Speakers

North India Edition Our Speakers

Kiran Dhillon

Co-owner- Rooh Resorts Pvt Ltd

kirandhillon

Kiran Dhillon

Co-owner- Rooh Resorts Pvt Ltd

Kiran Dhillon had the privilege of growing up amidst honest food. She learnt early on that the finest cooking depends on the freshest ingredients – a lesson she got right in her backyard.

Kiran’s culinary journey began at her father’s farm in a village in Faridkot district. Her father, an agriculturist, taught Kiran invaluable lessons on cultivation, apiculture, poultry, dairy and fisheries and sustainable cuisine. Kiran’s food philosophy centres around good ingredients and she considers Farmers as real heroes.

Armed with a degree in fashion from NIIT Mohali, Kiran spent a decade in fashion and luxury industry acing aesthetics and designing. The food lover in her found a coherence between fashion and food too. During her research trips to Europe and Asia, while studying the heritage of a place she also became curious about how the food was intertwined with the culture. So, while designing collections for brands like Zara, Mango, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, she was also journaling the food maps across the continents.
Keen to re-orient her skills, Kiran then did an MBA in luxury brand management from Paris and China. She came to Mumbai to join an agency that conducted fashion shows, fashion tours and IPL events. After this, Kiran shifted to Delhi where she used her corporate and management lessons to help a friend successfully launch a fitness Mobile app which was bought by a conglomerate. Kiran combined her entrepreneurial edge with her love for F&B and along with her chef friend Gurpreet Gehdu brainstormed ways to transform locally harvested ingredients into culinary experiences. They experimented with local and global trends and combined the purity of their ancestral food. “Rang Punjab,” in Amritsar is the brainchild of Kiran and Gurpreet that serves some of the most authentic food is Kiran’s ode to Punjab.

Chef Kunal Kapur

Celebrity Chef, Restaurateur

kunal-kapur

Chef Kunal Kapur

Celebrity Chef, Restaurateur

Chef Kunal Kapur is a well-recognised Indian celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality known for his food-focused television shows, cookbook and hosting High dignitary’ events in the country.
He is well recognised by the Ministry of India and was given an opportunity to present Satvik cuisine to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Ms. Merkel, in Bangalore. He also cooked for 42 first ladies on the India Africa Summit 2015 besides an interactive cooking session with them during their visit to India. He also had the opportunity to represent Indian Cuisine based on millets to the First Ladies at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in 2023.
Chef Kunal has an in-depth understanding of regional Indian cuisine having learnt it from the best in the industry during his early career. He is equally adept with innovative Indian cuisine that is at par with the best culinary standards in the world. He is known as the Master of Kebab & Curries in India and has lent his expertise in the culinary domain to over 80 restaurants in India & internationally.

Anand Preet Singh

Director, Gianis & The Waffle Company

anand

Anand Preet Singh

Director, Gianis & The Waffle Company

A visionary leader in the Indian food and beverage industry, Anand Preet Singh (b. July 29, 1990) has a remarkable entrepreneurial track record. After graduating from IILM, Lodhi Road, and honing his culinary expertise at Le Cordon Bleu, London, Singh strategically joined his family's legacy, Gianis Ice Cream, in 2012.
His forward-thinking approach led to a transformative rebrand in 2015. Singh along with other directors spearheaded a complete interior design overhaul and pioneered a successful franchising model, propelling Gianis to over 300 stores and 2,000 retail counters nationwide.
Singh's relentless pursuit of opportunity continued in 2017 with the launch of The Waffle Company This innovative concept, featuring gourmet waffles, pancakes, and shakes, thrived under his strategic franchising expertise. Today, The Waffle Company boasts over 100 outlets across India and a flagship store in Surrey, Canada, solidifying Singh's international vision.
Further demonstrating his unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, Singh launched Go Fro, a delectable frozen yogurt brand with a loyal following, in 2022. His latest venture, Ammy’s, a premium coffee shop brand, exemplifies his unwavering passion for the industry.
Anand Preet Singh's journey is a testament to his dedication, innovation, and keen ability to identify and capitalize on market trends. He is a true leader, shaping the landscape of the Indian food and beverage industry while inspiring future generations of entrepreneurs.

