Community Spotlight – Piers Zangana, Founder of Persian Hospitality Network
Piers Zangana is the founder of the Persian Hospitality Network and PR agency Susa Communications, helping hospitality businesses tell their stories and bringing the Persian hospitality community together.
Community Spotlight – Sting Khumalo, HR Director
Sting Khumalo is the HR Director at the luxury 5-star hotel The Biltmore, and has worked in the industry for more than fifteen years.
Sting’s success is accredited to her determination, passion and overall support she has garnered over the years.
Community Spotlight – Ranji Thangiah, Food Photographer
Ranji Thangiah is a London based food photographer, who specialises in editorial, lifestyle and restaurant photography. Her journey into food photography started with her Sri Lankan food blog, Tooting Mama. The blog reflects her Sri Lankan heritage and culture shared through recipes and stories.
Meet the BIH Spotlight Awards Winners
A month on from the inaugural BIH Spotlight Awards we wanted to take a moment to refocus why we started them in the first place. The goal was to celebrate and recognise exceptional talent and achievement from Black, Asian, and ethnic minorities working within hospitality, food, and drink. Reading the below, we think that has been achieved!
Find out more about our incredible winners and what they do, as well as their insights on winning a BIH Spotlight Award.
Community Spotlight – Babatunde Abifarin, founder of Farin Road Restaurant
Babatunde Abifarin is founder of Farin Road restaurant in Edinburgh, and has worked in the trade for the better part of a decade. Abi has always been eager to introduce the Scottish community to African food, by adding African ingredients to many of his menus at restaurants where he has worked as head chef.
The Inaugural 2022 BIH Spotlight Awards Winners Announced
Last night, Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH) proudly announced the winners for its BIH Spotlight Awards – the first ever awards to celebrate diverse talent within the hospitality industry in the UK. The glitzy awards ceremony was held in London at Percy’s Kensington and was hosted by TV presenter, author and pastry chef, Ravneet Gill.
Community Spotlight – Mabina Zinga, founder of Brazza Restaurant
Mabina Zinga is the founder of Brazza, a restaurant that has recently moved from Pop Brixton in South London. The restaurant mixes Congolese, West African and European influences to create a unique take on African food.
Community Spotlight – Aghiles Ourad, founder of The Other Grape
Aghiles Ourad is the founder of ‘The Other Grape’, importing quality wines from the Arab world to spotlight ‘both the forgotten grapes and their untold stories’.
Be Inclusive Hospitality launches first UK Spotlight Awards
Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH), founded by Lorraine Copes to advance racial equity in Hospitality, Food and Drink, is proud to announce its inaugural BIH Spotlight Awards, taking place on 24 October 2022. The awards will celebrate businesses and individuals of exceptional talent and achievement from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds working within the hospitality industry today.
Thrive in Spirits x Thrive in Beer Event, 1st August
We hosted the final Club Thrive event on Monday August 1st, combining Thrive in Spirits x Thrive in Beer. We were joined by four incredible panellists to discuss career experiences and the importance of representation within the hospitality industry.
Community Spotlight- Nadine Brown, Writer and Food Stylist
Nadine Brown is a recipe developer, writer and food stylist from London. She’s worked for many leading food publications, including Sainsbury’s magazine, Weight Watchers, Olive, BBC Good Food. We spoke to Nadine about her career to date.
Panel Discussion, Imbibe 22
On Tuesday 5th of July 22, BIH founder Lorraine Copes curated and hosted an important conversation at Imbibe Live. On the ‘Industry Matters’ stage, Lorraine and four drinks business founders discussed the emergence of black-owned drinks brands within the UK market and beyond.
Community Spotlight – Priya Narain, Events Sales Manager
Priya Narain is Event Sales Manager at KERB events. She is also Co-Founders of two separate industry initiatives- Event First Steps, and Diverse Speaker Bureau, which platforms industry experts from diverse backgrounds, helping panels be more representative of society. We spoke to Priya about working across the sector.
Thrive In Wine Event, 27th June
On the 27th of June, we held our second event in the Club Thrive series, Thrive in Wine. At WSET School London in London Bridge, we were joined by an incredible panel of wine experts and educators who shared their insights into the industry.
Community Spotlight – Aushi Meewella, co-founder of Kolamba
Aushi and Eroshan Meewella are co-owners of Sri Lankan restaurant Kolamba, delivering astonishing Sri Lankan food both at their Soho location and across the nation with their home kits. We spoke to Aushi about working in the industry, challenges and achievements.
Daily Special at Taste of London
This year we supported the Taste of London team to spotlight some phenomenal black-owned restaurants based in London. We travelled from West Africa to the Caribbean to bring some new flavours to the nation’s favourite food festival. Taste attracts 46,500 visitors over a five day period.
Community Spotlight – Cameron Bownes, Hotel Manager
Cameron Bownes is Hotel Manager at The Zetter Hotel and Townhouse at The Zetter Group. He started his career with the intention of working in the kitchen. However, he soon found his love for interacting with people and embracing the excitement of a fast paced and unpredictable industry.
Thrive In Food event, 23rd May
On the 23rd of May, we launched Club Thrive with a ‘Thrive In Food’ event at Bloomsyard, Liverpool Street. We were joined by an incredible panel of industry leaders, and over 70 attendees from a variety of careers within the hospitality and food sectors.
Interview with Honey & Co. Owners Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich
Sarit and Itamar opened their first restaurant in 2012, after working in kitchens in London and Israel. Honey & Co focuses on serving up the kind of delicious food found in the home, in an intimate and cosy space.
Be Inclusive Hospitality’s Inside Hospitality Report Launch
On Tuesday 26th of April, Be Inclusive Hospitality hosted the launch of our 2022 Inside Hospitality Report at the OXO Tower Bar and Brasserie. We shared the important findings with our community members, partners and industry leaders to help drive much needed change throughout the hospitality industry.