gluten Free bakery brands in the UK it is an honour to be invited to judge at the Free From Food Awards.

Why I love the FFFA awards? These awards are so important for free from manufactures and retailer brands to be recognised for the fabulous products available to consumers which are recognised for their taste and appearance first and foremost. Showing how free from doesn’t mean you have to compromise on taste, flavour and texture. Also giving recognition to smaller businesses for the great work on product innovation whilst manufacturing in a safe and allergen controlled environment.

What qualifies me to be a judge? I have been working in the food industry for over 20 years in various NPD, technical and sales roles for various food types including chocolate, cake, bread, ice lollies and juices. I have managed internal and external taste panels for many types of products from apple pies to butter tasting! My area of expertise is bakery (bread, morning goods, cakes) working closely with most of the major retailers over the years to develop and successfully launch some fantastic products. For the last 4 years I have been in the position of NPD manager at Just love food. Just love food manufactures branded and own label celebration cakes in an allergen controlled environment giving their consumers’ confidence to purchase safe and great tasting products with free from claims, and no alibi labelling! This role has given me a great understanding of developing free from products with the team using alternative raw materials available which allow us to manufacture great tasting free from cakes. I am very excited to be given this opportunity of judging on this years FFFA panel and cant wait to taste some amazing products!

Lisa Marie Godfrey is the founder of NonToxicated; a community of over 18,000 alcohol-free drinks enthusiasts across 60 different countries. She launched the company three years ago and added the NonToxicated Alcohol Free Drinks App a few months later. She currently goes live 3-4 nights a week tasting alcohol free drinks in her “Sips at Six” slot in The NonTox GrapeVine membership area.

Lisa is a Food Scientist and has been involved in the Food and Drink Manufacturing industry for over 30 years; firstly as a QA and Technical Manager and then recruiting Technical and NPD professionals for the Food industry through her recruitment agency, Jarvis Johnson. She is excited and honoured to have been asked to judge in this year’s awards; as a peanut allergy sufferer the “Free From” Movement is very close to her heart!

Experienced Policy Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry. Strong community and social services professional skilled in Consumer Products, BRC, Quality Management, Management, and Product Innovation.

Recipe developer and author of The Friendly Baker, specialising in allergy-friendly and plant based recipes

Free From Festival - The UK’s 1st Gluten, Dairy and Refined Sugar-Free Food Festival, which aims to provide people affected by food intolerances with a foodie festival experience where they can enjoy, discover and sample a wide range of delicious free-from products without having to worry about whether they can eat them! All products at our events are gluten, dairy and refined sugar-free (with many other free from options available).

We work with UK based artisan 'free from’ producers and small businesses who exhibit and sample their products at our festivals. We also host talks and cooking demos by free from experts and nutritionists, together with some acoustic live music sets to add to the festival atmosphere.

With physical events banned in March 2020, the Free From Festival have moved online, with the launch of the Free From Festival Marketplace - an extension of the existing website, which provides customers with the opportunity to browse and discover new high quality free-from products online. We currently run the #FreeFromFestival events in London, Bristol and Manchester.

Marnie trained as a graphic designer and worked in book and magazine publishing in London for twenty years. She started her cake business when her second son was born, making Christmas cakes for friends. When her husband finally worked out he had a gluten intolerance, she had found her niche.

She runs 12km a week – not all at once – and enjoys long walks, jazz gigs, eating out at lunchtime, and sudoku. 

Brand and Marketing Consultant specializing in working with Natural, Organic, Health & Wellness CPG companies in export, marketing, merchandising, product development, sales, e-commerce & Amazon.com. Retail and wholesale brand experience has given me a broad depth of understanding and diverse skills in brand building.

U.S. & Canadian Sales Agent for the sale of exhibit and stand space for the: - Natural & Organic Products Expo in London, April 14-15, 2024 - Organic Food and Eco Living Iberia Show in Madrid, June 4-5, 2024 - Nordic Organic Food Fair and Eco Living Scandinavia Show in Stockholm, Sweden, October 9-10, 2024. Member of the US Commerce appointed District Export Council and the Organization of Women in International Trade. As an owner of Savvy Green LLC, I created an award-winning "eco" household cleaning brand with domestic and international sales to niche retailers, distributors, and big-box stores. Diverse skills in all aspects of brand ownership including product development packaging, sourcing, supply chain management, US and International sales, warehousing, fulfillment, online retailers, Amazon.com, shipments/logistics, trade show exhibits, product testing, certification, marketing, web design, social media, and in-store promotions. Prior roles include experience as a buyer and Divisional Vice President in merchandising, advertising/marketing, and product development for a large privately held Department Store chain.

