News - SHUFood Research Cluster

by Jennifer Smith Maguire | March 12, 2025 · 2:38 pm

What’s Cooking, May 2025

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?

With the coming of spring, we’re tidying house, refreshing our events, and making some important changes.

First, we’ve decided to streamline our communications. This is the final edition of What’s Cooking! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to our 34 editions – all still available via the News page, and searchable on the blog site. Going forward, we’ll be sharing updates straight off the back of SHUFood Research Chats, via the News page.

We’ve also bid adieu to X (so long, Elon!), and will now send out information via the SHUFood News page. To receive updates and SHUFood news, be sure that you’re subscribed to the blog. See the subscribe option at the bottom of each SHUFood page.

For social media updates on food research across Sheffield Hallam University, we encourage you to follow the Advanced Food Innovation Centre on LinkedIn.

Second, SHUFood Research Chats are changing from monthly to quarterly gatherings. The SHUFood leads (Jordan Beaumont, Jennifer Smith Maguire, Pallavi Singh) will be taking turns hosting. Our next chat will be on 8 May 2025 (2.30-3.30) with Jen as host. See details on the SHUFood Events page, including the Teams link.

Third, we’ve tidied up the SHUFood Members Page. Would you like to be listed? Submit your information here.

Finally, we’re excited to announce that SHUFood will be running a “Sheffield Food and Nutrition Research Workshop” on 13 May, in collaboration with University of Sheffield. The event will explore how key stakeholders from across the city can work together to address local, regional and national priorities around nutrition and public health. Attendees will have the opportunity to network and discuss key themes, with keynote presentations from Greg Fell (Director of Public Health in Sheffield) and Dr Craig Leadley (Chief Executive of the Institute of Food Science and Technology). Registration will open soon; we’ll share links and more info via our Events page as soon as they’re available!

Below, we have:

updates from the most recent SHUFood chat, including recent outputs and activities;
upcoming events and calls for papers

Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!

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Updates from the SHUFood Research Chats

Richard Gillis Mostly busy with teaching for the past 3 months, but has started collaboration with old colleagues at Nottingham which has led to a new role – co-lead of National Centre for Macromolecular Hydrodynamics. Richard is also working on some data acquisition and writing a paper on arabinogalactans, which he will be presenting this Thursday (06 February) at AFIC’s research seminar. Richard is also co-supervising – with Caroline Millman (DoS) – Seun Seidu who started as a GTA in October and has already acquired some interesting microscopy data on vegan cheese.

Sunil Sahadev Working with Pallavi Singh and colleagues in India on a project exploring eco-labelling, and how easy it is for companies in India to adopt eco-labels. Sunil and Pallavi are also conducting a meta-analysis on label knowledge and trust with colleagues across the world.

Hongwei Zhang Ongoing project with Premier Foods, applying ohmic heating to sauce products, will be coming to an end in March. Hongwei and the team are now planning for challenge testing, and putting together risk assessments. Hongwei has also been invited to Innovate UK’s showcase event on 6th March, and hoping to showcase and disseminate two Innovate UK-funded projects in addition to meeting some new industrial collaborators. Hongwei and the team have been busy submitting applications, including one to an Innovate UK Made Smarter Innovation Project and a GTA application with Jordan Beaumont – this being a perk of the SHUFood chat, bringing together researchers from across the university! Hongwei is also working with Pam Bowman on a very exciting art and design project, incorporating research-informed teaching, to address the UN sustainability goal around reducing hunger.

Pam Bowman Self-confessed professional nosey person! Pam works within the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute, with a college role bringing research into teaching. Pam is interested in food as a broader topic, with food being something every discipline can connect to – a vehicle for multidisciplinary working – a true SHUFood motto.

Pallavi Singh Pallavi and colleagues have submitted an article based on their work with Sheffield City Council, which looked at household food waste collection in Sheffield. While the Council have decided not to continue with the service, the team are working on another project exploring food waste and behaviours in young adults, collecting data from first year undergraduate students. Data collection is ongoing, collected from both SHU and University of Birmingham. The project will come to an end in August, and the team are hoping to develop tangible outcomes/impact that can be taken forward.

