We think about food pretty much constantly. Jo and I both love cooking, eating, growing, learning and talking about food - and our business makes sure we do that every day, whether we want to or not! We've had numerous beer-fuelled conversations about where our business is going, where it fits in the world, where food is going, where it should be going, what we'd change about the world of food if we could. The Edible Flower is basically an excuse to spend our time exploring all of these issues. Now, it's time to include you in the conversation.

In 2018 we'll be designing and hosting a series of supper clubs exploring 'The Future of Food' - each event will explore a different theme related to sustainability and how we might need or choose to change the way we eat in the future.

We're keen to open up a conversation with you, our guests, about some of the food issues that we think about every time we design a supper club or a catering menu - sourcing locally and seasonally, reducing food waste, eating seasonally, buying food without packaging (particularly plastic packaging) and increasing plant-based (and thus less energy intensive) food consumption.

These events aren't designed to preach about what you or we should be doing better, but instead to explore some possibilities and allow us and you to experience something different. Is it possible to design a five-course globally inspired menu using only Northern Irish produce? What do you do about black pepper or many of the common spices? What do you use to replace lemon or lime juice, fish sauce or soy sauce? What about chocolate, coffee or tea? We don't know the answers to these questions yet but we'll have fun figuring something out! 

It's not all serious though - as always we'll be cooking and serving delicious and interesting dishes, peppering the events with stories about the origins of the dishes and the ingredients and creating our usual warm and convivial atmosphere for a lovely evening. We hope that everyone who attends will leave feeling that they have eaten really well, tried something new, had a fabulous time and also learnt a little more about where our food comes from.

We're really excited to announce that first event in our 'The Future of Food' supper club series will be 'Eat Food, Mostly Plants' at Boden Park Coffee Company on the Ormeau Road, Belfast on Friday 23 & Saturday 24 February 2018.

Inspired by food writer Michael Pollan's book 'Food Rules: An Eater's Manual' and his rallying cry to get us all to incorporate more plants into our diet, this will be a completely plant-based (and thus vegan) menu. We aren't vegan or vegetarian but we regularly eat completely plant-based meals and we want to share some of our favourite dishes. Come along if you are vegan, if you are interested in eating more plants or if you are deeply sceptical about meat and dairy-free dining and we'll attempt to change your mind! Click here for full details of the menu and how to buy tickets.

Photo Credit: Kat Mervyn Photography for Assembly Gatherings (photo at the top of the page)