Inderjeet Singh Banga

Promoter, Pirates of Grill

inder

Inderjeet Singh Banga

Promoter, Pirates of Grill

The visionary who loves introducing exclusive food concepts has alternated the way Delhi dines. He is the one who believes that the future of dining is essential guest experience, is credited with introducing unique brands with utterly different notions and approach, the one such evergreen brand is Pirates of Grill. Every restaurant has a story to tell. If a restaurant does not have a story or idea behind it, the essence gets lost. As an entrepreneur, if I don’t have a story, people won’t ever connect,’ says Banga. Pirates of Grill is a buffet with never-ending dine-in experience. Treasure hunt has always been associated with the pirates, and the theme of the restaurant inherently makes the customers feel that they are in a treasure hunt of food. It has been positioned as a value-centric family dine-in. The brand that started on 2009 has currently 17 operational outlets in best malls at prominent locations like Gurugram, Noida , VasantKunj, Delhi, Tagore Garden Delhi, Bhopal, Patna, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Jammu, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mohali, Patiala, Zirakpur, Yamunanagar. Pirates of Grill is aiming for huge expansion with 7 outlets to open by 2025. Also, pirates of Grill is all set to foray into international market soon with their first outlet slated to open by end this year in Dubai.

Previous Edition Previous Speakers

Rashmi Daga

Founder & CEO, FreshMenu

Pravesh Pandey

Co-Founder, Roxie

pravesh

Pravesh Pandey

Co-Founder, Roxie

Having over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, restaurateur Pravesh Pandey's latest venture, Roxie is making waves in the IT city. Helmed as one of the top 30 bars in the country, the 35,000 sq. ft., it is the largest craft brew house in India. Apart from co-founding Roxie, Pravesh has served as a director at the Byg Brewsky Brewing Company in Bengaluru as he has a has a thorough understanding of hospitality management, business development, financial management, operational excellence, brand management, marketing & strategy.
His insight into the F&B industry led him to become the Vice President of Restaurant Success at Zomato. In an older stint, he was the director of operations for both, Brigade Hospitality as well as JSM Corporation.
Pravesh conceptualised Roxie on the experience of meeting Roxie Catteneo on a cruise ship (where he worked as a Maitre De) in 2003. She taught him many life lessons, and showed him the value of relationships and people. The brewhouse, Roxie is an ode to the lady who transformed many lives, including his. The restaurant is inspired by renditions of recipes that she had picked up from her travels as well her traditional family preparations.

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

abhijit

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

He is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Ace Hospitality & Consulting and has recently opened his Neo Indian Fine Dining Restaurant ‘Ammakase’ at 1 Raffles Place, Singapore and LYFE Restaurant & Pizzeria in Whitefield, Bangalore.
Abhijit Saha was awarded “Chef of The Year 2023’ at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards. The coach and mentor of Team India for Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2018; Guest Judge of MasterChef India and Senior Judge of Young Chefs Olympiad – Abhijit Saha was inducted as a fellow of the ‘IIHM International College of Distinguished Fellows’ by International Hospitality Council, London in 2021. As the Principal F&B Consultant of Bangalore Airport, he has been leading the Food & Beverage Development work for Terminal 1 & Terminal 2 during the last five years.
As founder-director of Avant Garde Hospitality from 2008 to 2020 he conceptualized, executed and managed award-winning and critically acclaimed restaurants such as Caperberry (Modernist European Cuisine), and Fava (Mediterranean Cuisine) in Bangalore. His Michelin recommended Signature Indian Restaurant ‘SAHA’ (2014-18) in Singapore was awarded the Epicurean Star Award for Best New Restaurant, 2014 by the Restaurant Association of Singapore. He has provided consulting services and technical knowhow to several Red Rhino Craft Brewery, The Pizza Bakery, Tamara Resorts, Serai Resorts and Dream Cruises Hong Kong. Three of his recent projects Glass Kitchen & Bar, The Pet People Café and Over Coffee have won the ‘Times Food Award’ for Best Modern Indian Restaurant 2022, Best Plant Based-Healthy Restaurant 2022 and Best Cafe 2024.

