Hotelympia scores with new competitions

These days it's hard to escape from football. Even at Hotelympia, the UK's largest food service and hospitality event which takes place from 23-27 February at ExCel in London, the country's favourite sport has a place. The renowned Salon Culinaire International de Londres, a stage for chefs to showcase their skills, will feature the Major International Football Culinary Challenge. This competition will see chefs from football stadiums battle it out against each other as they try to impress the guest judge, England national team chef Roger Narbett. A further 24 chef competitions will also be running.

Almost 1,000 exhibitors and more than 40,000 exhibitors are due to attend Hotelympia. The event has four key areas: Bar Scene, Design Link, the Skillery and Grab ‘n' Go. Bar Scene, for those involved in running pubs and bars, will feature tastings and demonstrations. Design Link will look at the latest design concepts, and key players, including Sir Terence Conran and Sir Rocco Forte, will reveal what's hot and what's not. The Skillery will focus on the kitchen and chefs will be on hand to impart their knowledge and show off their skills. Grab ‘n' Go is a new section dedicated to food-on-the-go, such as impulse buys and vending machine products.

Hostec-Eurhotec, the hospitality technology show will run alongside Hotelympia.

To register for Hotelympia, go to www.hotelympia.com