Hostex Cape opens on 15 May with free entrance

Among the many new product launches and exciting new trends, being showcased is a new one-stop-shop for restaurants, caterers and foodservice operators seeking to order all their dry, frozen, packaging, cleaning, liquor and fresh goods from one supplier - Checkers Food Services.

Cooking, coffee and pizza

The heat is on in the SA Chefs Village, where the South African Chefs Association will be challenging professional chefs to put their skills to the ultimate test on a daily basis.

Future stars of the culinary industry from four top chef schools - the HTA School of Culinary Art, Capsicum Culinary Studio Cape Town, 1000 Hills Chef School and Capital Hotel School - will demonstrate what they have learnt in their training to date in the City & Guilds Skilled Student Challenge.

Next up is the Nestle Golden Chefs Hat, which daily features chefs from The Test Kitchen, Sandton Sun, HTA School of Culinary Art, By Word of Mouth Catering, University of Johannesburg competing against one another for the top prize of a R60 000 international culinary travel trip for the winning team.

Another competition on Thursday 17 May is the McCain Tribute to Good Taste, in which four young up-and-coming chefs will battle it out, armed with their three-course McCain Alternatives Chunky Parsnip menus, for a first prize of R10 000 cash.

;Interspersed are demonstrations of signature dishes by top chefs representing Vulcan Catering Equipment, Chef Neill Anthony, Chef Giorgio Nava, Chef Fanie Sebapo & Chef Chris Lategan from the Palace of the Lost City, and Chef Peter Robertson from the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The awards ceremony takes place from 4.15pm on the final day of the show.

Also on the competition front - but this time in a liquid form - the Specialty Coffee Association of Southern Africa (SCASA) will be hosting the Cape Town leg of the regional Barista Championships, a coffee competition that pulsates with energy as the Cape's top baristas work their magic to prepare an espresso, cappuccino and speciality coffee in just 10 minutes.

Moving on to one of the most-loved foods of all time - pizzas - the South African leg of the Global Pizza Challenge will once again play out at Hostex Cape - and this year the winner chosen at Hostex will travel to Melbourne in Australia to represent South Africa in the global competition. Pizzas will be presented by finalists from all over the country every half an hour throughout the three days of the show.

Exhibitors offer diverse products

Also bringing a diverse range of innovation to the show are the Knysna Connection Group, the Tea Merchant, Continental China, Three Streams Smokehouse, Innovizion Africa, Montana Laundries, Cleaning World, SA Leisure Connection, Gross & Co, Liquid Concepts, Parallel Hospitality Suppliers, Sweet Temptations Toffees and Sealy Posturepedic, amongst over 130 other exhibitors.

There is also a chance to win prizes, with competitions planned by many exhibitors, including a holiday for two to the Vic Falls from Montana Laundries. On offer are three Peel-O-Matic Orange Peelers from Gerber Fresh, for liking the Hostex Facebook page www.facebook.com/HostexSA. For more information, go to www.hostexcape.co.za.