FCSI EAME conference: ready for Rotterdam

The FCSI EAME Division is heading to Rotterdam for the 2018 conference. Tina Nielsen discovers what delegates can expect during their visit to this hub of renewal and innovation

Famed for its progressive architecture, thriving art and design scene and exciting food sector, Rotterdam is the perfect “second city” – smaller than the Dutch capital Amsterdam, yet agile and dynamic and still developing at a fast pace after much of the city was levelled during the Second World War.

“This is a city that has seen enormous developments in the last 10 years,” says Remko van der Graaff, FCSI EAME chairman. “It shows that even a city like Rotterdam, which was bombed during the war, can renew and become trendy. I think people will be amazed at how huge the food area is.”

Around 300 delegates are expected to attend this year’s conference, representing a significant boost in professional FCSI members signed up to join. As attendees gather aboard SS Rotterdam, a former cruise liner, which has been restored to its former glory and today provides the perfect venue for the FCSI EAME conference, they can expect a few days full of activities, engagement and inspiration.

A programme to inspire and educate

The theme of the conference this year is the Future of Food and Hospitality – covering everything from automation and 3D printing to attracting a new generation and dealing with sustainability.

It is a deliberately broad theme, according to van der Graaff. “We want to ensure that there is something for everyone. The future is always about people, what they do and how they behave, but on the other hand it is also about technology, which is moving very fast,” he says. “We are also going to look at sustainability and how we can help to save the earth. Finally, and importantly, there is the human story.”

Richard Kuijpers, owner of Smartrobot.solutions will be flying the flag for technology in foodservice. “We commercialise robots for corporate markets, retail, hospitality and rental solutions for events, implementing a broad and pioneering approach,” he says. “At the FCSI conference we will present several robots. We’ll talk about robotics in this market segment, what they can do and what needs to be improved to make it successful and not a gimmick. We’ll look at what concepts you can implement today and how we think the future will be.

“I see robots fulfilling roles such as receptionist (host), bringing food, guiding people to meeting rooms, security, cleaning and cooking.”

Speaking about sustainability, food security, food safety and his work on vertical and urban farming is professor Fritz-Gerald Schroeder. “In less than 40 years, an estimated nine billion people will inhabit the earth and about two thirds of them will live in cities and other urban areas,” he says. “At the same time there is continuous shrinking of agricultural areas and they are becoming further away from city centres.

“Our research investigates different solutions for urban or vertical farming technologies based on hydroponic or aquaponic systems. These systems can be located in a former industrial, high rise or other buildings. A vertical farm not only produces plants for food, but can also fulfil other functions such as water purification, waste management and even provides beneficial psychological health effects for people in large cities.”

Elaborating on the human element van der Graff says part of the conference programme is intended to provoke delegates to think about what they do on a daily basis. “I want delegates to ask themselves, what are they doing in this life, how hard are they running and who are they running for. What is their purpose and goal,” he explains.

“There will be many contrasting elements during the conference; there will be robots walking around, but then there will also be a speaker [Niek van den Adel] who suffered life changing injuries but found a way to move on in his life.”

Old friends, new colleagues

The foodservice sector is about people and as with any other event attended by FCSI members, the 2018 EAME conference will provide ample opportunities to connect with old friends and new colleagues. As van der Graaff says, this is a chance for consultants and Allied members to meet each other.

“I hope people will mix and not just go with their local unit,” says van der Graaff. Those who attended the FCSI EAME party at HostMilano last year took part in a large speed networking session – they can expect to go even bigger in Rotterdam as the organising team hope to orchestrate the largest speed networking session ever seen at an FCSI event.

This session will kick off proceedings on the Friday morning before the keynote speakers take to the stage.

“In the afternoon we have the master classes and delegates can sign up to three different master classes,” explains Elonique Dalhuisen, executive director for FCSI EAME.

The Saturday will see delegates going out to discover the different aspects of  the city on an inspiration tour. After lunch – and a group visit to the famous Market Hall – four separate inspiration tours will head off to explore different aspects of the city. The tour will be split into four strands: food, architecture, history and harbour.

“It could have been just food, but we want to show the different parts of Rotterdam,” says Dalhuisen. “We all  work in food and we deal with food every day, so we thought we’d offer some options that are linked to food, but not just about that.”

As an example, she points to the architecture tour, which includes an impressive hotel from the NH Hotel Group. “It is not directly about food, but there is a good link to it,” she says.

At the end of the weekend van der Graaff says he hopes delegates will  leave with a sense of satisfaction.  “I want people to feel they have met a lot of new people, spoken with people who work in the same area and have similar interests and businesses,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if you sell stainless steel dishwashers, ovens, coffee machines or refrigerators or you work in hospitality. We are all there with one end goal and that is to satisfy the customer.”

It’s a view that fits well with the broad theme of the conference – the foodservice industry includes so many aspects and, between them, consultants touch all of them. As van der Graaff concludes, “The chain of the food experience starts somewhere and ends somewhere and we at FCSI are somewhere in between.”

Tina Nielsen

 Keynote speakers

  • Niek van den Adel, inspirator
  • Richard Kuijpers, owner, Smartrobot Solutions
  • Prof. Dr. agr. Prof. hc Fritz-Gerald Schröder, professor of Horticulture Sciences at the University of Applied Science Dresden, Germany
  • Theodor Falser, chef de cuisine Engel Gourmet & Spa/ Johannesstube/Michelin-starred chef

Masterclass presenters and topics

  • Frits Hoff, owner byFlow, 3D food printing: 3D food printing
  • Dominique Dufour, journalist, consultant, teacher at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, MOJO trainer, author of the MOOC “Start your freelance activity” at OpenClassrooms: Social media to boost your revenus
  • Quentin Legrand, digital and communication consultant at Atelier Yvon: Transmit a message without being boring!
  • Clara Ming Pi FCSI, MSC. RD, adjunct associate professor, University of Hong Kong, director and principal consultant, Ji Ren Foodservice (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. China; Kaori Pi, strategic art director, co-founder MOST Collective, Netherlands. Financial analyst and data architect, GreenPeace International, Amsterdam: Reinventing the sustainable kitchen of the future
  • Roberto Assi, global account project director, UNOX and BIM representative FCSI EAME: How the new BIM Standard IFSE D.D. 7.1 is adopted in the foodservice industry
  • Stijn Creemers FCSI, AAG adviser food & facilities: The future of hospitality
  • Sascha Aaron Mertens, hotel management student: Millennials and Generation Z
  • Daniel Vollmer, founder & CEO Flowtify GmbH: Flowtify – digital HACCP, operations and maintenance management
  • Dhr. Matthias K. Lahr, director, digital customer colutions, Rational AG: Paving the way to modern, fully-connected kitchens – key planning considerations

More Relevant

View More