AMMAN - Approximately 100 companies in the foodservice and hospitality industry will gather at the Amman Exhibitions Park at the end of this month to showcase the latest products and services for hotels, restaurants and other hospitality establishments.
The 7th annual International Hospitality Forum (IHF), scheduled for October 30-November 1, will feature companies from Jordan and other parts of the world, in an effort to represent both locally manufactured goods and the latest international products and services.
According to its organisers, Jordan's Events Unlimited and Lebanon's Hospitality Services, this year's event will host a larger base of participants than ever before.
"We have 100 companies taking part this year, with the first-time participation of Tunisia and a Dutch pavilion for the second consecutive year," said Samar Shawareb, managing director of Events Unlimited.
"We also have a stronger presence from Lebanese exhibitors with a range of new products for display," she added.
For the first time this year, the IHF is reaching out to high school and university students to encourage more young people to consider the hospitality industry as a career choice.
Shawareb said IHF organisers approached Jordan Applied University, the American Academy for Hotel Management and Zaytouneh University in order to attract students to the event.
"We want to encourage supervised visits of students to the IHF so that they can get a feel firsthand of the industry and what it has to offer," said Shawareb.
"It complements national efforts under way to enhance the knowledge of students and the public about the tourism and hospitality industry," she added.
According to the event organisers, nearly 110 chefs from hotels, restaurants and patisseries will compete in 15 categories of the IHF Culinary Art Show, which include live cooking, pastry, mezze, sandwiches, and carving, among others.
The chefs will be evaluated by a panel of judges from around the world, including celebrity French pastry chef Yves Thuries, a world-famous chocolatier and master of patisserie.
Gold medal winners in the culinary competitions will be able to visit two of Switzerland's top hospitality training institutes during a two-week training course at the Glion Institute for Higher Education and Le Roches Hotel Management School represented locally by Jwainat International Hotel Development.
Shawareb said the number of participating chefs rose 15 per cent from last year.
The IHF will also hold a table setting competition, which will have a "Christmas Dinner" theme, as well as a bed-making competition, various seminars and workshops, and a range of events and award ceremonies.
Last year's IHF attracted more than 3,500 trade visitors, most of them from Jordan and the rest from Syria, Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Iraq and Palestine.
By Dalya Dajani
© Jordan Times 2007
