Amadeus brings street food to the NEC
24 May 2019Leading event caterer, Amadeus, has launched a new F&B concept at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) which captures the theatre and excitement of street food in an exhibition setting.
Str(EAT) Kitchen, sees themed stalls serving up authentic street food designed in-house by Amadeus’ chefs and made fresh on the site daily.
In true street food style, the team will look to change the menu every few weeks, developing new food concepts year-round that change with trends, seasons and the visitor profile of those attending events. Alongside dishes such as premium grilled sandwiches, tacos and chicken karaage, Str(EAT) Kitchen also offers a varied vegan menu, using high protein alternatives to create delicious, beautifully presented dishes. A café bar also serves artisan coffee and craft beer on tap.
With seating and décor created from reclaimed materials and graffiti art from a local Birmingham artist, Paige Lindau, the bespoke concept is a step change from Amadeus’ other successful retail concepts, enhancing the variety of F&B available at the venue.
Marc Frankl, Food and Beverage Director, Amadeus, said: “Street food is one of the fasting growing market segments – recognising this trend within the industry, we looked at ways in which street food could be incorporated into the catering offering at the NEC.
“We have set Str(EAT) Kitchen up to be agile so that the menu development process can take place in just two weeks, from initial scoping through to being sold at the venue. With everything created by our talented team of chefs, this allows us to innovate, be creative and truly authentic like the street food vendors we have taken inspiration from.”
Kane Bridgman, General Manager for Amadeus (NEC), said: “While we wanted to introduce theatre and excitement to the NEC’s F&B offering, we also couldn’t lose sight of the things all exhibition visitors want when it comes to food and drink: quality, speed, variety and value for money.
“In this way we have adapted the street food model so that it works in such a high footfall setting. We’ve introduced cashless payments to keep queues down and we keep things simple, selling a menu of three signature items at any one time. Individual elements of dishes are also prepared in a kitchen back of house, with serving staff giving dishes a final decorative flair before handing over to the customer at the stall.”
Linda Ritchie, General Manager for the NEC concluded: “The development of this new concept really supports our ambitious plans to continually enhance our on-site offering and provide the ultimate customer experience for those who visit the NEC. Amadeus has done a fantastic job in bringing it to life, and we cannot wait for people to have a taste of what Str(EAT) Kitchen has to offer.”
Amadeus has transformed the offer at the NEC in recent years – the launch of Str(EAT) Kitchen forms part of wider development plans to provide exhibition visitors with an unrivalled catering experience. Visitors to the NEC will now find a mix of high end franchises and in-house concepts – both within the exhibition halls and on the public concourses – with more choice and flexibility than ever before.