What Can The Past Teach Us About The Future Of Food? Fortnum & Mason Investigates

As climate change continues to impact food production and security, farmers, scientists and food producers are looking at ways of futureproofing our current systems. But could some of the answers lie in the past? Fortnum & Mason’s autumn food series, Rooted Future, will delve into this question, exploring how ancient cooking techniques and traditional farming methods could inform the future of our planet. 

What To Expect From Fortnum & Mason’s Autumn Food Pop-Up

Running throughout September and October at Fortnum & Mason’s Food & Drink Studio on the top floor of the brand’s Piccadilly flagship in London, the series will involve a mixture of talks and workshops featuring scientists, chefs and changemakers from across the food supply chain. 

A panel discussion on 2 October, for instance, will explore the resurgence of ancient cooking and farming methods, from regenerative agriculture to heritage grains. On another evening (30 September), food writer Kenji Morimoto (@kenjcooks on Instagram) will delve deeper into the topic of fermentation with a cooking masterclass and supper, following the publication of his first book Ferment. Guests will learn how to make sauerkraut and miso, before sitting down to dinner featuring dishes made by Morimoto.

We’ll also hear stories from Suffolk-based chef and adventurer Mike Keen, whose fascination with ancestral diets has inspired travels all over the world – from sea mammals in Greenland to rotten fish heads in Mexico (7 October). Visitors will then sit down to an experimental six-course tasting menu featuring dishes like a salt pork sandwich with seal fat mayo, venison brisket taco, crowberry viennetta, and Pump Street hot chocolate with raw cream.

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On 17 October, the team from Skye Gyngell’s restaurant Spring will host a talk on the rich history of bone broth, from its roots in traditional Chinese medicine to its uses during the Crimean war. A stock made from simmering animal bones, the soup has returned to modern diets lately, lauded for its health benefits as well as its zero-waste nature.

Pastry chef Philip Khoury will also be hosting a masterclass to coincide with National Vegetarian Week, where guests will learn how to make plant-based versions of classic pastries. And ahead of Halloween, an event will explore the ancient tradition of pumpkin carving – originally done with turnips, potatoes and beetroots. This workshop will spotlight lesser-known varieties of squash, and share ways to repurpose the waste created in the carving process. 

As well as examining the past, Fortnum & Mason’s series will look forwards, focusing on the technologies that are sparking positive change in the food industry. Kicking off the programme on 18 September is a seafood-focused supper club which will see Japanese chef Masaki Sugisaki joining forces with Disco Scallops, a pioneering tech company which discovered a new method of attracting scallops with LED light technology. Together, they’ll be hosting a dinner featuring dishes like potted native blue lobster crostini, potted cuttlefish pasta, and sea buckthorn and yuzu sorbet. 

The Orangery, a hydroponic farm in London (c) Peter Lowbridge

Meanwhile, vertical farming business Crate to Plate will showcase the fruits of their labour – literally – over a dinner. CEO Daniel will be there to explain the benefits of hydroponic farming, a method which involves growing plants in nutrient-rich water solutions – with each 40ft container able to achieve the same production as over an acre of farmland

All this will culminate in a panel talk surrounding exciting technology in food, from lab-grown meat to seaweed-based packaging, with potential speakers including Dr Chris van Tulleken.

Fortnum & Mason’s launched its Food & Drink Studio in 2023, designed as an experiential hub for recipe testing, chef demonstrations, supper clubs and events.

How To Book

Find out more and book at fortnumandmason.com