FCSI EAME CONFERENCE 2026 KEYNOTE SPEAKER MORE THAN MUSIC
Since the 1960s, Liverpool has been synonymous with its world-famous music scene and Te Beatles’ legacy, but it’s also a melting pot of cuisines, cultures, and food history. Lauren Hurrell speaks with food historian Professor Bryce Evans for a sneak peek into what he will be sharing about the unique, internationally renowned city in his keynote at this year’s EAME conference
Could you share a brief overview of your background? Professor Bryce Evans (BE): I’m Professor of Modern World History at Liverpool Hope University. It is one of the three universities in the city of Liverpool. My specialism is the history of food and I also focus on current policy around food, food poverty, and food security, so all things food. I moved to Liverpool
from Ireland and have been here about a decade now. I love Liverpool. I think it’s a brilliant city in so many ways. I originally started out studying Irish history, but over the years my interests have morphed into the international history of food, which I now teach, write and research. I do quite a lot of food consultancy for the public and
private sector, and I suppose that reflects Liverpool in a way, because Liverpool is a great international gateway.
What do you love most about what you do? BE: I would say having the opportunity to travel the world for research. I love teaching, it’s brilliant to be around young people and to know what’s going on in the world of young people. But for me, it’s getting external funds that enable me to travel the world. I’ve researched the theme of food, broadly defined, everywhere from North America and Latin America, to parts of Europe, to China, to the Caribbean. Tat’s the most fun, because food is such a common thing, it brings us all together. Te different cultures, rituals,
and economic dimensions to the question of food are endlessly fascinating for me.
What key themes will you be discussing in your keynote at the conference? BE: I’m keen to, firstly, give people an introduction to myself and share some pieces of research which I think will be interesting. I’ve got some great anecdotes from some serious research I did around the history of airplane food. Most people hate airline food; it’s something they’d rather forget. But I did the whole history of airline food, focusing on the airline that’s no longer with us, a great American VIP airline, Pan
American, or Pan Am. So, some good anecdotes around the history of airline food, which I presume quite a lot of people will have experienced before coming to the conference, even if they don’t like it. Ten I’d like to dig into
a bit of British and Irish eating traditions and some of my research and policy work today around social eating, which is something I’m very enthusiastic about. Tere are so many international examples of social eating schemes, especially in the Nordic countries, in Scandinavia, which I’m really interested in. I’m excited to talk about a social food revival that we’re having in Britain,
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