Events Diary
The 53rd Annual General Meeting of the British Society of Flavourist will take place via Zoom on MAY 2nd at 6.30pm BST (GMT+1)*. All members may attend, registration is essential to gain access to the call.
*download the iCal calendar entry (icon above) if you are uncertain of the time in your time zone
2023 President’s Report
Of the 52nd Annual General Meeting of The British Society of Flavourists
“Dear BSF Members,
Welcome to this the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the British Society of Flavourists.
It is my honour to present this year’s, and my final, President’s Report.
The last few years have seen wonderful, progressive growth for the Society, and I am truly proud to see what remarkable success we’ve achieved in our mission to further the science and education of flavour as well as encourage the flourishing of the valuable, educational and engaging club that is the BSF.
We have achieved a great deal over my time as president, thanks, in every part, can only go to the dedication and hard work of our council members who tirelessly support every endeavor.
Our online lectures series has grown in popularity, yet again. We have welcomed new members to the council, increasing and diversifying the representation of our global membership. We continue to strengthen our relationship with the British Society of Perfumers, allowing members of both societies to benefit from preferential rates of attendance at all our events. In addition, we have and will continue to collaborate with The Society of Flavour Chemists. We have also continued to release New Flavourist, the BSF's quarterly publication, which has supplied educational insight to our members and friends. Our podcast, Flavour Talks, is now available to the public and has proven to be a remarkable success. Season two has started to be released and there are some truly inspiring stories I can't wait to hear again.
Our podcast editorial team, Maria Palassarou and Britta Nobis, have welcomed Mark Millward to their ranks and continue to work hard to perfect the recorded content from the interviews, no matter how poor the quality of our conversation is. I would also like to thank our interviewed guests for their time and patience.
We have also introduced a My BSF Mobile App, which is freely available to members and friends of The Society. This aims to increase engagement between members of The Society, those interested in flavour science and supply a mobile and connected forum for learning and updates. I hope that future developments to this tool will be focused on greater engagement opportunities with measurable outcomes.
Now to the OGs- I would like to thank Stephen Hart and Dave Baines for continuing to serve The Society through their many ongoing initiatives. Thank you also for your personal encouragement and ongoing support (I really hope it doesn’t end here).
I would also like to thank the officers of the society Aine Walsh, Honorary Secretary. I’m still in awe of how much better you are at fulfilling your duties as Secretary than ever was. Britta Nobis, Honorary Membership Secretary, you have gracefully transitioned into the role with ease and to do so as well as being an integral member on the Podcast editorial team is certainly no mean feat. Mark Millward, our Honorary Treasurer, continues to ensure all councillors are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses related to council duty. Thank you for loosening the purse strings for our Council dinner earlier this year. We certainly cannot warrant the purchasing of a fleet of jet skis however well-constructed the value proposition.
As we move into a new chapter, I am excited to see where the British Society of Flavourists will go and what we can accomplish. I’m so pleased to be handing over the Presidency to Andrea. You continue to demonstrate your passion for flavour, flavour science and the society. You have my support and friendship going forward in what will undoubtedly be exciting, challenging at times frustrating but so very rewarding.
I would like to thank all members of the council, both past and present, for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the Society. Together, we have continued to build a platform for creative collaboration, and I am proud of the history we have created. To any of our members who wish to join this team of rebels - I encourage you to step forward and be part of this incredible journey. Now, it wouldn’t be a President’s report from me if I didn’t include a poem to get you all revved up to get involved. So, strap yourselves in. It’s about to get weird!”
Levels of abstraction
Our acrobatic semantics
Are nothing but necromancy antics
When the cheese monger's son
Can’t tell where his nuggets come from
And all he sells, reads enzyme modified dairy ingredients
Caused by blindly adhering to civil obedience
Cheque Yourself before you wreck Yourself
It Should be “choose your own adventure”
Allowing everyone else to choose theirs.
When discovering the cracks in the wall
Pull your finger out to fix them
The shekels have become the shackles
Buy fair trade! they slap on the box
War in Sudan leaves farmers to rot
We offset our environmental debt
By sending our shit to Tibet
Like a tax on shopping bags means
If you’re rich you can afford to not recycle
It’s why we pat ourselves on the backs
Only Organic in our pointless plastic packs
There’s no “welcome to legislation nation”
To those swimming from certain starvation
I used to think, aah victims of our own success
But we are not the victims, and this is not success
There are too many bones in the closet
And no space left under the rug
We fret that grandma’s not coping
And forget when the pubs reopen
A few more things about legislation
requiring more thorough investigation
Who decides what “fair” trade is
Organic’s as natural as granite
Artificial is all we’ve done since farming
And Natural Chocolate never grew on trees
This should not incite hatred
To captains of industry
Increasing their market, the only goal
Like Nut free nut’s expanded appeal
They merely wished to ease your fear
Nothing unexpected or untoward in here
Just because you don’t know the speed limit
Doesn’t mean you can drive as fast as you want!
Ignorance is never an excuse.
So please stop being so foolish
Beware the levels of abstraction
But cross my heart and hope to die.
There aint no Beef in this Bubblegum!
And with my final mic drop moment... The only fitting thing to say is.
Thank you.