We know that the food is often what makes or breaks a conference or an event, and is always an important component of the whole conference experience for delegates. Some of these trends – such as children’s nutrition – obviously don’t really play a role in conference cuisine but some of them are very relevant and give you an indication of the type of food and menus you are likely to experience during 2012.

According to The World Hunger Education Service’s 2010 findings, one in seven people go hungry every day. That’s a staggering 925 million people. This alarming number is what compelled the South African Chefs Association, along with a group of concerned South African business partners, to host the first ever World Cooks Tour for Hunger in 1993. For 11 days, 100 of the world’s finest chefs worked in South Africa to raise funds for two nominated charities. This was repeated in 2003, when South Africa hosted the Tiger Brands World Cooks Tour for Hunger. These two events raised a total of R2 million for the selected charities and successfully united an industry worldwide in the fight against hunger.