Dear SHUFoodies –
We’ve had some new subscribers recently (prompted by winding down the former Jisc email list), which is great!
The time is ripe for a refresh of our Members page. Check out the list below, and please submit information via this form.
Filed under Uncategorized
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
In our last edition of What’s Cooking, we announced the exciting news that we’re joining forces with the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE). Since then, more excitement! On 16 October, NCEFE marked its five year anniversary of research, innovation and knowledge exchange (RIKE) that is tackling the challenges of a sustainable food system (check out the great overview of the event here). Coupled with the event, NCEFE has announced its evolution into the Advanced Food Innovation Centre (AFIC), focused on problem-led, collaborative innovation for food and drink systems and sectors. Stay tuned for more information on how to get involved with AFIC as a co-locator!
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Cluster Updates
Cook and Connect – Festival of Social Sciences (FOSS) 2024
Jordan Beaumont, on behalf of SHUFood, co-organised an event for this year’s FOSS in collaboration with colleagues in the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and the Institute of Sustainable Food over at University of Sheffield. The event centred around cooking classes with a focus on healthy, sustainable and accessible recipes – all using lentils as the base ingredient. The classes were open to members of the general public, with one focussing on SEND students and care leavers. The event brought together the shared interests of the SHUFood sub-clusters – fibre and satiety (SHARe), ways to use surplus food (SWEFS), and bringing participants together to share a meal and talk all things food (CHEFS).
The event was well attended and participants loved exploring all things lentil! Feedback from participants:
Updates from the SHUFood chat
The team working on the NIHR-funded project around the scale and scope of dark kitchens (Jordan Beaumont, Lucie Nield, Claire Wall, Rachel Rundle, Jo Pearce, Simon Bowles, Helen Martin and David Harness) are working hard on writing up the data for publication – their first paper has just been published in NIHR Open Research, with two further manuscripts in the works. Jordan is also working with three recent graduates – Rosie Wyld, Tina Reimann and Andrew Dolphin – to publish their dissertation work around obesity and weight management.
Claire Wall and Jo Pearce are working on a project with Impact on Urban Health and Bremner & Co to explore food provision and consumption in early years settings within Lambeth and Southwark. This is a great continuation of their recent work exploring food provisions and packed lunches in Sheffield, which they hoping to return to soon and finish off the final data analysis and write up.
Thouseena Ajmal is currently working on her PhD, which explores AI-enabled hyperspectral imaging for meat and seafood quality assessment (supervised by Caroline Millman, Helen Martin and Alex Shenfield [DoS]). Thouseena also presented at the recent Institute for Food Science and Technology (IFST) conference, on Is this meat safe to eat? Exploring AI-enhanced hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for meat quality control by color profiling and hazard identification.
Sam Greenstreet has just started as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (having only just completed a MSc in Nutrition with Obesity and Weight Management at Hallam), working alongside Jordan Beaumont (DoS), Rachel Marsden and Peter Schofield. Sam’s research will explore food addiction in older adults, incorporating mixed methods approaches and featuring elements of weight management and non-invasive brain stimulation. Keep your eyes peeled for many exciting updates to come!
Megan Flint has just started the fourth year of her GTA exploring plant-based meat alternatives, supervised by Tony Lynn (DoS), Simon Bowles, and Jenny Paxman. The work has delved into consumer perceptions of these products, exploring drivers and barriers influencing adoption and applying segmentation theory. Meg is in the process of writing up this data, and has an additional paper around sensory evaluation of plant-based meat alternatives currently under review. This study explored consumer acceptability and sensory properties, and how prior exposure/regularity of consumption impacts response to the products. Meg and the team are conducting bench-based analysis to compare the nutritional information on food packaging to the actual composition of the foods.
Jess Limb is currently working with colleagues at NCEFE around smart and sustainable packaging in collaboration with a Yorkshire-based manufacturer. She is also part of a RIPEN-funded project with Caroline Millman and Susie Jones looking at the impact of salt reduction in bread, and recently presented further work (with Susie) at the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) around bakery products going into schools.
Jen Smith Maguire has been pulling together a fantastic book titled Towards an Eliasian Understanding of Food in the 21st Century. Chapter proofs are in, and the book will be released later this year.
Sam McCormick is very close to starting the third year of the PhD exploring the hospital foodscape for immigrant nurses. The work explores how nurses navigate the food environment, using co-production techniques to understand what environments would better serve their needs. Sam has been exploring the social determinants of health, and the team have just received ethical approval (yay!), so can now start to categorise the food environment within the general NHS setting before continuing on to focus on the nursing profession.
Belinda Zakrzewska is pleased to announce the publication of a paper from her dissertation in Organization Studies: “Cultural appreciation and appropriation in the crafting of the new Peruvian cuisine”. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01708406241298393 You can hear Belinda talk about the research in this CHEFS paired paper session from June 2022. (Full details on our past events page.)
PUBLICATIONS
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman, C., Howarth, M., & Dubey, B. (2024). Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of faba bean protein isolate: Structural, functional, and thermal properties. Part 2/2. Ultrasonics sonochemistry, 110. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.107030
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman, C., Howarth, M., & Dubey, B. (2024). Response surface methodology guided approach for optimization of protein isolate from Faba bean. Part 1/2. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 109. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.107012
Beaumont, J., & Sreelekha, V.N. (2024). The Influence of Nutrition Knowledge on the Self-Regulation of Eating. The Student Journal of Service Sector Management Research, 1(3), 37-53. https://studentjournals.shu.ac.uk/index.php/SJSSM/article/view/154
Beaumont, J. (2024). Eating Behaviour: From “Normal” to Disordered Eating”. Nursing Standard. http://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2024.e12354
Hamza, M., Edwards, R.C., Beaumont, J., De Pretto, L., & Torn, A. (2024). Access to Natural Green Spaces and their Associations with Psychological Wellbeing for South Asian People in the UK: A Systematic Literature Review. Social Science & Medicine, 359. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117265
Javed, T., Oluwole-ojo, O., Zhang, H., Akmal, M., Breikin, T., & O’Brien, A. (2024). System Design, Modelling, Energy Analysis, and Industrial Applications of Ohmic Heating Technology. Food and Bioprocess Technology. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-024-03568-w
Javed, T., Oluwole-Ojo, O.N., Howarth, M., Xu, X., Rashvand, M., & Zhang, H. (2024). Application of Advanced Process Control to a Continuous Flow Ohmic Heater: A Case Study with Tomato Basil Sauce. Applied Sciences, 14 (19). http://doi.org/10.3390/app14198740
Nield, L., Martin, H., Wall, C., Pearce, J., Rundle, R., Bowles, S., Harness, D., & Beaumont, J.D. (2024). Consumer knowledge of and engagement with traditional takeaway and dark kitchen food outlets. NIHR Open Research, 4. http://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13735.1
Rashvand, M., Nadimi, M., Paliwal, J., Zhang, H., & Feyissa, A.H. (2024). Effect of Pulsed Electric Field on the Drying Kinetics of Apple Slices during Vacuum-Assisted Microwave Drying: Experimental, Mathematical and Computational Intelligence Approaches. Applied Sciences, 14 (17). http://doi.org/10.3390/app14177861
PRESENTATIONS
Ajmal, T., Shenfield, A., & Heris, M.K. (2024). Exploring AI-enhanced hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for meat quality control by color profiling and hazard identification. Presented at: Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) Autumn Conference, University of Leeds
Beaumont, J., & Nield, L. (2024). “We’re one small piece of the puzzle”: Evaluating the impact of short-term funding for tier two weight management services. Presented at: Yorkshire Obesity Research Alliance (YORA) Conference, Leeds Beckett University
Beaumont, J. (2024). Weight Management in the UK: A tug of war that nobody is winning. Presented at: Responsible Consumption and Sustainable Lives Seminar Series, Sheffield Hallam University
Limb, J., & Jones, S. (2024). Bakery sugar reduction in South Yorkshire Secondary Schools – A KTP Case study. Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) Autumn Conference, University of Leeds
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Next date: Tuesday 10 December 2024, 14:30 to 15:30 Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. Open to all Hallam SHUFood and NCEFE staff and PGR students. Join the Teams meeting here.
Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium (30 November deadline)
The Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium, 10-11 July 2025, University of Oxford, St Cross College, is the inaugural event organised by the Pinot Noir Project – a hub for knowledge exchange bringing researchers from a wide range of disciplines together with wine makers and industry representatives for collaboration, consultation and participation focused on this grape variety. Our first international symposium aims to bring attention to Pinot Noir’s unique place in the world of wine by examining how Pinot Noir’s identity has been constructed over the centuries. We invite researchers to explore not only the origins and evolution of its status, reputation, and mythology, but also to envisage how these aspects of its identity might be reconstructed in new environmental and commercial contexts.
Submission deadline: 30th November 2024
Acceptance notification by: 31st January 2025
Registration opens: 1st February 2025
Early Bird registration deadline: 1st May 2025
Final registration deadline: 1st June 2025
Submissions (papers, work-in-progress papers, practitioner reflections) are welcome, as are contributions from any discipline. All submissions should primarily address the social, cultural or historical aspects of the wine’s production and consumption to enable interdisciplinary discussion and knowledge exchange. Further information including submission guidelines can be found at: https://www.thepinotnoirproject.org/events-2-1.
For any questions or further information, please contact thepinotnoirproject@gmail.com
Rooted in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty – call for contributions
Rooted is a new international magazine (first issue on Policy-making for Agroecology here), featuring frontline experiences and perspectives from farmer leaders, indigenous people, researchers, and advocates, and foregrounding a transformative approach to food systems change. The next issue will be on the link between health and agroecology – please see the call for contributions here.
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-January. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Tuesday 14 January via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X: @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
We are excited to announce that we’re officially joining forces with the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE). We’ll be building on a strong foundation of collaboration (remember our fabulous ‘Sustainable Food and Drink’ event?), and a shared commitment to developing innovative, practical solutions to real world problems, focused on food and drink systems and sectors. Working together offers multi-disciplinary complementarity: as a wider group, we are better equipped to take a problem-led approach to food-focused research, innovation and knowledge exchange.
We’re looking forward to bringing our SHUFood and NCEFE communities together. Three upcoming events to have on your radar:
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE)
Anniversary Invitation
Hello academic colleagues!
We’re celebrating five years of excellence on the 16th October and we’re inviting you to join us.
This event is an opportunity for you to connect with external organisations from within the food sector and find out how you could collaborate and develop your RIKE profile further.
If you’re thinking, “I already work with you!” - we would be thrilled for you to join in the success celebration – sign up here.
If you’re thinking, “my research doesn’t relate to food”, allow us to convince you otherwise!
Why food?
Is my academic expertise relevant?
Most academic disciplines are directly aligned with challenges in the food system. As well as more traditional areas of research and innovation associated with food such as food science and technology, engineering, nutrition, this can be expanded to public health, environmental science and ecology, business, psychology, education, geography and the creative arts…and probably many more.
If you’re someone who is not sure where the fit might be, why not attend and find out more?
Have we convinced you? Good 😊 – register here: Registration Form
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Cluster Updates
Following the success of FOSS 2023, Jordan Beaumont is organising an event for FOSS 2024 on behalf of SHUFood. Working with colleagues at the University of Sheffield, the event will centre around cooking classes with a focus on healthy, sustainable and accessible recipes. The classes will be open to members of the general public, with one focussing on SEND students and care leavers. Further details:
Cook & Connect: Strengthening Communities Through Food
Monday 4th November and Tuesday 5th November
Blend Culinary Foundation Kitchen, Cambridge Street Collective
Led by Healthy Soil, Healthy Food and Healthy People (H3 project) and Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (staff from the University of Sheffield and University of Leeds) and the Sheffield Hallam University Food (SHUFood) Research Clusters.
A free cooking class using delicious, nutritious and affordable ingredients.
Looking for tasty, nutritious, budget-friendly meal ideas? Want to try using more beans and lentils but don’t know where to start? Packed with nutrition and incredibly easy to cook, these foods can transform your meals without breaking the bank.
Come along and learn how to cook a variety of easy, new dishes with simple, cheap and versatile ingredients – let’s cook up some deliciousness together!
Further updates:
August saw the end of the NIHR-funded project exploring “dark kitchens” led by Lucie Nield and Jordan Beaumont, working with Simon Bowles, Rachel Rundle, Helen Martin, Jo Pearce, Claire Wall and David Harness. The team explored consumer understanding of and engagement with dark kitchens, how local authorities identify and regulate these businesses, and how dark kitchens themselves view their role in response to public health, environmental health and planning priorities. The project culminated in a stakeholder event held at the end of August, which was live scribed by Nifty Fox. Initial findings from the consumer work package have recently been submitted for publication, so keep an eye out for more updates!
Jordan and Lucie also presented some of their other work at the Yorkshire Obesity Research Alliance (YORA) Conference in early September. The talk, “We’re one small piece of the puzzle”: Evaluating the impact of short-term funding for tier two weight management services, explores how local authorities use government funding to support weight management in adults.
Two new PhD students have been recruited to work with Dr Tony Lynn, Professor Mayur Ranchordas and Ruth Whiteside and are due to start at the beginning of October. These are match-funded by Aston Villa. One student will be looking at the gut microbiome in footballers in relation to health and performance and modulating it with fermented food products, the other will be investigating sleep hygiene in players and looking at various interventions to try and improve sleep. The projects also include collaboration with gut microbiologists from the University of Leeds. After much delay the team have also recruited a research assistant to work on the SHRIF2 project on the effect of kefir on the gut microbiome.
Dr Jordan Beaumont, Dr Rachel Marsden and Professor Peter Schofield will be welcoming a GTA in October, who will be exploring food addiction and the potential role in weight management. This will involve continuing Jordan’s prior research around non-invasive brain stimulation as a tool to modulate eating behaviour.
Dr Caroline Millman (PI) and Susie Jones (Co-I) have just received notification of £55k funding from the RIPEN Innovation Hub Mobility Award for Jessica Limb – Exploring perceptions and practicalities for salt reduction in bread. The project will start 04 November 2024 for 9 months and will involve industrial partners AB Mauri and NFI.
There have also been several publications from SHUFood members over the summer months, including:
Abiodun-Adeniyi, M.A., Waterhouse, B., & Rundle, R. (2024). Holiday Hunger and Family Stress: the experience of household food insecurity during the school summer holidays. The Student Journal of Service Sector Management Research, 1(3), 15-36. https://studentjournals.shu.ac.uk/index.php/SJSSM/article/view/153
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman C., Howarth, M., & Dubey, B. (2024). Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of faba bean protein isolate: Structural, functional, and thermal properties. Part 1/2, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, DOI:10.2139/ssrn.4846897
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman C., Howarth, M., & Dubey, B. (2024). Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of faba bean protein isolate: Structural, functional, and thermal properties. Part 2/2, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.107030
Beaumont, J.D., & Sreelekha, V.N. (2024). The influence of nutrition knowledge on the self-regulation of eating. The Student Journal of Service Sector Management Research, 1(3), 37-53. https://studentjournals.shu.ac.uk/index.php/SJSSM/article/view/154
Beaumont, J. (2024). Exploring the continuum of eating behaviour, from ‘normal’ to disordered eating. Nursing Standard. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2024.e12354
Gurton, W.H., Gough, L.A., Siegler, J.C., Lynn, A. & Ranchordas, M. (2024). Oral but Not Topical Sodium Bicarbonate Improves Repeated Sprint Performance During Simulated Soccer Match Play Exercise in Collegiate Athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
Hamza, M., Edwards, R.C., Beaumont, J.D., De Pretto, L. and Torn, A. (2024). Access to Natural Green Spaces and their Associations with Psychological Wellbeing for South Asian People in the UK: A Systematic Literature Review. Social Science & Medicine, 117265. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117265
Wall, C. & Pearce, J. (2024). Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13345
Waterhouse, B., Abiodun-Adeniyi, M.A., & Rundle, R. (2024). Families Experiences of Household Food Insecurity during the School Summer Holidays; a qualitative analysis from a behavioural perspective using the COM-B model. The Student Journal of Service Sector Management Research, 1(3), 1-14. https://studentjournals.shu.ac.uk/index.php/SJSSM/article/view/152
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Next date: Monday 07 October 2024, 15:30 to 16:30 Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. Open to all Hallam SHUFood and NCEFE staff and PGR students. Join the Teams meeting here.
