Hospitality Smiles On Equip’Hotel 2014

It has been a few years since we’ve visited Equip’Hotel, the big Paris hotel, culinary and foodservice show staged every other year by Reed Expositions France. But we made it to Paris for the 2014 show, held at the Portes de Versailles exhibition center, Nov. 16-20. While many European economies are still in the relative doldrums, you couldn’t tell from the jammed aisles at Equip’. 

The show has grown in attendance, number of exhibitors and percentage of visitors—nearly 20%—from outside of France. International attendance was up 5%, according to our press contact Anne-Laure Perrin. A hotel and hospitality trade show at its heart, Equip’ also features a strong culinary focus as well as significant exhibit space and programs dedicated to equipment, tabletop and supplies.

The show also has a strong seminar, culinary-competition and “studio” aspect. Equip’ featured 15 cooking and design competitions and 15 trend studios. One of our favorites was the Studio des Arts de la Table, which was the setting for seminars and presentations on tabletop trends. The studio also featured the “Coffee Wall,” which highlighted 399 different coffee cups of all designs, hues, materials and manufacturers lined up on shelves. 

As is our usual practice at international shows, we toured the aisles, chatting up American and European friends and exhibitors, checking on the foodservice economic environment and keeping an eye out for unique and unusual E&S. Some of those friends we met and things we saw are pictured.

Equip’Hotel 2016 is scheduled back at Portes de Versailles Nov. 6-10, 2016. Information on the show is available at equiphotel.com

• The Coffee Wall at Studio des Arts de la Table featured 399 coffee cups in a dazzling array of colors, sizes and shapes from many manufacturers. You could choose one and get a cup of coffee, too.

• Cambro sales execs Greg Fischer and Jim Skelly met with the company’s European Business Development Manager Pietro Brattoli during the show.
cambro.com

• In the unique and unusual category, we received the full tour of the PizzAdoor fully automated, robotic pizza kiosk. The unit’s refrigerated storage (fully monitored for HACCP) holds up to 70 pizzas with multiple topping variations. After a customer chooses his or her specific product and pays, robotic arms select the product, bake it in an electric convection-impingement oven, box it (!) and dispense it to the customer hot and ready. Or, the customer can choose an unbaked pizza and take it home to bake. The manufacturer is Adial.
pizzadoor.fr

• In the land of bottled water, water dispensing systems were everywhere at Equip’, as the ecological (and profit) benefits of filtered, dispensed water are a major trend in Europe. Paris-based AQua chiara was only one of seven manufacturers with dispensing systems we visited. All of the systems dispense both still and sparkling product, from a variety of head configurations. All of the companies also sell unique bottle shapes and colors.
aquachiara.com

• Pascal Malrieu took us through the many features of Comenda/Ali Group’s new Series AC3 conveyor warewashing machine with its highly efficient Multirinse system.
comenda.eu

• Vollrath’s head of international sales Paul D’Alberto was working the company’s large booth when we stopped by to talk about Vollrath’s European activities.
vollrathco.com

• The big France-based glassware and tabletop manufacturer Arcoroc was displaying a variety of new products at the show. These tinted-glass dinnerware items caught our eye. Arcoroc owns and is distributed by Cardinal Int’l. in the U.S.
arcoroc.com

• French equipment manufacturing group Rosinox, Friginox and Charvet took a major position on the show floor at Equip’, as one would expect. The group is owned by Ali Group.
rosinox.com

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