IN FOCUS: HLS

HLS in review

Highlights from the 2023 Hospitality Leaders Summit in Melbourne.

-WORDS Amy Northcott

MORE THAN 120 industry professionals gathered together in July for the 2023 Hospitality Leaders Summit held at Melbourne’s Metropolis Events. The event saw a stellar line-up of operators, chefs, and professionals share their insights across jam-packed Q&As, panels, and masterclasses.

The topics covered included staffing strategies, hospitality marketing, legal issues in hospitality, navigating the AI wave, sustainability, menu design, and future food and beverage trends.

MCs Tawnya Bahr from Straight To The Source and food media personality and journalist Nerida Conway kicked off the day with an intimate discussion with Australian Venue Co.’s Telina Menzies.

The executive chef spoke about overseeing 33 venues across the country and how they use native ingredients in the kitchen. “Education is key when we write menus, and I think it’s important to put native ingredients in front of people and start conversations,” Menzies told the audience. “But we certainly have fallen behind with embracing our native culture and playing homage to that.”

The executive chef also covered the importance of mental health and prioritising people as a manager. “We need to be better in that space,” they admitted. “That’s where I see the most investment for me in terms of time ... is my people and being a better leader for them.”

A panel on staffing with Sarah Dougas from Trader House, Nathan Toleman from The Mulberry Group, Lee Smith from Stokehouse, and Adam Brownell from Hector’s Deli followed, revealing important insights on effective recruitment tools.

Dougas said staff referrals had been a successful means for Trader House to find valuable workers. “For the vast majority of roles, we still use the traditional method of going through Seek, and for more senior roles, we’ve been going through LinkedIn,” she relayed. “But the best results are coming from staff referrals. People who work for us are advocates of our company and that’s a very powerful tool.”

Smith looks after 80–130 staff at Stokehouse and said the tables have turned when it comes to hiring, with venues needing to sell themselves to prospective employees. “We’ve been on the backfoot as employers and throughout Covid-19 it was, ‘What can I do to get you to work for us?’” he said. “It’s nice to see it balance out more now, but writing job ads is still a sales-focused task. While we all know it, people outside the industry don’t know how much you can get out of hospitality and what you can learn.”

Brownell spoke about Hector’s Deli’s new four-day work model, urging operators to adopt unique practices to help make the industry more appealing. He asked the audience how many believed they would have a long-term career in hospitality when they started their first job. “Now there’s about a dozen there [with their hands up] and that’s a good indication we need to change and get around half of the room putting their hands up,” he said. “We have an obligation to change that perception and make it an appealing industry. We’re fighting against other industries to hire young workers.”

Marketing was next on the program, with practical advice issued by Monica Styles from Canned Goods, Wendy Hargreaves from Bread & Butter Media, Joss JennerLeuthart from Belles Hot Chicken, and writer and publicist Genevieve Phelan.

Phelan works on both sides of the media sphere as a writer and a publicist, and said a tailored pitch is key to getting the attention of journalists. “A humanised approach is important,” she said. “You want to keep it interesting to stand out in what is typically a very busy inbox. I love receiving pitches with a quippy, interesting subject line and a unique and personalised greeting.”

Styles spoke about social media trends and reminded delegates not to get caught up in the flurry. “It is much more important to create connections with your audience where they are online than to worry too much about the numbers,” she said. But when it comes to numbers, Styles revealed that while TikTok is leading the way, the industry should focus on Instagram. She suggested using carousel posts to demonstrate a more humanised side of a business and to use Stories to repost usergenerated content and show behind-thescenes insights.

We have an obligation to change that perception and make it an appealing industry.

– Adam Brownell

After lunch, it was time for a drink with Sara Ramadan from Omnia, who took guests through her recipe for a spicy margarita, which was delivered to delegates during the demo.

Menu design is a necessary but sometimes challenging task for chefs, but a masterclass with Ian Curley provided ideas and a laugh, too. “When designing a menu, I look at what the place is first and what the staff levels are,” he said. “For example, there’s no point in trying to put a vegan restaurant near a mining area — it’s just not going to happen.”

He also touched on the challenge that is costing, and told guests to look to seasonal produce to create budget-friendly options. “Go and have a look at what good fruit and vegetables are out there at the moment,” he said. “You can have a really good dish with carrots which is cheaper opposed to an eye fillet that will cost you $50 a plate before all the trimmings.”

It was then time to chat all things sustainability with a panel of inspirational eco operators including Luke Whearty from Byrdi, Alejandro Saravia from Farmer’s Daughters, Blayne Bertoncello from O.My, and Jungeun Chae and Yoora Yoon from Chae.

Bertoncello spoke about some of the dishes he has created using ingredients from his estate garden. “Our artichoke dish uses the entire plant,” he explained. “The stalks go through a composting cycle and every single part of the plant is used including the skins.”

Chae and Yoon spoke on all things fermentation which is an intrinsic part of the food served at their intimate six-seat venue. “Korean cuisine is largely based around fermentation and dried ingredients,” explained Yoon. “So that allows us to really minimise food waste because we try to ferment, dry, or salt most of our vegetables when they are seasonal and at their most nutritious.”

Whearty rounded out the session by encouraging operators to get staff involved in the process. “If you’ve got an excess of something, give it to one of your staff as a little homework project,” he said, using carrot tops as an example.

The final session of the day saw James Thorpe from Odd Culture Group, Nick Mahlook from Public Hospitality, Tate Connolly from Impossible Foods, and Simon Denman from Bahama Gold discuss the upcoming trends they predict will be of importance for the coming year.

Connolly shared her thoughts on why convenience and personalisation are big drivers in the industry. “Customisation is a big trend that’s happening and comes through into food,” she explained. “How can you personalise the products and how can you give people an experience that suits them?”

Denman noted the role of hybrid venues and keeping things simple. “The hybrid model is something we’re seeing more and more of,” he said. “It’s a way for venues to add value to whatever it is they’re doing. But where the industry has been going for a long time is definitely the pared-back model with less frills.”

MCs Bahr and Conway closed the day before delegates came together for networking drinks and canapés. Stay tuned for the next event hosted by Hospitality magazine.