Top picks for Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2024

Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, the UK's biggest celebration of industry innovation, is coming to ExCeL London on 25-27 March with countless opportunities to sample exciting new products, network with industry peers and learn all about the latest industry trends.

This year's event is set to be another must-attend show for the food, drink and hospitality community, with more than 27,000 industry leaders expected to attend and over 1,500 suppliers from the UK and around the world taking part.

Food, Drink & Hospitality Week comprises IFE Manufacturing, IFE, The Pub Show, HRC and International Salon Culinaire.

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Here are just a few parts of the show not to miss this year.

The Startup Market

The Startup Market at IFE is a bustling hub of new product innovation at the heart of the show. Dedicated companies that have been trading for less than two years, this is your opportunity to meet directly with brand owners and discover completely new products to market.

Companies taking part in this year's Startup Market include Toyin's Kitchen, supplier of healthy cooking sauce Obe-Ata made with fresh tomatoes, peppers and scotch bonnet peppers, kin + deum, supplier of Thai-inspired snacks, and Froot Pops, who pride themselves on using all-natural ingredients to bring customers the sweet taste of raspberries double-dipped in rich, indulgent chocolate.

Chef HQ, curated by Chef Publishing

An exciting returning feature for HRC 2024 is demo kitchen, stage and networking area Chef HQ, curated by Chef Publishing. Expect an inspiring lineup of famous faces in the culinary scene to take deep dives into topics including taking part in Great British Menu, winning a Michelin Star, Norwegian seafood, Caribbean cuisine and much more.

Chefs taking to the stage this year include celebrity chef Glynn Purnell, industry legend Pierre Koffmann, Adam Handling MBE, and Young National Chef of the Year 2023 winner Sam Dixon.

The Future Food Stage

IFE's Future Food Stage will be hosting a wide range of presentations, discussions and debates on crucially important topics in the world of food & drink.

From investing in f&b startups to AI in retail to inspiring female leaders, plus a full day of content curated by IGD, the Future Food Stage is a must-attend for industry professionals looking to gain valuable insights and grow their business offering.

The Pub Stage, in partnership with the BII

At the heart of The Pub Show is The Pub Stage, with an insightful programme of content created in partnership with the British Insitute of Innkeeping (BII) examining some of the most important trends, challenges and opportunities in the pub & bar sector.

Speakers including KAM's Katy Moses, Ollie Coulombeau of The Turk's Head in Twickenham, Simon Numphud of AA Media, Club Soda's Laura Willoughby MBE and more will be discussing the latest hospitality trends, quality assurance for pubs, health & wellbeing, low & no and much more.

The Vision Stage, designed by Harp Design

HRC will see sessions on the Vision Stage including ‘Putting the S in ESG’ moderated by Juliane Caillouette-Noble of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, and featuring panellists Lorraine Copes of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Chet Sharma of BiBi and Matt Wood of Lexington Catering.?

KAM, HospitalityJobsUK and Otolo will be unveiling the results of The UK’s Largest Hospitality Salary Survey and discussing how businesses can recruit and retain staff and remain competitive in the British hospitality market.??

The programme also includes a must-attend session with HRC’s 2024 Chef Ambassador Lisa Goodwin-Allen, interviewed by Si Alexander of FoodFM, as she discusses her work as Executive Chef at Northcote, her work with young chefs and industry charities and appearances on programmes including Great British Menu, James Martin’s Saturday Morning and Snackmasters.?

Goodwin-Allen comments: “I'm excited to be joining HRC as Chef Ambassador for 2024 and look forward to networking with the chef community and discussing the latest trends and challenges in the world of hospitality.”?

Other must-attend sessions include The Future of Foodservice: The 2030 Vision by futurist Simon Stenning, followed by an examination of the impact of the national living wage rise for the industry by UKHospitality's Kate Nicholls OBE.??

Find out more about everything happening at Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2024 at fooddrinkandhospitalityweek.co.uk.