Jo Pearce Jo and Claire Wall are progressing with their Impact on Urban Health-funded project exploring food provision and consumption in early years settings within Lambeth and Southwark. They’re currently recruiting schools, with two RAs based in London to do the data collection. Jo and Claire are also writing up findings from their previous study, exploring food provided by early years settings versus packed lunches.

Meg Flint Meg and the team (Jenny Paxman, Simon Bowles, Tony Lynn) have recently had a paper published in International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science around consumer expectations of plant-based meat alternatives. Meg and the team have an additional paper – exploring consumer perceptions of plant-based meat alternatives and the drivers and barriers influencing adoption – is currently under review with Appetite. The final data from Meg’s PhD, a product audit of plant-based and meat-based products, is ready to analyse and the team hope to finalise the work over the next few weeks. In addition to all of that, Meg is also working on the wrap around of the thesis!

Jess Limb Jess is working on a RIPEN-funded project with Caroline Millman and Susie Jones looking at the impact of salt reduction in bread, in collaboration with AB Mauri. Jess has been spending a lot of time down at AB Mauri making lots of bread. The team are also looking for participants to support their sensory panels (see details below!)

Susie Jones In addition to working on the RIPEN-funded project with Jess and the team, Susie and Jess are working on writing up their recent KTP as a teaching case study. Susie is also working with Ruth Whiteside on a consultancy framework paper, based on the Food and Nutrition Consultancy Challenge module.

Jordan Beaumont The Sheffield Children’s Hospital-funded project (with Lucie Nield, Jo Pearce, Claire Wall, Simon Bowles, Rachel Rundle) exploring childhood obesity and food insecurity is finally on the move, with data collection underway for a control group of young people living across South Yorkshire. The dark kitchens project (with the SCH team, plus Helen Martin, David Harness) is also getting closer and closer to the end. The team submitted their second paper – around a definition of dark kitchens, and considerations for key stakeholders – just before the Christmas break. Jordan and Lucie are putting the final touches to the project’s third and final paper, which the team hope to submit shortly.

Elysa Ioannou Working on the ENHANCE project – an evaluation of the Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) clinics which support young people living with obesity. Elysa’s work package involves working with patients and families/carer on their experiences and support needs – the team are hoping to start interviews in next couple of months.

Outputs

Flint, M., Leroy, F., Bowles, S., Lynn, A., & Paxman, J. R. (2025). ‘Meating’ consumer expectations: more work required to improve acceptability of plant-based meat alternative products. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 101102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2025.101102

Please do email over any outputs to add to future lists, especially if you cannot make the SHUFood chats!

Participant Recruitment

The following projects are looking for participants – please share the projects with those who may be interested in participating!

Trained Sensory Panel
Caroline Millman and Jess Limn are looking for participants to be part of a trained sensory panel for a project focused on salt reduction in bread and sandwiches. The panel will run on a weekly basis for up to a maximum of 5 months, with sessions held at our research facility (City Campus, Sheffield Hallam University). As part of the process, you will be asked to attend an initial visit to assess your suitability for the trained panel. Successful applicants will then receive training and contribute to product assessments during weekly 1-hour visits. If you are interested in joining our panel, your commitment to attend is essential. We will try to schedule sessions at a time in the week that suits you.

Stage 1 of Sam McCormick’s PhD:
We are looking for people who work in a healthcare environment, such as a hospital, in Sheffield who is a Doctor, Nurse, Allied Health Professional or Administrative staff from any ethnicity.

