Big names from the out-of-home food market expected at Lunch! 2010

Lunch! 2010, which is described by the organisers as "the UK's premier food-to-go trade show" makes its comeback to London's Old Billingsgate from 30 September – 1 October. And it is promising to give show-goers access to some of the "biggest names from the out-of home food industry" with its keynote line-up. Lunch! - which bases its programme on the idea that training and development are key in running any successful business - will hold a comprehensive and "highly relevant Working Lunch! Programme" that has been developed in association with the event's partner, the British Sandwich Association. The programme will include expert and industry professionals who will be addressing the topics and trends that are thought to matter most to today's food-to-go retailers. Starting off the keynotes will be an interview with "leading name in the UK sandwich industry" Nigel Hunter. Current chairman of the BSA management Committee and former managing director of Buckingham Foods, Hunter is to share his "candid views" on the changes he has seen in the industry over the years and what he sees as the challenges and opportunities ahead. Also explored on both days of keynote debates will be future predictions and the growth of the lunchtime market. The events will be made up of panellists which include key innovators who have been responsible for shaping the modern grab-and-go market from its beginnings. The first of these debates, "Those Were The Days" will be presented by Jesper Toft, founder of Toft Foods, Philip Brown, founder of independent sandwich shop chain Philipott's, and Peter Barlett, co-founder of Hazlewood Foods, which is now part of the Greencore Group. This will be followed by the "Big Lunch! Debate" at 12:45pm, which will examine how retailer attitudes and product innovations can directly affect industry expansion. It will feature a commentary from Nigel Hunter along with input from Paul Ettinger, commercial director at Italian coffee bar Caffè Nero, Felicity Aylward, from Marks and Spencer, and Adam O'Connor, category manager at Compass Group UK & Ireland. Thursday's afternoon sessions will include an introduction to the Soil Association's Food for Life Catering Mark from the organisation's commercial director Jim Twine and a keynote from AMT Coffee's CFO Fred Edwards. "From Street Cart to Category Leader" will chart AMT Coffee's growth from a single street cart based in Oxford city centre to successful brand with 65 railway stations and airport locations across the UK and Europe - nearly 18 years later. Day two of Lunch! kicks off with a session by Welcome Break boss Rod McKie, who'll be sharing insights into his career, to include accounts of his time at Prêt a Manger where he spent four years as operations director and at Coffee Republic where he held the position of managing director for three years. Other highlights will include 'The Ups and Downs of the Lunchtime and Cafe Market', with the BSA's director Jim Winship and Allegra strategies' managing director Jeffrey Young - who will close this year's keynote programme with a session on the latest research data for the coffee bar and sandwich markets. There will also be a chance to catch the "International Sandwich Challenge" which will feature UK Sandwich Designer of the Year Thomas Allen and Adam D'Sylva, the 2010 Great Australian Sandwichship winner. Also returning - due it is thought to popular demand - is live British Smoothie Championships. Complementing the keynotes, and returning to the show after its launch last year, will be the BSA Training Academy. These BSA training sessions are dedicated to those who have just started out in the industry and offer insight and expertise in to how to thrive in the food-on-the-move market. The organisers are expecting to showcase 120 exhibitors at the event to over 3000 industry buyers from all the major food-to-go chains, supermarkets, contract caterers and quality independents. Carsten Holm, managing director of Diversified