2021 Speakers

Peter Martin

CM & Co

Nisha Katona MBE

CEO/Founder, Mowgli Street Food

Noel Mahony

Chief Executive, BaxterStorey

Kate Nicholls OBE

CEO, UKHospitality

11:00-11:30
Introduction & Welcome

Peter sets the scene by mapping out the five big behavioural shifts that are already shaping. Thinking about the future of the out-of-home food and drink market.

Over the years, he has launched and run a raft of business magazines, newsletters and conferences and is probably best known as both co-founder and publisher of the M&C Report newsletter, now renamed MCA. He remains a regular columnist and contributing editor.

More recently he co-founded Peach Factory, the specialist media, consultancy, research and events business for the hospitality sector created with partner Christine Martin, which was acquired by CGA in July 2013.

He is now a strategic advisor to a number of companies, including CGA and Harri, the on-line people management platform based in New York and London.

CGA, through its offices in Manchester and Chicago, provides market insight and analysis, working with brand owners, operators, investors and suppliers. Research products include the Coffer Peach Business Tracker and the BrandTrack consumer survey, both of which Peter helped create and develop. CGA continues to run the Peach portfolio of industry conferences and events, including the Peach2020 conference and Hero & Icon Awards, which Peter chairs and curates.

Peter is an inveterate networker and “allegedly” has the best contacts book in the UK market. He speaks and presents regularly at events in the UK, Europe and the US. He is a founder of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), the trade organization for the UK pub, bar and casual dining sector, and now sits on the advisory council of UK Hospitality, the lead hospitality association formed by the amalgamation of ALMR and BHA.

Peter Martin is one of the most authoritative and influential communicators and community-builders in the eating and drinking out sector, with some 35 years experience as entrepreneur, columnist, editor, media owner, market analyst and board adviser.

He is founder of the Atlantic Club, an exclusive international network for senior executives from the out-of-home food and drink market, and vice president of CGA, the global data and insight specialist for the food and drink sector.

He is a trustee of the Tim Bacon Foundation, the cancer charity created in memory of celebrated restaurant and bar entrepreneur Tim Bacon.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Peter has continued to work closely with the likes of CGA and UK Hospitality to support the out-of-home sector, helping to deliver industry insight and data, and chairing and curating industry webinars.

Working with Harri, he helped create and launch the free-to-use Hospitality Unite jobs website, providing temporary employment for furloughed hospitality workers. With Yumpingo, CGA and UK Hospitality, he was part of the team that launched the industry-wide, also free-to-use, We Hear You initiative to gain consumer feedback on hygiene and safety standards across the hospitality sector.

In 2016 he won the Special Achievement Award from Eat Out magazine, and in 2018 the Special Award at the Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards.

11:30-12:00
Mowgli: Making it through

Chef, food writer, TV presenter, one-time barrister and now restaurateur! Hear Nisha talk about the challenges of keeping an entrepreneurial business alive and on track!

Nisha Katona is the CEO, executive chef and development chef of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and founder of the Mowgli Trust charity.

Founded in 2014, Nisha used all her savings to open the first Mowgli Street Food restaurant in the city of Liverpool. Since giving up the security of a 20 year career as a full time Barrister, Nisha has grown Mowgli Street Food to eleven restaurants across the nation with an aim to continue growing restaurants and jobs in order to fulfil the mission of Mowgli: to enrich lives in the cites she goes to.

Mowgli Street Food is recognised as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies according to The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and was awarded by them, Best Management Team.

Nisha received an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours List for services in the Food Industry.

Nisha is also the author of 4 cookbooks: The Spice Tree, The Mowgli Cookbook, Pimp My Rice and The 30 Minute Mowgli. She has also worked extensively as a business and food expert, on several projects across the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 and Radio 4

As founder and chair of The Mowgli Trust, the charitable limb of the restaurant, Nisha selects and supports local and world charities by donating over £500k each year and that figure grows by an additional £40k on average per site built.

12:20-12:50
Behind closed doors

How one of Britain’s biggest and most diverse catering businesses has reimagined the food experience for a changing post-pandemic world of work and travel.

A native of Kilkenny, Noel Mahony embarked on his catering career in 1985, when he began training as a chef and management trainee within the Trusthouse Forte Group. From there, in 1989 Noel moved to Ring & Brymer events division, later acquired by Gardner Merchant Leisure. Noel joined Granada Food Services in 1997, joining Alastair Storey, CEO of then £1billion UK business.

