Inspiring, innovative and informative

If you work in the hospitality sector, you will know that the success of your business is a vibrant cocktail of service, innovation and lots of small details. It’s often difficult to keep up with the pace of change and engage with others so it’s good to take advantage of events to gain the information you require.

Hospitality Exchange is a great forum for sharing business success, keeping in-step with industry developments and is, of course, a great place to meet with other like-minded professionals. The conference and exhibition takes place on October 14 and 15 this year in the Europa Hotel, Belfast and it will be packed full of expert insights and advice, from chef demonstrations to great debates.

Hospitality Exchange was launched 15 years ago and is the only event in Northern Ireland specifically designed to meet local needs and explore regional issues. The event includes a dedicated exhibition space, a theatre-style demonstration area, bespoke seminars and a range of networking events. It’s easy to book and the exhibition is free to visit.

There is a dedicated website at hospitalityexhange.co.uk and a Facebook page with exclusive exchange competitions. Last year some events sold out and visitors had to be turned away, so don’t leave it too late to book.

Celebrity chef, Aiden Byrne, guest chef at Hospitality Exchange 2014, knows lots about culinary success, being the youngest recipient of a Michelin star.

His latest quest for Michelin glory at Manchester House was documented in the BBC2 series, Restaurant Wars and the result of his endeavours will be known in October.

As part of Hospitality Exchange, he will take part in a live cookery demonstration, treating the audience to some of the culinary theatre for which he has become famous

But the drama of his food aside, Aiden is noted for his devotion to local and seasonal produce.

Aiden’s culinary pedigree is well documented. Starting at the age of 15, he has worked in A-list kitchens throughout the UK including The Grill at the Dorchester and Allards. He has a long association with Tom Aikens and is no stranger to Ireland, north and south, having worked with Paul Rankin and won his second star at The Commons in Dublin.

In 2008, Aiden started out on his first solo venture, buying The Church Green in Lymm, Cheshire. The original fine dining concept proved challenging and in 2012, the menu offering was refined and repositioned as a British grill. The change proved a real success, with the pub winning AA Restaurant of the Year.

Despite this success, Aiden was still keen to pursue the fine dining route and after a failed attempt with MacDonald Hotels, he hooked up with Tim Bacon of Living Ventures to open Manchester House. Commenting on that venture, Aiden says:

“Manchester is notorious for the fact that, for some reason or another, it has supposedly snubbed fine dining and hasn’t had a Michelin star since 1974. So, with that in mind, Tim Bacon and I really thought about what we needed to do to change that model. We could have easily gone down the fine dining, stereotypical white table-cloths route, with French waiters in dickie bows, but we decided to stay away from that. If you’ve eaten in here, you’ll know that’s not what Manchester House is about.”

Living Ventures is noted for creating clever dining options with a strong market appeal – The Alchemist, Surburia and Australasia to name only a few. These successes, coupled with the company’s desire to have a fine dining restaurant, appealed to Aiden and a significant budget of £3m made Manchester House possible.

But Aiden is keen to point out that the partnership has put its own stamp on things too:

“From the waiters’ uniforms to the open kitchen and the way we approach everything, this restaurant is so far away and so far removed from everything fine dining and Michelin-starred restaurants have been all about. So, in true Manchester style, we’ve tried to go against the grain and make a difference.”

All this activity has seen Aiden become the centre of media attention and his book, Made in Great Britain, has been reprinted. He will grace our screens again this autumn in a new Channel 4 series called Best Chef, Worst Chef. His episode, filmed in Manchester House, will see a young chef from a fast-food background embark on a three-week kitchen boot camp to move him from burger-flipping to fine dining. The plan is that he will then do a stage at an international Michelin-starred restaurant.

As part of Hospitality Exchange 2014, Aiden will do a live demonstration in the Europa Hotel – a chance to see his theatrics in person. He will be joined by local chefs Chris McGowan, the Northern Ireland regional winner of the Great British Menu 2014 and Paul Catterson, whose journey from high-end dining to street food seller will make an interesting tale.

All delegates attending this session on October 14 will receive a signed copy of Aiden Byrne’s book, Made in Great Britain.