Participants will take part in two focus groups one to share their experiences of the food environment at their place of work and tell us what matters to you and the second to feedback themes and sense-check these are correct.
For stage 2, we would like to hear from immigrant nurses who have lived in the UK for 5 years or less. You are also welcome to take part in stage 1 too.
Sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/7Z8Mr2n5dy

A “deep dive” into the experience of living with obesity in minoritised groups

We’re looking for adults with lived experience of obesity who are from a minority group (e.g., minority/global majority ethnic group, LGBTQIA+).
Participants will complete two one-hour online interviews, and will be asked to take 5-10 photos relating to their experience of living with obesity.
Participants will be provided with a £50 voucher on completion.
Sign up via: https://bit.ly/omnis1

Understanding the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and inhibitory training

We’re looking for adults (18 to 60 years) who are free of neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and joint disease.
Participants will complete a brief baseline session (20 min) followed by two 90-minute test visits involving a series of questionnaires, tDCS and computer-based tasks.
Participants will be provided with a £50 voucher and health report on completion, and will receive lunch on both test visits.
Sign up via: https://shusls.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_01dr2TXftxkJ47I

Please do email over any recruitment material/ads to add to future lists.

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Upcoming Events and Calls for Papers

SHUFood Research Chats are changing from monthly to quarterly gatherings. The SHUFood leads (Jordan Beaumont, Jennifer Smith Maguire, Pallavi Singh) will be taking turns hosting. Our next chat will be on 8 May 2025 (2.30-3.30) with Jen as host. See details on the SHUFood Events page, including the Teams link.

CFP: Emerging Voices for the Changemaking of Food Systems Workshop (deadline 20 April)
The “Emerging Voices for the Changemaking of Food Systems” Workshop will take place June 11-13 2025, in Montpellier, France, organized by AESOP-Sustainable Food Planning (https://aesopsfp.wordpress.com/). The call is aimed at early-career researchers (PhDs/Postdocs), with a preference for ongoing or recently completed work, to foster peer-to-peer learning on key research and action challenges in food systems and food policy. The related Call for Short Papers is now open, focusing on:
• Emerging approaches to studying food systems and urban food policies
• Innovative and interdisciplinary methodologies
• Socio-ecological justice and the right to food
• Connections between food policy and other strategic areas (climate, logistics, health, transport, housing)

Accepted contributions will be published in a book of proceedings and may serve as the foundation for future collaborations.
• Submission deadline: April 20, 2025
• Venue: Institut Agro Montpellier, France
• No registration fee
• You can find all the event details at this link. For paper submission and any further inquiries, please contact: aesopsustainablefoodplanning@gmail.com

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by Jennifer Smith Maguire | January 16, 2025 · 1:51 pm

What’s Cooking, January 2025

The National Centre for Excellence in Food Engineering (NCEFE) has now been officially renamed the Advanced Food Innovation Centre (AFIC) to reflect its broad range of Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (RIKE) activities more accurately. The AFIC is committed to problem-led, collaborative Research, Innovation, and Knowledge Exchange, delivering impactful solutions for sustainable and healthier food systems. With expertise in food engineering and state-of-the-art facilities, AFIC serves as a dynamic hub for Sheffield Hallam University’s multidisciplinary capabilities for food systems, including materials engineering, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies; nutrition, appetite, consumer behaviour; logistics and supply chain management; packaging and design; and business development. The new, more inclusive and accessible name is designed to engage academic colleagues internally and drive interest in its expertise and capabilities externally. Located at the Olympic Legacy Park, AFIC reflects Hallam’s mission to enable healthier lives through preventative health and drive future economies through knowledge exchange and enterprise. Stay tuned for more information on how to get involved with AFIC as an associate!

Mark your calendars: the first SHUFood Research Chat of 2025 will be Monday 3 February, 2-3pm, on Teams. (Meeting ID: 353 265 550 040; Passcode: bm7Ch6PE) These are informal meetings are for Hallam-based SHUFood and AFIC folks (staff and PGR students) to talk about food/drink 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.

Below, we have:

updates from the most recent SHUFood chat, including recent outputs and activities;
resources and calls for papers;
the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-March 2025 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Tuesday 11 March.

Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!

