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Malvern Autumn Show

27 September 2024 – 29 September 2024 –

2023 Special Guests

Visitors were able to hear from expert special guests in the Gardening Theatre, knowledgeable nurseries in the Potting Shed Theatre, skilled chefs in the Kitchen Theatre and Gin gurus in the Gin Theatre in 2023. Check back to find out about 2024 show details. 

You can also book your tickets to see these inspirational special guests here!

Click here to see the Friday book signing schedule.

Click here to see the Saturday book signing schedule.

Click here to see the Sunday book signing schedule.

Click here to register your interest in our Octopus Publishing special guest talks & demos on Saturday 23 September 2023.

Darina Allen

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Darina Allen is Ireland’s best-known food ambassador and the bestselling author of Ballymaloe Cookery Course and Forgotten Skills of Cooking, which won the prestigious André Simon award in 2009. She campaigns for local produce, is a member of Slow Food Ireland and set up Ireland’s first farmers’ market. She has won many awards including the Guild of Food Writers’ Lifetime Achievement award in 2013.

Arit Anderson

Fri, Sat & Sun (Potting Shed & Garden Theatres)

Hailing from Isleworth in South West London, the garden designer originally worked in fashion before turning to agriculture, and has won several awards for her stunning creations. She first made her name at the 2013 RHS Chelsea Show, and has only become more successful since!

Arit is perhaps best known for presenting Gardeners’ World, and is also a keen writer for Gardens’ World Magazine as well as, of course, her work on Garden Rescue.

The Beefy Boys

Sunday (Kitchen Theatre)

We are four mates who started mucking about cooking burgers and barbecuing in our back gardens in Hereford about 10 years ago.

Our friends and family thought it was great so we decided to enter a BBQ competition in Bristol called GRILLSTOCK. Grillstock was a UK based BBQ festival where various teams would enter and compete for the title of KING OF THE GRILL! As four total novices we literally just entered for a laugh.

Shockingly, we won the award for BEST BURGER and consequently got entered into the WORLD FOOD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Las Vegas to represent the UK against 50 other teams from across the globe. We thought that we would fly over there, finish in last place, have a great holiday and fly home. Somehow we managed to come second in the world.

From that point onwards everything changed. We would do a pop-up in our home town and instead of just the usual 20 or so people turning up we would now have 500-600 people showing up (with us feverishly trying to cook burgers on a tiny little BBQ to keep up with the sudden demand). In those early days it could often be a 2 hour wait for a burger.

We all decided to give up our day jobs as we quickly turned our hobby into a business. We opened our first restaurant in Hereford in 2015 which before long we expanded into the building next door to double the capacity due to demand. Not long after, that we purchased a food truck to tour our food across the country. In 2021 we opned our 2nd site in Shrewsbury and in 2023 we opened our 3rd site in Cheltenham.

In 2023 we cemented our status as one of the top burger joints in the UK by winning both Signature Burger and Burger chef of the year at The National Burger awards.

Our ethos is great quality, world class, dirty burgers and street food, using locally sourced ingredients and authentic cooking methods. Our goal is to be the very best burger joint in the country – a mecca for all food lovers and burger aficionados, while staying true to our roots and maintaining a fun and friendly vibe. That’s always been what it’s about for us, a good laugh with your mates and that’s the way we want to keep it.

Nicki Chapman

Fri, Sat & Sun (Garden Theatre Host)

Nicki Chapman is known and loved for her work across TV and Radio including Escape to the Country, Wanted Down Under and RHS Chelsea Flower Show. She also works with Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 where she regularly sits in for Zoe Ball on the Breakfast Show and covers Claudia Winkleman and Michael Ball’s weekend shows as well as Early Breakfast. She has presented numerous documentaries for the station including Here We Come – The Monkees at 50 and Let’s Abba Party.

In 2020 she launched her podcast Talking Success where she interviewed household names asking them about their journey and allowing them to share advice and pearls of wisdom they learnt along the way. Her vast knowledge of the music business, which she developed as one of the youngest and most successful publicists in the industry, led to her iconic judge role on ITV’s Popstars and Pop Idol.

