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Melissa Hemsley Brings ‘Feelgood Food’ to GO! Organic Festival

Aspire Executive Lounges, Swissport's global airport hospitality brand, has joined the British Institute of Hospitality, the world’s leading and award-winning membership body for hospitality professionals. Aspire Executive Lounges becomes the first business partner from the airport lounge hospitality sector to join the Institute of Hospitality. Aspire Executive Lounges, the fast-growing Swiss brand in the airport hospitality business, has joined the British Institute of Hospitality (IoH), the world’s leading membership body for professionals working and studying in the hospitality leisure and tourism industry. Aspire Executive Lounges is the first business from the airport lounge sector to become a member of IoH. The collaboration will foster an exchange of expertise and insights: IoH will benefit from Aspire's expertise in airport hospitality, while Aspire, by sharing its wealth of experience with IoH members, can extend its professional network to the hotel and catering sectors and hospitality management schools. “Our vision for Aspire Executive Lounges is clear and simple: We want to deliver a guest experience that is similar to what our guests are used to from their preferred hotels, meeting the needs and exceeding the expectations of today’s travelers,” says David Collyer, Global Vice President of Executive Lounges at Swissport International AG. “We strive to deliver an unparalleled experience and set a benchmark that transcends our industry, redefining excellence across the hospitality sector. The Institute of Hospitality is a great network to exchange insights and experiences, and to learn from others in the hospitality sector, which will help us bring our vision to life.” Robert Richardson, CEO of the Institute of Hospitality: “Our aspiration at the Institute of Hospitality has been to develop and grow our membership, the number of countries we operate in, and the number of hospitality sectors represented within our organization. With that in mind, it is a natural partnership for us to welcome Aspire into our family, and to learn from their teams, who serve travelers with passion and dedication. As two organizations with similar values, we look forward to collaborating in promoting high levels of excellence within our profession.” With over 30 years of experience, Aspire Executive Lounges is Europe’s largest brand in the airport lounges sector. In 2023, Swissport welcomed more than five million customers worldwide at over 69 lounges in 20 countries. The airport hospitality brand recently opened new lounges at Toronto City Airport in Canada, and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Finland. Aspire Executive Lounges recently created a new lounge concept in partnership with the airline alliance oneworld. The first oneworld branded lounge was launched at Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea, in December 2023. Aspire Executive Lounges is owned by Swissport International AG, the global leader in aviation services, serving airlines at 286 airports in 44 countries across 6 continents
Written by Amy

Foodies across the UK will be heading to GO! Organic Festival in their thousands this September for London’s exciting new organic food and music festival.

Taking place over the weekend of 8-9 September at Battersea Park, the event’s stellar line-up now includes celebrity cook Melissa Hemsley, one half of the Hemsley + Hemsley sisters – whose inspirational food business is well-known for championing the importance of good nutrition, sustainable sourcing and responsible environmental practices.

Called “the Queen of the kitchen” by Marie Clare, Melissa will be extending her reign to GO!’s Organic Kitchen stage.  Closing the event with the last interactive session of the day at 4pm on Sunday 9 September, she’ll be offering visitors a rare treat as she shares insights into her career so far, tips on eating well and making the most out of ingredients, and answers audience questions.  All whilst serving up a sumptuous selection of fast, fuss-free dishes from her new bestselling book Eat Happy: 30-minute feelgood food.  There will also be book signing opportunities following her session.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer such an incredible Organic Kitchen line-up for our first event,” says GO! Organic Festival’s sales manager, Amanda Thackray.

“GO! Organic Festival is about people coming together to have fun and share their love of all things organic.  It’s about seeing, sampling, tasting, experiencing, and discovering what’s out there, what’s new.  The event is already creating quite a buzz across London and beyond, and having Melissa Hemsley part of the line-up just makes it even more unmissable.  This is really big news for us and a huge opportunity for visitors to hear insights from such an influential and knowledgeable healthy eating advocate.”

A feast for the senses

Over two action-packed days, the festival will feature over a dozen demos in the Organic Kitchen.  Other new names on the menu include: Honey Spencer, sommelier extraordinaire for Abel & Cole, sharing her top organic wine picks for the months ahead; and nutritional expert Christine Bailey (her new book My Kids Can’t Eat That: How to Deal with Allergies & Intolerances in Children is out next month), who will be sharing her favourite allergy-free recipes for the whole family.