International Sociological Association session – call for abstracts (15 October deadline)
The ISA is hosting its 5th ISA Forum, July 6-11, 2025 in Morocco. The conference theme is ‘Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene’, within which John Lever is organising the session: ‘Towards a Just Transition: Historical Food Related Processes in the Anthropocene’. Session abstract here and below. Full abstract submission information here.
The climate crisis is not simply about changing the climate, it is about how we see ourselves in relation to a wide range of interconnected issues, many of which revolve around food. Recognition of the interplay between historical and contemporary food related processes is key to understanding these issues and developing fair and just responses. While the process of civilisation identified by Elias is largely unplanned, civilising offensives are organised campaigns that seek to educate people and bring about the changes in behaviour required to develop appropriate solutions. Nevertheless, some of these campaigns can be exclusionary, as in attempts to civilise certain groups in relation to consumption practices that make them more like ‘us.’ In line with changes in what Elias (1991) referred to as the We-I balance, this session welcomes papers that explore the interplay between unintended processes and planned food related campaigns. How can we, as Smith Maguire (2024) asks, achieve a better balance between I and we-identities that leads to more emotionally nourishing accounts of ‘we-ness.’ We welcome papers that fuse insights from Elias’s work with other theoretical traditions. Session Organizer: John LEVER, SES, Business School, United Kingdom; Manchester Metropolitan University John.lever@mmu.ac.uk
Spain Gastronomy Conference – call for abstracts (15 October deadline)
The theme of the Spain Gastronomy Conference is “Reframing Gastronomy.” The event, organized by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain in collaboration with the CEU University Institute of Food and Society, will take place on 21-23 November 2024, in the facilities of the CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 October. Full details here: https://spaingastronomyconference.com/conference-organization/
Special Issue Call for Abstracts: Meat Narratives (30 September deadline)
Special issue of the journal Storyworlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies, interested in narratives created and constructed around meat, across disciplines and theories. The editor of “Meat Narratives” is a meat reductionist but this does not affect this special issue: positive accounts of meat are welcomed. The final aim is to obtain a wide range of perspectives on meat narratives and the roles that meat plays in them. The working language is English. Please send queries or an abstract of up to 300 words plus a short biography to Professor Francesco Buscemi at francesco.buscemi@unicatt.it.
Deadline for abstracts: September 30, 2024
Notification of acceptance: October 31, 2024
Submission of articles (6.000-8.000 words): April 30, 2025
Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium (30 November deadline)
The Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium, 10-11 July 2025, University of Oxford, St Cross College, is the inaugural event organised by the Pinot Noir Project – a hub for knowledge exchange bringing researchers from a wide range of disciplines together with wine makers and industry representatives for collaboration, consultation and participation focused on this grape variety. Our first international symposium aims to bring attention to Pinot Noir’s unique place in the world of wine by examining how Pinot Noir’s identity has been constructed over the centuries. We invite researchers to explore not only the origins and evolution of its status, reputation, and mythology, but also to envisage how these aspects of its identity might be reconstructed in new environmental and commercial contexts.
Submissions (papers, work-in-progress papers, practitioner reflections) are welcome, as are contributions from any discipline. All submissions should primarily address the social, cultural or historical aspects of the wine’s production and consumption to enable interdisciplinary discussion and knowledge exchange. Further information including submission guidelines can be found at: https://www.thepinotnoirproject.org/events-2-1. For any questions or further information, please contact thepinotnoirproject@gmail.com
Submission deadline: 30th November 2024
Acceptance notification by: 31st January 2025
Registration opens: 1st February 2025
Early Bird registration deadline: 1st May 2025
Final registration deadline: 1st June 2025
Publication opportunity for food, food history, cookery, cookery books.
Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC) is an international journal on food, food history, cookery and cookery books published three times per year by Equinox. It accepts book reviews (and is actively looking for book reviewers), essays, commentary pieces, and research articles. They also have a short news section at the start of each printed issue (e.g., to publicize an event or conference). To discuss a potential contribution, please contact the editor, Sam Bilton. Submissions should be made through the submissions portal on the journal website where you can find author guidelines https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ppc/about/submissions or email the editor if you have questions at sjfbilton@gmail.com.
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-November. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Tuesday 12 November via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X: @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
A big thank you to Jordan Beaumont, co-lead of our SHARe sub-cluster, who coordinates and hosts the SHUFood chats: a series of informal, online meetings for sharing research stories, updates, and queries. We marked the start of July with our final SHUFood chat for 2023/24, and it was a bumper hybrid meeting with new faces and (as always) lots of exciting updates (see below). Looking back over 23/24, Jordan summed up a few of the many highlights for the SHUFood community, including funding applications for more than £7.5 million, publication of 18 articles, recruitment of hundreds of participants to our ongoing research, and welcoming on board of many RAs, GTA/PhDs and new collaborators. Well done, all! The SHUFood Research Chats will return in September, so keep an eye out for details.
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Cluster Updates
Anna Sorsby and Caroline Millman have recently recruited a research assistant – Nell Greenough – to work on their RIPEN-funded project looking at satiating effect of chickpea flour (participants will be provided with crackers containing chickpea flour) and the glycaemic response and satiety. They are looking to start recruiting participants soon, in the meantime they are testing Sussex Ingestion Pattern Monitor (SIPM) software, making chickpea flour crackers, and getting all the paperwork in order.
Anna also has MSc students exploring the influence of labelling on acceptability of chocolate chip muffins made with chickpea flour (whether the same muffin labelled differently affects acceptability and willingness to pay) and Caroline is working on another RIPEN bid around salt reduction in bread, which will include elements of palatability, functionality and an E-Tongue to explore chemical interactions.
Ruth Whiteside and Susie Jones are working on a project exploring student experience, following on from the Food and Nutrition Consultancy Challenge module. They are currently getting feedback from AG Barr, who worked with students on the module, and potentially including Insights reports. They’ve received very positive feedback from students who feel they get a lot out of working with external clients.
Claire Wall and Jo Pearce have had their third paper from the fieldwork-funded work around food in school nurseries accepted for publication in Journal of Human Nutritics and Dietetics: “Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study” (see publication list, below). They are also in the middle of fieldwork for a follow-on study exploring packed lunches and lunches provided in nurseries. In addition, along with Jordan Beaumont, they have submitted a stage 1 application to NIHR to evaluate the National Milk Scheme, and will find out in September if moving onto stage 2.
Jenny Paxman, Meg Flint, Simon Bowles and Tony Lynn are working on bench analysis comparing composition of meat-based products and plant-based meat alternative comparators. Meg is still working hard on the PhD, exploring sensory analysis of meat-based products and plant-based meat alternatives (with Jenny, Simon and Tony) and will soon be submitting a revised manuscript to Food Quality and Preference. In the background, she is working on the first phase of research (survey of consumer perceptions and driver/barriers to engaging with plant-based meat alternatives).
Jenny and Jordan have recently welcomed a research assistant – Rosie Simpson – to the team, who will be working on a systematic review around food addiction. They’ve also recently interviewed for a GTA post; lots of amazing candidates and super-duper presentations with the successful applicant joining in October!
