Smart Menu Planning & Supply Chain Strategy
July 9 @ 1:30 am - 2:30 pm AEST
WEBINAR: Smart Menu Planning & Supply Chain Strategy
Wednesday, 9th July – 1:30 PM AEST
Webinar registration is complimentary to PCOA members and business partners. A small fee of $30.00 per attendee applies to all non-members. Everyone who registers will receive a link to view the recording following the webinar.
In this webinar, Rakesh Pillai, Executive Chef, and Marc Singerling, Director of Event Delivery at ICC Sydney, reveal how to design inclusive, trend-driven, and efficient event menus that appeal to diverse audiences.
Discover how to balance dietary, cultural and nutritional requirements while embracing trends such as local sourcing and sustainability. Learn tips for creating memorable experiences through interactive food stations – all without compromising quality at scale.
The session also offers practical insights into the supply chain, including the use of multiple suppliers, site visits and implementing structured evaluation processes to ensure reliability, safety, and consistency.
Key Takeaways:
- Create menus that thoughtfully cater to diverse dietary, cultural, and nutritional requirements
- Seamlessly incorporate current food trends, sustainable practices, and engaging, interactive elements
- Achieve the right balance between culinary creativity, budget management, scalability, and operational efficiency
Marc Singerling, Director of Event Delivery, ICC Sydney
As ICC Sydney Director of Event Delivery, Marc Singerling leads a team of more than 800 culinary and event service professionals. Marc is renowned for establishing a career dedicated to the dynamic world of food and beverage management within the events and hospitality industry, building a wealth of experience at some of Sydney’s most prestigious venues.
For almost a decade, Marc served as a Food and Beverage Services Manager at ICC Sydney Australia’s largest integrated convention, exhibition, and entertainment centre managed by ASM Global. Over the years, Marc’s integral leadership, expansive operational knowledge, commitment to service excellence and meticulous attention to detail has defined his approach to overseeing the planning and execution of food services for a diverse range of events, from large-scale conferences and exhibitions, banquets and meetings to live entertainment performances.
Marc has built a reputation for nurturing the next generation of industry talent and has regularly guided international culinary professionals from the Netherland’s Breda University of Applied Sciences and Hotelschool The Hague through an informative intern program at ICC Sydney. Marc Singerling’s extensive experience in managing large-scale events and complex food and beverage operations makes him a key figure in Sydney’s event management industry.
Rakesh Pillai, Executive Chef, ICC Sydney
A senior culinary professional with 25 years’ industry experience at prominent Australian venues as well as international five star hotels and resorts in United Arab Emirates and India, Rakesh has been a leader within ICC Sydney’s culinary team since the venue’s opening in December 2016. Rakesh is renowned for being a creative and strong contributor to the venue’s award-winning culinary service. As the Executive Chef, Rakesh leads a diverse team of passionate and productive chefs and kitchen professionals. Rakesh proactively strives to understand his client’s needs and he thrives on dedicating time to collaborating with them to achieve their culinary objectives.
As part of his extensive experience, Rakesh has led kitchen brigades at RHR Group, The Star and Hilton Hotel Sydney. Taking up the opportunity to join the ICC Sydney team in 2016, Rakesh was appointed as Chef de Cuisine and later was promoted to the position of Executive Sous Chef—a role he held for eighteen months before stepping up as Acting Executive Chef and later the Executive Chef role that he holds today.
Rakesh believes that seasonal produce should be the hero of every dish and his culinary solutions using local produce are brought to life not only through his own talents but through his effective collaboration and development of his diverse and innovative culinary team.
