Hale Events organised the Hotel & Catering Show in Bournemouth for the first time this year. The show took a similar format to previous years, but changes are afoot for 2017.
The show is to add another ingredient to the mix. When you know that the new organisers are Hale Events, organisers of the very successful Source trade show, you start to get an idea of what that new ingredient might be. What could complement Hospitality & Catering? Well Retail of course. And that’s what they are planning for 2017. The show will be marketed as The Hotel Catering & Retail Show. It will cater not only for the business needs of hospitality buyers, it will also welcome retail buyers, looking for speciality food and drink for their outlets. The mix of retail & hospitality suppliers creates a vibrant and fertile trading environment, as the Source has been successfully proving since 2008.
Mike Anderson, MD said “We really enjoyed our first year and have lots of ideas to expand and develop the show so that it meets the future needs of buyers in the ever developing food and drink market”.
Show features this year included Hospitality Talks, a Demonstration Kitchen, and the Mixology Bar. Run by Nectar Imports, the Bar hosted the UKBG Market Challenge 2016 for Barman Apprentices and Bartending Legends, which were won by Elliot Rusbridge from Bournemouth College and Dave Hall from Urban Beach respectively. All these features will be back in 2017, and there are plans to expand and develop the Demonstration Kitchen. With both students and professionals taking part in the competitions and displaying their talents in the kitchen, the show is a great way for new talent to learn from more established names, and provides inspiration for everyone.
“Good to find such a comprehensive show close by. Impressed by the quality of the exhibitors and found some good leads, some of which have translated into orders to take our business to a new level”. Peter Boraston, Barnaby’s.
Next year’s show will take place on Tuesday 14th & Wednesday 15th March 2017. You can keep up to date with news about the show at www.hotelcateringretailshow.co.uk or why not follow the show on Twitter at @hotelcatershow.