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Updates from the SHUFood Research Chats

Hayley Grinter, Dr Rachel Marsden and Dr Pallavi Singh are working on a project around food waste in families with neurodivergent children versus families with neurotypical children. The team have just completed interviews with 10 children/families and are currently transcribing and analysing the data with a view to run focus groups once key themes have been identified. Rachel is also exploring supervision of a self-funded PhD around weight stigma and health behaviours and has recently given an interview around autism and diet, which was the focus of her own PhD research.

Sam Greenstreet has recently joint SHU, having started her PhD in October (supervised by Dr Jordan Beaumont [DoS], Dr Rachel Marsden and Professor Peter Schofield), looking at eating behaviour and weight management in older adults. Sam has submitted the RF1, which has been a good opportunity to plan out the PhD and consider methodology. Meanwhile there has been plenty of inductions, teaching courses/prep and critical thinking! Sam is also developing a project with Jordan for their co-supervised MSc dissertation learning set around factors contributing to overeating, which will like with data collected for phase 1 of the PhD.

Sunil Sahadev is part of a research project looking at eco food labels. Currently running a systematic review around awareness/knowledge of and trust in eco labelling and factors that may influence consumer adoption of eco labels. Sunil and the team are also in the early stages of a study exploring the visual elements of eco labelling and how these may impact consumer engagement.

Hongwei Zhang and colleagues are working on two key projects: (1) way to decarbonise food manufacturing processes within the South Yorkshire region, and (2) scaling up research around ohmic heating, applying to sauce products and in collaboration with Premier Foods. Hongwei is also exploring funding for GTAs, co-supervised by Jordan Beaumont and collaborators from Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Megan Flint is coming towards end of the PhD, which feels like its flown by. The programme of research – supervised by Tony Lynn (DoS), Simon Bowles and Jenny Paxman – involved three phases around plant-based meat alternative: consumer perceptions, nutritional profiles (compared with meat-based products) and sensory evaluation. Working on a number of publications, with some under review and other to be submitted in the next few weeks. In addition, the team have conducted a nutritional audit to compare plant-based meat alternatives with the meat-based products – in background, Meg is updating this audit to hopefully submit as an extra paper.

Elpida Apostolopoulou’s PhD explores place-based policymaking in just transitions, and its role in small and medium enterprise (SME) decarbonisation. Elpida is currently exploring transition to net zero in small scale horticultural enterprises, having returned to Sheffield following data collection in Western Greece. This qualitative work will now be replicated in South Yorkshire to provide comparison, and explore how organisations and policy can supports the transition to net zero.

Jessica Limb recently delivered a presentation at the Advanced Food Innovation Centre (AFIC – was NCEFE) research seminar series. Jess is pretty busy with research, with lots of exciting projects including impact of salt reduction in bread and bakery products in schools – working with Caroline Millman, Susie Jones and Rachel Rundle. Keep an eye out for papers in the near future! Jess also presented a poster at the recent I2RI conference on the work.

The NIHR-funded project exploring dark kitchens (delivery-only takeaways) is finally coming to an end. The team includes Jordan Beaumont, Lucie Nield, Helen Martin, Jo Pearce, Rachel Rundle, Simon Bowles, Claire Wall and David Harness. The team will be submitting their final two papers in early 2025, which includes a paper around defining dark kitchens (in collaboration with three other teams who secured fundings from NIHR, based at Teesside University, University of Cambridge and the University of Central Lancashire). In addition, Jordan (along with a fantastic team of collaborators) recently submitted an exciting NIHR grant application around ultra-processed foods and a couple of PhD/GTA applications. As always, lots of small projects in the works and a few manuscripts being penned.

Sam McCormick’s research is looking at experiences of the food environment for people who work in healthcare by asking what matters to them. Stage 1 will involve recruiting doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and admin staff. Stage 2 focusses specifically on immigrant nurses to co-design a vision of a hospital food environment that better serves them. Sam is currently recruiting – please share this with anyone who works in a healthcare environment in Sheffield.

