Melissa Thompson

Hi, I’m Melissa Thompson, and I run Food & Recipe project Fowl Mouths. Back in 2014, while working in national journalism, I started a monthly supper club from my home. This grew into a popular restaurant pop-up, taking over kitchens in pubs and cafes across London. I paused when I had a baby in 2018…and never went back. Instead I started developing recipes for brands, cooking, barbecuing and writing about the hospitality industry.

Of Maltese and Jamaican descent, food from all over the world excites me. I am a Good Food columnist and my written work has appeared in The Guardian, Vittles, Condé Naste Traveller, National Geographic, Waitrose Magazine and more. I am co-director of the British Library Food Season, a regular panellist on BBC R4’s The Kitchen Cabinet and give in-house talks to corporations as well as consult about race, diversity and inclusion.

@melissafood will be with us Saturday and Sunday

Mat Blak

Matt Burgess AKA matblak

A proud New Zealand Maori, Matt started his career in Wellington, cutting his teeth in some of the city’s most iconic restaurants; Dockside, Cafe Laffare and the legendary Matterhorn.

Matt moved to London in 1998 starting at the newly opened Soho House in Greek Street. He went on to work as a Senior Chef at Bluebird in Chelsea, Gordon Ramsey’s Maze Grill and Jamie Oliver’s Threadneedle Street.

In 2015, he was snapped up as the Group Executive Chef at Caravan and Vardo Restaurants, where he was part of the team growing the brand from two to seven sites.

With over 30 years experience, Matt Burgess, often known at @matblak on Instagram, began his next move in 2022 with a step into his own food consultancy business, Kaiwhenua.

At Kaiwhenua, which means food from the land in his native Maori, Matt now creates innovative recipes for companies including Goodman Steak House Group, Beast restaurant, London shuffle club, Busaba Ethai and premium ceramic BBQ brand Big Green Egg, to name a few.

Live fire and BBQ aficionado, Matt is a content creator and Ambassador for some of the largest global BBQ brands including OFYR and Big Green Egg

Matt Burgess runs a seasonal sell out supperclubs called kaiwhenua, held at various locations like the prestigious Fortnum and Mason, YETI ambassador hunter gather cook in East Sussex and Caravan coffee roasters

Matblak has also Developed and launched a range of award winning sauces under the brand “Kai by Matblak” now being stocked in two of London’s premium retailers Fortnum and mason and the iconic Selfridges .

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Shardev

“Shauna Devlin, better known as SHADEV, is quickly making a name for herself as a versatile and multi-genre DJ. Her journey into DJing was inspired by her love for UK Garage, grime, and bumpy house, which shaped her into a tastemaker with a distinctive and diverse sound.

SHADEV showcases her ability to seamlessly blend genres in energetic sets that have captivated audiences at iconic venues like XOYO London and The Warehouse Project. Her talent also earned her a guest mix spot on BBC 1XTRA for Sir Spyro, cementing her rising profile in the UK music scene and reaching career milestones by DJing for Girls Don’t Sync, Conducta and JME at the Grime MC FM show in Bristol, last summer.”

Dan Catford

Urban Streatery started life as a taco stall 8 years ago and since has evolved into selling sauces and a dedicated Instagram account. A trained chef for the past 24 years in a multitude of different kitchen environments, now working with all those experiences to cater for small plate and cocktail evenings using live-fire cooking techniques across the south of England. Dan is now the development chef for the burger shop co right here in Arundel.

Laura Sylvestor ‘Boco loco’

Sussex born and breed has crafted her street food van around her travels , with a passion for fire , the great outdoors and seafood Laura travels to festivals and events all over the place with her traveling kitchen.