Events: HRC 2022

This huge show is set to return to London, with the aim of uniting the hospitality and foodservice sector...

Hotel, Restaurant and Catering (HRC) will return to ExCeL London on 21st to 23rd March as the UK’s biggest event dedicated to foodservice and hospitality professionals. Taking place alongside sister shows, International Food and Drink Event (IFE), IFE Manufacturing and London Produce Show, the combined event will welcome over 30,000 key industry buyers and showcase more than 1,500 quality suppliers.

For more than 85 years, HRC has been a trusted resource for hotel, restaurant and catering business owners to source the best products for their future growth and expansion. This year’s event will once again be split into four key sections to enable buyers to quickly and easily find the suppliers suited to their needs: the Professional Kitchen section, the Foodservice section, the Hospitality Tech section and, newly rebranded for 2022, the Design and Décor section.

This year's event will also incorporate some of the best-loved features of The Pub Show into HRC’s offering. These will include the popular Tap Room feature, appealing directly to publicans and bar owners in addition to restaurateurs and hoteliers looking to expand their bar and drinks offerings.

The Pub Show at HRC has partnered with On-Trade Consultancy (OTC) to bring a curated selection of pub-focused suppliers to the show and to run a number of ‘pub crawls’. These trend trails will focus on product categories such as ready-to-drink, spirits and hospitality tech.

Matt Steinhofel, managing director of OTC, said: “I am delighted that we are involved with The Pub Show at HRC this March. We are excited to be changing up the way traditional pub trade shows are run by adding innovative new drink products and tech services and interesting guest speakers, along with informative and engaging pub crawls for attendees.”

2022 will see the return of The Staff Canteen Live to HRC. Each edition sees some of the UK’s most skilled and creative chefs cooking their most well-known dishes and sharing their insights and experience.

Cara Houchen, editor of The Staff Canteen, added: "As ever, our chef line-up boasts a number of Michelin stars but also some great new talent. We are incredibly passionate about this industry and we want to be part of nurturing young chefs and offering them the spotlight at our live event. I can't wait to be sharing the stage with these excellent chefs again – it's been too long!"

All chefs will be joined by a team member they consider to be one to watch, giving onlookers the opportunity to meet some of the UK's rising culinary stars.

HRC 2022 will also host the 120th year of historic chef competition International Salon Culinaire, which is introducing a number of new competition categories for the occasion. These include the Apprentice Challenge, the Restaurant Home Meal Kit Challenge and Pub Chef of the Year.

This year’s event will have two main stages. The Vision Stage, designed by Harp Design, has been curated by EXP101 and will feature insights from big-name brands and individuals in hospitality, foodservice and design, including Yummy Pubs, Michel Roux Jr, Market Halls, Pizza Pilgrims and Grind. The Tech X stage, meanwhile, will be hosting insightful discussions around all things hospitality technology, featuring Honest Burger, Popeyes, Wahaca and many more.

In addition to partnering with EXP101, HRC is working with Tried and Supplied and Hospitality Jobs UK to introduce two stand-alone conferences for the event. They are the Better Hospitality Conference and the Hospitality’s Talent Conundrum conference.

"We're excited to be holding the Better Hospitality Conference as a live in-person event for the first time as part of HRC in March,” commented Domini Hogg, founder of Tried and Supplied. “Bringing together experts, operators, chefs and farmers from a wide range of business types, the conference discusses key challenges and opportunities for the sector in developing better practices across sustainability, nutrition, people and business resilience."

Hospitality Jobs UK Founder Dawn Bowstead described the reasons for launching the conference, saying: “The staffing issue is a real conundrum for the hospitality sector and is at the forefront of everything we do in hospitality, whether it be customer face-to-face, back-of-house or operational roles. 

“At the Hospitality’s Talent Conundrum conference, we will be offering innovative solutions for hospitality businesses to attract and retain candidates. Expect leading industry figures discussing their journeys, their solutions and the successes they’ve had with attracting talented employees. We will also be sharing government incentives, apprenticeship opportunities and how industry charities are supporting the sector.”

2022 exhibitors
The event’s Foodservice section will be welcoming back exhibitors such as Britvic, Essential Cuisine and Major, plus new additions to the show such as Quorn Professional, Pact Coffee, UCC Coffee, Edmund's Cocktails and RSPCA Assured. A number of past exhibitors have invested in the event’s Professional Kitchen section for 2022, including Unox, First Choice Group, Euro Catering and Grande Cuisine, led by Foodservice Equipment Association chairman Stephen Hobbs.

New exhibiting companies for 2022 include Quintex, LLK, R-Tech and Fagor. Giuseppe Monti, Fagor’s European commercial director, commented: “Fagor is really excited to be entering the UK market. We have worked very closely with a selected partner in the UK over the past three years, not only supporting our brand in key accounts but also helping us to improve the technology and quality of our core product ranges. We are excited to be showcasing our products at HRC and will be welcoming visitors to our stand.”

The newly rebranded Design and Décor section of the show will be hosting returning exhibitors such as King of Cotton, Typhoon, T&G Woodware and Elia International. In addition, it will be welcoming new suppliers including Geberit, Villeroy and Boch, Bolsius, Play Shufl, Intent Productions and Drinkstuff.

Over in Hospitality Tech, new exhibitors include Sunday, Workforce.com, Seven Rooms, Slerp and Fourth, and the show is pleased to welcome back leading tech businesses including Kobas, Planday, Tevalis and PointOne.

Essential info
What? HRC
Where? ExCeL London
When? 21st to 23rd March
More info: www.hrc.co.uk

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