This year’s Fine Foods Australia, held from September 10-13, boasted the biggest turnout in the show’s 29-year history.

More than 24,300 visitors and 30,000sqm of exhibitors took part in the event, representing 37 countries and a diverse range of food cultures.

The event, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, saw a range of new and exciting attractions across four action-packed days.

Fine Foods Australia managing director Mini Latter said The Les Toques Blanches Masterclasses and Food 4 Thought sessions were among the most popular events.

“Thanks to Les Toques Blanches, we saw a fantastic group of internationally renowned chefs take to the stage to share their skills and techniques, while cooking original dishes,” Mini said.

“This educational element was continued into the Food 4 Thought Zone where catering and foodservice knowledge was shared with visitors by industry experts.”

Excellence and innovation in manufacturing was a focus of the show, and the New Product Showcase was undoubtedly a highlight for both visitors and exhibitors. The annual Best New Product Awards boasted 250 products – a record for the show – which were judged by independent industry experts.

This year’s winners of the Best New Product Awards were:

• Best New Bakery Product Award winner: Rollmatic from Australian Bakery and Pizza (ABP Atlas)

• Best New Hospitality Equipment Award winner: Comcater FRIMA Vario Cooking Centre

• Best New Retail Product Award winner: Popina Foods Goodness Superfoods Cereals

• Best New Foodservice Product Award winner: Bulla Dairy Foods – Bulla Dollop Cream Portions

Fine Foods was lit up by several exciting industry competitions, which ran throughout the four days, including:

• The Great Aussie Sandwichship Grand Final (Winner: Laura Neville of Cafenatics)

• The Equal Barista Cup (Open Winner: Franki Shi of Relish, Apprentice Winner: Ronald Ngo)

• The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition (Winner: Bart Honig of Maroopna Bakery)

• The Australian Culinary Challenge (Winner of the Fonterra Foodservice Restaurant Challenge was the Western Australia Culinary Team)

The show will return in 2013 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, for what is sure to be another exciting and dynamic showcase of all things food.