Mark the calendar: 12 and 13 October, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Food & Hospitality Queensland 2026 is back, and for two days South Bank turns into the closest thing Queensland’s food and hospitality industry has to a state-wide meeting room. Chefs, café owners, restaurateurs, suppliers, and the lot. Everyone who keeps the state fed shows up.
Among the BCEC Brisbane events in October 2026 on offer, this one’s the standout if food or hospitality is how you make your living.
When and Where
Two days, 12–13 October, at the BCEC in South Bank. Easy to get to, easy to build a Brisbane trip around, and it lands right in the thick of a busy stretch of Queensland events. Worth checking what else is on that week before you book flights.
Who Should Be There
Let’s be upfront: this isn’t a public festival, and turning up expecting fairy floss and face painting will leave you disappointed. It’s built for the people actually running the industry. Chefs. Kitchen teams. Café and restaurant owners. Catering businesses are hunting for new suppliers. Retail buyers are trying to work out what’s about to be everywhere.
And here’s the thing a lot of people miss: for a small operator, this doubles as a proper small business event. Half the value isn’t even on the show floor. It’s the café owner swapping numbers with a roaster over a rushed coffee, or the first-time exhibitor pitching a buyer who’s never heard their name before that morning. Quiet moments like that are how a chunk of Queensland’s food scene actually gets built.
What’s on the Show Floor
More than 170 exhibiting brands. Over 1,200 products, spanning food, beverage, equipment, tech, and the full hospitality kit. It’s a lot to take in over two days, so two spots are worth ring-fencing time for specifically.
First, the Producers Hub, backed by TSBE, where local producers and artisan food startups get real floor space in front of buyers who can actually place orders. This is where you find out where your ingredients might have come from next year.
Second, the Roasters Village, a tighter, scrappier corner reserved for micro-roasters and small-batch coffee producers. Skip it at your own risk, honestly. The people running these stands have usually spent years chasing one perfect roast, and they’ll talk your ear off about it if you let them.
Café & Coffee Experience Brisbane
Co-located with the main event is the Café & Coffee Experience Brisbane, built specifically around Queensland’s café, coffee, bakery, and convenience food crowd. For café owners, this might honestly be the more useful half of the two days. Beans, machinery, and bakery trends, all under one roof. Curious how Brisbane stacks up against the rest of the country on coffee? Our look at Australia’s top coffee cities is a decent companion read.
Learning and Stages
Forty-plus free sessions, nine stages, running the whole two days. Business, tech, live cooking demos—the mix is genuinely broad. The Chef’s Table and Café Success Stage stand out if you want something you can actually apply Monday morning rather than just a wander past exhibitor booths. In a hospitality market this tight, that kind of practical programming earns its place.
Competitions Worth Watching
Two competitions give the floor some real buzz. The QLD Professional Chef of the Year runs live, with chefs cooking under pressure in front of a crowd, and it’s about as good a snapshot as you’ll get of where Queensland’s culinary talent is heading. Then there’s the QLD Pizza Championships. Live pizzaiolo battle. Genuinely entertaining, even if pizza’s not usually your thing.
History buffs might want to pair the visit with some background reading. Traditional foods of Australia and 10 classic Aussie dishes you need to try both map out how far the industry has come and just how much Australian traditional food is quietly reshaping modern menus. We’ve dug into that shift too, in how Australia’s native ingredients taste.
Giving Back
The ACF Hospo Breakfast runs alongside the main event, raising funds for young Queensland chefs. A reminder, maybe, that a trade show like this isn’t purely a sales exercise.
How to Attend
It’s a trade event, so registration’s required, and you’ll need your business details handy. Full ticketing info sits on the official Food & Hospitality Queensland site.
Worth the Trip?
For anyone in Queensland hospitality, whether that’s a one-person café or a catering operation running six sites, this is one of those hospitality industry events in Queensland businesses build their year around. Two packed days, a serious show floor, and a couple of competitions worth planning your schedule around. Want to know what else is worth marking down this year? Our roundup of events in Australia makes a handy companion to this one.
FAQ
Is Food & Hospitality Queensland open to the public?
No. It’s trade-only, so come with your business details ready to register.
Who should attend?
Chefs, café and restaurant owners, catering professionals, and retail buyers and distributors from across Queensland.
What’s included in the Café & Coffee Experience?
A co-located show covering café, coffee, bakery, and convenience food, running alongside the main event at no extra cost.
Do I need to register in advance?
Pre-registration’s recommended so you’re not stuck queuing on the day. Details are on the official event website.
