The 2024 New York Restaurant Show Brings 8,000 Industry Professionals to Re-Branded Event

 

OVER 8,000 RESTAURANT AND FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ATTEND THE NEW YORK RESTAURANT SHOW HELD RECENTLY AT THE JAVITS CENTER  Sold Out Trade Show Floor and Education Sessions were Packed for Three Days   NEW YORK, NY March 13, 2024 – Last week over 8,000 restaurant and foodservice industry professionals, representing a 29% increase in buyers, were at the Javits Center in New York City for the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York which was rebranded at the event to the New York Restaurant Show. The sold-out trade show floor offered new food, drinks, technology, robots, tableware, and much more from 220+ exhibiting companies. The education program, developed in partnership with the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA), the New York City Hospitality Alliance (The Alliance), and a brand-new Conference Advisory Board featured 80+ speakers, dozens of culinary competitions, demonstrations, and several networking opportunities.  “As the new owners and producers of The New York Restaurant Show we were overwhelmed with the industry’s positive support and response to our re-branded event which brought together a record-breaking number of attendees and exhibitors on a sold out show floor,” said Glenn Celentano, Partner & CEO of Restaurant Events LLC, producers of the event.   “It was amazing to walk the show floor and hear meaningful conversations as connections were being made and business conducted. We thank The New York State Restaurant Association, a long-standing sponsor of the event and our new partner, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, who brought their members to the show as well as dynamic speakers to our education program who focused on the most important challenges facing restauranteurs.” "This year's New York Restaurant Show had a renewed energy that we hadn't seen in years. There was a sense of excitement throughout all three days, and the combination of networking, vendors and professional development opportunities perfectly aligned with what our members had been craving. We're bullish about the future of this show and the restaurant and hospitality industry in New York," said Melissa Fleischut, President & CEO of NYSRA. “The NYC Hospitality Alliance’s annual State of the Industry Conference at the New York Restaurant Show was a major success. The three-day trade show at the Javits Center welcomed thousands of hospitality industry professionals through the doors. The energy was off the charts at our standing room only State of the Industry Conference where our incredible speakers shared powerful insights, information, and inspiration, across the 10 panel discussions,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. “Big thanks to the team at the newly branded and owned New York Restaurant Show for inviting the NYC Hospitality Alliance to be a new “Association Partner” at the event. We’re proud to be part of this great show and to have delivered high impact programing at our State of the Industry Conference!”   The education program featured dozens of timely education sessions which attracted standing room only crowds to all the sessions The most relevant and business-supporting topics were addressed for restaurant and foodservice professionals including cannabis and liquor licenses, boosting catering sales, DEI in the foodservice industry, vegan trends, safety and health issues, consumer patterns for 2024/25; marketing tools, recruiting, social media influencers, and much more. Several prominent government officials spoke including the NYC Department of Transportation who provided an overview of the Dining Out NYC Program and the NYC Mayor’s Office who talked about Small Business Services to help unlock economic potential. In addition, the New York State Restaurant Association welcomed NYS Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon who spoke with attendees about the current restaurant business environment and the steps to take together towards a strong and flourishing industry. The newly branded Culinary Innovation Theater featured a dozen cooking demonstrations, including one from Chef Christian Petroni, Restaurateur, Television Personality who appears on "Chopped" and "Beat Bobby Flay" who made Spaghetti and Clams for a standing room only audience. Deanna “Bomb Chica” Colón, Chef and Food Personality, Dishing with Deanna emceed the Theater which featured culinary demonstrations by Chef Maria Loi, known as the Julia Child of Greece, Alexis Grant, Executive Chef, Dallas Mavericks, Chef Jason Santos, Owner and Chef, Buttermilk and Bourbon and featured on Hell’s Kitchen as Chef Ramsay’s Sous Chef for the Blue Team for his fourth season; Bar Rescue’s Mia Mastroianni and Phil Wills; Executive Chef Natalie Liane Jewell for Bidfood Spain, Shaun O’Neale, Author My American Table and Season 7 Champion of MasterChef; Rosalyn Darling, Founder and Principal Innovation Chef, Darling Culinary; and Chef Robert Hodge, Director of Culinary & Plant Based Innovations, Future Foods Enterprises, LLC.   The Culinary Innovation Theater also featured two competitions. Mia Mastroianni and Phil Wills from Bar Rescue teamed up with Savage & Cooke’s Art Sutley to judge the Hip Sip: Battle of the Modern Bartender Competition.  Kristo Tomingas of Butterfly Cocktail Catering beat his competitors with his TALIAMAN cocktail and won a trip to Napa from Savage and Cooke Distillery. Just prior to the Rapid-Fire Challenge: The Great New York Steak Off, Kari Underly, author of The Art of Beef Cutting did a live meat-cutting demonstration which provided Denver Steaks for the eight competing chefs.  Judges Shaun O’Neale, Author My American Table and Season 7 Champion of MasterChef; Eric Howard, Partner, Gramercy Ale House, New York City Firefighter and competitor on MasterChef; and Kari Underly presented the winning trophy and $1,000 to Dhanapol Marprasert from Kam Rai Thai in Astoria for his Tiger Tear Steak with Dipping Sauce.   At the close of the Show, City Harvestrescued 2,251 pounds of milk, coffee, snacks and produce, which was immediately delivered to Children of the Light.   The New York Restaurant Show (formerly The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York) is sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association.  The event also partnered for the first time with the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the leading voice of New York City’s restaurant and nightlife industry in the five boroughs. The trade show and conference is owned by Restaurant Events, LLC which also produces the newly rebranded California Restaurant Show (formerly the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo) to be held August 25-27 at the Los Angeles Convention Center; the Florida Restaurant Show (formerly the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show) and Pizza Tomorrow Summit, to be held November 6-7, 2024 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL and The 2025 New York Restaurant Show to be held March 23-25, 2025, at the Javits Center in New York City.