Line-up for Sally Abé’s International Women’s Day event at Conrad London St. James revealed
The event will feature women from a diverse range of backgrounds and roles in the sector, including Chishuru’s Adejoké Bakare; The Telegraph Magazine editor Lisa Markwell; Adam Handling Restaurant Group’s Nicola Gartenberg; and Hilton vice president F&B strategy and development (EMEA) Emma Banks.
The format of the event - which takes place on 8 March - is being shaken up this year with four panels (see below) and workshops running simultaneously.
Designed to be a full day event, attendees will get the opportunity to join two panels throughout the day, with all sessions running in the morning and afternoon.
After each panel session, guests will get the opportunity to network and connect with like-minded women.
Abé - whose cooking CV prior to launching The Pem and the more casual Blue Boar at Conrad London St. James includes The Ledbury and The Harwood Arms - says the day has been designed to explore the wealth of opportunities available in the industry, to inspire, foster collaboration, and provide the tools to help propel careers and businesses forward.
“Last year’s event was amazing but this year, I wanted to take more action on the topics that we discussed, so I’ve split it into four talks and workshops,” she says.
“I thought about what I needed as a young woman coming up in the hospitality industry – these are the kind of women with real insight I would have liked to have talked to but didn’t have the contacts. It’s all about bringing women together, and showing them that there are other women in this industry that want to help them and put the ladder down for the next generation.”
Abé’s The Pem restaurant is located in the hotel and is inspired by suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, whose family used the pet name ‘Pem’ for her, and celebrates generations of pioneering women leading from the front.
The ticketed event starts at 10am and will finish at 4.30pm. Tickets are £50 per person inclusive of a three-course lunch at The Pem.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Sally Abé’s International Women’s Day event in full
Panel 1: How I Got Here
The art of goal setting from leading chefs
Chef Sally Abé; chef and cookbook author, Sabrina Gidda; chef owner of Chishuru, Adejoké Bakare; chef owner of The Little Chartroom, Roberta Hall-McCarron; and Cookbook Author, Great British Bake Off Winner, and owner of The Green Man, Candice Brown.
Panel 2: Not In Service
Discover the wealth of alternative hospitality careers and how to pivot
Editor at Telegraph Magazine, Lisa Markwell; founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Lorraine Copes; executive director of the Adam Handling Restaurant Group, ; and hospitality consultant and founder of Celebrate Her, Anna Sebastian.
Panel 3: Building Your Own Brand
Steps to developing and growing your brand persona and presence
Chef, author, activist and TV presenter, Ravneet Gill; chef, Young MasterChef judge, social media personality and ‘potato queen’, Poppy O’Toole; co-founder of London On The Inside, Jules Pearson; founder of Social Sequence, Lauren Halliday; and Hilton vice president F&B strategy and development (EMEA) Emma Banks.
Panel 4: How To Be The Best You
The key to work life balance and being the best version of yourself
Merly Kammerling, founder of Me, Myself in Mind, will deliver a workshop on stress reduction, mindfulness, and mental health awareness in hospitality.
