He succeeds Sainsbury’s Master Butcher Julien Pursglove.
Ted Hoefling, BDCI treasurer, said: “Julien made a fantastic contribution as Festival Chairman and BDCI are very grateful for all his hard work. We are delighted to have Chris Aldersley in the role as Festival Chairman this year.
“Fundraising is obviously important to BDCI and the annual Festival Dinner remains the highlight of the year for the UK meat industry.”
This year’s BDCI festival will take place on 2 November at The Brewery, a Grade II listed venue occupying the buildings of Whitbread’s 18th-century beer-making empire in the City of London. As in previous years, BDCI has kept the cost of tickets at £160pp.
‘Long admired’
Aldersley said: “Having been in the meat industry for many years, I have long admired the good work of BDCI and have attended the Festival Dinner many times. It’s always a great event, mixing business with pleasure and meeting up with industry friends and colleagues, old and new.
“I am privileged to accept the role as 2018 Festival Chairman and really look forward to building on the success of previous years, but also exploring some new opportunities to ensure the event stays relevant. This year the dinner is being held at a new exciting venue, with some tweaks to the format, so please support your industry’s essential charity, BDCI, and come along for what is sure to be a fantastic evening.
“In my role as Festival Chairman, I’m keen to push the importance of the charity within our industry – not only in it terms of charitable donations, but what the charity actually means and the good work that is done helping those in need, at times of need. As well as supporting the great work of BDCI, I would like to look at new ways to raise funds and encourage people to get more involved. These will all be announced very soon.”