By Aubrey Buckingham (shanghai daily)
Updated: 2006-09-22 15:31

Food-lovers are in for a treat this weekend as Gourmet Shanghai cooks up a storm in Super Brand Mall.

The exhibition is building on the success enjoyed by Gourmet Taipei. It is being held on the ninth floor of the mall from today till Sunday.

Aimed at consumers, this is the biggest exhibition of its kind in China. Previous food exhibitions have been targeted at people working within the industry.

"We want to show that a consumer event can be successful," said Kerry Driver, general manager of Ignition Marketing, who organizes the event.

"Shanghai is increasingly cosmopolitan, and local residents are definitely eager to enjoy foreign food and wine."

About 30 brands will be represented at the food fair, promoting a wide array of food and beverages. This includes the restaurants represented by Eduardo Vargas' stable: 239, Azul, City Diner and Iiiit Cafe.

The Peruvian is a veteran of the food and beverage business in Asia, having opened successful restaurants in Singapore, and also in this city.

"I'm very excited," he said. "While it is nice to get the exposure, it's even better to give Shanghai residents a taste of ethnic food from the West."

Executive chef at 239 Brad Turnley will also be involved, conducting one of a number of interactive cooking classes during the three-day show. A 40-minute class will be conducted every hour, giving foodies a chance to try their hand at preparing simple dishes. There will be eight workstations for pairs to be part of a "live-studio kitchen."

Other classes will be conducted by representatives from Greek restaurant Aegean, German eatery Max Und Moritz and popular bar chain Blue Frog.

There will also be wine classes conducted. According to Ignition's Driver, these would be more accurately described as bar classes, as there will be cocktail-making tutorials in addition to the standard wine-tasting and wine-education talks.

Wine will be presented at the fair by the folks from Ruby Red, and Moet Hennessy Diageo (MHD). Cerentha Chow, brand development manager for MHD, said that their aim was to introduce consumers to some basic wine knowledge and appreciation. "We hope that the classes will be full, naturally," she said.

"In that way consumers can gain an understanding of New World wines while associating our brands with the very best from those regions, such as Terrazas de los Andes malbec from Argentina and Cape Mentelle's sauvignon blanc-semillon from Western Australia."

Visitors to the fair can also taste great coffee, provided by the increasingly-popular chain of cafes, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

The home market will also be covered, with Italian Food and Lifestyle (IFL) showcasing a selection of fine olive oils and pastas, among others. Raimondo Gissara, executive director at IFL, is yet another exhibitor delighted at the prospect at working with Gourmet Shanghai. "We want visitors to discover how to appreciate (what we have on offer), and to be recognized as a fine foodstuff importer."

This is exactly the goal that Ignition Marketing is seeking in organizing the food fair.

"We want to reach out to the medium range consumer, who wish to sample international cuisine," said the American-born Driver. "Our choice of Lujiazui also makes it convenient for people to visit the fair."

Visitors to Gourmet Shanghai pay an entrance fee of 50 yuan (US$6.25), which includes five 10-yuan tickets. Most dishes can be sampled for between 10 yuan and 30 yuan, while more expensive items such as pasta and wine can be purchased for more. Additional tickets will be sold at the event. The hall is best accessed via the lift on the riverside end of the building.

Opening Times: Today 5pm to 9pm,Tomorrow 10am to 9pm,Sunday 10am to 9pm
Address: 9/F, 168 Lujiazui Road W.