Staff:

Sarah Weiner, Festival Manager

Sarah worked for two years at Slow Food headquarters in Italy before heading to San Francisco to run the office of organic food champion Alice Waters. As the first employee of Slow Food Nation, she helped forged the collaborations that led to the largest sustainable food event in America with 85,000 visitors. Sarah has provided content and partnership development for several of the most important eco-gastronomic events in Italy and US, including United Nations World Environment Day and a series of charity dinners for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration.

Dominic Phillips, Executive Producer

Dominic has been responsible for large-scale productions such as the Slow Food Nation, the largest sustainable food festival in the USA with 85,000 people attending 80 distinct outdoor and indoor events. His passion is in utilizing events to build community which last well beyond when the last marquee is taken down.

Helen Arnold, Sponsorship Manager

Sales and business development activities are the driving force behind Helen’s motivation as well as her passion for being involved in the fantastic business of running events and festivals. Seeing the Show or Festival come to fruition and sharing that with the team who have made it happen, is the ultimate buzz!

Ben Quarrell, Sales and Operations Coordinator

Is a core member of several event teams, a trustee of the Bristol Festival and a director of Rebirth Events. He has been working with the Organic Food Festival to bring all the exhibitors together and make sure the event is safe and fun for everyone. He’s very passionate about food and music and is looking forward to helping to make the 9th annual Organic Food Festival the most exciting and successful to date!

Aine Morris, Press and Marketing Coordinator

Comes from a communications and marketing background, specialising in community food projects, she’s now a student at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Northern Italy and has been involved with the Youth Food Movement. She has a little girl who is five, likes growing vegetables and ambling around food markets, which make her happy.

Steve Symons, Operations Manager

Steve has been involved in the Organic Food Festival since 2006, developing key contractor relationships and overseeing all aspects of production. He also started the festival fringe, bringing in a huge variety of food themed arts. Steve has a keen understanding of the idiosyncrasies of the Harbourside site and has been responsible for successfully delivering a vibrant but safe Festival for the last three years.

Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association

Brought up in London, studied biodynamic agriculture at Emerson College in 1972 and started a community farm in West Wales in 1973. He has worked for the Soil Association since 1988 and as Director since 1995, awarded the CBE for services to organic farming in 2005. He provides vision and inspiration for the Organic Food Festival.