Taste of Europe 2026 – Celebrating European foods and discussing food politics in geopolitically challenged times

Annette Kliemann, First Councellor for Agriculture and Food at the EU Delegation reflects on the event:

"Food brings people together and Taste of Europe did exactly that - the day was designed to bring policy, produce and food professionals together in a tangible way and I feel we achieved just that..

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The day's busy programme began with an expert panel "From grains to geopolitics", held in Europe House, to discuss the political aspects of food and in particular the topic of food security in geopolitically challenged times. Ambassador Pedro Serrano opened the panel by underlining that food security is more important than ever, given the hundreds of millions who live in a state of acute hunger every day.

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On the panel we had DG Agri's Senior expert Lionel Mesnildrey,Prof Alan Matthews, Trinity College Dublin and Tom Standage, Deputy Editor of The Economist and author of "The Edible History of Humanity".

Tom Standage explained that historically, agriculture transformed societies: it laid the foundation of civilisation and created empires - close to hand we have the experience of the Irish potato famine which killed in the region of a million people. Bringing matters to today, Mr Standage reminded it is just four crops: wheat, rice, maize and soyabean that provide more than half of the world's food. Even on the current hot topic of tariffs, a historical perspective was offered by way of the British corn laws. Also the discovery of fertilisers that helped population growth was address, but we now depend on it.

DG Agri's Senior Export Lionel Mesnildrey explained that security of supplies and feeding post-war Europe lies at the heart of the Common Agricultural Policy, which is still agile, but reinforced with the EU's Food Security Crisis Mechanism. Mr Mesnildrey underlined that the EU is currently food secure. Food is available, but food affordability is a concern. Trade and international cooperation are key to fighting food insecurity. In view of recent events, the forthcoming adoption of a EU fertiliser plan will be of interest.

Prof Alan Matthews underlined that resilient food supply chains benefit from a systems approach to food policy. Food security not only depends on agriculture, but on stable inputs such as energy and fertiliser. Increasing national production of food will thus not solve the problem. Diversification and trade is key. There are ways and instruments to reduce the risk of import dependence without avoiding trade. Climate change remains a structural threat and reducing dependence on external input in total e.g through farming practices are necessary routes to consider.

The panel audience then went to join the bustling atmosphere in Sinfonia, just opposite Europe House, where the Taste of Europe food fair was already in full flow.

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A large audience of 300 invitees not only exchanged with European suppliers and distributors about European food and drink traditions, but profited from the opportunity to mingle and taste the various produce on offer.

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Wines, olive oil, cheeses, hams, coffee chocolates, biscuits and much more provided the perfect occasion to exchange stories and bond over delicious European favourites and innovative European food and drink.

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Ambassador Serrano and Ambassador Dr Kyriacos P. Kouros, High Commissioner of Cyprus to the UK welcomed participants to the day dedicated to the food heritage of Europe and EU-UK agri-food ties.

We were delighted to bring Financial Times restaurant critic Jay Rayner to talk to the gathering on the UK's rich food culture in 2026 and he presented a very informative and highly entertaining 'eater's view'.

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As an established food critic, Jay Rayner described British food taste as very broad. Shaped by an immigrant culture, the British people enjoy variety and are curious about different tastes and flavours. UK food culture is very vibrant and dynamic, but Mr Rayner also pointed out that it is not possible for all parts of the society to participate to the same degree, as poverty might prevent them from doing so.

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Next on stage, we brought EU and UK food and drink cultures together, as cheese monger and author Ned Palmer led a master class on British cheese making and cheese/wine pairing principles. Explaining the Renaissance of British cheeses in the 1980s inspired by European cheese making traditions, Ned showed his passion for discovering new cheeses and matching them with European wines. 9 wine makers from Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovenia supported a well-attended master class.

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A memorable day for all - a reminder of the wonderful variety of food culture across the EU and the rich EU-UK connections across the agri-food communities.

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