Indian Restaurant Congress & Awards - Conference Agenda 2022

Agenda

Led by Top Leaders in the Restaurant industry and the brightest professionals in food service, the Indian Restaurant Congress 2022 is power packed with hot trends and visionary messages designed to spark new ideas. Connect with the industry's game changers and gain valuable takeaways from the latest and greatest in food service innovation. There's something for everyone!

Session 1: Time:
10:30- 11:15 AM

The New and Next of Restaurants & Foodservice

Key trends, growth, and outlook for the restaurant industry

Session Highlights:

People, Growth, and Technology: How top brands are doing it all
What do customers want? How to carve customer experiences that meet their expectations in 2022 and beyond
The key to growth and gaining competitive advantage: Rebuilding teams for better-prioritizing initiatives and technology investment decisions to scale operations by elevating team execution
Reacting to fast-changing market dynamics: how digital is transforming the off-premise dining experience/Native apps, line busting, curbside pickup and new store designs

Speakers

Mr. Navin Gurnaney

CEO, Tim Hortons India

Akshay Bector

Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited

11:15-11:30

Keynote Session

In this session, an industry leader will talk and share thought-provoking ideas that will leave you challenged and inspired.

Speakers

Unnat Varma

MD, Pizza Hut- Asia Pacific& International Guest of Honour

11:30-11:45 AM

Networking Tea

11:45 AM- 12:30 PM

Building 21st Century Restaurant Organization

How restaurant brands can build virtual brands
Best Practices to drive unit growth in 2022 with optimal location-based decisions
Why Globalisation is gaining ground
Powering franchise growth via technology & leadership

Session Lead & Moderator:

Ritu Marya

Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India Media & Entrepreneur APAC

Speakers

Raghav Verma

Co-Founder, Chaayos

Vikrant Batra

Founder, Café Delhi Heights

Japtej Singh Ahluwalia

Co-Founder & ED, Pricol Gourmet

Rohit Kapoor

CEO- Food Marketplace, Swiggy

Sudeep Goenka

Director, Goldiee Group

12:30-1:00 PM

Should you be Internationalizing Growth

Lessons Learnt: What top brands have pushed outside their home turf to be a global brand
Betting on the biz: Monitoring the right time and Markets to go global
Franchise vs JV: What’s restaurants top preference when entering new geographies

Session Lead & Moderator:

Rajat Tuli

Partner, Kearney

Speakers

Rajat Agarwal

CEO, Barista

Ankit Tayal

Co-Founder, True Palate Hospitality

Devesh Srivastava

CEO, Japanese chain Coco Ichibanya

Sanjay Rekhi

Founder & Owner, Adda Singapore

1:00-1:40 PM

Capital Intelligence:

The Right 'Money' Finding Right 'Formats

This session uncovers the myriad ways operators are funding expansion and development, from asking patrons to participate in funding, to finding the right private equity partner and will establish how to successfully develop your concept with private equity partners

Getting Funding Within the Sector: Angel and VC Funding
From quick service to upscale dining -- are on the speediest growth trajectories?
Product & Service : A bigger Funding lifecycle
Tips on how and when to scale
M&A and the Future of the Restaurant Business
How to Take Your Restaurant Public

Session Lead & Moderator:

Punita Kapoor

Deputy Editor, Entrepreneur India

Speakers

Tarun Khanna

Partner, CX Partners

Karan Makan

Founder & General Partner, Quantum Oakmen Partners

Karan Kapur

ED, K Hospitality Corp (will join online)

Vishal Jindal

Founder & Co-CEO, Biryani By Kilo

1:40-2:40 PM

Networking Lunch

2:40-3:30 PM

What Is The Future Of Menu Innovation: Future Gazing with Leading Chef’s

How chefs are keeping pace in the world of flavors, ingredients, and NPD to develop products that rule customers heart
Satisfying health & wellness palate: Bridging the gap between the changing demands of the health-conscious consumer and innovative food and drink strategies
Are consistency and creativity mutually exclusive - How Should Chefs be balancing cost reduction, shelf life, or replicability with creative process and the customer’s experience?

Session Lead & Moderator:

Chef Vineet Manocha

Senior VP- Culinary, Lite Bite Foods

Speakers

Atul Kochhar

Two-Time Michelin Starred Chef, Restaurateur (Will join online)

Chef Vaibhav Bhargava

Partner, CHO-New Delhi

Chef Mayank Tiwari, Group

Executive Chef, PVR Cinemas

Chef Manish Mehrotra

Corporate Chef, Indian Accent

Shailee Chatrath Tyagi

Sales Director - Organised Trade Channels, Pepsico India Beverages

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Branch Operations Head for OOH Business (NORTH India) - Nestle India Ltd

Shaking it Big:

How are Nightclubs & Resto-Bars are creating processes to generate, prioritize, refine, and standardize Bev First menus

