CANADA/INTERNATIONAL. A heavyweight line-up of speakers is in place for the sixth Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference, which takes place in Toronto on 21-23 June. The event is organised by The Moodie Davitt Report and hosted by Toronto Pearson International Airport.
A Gala Dinner on 22 June will see the annual FAB Awards recognise and reward best practice in airport food & beverage.
Travel restaurateurs OTG, SSP, Areas, Autogrill and HMSHost are Platinum Partners of the event. Other sponsors include Travel Food Services, The Restaurant Group and Lagardère Travel Retail.
The event is being held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Toronto. Click here for hotel and conference registration.
FAB, which is dedicated to travel-related food & beverage, attracts senior representatives from the world’s leading airports, railway station operators and F&B concessionaires to network with industry peers, share insights and celebrate best practice in this burgeoning sector.
Speakers for FAB 2017 include:
– Several of North America’s most celebrated chefs, among them Paul Wahlberg (founder of Wahlburgers) and Massimo Capra (Boccone Trattoria). Another renowned name from Canada’s vibrant culinary scene will be revealed shortly.
– Greater Toronto Airport Authority President & Chief Executive Officer Howard Eng
– Greater Toronto Airport Authority Vice President of Customer and Terminal Services Scott Collier
– Copenhagen Airports Director of Airport Sales Lise Ryevad
– London Gatwick Head of Retail Rachel Bulford
– AIRMALL USA President & CEO Ben Zandi
– Areas President Pedro Fontana
– OTG CEO Rick Blatstein
– HMS Host President Steve Johnson
– SSP America CEO Michael Svagdis
– New York JFK T4 (JFKIAT) VP Concession Management Ed Midgley
– Paradies Lagardère CEO Gregg Paradies
– Westfield Airports Vice President Leasing Iris Messina
– Vancouver Airport Authority Director, Commercial Services Sue Stiene
– Emirates Leisure Retail Chief Operating Officer Kevin Zajax
– Smart Design President & CEO Nick Baker
– J.D. Power Director Airport Practice Michael Taylor
– San Francisco International Airport Director Revenue Development & Management Cheryl Nashir
– GRAB CEO Mark Bergsrud
– HMSHost Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer Sarah Naqvi
– Kallpod CEO Gabriel Weisz
– Culinary Tourism Alliance President Rebecca MacKenzie
– Marqette General Manager Michael Thornton
– EMCAT – Airport F&B Alliance Managing Director Lars Crone
– Lite Bites Foods Director Rohit Aggalwar
Other speakers will be added to the programme in coming days.
An urgent reminder also that the closing date for FAB Awards entries falls on 24 March.
Nominations for the 16 categories can be made here. They are:
- Airport Coffee, Non-alcoholic Beverage Shop of the Year
- Airport ‘Food to Go’ Offer of the Year
- Airport Bar of the Year
- Airport Wine Bar of the Year
- Airport Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year
- Airport Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
- Airport Food Hall of the Year
- F&B Marketing & Promotional Campaign of the Year
- Individual F&B Offer of the Year in a Railway Station
- Airport Food & Beverage Offer Best Reflecting Sense of Place
- Airport Food & Beverage Offer of the Year
- #AiroftheDog – The Great Airport Cocktail Award
- ‘La spirito de vojaĝado’ Award (‘The spirit of travel’)
- New Food & Beverage Concept of the Year
- Customer Service Initiative of the Year
- Food & Beverage Disruptor of the Year
The awards celebrate the best in travel-related dining around the world, and this year feature several new and exciting categories that put the emphasis firmly on people, product, creativity and innovation.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF PREVIOUS FAB EVENTS
PICTURE GALLERY – A HISTORY OF FAB (2011-2016)
