Christopher Megrath

Christopher Megrath covers the crossover between hospitality, entertainment and everyday culture for the Liverpool Echo, treating Merseyside’s venues, events and pop culture touchstones as stories about how people spend their time. He works as a life reporter and senior hospitality and events specialist, responsible for much of the masthead’s coverage of major openings, festivals, listings and cultural moments in the region.

Hospitality and Michelin-star chefs

A significant part of Megrath’s work focuses on the hospitality industry, with particular attention to chefs and kitchens that shape the area’s food scene. He profiles high-profile names such as Aiden Byrne, covering both the chef’s move to bring his Michelin-starred cooking regularly to Wirral and the reality of what his family actually eats at home. In these pieces Megrath blends prestige and accessibility, setting out a chef’s professional standing while drawing out domestic details and straightforward advice for home cooks. His hospitality stories tend to centre on the experience around the table rather than only the business mechanics, showing how restaurants and chefs fit into family life, local pride and weekend plans.

Arts, murals and creative landmarks

Megrath also returns frequently to Liverpool’s visual and creative landmarks. In his coverage of the artist behind the Baltic Triangle’s Liver Bird Wings mural unveiling three new pieces for the Southport Flower Show, he treats street art as part of the city’s cultural identity and follows how it travels into new settings. His feature marking 20 years of FACT tracks how the arts venue evolved from an edgy newcomer into an established success story, explaining its role in bringing new forms of media and installation art to local audiences. Across these stories he writes about artists, institutions and their audiences in the same frame, showing how public art and cultural spaces become reference points for residents and visitors.

TV nostalgia and cultural explainers

Another thread in his work is popular culture treated with context and memory. His piece on a controversial Only Fools and Horses episode pulled from broadcast revisits a well-known sitcom with fresh reporting, explaining why its creator came to see Del Boy’s behaviour in that episode as out of step with the character and with the show’s tone. Megrath’s explainer on the Irish shamrock and four-leaf clover traces their history as symbols of luck back to Celtic and Druid traditions, breaking down folklore and religious custom into clear, concise narrative.

These stories use familiar reference points - beloved TV staples, holiday symbols - to walk readers through how culture is made, revised and passed on, rather than treating them as trivia.

Events listings and local festivals

Service journalism around what’s on is a core part of Megrath’s output. He compiles guides to major seasonal events, such as a comprehensive rundown of Liverpool and Merseyside fireworks displays and related activities around Halloween and Bonfire Night, complete with a call for organisers to submit their own events for inclusion.

In coverage of decisions like Liverpool Council confirming a festival will not go ahead in Sefton Park, he reports on how changes to the events calendar affect audiences, local businesses and the city’s broader cultural offer. His listings and guides emphasise clarity - what is happening, where, and when - while his festival and events reporting sets those details against the expectations and traditions that surround them.

Taken together, his work positions him as a key conduit between the region’s entertainment providers and the people deciding how to spend their evenings, weekends and holidays.