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Restaurateurs in the spotlight at the Gourmet Festival
2 minOctober 2023
What’s it all about?
- How do restaurateurs benefit from taking part in a food festival?
- Which METRO customers were at the Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf?
- How has METRO as the main sponsor helped its customers to participate in the Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf?
The Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf is the largest outdoor food festival in Europe, attracting more than 100,000 visitors each year. It offers participating restaurateurs a platform on which to showcase their business and their product offerings. Once again in 2023, this was an opportunity not to be missed for many METRO customers. During the three-day hospitality industry event, they served up various products and food trends to visitors. But why else might restaurateurs want to appear regularly at food festivals?
Increasing visibility and gaining customers
Restaurateurs can increase awareness of their business by showcasing their dishes and culinary creations to a broad audience. The festival offers an ideal platform for drawing attention to a restaurant or company. A Gourmet Festival also gives restaurateurs the chance to engage directly with visitors, get feedback about their food and showcase their range. This helps them to understand their guests better, identify their preferences and gain potential regulars. Natia Torchinava, owner of So Re in Flingern, also made the most of this opportunity and gave visitors to the Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf an insight into Georgian cuisine. Although this is less widespread in Germany and is unfamiliar to many, the young restaurateur says: “Georgian cuisine is really for anyone who loves meat, cheese and vegetables.” And visitors could test this out for themselves at her stand.
Testing culinary innovations
A food festival offers restaurateurs the opportunity to try out new dishes, trends and concepts. Professionals can test the market response to a dish before including it in their regular menu in the restaurant. Both Agata’s Düsseldorf and the Maximilian Lorenz restaurant pursued this strategy, serving up a combination of street food and Michelin-starred cuisine to visitors at the 2023 Düsseldorf food festival. “In contrast to when we are in the restaurant, the Gourmet Festival offers us the opportunity to be a little freer,” says Marcel Förster, Head Chef at Agata’s. Israeli start-up Redefine Meat also greeted visitors with an innovative food trend: deceptively real “vegetarian meat” from a 3D printer. Feedback from guests was so positive that the company had sold out by 2pm on the second day of the festival.
Cooperation and networking
Another major benefit of food festivals is the opportunity to network with other restaurateurs, producers and suppliers. This can result in cooperative arrangements that bring benefits to companies in the long term. One example here is Byliny from Düsseldorf. After many years of collaboration, the restaurant was represented at the 2023 Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf for the first time jointly with METRO. For three months, owners of Byliny, Norman Metzing and Michael Caasmann, worked together with METRO on their showcase for the food festival. Alongside delicious food, guests could also enjoy a wide selection of fine wines – all from the METRO product range.
METRO as the main sponsor of the Gourmet Festival
METRO supports the Gourmet Festival in Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and Cologne as the main sponsor and partner. The wholesaler supplies customers with the food they need throughout the festival and ensures punctual replenishment. Furthermore, METRO holds discussion events to bring the needs of the hospitality industry onto the political agenda. See also 👉How else does METRO support the hospitality industry?