Prasanna Kumar

Co-Founder and CEO, BLR Brewing Co

Vikram Ramasubramanian

Partner, Inflection Point Ventures

Vikram Ramasubramanian

Partner, Inflection Point Ventures

As a Director in KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice, he managed mergers & acquisitions, and restructuring engagements advising clients across Deal Strategy, Strategic Transformation, Synergy & Cost Optimization, and other Process Initiatives.
He worked as the Group Finance Manager – India and Thailand at Magna Cosma International, where he led the M&A, Strategic Finance, and ERP Implementation activities, development of cost models, and FP&A function across the region.
He has also worked in EY (Financial Due Diligence) and PwC (Audit) teams in the early part of his career, specializing in Industrial Manufacturing, IT & ITES sectors.

-->

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Head - Key Accounts & Retail One - Nestle Professional

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Head - Key Accounts & Retail One - Nestle Professional

Experienced professional with 13+ years of experience in FMCGs like PepsiCo, Del Monte and Nestle in both B2B and B2C space with a demonstrated history of working in the food & beverages industry and Management consulting with Accenture. Skilled in P&L Management, Brand Management, Media Planning & Execution, Category development (core + innovation), Customer/Consumer Insights, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Trade Marketing, Business Development and B2B Marketing (Food Services industry), Management Consulting.

-->

Biraja Prasad Rout

Founder, Biggies Burger

Biraja Prasad Rout

Founder, Biggies Burge

Biraja Prasad Rout is the founder of Biggies Burger. Being an entrepreneur with a passion for global food, Biraja was appalled to see the sordid state of affairs especially in the Indian grilled burger segment. With global chains serving up fried burgers, he took it upon himself to provide customer with healthier, grilled burgers. With the country fed up with the taste of fried burgers, Biggies Burger came up with the grilled burgers.
Having over 6 years of experience in automation, Biraja aims to utilize his experience to standardize the systems and processes so as to build India’s very own QSR chain that revolves around standardization and SOPs. He observed that there was a demand for grilled burgers in the QSR market. Biraja started the first Biggies Burger unit at Electronic City, in the year 2011. The concept of grilled burgers was first introduced to the Indian consumers, and received widespread recognition. Additionally, there was a very great reception for grilled burgers, which has since gone on to become the core USP of Biggies Burger.
Having taken baby steps during the initial years to grasp a better understanding of the nuances of the QSRs, the brand has gradually made its mark among the populace. Perhaps the best testament to the success of the brand is the fact that post adopting the franchising route in 2016. BIGGIES BURGER is the largest homegrown grilled burger chain in India with the brand currently operating 120+ stores in 23 cities across 15 states.
Biraja has since undertaken constant innovations and product development, ensuring uniformity in quality and taste across all locations. Not only in burger making, Biraja is also striving to ease the burger store franchising process for those that want to explore the QSR business opportunities. Adding to it is that Biggies Burger has enabled its franchisees that come from varied backgrounds, comprising of government officials, army personnel, IT professionals etc. to become successful in QSR business.

-->

Chef Vikas Seth

Chef & Culinary Director, Embassy Leisure and Entertainment Projects LLP (Embassy Group)

Chef Vikas Seth

Chef & Culinary Director, Embassy Leisure and Entertainment Projects LLP (Embassy Group)

A well–travelled chef with an in-depth understanding of culinary concepts and a strong passion for innovation. IHM Mumbai alumnus, advance culinary skills honed at the Culinary Institute of America, comes with over two decades of work experience. Chef Vikas Seth has been felicitated with the most coveted ‘Chef of the Year – 2022’ award by the prestigious Times Food & Nighlife Awards.

Chef Seth is now the Culinary Director at Embassy Leisure, he has been the brains behind the multi-award winning restaurants Sanchez Restaurante & Cantina, Sriracha – Contemporary Pan-Asian Dining, HopsHaus – Botanical Brewery + Kitchen, Zest Besopke Catering, F&B outlets @ BLVD Club – Embassy Boulevard, Eden Café at Embassy Springs, amongst others.

Chef Vikas Seth A truly multi-faceted chef and member of the prestigious International association of gastronomy as ‘Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’. He has authored books for private circulation “The Modern Indian Odyssey” and a unique twin cover brand book ‘Sanchez & Sriracha’. Chef Seth has been listed in the ‘Top Food Entrepreneurs’ book by Restaurant India, he is the winner of Upper Crust Food and Wine Celebrity Chef Competition. Chef Seth was one of the Super Chefs on the Sony TV telecast Cooking Reality Show - ‘Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi’.

Chef Seth, has extensive experience in international product development as well, creating global flavours for every kitchen through the frozen food and ready-to-eat medium. These products were widely recognized globally and awarded a number of prestigious awards, namely in Boston Seafood Show and European Seafood Exposition in Brussels.

