THERE is still time to visit this year’s IFEX – Northern Ireland’s premier food, drink, retail and hospitality event.
Taking place in the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast until March 22 and with thousands of visitors expected to attend, it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated industry events of the year.
Salon Culinaire is the heart of IFEX, and hosts hundreds of industry and student chefs. Salon Culinaire, supported by Stephens Catering Equipment and Flogas, places skills high on the agenda and has raised the bar in terms of culinary excellence in Northern Ireland, with the programme featuring over 30 categories during the three days of the show.
Salon Culinaire incorporates three key skill areas – The ChefSkills Theatre, supported by the Department for the Economy, Street Food International (new for 2018) and Edible Art. The ChefSkills Theatre aims to raise the bar in culinary skills in Northern Ireland and hosts an exciting series of back-to-back live competitions each day. Category competitions include the prestigious IFEX Northern Ireland Chef of the Year, which is supported by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Young Chef of the Year.
Street Food International – Set to Sizzle will see teams of invited competitors from Northern Ireland’s catering colleges produce and serve a range of exciting modern street food style dishes. Supported by Department for the Economy each team will cook up innovative, high quality street food dishes that will be served to pre-ticketed diners during lunch service at IFEX. Students from South-Eastern Regional College, Belfast Metropolitan College and South-West College will also be tasked with creating a business brand that is modern, innovative and creative – and that can function in a real street food environment.
Sean Owens, Director of Salon Culinaire explained: “Historically Salon Culinaire has helped to shape the careers of some of our best chefs due to its world-class standards and the confidence boost it gives the culinarians early in their careers.
“This year I’m confident that we’re going to discover some extraordinarily talented young chefs, and encourage new talent to flourish at IFEX. Our vision is to inspire and encourage our industry to learn and grow – it’s what the event is all about!”
The show opens daily at 10am and runs until 6pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and to 4pm on Thursday. If you’d like to attend, simply register for your ticket at ifexexhibition.co.uk