Talks

Robin Sherriff and Sam Cooper explore the science and practice of fermentation

Where:

Castle Garden Stage - Castle Gardens

When:

12th September 2026
12:45 pm to 1:30 pm

Robin Sherriff is the CEO of The Fermenters Guild, owner of The Koji Kitchen, and co-founder of Slow Sauce.

After studying chemistry and biology, Robin took the scenic route from park ranger to bike mechanic, and animal vaccine researcher to Victorian confectionery plant site manager, before going back to study for an MSc in Gastronomy.

Robin wrote his thesis on Japanese whisky philosophy in Kyoto, where he learned about saké and koji. In 2020, he started The Koji Kitchen in Edinburgh, and in 2025, he co-founded Slow Sauce, Scotland’s first miso and shoyu brewery.

Find out more here - IG: @thekojikitchen | fermentersguild.org

 

Sam Cooper is a Sunday Times bestselling author and chef-turned-gardener now working full-time on a farm on the West Wales coast.

His fascination with homegrown produce has grown along with his Instagram – @chef.sam.black has over half a million followers – where he posts delicious ferment recipes using seasonal ingredients.

In addition to work, Sam grows endangered grain each year to preserve the genetic diversity and maintain food resilience for the future, including rare black oats, which were once common across the UK, and develop new methods of processing them using fermentation.

Sam wrote the In the Kitchen chapter of The Self-Sufficiency Garden (March 2024), The Fermentation Kitchen (November 2024) and co-wrote How to Grow Food (March 2026) with Huw Richards. He is also a photographer and illustrator.