15 October 2024
Food campaigner, journalist, and restauranteur Henry Dimbleby has been conferred as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Agricultural University (RAU).
Henry, who wrote the independent National Food Strategy in 2021, commissioned by the then Government, was honoured by the University for his pioneering work to transform the UK’s food system and farming in the public interest.
Receiving the Honorary Fellowship at the RAU’s annual Graduation ceremony recently, he said: “The RAU is one of the greatest agricultural universities in the world and it is a great honour to receive this award.
“It has been so touching and inspiring to be at this ceremony and to see so many young graduates heading out to make the world a better place.
“It also fills me with great optimism seeing first-hand how the RAU is adapting its courses and teaching to create future leaders in the mission to create a food system that restores human and planetary health.”
Professor Tom MacMillan, Elizabeth Creak Chair in Rural Policy and Strategy at the RAU, worked with Henry on the National Food Strategy and gave the citation for the Fellowship bestowal.
He said: “The Food Strategy is a landmark. A report commissioned by Government that lays bare the dangerous mechanics of our food system – drivers of illness, climate change and nature loss - and sets out practical steps to correct them.
“It has already had significant impact, spurring Government’s progress towards a strategic framework for land use, and also tackling holiday hunger, and there are encouraging signs that the new Government may run with more of its recommendations.”
While the National Food Strategy is a major contribution, Henry’s passion for food, and his influence on the nation’s diet, started further back.
His mother, a prolific food writer and adventurous cook, instilled a love of food and, having graduated from Oxford with a degree in Physics and Philosophy, Henry started working as a Commis Chef, under head chef Bruno Loubet, at Michelin-starred Four Seasons Inn on the Park in London’s fashionable Park Lane.
From there he moved to work as a journalist for the Telegraph, and then for management consultants Bain & Company, before co-founding restaurant chain Leon, with his friend and business partner John Vincent, in 2004.
In 2009 he launched the Sustainable Restaurant Association and between 2010 and 2014 he published three books – Naturally Fast Food with John Vincent, Leon: Baking and Puddings with Claire Ptak, and Leon: Fast Vegetarian with Jane Baxter.
Professor MacMillan added: “In 2014 Henry published the School Food Plan, an independent review for Government which he wrote with John Vincent. Among other things, this led directly to the introduction of universal free school meals for all infants and cookery lessons for all children up to the age of 14.
“His campaign for better school meals continues through Chefs in Schools, the brilliant charity he founded in 2018 with chef Nicole Pisani and Hackney head teacher Louise Nichols which recruits restaurant chefs to work in schools, improving both school lunches and food education.”
Henry was awarded an MBE in 2015 for his work on improving school food and, in 2018, he was appointed Lead Non-Executive Director at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Part one of the National Food Strategy, an independent review of the food system for Government, was published in 2020 and this led directly to the roll out across the country of the Holiday Activity and Food programme and an increase in the value of Healthy Start vouchers which provide free fruit and vegetables to less affluent families with young children.
Part two, which set out how we can create a food system that not only provides enough food but keeps both us and the planet healthy, was published in 2021.
Last year Henry published the Sunday Times bestseller Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape, co-written with his wife, Telegraph journalist Jemima Lewis, and earlier this year he launched investment and advisory firm Bramble Partners.
Professor MacMillan concluded: “Henry’s award of an Honorary Fellowship of the RAU not only reflects his deep commitment to healthy and sustainable food and farming, issues which we hold dear at this university, but it also celebrates his past and future impact, and recognises his inspiring and exemplary leadership.”