Noel returned to Ireland with Compass (via Granada Food Services) to oversee the merger of workplace dining businesses Eurest and Sutcliffe Catering in 2002. The same year, they acquired Management Catering Services. Upon returning to the UK, Noel was named Managing Director of Compass subsidiary, Baxter and Platts. Noel left in 2004 to join Alastair Storey at WSH.

This saw Mahony named Managing Director of the newly formed BaxterStorey. The combined business had an annual turnover of £87 million. The hospitality business enjoyed significant double-digit growth over the next decade, in addition to some strategic acquisitions such as Benugo and Holroyd Howe in 2007 followed by Searcys in 2015 and more recently Bartlett Mitchell.

Noel has proved himself to be an admirable business leader through his tenacious approach, diligent management style and affable nature; this was acknowledged in 2009 when he was awarded the much-coveted Food Service Caterer Award at the Cateys, having played a pivotal role in the company’s success. Previously, he had contributed to the launch of BaxterStorey in Ireland, and later oversaw the development of the company in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Norway. Noel’s achievements at BaxterStorey include championing their award-winning Chef Academy and Barista Academy, and in April 2011 he was named Chief Executive of BaxterStorey UK and Europe, and front-of-house specialist Portico.

He is an established leader in the global catering, foodservice and hospitality industry leading an executive team with over 10,000 employees, with annualised revenues of £450 million in the UK business, in addition to €30 million in Europe. (Pre–COVID) Noel is a keen supporter of Springboard and works closely with the Beyond Food charity supporting those at risk of homelessness. More recently Noel has coordinated the Feed NHS campaign response through Mealforce to support frontline workers with nutritious meals throughout the pandemic.

13:50-14:20
Head-to-head interview with Ralph Findlay and Peter Martin

With the reopening of hospitality in sight, what are the big political and business challenges that still lie ahead? What shape is the sector in and what’s the plan for navigating the new, emerging market landscape?

Kate Nicholls is CEO of UKHospitality, the powerful voice representing the broad hospitality sector, having previously worked as CEO and Strategic Affairs Director of the ALMR.

In July 2019, Kate was appointed Chair of the Tourism Alliance, the membership organisation for the tourism industry comprising of leading trade associations/trade bodies within the sector. Kate is also Chair of Mayor of London’s Night Time Commission and is also a member of the Events Industry Board, London Food Board, Tourism Industry Council, Cultural Cities Enquiry, London & Partners Members Group and the Advisory Board for the Institute for Industrial Strategy.

After gaining a degree in English and a post-graduate diploma in competition law, Kate worked as a researcher in the House of Commons and European Parliament before joining Whitbread as Government Relations Manager, starting her career in hospitality in 1993. Kate was Director at one of the largest independent public affairs companies, working with a number of hospitality, retail and leisure accounts before establishing her own strategic communications consultancy in 2000. She is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Kings College London.

Kate has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List 2021, recognising her tireless work to champion the Hospitality sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ralph Findlay

CEO, Marston’s PLC

Philip Shelley

Chair, NHS Food Review

Chris Brazier

Event Director, Diversified Communications

13:50-14:20
Head-to-head interview with Kate Nicholls and Peter Martin

With the reopening of hospitality in sight, what are the big political and business challenges that still lie ahead? What shape is the sector in and what’s the plan for navigating the new, emerging market landscape?

Ralph is Chief Executive Office of Marston’s PLC, one of the UKs leading pub businesses which operates pubs, bars and lodges across the UK, including brands such as Pitcher & Piano and Lost & Found. He is also non-executive Chair of the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, a new business formed in 2020 by the creation of a joint venture between Carlsberg and Marston’s.

He has been a director of the company for 25 years, and CEO for 20 years, and has overseen a significant number of M&A deals including the combinations of Marston’s, Mansfield Brewery, and The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB); and the acquisitions of Wizard Inns, Burtonwood, Jennings, Celtic Inns, Eldridge Pope, Ringwood Brewery, Wychwood Brewery, and the brewing operations of Thwaites’s and Charles Wells.  In 2020, the joint venture with Carlsberg was created, and the company announced that it would take on the operations of the Brains pub estate in Wales in 2021.

Prior to joining W&DB (which subsequently changed its name to Marston’s ) in 1994, he held positions with Geest PLC and Bass PLC. He is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified with Price Waterhouse.

