Events & Conferences
HIH events and conferences bring together Michelin-starred chefs, sustainability experts, guests, and students to promote sustainable gastronomy – often held on global observances such as World Olive Tree Day, World Fair Trade Day, Sustainable Gastronomy Day, and the International Year of Camelids. We specialize in chef collaborations.
From Farm to Fork Dinners: fine-dining events highlighting locality and seasonality, with five to seven (guest) chefs preparing dishes that celebrate both the produce and its growers.
Campaigns & Conferences: larger-scale events tailored for industry professionals, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration among farmers, experts, chefs, and hospitality leaders.
Learn more below about some of our international events and culinary conferences.
Events in Jordan
The United Nations declared 2024 the International Year of Camelids (IYC). Camelids play a vital role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, from providing camel milk (a superfood), meat, fiber, and organic fertilizer to transporting products and people. Our campaign in Jordan included two publications and two events:
The Alia Camel
April 2025: article by Dr. Nizar Haddad showcasing his team’s groundbreaking research that the Jordanian Alia camel is a genetically distinct breed and deserves preservation.
In Celebration of Camels
February 2025: article by Nico Dingemans about the significance of camel caravans transporting spices & herbs via the ancient Arab trade routes into Europe, laying the foundation of modern gastronomy.
Camel Farm Visit in Amman
October 2024: Camelera and HIH organized the second IYC event with FAO Jordan by visiting an urban camel farm in Amman with the Ministry of Agriculture, academia, and veterinary experts.
Ships of the Desert
May 2024: The National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) , Camelera, and HIH, organized a two-day event with a series of activities at Sinam Desert Resort in Wadi Rum. It was the first IYC event in the MENA region.
Ships of the Desert
We brought together Bedouin camel breeders, FAO experts, three Jordanian universities, chefs, and members of the press. The program featured workshops, a camel farm visit, milking, and an innovative Farm to Fork menu with camel milk, cheese, and meat from Camelera prepared by two chefs from Amman and Wadi Rum. The event generated three TV reports, fifteen news articles, and two videos, raising awareness about the societal significance of camels, sustainable breeding, and health benefits of camel products.
Sustainable Gastronomy Day
We asked four Jordanian chefs to craft four dishes telling the story of our four core values for sustainable gastronomy: Health Cuisine, Environmental Stewardship, Responsible Innovation, and Socio-Economic Impact. The culinary collaboration answered to the United Nations’ approach to cuisine who describes Sustainable Gastronomy as: Cuisine that takes into account where the ingredients are from, how the food is grown, how it gets to our markets and eventually to our plates. All key ingredients on the menu were 100% local and 100% seasonal, sourced from eleven different Jordanian suppliers.
The event resulted in three articles, one video, and a valuable learning experience for the culinary students who supported in the kitchen and service.
According to research conducted by NARC, the historical olive cultivar Mehras – listed in the Slow Food Ark of Taste – is one of the oldest genotypes of olive trees in the Mediterranean.
In Celebration of Olive Oil
Supported by more than 50 stakeholders and participants, we organized two campaigns to connect olive farmers with the tourism sector through a series of events centered around Extra Virgin Olive Oil. These included farm visits, culinary tours with Michelin chefs, a cooking competition, visits to the National Olive Festival, masterclasses for students and professionals, and dinner events in celebration of World Olive Tree Day (UNESCO). Various hotels and restaurants in Aqaba, the Dead Sea and Amman offered themed lunches and dinners, featuring Jordanian extra virgin olive oil as the signature ingredient on their menus.
The campaigns generated two press conferences, five news articles, and six video productions raising awareness about the heritage, health benefits, cultivars, quality characteristics, and flavor profiles of Jordanian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Closing Dinner 2022
A Dutch Michelin chef, a Canadian Top chef, and three local chefs served an extra virgin olive oil themed menu at Manara Arts & Culture in Amman.
Olive trees cover 72% of Jordan’s agricultural land, according to the Department of Statistics, with about 10.5 million olive trees spread over 560,000 dunums, mainly in the north. Jordan ranks 8th globally olive oil production.
Closing Dinner 2021
Five leading Levantine chefs served a five-course menu, revealing the culinary treasures of the olive season in Jordan during the 7-week culinary campaign.
According to olive oil specialist Dr. Simon Poole, Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Levant tells the story of the original superfoods, laying the earliest foundations of today’s Mediterranean Diet.
Focus on Local Products
Three-Michelin-starred chef Joan Roca shared a culinary message for chefs in Jordan on World Olive Tree Day 2021 about the focus on local products in modern gastronomy.
1st prize for Four Seasons Amman
We organized an olive oil cooking competition for hotel chefs and announced the winner (Four Seasons Amman) and runner-up (W Amman) on World Olive Tree Day 2021.
Van Bron tot Bord
We partnered with Horecava and Bidfood to host two editions of Van Bron tot Bord (from source to plate) on a 600sqm pavilion, featuring a Farmer’s Market with 24 local suppliers from the 12 Dutch provinces. The first edition focused on Healthy & Local, with eight (Michelin) chefs giving live-cooking demonstrations twice daily for four days using products from the Farmer’s Market.
The second edition focused on The Future of Farming & Gastronomy. Three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Reitbauer and Google Food Program Director Michiel Bakker opened the pavilion. Over four days, twelve Dutch (Michelin) chefs cooked twelve dishes for twelve interactive Think Lunches, each moderated by a Table Host focusing on four subthemes: The Future of Gastronomy, No-waste & Circularity, Health Cuisine, and Future Farms. Chef Heinz Reitbauer led the Think Lunch on day one. As the owner of Vienna’s Steirereck – ranked No. 10 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017 and awarded Austrian Chef of the Decade by Gault&Millau in 2016 – he won the first Slow Food UK Award for his work in preserving biodiversity and the Ark of Taste in Austria. Subsequent hosts included members from Euro-Toques, TEDxAmsterdam, Bouillon Magazine, and the Slow Food Youth Network.
The dishes were photographed on-site with the APIC Studio resulting in our third publication Van Bron tot Bord in Nederland.
Gastronomie
We curated our first chefs collaboration at fine food tradeshow Gastronomie 2014 with the Health Cuisine masterclass East meets West. Michelin-starred chefs Han Ji (HanTing Cuisine, now Zheng) and Matthijs Mulder (Country Estate Hotel De Bloemenbeek) showcased healthy signature dishes from two different cultural perspectives.
The following year, three-Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, twice ranked No. 1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, inspired Dutch Michelin chefs and culinary students at Gastronomie 2015 with his insights on Health Cuisine and local sourcing. Bottura spoke about exploring territory and traditions, telling stories about the region, and strengthening the connection between local chefs and local producers, farmers and fishermen. His call to action led to HIH’ publication of From Farm to Fork in the Netherlands featuring 24 (Michelin) chefs and local products from the 12 Dutch provinces.
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