We are looking for people who work in a healthcare environment, such as a hospital, in Sheffield who is a Doctor, Nurse, Allied Health Professional or Administrative staff from any ethnicity.
Participants will take part in two focus groups one to share their experiences of the food environment at their place of work and tell us what matters to you and the second to feedback themes and sense-check these are correct.
For stage 2, we would like to hear from immigrant nurses who have lived in the UK for 5 years or less. You are also welcome to take part in stage 1 too.
Sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/7Z8Mr2n5dy

Publications

Artificial Intelligence and the food sector: a golden opportunity for growth. Food Science and Technology, 38: 32-35. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsat.3804_8.x

Presentations

Beaumont, J.D. (2024). Weight management in the UK: A tug of war that nobody is winning. Presented at: School of Psychology Research Seminar, Leeds Trinity University / Responsible Consumption and Sustainable Lives Research Theme Seminar, Sheffield Hallam University

Limb, J. (2024). Advancing the Bakery Industry: Healthier Products for UK Schools and Sustainable, Smart Manufacturing. Presented at: Advanced Food Innovation Centre (AFIC) Research Seminar.

Limb, J. (2024). Are healthier reformulated chocolate cookie acceptable to children? Reducing daily sugar consumption of secondary school children by reformulating sweet baked snacks. Presented at: Industry and Innovation Research Institute (I2RI) Conference

Huge thanks to Jordan Beaumont for assembling our updates, and hosting the SHUFood Research Chats!

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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 3 February, 2-3pm. Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. Open to all Hallam SHUFood and AFIC staff and PGR students. Join the Teams meeting here.

The Spain Gastronomy Conference 2025 (deadline 31 January)

The Spain Gastronomy Conference will be held in Madrid (Spain) on March 27-29, 2025. Full conference website here. It is organized by the Spanish Royal Academy of Gastronomy (RAG) and the CEU University Institute “Food and Society” (CEU San Pablo University, Madrid), with the support of the International Academy of Gastronomy (IAG).

Key dates:

Deadline for abstract submissions, 31 January, via this submission form
Deadline for early bird registration, 25 February, via this registration form

Royal Geographical Society 2025 Conference – session call for papers (deadline 10 February)

RGS 2025 Conference website, 27-29 August 2025 at the University of Birmingham

Exploring Perceptions, Practices and Politics of Sustainable Food Consumption in Times of Planetary Crisis; Session Organisers: Leonie Tuitjer & Kerstin Nolte

There is a longstanding interest in the role of consumers within research on sustainable food transformations. Research focuses for example on what strategies consumers pursue to reduce adverse environmental impacts of their consumption (e.g. certified foods, veganism, local foods), or what types of sustainable consumption practices are in/de-creasing within parts of the population, and how politics intervene and shape sustainable consumption choices. Much of this research revolves around consumption patterns and practices within routine situations and highlights how consumers and their choices are embedded within daily activities and how choices are afforded/constrained through such everyday settings. Yet, sets of overlapping crises are more than ever part of our everyday lives and understanding the role of crises in sustainable consumption choices is thus crucial for achieving sustainable food transformations within perpetually turbulent times.

In this panel we hence want to explore the ambivalent and at times contradictory effects of crisis on sustainable food consumption. We are interested in how crisis (e.g. climate change) shape consumer’s perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable food consumption. Furthermore, we want to explore how against the background of the climate crisis, e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped sustainable food practices. The closures of canteens, cafés, and restaurants and feared shortages in food supplies, put the topic of nutrition into public focus and altered the way food supplies had to be made during lock downs. In Germany, for example, there was a rise in buying more organic food products, in particular among the wealthy urban middle-class, alongside an increase of ordering takeaway and online grocery deliveries, which increased carbon emissions and waste. Given such paradoxical outcomes some identified the pandemic as an opportunity for sustainable transformations within food production, whilst others warned against rising inequalities during the pandemic that made sustainable consumption a luxury for the rich. In the aftermath of the pandemic and after the outbreak of the Russian war against Ukraine, the world experiences high rates of inflation that explode the costs of living, again jeopardising potential windows of opportunity for sustainable food transformations that emerged in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, and potentially further increasing inequalities. Finally, we encourage paper submissions that explore how the role and relationship of consumers-sellers-producers is altered during times of crisis and attend to alternative practices that emerged in time of crisis (e.g. food sharing schemes; food-waste reduction apps etc.).

