Thousands of new products and services for restaurants and foodservice establishments were on display at the 22nd Annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York.
More than 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 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
The event is owned by Urban Expositions and sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association.
"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," says Ron Mathews, vice president, restaurant and foodservice portfolio, Urban Expositions.
Highlights of the event included:
Pitch the Press was a new event, in which 20 exhibitors with a new product or service, selected by judges, were given two minutes each to pitch these product to a group of industry editors. A few of the exhibitors included Brooklyn Piggies' Pigs in a Blanket; Dyson's Airblade, and Gillies' Iced Coffee on Tap.
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 its smoked seafood products, and the first runner up was Amagansett Sea Salt. Best New Product for the Food Trends Experience was Carousel Cakes for its new Drizzle Layer cakes.
The Culinary Demonstration Theater included a presentation by Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton as well as Chef Anton Testino from the Food Network's Chopped and Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt, among others.
At "The Pub" a new area on the show floor, attendees tasted 20 innovative craft beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbet, moonshine, and whiskey.
The New York State Restaurant Association also provided insights on a variety of hospitality-related topics such as legislative issues on letter grading, paid sick leave, affordable health care as well and hot trends on gluten/allergen free, local sourcing, vegetarianism, fast-casual dining, and business operations.