He is a non-executive director of Vistry PLC (formerly Bovis Homes PLC), and Chair of Audit and Senior Independent Director. He was Chair of Council and Pro Chancellor of Keele University from 2013 to 2018, and Chair of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) from 2009 to 2011. He is a current director of the BBPA.

He is a graduate of Edinburgh University, and holds Honorary Doctorates from Wolverhampton University and Keele University.

14:50-15:20
Working together in our NHS

Philip’s presentation shares the experiences, collaboration, involvement and recommendations to ensure that there is a clear pathway forward to improve our food and drink services in the NHS.

Philip Shelley is Chair of the NHS Food Review that was announced by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care following the unfortunate deaths through Listeria in 2019.

Philip is based at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as Deputy Head of Facilities across the county; he has also been working for NHS Improvement since March 2020 to assist in the national programme of covid-19 Facilities Management support – he is taking up a full-time position in April. Having served as National Chair of the Hospital Catering Association, he has proactively driven collaboration between fellow organisations such as Malnutrition Task Force and the British Dietetic Association to ensure a focussed approach to patient catering services.

In the summer of 2019, there was an outbreak of listeria in which seven patients tragically died after eating hospital sandwiches contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes – which is a food borne disease. Following this, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced a “root and branch” review of food served and sold in hospitals. The scope of the review was to include the safety, nutrition, quality and production methods of food for patients, staff and visitors in NHS hospitals. Philip’s presentation shares the experiences, collaboration, involvement and recommendations to ensure that there is a clear pathway forward to improve our food and drink services in the NHS.

16:30-17:00
ceda Grand Prix Awards 2020 Ceremony

Join awards host Chris Brazier as he announces the highly anticipated ceda Grand Prix Awards 2020.
View the full Awards shortlist here, and join us as we congratulate all the winners, including our Rising Star Award!

Chris Brazier is Group Event Director for three industry leading trade shows. He works with an amazing team of people across lunch! – the contemporary food to go show, Casual Dining – the UK’s dedicated trade event for the branded restaurant and pub sector, and Commercial Kitchen – the essential industry event for buyers involved in equipping and running innovative and efficient commercial kitchens.

Chris lives near the South Downs with his partner Rachel and their young family.

Peter Martin

CM & Co

11:00-11:30
Introduction & Welcome

Peter sets the scene by mapping out the five big behavioural shifts that are already shaping. Thinking about the future of the out-of-home food and drink market.

Over the years, he has launched and run a raft of business magazines, newsletters and conferences and is probably best known as both co-founder and publisher of the M&C Report newsletter, now renamed MCA. He remains a regular columnist and contributing editor.

More recently he co-founded Peach Factory, the specialist media, consultancy, research and events business for the hospitality sector created with partner Christine Martin, which was acquired by CGA in July 2013.

He is now a strategic advisor to a number of companies, including CGA and Harri, the on-line people management platform based in New York and London.

CGA, through its offices in Manchester and Chicago, provides market insight and analysis, working with brand owners, operators, investors and suppliers. Research products include the Coffer Peach Business Tracker and the BrandTrack consumer survey, both of which Peter helped create and develop. CGA continues to run the Peach portfolio of industry conferences and events, including the Peach2020 conference and Hero & Icon Awards, which Peter chairs and curates.

Peter is an inveterate networker and “allegedly” has the best contacts book in the UK market. He speaks and presents regularly at events in the UK, Europe and the US. He is a founder of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), the trade organization for the UK pub, bar and casual dining sector, and now sits on the advisory council of UK Hospitality, the lead hospitality association formed by the amalgamation of ALMR and BHA.

Peter Martin is one of the most authoritative and influential communicators and community-builders in the eating and drinking out sector, with some 35 years experience as entrepreneur, columnist, editor, media owner, market analyst and board adviser.

He is founder of the Atlantic Club, an exclusive international network for senior executives from the out-of-home food and drink market, and vice president of CGA, the global data and insight specialist for the food and drink sector.

He is a trustee of the Tim Bacon Foundation, the cancer charity created in memory of celebrated restaurant and bar entrepreneur Tim Bacon.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Peter has continued to work closely with the likes of CGA and UK Hospitality to support the out-of-home sector, helping to deliver industry insight and data, and chairing and curating industry webinars.

