Chef, food entrepreneur and sustainable living expert James Strawbridge will provide the after dinner talk at the HTA Catering Conference dinner which takes place on the evening of Tuesday 9 June at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

James is no stranger to good quality, seasonal and local food. Living in Cornwall with his wife and children, James runs his own food business ‘The Posh Pasty Company’.  James has also appeared on our TV screens on programmes such as It’s Not Easy Being Green, The Reinventors, Paradise or Bust, The Hungry Sailors and Saturday Farm. He is also a published author and his titles include Practical Self-Sufficiency: The Complete Guide to Sustainable Living and Made at Home.

Cooking, being outdoors and hard work is what makes him happy. When not writing, filming or crimping pasties James can be found out at sea relaxing in his wooden sailing boat or competitively gig-rowing for his local club.  

The conference dinner will also include the presentation of the Greatest Catering Awards 2015. As part of the Greatest Awards on Tour 2015, Garden Trade News will celebrate excellence in garden centre catering by hosting and presenting awards in the following categories: The Greatest Afternoon Tea Experience 2015, The Greatest Chef Team of the Year, The Greatest Front of House Team of the Year, The Greatest Catering Supplier of the Year and The Greatest Garden Centre Catering Team of the Year.

The dinner takes place at the end of the first day of the conference, which is sponsored by Vision Commercial Kitchens. The focus for the programme on day one (9 June) is Strategy and Operations with the day two (10 June) focus on Food.

Alongside the seminars, panel discussions and workshops there will be plenty of time for networking, with theconference exhibition providing a great opportunity to meet with catering product suppliers. Exhibitors include:

Vision Commercial Kitchens, Garden Trade News, Haymarket (Horticulture Week), Illy, Barclaycard, Beanworks, R & R Ice Cream, Catering Design Group, Tea Fusion, i2i,  Towergate Insurance, Cawston Press, Creed Food Services, Eden Farm, Easitills, Swan Retail, Fentimans, Cozy Bay Furniture, Planglow, IFSE, Tea from the Manor, Destiny Foods, Mondelez and Massarella.

To view the full programme and to book your place visit www.cateringconference.co.uk