News
Gulfood 2023 a success
April 10, 2023
The 28th edition of the Gulfood show, held in February at the Dubai World Trade Centre, drew more than 90,000 visitors and 5,000 exhibitors from more than 125 countries, with 1,500 of them new to the trade show. Overall, the event was 30 percent larger than in 2022 and the busiest since 2019. It offered a bigger platform to makepartnerships, deals, collaborations, signings, and announcements.
Prospective buyers were introduced to exhibiting U.S. poultry suppliers who had the chance to strengthen current partnerships and capitalize on new business opportunities. The booth attractedquality visitors from different sectors and countries interested in initiating U.S. poultry and egg purchases. USAPEEC was pleased to host seven members from the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
Several other events took place during and after the show including a live cooking demonstration conducted by two expert chefs from Louisiana who were joined by U.S. Administrator Daniel Whitley. He assisted them in preparing Louisiana chicken and smoked sausage gumbo. U.S. chicken leg quarters and chicken sausages were used in the recipe which was sampled by attendees.
USAPEEC also participated in a “Classic to Contemporary Style Artisanal Gourmet Pizza Competition” organized by the Office of Agricultural Affairs (OAA) in collaboration with the International Center of Culinary Arts– Dubai, several U.S. cooperators, as well as the Pizza Group Italy. Ten chefs from Italian restaurants around the UAE created original gourmet pizzas usingU.S. ingredients including chicken leg quarters, turkey ham, and duck.
The USDA Office of Agricultural Affairs in Dubai held its annual reception, and several U.S. poultry products including chicken leg quarters, whole turkey, whole duck, and roasted half duck were used to prepare the following dishes which were displayed atstations during the reception: Brunswick Chicken Stew, Hudson Valley Duck Spring Rolls, Chicken Tacos, Chicken Shawarma, and Whole Roasted Butterball Turkey. An A3 poster, featuring the logos of USAPEEC, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, and Indiana Soybean Alliance, was placed next to the cooking stations.
- USAPEEC, in collaboration with Frozen Food House, organized“An Evening of Culinary Adventure” that attracted 90 attendees including restaurant owners, hotel managers, retailers, importers, executive chefs,food bloggers, and influencers in addition to staff from the U.S. Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan and Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali. The activity took place at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA), one of the well-known technical university colleges in the region. Nina Halal, USAPEEC MENA & North Africa representative, provided some market insights regarding the U.S. poultry market in the region and discussed the product attributes and what differentiates it from its counterparts.
- A five-course tasting menu was created for the event and featured a variety of U.S. poultry items including whole turkey, whole duck, roast half duck and boneless duck breast, Cornish game hen and whole roaster. Recipes were prepared by student chefs and served to guests to get their feedback. The activity was a huge success since the overall event was rated as exceptional and successful by 50 percent and 35 percent of the attendees, respectively. Moreover, a high interest in initiating and procuring the showcased U.S. poultry and poultry products was noted by 95 percent of the audience who were given the opportunity to see, taste, and have some menu ideas and cooking applications for each item. Similar activities are key to promoting U.S. poultry and encouraging cooperation with importers to increase U.S. poultry volume.