Fine Food Oh, so

Transcription

1 Oh, so 70 theconsultant

2 much to see and do. By Brian Lennox, FCSI October

3 September in Sydney, Australia, saw the annual Fine Foods trade exhibition at Darling Harbour. This show has, in the past, earned the reputation as Australia s premier international event for the hospitality industry and has become the place where many local and interstate contractors, designers, consultants, developers, architects and end users come to see and learn about the newest and best products and services on offer. It s a good way for them to stay abreast of what s hot and happening in the industry, both from a local perspective and an international one. Many who attended the show found themselves like a young child in a lolly shop; with so much to see and do, you almost felt like you were having a sugar rush just standing there in the middle of it all. New equipment and technologies abounded, updates of existing equipment bulged from sellers booths and fast talking, snappy suited sales men spruiked their wares to all who would listen. Oh, so much to see and do. Like every great trade show, there are always quality seminars, competitions and demonstrations happening. This year at this trade exhibition it was no different. It offered such premier events as the Australian Culinary Challenge, the leading chef competition in Australia, which sees top restaurants, apprentices and chefs compete for recognition and cash prizes. And then there was the Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition where you could stand back and watch the seasoned pastry chefs demonstrate their craft, creating golden flaky pastry and sumptuous gourmet fillings. It was great to watch. Of course, FCSI was on hand with opportunities to network and an informative series of three seminars; the theme was Partnering for a Profitable Future. The topic of Sustainable Technology and Efficient Energy was covered by Jason Markey, Engineering manager with Australian refrigeration company, Actrol, and Ben Pearson, program manager of Green Chef & Green Skills, a unique program designed in consultation with Fisher- Nickel Inc (FNi, tailored to improving the energy efficiency of Australian restaurants and commercial kitchens. Energy savings on new technologies such as digital scroll compressors and how to reduce operational costs in a foodservice operation were discussed. Paula Paterson, from Sales Strategy, dealt with how to bring yourself and your business into the digital media world, highlighting the importance of business internet social networking tools such as Linkedin, Blog pages, Twitter accounts and Facebook. Facebook alone now has an audience of over 400 million, and many firms 72 theconsultant

4 Hackman RH The Great Aussie Pie Competition in full swing. and professionals are using these digital sources to gather information and create networking opportunities for future business. Miccal Cummins, director, Gastronomy Australia; Wes Lambert, director, Pacific Group; and Mark Landini of Landini & Associates dealt with future trends in corporate and restaurant catering and in particular the New York site, Eataly, was heavily discussed. This restaurant is a group of kitchens located in the one building, and demonstrates the trend to communal dining. With a passion for good food, everyone and anyone becomes the target market. Out on the show floor the unrelenting speed, buzz and hype of the show continued. Oh, so much to see and do. Melbourne-based exhaust hood manufacturer, Ecocanopy, highlighted the features and benefits of their new range of exhaust hoods. These include the inclusion of Ecoshield UV technology which can reduce the cost of cleaning and maintenance of the exhaust system, as well as the Ecocanopy design ethos of being to construct it with less moving parts and easy access. Chris Kenny, the director of Markforce International, manufacturer of Ecocanopy, was swift to point out that the Ecoshield UV system is Swedish in design and is sold in 20 countries throughout the world, with customers including McDonalds and KFC. Nearby, Jacques Morin, of Phoeniks, was showing off the MKN Kuchenmeister cooking island. With its sturdy 3mm stainless steel top, inbuilt combi oven, wok burner and robust appearance, it stood out...and Jacques knew it! We are incredibly proud to have the Kuchenmeister cooking island on our stand at the show, he beamed. The feedback has been great and the big advantage of the Kuchenmeister is that it can be tailored to suit any client s specific and individual requirements. As an iconic show piece for a high end hotel or themed kitchen it is second to none. I must admit it really was impressive, boasting their new hoodin technology which allows a combi oven to be built into the joinery or, in this case, a stainless case. But time marched on and there was still oh so much to see and do. At the Winterhalter stand we found the staff exhibiting the Winterhalter RoMatik XS, a reverse osmosis water filter. Later in the show, this item would win the Best 1/3 page October

5 Spray Master A section devoted to organics proved popular with visitors. 1/3 page New Hospitality Product at the show for 2011, an award that many manufacturers and suppliers hunger after. The unit, integrated with pre-filter, takes up a minimum of space and is particularly useful working in conjunction with under counter glass washers and dishwashers in the bar. They were keen to point out the advantages of this reverse osmosis system reduced labour costs, reduced glass breakage, better hygiene as polishing with a cloth is eliminated, and the glassware looks great. The legs were now sore from all the walking and the mouth was parched from too much talking, and the heart raced way too fast from too much coffee. But with so much to see and do, the little kid inside me, the kid in the lolly shop could just not stop. David Byrnes, the National Sales manager for Australia-based Goldstein Eswood, enticed me onto his stand to explain the prototype Goldstein Century Range of horizontal cooking equipment. The Century series is under development explained David. We were keen to gauge the response of the market and the feedback we have received to date has been positive. In particular, people have liked the development of the burner arrangement where we are potentially providing a 24Mj burner with the characteristics and performance of 28Mj burners. The prototype is just that, but the good feedback provided to them will assist them in developing it further. Cambro was also on hand promoting the new series of Cambro Elements shelving, first released earlier this year at NAFEM in the USA. Jason Ferreira, the Cambro/Comcater sales person, who was marketing the shelving, pointed out the product features including its reduced capital cost and 100% recyclability. Designed with advanced composite materials, the Cambro Elements Series shelving provides better strength, increased durability and enhanced food safety features. The high weight-bearing capacity (272kg per shelf) and 9% more surface storage space per shelf, meets the busy demands of high-volume foodservice operations. Of course, hundreds of new and interesting pieces of equipment and systems were on display. To write about all of them would be impossible, but like me the thousands of eager visitors who passed through the show undoubtedly felt that there was Oh, so much to see and do. 74 theconsultant