For this session we invite papers that make conceptual or empirical contributions to the topic. In line with this year’s conference theme, we are also looking forward to include papers that draw on creative methods (e.g. participatory, visual or sensory accounts of food practices in times of crisis) to address some of the below questions:

How can we theorise the impacts of multiple- / planetary-/ poly- /overlapping- crises on sustainable food consumption?
How do crises affect people’s perception of sustainable consumption?
How do providers and producers of sustainable food experience multiple crises? Do these crises represent opportunities or challenges for the supply side?
Do crisis affect sustainable food practices and if so: how do these effects take form?
What role does the type of crisis (e.g. health/ financial, environmental or short-term shock, long-term crisis) play for potentially altered food practices?
How do crises affect inequalities in sustainable food consumption?
To what extent does the socio-spatial context influence the impacts of crises on sustainable food consumption?
How can we account for times of turbulence and rupture within our research designs methodologically and theoretically?
How do creative methods help us to better understand such ruptures?
Under which conditions can crises act as a catalyst for more sustainable food practices?
What types of political actors can mediate crisis situations effectively to foster practices of sustainable consumption in times of crises?
What kind of politics are needed to enhance sustainable food consumption practices in turbulent times for all parts of society?

Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words and up to 5 keywords to Leonie Tuitjer: tuitjer@uni-bremen.de by Feb 10th 2025.
Please include your name, e-mail and affiliation with the abstract. Please note: We are planning this session for IN-PERSON only.

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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 Tuesday 11 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).

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Filed under Diet and health, eating behaviour, plant-based foods, research, SHARe Sheffield Hallam Appetite Research, sustainability, Uncategorized, What's Cooking?

by Jennifer Smith Maguire | January 5, 2025 · 7:15 pm

Reminder – call for content for the next What’s Cooking

Dear all:

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.

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by Jennifer Smith Maguire | December 2, 2024 · 5:12 pm

Time to spruce up our member page!

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.

Members

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by Jennifer Smith Maguire | November 14, 2024 · 9:59 pm

What’s Cooking, November 2024

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:

updates on recent outputs and activities from our clusters and members, including an update on ‘Cook and Connect’, a fantastic SHUFood contribution, led by Jordan Beaumont in collaboration with colleagues at University of Sheffield, to the 2024 ESRC Festival of Social Science;
resources and calls for papers;
the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-January 2025 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Tuesday 14 January.

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:

Fantastic that you are encouraging use of healthy food that is sustainable, it needs to be prompted far & wide!
Event was excellent, really well organised & we made 2 different dishes to take away & I didn’t expect all of this but was a pleasant surprise.
A cooking class is a totally different/novel activity for me given I don’t do proper cooking so far at home.
I didn’t know how to use lentils and thought they were difficult (had to soak them) and were bland. I’ve found out how to use them and that they are really tasty.
It’s been a really good course today. Well organised, friendly & informative. I’ve had a great time and learnt something new.

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

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

SHUFood blog

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.

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Filed under CHEFS, SHARe Sheffield Hallam Appetite Research, SWEFS Surplus Waste and Excess Food in Society, Uncategorized, What's Cooking?

by Jennifer Smith Maguire | September 17, 2024 · 10:01 pm

What’s Cooking, September 2024

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:

The return of our fantastic SHUFood monthly online research chats. These informal meetings are for Hallam-based SHUFood and NCEFE folks (staff and PGR students) to talk about food/drink 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 7 October, 15:30 to 16:30 (joining link). Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information.

The NCEFE research seminar series of 2024/25 is kicking off on Thursday 3 October, 14:00-15:00 (in person at NCEFE), with a talk from NCEFE researchers Dr Mahdi Rashvand and Aida Daei. Seminars are an excellent opportunity to meet in person with Hallam’s food-focused research community, and to check out NCEFE’s beautiful, state-of-the-art facility.