How Cocktails are heating up the restaurant menu
Rise of the Resto-Bar :Delighting with Custom Beverage Experiences
Beyond The Food:How bar Teams are ruling the top restaurants

Session Lead & Moderator:

Ankur Chawla

Sommelier & Beverages Expert

Speakers

Vishal Anand

Founder Moonshine Food Ventures

Jairaj Singh Solanki

Director/Co-founder, Naaya Hospitality (Lair, New Delhi)

Pawan Shahri

CEO & Founder, Chrome Hospitality

Dinesh Arora

Managing director, Unplugged courtyard, Laroca, Chica

3:30-3:45 PM

Keynote:

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Branch Operations Head for OOH Business (NORTH India) - Nestle India Ltd

3:30-4:30 PM

Fuelling both sides

Session Highlights:

Raising the Craft Bar: Delivering the Best Guest Experience in Breweries
What can a Resto-Bar expect from a supplier partner, the do's and don'ts of this relationship, and how to get creative to make solutions that will create win-win situations for all involved
Hospitality re-imagined: How to Build Bionic Managers/ bar tenders While Hiring More Effectively
The importance of Chef's and Bar tenders working hand in hand with Operations, Marketing & PR

Session Lead & Moderator:

Ms. Ritu Marya

Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India Media & Entrepreneur Media

Speakers:

Manu Gulati

Founder & Master Brewer, Effingut Breweries Pvt Ltd

Prateek Chaturvedi,

COO, Brewdog

Arijit Bose

Partner & Co-Founder, CounterTop

3:45-4:00

Keynote:
Merging Food with Content: What Digital Innovation is buzzing in Food service Business

Chef Damodaran/ Damu

Celebrity Chef

4:00-4:45 PM

Culinary Trends to Watch: How Top Hotel Chains are Innovating their Menu

Food Safety: Why we should talk about it
What’s new: Playing with flavours/ingredients
Getting the packaging right: From materials to a circular economy, leveraging industry data to review packaging and demonstrate sustainability commitments constantly

Session Lead & Moderator:

Chef Ranojit Kundu

Asst. Professor & HOD-Patisserie, BCIHMCT

Speakers:

Chef Rakesh Sethi

Celebrity Chef & Corporate Executive Chef, Radisson Hotels Group- South Asia

Chef Davinder Kumar

VP- F&B, Executive Chef, Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi & President, ICF

Chef Ashish Bhasin

Director- F&B Services and Culinary at The Leela Ambience

4:45-5:00 PM

Fireside Chat:

Sanjay Vazirani

CEO & MD, Foodlink Restaurants

5:00-5:45 PM

Appreciating the Local ‘regional’ cuisine: Why it’s time to look back to our roots

Regional cuisine and hyperlocal ingredient: The rise of ‘Ingredient’ focused restaurants
Heritage-based cuisines: How chefs have introduced it in the global menu
Bringing Indian food on global map: Role of Govt in promoting the local cuisines

Session Lead & Moderator:

Sadaf Hussain

Chef & Owner, Grand Trunk Road- London

Speakers:

Chef Dayashankar Sharma

Chef & Owner, Grand Trunk Road- London

Chef Dhruv Oberoi

Executive Chef, Olive Bar & Kitchen

Gurpreet S. Gehdu

Executive Chef, Co-Owner, Ranj Punjab

Day 2 - 22nd November

Session 1
10:30-11:00 am

Restaurants Need To Get Personal: Digital Transformation in Food service

A new normal has emerged in the restaurant industry, requiring operators to accelerate their digital capabilities to meet their customers whenever and wherever is most convenient to them, achieve greater levels of efficiency in restaurant operations, and keeping their employees engaged and focused on delivering a great guest experience. Consumer demand for a seamless digital experience that values convenience and loyalty.

How to maximize the value of your data and gain deeper insights on your guests to drive higher levels of visit frequency and brand loyalty
Knowing the primary benefits of how an IoT connected kitchen can transform your restaurant operations
How to leverage voice ordering and AI to deliver best-in-class customer experience

Keynote Speaker:

Raghav Joshi

Co-Founder & Head- Hosted & Acquired Brands, Rebel Foods, Co-Chair- Digital & Tech Summit

Why one operational lever has become both a major constraint on the business and the path to growth

How organizations are able to solve talent challenges, create positive ROI, drive brand engagement and loyalty, and accomplish DEI goals
Investing in talent development: How restaurants are overcoming staffing and talent shortages
Making store, field, and HQ employees more efficient and that will raise the bar on the quality of execution across every one of their stores, even as they add more locations.
Investing in technologies
Shifting mindset and operating models to accommodate smaller and changing workforce and the need to optimize both dine-in and off-premise experiences

Speakers

Rohit Kapoor

CEO- Food Marketplace, Swiggy

Anurag Mehrotra

Co-Founder & CEO, Charcoal Eats

Varun Tuli

MD, Yum Yum Tree

11:00-11:45 am

Industry Speaks: How Delivery Innovation Can Fuel Healthy Growth

The restaurant industry is in a critical time of innovation. The rise of third-party delivery and mobile ordering has caused a shift from brick-and-mortar business to omni-channel experiences that cater to customers increasing needs for optionality.