Mahesh Reddy

CEO, GoPizza India

Karan Kapur

Executive Director, K Hospitality Corp

Karan Kapur

Executive Director, K Hospitality Corp

Karan Kapur has been with K Hospitality Corp since the past decade, and is part of the strategic decision making, business development and operations strategy roll out for the group.
With an expertise in business administration, finance and economics, backed by his education in various universities abroad, Karan believes in being a hands-on leader and believes in actively participating in the operations of the group to facilitate growth and expansion.
Karan Kapur is the Executive Director of K Hospitality Corp, one of India’s largest home-grown hospitality and food service corporations.
A graduate from Northwestern University in Economics, and from Kellogg School of Management, where he received a Certification in Finance. After setting up new businesses for the organization, Karan returned back to the US to acquire his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
He played an active part in the setup and launch of Travel Food Services, the travel retail vertical under K Hospitality Corp.
Karan currently heads the Indian and International food services verticals of K Hospitality Corp which include some of the acclaimed brands – Copper Chimney, Bombay Brasserie, Punkah House, Bombay Borough, Blue Sea Banquets, Pavitra Catering, amongst others; along with the recent foray into International QSR growth with the launch of Domino's Pizza in the African subcontinent.
At a group level, Karan is part of the strategic decision making, business development and operations strategy roll out for K Hospitality Corp, and has played an active role is building the organizational capabilities to scale up to over 6000 employees today.

-->

Pravesh Pandey

Founder & Director, Handcrafted Restaurants Private Ltd

Nidhi Singh

Co-Founder, Samosa Singh

Nidhi Singh

Co-Founder, Samosa Singh

"Think Big! Trust Yourself and Make it Happen”, this is the mantra that Nidhi Singh, Co-Founder of Samosa Singh lives by.
Nidhi was heading the Business development vertical for a US based healthcare company, BioXcel Corporation. She worked a decade before quitting her satisfying job to start Samosa Singh.
She aspires to offer nostalgic and Indian delicacies both online and offline. She believes that the goal is to recreate and dominate the Indian snack category.
Her experience has enabled her to establish strong client bases that have assisted in reaching out at the corporate level for the business's growth potential. Her management and sales experience aided exponential growth and was critical in steering the startup by establishing a strong and healthy brand image.
Having a vision for developing healthy and hygienic food in India. Nidhi recognized a huge market opportunity and reached out to 10,000 customers in one day, delivering the samosas.

Sandipan Mitra

Co-Founder and CEO, HungerBox

Sandipan Mitra

Co-Founder and CEO, HungerBox

Sandipan Mitra is the Chief Executive Officer of HungerBox – an institutional food technology company he co-founded in 2016, with Uttam Kumar, which helps institutions manage their F&B services effectively. It serves marquee clients across various sectors like corporates, manufacturing facilities, hospitals, malls, and multiplexes with the help of a comprehensive product suite built from the ground up to offer a seamless, digital cafeteria experience.
HungerBox currently manages over 550 cafeterias and works with more than 900 food partners to serve a user base of 1.2 million and handles 12 million orders every month. HungerBox counts 8 of the top 11 private sector employers in the country as its clients.
Prior to starting HungerBox, Sandipan co-founded HungryZone - South East Asia’s 1st online food ordering portal which saw a successful exit when it got acquired by FoodPanda.
An MBA by profession, Sandipan has worked with organizations like Wipro and Yahoo before venturing into his entrepreneurial journey. Fortune India featured Sandipan in its 2021, 40 Under 40 list of India's Brightest Young Entrepreneurs.

Akshay Luthria

Managing Partner, Street Storyss and Sindh Kitchen

Akshay Luthria

Managing Partner, Street Storyss and Sindh Kitchen

Akshay Luthria is a dynamic industry professional and restaurateur with over 15 years of experience.
His passion for hospitality projects led him to operate as a partner at Lemp Brew by Lemp Brewing Co., America’s first Lager beer brewers and one the most legendary brewing brands.
He has also opened his successfully running restaurants in Bengaluru and operating as a managing partner at Street Storyss and Sindh Kitchen.

