Eating Albion

Thursday saw Catherine and I host a Smörgåsbord (as well as a hastily put together cheese board*) of blogging and food-loving folk at C4. Present were Hannah from C4’s editorial partners Zone, Producer Catherine, Walid from Trusted Places, Dr Patrick Fullick, Anthony Silverbrow, Chris from Cheesenbiscuits, Ali from C4, Russell Davis, Chris Heathcote, Seb from London Review of Breakfasts, Louise from C4, Andy Pipes also from C4, and me.

The aim was to show our current thinking, tell people what we’re doing and listen to their feedback. We also wanted to have them help bake the idea a bit, and it gave us a chance to discuss the idea - amongst friends, peers and people we respect - and how we see it working. The final aim was to hear their thoughts on how best to approach other bloggers and interested people and invite them to be part of this.

The recent Next on 4 announcement had a large section devoted to new talent. So that’s not just me (blushes) but other voices being given the space to speak on C4. I think sometimes people confuse new talent with young talent, and perhaps this may be true for the likes of E4, but Channel 4’s actually quite a broad church in its output. And one desired outcome of the Big Food Map is to give space to some new regional voices after I’ve departed. We asked the question, what does that relationship and protocol look like?

So how did it go? Well, I was gulping the red down for dutch courage, and though I’d planned a loose agenda, within three minutes I’d abandoned it. I’m rubbish at presenting, great at talking, fantastic at chatting, excellent at the odd joke or funny story, but presenting… I’m crap. So I just went with the flow, and hoped I was making sense.

And the feedback I’ve had has been positive and supportive. But, and quite rightly, there have also been some thoughts on really nailing what the aims are and how to get that message across better. But that’s all to the good. I didn’t want to present a fait accompli and have it rubber-stamped by the group; I wanted their help in stripping it down, examining it, and helping me put it back together better. To go humbly asking for advice and admitting that we’ve not got all the answers takes courage, and it’s also rare in broadcasting. Finally, I just want to say publicly a big thank-you to all who attended. You’ve given me much food for thought.

*Also a thanks to Sarah B for the gift of the French cheese, which formed the bulk of the cheese board.