Organised by Royal Society of Arts
Join us for a special evening with guest speaker Inua Ellams and a menu designed and prepared by renowned chef José Pizarro.
We are delighted to launch an exciting series of ‘An evening with...’ events. Come together with Fellows and friends for insightful perspectives, fascinating conversation and delicious food and drink in the inspiring setting of RSA House. Each event will feature an eminent guest in conversation with Andy Haldane, our CEO, accompanied by a meal designed and prepared by a celebrated chef.
Our series will run as follows:
3 October 2022 - Guest speaker: Dame Prue Leith, DBE | Chef: Ollie Dabbous
22 November 2022 - Guest speaker: Gary Kemp | Chef: Will Bowlby
24 January 2023 - Guest speaker: Inua Ellams FRSL | Chef: José Pizarro
8 February 2023 - Guest speaker: David Olusoga OBE | Chef: Mark Greenaway
12 June 2023 - Guest speaker: Rt Hon Lord Mandelson (Coming soon)
On Tuesday 24 January, we welcome guest speaker Inua Ellams. Born in Nigeria, Inua is a poet, playwright and performer, graphic artist and designer. Identity, Displacement and Destiny are reoccurring themes in his work, in which he mixes the old with the new, traditional with the contemporary. Inua’s awards include the Edinburgh Fringe First Award 2009, The Liberty Human Rights Award and The Live Canon International Poetry Prize. He has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Tate Modern, Louis Vuitton, and BBC Radio & Television, and his plays include ‘Black T-shirt Collection’ and ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’.
The evening will be dynamic and informal, with guests enjoying an array of authentic tapas paired with excellent Spanish wines, personally presented by chef José Pizarro in our elegant Benjamin Franklin Room, and moving to the historic Great Room for a special interactive performance of poetry by Inua Ellams.
José Pizarro is originally from a beautiful village, Talaván in Cáceres, Extremadura. José now considers London his home, and is often described as the Godfather of Spanish cooking in the UK. José believes that tapas is for all, and that home cooks don’t have to be scared off by the idea of cooking lots of dishes – it’s all in the prep and keeping it simple. José has appeared on many of our favourite foodie TV programmes: a regular on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen, José has also appeared on Sunday Brunch, This Morning on ITV, Weekend Kitchen with Waitrose, Rick Stein’s Christmas, Food Network’s The Big Eat and James Martin's Saturday Morning.