Chef Dr. Avin Thaliath

Pastry Chef, Co-founder and Director of Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts

Chef Dr. Avin Thaliath

Pastry Chef, Co-founder and Director of Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts

The bakery industry in India is the largest of the food processing segments with an estimated annual turnover of about $ 7.60 billion in 2020. The growth and spread of the bakery market have thrived on highly skilled bakers who have rattled the global industry as well.
Chef Avin Thaliath is one such name all pastry chefs and chocolatiers reckons with. An educationist at heart, the talented Chef’s mission is to spread joy with his insights and motivate others to find solace in this beautiful form of art.
Currently serving as the Co-Founder and Director of Academics at Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts, India, Chef Avin’s desire and ambition to set up a specialized baking school in India, came true when Lavonne was born.
Hailing from Kerala, Chef Avin’s mother played a pivotal role in shaping his career and largely influenced him to dive into the culinary world. He was awarded a bronze medal in 2004 during his Bachelor of Hotel Management degree from Bangalore University. He further stimulated his field of interest, by taking up advanced level program in Chocolaterie and Sugar at Feves the Choco Creation of Pastry Fine Arts, Malaysia. He also holds the credit of being a Golden Certificate Awardee of Vatel Scholarship, Nimes, France.
After his studies in France, Chef Avin also interned under Chef Antonio Texeira before working with Le Granier A Pain, Paris, Paris Mamamia, Institut Vatel, Nimes and also Rhone Valley in France. After his stint in France, he worked with Indian giants like The Taj Hotels and The Orchid Hotels. Chef Avin was also appointed as a member of WACS (World Association of Chef’s Society), SICA (South Indian Culinary Association), and IFCA (Indian Federation of Chefs Association).
Rising up as a skilled dignitary in his field, Chef Avin steered the grounds of academic prowess as author of a number of academic journals, books, and monographs and has presented award-winning papers at top-level industry summits. He also served as assistant professor at the prestigious Christ University, Bangalore, India and has been associated with WorldSkills Org, since 2016 and has been representing India with skills from across the country at a global level. As someone who believes learning never stops, he competed his PhD in oenology studies and was in The Harun list for the most enterprising entrepreneurs of India. At present he is vice-president for the Pastry Council of India.
Soon, Chef Avin will launch his book “The Science in the Art of Baking”, which he has been working on for past 10 yrs.

Anand Ramanathan

Partner, Deloitte

Anand Ramanathan

Partner, Deloitte

Anand has around 16 years of experience from both an industry and consulting perspective. Anand is currently a Partner with the Strategy & Operations practice in Deloitte based out of Bangalore. He is a graduate from BITS Pilani and has completed his MBA from IIM Indore and PhD from IIM Bangalore. Anand started his career with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. He has been in sales and brand roles for nutritional food brands such as Horlicks & Boost. Prior to Deloitte, Anand has been a part of the management consulting practice at KPMG for the past 8 years and has worked on over 90 engagements. His work has primarily been in the consumer markets domain across various sectors such as Retail, FMCG, Agribusiness, and Education. Anand led the channel and salesforce effectiveness solution for the practice.

Dawn Thomas

Managing Director, V&RO Hospitality

Dawn Thomas

Partner, Deloitte

Dawn Thomas has finished B.Tech from M.S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore. At the age of 17, Dawn co-founded Rices Obliquity (a clubbing community) to bring all of Bangalore together for incredible nightlife experiences and even joined hands with Sunburn and co-produced concerts of the likes of David Guetta, Avicii, Hardwell, Dada Life, Matzo, etc.
Just as most creators are - he is very particular about the brand image the company puts out and occasionally has taken up the responsibility of design & artworks himself in the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.
In 2018, Dawn Thomas started working on building V&RO Hospitality as the CEO & Co-founder. VRO Hospitality, is one of the fastest growing hospitality chains in India which is the parent company of Popular Restaurant brands like Hangover, Badmaash, Nevermind, Cafe Noir, Tycoons, Plan B & Mirage. V&RO Hospitality takes pride in its repertoire of multi-format restaurants, cafes, lounges across 22 outlets in India
Under the leadership of Dawn Thomas, V&RO Hospitality also acquired F&B brands like Fava, Cafe Noir, Plan B, Caperberry, and One Night in Bangkok amidst the pandemic and also ventured into cloud kitchen brands with Burger & Beyond, Holy Doh to adjust to the new world of dinning
V&RO Hospitality has successfully raised an amount of $3million in a mix of equity and debt funding in Series A funding led by CreedCap Asia
Dawn Thomas is now focused on the growth mode of the company and with this fresh round of funding he aims to keep V&RO Hospitality on the trajectory of success.

