MORE than 80 guests from the Stroud business community gathered at Swarez Art Gallery for a Taste of Innovation event, hosted by law firm BPE.

The event aimed to celebrate and showcase the district’s entrepreneurialism and innovation, with guests dining out on chilli served from the Little Green Wiggly Machine.

The Machine is a converted 1967 Citroen H van which acts as a street food restaurant by day and converts into a food poverty pop-up at night, giving free food to those in need across the county.

It’s the brainchild of Cotswolds chef Rob Rees, who was on hand to serve the food and to talk about his creation of the charity Wiggly Worm, and its ‘No Child Hungry Gloucestershire’ campaign. This initiative, which is backed by BPE and clients Creed Foodservice, aims to fight food poverty in the county. Representatives from Creed Foodservice were present to explain how the firm supports Wiggly Worm by encouraging staff to volunteer for the charity as well donating surplus food.

Also present was gallery owner and artist Ed Swarez who introduced guests to his experimental Art Meets Chemistry style in the mill-turned-gallery venue.

Senior Partner John Workman said: “Rob and Ed are both hugely successful in very different ways, and it is that diversity of entrepreneurialism in the Stroud district that BPE wants to champion and celebrate.

“Our Taste of Innovation evening was more than just a networking platform for enterprising businesses and individuals. It also enabled us to show how much can be achieved when like-minded organisations collaborate.

“We hope we have encouraged more businesses to engage with No Child Hungry Gloucestershire and help combat food poverty in the county.”