The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) 2026 Industry Conference will take place on the 18th and 19th November and there are still eight heavily discounted places available for foodservice consultants to attend, priced at £550. The FEA has made these available specifically to encourage greater consultant attendance, exposure and collaboration.
The event promises insights on the future of the foodservice and hospitality industry, with presentations from government officials, economic specialists, market-leading operators, zero-carbon specialists, and even a polar explorer.
The conference venue, the Staverton Park Hotel in Northamptonshire, has numerous leisure facilities including a PGA European tour standard golf course. Alongside the main conference, the two-day program features networking events, with a charity dinner on the Wednesday night and the prestigious industry awards dinner on the Thursday. While wednesday night rooms at the hotel are fully allocated, some Thursday availability remains and FEA will be using the Mercure Hotel as an overflow hotel to accommodate delegates across both nights.
A strong agenda
The speaker lineup includes Mika Halttunen, chair of Halton Group Ltd, who will be interviewed by conference facilitator Michael Jones, editorial director of 1473 Media. Vicky Pryce, chief economic advisor at the Centre for Economics and Business Research will look into the future of foodservice, and Joe Elgar, partnerships manager at Zero Carbon Forum will consider the operators of the future. Deliveroo’s Henry Francis will deliver the powerhouse session and later Chris Stevens from Quintex and Alex Burley from Electrolux Professional will host the NextGen: One Year On session, before John Spraggett of the Department for Work & Pensions looks at recruiting young people.
Emily Teh, CEO of Zambrero UK, will also discuss how the Mexican quick serve chain selects foodservice equipment, before joining the afternoon panel discussion, with Giorgia Lardner FCSI of Cooper 8 and Michele Romano, business and brand development director at Ali Group, to explore how effectively the industry helps customers adopt, use and benefit from the equipment they purchase.
The afternoon’s keynote speaker, Alan Chambers MBE, will focus on leadership and pressure – subjects he’s familiar with, having led numerous expeditions to the North Pole. They include the first successful British unsupported expedition from Canada to the Geographic North Pole, walking 672 nautical miles in temperatures as low as minus 65°C, dragging a sledge the weight of a baby elephant.
NextGen Masterclass x Tech Refresh Mashup
Separate from the FEA Conference program, the FEA is also running a NextGen Masterclass x Tech Refresh Mashup event at Staverton Park Hotel on the 18th November. This will bring together technical insights across two one-hour sessions. FEA Technical and Policy Director Luke Slater will open with a look at what’s cooking for the sector, exploring the impact of changing regulation, skills, data, security, AI, energy, competence and financial pressure.
The second session will feature Henry Francis, senior strategy & projects manager at Deliveroo, as part of the NextGen Masterclass. Henry will share his journey from front-of-house roles to leading global operations strategy and execution across Deliveroo’s HOP grocery dark stores and Editions delivery-only kitchen businesses, overseeing a combined budget of more than £24m across around 400 people and 50+ sites in the UK, France, Italy and the UAE.
Further details:
The NextGen Masterclass x Tech Refresh Mashup is a free-to-attend event and is not part of the FEA Industry Conference program. You can order your free ticket here.
To attend FEA Industry Conference events, taking place at Staverton Park Hotel 18-19 November, delegates need to purchase an applicable conference ticket. To select a package and secure places, visit the conference booking page: https://feaconference.co.uk/3/book-places or contact Rob Gibson at FEA, rob.gibson@fea.org.uk.
Lauren Hurrell