On 16 October, NCEFE marks its fifth anniversary. Please come and join the celebration, and help shape our vision for the future! Registration link here; full event info and registration link below.

Below, we have:

NCEFE Anniversary invitation (16 October, 9.45-1.45)

updates on recent outputs and activities from our clusters and members, including an upcoming event at the ESRC Festival of Social Science, “Cook & Connect: Strengthening Communities Through Food” on November 4 and 5;

resources and calls for papers;

the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-November 2024 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Tuesday 12 November.

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?

Globally: The global food system is challenged with feeding a growing population.  By 2050, food production will need to increase by 60% to meet population growth.

Nationally: The food and drink manufacturing sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK; greater than aerospace and automotive combined.

Locally: Tackling health inequalities and furthering preventative health are high on the South Yorkshire agenda – diet is an essential part of the solution to address these challenges.

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?

Develop relationships with external stakeholders

Find out how food and drink may enhance your RIKE profile

Find out how to work more closely with colleagues around the university with shared interests around food

Discover more about NCEFE

Have an innovation conversation over lunch

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.

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Filed under SHARe Sheffield Hallam Appetite Research, SHUFood, What's Cooking?

by Jennifer Smith Maguire | July 15, 2024 · 11:55 am

What’s Cooking, July 2024

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:

updates on recent outputs and activities from our clusters and members;
resources and calls for papers, including a call for session proposals for the Spain Gastronomy Conference, and recruitment materials for three live projects;
the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-September 2024 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Monday 16 September.

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

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by Jennifer Smith Maguire | May 14, 2024 · 8:16 pm

What’s Cooking, May 2024

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:

updates on recent outputs and activities from our clusters and members;
resources and calls for papers (including a link for the next SHUFood Research Chat, 3 June);
the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-July 2024 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Monday 15 July.

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:

Food insecurity, obesity and the cost-of-living crisis (deadline 30 June 2024)
The effects of climate change on food intake, appetite and dietary choices (deadline 30 August 2024)

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.

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.

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Filed under appetite, eating behaviour, research, surplus waste & excess food in society, sustainability, Uncategorized, What's Cooking?

by Jennifer Smith Maguire | May 13, 2024 · 2:04 pm

A celebration of HallamFood!

The 24^th 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)

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by Gareth Roberts | April 23, 2024 · 4:21 pm

A Year and A Week – Part 1

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.

Time Is Relative

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.

Regather Is Working

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:

BBC Food & Farming Awards Finalist – Regather was a finalist in the ‘Farming The Future’ category, which is a huge achievement for the whole team. Listen again to our very own episode of On Your Farm.
Welcome to Sheffield film – this 7 minute promo film captures the essence of the city-wide sustainability movement of which Regather is a key part
Sheffield wins a Silver Sustainable Food Places Award
Sheffield City Council launches Fairer, Healthier, Greener – Sheffield’s new cross-cutting Food Strategy
ShefFood – Sheffield’s Food Partnership launches the Local Food Action Plan for Sheffield 2023-2030
The South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre (SYSC) is launched, with Regather working in the Food Systems & Environmental Restoration Theme Group, taking a lead role on the Establish South Yorkshire green infrastructure to enable delivery of the net-zero food system roadmap project
The South Yorkshire Citizens Assembly for Climate convened October-December 2023. I was fortunate enough to be 1 of 100 South Yorkshire residents selected by sortition to participate as assembly members.

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.

Life Is Real

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.