My (now) wife, Julianne Ponan, an absolute force for change in the allergy world, started Creative Nature in 2012 and immediately brought me in to handle manufacturing, operations and product development. Together, we've launched into major UK supermarkets, overseas territories and slain Dragons in the Den. In 2018 we were named FSB Small Business of the Year, a huge achievement for us and the whole Creative Nature team.

I'm current working on new, exciting products to fill gaps in the free-from market and keep allergy-sufferers snacking safely and happily.

Experienced Purchasing Manager in the Hospitality and Catering Industry ,with background of 25 years working as a catering manager before gaining a degree in purchasing and achieving MCIPS Chartered status. Buyer of fresh food, groceries and consumables ,and competent at Supplier relationship management. Despite no longer being active in a kitchen environment I still continue to have a great love of food and all things food.

I have been involved with food for over 40 years, first as a caterer, then a food historian, a food writer (20+ historical/allergy releted books), a food manufacturer (briefly) and finally as a 'freefrom' (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free etc) food expert. I oversee an informational website, Foodsmatter.com dealing with allergy, intolerance and their many related conditons. Out of that grew the very successful FreeFromFooodAwards.co.uk and the equally successful FreeFromSkincareAwarads.co.uk. I do still write books (occasionally) and blogs (frequently) - on allergy/environmental/random subjects, on walking on Hampstead Heath - and on running 'Salon Concerts'.

Mitch is a passionate vegan and champion of all things free-from. In 2018 he launched a ready meal range 'Mitch's Kitchen' focusing on whole food plant based ingredients, free from nuts, gluten, palm oil & refined sugars. Over the past few years he has worked for meat successor brand Heura, and now Purezza & La Fauxmagerie - pioneers of plant based cheese. He is a keen member of the FMCG community known for his knowledge and views on the industry. Last year he was both a Free From & Great Taste Award Judge.

Brand and design professional with over ten years in the food and drink industry. Working with a whole host of clients from large FMCG brands all the way through innovators and pioneers.

Specialising in healthy food and drinks, I help support and guide brands on their positioning and ultimately help bring their ideas to life.

What really gets me out of bed in the morning is working with purpose lead brands which want to make a positive difference in the world, for their consumers whilst delivering lip-smacking flavour!

Having set up and run Reading's one and only gluten-free coffee shop back in 2014, which I ran for almost 7 years, I am now a proud author of a gluten-free recipe book and sells freshly made gluten-free cakes and treats for local delivery or collection as well as creating and sending totally allergen-free DIY Donut kits nationwide for people to enjoy making award winning donuts in their own homes.

I’m Natalie, an allergy suffered and mum to a little girl with anaphylactic food allergies. I’m founder of The allergy badge and after completing  my qualifications, I now train staff the importance of allergies and how to treat them. It’s a huge passion that’s close to home and means so much especially when you hear how much people have learnt.

Award winning Allergy and Nutrition expert, and founder of intolerantgourmand.com, Nathalie is well respected in the allergies and free-from arena for her fresh approach to working and living with allergies. Highly motivated and with an ambition to succeed, thanks to her son’s ongoing battle with severe allergies and eczema, Nathalie is a driving force in improving the perceptions of allergies and intolerances.

Nathalie has an extensive background in building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, creating engaging and inspiring communications, building online communities, and delivering large scale projects on time and to budget.

Nathalie regularly features on camera for campaigns with BBC Breakfast, Rip Off Britain, CBBC Newsround, Channel 5 News, Sky News and The Victoria Derbyshire Show, as well as extensive press coverage in The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Telegraph, various magazines, and radio interviews on TalkRadio, BBC Northamptonshire, BBC London Radio, Radio 5 Live, LBC and more as a leading voice on living successfully with allergies.

