Award-winning chef Pawan Dutta joins Maximum Occupancy’s line-up
The Royce’s Executive Chef will join a panel facilitated by Alison Hulm, MD of JACK Hospitality, at Maximum Occupancy Australia 2026
Pawan Dutta, Executive Chef at Melbourne’s The Royce and winner of Chef of the Year – Accommodation at the 2025 Australian Hotels Association National Awards for Excellence, will join the speaker line-up at Maximum Occupancy Australia 2026.
Taking place on Tuesday 17 November at Pullman East Melbourne, the conference will bring together accommodation owners, executives and operators for practical conversations about running more profitable businesses.
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Dutta will feature on “Can F&B Actually Make Money?”, a panel facilitated by Alison Hulm, Managing Director of JACK Hospitality.
The session will tackle a question facing hotel owners and operators: how do you deliver memorable dining experiences while making the numbers work?
Discussion will explore the balance between culinary quality and commercial performance, including menu profitability, staffing, food costs, operational efficiency and attracting diners beyond the hotel’s overnight guests.
Dutta brings the perspective of a nationally recognised executive chef leading the culinary offering at one of Melbourne’s luxury boutique hotels. His contribution will connect the realities of running a hotel kitchen with the expectations of owners, operators and guests.
Hulm brings extensive experience across hotel and restaurant operations, concept development and business improvement, having overseen more than 60 restaurant and bar openings.
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Together with their fellow panellists, they will examine what makes hotel food and beverage commercially sustainable, where operators lose margin and which changes can improve performance without compromising the guest experience.
The panel forms part of a broader Maximum Occupancy programme covering hotel ownership, leadership, revenue, marketing, distribution, technology and the accommodation outlook for 2027.
