Thousands of new products and services for restaurants and foodservice establishments were on display last weekend at the 22nd AnnualInternational Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York. Over 17,500 industry professionals including buyers from high end restaurants, multi-unit operations and foodservice establishments from throughout New York and the surrounding states networked and conducted business during the three-day trade show and conference which was held March 8-10, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The event is owned by Urban Expositions and sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association.
“What a great event, from the culinary demonstration theater to the new PUB Pavilion and conference seminars and Education Station we saw packed crowds enjoy all of our feature areas,” said Ron Mathews, Vice President, Restaurant & Foodservice Portfolio, Urban Expositions, producers of the event. “We thank the New York State Restaurant Association and their members, our exhibitors, attendees, speakers, and press who came out to support the only event in New York exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry.” Highlights of the event, included:
- Pitch the Press a new event, which recognized 20 hand selected exhibitors who had a new product or service, by a panel of four judges including Michael Scinto from Total Foodservice, Marjorie Borrell from Fast Casual, Sara Webber fromCatering Magazine and Jeffrey Dryfoos from Dessert Professional. The following exhibitors were given two minutes each to pitch these product to a group of industry editors: Advanced Gourmet’s PacoJet 2; Borax Paper and Imperial’s Serutun Disinfection Wipes; Brooklyn Piggies’ Pigs in a Blanket; Dyson’s Airblade; Equipex’s Adventy’s Cooktop; GeeFree’s Gluten Free Puff Pastry; Gillies’ Iced Coffee on Tap; Guittard’s New Chocolate; KomBrewCha’s Tea-Beer Brew; Koopert Cress’ Architecture Aromatique; Limation’s Premium Limeade; M Tucker’s Arcobaleno Pasta Machine; MochiDoki’s Mochi Ice Cream; Nodur Salt’s Flavored Salt from Iceland; Ozeki Saki’s Jello-Sake Shot; Paris Gourmet’s GelaTech; PreGel’s Pancake and Maple Syrup Gelato; Superior Farms American Lamb’s Lamb Bacon; Swiss Chalet’s Felchlin Costa Rica 40% Milk Chocolate; Touch Bistro’s New IPAD POS; and TurboAir’s Self-Condenser Cleaner.
- The Winners of the People’s Choice Awards for the Innovative New Product Gallery and the Best New Product for the Food Trends Experienced were announced. The Best in Show was awarded to The Smokehouse of NY for their smoked seafood products. The first runner up was Amagansett Sea Salt; and the second runner up was GreenBox for their eco-friendly pizza box made from recycled and recyclable materials. Best New Product for the Food Trends Experience was Carousel Cakes for their new Drizzle Layer cakes.
- The Culinary Demonstration Theater included a terrific presentation by Celebrity
Chef Sara Moulton; as well as Chef Anton Testino from the Food Network’s Chopped; Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt; David Santos, Executive Chef and Partner at Louro; Megan Johnson, Executive Chef at Casellula Cheese and Wine Café; Adin Langille, Executive Chef of David Burke Fabrick; Olivia Roskowski, Instructor at National Gourmet Institute; Robert Valencia, Executive Pastry Chef; Brian Tsao, Executive Chef at Mira Sushi & Izakaya; and Barret Beyer of Gordon Ramsey’s Hell Kitchen.
“The Pub” a NEW area on the show floor was packed with attendees throughout the show where they were able to taste 20 innovative craft beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbae, moonshine and whiskey.
mpeted in the Live UmamiRecipe Contest for a Culinary Tour of Japan. Jason Huang, Chef de Cuisine, Members Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art won the competition and a trip to Japan and behind-the-scenes tours of the Japanese food industry, valued at $20,000. Chef Huang’s winning recipe was Miso-Marinate Berkshire Pork Chop, Crispy Pig’s Ears, Sake Kasu Cornbread, Yuzo Kosho.
- One of the highlights of the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum was the Women’s Entrepreneur Circle, a robust and highly interactive session featuring Kathleen Wood, Kathleen Wood Partners; Betsy Craig, MenuTrinfo; Sandy Korem, The Catering Coach; and Sara Moulton, Celebrity Chef & Author who discussed what it takes to win in business and life.
- The Fifth Annual Farm to City Expo focused on “Going with the Grain: The Renaissance of NYS Grain Production”, sponsored by Empire State Development; NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cornell University; Carey Institute for Global Good; and Grow NYC.
- The 2015 Pride of New York/Taste NY Marketplace featuring over 40+ local, New York food and beverage companies showcased locally grown products from farmers and food processors. The Taste NY brand was featured not only with food products, but several NY-produced beer, wine, cider and distilled products showcased their products this year.
- The New York State Restaurant Association, sponsors of the trade show,provided insights on a variety of hospitality-related topics on legislative issues on letter grading, paid sick leave, affordable health care as well as on hot trends on gluten/allergen free, local sourcing, vegetarianism, fast casual dining and business operations. They also provided a great evening of networking, sponsored by United Health Care and featuring New York produced beers and wines. Thank you to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Blue Point Brewing.
- Paris Gourmet announced Nicoll Notter from The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas as
the winner of the coveted title of Pastry Chef of the Year for his highly technical chocolate and sugar sculpted showpiece based on the themeDiamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend. Chef Notter won a $10,000 grand prize, a silver plaque, and gold medal certificate. 2nd Place Winner was John Cook, Norman Love’s Confections, Fort Myers, FL. Chef Cook won $3,500 and a silver medal. 3rd Place Winner wasNicholas Chervrieux, Maison Kayser USA. Chef Chevrieux won $2,500 and a bronze medal. The Honorable Mention Award Winner was Monica Ng, Sirio Ristorante, New York, NY. Chef Ng won $750 and a trophy.
- One of the hottest areas on the show floor was the Food Trends Experiencewhere 75 new companies provided samples of the fabulous new foods that will inspire new fresh menu ideas for thousands of New York Restaurants. Some of the more noteworthy products were Brooklyn Piggies new Pigs in a Blanket; Gee Free, gluten free puff pastry; Gillies, Ice Coffee on Tap; Limation, Premium Limeade; Mochi Doki, mocha ice cream; and Nodur Salt, flavored sea salt from Iceland.
- At the close of the Show, the exhibitors of the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York contributed over 10,000 pounds of food to City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women, and children for more than 25 years.
About Urban Exposition’s Restaurant & Foodservice Shows
The 2016 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will be held Sunday, March 6 – Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. The show is produced and managed by Urban Expositions, and sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association. Urban Expositions produces several other foodservice events including the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo to be held Sunday, August 26 through Tuesday, August 28, 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show scheduled for Tuesday, October 6 – Thursday, October 8, 2015 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. For more information on exhibiting or attending future events visit the official Show web-site at www.thefoodshows.com.
NEW FOODS AND CULINARY PRODUCTS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT 22nd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT & FOODSERVICE SHOW OF NEW YORK