Jordan Beaumont has recently had an article published (along with Lucie Nield and Elysa Ioannou) in Frontiers in Public Health on the evaluation of short-term funding in tier two weight management services in Yorkshire and the Humber, and a second manuscript accepted for publication in Nursing Standard around disordered eating. Jordan is also working on a number of studies including studies exploring the experience of living with obesity in minority group and the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate eating behaviour.
Steph Beecroft is right at the start of the PhD, looking at weight management approaches (e.g., whole systems approach, compassionate approach) used by different local authorities across the region. She has just received ethics for part one of the PhD (mapping services across Yorkshire and the Humber). This will be followed by a realist review, and then a series of case studies and workshops to further explore approaches and synthesise findings.
Thouseena Ajmal has also just started their GTA in October, working with Alex Shenfield, Caroline Millman and Helen Martin, to explore “AI-Enabled Hyperspectral Imaging for Quality and Microbiological Safety of Salmon Fish.” This work aims to develop an in line- AI-based hyperspectral imaging technology to evaluate the quality and microbiological content of perishable salmon in real-time without destructive testing. The goal is to develop AI algorithm for accurately identifying and quantifying microbiological and quality components of salmon, addressing a critical gap in the fish supply chain by ensuring the technology’s adaptability and effectiveness across diverse environmental and operational conditions. Thouseena is also working as an AKT associate under Alex in partnership with Faraday Scientific Limited, exploring AI-HSI applications in the meat industry, particularly focusing on colour profiling of steak and addressing physical contamination.
Jennifer Smith Maguire presented research on natural wine makers and intermediaries at the 2024 Consumer Culture Theory Conference at University of San Diego (program here). Jen and co-editors John Lever and Adrianna Kapek-Goodridge recently completed the collection Towards an Eliasian Understanding of Food in the 21st Century: Established Foundations and New Directions. The book is due out in October (publisher page here) and includes a chapter from Jen on natural wine (see info in the publications list below). Jen has also recently been appointed to the International Advisory Board for the Spain Gastronomy Conference, organized by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain in collaboration with the CEU University Institute of Food and Society. See information for the conference’s call for abstracts, below!
PUBLICATIONS
Beaumont, J., Ioannou, E., Harish, K., Elewendu, N., Corrigan, N., & Nield, L. (2024). “We’re one small piece of the puzzle”: Evaluating the impact of short-term funding for tier two weight management services. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1381079
Beaumont, J. (In Press). Eating behaviour: from “normal” to disordered eating. Nursing Standard.
Smith Maguire, J. (In press). Vina aperta and the quest for interconnectedness: Wine and an Eliasian sociology of food. In J. Lever, J. Smith Maguire, A. Kapek-Goodridge (Eds). Towards an Eliasian Understanding of Food in the 21st Century: Established Foundations and New Directions. Palgrave.
Wall, CJ & Pearce, J. (2024). Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Human Nutritics and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13345
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. The next SHUFood chat will be in September (date TBC). Open to all Hallam staff and PGR students who are members of the SHUFood clusters. Join the Teams meeting here.
Spain Gastronomy Conference, 21-23 November
The theme of the Spain Gastronomy Conference is “Reframing Gastronomy.” The event, organized by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain in collaboration with the CEU University Institute of Food and Society, will take place on 21-23 November 2024, in the facilities of the CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. The deadline for submission of proposals for conference tracks is 20 July; deadline for abstract submissions is 20 September. Full details here: https://spaingastronomyconference.com/conference-organization/
Publication opportunity for food, food history, cookery, cookery books.
Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC) is an international journal on food, food history, cookery and cookery books published three times per year by Equinox. It accepts book reviews (and is actively looking for book reviewers), essays, commentary pieces (and research articles). They also have a short news section at the start of each printed issue; if you’re looking to publicize an event or conference etc. please contact Sam Bilton, the editor.
More info from the journal: PPC welcomes original submissions on all aspects of culinary history, cookery/cookbooks and food cultures and is international in scope. The readership (and authorship) includes scholars, professionals in the food industry as well as serious general readers with a keen interest in food. Regular are approximately 5000-6000 words (although longer and shorter articles will also be considered) and will be peer-reviewed where appropriate. PPC also includes material such as photo-essays, field reports, food memoirs, and bibliographic, lexiographic or other documentary notes which will be published on an invited basis after discussion with the editor, Sam Bilton. Submissions should be made through the submissions portal on the journal website where you can find author guidelines https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ppc/about/submissions or email the editor if you have questions at sjfbilton@gmail.com.
Research Participants Needed!
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-September. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Monday 16 September via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X: @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
The highlight of the past two months was surely 24th April, with an all-day bonanza showcasing Sheffield Hallam food-focused students and staff. This included the ‘Food Z’ All Student Conference (featuring speakers Selina Treuherz from ShefFood, Nicola Davies from New Food Innovation, and Jessica Martin from Inspired Global Cuisine), a farewell event for our final year Food and Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Health/Nutrition, Diet and Wellbeing students, and events with professional bodies IFST and Nutrition Society (including a talk from CEO Mark Hollingsworth). We wrapped up the day with an external facing ‘SHUFood Discourse‘ event that put three fabulous speakers into multi-disciplinary conversation about their food research: Graham Finlayson (University of Leeds) on the topic of sugar replacement and appetite, Megan Blake (University of Sheffield) on the ontological status of surplus food, and Benedetta Cappellini (Durham University) on foodcare and mothers’ food practices. Huge thanks to Sheffield Business School (and the ‘responsible consumption and sustainable lives’ theme) for financial support for the event. You can read all about the day in this blog post, written by two of our marvellous ‘Food and Nutrition Student Champions,’ Iman Batrisyia and Macy Wong, both 3rd Year BSc Food and Nutrition students. We’re so proud of, and grateful to our F&N Student Champions, who have been vital partners in all of our events this year!
April also saw the launch of online SHUFood chats, a recurrent series of drop-in meetings aimed at Sheffield-based SHUFood members. Organised and hosted by Jordan Beaumont, the meetings are informal opportunities to come together, share our ongoing research, discuss successes and challenges, troubleshoot and sense check ideas, explore collaboration…and chat about anything to do with research! Details about the next chat on 3rd June can be found below (in the ‘Resources and Calls for Papers’ section). Huge thanks to Jordan for keeping this F&N tradition alive, and for capturing all the amazing updates for this newsletter.
Lastly: Gareth Roberts, one of our intrepid food-focused GTA PhD students here at Hallam, has recently updated on his PhD journey: check out his blog post here. This latest instalment spans the relativity of time, exciting recent highlights in Sheffield’s sustainable food scene from Gareth’s unique vantage point, and the ongoing development of his PhD research including (as is so often the case) embracing the serendipity of finding your research focus.
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Updates
Caroline Westwood was recently invited to speak at the Welsh Annual Conference for the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO) which is the trade body and ‘voice of agricultural show industry’. The attendees were show organisers, show managers, operations managers representing all sizes of shows across Wales. This annual event highlights best practice and addresses challenges within the sector with all things related to agricultural events across Wales. Caroline spoke about her research which focuses on the experience of attendees at these events, the importance and value they place on attendance and how these events have been a vital platform, connecting the non-farming community and general public with food and farming. Research suggests these are the key elements of these events the attendees really value, to understand where food comes from and learn more about the agricultural industry in the UK. Caroline continues to work with various rural events across the UK to conduct research at their events, investigating all aspects of these events.
In April the Food and Nutrition subject group, led by Jenny Paxman, held a fantastic foodie development day – packed with exciting events including the Food and Nutrition All Student Conference, PSRB events, SHUFood Annual Discourse and networking opportunities – bringing together students, academics and industry experts. Check out the event blog post written by our fantastic Food and Nutrition Student Champions, Macy Wong and Iman Batrisyia.
There are lots of exciting collaborative projects on the go, involving colleagues from across and SHU, SHUFood and beyond!
