NRA Show Blog

Top Chef celebs, ProStart, Kids LiveWell and EmployeeEdge take center stage at NRA Show 2012

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

With all the must-see exhibitors, education sessions, and celeb-led culinary demos on your list, don't forget to swing by the National Restaurant Association's booth (North Hall, Level 3, Booth 6600) during it's 2012 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, held at its new dates May 5-8 at Chicago's McCormick Place.

The Association's booth will feature  a variety of ways to help you demonstrate good corporate citizenship and give back to this dynamic industry. Looking for a way to say “thank you” to your employees for their hard work? EmployeeEdge may be for you (check this out - anyone who signs up on the spot for the program and goes into the cash vault will have their winnings matched)! Or perhaps you want to offer healthful options for kids and are interested in hearing more about Kids LiveWell. Maybe you’re looking for a way to mentor a student or make a significant impact on the future of the industry with ProStart (this young folks rock!). That can all happen in one place – only at the NRA Show, only at Booth 6600. 

In addition, be sure to catch Top Chef celebs Richard Blais, Spike Mendelsohn and Fabio Viviani in exciting culinary demos (at the National Restaurant Association booth) featuring ProStart students, as well as tasty demos from Sodexo (featuring kid-friendly menu items demo-ed by Chef Remmi) and Kraft.

Here's the National Restaurant Association booth schedule at a glance.

Devon Seafood Grill and Boston Beer pair up at IWSB

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Chefs from top Chicago restaurants are teaming up with brew masters, mixologists and sommeliers to create food-alcohol pairing stations on the International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) exhibit floor. Attendees will also be privy to special pairing menus when dining at featured restaurants during the four days of the NRA Show 2012. IWSB is set to take place at its new dates May 6-7 at Chicago's McCormick Place.

The Restaurant Menu Pairings Program at IWSB will again feature creative ways to drive sales and increase guest satisfaction with menu pairings, both at our on-floor pairing stations and by dining at participating restaurants such as Devon Seafood Grill.

Register for NRA Show 2012 today, win two free tickets to moto's food spectacle

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Register for the National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2012 (or International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event) by midnight CT (that's Central Time folks) tonight and the National Restaurant Association will enter you in a drawing for two free tickets to Monday night's (May 7) moto Food Spectacle—valued at $225 each. 

Moto Food Spectacle is a once-in-a-lifetime dining event featuring a 10-course molecular experience customized exclusively for NRA Show and IWSB attendees. The dinner also features beverages, a presentation by world-renowned Chef Homaro Cantu, as well as Miracle Berry "flavor tripping," which makes sour flavors candy-sweet. It's part dining, part theater, and totally unforgettable.

The event is for NRA Show and IWSB attendees only—and there are just 60 seats available. 

So register by midnight CDT tonight for a chance to win! Take a colleague, take a client, take a date! 

NRA Show 2012, IWSB in the palm of your hand

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Stay connected to the latest happenings and developments while you're at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) .

Download the free NRA Show mobile app on your smartphone (Android, Blackberry and iPhone) and iPad. It's easy to find the exhibitors on your must-see list, keep on top of the day's schedule and receive critical updates—simply download the NRA Show Mobile App. Scan the QR code above, search "NRA Show" in your phone's app store, or download online. 

If you haven't already registered for NRA Show 2012 or IWSB, there's still time to do it. Go to www.restaurant.org/show or www.winespiritsbeer.org. In addition to Twitter @NRAShow and Facebook, you can also join the NRA Show on Linkedin and YouTube.  

How big is the restaurant industry by state?

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

New "Restaurant Industry at a Glance" fact sheets from the National Restaurant Association illustrate the restaurant industry's significant impact in each state.

These fact sheets profile the restaurant industry in each state, including data on jobs, locations, annual sales, plus more. The broad data also detail expected growth in restaurant jobs over the next decade, and the "multiplier effect" restaurant spending has on jobs and sales in related industries in the state.

The percentage of each state's workforce employed by the restaurant industry, and the number of restaurant jobs and locations in each congressional district are also detailed in the fact sheets. .

Blogger's Note: These statistics are based on National Restaurant Association research and federal government data. Your state restaurant association may be able to provide more data or local information.

moto Food Spectacle features "flavor tripping"

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

World-renowned moto restaurant's celebrity chefs are hosting an intimate dining experience featuring Miracle Berry “flavor tripping“ and molecular gastronomy on Monday, May 7, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m.. Only 60 seats are available for this once-in-a-lifetime event hosted by Chef Homaro Cantu, featuring a menu designed exclusively for attendees registered for the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event.

This world-class restaurant is known for its playful, science-centric approach to food. The chefs apply creativity to make the inedible, edible and the ordinary, extraordinary. Learn more about Cantu and the moto experience.

The cost for this unforgettable night is $225, all inclusive. For more information and to book your seats, call 312-853-2525 or email [email protected].