Ramesh Prabhu Ramasamy

Channel and Customer Marketing Manager – South India
Nestle Professional

Ramesh Prabhu Ramasamy

Channel and Customer Marketing Manager – South India
Nestle Professional

10+ Year of Experience in Out of home F&B Space and part of two successful product launches in South.

Sunil Nair

Chief Strategy Officer, Third Wave Coffee

Sunil Nair

Chief Strategy Officer, Third Wave Coffee

Started from 25 Cafes at CAFÉ COFFEE DAY in the Northern India as a Territory head advanced to a National head leading about 1400+ cafes & 400 kiosk spread across the country with a team strength of almost 8000 employees. With the retail experience and with the astute relationship have managed to open cafes at about 130+ cities across the country. Have been instrumental in scaling up the Café Division from 100 to 800 CR (pre covid). Setting sales goals basis the annual business plan & driving the team to achieve the set topline targets has been the key primary task.. Driving ops team to deliver organizational goals and deliver best customer experience was the motto.
Last 1 year, the journey at TWC as a Chief Strategy officer one of the key focus areas of my profile has been expansion. The strategy used in sequencing new outlet launches, training the team on negotiation skills, ensuring profitability of every store, data-driven decision-making in finalizing newer locations combined with teamwork has resulted in the launching of 70+ successful new outlets in less than a year. Still a long way to go with the targets that we have set for ourselves, but I am excited to be part of that journey that will surely help us build a strong Indian origin brand called Third Wave Coffee.

Ankur Singh

Principal, Kearney

Ankur Singh

Principal, Kearney

Ankur is Principal with the global management consulting firm – Kearney. He is a practitioner within Consumer Industries and Retail Practice. He has engaged with multiple Indian and global food retail companies. The said engagements cover a variety of topics ranging from cost improvement, Sales and operations planning, store operations optimization and growth strategy. Across these engagements, Ankur has been actively involved in both strategy development and ensuring last mile implementation.

Mohammed Ali Shah

COO, FreshMenu

Mohammed Ali Shah

COO, FreshMenu

Mohammed Ali Shah is COO at FreshMenu. He is an experienced Operations Supervisor with a demonstrated history of working in the food & beverages industry. Ali joined FreshMenu in 2015 as Operations Manager. He is highly skilled in Operations Management, Microsoft Excel, Customer Service, Sales, and Business Development. He is a Strong operations professional with a Master of Business Administration - MBA focused in Operations Management and Supervision.

Shikha Nath

Culinary Director, Charcoal Concepts

Shikha Nath

Culinary Director, Charcoal Concepts

To say that Shikha Nath is passionate about food is an understatement. Discovering the best that India has to offer, and sharing it with the world, is what she brings to the Copper Chimney, Bombay Brasserie and Bombay Borough tables.
Having been with the K Hospitality Corp group for over two and a half decades, she's worn several hats, along with being Culinary Director for Charcoal Concepts, the specialist Indian F&B vertical under K Hospitality Corp.
She's travelled across the length and breadth of the country with her young team of chefs, identifying unique ingredients, understanding India's rich culinary history and bringing constantly evolving, fresh ideas to keep reinventing the foodscape for each brand, based on the it's distinct identity. Mrs Nath has also played a key role towards the setup, growth and expansion of restaurants across different formats in India as well as Internationally

Previous Edition Jury & Speakers

Rashmi Daga

Founder & CEO, FreshMenu

Pravesh Pandey

Co-Founder, Roxie

pravesh

Pravesh Pandey

Co-Founder, Roxie

Having over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, restaurateur Pravesh Pandey's latest venture, Roxie is making waves in the IT city. Helmed as one of the top 30 bars in the country, the 35,000 sq. ft., it is the largest craft brew house in India. Apart from co-founding Roxie, Pravesh has served as a director at the Byg Brewsky Brewing Company in Bengaluru as he has a has a thorough understanding of hospitality management, business development, financial management, operational excellence, brand management, marketing & strategy.
His insight into the F&B industry led him to become the Vice President of Restaurant Success at Zomato. In an older stint, he was the director of operations for both, Brigade Hospitality as well as JSM Corporation.
Pravesh conceptualised Roxie on the experience of meeting Roxie Catteneo on a cruise ship (where he worked as a Maitre De) in 2003. She taught him many life lessons, and showed him the value of relationships and people. The brewhouse, Roxie is an ode to the lady who transformed many lives, including his. The restaurant is inspired by renditions of recipes that she had picked up from her travels as well her traditional family preparations.

