Equip&Dine Asia and SEAsia Café Expo were two inaugural trade events held at Marina Bay Sands Singapore from August 28th to 30th, 2019. Organised by REED Exhibitions in media partnership with Mise En Place, Equip&Dine Asia focused on injecting creativity into Asia’s hospitality and foodservice industry, while SEAsia Café Expo explored the experiential needs of today’s café goers and consumers. During these events, visitors were able to experience 2 timely conferences and 4 interactive hospitality and culinary competitions, a contemporary central kitchen set-up for multiple F&B operations, and a state-of-the-art experiential studio for bespoke dining experiences.
CONFERENCES
Kicking off the event was The Business of Innovation conference, whereby F&B owners and investors shed insights on navigating industry challenges and technological innovations through real-world practices. The Dangerous Liaisons: Foodservice Now conference continued the following day, featuring a fresh lineup of veterans and rising stars from the culinary world who shared their experiences on staying ahead of the curve in foodservice strategies and operations. Present at these sessions were prominent industry names, such as Chef Janice Wong, Impossible Foods’ Henry Woodward-Fisher, KOI’s Chef Reynold Poernomo and more.
COMPETITIONS
The event also featured Equip&Dine Asia’s Most Gracious Host Challenge that observed passionate home cooks serving an unforgettable experience with a 3-course menu. The Table Dressing Challenge was equally magical; catering and banquet operations professionals representing major hotel chains in the region worked their magic to deliver impeccably set tables at the event.
Also in action was the Singapore Gelato Championship that featured finest gelato craftsmen displaying their professionalism and creative prowess; and the Barista Redefined Challenge where automated milk texturing technology was used to create beautiful latte art without the need to manually steam and froth the milk.
“The customer experience also includes being able to get my cup of coffee in time and we are no longer willing to wait over ten minutes for our coffee. In the current trend of being artisanal, a lot of new players tend to fall into that pothole where they focus on quality and not speed,” said Keith Loh, Director, Caffeine Solutions and the organiser for Barista Redefined Challenge, at the media preview event of Equip&Dine Asia and SEAsia Café Expo.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Fusion Generation by Citrus & ALLTHATISSOLID
One of the most anticipated stops at Equip&Dine Asia 2019, the “Fusion Generation” booth gave visitors an opportunity to go up close into a working commercial kitchen environment and be in touch with the people with the right knowledge. Conceptualised by Citrus Consult together with ALLTHATISSOLID, the hawker-style kopitiam concept showcased a uniquely designed space staging 4 kiosks serving different cuisines, but ingeniously sharing one common kitchen. With visitors from various segments of the food industry, the unique concept inspired and helped businesses on space-planning to maximise efficiency and productivity. The 4 kiosks were:
• Kiosk 1: RICE FIELDS – The staple favourite of Asians.
• Kiosk 2: FUSION FLAVOURS – A pasta station with a local twist
• Kiosk 3: OODLES OF NOODLES – The alternate favourite of Asian hawker fare.
• Kiosk 4: SWEET DELIGHTS – A sweet ending to a good meal!
To make the concept a success, Fusion Generation partnered up with YPT, Ty Innovations, Tecnoinox, T&S, Moduline, Meiko, Irinox, Firex, and Blanco Professional as well as BGR Restaurant to demonstrate how equipment plays a role in a hawker-style restaurant. The equipment displayed at the event booth were combi oven, induction wok, blast chiller, undercounter chiller, hot water dispenser, dishwasher and others.
The Italian Summer By LEVELS
LEVELS Studio, meanwhile, featured the “Italian Summer” concept, inspired by LEVELS parent company – CKP’s very own travels and experiences. At Equip&Dine Asia 2019, the LEVELS booth featured an experiential transition tunnel that transported visitors to “Italian Summer”. The tunnel was conjoined by LEVELS creative energy through colours, fashion, music, and a block party. With the help of partnering brands, the booth served a tasty selection of foods and drinks curated towards the Italian Summer theme while demonstrating the capabilities of the equipment used in the process.
LEVELS booth, however, remained true to its goal – to capture the synergy between back-of- the-house and frontof- the-house in an F&B setup. Informative equipment demonstrations and LEVELS F&B talks were some of the highlights of the show at the booth, wrapped up by the Apertivo Hour serving cocktails to whet the thirst at Equip&Dine Asia 2019.
For the exhibition, LEVELS partnered with suppliers who each offered a unique product or equipment that worked together to bring about the overall Italian Summer concept. This was done in collaboration with REED Exhibitions and Mise En Place, and together with industry partners, Aperol (Remy Cointreau), Electrolux, Celli, Hobart, Precision, T&S, Williams, and Qson.
Our memory tend to hinge over stimulation of the senses, and that’s why Equip&Dine Asia 2019 and SEAsia Café Expo was a great “sensory” success. Stay expectant for more events such as these in the future as the foodservice industry continues to evolve!
For more information, also check out:
Citrus Consult : www.citrusconsult.com.my
ALLTHATISSOLID : www.allthatissolid.net
LEVELS Studio : www.levels-experience.com
REED Exhibitions : www.reedexpo.com