PhD Studies

So what progress have I made in the past year? Here’s a bullet point summary, in no particular order…

In Feb 2023 I submitted a Critical Thinking in Business Administration assignment. By late April I was informed I had failed the assignment, and would need to resubmit in July 2023. Boo! Fortunately by August 2023 I had resubmitted and passed the assignment. Yay!
In April 2023 I submitted my RF1. As well as completing the form, this also involved undertaking online ethics training and producing a development needs analysis and plan. I’m pleased to confirm the RF1 was approved without amendments in May 2023. Yay! I think a key factor in this was attending the “SERI – Demystifying the RF1” session a couple of times, and asking for (and getting) some excellent support from the Doctoral School / SERI admin teams, which was much appreciated. Thanks guys!
For various good, and well supported, reasons I deferred the Research Approaches and Designs module from 2023, to 2024. Watch this space…
During October – November 2023 I attended a number of online training sessions provided by University of East Anglia providing a range of research and professional skills training delivered in a ‘live-taught’ online format by the excellent Dr Simon Watts. I attended eight sessions in total, on academic publishing, analysing qualitative data, comparing qualitative methods, lit reviews, Nvivo software, interviewing, structuring your thesis and writing effectively. I find them enjoyable to attend, highly useful, and have been referring back to the session recordings which can be downloaded afterwards on a regular basis.
Out of curiosity I attended a half day White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership event at the University of Sheffield. I had an enjoyable catch up with Richard White. who’s work I find really interesting, and I met some interesting early stage PhD students, but found that this programme was one too much opportunity than I could actually make the best of.
During July 2023 I revisited the Great Yorkshire Show. This was a really enjoyable day out (I love a good agricultural show of course!) but more importantly it gave me the perspective of time to reflect on the suitability of the Show as a focus of my research. The resounding conclusion was that for me, the Show was not going to work. Too big, too busy and too time constrained mainly, but also an institution that is hundreds of years old and steeped in culture and tradition. Fascinating, yes, but not what I’m after.
Interestingly, the experience of applying for, being selected and participating in the South Yorkshire Citizens Assembly was another incredibly useful opportunity to reflect on my studies, and consider the suitability of Deliberative Democracy as a focus of my research. Whilst writing the Critical Thinking assignment I did read around the topic, in particular Deliberative Policy Analysis. The experience of participating in the assembly, but also (I think more importantly) having the opportunity to meet and spend time learning from academics acting as observers at the Assembly to undertake their own primary research led me to recognise where my own particular interests did or didn’t align.
More recently I’ve joined a follow up workshop series called Climate ReAssemblies, exploring the use of interactive documentaries as a democratic tool for innovating citizen engagement in post-climate assemblies and climate policy more generally. I’ll share more on this as the project evolves.
During late Summer 2023 another interesting opportunity for a research focus began taking shape involving Sustain and Land Workers Alliance, who were leading a National Lottery Climate Action Fund stage 2 bid called Tasting a Better Future. Through Regather I had an inside track on the project, and my initial request for the programme to form the basis of PhD research had been accepted by the project steering group. However, ultimately the funding bid was not successful unfortunately, so I was back out searching again.
Around the same time Regather was shortlisted for the BBC Food and Farming Awards, and so began the development of a potential research focus for my studies. Being shortlisted led to being interviewed, recorded and broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 On Your Farm radio programme, which is turn led to a period of heightened media interest in Regather, particularly our work on changing food system policy and practice. Being shortlisted also led to being invited to the Awards ceremony in South Wales, where I was able to meet other finalists, which was great, but also meet the programme presenters, producers and directors involved in making the significant quantity of BBC content surrounding the Awards, and the wider topic of food and farming. These experiences and conversations led me to research the Awards in much more detail, and discovering and listening to a huge quantity of archive content stretching back to 2000 when they started. This past material, the current plans for the Awards, and what the future holds for the Awards is hugely interesting to me, and aligns very well with my research questions, and the wider research brief of my PhD studentship. As of right now, I’m pleased to say that’s where it’s at.

Still to come in Part 2

Return to Teaching
Supervision
Research Methods – Critical Ethnography
Ethics – Converis
Literature Review
Plan for the RF2

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SHUFood Research Cluster

Reminder – call for content for the next What’s Cooking

Time to spruce up our member page!

What’s Cooking, May 2024

A celebration of HallamFood!

A Year and A Week – Part 1

Time Is Relative

Regather Is Working

Life Is Real

PhD Studies

Still to come in Part 2

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