Mark Diacono

Fri, Sat & Sun (Kitchen Theatre Host)

Mark is an award winning food and garden writer and photographer, lucky enough to spend most of his time growing, eating, writing and talking about food. His refreshing approach to growing and eating has done much to inspire a new generation to grow some of what they eat and to make the most of it in the kitchen.

Mark has written and photographed 13 books, winning Food Book of the Year twice, and Garden Book of the Year twice. He was involved with River Cottage in the early days, appearing in the TV series and writing three of the River Cottage Handbook series.

Mark also runs courses, hosts and demos at food and garden shows, and runs events at venues such as Limewood and The Pig Hotels.

Ben Dark

Saturday (Garden Theatre)

Ben Dark is a head gardener, award-winning broadcaster and landscape historian. He’s been described as ‘the millennial Monty’ by Gardeners’ World Magazine, ‘the future of horticulture’ by Horticulture Week and was named Gardening Journalist of the Year at the 2022 Garden Media Awards. He graduated with a degree in History from Bristol University and went on to study Horticulture at Capel Manor College, before completing his education with a traineeship at the Garden Museum and an MA in Garden and Landscape History at the University of London’s Institute of Historical Research. As a gardener he has worked for embassies, cemeteries, heritage bodies and oligarchs. He has organized a private flower show for the Royal Family and helped to build gold-medal winning gardens on the main avenue at the Chelsea Flower Show. As the creator and host of both the Dear Gardener and award-winning Garden Log podcasts he frequently speaks to gardening groups and industry events. Ben has written about plants for the Telegraph and has been featured in the Independent, Gardens Illustrated and the Financial Times. He was named Gardening Journalist of the Year at the 2022 Garden Media Awards. His book The Grove, a beautifully written study on the often-overlooked nature on our doorsteps, published in April 2022.

Alice Fevronia

Friday (Kitchen Theatre)

Alice Fevronia is a baking and educational influencer who is putting her teaching experience to use. Alice is on a mission to share the science behind baking with her quick tips and tricks to help educate the younger generations to get in the kitchen; all whilst sharing her own creative and artistic bakes on her Instagram and TikTok!

Martin & Jill Fish

Fri, Sat & Sun (Potting Shed Theatre Host)

Martin Fish has a wealth of practical gardening experience gained over 40 years as a professional horticulturist.

For many years he has been a gardening expert on BBC Radio York & BBC Leeds and has presented gardening programmes for the BBC and ITV.

He currently writes for Garden News, Kitchen Garden and the Dalesman magazine

A regular at flower shows, Martin hosts gardening theatres, giving talks, demonstrations and answering gardening questions.

Martin is a senior RHS judge and judges at RHS and independent flower shows including Chelsea, Hampton Court, Tatton Park and the Malvern Flower Shows.

He is chairman of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee and a Garden Advisor at RHS Harlow Carr.

Martin & his wife Jill have co-written ‘Gardening on the Menu’, packed full of gardening hints and advice and a wealth of recipes and quick cook tips using freshly grown fruit and veg from the kitchen garden.

Adam Frost

Fri, Sat & Sun (Garden & Kitchen Theatres)

Adam Frost is a Landscape Designer who is passionate about what he does.

He believes there’s inspiration all around us – in nature, architecture, art, people and food – we just have to take the time to stop and look around.

He draws on memories, special places and people who have been influential to the way he designs.

Adam cares that his garden designs are about creating personal spaces that people can feel comfortable in, places that actually feel ‘real’, as well as being beautiful.

Adam enjoys travelling the world designing gardens and speaking on a wide variety of horticultural topics.

He has written a book entitled ‘Real Gardens’ about the memories and ideas behind his Chelsea Gold Medal winning designs.

Adam is an RHS Ambassador for Education and Community Gardens, Co-Founder of the Homebase Garden Academy and a presenter on BBC television, including Gardeners’ World.

Adam also loves sport and cooking. He lives with his wife Sulina in a picturesque Lincolnshire village, with their four children, one horse, two ponies, two spaniels, one black Labrador and an ancient cat! His 3 acre garden is a work in progress.

Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Joel Harrison & Neil Ridley are at the forefront of providing expertise and innovation in the drinks world. From whisky to gin, cognac to cocktails, the duo has a wealth of knowledge to share with audiences across the globe. As well as being regular drinks experts on Channel 4 Sunday Brunch they write about cocktails and spirits for a number of publications around the world, including the TelegraphThe I, Decanter and World of Fine Wine, and also act as judges for the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) awards. Their first book, Distilled, won the Fortnum & Mason Drink Book of the Year award in 2015. Their second, Straight Up, was published in October 2017, followed by The World Atlas of Gin in 2019, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Tales of The Cocktail Spirited Awards. Their latest book 60 Second Cocktails, featuring 60 great cocktails that you can put together in the time it takes to open and pour a bottle of wine, published in October 2022.

Liz Knight

Fri & Sun (Kitchen Theatre)

Liz Knight spent her childhood face down amongst the grass looking for bugs, making concoctions from petals, weeds and of course mud; when she was at school she constantly dreamt of being outside eating. As a result, her ability to turn a handful of weeds into a delight to eat is outstanding!

With a lifetime’s passion for cooking with the less obvious ingredients, Liz established Forage Fine Foods & creates a unique range of flavourings from ingredients that grow in our back gardens & the wild.

Jürgen Krauss

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

 Jürgen Krauss was the star of Bake Off 2021, his semi-finals departure triggering over 100 complaints from dismayed viewers. His love for baking began during his childhood in the Black Forest. His travels across Europe, before settling in Brighton, UK, widened his culinary influences, but also gave him the yearning to master German bread-making, the perfect showcase for both his technical precision and creative flavours. His new book German Baking, a celebration of German home baking, published in August 2023.

Jonathan Moseley

Fri, Sat & Sun (Potting Shed & Garden Theatres)

The floral expert from the BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge, Jonathan is an international demonstrator of floristry, based in Derbyshire. A National Demonstrator for the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies, Jonathan is renowned for creating large-scale floral designs with speed, efficiency and entertainment, bringing floral theatre to a whole new level.

Arthur Parkinson

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Arthur Parkinson trained at Kew Gardens. After graduating, he pursued an interest in growing cut flowers by working for renowned gardener Sarah Raven. He continued to work for her as a florist and together they recorded the much-praised podcast Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange. Arthur designed a garden for the Emma Bridgewater factory in Staffordshire, which received wide acclaim, as did the accompanying book, The Pottery Gardener. His second book, The Flower Yard, was one of The Times Best Gardening Books of 2021. A guest presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World, he has also written about gardening and keeping poultry for several newspapers and magazines and his memoir a  celebration of keeping chickens, Chicken Boy, was published in 2023.  His new book Planting a Paradise, an inspirational guide to growing flamboyant flowers for ourselves and bees alike, publishes in October. He regularly shares his photography and illustrations on his renowned Instagram account.

Crystelle Pereira

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Raised in London by Kenyan-born, Portuguese-Goan parents, Crystelle Pereira first showcased her baking skills and winning flavour combinations on The Great British Bake Off. Cooking is an equal passion to baking for Crystelle, and her dishes are known for their inventive twists and exciting flavours. Her appearance on GBBO made Vanity Fair‘s list of Best Performances of 2021, and she has gone on to cook on acclaimed TV shows such as Good Morning AmericaThe Today ShowSunday Brunch and ITV Lorraine. Her new book Flavour Kitchen, showcasing recipes which make cooking and baking with the most vibrant and exciting flavours easy, was published in May.

Helen Rebanks

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Helen Rebanks is a farmer, a businesswoman, a teacher, a conservationist and a working mother – and a cook.

She lives with her husband and four children in the Lake District and has been cooking and baking for more than 30 years, both professionally and in farmhouse kitchens. Her love and enthusiasm for food and farming is completely infectious, and her cooking is utterly delicious.

