Tata Steel will be taking to the stage at the Material Village Theatre as part of Resource Waste Management (RWM) Expo at NEC Birmingham, 13 – 14 September to champion the steel can, its infinite recyclable nature and the ‘can-venience’ of cooking with canned food.   

For the presentation at 3.15pm on 13 September, Tata Steel’s Nicola Jones and Eleanor Shorland, from the Steel Packaging Recycling team, will be joined by TV chef, Theo Michaels for a live demonstration using canned foods to create showstopping dishes packed with flavour.   

Theo Michaels is currently resident chef for Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch as well as an award-winning author, including for his recent title, ‘Canned’. Theo is also the long-time ambassador for Canned Food UK, the metal packaging industry’s consumer fronting campaign to promote the virtues of tinned food.  

During the demonstration, Theo will be cooking two dishes in real-time – a Goan banana blossom curry and a grilled apricot and Puy lentil salad, both from his recent ‘Canned’ book. He comments: “I love these two recipes because they showcase the very versatile nature of canned foods. That’s seven different types of canned ingredients in just two recipes.  

“Banana blossom is mostly available in the UK in a can and makes an excellent vegan substitute in fish dishes. Plus, with canned foods most of the food preparation is done for you. The can really was the first ready meal!” 

Nicola Jones, Tata Steel – Steel Packaging Recycling manager, adds: “Canned foods continue to be a stalwart in UK households because of their long shelf life – many tins can remain on your shelf for up to three years and in some cases up to five. This helps to dramatically reduce food wastage both in the home and in the manufacturing process. 

“Through our presentation we want to highlight that steel cans are not only infinitely recyclable as a permanently available material, but also dispel a few myths. Not many people realise that cans don’t use preservatives, because the produce is ‘cooked in the can’ locking in nutrients.”   

Following the demonstration, tasters will be available on-stand R-M220 as well as recipe cards to takeaway. Theo will also be on hand to answer any final questions. The wider Tata Steel team will be available throughout the show.  

Tata Steel is inviting participants to send in their canned food cooking questions for Theo ahead of the demonstration using the hashtag #AskTheo and tagging @TataSteePackag or responding to the pinned post on the ‘Packaging @ Tata Steel’ Linkedin page.