FoodNext.Africa Cape Town
Carrot juice, cannabis brownies and
vegan ice-cream
All the good stuff at FoodNext.
Africa Cape Town
S
ABI magazine recently partnered with the
FoodNext.Africa’s Cape Town conference, and
the event was a huge success, held at the CTCC.
From biggest carrot farmers in Africa’s fine carrot
and vegetable juices Rugani to ZZ2’s lovely tomato
juices, all the finest in food and catering was on display
and many fascinating presentations were delivered. At SABI
magazine we also believe that it is vital to feature food
developments and advances, as the food on the table or
menu is the ultimate product of irrigation. An interesting
focus at the event was the growth in the advance of plant
protein sources and veganism as a dietary choice.
With over 165 delegates, start-
ups, speakers and exhibitors from
around the country networking,
engaging and enjoying food
samples and tastings of the
various niche products such
as mopani worm flour polenta
fries, plant-based burgers and
sausages, vegan ice cream, sugar-
free energy drink, bread crumb
beer and cannabis brownies;
many plan to return for the next
edition, thanks to the success of
the Cape Town series.
At the FoodNext.Africa Cape
Town series key industry experts
met to discuss the latest innova-
tions driving new partnerships,
shared new ideas and products
to meet the growing demand for
safe, traceable and nutritious
food from farm to fork.
The conference theme focused on
accessibility, getting good prod-
ucts to market at the best price,
assessing tomorrow’s innovation’s
today and pioneering collabora-
tion for better food and nutrition.
Plant proteins
From advances in personalised
nutrition to the latest ingredient
innovations
to
plant-based
proteins and the role of food
in health, our thought leaders
shared strategic insights and ideas
from new routes to market, how
disruptive models can help drive
consumer adoption to partner-
ships needed to scale innovation
and drive the sector forward.
This flagship conference not only
engaged attendees in a critical
debate it also spearheaded an
innovation collaboration that
would not only form part of the
conference but could also be a
skill and knowledge that chefs
could pass on and incorporate
as part of their menus in future.
DMG events alongside Humane
Society International, Africa part-
nered on FoodNext.Africa Cape
Town, the organisation came
on board as our plant-based
culinary training sponsor and
conducted plant-based culinary
training with the chefs and kitchen
staff at the CTICC in prepara-
tion for the conference and
use going forward.
Leozette Roode, Media &
Outreach Manager for Humane
Society International / Africa said:
“It is evident that the demand for
plant-based food is continuing to
rise in popularity in South Africa.
This was showcased at Africa’s
most innovative B2B food event,
the FoodNext.Africa Conference,
where
Humane
Society
International / Africa’s Green
Monday
SA
meat-reduction
program was implemented. We
are thrilled that dmg events and
the CTICC welcomed HSI/Africa’s
offer to conduct plant-based culi-
nary training with the CTICC chefs
and incorporated Green Monday
SA dishes as part of the confer-
ence’s menus. It was refreshing
to experience the excitement in
which the chefs conducted the
plant-based training and their
interest in learning more about the
importance of meat reduction.”
Chefs and vegan menus
Sibongiseni Gcelu, Executive
Sous Chef for the CTICC, said:
“Leozette managed to easily
unpack the recipes for those
vegan dishes and made it very
understandable for the trainees.
This training was very beneficial
for the chefs that attended it as
they gained a great deal of knowl-
edge. This has been beneficial for
the business at large as we have
vegan guests more often. I also
noticed that the understanding
of the vegan dishes by the team
has improved. Vegans can now
be treated the same as other
delegates as the chefs can now
produce a three-course meal.”
The partnership has not only been
beneficial for the venue but also
formed a lasting impression on
our participants.
FoodNext.Africa
speaker
Donovan Will, Director for Proveg
South Africa, said: “Around the
world, we are seeing a rapid
growth in the move towards
more plant-based eating, driven
by the health, environment and
ethical benefits of reducing
meat consumption. It is great to
see companies like dmg events
prioritising this movement and
bringing the conversations into
the mainstream.”
SABI | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
43