Horeca Xperience, the trade event for 'toute' horeca in the North, celebrated its twelfth edition on Monday 14 October in the atmospheric Martinikerk Groningen. Under the roof of beautifully painted vaults, flamboyant chandeliers and traditional stained glass, the church was the catering walhalla for one day, where entrepreneurs, representatives, wholesalers, catering staff and catering education raised a glass with each other, were able to discover and where they networked to their hearts' content.
Winners Ready to Cook and Tap Competitions
In exciting and fast cooking rounds of 30 minutes each, 10 chefs from the Northern provinces competed against each other to prepare the tastiest and most challenging dishes during the cooking competition 'Ready Cook'. Under the watchful eye of the expert jury consisting of Henrice Dijks, owner of restaurant Blume and Jesse Krekelaar, chef of the restaurant endless, both establishments with a Michelin Guide and Gault & Millau listing, the chefs presented their beautiful creations.
Host and presenter Wilbert Van de Kamp, specialist in the field of local food, sustainability, countryside and degrowth, gave Klaar Af Kook the extra twist and the entire competition was supervised by Famke Greidanus-Holster from Restaurant The Old Lock in Zoutkamp. The winner was Davy Zijlstra from restaurant House of Brush. The second place went to Raf de Bree from restaurant Nassau and the third and fourth places were respectively for Isa van Dijk from restaurant The Coach House and Synthia Balit from Van der Valk Westerbroek.
The perfect beer was selected at the Groningen Tap Competitions this year
tapped by Aron Ruiter from café Ball house, closely followed by Daan Biemans from café Hooghoudt and thirdly Olle Bartels from the diner café Soestdijk.
Innovation, sustainability and tradition
Ranging from traditional food, drinks and products from the Northern provinces to national and international delicacies reaching as far as South Korea, the wide variety of stands was spectacular this year! With a brand new Green innovation square, the organization of Hospitality Experience and a little bit more. Host and sustainability expert Marco Agema forged the square into a symmetry of innovative and sustainable entrepreneurship, where visitors were given explanations about the most diverse sustainable products and services from the North of the country.
Artificial intelligence on the stock exchange floor
AI is also starting to become a permanent part of the event. You can find it in the software of many cash register systems or food processors of the exhibitors, but also in high-profile seminars such as 'CleverAI' where host Freya Liemburg gave tips and explanations on how you can work smarter as a company or, for example, improve your hospitality using ChatGPT. The Horeca Xperience organization therefore continues to look ahead to innovations in this area because it will bring about enormous changes in the way of working.
Next year, the 13th edition of Horeca Xperience will take place on Monday, October 13, 2025 in the Martini Church Groningen. Exhibitors can already register via: hoxp.nl/exposant
