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For Further Information, Contact
Amy Riemer, Media Relations
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ORLANDO, FL - More than 10,000 restaurant, foodservice and hospitality
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 12-
14, 2010. The event, sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, was co-located
with Orlando Pizza Show, the premier showcase for pizza-related products and services.
"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. "The thousands of industry professionals who attended had the opportunity to hear from
some of the top experts from the industry; meet with 500 exhibiting companies and view and sample
the latest cuisines and newest equipment products."
Several exhibitors were very pleased with the show. Cliff Nordquist from Just Bagels said, "This is
the best show in 10 years! We have had a line in front of our booth since the show opened. Quality
is great … serious buyers." Mike Gamble, National Accounts Manager, Sears Commercial said, "We
have picked up great leads from new companies, as well as new divisions with existing companies.
We've had Five Guys, Publix, Disney, and Universal, just to name a few. We're very happy!" and
Scott Patterson, Owner, Your Green 2Go, said "This would have been a successful show for us if we
had 120 qualified leads by the end of the show … at the end of the 2nd day we had 198! Excellent
show for us!"
A popular spot on the Show floor was the Innovative New Product Gallery (located within the new
Solutions Center), 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 Monday afternoon the winners of the People's Choice Awards for the
Innovative New Product Gallery were announced. The first place winner was MoneyCop for their
Counterfeit Detector. The 2nd place winner was Sundrop Mobile for their Waitlist Manager and the
3rd place winner was StableTable, LLC for Puebla Table. Cathi McGloghlon, Assistant Chef of Disney
Boardwalk Resorts won a $250 shopping spree.
The NEW Solutions Center - which was sponsored by Pepsi and La Nova -- delivered a fun tasting
environment, while at the same time providing visitors with solutions. Pepsi demonstrated solutions
for maximizing sales with equipment and beverages that satisfy consumers' changing needs; and La
Nova featured their sweet sauce that makes any pizza special and keeps customers coming back for
more. The Solutions Center also featured exciting educational content focused on food, marketing,
operations, beverages, management and strategy. Standing room only crowds visited the Center to
learn about the 10 Most Common Hiring Mistakes, Advice from YELP, How to Recruit and Hire,
Online Marketing Strategies, Converting Healthy Trends in Healthy Profits and much more. The
consultant's area was also well attended with restaurant professionals getting advice on financing,
human resources and the law.
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association had several dignitaries visit the event. On Sunday
afternoon Florida Governor Charlie Christ visited with exhibitors and attendees and spent time at the
FRLA evening event. On Tuesday afternoon Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator (GCCF) Ken
Feinberg spoke at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association's (FRLA) fall board meeting.
Feinberg announced he will seriously consider changing his emergency protocol criteria to now
include the payment of claims whether or not a Florida hotelier or restaurateur experienced oil
washing up on their shore. Many in the hospitality industry have had their claims rejected due to the
proximity issue.
A new feature on the show floor was The Ice Pro Invitational. The three day Invitational began as a
4-block ice carving demonstration of a triad-wielding aquatic scene carved by international awardwinning
ice sculptors. On Monday there was an individual two-block competition. The First Place
winner was Dawson List of Ice Dragon in New Orleans, LA, Second Place was Ben Rand of Styled
Ice in Jupiter, FL, and Third Place was Jim Ottens of Crystal Creations in Anaheim, CA.
There was
also a 12 foot ice bar created by internationally award-winning sculptor Joe Rimer, and Lianne Rimer,
Owners of Ice Pro.
There was a 28% increase in the number of attendees who received free education at the Ferdinand
Metz Foodservice Forum. Popular sessions included Hottest Trends in Restaurant Nutrition, which
offered robust educational and networking sessions with experts that shared innovative practices and
how to capitalize on offering Healthy Options, and the Foodservice Council for Women Education
Session moderated by Kathleen Wood and panelists Ferdinand Metz, CMC; Wendy Welrovits, Chef,
Walt Disney World; and Sharon Nina, Edibles at Home -- who discussed the key secrets for
professional growth for women in food service.
PMQ's Orlando Pizza Show hosted the U.S. Pizza Team Trial Competitions where dough spinning
pizza acrobats competed for the chance to earn a spot with the U.S. Pizza Team in the World Pizza
Championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy. The first place winner of the America Pizza Championship
was Cemal Ramusevic of Angelo's in Staten Island, NY. Second Place was Damian Van Oosterdorp
from Tribeca Allie Café in Sardis, MS and Third Place was Romano Ramusevic from Il Pomodoro in
Staten Island, NY. There was also a Gluten Free Competition. The first place winner was Patrick
Maggi from Pasquale's Pizzeria in Damascus, MD, Second Place was Michael Amheiser of Pizza
Dock in Fredericktown, OH and Third Place was Jason Samosky from Samosky's Homestyle Pizzeria
in Valley City, OH.
The American Culinary Federation (ACF)/Central Florida Chapter (CFC) offered several world class
culinary competitions. Chefs competed in the Student Team Florida State Championships, the
Signature Hot Food Recipe Competition, the Signature Recipe Competition, the USA Culinary Cup
Team Competition and the Pastry Challenge. Many of the award winning meals were 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 overall winner of the
Ultimate Barista Challenge was David Buehrer of Greenway Coffee & Tea in Houston, TX. The
challenger for the competition was Greg Suekoff of Proper Drop in Sedona, AZ who won the
Espresso Challenge. David will go to New Orleans in 2011 for the Best of Brew Challenge.
At the close of the Show, the exhibitors of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show donated 3,387 lbs
of food, the equivalent of 2,258 meals, to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, a private,
nonprofit organization that collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 600 partner
agencies in six Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.
About The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show
The 2011 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show will be held Thursday, September 8 through Saturday,
September 10, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center. The show is produced and managed
by Reed Exhibitions, and sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA). Reed
Exhibitions produces several other foodservice events including the International Restaurant &
Foodservice Show of New York which will be held Sunday, February 27 - Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at
the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York and the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo
to be held Sunday August 28 through Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at the San Diego Convention
Center. For more information on exhibiting or attending future events, call (888) 334-8705.