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The FOOD & LIFE trade fair 2018 – this is how the first day went (November 28, 2018) – The first day of the five-day Food & Life 2018 (Read more about it hereThe opening is over, and yesterday I had the opportunity to visit some of the stands, meet exhibitors, and sample new products as part of a guided tour. I'm heading back to the fair again today, but first I wanted to share my initial impressions with you and encourage you to visit Food & Life 2018, which runs until Sunday, December 2nd, 2018 (inclusive).

KEIKO Tea: Matcha tea for tasting

FOOD & LIFE trade fair 2018, first day of the fair – a stroll through the hall

Comfortable shoes are a must, as the paths are quite long and it's worth doing a lap two or three times. You'll discover all sorts of delicacies, and if you really take enough time to look behind the scenes, Food & Life 2018, with all its exhibitors, is simply fantastic.

My journey began with a visit to the stand of KEIKO. KEIKO specializes in edible matcha tea – in chocolate form. Based in Lower Saxony, the local team offers not only exquisite green and matcha teas. made from tea leaves from the Kagoshima region of southern Japan not only matcha, but also handcrafted tea chocolate and the necessary tea utensils for perfect preparation. Admittedly, this green gold isn't for everyone, but once you discover its versatility, you'll immediately want to try a vibrant green matcha (chai) tea. Learn more about the tea at booth C3.602.

On Places of Culinary Delight in BavariaAt booth C3.526, Ms. Eva Gruber, the managing director of the Waging am See tourist information office, was already waiting for my group and me. We learned about the 100 "Places of Culinary Delight" designated by the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture and that municipalities with special regional specialties have been awarded this distinction. Four of these municipalities (Alzenau, Amberg, Ettal, and Waging am See) are featured at Food & Life 2018, where regional products can be sampled. Among the items available for tasting were local products from Waging am See, such as baking mixes in bottles, and also... Organic Gourmet Box. Be sure to stop by here and also ask about the culinary travel guide "100 Places of Pleasure in Bavaria", which was published at the same time.

The Pepper Bride loves salt. Do you?

As a big salt fan, I enjoyed visiting the stand of Pepper Bride Especially good. Here, Tanja Blaschek-Friedl from Gröbenzell presents her various products. Business with her special salts is now so good that she has turned her hobby into a profession, meaning she now works full-time refining salts with purely natural ingredients and composing a wide variety of scents and colors. I got to try the pink-colored "Unicorn Salt." Visually and taste-wise fantastic! Also interesting: At the stand there are... „Sale Vinum“ Made with fleur de sel from India and dry Merlot from Italy. The Pepper Bride is now so well-known that even wineries commission her to produce their own Sale Vinum. Anyone who would like to try it should stop by stand C3.571.

Thai cooking boxes from Pim

The start-up area – bigger than ever at Food & Life

Of course, I looked at much more (…and will hardly miss a single stall again today…), but I was especially looking forward to the FOOD START-UP Area, which showcases young food startups from Germany. This year, 21 (!) startups are presenting their products from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Mainz, and Munich. A quick glance at all the offerings at the stands makes one thing clear: the central trend is increasingly moving towards healthy and sustainable food. Let's take a closer look: O'Donnell Moonshine A Berlin-based company is presenting "the forbidden drink" called "O'Donnell Moonshine" at Food & Life 2018. These are high-proof drinks served in mason jars, reminiscent of the Prohibition era in the USA. Back then, over 100 years ago, alcohol was illegal and smuggled extensively. To do this as discreetly as possible, resourceful moonshiners filled mason jars with the drinks at night – hence the name "O'Donnell Moonshine." It's not that complicated for you, though; just stop by the stand. 😉

handcrafted herb and vegetable butters from the Kaestler company

What impressed me most was, among other things, the Kaestler vegetable butter At booth C3.647, Patrick Lindner from Franconia presented various herb butter variations from his local kitchen. His products, in different varieties (with ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, Himalayan salt, wild pepper, and various vegetables), were in high demand and some varieties sold out on the first day. No wonder! The porcini mushroom butter was available for tasting alongside the other varieties, and I ate almost all the bread. 😉 You absolutely have to stop by and try it. Chewing – I even swiped a piece of bread with butter – I moved on to Peter Braun from Munich, who Organic snack in a bento box offers. In conversation, I learned that he spent three years in Japan, where he discovered his love for the Japanese lunchbox (bento box) and came to appreciate the Japanese way of eating bread and snacks. Filled with various regional specialties from Bavaria, the bento boxes are intended to reflect the full diversity of Bavarian snack culture combined with Japanese bento boxes. Really great. If you enjoy picnics or even just having a snack at the office, and would like to hear Peter Braun's story from him personally, stop by his stand in the Food START.up Area. The stand of [missing information] is also really interesting. Laumer's Cheesecake (C3.830), run by Markus Lozar and Daniela Mendoza, offers unusual bottled drinks, such as cheesecake or "Coffee & Cake" (since 2017). These are spirits served with a slice of lemon and brown sugar, creating a very unique taste experience. Definitely worth trying! Those who love Thai cuisine will feel right at home with Pim Ampikitpanich, a Thai woman, and her... Thai cooking box KONKRUA – Stand. Pin is a true Thai native who has lived in Germany for six years. The idea to show how easy Thai cuisine is to prepare arose from Thai cooking evenings with friends. The result: Thai cooking boxes that allow anyone to prepare authentic Thai dishes in 20 minutes. Challenge accepted? – Then head over to stand C3.810 and meet Pin.

Have you ever had cheesecake? 😉

…and what else is going on?

Plenty to do. You could easily spend a whole day at the fair. Anyone who considers themselves a true foodie, who loves discovering, trying, and tasting new things, will feel like they're in heaven. Try everything you can, chat with the exhibitors, start-up founders, and anyone who wants to show you what special things they've brought to Food & Life 2018. It's worth thinking outside the box and using this fantastic fair to discover new things. Don't miss the stands mentioned above; but create your own Food & Life 2018 tour through Hall C3. It's really fun! You still have until Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. to do so. By the way, you can also visit the concurrently running Home & Crafts fair with your ticket. See you there?

Hard facts

FOOD & LIFE 2018 takes place from November 28 to December 2, 2018 at the Munich Trade Fair Center and is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Discounted tickets are available online. The ticket also grants admission to Heim+Handwerk, the trade fair for living, furnishing, and building, which is being held concurrently.

+++ This article was created in cooperation with FOOD & LIFE. Thank you! +++

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FOOD & LIFE 2018 - First Day of the Trade Fair | FOOD & LIFE 2018 - Trade Fair for Food, Drink and Enjoyment
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Opening hours: November 28th / November 29th / November 30th / December 1st / December 2nd, 2018 from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM
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