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EFKO FOOD Professional at the hospitality industry's centrepiece exhibition

More than 50,000 visitors, 500 companies and 250 events with the participation of HoReCa experts. Useful acquaintances, master classes, a packed business programme, new offerings and food tech innovations. The 25th International Exhibition of the Hospitality Industry PIR EXPO was held in Moscow from 17 to 20 October.

The EFKO FOOD Professional team welcomed visitors in its revamped booth and ran a show kitchen and non-stop tastings for four days.

Fedor Mogutnov, Director of HoReCa Division at EFKO

‘Two years ago EFKO made a strategic decision to tap into the HoReCa market. However, we recognise that professionals need not just products but off-the-shelf solutions.

‘In fact, we unveiled a number of products for this segment a long time ago. However, after focusing on them we realised that professional chefs need more options: some need high-fat mayonnaise bases, some need more liquid ones, some need bases that cope well with cold environments and some use them for heat treatment of products. And all this is impossible in one product.

‘We carefully analyse the needs of chefs and create mayonnaises that are interesting for a particular application.

‘In other words, we look at our products through the eyes of the HoReCa market player – a restaurant operator or chef – delving deep into the cuisine. That's why we established not a sales department that goes to cafes and restaurants but a full-fledged structure that understands the HoReCa market.

‘We have seven chefs on our staff, working every day to bring the product to the consistency the market needs. All of them are professionals who have dealt with different concepts before: some are well-versed in Asian cuisine, some have experience as confectioners and some know ethnic cuisines. That's why we speak the same language with our customers.

‘It's one thing when a restaurant chef speaks with salespeople and quite another when speaking with a fellow chef. They share their challenges in the kitchen with us, and we help solve them by participating in creating the menu and actively advising on any formats and concepts.’

Caesar salad, shawarma, club sandwich and lula kebab master classes as well as tastings of Hi! turned out popular.

‘Actually, plant-based meat has a fascinating taste. When I went to the Hi! booth, I initially thought they prepare dishes from real meat,’ said Karina, a visitor at the exhibition. ‘I would have never guessed had I not been told it was plant-based. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by this taste.’

Hi! burgers, meatballs and nuggets – with and without sauce – were highly appreciated by professional chefs during tasting.

Andrey Mytnik, brand chef at the Altalia restaurant chain

‘I tried Hi! plant-based alternatives for the first time. It's just like real meat. Very tasty, especially when combined with your cheese and mustard sauces. And the meatballs are reminiscent of the legendary IKEA meatballs, an interesting structure. We fried these at an outdoor event, people were blown away, they liked them. At the time, none of them realised it was plant-based meat.’

Aleksey Tkachenko, a chef at the Syrovarnya restaurant

‘I attended your master classes and even cooked this plant-based meat myself – at home and in a restaurant. Sometimes it's on my fasting menu. It's a great alternative when fasting, especially when you can't think of something. The same burger can be made lean. You only have to replace meat with a plant-based patty. It's very easy to work with this product and make some vegan dishes with it. You could say I'm a fan of Hi! plant-based meat. I can't live without it. And I’m happy to prepare your nuggets for breakfast.’