Food service professionals (including restauranteurs, caterers and others) descended upon McCormick Place May 18-21 for the NRA (National Restaurant Association) Show 2013.
There were many events to keep attendees occupied. There was the International Wine, Spirits & Beer (IWSB) event, the World Culinary Showcase, a hydroponic garden, award presentations for innovations. Starbucks Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz delivered the keynote presentation, "Transforming Companies for the Future: Balancing Profit with a Social Conscience."
And, of course, there was the exhibit. Covering tens of thousands of square feet, there were hundreds of vendors exhibiting everything from flatware to refrigeration units to table skirts to trends in food such as sweet-potato fries. (Thanks, Nice Blends!) Just a few of the hundreds of vendors included:
—RAAW ( raawfoods.com ): RAAW's natural juices are made from select fruits and vegetables; flavors include Very Berry Wheatgrass, which tastes a whole lot better than it sounds.
—No Kid Hungry (DineOutForNoKidsHungry.org ): One in five kids in this country struggle with hunger. This organization aims to stack the odds in the children's favor.
—IMIDUS ( www.imidus.com ) and MoPro ( www.mopro.com ): These businesses want to help restaurants' visibility. IMIDUS employs a loyalty/gift card program and well as a point-of-sale language and currency system. MoPro (which had a gaggle of telegenic people dressed like doctors) creates a business' website, video, mobile, photos, social media, online ordering tools and more for $199 a month.
—Chicago Sweet Connection Bakery ( sweetconnectionbakery.com ), Al Gelato Chicago ( www.algelatochicago.com ) and Noble Chocolates ( www.noble-chocolates.com ): All three companies—two local, the other based in Belgium—displayed delicious offerings. The proof is in the pudding, uh, chocolate cup.
—Dining By Candlelight ( www.DiningByCandlelight.com ): Restaurants and related businesses can set the mood with a wide variety of eye-pleasing items.
—BIA Cordon Bleu: The esteembed manufacturer of porcelain and stoneware dinnerware and other items was on hand.
—Top Cellar ( www.topcellarapp.com ): I first encountered an iPad wine list at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. The Top Cellar app customizes restaurant's wine lists and other menu items so any diner can look like an expert.
—Body Works ( www.BodyWorksForMe.com ): These bottle shots involve what the vendors said are natural herbs to help you in one of six areas: wellness, sleep, relaxation, performance, sport and energy.
Celebrity chefs, of course, were part of the show. Among those were lesbian chefs Cat Cora and Anne Burrell as well as others such as Rick Bayless and Marcus Samuelsson. Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential and the TV series No Reservations) hosted the third annual Restaurants Rock industry celebration, the official after-party of the NRA show and IWSB, on May 19 and had a book-signing the following day.
Photos of the exhibit by Andrew Davis (Andrew@WindyCityMediaGroup.com ) . More at www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/photospreadthumbs.php .