Working with Harri, he helped create and launch the free-to-use Hospitality Unite jobs website, providing temporary employment for furloughed hospitality workers. With Yumpingo, CGA and UK Hospitality, he was part of the team that launched the industry-wide, also free-to-use, We Hear You initiative to gain consumer feedback on hygiene and safety standards across the hospitality sector.

In 2016 he won the Special Achievement Award from Eat Out magazine, and in 2018 the Special Award at the Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards.

Nisha Katona MBE

CEO/Founder, Mowgli Street Food

11:30-12:00
Mowgli: Making it through

Chef, food writer, TV presenter, one-time barrister and now restaurateur! Hear Nisha talk about the challenges of keeping an entrepreneurial business alive and on track!

Nisha Katona is the CEO, executive chef and development chef of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and founder of the Mowgli Trust charity.

Founded in 2014, Nisha used all her savings to open the first Mowgli Street Food restaurant in the city of Liverpool. Since giving up the security of a 20 year career as a full time Barrister, Nisha has grown Mowgli Street Food to eleven restaurants across the nation with an aim to continue growing restaurants and jobs in order to fulfil the mission of Mowgli: to enrich lives in the cites she goes to.

Mowgli Street Food is recognised as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies according to The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and was awarded by them, Best Management Team.

Nisha received an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours List for services in the Food Industry.

Nisha is also the author of 4 cookbooks: The Spice Tree, The Mowgli Cookbook, Pimp My Rice and The 30 Minute Mowgli. She has also worked extensively as a business and food expert, on several projects across the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 and Radio 4

As founder and chair of The Mowgli Trust, the charitable limb of the restaurant, Nisha selects and supports local and world charities by donating over £500k each year and that figure grows by an additional £40k on average per site built.

Noel Mahony

Chief Executive, Baxter Storey

12:20-12:50
Behind closed doors

How one of Britain’s biggest and most diverse catering businesses has reimagined the food experience for a changing post-pandemic world of work and travel.

A native of Kilkenny, Noel Mahony embarked on his catering career in 1985, when he began training as a chef and management trainee within the Trusthouse Forte Group. From there, in 1989 Noel moved to Ring & Brymer events division, later acquired by Gardner Merchant Leisure. Noel joined Granada Food Services in 1997, joining Alastair Storey, CEO of then £1billion UK business.

Noel returned to Ireland with Compass (via Granada Food Services) to oversee the merger of workplace dining businesses Eurest and Sutcliffe Catering in 2002. The same year, they acquired Management Catering Services. Upon returning to the UK, Noel was named Managing Director of Compass subsidiary, Baxter and Platts. Noel left in 2004 to join Alastair Storey at WSH.

This saw Mahony named Managing Director of the newly formed BaxterStorey. The combined business had an annual turnover of £87 million. The hospitality business enjoyed significant double-digit growth over the next decade, in addition to some strategic acquisitions such as Benugo and Holroyd Howe in 2007 followed by Searcys in 2015 and more recently Bartlett Mitchell.

Noel has proved himself to be an admirable business leader through his tenacious approach, diligent management style and affable nature; this was acknowledged in 2009 when he was awarded the much-coveted Food Service Caterer Award at the Cateys, having played a pivotal role in the company’s success. Previously, he had contributed to the launch of BaxterStorey in Ireland, and later oversaw the development of the company in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Norway. Noel’s achievements at BaxterStorey include championing their award-winning Chef Academy and Barista Academy, and in April 2011 he was named Chief Executive of BaxterStorey UK and Europe, and front-of-house specialist Portico.

He is an established leader in the global catering, foodservice and hospitality industry leading an executive team with over 10,000 employees, with annualised revenues of £450 million in the UK business, in addition to €30 million in Europe. (Pre–COVID) Noel is a keen supporter of Springboard and works closely with the Beyond Food charity supporting those at risk of homelessness. More recently Noel has coordinated the Feed NHS campaign response through Mealforce to support frontline workers with nutritious meals throughout the pandemic.

Kate Nicholls OBE

CEO, UKHospitality

13:50-14:20
Head-to-head interview with Ralph Findlay and Peter Martin

With the reopening of hospitality in sight, what are the big political and business challenges that still lie ahead? What shape is the sector in and what’s the plan for navigating the new, emerging market landscape?

Kate Nicholls is CEO of UKHospitality, the powerful voice representing the broad hospitality sector, having previously worked as CEO and Strategic Affairs Director of the ALMR.

