With Casual Dining 2021 less than a month away (23-24 September), the organisers have revealed their full Keynote Speaker programme, which includes a host of exciting new additions.
Among the high-profile names added to the programme is Mark Selby, Co-Founder & CEO, Wahaca, who will, in an exclusive interview, share his journey from co-founding Wahaca with Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers in 2007, to developing the business into one of the UK’s most loved and sustainable restaurant groups.
Rob Pitcher, CEO, Revolution Bars Group, also joins the line-up as a panellist on the Raising the Bar – The Bar Leaders Panel. Rob and his fellow sector-leading panellists, Simon Potts, CEO, The Alchemist; and Simon Locke, Managing Director of Lockes, reveal the key challenges and opportunities for their brands and the industry as a whole.
Visitors can expect lively debate on the importance of food versus drink, innovation, design and staffing.
Ajith Jayawickrema, Founder, Las Iguanas & Turtle Bay Restaurants, will appear on the Restaurant Leaders Panel, which also features Simon Wilkinson, CEO, Famously Proper; and Brian Trollip, Managing Director, Dishoom, sharing their professional experiences dealing with the biggest challenges the industry has seen to date.
This session is one of many chaired by Peter Martin, Founder & Executive Director, Peach 20/20, who will be giving an exclusive presentation at the much-anticipated opening of the show: A Time for Change Makers, discussing the people and ideas that will shape the industry’s future.
Martin also chairs a remarkable panel of leading operators in Going Global – The Practicalities of International Growth Panel, which features Matt Grech-Smith, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Competitive Socialising (Swingers); and Jon Knight, Managing Director, Leisure and Concessions, The Restaurant Group. Peter will also be interviewing Laura Harper-Hinton, Co-Founder of Caravan.
The show has announced a host of other industry experts chairing panels and interviewing big name speakers. Jay Morjaria, CEO & Executive Chef of Dynasty Restaurants, will be chairing two big-name panels on Menu Innovation, one for pubs and bars and another for multi-site restaurants.
Mark Stretton, Managing Director of Fleet Street Communications will be interviewing, among others, Dino Sura, Managing Director, Burger & Lobster Restaurant Group; and Gavin Adair, CEO, Rosa’s Thai Café.
Simon Stenning, Founder, FutureFoodservice, will be interviewing Steve Holmes, CEO, Azzurri Group; and chairing the Pub Leaders Panel, which will now feature Joycelyn Neve, Managing Director, Oakman Group alongside Simon Bunn, Managing Director, Brewhouse & Kitchen; and Anthony Pender, Co-Founder, The Yummy Pub Co.
Finally, Ann Elliott, CEO of Ann Elliott Hospitality Consultancy, will be interviewing, among others, Peter Borg-Neal, Executive Chairman, Oakman Group; and Baton Berisha, CEO for Birley Clubs, The Ivy Collection, Caprice Holdings and Bill’s Restaurant & Bar.