The organiser of the inaugural 'Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong' trade fair, held at the HKCEC at the end of October, took a deliberately calculated risk. During a difficult time for the hospitality industry across the region, how would a trade-only fair with a very tight top end focus fare? Restaurant & Bar was designed to bring together industry celebrities and top suppliers from across Asia, and provide directors, designers and managers of high-end food and beverage establishments with an eclectic resource for new ideas, new products, and new contacts. And the result was agreed by all to be an outstanding event, "just what the industry in Asia Pacific has been waiting for" according to David Yeo, owner of two of Hong Kong's most prestigious restaurants.

A mix of exciting, imaginative scheduled events and well-presented displays, Restaurant & Bar attracted over 5,000 hospitality professionals across its three days. Demand was so great, in fact, that the exhibition hours were specially extended on the final day to cope with the long queues of enthusiastic visitors. Besides the wonderful networking opportunities and inspired products and supplies on show, the exhibition included lively entertainment and educational slots, including cocktail demonstrations, a wine tasting theatre, chef masterclasses, and the hard-fought Hong Kong Barista of the Year awards. Exhibitors were effusive about the atmosphere and the quality of visitors to the fair: "Restaurant & Bar," according to one, "definitely stands head and shoulders above any other trade event in the region". Quite an accolade for a first-time event!