Nearly 10,000 restaurant and foodservice industry professionals from throughout Florida networked and conducted business at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show which was held at the Orange County Convention Center September 8-10, 2011. The event, sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, was attended by industry professionals who had the opportunity to hear from some of the biggest and best names in the industry; meet with 500 exhibiting companies and view and sample the latest cuisines and newest equipment products.
“The three day event offered a dynamic meeting place with top education, thousands of products, networking opportunities, culinary demonstrations and more; the exhibitors and attendees all walked away very positively,” said Ron Mathews, Industry Vice President for Reed Exhibitions’ Foodservice Events. “This year’s event was amazing, and we thank our exhibitors, our attendees, our speakers, and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. The event is more than a tradeshow; it is a complete learning experience that improves our attendees business throughout the year.”
“We love being at this event and part of this industry, which is truly a community working together to help everyone grow,” said Alex C. of Modern Line Furniture. “The restaurant industry has had to adapt to a new economy and it’s getting together at events like the Florida Restaurant Show that allow us to create the future.”
Following is a wrap up of several exciting special events and culinary competitions that were held during the convention:
- The Ice Pro Invitational was an exciting featuring on the show floor. World Record Ice Sculptors Dawson List of Ice Dragon, New Orleans and Joe Rimer of Ice Pro, Florida unveiled and demonstrated the first working “Ice Guillotine”. They chopped watermelons and honeydews for the standing room only crowd.
- A popular spot on the Show floor was the Innovative New Product Gallery where the newest and most innovative products were introduced into the marketplace. During the first two days of the Show thousands of attendees cast their votes for their favorite new products. On Friday afternoon the winners of the People’s Choice Awards for the Innovative New Product Gallery were announced. The first place winner was Bamboo Studio with BambooWare. The 2nd place winner was GreenPacks USA with Origami Combo Cup and the 3rd place winner was Your Green 2 Go with 100% Biodegradable Products. Dennis Cheplick with Hill of Beans Coffee won a $250 shopping spree.
- Solutions Center: LivingSocial.com, which offers one fantastic deal every day with discounts of up to 90% at local restaurants, bars, spas, theaters, and more, sponsored the Solutions Center. This interactive meeting place on the Show floor offered unlimited access to information about the latest trends. This Solutions Center offered the New Product Gallery, the Consultant Center and Education Area.
- 40th Anniversary: This year marked the 40th year the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show served the industry. The occasion was celebrated a prize sweepstakes each day of the show, with over 600 winners receiving prizes valued at over $14,000 in total. Prizes ranged from Zeroll Co. Ice Cream Scoops and Essentials, Sure Grip Floor Safety Solutions, restaurant gift certificates, commemorative t-shirts and more. See entire list on our website.
- A large number of attendees took advantage of the free education at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum. Popular sessions included the Women in Foodservice Education Session moderated by Kathleen Wood who discussed the key secrets for professional growth for women in food service; Healthy Trends sessions sponsored by MenuTrinfo on topics including catering to the allergic diner, nutritious and safe kid’s meals, menu nutrition labeling, and more.
- PMQ’s Orlando Pizza Show hosted the U.S. Pizza Team Trial Competitions where dough spinning pizza acrobats will compete for the chance to compete on the U.S. Pizza Team in the World Pizza Championships in Rome, Italy. The Winner of the largest dough stretch competition was Wilhelm Rodriguez from Papa’s Pizza in Puerto Rico; winner of the fastest pizza maker competition was Ryan Kubil from Grimaldi’s in Ft. Meyers, FL; the winner of the box folding championship and freestyle acrobatics was Jamie Culliton from Grimaldi’s in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
- The American Culinary Federation (ACF)/Central Florida Chapter (CFC) offered several world class culinary competitions. The winner of the USA Culinary Cup and an award of $15,000 was Team Cherokee from Atlanta, GA. The winner of the the Student Team Florida State Championships Pastry Challenge was Rosanda Williams from Valencia College. The winner of the Professional Pastry Challenge was Matthew Ratliff from Everglades Country Club in West Palm Beach. The winner of the ACF Central Florida Chapter Beef Signature Competition was Paul Evans, CEC CPT from Lakewood Beach Golf & Country Club in Riverview, FL. The winner of the Team Skill Competition sponsored by R.L. Schrieber was Valencia College Team A. The winner of the Taste of Elegance Pork Chops was Nora Galdiano from Isleworth Golf & Country Club. Many of the award winning meals will be served during the Chef's Table Luncheons, a four-course surprise lunch prepared by the participating chefs.
- The Ultimate Barista Challenge® USA was an action packed competition where baristas competed in a dueling stage of identical espresso stations to shake, not stir, their espresso cocktails, prepare beautiful cafe latte art, blend espresso frappe and brew the best coffee. The winner of the Latte Art Competition was James Duncan, from Barnie’s Coffee in Orlando, FL. The winner of the Best of Brew was Greg Suekoff Red Rock Coffee House, Sedona, Arizona.
- At the close of the Show, the exhibitors of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show donated thousands of pounds of food to The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida a private, nonprofit organization that collects and distributes donated food to more than 500 nonprofit partner agencies in six Central Florida counties.
About The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show
The 2012 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show will be held Sunday, September 23 – Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The show is produced and managed by Reed Exhibitions, and sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. Reed Exhibitions produces several other foodservice events including the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York to be held Sunday, March 4 – Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York and the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo which will be held Sunday, August 12 through Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. For more information on exhibiting or attending future events, call (888) 334-8705 or visit the official Show website at www.thefoodshows.com.