Seville has a special flavor. And from September 25 to 26, it will be even more special, because the Andalusian capital hosts the first Auténtica Premium Food Fest, a new event dedicated to new gourmet gastronomic trends and the Mediterranean diet.
The event was created to be the meeting point between purchasing managers from the retail and large distribution sectors with quality producers. The objective? Recover awareness of the quality of products and promote local, more sustainable and environmentally friendly food.
The event plans to bring together more than 5,000 professionals from the sector, including chefs, hospitality, retail and large-scale distribution entrepreneurs, producers, and marketing and communication experts, in addition to 140 exhibiting companies. The Auténtica will also host the Auténtica Congress, six specialized forums focused on each professional profile. In total, more than 290 experts will participate in more than 120 conferences and 24 workshops to share their ideas with restaurant owners, area managers, purchasing directors, F directors.
Thus, in the Distribution and Retail Forum, experts and managers of the stature of Ricardo Fernández, from Carrefour, Ana Terrés, from Grupo Dia, or Pedro Galdós, from Grupo UVESCO, will address, for example, topics such as the current purchasing experience, the effort to connect with the customer, the demand related to the quality product, or the investment to comply with the ESG (Enviromental, Social and Governance, or ASG) criteria, among others.
For its part, at the Purchasing Directors Summit, aimed at purchasing directors, the commitment to differential products, the trend towards “clean” labels or digitalization and sustainability applied to procurement will be analyzed. All this from the hand of speakers such as Jesús García, Supply Chain Director of LIDL, Christian Torres, Purchasing Director of Osborne and Luís Miguel Sánchez, Purchasing Director of Covirán, among others.
In addition, the Culinary Fest by Gusto del Sur will bring together renowned Michelin-star chefs who will talk with personalities from various sectors to create a dialogue around gastronomy. This is the case of Paco Pérez, chef with a total of five Michelin stars, Kiko Moya**, from the La Escaleta restaurant, Dani Carnero*, from the Malaga restaurant Kaleja, Marcos Nieto*, from Cañabota, Miguel Cobo*, from Cobo Estratos, or Pepa Muñoz*, chef at Qüenco de Pepa.
The congress will also host the Gastromarketing Forum in which topics such as marketing, communication and advertising in the gastronomic sector will be addressed, as well as the Degusta experience space where you can enjoy the most innovative products of our gastronomy. The sixth forum, within the Auténtica Congress, is dedicated to the Horeca sector, in which chefs, restaurateurs and businessmen will debate the latest trends and developments.
One of these trends is 'eatertainment', a concept that arises from the union of Eat (Food) and Entertainment (Entertainment) and which refers to offering the customer a complete and transversal experience that combines entertainment, gastronomy, design in the room and the kitchenware. Prestigious chefs and restaurateurs, such as Fran Benitez, from Viaplana Catering; Roger Aubets, chef and owner of Food and Mambo; Pedro Robles, owner of Casa Robles, and Nandu Jubany, chef of the Can Jubany restaurant, will share in Seville how the premium and quality product, together with creativity in staging, are the key to offering memorable experiences and surprising guests. diners.
This successful model of combining a quality gastronomic experience with recreational restaurant proposals goes, however, hand in hand with the use of local products and gourmet products of the Mediterranean diet, because it represents a differential element in the hospitality offering. .
This will be one of the cardinal points that will be discussed during the Auténtica fair. Thus, Juan Antonio Alonso, from Meliá Hotels Internacional, will analyze in Auténtica the reality of the use of these products in all types of restaurant environments, their contribution to differentiation, and the facilities and disadvantages of their incorporation in gastronomic offers. But local and source products are not only an aspect that improves food sustainability and a differential value, but are also already a consumer demand. Customers ask for transparency and information about the food they consume, with the aim of ensuring that it is local and seasonal. Xavier Pellicer, from the Xavier Pellicer Restaurant, and Jaume Torras, from Soulbim, will discuss how this consumer demand will impact.
And the sustainability of food has never had such a prominent role in our daily lives. The climate crisis and the price of food is present in all conversations and all of this challenges the restaurant sector.
In order to weave synergies between producers, experts, chefs, managers, institutions and administrations, Auténtica will host different networking activities, such as the Leadership Summit, a lunch with industry leaders and entrepreneurs along with authorities to consolidate and launch relationships.
The Auténtica Excellence Awards 2023 will also be presented, awards that recognize professionals and corporations that are leading innovation in the food and gastronomy sector.
And last but not least, the Chefs Retreat Summit, a retreat for Michelin star chefs so that they can weave synergies and be inspired by sharing experiences.
A jartá of talent gathered in Seville and with a very special flavor.
