CREWSDAY TUESDAY: FEEDING THE SCREEN

Jo Fahy, head of Northern Food Stylist works at the point where food becomes storytelling. A self‑described member of “a bit of a hidden tribe,” she is a home economist, a role that quietly shapes the look, feel and authenticity of film and TV.

“We’re not catering – we love catering – but we’re definitely not catering!” she says, defining a profession that sits between design, performance and history. Her role is to provide food props for screen, working closely with production designers, directors and art departments to ensure that what appears on screen feels authentic. As Jo puts it, “you’re providing something that enhances the environment they’ve created, as well as providing stimulus for the cast.” Her work supplies the food audiences see on screen, but more than that, it supports the world a production is building. Through that attention to detail, her work helps build worlds that feel lived‑in, believable and true to the story being told. 

Much of Jo’s work involves detailed research, particularly on historical productions. “You’re working across different time periods, different class structures, and the mores of the day,” she explains, from different protocols and table settings to how food would have been prepared, served and eaten. Food, she notes, is never neutral: “Where you placed food said something. The quality of the food said something. Everything reflected somebody’s status.” Alongside creating period‑accurate dishes, Jo often advises actors on how to handle, serve and eat what’s in front of them, grounding performances in believable detail. 

That meticulous approach has taken Jo all over the UK. From creating “edible blood worms and deer brains” perfect for consumption by the infected for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple up in the North East, to developing futuristic burgers for Russell T Davies’ Years and Years in Manchester, and producing hundreds of traditional oatcakes with one of the last remaining makers in Derbyshire for the BBC’s The Gallows Pole, her work spans genres, eras and scales. Yet despite travelling widely, Liverpool remains the place she’s most consistently drawn back to. 

Over recent years, Liverpool has become the setting for some of Jo’s most prominent projects. She relishes the gritty realism of shows like The Responder, where her work focused on everyday café food, kebab shops and the kind of unglamorous details that quietly define the world of the story. At the other end of the spectrum, productions such as House of Guinness, Munich: The Edge of War and Fackham Hall allowed her to dive deep into historical research, recreating banquets, displays and period‑specific food practices. More Contemporary dramas and comedy including The Cage, Such Brave Girls, Dead Hot (edible fingers and all!), Sexy Beast, Run Away, Woman of Substance and The Ipcress File have further showcased her range, all filmed in and around the region. 

For Jo, Liverpool offers more than just locations. It’s the architecture, the infrastructure and, above all, the people. She credits the city’s crews, suppliers and collaborative spirit with making it a natural production hub, and it’s this emphasis on local talent that underpins her own business ethos. “Local, local, local,” she says simply. In a role that often goes unseen but is central to visual storytelling, Liverpool has become the place where Jo Fahy’s craft, rooted in research, collaboration and authenticity, truly flourishes.