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Lunch! is an annual trade event aimed at anyone and everyone in the rapidly expanding food-to-go industry - estimated to now be worth £6 billion in the UK - and the organisers have announced that registration for Lunch! 2010 has now opened.

The event runs from September 30th until October 1st at Old Billingsgate in London, with around 100 exhibitors from every branch of the food-to-go sector in attendance. These manufacturers and supplier will be showcasing new food and drink products, technology and services including:

• Food ingredients
• Coffee and tea
• Specialty breads
• Packaging
• Signage
• Information technology

In addition to the main exhibition, Lunch! 2010 also boasts two education theatres, a new products showcase, business seminars, live demonstrations and new for this year, the Innovation Challenge 2010. This is a new awards scheme which aims to celebrate innovation within the food-to-go-sector.

If you are in a decision-making food job within this growing industry, then Lunch! 2010 is a must-attend, either as a visitor or an exhibitor. The event connects you directly with suppliers, allows you to network and gain insights into the latest innovations in the food-to-go sector.

Aubrey Allen's Coventry plant officially opened its doors to the industry recently, inviting some of the UK's top chefs inside in an effort to inspire some new recipes. The catering butcher extended an invitation to prominent food job holders such as Francesco Dibenetto (Sous Chef at Le Gavroche), Calcot Manor's chef director Michael Croft and Jeff Galvin from La Chapelle.

The guests were invited to the Aubrey Allen plant to demonstrate the company's new, technologically advanced facilities and brand new cuts of beef and lamb. The event was designed to inspire chefs and show them how to work with the new cuts, as well as giving them an opportunity to catch up and share ideas.

The managing director of Aubrey Allen, Peter Allen, has said:

"Chefs need to lead the way and that's where we can help - not just by delivering quality products, but continually working hard to develop new ideas to help them impress their customers and run a profitable kitchen."

The chefs received a full tour of the facility, a presentation on quality, the food chain and 'meat awareness' and a seam butchery demonstration. Jeff Galvin was particularly impressed with the event, saying:

"There is not enough butchery knowledge in kitchens, so good supplier relationships are key. For younger chefs coming through, butchery experiences will give them better respect for products and how they are sourced."

Following last year's success, Scotland's celebrated Taste of Edinburgh food and drink festival is back for 2010. The acclaimed foodie fest will be held in Edinburgh's spectacular Inverleith Park, and promises rich pickings for food lovers, those in the industry or those interested in food jobs.

The Taste of Edinburgh Festival, which runs from 28-30 May, will provide a showcase for local food talent from the city's cafes, bars and restaurants as well as being a great place to catch up with your favourite celebrity chefs.

The festival looks set to be a smash hit, offering punters access to high quality food and drink from Edinburgh and all around the UK. There are lots of big name exhibitors already lined up for Taste of Edinburgh 2010; Ainsley Harriot, Demijohn, Fudges, Mama Tea and San Pellegrino are just some of the great companies doing business at the festival.

There are a host of other top food retailers, from small-scale local artisans to globally recognised marquee names, and with people signing up to show their wares and talk about their business all the time, there is sure to be something to take your interest.
Welcome to the Taste of Edinburgh 2010

The seaside town of Southport in Merseyside has become known for more than just B&Bs and a funfair. Thanks to the annual Food and Drink Festival, the area is now renowned for amazing food, fresh produce and food job employers.

The Southport Food and Drink Festival 2010 runs from May 13th until May 15th and will feature the very best local and national chefs cooking up perfectly cooked menus, whilst visitors can benefit by discovering a few trade secrets on recipes, ingredient sourcing and preparing food.

Special guests include:

• Simon Rimmer - household name and resident chef on BBC2's 'Something for the Weekend'
• Aiden Byrne - Michelin star chef, TV personality and author
• Pete Brown - TV beer expert and author

In addition to these live demonstrations, festival-goers can also enjoy the innovative Chocolate Festival, seasonal Spring Beer Festival, Italian Market, local producers' market, whisky tasting and many more events held in the festival's Taste Marquee.

One of the best things about the Food and Drink Festival, however, is the support it gives to young people interested in future food jobs and looking for ways to gain useful skills and training.

In addition to making the London 2012 Olympics more sustainable before and during the Games themselves, the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 is now considering what happens to the site when the event is over. One of the main ideas was to retro-fit the Olympic Village site in Stratford for food growing, to ensure the future sustainability of the event.

In order to make way for the Olympic Village, a considerable amount of industrial land in Stratford is has been redeveloped by the Olympic Delivery Authority, at an estimated cost of £364 million. In order to realise the future food growing idea proposed by the Commission, the land will require further redevelopment and decontamination. There have been concerns over the cost this lengthy process is expected to incur.

However, Commission chair Shaun McCarthy and his team believe that in order to deliver the '2012 legacy', as the sustainable ambition of the entire project has been called, food growing on the Stratford site after the Olympic Games ends is one of the best available development options. As well as creating numerous new food jobs and opportunities, food growing on the site in the future will put the land to good use whilst showcasing a different and more sustainable lifestyle.

The UK's capital is currently gearing up to host one of the biggest restaurant festivals in the world - Taste of London 2010. The city's seventh annual pop-up food and drink event is to be held at Regent's Park on Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th June, and tickets are still available to buy.

