MILAN, Italy – It has always been the reference event for previewing innovative and sustainable products and concepts, and for bringing together supply and demand in the professional hospitality supply chain. And in the latest editions – number 43 is scheduled to take place at fieramilano in Rho from October 13 to 17 – HostMilano has also increasingly become a knowledge hub that anticipates trends, presents data, and engages visitors in exciting challenges and championships thanks to a more than 800 scheduled events.
Host returns in fieramilano
Sustainable innovation will be the in the spotlight, together with events that respond to the diverse demands of operators, ranging from championships and show-cooking to conferences and seminars and professional refresher courses.
Smart Label: beyond trends
Program highlights include the awarding ceremony of Smart Label – Host Innovation Award, promoted by HostMilano and Fiera Milano in partnership with POLI.design and sponsored by ADI – Industrial Design Association. In just six editions, Smart Label has become the global benchmark for innovations that make a real change in the industry.
This is also evidenced by the significant turnout number: 157 submissions from Italy and abroad. Technology is the most innovative aspect in 40% of the applications, while sustainability counts for more than 23%. While products (almost 90 % of the total) still lead the way, an increasing number of concepts, designs, apps and software are also featured in the Host Innovation Award.
Not only will winners be awarded in an official ceremony during the exhibition, but their entries will also be showcased in the dedicated SMART Products area, a true stage for cutting-edge innovation, and included in an ad hoc publication, the Smart Label Index.
Professional catering and bakery prepare for the future
Lifelong training is in the forefront in the food service equipment schedule. The Smart Food – Smart Chefs – Smart Future events will represent a roadmap of ingredients, people and sustainability outlined by APCI – the Italian Professional Chefs Association where the main feature will be APCI Chef Lab, the “smart” evolution of the APCI Chef Italia National Team. Major challenges in the restaurant industry – such as digital transition, sustainability, soft skills – will then be discussed in workshops by Fipe workshops – Italian Federation of Public Establishments.
Also, the Academy 2023 organized by FIC – Italian Federation of Chefs will offer master classes, training and institutional meetings, while visitors can talk with consultants, designers and manufacturers from FCSI – Foodservice Consultants Society International in a large professional kitchen, seminar and meeting rooms and a lounge.
The associations of ANIMA Miscellaneous Mechanics Confederation and EFCEM Italy will also bring to life a real Food-Technology Lounge with a full calendar of meetings, featuring technical/regulatory updates, business meetings and insights into market trends.
Alongside the show-cooking events by A.P.Pa.Fre. – Fresh Pasta Producers Association of Small and Medium Enterprises for pasta – with spokesperson, Paola Naggi, Italy’s Best Woman Chef of the Year 2018 – major championships such as the European Pizza Championship, organized by Italian Pizza e Pasta magazine, and the World Panettone Team Championship promoted by the Accademia dei Maestri del Lievito Madre e del Panettone Italiano (Academy of Italian Masters of Leavened Products and Panettone).
From bar to pastry, challenges reveal new trends
Conversations at the highest level on trends and new techniques for the pastry industry will be held at the Luxury Pastry in the World by Iginio Massari: “the master of masters” returns after the great success of the 2021 edition with a hub dedicated to the most creative and innovative pastry-making, which will host demonstrations, tastings and talks by more than twenty of the most important pastry chefs on the international scene, including Michel Belen Albi, Markus Bohr, Pierre Marcolini, François Stahl and Andrea Zanin.
Exciting challenges among great masters will also enliven this macro-area. In the gelato-pastry sector, FIPGC – International Federation of Pastry, Gelato and Chocolate returns with its exciting championships to Host 2023. The World Trophy of Pastry Gelato and Chocolate will see 12 Nationals compete in three different categories with, simultaneously, the Bakery Chefs’ Awards.
In the fourth edition of the Cake Designers World Championship teams from Italy, Brazil, USA, Poland, Belgium, Sri Lanka, France, Mexico, Peru, Japan, China, and Malaysia will challenge each other, while Italy, Japan, China, Peru, Colombia, Australia, France, and the Netherlands are the nations competing for the The World Trophy of Professional Tiramisu.
In the coffee world, events organized by AICAF – the Italian Academy of Coffee Masters and ALTOGA – the National Association of Coffee Roasters and Importers and Food Wholesalers – are back.
Coffee Addition, featuring a roadshow format across booths with Gianni Cocco and challenges among baristas are particularly noteworthy: in the Italian Coffee Grand Prix, baristas and coffee shop operators not only from Italy but also from AICAF member countries Croatia, Morocco, and Mexico will compete, while the Moka Challenge stands out for being a competition open to everyone. For the Lags Battle Italy/ World Lags Battle ALTOGA is partnering with Latte Art Grading System for the Italian national semifinals, and then the world finals of an event, involving 50 countries.
The upgrade for design professionals
Previews of future design offered by the exhibition layout will be accompanied by appointments in the schedule of events. Alongside Smart Label, a cross-sector award but of particular relevance to this area, again in collaboration with POLI.design, Design Talks will be refresher seminars dedicated to architects and hospitality experts ranging from topics such as user experience, sensory design and wellness to the challenges of sustainability. HostMilano will be held at fieramilano from 13 and 17 October 2023.