Nathalie regularly presents at high profile events including BSACI, Allergy Conference Belgium, Allergy Show London, Allergy Show Glasgow, Allergy Show Liverpool, BBC Good Food Show, and Speciality Fine Food Fair. She is also a trusted judge on the Free From Food Awards, Free From Eating Out Awards and Allergy UK Hero Awards. Nathalie has also compered for Fantastic Food Festivals at their Blenheim Palace and Stonor Park events, working alongside Jean-Christophe Novelli and Atul Kochhar.

Nathalie is a full time freelance brand consultant, partner executive, project manager, writer, and presenter, food developer and photographer, with her work appearing in a number of publications. She regularly works with large brands to produce original recipes with free-from ingredients at the heart, as well as bringing new concepts to market and project managing teams involved.

She also works with brands, presenting recipe demonstrations, hosting live Q&A’s, consulting, teaching the day to day skills of living successfully with multiple allergies, and more. 

As a qualified Nutritional Therapist, Life Coach and NLP Practitioner, Nathalie works with key Paediatric Allergy Consultants to bring a new focus of allergies and their treatment to those who need the support most!

Diagnosed with anaphylaxis to allergens outside the top 14 as a teenager inspired me to learn how to make allergy full foods, allergen free. Now a free from and vegan baker and recipe developer.

Nicola is the Event Manager for Speciality & Fine Food Fair, working with passionate foodies for over 15years. She is passionate about good food that tastes great and providing opportunities to help food and drink businesses grow.

Worked in the food industry for over 40 years. I set up Free From Italy to import great Free From Italian food after my niece was diagnosed we Coeliac disease. She kept telling me the samples that I gave her following my trips to Italy were better than anything she could buy in the UK.

I am Olivia and am a Product Developer and Sensory consultant.  I have over a decade of experience and passion as a food and beverage product developer making healthy, tasty, commercial recipes for plant-based brands such as innocent drinks and Rebel Kitchen.

I have had official sensory training from Leatherhead, accredited by IFST, which has led me to deliver trainings to over 200 people in and out of the food industry. 

I have been a Free From Food Awards Judge for the past 9 years and have loved meeting great people and tasting delicious food every year!

The Free From Black Book is a platform for all things gluten, egg and dairy free. With recipes and discussions on issues that affect us, The FFBB aims at bringing the Free From community together and supporting each other. IBS is a big part of The FFBB, as well as mental health. The FFBB is looking forward to bringing out some products in the near future. 

Since being diagnosed as a Coeliac, I started to blog about sweet treats, chocolate and confectionery as I have a very sweet tooth. 

The joy of judging enables me exposure to new and exciting products as well as keep in touch with “experts” who aid my understanding of this highly competitive and growing sector.

Philippa has worked with food and drink companies for over 20 years, helping them understand how to grow their businesses through trade shows. She has worked with large export groups, government associations and launched food and drink events all over the world, helping exporters entering emerging markets.

Having worked for many years on Speciality & Fine Food Fair, she has first-hand experience of helping new to market food and drink companies make their first steps into supplying to the trade. She currently sits on the Experts Panel within FD Reviews which analyses new to market products and helps give valuable advice to start ups as well as established brands bringing new products to market. She is passionate about helping companies successfully increase revenue and brand engagement through the power of live events.

A passionate foodie, and always interested in the latest food and drink innovations and trends, she is delighted her work within the food and drink sector has allowed her to sit on prestigious food awards panels, such as British Charcuterie Awards, Academy of Chocolate, Great Taste Awards and World Innovation Awards. She is currently Director of IFE, the leading event in the UK for food and drink suppliers.

After starting her professional career in the food safety industry, Phili was unexpectedly diagnosed with coeliac disease, and had to adapt to a strict gluten free lifestyle. She quickly realised that eating out was one of the biggest challenges and involved doing a significant amount of upfront research to find places that cater for those gluten free and coeliac. With her hands-on experience, and insight into the world of food safety, she has set out to help others by creating Gluten Free Glee, and has been backed by Innovate UK. Gluten Free Glee is an online review and community platform for the ~10% of the UK population living gluten free. Users will be able to search, find and review places based on their gluten free friendliness, helping those with dietary restrictions eat out with confidence. In addition to the site being the go-to place for those living gluten free, gluten free businesses will also have the opportunity to feature on Glee and showcase their products to a huge target audience. Phili hopes that Gluten Free Glee will show the industry just how much demand there is for gluten free and encourage more inclusivity, choice and variety.

