FORO International Forum for Reputation in Hospitality
Our Speakers & Partners
Pascal Steffen
received the first Michelin star in February 2019, Switzerland
Chef Pascal Steffen was named “Discovery of the Year” in 2018 by Gault & Millau and the Roots Restaurant in Basel, Switzerland, whose kitchen he co-ordinates, was awarded with 16 points.
Yakup Dinler
owns & manages the Luxury Boutique Hotel in Cappadocia, Turkey
Kayakapi Premium Caves – Cappadocia 5*, part of UNESCO & World Heritage Center, was chosen as the #1 Luxury Hotel in the World by TripAdvisor on the Travellers Choice 2019 Awards.
Alex Petricean
awarded Chef of the Year 2018 by Gault & Millau Romania
Alex Petricean is Head Chef & Owner of NOUA Restaurant. He is known by the gourmet public for his professional background best defined by his work in the team of Noma restaurant from Copenhagen and for the food culture created at Maize Bucharest.
Ray F. Iunius
Chairman of the opening session
Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) was founded in 1893, being world’s first hotel school and one of the top hospitality management institutions in the world. Dr. Ray F. Iunius is Business Development Director at EHL Advisory Services. He is also the author of a number of books such as ”Industrie de l’accueil”, ”Hôtellerie de Luxe”, ”La gestion des spas” etc.
Cristina Timiș
Vice-president of Cris-Tim Group
Professional Partner / Cristina and her husband founded in 1992 Cris-Tim, a family company, nowadays a group of 7 companies, and since 2018 has taken over a business in the hospitality industry, Casa Timis where „the multisensory experience is related to the connection with the pure nature and the terroir of the place”.
Koen Heeren
one of the trendsetters in the wellness industry
Professional Partner / Koen Heeren is CEO of Alpha Industries AWT BVBA. He was always innovative in his vision on the Wellness industry. He increased and enlarged the production range from standard small cabins sold only in Europe to huge wellness areas installed worldwide.
Vadim Mikhalitsyn
manages the Hotel Savoy Moscow 5*, Russia
The hotel was awarded Russia’s Leading Boutique Hotel 2018 by World Travel Awards. Vadim believes that the loyalty of guests is an indicator of service and reputation. His mission and the hotel’s staff is to exceed expectations of the guests.
Andreea Strugaru
Managing Partner, KADRA
Supporter / Andreea Strugaru wanted that the advanced access engineering technologies she discovered in the West, to be accessible in our country, so, today she manages the company whose goal is to become a market leader in the field of automation for access ways: pedestrian doors, gates and barriers, parking management systems.
Cezar Munteanu
Chairman of the “Restaurant Reputation” session
Chef Cezar Munteanu has been working in gastronomy for over 27 years. He cooked for great personalities of the world, but also for poor African children. Today he teaches culinary management and develops projects in the hospitality industry and also teaches children in Romania what healthy eating means.
Arlene Stein
about Gastrodiplomacy and Gastronomic Innovations, Germany
Arlene Stein is founder and CEO of Terroir Hospitality – an organization that transforms global food systems through gastrodiplomacy. She is a catalyst for creative collaboration and social and environmental responsibility in the hospitality industry.
George Butunoiu
Restaurant Evaluator and Founder of Restocracy.ro, Romania
Restocracy.ro is a restaurant evaluation and presentation system. In the last 10 years, George Butunoiu evaluated more than 1,000 restaurants and cafes where you can eat, from Bucharest from the total of 3,500.
Luis Lezama Barañano
Founder and President of Grupo LEZAMA, Spain
The group operates in the hospitality sector and it consists of a number of restaurants, hotels and schools for training in this field. Luis Lezama Barañano is also the president of the EURHODIP association – The Leading Hotel Schools in Europe,
Benjamin Calleja
CEO of Livit – World’s largest restaurant design firm, operating in 40 countries
The company focus is to improve the performance of restaurants through the experience that design can offer to customers, looking for an emotional bond between guests and brand by creating a specific atmosphere.
Beat Wicki
Director, B.H.M.S. Business & Hospitality Management School, Switzerland
Beat Wicki has a professional experience of over 30 years, being involved in educational projects around the world. Since 2017, Wicki became the director of B.H.M.S., one of Switzerland’s largest private hotel management school.
Tinu Sebeșanu
CEO, Trend Hospitality, Romania
Tinu Sebeşanu is the owner of the consulting and management company – Trend Hospitality. He is also the founder of HORA – Employers Organization of Romanian Hotels and Restaurants.
