IT’S the centrepiece of the northern dining scene’s annual showcase and this year’s star guests are a perfect fit. Gary Neville and Michael O’Hare of GG Hospitality are headlining the Northern Restaurant & Bar Debate at Manchester Central on Tuesday, March 21.
On the agenda will be the ambitions of GG Hospitality, where Neville, ex-United star turned entrepreneur, is working closely on a number of projects with creative director O’Hare, Michelin-starred chef of the Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds.
GG Hospitality’s successful Hotel Football brand opened its flagship hotel in Old Trafford, Manchester in 2015, while Café Football opened its first site in Westfield Stratford in 2013, followed by a second at Hotel Football. A third is set to open in 2017 in the National Football Museum at Urbis, where O’Hare recently launched the iconoclastic Space Fusion joint, Rabbit In The Moon. Further restaurants will follow at Manchester’s Stock Exchange when it is transformed into a 39-bed boutique hotel.
Judging by Neville’s acerbic punditry on Sky and O’Hare’s off-the-wall social media profile, the Debate’s chair, Thom Hetherington (main picture), CEO of Holden Media, organisers of NRB, has a challenging session ahead, but he’s looking forward to it.
“What I admire about Gary and Michael is that despite their fierce commitment to the North their ambitions are national and indeed international” he told us. “With their significant plans for Hotel Football and Café Football, as well as the unique creativity and uncompromising excellence of Michael’s own restaurants (Rabbit, below) I think they will have a significant and arguably unique impact on the region’s food and drink industry in the next few years. It should make for a compelling debate.”
The NRB Debate will also include an expert panel discussing how the right board structure and non-exec directors (NEDs) can unlock the potential of the North’s most talented food and drink entrepreneurs. Research has shown there is less of a culture of appointing NEDs in the North as opposed to the South, and evidence seems to indicate that the lack of strong, experienced voices within their businesses stops operators achieving their full potential. The panel will look at what can be done. The NRB Debate starts at 12pm and includes a buffet lunch. Tickets are priced £55+VAT. Book online at this link.
Of course, there’s a lot more to this giant trade show (March 21 and 22), now in its 17th year. It features some 300 exhibitors, 7,500 industry professionals, the prestigious NRB Top Fifty Awards and a programme of events hosted by organisations including Pro-Manchester, Action Against Hunger and CityCo. Check out the tasty chef demo line-up. Hospitality professionals can register now for free tickets online here.