Pratap is a professional chef with 15 years experience in Michelin restaurants (Le Manoir, Chez Bruce, Ramsay, Galvin and Cinnamon Club). He now runs That Hungry Chef, a London social and fine dining catering business that also provides product development and consultancy services for food producers. He is also a judge for the Great Taste Awards and is also a member of the Fermenters Guild UK.

I am RB, a 40-something busy Mum of 2 and full-time accountant for a local charity. Both children were born prematurely, but my second pregnancy was hard-going from the very start. In 2011, after 5 years of battling with our local health authority, we finally got a referral to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and discovered the challenging world of a rare inflammatory bowel disease (EGID) and multiple food allergies. The journey has been long and stressful and there is no sign of it easing in the near future. If I am able to speak to the heart of even one parent who is going through the same turmoils, then I know the hard work will have been worth it! These days we are big supporters and fundraisers for the incredible charity, Over The Wall, who have supported both children through their fantastic siblings and health challenges camps.

Mum to two teens with additional needs of Type 1 Diabetes, Coeliac Disease and Autism. Personally I have intolerances to a few foods including dairy and eggs. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade or in my case I redevelop popular recipes so that people can enjoy them once again.

Rob Brice runs a food consultancy, The Cattle Shed, which works with all major UK retailers, specialising in NPD and Technical having previously worked at Sainsbury’s, M&S, and Tesco where he led the launch of Jack’s supermarkets, and was head of development at Co-op, successfully launching vegan brand GRO. 

Rob is also founder of CRAVE. A bold and unapologetic Free From and Vegan brand, that is all about taste and indulgence. CRAVE's inception was based around a lack of normal food options for allergy sufferers and products that were just normal, not conflated with health and taste great!

CRAVE is a Gold Free From award winner with its Kitchen Sink bar in 2021. You can find its choc bars and snacks currently listed in Holland and Barrett as well as The Vegan Kind Supermarket.

Brought up in Cardiff,  University in Hull, 20 years in the food industry with UB, Geest, ABF, Cadbury Schweppes and followed by  15 years in consultancy working in M&A, Project Management, business change across multiple sectors from telecoms and civil engineering to security and tech, plus some food.  

Now 100% focussed on granola and a strong tendency to assume everyone else has the same enthusiasm as me

Ruth writes about all things allergy and eczema on her award winning blog www.whatallergy.com  which aims to help those with life limiting chronic conditions such as eczema, topical steroid withdrawal, asthma, allergies and anaphylaxis. She won the Free From Hero Award 2021 at the FreeFrom Food Awards and her blog has won countless awards for Best Allergy Blog, Best Health blog etc.

She has written two books, ‘Anaphylaxis: The Essential Guide: An Action Plan For Living With Life-Threatening Allergies’ which focuses on anxiety and fear and how to live with the daily challenge of living with a life limiting condition. Secondly a  poetry collection for people with eczema, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and topical steroid withdrawal, called The Shape of Skin. Both are available on Amazon and have received fantastic reviews.

Ruth loves trail running, yoga and walking and also enjoys reading, baking freefrom (often burnt) cakes and pottering in her garden and would like to try wild swimming if she can get over her fear of what you can’t see below you in the water!

I work in the Natural Products portfolio of Diversified Communications, a global trade event company. Our shows include the Nordic Organic Food Fair, co-located with Eco Living Scandinavia, in Malmo, Sweden, and Natural & Organic Products Europe, in London.

These events are some of Europe’s leading retail events for organic and sustainable products. Our shows are vital platforms for business professionals looking for new products to stock in their stores and for new and established brands to build new working relationships.

We are passionate about sustainable products and are constantly looking for the latest up-and-coming products. Our Free-From areas at the shows are initiatives to help build awareness of Free-From products and continue the momentum for this industry.

After many years working with an analogue meat brand Sally decided to form her own business, Marketing Foods, in 2008 with the specific aim of helping local artisan food businesses get their brand and products to a wider audience, and support them through continued growth in all sectors. Her business has gone from strength to strength and Sally now works with national brands (some export and some small start ups) with marketing strategy, brand strategy, digital strategy, PR and NPD. Sally’s passion for high quality natural food products is reflected through her work and she is driven by a true believe in the importance of real honest good food.

