The 26^th edition of HORECA Lebanon will be back to Seaside Arena from April 2 to 5 2019.

As a key business meeting place for the hospitality and food-service sectors, the event is set to welcome 18,000 industry professionals and more than 350 local and international exhibitors from France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, UAE, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Korea. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the products and services of over 2,500 brands during the four-day event.

“Our slogan for this year is ‘For a Better Industry’ as this sums up our objective; to be a regional business meeting place where we can shape the future of the hospitality and food-service sectors in Lebanon and the Middle East,” says Joumana Dammous-Salame, managing director of Hospitality Services, the event organizer. “We are determined to make the 26^th edition an exceptional one and show how robust these sectors are despite the regional circumstances.”

Over 60 international experts from the world of food, drink and hospitality will attend the 2019 show to conduct demonstrations and judge a number of competitions such as the renowned Hospitality Salon Culinaire, the Junior Chef Competition, Atelier Gourmand, the Lebanese Bartenders Competition, the Lebanese Barista Competition, the Art of Service Competition, the Bed Making Competition and the National Extra Olive Oil Contest. 

In addition to the Annual Hospitality Forum and Wine Lab, new events taking place at the 26^th edition include the Mocktail Competition and the Latte Art Competition. HORECA Lebanon will also host two special events to highlight Lebanese flavors: Al Matbakh, where well-known Lebanese and international chefs will put their talents on display in a variety of cooking workshops to honor local food heritage, and the Arak Lab, giving the opportunity to local arak experts to share their expertise.

The Hospitality Salon Culinaire’s guest of honor is three-Michelin-starred chef Christophe Bacquie from Hôtel & Spa du Castellet, France. Other international guests at the salon include one-Michelin-starred chef Alan Geaam (France), Christophe Marguin (France), Jean-Marc Mompach (France), Guillaume Gomez (France), Christophe Morel (Canada), Domenico Maggi (Italy), Georges Damianou (Cyprus), Francois Pozzoli (France), Samaan Hilal (Kuwait), Tarek Ibrahim (Australia), Thomas Gugler (KSA), Jacques Charrette (France), Mehmet Gok (Turkey) and Yasser Jad (KSA).

The Lebanese Barista Competition and Latte Art Competition will be judged by international experts: Stavros Lamprinidis (Greece), Safa Salehi (Iran), Branislav Beronja (UAE) and Anthony Bedoyan (UAE), while the Lebanese Bartenders Competition and Mocktail Competition will be judged by: Andreas Tsanos (Spain) and Spyros Kerkyras (Greece). International guests at the Art of Service Competition include: Antoine Petrus (France) and Pascal Obrecht (France).

“Indeed, HORECA is recognized as a platform for trade visitors to network with peers, gain new insights and discover what is happening. We are looking forward to bringing together decision makers and international guests at more than 100 events as we celebrate our biggest edition to date,” says Dammous-Salame.