GAST tradeshow, Salzburg

Friday, November 14. 2008

The reason I've not been posting this week is that I've been on the road, recording for you the best food of the Alps. Now, you can see, read, and drool.

When I got invited to a software conference in Bolzano, Italy, I noticed that the same week was the GAST trade show in Salzburg, in which hundreds of vendors pitch their goods to all of the restaurantiers of Austria. So I accepted the engagement, packed my bags, and headed for Salzburg, where my friend Stefan of Conova.com was gracious enough to put me up and arrange for me to get into the show.

The first thing which strikes you about GAST is how huge it is. This parking lot, one of 6, was fire zone parking only by 9am. And it only got busier through the day.

In the conference center, there were 15 huge rooms holding 700 vendors, apparently with 300 more on a waiting list. Any they were all busy.

Unfortunately, GAST did not accept my press credentials (imagine that!) so I had to take pictures on the sly. So my apologies that there aren't a lot of closeups.

Vendors hawked beer, coffee, dishwashers, frozen food, seafood, beer, cheese, coffee, bread, cookware, beer, schnapps, chef and server clothing, coffee, wine, tableware, furniture, beer, shoes, spa equipment, tea, coffee, vodka, preserved meats, refrigeration equipment, beer, sealers, slicers, pizza, pastry, coffee and beer. Most offered samples, and some served complete meals if you looked like a bona fide potential customer.

If I give the impression that there was a lot of coffee and beer, that's because there was. I counted over 50 each coffee and beer vendors; after sampling from many of the beer vendors, though, I lost count.

I was also startled to discover that Red Bull is now headquartered in Salzburg; they even built an airplane museum here.

One of the things which I've found in my travels is that there are many more places in the world which produce good wine than California, France and Italy. Wines from Greece, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Serbia and other places can be both distinctive and excellent, but nigh-impossible to find in the US. So I enjoy the chance to taste them. Above is Franz, one of the proprietors of the Weingut-Stadlmann winery in Eastern Austria. He served us a number of very good wines, particularly the "Symboise" which is a blended wine aged in oak for 2 years. But their wine is sold pretty much exclusively in Austria and Germany (one-third of it at GAST), so don't bother asking for it at BevMo.

Next year, I'll get real press credentials and you'll get better pictures. In the meantime, on to the food of the Alps.