FŌDA, the festival of food ideas founded by chef Josh Eggleton and Shona Graham, returns to the Arnolfini on Bristol’s harbourside for its second year on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September 2026. At its centre is a question the whole country is currently being forced to ask following a summer of record-breaking temperatures and drought: can Britain feed itself?
This year’s FŌDA Symposium, chaired once again by food writer Xanthe Clay, Sharpham Park founder Roger Saul and FŌDA founder and chef Josh Eggleton, has been built around four elemental themes, each shining a light on a fundamental link in the chain of how the UK eats:
LAND: Can We Feed the UK? A frank conversation on British food security, from soil to supermarket shelf, and what needs to change as climate pressure, land use and policy reshape the food system.
SEA: What We Take, What We Return. A reckoning with how Britain uses its oceans, from overfishing to waste, and what a shift from extraction to stewardship could look like.
FOREST: Why We Need Trees. A deep dive into agroforestry and why trees are fundamental to the food system, shaping soil health, water cycles, biodiversity and flavour.
AIR: The Space Between Us. Whether the table can help tackle loneliness through genuine hospitality, rebuilding connection and a greater sense of belonging.
On Land, the panel features Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford and one of the most outspoken voices in British organic farming for over 40 years, who transferred the company into employee ownership in 2018, alongside Renee Elliott, founder of Planet Organic, and Natalie Gaibani, head of farming at Strutt & Parker. On Sea, Rachel Walker-Boggis, co-founder of Disco Scallops, discusses proving how low-impact fishing can be commercially viable. On Forest, JP McMahon, founder of Ireland’s influential Food on the Edge symposium, returns after opening FŌDA’s inaugural public edition last year. And on Air, Franco-Palestinian chef and author Fadi Kattan, whose debut cookbook Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food introduced Palestinian cuisine to an international readership, is joined by Anjula Devi, Manchester United’s consultant chef and advocate for unpaid carers, to explore whether the table can rebuild connection.
Josh said: “Land, sea, forest, air. These aren’t abstract themes, they’re the four things every meal in this country actually depends on, and right now every one of them is under pressure. If FŌDA is good for anything, it’s making people who’d never normally sit in the same room talk to each other; farmers, fishermen, chefs, scientists, writers, campaigners. That’s how the good ideas turn up.”
FŌDA 2026 is the second public-facing interaction of the festival, having been run as an exclusive event for industry for three years prior. Following Josh and Holly Eggleton being named winner of the This Is Hospitality Award at the 2026 Cateys for individuals who champion people and community beyond their own businesses, this years’ FŌDA festival will be bigger and better, with a full programme of masterclasses taking place on the Sunday for people to get hands-on with their food futures.
WHAT’S ON OVER THE WEEKEND
Producer Village
Throughout the weekend, visitors can explore the FŌDA Producer Village – a representation of localism in the form of a market, celebrating the best Bristol and southwest producers. There will be artisan makers to discover including cheeses from Trethowan, honey from Black Bee, wine from Port O Bristol, Lebanese produce from Shorkk, local spirits and produce. At the centre will be a BBQ from Grove Game Larder serving food to takeaway, plus samosas by 91 Ways.
Hands-on Sunday Masterclasses
New for 2026 is a series of masterclasses on Sunday, focusing on a range of subjects from offal butchery to fermentation, wine tasting to breaking into food writing. Tickets for Sunday include access to all masterclasses and breakfast from sponsors Yeo Valley, plus an interview on the evolution of restaurants with Josh Eggleton, Gareth Ward and Pete Sanchez-Iglesias.
Join Dr Vanessa Kimbell, founder of The Sourdough School and creator of Diversity Bread®️, for a thought-provoking exploration of why diversity matters in bread at the Sourdough Exchange. Discover how the grains, seeds, legumes and botanicals we choose can influence flavour, fermentation, nutrition, biodiversity and the health of our gut microbiome and the planet. Bring your own loaf to share as part of a unique community bread exchange, where every bread tells a story. Taste, compare and celebrate the remarkable diversity of naturally fermented bread while discovering how the choices we make as bakers can help nourish both people and the planet.
The Pony Farm Bus
The Pony Farm Bus is a double decker bus converted into an interactive mobile classroom, complete with hydroponic growing, a demo kitchen and communal eating area. The purpose of the bus is to visit schools and communities in the more underserviced areas of the south west. With access to food education remaining a challenge around the UK, The Pony Farm Bus aims to drive understanding and connection between how food is grown and prepared, in a playful and engaging way. At FŌDA, the bus will host pizza and pasta making workshops to engage children with learning about food, with the pasta making workshops led by local food education charity Square Food Foundation. The bus will also provide the base for a Bristol Food Education Charter Workshop led by Jo Ingleby.
The Bristol Food Education Charter has been co created over the last two years with hundreds of children and young people across the city. The Charter is a Participatory Research Project led by The University of Bristol (Dr Will Baker) and Feeding Bristol (Jo Ingleby) and involves schools, youth, play and HAF organisations. It aims to give the children and young people of Bristol a platform to tell the city what they want to learn about food. Phase Two of the research has developed resources to meet the demands of the Charter which can be used in practice.
This workshop encourages children, young people and older visitors to the Pony Farm Bus to create a resource, have a say about food education or try out a Charter tool.
Food & Art Exhibitions and Workshops
In line with the Arnolfini’s cultural output there will be exhibitions within the centre itself, food-themed Family Art Workshops, including traditional Japanese Gyotaku hosted by Let’s Make Art. .
KEY INFORMATION
Dates:
Saturday 26th September 8.30am-6pm
Sunday 27th September 8.30am-6pm
Address:
Arnolfini Arts, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Booking:
Symposium tickets, workshop tickets and attendance for the sourdough exchange can be booked at www.fodafestival.com
Symposium tickets: £55 + booking fee
Masterclass tickets: £30 + booking fee, £20 + booking fee for students, NHS workers and those on low incomes
Sourdough exchange: £10 + booking fee
Find out more through the website at www.fodafestival.com and follow along on Instagram for updates.
Feature image credit: Jake Greenwood
