Floored! NRA Show 2009 News

Kitchen Innovations Road Show

 
Two members of the Kitchen Innovations Awards distinguished independent panel of judges Kathleen Seelye, LEED, FCSI, Ricca Newmark Design/Envision Strategies and Dan Bendall, FCSI, FoodStrategy, Inc. hit the road to speak at the annual conference of National Association of College and University Foodservices, July 8-11 in Milwaukee, Wisc.

Due to the prestige of the KI Awards program, these foodservice superstars were asked to attend in order to add educational value to attendees about what's new in foodservice equipment and to highlight future trends applicable to college and university dining locations.

Combating On-the-Job Fatigue One Step at a Time

 
As we set out to walk (and boy did we walk, lots!) this year’s NRA Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event show floors, the “art in motion” technology packed into the Timberland PRO® Five Star Series provided the perfect, comfy fit (and remedy!) for our fatigue-weary feet.

Timberland PRO introduced at NRA Show 2009 their anti-fatigue Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 footwear lines, called the FiveStar Series, for restaurant and hospitality tread warriors.

The technology coupled with sleek style kicks all-day comfort and support into high gear. Go on, slip on a pair and take ‘em for a test drive. The Mond (for the gents, pictured right) and Rosette (for the ladies) styles were definite showstoppers.

Take the Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge Today

 
The National Restaurant Association rollout during NRA Show 2009 of their new campaign dubbed Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge is calling on the nation's nearly one million restaurants, all 13 million employees, suppliers and people from all walks of life to reduce energy and water use.

Culinary student volunteers from Kendall College, an official Conserve educational partner, wore brightly colored t-shirts advertising the challenge as they trekked the show floor and grabbed the attention of attendees at every turn. An impressive number of nearly 500 NRA Show attendees raced to sign up on the spot to take the Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge.

"The students' activities - along with the Green or No Green game show and free tee-shirts for everyone that signed up for the Challenge - made this one of the most creative and engaging rollouts of an ENERGY STAR Challenge I have seen at my time with EPA. I am very pleased, as a representative of ENERGY STAR, to see the NRA demonstrate environmental leadership by promoting the importance of energy efficiency in commercial buildings to their members," said Anna Stark, program manager, ENERGY STAR Commercial Markets.

ProStart Teaches Them Well; The NRA Lets Them Lead the Way

We heard that little sigh of relief when you're easing into a chair. We caught that grimace as you got back up again. We noticed you gravitating towards the booths with that really soft, padded carpet. You can't tell us there aren't more of you gathered around the samples of restorative caffeinated energy drinks than the beverage alcohol exhibitors in the afternoons.

We get it: it's the fourth day of the NRA Show, and there is more to do and see than should reasonably expected of anybody's body.

Do you know who is not pooped? The kids. There are high schoolers and college students and fresh-faced foodservice professionals of every variety taking it all in, sometimes for the first time. To coin a phrase, we believe that children are the future, and we tried to catch some of their contagious energy to help us get through the home stretch.