Catering for all tastes
They come from far and wide, Italy, India, China and elsewhere: the German trade fair business relies on foreign exhibitors. How do caterers respond to the tastes of international guests?
Foreign restaurants with Italian or French cuisine are now a common feature at trade fairs. But many exhibition caterers go one step further. "We would be a failing if we didn't respond to the special needs of our customers", says Jürgen Maier of Stockheim caterers in Düsseldorf. Analyses of the countries of origin of exhibitors and visitors, experience from the catering business and surveys conducted amongst trade fair guests help to meet the requirements and needs of foreign guests. Foreign trade fair visitors do, on the whole, expect German or central European cuisine, "but we do make provision for particular visitor and exhibitor nations, everything must be as authentic as possible," Thomas Krechel agrees. "Even if such services are not heavily frequented and therefore don't necessarily make economic sense, they are good for the image", says the man from Bayer Gastronomie which serves Koelnmesse.
And there's yet another challenge for caterers: "it's no easy task providing special foreign dishes, as - for example - Chinese food in Europe doesn't taste anything like it does in China", says Thomas Domani, manager of the Nuremberg fair catering company Kurt Lilly. Where a large proportion of foreign exhibitors and visitors are expected to attend a particular fair, most exhibition catering services bring in cooks from the countries of origin of the visitors to achieve greater authenticity of taste. Quite often, as is the practice of Messe Berlin for the ITB (international tourism exhibition) or the IFA (Consumer Electronics trade fair), caterers collaborate with contractual partners familiar with the cuisine of particular countries. "However, we often find that our foreign guests in particular enjoy local - that is - German food", says Oliver Rübenkamp of Capital Catering, Berlin. The Deutsche Messe AG, Hanover, for example, has established a restaurant serving specialities from Lower Saxony, in Nuremberg, guests are tempted with the regional Franconian cuisine. In Nuremberg, the emphasis is on front cooking, "to give above all our foreign guests a better insight into what is cooked and how so that translation problems do not arise."
In Leipzig where the proportion of foreign guests is not quite so high, the eating habits of foreign visitors are only partially addressed. "Some of our trade fairs have a particular emphasis on eastern European countries - trade fair caterers can meet that requirement without any problem. Even if special events take place during a fair, we can respond to the wishes of our guests. But it also is in our interests to highlight German cuisine and offer its specialities," says Marc Böttcher from Leipziger Messe Gastronomie.
When it comes to special events, receptions for particular countries or the events in an annexed conference or convention centre, caterers have scope for a little more individuality. Then, as is the case in Hanover, special menus are developed in close collaboration with the chamber of commerce, embassies, protocol departments, restaurants and agencies. These meet the needs of guests from such countries as Indonesia, Ireland, Taiwan or Russia. "The global trade fair market demands it", stresses Rolf G. Schwichtenberg, from Messegastronomie Hannover. Kosher cuisine poses a problem for many exhibition caterers because of its very strict hygiene rules. "Kosher food has to be delivered or brought in by the customer, because special kitchens are required in which no other food may be prepared," explains Thomas Domani. That's why many exhibition companies just don't offer it, others work with subcontractors or, like Düsseldorf, count on the support of the local Jewish community. In day-to-day trade fair business the demand for kosher food is small, Marc Böttcher tells us. It's a different matter if events are planned in advance. "Anything can be done if arranged ahead of time", he says.
Eating habits are as varied as the countries from which exhibitors and visitors come - and that goes for the experiences of trade fair caterers, too. "Food must be ‘fast' because time is of the essence. Business takes centre stage at a fair, not the time spent in a restaurant or snacking", Rolf. G. Schwichtenberg knows. Alexander Walter from Käfer Messegastronomie, Munich, agrees with the Hanover caterer. "We are noticing a trend where exhibition visitors no longer take the effort to look for a good restaurant on the exhibition grounds but prefer to grab a bite to eat in passing. So we are currently in the process of building up our mobile catering services and investing in mobile bars, kitchens and seating concepts that will allow us to provide catering directly in the pavilions themselves." But Gert Hoffmann, who also provides catering for the Munich exhibition site, has found the opposite to be true. "Specialised trade fairs with a large proportion of foreign visitors considerably increase the per capita turnover. Southern European and Asian guests, especially, generate good business for restaurateurs with extended lunches that provide a good ambience for doing business. They don't expect to be served dishes from their own country. Our guests have an open mind to regional specialities like wild garlic mousse soup, boiled fillet of organic veal or roast suckling pig. What they do expect, however, is a menu written in at least three foreign languages."
Foreign trade fair visitors are not that different from their German counterparts: they expect good quality, whether they're eating a sausage from the grill or haute cuisine. And they expect friendly service personnel who enjoy doing their job and can assist a hungry guest in a language other than German. Those are areas where many trade fair restaurateurs still have room for improvement. Antje Peters-Reimann
m+a report Nr.7 / 2005 vom 27.10.2005
m+a report vom 27. Oktober 2005