Small Batch Learning and drinks education

Been working hard with Small Batch Learning (SBL) to create a series of animated videos that educate new and experienced food and drink professionals in all aspects of drink production, culture and serving etiquette.

Small Batch Learning are a start-up based out of Singapore and Shanghai and have been great to work with. Wishing them the best of luck for the future.

NB There is a glaring omission in the screen grab above and I’m not responsible for it…no big sparkling wine bottle over the UK!!!…I’ll make sure it gets changed in the next iteration :-)

Film for Bluestone Resort and The Telegraph

Over the summer The Business Debate sent me to make a film for the Telegraph about the Bluestone Resort in Wales.

What a beautiful place! The weather was exceptional, which always helps, but that aside Bluestone and the surrounding national park would still be an outstanding place to go any time of year.

Particularly impressive is their commitment to the area and people that make the resort what it is. The Bluestone team recognise that maintaining the communities and environment around them is an essential part of their business strategy, as well as being a ‘good’ thing to do.

Vattenfall and the fossil free future

This was a genuinely fascinating project to work on.

Of course there is the headline grabbing ambitions about an energy utility company company aiming to be carbon free within a generation, but what I found most interesting is how this goal is making Vattenfall reimagine what an energy utility company is and can be.

To that end they are expanding beyond simply energy production and supply, into areas such as EV charging points, partnering with cement and steel manufacturers to decarbonise these processes, as well as engaging with a multitude of initiatives to decentralise energy production for the average consumer.

Very exciting stuff and something that looks to be creating fantastic, tangible results.

Pernod Ricard and their sustainability commitments

As part of the set of film’s I’ve been making for the Business Debate and Reuters, I wrapped up the contract with a film about the Absolut distillery in Ahus, Sweden.

In fact, the film was more general in perspective and looked at the Pernod Ricard group’s (Absolut is one of their brands) efforts and innovation in order that their CSG commitments converge with the UN 2030 sustainability goals.

Visiting the the Absolut distillery - you can see the iconic old distillery in the background of the picture above - was an educational experience. The scale of the distillery and the enormous impact it has on the local economy is mind boggling - it has its own port to export Absolut worldwide and 98% of the wheat grown in that region of Sweden goes to the distillery.

The team at Absolut don’t take this for granted - their commitment to people and the environment was evident in almost every aspect of what they do.

Lerøy Seafood and the UN SDGs

Food and its provenance is an important and current topic. Most of us use supermarkets and rely on these distributors and their suppliers to uphold the highest standards, so when I was offered a chance to meet Leroy Seafood and make a film about their farmed salmon, I jumped at the chance.

Lerøy Seafood are the world’s third largest producer of farmed seafood. They believe that with the challenges of a growing world population and increased demand for protein, seafood is the most sustainable way of meeting both these challenges.

A tour of their farmed salmon operations was a fascinating insight into product we see on our supermarket shelves.

Duckhams Oil relaunch

On location making a film to help the Duckham’s team relaunch this fantastic heritage brand. Tremendous legacy and high expectations. Wishing the team luck.

You can view the finished film here