The future of our food is the future of our planet.

The plethora of recipes and cookbooks, encouraging us to sample a wealth of different cuisines, is ever being added to. And as a consequence, most of us have embraced a global way of eating, relishing food – and ingredients – imported from countries around the world

But how sustainable is this diversity in our diets when it often demands we buy ingredients that don’t thrive locally? Should we be looking closer to home and adapting local food instead, especially more unusual produce and rarer varieties we might not find in our supermarkets?

We welcome two food writers, expertly placed to answer such questions.

Romy Gill MBE is a British-Indian chef and cookery teacher, and former owner and head chef at Romy’s Kitchen in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. Inspired by her heritage, her much acclaimed first cookbook, “Zaika: Vegan Recipes from India”, imbues delicious vegan recipes with the flavours of Romy’s childhood.

Dan Saladino, who lives in Cheltenham but has Sicilian roots, is an award-winning journalist who makes programmes about food for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. His book “Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them” is a love letter to the diversity of global food cultures, and a call to arms to preserve them.

Chaired by Kate Young

Venue: Lansdown Hall

Tickets: £10