sofht focus

On behalf of the Society and fellow SOFHT Directors it is my honour and pleasure to thank Dianne Waite as the previous Editor of SOFHT Focus, for her sterling work. Dianne remains an active member, so while its hello from me its only au revoir from her! I hope I can build on the strong foundations Dianne has left with the support and engagement of members to ensure that SOFHT Focus can adapt and remain relevant and responsive to the changes which are a constant in our industry. 

I’m pleased to be writing this forward just ahead of another constant, the forthcoming SOFHT Annual Lecture, Lunch & Awards – an excellent opportunity to hear from you and discover what else you might want from SOFHT Focus. As the highlight of the SOFHT calendar, I know how much work Karen Best, the office team and Directors invest in this event and yet every year it somehow manages to surpass the last! 

This year our guest lecturer is Ruth Goodman, a television historian with insights on Tudor foods and farming, so it will be interesting to get Ruth’s perspectives on the modern food industry. Most of all though,I’m looking forward to the opportunity to catch-up with former colleagues as well as members I don’t yet know, at the industry’s best event for celebrating individual and team success! Congratulations to all nominees and good luck to you if you are up for an award! Preoccupied with food quality, safety, authenticity and innovation our members are the enablers of the industry, so it would be remiss not to mention food and drink! 

Yet again, we will be hosted by THE BREWERY who have now developed an excellent reputation for the great food and wine they’ve served to SOFHT members, year after year. If you haven’t booked already, you’ll find details in this edition, so hope to see you on the 21st of November. This edition is the first following our successful Listeria conference in Leicester and our “FOCUS on a SOFHT Director” is on Tracey Colbert, who I’m sure you will enjoy getting to know a little better. 

As my first time writing as Editor of SOFHT, like my predecessor,I would like to take this opportunity to echo her thanks to everyone who supports this role – particularly while I find my feet! I hope you enjoy this issue and once again thanks to the team for producing another great edition, the next one will follow and report on our wonderful Annual Lecture, Lunch & Awards! Hope to see you there!