Experienced marketing professional in FMCG and the not-for profit sector, having worked on a number of high-profile, organic, gluten free and plant-based brands. 

Sarah founded The Allergy Team to support families living with food allergies to thrive. Drawing on her experience as an allergy parent, plus 20 years working in television and communications The Allergy Team offers support to families running peer-to-peer support and expert Q&As, as well as providing training and consultancy to schools and businesses. In 2023 The Allergy Team launched the Schools Allergy Code and Schools Allergy Register, and also support food businesses such as Greggs with an Allergy Forum.

Food technologist > Whole Earth Foods / Green & Black's > Divine > Sainsbury's >  Halo > Icam > who knows ???

From Rome of French heritage, I moved to London in 2004 bringing the passion for Italian culinary traditions and constantly exploring new food & drink trends.

Pep & Lekker make all natural seed snacks with a focus on both nutrition and taste. These moreish baked bites include 14 allergy free ingredients, and are certified low sugar, gluten free and vegan. 

BSc from the University of Leeds

Author of two cookbooks (Gloriously Gluten Free & Sensationally Sugar Free)

Former Guardian recipe columnist

Specialist in searching advertising and analysing search data

Free-from recipe writer at www.widecirclecooking.com

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation was set up in 2019 by Tanya Ednan-Laperouse and her husband Nadim after their daughter Natasha lost her life from an allergic reaction to an undeclared ingredient in a sandwich bought from a fast-food outlet.

Tanya and her husband successfully campaigned for a change in the food law and 'Natasha’s Law' came into full-force across the UK last October. It brings with it a greater transparency of ingredients in pre-packed foods for direct sale, giving the public confidence to decide for themselves whether a food product is safe for them, essential information for individuals and families living with food allergies.  

The charity has focus is in three main areas: 

• To raise education, awareness and understanding of food allergies across society
• To fund ground-breaking medical research
• To ensure policies and laws support rather than endanger allergic lives

Tanya works full-time at the charity ensuring that it is impacting the whole spectrum of allergy teaching through its funding of medical bursaries, educating, outreach and research. 

Thea Brook is an Entrepreneur & Business Coach. For 10 years, Thea launched and grew award-winning plant-based food business The Brook. The Brook brand spanned 2 restaurants in London & Surrey, a retail network of branded freezers and an ecommerce operation. Thea also ran their own manufacturing site.

Experienced events industry professional; a career which began in 2004 via marketing roles at the AEO and EIA, before going on to become Director of the AEV. In 2010, I joined F2F Events Ltd as UK Portfolio Director, where I managed F2F’s UK shows, including the launch and growth of The Allergy & Free From and Just V Show portfolio. In 2023, I became Commercial Director of Five Senses Media Ltd, focusing on APEA Live and launching brand new business event concepts and company partnerships.

Experienced Buying Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the retail and grocery industry. Skilled in Communicating, Commercial Awareness, Negotiating, Analytical Skills, Retail, Microsoft Excel and Team Leading. Strong Buying professional with a FDA in Fashion Buying and Merchandising from London College of Fashion - University of the Arts London.

Great Taste award winning NPD Manager/Product developer with experience in Food to Go for M&S, better for you plant based drinks, crisps, snack bars and cookies for Nurture Brands and luxury chilled desserts for Pots & Co. Currently working within frozen for Organic frozen fruit brand Pack'd. I also run a TikTok channel @eatzwithzee educating consumers about the food industry and food labels. 

My name is Zak and I have lived with severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and legumes for my entire life. I’m excited to be part of the Free From Food Awards as not only do I have allergies, but I also work in the space.

I founded my company, Kitt Medical, to make sure potentially life-saving anaphylaxis medication can be accessed by anyone who needs it in an emergency and to raise awareness about the severity of allergies.

Our 'Anaphylaxis Kitts' are just like a defibrillator, but for allergies. Coming with CPD accredited training, a dependable supply of adrenaline pens, incident reporting and more - all in one yearly subscription service.

We've been told it's a "no brainer" by schools and academies across the country, and are on our way to create a new standard for allergy care.