A NIHR-funded project exploring the scope and scale of dark kitchens, led by Jordan Beaumont and Lucie Nield, working with Helen Martin, Simon Bowles, Jo Pearce, Claire Wall, Rachel Rundle and David Harness, is in full swing. Currently interviewing dark kitchen owners and managers (led by Helen and David), which is proving interesting and exciting, with a few trips down a rabbit hole… They have recently completed data collection for an online survey around consumer perceptions of dark kitchens and are now looking to run focus groups to further explore perceptions (led by Jordan and Lucie). Also running an online survey (led by Jo and Rachel) and follow-up interviews (led by Claire and Simon) with planning, environmental health and public health teams within local authorities across Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West. Lots of really interesting data being collected!
Caroline Millman is currently deep into a sabbatical and focussing on getting research done, amongst trying (despite being thwarted at every turn) to get the RIPEN-funded project looking at chickpea flour and impact on satiety and glucose response up and running – Anna Sorsby is doing an amazing job at keeping things on track – currently recruiting a casual research associate to support the work. Also working on a lot of cheese with the Natures Richness Group and FermIQ and sauces for Premier, not to mention trying to get things tidied and sorted for the apprenticeship research work.
Helen, along with a colleague at Edge Hill, just resubmitted a paper on food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) to Public Health Nutrition. Plans are also in motion for a project on the back of January’s BTE Red Day – working with Antonio Feteira, Hywel Jones, Dean Maragh, Emily Moorlock and Christine O’Leary – focussing on reducing excess food and electronic waste; they’re looking to organise an event in July to bring together external stakeholders, using their expertise and knowledge on the ground, to help with idea generation in preparation for bid funding.
Jordan, David, Pallavi Singh, Ruth Whiteside, Amanze Ejiogu, Hessam Jahangiri, and Freselam Kassa are working on a project around surplus food/food waste, which also came out of the BTE Red Day in January.
Megan Flint is in the midst of revising a paper for phase two of the PhD, focussing on sensory analysis of meat-based products and plant-based meat alternatives (with Jenny Paxman, Simon Bowles and Tony Lynn), looking to target Food Quality and Preference and hoping to submit soon. Megan is also continuing analysis on phase one of the PhD, which explores consumer perceptions and drivers/barriers of meat and plant-based meat alternatives using different segmentation theories to explore whether different population groups experience different drivers/barriers to engagement with these products. On to the results, which is involving lots of SPSS.
Jenny is enjoying reading Meg’s paper while trying to decide what samples to send for bench-based analysis of plant-based burger products (with Meg, Simon and Tony) and planning next year’s dissertation allocation. Still awaiting outcome of a very exciting Horizon bid with lots of EU collaborators, and chatting with colleagues at Cambridge Street Collective – hoping to don a hard hat to visit the team and explore potential future collaborations. Exploring a ESRC/FOSS event with SHUFood cluster leads (Jen Smith Maguire, Jordan and Pallavi), bringing on board lots of exciting partners… more detail coming soon!
Jo Pearce and Claire Wall have launched into their latest work looking at packed lunches in early year settings. Currently going out to schools to record food consumption, which is proving an intensive data collection period, going into schools every day. The final paper from their prior study, which estimates greenhouse gas emissions from meal provisions in early years settings using the Food Print add on for Nutritics, has been provisionally accepted in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful with a recent NIHR grant application exploring food provision in special schools. Jo is also revisiting a paper with a former colleague at Nottingham, which explore maternal and infant (6-12 months) dietary intake. With a particular focus on iodine, baby-led weaning and consumption during the complementary feeding period, the paper will potentially explore whether mother’s micronutrient intake predicts the infant’s micronutrient intake.
Jordan, Lucie and Elysa Ioannou (along with two masters students and an external collaborator) have had a paper accepted by Frontiers in Public Health on the evaluation of short-term funding in tier two weight management services in Yorkshire and the Humber. Jordan has a further two further manuscripts under review, one on disordered eating and the other around access/use of natural green space and impact on psychological wellbeing in South Asian populations.
A study looking at the effects of combined transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and inhibitory training on eating behaviour and food consumption in those with mild-to-moderate binge eating behaviour, which is a continuation of Jordan’s PhD research and makes good use of internal research funding. The project involves external collaborators with some exciting future plans for this work, including playing with GIANT datasets…
Jordan, Lucie and a range of collaborators are taking a “deep dive” into the lived experience of obesity of minoritised groups. Funded by the Hallam Fund, this project looks to recruit up to 20 individuals with lived experience of obesity who are from ethnic, gender or sexual minority groups to complete a semi-structured interview and focus groups.
Jordan, Lucie and Pallavi are looking to validate the Nutrition Literacy (NLIT) questionnaire in an adolescent population; data collection is almost complete (just waiting for the final participants to complete their second questionnaire), and soon onto analysis.
Jenny and Jordan are working on a plethora of studies around food addiction – currently recruiting participants for a survey exploring perceptions of food addiction (feel free to complete: https://shusls.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eKClPRb4PiJXejc), recruited an intern to conduct a systematic review, and have shortlisted GTA candidates (interviews at the end of the month).
Hayley Grinter, Pallavi and Rachel Marsden are working on a pilot study exploring behaviours around food waste of families with children who are neurodiverse – considering priorities, thoughts and attitudes around food waste. The study will involve interviewing parents or carers from 10 households. Recruitment is starting tomorrow (keep an eye out and please share!) with potential next steps being explored.
PUBLICATIONS
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman, C., Howarth, M., & Dubey, B. (2024). Structural, thermal, and physicochemical properties of ultrasound-assisted extraction of faba bean protein isolate (FPI). Journal of Food Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2024.112082
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. The next SHUFood chat will be Monday, 03 June, 16:00 to 17:00. Open to all Hallam staff and PGR students who are members of the SHUFood clusters. Join the Teams meeting here.
Prof. Dianne Dean, Dr Pallavi Singh and Dr Scott Jones are editing a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management, on ‘Ignored or Invisible: Challenges to recruiting and researching members of marginalised communities’ – if you have any work with marginalised communities, consider submitting! Deadline is 29 July 2024. The journal’s call for papers has more information here: https://www.jmmnews.com/marginalised-communities/
Calls for papers for upcoming special issues in Appetite:
More info: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/appetite/about/call-for-papers
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-July. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Monday 15 July via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X: @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
The 24th of April marked an extraordinary day for HallamFood, with a plethora of enriching events and extra-curricular development activities co-designed by students and academics. This was a testament to collaboration, innovation and a shared passion for all things related to food and nutrition!
We kickstarted the morning with the “Food Z” All Student Conference 2024. This year, the conference explored topics essential to Gen Z and was delivered by 3 fabulous speakers. Selina Treuherz from ShefFood addressed on Fairer, Healthier, Greener: Developing Local Food Policy in Sheffield. Nicola Davies from New Food Innovation talked about Plant-based Food Innovation. Jessica Martin from Inspired Global Cuisine addressed on Food Access in the Cost of Living Crisis. Their invaluable insights truly shed light on pressing societal challenges and discussions on potential solutions, inspiring us to make a positive impact. During the short coffee break, we sampled delicious entries from the Baking Competition hosted by the Food and Nutrition Society (FANs).
Lead Organiser: Jenny Paxman, Food and Nutrition Subject Group Leader
Following up next was our Level 6 Farewell Event for Food and Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Health/Nutrition, Diet and Wellbeing students. Together, they gathered to reflect on their incredible academic journey, celebrate their achievements and forge lasting connections with each other. There was also an informal prize giving among students. A huge congratulations to those who were nominated!
We also had professional bodies IFST and NS membership events. The IFST event focused on the food industry competencies, including the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for a career in the food industry. For the Nutrition Society event, we are proud to have CEO Mark Hollingsworth presenting leadership and visions throughout nutrition, building sustainable networks as well as fostering member engagement.
Finally, was the highly anticipated Annual Discourse and Networking Event organised by SHUFood, an esteemed alliance comprising CHEFS, SHARe, and SWEFS. This premier gathering served as a dynamic platform, bringing together passionate individuals from diverse food-related backgrounds to engage in thought-provoking discussions and forge valuable connections.
