Fashion
This morning, business leaders and key players from the coffee, tea and bakery industries gathered at the official opening ceremony of the 7th Café Asia 2019, the 7th International Coffee & Tea (ICT) Industry Expo, and the 6th Sweets & Bakes Asiashows at Marina Bay Sands Singapore Expo & Convention Centre. This year, the three shows are held concurrently with the inauguralRestaurant Asia 2019 (RA 2019).
The official opening ceremony was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Education.
Together, the four exhibitions form a dedicated platform to host some 250 exhibitors from 28 countries, who are here to meet the needs of cafes and restaurants all over ASEAN and beyond. The one-stop convenient sourcing hub for the coffee, tea, pastry and the F&B industries is organised to foster new collaborations, explore opportunities, and to present the latest trends and developments to trade professionals and members of the public. Spanning a gross exhibition area of 7,000 square metres, the shows are expected to attract over 10,000 restaurateurs, baristas, café and coffee purveyors, coffee roasters, tea and baking ingredients suppliers, equipment distributors, and members of the public over the next three days.
Restaurant Asia 2019 presents a dedicated showcase of the latest in cutting-edge restaurant, kitchen and culinary equipment, as well as solutions and supplies that will address the needs of restaurant owners, from front of house reception to the back of house operations. Restaurant Asia will also present its first Restaurant Asia Symposium 2019. Speakers at the symposium themed, Futureproof F&B: The Next Lap, will share invaluable insights on productivity, capability development and leverage on relevant technologies to future-proof the F&B business.
Among the topics to be presented at the symposium is Menu Re-engineering for Profit Maximisation, led by Mr Chen Xin Shi, Managing Director of the illustrious Han Yuan Academy, a Taiwan-based organisation which provides consultations and classes for restaurateurs and the food & beverage industry. Classes and consultations conducted by Mr Chen are known to have leaders and players of the local and international food & beverage industry flocking into Taiwan for his invaluable insights and knowledge. During the presentation, Mr Chen will share knowledge on actionable steps to increase top-line through an understanding of customers and restaurants’ value perceptions and needs. Through strategic menu design and mixed management, restaurant owners will be able to enhance customer satisfaction and maximise unrealised profits.
The launch of the inaugural Restaurant Asia expo this morning also bore witness to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between restaurant associations in the region to facilitate the forming of the ASEAN Restaurant Association Alliance. Present at the ceremony were representatives of the Cambodia Restaurant Association, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Malaysian Food & Beverage Executives Association, the Hotel & Restaurant Association of the Philippines, the Restaurant Association of Vietnam and the Restaurant Association of Singapore.
The MOU is the first step to the associations in ASEAN working towards promoting each other’s events and jointly organising activities for the business benefit of members of the collaborating associations, promoting the industry’s best practices, the creation of strong business relations among members of MOU partners and more.
A key highlight of Café Asia this year is the inaugural ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF) Specialty Coffee Auction which will make its debut on the second day of the show. A joint event by the ACF and Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd (CEMS), the auction will feature coffee of specialty grade from participating exhibitors of Café Asia and also from ASEAN. All the beans on auction have been graded to meet ASEAN’s very own set of Coffee Standards which focuses on coffee beans cultivated in the ASEAN region. The set of ASEAN Coffee Federation Standards which was announced at Café Malaysia earlier this year, also makes its debut at Café Asia and is an excellent tool to boost the growth of the coffee industry in ASEAN which features key differentiations from existing standards originating from the west. The auction is attractive because the specialty coffee beans offered observe a dedicated process to acquire better quality beans.
Café Asia’s packed comprehensive programme includes three high-octane National Coffee Championships which will see Singapore’s home-grown baristas, brewers, latte artists, and students contend in the Singapore Latte Art Championship, Singapore Cup Tasters Championship and the Singapore Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Winners of the respective national titles will represent Singapore on the international stage at the world championships later this year.
As part of the multi-sensorial and a highly interactive experience promised by Sweets and Bakes Asia 2019, visitors and bread-lovers will get to attend cooking studio workshops and demonstrations at the show. Activities will include hands-on sessions on baking the classic Ham Mayo Bread treat, workshops on baking the soft and fluffy Soufflé Cheesecake, as well as demonstrations on how to bake the all-time favourite flourless Gateau au Chocolat. Coffee cocktail lovers who visit Café Asia will also be feted with three daily demonstrations by coffee experts on how to concoct coffee cocktails using the finest coffee liqueur.
Café Asia 2019, the International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo 2019, and Sweets & Bakes Asia 2019 are organised by CEMS. Café Asia 2019 and International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo 2019 are hosted by Singapore Coffee Association. The inaugural Restaurant Asia 2019 is organised by the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) in partnership with CEMS.