Rebecca Seal

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Rebecca has written about food and drink for the Financial Times, Evening Standard, the Observer, the Guardian, Red and The Sunday Times. Her cookbooks include Istanbul: Recipes from the heart of Turkey and Lisbon: Recipes from the heart of Portugal and LEON Big Salads, as well as co-authoring LEON Happy Soups, LEON Happy One-pot Cooking, LEON Fast Vegan, LEON Happy Curries, LEON Happy Fast Food and LEON Happy Guts with John Vincent and LEON Happy One-pot Vegetarian with Chantal Symons. Her first non-food book, called SOLO: How to Work Alone (And Not Lose Your Mind), was published in 2020. She lives in London with her husband and two small daughters. Her new book Ginger Pig Christmas Cook Book, packed with recipes for the perfect Christmas, publishes in October.

Kiran Sidu

Saturday (Garden Theatre)

Kiran Sidhu is a freelance journalist and has written features, lifestyle and opinion pieces for The Guardian, Observer, Telegraph, The i Paper, The Independent, Metro, Woman magazine, Woman’s Own and Breathe magazine. Her article about her farmer friend Wilf was the 13th most read article in The Guardian in 2021, and was made into a short film Heart Valley, directed by Christian Cargill and produced by Pulse Films. She lives in the Welsh Valley with her husband. Her book I Can Hear the Cuckoo, a memoir about grief, nature and community, published in May 2023.

Blanche Vaughan

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Blanche Vaughan is a food writer and chef who worked at the River Cafe, Moro and St John. She has written for the Guardian and published four books with Weidenfeld & Nicolson including One Pot and Egg. She wrote itsu: the cookbook with Julian Metcalfe. Blanche is Food Editor at House & Garden. Her new book House & Garden A Year in the Kitchen publishes in September.

John Whaite

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

John Whaite won the third series of The Great British Bake Off and was runner up of the 2021 series of BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing on which he was the first all-male pairing in the show’s historyHe is the author of five cookery books, John WhaiteBakes: Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood, John Whaite Bakes At Home (published by Headline), Perfect Plates in 5 IngredientsA Flash in the Pan (published by Kyle Books) and Comfort: Food to Soothe the Soul, which was chosen as Book of the Year 2017 by BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme. John was a resident chef on ITV’s Lorraine for 4 years and is currently resident chef and guest presenter on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch. He is also a presenter on Food Unwrapped and is a regular chef for Waitrose online. His memoir Dancing on Eggshells publishes on 24 August 2023.

Jon Wheatley

Fri, Sat & Sun (Potting Shed & Garden Theatres)

A multi award-winning landscape designer and garden maintenance service provider based in the beautiful surroundings of the Chew Valley near Bristol.

Jon has been involved in building over 20 RHS Gold Medal features for various clients, including:
  • The National Dahlia Collection
  • Winchester Growers’ President’s Award, Chelsea 2009
  • Bulldog Tools 2011 Gold
  • Blackdown Garden Centre
  • National Chrysanthemum Society (10 consecutive Gold Medals)
  • Winners of Best In Show Garden, Poppy Scotland, 2011
  • Hampton Court Tudor Rose for Winchester Growers, 2009
  • RHS Edible Garden 2011 and Home Grown 2010

Joe Woodhouse

Saturday (Kitchen Theatre)

Joe Woodhouse has been vegetarian since the age of 10, teaching himself how to cook. He later trained as a chef and spent years working in kitchens such as Vanilla Black and the Towpath Café, as well as working events and festivals with restaurants such as the Social Pantry and The Quality Chop House. Alongside being a chef, he is also a photographer, shooting with clients such as Petersham Nurseries, Soho Farmhouse, Luca Restaurant, Four Seasons, Laurent Perrier, Delicious Magazine, Ocado, Belazu, Marmite, Hakkasan, and Coleman’s. He is lauded amongst colleagues – including Anna Jones and Nigella Lawson – for being one of the best vegetarian chefs in the business. Joe’s work has featured in publications such as The New Yorker, Bon Appétit, Guardian, Observer, Metro, Evening Standard and Life & Thyme. His new book More Daily Veg, a celebration of everyday, seasonal vegetables, publishes in September.

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