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

abhijit

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

He is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Ace Hospitality & Consulting and has recently opened his Neo Indian Fine Dining Restaurant ‘Ammakase’ at 1 Raffles Place, Singapore and LYFE Restaurant & Pizzeria in Whitefield, Bangalore.
Abhijit Saha was awarded “Chef of The Year 2023’ at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards. The coach and mentor of Team India for Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2018; Guest Judge of MasterChef India and Senior Judge of Young Chefs Olympiad – Abhijit Saha was inducted as a fellow of the ‘IIHM International College of Distinguished Fellows’ by International Hospitality Council, London in 2021. As the Principal F&B Consultant of Bangalore Airport, he has been leading the Food & Beverage Development work for Terminal 1 & Terminal 2 during the last five years.
As founder-director of Avant Garde Hospitality from 2008 to 2020 he conceptualized, executed and managed award-winning and critically acclaimed restaurants such as Caperberry (Modernist European Cuisine), and Fava (Mediterranean Cuisine) in Bangalore. His Michelin recommended Signature Indian Restaurant ‘SAHA’ (2014-18) in Singapore was awarded the Epicurean Star Award for Best New Restaurant, 2014 by the Restaurant Association of Singapore. He has provided consulting services and technical knowhow to several Red Rhino Craft Brewery, The Pizza Bakery, Tamara Resorts, Serai Resorts and Dream Cruises Hong Kong. Three of his recent projects Glass Kitchen & Bar, The Pet People Café and Over Coffee have won the ‘Times Food Award’ for Best Modern Indian Restaurant 2022, Best Plant Based-Healthy Restaurant 2022 and Best Cafe 2024.

Prasanna Kumar

Co-Founder and CEO, BLR Brewing Co

Vikram Ramasubramanian

Partner, Inflection Point Ventures

Vikram Ramasubramanian

Partner, Inflection Point Ventures

As a Director in KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice, he managed mergers & acquisitions, and restructuring engagements advising clients across Deal Strategy, Strategic Transformation, Synergy & Cost Optimization, and other Process Initiatives.
He worked as the Group Finance Manager – India and Thailand at Magna Cosma International, where he led the M&A, Strategic Finance, and ERP Implementation activities, development of cost models, and FP&A function across the region.
He has also worked in EY (Financial Due Diligence) and PwC (Audit) teams in the early part of his career, specializing in Industrial Manufacturing, IT & ITES sectors.

-->

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Head - Key Accounts & Retail One - Nestle Professional

Jinraj Adyanthaya

Head - Key Accounts & Retail One - Nestle Professional

Experienced professional with 13+ years of experience in FMCGs like PepsiCo, Del Monte and Nestle in both B2B and B2C space with a demonstrated history of working in the food & beverages industry and Management consulting with Accenture. Skilled in P&L Management, Brand Management, Media Planning & Execution, Category development (core + innovation), Customer/Consumer Insights, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Trade Marketing, Business Development and B2B Marketing (Food Services industry), Management Consulting.

-->

Biraja Prasad Rout

Founder, Biggies Burger

Biraja Prasad Rout

Founder, Biggies Burge

Biraja Prasad Rout is the founder of Biggies Burger. Being an entrepreneur with a passion for global food, Biraja was appalled to see the sordid state of affairs especially in the Indian grilled burger segment. With global chains serving up fried burgers, he took it upon himself to provide customer with healthier, grilled burgers. With the country fed up with the taste of fried burgers, Biggies Burger came up with the grilled burgers.
Having over 6 years of experience in automation, Biraja aims to utilize his experience to standardize the systems and processes so as to build India’s very own QSR chain that revolves around standardization and SOPs. He observed that there was a demand for grilled burgers in the QSR market. Biraja started the first Biggies Burger unit at Electronic City, in the year 2011. The concept of grilled burgers was first introduced to the Indian consumers, and received widespread recognition. Additionally, there was a very great reception for grilled burgers, which has since gone on to become the core USP of Biggies Burger.
Having taken baby steps during the initial years to grasp a better understanding of the nuances of the QSRs, the brand has gradually made its mark among the populace. Perhaps the best testament to the success of the brand is the fact that post adopting the franchising route in 2016. BIGGIES BURGER is the largest homegrown grilled burger chain in India with the brand currently operating 120+ stores in 23 cities across 15 states.
Biraja has since undertaken constant innovations and product development, ensuring uniformity in quality and taste across all locations. Not only in burger making, Biraja is also striving to ease the burger store franchising process for those that want to explore the QSR business opportunities. Adding to it is that Biggies Burger has enabled its franchisees that come from varied backgrounds, comprising of government officials, army personnel, IT professionals etc. to become successful in QSR business.

