Singapore hosts Asia’s finest artisan food and drink expos

Thousands of chefs, restaurateurs, publicans and leading figures in artisanal food flocked to Singapore this year for the launch of Speciality & Fine Food Asia and Restaurant, Pub & Bar Asia fairs.

The landmark events, which took place from 18-20 July in the heart of the city state, welcomed 3,000 trade visitors and over 160 global suppliers from 21 countries across the continent and beyond, cementing the city’s position as a global player in the world of hospitality.

The SFFA and RPB, organised by Fresh Montgomery, have already proved popular fixtures in the British foodie calendar, with SFFA running in the UK for the past 17 years. But this year, the events team headed East to highlight the rapid growth of Asia’s food and hospitality sectors.

Acclaimed chefs, sommeliers, tea masters, baristas and bartenders led the way with live demonstrations, while leading figures from the global hospitality circuit shared their wisdom in a range of mentoring sessions and panel talks.

At the SFFA, live cooking highlights came courtesy of chefs from newly minted Michelin-starred restaurants, Han Li Guang (Labyrinth) and Sam Aisbett (Whitegrass), who walked the crowd through their signature dishes alongside headline act Ray Adriansyah – owner of Bali’s award-winning restaurant Locavore.

Adriansyah said that the inaugural SFFA fair accomplished a great deal for Singapore’s hospitality industry. “It brought together fine food and drink producers from all over the world for a remarkable and enriching time.”

Meanwhile, commenting on the festivities at RPB, Adrian Lim, managing director of Silver Bullet Consortium said Southeast Asia’s bar and restaurant scene has rapidly become: “extremely lively and vibrant, and RPB Asia was a great platform for us to reach out with other key buyers such as restaurant owners, importers and even bartenders.”

“There was a nice mix of industry players at the show and our products attracted a lot of interest from global buyers. We can’t wait to see what next year’s edition has in store for our business,” said Fresh Montgomery portfolio manager Soraya Gadelrab,

Soraya Gadelrab added: “As the focal point of the Southeast Asian F&B trade show scene, the SFFA & RPB Asia will be back for a second run next year from 17-19 July 2018 and it will be an even better and bigger showcase of artisan and high-quality products.”