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08/21/2006
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The best Spanish Chefs will show children the criteria of healthy eating.
Within the framework of the Forum of the Stars at Hostelco
Hostelco, the Hotel, Restaurant and Group Catering Equipment Show, which will be held from the 21st to the 25th of October 2006 in Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuďc exhibition centre, will host the “Forum of the Stars”, a space traditionally dedicated to culinary arts and their protagonists. As a new feature this year, the Forum will not only focus on gastronomy exhibitions, but will also contribute to discussing an important topical issue: children’s eating habits.
According to experts, appropriate eating and nutrition are important in all stages of life, but particularly so during infancy and adolescence. Spanish children’s and young people’s diet is characterised by an excess of meats, sausages, dairy products and food with high energy density such as pastries and fizzy drinks (rich in fats and refined sugars, respectively) and by a deficit of fruit, vegetables, pulses and fish.
With the support of different public institutions and with the collaboration of “El Pipiripao”, Hostelco has organised a series of master classes given by prestigious Spanish chefs, some of whom are holders of Michelin stars.
The classes will consist of practical workshops taught by the chefs during the week to groups of 15 children between the ages of 10 and 14, from the Jacint Verdaguer and La Muntanyeta schools in the Sants Montjuïc district (Barcelona). At the weekend, the workshops will be for groups of 30 children accompanied by their parents, so that the whole family can learn about a better daily diet. Parents and children will work together to prepare a daily menu: from shopping –which will be done at a real market recreated in the area- to preparing the dishes and tasting them.
The Forum of the Stars will also include a series of round table debates, which will focus on:
Food education in schools. To discuss the bases for a good and effective food education in schools. The objectives set out in the school’s food education plan should be put into practice in the school dining room. .
Availability of food for young people. Restaurant companies catering for young peoples, food industries, distribution and vending companies will participate. There is a wide choice available to young people but it does not always respond to the principles of a healthy, balanced diet. The sector must commit to working towards providing better food for our kids.
Children’s menus in restaurants. Cooks in Spain, who have become media personalities recognised by children and adults, should be concerned about young peoples eating habits. From their establishments, they should infect kids with a taste for food by offering them varied, balanced, healthy and, above all, fun proposals.
According to the president of Hostelco’s Organising Committee, Jesús Mora, “for the first time, the, Forum of the Stars aims to go beyond haute cuisine exhibitions, by highlighting other aspects of culinary arts and, above all, their educational potential. We are sure that correct information, followed by learning, would help to correct the bad food habits of today’s children, tomorrow’s adults”. Isabel Piñol director of the show adds: “Our desire and that of the greatest and most prestigious chefs who will intervene in the Forum is for the “young gourmets’ to learn in a fun, creative way, to recognise the qualities of the different products –starting with the raw materials- and how to prepare them correctly. In this way, gastronomy, used as an educational tool, will be the real star of this Forum. Tackling the subject of children’s eating at the Forum of the Stars is the manifestation of our social commitment and intention to contribute –with all our means- the search for solutions to certain problems”.
Data on the show
After 25 years, Hostelco – organised by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with FELAC – is today the leading hotel and catering show in Spain and the second most important in Europe. The next show will again fully occupy the Montjuïc exhibition centre (over 62,000 m2), and house over 2,000 leading companies from the following sectors: Motel and catering machinery and equipment: Tableware; Management, control, information technology and safety; Textiles and uniforms; Furniture and decoration; Food and beverages for hotels, restaurants and group catering; COFFEE AREA; EXPOLIMP (equipment and products for laundry, dry cleaning, hygiene and cleaning in general); INTERVENDING (vending); Services.
Hostelco is also celebrating its 25th anniversary by holding various side events in hall Z6 under the common title of “25 years creating a future”. These include, in addition to Forum of the Stars, Gastrovisión, where visitors will be able to see a live demonstration of how sophisticated dishes are prepared by restaurant teams from the “Paradores de Turismo” with the slogan “Paradores: walk the gastronomic route from tradition to modern day”; and the exhibition “Hostelco: 25 years looking towards the future”, which will use different elements to link the evolution of the trade show to the development of the sectors it represents and their future prospects.
The show will also host “Giropizza”, an event organised with the collaboration of the magazine “Pizza e Pasta Italiana“ and the “Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli“ (Italian Pizza Makers School). At Giropizza many important personalities from the world of pizza, such as instructors, world champions in different specialities and specialists in the production of fresh pasta will show their skill in demonstrations and exhibitions. At the end, the participants in Giropizza will compete in a Contest to win a prize for the best “Pizza de la Casa” (Pizza in the House).
On the 22nd and 23rd of October, the semi-final and final of the 1st National Barista Championship, organised with the collaboration of the “Fórum Cultural del Café” and endorsed by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, SCAE, will be held. The winner, chosen by a panel of judges of the World Barista Championship, WBC, will represent Spain in the World Championship which will be held in Japan in 2007.
Hostelco is a trade show organised by Fira de Barcelona, the leading organiser of industrial and professional exhibitions in Spain and one of the first four in Europe in number of events and FELAC, the Federación Española de Asociaciones de Fabricantes de Maquinaria para Hostelería, Colectividades e Industrias Afines (Spanish Federation of Associations of Manufacturers of Hotel and Catering Machinery).
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(Source: Fira Barcelona)
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