Now in its 20th year at the Porte de Versailles Expo, the show attracted 14,000 visitors and 450 exhibitors, eclipsing numbers from previous years.
Three competitions took centre stage at the event: the 14th France Pizza championship, the France Sushi Championship and new this year, the Coupe de France du Burger competition to see who is the top burgeriste in all of France.
Pizza, sushi and burger competitors chose to focus on different ingredients and flavor combinations to give their entries a winning edge. From exciting soft cheeses topping burgers, to taking the seafood away from Sushi and replacing with innovative vegan options – chefs were stretching the limits of traditional flavors to excite the judges (and those keeping an eye on future trends).
Fruit on pizza was just one of the combinations on show
While seafood was missing from some sushi entries, chefs took the opportunity to mix up traditional pizza and burger toppings and fillings by adding fish – using techniques like smoking to boost flavor and texture. Gourmet treats made an appearance on fast food favourites, with rich Wagu beef topped brioche burger buns and pizzas featuring duck a l’orange.
We also saw a continuation of vegan and vegetarian trends, with exciting ways to use vegetables, pulses and meat substitutes to achieve big flavors and textures without meat.
This was the fourth year that True participated in the Parizza area of the show. Once again, True was the only commercial refrigeration manufacturer with its own exhibit, stressing our commitment to demonstrating how important it is to choose a brand that maintains proper holding temperatures while saving energy.
True’s stand at the Sandwich and Snack Show
As can be expected at an event featuring the fast-food, snack and take-away markets, True’s food prep tables took the spotlight and created a buzz among visitors to our exhibit, especially with so many pizzas on the menu!
With competitors highlighting future trends, our French-speaking staff displayed several different sizes of our TSSU and TPP prep table lines to show visitors how they might make their salads, sandwiches, sushi or pizza prep easier while maintaining proper food temperatures.
TSSU and TPP prep tables come in many forms and configurations, making it easy to find a solution to fit a small space – or a larger options house enough ingredients to cover the enormous crusts that we saw in the widest pizza contest!
With so much focus on ranges of different ingredients, chefs will be pleased to know the TSSU and TPP units can maintain safe temperatures for a wide variety of cheeses, meats and vegetables. With True, chef’s can take away ideas from the show and use them in their kitchens.
To help chefs using a range of ingredients alongside the prep tables were our new GN-compatible TCR counters, in both door and drawer versions. Perfect for organising any busy professional kitchen and keeping in mind that electricity costs in France are among the highest in the EU, True’s A+ energy ratings combine sustainability with operational cost savings.
In the snack market, top quality ingredients are essential
Finally, cold drinks always go hand-in-hand with virtually any fast food or snack. Whether beer, soft drinks or high-end water, consumers buy beverages with their eyes. True’s glass door visual merchandisers with bright LED lighting allow customers to see inside the entire cabinet to choose their favourite beverage and increase drink sales. And in keeping with True’s commitment to sustainability and energy savings, True visual merchandisers far exceed open air curtain units in terms of cost of operation. All backed by True’s industry-leading 5-year warranty on parts and labour.
Visitors to Sandwich & Snack / Parizza have asked for more time to visit the exhibits, so next year’s event will be expanded to three full days. True Europe is already looking forward to March 29-31 2020, where even more innovations in True’s line-up of commercial refrigeration are sure to be introduced to the French market.
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