Food and football are pillars of family life and community around the world. In Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast, Adam explores the connection between them, travelling through Canada, the United States and Mexico to discover the people, places and food traditions that define the three host nations during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“Food and sport are two things people in North America really get behind," Adam tells SBS. "We're encouraged to think of them as being very separate, but in terms of human connection, they're actually quite similar."
Across the six-part SBS series, Adam travels beyond the stadiums to experience ancient Indigenous dishes, bustling markets, neighbourhood restaurants, fishing communities and football terraces. In doing so, he uncovers the stories behind some of North America's best-known dishes and the communities that keep those traditions alive.
"If you're a sports fan who thinks you're not into food, you'll discover something you really love in this show," he says. "And if you're a food fan who's not really into sport, I think you'll learn something about football and its connection to food cultures across North America that you'll also really love."
What happens in Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast?
As the world turns its attention to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast explores how food and football, together, shape the history, migration and community spirit of life across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Across six episodes, viewers discover that, even though three countries are hosting the same sporting tournament, each location has its own distinct football culture.
"Mexico has some of the most passionate football fans in the world. People were walking around in their Mexican team shirts months before the World Cup even started,” he says. “They were all over it."
Adam continues: "Canada is actually quite similar to Australia in its multicultural makeup. You have a lot of migrants there who have brought football culture to the country with them, so they have a much more European way of supporting football. They chant and cheer the whole way through a game."
If you've loved the atmosphere of the World Cup, this is a way to keep that going.
America, he observed, embraced football just as enthusiastically as it does its own homegrown sporting traditions. Rather than adopting the game on someone else's terms, he says supporters have made it distinctly American. "The fans of football in the USA are very much like the supporters of American football or baseball.”
Adam explains these differences in sporting traditions were also reflected in the food. Whether sharing Indigenous cuisine in Canada, exploring neighbourhood restaurants in Los Angeles, discovering San Francisco institutions or eating his way through the markets of Mexico City, every meal offered another perspective on local people and communities.
Where can I watch Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast?
Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast airs weekly on Mondays at 8.30pm (AEST) starting Monday 6 July on SBS Food.
It is available to stream on SBS On Demand. Episodes 1–3 will drop on Monday, 6 July 2026, while the remaining episodes will premiere on SBS On Demand on Monday, 27 July 2026.
"If you've loved the atmosphere of the World Cup, this is a way to keep that going," Adam says.
Who is Adam Liaw?
Adam Liaw is a cook, author and television presenter who first came to national attention after winning MasterChef Australia in 2010.
Since then, he has travelled the world making food and travel television, exploring the history, people and traditions behind some of the globe's most fascinating cuisines. He also hosts SBS’s much-loved series, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, where chefs, home cooks and special guests come together to share recipes, stories and conversation.
What recipes does Adam share in Adam Liaw's North American Fan Feast?
Every destination inspires recipes that celebrate the flavours, ingredients and traditions of North America.
Featured dishes include Vancouver spot prawn poutine, a seafood-rich take on the Canadian classic, and salmon belly and bacon skewers with maple gochujang glaze. Adam also recreates recipes inspired by his travels, including green goddess nachos, vegan spring roll hot dogs, tacos de carnitas, clam chowder, huaraches and maple pecan Nanaimo bars.
The USA gets a bad rap for food, and unfairly so...There is amazing American food that just doesn't get the credit it deserves.
What does Adam discover in his new series?
The series challenges plenty of assumptions about North American food and the people behind it.
"The USA gets a bad rap for food, and unfairly so," Adam says. "We think it's all hamburgers and hot dogs, but there are amazing communities doing fabulous things with their food. There is amazing American food that just doesn't get the credit it deserves."
As Adam tells SBS, San Francisco quickly became one of his favourite food destinations. "I actually had some of the best meals of the whole trip in San Francisco. It's a really amazing food scene with a real community feel. You forget it's a really old and storied city, and that is reflected in its food.”
Canada offered Adam a different perspective. "It has this incredible proximity to wilderness, and that's what makes the food quite amazing." Together, those experiences reveal a continent where Indigenous knowledge, migration and generations of local traditions continue to shape what people grow, cook and share.
Meanwhile, Mexico provided several culinary revelations. "The food we understand as 'Mexican' isn't really Mexican. It's very much a Tex Mex interpretation," Adam says.
"There's a real simplicity to authentic Mexican food that makes it great to cook, great to eat and affordable at the same time."
Episode summary
Episode 1: Vancouver
Adam begins his North American journey in Vancouver, discovering why Canada's multicultural food and football culture reminded him of Australia. Visits to Granville Island Market, Salmon n' Bannock and a Vancouver Whitecaps match reveal how Indigenous traditions, migration and local pride have shaped life on Canada's west coast.
Episode 2: Los Angeles
This episode explores how Los Angeles' healthy outdoor lifestyle has helped shape one of America's most dynamic food cultures. It follows runners, restaurateurs and community leaders to discover California-style pizza, Thai-inspired smash burgers and the global influences that redefine the way LA eats.
Episode 3: Mexico City
Ancient traditions meet modern city life as Adam cycles through the capital during its weekly Sunday ride, explores the historic chinampas of Xochimilco and discovers ingredients that originated in Mexico before spreading around the world. Lucha Libre offers another insight into the city's unique sporting culture.
Episode 4: San Francisco
San Francisco, one of Adam's favourite destinations, reveals a city rich in history, neighbourhood institutions and community spirit. Visits to Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown and the community-owned Oakland Ballers reveal another side of one of North America's great food cities, where history, migration and local pride continue to influence what ends up on the table.
Episode 5: Return to Mexico City
Adam returns to Mexico City to experience the traditions that shape everyday life, from birria tacos and Mercado Jamaica to mariachi music, piñatas and mezcal.
The episode explores the people, markets and everyday traditions behind one of the world's great culinary capitals, revealing why authentic Mexican cooking is as much about simplicity as it is flavour.
Reflecting on the city, Adam says: "when you talk to people in Mexico about what makes the country tick, they'll tell you they care about two things: food and football. That really came out in this series".
Episode 6: British Columbia
The series concludes on the spectacular coastline of British Columbia, where Adam joins local fishers harvesting Dungeness crab, cooks outdoors and uncovers the story behind the iconic Nanaimo bar. The final episode celebrates a region where the landscape, its people and its food are inseparable.
SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food
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