What not to miss at HRC 2020

2 Sustainability

Food Made Good with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) will take place on the Wednesday of the show, hosted by Raymond Blanc (pictured, below), chef-patron at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, the SRA and WRAP UK.

Blanc, who is the president of the SRA, explains: "2020 presents hospitality with a unique chance to really grasp the opportunities offered by a shift towards a more sustainable model. Embrace positive change and customers will reward you. Stand still and you risk the health of the planet, your business and potentially your customers.

"Sustainable Hospitality 2020 is a wonderful place for those involved in foodservice to come and be inspired to join the movement to make our great industry environmentally restorative and socially progressive, guaranteeing a better food future for all."

The SRA and WRAP UK will host educational sessions, including how to increase local sourcing, improved plant-based menu offerings, tackle food waste, improve your recycling and reduce unnecessary plastics.

Places are limited and come on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Location South Gallery Rooms 7-9 of Excel London
• www.foodmadegood.org/framework

3 Technology

Experts and innovators will be on the TechX stage for TED-style talks to showcase the new digital products and trailblazing technologies available to improve your hospitality business. From AI and automation to biometrics and virtual concierges, this A-Z of opportunity is sure to leave you inspired.

Sessions include: Personalisation is Key with Nick Popovici; an Instagram Stories masterclass with Sarah Clay of Sarah Clay Social; and Tech for Good: Pathways to Sustainability with Ali Miller of KoolZone.

4 FEA Trend Trails

The FEA (Foodservice Equipment Association), previously the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA), will present its Trend Trails, a highlighted guide to its member stands, where visitors can find innovative solutions to their issues.

The Trend Trails focus on 15 major operator pains, including: sustainability, waste management, overhead and cost reduction, energy management, rising food costs, standards and regulations, new and emerging technology, work-flow optimisation, worker productivity, employee retention, working environment, customer service, food quality, food safety and food and flavour trends.

Professional kitchen exhibitors will showcase their products and provide engaging product demonstrations.

5 International Salon Culinaire

The largest chef competition in the UK, the International Salon Culinaire, will take place over the full three days of the show, with more than 100 different competition classes.

FEA and its equipment members Rational, Liebherr, Ozti, Contacto, Robot Coupe and Induced Energy will provide state-of-the-art professional kitchen equipment for competing chefs.

Chefs at all levels will be showing off their skills to a room full of peers and will be judged by more than 90 of the UK's most esteemed industry chefs, all of whom are members of partner associations – the Craft Guild of Chefs, the British Culinary Federation, the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and the Association of Pastry Chefs.

6 The Skills Theatre

The Skills Theatre, sponsored by Compass Group and supported by World Skills UK, is dedicated to chefs at the start of their careers.

Through a range of cold live competitions (including butchery, fishmongery and knife skills), young chefs will practice some of the essential skills they will need in their careers. This year MSK Ingredients will provide an exclusive training day at the MSK offices for the college or institution that accumulates the most medal points across the three days.

7 Salon Display

The Salon Display, also sponsored by Compass Group, is a showcase of static culinary creations and skill from senior, junior, and student chefs. The Table of Honour will return this year, where international gold-winning competitors will display their prized exhibits.

The sugar-craft section, which features floral sugar-craft arrangements, wedding cakes and novelty cakes, will be worth visiting for some of the most Instagrammable food in the country.

8 The Live Theatre

The Live Theatre will feature back-to-back live classes throughout the three days of the event, curated by chef-director Steve Munkley, executive chef at the Royal Garden Hotel and vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs.

www.hrc.co.uk/images/SalonBrochure/Salon_Culinaire_Schedule_2020.pdf

9 New products

HRC will welcome 600 suppliers showcasing ground-breaking products, from big brands to innovative start-ups in catering equipment, food, drink, technology, interior design and tabletop solutions.

Communication systems supplier Call Systems Technology (CST) will be showcasing a world-first device, the latest in hotel and restaurant communications.

The PDC550 Handset (pictured) is a device that enables the collaboration of multiple communication modes, including critical messaging, two-way radio, phone and WiFi PBX handsets. The system works with Bluetooth and uses a five-inch Android display to show task management modules for maintenance and housekeeping, fire alarm messages, lone worker panic buttons, cameras both front and back with video capability and live CCTV streaming to the handset for security.

• Stand H130
• www.call-systems.com

Digitally is software (pictured below) that enables the counting, collating and analysis of food profit margins, which saves food business time, streamlines internal efficiencies, improves accuracy and increases food profit margins.

• Stand H4
• www.godigitally.io

Tableware manufacturer Surrey Ceramics, based in Grayshott in Surrey, uses materials supplied from within the UK. Its pick-and-mix system allows customers to pair any glaze with any product to create their own tableware. There are more than 200 products that can be combined with more than 20 finishes.

• Stand T230
• www.surreyceramics.com

10 The Caterer stand T220

The Caterer team will be on duty at stand T220, showcasing our entire portfolio of publications and events. We will highlight the most innovative products that hospitality has to offer through our Product Excellence Awards (PEAs). Pay us a visit to see what our panel of expert judges selected as the very best products of 2019. We've also started our hunt for the best products of 2020, so if you think you have a brilliant product worthy of winning a PEA, stop by and tell a member of The Caterer team about it.