22nd of November saw great success of our biannual Hospitality Leaders’ Reception – this reception provides a networking platform for those in the industry to interact in a unique setting. It also provides a dais to showcase up and coming ideas, concepts and innovations.

With sustainability being a key issue in the industry, the concept on display this time was sustainable utilisation of food, in particular, “unwanted food”.

We had the honour to welcome Mr Augustine Tan, co-founder of UglyFood Singapore, to explain how fruits and vegetables are categorised in terms of appearance and how certain categories are deemed unusable, despite being nutritionally identical to their “more beautiful” counterparts. He also shared the different ways in which his company is able to “rescue” these foods and the importance of maximising the utility and minimising the waste of such a critical resource.

Another centre of attraction was the “Blender Bike”, by HealthPartnersSG. Attendees of the HLR were captivated by the simple yet ostentatious manner in which pedal power from a bicycle drove a blender, which produced amazing smoothies. The concept was naturally physically attractive, but also a thought provoking accompaniment to the theme of reallocating our excess resources and energy, so that they might be beneficial, instead of wasted.

Thank you to all student helpers who made this event successful!