Design and organisation of The Andalusian Dressing, a tasting area with producers of olive oil, vinegar and specialty salts, including the organisation of the Make Your Favourite Dressing  competition,  for the Andalusia Pavilion run by EXTENDA in the ANUGA 2009 and SIAL 2010 international trade fairs.

After several years of organising the Andalusian Olive Oil Tasting Bar for the pavilions run by Extenda in major international trade fairs, Food Consulting decided to take the Bar a step further for the Anuga 2009 fair.  The project was revamped, maintaining a similar tasting and product information area, but with a new concept.  The scope was broadened and thus this area now welcomed not only extra virgin olive oils but also Sherry and other Andalusian PDO Vinegar producers along with specialty salt companies, an undoubtedly fashionable product in the gourmet world.  These three elements made up the DRESSING concept, on the rise in the culinary world. Andalusia offers a particularly interesting range of oils, vinegars and salts, whose multiple combinations have an undeniable gastronomic potential to be taken advantage of.

The presence of each brand was achieved through its bottle/container, organoleptic profile fact sheet (in two languages) and tasting utensils suited to each kind of product.  Furthermore, an additional area to the Bar was implemented where each visitor could  mix the oil, vinegar and salt they most enjoyed in a little disposable bowl containing a “neutral” product such as a piece of boiled potato, a cherry tomato, a slice of cooked carrot… This served to foster experimentation by giving visitors the opportunity to create their own dressing and then taste it. Those who participated also formed part of the Make Your Favorite Dressing competition which had a prize of a culinary trip to Andalusia.

Commissioned by Extenda, Food Consulting organised the Olive Oil Bars for their pavilions over several editions of two of the world’s most important trade fairs, ANUGA and SIAL. The bars were set up in line with Food Consulting’s own design for this concept.

Objectives:

• Involve Andalusian olive oil companies in new promotional activities for the sector, with a strong focus on Andalusian gourmet olive oils, veritable image makers.
• Convey an image of quality and diversity for Andalusian olive oils, emphasising the tasting process as a promotional tool.
• Attract more visitors to the EXTENDA Pavilion, with new, enterprising activities.
• Provide support for the introduction of Andalusian olive oils in the international gourmet segment.
• Boost the positioning of Andalusian olive oil as the star ingredient of the region’s cuisine, with suggestions for a series of food pairings with key products of Andalusia’s agri-food sector.

In 2006, EXTENDA covered an Ibérico Ham Carving Contest.  Given the event’s significance, EXTENDA felt that it should support this annual contest for two main reasons:

– To strengthen the image of Andalusian Ibérico ham
– To provide support to the companies on the market

EXTENDA received the invaluable help of the Japanese Association of Chefs (AJCA) for the proper design and operation of the contest.

For the organisation of the contest in 2007, EXTENDA commissioned Food Consulting with the following tasks:

1) The organisation of a week-long intensive training programmeme for the AJCA training representative, designed to take him to expert level on Ibérico ham and thus enabling him to give the theoretical elements of the seminars.
2) The review and updating of the previous year’s competition rules.
3) The design of the theoretical content for the Ibérico Seminar through a Manual on Andalusian Ibérico Ham which included instructions in handling and carving.
4) Prepare Seminar documentation, to be sent to OPN for translation. The documentation was submitted in advance to participants in the Contest so they could prepare for the theoretical exam.
5 ) Design a multiple-choice test to assess participants in the Contest.

Design and organisation of a comprehensive training programme covering Andalusian cooking and food products for a group of prestigious Polish chefs.

Undertaken within the scope of the programme for Sectoral Studies in Andalusia by CdeA (Andalusian institution prior to EXTENDA), for two main reasons. On the one hand, in order to respond to the urgent need for an in depth look at the framework of Andalusia’s productive sectors in order to obtain adequate knowledge as to whom each sector’s services were to be offered as well as a vision of Andalusia’s productive supply and its needs.   On the other hand, for working with each sector as a whole, allowing for the design of appropriate policies for sectoral promotion in overseas markets with the greatest potential.

Objectives:

• In depth analysis of productive agri-food sector frameworks and export range..
• Correctly situate the Andalusian sector within the national sectoral context in order to take advantage of synergies from the perspective of promotional activity abroad.
• Define the sector’s export range and its competitive advantages.
• Define the main target markets for each sector based on its competitive features.
• Enable the correct identification of potential users of CdeA services in each sector and their principal needs.
• Lay the foundations for the design of appropriate policies for sectoral promotion and support the international marketing sector of Andalusian products.
• Provide both the CdeA’s central offices and overseas branches with basic sectoral information.
• Strengthen relationships with key sector associations and constitute an initial hub for work and direct discussion with industry representatives form the perspective of promotional activity in foreign markets.