In July 2019, Kate was appointed Chair of the Tourism Alliance, the membership organisation for the tourism industry comprising of leading trade associations/trade bodies within the sector. Kate is also Chair of Mayor of London’s Night Time Commission and is also a member of the Events Industry Board, London Food Board, Tourism Industry Council, Cultural Cities Enquiry, London & Partners Members Group and the Advisory Board for the Institute for Industrial Strategy.

After gaining a degree in English and a post-graduate diploma in competition law, Kate worked as a researcher in the House of Commons and European Parliament before joining Whitbread as Government Relations Manager, starting her career in hospitality in 1993. Kate was Director at one of the largest independent public affairs companies, working with a number of hospitality, retail and leisure accounts before establishing her own strategic communications consultancy in 2000. She is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Kings College London.

Kate has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List 2021, recognising her tireless work to champion the Hospitality sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ralph Findlay

CEO, Marston’s PLC

13:50-14:20
Head-to-head interview with Kate Nicholls and Peter Martin

With the reopening of hospitality in sight, what are the big political and business challenges that still lie ahead? What shape is the sector in and what’s the plan for navigating the new, emerging market landscape?

Ralph is Chief Executive Office of Marston’s PLC, one of the UKs leading pub businesses which operates pubs, bars and lodges across the UK, including brands such as Pitcher & Piano and Lost & Found. He is also non-executive Chair of the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, a new business formed in 2020 by the creation of a joint venture between Carlsberg and Marston’s.

He has been a director of the company for 25 years, and CEO for 20 years, and has overseen a significant number of M&A deals including the combinations of Marston’s, Mansfield Brewery, and The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB); and the acquisitions of Wizard Inns, Burtonwood, Jennings, Celtic Inns, Eldridge Pope, Ringwood Brewery, Wychwood Brewery, and the brewing operations of Thwaites’s and Charles Wells.  In 2020, the joint venture with Carlsberg was created, and the company announced that it would take on the operations of the Brains pub estate in Wales in 2021.

Prior to joining W&DB (which subsequently changed its name to Marston’s ) in 1994, he held positions with Geest PLC and Bass PLC. He is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified with Price Waterhouse.

He is a non-executive director of Vistry PLC (formerly Bovis Homes PLC), and Chair of Audit and Senior Independent Director. He was Chair of Council and Pro Chancellor of Keele University from 2013 to 2018, and Chair of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) from 2009 to 2011. He is a current director of the BBPA.

He is a graduate of Edinburgh University, and holds Honorary Doctorates from Wolverhampton University and Keele University.

Philip Shelley

Chair, NHS Food Review

14:50-15:20
Working together in our NHS

Philip’s presentation shares the experiences, collaboration, involvement and recommendations to ensure that there is a clear pathway forward to improve our food and drink services in the NHS.

Philip Shelley is Chair of the NHS Food Review that was announced by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care following the unfortunate deaths through Listeria in 2019.

Philip is based at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as Deputy Head of Facilities across the county; he has also been working for NHS Improvement since March 2020 to assist in the national programme of covid-19 Facilities Management support – he is taking up a full-time position in April. Having served as National Chair of the Hospital Catering Association, he has proactively driven collaboration between fellow organisations such as Malnutrition Task Force and the British Dietetic Association to ensure a focussed approach to patient catering services.

In the summer of 2019, there was an outbreak of listeria in which seven patients tragically died after eating hospital sandwiches contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes – which is a food borne disease. Following this, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced a “root and branch” review of food served and sold in hospitals. The scope of the review was to include the safety, nutrition, quality and production methods of food for patients, staff and visitors in NHS hospitals. Philip’s presentation shares the experiences, collaboration, involvement and recommendations to ensure that there is a clear pathway forward to improve our food and drink services in the NHS.

Chris Brazier

Group Event Director, Diversified Communications

16:30-17:00
ceda Grand Prix Awards 2020 Ceremony

Join awards host Chris Brazier as he announces the highly anticipated ceda Grand Prix Awards 2020.
View the full Awards shortlist here, and join us as we congratulate all the winners, including our Rising Star Award!

Chris Brazier is Group Event Director for three industry leading trade shows. He works with an amazing team of people across lunch! – the contemporary food to go show, Casual Dining – the UK’s dedicated trade event for the branded restaurant and pub sector, and Commercial Kitchen – the essential industry event for buyers involved in equipping and running innovative and efficient commercial kitchens.

Chris lives near the South Downs with his partner Rachel and their young family.