Taste of London will bring together the very best chefs, restaurants, product developers and recruiters all in one place, making the event a must-visit for food job hunters and those in the industry, as well as foodies from all over the country.

The event is set to be an extravagant culinary experience, featuring a wide range of exciting and imaginative high-quality food and drink from the UK and further afield.
Restaurants confirmed for this year's festival include Benares, The Grill at The Dorchester, Asia de Cuba, The Cinnamon Club and Colony Bar and Grill to name but a few. You can also expect appearances from celebrity chefs such as Gary Rhodes, Michel Roux Jr and Jason Atherton.

In addition to this, visitors can also enjoy and participate in a number of other food-related events such as Taste Theatre and the Laurent-Perrier Champagne Masterclass. Taste of London is also home to an enormous array of trade exhibitors, including big-brand names Blue Dragon, Hardy's Wine, Marks & Spencer and San Miguel.

Whether wanting an extraordinary taste experience, soaking up insider industry knowledge or looking for an exciting new food job; Taste of London 2010 is set to be the highlight of the summer season.

One of the biggest processing and packaging exhibition events in the UK is coming up this May - Total Processing and Packaging 2010 - and it looks set to be resounding success. Held in the Birmingham NEC from 25th - 27th May, attendance to this exciting event is a must for anyone in the industry, food job hunters and employers alike.

Total Processing and Packaging 2010 will showcase some of the very latest solutions for the production line, covering aspects in every stage of the production process for the food and drink, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors.

What's on?
As well as gaining insights into some of the very latest products and technology, visitors will also have the chance to make face-to-face contact with some of the top companies in the industry. There will be exhibitors from every sector, including packaging equipment and machinery, pack design and marketing, supply chain, distribution, logistics and many, many more.

Special Events

• Packaging Innovation Seminars
• Interphex Seminars
• Packaging Clinic
• Technology Innovations Theatre
• Packaging Design Challenge
• Energy Advice Clinic

For those in the industry, this event is a crucial networking opportunity, as well as being a great opportunity to discover new products and innovations to enhance your company's service.

Foodex 2010, which ended yesterday after running from Sunday 21st until Wednesday 24th March at the NEC Birmingham, was a roaring success, showcasing the very best technologies, ideas, products and services in the world of food and drink, and especially meat.

Here's a quick rundown of exhibition highlights:

New systems showcased
Meat processing equipment providers Marel unveiled their latest line of products and systems, all designed to give those in food jobs and industries ways to boost productivity and profits. Their exhibition stand featured:

• Polyslicer 1000
• I-Cut Bone Portion Cutter
• 9500 Automatic Box/Crate Labeller

NFMFT National Supreme Product Competition
The overall winner of this prestigious and valiantly fought competition was Benson Mellors from the Nottinghamshire- based Mellors Farm Shop, who scooped the top prize with his winning pork pie. Other prizes were handed out for top-quality sausages, burgers, pastries, pies and even black puddings.

Overall, exhibitors and visitors have reported that attending Foodex 2010 was an extremely positive and productive experience. The exhibition was seen as a great way for those in food jobs to get in touch with suppliers, network with others in the food and drink industry, and also benefit from a great deal of inspiration and food for thought.

Northern Restaurant and Bar 2010 is the hospitality event of the year, a must-attend for anyone in the hotel, bar, restaurant or pub trade. It has a strong focus on business and can be a valuable place to make contacts, reach a wider range of customers and suppliers and catch up on the latest news and developments in the food and drink industry.

Where and when?

Held in the heart of the North West, Northern Restaurant and Bar 2010 will take place at Manchester G-Mex on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th April.

Exhibitors

In addition to the 5,000 visitors the show receives every year, there are also around 170 big name and influential exhibitors. Expect to see Costa Coffee, Budweiser Budvar UK, Sugarvine.com, Taste Hospitality Recruitment (a must-visit for food job hunters and employers alike) and Total Foodservice solutions, amongst many, many more.

Special events

In addition to exhibitors, there are a number of special events including:

• Culinary Theatre - seminars, demonstrations and book signings from top local chefs
• Farmer's Market - access to a number of local producers and suppliers
• Discover Wine - wine tastings, seminars and plenty of inspiration
• Drinks Academy - demonstrations and advice on everything from beer to cocktails.

The heat is really on for the contestants all battling it out for the Roux Scholarship. This prestigious competition offers the winning chef a brilliant start in their career.

The winner will receive guidance and advice from the Roux family and previous winners have all gone on to achieve things that they could only dream of in the past.

This month has seen two regional heats take place at the Birmingham College of Food and Thames Valley University. A total of 18 people were involved in these heats and the standards were exceptionally high. But in the end, six finalists emerged.

These six finalists will now be put under immense pressure as they compete in the National Final. This will take place at Westminster Kingsway College in London on March 29th.

This time, the temperature in the kitchen will really be turned up as the finalists will be given their ingredients and recipes only 45 minutes before the competition starts.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London on the evening of the event.

It's certainly going to be a nerve-racking event but the finalists will soon be told that there are too many chefs in the kitchen; only one winner will emerge.