Commercial Kitchen show announces its first speakers
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Commercial Kitchen, the UK’s only dedicated trade show for the catering equipment industry, has announced its first speakers and new panel sessions for 2017 and they include world-renowned pastry chef Claire Clark MBE.
Returning to the NEC Birmingham on 6-7 June, the show’s Keynote Theatre will host ten expert panels, plus a series of exclusive interviews and Keynotes.
Among the big names now confirmed are world-renowned pastry chef Claire Clark MBE, and Robert Quehan, formerly of The Ivy and now head chef at The Redwood Bistro at Bishopstoke Park (the UK’s first retirement village to be awarded an AA Rosette for its food) – appearing in exclusive ‘in conversation’ sessions with Foodservice Equipment Journal’s editorial director Andrew Seymour.
Clark, who was awarded an MBE in 2011 for her services to the food industry, was the first person in the UK, and only female recipient, to be awarded the Master of Culinary Arts for outstanding craftsmanship (formerly the ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de la Grande-Bretange’).
She’ll be sharing insights from her extensive, award-winning career at the show – from working in prestigious restaurants and hotels, including The Ritz, Claridge's and French Laundry, to setting up a pastry kitchen at the House of Commons and, more recently, founding a new state-of-the-art cookery school to train the next generation of award-winning chefs. Her Q&A takes place at 2.45pm on the show’s opening day (6 June).
Other leading speakers for 2017 include Chris Knights, group executive chef at Young's Pubs and Geronimo Inns, and Kumour Uddin, group executive chef at Anglian Country Inns. They’ll be discussing how innovative equipment and design can play an integral role in helping to deliver speed, quality and consistency in a fast-paced pub kitchen environment.
“Commercial Kitchen is the ideal show to visit, whether it’s to sense check your kitchen equipment against other brands or to find new suppliers of equipment to suit your kitchen needs. It’s a must attend,” says Knights.
While Scott Collins, co-founder and MD of MEATliquor, will offer his perspective on the challenges of procuring and installing new kit across multi-site restaurants; Chris Moore, CEO of The Clink restaurants and charity, will focus on the importance of training with the latest equipment in his session on ‘how to run a kitchen in a prison’; and Andrew Stephen, CEO of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, joined by Henry Unwin, sustainability manager at Nando’s, will outline proven strategies and benefits for making commercial kitchens more sustainable, in terms of CSR, brand and profit.
CEDA, the show’s lead partner, will also host an exclusive panel featuring no less than five of its former chairs. Appearing together, for the first time, are Mark Drazen, MD of Caterware; Nick Howe, MD of Court Catering Equipment; Peter Kitchin, MD of C&C Catering Equipment; Iain Munro, MD of ScoMac Catering Equipment; and Jack Sharkey MSc, MD of Vision Commercial Kitchens. Led by Clare Nicholls, editor of Catering Insight, the panel will examine what it actually means to be a ‘distributor’ in 2017 and beyond, and how projects, design and equipment will continue to connect the industry.
The next wave of seminars to be announced in the coming weeks include panels covering food-to-go kitchens (big innovations in small spaces), foodservice kitchen design (featuring CEDA Grand Prix winners), kitchens in education (school and university caterers), and hospital kitchens (led by Philip Shelley, immediate past national chair of the HCA). Shelley will also be appearing alongside senior representatives from CEDA (Adam Mason), The ALMR (Kate Nicholls), and FCSI (Julian Edwards) in a joint association panel discussion at 3.30pm on 7 June.
Commercial Kitchen returns to the NEC Birmingham on 6-7 June. Show features include a free two-day seminar programme, the Innovation Challenge Gallery and CEDA Awards Gallery.
Recently confirmed exhibitors include Keith Elkington Transport, Reco-Air, Interflow UK, Univent Systems, and Multivac UK. The show’s exhibitor list is available at www.commercialkitchenshow.co.uk/exhibitor-list.
For further information, and to register to attend Commercial Kitchen, visit www.commercialkitchenshow.co.uk and enter priority code CK10.
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