If you haven't already registered for NRA Show 2012 or IWSB, there's still time to do it. Go to www.restaurant.org/show or www.winespiritsbeer.org. In addition to Twitter @NRAShow and Facebook, you can also join the NRA Show on Linkedin and YouTube.  

Top Chef: All-Stars winner Richard Blais to host live NRA Show Facebook Q&A, April 25

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Bravo's Top Chef star Richard Blais is hosting a Facebook Q&A party in honor of the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and ProStart program tomorrow, April 25 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Central. Get your questions ready! 

NRA Show 2012 and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) attendees will have a chance to see Chef Richard Blais, as well as other Top Chef alum Fabio Viviani and Spike Mendelsohn up close and personal in the World Culinary Showcase at NRA Show 2012 on Sunday, May 6. 

The World Culinary Showcase celebrity chefs lineup is one of the most anticipated features of this year's NRA Show, taking place at its new dates May 5-8 at Chicago's McCormick Place. 

If you haven't already registered for NRA Show 2012, there's still time to do it. Go to www.restaurant.org/show. In addition to Twitter @NRAShow and Facebook, you can also join the NRA Show on Linkedin and YouTube.  

NRA Show 2012 exhibit floor space sells out

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

The 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show has completely sold out its exhibit floor space. A newly redesigned exhibit floor will showcase more than 1,900 exhibitors that will offer thousands of products and services to restaurant and foodservice operators. NRA Show 2012 will be held at its new dates May 5-8 at Chicago's McCormick Place.

"This year’s addition of more than 500 new exhibitors speaks to the ongoing opportunity and optimism inherent in our industry," said Jack Crawford, Convention Chair and President and CEO of Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative, LLC. "Coupled with our show-stopping lineup of celebrity chefs, plus more than 70 in-depth education sessions on key topics, a lively exhibit floor promises to energize our attendees and provide them with countless ways to improve their operations in the year ahead.”

Highlights from the NRA Show 2012 exhibit floor include:

• Operator Innovations Awards Gallery (Grand Concourse): The industry-first Operator Innovations Award recipients will highlight operator accomplishments in five distinct categories: Sustainability, Technology, Food Safety, Health & Nutrition and Menu Development. Winners in each category, as well as the Innovator of the Year will be announced at Destination: Celebration on May 5 at the Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace at Millennium Park.

• Food & Beverage Product Innovations Awards Gallery (North Hall, Booth 7200): The Food & Beverage Product Innovations Awards program acknowledges how food and beverage manufacturers are responding to the changing needs of operators and consumers by delivering creative and delicious offerings.

Fundamentals: How to Be Brilliant at the Basics

By Guest Blogger Jim Sullivan, CEO Sullivision.com and NRA Show 2012 Speaker

You can’t build a pyramid from the top down. A house without a foundation will not stand. And a business without fundamentals firmly entrenched and dutifully executed can wither and shrink as small as the period that ends this sentence. So what are the critical building blocks of successful foodservice operation in the second decade of the 21^st Century? Besides luck, pluck, heart, nerve (and possibly a side of abracadabra), here’s my list of the essentials:

Focus. Focus is not just “wanting to win,” it’s the willingness to prepare to win. Focus is not just being committed, it means being disciplined.  What do the best foodservice operators focus first on? The things they can control. Not the things they can’t. Make the things that won’t change in your company—Quality, People, Culture, Training—ever stronger, ever better.

Build Strong Teams. Everything starts with hiring. If you don’t have the right discipline and systems in place to assure that only the most dedicated and most passionate and most talented people are allowed onboard, you put a weighty (and unnecessary) daily burden on your frontline and multiunit supervisors. It forces them to under-lead and over-manage.  You don’t build “business,” you build people. People build business.

World's largest potato on wheels blows into Windy City, makes "spud stop" at NRA Show 2012

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

The Idaho Potato Commission's Great Big Idaho Potato Truck will make three special appearances in Chicago, its second largest U.S. market, before making its way to idle on display in Booth #2202 at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, set for its new dates May 5-8, 2012.  The “Spectacular Spud Stops” will include two weekday supermarket appearances and a Saturday morning special event at Chicago's iconic eatery Ina’s Restaurant, 1235 W. Randolph St. on April 28, 9 a.m. - noon. 

“We’re thrilled to host the Great Big Idaho Potato truck at Ina’s,” said Chef/Owner and self-described "Breakfast Queen" Ina Pinkney of Ina's.

Her popular restaurant in Chicago's West Loop features a Famous Idaho Potato mural and uses 300 pounds of Famous Idaho Potatoes weekly for mashed potatoes, French fries, potato pancakes, and Ina’s signature Garlic Roasted Potatoes. A local representative of Meals on Wheels will join Ina and IPC Vice President-Foodservice Don Odiorne for the event to accept a bag of Famous Idaho Potatoes, symbolizing the month’s supply that the IPC is donating as a special gift.