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Riga attracts foreign interest

The exhibition in figures
A total of 602 companies participated in the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition; 279 of these were foreign companies, which accounted for 46.4% of all exhibition participants. A total of 29.4%, or 177 participants, were producers from Latvia and the remaining 146 companies (24.2%) were importers from Latvia. In general, trademarks from 50 countries of the world were represented at the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition.

The exposition of “Riga Food 2008” was divided into eight thematic sectors. The sector related to general food products – Riga Food Regular Expo – was the most represented (289 companies). It was followed by the sector related to equipment and facilities for public catering and retail, Riga Food Catering and Retail Tech (100 participants). The sector for alcoholic and soft drinks, Riga Food Drinks, was also widely represented (products were offered by 98 companies). The Riga Food Technology and Ingredients sector was represented by 73 companies, and the packaging-related sector, Riga Food Packing Tech was represented by 55 companies from 12 countries. Twenty-seven participants took part in the sector related to hotel equipment – Riga Food Hotel Expo.

Seventeen producers and 8 importers from Latvia, as well as 10 foreign companies, participated in the Riga Food Speciality sector offering healthy and functional food products. Fifteen companies offered gourmet food and drinks in the exhibition sector Riga Food Gourmet. Other kinds of services and products were offered by 182 companies from 30 countries.

The exhibition was attended by ministers of agriculture of the Baltic States and the German federal states, as well as official foreign delegations
In order to get acquainted with products and services offered at the exhibition, to visit Latvia’s and other countries’ exhibition stands, as well as to discuss, together with responsible Latvian officials, the development prospects of the sector under the conditions of globalisation, the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition was attended by Mārtiņš Roze, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia; Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania; Peter Hauk, Minister for Nutrition and Rural Areas of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg; Dietmar Woidke, the Minister for Rural Development, Environment and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Brandenburg; and delegations of top officials from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden.

An interesting programme of seminars
At the exhibition, a seminar on “Quality and Indication of Geographical Origin of Food Products” was held during which Mārtiņš Rītiņš, the famous chef, and Laurent Gomez, the Secretary-General of the Association of European Regions of Products of Origin (AREPO) invited participants to discuss the geographic origin of the products, as well as the competitive processing of biological products. In the seminar on “Export of Latvian Food Products to Russia – Product Certification, Cargo Pre-Declaration”, the heads of various companies presented information about how to more successfully conquer the Russian food market. Seminars were organised by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, together with cooperation partners.

The company “Danisco Sugar” held a seminar about the value, taste and use of sugar – “Increasing Added Value with Sugar”. The company “Schoeller Arca Systems” informed attendees about the standardisation and optimisation of secondary packaging; the famous Latvian chef Mārtiņš Rītiņš and dietician Atis Tupiņš discussed the problems related to schoolchildren’s lunchtime at educational institutions.

Innovations in the food sector – a topical theme at the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition
For the eighth time during the “Riga Food” exhibition, the Latvian Technological Center (LTC) organised activities facilitating innovations. This time, the LTC organised, within the framework of the “EEN-Latvia” project supported by the European Commission and the Ministry of Economy, a stand on “Innovation – For Food”, a food-related brokerage event and a seminar about methods for developing new products.

In visiting the “Innovation – For Food” stand, attendees had a chance to meet Latvian food scientists and learn the results of their latest practical research, to find out about professional and academic study programmes that prepare sought-after food specialists for the labour market, to clarify the role of protection of intellectual property in the food sector, as well as to learn about the opportunities for international technology transfer and the opportunities for companies to participate in international food research projects.

The LTC-organised seminar on methods for developing new products enjoyed great popularity. In this seminar, experts and scientists from various sectors shared information about the main steps for creating new products; moreover, Latvian food producers shared their experience about introducing innovations in the production process.

Winners of the competition for the best sour cream and Russian cheese made in Latvia receive awards
At the food product competition held within the framework of the exhibition, the best Latvian producers of sour cream (with 25% fat content) and Russian cheese were announced. In the sour cream category, the gold medal was awarded to AS “Talsu piensaimnieks”. The second-place silver medal went to AS “Smiltenes piens”, and the third-place bronze medal was awarded to AS “Rīgas piena kombināts”.

In the Russian cheese category, the jury decided to grant first place to the Russian cheese made by AS “Valmieras piens“; the second place was shared by AS “Trikātas siers” and AS “Smiltenes piens”, and the third place was awarded to “Ugļičas” cheese made by AS “Smiltenes piens“.

The competition was organised by the Central Union of Latvian Milk Producers (LPCS) in cooperation with the International Exhibition Company BT 1 and the association “Mārketinga padome”, along with support from the Ministry of Agriculture. In general, eight milk-processing companies competed for the prizes in this contest by entering twelve product samples.

Best chefs and pastry-cooks receive awards
The selection of Latvia’s best chefs has been traditionally organised within the framework of the “Riga Food” exhibition. The performance of eight finalists of the competition “The Best Chef of the Year 2008 in Latvia” was judged by qualified cooks and chefs from Finland, France, the United States, Austria, Germany and Poland.

The title of “The Best Chef of the Year 2008 in Latvia” was awarded to Vasilijs Strelkovs (Nordic Hotel Bellevue, Bel Ami restaurant, Rīga), who received the challenge cup “The Reaton Golden Ladle”. The second place was awarded to Artūrs Taškāns (La Boheme restaurant, Rīga). Māris Astičs (Aquarius restaurant, Jūrmala) placed third.

For the first time during the exhibition, an international contest Riga Open Culinary Cup 2008 took place with the participation of chefs from England, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The winner of the contest, Honorata Lyndo, received a monetary prize of EUR 1,000 from the association “Pavāru klubs” (Chefs’ Club), as well as the challenge cup – “The Reaton Golden Ladle”.
In the sweetest and visually most attractive contest, “Pastry-Cook of the Baltics 2008”, the first place was awarded to Olga Kočargina (Latvia, SIA “Reaton, Ltd”), who surprised the visitors with a gateau in the shape of the Blackhead’s House. Kristi Veldemann (a/s “Frens”) from Estonia won second place, and the third place was awarded to Jūratė Milžinienė (IKI “Kalniečiai”) from Lithuania. The theme of the contest was “My Country’s Architectural Pearl”.
Activities of bartenders at the mobile bar
During the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition, at the stand of the Latvian bartenders’ portal bartending.lv, which was arranged as a mobile bar, all interested persons had a chance to meet the most celebrated bartenders of Riga, to watch bartenders and baristas demonstrate their skills, as well as themselves to participate in making cocktails by entering various contests.

Visitors voted for the most attractive table setting
Along with many professional contests, a table setting competition took place at the “Riga Food 2008” exhibition during which Latvian restaurants, cafes, hotels and educational establishments presented themselves by setting and decorating tables and thus creating a pleasant atmosphere for enjoying a meal. The performance of competitors was assessed by 1,267 attendees of the exhibition, who voted for the most pleasing and attractive table setting. In general, 18 table settings were judged at the contest. The first place was awarded to the table setting arranged by the Maritim Park Hotel Riga; the second place went to “Restorānu Servisa skola” (Restaurant service school), and “Rīgas Pārtikas ražotāju vidusskola” (Riga secondary school of food producers) placed third. The contest was organised by the International Exhibition Company BT 1 and the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Latvia.

90 years of Latvia’s food industry at the “Riga Food” exhibition
The “Riga Food 2008” exhibition contained an exposition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia. The exposition focused on the eating habits of Latvia’s inhabitants, as well as on food products, their packaging and cookbooks that have been used for many years and that vividly characterise various periods of Latvia’s history.