A proud celebration of Britain’s LGBT+ food movement.

This event takes place at the British Library.

What makes Britain’s dynamic LGBT+ food movement so proudly creative and culturally important in 2023? Join some of the most influential voices in the food family for a lively discussion exploring why food is such a powerful tool for queer community building, resistance and celebration. Chaired by Gurd Loyal, the event will consider how food can be harnessed to resist heteronormativity, whether there is a ‘queer sensibility’ when it comes to culinary creativity and what’s the future for the LGBT+ food movement?

This event is part of the British Library Food Season 2023.

Gurdeep Loyal is a Food Writer and Trend Consultant, who built his career at Innocent Drinks, Harrods Food Halls, and most recently as Head of Food Trends at M&S. He has a monthly column in Olive Magazine, and has written about world food cultures for publications including Courier, The Food Almanac and Suitcase. Gurdeep is also curator of the online platform MotherTongueTV.com which celebrates food stories of migration, race and identity across the globe. Gurdeep was winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award in 2021 for his debut cookbook Mother Tongue – Flavours of a Second Generation which celebrates British-Indian identity through hybrid third-culture home-cooking. He lives in Hackney, East London.

Terri Mercieca is an accomplished, Australian born, dessert chef, artisan chocolatier, and founder of Happy Endings, a proudly values-led desserts business which is not afraid to shake things up. Terri’s surname is an anagram of ‘ice-cream’, so it seemed destined that she would end up with a passion for frozen desserts. Since 2014, Happy Endings has totally transformed the UK dessert scene and now supplies sweet treats and their signature ice-cream sandwiches at more than 100 restaurants, bars, delis, and events nationwide.

Rachel Rumbol is a chef who has worked in the food industry in and around London for over a decade. She is co-owner of catering company Butch Salads. She created Queers in Food and Beverages, a platform for celebrating and connecting LGBTQ+ industry professionals and businesses. Rachel was highlighted as one of CODE’s 100 most influential women in hospitality in 2022, and won a local hero award for her services providing community and NHS meals during the height of the pandemic. Rachel’s focus is creating unpretentious and inclusive food and kitchens, which centre the fun and community of cooking and eating.

John Whaite is a British Cook, Author, content creator and TV presenter. John appeared as the first all-male couple on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 and also won the third series of The Great British Bake Off. He is a co-presenter on Channel 4’s hit primetime food investigation programme Food Unwrapped and since June 2020, John can be seen engaging in debates on current affairs and cooking inspirational and achievable recipes on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch. His fifth book, A Flash in The Pan was published in August 2019, others books include Comfort: Food to soothe the soul which was chosen as a Book of the Year by BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme.

This event will not be live-streamed.

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