Introduction
Olympia Events has named Steven Morris as its new executive chef as the London venue prepares to take direct control of its food and beverage operations from 1 January 2026. The appointment, announced by venue operator Legends Global, signals an early step in reshaping the catering strategy for one of the UK’s most recognisable exhibition and event destinations.
Background and industry context
Food and beverage services have become a critical differentiator for large-scale venues competing to host conferences, exhibitions, consumer shows and hybrid events. In recent years, many venues have revisited long-standing outsourced catering models, exploring whether bringing services in-house can create more flexibility, improve margin control and enable closer alignment with event organiser requirements.
Olympia London is undergoing a major, multi-year redevelopment intended to transform the historic exhibition halls into a mixed-use cultural and events district. As part of this wider transformation, Olympia Events is reassessing how hospitality is integrated across exhibitions, conferences, live entertainment and corporate events hosted on site. Moving catering operations in-house is a significant operational shift that requires early planning around menu development, staffing, logistics and supplier relationships.
Within this context, appointing an executive chef with extensive large-scale and international experience is a foundational step in designing a food and beverage offer that supports both traditional trade shows and evolving event formats, including hybrid experiences and content-led conferences.
Key developments and appointment details
Legends Global, which manages Olympia Events, has confirmed that Steven Morris will lead the venue’s culinary direction as executive chef. His role will be central to establishing the new in-house structure that will replace current catering arrangements when the transition takes effect at the beginning of 2026.
Morris brings over 30 years of experience in hospitality and events across multiple markets. Before joining Olympia Events, he held senior culinary leadership positions at Gather & Gather and other major contract catering and hospitality organisations. His background includes managing food operations for large venues and complex, high-volume environments, a skill set that aligns with Olympia’s mix of exhibitions, conferences and live events.
In his new role, Morris is expected to oversee menu development, kitchen and service design, and talent recruitment, while coordinating closely with operations and commercial teams. He will be tasked with building an offering that can serve a wide spectrum of events, from trade and consumer exhibitions to corporate meetings, product launches and potential new formats emerging from the wider Olympia redevelopment.
The decision to announce the executive chef appointment well ahead of the 2026 in-house transition gives the venue a long runway to plan and test new concepts, design service workflows and align catering capabilities with event organiser expectations.
Industry impact
Olympia’s move is part of a broader pattern in the events and venue sector, where operators are increasingly treating catering as a strategic asset rather than a purely outsourced service line. By bringing food and beverage in-house, venues aim to achieve:
- Greater control over quality and consistency: Direct oversight of the culinary team and supply chain can help standardise service levels across different event types and sizes.
- Improved responsiveness to organiser needs: In-house teams can more easily adapt menus, formats and pricing structures for bespoke or last-minute requirements.
- Closer integration with event design: Catering can be aligned with content, themes, visitor journeys and brand experiences, supporting more immersive event concepts.
- Potential for new revenue models: Venues can experiment with varied price points, sponsorship-linked hospitality and premium experiences, including VIP lounges and curated attendee dining.
For event technology providers and service partners, Olympia’s decision underscores a growing emphasis on data-driven food operations, including demand forecasting, pre-ordering tools and digital attendee journeys that integrate catering with registration and session planning.
Why this matters for event professionals and technology providers
For organisers using Olympia as a host venue, the shift to in-house catering under a dedicated executive chef may influence how they design their events and manage attendee experiences. Key considerations include:
- Menu flexibility and customisation: Direct collaboration with an in-house culinary team could make it easier to build tailored menus around specific audience profiles, sustainability goals or brand guidelines.
- Operational coordination: Integrating catering into event timelines, floorplans and traffic flows is likely to become more streamlined when both venue operations and F&B are under a single management structure.
- Data and attendee experience: There is an opportunity to connect catering choices with registration systems, dietary data and session schedules, enabling more personalised experiences and reducing waste.
- Sustainability and sourcing: In-house operations may provide a clearer framework for local sourcing, portion management and measurement of food-related environmental impact, which are increasingly important for corporate and association clients.
For event technology vendors, Olympia’s move highlights demand for tools that bridge catering and event operations, such as ordering apps, F&B dashboards for organisers, digital signage integrations for menu information, and analytics platforms that help optimise staffing and stock based on projected footfall.
As Olympia’s redevelopment advances, the combination of new physical spaces with internally managed catering could also open up new formats for hospitality-led sponsorship, branded networking areas and curated food zones linked to event content themes.
Conclusion
The appointment of Steven Morris as executive chef marks an important milestone in Olympia Events’ plan to bring food and beverage services in-house from January 2026. With decades of experience in large-scale hospitality and events, Morris will play a central role in defining how catering integrates with the venue’s wider operational and commercial strategy.
For organisers, exhibitors and technology partners working with Olympia, the shift signals a more tightly controlled and potentially more flexible approach to event catering. As the venue continues its transformation, the way food and beverage is delivered on site is likely to become a core part of how Olympia competes for business in a market where attendee expectations and event formats are evolving rapidly.