Jay Morjaria, founder of London’s first meat-free cookery school Sutra Kitchen, has also been confirmed as GO!’s Organic Kitchen host.  A regular at food festivals and events, the ‘plant-forward’ chef recently appeared on the BBC’s Million Pound Menu, where his innovative East Asian restaurant concept ‘Dynasty’ (already a sell-out London supper-club) landed an investment offer of £500,000.

The Organic Kitchen line-up also includes:

  • Acclaimed chef Theo Randall prepares dishes from his new book My Simple Italian
  • Gelf Alderson, executive chef at River Cottage and a passionate advocate of the sustainable food movement, showcases seasonal recipes from River Cottage Kitchens’ newly-launched menus
  • GBBO contestant Chetna Makan, author of The Cardamom Trail and Chai, Chaat & Chutney, makes Indian street food that tastes amazing and takes just minutes to prepare, including a couple of quick chutneys and potato chaat
  • Eco-restauranteur Arthur Potts-Dawson – described as ‘the original green chef’ by Jamie Oliver, discusses the importance of organic standards in his session on transparency in the food sector
  • Food writer and organic produce enthusiast Rosie Birkett, explores the magnificent versatility of organic carrots
  • Asian cookery expert Angela Malik demonstrates how easy it is to make paneer (the star ingredient in many Indian dishes) from scratch, plus paneer bruschetta and chilli paneer chaat
  • Emily Watkins, head chef at The Kingham Plough and a winner of the BBC’s Great British Menu, shares her tips on how to get creative with everyday seasonal vegetables, including her take on tomato consommé

“I love to cook dishes where the star ingredients have been organically grown, picked and cooked within 24 hours,” says Emily Watkins, “There is nothing that tastes sweeter than a sun ripened blackberry, nor can the aroma of a vine ripened tomato be replaced with a tin of plum tomatoes.”

There is, she adds, “masses” she’s looking forward to seeing at GO! Organic Festival (aside from her session): “It is great to be part of an event celebrating responsibly produced and delicious products.”

Celebrating the best of organic

GO! Organic Festival promises to showcase the biggest selection of organic food and drink of the year.  Whether you’re looking to stock up on grocery staples or try something completely new – there’s plenty of opportunities to do both here.

Among the confirmed exhibitors to date – there are over 100 to choose from in GO! Organic Festival’s indoor organic marketplace – are: Daioni Organic (Welsh milk and dairy products); Luscious Organic Ice Cream (their 10-strong range includes Banana & Custard, Strawberry & Jersey Cream and Chocolate Hazelnut); Queenspark Wine (organic and biodynamic wines); Sage 8 Foods (nutrient-dense superfood snacks and paleo breads); SugaVida (award winning turmeric lattes); and Aston’s Bakehouse (breads, cakes and pastries).  Plus festival partners, sponsors and supporters: Abel & Cole, Clearspring, Crazy Jack, Tarantella, Honest Organic, Pukka, Helen Browning’s Organic, G’s Fresh, Verival, and Wyld Wood Organic.  The event forms part of the Organic September celebrations and has the support of the Soil Association and the Organic Trade Board’s #FeedYourHappy campaign.

Advance tickets selling fast

There are plenty of activities to keep the whole family busy at GO! Organic Festival, including a raft of big-names and up and coming bands on the main stage – including The Hoosiers and The Magic Numbers; celebrity talks; GO! Organic Beer Festival hosted by Stroud Brewery; children’s entertainers – including Mr Bloom and Andy & The Odd Socks; fantastic feature areas like Meet The Farmer and the Clearspring Japanese Tea Garden; Abel & Cole’s picnic area; circus acts; free fair rides; children’s petting farm; hands-on workshops; bug hunts; Honest Organic’s Eco Art Camp; kids orchard PYO and more.

Discounted advance tickets can be purchased via the website, with tickets for adults priced at £26, children at £13 (under 5’s are free), and a family of four at £69 (after the early bird discount ends, prices are £32 for adults, £15 for children and £85 for a family ticket).  For full details, please visit www.goorganicfestival.co.uk.

About the author

Amy