Foodies Flock to Bellavita London Expo 2017

The focus of this year’s expo - held at the Business Design Centre in Islington from June 18th until 20th - was predominantly on trends in Italian food in the HORECA industry, and the influence of Italian produce in the UK. Bellavita, alongside The Food People, created a 300-page food trends report on Italian food in the UK for 2017/2018, with guests at the expo treated to an exclusive first-glimpse.

Francesco Mazzei, chef and ambassador of Bellavita Expo said, “Italian food in the UK is the most exciting it has ever been, with the biggest trend currently the idea of ‘mamma’ cooking with chef hands - it’s traditional Italian food that has been given a refined touch.”

Bellavita hosted some of the world’s top chefs this year to perform live demonstrations and masterclasses. The list of top-name chefs included the likes of Niko Romito, Theo Randall and Georgio Locatelli.

Commenting on the success of this year’s expo, Theo Randall said, “Bellavita is hugely important because it brings so many new products to Londoners. There’s always something new, bigger and better to see every year I come here. This year I’ve noticed that Bellavita have done a great job in bringing the various regions of Italy together, celebrating the diversity in the cuisine of each region.”

For the second year, the Bellavita Wine Academy hosted the Best UK Sommelier Villa Sandi Award, organised by the UK Sommelier Association and AIS London. With more sommeliers taking part than ever before, the competition was particularly tough. The winning sommelier was crowned on the Sunday of the expo: Valentin Radosav, Head Sommelier at Michelin-starred Gymkhana in London.

As well as masterclasses and demonstrations, Bellavita hosted industry panels with some of the UK’s leading wine retailers, discussing current wine trends in the UK, with representatives from companies such as Oddbins, The Co-Operative Group and Fullers & Co.

Gyles Walker, wine buyer for The Co-Operative Group said, “It’s very important for producers to meet their customers and a show such as Bellavita is a great opportunity to talk to your customers to find out what they are after. Most importantly, it’s also useful to help us think about the future, and what customers will be looking for in six months, a year or even two years’ time.”

Brand new for this year was the Bellavita Bar Academy: a new area of the show dedicated to the contemporary cocktail scene. Leading mixologists at cocktail bars from across London - including Antonio Del Monte (clubs manager at The Ned) and Matyas Barta (bar manager of Pollen Street Social) - created a variety of show-stopping cocktails for guests of the show.

For the second year, Bellavita hosted its awards ceremony on the final day of the show. Decided by a panel of over 250 judges including top buyers, chefs, sommeliers and opinion leaders, this year’s winner was FIDANI Healthy Sweets, with its lactose-free crostata with grape jam.

Aldo Mazzocco, CEO of Bellavita said “This is the best show we’ve done in this country. We’ve targeted the right people at the right time; our exhibitors are so happy. In the current economic climate, Bellavita has come at precisely the right time.”