The program for the 2019 Hospitality Leaders Summit has been unveiled, with a host of industry professionals confirmed to speak including chef and author Christine Manfield, Momofuku Seiobo’s general manager Kylie Javier Ashton, Fink Group general manager Jeremy Courmadias and Merivale’s Sam Egerton.
Held on Monday 29 July 2019 at the Grand Ballroom in Randwick Racecourse, the one-day conference will address the industry’s most pressing topics.
The skills shortage continues to be a major concern but the solution could be right in front of our noses. Changing the way Australians think about a career in hospitality is the first step to attracting and retaining new staff. Kylie Javier Ashton, Bernice Colcolmb from The Star, Expr3ss!’s Dr Glyn Brokensha and Appetite for Excellence co-founder Lucy Allon will discuss their strategies for running successful teams and providing career paths for workers.
The summit will also host a panel on mental health and wellbeing which will focus on identifying warning signs and providing delegates with practical tips to help peers and colleagues who may need help. Mal Meiers (Food for Thought, R U OK?) will return to the stage alongside Jeremy Courmadias, Amber Kaba from The White Jacket Effect and Hello Sunday Morning health promotion manager Sabrina Warwar.
Justin North (Concept Hospitality), Sven Almenning (Speakeasy Group), Sam Egerton (Merivale) and Hamish Watts (Applejack Hospitality) will talk about the journey of creating bars and restaurants in the ‘conceptualising a venue’ panel, which will cover everything from food and menu development to music, fit-out and more.
The summit will talk to operators who are exploring other avenues beyond their restaurant such as pop-ups, merchandise, product lines and food festivals. Chrissy Flanagan from The Sausage Factory will join Kerby Craig from Ume Burger, Phil Gannon from Mary’s Group and Michael Nicolian from Continental Deli on the stage, with two additional speakers yet to be announced.
In addition, the summit will host panels on topics including solo chefs vs group operators with Mitch Orr (ACME), Tara Sullivan (Solotel), Tristan Rosier (Arthur) and Paul Dewhurst (Three Blue Ducks), the future of marketing (Buffet Digital, Example, Savannah PR, Reymond Communications) and 2020 trends (Angus Lindsay, Single O; Tim Domelow, OpenTable), plus Q&As with leading figures in the culinary industry.
Early bird tickets are on sale for the discounted rate of $249 for hospitality trade and $499 for hospitality suppliers until 29 June. After this date, prices will increase by $100 for both categories.
