Bold statement: Lebanese food is the best. At the very least, we all agree it's finger-licking good. In fact, we'd argue it's not just a titillating experience for your taste-buds (literally, of course—pass the fattoush, please) but also a means to spark conversation, expand the mind and think of what entrepreneurship, marketing, food and art could grow into.

Leave the licked-off plates at home for once and join us for a conversation on how to create savory food experiences. As a first in a series "Beirut, let's talk about...", this talk unites a diverse crowd of professionals sharing their experiences and know-how on how to create, promote and experience food around the world and right here in Lebanon.

Come hear from game-changers who are in the know, speaking of the things they've done and the things they've learned. Have a taste of their enlightened solutions for problems past and sample their take on future plans. Do line up for the buffet: eye-opening, inspiring fun is being served!

Tea, fine wine, sweets & canapés will be served for you to mingle & meet.

Guest Speakers

Aiste @ Luxeat - Top 5 Luxury Food Blogger in the World

Previously a very successful fashion model, Aiste became a pioneer of the digital gourmet scene portrayed in the documentary film Foodies: The Culinary Jetset. The film celebrated its premiere in September at the festival in San Sebastian, Spain. Aiste loves travelling the world in search of authentic food experiences, stories of the chefs, cooks and other food magicians, who, all over the world, create beauty on the plate and bring joy to our souls. She organises a Japanese gourmet event Japan Meets Ibiza + Barcelona which earlier this year saw its second edition already.

Aiste will share with us her adventures around the world, her successful blogging career, experiences on creating the gourmet event and her dreams for the future. Aiste lives across London, Paris and Ibiza.

Karl Naim - Co-Founder & CEO at ChefXchange

Karl is the Co-Founder and CEO at ChefXchange, the first online platform in the Middle East connecting Chefs with Foodies looking for any type of Culinary Experiences. With over 1300 Chefs registered across multiple cities including Dubai, London, Washington DC and Beirut, they are on a mission to define the Culinary Experience of tomorrow through Community Engagement.

In parallel, he started the first specialized Lobster restaurant in Lebanon, Lobster Society, with his sister Candice.

Prior to this, Karl had a 10 years career in Finance, spanning from Wealth Management, Asset Management and Private Equity with UBS AG, Goldman Sachs, and Mubadala Development Company. He also is an avid Angel Investor and mentors start ups.

He received a MBA from the London Business School and a MSc in Economics & Finance from the Warwick Business School.

Karl will share with us his entrepreneurial journey.

Bechara Haddad, Country Manager @ Zomato

Zomato is a global online portal and an app that enable people to discover great places to eat around them. The content is created by the community of food lovers that share their reviews and photos.

The platform hosts over 1 million restaurants globally and provides engagement and management tools for them.

Mr. Haddad will share with us how the platform works, what trends in user behaviour he sees, how the value for each target segment (food searches, food lovers and restaurants) is created and how the food industry is evolving in Lebanon.

Nicole Maftoum, founder of Eat Like Nicole

Nicole is a registered clinical Dietitian, passionate about food & life. She is obsessed with cooking, sampling new ingredients, styling recipes and helping all those who are in a complicated relationship with food.

She is a regular contributor to L'Orient Le Jour newspaper along other magazines and her blog (www.eatlikenicole.com) as well as to local TV stations with her weekly live nutrition and cooking segments on OTV and MTV.

Nicole will share with us her story of developing her business and her strong online presence (over 47K followers on facebook).