With ljust over a week to go to the HTA Catering Conference now is the time to book in order to secure your place.

The two-day conference and dinner, sponsored by Compass Group, takes place at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 June 2017.

Featuring speakers from the wider hospitality industry including Peter Avis, Restaurant Manager from London’s Babylon restaurant, Top Chef Dominic Teague from One Aldwych, 2016 Masterchef winner Jane Devonshire and Matt Drew, Head of Food and Beverage for the National Trust the conference programme also draws extensively from expertise from within the industry.

Klondyke Chief Executive David Yardley and Group Catering Manager Keren Feeney will provide an update about their Topiary Restaurant offer.

Salim Sajid from Blueberry Consulting will update delegates on the approach taken at Rosebourne Garden Centre and how things are going within their first year of operation.

James Debbage from the award winning Green Pastures Plant Centre and Farm Shop in Norfolk will talk about their popular offer which includes fresh salads from the kitchen garden and innovative afternoon teas.

Mark Farnsworth and Sharon McNair from Tong Garden Centre return to update delegates on the development of their catering offer one year on.

Neville Stein from Ovation Business Consultancy will chair a workshop session looking at striking a balance between food costs and labour costs, involving garden centre caterers including Dwayne Ross from Coolings.

Matthew Appleby will be talking to Costas Constantinou, Head of Restaurants at Horticulture Week award-winning Dobbies Garden Centres.  Costas, former Wyevale Head of Restaurants, will be talking about the new initiatives and team which he says will be delivering unrivalled standards of food, service and customer experience.

Following on from GTN’s Greatest Catering Awards, which will be presented at the conference dinner on Tuesday evening, Trevor Pfeiffer from Garden Trade News will highlight winning catering ideas, trends and examples of great teamwork that are so essential in creating memorable catering experiences in garden centres across the UK.

HTA Communications Manager Gill Ormrod comments, “The HTA Catering Conference provides an unrivalled opportunity for all those involved in garden centre catering to get the latest ideas and inspiration about trends, issues and views from the industry and the wider hospitality sector. With garden centre cafes receiving a great shout out on Radio 2 only this morning there really is a buzz around the quality of offer to be found.”

This year’s accompanying catering exhibition is fully sold out and provides a great additional opportunity to meet a range of suppliers from coffee, cake and soft drinks to bread, tea and much more!

For further programme details and to book your place please visit www.hta.org.uk/cateringconference

For an indepth look at what's in store at the HTA Catering Conference click here to read GTN Xtra's Special Preview.