2005 National Restaurant Association Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show to Highlight Traditional Ethnic and International Cuisine

The Largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals in North and South America are scheduled to meet at the The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel-Show scheduled for May 21-24, 2005, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. This year the new International Cuisine Pavilion will make its first appearance. Created as a response to the sophistication of American palates, the Pavilion is heralded as the first-ever to focus exclusively on international and domestic traditional ethnic food and beverages. “This new Pavilion will be a hot spot at this year’s Show,” said Association President and Chief Executive Officer Steven C. Anderson. “Everyone in the $476 billion restaurant industry is looking for ways to positively differentiate themselves. One way is to embrace international foods and beverages that have not yet hit America in a big way. More specifically, the industry is looking for ethnic fusions, eclectic textures and that new taste that will satisfy the appetite of an increasingly sophisticated American palate and adventurous diners. The International Cuisine Pavilion will provide the needed showcase for these authentic concepts.” The International Cuisine Pavilion will benefit a broad range of restaurant industry organizations from single-unit entrepreneurs to multi-unit operators, and from those already offering ethnic items, but wanting to expand to those that are looking for that new winning menu concept for the first time. The Pavilion will provide a venue for authentic cuisine to be featured by both domestic companies that either import or manufacture traditional ethnic food and beverage products, as well as the foreign companies looking to open new doors for their products in the U.S. The Pavilion will make it easy for buyers walking the exhibit floor to find stimulating ideas and solutions for their ethnic cuisine needs. The Show is on both the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program and the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) list of sponsored trade shows. Source: For the latest information, please visit the show web site at www.restaurant.org/show. Additional information about the show can be found throughout this month’s issue of Asian Restaurant News.