Lyon, the world’s gastronomic capital

Once every two years, Lyon's conference and exhibition centre, Eurexpo, hosts the SIRHA tradeshow (Salon International de la Restauration, de l'Hôtellerie et de l'Alimentation) which is the world's main rendez-vous for this sector of the industry.  Its 13^th edition will be held from 20 to 24 January and, over the five day period, Lyon-Eurexpo will be transformed into "the world's biggest larder".  It's a place where some of the biggest names in gastronomy meet up, to compete in competitions that attract a lot of media attention, and where professionals from the food industry come to display their latest innovations.  "SIRHA is essential, because it's a unique concept," enthuses Marie-Odile Fondeur, the show's director. "There is nothing like this show anywhere else, with as many competitions and demonstrations, and it's obvious that we were the first show to create celebrities of our chefs, coaxing them out of their kitchens so that they could demonstrate that their trade is, in fact, an art form".

Increasingly successful, the SIRHA show attracts delegate from five continents and, for its 2007 edition, there are 1,900 exhibitors, including 400 from abroad, who will occupy the whole exhibition area within Lyon's Centre des Expositions, a total of 108,000 m².   Over the five day period, more than 160,000 visitors are expected - in 2005 there were 165,000  - of whom 15,000 will be from overseas, all converging on Lyon to breathe in some of the latest gastronomic trends.

"We have three marketing prongs," explains Marie-Odile Fondeur. First of all the international market, which is why we organised 12 press conferences abroad: in Belgium, our "guest of honour"; the USA, Spain, Italy, Russia, Germany, Poland, Norway, China, Great Britain as well as in Singapore and Japan, which will take exhibition space for the first time this year and is planning a sushi contest.  Our second marketing prong is nutrition, involving the organisation of a special conference entitled "Nutrition and restaurants, the challenge for the 21^st century", which will continue throughout the show, with two round tables every day.  And finally, we're concentrating on promoting the major trends in the world's restaurant business, via various spaces such as the Food Tube, where some of the most innovative products and equipment will be exhibited; the Set & Eat area, dedicated to table settings;  Pain d'Epice, which is an unusual concept highlighting the art of the baker-pastry maker; and BarBar,a new bistro concept". 

SIRHA's marketing also concentrates on the various competitions which have established the show's reputation within the gastronomic industry.  The oldest, and most famous, of them is the Bocuse d'Or which will celebrate its 21^st birthday in 2007.  24 chefs from as many countries - including three South-American chefs fromn Argentina, Brazil and Mexico - will have 5 ½ hours to prepare an AOC Bresse chicken, a Norwegian halibut and a royal crab from the same country.   Having already gone through a number of stringent tests in their own countries, the 24 chefs will be preparing for the competition as if they were taking part in an Olympic final.  They will have to present their dishes to a jury made up of acclaimed chefs who will choose a winner and two runners up, for the gold, silver and bronze Bocuse award.  Everything happens live, under the watchful eyes of thousands of supporters on a massive stage !

Another amazing event : the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, where 20 teams of pastry chefs from around the world compete.  They also practise their skills before an audience.  In  2005,  there were 300 Japanese, 200 Canadians and 200 Lebanese and 80 Americans who had come to Lyon to support their respective candidates !

On a different scale altogether, the International Caseus Award is given to the best cheese producer, a contest that involves 12 countries : Belgium, Canada, Spain, the USA, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden and Switzerland. Only those cheeses that have an AOC rating can compete (slicing Parmigiano Reggiano, blind tasting etc).

Constantly innovating, SIRHA is launching for the first time this year a Mondial du Pain which will pitch 12 countries against each other, with teams made up of one person with more than five years in the business and one commis chef under 22 years of age.  They will have nine hours to make various different types of bread and pastries.

A number of other contests are planned, on the themes of cooking with cheese, the 8^th National Cup for bakers, mass catering and cuisines of the world.  SIRHA will also have a Mediterranean area and is organising the first Lyon Food Trends, with 45-minute demonstrations undertaken by teams made up of two people, one an established chef and the other a future gastronomic hopeful. ...

Bonus : Valrhona, the chocolate with a big C
Bonus : R3AP, strong arm of the Rhône-Alpes’ food industry