Kate Nicholls, Des Gunewardena and Nisha Katona to speak at the National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show 2026

The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show 2026 has announced its first wave of speakers, bringing together some of the most influential names in hospitality to Excel London on 16-17 September.

The industry leaders include John Hutson, chief executive of JD Wetherspoon; Gemma Glasson, CEO of Wahaca; Nisha Katona, founder director of Mowgli Street Food; Des Gunewardena, founder and CEO of D3 Collective; Steve Alton, CEO of British Institute of Innkeeping; and Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality.

Katona said: “In such a broad and important industry, it is so important to have a place that unifies and nurtures us. The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show is that place.”

Across the two days, speakers will take to three of the show’s new stages for 2026: Pub & Bar Stage, Casual Dining Stage and the Restaurateurs Stage. They’ll share insights on topics including scaling a hospitality brand and navigating the pressures facing the industry today. Sessions will span interview style formats to interactive panel discussions.

This year, the National Restaurant, Pub & Bar show will form part of the inaugural London Food and Drink Festival. The full festival programme will cover every corner of the food and drink industry on the stages numbering Chef Live!, Coffee Shop, Food To Go, Retail & Convenience and Natural & Organic Food.

Other speakers to see across these stages include Pano Christou, CEO of Pret A Manger; Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of Burger King; James Campbell, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s; Annabel Mackie, marketing director at itsu; Caroline Ottoy, managing director of WatchHouse; and Alice Hutfield, director of development at KFC.

Event manager of the National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show and Casual Dining Awards, Stephen Herring, commented: “The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show has always been about bringing the best minds in hospitality together in one place. This year’s speaker line-up is shaping up to be our strongest yet – and we’ve only just got started. Whether you run a single site or a national brand, the insight on offer across our eight stages will give you the tools to overcome business challenges and the inspiration to thrive.”

The London Food & Drink Festival unites four events under one roof: the National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show (formerly Casual Dining), lunch!, Natural & Organic Food Show and the Artisan Food & Drink Show. 

The new festival format aims to connect thousands of food and drink trade buyers, retailers and operators with more than 600 exhibitors, and will feature a programme of 200+ speakers across eight stages of free content. 

Operators can register in advance for a free ticket which grants access to all the shows, quoting priority code RPB47.

The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show rebranded from Casual Dining for its 2025 edition to “better reflect the full range of hospitality operators who regularly attend the event”.

The name change also reflected the event’s link with the Northern Restaurant & Bar Show in Manchester, which event operator Diversified Communications acquired in 2022.