Cologne set to become gourmet capital in January 2013 with first-class supporting programme for LivingKitchen

In 2011, the international kitchen event LivingKitchen was a sensational premiere - 185 exhibitors delighted the approx. 140,000 visitors who travelled to the kitchen show and the parallel imm cologne fair with their presentations. One of the factors that contributed to its success was certainly the ideal mix of successful business and unusual events - a recipe that will be used for the coming event in 2013 as well. There will also be a dash of extra seasoning in the form of interactive cooking formats and celebrities from film and television.

Even at this early stage, work on the event programme that will await trade visitors and consumers during LivingKitchen 2013 is well underway. “At the first LivingKitchen, we succeeded in providing a really varied programme that appealed to all target groups. We want to thrill visitors with exciting performances in 2013 as well. The focus will be on numerous cooking shows in which celebrities will team up with prominent star chefs,” says Frank Haubold, Vice President Trade Fair Management. “It's certainly safe to say that, this time too, the accompanying programme for LivingKitchen promises to be absolutely first class and is guaranteed to whet visitors’ appetite for kitchens.”

In particular, the items on the agenda for the Public Days (18 - 20 January) are intended to thrill visitors and provide support for exhibitors’ marketing activities. Several cornerstones of the event programme have already been finalised. In the “Cooktainment” zone in the arcade between Halls 4 and 5, consumers can look forward to cooking shows with Johann Lafer, Nelson Müller and Frank Rosin. Nelson Müller will be preparing all kinds of different treats together with prominent guests like Nina Ruge, Sönke Wortmann, Annette Frier, Peer Kusmagk, Maite Kelly and Eva Brenner. Along the way, he will also be demonstrating the intelligent technology a modern kitchen is equipped with. The improvisational cooking shows, where the audience gets to decide which ingredients will be cooked later on, are also sure to be a crowd-puller. Kids’ cooking has also been given a definite place in the programme again: on the Saturday of the fair, the little ones will get the chance to stir things up with the “Kids Kochstudio”. The programme will be rounded off by a series of talks and presentations by competent speakers who will be sharing their insights into the latest developments and kitchen trends.

Nelson Müller

Anybody who wants to watch a cooking show from a front-row seat will get the chance to do so at the events with Lafer, Nelson and Rosin: in 2013, there will be a table for four near the “Cooktainment” stage. There are plans to allocate two places to spectators at each show.

The “Cooktainment” event zone will also be hosting several interesting events for trade visitors during the first few days of the fair: from the Tuesday on, for instance, there will be two cooking seminars per day in collaboration with Cologne's renowned “Vintage” restaurant. The “Coffee Innovations Award 2013” will also be presented here on the Tuesday (11:00 a.m.). In addition, throughout the week of the trade fair, all the winning products will be displayed in a special area in the vicinity of LivingKitchen. Exhibitors who register to do so in advance can also organise their own cooking shows, present products or convince visitors with interesting specialist talks. From 6:00 p.m. on the Thursday, the “Cooktainment” zone will be transformed into a party zone: Nelson Müller (who isn’t just a star chef but sings with the “Jim Rockford Band” as well) will be tempting visitors onto the dance floor with soul and funk numbers.

But the supporting programme doesn’t end at the exhibition centre: for two weeks before the trade fair and throughout its duration, many restaurants in and around Cologne will be offering special LivingKitchen menus -
the perfect way to spend the evening. And so, during the dual exhibition, the imm cologne and the “Passagen” programme won’t just be transforming the city on the Rhine into a design capital; thanks to LivingKitchen, it will become a veritable culinary hotspot too.

The next dual exhibition
imm cologne // LivingKitchen will take place from:
14 - 20 January 2013

Read more news related LivingKitchen published at Infurma

Visit the LivingKitchen website