-->

Chef Vikas Seth

Chef & Culinary Director, Embassy Leisure and Entertainment Projects LLP (Embassy Group)

Chef Vikas Seth

Chef & Culinary Director, Embassy Leisure and Entertainment Projects LLP (Embassy Group)

A well–travelled chef with an in-depth understanding of culinary concepts and a strong passion for innovation. IHM Mumbai alumnus, advance culinary skills honed at the Culinary Institute of America, comes with over two decades of work experience. Chef Vikas Seth has been felicitated with the most coveted ‘Chef of the Year – 2022’ award by the prestigious Times Food & Nighlife Awards.

Chef Seth is now the Culinary Director at Embassy Leisure, he has been the brains behind the multi-award winning restaurants Sanchez Restaurante & Cantina, Sriracha – Contemporary Pan-Asian Dining, HopsHaus – Botanical Brewery + Kitchen, Zest Besopke Catering, F&B outlets @ BLVD Club – Embassy Boulevard, Eden Café at Embassy Springs, amongst others.

Chef Vikas Seth A truly multi-faceted chef and member of the prestigious International association of gastronomy as ‘Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’. He has authored books for private circulation “The Modern Indian Odyssey” and a unique twin cover brand book ‘Sanchez & Sriracha’. Chef Seth has been listed in the ‘Top Food Entrepreneurs’ book by Restaurant India, he is the winner of Upper Crust Food and Wine Celebrity Chef Competition. Chef Seth was one of the Super Chefs on the Sony TV telecast Cooking Reality Show - ‘Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi’.

Chef Seth, has extensive experience in international product development as well, creating global flavours for every kitchen through the frozen food and ready-to-eat medium. These products were widely recognized globally and awarded a number of prestigious awards, namely in Boston Seafood Show and European Seafood Exposition in Brussels.

Akshay Bector

Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited

Anahita Dhondy

Chef Partner, SodaBottleOpenerWala

Harshvardhan Neotia

Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group

Karan Kapur

Executive Director, K Hospitality

Ranveer Brar

Celebrity Chef

Sahil Jain

Co-founder, Dineout

Sanjeev Kapoor

Celebrity Chef

Saransh Goila

Celebrity Chef

Tarak Bhattacharya

Executive Director, Mad Over Donuts

Vicky Ratnani

Celebrity Chef

Vikrant Batra

Owner, Café Delhi Heights

Zorawar kalra

Founder & Managing Director, Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.

Rajeev Varman

CEO, Burger King India

Amit Bagga

Co-founder, Daryaganj Hospitality

Sabyasachi Gorai

Chef and Restaurateur

Rakesh Ranjan

Chief Sales Officer, Zomato

Moksh Chopra

CMO, KFC India

Syesha Kapoor

Associate Director, Silver Beach Entertainment & Hospitality

Akshay Jatia

Chief Strategy Officer, McDonald’s India (West and South)

Thomas Fenn

Co-Founder, Mahabelly

Pawan Shahri

Managing Partner, Chrome Communications & Media India LLP

Rajneet Kohli

President & CBO, Domino's Pizza

Raghav Verma

Co-Founder, Chaayos

Parthiv Patel

CEO, Petpooja

Jasper Reid

Wendy's & Jamie's Italian India

Jimmy Mistry

Entrepreneur, Hotelier & Designer

Vineet Manocha

Sr. VP- Culinary, Lite Bite Foods

Sagar Daryani

Celebrity Chef

Farman Beig

Founder & CEO, Wat-a Burger

Kabir Suri

President, NRAI & Co-Founder & Director, Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.

Sameer Bhasin

CEO, Nando's India