The event featured captivating presentations from renowned experts in the field. Professor Graham Finlayson from the University of Leeds shed light on the intricate relationship between sweeteners, sugar replacements, and appetite. Dr. Megan Blake from the University of Sheffield explored the multifaceted nature of surplus food, while Professor Benedetta Cappellini from Durham University offered insightful reflections on intensive feeding practices and their implications across different contexts.
Beyond the stimulating discourses, the Networking Event provided attendees with ample opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and explore potential collaborations within the vibrant food research community. This gathering solidified SHUFood’s commitment to fostering knowledge-sharing, promoting professional growth, and advancing the food industry through a more conscious and responsible approach.
Iman Batrisyia: BSc Food and Nutrition (3rd Year)
Macy Wong: BSc Food and Nutrition (3rd Year)
Filed under Uncategorized
A year and a week. This is how much time has passed since I last wrote a blog post. Ouch.
When I first realised this, I was shocked and disappointed with myself. I had become that person who set out to do something, but had not achieved it. For me, this is a situation that is familiar territory. Why is this? Well, mostly because as a rule, I set out to achieve the impossible on an almost daily basis. I like to say yes to everything, to take risks, push boundaries, and I am certainly not afraid to embrace failure. Therefore, feeling as I did about this blog was an inevitability. And yet, here I am again, typey typey writey writey, on the keyboard. It’s good to be back, as some say. When will I see you again, as others say too.
My aim? To look back over this time elapsed, and bring both myself, and anyone who is interested up to date, in a manner of speaking.
As of today, Tuesday 16th April 2024*, there are 224 weeks and 1 day remaining until the official end date of my PhD studentship, which is Thursday 3rd August 2028. I was hoping to embed a fancy countdown timer into the page, but it was taking too long to find out how to do it (now that is ironic), so you will just have to take my word for this complex mathematical time-space calculation. (Found a countdown timer) 🙂
Given that 53 weeks has passed since I last wrote a blog post I can make some sort of relative judgement as to the qualities of how much time I have left – just over 4 times. 4.307 to be precise. However, I’ll be honest – that doesn’t have the desired impact on my mental state. I’m looking for something much more pressing, something tangible I can get my head around. So I’ll go with the weeks remaining countdown.
Time management (or the lack of it) has been a recurring theme over the past year. I’ve tried several different weekly work patterns – 3-6pm Mon-Wed, half day Tue & Wed, all day Thu… – all of which start out with the best intentions but then things happen to disrupt and derail. I’ve also tried, with some degree of success, joining ‘micro’ writing retreats on City campus. They work for sure, providing a fleeting glimpse of the ideal state of focused, distraction free time to write. It does, however, remind me of trying to home school my wonderful children during the pandemic, which works absolutely fine until you have to do something else instead, at which point the children do exactly the same, different, thing. I’m a mature adult for gawds sake – why do I need (and willingly consent to) another mature adult standing at the front of the room to ‘get me in the zone’. Pffft. How did it come to this??
* the date I started writing this blog post BTW.
Well, one of the reasons it has come to this, is that whilst I’m studying part time, I continue to also work for a living at Regather, which is the co-operative enterprise I set up in 2010. The past 12 months have been super busy for Regather, we have been working at the heart of a city and region wide food system sustainability movement. Here are the highlights:
The year has not been without it’s challenges though. The slow but steady post-Covid decline in customer numbers, accelerated by price and wage inflation and cost-of-living pressures has taken it’s toll. Whilst the Regather Box scheme itself continues to thrive and remain profitable, this is not always enough to sustain the substantial (and still growing) programme of social purpose activities Regather undertakes across Sheffield. Therefore Regather has had to become more reliant on grant funding to resource these activities. Thankfully we have been successful in attracting funding, for example, from the Co-operative Foundation for our Eat Trees Sheffield project, and from the University of Sheffield for our Urban Agricultural Task Force, which is part of the SYSC.
The other huge challenge has been a period of profound uncertainty around our main premises, the Regather Works, in Sharrow. We’ve had to deal with negotiating a mid lease rent review, the very real possibility of breaking our long lease, looking for and not finding suitable premises for relocation, our owners announcing their intention to sell the property and a last minute dash to submit a major grant funding application to bring the property into community ownership. It’s been hugely stressful and time consuming, and I have had a central role in steering a course through it all. A silver lining has been the overwhelmingly positive response to a community survey we did, with over 1000 responses in 48 hours, more than half of which were statements of profound support and appreciation from the community. We are now awaiting the outcome of the Community Ownership Fund application, and making plans for a membership drive and community share offer / crowdfunding campaign.
Another dominant theme throughout the year is real life, being, well, just way too real. I’ll not go into all the details. Those involved – you know who you are, and you know how the year happened. The headlines? That’s easy – parenting, weather, strikes, therapy, illness, accidents, disease and death. All unavoidable features of life, mostly outside of ones control. That’s just how it is. However, the consensus within the Roberts household is that in the case of 2023 the timing could have been definitely been more kind. Still, we rolled with the punches, and came out the other side more humble and stronger.
That said – it has made progress with the PhD studies really very challenging at times.
So what progress have I made in the past year? Here’s a bullet point summary, in no particular order…
Filed under PhD Blog
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
We’re delighted to announce something new for Hallam-based SHUFood members: SHUFood Research Chats! These monthly online meetings offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… They have evolved from the Food and Nutrition subject group’s long and happy history of research chats, and we’re looking forward to welcoming a wider SHUFood group! You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. The first SHUFood chat will be on Wednesday 10 April (15:30 to 16:30) via MS Teams. If you’re interested, please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) for more information and a calendar invite.
We’re busily preparing for 24 April, when we’ll be holding our SHUFood Annual Discourse event (2-5pm on campus). We’re excited to be hosting three fabulous speakers who reflect our three SHUFood themes: Professor Graham Finlayson (University of Leeds) will be talking about sugar replacement and appetite, Dr Megan Blake (University of Sheffield) will be talking about the ontological status of surplus food, and Professor Benedetta Cappellini (Durham University) will be talking about foodcare and mothers’ food practices. Full details to come on the SHUFood Events page. We’re also inviting all SHUFood researchers from any career stage to share existing research posters as part of the event—see details below in the ‘Resources and Calls for Papers’ section.
Finally, some exciting local news: Sheffield has been awarded the Silver Sustainable Food Places award! We’re very proud to be a named organisation on the application, and delighted that so many SHUFood and Sheffield Hallam colleagues are actively contributing to making Sheffield a more sustainable food place.
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Cluster Updates
Jenny Paxman (RNutr Food) has been been awarded a prestigious Association for Nutrition (AfN) Fellowship, joining a limited number of leading Registered Nutritionists to have been conferred the title. AfN fellows are recognised for their high standards of professional leadership and significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of nutrition regulation, practice, research or education at a national or international level. Applications for fellowship are rigorously a peer reviewed and must be supported by both Committee and Council. Jenny is Subject Group Leader for Food and Nutrition, a core member of the SHUFood leadership team, abnd SHUFood SHARe researcher. We’re super proud of her!
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Jenny Paxman recently participated in a Nutrition Society Roundtable: Differentiating fungi-derived proteins – is there a role for a fungal protein category within food based dietary guidelines (FBDG) and how is this best communicated? This member-led meeting kicked off with presentations from experts in the field. Dr Emma Derbyshire from Nutritional Insight explored ‘Fungi vs plants: taxonomy, nutritional value, role in the diet and representation in food-based dietary guidelines around the world’ highlighting the different approaches taken globally. Prof. Benjamin Wall (University of Exeter) went on to share some of the trials evidence exploring effects on muscle anabolism, cardio metabolic health and the microbiome. The final presentation prior to discussion was from Prof. Paul Thomas (University of Stirling) who presented insights into the sustainability credentials of fungi-derived proteins. The live-streamed presentations and subsequent debate sought to answer seven key questions and lively discussion followed. Look out for the published summary paper in due course.
