21st Century Hospitality, Gender Diversity… and the life of a chef, are all subjects to be explored in the city this month as Merseyside and Cheshire’s leading industry figures come together, with a host of special guests to drive conversation around the changing face of hospitality.
Hosted at the Hilton Liverpool, from 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM on Wed 15th November, ‘The Art of Hospitality’ has been created to open up discussions and drive education around 21st Century Hospitality, what this looks like and what is needed to support its growth.
Exploring how to create great leaders, and what’s needed to create gold star customer service, everything from systems to social skills will be touched upon as the event sets out to be ‘game changing’ and hopes to spark a renewed excitement for the industry, across generations.
Billed as ‘a frank and open conference’ special guest interviews and presentations will take place with topics on the agenda including a Hoteliers Masterclass featuring Marcus Magee (Hilton) & Steve Ogden (Chester Grosvenor); Restaurateur Artistry featuring Jim Dorington (Artezzan) & Liam Barrie (Round R’s); and a session on Ways to Wow with Jamie Wray (Ways to Wow).
Paul Askew (Arts School) & Elliott Hill (Chester Grosvenor) will be sharing behind the scenes of a chefs life and Jay Hynd (The Guide) & Izzy Grey (We Love Good Times) will be looking at Cities of Hospitality, whilst Katherine Jones will be exploring Suppliers working with Hospitality.
The event was organised by Steven Hesketh, who is Chair of Chester Hospitality Association and Vice-Chair of Liverpool Hospitality (Association), as well as a Committee Member for UK Hospitality (Northern Region). He has recently developed a new strand to his 30 year hospitality career, stepping out as ‘The Hospitality Hero’, and this event has been created to bring people together across the industry, as well as from the wider business arena, to see what we can all learn from a trade that must keep evolving.
Steven’s H.E.R.O values are focused around:
- Heralding Hospitality is a dynamic industry that is crucial to place-making of towns and cities.
- Economics & Employment – championing the impact Hospitality brings to our Regions, the whole of the UK & the wider world.
- Respect & Retention – Educate, Develop, Train and Support Employees & Operators
- Opportunity – illustrating the changes this industry provides through People, Place & Perception
Taking on his role as a champion for the industry, dedicated to improving hospitality service & culture both in the UK and Internationally, Steven is keen to share the good, the bad and the ugly of the industry, to facilitate progress and create more positive movements around customer service and customer experience.
Bringing inclusivity and gender diversity into the conversation, LGBTQIA+ champion and founder of Beyond the Binary, Alex Jay Lynam will explore how inclusivity can benefit the hospitality industry what this looks like and how businesses can quickly and easily adapt and improve their approach to D&I to increase profitability and reinvestment.
Alex is keen to open the door to conversations that might be feared, and they offer “the chance for people to step out of their comfort zone and feel safe to get it wrong to get it right”.
Steven said: “I am really excited by the potential of this event. Collaboration and peer support is key as we navigate ever changing times in an industry steeped in history and it’s vital we all come together to embrace the change that’s needed. I know the speakers will bring the fire, and the event also includes networking and lunch giving everyone a chance to learn from each other outside of the presentations, sharing ideas and experiences -often the most valuable part of the day”.
