Meet our Contributors

The Regenerative Hospitality Summit host, Pamela Ratiu, is Executive Director of the Ratiu Forum, a project run in partnership with the London School of Economics IDEAS Think Tank, which explores challenges to liberal democracies in central and eastern Europe, and she is Executive Director (Romania) of the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation. She initiated the Ratiu Dialogues on Democracy, a series of lectures on visions for democracy and civic engagement. Pamela has developed Casa Ratiu, the seat of the Ratiu Family, as a social ecosystem operating in the field of hospitality, which provides recruitment and development opportunities for local people. She is a former Patron of the Oxford Cultural Collective.

As founder of independent consultancy Conscious.Travel, Anna, has 50 years experience serving the international  tourism sector with a particular focus on destinations; understanding what forces change in the way tourism is marketed, managed and delivered; and thinking creatively about alternative business models that can help us thrive in a post-modern world. She has been researching and pioneering regeneration, applied to tourism and hospitality, for over 10 years and is educating and inspiring practitioners internationally via her talks, writing and courses. Anna is a Patron of the Oxford Cultural Collective.

As the founder of Food NI, Michele is responsible for the creative promotion of Northern Ireland as a food and drink destination, based on the quality of produce and the talents of growers, farmers and chefs. She conceptualised and ran the successful Year of Food and Drink 2016, which delivered positive economic and cultural impacts, and was responsible for securing the accolade ‘World’s Best Food Destination’ for Northern Ireland, at the International Travel Trade Awards.

Skye is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs. She moved from Australia to London to work at The French House, before becoming head chef at Petersham Nurseries. In 2014, Skye opened Spring as her first solo venture. The restaurant brings Skye’s acclaimed ingredient-led cooking to the New Wing of Somerset House, the renowned arts and cultural centre in the heart of London’s West End. Skye is also Culinary Director at Heckfield Place, known for its commitment to regenerative farming and gastronomy, which holds a Green Michelin Star.

An academic in the Faculty of Food Science and Technology at the University of Agricultural Sciences of Cluj-Napoca, Lucian is also Director of Slow Food Cluj and Deputy Director of  The Romanian Academy, the country’s leading cultural forum. He advocates for local food systems and community supported agriculture and is closely involved with the growing movement of independent producers and chefs who are redefining Transylvania’s culinary culture.

A specialist in food marketing and consumer behaviour, Lynsey leads a centre of excellence focused on supporting Northern Ireland’s local food and drink industry, through applied research and education. She is playing a central role in the development of hospitality, culinary arts management and tourism as flagship areas of provision for Ulster University, signified by its investment in extensive new teaching, learning and commercial facilities in Belfast city centre.