Fine Food Australia heads to Melbourne for 2020 show
WITH THE 2019 FINE FOOD AUSTRALIA trade show judged a shining success – more than 24,000 industry professionals came through the doors of the Sydney ICC from 9 to 12 September last year to experience the event – plans are already underway to make this year’s bigger and better than ever!
Fine Food 2020 will be held in Melbourne from 7 - 10 September and already the behind the scenes team is working on the four-day ideas and innovation fest which will again encompass all the latest in food and specialty, catering and hospitality equipment, drinks, bakery equipment and ingredients, healthy living, retail technology, dairy and packaging.
“Last year we introduced a number of new initiatives on the show floor, all of which were very well received,” says Fine Food Australia Event Director Minnie Constan, “and we’re looking to make many of those a regular feature moving forward.”
These included chef-run show tours to highlight various new and exciting products, and the Innovation Kitchens designed to appeal to both chefs and foodservice owner-operators, highlighting not only new products and ingredients but business efficiencies in technology and equipment.
The Talking Trends stage lived up to its name and generated a lot of positive feedback – “it featured trends that are emerging now and are likely to become even bigger in the future, as well as technology as it pertains to food, with a particular emphasis on new equipment and ingredients to ensure efficiency and taste, ” Minnie reports. “Talking Trends will be making its Melbourne debut this September, and you may even see a robot or two hanging around!”
As always, the program of events is being designed with foodservice end-users such as chefs, restaurateurs and business owners, alongside bakery, retail and hospitality professionals foremost in mind.
Competitions, masterclasses and special events are always a key attraction of Fine Food Australia and Melbourne will showcase plenty of them, from the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat to the Great Aussie Pie and Sausage Roll Competition and more, including the Women in Foodservice Charity Event.
“Each year we undertake surveys and post-show research to see what attendees thought and last year the satisfaction level was outstanding, with exhibitors reporting a lot of first-time visitors”
“Visitors are saying they want to see new products and technology in action – they want practical demonstrations of how to make an old dish shine with new ingredients, or a new technique that will enhance their menu’s flavours, with efficiency in mind all the while. With eight stages and numerous demonstration areas which are free to access, Fine Food 2020 will take up the whole Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - there’ll be so many new and exciting things to see that people will want to spend five or six hours on the show floor and come back over multiple days to take it all in.”
A key element of last year’s event was masterclasses not only on the show floor itself but even in the foyer, where the focus was on cake decorating, sugar sculpture and chocolate. Plans are currently underway to stage a major event around a similar theme – not yet finalized but watch this space.
Registration for Fine Food Australia 2020 opens later this year, with the organisers expecting Melbourne’s largest turn-out yet for the show. “Melbourne typically attracts a bigger crowd than Sydney, but Sydney is fast catching up, so it will be interesting to see what the figures will be this year - each year we get bigger and better,” Minnie says.
You can keep up with details about this year’s upcoming show as they’re announced at www.finefoodaustralia.com.au.
