The conference began with a welcome from FEA chair Emma Brookes, who said the programme had been drawn up to highlight the ideas of ‘sharing, networking and inspiration’.
Business journalist and broadcaster Declan Curry praised the foodservice equipment industry for its ‘pride, resilience and constant drive to improve’. He said the UK was still experiencing the ‘long shadow’ of Brexit and Trump-era trade wars, which continued to shape economic conditions.
Michael Jones, editor of Foodservice Consultant magazine and the FEA forum facilitator, shared his views on global food and equipment trends and how we can expect them to impact the UK.
He said there was a ‘volatile global economy’ with inflation ‘moderate but sticky’ at between 4%-4.2%, which was driven by food price increases, strong labour demands, geo-political fragmentation, and climate change.
Claire Smith and Tansin Blankley from ABDA Design explored how businesses could design and drive business agility in a fast-evolving hospitality landscape. Through real-world examples, such as JP Morgan, they sought to show how good design empowers hospitality and workplace environments to evolve, enhancing experience and efficiency.
Dr Peter Stadelmann, chairman of the executive board at Rational AG, offered his views on the future of the global industry, saying: “If you stand still you lose.”
He said Rational had a turnover of 1.2bn euros, 3,000 employees, two production sites and that its combi ovens around the world produce around 180,000 meals a day. The biggest challenges for Rational, he said, were high energy prices, a lack of skilled labour in the kitchen, and sustainability.
Meanwhile, Mark Reynolds, chair of the Craft Guild of Chefs and regional executive chef at Levy UK, explored the relationship between chefs and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
He said: “A new sous chef has entered the kitchen and its name is AI. Culinary world AI is becoming one of the most powerful tools a chef can have and use.
“It isn’t here to replace chefs, it’s here to enhance them because it cannot live and breathe the passion of a chef.”
Greg Archer from Contiquip, spoke about the launch of the NextGen Council, which aims to inspire the next generation and champion younger people’s views. He said it would create new pathways for training to support young people in the foodservice equipment industry.
Tim Davies, chief executive of Projekt Rising, looked at the impact of AI on the hospitality industry with a brief overview of how operators are using it. He, too, stressed AI was just another tool for people to use. He offered the example a Holiday Inn in Bloomsbury that had cut food waste by one third using AI-suggested recipe improvements.
Emanuela Delgado, senior vice president at Parts Town, pointed out AI had been used in the 1950s, but had only now taken off because of the arrival of ChatGPT. At Parts Town AI had been used to improve training which had helped the business become more productive.
And Chang Ge, senior fellow at University of Lincoln and director of CG Vision Consultancy, warned that use of AI was a ‘potential minefield for businesses’ with the risk of breaking laws and regulations.
Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards gave a motivational speech where he highlighted resilience as his biggest tool. Despite facing challenges such as not having proper ski jumping equipment due to the cost and suffering injuries including a broken jaw, he was determined to take part in the Winter Olympics. He finished in 58th place at the Calgary Games in Canada, but won the hearts of spectators with his ‘have-a-go’ attitude.
Emma Brookes brought the conference to a close, saying her three key takeaways were ‘progress, growth and partnerships’.
The 2026 FEA Conference will be held from November 18-19 at the De Vere Wokefield Estate in Reading.
FEA Awards
The FEA Chair’s Award went to Julian Edwards, chair of the FCSI UK & Ireland, Paula Sherlock of FSE Signature Catering, and Paul Anderson of Meiko.
The Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Malcolm Skinner at Marren Microwaves. The 2025 Apprentice Award winner was Ivan Zanze from Airedale Catering.
The FEA Charitable Endeavour Awards, sponsored by Meiko went to Gail’s Property Team, The Sensational Six, and Chris Fay from Brita. A charity raffle raised £3,700 for Military vs Cancer.