Four of the UK’s top chefs are heading to the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales to debate the challenges facing today’s restaurant scene, including recruitment, reviews and no shows.

Speaking at the H&C EXPO in July, Ellis Barrie of the Marras Grass on Anglesey, Romy Gill of Romy’s Kitchen in Thornbury, Chantelle Nicholson of Tredwells in London and Damian Wawrzyniak of House of Feasts in Peterborough will come together to discuss the daily issues faced by chefs and what can be done to resolve them.

‘A Chef’s Life: A Lot on their Plate’, chaired by Hospitality & Catering News interviews editor Emma Eversham, is one of six panel and round-table debates taking place at the first H&C EXPO on July 17 and 18 that taps into the conference’s main theme of ‘future-proofing hospitality’.

Gill, who has run Romy’s Kitchen for five years alongside writing for various newspapers and magazines and presenting on TV, said:

“Finding staff, no-shows and dealing with TripAdvisor are some of the biggest issues we face on a daily basis alongside running a business.

“I’m looking forward to joining the other chefs on the panel and finding out how they cope with various issues that we are all facing.”

Chantelle Nicholson, chef-patron of Tredwells and group operations director for Marcus Wareing, who is also taking part in the Women in Hospitality discussion on the same day, added: “The areas I’m looking forward to discussing at H&C EXPO are health and wellbeing in the industry and how are we inspiring youth to attract them into cooking as a career, given the current chef shortage.”

Mark Harris, event director, H&C EXPO, said: “We are delighted to welcome four of the UK’s leading chefs to the EXPO.

“While eating out has become the norm for many thanks to a growing and diverse restaurant scene, businesses have come under pressure from many areas and many struggle to survive. We hope to tackle some of these issues in our debate.”