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Lucie Nield, Jordan Beaumont, Rachel Rundle, Simon Bowles, Helen Martin, Claire Wall, Jo Pearce and David Harness have received a NIHR Application Development Award to run a study exploring the scale and scope of dark kitchens (food outlets with no customer-facing storefront who sell food exclusively through online platforms for delivery only) across the north of England. The project will work with consumers, local authorities and dark kitchen businesses to explore perceptions of “dark kitchens” and current approaches to identifying and regulating these businesses.
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Dr Jordan Beaumont was invited to give a guest lecture to psychology students and academics at Christ University (India). The lecture – Eating Behaviour: From “Normal” to Disordered Eating – provided an overview of Jordan’s research, and served as an opportunity to overview some of the collaborative work between Sheffield Hallam and Christ University.
Jennifer Smith Maguire will be participating in the ‘Workshop on Leisure & Consumption of Economic Elites’ in late March: a fully funded, closed workshop of 13 invited papers taking place at the University of Amsterdam. Jen’s workshop contribution examines the role of elite cultural intermediaries in shaping elite taste preferences and practices, and their utility as an empirical entry point for studying elite consumption dispositions. The working paper analyses media representations of biodynamic and natural wine over a twenty-year timespan, highlighting how these forms of ‘weird wine’ become conventional yet retain their insecure status as objects of legitimate, discerning consumption. Jen’s also part of a special session on ‘Consumer Culture Insights into Brands and their Heritage’ at the CCT 2024 conference, where she’ll be presenting a paper examining natural wines and the aesthetics of provenance.
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Publications:
Flint, M., Leroy, F., Bowles, S., Lynn, A. & Paxman, J. (2024). The acceptability and sensory attributes of plant-based burger products under open and closed label conditions [abstract only]. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 82 (OCE5), E278-E278. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0029665123003774
Fowler-Davis, S., Benkowitz, C., Nield, L. & Dayson, C. (2024). Green Spaces and the Impact on Cognitive Frailty; a scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 11:1278542. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1278542
Hawkins, A., & Rundle, R. (2024). School Food Hero and the Battle of the Food Foe: a story of public health policy, power imbalance and potential. Social Science and Medicine, 342. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116520
Lynn, A., Shaw, C., Sorsby, A., Ashworth, P., Hanif, F., Williams, C., & Ranchordas, M. (2024). Caffeine gum improves 5 km running performance in recreational runners completing parkrun events. European Journal of Nutrition. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-024-03349-3
Nield, L. (2024). “I Prefer Eating Less Than Eating Healthy”: Drivers of Food Choice in a Sample of Muslim Adolescents. Adolescents, 4 (1), 41-61. https://doi.org/10.3390/adolescents4010004
Nield, L., Thelwell, M., Chan, A., Choppin, S. & Marshall, S. (2024). Patient perceptions of three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging technology and traditional methods used to assess anthropometry. Obesity Pillars, 100100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obpill.2024.100100
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) for more information and a calendar invite. The next SHUFood chat will be Wednesday 10 April (15:30 to 16:30).
Food Addiction Research: Participants Needed!
We’re looking to understand how people feel about ‘food addiction.’ The term ‘food addiction’ is widely used in popular culture including on social media. We would like to better understand how different people perceive ‘food addiction’ (no matter what viewpoint they have). As much of the current research under-represents certain groups or communities, we would like to hear from any adult (over 18 years), irrespective of demographic characteristics or how you identify. We believe that having a clear understanding about how people feel about ‘food addiction’ (no matter what viewpoint they have), will help improve future research in this area that could have an impact on weight management strategies and services. Please complete the very short (10-15 min) survey via: https://lnkd.in/eKamgJCc Please share amongst your networks – we hope to reach as many people as possible and represent as diverse a range of individuals as we can.
Have you presented a SHUFood-relevant academic poster recently? Share it again!
All SHUFood researchers from any career stage are invited to share an existing research poster as part of the SHUFood Annual Discourse research showcase (24 April). Please send e-posters to j.r.paxman@shu.ac.uk or, if you have a physical copy of your poster, please email so we can arrange to collect this from you in the week before the event. We are trying to avoid waste by printing twice. We are interested in:
We aim to showcase as many posters as possible but can’t guarantee we can share them all.
Identities and Diversity Research Cluster: Seminar Series call – extended deadline (31 March)
We are pleased to share a call for papers for a new online seminar series of the Identities & Diversity cluster of the Drinking Studies Network, which will start mid-2024. The cluster focuses on alcohol’s relationship to the formation, performance, representation and regulation of different identities in historical, contemporary and cross-cultural settings. If you are interested in presenting in the seminar series, please email Samantha Wilkinson Samantha.wilkinson@mmu.ac.uk and Deborah Toner dt151@le.ac.uk by 31 March with your name and affiliation, presentation title, and a brief summary of your presentation (up to 200 words). The aim is to run an online seminar every three months, with two or three presenters in each panel, commencing in May/June 2024. We envisage the seminars running for 60 to 90 minutes: 20 minutes presentation time for each presenter, and 10 minutes Q&A for each presenter – though this is very flexible, and we welcome suggestions for alternative format from presenters. Please specify in your submission if you are proposing a different format. You can find out more about the cluster here: Identities and Diversity – Drinking Studies Network (wordpress.com).
Public House 2030: Will pubs still be here at the end of the decade? (register by 19 April)
‘Public House 2030’ is a one-day workshop aimed at examining the future of UK pubs. Hosted by Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University Newcastle in collaboration with the Beeronomics Society, and supported by Campaign for Pubs, the event will bring together people from the sector to discuss the changes affecting pubs, the different business models in the industry, and the impact of their decline of local economies and communities. Chaired by Professor Ignazio Cabras, head of accounting and financial management at Northumbria University Newcastle, the workshop features notable speakers including Grahame Morris MP, Dr. Liz Hind, Greg Mulholland, Dr Thomas Thurnell-Read, and more, addressing threats and exploring solutions for a sustainable future. Free to attend on a first-come, first-served basis. Register now by emailing Kevin Fletcher at kevin.fletcher@northumbria.ac.uk by the 19th April 2024.
Journal of Marketing Management Special Issue- *CFP* (deadline 16 September)
Nadine Waehning, Victoria Wells and Robert Bowen are putting together a special issue entitled: ‘Perspectives on drinking, manufacture and drinking spaces and places.’ Papers are welcomed from across a range of disciplines related to markets, consumers, marketing etc. The deadline for submissions is 16th September 2024. The CFP and further information can be found at: https://www.jmmnews.com/perspectives-on-drinking/.
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-May. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Monday 13 May via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X (OK fine, we’ll call it that): @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
Mark your calendars! On 24 April, 2-5pm, we’re looking forward to our SHUFood Annual Discourse event, which will be open to all. More details to come, but expect to hear some fantastic presentations about food-focused research reflecting our three cluster themes. It’ll be a busy day: 24 April is also the date for the annual Food and Nutrition All Student Conference, which is an internal event. With the theme “FoodZ”, the event will explore what food means to GenZ, with featured speaker Zoe Hunter from Sheffield’s Food Works.
Check out our recent blog posts from our December focus on sustainability and food:
We’re excited to see our passion for food further reinforced at Sheffield Hallam with the recent appointment of Tim Smith CBE as the University’s Chair of the Board. Tim is the Chairman of Cranswick plc, a leading supplier in the food sector, and the Co-Chair of the Food and Drink Sector Council. He has been the Chairman of the Government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission, was previously Chief Executive of the UK’s Food Standards Agency, and was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to agriculture, food, and drink trade policy in the 2022 New Year Honours.
Below, we have:
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Cluster Updates
Congratulations to John Dunning, who has been appointed as Non-Executive Director, Trading and Enterprise Board, Yorkshire Sculpture Park. John has also recently been active in his role as member of the Academic Board at HRC Hospitality and Culinary Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and as external examiner at César Ritz, in Switzerland, drawing on his expertise with regard to wine research and teaching.