Ștefan Țînț
Owner, Teleferic Grand Hotel 4*, Poiana Brasov
At the Romanian Top Hotel Awards, the hotel won the first place in the category “4 Stars Leisure Hotel of the Year” in 2017 and 2018. Also, at the International Hospitality Awards in Kiev, it won the first place at category “Best Resort Hotel – Eastern Europe”.
Raluca Hrițcu
Country Manager, Gault & Millau, Romania
Gault & Millau is the first international culinary guide that enters in the Romanian market. In addition to the evaluation of restaurants, Gault & Millau Romania aims to support, through specific actions, the chefs, the local restaurants’ scene, the wide audience as well as the local producers.
Dora Morhan
General Manager, Pleiada Boutique Hotel 5*, Iasi
Pleiada Boutique Hotel is the only 5-star hotel in Moldova. Dora joined the hotel’s management team in 2018 as Business Development Manager, and become CEO in 2019. She was also Marketing Coordinator of the Romanian National Opera in Iasi and combined the hospitality and cultural fields.
Adrian Soare
presents the new Autograph 5 * by Marriott Hotel, which will open in 2020
The hotel designed by CUMULUS represents the rebuilding and transformation of Marmorosch Blank Bank Palace in Bucharest, a Class A listed building. Arch. Adrian Soare, co-founder of the CUMULUS Architecture Office from Bucharest, is the coordinator of this project.
Richard Andrews
presents the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel in Shanghai, China
Arch. Richard Andrews is one of the founders of the architectural office JADE UK. The office focuses on high-quality architecture projects, particularly in the hospitality sector. The Shanghai hotel was built on the site of an abandoned quarry, including underwater rooms.
Cătălin Trandafir
The architect of the Werk Restaurant in Hunedoara, nominated for Mies van der Rohe 2019
Arch. Catalin Trandafir is Managing Partner at the Architecture and Design Office, Filofi and Trandafir Architecture, founded in 1994, with offices in Cluj-Napoca and Alba Iulia.
Cristian Preotu
Owner of Le Bistrot Français – the first Romanian restaurant present in the Relais & Chateaux network
Cristian Preotu is the co-founder of the Romanian group Le Manoir, which has been active in the gastronomy and niche products industry since 2004, under the following brands: Le Manoir, Comtesse du Barry and Petit Bateau in stores & restaurants in Bucharest that are part of Relais & Châteaux network.
Andreea Bîrlădeanu
Senior Account Manager, Booking.com, Romania
Andreea Bîrlădeanu graduated from Hospitality Business Management (BA) at the University of Birmingham, following a training period at Marriott International. Andreea and her colleagues from Booking.com Romania office, daily help people to experience the world.
Ioan Bebeșelea
Syndicat Gourmet was chosen as the best restaurant in Sibiu in 2018
Ioan Bebeşelea is Chef and Co-Owner of Syndicat Gourmet. The motto behind is: “Quality food, local ingredients”. His restaurant received 12 points and a bonnet in the Gault & Millau 2018 gourmet guide.
Christine Schillings
Vice President of the Federation of Hotel Industry in Romania – FIHR
Christine Schillings has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, currently being General Manager of Crowne Plaza Hotel 4* in Bucharest. Before, Christine worked 30 years for Hilton WW with the last 10 years supervising the entire Eastern Europe / Turkey Hilton properties.
Răzvan Dincă
National Operator of the Green Key programme, Romania
Răzvan is the Director of Programmes at the Carpathian-Danubian Center for Geoecology. Green Key is one of the International Foundation for Environmental Education programmes dedicated to hotels and other tourism establishments that promote and have a responsible attitude to the environment.
Andrei Popa
Manager of the restaurant with the most points in the Special Destinations category, Gault & Millau 2018
Atra Doftana Restaurant received 13, 5 points in the first edition of the Gault & Millau gourmet guide, being the 7th in the overall rankings. Andrei Popa, who is also the in-house sommelier, relies on concepts like ”Farm to Table” and ”Food and Wine Pairing”.
Răzvan Crișan
runs the Kane – Seasonal Bistro, awarded with 14.5 points Gault & Millau in 2018
Kane is the main restaurant of the same name group focused on creating hospitality projects around three basic principles: concepts built around the talents of the teams they work with, high quality design, ingredients from producers with similar values. Razvan Crişan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kane Group.
Mihai Lambrino
Vinto – Gastro Wine Bar was chosen at the top of Timisoara’s restaurants list in 2018
Mihai Lambrino opened Vinto Gastro Wine Bar with his wife, in 2017. He received the highest score in Banat in the gastronomic guide launched last year, 11.5 points. Vinto is the first and the only Restaurant in Timisoara with Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator 2018.
