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The largest regional fair of equipment for hotels, restaurants and catering, HoReCa Adria, will once again gather hoteliers, caterers, owners of tourist facilities, architects, investors and equipment suppliers from Croatia and the region in Zagreb. This year's edition is held from 22 to 24 October at Zagreb Fair, and over 300 exhibitors from Croatia and abroad will present themselves on more than 12,000 square metres. Alongside leading brands and novelties in the outfitting of tourist facilities, visitors can expect lectures, panels, masterclasses as well as competitions for chefs, waiters and baristas.
The fair is held precisely at a moment when the end of the main tourist season means the beginning of preparations for the next one for a large part of the sector. For those planning a new investment, renovation of a facility or inventory, looking for new technological solutions or simply wanting to refresh their existing offer, three trade show days are an opportunity to see what is new on the market in one place, compare different solutions and talk directly with suppliers.
"HoReCa Adria is held every two years because we believe that this is a realistic period in which enough new products, technologies and ideas that are truly worth presenting can appear on the market. This year as well, we have made an effort to gather leading brands and suppliers from various segments, and our wish is for visitors to see plenty of new things during those three days, meet people with whom they can cooperate and leave the trade show with new ideas and concrete contacts," points out trade show director Adriano Požarić.
Everything for furnishing and business in one place
During the three fair days, visitors will be able to get to know the offer of leading domestic and international brands, view novelties in the furnishing and interior design of tourist facilities and find products and technologies for the improvement of business. Almost 30 percent of exhibitors are participating in the fair for the first time this year, and a part of the companies will present new products and solutions for the Croatian market precisely in Zagreb.
The offer encompasses almost all segments of equiping hotels, restaurants, camps and holiday homes, from professional kitchen and refrigeration equipment, tableware and small inventory, furniture, textiles and interior design to swimming pools, wellness, hygiene, food and beverages as well as technological solutions for managing tourist and catering facilities.
Aside from product presentations, equipment demonstrations and presentations of new technologies will be held at exhibitor stands, so visitors will be able to see a part of the devices and solutions in operation as well.
Current topics and concrete solutions from practice - from employment to design
Alongside the exhibition part, HoReCa Adria also brings a conference program that will be held on Thursday and Friday, 22 and 23 October, with lectures and panels on current issues of hotel and catering business. Among the topics are the recognition and development of talents among own employees, the return of Croatian workers from abroad and the challenges of cooperation between different generations in hotel and catering teams. There will also be talk about mystery shopping, marketing in hospitality and the design of holiday homes.
Designer Boris Ružić will show how to transform a hotel restaurant, terrace or lobby into an event venue, while architect Siniša Glušica will present new hospitality concepts through three of his projects.
The expert program also includes practical masterclasses and workshops, among which are the Latte Art Masterclass, a guided tasting of three coffees from three continents as well as workshops on the proper sharpening of professional kitchen knives and techniques for cutting quality cuts of meat.
Competitions for chefs, waiters and baristas
One of the attractions of this year's fair will be the premiere edition of the Race The Plate competition, which is organized on Thursday, 22 October, by the Croatian Chefs' Association. The competition is conceived as a simulation of restaurant service, and teams composed of two chefs and one waiter will have only 27 minutes for the preparation and serving of three courses: soup, main course and dessert. Judges will evaluate the quality of food preparation and presentation, but also work organization, table setting and serving. The competition will be held in front of an audience in the HKS Arena, in pavilion 8.
On Friday, 23 October, the second edition of the Crush The Rush competition, which was first presented at HoReCa Adria in 2024, will be held in the Barista Arena. This is a dynamic team competition in which teams of three baristas compete directly against each other. Their task is to prepare a given set of drinks in the shortest possible time and deliver them to the judges before the opposing team, while respecting the quality standards of coffee preparation. Visitors will be able to follow qualification rounds, the semi-finals and the finals, and the competition partners are Franck and Hug&Punch.
HoReCa Adria is held from Thursday, 22 to Saturday, 24 October at Zagreb Fair, in pavilions 8, 8A, 9 and 11A. The fair is open on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 7 pm, and on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Admission for tourism and hospitality professionals is free of charge with prior online registration at horeca-adria.com, where a list of exhibitors, the fair floor plan and the complete event program are also available.
