Christmas Canapés and Festive Fireside Chats

and have teamed up with one of West London's largest catering colleges - - Hammersmith & Fulham Campus, for an evening of canapés, Christmas drinks and insightful fireside chats from 6pm on Tuesday 3rd December. You will enjoy delicious canapés prepared by catering students working with , Author & Consultant Chef for Manchester Utd and , Exec Pastry Chef from Baxter Storey, plus , wine & delicious non alcoholic drinks.

You can also sample & buy food, drink gifts and party food ideas from a range of award-winning female founders who will be on hand to share the background to their products.

The canapés, drinks & sampling will be followed by presentations & fireside chats with experts on food & drinks trends for the Christmas season and the New Year. All taking place in the award winning across the road from Baron's Court Tube.

As it's Christmas, there's also a charity raffle where you can win a range of fabulous food & drink prizes. Proceeds will go to which sends fantastic recipe kits with all the ingredients and an illustrated recipe guide to families who need assistance cooking healthy meals on a budget.

Introducing the evening is

Founder of

A CIM qualified and accomplished sales and marketing professional, who is schooled in foodservice and understands chefs’ buying behaviour. Thirteen years ago, Catherine saw the gap in the market for huge food and catering equipment brands to have a familiar face, that chefs could relate to on a local and regional level. Catherine used her marketing expertise and industry insight to create a niche hospitality marketing platform; She built the road for chefs to connect with suppliers, equipment manufacturers and catering colleges, region by region, city by city.

Mex Ibrahim is Chairing the Fireside Chats

is the co-founder of . She is also a Trustee of School Food Matters, a member of the Guild of Food Writers, Ambasador for Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2025, sits on the advisory board of New Food Magazine and is an Associate of the Royal Society of Public Health.

Anjula Devi

personifies agelessness and health and is a firm believer in the power of food, especially spices. She is author of the upcoming book and consultant chef with Manchester United and produces sustainable and authentic Indian cuisine.

Anjula started cooking with her father at the age of eight. At that time the ingredients for Indian cuisine were not as readily available as they are now and Anjula travelled on the number 207 bus with her father to Shepherd’s Bush Market where they would buy a selection of spices, fresh fish and Indian vegetables. ​​Utilising her cookery skills and passion for spices, Anjula launched her own business in 2010, Anjula Devi Authentic Indian Food, providing Indian dinner parties and Indian cookery classes.

She will be chatting with our co-founder Mex about how to produce sustainable, healthy and authentic Indian cuisine for the festive season and the New Year.

Christine Bailey

is an award-winning Performance Nutritionist, Chef, and Author with more than two decades of experience in the Health, Fitness, and Corporate sectors. Christine has undertaken additional training through the Institute of Functional Medicine and Institute of Optimum Performance Nutrition. As Group Director of Nutrition & Wellbeing at Thomas Franks, she leads initiatives in nutrition, corporate wellbeing, and sports performance. Recently Christine was named the Healthy Eating Champion 2024 for her outstanding work in corporate wellbeing as part of her work with Thomas Franks Ltd.

Christine also continues to run a private clinic, providing support to a diverse clientele, including CEOs and elite athletes.

Her impactful work on children's mental health with Thomas Franks Ltd was awarded the prestigious Catey Nutrition Award in 2024. Christine is also a respected lecturer in the UK and USA, and the author of over 14 health and recipe books, including The Brain Boost Diet, My Kids Can’t Eat That, Functional Nutrition Cookbook and The Gut Health Diet. Her forthcoming book, A Personalized Nutrition Approach to the Menopause, is set to be released in September 2025.

Christine will provide an overview of stress and the impact of stress on the body and how nutrition and lifestyle factors can optimize a healthy stress response and support overall mood and resilience.

Louisa Payne

is the CEO and founder of , a mobile events bar business and , an e-commerce wine shop and subscription service.

Louisa was inspired to begin her entrepreneurial journey through unrequited love. That is, a love of wine but a serious lack of nice wine at festivals. The Wine Tap Van was started to bring the best quality wines to events and festivals and managed to launch during a tricky 2020. The business is self-funded and has grown to consist of two vintage vans converted to serve the most delicious wines on tap.

Serving on tap is the most environmentally friendly way to serve wine and reduces CO2 emissions by 70% compared to glass bottled wine. The business employs up to 12 staff during the events season. They regularly serve at the F1 Grand Prix, Royal Windsor Horse Show, Park Life Festival and Warehouse Project events to name a few.

Brixton Wine Club aims to help break down the stigmas attached to wine by championing canned wine which also happens to be better for the planet. Canned wine uses 4 x less CO2 than glass-bottled wine. It has been featured in 'best wine club' round-ups several times alongside industry giants. The business was launched using a £5k COVID business diversification loan and is currently on a journey to re-brand and fundraise.

Louisa’s vision is to grow the wine subscription business, build a team and start canning her own wines to share with the wine club subscribers.

She will be making her wine suggestions/pairings for the festive season.

During this event, you'll have the unique opportunity to:

Enjoy delicious bowl food and canapes prepared & served by catering students working with , Author & Consultant Chef for Manchester Utd and , Exec Pastry Chef from Baxter Storey, plus sample wine from Brixton Wine Club and Taste Union & refreshing non alcoholic drinks.

Come to sample a variety of party food & gift ideas, craft chocolate and drinks from award-winning female founded businesses including:

• A platter featuring gluten-free crackers from topped with cream cheese, slices of carrot ‘smoked salmon,’ and pickled onions.
• Delicious pickles using ingredients such as watermelon rind from .
• Craft chocolates from leading chocolatier who was awarded an MBE for her services to the UK chocolate industry.
• Natural sustainable wines from regenerative vineyards from
• Authentic Middle Eastern food made easier with
• Canned wines from

• Fresh fragrant and tasty spice kits from
• The finest vanilla sourced from around the world - vanilla pods, extracts, pastes, powders & sugars from

And more!

Event Highlights:

Don't miss this experience where you can connect with like-minded individuals, beat Christmas stress with advice, gift ideas and planning from experts, and savour canapes, bowl food, drinks and snacks that are not only nutritious but also environmentally conscious. Event is open to all - men and women!

Host or Publisher Women In The Food Industry