Savoury ice cream based on gourmet recipes, flavours exalted by new ways of cooking, exotic foods that are as fresh as if they had just been harvested: these are just some examples of the food revolution that our tables have been experiencing in recent years, thanks to increasingly innovative technologies.
Technologies which, before they enter the kitchens of starred chefs worldwide, have always made their debut at HostMilano – the International Hospitality Exhibition, the leading event for the HO.RE.CA., foodservice, retail, large-scale distribution and hotel industries, happening this year at the Fieramilano fairground at Rho from Friday 23rd to Tuesday 27th October.
The macro-area for Food Service Equipment and Bread/Pasta/Pizza is one of Host2015’s three synergic macro-areas: the other two are Coffee-Tea/Bar–Coffee machines/Vending, and Gelato-Pastry/Furniture and Tableware.
Avant-garde technologies are a common factor not only to Food Service Equipment, which will be presenting systems, equipment and machines for processing and preserving food, as well as a whole range of accessories of various sizes, but also toBread/Pasta/Pizza, where machinery and equipment will be joined by food, with quality ingredients and food traditions. What’s more, this year, completing the offering of the macro-area, space will also be devoted to important fast-growing niches in the sector, such as Refrigeration and Laundry.
Together, these segments contribute decisively to Italy’s global leadership in the sphere of Technologies and Equipment for Food Products, as the latest figures from ANIMA-Assofoodtec confirm. In 2015, the overall production value of the sector has already exceeded the record threshold of 5 billion euro (5,023 million), an increase of +0.6% over 2014, and, for the current year, is likely to raise the record to an even higher figure, 5,053 million, with another upward surge of +1.2%. Last year, exports, which totalled 3.313 million euro (+1.2% over 2013), accounted for two thirds of the overall volume of business (66%) and, this year, is estimated rise to 3,348 million (+1.1%).
If we look in detail at the segments represented in the macro-area, between 2014 and 2015, machinery for flour mills, animal feed mills and silos increased from 214 to 218 million euro (+1.9%) and exports increased from 193 to 196.5 million (+1.8%); machinery and ovens for bread, biscuits, pastries and pizza increased from 648 to 652 million (+0.6%) and exports from 412 to 418.5 million (+1.6%); machinery and equipment for making pasta and extruded food products increased from 248 to 255 million (+2.8%), while exports increased from 185 to 187 million (+1.1%); in the sector of machinery and equipment for meat-processing, the figure rose from 224.5 to 227.5 million (+1.3%) while exports increased from 153.5 to 156 million (+1.6%); in the sector of slicing, grinding and refining equipment, the total rose from 203.5 to 204.5 million (+0.5%) while exports increased by +4% from125 to 130 million; finally, commercial refrigeration equipment totaled nearly 1 billion (increased from 922 to 928 million, +0.7%) with exports increasing from 512 to 518 million euro (+1.2%).
Sectors experiencing a 2-, 3- or even 4-figure boom include machinery for mills in Saudi Arabia (+156%), machinery and ovens for bread production in the U.S.A. (+70%), machinery for pasta workshops in Chile (+1,047%) and Brazil (+727%), machinery for pastries and confectionery, and for processing meat, in China (+149% and +142% respectively), and commercial refrigeration equipment in the Czech Republic (+143%).
The crème de la crème of all these industries will be represented at Host2015. New entries this year in the sector of Food Service Equipment include Cool Compact andTaylor, which will be there along with such names as Ali Group, Alliance International, Angelo Po Grandi Cucine, Alto-Shaam, Bravo Inox, Comenda Ali, Fagor, Gram Commercial, Meiko, Epta, Follett Corporation, Grandimpianti Ali, Hobart, Imesa, Milan Toast, MKN, Manitowoc Foodservice, Mepra, The Middleby Corporation, Orved, Rational, Realstar, Renzacci, Sirman, Unox, Vema, Walo Professional andWinterhalter.
In the Bread/Pasta/Pizza sector, leading oven manufacturers attending the show include Bake Off Italiana, Cuppone Fratelli, Debag, Italforni Pesaro, Jac, Marana Forni, Panem, Sorema, Wiesheu GmbH, Dr. Zanolli,and manufacturers of kneading machinery such as Imperia & Monferrina, Prismafood, SCB Bernardi, Starmix, VMI, A/S Wodschow & Co. Quality raw materials, which are experiencing a spiraling evolution, mid-way between health and tradition, will feature new entries like Molino Braga, Molino Iaquone, Molino Piantoni andSelezione Casillo, together with well-known names like Italmill, Molino Dallagiovanna andMolino Quaglia.
So, not only a business platform but a complete international overview of the sector, reflecting an exhibition concept that allows space for hybrids within the framework of new, multi-specialized formats, with a calendar of events that promises to be particularly interesting, organized with the support of the main trades associations and the most authoritative and interesting companies in the sector.
The partnership with Identità Golose is back again this year, with the Identità Golose Future project: three dates a day, presented by a chef and a food expert who, using new technologies and ingredients, will enable visitors to literally taste the cuisine of tomorrow.
The Network del Gusto, promoted by APCI – the Professional Association of Italian Chefs, with the collaboration of Italian Gourmet and apropositodime.com, will present 5 days of live lectures animated by top professionals in the sector.
“Le Pillole di Primo Piatto” (Primo Piatto’s Brief Courses) is the name of the initiative organized by APPAFRE, the association of fresh pasta makers, and the Primo Piatto pasta-making school, offering short courses on pasta-based cuisine. FIUP, the Federation of Italian Chefs, will be deciding who is“Chef of the Year”, the award organized for more than ten years by the Chefs’ Union of Regione Lombardia.
Pizza, that great icon of Italy, will be the focus of an international event, the European Pizza Championship, organized by the magazine Pizza e Pasta Italiana, with show-cooking and a focus on vegan options, and the Università della Pizza which, for the first time at Host, will be presenting the concept of gourmet pizza.
Workshops focusing on aspects of the sector will also be organized by Assofrigoristi andFCSI – Foodservice Consultants Society International.
