The speakers who took part in the open panel session of the Caterer Food & Business Conference at Grosvenor House Dubai, answering the audience’s burning questions.
The fifth annual Caterer Middle East: Food & Business Conference saw more than 150 industry leaders gather at Grosvenor House Dubai for an action-packed day of interactive sessions that tackled the latest trends and challenges faced by the sector.
The one-day event presented a strong line-up of chefs and F&B leaders who discussed the most pressing issues facing the industry, as well as upcoming trends.
Dedicated to the entire F&B arena — covering the business of food, the kitchen and nightlife — the summit featured a new format.
Caterer Middle East editor Sarah Jacotine commented: “It was fantastic to see F&B owners, directors, chefs, general managers, and more, come together under one roof to learn from one another and share their experiences. The new format worked really well and seemed to enhance both the networking opportunities and the quality of the debates. We are very grateful to everyone who took part — all 24 speakers and the audience, which grows every year.”
An advisory panel of F&B industry experts met with Caterer’s editorial team prior to finalising the conference agenda. Jacotine added: “Their opinions and input were really valuable in helping us to shape the revamped conference so that we could deliver the best experience for everyone present.”
The first session of the day was a quick-fire panel, where experts had just two minutes to share their ideas on what will be hot throughout 2016. A host of locally based industry professionals took part in this session: Duncan Fraser-Smith, founder of The Cutting Edge Agency; Sanjay Murthy, managing director of Figjam; Naim Maadad, chief executive officer at Gates Hospitality; Akshay Oberai Dosaj, co-managing director for Purple Honey Group; Maksim Tvorogov, head chef, Vesna; Brandon Grusd, senior beverage managing consultant at Fling Bar Services; and chef and restaurateur Michael Mina.
One of the trends talked about was the emergence of food halls, with Fraser-Smith commenting: “A food hall presents multiple different dining opportunities in a small space. It’s dynamic because you have options and is a place you can visit two to three times a month. More importantly, it’s different.”
He noted that food halls should not be confused with food courts as the two are vastly different, stating: “A food court generally has QSR (quick service restaurants) outlets as compared to a dining hall which involves taking different cuisines and putting it under one roof. It’s about getting a fantastic Italian concept, along with a Chinese restaurant, a home-made burger joint, a steak offering and a seafood restaurant, for example. Put them all together and have a communal seating capacity of about 250 chairs.”
Fraser-Smith said diners not only get an opportunity to enjoy their experience, but they are also able to sample a high-end chef’s menu. With a nod to his fellower panellist, he said: “It would be really interesting if chefs such as Michael Mina and the likes are ready to take up a five sq m space and showcase their offerings, which would then inspire others as well.”
After a lively, fast-paced start, the tone was set for the day, and the programme immediately continued with Julian Biddulph, who references his experiences as general manager of The Ivy Dubai while presenting the first of this year’s newly introduced ‘Take 10: How To’ case studies.
Biddulph spoke for ten minutes on how to manage an outlet’s online presence advantageously, sharing tips on how best to respond to online reviews and when are the best times of day to engage customers, namely first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, mid-late afternoon and early evening to catch those people checking socal media after work, often on their commute home, perhaps wondering where to go out that night.
He also advised keeping language casual and humorous when on social channels.
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