ETW Staff – Mumbai
The 24th edition of Food Hospitality World (FHW) 2015 exhibition kickstarted today at MMRDA grounds at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. The three-day exhibition, to be held from January 22-24, 2015, was inaugurated by Bharat Malkani, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) along with other dignitaries – A K Singh, principal/ secretary, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Mumbai; Bhuvan G M, professor and principal, Apeejay Institute of Hospitality; Ravi Rawat, director- operations, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels; Chef Vernon Coelho, head of department- food production, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Mumbai; Arvind Shetty, past president, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR); Dr Sudhanshu, deputy general manager, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA); Mohan Deshpande, chairman, Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum; Thomas Zachariah, vice president, The Indian Express; and Mehul Shah, managing director, Hannover Milano Fairs India.
Speaking at the inauguration, Malkani, stated, “This year’s FHW exhibition is larger and well organised than the previous year. We have high expectations from the new government for the hospitality sector. HRAWI have made representations at the local, state and the central government. Last year wasn’t beneficial for the hospitality industry. This year HRAWI will be focusing on three key areas – education, dealing with the issue of multiple licencing and policy reform on taxes.” Reiterating the same, Rawat, stated, “The new government should address the issue of multiple licensing, also there needs to be a single-window platform for securing permissions. However, the future of the hospitality industry looks bright and there seems to be a lot of scope for development and growth.”
Adding to the same, Singh opined, “FHW is the right platform for buyers and suppliers to meet and interact and learn from each other about the latest developments in the hospitality industry. I think ARR’s in the hospitality industry needs to increase since it has been constant since the past few years, once it goes up hotels will be able to adapt more technology. Under the Hunar-Se-Rozgar-Tak scheme, the ministry of tourism, Government of India, is planning to train 90,000 students in 2014-15 at IHMs and state tourism corporations for entry level jobs.”
Over the three-day exhibition, FHW 2015 will host various special events including the ninth edition of the Great Indian Culinary Challenge (GICC). The Culinary Forum of Goa has extended support to the GICC. This year the GICC is set to witness participation from around 200 chefs working with various leading hotels and hotel management institutes. GICC is supported by the Western India Culinary Association (WICA). GICC is a food preparation competition involving senior and apprentice chefs across India. The competition provides a professional platform for culinary professionals from India to showcase their individual and collective skills, learn, share experiences, partner and network in a competitive environment.
Apart from the GICC, FHW 2015 will be organising several interesting and engaging events. One such event would be the Hospitality Think Tank: The GM’s Conclave, a panel discussion to be held on the topic of Effective People Management in the hospitality sector. This discussion will witness participation from general managers of leading hotels across western India who will share their insights on mentoring, team building, manpower shortage, skill development to name a few. The second panel discussion ‘Hospitality Knowledge Exchange: Serving up in Style’ will cover emerging trends in cutlery, crockery, food presentation, tableware, etc. This discussion will have a mix of restauranteurs, chefs and vendors in the panel. Another panel discussion, The Power of Purchase organised by the Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum, will be a knowledge initiative that will discuss the role of procurement, its growth, present and future trends. The final panel discussion will be organised by AHAR. The other show highlight will be the Cornitos Food Bloggers Challenge powered by the Food Bloggers Association of India. The contest will be judged by celebrated chefs, where contestants will be challenged to showcase innovative preparations, toppings and decorations with Cornitos (nachos and decorations provided at the venue). Another highlight is an F&B session powered by Pause Wines for F&B managers of hotels and restaurants.
The FHW trade show, organised by Global Fairs & Media – a joint venture between Hannover Milano Fairs India and The Indian Express, will witness exhibitors coming from different segments of the food and hospitality industry like F&B, interiors, kitchen equipment, housekeeping, bakery to name a few. Spread across 10,000 sq mtrs of the MMRDA grounds, the trade show is expected to host approximately 200 national and international participants this time. The trade show aims at providing solutions to various industry-related problems faced by hoteliers, restaurateurs, facility managers, prospective students and distributors.