New street food offering launches at NEC

NEC Birmingham has launched a new street food offering as the business’ live events calendar gears up for a busy stretch of Autumn events. 

Delivered by leading live events caterer Amadeus, the team has unveiled a brand new StrEAT Kitchen in Hall 3 at the venue, ensuring innovations and trends remain at the core of their F&B approach.

The new StrEAT Kitchen builds on the huge success of previous installations in the NEC’s Piazza, as well as mobile units at the venue, with the concept aiming to capture the theatre and excitement of street food in an exhibition setting.

Since StrEAT’s launch in 2019, Amadeus has seen increased demand for street food, with its themed, authentic stalls proving a continued hit with event goers. 

Kane Bridgman, Amadeus NEC general manager said: “Our latest StrEAT Kitchen at the NEC is an ambitious step where we are amalgamating street and festival cuisines into a comprehensive outlet.

“The concept allows us to change and adapt our menus to cater for the diverse customer profiles we see attending shows at the NEC.  The flexibility in its menu and concept ensures a continuous flow of novel offerings, driven by trends and consumer demands.”

Amadeus delivers catering solutions to venues and organisers who want to provide visitors with a unique and memorable food experience. They deliver exciting catering solutions to over four million visitors per year at NEC Group venues including the NEC, ICC, Vox Conference Venue and Birmingham’s two live music arenas, Utilita Arena Birmingham and Resorts World Arena.

Linda Ritchie, general manager at the NEC, added: “The new StrEAT Kitchen is another example of how we’re continually innovating to provide the best possible offerings for our customers. 

“Amadeus has done a fantastic job in bringing the concept to life in a vibrant and exciting way, and we know our customers will really value the increased creativity, choice and flexibility as we look to continually innovate with our venue’s F&B offering.” 

The culinary development team is a vital part of Amadeus’ innovation strategy. Their exhaustive study tours, ideation sessions, and engagement with senior chefs lead to breakthrough concepts such as the StrEAT Kitchen. This year, Amadeus promises numerous fresh concepts and a renewed focus on modern offerings that will captivate NEC Birmingham visitors.

The brand new StrEAT Kitchen launched at the Fleet and Mobility Show Live 2023. Katie Gordon-Hill, event manager at Fleet and Mobility Live said: “We’re really excited by the new StrEAT Kitchen concept at the NEC. It’s a gorgeously designed, relaxed and informal setting that we think is much better suited to our event visitors. They can grab bowl food on the go and not have to worry about allocating time from their already busy schedules to sit down and eat in a restaurant setting.

“We love food that is easy for our event visitors with a fork in one hand and bowl in the other – and menus that will excite them much more than any packet sandwich could. The StrEAT Kitchen is a great move for the team and we look forward to seeing its popularity continue to grow with guests and visitors.”

To find out more about Amadeus’ ability to deliver innovative retail concepts, please visit their website.