The UK’s most comprehensive event for the hospitality industry, Hotelympia, will have a brand new look and feel for 2012 when it returns to London’s ExCeL February 26th – March 1st.
The five-day show is set to unveil a brand new layout, a host of new initiatives and even more visitor interaction, with a focus on “delivering innovation to your hospitality business”.
The highly successful Innovation Awards will return bigger, better and brighter, once again providing a high profile platform and an unprecedented means of recognition for new product launches throughout the show.
In a new twist, the 2012 awards will see finalists pitch their products behind closed doors in a ‘Dragon’s Den’-style arena. Six finalists in each category – Design, Equipment, Food & Drink and Technology – will have to pit their wits against our panel of specially invited hospitality industry leaders or ‘Innovation Idols’ including Michelin starred chef, Jason Atherton, world renowned sommelier Gerard Basset, and celebrated restaurateur Trevor Gulliver.
“The Hotelympia Innovation Awards shine a light on new ideas that really can change the way the industry works, all the while bringing another dimension to the industry’s leading catering exhibition. The award gave the company great recognition and a lot of media attention,” commented past Innovation Award finalist Steve Elliott, Managing Director of Serviceline.
To build on the success of the Innovation Awards, Hotelympia 2012 will also be embarking upon a nationwide search for tomorrow’s industry stars, today – offering the chance to be personally mentored by some of the industry’s leading names, including Roganic Head Chef Ben Spalding and front of house guru Esher Williams, with the launch of its Hot Talent Awards scheme.
The Hot Talent Awards have been set up to celebrate, nurture and reward the best young talent under-thirty years of age that the industry has to offer.
It doesn’t matter which role you work in, or what level you are on the ladder, Hot Talent has been designed to showcase those individuals who go above and beyond the expectations of their job title.
Fledgling Hot Talents are invited to apply at www.hotelympia.com where they will be asked a set of questions, from there, 10 successful finalists will be asked to submit a ‘talking head’ video from which the eventual winners will be picked. The Winners will be announced at Hotelympia’s ‘Big Event’ on the evening of Monday 27th February 2011.
Another show highlight, new for 2012, is The Hotelympia Design Award, which will be seeking to reward the UK’s most luxurious and desirable hotel suite. The glittering judging panel boasts Channel 5’s Hotel Inspector, Alex Polizzi, and Malmaison and Hotel du Vin CEO Robert Cook alongside a host of leading industry lights.
The hotly anticipated award will be kept a closely guarded secret right up until the unveiling on Monday 27th – a visit to The Stage is strongly advised!
A focal point for the five day show, The Stage is set to welcome a wealth of leading names and inspirational industry figures, playing host to a number of fascinating one-on-one interviews, inspirational seminars, panel discussions, international competitions and awards ceremonies.
Over the course of five days The Stage will welcome the likes of celebrated Chef Giorgio Locatelli who will talk about The Clink charity – an initiative to train people in prisons the art of cooking and front of house service allowing them to have meaningful employment opportunities when they are released.
Also speaking will be Fred Sirieix – the UK’s foremost restaurant manager and star of Michel Roux’s Service, who will be imparting his advice and offering tips on creating the perfect service.
In what promises to be a sparkling encounter, Britain’s most revered restaurant critic, Fay Maschler, will be discussing the pleasures and the pitfalls of her profession. This Kingmaker of establishments will also be revealing why some restaurants succeed and others fail and giving useful business advice to budding restaurateurs in the audience.
On Wednesday and Thursday coffee will be the word on everyone’s lips as The Stage hosts no less than three championships.
The UK Coffee in Good Spirits Championship promotes innovative beverage recipes that showcase coffee, spirits and unique ingredients in a competition format while the UK Latte Art Finals shine a light on the most intricate and beautiful latte art designs.
Finally, The World Cup Tasters Championship awards the professional coffee cupper who can distinguish between the intricate taste differences in specialty coffees, while the UK Cezve Ibrik Championships celebrates coffee that is produced in the tradition of Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.
One attraction that is sure to create a buzz on the show floor is Wine+ – a dedicated area that will serve as an effective platform to reach on-trade wine buyers looking for new opportunities to grow sales and differentiate their operations.
With a programme curated by the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust, the Wine+ Theatre sponsored by Matthew Clark presents sessions that will help improve your tasting skills, grow profits and learn about wine and food matching.
The beating heart of the show – Salon Culinaire – will also be a hub of activity. The Live Theatre, sponsored by Nestlé Professional, with equipment supplied by Falcon and Williams, will see an influx of international competitors as it presents the semi-finals of two global competitions. The Global Chefs Challenge – which Simon Hulstone will be competing in – and Hans Bueschkens Trophy in conjunction with WACS (World Association of Chefs’ Societies).
Salon Display, again sponsored by Compass Group UK, will run through both halls at Hotelympia, giving visitors to all aspects of the show the opportunity to take in the breathtaking exhibits. New additions include: Contract Caterers Challenge, sponsored by Elior UK, open to chefs who are foodservice providers only must produce and present four main courses – two suitable for a staff restaurant and two enhanced for fine dining.
Fine dining restaurant, La Parade de Chefs will also operate two kitchens daily, supplied by Electrolux and MKN, plus supported by Gram UK and top table design by Steelite International and Dudson.
2012 also welcomes the return of the Skillery in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs, which once again showcases the skills of a number of well-known chefs.
Toby Wand, Group Exhibition Director at Fresh RM comments: “With a new look and feel, Hotelympia 2012 will be the place to source new product innovations and ideas from some of the most successful and ground-breaking suppliers in the business.
Our brand new layout will provide the perfect platform and make it easier than ever for visitors to navigate the show floor, while initiatives such as Hot Talent, The Hotelympia Design Award and the triumphant return of the Innovation Awards will enable our exhibitors to really make the most of the 2012 event and quantify return on investment.
We recognise that these are still challenging times, yet the wave of optimism and excitement that is rising with the advent of the London Olympics, is creating a buzz which we feel we have harnessed with this show. Join us in 2012 where we will once again strive to create a show befitting of the best that Hospitality has to offer – a show that the industry deserves.”
Hotelympia organiser Fresh RM has very recently scooped a number of prestigious industry awards in recognition of its successes over the last 12 months. The company was named ‘Organiser Team of the Year’ in the annual AEO Excellence Awards – the flagship ceremony for the live events and exhibition industry. It was also shortlisted for Marketing Campaign of the Year for Hospitality 2011.
In May of this year, the team won both the ‘Green Award’ for its sustainability policy and ‘Rising Star’ for marketing executive Clare Barker at the Exhibition News Awards.
The Green Award was won as a result of Fresh’s pioneering sustainability policy, which operates across the group and sees all its events run to the Sustainable Event Management Standard BS 8901. Hotelympia 2012 will again be run to this exacting sustainable standard, which sees every operational element comply within set criteria.
Companies seeking to find out how they can promote their business at Hotelympia and reach an audience of over 40,000 should visit http://www.hotelympia.com/ or contact Andrew Pantelli on +44 (0)20 7886 3055. Visitors can visit the website to see how Hotelympia can be the new inspiration for their business and register now for a free ticket, saving the £30 entrance fee.
For further information please see http://www.hotelympia.com/and follow us on Twitter for everything Hotelympia http://twitter.com/hotelympia