How to design a frictionless customer experiences
The trade-offs of on- premise vs. off-premise dining experiences
New delivery disruptors are surfacing - cost-friendly and unique models, drone and robotic delivery.
Shifting operating models to accommodate smaller and changing workforce and the need to optimize both dine-in and off-premise experiences.
Role of Data:How Important it is to talk about it

Session Lead & Moderator:

Charu Lamba

Deputy Editor, Retailer

Confirmed Speakers:

Shreh Madan

Co-Founder, Burgrill

Vedant Pasari

Founder, edabba

Sumit Gulati

Founder, Paschion Restaurants

Raymond Andrews

Co-Founder, Biryani Blues

Nitin Mishra

CTO, ONDC

Optimize Your Portfolio: The Future of Unit Growth, Sales Impact, and Strategic Relocation

Site selection and sales impact analysis: How real estate teams position their brands for success by making data driven decisions to balance high per location revenue with overall market share
When to consider relocations and closures : whether due to shifting demographics, expanding trade areas, or new competitors
Examining how and when to implement them is critical to maximizing restaurant portfolio’s net revenue
Loyalty Without The Discounts: How Non-Discount Reward Strategies Drive Revenue and Protect Margins

Session Lead & Moderator:

Nitish Jha

Angel Investor, Startup Enthusiast

Speaker:

Akash Srivastava

AVP- Business Development, Jubilant FoodWorks

Mahesh Reddy

CEO, GoPizza

Biraja Prasad Rout

Founder, Biggies Burger

Amit Bagga

Co-Founder & CEO, Daryaganj Hospitality

Gaurav Narang

Founder, Coffee Culture

Himanshu Malik

Director, Mansha Group

11:45-12:30 PM

Industry Speaks: Technologies Shaping the Future of Restaurants

Technologies Shaping the Future of Restaurants Technology is the solution to most of the restaurant industry‘s biggest challenges. From providing safe environments to solving hiring, training, and retention issues, he predicts that the brands that execute technology best will be the brands that perform best

The interactive session will highlight best practices on leveraging technologies to improve the guest dine-in and take-out experience and enhance the employee experience to reduce turnover.

How restaurants are investing more on tech, focusing on integrations, mobile transactions, and digital engagement.
Automation can surprise and delight guests as it eases workflow and labor issues — where this trend may be headed!
Shifting operating models to accommodate smaller and changing workforce and the need to optimize both dine-in and off-premise experiences.

Speaker:

Shreh Madan

Co-Founder, Burgrill

Vedant Pasari

Founder, edabba

Sumit Gulati

Founder, Paschion Restaurants

Are you Maximising Marketing Investments: The restaurant marketer’s strategies that are nimble and personalized

How to drive visits to your locations for dine-in and take-out
The power of Data: Harnessing data avenues available to restaurant marketers and operators
Focusing on the customer-first approach

Session Lead & Moderator:

Viren D’ Silva

Co-founder, Good Flippin’ Burgers

Speaker:

Murali Krishnan

Co-Founder & CMO, Wow! Momo

Mohit Dang

Director, Seven Seas Hotel

Rishabh Verma,

Executive Vice President- Sales & Marketing, Biryani by Kilo

12:30-1:15 PM

Keynote Session

The secret that is not a secret to improving customer experience

Speaker:

Ekhlaque Bari

CIO, Jubilant Foodworks

Supply Chain Disruption: Challenges and Solutions

In this panel discussion, you’ll hear from restaurant supply chain professionals on the current state of supply chain challenges facing restaurants. The group will discuss their approaches to managing the headaches that have arisen post-pandemic as supply chain lines have seen massive upheaval and will discuss their outlook for how and when things will return to some semblance of normalcy.

Session Lead & Moderator:

Dr Nitin Shankar Nagrale,

Honourary Doctoratein Supply Chain, Founder- HPMF

Speaker:

Deepa Prasad

Director Procurement & Supply Chain – South Asia, IPCA (Subway)

Ouseph Francis

VP- Materials, Oberoi Hotel Group

Dr Nitin Shankar Nagrale

HonouraryDoctoratein Supply Chain, Founder- HPMF

1:15-1:30 PM

Keynote: Where the restaurant tech stack is headed next: How emerging technology of Metaverse and NFTs could be the answer to build customer loyalty and engagement.

Ritu Marya

Editor-in-Chief, Entrepreneur Media & Franchise India Media

Keynote- HR/Supply-chain/Supplier Brand

1:30- 2:30 PM

Networking Lunch