Dr Jordan Beaumont and Lucie Nield, on behalf of the Sheffield Hallam Appetite Research (SHARe) cluster, hosted the regional Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) meeting in December. This half-day conference brought together students, academics, researchers and industry partners to explore appetite and eating behaviour research from across the Yorkshire region. Over 70 delegates attended the hybrid event, with presentations from Dr Jo Pearce and Claire Wall (Sheffield Hallam University), Bixuan Yan (University of Sheffield), Clarissa Dakin (University of Leeds), Dr Alice Kininmouth (University of Leeds), and Dr Sundus Mahdi (University of York).
Updates from Sheffield Hallam’s Food and Nutrition subject group:
Dr Jo Pearce and Claire Wall have recently published a paper exploring the energy and nutrient content of school lunches that are provided for children attending school-based nurseries (https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980023002331). Jo and Claire also presented this work at the Sheffield Hallam Appetite Research (SHARe) cluster and Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) co-hosted regional event in December, which explore appetite and eating behaviour research across the Yorkshire region (https://aso.org.uk/event/aso-yorkshire-network-event-appetite-and-eating-behaviours-children-and-adults-insights). The event was organised by Lucie Nield and Dr Jordan Beaumont in collaboration with the ASO regional team.
Dr Rachel Rundle has just submitted a manuscript with Anna Hawkins (Department of the Natural and Built Environment) titled: “School Food Hero and the Battle of the Food Foe: a story of public health policy, power imbalance and potential”. We ask a lot of school food with very little input and funding, expecting to battle evils of the food industry and competing choice. The paper shows that the School Food Hero is one in a team of Avengers fighting the battle!
Lucie Nield presented a workshop around how to implement research using other people (with international perspective) at the Evidence-Based Healthcare conference in Sicily in October.
Dr Caroline Millman and Anna Sorsby have recently been awarded funding from the RIPEN Hub (https://www.ripenhub.co.uk/) to conduct sensory work on products containing chickpeas, which will include measuring satiety and energy intake. Caroline is also doing some very exciting work with vegan cheese – currently looking to at scaling up recipes and processing changes.
Meg Flint is powering through a mountain of data on plant-based meat alternatives. Meg, along with her supervisory team (Jenny Paxman, Dr Simon Bowles and Dr Tony Lynn) are working on a publication around the sensory attributes of plant-based meat alternatives, which includes some exciting lab analysis on nutrient composition to help better compare meat-based and plant-based products.
Lots of successful funding bids, including two recent internal small grants to explore packed lunches in early years settings (Dr Jo Pearce and Claire Wall) and preliminary work on the perceptions of food addiction (Dr Jordan Beaumont and Jenny Paxman). Even more bid application and successes to share soon, in addition to exciting outputs on perceptions of body morphology, adolescent food choice, food insecurity and childhood obesity, behavioural weight management, school food, food safety, food addiction, nutrition and self-regulation of eating, natural green space and psychological wellbeing, non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, and so much more…
Recent publications:
Badjona, A., Bradshaw, R., Millman, C., Howarth, M. & Dubey, B. (2023). Faba Beans Protein as an Unconventional Protein Source for the Food Industry: Processing Influence on Nutritional, Techno-Functionality, and Bioactivity, Food Reviews International. https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2023.2245036
Wall, C., & Pearce, J. (2023). Energy and nutrient content of school lunches provided for children attending school-based nurseries: A cross-sectional study. Public Health Nutrition, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980023002331
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Resources and Calls for Papers
16th Annual Conference of the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE). Lausanne, Switzerland (July 1-5, 2024). Abstract Submission Deadline: January 31, 2024
Abstracts must be 500–1,200 words long. AAWE membership is required for abstract submissions. Information: www.wine-economics.org
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-March. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by 9am Friday 15 March via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter): @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.
On December 7th, SHUFood and NCEFE (the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering) joined forces to host ‘Sustainable Food and Drink: An Immersive Tasting and Learning Event.’ The event welcomed 40 guests to a three-hour event that included a sustainable food quiz, canapés made from surplus food, and a tutored tasting featuring sustainable wine and whiskey. Aimed at the general public, the activities were designed to help people think differently about sustainable food and drink, and to showcase our diverse SHUFood food-focused research at Sheffield Hallam University.
The event was part of our commitment to ShefFood’s Local Food Action Plan for Sheffield, building an ‘inclusive food movement’ through public-facing events on the theme of healthy and sustainable food.
We started the evening capturing people’s responses to the prompt ‘what does sustainable food and drink mean to you?’ Answers included being mindful; seasonal; local (and local bees!); egalitarian; creative with fewer ingredients; good food for a good future; smart packaging; and being part of my food system. The full set of responses is captured in this padlet, allowing others to share their comments and likes to continue the conversation; you can also take a video tour of the responses.
A few highlights of the evening:
The drinks! Guests were welcomed with mulled, spiced apple juice and two kombuchas (alongside activities highlighting SHUFood research and the brilliant work of Sheffield Hallam’s Design Futures Packaging to make food packaging more sustainable). Accompanying activities in the fantastic Hallam test kitchen, guests then sampled wines carefully selected by our event beverage guru, John Dunning, for their sustainability credentials. This included Yorkshire wines from Laurel Vines Vineyard (kindly donated by Ian Sargent, chairman of WineGB Midlands and North). The final phase of the event featured a tutored tasting of two sustainable wines, supplied by local wine merchant Starmore Boss, and a whiskey from Derbyshire’s White Peak Distillery. Tastings were enhanced by fascinating stories of provenance, production process and passion from Jeff Boss of Starmore Boss, and White Peak Distillery Manager Dave Symes.
Photos: SHUFoodie Ewen Crilley pouring in the test kitchen; Dave Symes of White Peak Distillery and John Dunning (SHUFoodie extraordinaire and mastermind of the event’s drinks component); Jeff Boss of Starmore Boss; an expectant audience as the tasting got underway.
The food! Oh, the amazing food! Caroline Millman (NCEFE ‘Healthier Lives’ theme lead) set the vision for the event’s food component, with a focus on using surplus food, scrupulously saved from previous weeks’ teaching and sourced from Food Works Sheffield. Everyone was blown away by the results of SHU’s culinary wizards Jason Tompkin and Amy Downing, who took Caroline’s brief and turned it into an array of creative, delicious dishes. Pure genius. Judging by the event’s final feedback board (see below), the sprout station (soup, patties, and slaw!), onion peel powder and banana skin vegan bacon made a lasting impression. Amplifying the impact of the food was the pièce de résistance: a truly challenging sustainability food quiz.
Photos: Amy Downing, Jason Tompkin and crates of ingredients from Food Works; SHU ‘food and nutrition’ student champion Macy Wong and Caroline Millman (mastermind of the event’s food component) deliver the sustainability quiz answers (and the facts behind them); upcycled bananas were transformed into tasty chips and vegan bacon; the full tasting menu; the test kitchen full of happy guests.
We finished the evening with a pledge wall, the brainchild of SHUFoodie Pallavi Singh (see photo below). There were fantastic responses, including pledges to be thoughtful, creative and waste less; to ask more questions; to try more plant based foods; to cook as a house; to read Sheffield’s Local Food Action Plan…and our sprout station, onion powder, and sustainable wine and whiskey clearly made a big impression! The full set of responses is captured in this padlet, allowing others to share their comments and likes to continue the conversation; you can also take a video tour of the responses.
All in all, it was a superb event that gave everyone food for thought. A huge thank you to our keen participant guests, our fabulous ‘Food and Nutrition student champions’ Jed Gauder, Macy Wong, Iman Batrisyia, and Kayleigh Cope, and to everyone who supported the event with their energy, time, creativity, donations, and stories.
Wishing you a restorative holiday, and a tasty and sustainable new year!
Filed under SHUFood, sustainability, Uncategorized
