James Hacon is a global hospitality leader, specialising in brand, growth and development strategy. As an executive, investor & consultant, he has worked with more than 50 hospitality companies in 9 countries around the world from investment firms to independent Michelin starred outlets to global hotel brands and multi-site restaurant groups. With his partners at THINK Hospitality they have a number of investments in early stage concepts with a bright future. https://www.thinkhospitality.co.uk/
Mr. Lyan has been involved in several of the World’s best bars for over fifteen years. He helped take the last six of these onto national and international titles and all featured in the Top 50 ‘World’s Best Bars’ list for Drinks International. On 3rd October 2018 one of his venues, Dandelyan within the Mondrian Hotel in London, was chosen the best bar in the world by World 50 Best Bars. Ryan has been named UK bartender of the Year twice and in 2015 was named ‘International Bartender of the Year’. He helps design and judge several notable national and international competitions whilst acting as a mentor to competitors, and helping shape the new wave of competitions. His first, ‘White Lyan’ – the first cocktail bar in the world to feature no perishables – which was awarded ‘Best New International Cocktail Bar’ at the 2014 Spirited Awards, closed to make way for ‘Super Lyan’ in April 2017, and sustainably driven restaurant ‘Cub’ in September 2017 with chef Douglas McMaster. ‘Dandelyan’ launched in October 2014.
Originally from the United States of America, Virginia is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. While her University degree is in Political Science, her career has included working in both the film and television industries. She lived in Nashville, Tennessee as well as Los Angeles, California before moving to Germany where she left the entertainment world behind and entered the financial sector. For 10 years she worked as the Finance & Contracts Manager for an aeronautical engineering firm based at the German Space Operations Center, just outside of Munich. In the fall of 2015, Virginia followed her passion for food to Copenhagen where she works as Director of Media Relations & Special Events for 3 Michelin-starred Restaurant Geranium.
Carla Capalbo is an award-winning food, wine and travel writer and photographer. She was born in New York, brought up in Paris and London and lived in Italy for many years. Her new book, TASTING GEORGIA, A Food and Wine Journey in the Caucasus, is a cross between a food and wine book and a travel guide, and is illustrated with her photographs. Carla is the author of 14 other food-related books, and has written for many years on chefs, food activists and food and winemaking for numerous magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Argot divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles. She writes about global food and restaurant trends, travel, art, and design for all major Swedish outlets (daily newspapers, glossies and trade press). She profiles culinary innovators and chefs for White Paper, the magazine tied to White Guide (Scandinavia’s premier restaurant guide). She has also written numerous articles for the international press and frequently provides photographic content to accompany her words. She is a core member of the White Guide group, the executive editor of the groundbreaking restaurant guide/app 12forward, a translator and the project manager for the Global Gastronomy Awards. Long ago she studied to be a sommelier.
Born in Reykjavik, chef Ragnar has gained his experience from various kitchens around Iceland and Denmark such as Grillid, Noma and Premissé (now AOC). Eventually he found his place with an English born chef Paul Cunningham, for whom he worked for almost 6 years, both at his Michelin starred restaurant The Paul, in Copenhagen´s Tivoli gardens and at Henne Kirkeby Kro, an idillic inn on Denmarks west coast. In 2014 Ragnar moved back to Iceland and started working at Dill for chef Gunnar Gislason, whom he replaced as a head chef of Dill in late 2015 when Gislason moved to New York city to head up Agern restaurant on Manhattan. Ragnar aims to follow Gislason´s vision of Dill, emphasizing local ingretients and the obscure eccentric flavors of the north. Now Ragnar is no longer directly involved with Dill and is developing a new restaurant concept to open soon in Reykjavik.
Having gained experience at Pädaste Manor that was awarded the best restaurant title in Estonia four consecutive years and thereafter in world-renowed Fäviken Magasinet, also the best restaurant in Sweden, Peeter has also led workshops in Milan, Singapore, Paris and Moscow. Taking inspiration from his roots, Peeter considers it a privilege having been born on an island. In his own words: “it’s a way of life, which reflects in my cooking as well. When the resources and produce are scarce, you have to be creative – this is what motivates and makes me create something new and possibly better.”
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