TAVOLA

08 march, 2022


The Golden Tavola competition is held every 2 years as part of Tavola, the trade fair for fine and fresh food that takes place in Kortrijk Xpo. Tavola has been going on since 1982, and this year it will be celebrating its 20th edition. Each edition attracts some 17,000 professionals from more than 30 countries, who are working in retail, wholesale, speciality stores and catering organisations. This makes Tavola one of the most exciting food fairs in mainland Europe. The Golden Tavola award ceremony is without a doubt one of the highlights of the trade fair.

Innovation is and remains a decisive factor when it comes to the Golden Tavola awards. And this innovation manifests itself at many different levels: brand new products, different consumption moments, original applications, new target groups, etc.

"Edition after edition, it is always exciting to discover the entries for this competition. Which contemporary trends are reflected in the products entered? One thing we are very pleased about is the fact that companies are fully committed to innovation. For the Golden Tavola 2022 competition, no fewer than 68 companies entered with a total of 92 products. The professional jury for this competition is always faced with a huge selection of products, and this year was no different. The programme and the concept of the competition remained unchanged. In times of COVID-19 and after the postponement of the 2020 edition, it was therefore a great relief to return to 'normal' working conditions. It was very nice to see that the Tavola team was very welcome by all the members of the jury", confirms Isabelle Fruy (Kortrijk Xpo).

STRICT SELECTION PROCEDURE involving 2 selection rounds
The Golden Tavola competition takes place in 2 phases. First, at least 3 different buyers evaluate the innovative potential based on a written presentation and a product sample. This is followed by a thorough evaluation and tasting, where all aspects of the product or concept are carefully considered. After the first screening round, 62 products were allowed to compete for the much coveted Golden Tavola awards.

The final jury is made up of buyers, executives from catering, advertising, product and brand development, as well as members of the trade press. For the 2022 final judging process, Tavola was able to call on the professional expertise and enthusiastic cooperation of: Thierry Cattoir – Remarkable & president of the jury, Rosario Butera – Belgocatering, Regis d’Haenens – Compass Group, Dirk De Schrijver, Peter Coucquyt – Foodpairing, Remi Gautier – Auchan, Mieke Koch – Slagerij Aula, Anne Françoise Laurent – Delitraiteur, Pieter Meeuwesen – Sligro, Bérénice Orban – Rob The Gourmets’ Market, Jonny Peeters – ISS Catering, Jan Prinsen – Belgian Fresh Food Institute, Jeroen Vaes – Colruyt, Sven Van De Voorde – Delhaize Belgium, Luc Van der Rasieren – Sligro/ISPC, Luc Van Rensbergen – Koresto, Stefan Van Rompaey – RetailDetail and Eldrid Vindevogel – Cru.

These are the people who decided the winners and nominees of the Golden Tavola awards in 4 categories. Taste was not the only decisive factor, as criteria such as innovation, packaging, marketing, environmental friendliness and sustainability also played a role in the evaluation process.

4 CATEGORIES
Food reaches our plates through various channels. And each of these sales channels has different criteria for innovation. A supermarket uses different standards than, for example, a deli or a catering company. The Golden Tavola competition takes this fact into consideration by dividing the competition into four different categories, namely Delicatessen, Retail, Food Service and Catering/Traditional Service. This, of course, translates into who will walk away with the awards!

14 PRIZE-WINNERS: 4 winners and 10 nominees
Several outstanding new products will be launched soon. The 14 prize-winners are all brand new products that reach consumers through various channels. For the Golden Tavola Delicatessen, this is obviously through delicatessens. As for the winner and nominees of the Golden Tavola Retail, they will be offered to consumers via self-service in supermarkets. The Golden Tavola Food Service is for products for the food service channel that are either ready to eat, prepared or further processed. Finally, the prize-winners of the Golden Tavola Traiteur/Traditional Service will be offered to consumers via food counter attendants at e.g. the butcher's, in delicatessens or at the refrigerated counters in supermarkets.

All the products that made it to the second selection round will be on display in the central Rambla during Tavola and will provide the perfect platform for visitors to discover the best new products at the fair. All award-winning and nominated products will be available for visitors to see and sample in Hall 5. Visitors to the trade fair will also be given the opportunity to vote for one of these prize-winning products. The product that visitors consider to be the most promising will then be awarded the Golden Tavola Public Prize at the end of Tavola 2022.

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