Businesses and professionals operating in the hotel, restaurant and café segment all have their sights set squarely on the dining experience. And nowhere is this more apparent than among the companies exhibiting at Host, the trade show taking place at Fieramilano from Friday 23 to Tuesday 27 October 2015. As the leading global industry wide event, Host – Milan’s International Hospitality Exhibition – is giving prominence to the latest design and technology advances for the mise en place, in the Furniture & Dining area of the show.
Furniture & Dining is one of Host’s three macro-areas: the other two are Professional Foodservice with Bread-Pasta-Pizza and Gelato and Pastry with Coffee-Tea and Bar-Coffee machines. Operators welcome this unique concept, which places emphasis on the affinities between the various segments and broadens targeted business opportunities. The 2013 event was in fact attended by 1,700 exhibitors from 48 countries, and attracted 1,500 profiled international buyers, with particularly large delegations arriving from China, Russia and India. Altogether an impressive 38,400 business meetings were set up through the Expo Matching Program digital diary system.
Host’s Furniture & Dining section is regarded as the unrivalled showcase for the foodservice industry’s leading edge solutions. The industry also looks to Host for the latest developments in dining design and table styling. Take long-respected Italian designer tableware makers Sambonet for example, who are giving a contemporary feel to steel, and making daring forays into novel shapes and materials, alongside classics such as the cutlery sets designed by celebrated Italian architect Gio’ Ponti. Ergonomics and aesthetics are the principles underlying the chinaware produced by the subsidiary brand Rosenthal, from the Versace ranges to more traditional all-time favourites. Alessi is also deservedly in the spotlight for its unrelenting dedication to research in the applied arts. Since the 1980s Alessi has never shied away from experimenting with new materials and ground breaking technologies, including wood, china and porcelain, plastic, glass and crystal, electricity and electronics. To set “a beautiful table” – as Ettore Sottsass called it – Alessi calls upon the best that contemporary designers have had to offer over the past few decades, ever since the first Alessi cutlery set appeared in their catalogue: “Dry” designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1982.
Kahla is another brand with a strong focus on research; its Magic Grip technology enhances the functionality of porcelain thanks to an integrated silicone foot that ensures slip resistance, protects against scratches and is food-safe and hygienic. The manufacturing tradition of Tognana dates back to 1775, and today the company is redefining not only porcelain but also flatware, with knives featuring decorated steel blades and soft-touch handles. And since 1946 Bormioli Luigi has been creating blown crystal-clear glass in styles ranging from the ever-popular classics to the trendy.
www.host.fieramilano.it