Oana Coantă
Co-owner & Chef Manager at Bistro de l’Arte, Gault & Millau’s highest score restaurant in Brasov in 2018
The bistro menu has about 80% local ingredients, and most of the dishes are prepared according to local recipes, many unique. The primary interest is the promotion of Romanian gastronomy as a form of quality tourism for both Romanians and foreigners.
Projects
Shanghai Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel
📍 CHINA
The first five-star hotel that was built on the site of an underground abandoned quarry, including underwater rooms. It has been successfully completed and opened to the public in November 2018.
Roots Restaurant
📍Switzerland
1 star Michelin Restaurant. In the roots kitchen contemporary ingredients and technology are combined with traditional techniques. the flavours and combinations are modern, direct, and aim to evoke memories while inspiring the senses.
Hotel Savoy Moscow 5*
📍 RUSSIA
Russia’s Leading Boutique Hotel 2018. Savoy has been an integral part of the capital`s culture and history for more than a century. The historic hotel combines age-old traditions and up-to-date standards of high-quality service.
Kayakapi Premium Caves – Cappadocia 5*
📍 TURKEY
First & Only Boutique Hotel in Cappadocia: Kayakapi Premium Caves – Cappadocia, the award-winning cave hotel located in a historical neighborhood supported by UNESCO and World Heritage Center.
Casa Timiș
📍 Romania
Casa Timiş is a space built to communicate with the past, the present and the future, a restoration project with the ambition of emphasizing the identity of the Romanian people. A mix of gastronomy with the soul and the magic of Casa Timis wine .
Teleferic Grand Hotel 5*
📍 ROMANIA
The history of the Teleferic starts after 1970, with a classic European mountain-style hotel construction, having the best settlement in the famous mountain resort Poiana Brasov. The hotel operated until 1992, then closed for 20 years. The reopening was made after a radical transformation, the Teleferic Hotel becoming since 2015 a „luxury hotel universe”.
Atra Doftana
📍 romania
Only 100 m away from the shore of Lake Paltinu in Tesila, this modern guest house features a lounge area with a fireplace. Pension Atra Doftana overlooks the lake and has a restaurant serving international cuisine. The outdoor terrace has barbecue facilities.
Pleiada Boutique Hotel 5*
📍 romania
Pleiada Boutique Hotel is the only 5-star hotel in the region of Moldova. The hotel is situated in a quiet secluded area of the city of Iași. The place is an oasis of calm, full of nature sounds, where sunrises and sunsets perform a real show. Pleiada Boutique Hotel is the only hotel with a Wall of Fame and an art exhibition on display every month.
Autograph 5* by Marriott
📍 Romania
The first brand hotel Autograph by Marriott International in Romania, built in a historical monument – The Bank’s Palace Marmorosch Blank & Co. The building is a historic A class monument, “wounded” by various interventions and time. Cumulus’s conceptual intent was to “cure” these open wounds by preserving historical elements.
Le Bistrot Français
📍 ROMANIA
Relais & Châteaux Le Bistrot Français vision is to turn every single guest visit into a memorable experience centered around authenticity, refined flavours, passion for everything that is good and beautiful, as well as the involvement of each member of the team.
Bistro de l’Arte
📍 Romania
Located in the old part of the city, Bistro de l’Arte was opened in December 2000 as a French coffee & eating-place. In Bistro de l’Arte art has a special place. Famous Romanian artists presented their works in the last years: painters, sculptors, photographers, and craftsmen.
Crowne Plaza Hotel 4*
📍 Romania
The 4-star Crowne Plaza Bucharest Hotel offers modern rooms with modern-style interiors in proximity to Herastrau Park. The venue was designed in the contemporary style and built in 1998. Additional amenities include airport shuttle service, room services and ironing service.
Kane Seasonal Bistro
📍 ROMANIA
Kane is an illustration of what contemporary Romanian creativity stands for. The restaurant promises a memorable exploration of tastes based solely on local Romanian ingredients that have been skilfully combined to bring out very surprising flavours.
Vinto – Gastro Wine Bar
📍 ROMANIA
Inspired by nature and wine, they chose to draw the place with natural materials, but also to cook in tandem with the 4 seasons and inspired by the culinary culture of the wine regions. From the culinary point of view, Vinto offers an a la carte menu sommelier service, and a Wine & Food Pairing menu.
Werk Restaurant
📍 Romania
A good example of industrial heritage recovery. Most important distinctions obtained with this restaurant project are the Built Space BETA Competition 2018, the ASAR Excellence Award from the BNA and the BATRA Prize at the Community Facilities category.
Syndicat Gourmet
📍 romania
Food, recipes and stories inspired by the cook’s time in India. Fresh ingredients are bought every morning from the town’s main market place. Syndicat Gourmet preserved the old style of the building and created a nice atmosphere for the guest to relax and enjoy the food.
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